At Nymera's stern urging, the Felynes and Palamutes of the Meowcenaries began gathering materials.
She then called Morgan over and returned with him to the half-destroyed camp.
Nymera searched through the collapsed tents, found a thick cloak to wrap around herself, and handed Morgan one of her spare shirts.
A woman's shirt is cut a little differently from a man's, particularly across the shoulders and waist. A man of average build would certainly find one awkward, but Nymera's shirt fit Morgan surprisingly well.
Morgan sighed as he put his Armor back on. He had long since grown used to such things.
As the two sorted and counted the scattered supplies, a Felyne from the Meowcenaries came rushing over to report.
"Miss Nymera, you should come see this, meow!"
Nymera and Morgan exchanged a glance, slung their weapons and Ammo over their backs, and followed the Felyne back to the Rathalos's corpse.
The Felynes and Palamutes had already cut open the Rathalos's carcass with their weapons, laying its chest and abdomen bare. Blood and entrails covered the ground.
Yet no one paid any attention to the slaughterhouse-like scene.
Everyone stared at the large black mass beside the carcass, which appeared to be... another corpse.
"We had just cut open the Rathalos's abdomen when this thing crawled out, meow! Everyone panicked and hit it with Felyne Swords, chain-sickles, and steel fangs. We killed it in no time, meow."
Without realizing it, Morgan deployed his weapon as he stared at the pitch-black corpse, which was two or three meters long. "Is this... an embryo?"
"It should be a partially developed Gore Magala embryo." Nymera's expression darkened. "If we left it alone, it might finish developing in a few more months, burst from its host, and become a new source of infection.
"Take photographs for our records. Photograph the embryo and the inside of the Rathalos's carcass. The scholars can use them to determine how long the embryo has been developing.
"Tempura, take your squad and get this embryo back to the Red Stronghold as fast as possible. This is far more important than tissue from an ordinary infected Monster."
"Understood, meow." The lead Felyne called the rest of the squad over. Once the photographs were taken, the Meowcenaries wrapped and bound the embryo in oilcloth, then worked together to lift it onto a light cart pulled by Palamutes.
"Miss Nymera, and you too, sir, though we still don't know your name, stay safe, meow. We'll be going on ahead, meow."
With that, the Meowcenary squad raced away toward the Red Stronghold.
Only Nymera and Morgan remained beside the Rathalos's carcass.
Morgan looked to the higher-ranked Nymera for orders.
Nymera glanced at the sky and considered their next move. "It'll be dawn soon. Let's hurry and hunt the remaining Anjanath, then check whether an embryo is growing inside it too. After that, we'll head back."
"Understood."
—--
The next hunt went smoothly. Both Gunners were stronger than the standard expected of 5★ Hunters, and by working together, they made short work of the Anjanath, which was also infected with the Frenzy Virus.
They carefully examined the Anjanath's carcass but found nothing like the Gore Magala embryo inside the Rathalos.
After taking a few photographs as evidence, Nymera fired another SOS Flare to mark the carcass's location. The two then mounted their Palamutes and set off for the Red Stronghold.
—--
When Morgan and Nymera returned to the Red Stronghold, they discovered something that left them utterly speechless.
A Rathalos had attacked their camp late in the night. They had killed it quickly, set out again before dawn, finished the secondary target, the Anjanath, that same morning, and immediately begun the return trip, arriving at the Red Stronghold that evening. By any reasonable standard, that was early.
Yet Altaïr and Isis had both returned earlier. Much, much earlier.
Altaïr had returned to the Red Stronghold before noon. Isis was even more absurd. She had arrived first thing that morning.
Apparently, she had gone straight to Guild Master Hojo to turn in her quest. When she learned that she was the first one back, she had thrown both arms up in triumph and shouted, "I win!"
The six-to-eight-hour return trip could not be shortened, which meant both of them had chosen to hunt at night. Isis had apparently begun her hunt the moment she reached the Flooded Forest the previous afternoon, then hurried back through the night...
Were those two trying to speedrun the whole thing?
Did their competitive streak really flare up that fiercely the moment they split up for separate missions?
Even so, compared with their efficiency, the Gore Magala embryo that Nymera and Morgan had brought back was clearly far more important.
The Frenzy Virus Research Institute remained brightly lit throughout another night.
—--
As expected, Altaïr and the others received notice of a meeting early the next morning.
Guild Master Hojo had organized the meeting, but the Institute Director, a woman with heavy dark circles under her eyes, actually presided over it.
"We've made several discoveries." The Institute Director knew how Hunters preferred to communicate, so she went straight to the point.
"We found a Gore Magala embryo inside the Rathalos hunted by Nymera and Morgan. Judging from its stage of development, it was at least three to four months old.
"Yet we first detected the outbreak only a little over a month ago.
"In other words, before we discovered it, the outbreak had already been spreading undetected for quite some time.
"This confirms our earlier hypothesis. The Shagaru Magala has been deliberately keeping a low profile while spreading the Frenzy Virus.
"That is our first finding."
The Hunters all nodded, whether or not they had followed the explanation.
"Our second finding is even more important. The Rathalos's carcass revealed how the Shagaru Magala is spreading the Frenzy Virus between regions."
Altaïr straightened without realizing it, the tip of his pen poised over his open notebook, ready to write.
"Our study of the tissue samples found that the Frenzy Virus inside this Rathalos differed markedly from the virus in ordinary infected Monsters. Its ability to spread was much weaker.
"In fact, it had almost reached the point of being 'overcome,' which made it far less likely to infect other creatures.
"Now consider the Rathalos's skill in flight, adaptability to many environments, and vast range. Do you understand what that implies?"
Altaïr, who had been ready to take notes, looked up in surprise. "You mean...?"
"Exactly. We believe that the Rathalos was one of the 'seedbeds' deliberately selected by the Shagaru Magala.
"Under normal circumstances, a Shagaru Magala spreads the Frenzy Virus and its spores by scattering scale dust. The reproductive spores can then parasitize certain Large Monsters and eventually give rise to a Gore Magala inside the host. The odds, however, are quite low. Otherwise, Gore Magala would have overrun the world long ago.
"This Shagaru Magala likely adopted a more reliable method.
"For example, it might attack a Rathalos and repeatedly scatter scale dust at close range, ensuring that the Rathalos becomes infected with the Frenzy Virus and is very likely to be parasitized by reproductive spores. It would then use some method to suppress the virus's activity inside the Rathalos, reducing the chance that the Rathalos would infect other creatures and turning it into a silent 'seedbed.'
"Then it would let the Rathalos go.
"Terrified by an Elder Dragon's attack, the Rathalos would undoubtedly flee far away and seek new territory in another region.
"Somewhere like the Flooded Forest.
"Over the days that followed, the embryo would grow until it matured into a Gore Magala and burst from the Rathalos's body. In this way, the Shagaru Magala could spread a new source of infection without revealing itself.
"By contrast, Khezu and Mizutsune primarily inhabit forested regions and would almost never appear in the Infernal Springs. The Frenzy Virus inside those Monsters was entirely 'normal,' with no sign of spores developing into embryos, indicating that they had been infected by conventional means."
"B-but isn't the Flooded Forest already full of infected Monsters? The Gore Magala inside the Rathalos was still only an embryo, wasn't it?" Isis asked.
The Institute Director glanced at her. "The Shagaru Magala cannot control exactly where a Rathalos flies. In a resource-rich area like the Flooded Forest, overlapping outbreaks are perfectly normal. Judging by the incubation time, the Shagaru Magala is also likely still creating new seedbeds and sending them out.
"As a result, the Gore Magala appearing one after another in different regions spread the Frenzy Virus with extreme efficiency and also serve as decoys that draw Hunters' attention away. This prevents us from concentrating all our forces on the Shagaru Magala."
"Then what should we do next?" Morgan asked the most important question.
Altaïr took up the thread. "With Maki and the others pursuing it, the Shagaru Magala is probably too busy fleeing to create more seedbeds, so we don't need to intervene on that front. But besides adult Gore Magala, we now need to keep a particularly close eye on one other kind of target: Large Flying Wyverns like Rathalos that range widely, are large enough to serve as hosts, and might be caught by the Shagaru Magala near the Infernal Springs.
"Guild Master Hojo, are there any other creatures around Kamura that meet all those conditions besides Rathalos?"
Hojo considered the question for a moment, then answered, "Rathalos would be the main one. If we include rarer species, Seregios would qualify too. Bazelgeuse also meets the conditions, but given its strength, the Shagaru Magala should not be able to capture one and turn it into a seedbed so easily."
"Rathalos and Seregios, then?" Altaïr sighed. "Given the Monster density around Kamura, Rathalos alone will be an enormous problem. It seems we'll still have our hands full for quite some time even after we deal with the Shagaru Magala and the existing Gore Magala."
Hojo's round face twitched. He stroked his snow-white beard, his usually genial tone turning serious. "This is no longer a problem one village and a single support team can solve. It's time to mobilize everyone else."
* * *
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