Chapter 71: Horn Island

With the battle won, Ed left cleanup duties to Ray and headed to his quarters for sleep. Fortunately, there were no strange shadows interrupting his much-needed rest this time.

The next day. Ed woke up and sat in meditation for an hour. 'I need to get practice in whenever I can. Every time my mana increases, I feel my body strength increase as well.'

After finishing meditation, he patrolled the base and checked up on the progress of each department. Engineering was still working 24/7 in preparation for the war. The Commerce and Supply division was finally functioning correctly after Husky took complete control. Dupe was as busy as ever preparing his plan to frame the enemy leaders. Ray had his new superhuman soldiers practicing different formations. It looked like a couple guys had already gotten the hang of flying.

'Hmm. For once, everything seems to be going well without me.' Ed crossed his arms while staring at the soldier's train. One of them had just face-planted into the mud when trying to fly. Another was getting their ass handed to them by Ray in a spar. 'I guess I'll start preparing for the new limbs I've been wanting. I've been putting it off long enough.'

He informed Dupe of where he was going and left the base. Flames carried him through the sky like a rocket as the wind whistled past him. The morning light shone on his back, making him appear as a dark angel to any that saw him from the ground. He flew for nearly two hours, going so far as to leave the state.

'Still can't find what I'm looking for.' He sighed while shaking his head. He flew towards a nearby cloud and laid atop it, his hands folded behind his head. Of course, lying on a cloud wouldn't work the normal way, as it was nothing more than water vapor. He used his powers to reform the vapor into solid water with a thin layer of ice atop it, making it similar to a cold water bed. He had to continuously use his mana to prevent the water and ice from falling, but that was practically something he could do in his sleep by now.

'I don't remember the last time I relaxed like this, though it probably wasn't as long ago as I think. I can't believe I haven't found a single strong mutant after flying over the entire state. Nothing but cannon fodder. Does the Hunter Association clean up all the stronger mutants? They must, otherwise the city walls would be breached dozens of times each year. No wonder mutant floods are so rare.' He relaxed for nearly an hour before continuing his journey.

He traveled west through Georgia until eventually reaching Alabama. Then he flew south towards the Gulf of Mexico, planning to return east towards Florida if he continued to find nothing. As he reached the waters south of Alabama, he spotted some thin islands in the distance. Flames trailed behind him as he flew over the sparkling blue waves, the gentle rhythm of the sea resounding within his ears.

He flew near the island and looked down. It was almost entirely inhabited by wilderness. Humongous trees the size of skyscrapers reached into the sky. Strange birds flew past him, seemingly holding no fear of humans. A deteriorated shack sat near the beach. He landed next to it and spotted a broken wooden sign. 'Horn Island, Missouri? Did I go past Alabama?' He walked into the collapsing shack. It was dark and gloomy, but rays of light came in through multiple holes, lighting up the thick dust in the air. The shack appeared to be an abandoned shop. He ran his hand over the counter, a thick layer of dust gathered on the tips of his fingers. 'Was this island abandoned after the apocalypse started? Maybe not. It didn't really look like many people ever inhabited it to begin with.'

He exited the shack and stared at the tall forest, deciding to head inside. The sky darkened as he entered the forest, the canopy blocking the sun. It was eerily quiet within the woods. Only small mammals and birds seemed to be present. 'I haven't seen a single mutant yet? This island is basically untouched by humans. The Hunter Association shouldn't bother cleaning it up, so it should be swarming with mutants. Weird.'

He continued his peaceful journey through the forest. Nothing particularly interesting happened, but it made for a relaxing experience. It wasn't long before he reached the center of the forest. 'I guess I'm not going to find what I'm looking for here.' He sighed. 'I had hoped an abandoned island like this would hold some strong mutants'

Just as he was turning to leave, he froze in place. His eyes widened in a mixture of fear and shock. In front of him was a colossal crocodile. It was so big that Ed's body was the size of a single one of its teeth. It had yellowish skin and was close enough for Ed to feel the heat from its breath, which carried a heavy scent of blood.

'Ah... so that's where all the mutants on this island went.' He nodded in understanding to himself. He could even see bits of flesh stuck between the teeth in the crocodile's mouth. Of course, those pieces of flesh were even bigger than his own body. 'How did it sneak up on me? Even now, I can barely feel its presence with my mana, like it's hiding in plain sight? Wait, was it already here the whole time and I just didn't notice it?!' Cold sweat dripped down his back at the thought. How terrifying a creature was this that he couldn't even notice it despite its ridiculous size?

The crocodile stared into his eyes with its vertical yellow pupils. Suddenly, it lunged forward with its mouth wide open.

Ed had no hesitation as this happened. Flame and wind blasted from his limbs as he shot backwards like a meteor, going so far as to slam directly into a large and sturdy tree. "Ugh." He grunted as he slid to the floor. The trees here were more akin to solid steel than the flexible wood he was used to working with.

The crocodile's massive jaws slammed shut, causing the wind to billow past him. Fortunately, he had managed to dodge in time. The crocodile glared angrily at him, seemingly enraged that mere prey would avoid its masterful bite.

"Haha! Good!" Ed laughed as he stood up. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, while pummeling a fist into his hand. "A bit bigger and stronger than what I was looking for, but beggars can't be choosers."

Flames blasted behind him as he shot straight up into the sky. He flew overhead the crocodile and released a stream of flames from his limbs as he went. The flames scorched the ground black and lit the surrounding trees on fire, creating a ring of fire that blocked the crocodile from escaping.

The crocodile seemed irritated at the raging inferno surrounding it, but it hardly took any damage. At worst, the flames barely darkened its yellow leathery hide. It stared lazily at the flying esper, disdain evident within its eyes.

'Figures it wouldn't be that easy.' He began attempting to think of ways to defeat the massive creature. 'Flames barely hurt it. Wind too. I seriously doubt I'm going to be able to cut through its hide with water... Damn!' He stared hesitantly at the creature. 'Am I really going to have to dive inside its mouth and kill it from the inside?'

Suddenly, the crocodile leapt into the air, traveling much farther upwards than any creature of that size should be able to. Its jaws snapped towards Ed, who quickly shot blasts of flames into its mouth as he flew even higher.

'Yeah, fuck that. I'm not going inside that thing.' Ed's heart pounded from the intense fear of being eaten.

The crocodile landed amidst the flames, causing the ground to shake heavily. Creaking sounds rang out as several of the huge trees crashed to the ground, causing miniature earthquakes of their own in the process. Seemingly aware that it wouldn't be able to eat the flying esper this day, the crocodile slowly turned around and slammed its front two claws onto the ground. The earth trembled as it sunk slightly. The crocodile repeated this action several more times, creating a massive tunnel in real-time. Then it went inside, completely ignoring Ed. The island continued to shake as loud crumbling sounds rang out. Soon, the crocodile was completely gone, disappearing within its new shelter.

'Shit!' Ed stared wide-eyed as the crocodile left. 'I finally find what I was looking for and it slips through my fingers. Hell, this is even better than what I was looking for! I need to figure out a way to kill it!' He landed atop a tall tree and waited patiently in meditation. A day passed. Then another. He occasionally left to hunt for food and gather water.

It was nearly a week before the crocodile showed up again. Ed looked up at the bright sky. It was clear and sunny, not even a single cloud was visible in the sky. 'Not today.' He sighed while shaking his head, returning to his meditation. The crocodile seemed to notice him sitting cross-legged atop the tall tree but chose to ignore him as it went about its business. Some mutants had gathered on the island since the last time it was here, and it happily chomped them to bits. Then it dug another tunnel, heading in a different direction than last time. The tunnel collapsed behind it shortly after it left. No one would ever know it had been here unless they were present to witness it.

Yet another week passed, and the crocodile returned again. Ed looked towards the sky and smiled. 'Today's the day.' It was a cloudy day, rain likely on the horizon. He flew towards the crocodile and fired two streams of fire towards it, surrounding it in an inferno like he had done two weeks ago.

"ROAR!!!" The crocodile raged at the feeble being that dared slight it.

"What are you going to do about it?" Ed taunted as he flew higher into the sky. 'Good, the flames may not hurt it, but they do bother it. It's waiting for the flames to die down a bit before breaking out of them, just like last time. He flew all the way up to the clouds, placing a hand atop one of the larger ones. 'To think my whim of lying on a cloud would lead to such a great idea.' He grinned as his mana flowed into the cloud. The water vapor converted to water, then to ice.

It became increasingly difficult to continue holding the ice high in the sky with his mana as it continuously grew heavier and larger. 'That should do it!' By now, the ice was as large as the crocodile's head. He released his mana and a giant sphere of ice immediately fell from the sky. The wind rustled past it as it fell. Rays of light from the sun illuminated the crystal-clear ice sphere, making for a beautiful sight.

Boom! The gigantic ball of ice slammed into the crocodile's head. A shattering sound rang out as the sphere blasted into thousands of pieces. A cracking sound could be heard at the same time, likely the sound of the crocodile's skull breaking.

Ed excitedly flew down towards the giant crocodile. Blood-stained shards of ice were scattered on the ground, ranging from the size of a fist to the size of a wagon. Flames still raged in the nearby forest, casting dancing light upon the blood-covered ice. The crocodile laid motionless amidst the ice and flames, seemingly dead.

'As if I'd believe it's really dead.' He smiled as he picked up a rock and hurled it at the crocodile with all his strength. However, it didn't react to the rock at all. 'Hmm? Let's try this then,' He adjusted his arm to shoot water instead of fire. Then he knelt and took careful aim towards the crocodile's right eye. High-pressure water jetted out towards the eye.

"ROAR!!!" The crocodile screamed in pain as its body jerked back and forth, its tail throwing up a cloud of dirt. Blood dripped from its eye and somewhat-crushed skull as its body trembled in pain.

'Figures.' Ed sighed as he watched the crocodile still surviving despite the damage.

Suddenly, the crocodile lifted its front legs up and slammed its claws into the ground repeatedly. A tunnel started to form in front of it.

'Like I'll let that happen.' He flew nearby and concentrated with his mana, melting the ground near the crocodile. He couldn't bury the creature, but he could easily collapse the tunnel walls it worked to make.

"Grr." The crocodile turned and glared at him, its head covered in blood. The two stared at each other silently for nearly an hour as the light slowly faded from the crocodile's eyes.

Ed carefully took aim towards the remaining eye and fired. This time, the creature had no reaction whatsoever. 'Phew.' He sighed as he landed and leaned against a tree, wiping the sweat from his forehead. 'Tough freaken bastard.'

Now that he was finally finished, he could proceed to the next phase. The entire reason for hunting such a monster was to strengthen himself. Metal wasn't meeting the demands of his limbs anymore. He needed something much stronger, but America had left such technologies behind. Maybe he could find something in Europe, but that was far off in the future. Therefore, this crocodile's flesh and bone would serve as his own body's new limbs. Not just that, he also planned to improve the rest of his body since he had enough materials. His body would become comparable to that of the crocodile, vastly surpassing most of his peers.

'Unfortunately, I made one slight mistake.' He sighed while staring at the body. 'How the hell do I bring this thing back with me to Harmony?'