Altaïr's blade danced in a blur. After a rapid flurry of attacks, he noticed the "giant squid" before him raise its head.
He immediately broke off his offensive, spun around, and leaped backward.
Foresight Slash: Spin!
The next instant, Nakarkos swung the ring of short, thick tentacles around its mouthparts and slammed them violently into the ground.
The attack was not fast, but its power was astonishing. A Hunter greedy enough to squeeze in one more strike would be crushed to a pulp even through armor.
Dylan had naturally noticed the danger as well. He promptly raised his shield and slid backward, evading the tentacle slam as he inserted his sword into the shield and activated the mechanism.
With a whir of machinery, the weapon changed form at tremendous speed, transforming into a giant axe in the blink of an eye.
Energy accumulated through his earlier attacks flowed from the sword into the shield, which now formed the axe head, causing it to glow red-hot. Amid a teeth-grating buzz, the axe blade, wreathed in arcs of electricity, began spinning at high speed until it became a blur.
Dylan activated Condensed Spinning Slash, or, as Hunters more commonly called it, Savage Axe!
"Hyah!" Dylan shouted as he swung the giant axe forward.
He did not need to put force behind the swing. All he had to do was keep the axe handle steady, and the blade spinning at extreme speed would take care of everything else.
"Bzzzt...!"
The giant axe, glowing red-hot, wrapped in electricity, and spinning at high speed, naturally delivered far more power than the slender sword could.
The thick, sticky mucus offered no protection whatsoever against such an attack. The blow breached Nakarkos's defenses in an instant, sending filthy green body fluid and scraps of soft tissue spraying in every direction.
Seeing this, Altaïr immediately yielded the attack position in front of Nakarkos's head.
In sword and shield form, the Charge Blade had limited reach. As long as Altaïr and Dylan were careful, the two Hunters were unlikely to interfere with each other. Once the weapon transformed into a giant axe, however, the situation changed completely.
With Savage Axe active, Dylan's attacks became even broader and more forceful. Their weapons could easily collide and cause an accident.
If Altaïr's own attacks had been equally effective, he might have adjusted his angle, kept an eye on Dylan's movements, and continued sharing the attack zone.
However, the tentacles constantly waving before Nakarkos's head severely disrupted his rhythm. Cutting a few wounds into tentacles that were solid throughout and composed almost entirely of muscle accomplished nothing.
The Long Sword's narrow, sharp blade could cut deeply, but unless Altaïr severed a tentacle in a single stroke, its clean wounds would quickly close again as the incredibly sticky body fluid glued the flesh together.
The high-speed spinning axe blade was different. With Savage Axe active, the giant axe inflicted ragged lacerations rather than clean cuts.
The slightest contact with the axe blade tore away a large chunk of flesh. Wounds like those would not heal so easily.
Under the giant axe's violent assault, the tentacles that had seemed so menacing began to recoil.
Since this position clearly suited Dylan better, Altaïr had no reason to remain there and hold him back.
Finding a more suitable place to attack was the right choice.
And such a place did exist...
According to the illustrated guide and records on Nakarkos, a special organ lay on its back, surrounded and protected by hard material such as bones and giant shells. Its elevated position made it extremely difficult to attack directly unless Nakarkos was forced to fall.
Altaïr had not targeted it from the outset because Nakarkos had yet to be suppressed.
If he climbed onto its back and Nakarkos pulled back a bone-dragon tentacle to strike him, evading the blow on that jagged, bony surface would be difficult.
Now, however, Isis and Olivia each kept one tentacle occupied, while Dylan attacked from the front and firmly held Nakarkos's attention.
Altaïr would be letting his comrades' efforts go to waste if he did not seize the opportunity to deal it a heavy blow.
His decision made, Altaïr sheathed his weapon and quietly withdrew toward the flank.
Noticing the movement, Dylan immediately filled the gap and moved directly in front of Nakarkos. He attacked with all his strength, using the giant axe to hold its gaze and keep it from noticing his companion's actions.
Dylan's cover worked perfectly. Nakarkos focused entirely on him while Altaïr silently slipped into its blind spot.
Altaïr set his sights on a slanted bone plate hanging from the side of its body.
He could have used Spirit Helm Breaker or a similar technique to reach Nakarkos's back faster and more directly, but such dramatic movement might draw its attention and ruin the ambush.
Climbing along the bone plate was a much better option. He only had to move quietly...
As Altaïr prepared to climb the plate, he looked up and came face-to-face with Sajji, who had clearly formed the same plan and wore an unmistakably furtive expression.
They exchanged a glance.
Altaïr cupped his hands beneath Sajji's rear and boosted him upward. Sajji landed lightly on Nakarkos's flank without making a sound.
Sajji anchored himself with his claws, then extended a hind paw for Altaïr to grab and use as leverage.
Working together in perfect accord, the Hunter and Felyne reached Nakarkos's back in just a few moves.
Nakarkos was poorly suited to moving on land and shifted far less often than other Monsters. Combined with its broad back, this made the footing surprisingly stable.
Altaïr rose, steadied himself, and joined Sajji in creeping quietly toward a point slightly forward of the center of Nakarkos's back.
The weak point described in the records was an organ located right there, where the enormous dragon skull covering the front half of Nakarkos's body met the layers of bone armor piled across its back.
"Tch."
Altaïr clicked his tongue.
The dragon skull and bone armor protected the weak point extremely well. No wonder the old Hunt report stated that the organ became fully exposed only when Nakarkos fell and curled up.
Wide, sweeping sword techniques such as Spirit Helm Breaker and the Sacred Sheathe Combo were unlikely to work here. Altaïr had no room to swing his blade.
An Instant Slash initiated from a Thrust, however, was worth trying. He could slip the blade through the gap between the dragon skull and bone armor, and a deep enough thrust would still inflict considerable damage.
As the idea occurred to him, Altaïr saw Sajji take an unusually large, sharply pointed round of Bowgun Ammo from his back. It was nearly half a meter long.
It was a Supernova.
Francesca had slipped it to Sajji before the operation. According to her, instead of the common "economy" charge used these days, it carried genuine, full-power Dense Marcoal.
The Supernova had originally been intended for Morgan, but Morgan and Nymera were operating the heavy weapons aboard the Knowledge Seeker during this battle. Francesca had simply handed it to Sajji instead.
She wanted Sajji to find an opportunity to deal Nakarkos a vicious blow.
Altaïr and Sajji exchanged another glance. Years of unspoken understanding allowed each to grasp the other's intent in an instant.
Altaïr raised his blade and entered a Focus stance.
He locked his focus onto the faintly visible weak point between the plates of bone armor, condensed his Spirit Gauge, gathered his strength, and released it in a single burst.
Sword light flashed. The dark crimson blade of the Tyrant Blade [Heaven Swallower] passed through the gap in the bone armor and plunged deep into the vulnerable organ.
Altaïr immediately wrenched the blade free, tearing open a gash in the weak point as he pulled.
At the same time, Sajji used his small, agile frame to his advantage. Clutching the Supernova, he pushed most of his body into the gap between the bone plates and shoved the armed round deep into the wound, which was spraying blood.
Only then did the massive Nakarkos, with its slow response to pain, realize that the vital point on its back was under attack.
It unleashed a low, muffled roar below the range of human hearing.
One bone-dragon tentacle flung aside the Hunter before it and whipped toward the enemies on its back.
Altaïr sheathed his sword with lightning speed. He grabbed Sajji by the tail as the Felyne lay wedged in the gap between the bone plates, hind legs kicking in an effort to back out, and leaped straight off Nakarkos's back.
"Bang!" The tentacle, covered in sharp bones like a giant spiked club, slammed down on the spot where the pair had just been standing.
The dragon skull protecting the vital organ did not shatter, but the impact traveled through nearly a meter of bone armor and jolted the Supernova buried deep in the wound.
Sajji had modified the Supernova beforehand. Instead of the standard delayed fuse, it used an impact detonator.
Once the safety was disengaged, a shock of this magnitude was enough to trigger it.
"BOOM...!"
Blinding fire erupted from within Nakarkos's wound.