Gael's booming laughter rang a little harshly through the vast hall.
But everyone, including His Immenseness, had grown accustomed to her brazen behavior, so no one paid it any mind.
Once the support roster was confirmed, the High Rank Hunters not taking part in the operation departed one after another. The more outgoing among them even made a point of greeting Altaïr and Isis before leaving.
They might have a chance to work together someday, and it never hurt to get acquainted.
Led by the Guild Manager, the group left the main hall and returned to the antechamber. As the massive metal gate swung shut behind them, Isis breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Truth be told, the sight of Gael hooking an arm around her shoulders and bellowing "Wahahaha!" right in front of His Immenseness still intimidated her.
She had nearly given in to the urge to burrow into the ground and hide.
Before leaving, Gael let her grin fade, gave Isis's arm a firm pat, and said, "Both Gore Magala and Shagaru Magala are extremely dangerous, so watch yourselves.
"Make sure you heed the scholars' advice. Back when we knew little about the Frenzy Virus, a great many people died from it.
"We're much safer now that we have Wystones, but who knows what other unexpected changes might arise? In any case, don't let your guard down."
"We'll be careful." Altaïr nodded solemnly.
"Mm-hmm. As long as you take it seriously." Gael glanced to the side. "Oh, right. Pass a message to that Rosso kid for me.
"Tell him to be careful when leading the squad. If anyone gets hurt because of a command blunder, he'd better make sure he comes back alive! I'm off!"
With that, Gael waved and strode away.
As soon as Gael was gone, a Guild Knight clad in the organization's distinctive light armor stepped out from behind a pillar in the antechamber.
At the sight of him, Altaïr thought, Just as I suspected.
When he first heard the name "Rosso," he had suspected as much. But Rosso was not an especially rare name, so it could easily have been someone else.
Now he was sure.
The Rosso whom His Immenseness had personally chosen to lead the Cluster Heavy Bowgun Squad was the same man who had once "arrested" Altaïr and Isis...
Isis clearly remembered him too. With a hint of deliberate sarcasm, she called out, "Ah! It really is you, Mr. Rosso! Aunt Gael asked us to give you a message!"
"I heard, I heard..." Rosso scratched his curly beard and gave a wry smile. "Why did His Immenseness pick a mere 5★ Hunter like me to lead the squad? That's a lot of pressure."
The Guild Manager, who had been speaking with Hojo, turned to Rosso and said, "Fabius thinks highly of you, and Gael once said that you might take command of the Heavy Bowgun Squad someday.
"Do a good job. Don't betray their trust."
"That only makes the pressure worse."
After a weary sigh, Rosso's expression turned serious. "The Cluster Heavy Bowgun Squad depends on logistics and supplies. How much time do we have to prepare?"
Altaïr looked toward Hojo; he had been wondering the same thing.
"Five days to a week," Hojo replied.
Rosso's expression eased slightly. "That's more time than I expected. I thought we'd have to leave immediately."
"A few days will be more than enough to requisition a large stock of ammunition from the Guild warehouse."
The barest hint of a smile touched Minoto's lips. "Rest assured, Mr. Rosso. Kamura Village's logistics network is exceptionally efficient. Even if we left immediately with nothing, Mr. Hibasa and the others would have everything ready by the time we landed in Kamura."
"Then what are we waiting for? Why do we need that long?" Isis asked, puzzled. If something had happened in Kamura, shouldn't they hurry there as quickly as possible?
"A Frenzy Virus outbreak is no ordinary epidemic, and Shagaru Magala is no ordinary Monster. Sending a squad of High Rank Hunters to hack it to death would not solve the entire problem, Miss Isis." It was the director of the Frenzy Virus Research Institute who answered. "Those five days to a week are how long our scholars need to study the samples of the new Frenzy Virus strain brought from Kamura and develop targeted countermeasures. We must ensure that the Hunters can resist the effects of infection as completely as possible. Otherwise, not even the strongest Hunter could stand against Shagaru Magala."
"Oh, I see." Isis scratched her head.
Altaïr followed up with another question. "Director, could you tell us more about the Frenzy Virus, Shagaru Magala, and the Gore Magala you mentioned earlier?"
The director gave a slight nod. "Of course. Put simply, Shagaru Magala and Gore Magala are the same species. Shagaru Magala is the adult form, while Gore Magala is the juvenile form. Both forms shed scale dust containing the Frenzy Virus and Shagaru Magala's reproductive spores. Monsters infected with the Frenzy Virus become frenzied and aggressive, then die within a few dozen days, sometimes after only a few, as the infection exhausts each host's vitality. Frenzied Monsters leave established territories and rampage indiscriminately, spreading the virus along the way. As a result, once even a single infected individual appears in an area, the epidemic can spread with extraordinary speed."
"So it spreads exponentially, one infecting ten and ten infecting a hundred?" Altaïr drew a sharp breath. "That would devastate an ecosystem far more severely than even a Deviljho."
"It goes beyond that." The director opened her perpetually narrowed eyes a fraction, revealing pink irises. "As I just explained, the scale dust shed by Shagaru Magala and Gore Magala contains not only the Frenzy Virus but also their reproductive spores. This species reproduces asexually and is also parasitic. A Gore Magala embryo can develop inside some Monsters infected with the Frenzy Virus. The embryo draws nourishment from the host's flesh and blood as it grows, then eventually bursts from the body as a new source of the virus."
Even Isis drew a sharp breath at that. "So it isn't just one infecting ten and ten infecting a hundred. It could result in hundreds or even thousands of Gore Magala?"
"If we took no action at all and ignored nature's ability to regulate itself, that could indeed happen. Fortunately, not every Large Monster infected with the Frenzy Virus can gestate a Gore Magala. The precise conditions and odds remain unknown. The only point we have confirmed is that a Gore Magala can mature only inside a Monster of sufficient size, such as a Large Flying Wyvern or Large Brute Wyvern. Medium and small creatures, such as humans and raptors, cannot gestate one to maturity, but can still become intermediate hosts. That is why, despite decades of extensive research into Shagaru Magala, Gore Magala, and the Frenzy Virus, we still have not been able to eradicate them completely, and new outbreaks still occur every few years. Put simply, as long as even one infected creature remains anywhere in the world, even a single Kelbi, the Frenzy Virus and Gore Magala can always return."
The director paused. "Because of this terrifying combination of infectiousness and reproductive capacity, the Guild's policy toward Shagaru Magala, Gore Magala, and every Monster infected with the Frenzy Virus has always been simple: 'Kill on sight.' Bear in mind, even a Monster as destructive to ecosystems as Deviljho does not face such an uncompromising policy from the Guild. Now do you understand what you are about to face?"
The group fell silent. Altaïr recalled the impossibly lush lands around Kamura, the absurd density of the Monster population, and the entire succession of calamities, with the Frenzy Virus only one among them. His palms began to sweat. He had once thought Senior Maki and the others were too eager to kill Monsters, as though they cared less about preserving nature's balance than people in the Old World. Only now did he truly understand that their willingness to kill was precisely what protected the ecosystem...