A thunderous roar burst from beyond the distant mountains just two minutes after Sherwin and the others carried the shrunken Smile onto the ship.
A massive red dragon swept up from behind the ridge, wings beating violently as it surged into the sky.
Clearly, the other ruler of Punk Hazard had been drawn over by the commotion Klee Meow stirred up moments earlier.
"Ugh… that big lizard looks so ugly. Klee doesn't want to raise it, meow."
(ω)
The little ragdoll stared at the approaching fire dragon with open disdain.
"Even if you wanted to, you couldn't. Your sister Suika can't shrink something that big."
Sherwin pinched Klee Meow cheeks helplessly.
"Also, I heard the meat of this dragon tastes pretty good."
"Really, meow?!"
(=﹃=)
A whole group of wide-eyed Felynes instantly crowded around.
Sanji Meow was already cracking his knuckles, eager to go: "As long as this thing is edible, I can definitely turn it into something delicious for everyone, meow!"
"Since the poison mist nearby has cleared, leave this guy to me, meow… hic!" Suika Meow wobbled, clutching her gourd as she stepped forward enthusiastically.
"After being summoned here, I haven't had a proper fight yet, meow!"
Jinx, who had already pulled out her fishbone, hesitated for a moment. In the end, she reluctantly gave the opportunity to Suika Meow, then turned around and pounced onto Shirahoshi tail, gnawing away with loud munching sounds.
"Thanks, Jinx~ If there a suitable fight next time, I'll let you have it, meow!" Suika Meow shook her head, the large horns on top wobbling slightly.
With a bit of regret she added, "It a pity you're still too young, otherwise I'd definitely have a couple of drinks with you later, meow… hic!"
Ignoring the warning glare from Huamei, Suika Meow took two bold gulps from her gourd, then hopped off the Dodo Advance and sprinted toward the direction the fire dragon was flying from.
During the stumble-filled run of the little drunk cat, her body gradually began to enlarge.
In just a short while, the little drunk cat became a big drunk cat—and then rapidly transformed into a massive drunk cat roughly the same size as the fire dragon.
"Meow-hahahaha! Take this!"
While still some distance from the fire dragon, Suika Meow suddenly used the Silent Step technique.
Her figure flickered and reappeared right in front of the dragon. She swung the enlarged Ibuki Gourd in her hand and smashed it down hard on the dragon head.
Boom!
The giant dragon, which had just lifted its head to breathe fire, was struck cleanly.
The flames it had been gathering never came out, getting stuck in its throat instead.
Though, to be fair, Vegapunk creations were indeed impressive. Whatever else could be said about this fire dragon, it was built to survive in all kinds of harsh environments—thick-skinned, tough-bodied, and incredibly resilient.
Even after taking a full hit from Suika Meow gourd, it merely shook its head and quickly rose again as if nothing had happened.
"ROAR——!"
The fire dragon let out an enraged bellow and lunged forward, jaws wide, aiming to bite Suika Meow.
The gi—giant drunk cat simply tilted her body and easily avoided the dragon fangs.
However, the Ibuki Gourd in her hand ended up landing perfectly inside the dragon gaping mouth.
When it came to being thick-skinned and durable, a Magnamalo would never lose to this fire dragon.
Not to mention, the Ibuki Gourd was crafted from a unique Magnamalo variant notorious for its materials—and with Suika Meow Armament Haki coating it, the dragon sharp teeth didn't even leave the tiniest scratch on it.
Still, Suika Meow cherished her gourd dearly—or more accurately, the alcohol inside it.
So while pulling back with all her strength, she raised her paws and delivered a relentless flurry of cat punches straight to the dragon head.
"ROAR!!"
The fire dragon released the Ibuki Gourd from its jaws, then suddenly twisted its body, whipping its massive tail straight toward Suika Meow.
But at that exact moment, Suika Meow, who had been yanking the gourd back with too much force, staggered backward and fell—perfectly dodging the sweeping tail strike… so perfectly that it was impossible to tell whether she meant to or not.
Of course, to Sherwin and the others—who were long familiar with Suika Meow fighting style—they knew this was her style.
Unpredictability was her main weapon, and that was one of the reasons normal Observation Haki had such a hard time reading her movements.
After avoiding the tail strike in what looked like nothing more than coincidence, Suika Meow bounced back up like a tumbler toy.
She raised the Ibuki Gourd high with both hands and slammed it down hard onto the fire dragon tail before it could retract it.
"ROOOOOWWWW!"
The fire dragon let out a cry of pain, then swung its head around and snapped its jaws toward the large horns on Suika Meow head.
Unfortunately for it, Suika Meow horns were purely decorative. The giant drunk cat couldn't even be bothered to dodge, letting the fire dragon bite down on the fake horns.
She simply lifted her gourd again and smashed it down on the dragon head once more.
After being pummeled several times in a row, the fire dragon seemed to want to pull back to breathe fire—or perhaps it finally remembered that it could fly.
It spread its wings and began beating them hard, trying to lift itself into the air.
But it had only just risen off the ground when an iron chain tipped with a round weight shot out from Suika Meow left hand.
It wrapped cleanly around the dragon neck. Suika Meow then leapt high, instantly surpassing the height of the just-airborne dragon.
"Suika Art — Hidden Mountain Throw, meow!"
Suika Meow hauled the choking Dragon upward for a good distance, then swung her left arm in midair, spinning like a windmill several times before flinging the iron chain in her grasp and hurling it toward the distant mountain peak.
By the way, the names of Suika Meow techniques weren't something Sherwin came up with. Even though there are no Spell Card rules in the Monster Hunter world…
The village Suika Meow comes from is obsessed with a certain card game, and all her move names are based on that game.
So basically your village is actually Gensokyo, right?! With the village chief being Hakurei Reimu and the old cat granny being Yakumo Yukari!
…
After throwing the Rathalos away, Suika Meow landed and immediately dashed after it, and her size swelled several times larger in the process.
"Demon God · Lost Noble Power Meow!"
Mm, it was really just her activating demon mode and smashing away wildly with the "Ibuki Gourd."
Next, she grabbed the Dragon by the tail and, much like Hulk smashing Loki, slammed it left and right repeatedly.
"Demon Talisman · Ōeyama Annihilation Meow!"
"Smack, smack—roar…"
While Suika Meow was happily pounding the Dragon into the ground, Smile on the Dodo Advance instinctively shrank his neck after witnessing the whole scene, deeply relieved that he had surrendered fast enough earlier.
Although this Dragon created by Vegapunk was tough-skinned and incredibly resilient, before Suika Meow—the brute-strength cat—it was nothing more than a slightly sturdier punching bag.
After a round of slamming and heavy blows, the Dragon, though not dead thanks to its tenacious vitality, had nearly every bone broken by Suika Meow and collapsed on the ground, completely unable to move.
"What a shame, this guy was still too weak. I didn't even get to enjoy the fight, meow!"
Dragging the Dragon back, Suika Meow grumbled with lingering excitement before shrinking back into her little tipsy-cat form and leaping into Sherwin arms.
And as always, Sherwin rewarded the battle-worn Suika Meow with a full round of "cat-kills-chicken."
On the other side, with help from Seijuro and Link Meow, Sanji Meow swiftly disassembled the massive Dragon.
He immediately set up the specially crafted boiler and grill—originally made for cooking Sea Kings—and began preparing the freshly obtained dragon meat.
Before long, waves of rich, savory aroma drifted from the grill and boiler. Even the little brats who had been gnawing on Shirahoshi tail were drawn to the scent…
Then gnawed even harder, to the point that even Huamei Meow and the Suika Meow in Sherwin arms couldn't resist joining in.
There was no helping it—since the dragon meat wasn't ready yet, the cats could only use the "Shirahoshi-brand teething sticks" to satisfy their cravings.
Fortunately, Sanji Meow cooked fast. As dish after dish of dragon-meat cuisine was served to the Research Commission table, the cats finally released Shirahoshi and, dragging her along, erupted into a noisy feast right on the spot.
Watching the only creature on the island that could rival him get so easily turned into food, Smile once again felt grateful for surrendering quickly, all while tearfully wolfing down the dragon-meat dishes Haibara Meow shoveled into his mouth.