Volume 2 Chapter 5 (1/2)

The surrounding area was filled with a burning smell, with white smoke different from fog drifting from the great number of corpses half-submerged in water.

Deep red skin and swollen head- they're small bipedal carnivore monsters, the kind that spit poison from sacs inside their throats.

All six of them, dead.

”These things are…”

Zeeg looked around, unable to comprehend the scene.

There were no external wounds on the Iopreys' bodies. However, their eyes were ruptured, and trails of lingering white smoke originated from their mouths, where their feces were vomited out.

Undoubtedly, the burning smell in this area was from the Iopreys' corpses.

However, burnt spots were nowhere to be found. The environment included.

If this were to be caused by a Rathalos or Rathian, then it would have been a fireball attack, which would have scorched the skin, evaporated the water dry, and burnt the earth black.

But nothing was out of the ordinary, except for the collapsed Iopreys.

”Khezu…”

Upon hearing Freda's words, Zeeg turned to her. She was kneeling down in front of a puddle, looking at something.

Going near her, soil piled up in a cone shape with a flat top.

”Khezu's that white wyvern, right? And this was caused by that thing?”

Freda nodded.

”Among you people, is there anyone who has fought a Khezu?”

Elmeria and Gannon raised their hands.

”-With that said, we didn't defeat it though.”

”Eh, really?”

As Zeeg asked in surprised, Elmeria pouted in annoyance.

”N-never mind that! That time, our quest was to dig Coal…… While we were immersed in swinging our pickaxes in the jungle's cave, it just jumped out at us so suddenly. I just don't wanna talk about how repulsive and disgusting it was-”

Elmeria crossed her arms, her body shaking as if having chills.

”We got out of there on the double…… What's with that look, Zeeg!? We didn't think that thing would be there, and we didn't bring a lot of medicine because we had to carry the coal! -M…more importantly, how do you even know for sure that this was caused by a Khezu!?”

Freda pointed at the cone-shaped soil pile on the ground.

”This is a mark from being clung onto by a Khezu's tail. Besides, there's also how the Iopreys died. That couldn't have been caused by anything but a Khezu.”

”Well, why's that?”

”Khezu releases the light of death. It's what people at the armory calls 'electricity'; if you touch it, the lightest effect would be loss of stamina and momentary paralysis, but in the worst case your body would be burnt from the inside- Like these Iopreys.”

”……Now that's not very appealing.”

Zeeg s.h.i.+vered. Then, as a shadow cast over him from above, Zeeg was prompted by his hunter instincts to look up at the sky.

As he caught what was there in his sights, the boy had gooseb.u.mps. As usual, the clouds are floating low, with no sign of the thunders stopping. In that sky, a ”ghost” flew through.

On a body so white that it seemed to be melting into the fog, small wings that shouldn't have been able to support its thick body extended; it was undoubtedly the appearance of a wyvern.

But there was no head on its neck!

However-

”Khezu!”

Freda unsheathed the Heroic Blade from her waist.

”Eh-!?”

-BWOOOOOH…

A bizarre roar sounded from its headless neck. However, it didn't seem to have any intention to land, but rather keep its alt.i.tude as it slowly flew away.

(”That's a Khezu…?”)

Zeeg focused his eyes. However, he couldn't get a good look due to the fog's obstruction.

”Gannon, that's-!!”

Raising her voice in shock, Elmeria pointed at the Khezu.

”It's captured something!”

”Young mistress, the binoculars.”

”R-right!”

Elmeria took out a pair of binoculars from her bag in a hurry and looked through it, then raised her voice once again.

”-Fradio!”

”Wait, what!?”

Zeeg strained his eyes once more.

He still couldn't get a good look, but surely, he could see that the headless wyvern does have something in its grasp. It was something in ashen grey- That's right, like Fradio's Gypceros armor.

Freda ran off- headed in the same direction the wyvern was flying towards.

”Ah- Wait!”

Zeeg went after her in a panic. Right after the boy, Elmeria and Gannon followed.

”What're we going to do!?”

”We're going to help him. Khezus don't eat when they're outside of caves. If it's now, then we might make it in time.”

While he kept on running, Zeeg turned to look at Elmeria and Gannon.

The girl had an unamused expression on her face, as if she felt that she was being dragged around to places by Freda, but of course, she had no objections as it was for the sake of saving Fradio.

”Uwah-!”

As they came out of the tall gra.s.s, Genpreys were there. Five of them. As the ferocious monsters became aware of Zeeg's group, they cried out loudly to each other, then made a leap for their targets all at once.

”Zeeg!”

Prompted by Elmeria's voice to look forward, the boy could see the Khezu slowly start its descent on solid ground. Perhaps there is an entrance to a cave there. Their nests may differ in location, but in structure, most wyverns' nests closely resemble each other.

”Out of the way!”

Zeeg unsheathed his Ravager Blade+ from his back, pulled on the handle to bring out the fang blades, then brought down the sword right on the head of a Genprey that was rus.h.i.+ng at him.

Its blood sprayed into the puddle, causing ripples.

The Genprey was cut clean as its internal organs and scattered from the cross section; its life ended in one attack.

”If it's these things, then I have no complaints about making this baby's debut!”

Standing slightly apart from the group, Elmeria let the Breath Core on her waist drop into her hand, then made a swing with precise timing at the two Genpreys jumping at her.

A heavy impact sounded as the broken half of the hammer smashed a Genprey's side. The monster's body shook vigorously in the air as an explosion occurred on the opposite side of the hammer's. .h.i.t.

”Haah!”

The hammer pierced through the Genprey's body, ripping it in half. The arc of its swing then met with the other Genprey, pulverizing it in an instant.

”-! Awesome~!”

Stopping her swing, Elmeria exclaimed in delight.

-GYAH!

Zeeg turned around as he heard another Genprey raise its voice.

Freda was fighting it.

She narrowly dodged the lunging jaw of a Genprey before immediately turning around and cut its neck with the blade of her one-handed sword.

The Genprey's head was cut clean, falling over Freda's shoulder into the puddle with a splash.

(”Whoa…”)

Zeeg was thoroughly fascinated by Freda's flawless movement and excellent swordplay.

But while he wasn't paying attention, a sudden gust blew at him.

”GYAH!”

Zeeg hadn't noticed that the last monster of the pack was sneaking up on him, with its cry in deathly agony bringing the boy back to his senses. Bubbling blood gushed out of the Genprey's mouth as its white scaly abdomen was pierced by the Diablo Spear.

”……Do not let your guard down.”

Dealing the blow with silent movements unfitting of his large build, Gannon then spoke up. Zeeg gulped in nervousness, knowing that he would have been bitten in the neck if the large man were to be even slightly slower.

”S-sorry…”

Gannon swiped the Genprey's body off his lance, then made a step towards the cave.

Zeeg sheathed his great sword and went after the leading man. Elmeria and Freda also followed in line.

Regrettably, there wasn't enough time for them to carve materials from the Genpreys. What takes priority right now is saving Fradio- or more accurately, the hunter in Gypceros equipment who could have been him.

Although Elmeria did shout out earlier that it was Fradio, she mustn't have been certain.

That is because, even when seen from a distance, the gunner in the Khezu's clutch definitely had the Gypceros Cap on.

The four finally arriving at an opening in the rock face, they stopped and stood there. A cold atmosphere oozed out from beyond the blue darkness.

”Freda, you have any advice for us? You've fought that thing before, right?”

”Many times.”

Freda answered while checking her Heroic Blade's sharpness.

”His body doesn't have any scales, and is instead fully covered in a special mucus. That mucus sticks to bladed weapons to dull their edge, and also serves to disperse impact from blunt weapons.”

”How annoying.”

”Hm. Also, when his body s.h.i.+nes in white and blue, get away. It's the sign of an electric emission attack. If you take it head-on, you might end up the same as those Iopreys earlier.”

”What about breath attacks?”

Zeeg enquired white taking out a whetstone, then nimbly polis.h.i.+ng the fangs of his Ravager Blade+, one by one.

”He can spit lightning b.a.l.l.s- a sphere-shaped light ma.s.s packed with electricity. If it hits, you'd most definitely die on the spot. The movement sign of him performing this attack is a raised-up neck, the same as other wyverns. His line of fire won't change after he starts doing that, so just run to the side. And then, you'll also need to pay attention when he clings to the ceiling and drips his saliva. It's highly acidic, and can melt all the way to your bones.”

”Not just disgusting in looks but also fighting style, huh.”

”You think so? I think he's lovely- like something out of a fairy tale.”

Elmeria looked at Freda, eyes narrowed.

”……You- don't tell me… You like Khezu?”

Freda did not give an answer.

However, Zeeg thought that it is very likely the case. She referred to the wyvern as a ”he” in the same manner as how Fradio referred to the Gypceros as a ”she”, and the girl is also fully equipped with Khezu equipment.

”Seriously? -No, it's not that I care about what wyverns you like or anything, but you can fight, right? I don't want you to say something like you feel sorry for it in the case when we need to kill it, you know.”

”……If it's that, then you should have known the answer after seeing my equipment.”

Elmeria stared at Freda for a moment before letting out a sigh.

”You're the same as Fradio even in that aspect, huh.”

”The same?”

”You see, Fradio-” Zeeg spoke up, ”He likes the Gypceros a whole lot. He even insisted on using equipment made from that wyvern, not changing to better things even when he had plenty of money and materials for them.”

Freda nodded, as if to state her agreement.

”There's one more thing you need to know when fighting him. Flash Bombs won't work. It's because his eyes have regressed greatly. The methods he uses for finding prey are currently unknown. It's said that he does not by listening to sound, but by sensing smell and temperature.”

”But that does not mean it does not have a sense of hearing.”

Gannon spoke up while surveying the darkness ahead.

”I have encountered it once during my youth, and it responded to the sound of the Field Horn used by one of my friends, for it to direct its attention to them so that I could escape.”

As for what happened to that friend of his, one would know just by looking at his facial expression even if he doesn't say anything.

”If we can get its attention, then it's all good- Alright, shall we?”

Zeeg and the others nodded.

Stepping out of hiding, the group ran head first into the cave with Gannon as the vanguard.

They surveyed their surroundings without stopping their feet.

Something resembling ivy dangled from the ceiling, and there were white mushrooms growing here and there. The interior's walls emitted a blue glow. On the wall to their left-hand side, they could see a large opening that leads deeper into the darkness.

(”There!”)

From that hole, a slimy white tail poked out.

Elmeria and the others seemed to have noticed it as well.

As usual, Gannon leads the way. The Khezu still hasn't noticed the group. It stood there, turning its back to its pursuers. What it is currently doing in the dark may very well be eating, but the hunters forcibly rid themselves of such thoughts.

Zeeg reached for the handle of his great sword, preparing to charge ahead like usual.

Elmeria detached the Breath Core from her waist, still holding it behind her.

Freda held her s.h.i.+eld up, while drawing her Heroic Blade with her other hand.

-Finally, a Field Horn has been blown!

Its sound echoed throughout the cave. From the hole in the wall, the Khezu turned its seemingly headless neck around.

(”Geh-!”)

Never before has Zeeg seen a wyvern so repulsive.

Immediately at the end of its neck was something resembling a face with only a pair of lips. It gave an impression of a badly wrinkled frankfurter that had been cut open on its tip.

While the Khezu shook its body and waved its neck, extending it outside the hole.

The neck was frightfully stretchy.

Its skin stretched out as much as it could, showing its gums and rows of sharp teeth at its end. Saliva dripped from the s.p.a.ce between its teeth, steaming as they created small punctures in the cave's rock floor.

(”Where's Fradio?”)

While the boy was looking around for him, the Khezu spread its small wings and kicked down on the ground, making a jump with the intention of dropping its body on Gannon.

A gunner hunter in Gypceros equipment was held in its foot!

”Nuh-!”

Gannon raised up his Diablos Carapace s.h.i.+eld just in time to defend against the talons of the monster's other foot. The heels of his Gravios Greaves broke the rock surface as they dug into the ground.

Although in an unstable stance, Gannon grabbed his Diablo Spear and jabbed its pointed end at the Khezu, aiming at the leg that the monster was using to hold its prey.

-BWOOOOOH!

Sounding its bizarre roar, the Khezu's saliva sprinkled all over the as it thrashed around, flinging away its prey. The gunner hunter in Gypceros equipment struck the Ice Crystal wall, scattering a faint glow before falling down to the ground.

Currently however, the group doesn't have the time to go help the person up.

Zeeg grasped the handle of his sword tightly as he ran towards the Khezu.

Elmeria charged up her strength as she ran off, and Gannon covered his front with his s.h.i.+eld, advancing towards the Khezu in order to draw its attention.

The white wyvern readjusted its stance and stretched its neck towards Gannon. However, its aim seemed to be off, as its neck missed the man, extending past him.

”Gannon, behind you!”

Gannon turned around as he heard Elmeria's panicked exclamation.

The unbelievably long neck curled back and opened its red mouth as it prepared to devour the large man from behind.

(”I won't make it in time!”)

Zeeg felt a chill run down his spine. However-

”Kuh-!”

The sharp teeth were met with symbols of red and blue wyverns on Freda's small s.h.i.+eld, effectively stopped by her guard.

However, half of the girl's arm was stuck in the monster's mouth!

Freda moaned as the wyvern's teeth wedged into her arm, its saliva steaming as it melted away her vambraces.

”Freda-!”

Zeeg ran ahead in an arc, unsheathing his Ravager Blade+ and swung it down at his target's wing. Although his sword bounced back in an instant due to the mucus on the monster's skin, the blade was able to cut its wing membranes, tearing it apart as the Khezu collapsed and hit the wall.

”Eat this!”

Elmeria waved her hammer as she ran in.

She'll definitely hit its head, was what Zeeg thought.

However, the Khezu instantly shortened its neck, causing the Breat Core's swing to shred the air as it banged on the crystal wall. A tremor could be felt throughout the whole cave along with a thunderous echo, as the impact left a large round hole on the wall.

Parts of the wall and ceiling then crumbled.

”Tch.”

Elmeria pulled her hammer out of the wall, then raised it for an overhead swing.

It was then that the Khezu stuck its tail on the ground, standing there as its white body started to glow in blue.

”This is bad- Run!”

Freda shouted as she hopped back, Zeeg rolled away to the side, but Elmeria couldn't respond in time due to her body already fully committing to her strike.

Zeeg looked on with dazzled eyes, maybe because he hit his head while rolling.

”Young mistress!”

While hopping away, Gannon forced his body to change direction back forward, then used the giant horn on his Diablo Mail to grab Elmeria by the sleeve of her doublet, then threw her backwards.

Then sounded a crackle similar to a seed busting open as it fell into fire, as flashes of bluish-white lightning dispersed in a circ.u.mference around the Khezu.

Gannon ate that attack in full, his body springing up frantically like a fish out of water. He was then thrown out of the snares of lightning, tumbling into a pool of water.

”Gannon!”

With a shout that may as well be a scream, Elmeria rushed up to the large man, grabbing his arm in an attempt to drag him up.

She could not do so due to his weight, however.

Freda ran up to them and lent a hand. This time the Khezu, with its tail still grounded, stretched its body all the way up to the ceiling. A white radiance could be seen in its abdomen, running up its neck!

”Watch out!”

Zeeg shouted.

Freda turned around, and after discerning that dodging would be futile, readied her s.h.i.+eld and sprung out in front of Elmeria and Gannon.

The Khezu then released an electric ball from its mouth, with Freda taking a direct hit!

The whole cave was briefly illuminated in a bluish-white radiance.

Then as the light subsided, Freda, Elmeria, and Gannon were found collapsed on the ground, not moving a muscle.

The Khezu wasn't there.

”Dammit!”

As Zeeg was rus.h.i.+ng to their aid, a hand stopped him.

Turning around, he was met with the pair of eyes looking at him from inside the executioner-like Gypceros cap, worn by the gunner in Gypceros equipment.

Having seen that, the boy was fully convinced that it is indeed Fradio.

”……Please run away.”

The voice was faint, but surely, that was what he said.

There's no way I'll do that- was what Zeeg intended to say, but he was thrusted away by Fradio before he could do so.

Zeeg looked on as he fell over on his back.

In the spot he was standing on just a moment ago, the Khezu jumped down! The rock floor cracked as it landed, fragments of Ice Crystals glittering as they scattered.

Finally able to stop his tumbling now that that he fell into a pool of water, Zeeg raised his face up from the water and was met with a sight horrific beyond words.

-Fradio is being eaten alive!

The Khezu is swallowing the man whole, starting from his feet. The state of him slowly being swallowed down the monster's throat could be seen from above its translucent skin.

”Please, run away! Hurry! Everyone-”

Completely swallowing Fradio down, the Khezu's swelled up significantly as the man was trapped inside its stomach, locked in a Fetal position.

The white wyvern sprung up and clung to the ceiling, then began its retreat towards a hole in the wall that apparently leads deeper into its nest.

A great sword is unable to reach all the way up to the ceiling.

At any rate, Zeeg understood fully that he's unable to do anything by himself in the current situation.

Keeping his eyes on the Khezu, Zeeg crept towards Elmeria and the others. In his head, the boy was trying to shake off negative thoughts, like the possibility of their internal organs having been cooked well-done like those Iopreys from earlier.

”Elmeria! Freda! Gannon!”

Zeeg shook up the bodies of those three.

Although there was a burnt smell, it wasn't as bad as when they found the Iopreys. The only apparent external effect was only a small amount of burnt hair.

The first one to come to their senses was Elmeria.

”Elmeria!”