Narrator POV
"All the preparations are ready, sir."
The commander, looking toward the horizon, nodded his head.
This was the fourth person who came today to tell him that they had finished their part of the ambush preparations.
'Everything advances according to the schedule,' thought the commander.
The former territory of the Great Jagras had become an area full of canyons, traps, hidden rooms, and more — all made for a single hunt.
The commander turned his head and saw the head blacksmith giving some orders, Lyra sharpening her weapon, and hunters checking the supplies. The last preparations were already almost ready.
The commander looked at the rookie hunter. He couldn't help doubting if bringing him had been a good idea. The wounds he suffered hadn't healed long ago, and there was a good chance he would do something reckless when facing Chryssia.
'The master hunter is still in bed, and there really isn't a better hunter than the boy,' he answered himself.
He made a gesture for the hunter to come closer.
"Boy… you still have time to—"
The hunter only raised his hand and shook his head, stopping the commander, then spoke.
"Sir, I thank you for your concern, but I've already decided. I will be the bait."
The commander wanted to protest, to say the idea was stupid or that there were better options, but when he saw the determination in the boy's remaining eye, he fell silent.
'Even if I forbade it, he would still do it. Besides, there really isn't a better idea than this.'
*Sigh* "Don't do anything stupid, boy. Also, we still need to find the Phageris for this to work."
The commander turned around after speaking and walked away. The hunter saw him rubbing his eyes and heard him say,
"And there's still that damned Zorah Magdaros."
The hunter kept looking at the commander's back with complicated feelings. In part, he felt annoyed knowing the commander wanted to stop him, but at the same time, he felt grateful for the people who cared about him.
"Hunter… are you okay?" The sudden words brought him out of his thoughts.
He looked to his side, and there stood his handler, with her characteristic glasses and yellow jacket.
But at that moment, the hunter's attention was on the handler's face — more specifically, on her worried expression.
The hunter knew what she was thinking and couldn't help feeling a bit guilty about it.
"You heard the commander…"
Another silence formed between the two.
"Yes… but I'll do it."
The handler looked at him firmly and asked,
"Is it really the only option, or is it the one you want to do?"
The hunter froze in place.
'Is it the only option, or the one I want to do?' he questioned himself.
"…It's the only option."
The handler thought he was answering her, but in truth, the hunter was answering himself.
…
It could be said that Chryssia had some luck today — whether it was good or bad luck is up for debate.
Because while she was approaching the great tree in the center of the Ancient Forest, she encountered a Rathalos — or rather, it found her.
As Chryssia passed through a small clearing, she heard the sound of the wind being split, along with the characteristic roar of the King of the Skies.
She rolled even before seeing the monster, heard a crash, and felt the ground tremble.
She raised her gaze to face the view she was already expecting. The Rathalos stared back at her.
The monster roared and, with a strong flap of its wings, took flight, trying to strike Chryssia with its claws.
She jumped back to avoid the blow and, using [Hard Poisonous Thorns], created a spear with which she tried to stab the Rathalos.
It avoided the thrust with a quick movement and counterattacked with its tail, landing a hit on her shoulder.
Unlike the Rathian, the Rathalos doesn't have poison in its tail, only in the spikes on its legs, but even so, it was a strong blow that made Chryssia retreat.
Chryssia felt her left arm go numb, but little else, so she didn't hesitate to charge forward.
Using her [Large Horns], which she obtained from the Diablos, she rammed the Rathalos head-on.
She aimed at its head, but the monster moved its body, so her horns pierced the area between its neck and left wing.
The monster roared and tried to bite, but Chryssia blocked it using her spear and kept pushing with her horns.
Seeing that her approach wasn't working, the Rathalos flapped its wings, pushing Chryssia back with the wind.
She briefly looked at the tip of her spear — it had clear tooth marks on it.
The Rathalos was partially poisoned after biting the spear, but Chryssia doubted the poison was severe. With luck, it just wouldn't be able to bite for a while.
Taking advantage of the distance, Chryssia threw several fireballs from her mouth.
The Rathalos had the same idea, and both fired their fireballs at the same time.
Chryssia fired two, and the Rathalos three.
The Rathalos' shots intercepted Chryssia's two, letting the last one pass through.
Chryssia rolled to dodge it and began to approach the Rathalos.
It took flight in an instant, but instead of attacking with its claws, it rose a few meters and released a stream of fire.
Chryssia dodged again, but this time used [Powerful Bioluminescence].
The flash blinded and disoriented the King of the Skies, forcing it to fall to the ground.
Chryssia didn't hesitate and, using both [Thunder Core] and [Demonic Blood], kicked the Rathalos in the head with all her strength, knocking out several of its teeth.
Even with the monster's head lifted from the blow, Chryssia struck it again with a hammer blow.
The sound of the Rathalos' skull cracking was audible as it hit the ground once more.