MHGA Chapter 213 – First Encounter with Kirin
That bottle of healing medicine shattered in Yorinobu Arasaka's hand.
Shards of glass stabbed deep into his palm—
But then…
As Yorinobu lifted his hand, he watched the rapid regenerative effect of the medicine at work.
The embedded shards were forcefully pushed out by the healing tissue, and his hand looked… even better than before.
"I have to find the source of this drug… before Saburo Arasaka does."
Yorinobu threw the glass shards away in frustration.
If that ancient monster ever got his hands on something like this…
A drug that could fully heal wounds—
Even one that might truly reverse aging—
"Damn it! Bastard!" Yorinobu roared as he smashed everything within reach.
"They'll actually be able to make their dreams come true with this!!"
"I have to… track down the source—fast!"
"Achoo—!"
In Night City, after resting up at the Gathering Hall and getting ready to investigate both Night City and the Kirin, Kairo Retsu suddenly sneezed.
The unexpected sneeze made his hands jerk the steering wheel, causing the car to jolt hard.
"Guildmaster! Are you catching a cold?"
Tanjiro, sitting in the passenger seat, looked over with concern.
"Should we go back and have Granny Felyne take a look? It'd be bad if you got sick!"
"It's fine, it's fine."
Kairo rubbed his nose.
"This trip's just a scouting run."
"After all this time tracking Kirin signs, we finally got a clear lead. How can we not challenge it now?"
"This is a preliminary recon mission! I specifically handpicked the four of us for this vanguard team to gauge Kirin's strength!"
Adjusting the rearview mirror, Kairo glanced at the two seated in the back:
Naofumi Iwatani and Laios.
The four in this car were the ones chosen for the first attempt on Kirin.
"Are we seriously going with just the four of us?"
Naofumi gripped the back of the front seat.
"Kirin's an Elder Dragon, right? Are you sure we're up to the task?"
"I mean, if Himmel were with us, wouldn't that be more effective?"
Kairo shook his head.
"This first recon is for intelligence gathering."
"I'll compare it to what I know about Kirin," he continued.
"Tanjiro's 'Transparent World' can observe Kirin's movements in fine detail, and Laios's focus on ecology might help us catch subtle signs others would miss."
"As for Himmel…"
Kairo paused.
"We can't rely on someone that powerful."
"What do you mean?" Tanjiro asked curiously.
Kairo explained:
"Himmel is like a senior who's already reached full power. If we leaned on him completely, it'd be like a newbie Hunter in their second mission suddenly getting dragged along by three veterans—straight to Fatalis."
"And then the newbie's expected to solo the first phase while still wearing Defender gear…"
"In your terms, Tanjiro—it'd be like a new Demon Slayer who just passed the Final Selection and got their Nichirin Blade,
then the Nine Hashira drag him straight into the Infinity Castle and make him 1v1 Muzan…"
"I get it now."
Naofumi covered his face.
"I really get it."
And he did.
Not from the xdx analogy—
But from his own world.
Just thinking about how useless the other three Heroes were made Naofumi want to knock their heads together.
He resolved to discipline those idiots and whip them into shape—at least to stop them from being a danger to others.
"Alright! Let's go—Badlands!"
Kairo stomped on the gas pedal, and the car sped out toward the outskirts of Night City.
In a desolate section of the Badlands,
A mighty beast had made its temporary nest.
Heavy thunderclouds rolled overhead.
Lightning stirred restlessly in the sky.
All of it—was the result of Kirin's mere presence.
This wasn't even an active skill.
Just its natural aura.
Kairo brought the vehicle to a stop, then crouched to examine the ground.
Scoutflies had already been deployed.
They followed the tracks hunters had found and were now zeroing in on Kirin's trail.
"Hoof-like prints… and there's no one raising horses near Night City.
This is Night City—not Wild West Wifey."
Kairo pinched a bit of soil from the track.
The static charge made the hairs on the back of his hand stand on end.
"Ooooohhh!"
Laios stuck his head out the window—his hair puffing up from the electrical field.
"This current! My hair's standing straight up! That means we're super close to Kirin, right?"
"Bingo."
Kairo handed binoculars to Tanjiro in the passenger seat.
"Naofumi, you'll handle defense. We're just gathering intel, so focus on stalling if needed."
"Understood."
Naofumi nodded, face serious.
"I'll hold it off as long as I can."
"Guildmaster! I see it!"
Tanjiro suddenly grew excited and waved back at the others.
"On the hill over there! There's a silver shadow!"
"What!?"
Everyone craned their necks out the windows.
In the dusty-yellow landscape of the Badlands,
that glimmer of silver on the hillside shone bright and unmistakable.
It moved with elegance—
yet held a fierce, razor-like edge.
Through his binoculars, Kairo saw the Kirin grazing, nibbling at the sparse vegetation in the Badlands.
But…
Something felt… off.
"Guildmaster."
Laios observed, eyes narrowing.
"Does that Kirin look… kind of hungry to you?"
Even though the Kirin's movements were as graceful and noble as always…
The way it chomped down entire shrubs in one bite made Laios think—
That thing might've been starving for a while.
He wasn't well-versed in Kirin ecology,
but still—was it normal for one to eat this fast?
"I dunno either."
Kairo was equally confused.
"Why the hell does this Kirin look like it's gone rabid with hunger… chomp-chomp-chomp…"
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium