Chapter 319 – Hunting

“How many does that make?” Helio finished off a massive white eagle. 

“Exactly nine hundred and sixty-seven.”

Their breaths created mist- it was awfully cold today. 

White everywhere. A blizzard was brewing. 

And the two were nearing their limits to what their body could manage without much food or sleep in this cold and radioactive climate. 

“Think you can take her with your current powers?” Helio tore open the Eagle’s chest and plucked the core like a fruit- a vibrant red one. He threw it at her. 

“If let’s say, she was on the same level, I’d be able to stall her for quite a while, though I take it she’ll probably come back stronger.” Enira absorbed the core. A strand of her hair turned slightly red. 

  “That goes without a saying.” He started walking. 

It’d been four days since the two came to this place. 

And though they didn’t have warm clothes at the start- Helio hunted wild bears and, in the end, they ended up wearing the skin of the bears. A little stinky but definitely effective. 

Besides Enira was a dragon and Helio could manipulate his temperature quite well, so the cold wasn’t that much of a problem. At least at first, it wasn’t a problem, now though, they both understood- it wasn’t that easy. 

There was a reason no one lived on this continent. 

Now that there was a blizzard, most Mutors went into hiding and it was too cold to go on hunting. 

Visibility was also a problem. 

“Let’s go find a cave,” he said. 

“Right!”

Enira was a dragon- a dragon that could easily live in magma. 

She was happy to shower with fire- the cold though- she wasn’t a fan off. 

So, when the opportunity came to go rest in a cave- she couldn’t be more delighted. 

This place already had way too much radiation emissions- at least enough to kill a normal person in less than ten minutes. 

So, it didn’t hurt Helio to just use his powers and locate things- without worrying about harming others. Besides, with so much excess radiation, he was almost always on full stamina. 

Actually, this was perhaps the most perfect place for him to use his powers. 

The cold though- was the real issue.

***

The two found a cave. It was home to a snow tiger- pure white and the size of a hippo.

It did not escape Helio’s sword. 

“Why do I feel like you enjoy killing?” Enira said, slouching down against the cold blue floor.

“What do you mean?” Helio took a seat beside her; their voice echoed.  “It’s survival of fittest. For one to live, another has to die…” The cold solid ice only made their behinds go numb. “Maybe we should skin it and use that as a mat?” He wondered aloud. 

Enira sighed. “I take it back. I wasn’t wrong about you at all! You are evil!” She grumbled, took Helio’s saber, and went to skin the tiger on her own. 

Helio just sat there- expressionless. ‘Yeah… I’m always the evil one…’ And yet, his eyes were slightly slanted, just staring. 

Enira skinned a portion of the tiger, and created a barrier over their heads. 

They couldn’t start a fire but Helio created a small plasma ball which kept the barrier warm and comfy.

“This is too chewy-” Enira took a bite. “And too bland and stinky and-” She kept on complaining. The smell and taste of burned flesh without any condiments or even salt for that matter, was never fun. 

She’d given Helio the saber back- or more like Helio took it. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be a Mutor too? Why the hell are you complaining now? Or did you complain for the last 80 or so years too?”

“Hmph!” Enira didn’t bother explaining. She at the rest of her portion. 

Helio meanwhile ate without any complaints. He couldn’t care less about the food or the taste. 

He only liked his mother’s food anyway. 

And after eating and resting for an hour or so- “I suppose that’s enough rest. We should go find some more.”

“You’ve singlehandedly halved their entire population. Do we really need to hunt more?”

“My powers won’t just grow with a bit of fighting or eating cores like you, but you can in theory get too strong. Therefore, it’s best we try our best to make you invincible.”

“And if I end up becoming your enemy?” She asked in a matter-of-fact manner.

“I won’t say I trust you wholeheartedly but I do have enough faith in you to know you won’t. And if you do- I still have your original core right here.” He put a hand on his saber, fingering it to get his point across. 

Enira smiled, got up, and headed for the exit. “At least you’re not naïve like him but if your powers won’t improve, are you sure you can take her on this time, if she’s much stronger than you?”

Helio also stood up and headed for the exit. “It’s possible my disintegration won’t work this time. And it’s also possible she might have something trickier than just reflecting the damage-” The blizzard had died down a bit but the cold was still- too cold. “The third seal is close to being undone. The only reason it hasn’t is because I’m keeping it that way. And I’d like to keep it that way.” He walked and didn’t look back. 

Enira didn’t say anything, rather she just stared up ahead- quiet for a few minutes. “I hope everything works out, for both our sakes.”

“Me too,” he mumbled. 

***

  For the next few days, Helio and Enira continued hunting. They occasionally rested in the cave.

They’d killed over two-thirds of the strong Mutors in Antarctica and burned the corpses and the parts they didn’t need. 

If he’d sold the cores instead of letting Enira consume them- Helio would have become a trillionaire in no time. Actually, just selling the corpses would have granted him a seat in the billionaire league. 

After all, the Mutors in Antarctica were the strongest.

But money mattered little now. 

After all the consumption, Enira’s physical appearance changed quite a lot. 

Her hair had turned slightly pinkish while it was red around the edges- white at the base. She’d grown a bit taller and now Helio only reached up to her chest. And speaking of chests, she’d ascended the H cup territory. And she often tried to drag Helio’s head in. She hadn’t yet given up, no. 

Unfortunately, Helio wasn’t interested. 

“I think this is my physical limit. If I take in any more cores, I’d run the risk of being corrupted and end up as a mindless monster,” she said, walking behind Helio. “Or I might explode, who knows?” She chuckled. 

“I guess that won’t be nice, would it?” He said, stopping.

It was midday and it was really bright; white. 

But still, cold. 

“Also-” She fidgeted slightly. “I’d like some clothes. It’s really hard moving in these….” Her underwear was perhaps a bit too tight. 

“Just get rid of them then. There’s no one here anyway.”

“Rude!” She gave him a disapproving glare. “There are certain things you shouldn’t say to a lady!”