At the center of Infernal Springs stood the ruins of an ancient, dilapidated castle.
The ruins had been temporarily converted into a camp occupied by the elite squad led by Maki.
The squad had refrained from directly participating in the search so it could respond the moment the Shagaru Magala revealed itself and reach the target's location without delay.
Atop the castle, Maki sat cross-legged on the decaying throne that had once belonged to the fortress's lord. She propped her chin on one hand while the other gripped a Whetstone and idly sharpened the Dual Blades resting across her knees.
They had already been waiting there for nearly a week, yet still there was no news.
Guild Master Hojo, Altaïr, and Hibasa had all told her that the region was vast and that a search like this could easily last a month or two.
Even so, such a long wait was bound to make anyone restless.
Maki was considering taking a quick walk around the area, if only to get some fresh air.
Just then, a Meowcenaries Felyne leaped through a gaping hole in the castle roof. Landing before Maki, the Felyne knelt on one knee. "Lady Maki, we have news, meow."
"An SOS Flare has gone up to the southwest. It should be Area Four..."
Before the Felyne could finish, Maki sprang up from the throne. "I'm heading over first!"
With that, she sprinted several steps and vaulted through a dilapidated window that no longer had so much as a lattice. Before she could begin to fall, a glowing Wirebug darted out. Drawn along by its Ironsilk, Maki soared and twisted through the air, "flying" toward the area where the signal had appeared.
The destination was more than twenty kilometers away even in a straight line. An ordinary person might spend an entire day crossing such mountainous terrain and still fail to cover the distance.
—--
Even so, Maki reached the scene in under an hour.
"Did you find it? Where is that bastard?"
Morgan was startled when Maki dropped out of the sky. He quickly answered, "Follow this narrow path between the rocks. There is an open chamber inside. The Shagaru Magala had been hiding there, asleep."
"I hit it with a Paintball. It woke up and flew away. I couldn't stop it. Sorry."
"I didn't expect you to risk stopping it." Maki waved dismissively, then turned toward the Meowcenaries members who had already been searching nearby and arrived before her.
"Did anyone go after it?"
"Yes, meow." The Meowcenaries Felyne who had stayed behind specifically to deliver the message nodded vigorously. "The Paintball left a very distinct scent trail. A few of our best scouts have gone after it on kites, meow!"
"Good." Maki's eyes narrowed.
It was a shame they had not managed to corner the target immediately, but now that the creature had shown itself, everything else would be easier.
As long as it did not rain, a Paintball's scent trail could linger for a long time. For keen-nosed Felynes and Palamutes, tracking a target that constantly gave off such a pungent odor was hardly difficult.
"Go notify the others. Follow the plan. This time, we are going to pin that thing down right here!"
"Understood, meow!" After unfolding the kite strapped to the Felyne's back, the messenger ran several steps into the wind and took flight to carry Maki's orders in every direction.
Maki turned back to Morgan. "You two should get ready as well. You won't have to fight that thing head-on, but we will still need your strength to restrict the Shagaru Magala's ability to fly.
"Afterward, I'll submit this as a 7★ quest for you. Hmm, once His Immenseness sees it, he might promote you to 6★ on a whim."
"Six...
"...Please, absolutely do not do that. If possible, I would still prefer to earn my promotion normally."
Maki laughed and slapped him on the shoulder, then bounded up the cliff face in a few leaps and vanished from sight.
Morgan stared at the nearly vertical cliff in a daze.
If she had used Wirebugs, that would have been one thing. He could have chalked it up to a Kamura Village specialty. But Lady Maki appeared to have climbed and leaped up using nothing but sheer physical technique (?).
That was just a little... inhuman.
When would he ever be able to move like that? Morgan sighed wistfully, then mounted his panting Palamute and sped toward the planned rendezvous point.
—--
The rendezvous point lay near the central castle ruins of Infernal Springs.
A vast expanse of hot spring pools stretched across the area. Rich in iron and sulfur, the water was dark red, almost the color of blood. The air reeked of sulfur; close to the pools, vapors of sulfur and sulfuric acid stung the eyes so badly that it was difficult to keep them open.
Morgan dismounted, patted the Palamute's neck to signal the animal to leave, then walked alone to a hiding place behind a massive boulder near the hot springs.
Two others had arrived before him.
"I heard you found the Shagaru Magala. That's a major accomplishment, girl... ah, no, boy!" Ayame grinned broadly, speaking in her usual brash manner.
Altaïr smiled as well. "How is that not an achievement worthy of promotion to High Rank?
"Have Lady Maki put in a good word in the report. Once we return, all you'll have to do is wait for His Immenseness to summon you!"
Morgan's lips twitched. "...Seriously, why do you and Lady Maki say exactly the same thing? Can I please earn my promotion normally?"
After a few more jabs, Altaïr's expression grew more serious. "All right, enough jokes. Did you bring the Supernovas?"
"Of course. Two." Morgan showed them the two enormous rounds of Supernova Bowgun Ammo on his ammunition belt.
"Good. Let's conceal ourselves and prepare the ambush. The target could arrive at any moment," Altaïr said, donning his Ghillie Mantle and finding a narrow crevice beneath a large rock where he could lie down and hide.
Morgan followed his example and concealed himself nearby.
Ayame was unaccustomed to this kind of stealth warfare. Scratching her head as she crouched, she quietly asked, "Not that I doubt the plan, but is that thing really going to come all the way here?"
"There is no guarantee, but the odds are good," Altaïr replied softly. "Your group has never used Paintballs on it. That may actually work in our favor; it means the creature has never encountered anything like this and won't know how to respond.
"The Cohoots and Meowcenaries Felynes will follow the scent and chase it relentlessly. Given the Shagaru Magala's intelligence, it will quickly realize that the paint on its body is the key.
"The most direct line of reasoning is simple. If something foul-smelling is stuck to your body and revealing your whereabouts, isn't the easiest solution to find somewhere to wash it off?
"There are plenty of springs in these mountains, but large pools where a Large Monster could wash itself are harder to find. There is this one and another hot spring pool five or six kilometers northeast of here.
"We have people stationed at both. Unless we are terribly unlucky, we should catch it."
"What if it doesn't come to wash itself off?" Ayame asked curiously.
Altaïr shrugged. "Then the Meowcenaries will keep harrying it and driving it around. If the Paintball scent fades, they will hit it with a couple more. It will tire eventually, and then we can launch a coordinated assault all the same."
"Oh, that makes sense!" Ayame nodded emphatically.
After awkwardly donning her Ghillie Mantle, the bold woman lay flat as well. "Your minds really do work better! I'll just follow the plan when the time comes!
"Hehehe, why isn't that thing here yet? I can't wait!"
"It won't happen that quickly. The Shagaru Magala will probably need some time to realize it has to find somewhere to wash itself," Altaïr murmured.
Suddenly, Morgan signaled a warning with one hand.
He raised his head, narrowed his eyes, and stared intently at the sky.
At the edge of the murky yellow miasma veiling the horizon, an inconspicuous black speck seemed to be approaching. It steadily grew larger until it became a dark silhouette descending toward them.
The roar of dragon wings churning the air echoed in the Hunters' ears. The platinum-white Elder Dragon landed beneath the blood-colored hot spring waterfall.
The acrid spring water stained the dragon's body red, yet the creature swayed with apparent pleasure and spread its wings so the scalding water could better wash away the Paintberry juice coating its body.
The Hunters, who had been lying in ambush for barely a few minutes, exchanged glances.
The impatient Ayame was the first to burst from her hiding place, with Altaïr right behind her. Morgan, meanwhile, drew another SOS Flare and launched it into the sky.