"I suppose that brings it to an end, right?" Altaïr sheathed his sword and downed a Potion to treat the internal damage caused by the overlapping eruptions of his fighting spirit.
The flash of crimson lightning had clearly not been a natural thunderbolt, which made its source easy enough to guess.
The power to drive back an Elder Dragon of Kushala Daora's caliber with a single strike... Was that the might of the "King"? No wonder the Guild regarded that being with such reverence.
Altaïr desperately wanted to see what kind of being could unleash such an attack. From another perspective, however, it was probably best for that entity to remain out of sight...
"Now that was satisfying!" Lambert lowered her Hunting Horn, her face alight with exhilaration.
She was hardly a conventional Hunter. Her desire to Hunt came from wanting to hear every kind of "interesting" sound the world had to offer.
Tonight, she had been both performer and audience.
The unnatural storm, the Elder Dragon, the crimson thunder... Even without any further reward, the sounds and wonders she had just experienced, things ordinarily far beyond her reach, left her completely fulfilled.
Given the chance, she would gladly hear that crimson thunder several more times!
The younger Diva simply closed her eyes, seemingly savoring the performance she had just helped create.
Unlike Lambert, the young woman was a professional Diva, but the pursuit of musical artistry gave the two a profound kinship.
"Rest for a moment, then we'll prepare to leave." Altaïr approached the pair and added, "This Tower is no safe haven. We shouldn't linger."
"Agreed, meow," Shalan said with a rare nod. Then she turned and promptly shouted, "Hey, you! Get over here and lead us down, meow!
You wouldn't want us running into another Monster on the way down and waking your boss, would you, meow?"
Altaïr had a powerful urge to tell Shalan to curb her insolence. He had no desire to get into another fight with the Oroshi Kirin.
To his surprise, however, the mysterious girl in ancient attire actually answered the summons.
Expressionless, she approached the group and addressed Lambert and the younger Diva. "The 'King' is pleased with your song. As a reward, you are granted a prophecy.
The dragon that supports the earth has awakened. Mountains will crumble, the ground will quake. Calamity draws near.
Depart from this place."
Shalan waved a paw dismissively. "All right, then let's go! Lead the way, meow!"
The girl in ancient attire stared at Shalan, speechless.
"..."
Perhaps frightened into hiding by the earlier crimson lightning, every Monster in the Tower stayed out of sight. The group's descent and journey back to camp passed without incident.
—--
Perhaps because the storm had finally dispersed, the Great Forest's indigenous inhabitants, whose faces had previously been etched with worry, now seemed relaxed and energetic.
Altaïr learned from them that before the sea route was established, the indigenous people of the Great Forest had lived in almost complete isolation from the Old World and developed a system of technology wholly distinct from mainstream human society.
They excelled at cultivating all manner of plant and animal life and lived in symbiosis with both. The vine-wood short bows, Bee Hive armor, and beetle-hide scale mail worn by several of the residents had all begun as living organisms.
By contrast, the metal tools found throughout the Old World were rare here. Even with the Merchant Guild maintaining dedicated trade operations, high-quality metal blades remained exceptionally scarce.
One young man clad in specialized, batlike leather armor even offered Altaïr a trade, exchanging a piece of Dragonvein Amber polished until crystal clear for Altaïr's Carving Knife...
A Hunter's Carving Knife could slice through a Flying Wyvern's scales, so its steel was naturally superior to that of an ordinary blade. Even so, it remained a mass-produced, well-made tool available at the Workshop for only a little extra coin.
It was worth far less than the beautiful amber, which encased some kind of ancient dragonfly.
As it happened, the young man felt the same way about the item he received... Both sides walked away delighted with the trade.
In high spirits, the "Bat-Man" introduced himself as Yamaze and even invited Altaïr to visit his people's forest settlement.
Altaïr was quite interested in seeing the indigenous settlement in the Great Forest, but unfortunately, he did not have the time.
The Guild Knights were eager to report the outcome of the operation and the unexpected intelligence they had gathered to headquarters. The Airship docked at the camp would depart as soon as its preflight preparations were complete.
Altaïr could only promise Yamaze that if he ever returned to the Great Forest, he would bring his companions for a visit.
The quest had come without warning and ended just as swiftly.
Although Mezeporta was practically on the way, the Airship showed no intention of making even a brief stop there and carried the entire group straight to Dundorma.
Chia and Vari, neither of whom had directly participated in the operation, and even the Airship's crew had to sign nondisclosure agreements that strictly forbade them from divulging any intelligence concerning "those people."
Altaïr, Shalan, and the two Divas who had taken part in the performance were summoned directly to the Elder Hall for a personal inquiry from His Immenseness.
—--
In the Elder Hall, the aged Wyverian sat upright with his hands resting on his knees.
Beneath his long, snow-white brows, His Immenseness regarded Altaïr with undisguised surprise.
"You held off a Kushala Daora single-handedly?"
"I didn't hold it off. We merely exchanged a few blows," Altaïr hurriedly explained. "Besides, Lady Shalan and Lambert assisted me, so it could hardly be called a solo fight."
"I cast a wind resistance blessing on him, meow, but as you know, a blessing of that strength has only a limited effect against Dragon Wind Pressure, meow.
But he still broke through the Dragon Wind Pressure and closed the distance with the Kushala Daora, meow. That's more or less what happened, meow." Shalan licked her Claws as she interjected from the side.
"Oh ho, so he broke through a Kushala Daora's Dragon Wind Pressure head-on?" His Immenseness chuckled as he leaned on the massive Godchaser blade at his side.
"In that case..."
"Please wait!" the Guild Manager beside him cut in, hastily interrupting His Immenseness.
"You promoted Altaïr to 6★ only at the end of last year. Barely more than half a year has passed, and he has only just turned twenty-one. It is far too soon to promote him to 7★!"
"..."
After a brief silence, His Immenseness cleared his throat. "Ahem. Next time, then."
Both the Guild Manager and Altaïr breathed quiet sighs of relief.
If His Immenseness had actually finished that sentence, Altaïr's Hunter rank would have risen whether he wanted it to or not...
His strength had indeed improved markedly since his promotion to High Rank more than half a year earlier, but he still fell a little short of the standard expected of a 7★ Hunter.
Two years earlier, he had set himself the goal of reaching 7★ within six years.
He was confident that he could earn the promotion within the remaining four years, become a 7★ Hunter, and qualify to take part in the Hunt for the Grimclaw Tigrex.
Whether that happened a year or two sooner or later mattered little. Improving his own strength was what truly counted.
Still, seeing how eager His Immenseness was to load more responsibility onto his shoulders, Altaïr suspected the promotion would not be long in coming...
Finally, the prophecy of the "King" drew little reaction from His Immenseness, the Guild Manager, or the other Guild higher-ups, as though they had expected it all along.
Altaïr had connected several events to that prophecy and had gone out of his way to raise them with His Immenseness.
There had been the tremors at Esther Lake several years earlier, which caused the lake to vanish and drove the Estrellian Pack into a frenzy.
Then there were the geological shifts caused by the massive earthquake accompanying the eruption of Tidal Island's Great Volcano, the inexplicable appearance of Pariapuria, and the premature migration of the Shen Gaoren in the ElDe Region...
Could all of these events be connected to the "Dragon That Supports the Earth" mentioned by the girl in ancient attire?
On reflection, however, his warnings had probably been unnecessary. The Guild possessed far more comprehensive and detailed intelligence than he did, and countless scholars and strategists were constantly evaluating and analyzing it.
There was no chance they had overlooked something he had managed to piece together himself.
Yet for some reason, after he said all of that, His Immenseness and the Guild Manager regarded him rather strangely...
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TL NOTES — LORE GUIDE
Some references in this chapter come from source universes that may be unfamiliar to some readers. The notes below provide the context needed to understand them.
MONSTER LORE
White King — A veiled reference to White Fatalis, also known as Old Fatalis and titled the Ancestral Dragon. The Tower, the ancestral title, and the crimson lightning are the clues identifying it.