The damage Henry had been able to inflict on the creature was substantial. It writhed in agonizing pain as powerful electric currents traveled through its body. While Henry was pleased with the amount of damage he was able to inflict on the creature, he soon became aware of the problem that came as a result of that.
The creature still continued its attack with its long silken ropes, only now it was merely wild and directionless. Henry was not concerned with this as he was more than capable of evading such wild strikes. What did concern him was the attacks incredible range, as one of the ropes were striking at the area Emily was in. Henry was not comfortable leaving the possibility of Emily being injured by the attack up to chance, so he decided in that instant to intervene.
Henry straightened his body in order to make it more aerodynamic, while simultaneously using elemental magic to lessen his own wind resistance. With this he was able to perform a controlled fall with such speed that he intercepted the creature's attack. He conjured his whip of undulating water again. He proceeded to spin incredibly fast while still in his controlled fall, in order to amplify the whips power. The strike he delivered was powerful enough to send the silk in rope off course, however the resulting shockwave Changed his controlled fall into a chaotic free fall.
Henry's landing was rather destructive and painful. The force with which he impacted the ground was greater than his previous impact. He slid across the earthen surface for quite a distance kicking up large amounts of debris in the process. Henry's pain was exacerbated by the fact that he struck the ground with his back, which was Injured previously by the creature's attack.
There was nothing he could do but grit his teeth and bear the pain until it subsided. Once it did, he rushed back to the river in order to reengage with the creature. Unfortunately, it seemed even with its extreme injury it was able to make an escape.
Henry sighed in annoyance before dropping to the floor. With his adversary no longer present fatigue began to set in. He rested for a short time while assessing his injuries, and the events of the fight that had just taken place.
Still on high alert Henry's keen senses picked up on something approaching, he felt slightly relieved for Emily. Has it appeared the other members of camp had come to rescue her. Before making his next move Henry thought briefly, she'll be able to get medical attention. He sighed internally before continuing the thought, I'll just have to bear with mine and let them heal on their own, as I cannot raise any suspicion.
Henry manipulated some of the river water onto his body in order to aid in [Embrace of the Depths] Rather than generating it by himself. As it would lessen the burden on his soul.
Now garbed in a thin layer of water henry preceded to dive back into the river, in order to make an escape of his own.
Despite being injured and fatigue Henry was able to make it back to camp before the others. With Allison and Meryl Being unaware of his absence due to the incantation he used on them.
...
Emily was taken into the Infirmary In order to have her Injuries taken care of. None of the councilors knew how she was able to escape such intense water, they simply assumed she had gotten incredibly lucky.
Later that evening during dinner Mr. Matthews made an announcement, "Even though no one had been seriously injured, the fact that so many dangerous mishaps had occurred was concerning. So, I've discussed with the other counselors and we'll be ending camp earlier than expected.''
After the announcement dinner continued as usual, although the atmosphere was far gloomier than what it had been previously. The campers didn't have the same concern as the councilors did, for them it was an early end to a unique summer. Their lack of concern came from the fact that from their perspective, the incidents at camp wild dangerous were accidental. For Henry this changed his plans very little, as it only meant he would have to work a bit faster than what he was planning.
Even though camp was ending earlier than originally planned, the councilors still wish to make the experience enjoyable for the campers. So, they decided to host one of their most popular activities, The Archery Games.
The games played with modified arrows which were safe to fire at people, with the five cabins competing against one another in a style similar to that of a tournament.
...
Each cabin group had to wake up early in the morning. As they had to walk on a hiking trail in order to get to the venue where the games were played. The hike itself is also what made the event so special, as the light from the sunrise gave the hiking trail an entirely different atmosphere.
Henry would have found this most enjoyable if not for the creature he knew was lurking. Not to mention he was still recovering from his injuries, and while he could ignore them, they were still present.
He had learnt a lot from his clash with the creature, as he walked on the hiking trail, he began analyzing the information here uncovered. The creature does not seem to favor close quarters combat.
Instead, it seems to prefer to use its thread as a mid-range weapon, or alternatively it sets various traps using the same thread. I haven't been able to track it this far as it seems to have a supernatural form of camouflage. However, with the wounds that it sustained during our encounter won't be able to do so as effectively. I'll begin my search tonight.
There was also the matter of the creature's motives. Henry had been formulating a theory based on the information he had uncovered. I suspect it's trying to achieve a higher state of existence through consumption, with its current form being a precursor to something far more deadly.