All of the poachers had been gathered on the Argosy and the captured ship that was docked in their base had been secured. They would be led back to Astera until they could progressively be shipped back to the Old World to stand trial by the Guild. Jake had decided he would stay for now to oversee the operations, as a Named needed to stay. Valen wanted to volunteer at first but Jake made a convincing argument.

  “We still have to investigate the source of the disturbances that were observed on the Everstream, and I believe you are more suited to the task that I am. It has to be a powerful Elder, and you know that I’m not as young as I used to be…”

  Valen could not argue against that and relented. Jake was right, Rapha?lle and Aiden needed Valen more than he was needed here, even though he was a Guild Knight. So after saying his goodbyes to Jake, who would have the duty of combing through the documents that had been recovered and trying to trace them back to the sponsors of the poachers, Valen made his preparations to leave.

  They did not depart until the following morning though, so that they did not have to travel by night, and a rotating watch had to be made to guard the poachers. They might have been disarmed but they were still numerous and could overwhelm them by sheer numbers if they were desperate enough to free themselves.

  It was a tense journey back, as nobody wanted to take any risks of escape with those poachers… Aiden had joined him on the Argosy, while Rapha?lle was on board the other ship, where some of the poachers were detained. The Argosy sailors had to be split to be able to man the new ship, but thankfully Hunters could replace them temporarily, as all Hunters were trained in seamanship as part of their mandatory training.

  Eventually, Astera was in sight, but not the end of their troubles. There were cells on Astera, but they were not large enough to handle such a large influx of outlaws. Instead, a temporary solution had been found: to use the holding pens for captured monsters. These were located in the Great Ravine, and were used as a training ground for when a monster was too aggressive or old to be released in the wild. These allowed novice hunters to gain experience in a controlled fight, and would be perfect to detain the poachers before they were sent to the Old World.

  Before Valen could ask to be on board the Airship to be the guard, the Commander called for a council with Rapha?lle and Aiden. The Admiral, Tracker and Field Team leader were also here, for once away from Seliana.

  “I know you want to see your duty to its completion Valen, but we have a more pressing matter.”

  He unrolled a large map of the New World that included Seliana, but more strangely, had numerous marks on it. Marks that when linked together, made a spiral. Valen was confused as to what it was until he noticed where it led to, and especially around the Elder’s Recess.

  “Is that… the Everstream?”

  The Commander nodded.

  “We have been getting reports of disturbances and earthquakes all around it, one mountain even collapsed in the Hinterlands… So we have been putting a lot of effort in tracking down what could cause these. As you can see, we have checked every spot that we could reach here in the New World and the Hinterlands… We know that the Elder causing this must be right above the Everstream so that it can channel its power through it.”

  “And since we checked everything here, that leaves us only one possibility!” Sophie said, then pointed out in the sea, where the spiral continued. “That somewhere in the ocean, there is somewhere that could host that Elder…”

  “Are you certain that it is not an Aquatic Elder? I recall Caedeus can cause earthquakes,” Valen suggested.

  “While it is a possibility, it has never shown the ability to collapse a mountain. So our leading theory is that it is a new Elder.”

  Valen paused for a moment then nodded.

  “I am ready to follow.”

  “Good, you depart as soon as the new Airship is ready. The Third Fleet Airship will be the one that ships our prisoners, under as much of a guard that I can muster.”

  “Before you sent your fancy fireworks, we were getting ready to depart, but as you can imagine, your emergency took precedence.” The Admiral boomed. “Now that the situation has been completely dealt with, we are finally able to investigate! Kora will join you, as she has been invaluable in this, so it is only right that she is there to see it to its conclusion!”

  “And I would not have it any other way!” Sophie exclaimed. “Do not protest, we wish to have you with us Kora!”

  Kora seemed to be about to protest until Sophie talked to her, then she relented.

  “If all of you are this determined… I will not object.”

  “That’s great, because after all, this was not a work that has been done only by the Fifth fleet, it is thanks to all of our efforts that we managed to go this far!” Aiden cheerily replied.

  “Well said, Aiden!” the Admiral boomed. “Don’t forget that all that we have been able to accomplish here in the New World is thanks to the efforts that all of you here have provided, as well as all of us that are on Astera and Seliana! So indeed leading this to conclusion is not the work of one man or one fleet, it is thanks to everybody that has decided to join us here in the New World, no matter whether they decided to stay here or not!”

  Some people whooped at the Admiral’s speech, and everybody clapped for it. It lasted a bit, before Arcos interrupted.

  “Now that we are in agreement, the Airship will depart this afternoon. It will sail through the night, and you should be able to start looking for your goal starting tomorrow. Make sure you have everything you need for the task at hand, we don’t know what we are about to find and chances are that there is a powerful Elder that we will find at our destination.”

  Everybody nodded at this, which allowed the Commander to have his closing words.

  “Then may the Sapphire Star light your way!”

  “And may the Red Comet keep your skies clear!” Valen continued, half-shouting it, which made everybody pause for a moment before they all laughed at the response.

  “Now that I know the context behind this, it is suitable indeed,” Arcos commented, then firmly said in a tone that left no room for antics. “Dismissed!”

  Everybody nodded in response, and they all headed towards their respective rooms so that they could prepare for the imminent mission that they knew was critical, due to the disturbances that it was currently creating in the environment of the New World. Valen, with the help of Adem, made sure that he was ready for any surprise that could happen. He swapped the partially used phials made out of distilled Dragonfell berry juice for the ones made out of Nikki’s blood. He did not use these on the poacher raid as it would be overkill, but he believed that it was a precaution he needed to take this time.

  He also spent the time performing maintenance on his armor, to preserve the smooth working of the joints and the delicate engineering of his thrusters. He had been careful so far since receiving it, and had gotten no troubles with it thus far, though he also believed that the Gem embedded in the back also helped prevent malfunctions. He did not have time to ponder on it though, and once he finished his routine, he put it back on and prepared his pouches, filling it with Mega Potions bottles, Nullberry pills and even a couple Max Potion pills for emergencies. He also stocked it with spare phials in case he exhausted one of his, which has never happened yet, but he believed it was better to be prepared.

  Once he was satisfied with his pouch, he helped Adem prepare his own gear, and together they left their room and headed towards the Airship that was currently docked at a brand new pier next to the one specially built for the Third Fleet Airship.

  He seemed to be the last of the group to arrive, as Aiden and Rapha?lle were already waiting, right alongside Kora. The Commander and Admiral were waiting for them. But there was also a large portion of Astera that seemed to have assembled down below to cheer them on their departure.

  “Good, it seems that everybody is here and ready…” Arcos said to them, raising his voice so that everybody down below could hear. “You all know your mission, and what is at risk if we leave it unchecked. So I will just wish you good luck!”

  At that, the assembled crowd cheered and clapped for all of them, and the trio of hunters looked at each other before they nodded and embarked, followed by Kora and then their Handlers. Once they were all safely on board, a horn resounded over the whole of Astera, and the ship started ascending, its tethers to the ground undone. Then it picked up speed, being carried by a small breeze until the engines were started, which allowed the large fan-like propellers at the rear of the ship to start spinning.

  Soon enough they were quickly heading away from Astera, which was becoming a speck on the horizon until it disappeared beneath the waves of the ocean.

  “We are heading towards the furthest place from the Hinterlands that crosses with the Everstream,” Sophie exclaimed. “Then we will follow it until we find what should be our anomaly.”

  Once the ship was safely on its course, the Captain left his post at the rudder, leaving the experienced pilot at it and joined the group.

  “Aki was gracious enough to help the Second Fleet Master as well as the Chief Engineer build the engine on this ship, given that she had some experience on it. But we were only able to install it today… But now thanks to it, we will be able to reach our location tomorrow morning instead of late in the evening… Next time you see Aki, would you share my thanks to her? It will definitely help our operations once we finish this real maiden voyage!”

  “I will make sure of it if I ever get the chance!” Valen replied.

  The others nodded in agreement, then Sophie broke out of the group and excitedly invited them to join her at the helm of the ship, pulling out her magnifying glasses.

  “This is amazing, we normally cross the ocean on board a ship, being able to do it on an Airship…”

  “It is quite an experience indeed,” Kora replied. “I had the chance to be able to do so before I joined the Commission, and it is different from a regular ship. You do not have the rolling of the waves, and you simply drift through the air, above the uncaring waters.”

  They did not reply to that comment, only looking at the churning waters ahead. And they did so until night fell, simply sticking together, as they all knew that there was a real possibility that the next day… Would be a day where they would have to fight for the stability of the New World. And it was with that mindset that they headed to the decks below to sleep in hammocks, not caring that they did not have private rooms. Valen himself fell asleep quickly, he was anxious, but he also was used to it, and it did not have as much of an impact anymore.

  He was woken up by Adem shaking him, and the Felyne quickly explained that the others were already up… Valen thanked his companion then let out a huge yawn. He realized that he had underestimated his state of tiredness, after having two intense fights so close together… And today he probably would have a third one to add to the list. But he felt well rested now, so he did not worry too much about his state, and believed that he would be fine.

  He washed up quickly with the bucket of water that was left for him, then put on his armor and gear. Once he was prepared, he ascended the stairs to the upper deck. All the others were already waiting for him at the helm, and once he joined them, Rapha?lle relayed information to him.

  “We departed from the southern coast of the Hinterland not long ago. Now we are following the Everstream until we find what we came for.”

  “I see…” Valen sighed. “I probably could have asked Nikki to scout ahead for us, but that would have added a delay to our journey.”

  “Probably for the best, the earthquakes were intensifying those last few days, which is why the Commander was so adamant that we depart as soon as possible. He wanted us to solve this as quickly as possible before a catastrophe happens.”

  “I agree. I have reloaded my Flare gun since, but it also would be a bad idea to fire it while on the Airship.”

  “Keep it for an emergency, because Astera would also be informed something had gone wrong as well,” Rapha?lle replied.

  Valen nodded, and there was a pause for a moment before he spoke up with a question.

  “I heard you figured more things about the Velkhana, as well as found new Elders. It’s been a long time since I left Astera on my mission, and due to the hurried raid, I did not have the opportunity to ask or listen to conversations.”

  “Oh right!” Sophie exclaimed, becoming much more interested now that they were talking about their research. “After we repelled Velkhana from Seliana, we expected to have to slay it in its home in the Hoarfrost… However it surprised us by not attacking Rapha?lle and Aiden immediately. They both decided that they would not draw their weapon as long as it did not engage them… We noticed that it had been injured by the hit of the Dragonator we did on it, but it seemed to have understood that we were just defending our territory of a sort. Once we confirmed that it wasn’t hostile, we simply left its nest and have been monitoring it since. So far it seems to only be healing from its injury.”

  “The earthquakes of the Everstream also agitated a couple Elders as well, you probably heard about Blackveil, which went back to the Rotten Vale after we fought it. But there was also Namielle — we had to slay that one — but since we were with a couple other hunters, they were able to craft new gear out of it. No Gem, but if we have any more, I would start to believe something is different with the New World,” Rapha?lle said.

  “Speaking of which, we had several new monsters that were slain by groups other than us two,” Lea pointed out. “Lukas and Arcos are happy about that since that means the general experience of our hunters is increasing. They probably won’t ever catch up to the level of you three, but that would be fine.”

  “Then you have the scientists…” Ikari said. “They are definitely those that are the happiest in the Research Commission, these last few months have given them a lot of discoveries.” He paused for a bit. “You know that you will be hounded once Arcos reveals Nikki to them?”

  Valen smiled.

  “I know… But they will have to respect Nikki’s boundaries, so if they get too pushy, she can remind them what she is. I don’t think they won’t go overboard.”

  “Good point. Things will change for you for sure though,” Ikari commented.

  “They will. I hope for the better. My hope is that we get a better future, maybe I will have this impact, I want to believe.”

  “Then let us all work for it! We will support you however you can Valen!” Aiden exclaimed.

  “Thanks.”

  They sat in comfortable silence and changed subjects, chatting about the finer details of their hunts, and the discoveries that had been made since the Everstream disturbances happened. They kept an eye on the horizon, so that they did not miss any anomalies that would be their goal.

  It was Valen that spotted it first, as a break in the horizon, but once he pointed it out, the others agreed that it was definitely something they should investigate. As they got closer, they realized it was a rocky island, surrounded by sharp rocks that broke the waves and kept it safe from the wrath of the sea… However it was truly unnatural, and something that couldn’t have formed by natural geological movements, and so they were certain that it was where their destination was. The fact it was right in the middle of the predicted path the Everstream spiral took was another point.

  The three hunters looked at each other, then nodded, they knew that there was no doubt about their destination and that more than likely a hard fight was what awaited them.

  The captain of the airship quickly adjusted course so that they were heading directly towards the center of the island. They flew reasonably high above the rocky spires and scanned the area for a place where they could land… But it was only when they reached the center of the island that they saw a large enough area where the Airship could fit in… But there was already an inhabitant.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Rapha?lle gasped.

  “That’s Nergigante! It is different though…”

  “It is looking at us,” Valen commented. “I think it is gauging us, but I can see it is about to try to take flight… See how its wings are tense. We need to disembark now.”

  Aiden took the lead and whistled, which caused his Wingdrake to take off and he launched his grappling hook at its harness, which made him fly out of the Airship. Valen and Rapha?lle followed right behind him, their Palicos holding on to them.

  Valen could see that his Wingdrake was tense, which made sense due to the Elder present not far from them. Once they were flying right above the flat area, which almost looked like a fighting ring, he unhooked himself and dropped down on a crouch. He placed one hand on his weapon, ready to draw it out at a moment’s notice. Aiden and Rapha?lle followed him right after, then Adem and Flighty stayed next to them. With the corner of his eyes, he could see the Airship flying away, probably to go to a safe area.

  None of them had drawn their weapon yet, they wanted to see how the Nergigante would react first.

  “It is darker than the one I fought… Look, his horns are almost completely black, the one I fought only were black at the tips.”

  “It seems vicious too,” Valen commented.

  The Elder was pacing at the other side of the area, studying them, a low growl rolling over the stone ground towards them all the while. It quickly studied Valen and Aiden, and the Palicos… However then it seemed to focus on Rapha?lle, and not only on her weapon, but on her. Something shifted in its gaze. Valen almost believed it was… Respect?

  Then suddenly Rapha?lle gasped.

  “These scars… This is exactly where I had wounded the Nergigante, as well as where I carved some of its parts! How? I am certain it was dead at the end of our fight…”

  Valen suddenly was more guarded, ready for anything.

  “Could it be able to fake its death? We know Gypceros is able to, though at this point all Hunters are aware of it so they don’t immediately harvest the body…” Aiden suggested.

  “I am certain its heart was no longer beating, I checked.”

  “Then we have to assume it is able to temporarily stop its heart,” Valen said. “The fact that you had to leave the area quickly is another point… The better question at this point is what is it doing here, do you think it is the cause of the Earthquakes?”

  “Unlikely,” Rapha?lle answered. “It never demonstrated such an ability…”

  Valen was about to ask another question when suddenly the Nergigante roared, flaring his wings wide to make itself more impressive. They suddenly all were on alert, it seemed it had grown tired of their presence… And they were proven right when immediately after, it jumped towards them, aiming for the center of their group.

  They all scattered, jumping in different directions as the Nergigante crashed on their previous location, but it did not pause in its attack, the spiky Elder immediately raised a paw and turned towards Valen, attempting to slam it down on him. He smoothly sidestepped the attack, though the shockwave of the impact forced him to pause for a moment to not lose his balance.

  It probably would have followed up on its attack had Rapha?lle not started her attack, tearing a gash in its left wing, her kinsect buzzing around her, following her action. Immediately, the Nergigante responded, spreading his wing wide to attempt to slap her out of the air, but she anticipated the move and had released a burst of compressed air from her weapon, and was well out of the area of danger.

  That distraction allowed Valen to draw out his weapon and he counterattacked, wounding the Elder on the paw that it had attempted to attack him with. He was not alone on his assault however, as Aiden had jumped forwards at the same time and bashed its head with his shield. It recoiled a bit, but once it recovered, it only drew its ire on Aiden, and attempted to headbutt charge the shield user.

  Aiden was far from being a slouch however, and while he could not dodge such a large object at such a close distance, he knew how to wield his weapon intimately. So instead of dodging the attack, he simply let a horn collide his shield at an angle, which pushed him back out of the rest of the body.

  That allowed Valen to slash at its side, morphing his weapon into Sword mode, minding the wing that could throw him back if the Nergigante unfurled it suddenly. His attack paled in comparison to what Rapha?lle did however. Since the Elder committed such a big attack on Aiden, and was in the process of trying to regain its bearing… She had come from behind, doing controlled bursts of air with her weapon, and then immediately let herself fall, the bladed part of her Glaive below her, and let gravity do the rest.

  She stabbed deep in the Nergigante’s thick neck which immediately attempted to roar, before suddenly collapsing. Rapha?lle pulled her weapon out, a spray of blood erupting from it. However she did not let her guard down.

  “That was not the spine… It’s faking its death again!”

  Valen did not relax his grip on his weapon as well then. And the three hunters waited, on guard for anything that it would do.

  “Why would it do that, we barely started the fight!” Valen said.

  “It is strange indeed… But we won’t fall into its trap.” Rapha?lle replied.

  Aiden seemed to be about to answer before a humming filled the air, surprising them all, but before Valen could ask what it was, the ground started to shake, a localized earthquake happening right below them. All of them had their balance thrown off, and before they could regain their bearings, suddenly something erupted next to the Nergigante’s body, it looked like giant stone fingers, they seemed to wrap around it, then pulled back down in the ground.

  However this was not the end of their troubles… The ground started collapsing. It started from the area the fingers emerged from, and giant chunks of stone fell behind, into a star pattern.

  Valen knew what he had to do.

  “AIDEN, GRAB MY HAND!” he shouted, he did not have the time to sheathe his weapon, and he knew that Rapha?lle could manage the fall thanks to her weapon.

  Aiden did not hesitate to grab his outstretched hand, then Adem jumped on his leg, holding on tightly to it, he saw Flighty do the same with Rapha?lle.

  It was not a moment too soon, as the ground collapsed below them. It was not a long fall, but with the falling rocks all around them, it was dangerous. So before they could fall too fast, he activated his thrusters, at a high power level, and so instead of a sudden drop, the three of them were doing a controlled descent, avoiding the falling debris around them.

  Rapha?lle had pole vaulted when the rock below them started to fall, and she had released a burst of compressed air, aiming for the center of the area, where the debris had already settled. For some strange reason they had all sank into the ground, which was made out of finely packed sand. She landed carefully, but when she did not sink immediately, she stood up.

  Valen joined her, releasing Aiden from his grip once they were close enough from the ground, and cut his thrusters immediately after. The humming was still present and all around them, the pieces of rock debris sank into the ground.

  The dust started clearing up… Revealing the fingers that had brought down the Nergigante and the arena. It did not stop to that however, because it also revealed the body that they were attached to.

  Four sturdy legs, a massive body, especially thick around the forepaws, and a face were all revealed, but it was the eyes that were the most unusual… They seemed to pierce straight into their souls… And all of its body was covered in slabs of rocks that were almost golden but with a tint of blue on some parts.

  Valen had no doubts that they were facing the Elder that was causing the earthquakes… The ability it just demonstrated to collapse the inside of that stone island proved as much. The absence of the Nergigante was strange, but it was more than surely buried inside the ground… Which made Valen believe that it would now suffocate to death.

  “The song… So that Elder was behind it all along,” Rapha?lle said.

  “Song?” Valen questioned. That was new information for him.

  “Every time we had the earthquakes, there was this humming in the air, that sounded like a song… This proves that it is the Elder that caused them.” Rapha?lle explained.

  “That shell of rock looks tough, but “ (find a pun)

  “Nice one,” Valen chuckled. “And good idea, we need to remove that shell to access its real body.”

  “Then we are decided. Be careful,” Rapha?lle replied.

  The rock-covered Elder finally seemed to realize that they were a threat and roared, causing them to brace against the deep noise, which sounded like a huge gong.

  Once it ended, they all rushed to action, Rapha?lle pole-vaulting into the air and commanding her kinsect to attack with her, Aiden going in the monster’s face to pulverize the rock with his shield, while Valen decided that he would strip the legs out. The two Palicos started pelting the monster with their boomerangs, and would hack at it with their swords once they figured out some weak points.

  One thing was immediately clear: while the rock took the brunt of their attacks, it also made the Elder extremely slow. Though it had the size advantage and could cover huge areas with its attacks, they had more than enough time to get out of the way.

  Valen and Rapha?lle especially, thanks to their armor and weapon, respectively. Aiden had to be more careful, but he still was nimble enough to not have issues.

  The group hacked and slashed at the monster, Valen releasing frequent explosions, as he quickly realized that it was more effective than his simple sword attacks, as well as not wearing the edge down too much. Aiden had a similar realization, using more shield attacks than his blade. Only Rapha?lle had to stick with them, due to having no alternative, though her kinsect seemed to be not as affected, so she favored it more.

  Their opponent had a couple of surprises for them though, at one point it managed to just sink itself in the sand, an event that was accompanied by the same song they heard, made them believe it was a byproduct of its ability to mold the earth. It also was quite dexterous with its rocky appendages, and they realized quickly that the rocks seemed to stick to its body by some sort of natural compound behaving similarly to bee wax. It did offer just as much protection though, so they had to get rid of it as well.

  However they still had no issues stripping its rock armor out… And suddenly it slammed one of its wings down, causing a tremor that unbalanced them. Then suddenly the reminder of its rock armor started to peel off.

  “It seems it has decided it was a hindrance!” Valen commented, as the dust was obscuring the Elder’s form.

  “Be ready for anything…” Rapha?lle replied.

  More and more rocks fell off its form, and they could see glimpses of its true body peeking out of the dust cloud. It looked like creamy and rosy gnarled tree branches… Then suddenly a blast of air hit them, and they almost fell on their asses, but that blast also instantly cleared all of the dust.

  It revealed a monster covered mostly in creamy thick skin, clearly not scales, with splashes of yellow, purplish blue and pink around, the pink mostly appearing on the extremities. But what they immediately noticed was its wing-like appendages that it possessed. Like giant, twisted branches but also looking like unnaturally long hands. It had a short, stubby tail, however it also did not look at them, its eyes strangely closed for some reason. One thing was certain: this was an Elder.

  However they barely had time to take in its form, before it suddenly put its wing forwards, all of the slender fingers converging on a single point… And then they could feel the air itself starting to move.

  Valen’s eyes widened, and he immediately ran sideways, out of the danger zone, flanked by Rapha?lle, while Aiden ran to the other side.

  Good thing they did cause not long after, a gigantic tunnel of air erupted where they were before, it dug into the rock surrounding the area, causing gigantic spiderwebbing in it. Dust and sand was kicked up and channeled into the fast moving compressed air. Such was the power that they could see that the entire Elder was moved backwards by the recoil of the attack, even though it had dug its claws in the ground.

  It held the move for a few seconds before stopping, the torrent of air stopping quickly. But now it turned towards them and stared at them unnaturally. Valen realized that the attack was a warning, a warning to not attack the Elder lest that is what would happen to them… However he just needed to look at his companions before they simply nodded in response, they would not back down. The threat this Elder posed was too great, and thus they had to make sure to put it down. So he decided he would go all out, they needed to finish this as fast as they could, so it had the least risks possible to them.

  With some unseen signal, they all ran towards the Elder, from different angles, Valen going towards its left side, Rapha?lle heading towards its back while Aiden was heading to its other side. Spreading themselves out, they made sure to not offer themselves an easy target to this Elder.

  However it then held its wings above its head, splaying them out, and it only took a moment for Valen to realize that each tip of the fingers aimed to a different one of them, with the reminder on the general area. Then suddenly the air started to warp in these small tunnels aimed at them, and he immediately realized it was the same attack but at a smaller scale… But definitely no less dangerous. He sidestepped the blast of air that aimed at him, Rapha?lle doing the same, though he noticed that Aiden wasn’t this lucky and got caught on the edge of the blast… Until it seemed to bend around him instead of impacting his side. It looked like his armor would offer him protection, the control over the winds the Kushalah once possessed now aiding Aiden.

  Soon enough they reached the Elder, and started hacking and slashing at it. Rapha?lle went airborne and aimed to wound the wings. Valen decided he would attempt to injure its paw enough so that it would be unbalanced.

  The Elder soon changed tactics, attempting to swipe them aside with its claws and maw, though it also used its dexterous wings to stab them or slash them, but they were all aware of them at all times and effortlessly dodged the clumsy attacks.

  As he dodged another blast of air, he suddenly had a realization.

  “It is like Valstrax! Its wings work exactly the same!” He shouted to the others then focused his gaze on the Elder’s chest… And sure enough, there were tubes leading inside. “Cover me! I will attempt to damage its chest!”

  Valen was very familiar with the fact that the intake vents of a Valstrax were delicate. Nikki had said that they were sensitive. While she could still operate them even if they were wounded, it would severely reduce their effectiveness… So he hoped that damaging them would allow them to finish the Elder without issues.

  It did not take long for the Elder to focus its attention on Rapha?lle, upon which Valen immediately rushed in and put all of his strength into a rising slash, releasing the biggest burst of explosion he could at the same time. A large gash immediately appeared in its chest.

  The monster screeched and immediately backed away, but Valen knew the damage was done already. However… He could immediately sense that something had shifted… Because the Elder’s eyes were open. And it felt like they were staring straight into his soul, piercing all metaphysical barriers and judging him for what he had done, condemning for the act he had just done, which was to wound a god.

  Once he realized that the Elder was exerting its pressure on him, a warmth rose from his back, where the Gem of his armor was located, and helped him sustain the pressure, opposing it with his own. A clash of will thus happened, the immense will of a probably centuries old Elder versus the one of the much younger but experienced Valen… And he knew he was winning. As much as the pressure increased, he stood headstrong against it, not bulging at all. Nikki had helped him train after their meeting with the Teostra… And he was glad they did as he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to withstand it if she didn’t.

  Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the Elder gave up and Valen heard gasps of relief near him… Evidently Rapha?lle and Aiden were also impacted but they did not withstand it as well… And Valen was certain they were just getting the wide area effect that was not as powerful.

  He stared at the Elder, which after a split second seemed to have decided to change tactics and plunged its wings in the ground. The song immediately could be heard and quicksand pits rapidly started to form in the area. When he felt the ground becoming unstable below him he jumped and activated his thrusters to find stable ground.

  He expected his new location to become quicksand as well, but instead the pit seemed to form nearby but not quite. Which made Valen suspect that normally the Elder would be able to be precise enough but that the wound he had dealt to him impeded it.

  Finally the tremors stopped and he was reassured by the fact Rapha?lle and Aiden also managed to stay on solid ground… However that was not the end of their problems as right after the Elder raised its wings above him, looking like it was clutching something big. Large currents of air started streaming towards it, and the quicksand pits around them seemed to become extremely unstable, pockets of air projecting sand around.

  A translucent sphere of air started to appear in the wings of the Elder, and immediately Valen started to realize the implications… It seemed it was done playing around with them and was about to unleash its ultimate attack at them.

  “RUN!” Valen shouted, and after a split second, he decided the best decision would be to run towards the Elder, which probably would not want to detonate its attack so close to itself.

  Thus as he ran, he could see the sphere of air growing, and becoming more dense and defined. He did not know how powerful that attack was, he simply was just certain that they probably would not survive it should they get hit by it.

  He was halfway on his way when suddenly something burst out of the ground, in the middle of a group of quicksand pits. It only took Valen a split second to realize that it was the Nergigante that they were fighting earlier. The new Elder hovered for a second before diving on the one that was preparing its huge attack… Which incidentally disrupted its carefully positioned wings and unraveled the ball of air that was spinning.

  One tendril impacted the Nergigante’s wing, tearing a small hole in it, but it simply shrugged it off and put all of its weight on the Elder, forcing it to collapse on the ground. It attempted to struggle, to dislodge the Nergigante with its wings, but the spiky Elder simply shrugged it off… It tore into its back, causing it to shriek in pain and panic. The sound grated on Valen’s ears but he did not let his gaze waver, and still stared down at the scene, prepared to have to face the Nergigante if it decided to turn against them after.

  Finally, after a large gash on its back, the Nergigante managed to bite down on the exposed neck and pulled.

  There was a sickening crunch and the sound of tearing, and suddenly the unknown Elder’s head was flying, flung away by the Nergigante, and finally, the rest of its body stopped moving, its head no more. The Nergigante seemed to absorb the energy that remained of the Elder, its claw firmly sunk into its back. This lasted for a dozen of seconds before it was done and Valen noticed immediately that the wounds it had were now healed.

  A second passed, before the spiky Elder looked at the five of them, its bloody face and claw painting a grim picture of what it was able of. Valen was tense, anticipating it going after them next… It spread its wings wide then roared, and Valen braced for the incoming attack until it jumped up and started flying away.

  It was only when the Nergigante was far away enough they could barely see its shape that Valen relaxed, and exhaled. He looked at his companions and said.

  “I doubt any of us expected that…”

  “We did not,” Rapha?lle nodded. “I think this Nergigante was a Variant, and it was the same one I fought. And it clearly showed that it had a greater ability than even Gypceros to fake death.”

  “At least that means our mission is complete… The scientists will definitely love tearing into these remains… I don’t think that we can make anything out of it, if what the Nergigante did at the end is what I think,” Valen remarked.

  “You are right. Let's go back and report what happened.” Then she fired up a green flare that signaled the completion of the hunt.

  Rapidly enough a responding one came from the airship they came with. And while they waited for the Airship to pick them up, as well as the body, Valen knew that there would be as many new questions as there would be answers to old ones.