The Last Hunter: Collected Edition (Antarktos Saga #1-5)

“You must go,” says one of the larger warriors, “Ophion must be told.”


The smaller warrior doesn’t look pleased at all, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to consent. Nephil has likely given explicit orders that he be told if my where-abouts were discovered. Sadly for them, I have other plans.

“No one is going anywhere,” I say.

The smaller warrior unfurls his wings and leaps for the sky. With two quick slashes, from a distance of fifty feet, I clip his wings. The giant shouts more with surprise than pain as he plummets to the ground and lands in an unbecoming heap behind the two other warriors. The toothy smiles, remaining from my joke at their comrade’s expense, transform into sneers. They spin toward me, drawing weapons.

The first wields an axe large enough to chop through any of the giant trees surrounding us with a single blow. It would make short work of me. The second nocks an arrow the size of Whipsnap and draws it back in a massive bow. As the first Nephilim closes the distance and brings his axe down toward me, the second looses his arrow.

They’re making this easy.

A quick wind redirects the arrow into the back of the axe-wielder’s neck, slipping between the massive vertebrae. I’m not sure if it will kill him, but it drops him to the ground. The giant lands to my left and slides for a few feet.

As the smaller warrior struggles to his feet, his wings slowly regenerating, the bowman fires again and again, sending three arrows at me before the first is close to its target. But not one of them reaches me. They’re dust in the air.

The bow dissolves in his hands, leaving him dumbfounded.

While making the Nephilim army’s weapons all turn to dust would be fantastic, I doubt I will be able to perform this feat on a grand scale. Reducing a weapon to its various elements takes some serious concentration. But it definitely leaves an impression. Despite being far from defenseless, the warrior staggers back, perhaps realizing that this is a fight he cannot win. I turn my eyes to the metal band covering his head. I hit it with a wind, confirming that it’s held in place by spikes driven into the monster’s head. I focus on it, trying to melt or disintegrate it, but the metal resists. It’s either not made from Antarctic elements or it has some kind of supernatural protection.

It doesn’t really change my current strategy. I just wanted to know, because it will affect those fighting alongside me.

Before the giant can recover, I swipe Whipsnap from left to right, using it to direct the course of my wind-blade. A line of purple blood oozes from his neck. The giant staggers and falls to his knees. But he doesn’t die. His head, which was completely severed, didn’t fall away and has begun to heal. I swipe Whipsnap from right to left, this time striking with more force and a wider blade. The head comes free and falls away. Dead. For sure.

I turn to the smallest of the three. His wings are nearly regrown and when he notices my attention, he tries to fly away again. But the wings are insufficient to carry him up and away.

Seeing the giant beast struggle actually makes me pity him.

For a moment.

Then I remember what they are, what they did to me, and Kainda, and Em, and Luca, and the billions of people now dead because of their evil, twisted machinations. Without any further flair or desire to show off, I remove his head and his presence from this world forever.

A wet slurp turns me around. The warrior with the axe is kneeling and pulling the arrow out of his throat. Once it’s out, the wound heals quickly and he’s back on his feet. With just one Nephilim left, I decide to implement the last part of my attack plan, which is the part that might get me killed. But a little R&D is sometimes necessary, especially before the beginning of a battle that might determine the fate of the human race.

The plan is this: no elemental powers. No wind blades. No chucking rocks, or dropping trees, or tossing the giant around like a ragdoll. This fight will be man to man-demon. That’s not entirely true. I am going to use my abilities, but in a very different way. If I can really control my body, the way I control the elements of Antarktos, I should be able to pull this off. If not, well, I’m not above cheating.