"ROAAAAAAAR————!!!"
The moment the Winged Lion vanished, the Hellblade Glavenus clamped its massive bladed tail in its jaws and began sharpening it using the armor plates on its face. With an ear-piercing grinding screech, intense heat erupted from its mouth and tail, and even explosive powder began seeping from the corners of its mouth and tail.
As it let out a thunderous roar in their direction, searing firelight radiated from its massive jaws—
Just seeing this made Marcille feel completely numb.
"No no no no no no no no no no no—!"
Marcille clutched her staff, nearly in tears.
"This kind of monster is even worse than a Teostra! How the hell are we supposed to beat that?!"
"Is that so?"
Kairo Retsu calmly eyed the Hellblade Glavenus as it continued sharpening its blade.
Even as it sharpened, it was fixated on them, as if ready to strike with its tail and cleave everyone in half at any moment.
Given that the strongest blade user among them was Tanjiro, it made sense that after becoming the Dungeon Lord, a creature like this would appear at his side...
But Tanjiro wouldn't have created such a monster consciously.
That means—this monster must've been replicated by the Winged Lion based on memories buried in Tanjiro's subconscious.
That would explain why this Glavenus didn't give off the same overwhelming pressure as the real thing.
At most, its presence was roughly on par with the Rathalos couple they ran into during that egg-theft incident.
As a high-rank monster, it was… honestly a little too weak.
And the reason for that?
Kairo Retsu had noticed several tells on the Hellblade Glavenus's body—subtle details he had intentionally altered before showing Tanjiro the image of a Glavenus.
Since Tanjiro had just recently become a Hunter, he had never seen a Glavenus in person, and certainly had no idea what a Hellblade variant looked like.
The one before them had reversed plating on its back.
In reality, the heat-dispersing plates on a Glavenus's back were blue and grew forward, like flames licking its spine.
Even Hellblade Glavenus preserved this key trait—but the one before them had its plates growing backward. That proved it was based on the doctored illustration Kairo had shown Tanjiro.
"Pity. Just a replica," Kairo muttered, a little disappointed.
Now that he had confirmed this, Kairo also noticed more irregularities—anatomical inconsistencies, most likely from the flawed replication process.
This creature… had only average Monster Hunter monster-level strength. It was manageable!
"Are you really going to give up now?"
Kairo raised his voice, attempting to rouse Marcille's fighting spirit.
"If you want to resurrect Falin, this is our chance! We have to solve the Dungeon problem first before we can bring Falin back!"
"Marcille, now's not the time to stop moving!"
As Kairo said this, the grinding from the Hellblade Glavenus abruptly ceased. Its blade—now infused with metallic heat—was glowing red-hot. The air around it rippled and distorted from the heat.
"I'll help too," Senshi said without hesitation.
He picked up his strongest defensive tool—a pot made of adamant—and pulled on a pair of heat-resistant gloves, preparing to block the Glavenus's attack.
"Ugh, fine! I'll do it already!!!"
Hearing that Falin's fate was on the line, Marcille closed her eyes and raised her staff.
"But what am I even doing?! I've never even seen this kind of monster before!!!"
"Hey! I'm not cut out for frontal combat either!"
Chilchuck shouted, frantically looking around but finding nowhere to hide.
"Leave blocking to me and Senshi!" Kairo barked.
"These big, flashy monsters are just gift-wrapped for Charge Blade users like us! Watch my perfect guard!"
"Laios!! You go on the offensive with the Switch Axe! I know fighting a Glavenus for your first hunt is intense, but man, it's exhilarating!"
"Senshi! Be ready to swap in for me and make sure it doesn't hit anyone else trying to deal damage!"
"Chilchuck! Track its movements and guide Marcille! Standing still against something like this is asking to die! It'll unleash a huge Iai Slash!!!"
"MOVE MOVE MOVE—EVERYONE MOVE!!!!"
"Hunting time starts NOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!"
Kairo shouted ecstatically and charged forward, just as the Hellblade Glavenus swung its massive tail at him.
Its sweeping strike was fast and powerful—but Kairo, through sheer effort, read the move and raised his Charge Blade's shield just in time, executing a Guard Point.
At the moment of impact, his sword arm jabbed the tail blade.
The immense force drove Kairo back two steps, but he held his ground and successfully blocked the Hellblade Glavenus's first attack.
The force of the clash between man and beast sent a rush through his body.
Since becoming a Hunter, they had only dealt with demons—never a proper large monster.
Even in the Dungeon, they hadn't encountered anything that truly resembled a boss-tier monster.
And while this one was just a replica…
It was enough to stir his hunter's soul.
His first mock exam as a true Hunter!!!
"Now this is what I call a proper opponent!!!"
Kairo raised his Charge Blade sword high.
"A Hunter's weapon isn't for fighting ordinary enemies!!!"
—
"Guess that confirms it."
The sounds of battle from Kairo's side carried through the still-open Guild communication channel, reaching Joseph and the others.
Kairo had encountered a monster too—likely another creation from the Winged Lion.
Meanwhile, Joseph's team had been in a brutal fight against a Lagombi.
Exhausted, they finally realized the distant explosion earlier must've come from Kairo's direction.
"What do you mean 'a proper opponent'?!"
Kazuma roared, dodging the ice-wielding Lagombi with Dual Blades in hand, completely out of breath.
He was barely able to keep up using only his bow—there wasn't even room for sliding around.
"Who the hell gets excited about running into monsters like this?!"
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