That's right.
From the Pukei-Pukei's perspective, this Rathian was completely insane. She was clearly smaller than him, yet had the gall to try to drive him off, and when that failed, she actually charged straight in!
Everyone knew how Pukei-Pukei judged combat strength: by size. If you were bigger than it, it ran. If you were smaller, it assumed it could win.
That's why in some regions, Pukei-Pukei would even take the initiative to challenge Rajangs that posed a threat to smaller Elder Dragons, only to be effortlessly beaten into the ground.
If their meat weren't so tough and toxic, they'd probably end up as dinner.
That's also why this herbivorous bird wyvern, even after taking such heavy damage, continued to fight Aki.
If it had been the old Yuno, he probably would've only managed a scratch using [Acceleration], and whether that scratch would even break the skin was questionable. The odds of his claw breaking were much higher.
But now?
With the [Brute Force] trait stacking with [Acceleration], combined with his deceptive baby-faced hatchling appearance, he could give anyone who underestimated him a very painful surprise.
Like this particular Pukei-Pukei, who was fanning out the feathers on its neck to make itself look more threatening, yet had its back completely exposed to Yuno.
It was about to pay the price for that mistake.
One claw.
Just one claw.
And its exposed back was torn open in a single brutal slash, flesh split wide, scales ripped clean off, blood spraying out in a hot stream.
The searing pain made the Pukei-Pukei's frog-like eyes bulge wide. Its entire posture, originally bracing against Aki's charge, was thrown off.
Aki slammed into it like a freight train, sending it flying.
To be fair, monsters in this world were built different. Bathed in geologic energy, their muscles and bones were far more resilient than normal.
Even after taking Aki's full-body dragon cart slam head-on, the Pukei-Pukei managed to scramble back to its feet and launch a counterattack.
Meanwhile, Yuno hadn't even touched the ground yet.
His wings beat rapidly, gliding him forward before lifting him back into the sky.
His foot claw ached faintly from the impact, but now that the fight was underway, he ignored it completely.
His mind was clear: on the ground, he'd only slow Aki down. But in the air, if he kept swooping in with precision strikes, harassing and distracting the enemy, he could actually help her.
Below him, the two beasts clashed once more.
Biting, slashing, venom-spitting, tail whips, dragon carts.
Every impact was a clash of raw strength.
The Pukei-Pukei's venom was potent, but Rathians had natural resistance to poison.
Aki's flames could hurt it, but the Pukei-Pukei was experienced. It never gave her time to charge up, always pressing in close for melee.
Which turned the fight into a brutal, relentless slugfest.
But this time, something was different.
There was always a third player, a sneaky little devil swooping down like a crow to strike, then flying off before retaliation was even possible.
Yuno.
Not every dive hit. But every dive aimed for weak points, the eyes, the neck.
Which meant the Pukei-Pukei had to guard those areas each time.
And that's when Aki would strike.
In this beautifully shameless two-on-one, even the hardy Pukei-Pukei, with its rich stamina, stubborn vitality, and veteran experience, began to feel the pressure.
After another clash, it braced against Aki's tail swipe and opened its jaws wide.
A massive cloud of venom burst forth.
In an instant, Aki and the Pukei-Pukei were swallowed in thick, purple mist. Even Yuno in the sky lost sight of them.
The next second, the Pukei-Pukei burst from the other side of the fog, scrambling away in panic and disappearing into the forest depths.
It was obvious.
It had surrendered.
It gave up on the territory, accepted its loss, and ran like hell.
Even though it still had some fight left in it, Aki and Yuno together weren't capable of finishing it off.
So Yuno didn't even think about giving chase.
Below, Aki beat her wings to blow away the fog. This level of poison barely affected her, it only blocked her vision.
Once the area cleared and there was no trace of the Pukei-Pukei left, she let out a thunderous roar to declare victory.
But then, she saw Yuno diving toward her.
And her gaze… grew complicated.
Yuno was ecstatic. This was his first real battle, even if he was just a support role, it was still a true fight!
It meant he wasn't the same helpless hatchling from a month ago, running for his life from a Great Jagras.
He had the strength to survive in this world now.
He thought this would be a touching reunion, that Aki would nuzzle him with affection, that they'd celebrate their victory together.
But when he landed…
What greeted him was Aki's hostility.
"…What's going on?"
Yuno was confused. Why was she being like this?
Whenever he approached, she growled low and threateningly. She even crouched low, making a clear gesture to drive him away.
"…Aki?"
He took another step forward.
A fireball exploded right in front of his claws.
Aki, who had spat it out, stared at him coldly. When she saw his stunned, bewildered expression, a flicker of hesitation flashed through her eyes.
But it was fleeting.
She hardened her gaze, glared at him one last time, then turned and walked away.
Yuno instinctively followed.
But Aki suddenly whipped around with a roar, a roar of rejection and dismissal.
Yuno finally began to understand.
Still… he trailed behind her at a distance.
He watched her, even injured, easily take down a prey animal.
Watched her eat it cleanly, not leaving him even a scrap.
Watched her pick up speed, heading back toward her territory, toward the treetops above the nest.
And there, she ran into… another Pukei-Pukei.
Slightly smaller than her, with large, wise-looking eyes.
They locked eyes for a moment.
The bird choked on the poison mushroom in its beak, its eyes went wide, and it bolted in terror, not even thinking about a fight.
"…Wait. That was the Pukei-Pukei I knew?"
"Then who the hell was the one we just fought?"
Aki stood frozen.
It dawned on her.
She… might have fought the wrong monster.
But so what?
The fight was fought. The land was won. Even if it was a mistake, she still won.
More importantly…
Her hatchling could now fly. He could survive on his own.
He no longer needed her care.