Kigen furiously backtracked as the huge serpent lunged at him. Since this had been his intention, he was ready for the attack. He quickly flew across the forest. Not his top speed, since he needed to keep the beast on the hook.
Finally, it was out of the water, and on solid ground, at least, some part of it was. Turning back, Kigen was amazed by the sheer size of the serpent. Even while a sizable chunk was still submerged in mater, the thing was easily over three meters in length, with the width of a tree trunk.
Kigen wondered whether it was a python or a boa, but he had never heard of either having horns on their head. It had very tough looking scales all over its body. It was clear to Kigen why his eye attack had failed.
Thinking fast, Kigen decided that the time to unleash his attack was nigh. He would never get another chance, and he couldn't risk the beast running back in the water. Therefore, he started climbing.
Up and up, he went, gaining more altitude as he did. He needed to cover a long distance in a short while and perform repeated attacks without losing momentum. For that, he would need enough speed and momentum to carry him.
Down below, the serpent continued looking at him, wondering what this plaything was doing. It extended its eyes, following Kigen's movements keenly. It seemed to be expecting something.
Suddenly, Kigen shot down. This time, he was moving at terrifying speeds, much faster than he had previously. As if it expected this, the serpent did not dodge or move aside. Instead, it seemed to be building up something in its mouth.
Just as Kigen had drawn close, he was shot at with a jet of water. The serpent seemed to have anticipated Kigen's attack, since it was exactly like the last time.
Perhaps, had it been any other fairy, they would have been caught up unexpected, and swept up by the jet of water. However, Kigen was an experienced hunter to boot, not to mention he had seen something mischievous in its eyes as he made the approach.
Kigen instantly flapped his mid wings, instantly changing directions, passing the jet of water. However, this evasive maneuver seriously cut the much-needed speed. To prevent himself from losing any more speed, he had to come more ground as he banked.
As he did, something seemed to be growing from his hands. This time, his build up time would be much less than he intended, but he had already prepared the wood elements in him.
A majestic pike grew from his hand, its sharp end even glinting in the light. Kigen moved with purpose, his target remained the same. There was just no other bit that was as vulnerable, none that he could see.
Given how close the two were to each other, there was just no missing. Moving so fast he seemed to be teleporting, Kigen instantly thrust the pike into the serpent's eye, sending it deep, and causing a fountain of blood to spring out where the eyeball should be.
As he banked, Kigen prepared himself for another flyby. However, turning around, he saw the beast's making a very hasty and haphazard retreat. It was running as fast as it could back into the river. As it did, it seemed to be producing some crazy crying noises, as though it was weeping.
No! Kigen exclaimed in his mind as he saw this. This was the last thing he intended. If it managed to hide itself in the river, how would he get it out again. Shooting forward, Kigen flew with everything within him, a little pike coming out of his hand.
His thrust was fast, blitzing fast. He had a powerful grasp on his pike. Thrusting forward, the pike transformed to something different. A weapon he was very familiar with as a human, the javelin.
Slim, powerful, and with devastating results, the javelin had been his weapon of choice in close quarters combat, but he knew that in a pinch, if he needed to, he could use it as a ranged weapon, which was what he was doing now.
The weapon was primed and ready. The sharp edge heading just under the scales covering the backside of the neck. This was a point of vulnerability he'd spotted.
Squelch!
The powerful javelin dug deep into the serpent's neck, causing it to scream louder and run faster. For a moment there, Kigen imagined that this was the behavior of a child. Just as he had that thought, the water in the river basin started bubbling.
Kigen was not too engrossed to notice, so when he did, he slowed down some. To his utter shock, a massive leviathan emerged from the bottom of the river basin. Just as he thought, the powerful serpent he'd been fighting was just a toddler. Now he was meeting the parent.
Looking at those massive eyes, Kigen felt that he could fit his entire body in just one eyeball. The head was also just as massive. Two extremely massive horns protruded out of the beast's head. The mouth was just as scary. Jagged teeth filled the mouth to a brim.
The look it gave Kigen said it all. How dare he entangle with her precious child?
Fwoop!
Even before he could finish processing what he was seeing, another, even more terrifying serpent's head, emerged from under the water.
"Oh no!" Kigen said, his heart filled with terror. This was why this place was terrifying. With such massive beasts hiding out here, how would he get out of this predicament.
Without hesitation, Kigen turned around and fled. This time, he was not holding back. As if on cue, the first of the two massive basilisks, which was what Kigen concluded they were, shot forward in hot pursuit. The other just looked on.
By now, the little fairies spectating on some outcropping on the cliff were terrified. Things had progressed much worse than they expected.
They had expected the river serpent to be scary, but no one expected them to be so many, and so massive. Just one of them was as long as the mother tree was tall. As it pursued Kigen, it left behind all manner of chaos and destruction.
Full grown trees were tossed away like herbs, while rocks were destroyed by the hard scales on the powerful basilisk's hide.
Kigen did not shoot up, since that would lead it right on the path of his kin. He wanted to increase the distance between the two adults, then maybe he could find a way to kill it. Worst case, he would just fly away.
With a plan in mind, he started sprouting a hardened javelin. This was going to be the second time he had ever made one, and he was using it in combat without much practice. As he did, he noticed something was happening behind him.
Suddenly, the basilisk spat something. Kigen did not bother finding out what it was, he just quickly dodged and kept flying. Turns out, it was an icy projectile that was primed to squash him.
The moment it impacted a tree's trunk; it tore a hole through it. However, it did not come out the other side. Seeing the near assault, Kigen suddenly spread his wings, furiously killing his speed and slowing down.
Just as the serpent was about to react, he suddenly changed direction, heading straight towards the serpent. His mid wings were ready to bail him out of trouble the moment any danger came his way.
With a powerful thrust, he sent the javelin hurtling towards the serpent's eye. This time, he even exerted some control over the wood elements in his javelin, causing it to accelerate tenfold.
"Score!" Kigen shouted as he watched the javelin find its target with devastating precision. The next moment, the angry mama, or papa, basilisk started writhing in pain. Kigen slowed down as he banked, trying to angle himself for another attack.
Just as he did that, something like looked like a tree trunk came swinging his way. Kigen did not know what hit him, just that the impact was devastating. One minute he was in the air, the next, he was hurtling through the jungle, bouncing off the ground occasionally.
By the time he was stationary, Kigen did not know how much of his body was intact. He was not even away whether he was completely together. However, this was not like last time. He had a lot more control over his body.
Channeling his inner Qi, he felt the warmth of healing flow within him. However, he did not have the luxury, he could feel more than hear the enemy bearing down on him. Fluttering his upper wings, he was quickly airborne, only to see a massive whip coming at him.
Whack!
Another powerful hit. The impact sent him careening across the forest once more. The damage seemed more than he could take, and he was almost losing consciousness. However, a scary thought jumped into his mind, how dare they?