Luita cursed once more as he averted another fist attack. Yes, fist attack. These birds were swooping at them from the skies with unimaginable power. Even the dexterity of the fairies in the air was proving inadequate to evade them.
Already, some juniors had taken quite some damage, with two even being unable to fly. In desperation, the best fliers, Nixa and Luita, were each carrying a fairy as they made their escape.
They had tried everything to lose these birds, but to their shock, they had not been able to. They could not outrun them, nor could they hide. When they tried to fly in the foliage of the forest, these birds could easily swoop in, breaking down the twigs and branches, without even slowing down.
In fact, this is how some juniors had been injured. While hiding and flying in the foliage, the birds had swooped in, trapping them with the very things they were using to hide. Caught in the foliage, the fairies had barely escaped.
Now, be it under the trees, over the trees, or through the trees, the fairies could not lose these birds. With every minute they flew, the situation was getting desperate. They hoped that they could make it back home. Maybe, then they could mount a suitable offense.
Nixa could still remember how all this had began. They had just left the druids' cave and decided to turn to the bog once more before returning. Big mistake!
Once they had escaped the bugs, the enemy had been waiting for them. The moment they came back, they immediately released these horrific birds. There was just something off about these birds.
Be it how they were lacking eyeballs, or how they looked scarred, their feathers flaky, and the lifelessness on them, they were just appalling. They also did not seem to tire, or slow down.
This was the reason why the fairies were so worn down. They were built for short speeds, some hovering, and maybe some lateral movement. That's it. They were not made to fly over long distances at top speeds while dodging the enemy that would periodically swoop in.
Personally, Nixa could feel as though her wings wanted to come off. She had been furiously flapping them for so long that she felt as though every flap would be her last.
"Now," she yelled, while also swooping to the side. Another bird came crashing at them, but none of the fairies were caught. They had gotten pretty good at diving and dodging. They had dispersed in different directions.
"Come!" She said once more, and all the fairies came together once more, enticing the enemy to come in for another attack. They had been doing this over and over again, that way, controlling the enemy instead of allowing them to attack willy nilly.
They had discovered that while these birds were terrifying, they were also lacking in mental faculties. They kept falling for the same trap over and over again. This was why no fairy had fallen despite the arduous journey.
However, the fatigue was building up. Their will was strained. It was only a matter of time before one of them got struck. The horrendous bird's beak pierced through Etal's back, breaking his torso, and causing his body to spray out ichor.
His wings were badly hurt, but his back and lower body had taken the most damage. He came plummeting from the skies.
Seeing this, Medina swooped down to where she was, grabbing him. Both their seniors were already carrying some of their brethren, so she dove down to rescue her brother. Luckily, she got to him in time, but the danger was still present. The bird was primed to finish its task, two for one.
Medina was suddenly out of options. The way she reacted had placed her in a tricky situation, causing her unable to evade. Moreover, she had the body of her brother on her, so maneuvering was impossible.
Turning to look at this blind bird, she felt terrified. It was as if she was staring at the reaper's scythe, with nowhere to go.
Boom!
The next moment, the bird was sent hurtling away. Something had magically manifested before her, furiously striking at the poor bird. Looking closer, it was not a something, but a someone.
"Senior brother!" she yelled once she recognized Kigen's frame. She had been facing certain death, and now the object of her terror had been tossed away like a ragdoll.
Kigen didn't turn. He was too focused on the offending birds. Brandishing a rod made up of wood and rock elements, Kigen struck out at another bird that had been swooping in to tear at him.
The bird's beak was primed to dismember him, but Kigen was not going to allow that. Moving forward to gain some momentum, Kigen's rod came crashing down on the bird's beak.
Despite the power of the bird, and its momentum that had been building up, the bird could not shake Kigen. Matter of fact, the beak was badly mangled, and the bird was sent hurtling off in the forest.
By now, Kigen had spent much of his momentum. The problem of fighting in the air was that air could hardly provide a proper leverage. Hence, he relied on momentum for this. Once he was in speed, he found that his punches packed a lot more power than while starting off from a stationary position.
With this in mind, Kigen shot up, trying to get some altitude, and momentum. The birds, which had lost two of their members, did not seem to pay the new arrival much mind. They were still pursuing the fairy group.
Kigen cursed slightly, things had not gone according to plan. He intended to get these birds off his kins tail by giving them another target. He could see the fairies were at the end of their rope.
Thinking fast, he banked in the air, turning around to pursue the birds. This time, since he was moving from the skies, gravity would be on his side. He didn't tally. In one fell swoop, he was already attacking another bird. This time, he struck from the top, sending the bird plummeting to the ground.
From the back of his eyes, he could see the birds he had sent crashing down were coming back up again. However, they looked battered and lacking compared to how they had been just moments ago.
Zip! Zip! Zip! Kigen moved through the air. Gaining some altitude and momentum, then coming down on a bird with all the rage and fury he could muster. Birds kept going down, until all the fairies had successfully escaped the birds.
Suddenly, it was just him, and the birds. This time, he did not hold back. Rather than hit the bird, he stuck onto it. His tendrils got to work, digging into the bird's body.
Just as Kigen was going for his ultimate finishing move, he suddenly shrieked. The energy of the bird was all wrong, and the little bit that had seeped into his body was causing him all kinds of distress.
Usually, the essence Kigen obtained when absorbing other animals, and golems, was refreshing, teeming with life. This was not the case. It was stale, decaying, deathly energy. Rather than nourish and boost his power, this energy seemed to be sucking his life force, slowly transforming him into some horrid beast, much like the birds he'd been fighting.
In a panic, Kigen quickly retracted his tendrils, but some were already too damaged. He didn't even wait for them. He decisively cut them off and took to the air, coming off the bird's body.
Now here he was, flying with a couple of undead-like birds with no idea how to dispatch them, and they were heading directly to the mother tree. For the first time in a long time, Kigen found himself stumped.
If absorbing them won't work, he thought, then how about whacking them. A rod made up of rock and wood elements started forming in his arms.
Just as he was about to unleash his rod skills on the birds, he heard it. It was amazing how far that sound can penetrate through the dense forest, the wind and flutter of his wings. This sound made him freeze mid-air.
A young fairy was crying out in danger. A fairy was hurt.
Before he knew what he was doing, Kigen was already in the wind, shooting through the skies as he raced to aid his brethren.