As the white mist cleared, the sky grew bright once more, and the devastation around them was fully revealed.
Only then did Logan realize just how much destruction their battle with the Shagaru Magala had caused.
Even with the Rotten Vale as the ecological foundation here, it might take years for this area to recover.
And this was despite the Shagaru Magala's Frenzy Virus dust being constantly suppressed by the Chameleos—most of the time the fight had been a chase and close-quarters brawl.
Truth be told, this was his first time being part of such a scene, and Logan couldn't help but feel a flicker of unease. Had he just ruined the ecosystem?
But then he remembered the battle he had witnessed as a hatchling—when a Namielle and a Kushala Daora clashed so fiercely that the waters flooded both the Wildspire Waste and the outer edges of the Ancient Forest. By comparison, today's damage seemed almost minor.
With that thought, Logan slowly descended onto a half-collapsed platform to catch his breath.
He also wanted to speak with the Chameleos—ask how it had gotten hold of that scale, and what its connection to the Research Commission really was.
Exhaustion made his mind sharper, and after a little thought it became obvious: this Chameleos definitely hadn't come from the Old World with the Commission.
If it truly had been a member of the Commission, their years of hardship exploring the forest and the wastelands wouldn't have been so grueling.
Before Logan could open his mouth, the Chameleos suddenly appeared before him. It crouched low, belly pressed to the ground, like some awkward duck-dog, its four limbs splayed as its big, beady eyes swirled curiously at him.
It seemed to be pondering why Logan—merely a Rathalos—was able to unleash Elder Dragon-level power for so long, even managing to suppress that fiendish opponent for a time despite the elemental disadvantage.
It had never before regarded the Ancient Tree's Fire Wyverns flock as anything more than background noise, yet Logan's performance today left it with the uncanny sense that the age itself had shifted.
Just as Logan was about to speak, a chain of thunderclaps rolled through the air.
The next second, Kirin appeared in a bolt of wild thunder, landing atop a broken cliff as it swiftly searched the battlefield.
In another instant, its gaze locked onto Logan and the Chameleos.
No—
To be precise, onto the Chameleos.
Its eyes seemed to burn with fury. Realizing the situation had turned dire, Logan didn't dare linger near the Chameleos.
He spat out a small fireball. Manipulated by his Gale Wings, the rising updraft lifted him from the platform, carrying him swiftly away.
The Chameleos, utterly bewildered, was left standing there as the smoke from the fireball's blast smacked it square in the face for no reason at all.
Before it could even react, the thunderstorm descended.
"Gwaa!"
A pitiful cry rang out.
Kirin spared a glance at Logan, faintly surprised that he had managed to react in time, then looked off into the distance.
With another blinding flash of lightning, Kirin vanished once more.
The thunderclouds in the sky quickly dispersed.
Back on the platform, faint arcs of lightning danced across the Chameleos's body.
Kirin's strike hadn't dealt much damage—yet the insult was immense. And still, that foolish Chameleos hadn't figured out why it had been struck again.
Two large Dragon Tears rolled down its cheeks. Under Logan's speechless stare, the Chameleos carefully collected them.
"This guy…"
For reasons he couldn't explain, though Logan felt the urge to rant endlessly, not a single word came out.
At this point, he lost any desire to converse further. As bizarre as the Chameleos's act of hoarding its own Dragon Tears seemed, it was also proof enough that it definitely had ties to the Research Commission.
So once this whole incident was over, Logan would have to question the Admiral about it—and collect his reward while he was at it.
"Gwaa!"
Just as he thought this, the Chameleos—still crouched like a duck on the ground—suddenly cried out, its expression twisting in disgust before slipping into invisibility.
Logan braced himself, thinking some new threat was coming.
Instead, a massive black hedgehog lumbered past not far from him.
When it saw Logan, its fierce face actually showed a trace of friendliness. It shook its huge horn as though greeting him, then continued flying off in the direction the Shagaru Magala had retreated.
"Hm? This friendly?"
Logan had already been preparing to bolt, yet who would have thought that Nergigante would actually act so amiable—taking the time to greet him, even.
After all, Nergigante was unlike other Elder Dragons. Some subsisted on insects, small creatures, or minerals; some even thrived solely on absorbing life energy.
But for Nergigante, in order to sustain the consumption of that regenerative shell, ordinary creatures weren't even on its menu. Large monsters of all kinds were its staple diet.
In Logan's eyes, the only reason Nergigante hadn't attacked him the last time was simply because the corpse of the Chaotic Gore Magala was lying right there. There was no need to waste the effort; it merely had to drive Logan off to keep him from disturbing its feast.
So now, that little motion from Nergigante—surely that wasn't meant as friendliness, was it?
It couldn't possibly be that his wide burst of flames, which had accidentally dispersed the Gore Magala's black mist, had somehow earned him the creature's friendship?
A savage Elder Dragon like Nergigante couldn't possibly be that simple, could it?
Thinking along those lines, and watching Nergigante shrink into a tiny speck on the horizon, Logan decided it was time to turn and leave.
"Kwaa~"
His pupils widened. He hadn't seen a thing, but judging by the direction of the call, that Chameleos hadn't fled at all. It was still right there, hovering not far from him.
Just how outrageous was this stealth ability?
He hadn't sensed the slightest disturbance in the airflow. Even under the heightened perception of Mind's Eye, there had been no sign of Chameleos. If not for that cry, he would have sworn it had long slipped away.
Not one to give in so easily, Logan fixed his gaze on the spot where the sound had come from, staring with all his focus.
"Kwaa?"
From the side, a puzzled cry came. Logan instinctively turned his head—only to see Chameleos, tail curled long, wings flapping ever so lightly and silently, just floating there beside him.
"That's not scientific!"
For a fleeting moment, Logan even wondered if he had accidentally inhaled Chameleos' poison mist, dulling his senses.
Otherwise, how else could this Chameleos achieve near-perfect invisibility?
No airflow, no sound, no scent—nothing. Unless he relied on scale powder and heat detection like Shagaru Magala, there was really no method besides unleashing wide-area attacks and hoping to get lucky.
Yet then he remembered: while Chameleos' stealth was impressive, its combat ability…
His gaze grew complicated as he looked at the dragon tilting its head at him, seeming just a little foolish.
"Sigh~"
Logan didn't bother paying it any further mind. He turned and flew off into the distance.
His Regeneration trait was kicking in; he was already starting to feel hungry. He planned to head further away and snatch a few Raphinos to snack on. And truth be told, the Coral Highlands really did have excellent fare. Whether it was the giant land barnacles, the massive clams over ten meters long, or even the wiggler eels that made for a fine snack—everything here had grown exceptionally tasty thanks to the land's rich nutrients.
Chameleos, eyes wide, stared at Logan's retreating figure. For some reason, it felt as though it had just been offended… yet couldn't quite figure out why.
Perplexed, Chameleos scratched its head with its tail, then slipped once more into stealth, quietly trailing after.
This plateau was simply far too dangerous. That nasty brute was one thing—its temperament clearly didn't mesh with it—but the Kirin's lightning strike earlier had gone too far! It hadn't done anything wrong, had it?
After thinking it over, it decided it might be safer to follow behind Logan.
The wind blew, the clouds drifted.
In this place remained only shattered cliffs and broken ruins, along with the corpses of creatures that hadn't escaped in time—those caught in the aftershocks of battle and cast down into the Rotten Vale below.
Yellow miasma slowly spread, swiftly dissolving those bodies into nutrients—the first sustenance for this ruined land's recovery.
Beneath the ruins, a Vaal Hazak wandered, its head crowned with glowing organs like red lanterns. Thick miasma spread as it dragged its burden into the region.
It raised its head, gazing up at the ruins. Rare anger flickered in its eyes. Then, spreading its tattered wings draped with dried monster hides, it deliberately flew toward the Shagaru Magala's direction.
Because of this battle, the Shagaru Magala had fully exposed itself.
The Frenzy Virus not only damaged the ecosystem, it also invaded the territories of Elder Dragons. To be so loathed by so many at once—truly, the Shagaru Magala's existence was a kind of tragedy.
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