Originally, Isis had only meant to deal with the electrical attack more safely by detonating the crystal pillars scattered across the ground. Toppling the Kuarusepu had been an entirely unexpected bonus.
A Hunter would naturally never let such a perfect opening slip away.
There was no time to take medicine and recover from her injuries. Relying on the powerful Thunder Resistance provided by her Thunderproof Mantle and Lagiacrus Armor Set, Isis endured the electric arcs dispersing around the Kuarusepu and rushed beneath its belly.
In the pouring rain, the Glavenus Gunlance could not build up enough waste heat from its shelling to superheat the blade, but Isis's assault remained just as fierce.
She swung the Gunlance in a frenzy, as though determined to tear the Kuarusepu's belly wide open and blast its organs apart. Blood and shredded flesh splattered across her new Armor, only to be washed away moments later by the torrential rain.
"Meeoow!"
With a piercing yowl, Clawdia, who had been quiet for some time, suddenly leaped out of the ground.
Inky-black fighting spirit shrouded her body, and a scarlet gleam blazed in her eyes. Even the thick, dark curtain of rain could not obscure those two flame-like points of bloody light.
She crawled straight into the Kuarusepu through the massive wounds in its belly and began savaging the comparatively soft organs within.
Isis repeatedly cycled between shelling and reloading, driving her remaining Wyrmstakes into the Monster as quickly as she could.
These sharp steel stakes, each as thick as an adult's arm and carved with deep blood grooves, inflicted penetrating wounds that accelerated blood loss and prevented the Monster's injuries from closing.
The searing pain in its abdomen and the paralysis caused by the electric current continued to torment the Kuarusepu's nerves. Gravely wounded, it struggled to rise, but the mortal threat drove it to roll over with all its strength.
Unwilling to be crushed into a meat pancake, Isis had no choice but to break off her attack and retreat. Clawdia, however, stubbornly refused to leave the Kuarusepu's body.
She had already slipped through the gaps between its ribs. Her small frame allowed her to hide among its bones and organs without being crushed, while her sharp steel claws tore one bloody gash after another across the surface of its viscera.
Had the Kuarusepu not been so enormous, or spent years feeding on ore until the outer walls of its organs grew thicker and tougher than those of most Monsters, Clawdia's frenzied burrowing and clawing might have killed it outright.
Even so, the Kuarusepu was critically wounded.
Its body convulsed and twitched as it struggled for breath. Bloody froth gushed from its mouth and nostrils with every exhalation, trickling between its teeth and across its head shell.
Yet it still refused to give up the fight.
"ROOOAAAR!"
As it unleashed another prolonged roar at the sky, several thunderbolts struck its body in quick succession and were absorbed. The gradually dimming crystal prisms flared with electric light once more, brimming with energy.
The terrifying current then converged along those crystal prisms toward the front of the Kuarusepu's body.
As the charge built, the crystals on the Monster's head shone ever brighter.
The Kuarusepu raised its head, its murky yellow eyes fixed on the Hunter before it. It intended to unleash its strongest attack and reduce her to charred ash in a single blow.
"Watch out!" Alma's tense shout reached her ears.
Fall back and establish a defensive line, or keep pressing forward?
Isis made her decision in an instant. Retreating was not how Gunlance users fought, and it was not her style either.
She had little time left. The Kuarusepu would unleash its attack in no more than three to five seconds.
Isis quickly estimated the height of its head. The creature had learned its lesson and now held its head a full four or five meters above the ground. Slashing attacks could not reach it, while ordinary shelling lacked the necessary power.
The new technique she had learned from Ted was perfect for this situation, but she had yet to master it. She still failed often when practicing in the Training Area, but there was no time to worry about that now!
Isis sprinted to the Kuarusepu's chest and immediately began charging the Wyvern's Fire that had only just finished cooling down.
As energy gathered, the Gunlance trembled violently in her hands, as though it might slip out of control at any moment.
Isis forced the weapon steady with her powerful wrists, then roared as she raised the Gunlance high and fired a Full Burst directly into the Kuarusepu's chin.
AA Flare! (Hunter Art)
"BOOM!"
The shells and flames erupting from the muzzle blasted the Kuarusepu's head sideways, but this time it did not recoil from its instinctive fear of fire. It held firm.
Terrifying lightning converged around its head, poised for release.
The immense recoil from the Full Burst nearly knocked Isis off balance and flung the heavy Gunlance backward.
"Haaah!"
Isis bellowed and drove upward from her legs. The muscles in her waist, back, and arms tightened in unison as she forcibly countered the Full Burst's tremendous recoil and thrust the Gunlance upward once more.
At that same instant, the fully charged Kuarusepu unleashed its attack.
A torrent of lightning vast enough to engulf the Hunter's entire body erupted from its head. If it struck her, even the combined protection of her shield, Mantle, and Armor would not keep her from being incapacitated in an instant.
Yet just as the Kuarusepu released its attack, the Gunlance's muzzle slammed against its lower jaw.
"Wyvern's Fire!"
"RUMBLE! RUMBLE!"
The Kuarusepu's attack was not interrupted, but the surging blast of flame knocked its head upward. As its head snapped back, the terrifying torrent of lightning shot into the sky and triggered another series of thunderclaps.
"Click!"
From behind her cover, Alma captured the moment with the portable camera hanging around her neck.
Amid the storm, the Hunter and the Monster traded their attacks head-on. The explosive flames of Wyvern's Fire engulfed the creature's head from below, while the raging lightning it released illuminated the rain-darkened night sky.
Having discharged all the electrical energy it had absorbed from the thunderbolts, then taken a direct Wyvern's Fire blast beneath its jaw, the dazed Kuarusepu staggered and nearly collapsed.
Sensing that the moment had come, Isis drew several Tranq Ammo rounds and smashed them near the Kuarusepu's feet.
"Clawdia! Trap!"
Clawdia emerged from the wound in the Kuarusepu's chest in a horrifying display, her Armor and fur soaked through with blood. She pulled out a Shock Trap and set it beneath the creature.
The thunderstorm over the hills passed as quickly as it had arrived. As the thunderclouds and rain gradually dispersed, the battle entered its final phase.
The massive beast that had occupied the mine collapsed heavily to the ground. The crystal prisms covering its body reflected an enchanting light beneath the moon.
The Kuarusepu was successfully captured.
—--
Meanwhile, in Harth.
Inside the Gathering Hall tavern, three drunkards, one man and two women, had taken over a table.
Each of them clutched a mug as large as a person's head and tipped it back, gulping furiously as though competing to see who could finish first.
Ted, the huge, stout bald man, slammed his empty mug onto the table first. After releasing an earthshaking belch, he laughed heartily and slapped his belly.
"I'm first!"
The woman in goggles, whose figure was as striking as her outfit was bold, finished right behind him. She wore nothing above the waist but a tight corset that could barely contain her ample chest.
She belched. "Second!"
Another three or four seconds passed before Malika finally drained her ale and set down her mug last.
Ted and the bold woman both pointed at her and burst out laughing. "You lose!"
Malika wiped her mouth and cursed, "Damn it. Ted's a fat bastard, so I can understand him, but how did you drink so quickly too?"
As she spoke, Malika's gaze settled on the bold woman's chest. "And what happened to your figure? How did that little runt turn into a bombshell in only a few years?"
The bold woman rubbed her freckled nose and grinned. "I hit my growth spurt and filled out. What's wrong with that?"
"Growth spurt...? You're only a few years younger than me, aren't you?"
(As a half-Troverian, she matured late.)
* * *
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