When two large monsters fought, their immense stamina often dragged the battle far from where it had started without either side realizing it. That's why Logan hadn't spotted them right away after taking off.
By the time Logan arrived, he found Aki facing off against a Pukei-Pukei. All around them were toppled trees, scorched ground, and boulders corroded by poison.
Aki was clearly not in good shape. Several of her scales had cracked open. The dorsal spines that normally draped like a mantle over her back were mostly broken. Blood still dripped from the large protruding spine at her jaw. Her poisonous tail spike glistened with streaks of purple venom.
The most severe injury was on her right wing. The wing membrane had apparently taken a direct hit from poison—part of it was an abnormal purplish-red color, with thin streams of blood seeping out.
For a Rathian, breathing fire or using venom was a last resort—it drained significant energy and was only employed when all attempts to drive the enemy away had failed. It seemed this Pukei-Pukei was so stubbornly thick-headed that it had stirred up Aki's killing intent. Even with injuries this serious, she showed no intention of backing down.
Aki was in bad shape—but so was the Pukei-Pukei. Compared to her, its only major wound was a gaping, bleeding puncture in its abdomen—clearly the work of Aki's prominent jaw spike.
But the Pukei-Pukei appeared to be in much better condition mentally. It still had fight in its eyes, while Aki was clearly at a disadvantage.
Neither of the two wyverns had noticed Logan circling above. At this moment, their focus was locked solely on each other. Since their strength was fairly evenly matched and neither could afford to be distracted, Logan was given a rare opportunity.
With a strong flap of his wings, Logan soared into the air behind the Pukei-Pukei. Then, in a sharp turn, he dove down at high speed.
His acceleration trait had activated the moment his desire to fight ignited, causing his dive to grow faster and more forceful with each second.
By the time the Pukei-Pukei noticed the noise behind it, Logan was already dangerously close. Worse yet, Aki had launched another charge from the front.
Now under attack from both sides, the Pukei-Pukei proved itself a seasoned warrior. It merely glanced back at Logan's small form, then dismissed him entirely, exposing its back without a second thought.
In its experience, a Rathalos of Logan's size—even boosted by a diving attack—could, at most, land a scratch. With such a young wyvern's fragile bones, any real impact would likely result in its own demise rather than any real harm to the Pukei-Pukei.
As for that scratch? It probably wouldn't even pierce the hide.
To the Pukei-Pukei, the real threat was still the unfamiliar and inexplicably aggressive Rathian charging from the front.
Indeed, from the viewpoint of the Pukei-Pukei, this female Rathian was completely insane. She was clearly smaller in size, yet she had the audacity to try and drive it away—and when that failed, she even dared to charge straight at it.
It was common knowledge that the Pukei-Pukei judged combat strength solely by size. If an opponent was smaller, it believed it could win. If larger, it would immediately retreat without hesitation.
That's why in certain regions, some Pukei-Pukei would even initiate fights against Rajangs—despite the threat they posed to some of the smaller Elder Dragons—only to be effortlessly beaten to a pulp in return.
Were it not for the fact that their meat was foul-tasting, poisonous, and thus rarely eaten, they might have ended up as someone's dinner.
This, then, was why—despite being an herbivorous bird wyvern—this Pukei-Pukei continued to fight Aki even after sustaining such heavy injuries.
Had this been the old Logan, relying only on his acceleration trait, he likely would've managed just a single claw swipe at the Pukei-Pukei. Whether that swipe would even break the skin was uncertain—but the chances of him breaking a claw in the process were quite high.
But the Logan of today was different. With his Strength trait now active and the bonus from his acceleration, coupled with the deceptive advantage of still being a juvenile, he was perfectly capable of surprising anyone who underestimated him.
Like this Pukei-Pukei, for instance. It had flared out the feathers on its neck in an attempt to look more threatening, but in doing so, left its back completely exposed to Logan. It was about to pay dearly for that mistake.
One swipe.
Just one.
Logan's claws raked across its exposed back, tearing open a long gash. Flesh split apart and scales were ripped clean off.
The ripping pain made the Pukei-Pukei's frog-like eyes bulge wide. Its stance, which had been focused entirely on fending off Aki's charge, crumbled—and in the next moment, Aki slammed into it full force, sending it flying.
It had to be said—thanks to the nourishing effects of the world's leyline energy, the muscles and bones of these monsters were extraordinarily resilient.
Even after taking Aki's full-speed wyvern charge head-on, the Pukei-Pukei still managed to scramble upright almost immediately—and launched a countercharge at her.
Meanwhile, Logan, still airborne from his swipe, flapped his wings rapidly to regain altitude. He glided a short distance before rising again.
His claw throbbed faintly with pain, but the adrenaline of battle dulled it entirely.
His mind was sharp. In a direct confrontation, he would only drag Aki down. Only by staying airborne and swooping in for harassing strikes—aiming carefully and retreating before retaliation—could he truly help her.
Down below, the two giant beasts clashed once more—biting, ramming, tail-swiping, spewing venom.
Every impact was a raw contest of strength. The Pukei-Pukei's venom was potent, but the Rathian was just as resistant to toxins. Aki's flames posed a threat, but her opponent was experienced and kept her locked in close combat, never giving her time to build up a proper fire attack.
Thus, their battle devolved into a pure melee slugfest. The difference now was the presence of a persistent third party—a sneaky little 'sixth man' who swooped down like a crow hunting for scraps, diving at the Pukei-Pukei in sudden strikes, only to soar away again before it could retaliate.
Logan didn't manage to land a hit every time, but he always aimed for weak spots like the eyes or neck, forcing the Pukei-Pukei to defend itself.
And that's when Aki would strike with devastating timing.
This righteous two-on-one fight, even against such a durable and battle-hardened creature, gradually wore the Pukei-Pukei down. It began to sense the tide turning against it.
So, after one particularly fierce clash, it braced against Aki's tail strike—then suddenly opened its maw and spewed a thick cloud of venom.
In an instant, both Aki and the Pukei-Pukei were swallowed in the toxic mist. Logan, flying overhead, lost visual on both of them.
A moment later, the Pukei-Pukei burst out from the far side of the cloud and darted into the depths of the forest, retreating in disarray.
It was clear: it had surrendered. It had given up the fight—and this territory.
The beast still had strength left. But with its mind set on escape, there was simply no way Logan or Aki could pursue and kill it in their current state.
Logan didn't even consider giving chase.
Below, Aki flapped her wings to disperse the poison mist. This level of toxin had little effect on her—it could only obscure vision, nothing more.
She scanned her surroundings. Seeing no trace of the Pukei-Pukei, she let out a triumphant roar, declaring victory.
But when her gaze landed on Logan, who was now diving toward her from above, a complex look flickered in her eyes.
Logan was thrilled—this had been his very first real battle. Even if he had only played a support role, it had still been a genuine fight.
It meant he was no longer the helpless hatchling from a month ago, the one who had been chased around by Genprey. He had gained the ability to survive in this world.
He had thought this would be a touching reunion—that Aki would nuzzle him affectionately and celebrate their hard-earned victory together.
But when he landed, what he faced instead was hostility.
"…W-What's going on?"
Logan didn't understand. Why was Aki acting like this?
Every time he approached, Aki would growl deeply, even crouching down as if to drive him away.
"Aki…"
Logan inched closer, only for a fireball to explode right in front of him. The fire had come from Aki herself, who now stared at him with a cold, steely gaze. When she saw the disbelief and confusion on his face, a flicker of hesitation crossed her frosty eyes.
But then she hardened her resolve again. After one final cold glare, she turned and walked away without hesitation.
Logan instinctively followed—but Aki suddenly turned and let out a fierce roar. The message was clear: stay back.
At that moment, something clicked in Logan's heart. He seemed to understand—but even so, he couldn't bring himself to give up. He kept following her from a distance.
He watched as Aki, injured though she was, effortlessly hunted down a prey beast.
He watched her devour it completely, not leaving a single scrap behind for him.
He watched her quicken her pace and return to her territory, flying into the trees above her nest.
There, a Pukei-Pukei slightly smaller than Aki—with bright, intelligent eyes—crossed paths with her.
The creature froze for a second, then panicked. The poison mushroom it had been holding dropped from its mouth, and it bolted in a blind escape with no intention of fighting.
"…So this is the Pukei-Pukei I know? Then who was that other one?"
Aki was stunned too. It seemed that… maybe… she had mistaken the wrong wyvern.
But so what? The fight had already happened. The territory was hers now. What difference did it make?
What mattered most was this:
Her hatchling could fly now.
He could live on his own.
He no longer needed her.