For a moment, the two dragons stared at each other.
Big eyes locked with big eyes.
An awkward silence seemed to hang in the air.
Kael looked deeply at the Anjanath—
Then, just like last time, he turned around and ran without the slightest hesitation.
"Mom, help! Why is this Anjanath here again?!"
"ROAR!!"
The Anjanath roared back.
This time, it would definitely kill him!
Kael couldn't believe that after so long, he was running into this monster again—the one that had almost killed him before.
What he couldn't understand was…
The Ancient Forest was huge.
How had this Anjanath wandered all the way here?
And why had they met again so coincidentally?
Was it fate?
Don't joke.
He was a Rathalos, not the Sapphire Star.
And this was just a big Anjanath, not some world-ending Nergigante.
What "destiny" could there possibly be between them?
Besides, apart from accidentally trespassing into its territory before, he hadn't provoked it at all, right?
Ambushing him was one thing.
But showing up in full rage mode, flames blazing from the start?
Had he violated some cosmic law or something?
Next thing you know, it'd turn on its heat membranes too.
Why so angry?!
Kael couldn't figure it out.
But there was no time to think.
Taking off required time.
And this Anjanath wasn't about to give him any.
So he had only one option.
Run.
He hadn't even taken two steps when a scorching, fishy wind rushed up behind him.
Without looking back, Kael made a sharp turn using rapid wing beats—an agility move completely unbefitting a ground-running Rathalos.
Clack!
Boom!
The crisp sound of snapping jaws and an explosion of flames erupted behind him.
The Anjanath had missed.
But it wasn't discouraged.
It had already learned how agile this hatchling was—escaping through dense forests before, after all.
Dodging with sharp turns was perfectly normal.
But the next strike…
Would be the finisher.
Its thick legs tensed.
The heat-dissipation membranes on its back spread wide, releasing crimson mist.
Its upper body muscles bulged.
Veins stood out.
The sparks at its mouth turned into flowing flames.
Its speed slowed.
Its legs coiled.
Blood-red eyes locked onto Kael.
Final targeting.
Then—
Boom!
Its legs sprang like compressed steel.
Its entire body shot forward like a cannonball.
Its gaping jaws overflowed with blazing fire, scorching the air itself.
Leap-in flame bite!
Clack!!
Its upper and lower jaws snapped together with a sharp crash.
A split second later, the compressed flames exploded, sending out a scorching shockwave.
Unable to stop its momentum, the massive body flew forward, rolling several times across the ground before barely regaining its footing.
Kael, who had taken off just in time and narrowly dodged, stared at the impact site in shock.
A crater had formed.
All moisture around it had been evaporated.
The grass was completely charred.
He couldn't help thinking—
If he had been caught…
Would he have been bitten clean in half?
The Anjanath scrambled up and looked at Kael flying above.
Its entire being felt wrong.
No.
Wait.
You're that small—how can you already fly?!
Just over a month ago, you were a ground chicken!
How did you learn so fast?
And fly this well?!
"Hehehe, I can fly~!"
Having narrowly escaped death, Kael shouted smugly from the sky, taunting the brute below in every possible way.
And he wasn't wrong.
In theory, Anjanath and Rathalos were on the same tier.
But Rathalos had one overwhelming advantage.
Flight.
That alone allowed them to suppress Anjanath.
In battles between the two, Rathalos won more often.
If Rathalos couldn't win, it could just fly away.
If Anjanath couldn't win…
Well. Good luck.
Kael's shameless taunting completely enraged the Anjanath.
Rage devoured its reason.
It closed its mouth and began charging energy.
Its neck glowed faintly from extreme heat.
In his previous life, as a seasoned hunter-victim, Kael knew Anjanath's moves all too well.
Maybe not perfectly memorized—
But well enough.
He calmly widened the distance.
Timed it.
Then—
Flap!
He tilted sideways.
A flamethrower-like fire beam brushed past him.
He rolled midair, narrowly dodging the sweeping flames that followed.
Just as Kael thought it was over—
The Anjanath's red eyes widened.
It planted its hind legs forward, brute-forcing against recoil with sheer muscle.
The flame beam turned again.
"Hey! That's cheating! Sneak attacking a hatchling not even two months old?!"
Relying on Acceleration, Kael dodged again by a hair's breadth.
Then he flapped hard and climbed higher.
Now, the Anjanath's "flamethrower" couldn't reach him anymore.
Its only ranged attack was useless.
Unwilling to waste stamina, it stopped firing.
All it could do was glare furiously at Kael in the sky, as if he were its sworn enemy.
Kael didn't understand its hatred.
But he remembered today's lesson.
Staring deeply at the Anjanath, he let out a defiant roar with his still-young voice—
Then turned and left without looking back.
Below, the Anjanath was left with nowhere to vent its fury.
With one final roar, it blasted a long stream of fire into the sky.
From afar, Kael glanced back and sighed.
"What a dignified dragon…"
"Even set off fireworks to celebrate my departure."
The ambush ended without disaster.
But Kael knew that Anjanath were famously vindictive.
Since it had moved into this region, this hunting ground was off-limits for now.
He didn't want every hunt to involve a raging brute watching him.
As for the future…
The New World was full of accidents.
Maybe by the time he grew up, that Anjanath would've already died somewhere unknown.
This encounter barely counted as a battle.
Just chase and escape, and it was short.
It didn't delay his hunting much.
The only pity was that Mosswine—now someone else's meal.
Life returned to peaceful hunting.
After avoiding that area, Kael encountered no more major dangers.
With ample nutrition, Aji's wounds healed quickly.
She also learned that a powerful Anjanath had moved nearby and wisely chose not to provoke it.
There were plenty of hunting grounds.
Plenty of resources.
And enough distance between territories.
Survival and growth were what truly mattered.
And so, days passed quietly.
Far across the ocean, a massive dragonbone ship cut through the waves.
Following the path of the Elder Crossing, it sailed steadily toward the New World.
Its destination was clear.