Altaïr pushed himself up with both arms and sprang to his feet, his gaze fixed on the pale Monster before him.
From its appearance, he could still tell that it was a "crab."
Its twin pincers, four legs, and the shape of its body were identical to a Taikun Zamuza's. It was simply a whole size smaller, measuring roughly five meters long.
Yet it had none of a Taikun Zamuza's crude, lumbering bulk. Its limbs were slender and agile, its pale carapace gave off a soft glow, and its leg joints and dorsal shell were studded with translucent, pale-blue crystals. It looked like a work of art carved from crystal and gemstones.
Perhaps it was the only Carapaceon Monster in the world that could be described as "elegant" or "magnificent."
At that moment, however, Altaïr had no time to admire its beautiful form.
The pale-blue electricity dancing over its pincers and the crystals on its shell was not violent. Rather than crackling like a Khezu's discharge, it shone with the quiet serenity of flowing water.
Yet the mortal danger clenched Altaïr's heart like an invisible hand, making it difficult for him to breathe.
He could hardly believe that the Monster before him and the Taikun Zamuza they had just fought were truly the same kind of creature.
Only when his gaze settled on its forehead did he finally confirm it.
A gaping wound there perfectly matched the three-pronged pommel of Tyrant Blade [Heaven Swallower]. The front of its dorsal shell and the carapace around its mouth were also blackened from Sajji's rockets...
There was no longer any room for doubt. This was the creature that had been hidden inside the Taikun Zamuza... No, this was the Taikun Zamuza's true form.
Altaïr took a deep breath, calmed his pounding heart, and tightened his grip on his sword's hilt.
He could sense the creature's power, but it had certainly not frightened him so badly that his body refused to obey.
Once he collected himself, an unexpected thrill even welled up inside him.
His swordsmanship had been stalled at a bottleneck for over half a year. The powerful foe before him might be the opportunity he needed to advance.
"Boom!"
A ball of fire blossomed before the Taikun Zamuza, now stripped of its many layers of shell. Surprisingly, Sajji was the first to attack.
The rockets proved unexpectedly effective. Once stripped of its outer armor, the Taikun Zamuza was far more agile and seemed capable of discharging a frightening amount of electricity. Even so, it was still only around five meters long, placing it at the very bottom of the scale among Large Monsters. The force of the explosion alone knocked it off balance and sent it rearing back.
Several cracks appeared where the rockets had struck. Clearly, the pale carapace was not especially tough, or at least nowhere near as tough as its former layer of orange-red armor.
Otherwise, why would it need to encase itself in a heavy shell to protect its true body?
Seizing the opening, Altaïr charged in and launched his offensive.
Against a Taikun Zamuza in this state, his previous tactic of staying close was clearly useless. Judging by the size of its pincers and the range of motion in its joints, it might be even more agile than Altaïr himself.
Altaïr brought his sword down on the Taikun Zamuza's head. Far heavier than a standard Long Sword, the blade of Tyrant Blade [Heaven Swallower] cleaved cleanly through its carapace and tore open a wound.
The Taikun Zamuza shrieked in pain. Its slender claw swept diagonally downward, poised to skewer the Hunter from above.
Already prepared, Altaïr immediately slid back and used Foresight Slash to evade the attack. He then tensed the muscles in his waist and legs, converting the momentum of his retreat into a forward surge. His Long Sword swept diagonally upward at an unexpected angle, rising toward the Monster's head.
Foresight Slash.
Just when he thought the strike was certain to land, the Taikun Zamuza displayed reflexes and agility far beyond what it had shown before.
It raised its scythe-shaped left claw and knocked aside the blade hurtling toward its face.
Immediately afterward, its long, spiraled right claw, shaped like a screw, came chopping down.
Altaïr's heart jolted as his blade was knocked aside, but his movements did not slow in the slightest. Twisting his wrist, he reversed his blade into a counterstroke and met the Taikun Zamuza's right claw with a rising diagonal slash. His blade withdrew the instant they collided, and he used the impact to leap backward.
In just five or six seconds, they exchanged several blows. Apart from Altaïr's initial strike through an opening, neither side gained the upper hand.
This thing...
Altaïr's eyes narrowed. Most Monsters simply endured a Hunter's attacks head-on. The smarter ones blocked with tougher body parts, such as their horns or claws.
Yet a creature that could trade blows with a Hunter like this was truly rare.
Most astonishing of all, the pale-blue crystals on the Taikun Zamuza's pincers seemed to release a constant electrical current. When Tyrant Blade [Heaven Swallower] clashed with one of its pincers, a flash of electricity erupted from the impact.
Fortunately, Tyrant Blade [Heaven Swallower] was forged primarily from the horns and claws of an Arbiter Estrellian and was nonconductive. Had Altaïr been using a metal weapon, those brief exchanges alone might have left him badly injured.
What a troublesome opponent. But... perfect!
There couldn't be a better opponent!
A fervent gleam entered Altaïr's eyes. He activated Demon Mode and charged at his opponent again.
The Taikun Zamuza swept its scythe-shaped left claw horizontally, as though intending to cut the Hunter in half at the waist. Altaïr kept charging until the electrified claw nearly touched him, then sprang into a backflip and nimbly evaded the blow.
Blue demon mode or Valor Style... they were more or less the same thing.
As Altaïr cleared the attack, blue light flashed in his eyes, and his speed increased once more.
The Taikun Zamuza anticipated the Hunter's path and brought its right claw crashing down diagonally.
Altaïr crossed his steps and pivoted past the second attack, slipping straight through the guard formed by the Monster's twin claws.
As he turned to evade the strike, he twisted his waist and legs, converting his forward momentum into rotational force. He swept his blade diagonally upward in a motion resembling a Spirit Roundslash.
The slash carved across the Taikun Zamuza's face, leaving a long, narrow wound.
The Taikun Zamuza shrieked in fury. Its twin claws, having missed in succession, snapped inward from both sides as it tried to crush the Hunter to death in its "embrace."
Altaïr used the remaining rotational momentum of his slash to leap again. Spinning past the twin claws closing behind him, he escaped the Monster's embrace.
Foresight Slash: Spin!
The Taikun Zamuza tried to pursue him, but another rocket streaked in from afar and halted its advance, allowing Altaïr to pull away.
"Nice one!" Altaïr shouted.
Although he had landed only one blow, he had unquestionably gained the upper hand in that exchange.
So the scythe-shaped left claw was better suited to horizontal sweeps, while the long, screw-shaped right claw excelled at downward chops and thrusts?
Altaïr observed and considered as he retreated.
Wounded repeatedly, losing ground in close combat, and having its every move interrupted... After that string of setbacks, the Taikun Zamuza flew into a rage.
It shrieked furiously and raised both claws high. The pale-blue crystals growing on its back and pincer joints erupted with dazzling light as violent arcs of electricity enveloped its entire body.
Without a doubt, it was about to unleash a devastating attack.
Altaïr retreated even faster. He did not know what form the attack would take, but putting as much distance between them as possible was the safest choice.
The Taikun Zamuza pressed its twin claws together and rubbed them several times.
The electrical glow around its pale claws became even more blinding. Then it leaped, pouncing straight toward the Hunter.
Altaïr turned and sprinted without hesitation. With Demon Mode and blue demon mode granting him physical abilities far beyond normal human limits, he put another ten meters or more between them before the Taikun Zamuza landed.
Yet the instant the Taikun Zamuza landed and its claws touched the ground, violent arcs of electricity spread outward in a ring.
Although Altaïr had done everything he could to gain distance, the edge of the discharge still caught him.
The metallic Regios Armor Set acted like a lightning rod, drawing the stray arcs toward him. In an instant, he was paralyzed. Violent spasms wracked every muscle in his body, and he collapsed uncontrollably to the ground.
The Taikun Zamuza's attack did not end there. The raging current surrounding its body did not fade. Instead, it grew even brighter and more dazzling.
It tucked in its pincers and four legs. Under the effect of electromagnetic force (Monster Hunter physics), its body actually levitated in midair. Then it began spinning at high speed and shot forward like a bullet, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow.
Through Altaïr's blurring vision, all he saw was a streak of lightning hurtling toward him. A terrifying surge of electricity swept through his entire body, and then he lost consciousness...
(Translated by yourtl.app)