At the mouth of the great canyon in the Wildspire Waste, Aki lashed her tail, sending a Nightshade Paolumu hurtling through the air. Before it could scramble to its feet, three blazing fireballs slammed into its body in succession, detonating with violent bursts.
Even before the flames had cleared, Aki stamped down through the searing blaze, jaws snapping onto the Paolumu's neck. With sheer brute strength, she forced it back, smashing it against the nearby cliff face.
The Nightshade Paolumu let out a pitiful wail—
Then, with a savage twist of her head—
A sharp crack rang out as its neck bent at an unnatural angle.
She flung aside the tattered carcass. Watching its chest still faintly heave, Aki's gaze was icy. Without the slightest trace of mercy, she brought her talon down.
The Paolumu's skull drove deep into the ground. Blood and gore spattered through the cracks, and its life was extinguished.
Aki slowly lifted her claw, viscous red and white matter dripping from its sharp tips. The Paolumu's head was crushed beyond recognition, one eye burst underfoot.
Wiping her talons clean against the beast's black fur, only then did Aki fold her wings and leave the corpse behind.
Above, the sky had long since gathered with storm-dark clouds. Flocks of wingdrakes dove in a frenzy, tearing into the Paolumu's carcass, gulping down its blood and flesh in great mouthfuls.
Aki was long since used to this. In this region, the fighting had already lasted for more than a month, and every wyvern stationed here averaged two to three battles a day.
Fortunately, there had not been any more extreme individuals like that Apex Zinogre. In addition, the Research Commission had established a special camp here, providing Aki and the other two wyverns with resupply. Because of that, even after such prolonged combat, they were still able to hold out.
The other monsters, however, were far less fortunate. The first to fall back was the Glavenus that had held off nearly half of the monsters on its own. It had to withdraw from the canyon early because its bladed tail could no longer withstand such intense fighting.
Endless grinding and repeated swings had worn the blade down, and with no new ore available to repair it. If even the Glavenus ended up like that, one could imagine how dire the situation was for the others.
Thankfully, reinforcements from the Research Commission eventually arrived to fill the gaps left by the wounded wyverns.
Otherwise, the pressure on Aki and her companions would have been even greater.
She spread her wings, soared high, and after circling once and finding no more signs of frenzied monsters, she let out a sigh of relief and flew toward the hunters' camp of the Research Commission.
These past two days, the number of frenzied monsters charging into the canyon had clearly begun to decrease. At least within Aki's patrol range, that last Nightshade Paolumu had been the final one. It seemed the source of this abnormality must have been dealt with.
Which meant Logan would soon be back!
Over a month—an entire month!
The taste of separation weighed heavily on Aki. Every time she tried to rest, Logan's figure would surge again and again in her mind.
"How is he? Is he hurt? Has he gone hungry?" Thoughts like these constantly surfaced, and even the darkest, most unsettling ones would sometimes slip in unbidden.
They left Aki restless, wishing she could just take off and follow the path Logan had flown when he left.
From the moment she had picked up Logan all those years ago, they had never been apart for so long. Even though she knew, with his strength, he would not easily come to harm, the yearning in her heart only grew deeper.
It made her temper harsher, her fighting fiercer, her rage more violent in every battle.
Fortunately, these days were almost at an end—soon, she could return to the Ancient Tree!
Aki's greatest wish now was that, when she returned to the Ancient Tree, back to the nest, the very first thing she would see was the partner she longed for—her "everything."
With that thought in mind, Aki landed on a protruding boulder above the hunters' camp. The cats had tidied it up a little, turning it into a temporary resting spot for her and the others.
Soon after she touched down, a group of cats clambered nimbly up the rope ladder, arms full of supplies as they hopped about.
There was special Felyne cuisine, some poison mushrooms, a small pouch of antidote fruit, as well as a few nitroshrooms, fire herbs, and similar materials used to replenish the combustible dust in her flame sacs.
All of this had been put together over the past days—a "nutritional meal" custom-made for Aki to meet her every need as fully as possible.
"Heave-ho~"
The voice of the Huntsman drifted up as he climbed the rope ladder with ease despite his heavy armor. He wore a gleaming set of Rathian armor, polished until it shone green in the sunlight. The sight made Aki feel oddly uncomfortable.
After all, the main material of that armor had come from Aki's own old scales—sold to him through a trade with the Fire Wyvern Grimalkyne.
In Aki's eyes, it just felt strange.
You could say this hunter was strong, yet the armor he relied on for survival was crafted from her discarded "waste," mixed with other materials.
But weak? Hardly. Judging from the Huntsman's performance these past days, he had completely surpassed Aki's expectations. In desperate battles, he had single-handedly slain many Frenzied monsters and even plugged the gap left after Glavenus withdrew.
"According to our researchers' observations, in recent days there have been far fewer crazed monsters rushing out from the depths of the Great Ravine. The creatures that had been lingering nearby are already starting to leave one after another. How are things looking on your side?"
The Grimalkyne quickly translated. After listening, Aki gave no lengthy reply—she simply indicated that what she had seen was the same, and said nothing further.
Her somewhat aloof demeanor left the Huntsman scratching his head again. But after a month of this, he was used to it.
After all, not every Fire Wyvern was like the King of the Fire Wyverns, who, with the cats' help, could communicate almost without barrier.
For Aki to give even a direct response was already remarkable progress. One had to remember that the tempered Azure Rathalos, even to this day, still refused to acknowledge the Huntsman, and remained deeply wary.
As time passed, the tempered Azure Rathalos and tempered Rathalos returned as well, descending in the glow of the evening sunset.
They ate their share of supplies while discussing with Aki the matter of returning to the Ancient Tree.
Unlike Aki, they had not encountered a single Frenzied monster that day. That alone showed the crisis was over, and it was time for them to leave.
On this point, Aki agreed wholeheartedly.
Beside them, the Huntsman listened to the cats' translation, then drank a spoonful of soup, visibly weary.
As one of the main combatants, he and the other hunters had fought high-intensity battles without pause for over a month. In that time, they had expended massive amounts of resources—cannons, siege crossbows, all kinds of traps, and more strategic supplies besides.
Even so, at a rate of two or three a day, even the Huntsman could never cut them all down. He was strong, but his stamina was limited—and those monsters were no weak chicks that could be felled with one or two blows.
Now, after hearing the Fire Wyverns' discussion, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. At most, they would need to stand guard for another two days to confirm the situation, after which they too could return to Astera.
Only a handful of researchers and observers would need to remain behind.
Thus came the end of the ecological crisis that had begun with the chaos wrought by Gore Magala. With Shagaru Magala dead in the New World, those Gore Magala in the Old World that had been suppressed by its scale dust would, perhaps after more than a decade of metabolism, expel the inhibitory pheromones completely. At that point, a new Shagaru Magala might emerge. But all of that would likely have nothing to do with the New World anymore.
The next morning, under the reluctant gazes of the cats, Aki and the tempered Azure Rathalos began their journey home.
Along the way, even the tempered Azure Rathalos was brimming with excitement. Unless absolutely necessary, it refused to stop and rest.
Fortunately, by this stage Aki's metamorphosis had progressed far. Her body functions had strengthened considerably, and for long-distance flight she was now no worse than a Rathalos. She could keep pace without difficulty.
Likewise, after crossing the Great Ravine, Logan did not pause in the slightest, continuing to soar ahead.
Behind him, however, the constant croaking cries of Chameleos voiced its endless dissatisfaction.
It couldn't understand—everything was already finished, so why keep flying so hard?
Its faint sense of kinship left Chameleos unable to comprehend Logan's feelings. Yet unwilling to fly back alone in boredom, it begrudgingly followed behind him, taking advantage of the "tailwind environment" created by Logan's Gale Wings.
When the seventh moon sank and the eighth sun rose, the Ancient Tree's sky-piercing form loomed ever larger in Logan's sight.
Closer—closer still!
Logan couldn't hold back any longer; he accelerated once more, unable to suppress the surge in his heart.
After days of flying without pause, day and night, he should have been exhausted. Yet perhaps it was sheer will—every brief rest left him fully restored, warmth coursing through his body, his energy overflowing.
What gladdened Logan even more was that his absorption of life energy seemed to have grown stronger. The amount he could hold each day had increased greatly, and with it his physique had gained subtle improvements.
Aki tried to suppress the excitement rising within her. She didn't know why, but as the Ancient Tree drew ever nearer, a faint worry welled up inside her—that Logan might blame her for not waiting properly in the nest.
But such worries paled into nothing compared to the joy of seeing him again.
And so, with those emotions surging in both their hearts, as they rounded a thick branch, Logan and Aki met by chance at the entrance of the nest.
There was no thunderous roar, no great outburst of surprise.
In almost the same instant, they surged toward each other.
Gold and silver intertwined, wings beating as they spiraled upward, twining together without end.
Necks crossed, they felt the warmth of one another's bodies.
Scorching flames leapt around them like jubilant dancers, cheering and celebrating!
At the peak of their ascent, Logan spread his vast wings wide, enclosing Aki within the blaze.
The updraft carried by his Gale Wings let them hover aloft without flapping, suspended high above the sky.
Breathing in each other's presence, their long-suppressed roars burst forth together, shaking the heavens.
Flames exploded, spreading across the sky on the raging wind, blooming in waves of heat.
A celebration of their reunion!
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