Iluna’s first sight upon her wake was a plate of roasted fish before her. It was the scent of a roasted fish that pulled her out of her sleep in the first place. Her hair was still a mess from the tossing and turning in her sleep. Though she was still groggy, her stomach was already grumbling.

“Good morning, Iluna,” Henry greeted while tending to other fishes, all skewered and placed atop the fire.

“G-good morning, Lord Henry…” Iluna replied in a daze as she stared blankly at the large plate of fish before her and also the fist being roasted atop the campfire. “Where did you get the fish? Did you travel further than yesterday to find these fishes?”

“Nope. I caught them from up there.” Henry pointed at the sky.

As Iluna looked up, she saw a giant fish swimming across them high above the air. She then looked back at the fish before her. She stared fixedly at the queer sheen the fish appeared to emanate even with its scales scraped off. “This is so strange…” she muttered.

“Strange indeed but they’re not poisonous at least. I have checked.”

“I can’t finish all of this.”

“Then just eat however much you can and if it’s not too much trouble, be quick with it.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know but I have had a very bad feeling since dawn. It’s probably nothing, I hope, but we best be sure. The sooner we finish our breakfast, the sooner we can move.”

“Where are we going?”

“To find our way out of here.”

“You know a way?”

Henry nodded.

Iluna’s grogginess shed off her face and her expression brightened like fireworks. She then proceeded to wolf down her breakfast, devouring the entirety of the foot-long fish. The taste was bland as there was no salt or any other seasoning but she didn’t mind. The berries last night were barely enough to fill her belly. She thought she couldn’t finish the whole fish but she did. Even the bones were picked clean.

Once she had finished her breakfast, only then did she realise the absence of Vishara. “Where’s Vishara?” she asked.

“She’s scouting ahead.”

“Will she be fine?”

“If she won’t be, then good riddance.”

“Good riddance?”

“I won’t mince my words with you, Iluna. She brought a ruthless and haphazard killer right to us upon our first meeting in a long while. I would rather not have her with us but she’s very handy in a fight, or so she claims. That’s why I allow her to come along with us. Understand?”

Iluna nodded.

“Come on, let’s get going,” Henry said and lowered his body. “The sooner we move, the earlier we shall reach our destination.”

“Where are we going?” Iluna asked as she climbed onto his back.

“I just know the direction we need to travel in, not the exact destination.” Henry shrugged and lifted his body, brandishing his wings. “Grab on tight, my lady.”

“What about Vishara?”

“We’ll meet with her on the way. She’s just up— Oh, fuck!” Henry suddenly shouted. “Iluna get off of me, right now!”

Iluna didn’t argue with him and promptly hopped off of his back. As she landed on the ground, her gaze found the reason for Henry’s panic and urgency. Her eyes peered into the distance. “What in the goddess’ name is that?” she gasped.

“A foe!” Henry answered and took off into the sky.

A giant moray with a very ferocious and inimical appearance was heading towards them, swimming through the air like all the fishes they came across but this particular moray of a fish was the largest one yet. From afar, the moray seemed eerily similar to that of an eastern depiction of a dragon.

A shiver ran down Henry’s spine just as he ascended to the level of the clouds. He conjured up a translucent barrier around him as a pale green beam struck him from the side. A large crack was formed on the barrier but the beam faded before the crack could evolve into a shatter.

Henry heaved a sigh of relief but he could not be at ease yet. The battle had just begun. With the sun right behind it, the moray streaked towards Henry like a living sentient arrow. Now that the moray was closer than before, Henry could truly see how big the moray was. It was as large as him. He still couldn’t shake off the uncanny resemblance he was seeing in the moray but he didn’t let it get to his head.

Henry retaliated with a Firebolt but the moray zig-zagged out of the Firebolt’s way and continued in its approach. Henry used Jetstream Breath next but the moray also swiftly dodged the attack.

“Okay, that’s just bullshit. Always a mountain higher.” Henry sighed. “Alright, then. Close combat it is.” He bared his claws and waited for the moray to draw close.

The moray seemed to sense Henry’s intent as it circled him instead of diving straight at him. Henry didn’t care and lunged first. The moray moved its body out of the way but Henry chased it down. He unleashed his Fire Breath with little distance between them. The moray snarled and swam away to avoid getting engulfed by the flames.

“Slippery bastard!” Henry cursed. “Well, you are a moray.”

The moray made a sharp U-turn and came for Henry as soon as the flames faded. It bared its jaws wide and pale green energy began amassing in its cavity. Henry shot a Firebolt but like before, the moray twisted its body and dodged Henry’s attack with ease.

Oh, this is very frustrating.

Henry grumbled inwardly and threw up his Spell Shield, the translucent barrier, as the moray unleashed its pale green beam. This time, Henry slanted his posture, allowing the barrier to deflect the beam instead of absorbing it directly.

Henry dispelled the barrier before the beam died down and charged at the moray, his wings glowing bright vermilion. The moray stopped its beam attack and tried to swim away but Henry caught it by the tip of its tail and pulled it in. The moray screeched and let loose a surge of electricity through its body. Henry released it before the electricity spread to him.

The moray hissed, rearing its ugly head, and retreated a good distance away from Henry before turning around and snarling a taunt at him.

This is truly bullshit. A goddamn electric moray and slippery as its namesake. Hmm, electric abilities… that would sure come in handy.

Henry’s passion and lust for battle were lit when he realised the yield of this battle should he emerge victorious. He had no doubts about his victory but the question was, how long would the battle take and what loss would he incur as a result. Nevertheless, he intended to reign triumphant over the moray. Throwing his head upwards, he unleashed a deafening and trembling roar.

The whole forest stirred in response to his battle cry and his shout of dominance. Small flying creatures took off from the trees they were resting atop and flew as far away as they could. Some ran but some came closer, intrigued by the battle taking place.

Henry’s only concern currently was Iluna. Anything could harm or attack her in his absence but his fears turned needless when he saw Vishara had returned to the cliff and was now standing by Iluna’s side.

You better protect her well, Vishara.

Henry prayed in his heart and shifted all of his focus onto the moray.

With the electricity crackling all over its body, the moray moved faster than before. It was akin to a bolt of lightning when it sped all over the place as it approached Henry. He drew in his breath and released his Corrosive Breath in puffs, forming clouds of corrosive smoke. The moray shrieked and coiled around the smoke as it couldn’t stop instantly at the speed it was moving.

However, the moray still scalded itself on the corrosive smoke. It stared daggers at Henry as if promising to repay the pain tenfold. The electricity around its body grew in size and expanded outwardly, creating a sphere of lightning. Henry countered it with his Fire Breath but the expanding lightning sphere pushed his flames back and he was forced to fly back in retreat.

The lightning sphere broke down and turned into dozens of lightning-moulded morays that were a quarter of the original’s size.

Oh, I gotta have that power.

In response and further thrilled by the prospect of the moray’s ability, Henry used his Gravity Magic with great anticipation. The miniature morays darted towards him, unaffected by gravity, but not the caster itself. Henry unleashed multiple Firebolts to shoot the lightning-moulded morays down as the main body fell through the air, heading straight for the bare ground.

The moray cried out sharply and electricity surged through its body, creating another sphere of lightning. Instead of breaking apart into small morays, the sphere shrunk back in size but the electricity around the moray intensified. Suddenly, it stopped falling.

Of course, it can do that.

Henry snorted in reluctant disbelief but the silver lining was that the moray seemed to be struggling to stay in the air, evidently by the deep frown on its vicious-looking face. Its glare turned bloodshot and it opened its mouth wide.

Henry offered the same response and unleashed his Inferno Breath while the moray unleashed its pale green beam in tandem. The two attacks clashed with Henry as the clear victor. The pale green beam was rapidly pushed back but when the electricity melded into one with the beam, the Inferno Breath was driven back.

Right at that moment, a rock pillar came flying towards the moray like a javelin and struck it on the side of its head. The pillar did not draw any blood from the moray but it did disturb its aim. The beam veered off its mark, streaking across the clear empty sky.

Thank you, Vishara!

Henry cheered in his head and charged straight at the moray behind his Inferno Breath. The moray rapidly repositioned its aim but Henry did not allow it. He beat his wings hard and the winds scattered his Inferno Breath, covering the moray’s vision. Followed by that, a flurry of Firebolts came down on it.

The moray reigned in its breath and reverted the electricity on its body back into the form of a sphere. The Firebolts struck the sphere like a missile barrage, dyeing the moray’s vision grey with the smoke. Before the smoke cleared, a claw plunged through the smoke and the lightning sphere. The moray tried to use its beam attack but the claw was faster and it grabbed the moray by its jaw. With a bit of strength, Henry dislocated the eel’s jaw as the lightning seared and scorched the scales of his forelimb.

Your Murux Heart is mine!

Henry endured the pain and pulled the moray right to his mouth, enveloping himself in the lightning sphere. He sank his fangs right into the moray’s throat and bit down with all the strength he could muster to his jaws. The moray snapped its mouth open, and cried a soundless agony with a shuddering body, before going limp. The electricity and the lightning sphere dispersed into the air.

Henry released his bite and dropped to the ground along with the carcass of the moray eel. He was extremely drained by his consecutive use of two of his strongest abilities. Thankfully, the drop was shorter than the time he was practising his flying skills and his body had grown tougher than ever, so he only sustained paltry wounds from the fall but the same couldn’t be said for the moray eel.

Oh, god. Eew.

Henry frowned at the splattered carcass of the moray but he also laughed at his own terrible pun. The carcass didn’t fall far from him. He proceeded to cut the moray apart without delay. He felt many creatures carefully approaching him as they could sense and tell he was weakened but upon witnessing the desecration of the moray’s carcass, they scampered off in a hurry.

In fact, Henry wasn’t worried about these opportunistic creatures as he could still use his Fire Breath and it took only a single breath to start another forest fire. Everything and everyone else would burn but him.

It didn’t take long for Henry to find the moray’s Murux Heart. Though it was shaped like a flat piece of a skipping rock, it didn’t diminish the amount of Murux contained in this single core. It was not as much as the Great Ravager but it was still greater than the average. With a triumphant grin, Henry tossed the Murux Heart into his mouth and relished it with great delight.