As it turns out, the efficacy of medicine is often directly proportional to its price.
The expensive Herbal Medicine worked wonders; mere seconds after swallowing the pill, the various discomforts brought on by the toxin receded like the tide, and even the bleeding from the wound on his right shoulder stopped.
This rapid recovery of his condition allowed Altaïr to halt his retreat, and his momentum climbed steadily with a series of successful Foresight Slashes and Iai counters.
Taking a deep breath, he swung his blade and charged forward, proactively meeting the heavily wounded Nerscylla that was attempting to press its advantage.
He parried an incoming pincer with a Fade Slash, and after sidestepping another claw, Altaïr wedged himself right into the Nerscylla's guard.
With Spirit energy swirling around his blade, Altaïr danced with his Eager Cleaver, launching an overwhelming assault.
Spirit Blade Combo!
The already severely injured Nerscylla was driven back by his slashes, screeching as it called out to its companion for help.
Meanwhile, the Nerscylla marked by the Paintball finally recovered from its stunned state. Its head twitched left and right before its legs moved rapidly, flanking around to the hunter's rear.
A stream of spider silk shot out, streaking toward the hunter's back.
Even in the heat of his assault, Altaïr had never lowered his guard against the second Nerscylla. The moment it vanished from his peripheral vision, he knew the creature had circled behind him.
The whistling wind behind his ears confirmed this. Rather than fixating on the retreating opponent in front of him, he immediately swung his sword around and pivoted to dodge.
This time, the direction of his Foresight Slash was not toward the rear as it usually was, but completely to the side.
The instant he shifted out of the way, the spider silk flew in from behind, streaking through the space where he had stood a second ago and striking the heavily wounded Nerscylla that had been right in front of him.
Binding a target with silk and then pulling themselves forward for a leaping strike was the Nerscylla's most common hunting method.
Due to poor eyesight, they would reflexively pull themselves along the silk for a pounce as soon as it hit, whether it landed on the target or the ground nearby, as if it were muscle memory.
However, the silk landing on a companion was a first. The Nerscylla marked by the Paintball didn't even process what had happened before it went flying straight toward the heavily wounded Nerscylla.
The sight of two giant spiders, each nearly ten meters long, colliding head-on was not something seen every day. The impact was far greater than anything a hunter's sword could deliver, followed by a chorus of "cracks" as their chitinous carapaces shattered.
The most pathetic was the already heavily injured Nerscylla; caught off guard, one of its pincers was snapped clean off by the collision.
Grisly screeches echoed through the Jungle.
Altaïr, who hadn't expected such a turn of events himself, was stunned for a moment before he was overcome with joy.
As the two Nerscylla tumbled together in a heap, Altaïr didn't hesitate to choose the more severely injured wretch as his target. Entering Demon Mode once more, he dashed to its side.
He unleashed a lightning-fast Crimson Slash two-hit combo and shifted directly into a charging stance.
After two brief seconds of building momentum, Altaïr lunged forward. The blade, fully extended, pressed against the Nerscylla's soft abdomen as he spun and delivered a savage, sweeping pull.
Charged Spirit Roundslash!
A massive wound nearly two meters long ripped across the Nerscylla's flank. The cut was exceptionally deep, sending a waterfall of thick, green body fluid pouring from the gash.
With this Roundslash, Altaïr's momentum reached its zenith. The Spirit Gauge enveloping his blade grew denser, radiating a faint, blood-red glow.
But his assault was far from over.
With his footsteps interlocking, Altaïr used the lingering inertia from the Roundslash to accelerate his spin further. He leapt into the air, stacking all his strength once more onto the shimmering red blade.
Crimson Spinning Slash!
This strike carved directly into the wound opened by the previous Roundslash, slicing further through layers of membranes and connective tissue until it reached the deepest parts of the Nerscylla's interior.
Electric light flared from the Eager Cleaver. The nauseating stench of insect blood and viscera mixed with the acrid smell of protein scorched by electrical arcs filled his nostrils.
For the vast majority of creatures, this was a terminal injury. Even for a Nerscylla with its tenacious vitality, the monster abruptly collapsed, its body going limp on the ground.
As the blade was withdrawn, dozens of apple-sized, oval eggs could be seen through the ruptured wound, packed tightly together. Some even slid out along with the green gore and mucus, thudding onto the ground.
So this Nerscylla was a female.
The thought flashed through Altaïr's mind, but he wasn't about to show mercy just because the monster was a "lady."
Just as he prepared to thrust the sword for a Spirit Blade Thrust and end the Nerscylla's life with a full-power Spirit Helm Breaker, the male Nerscylla marked by the Paintball charged over recklessly. It was determined to force the hunter back, even if it meant using its own body to shield the other.
Altaïr was forced to abandon his pursuit.
With the male Nerscylla interfering like this, it would be difficult to successfully execute a Spirit Helm Breaker to finish off the female. Forcing the attack would not only likely miss, but would also leave him extremely vulnerable.
For now, he could only shift his focus to the male Nerscylla before him. Taking advantage of the significant physical boost provided by the Red Gauge, he engaged the fiercely attacking male in a violent exchange.
A Crimson Slash parried an incoming claw, followed immediately by a Spirit Fade Slash across the male Nerscylla's chest. Exploiting the opening created by neutralizing the opponent's attack, Altaïr caught sight of the female Nerscylla out of the corner of his eye.
Under her mate's cover, the mortally wounded female struggled to her feet. Dragging her mangled abdomen, she limped toward the direction of the Spider Cave.
With a short laugh, Altaïr stopped watching her and concentrated entirely on the clash with the opponent in front of him.
Leaving a trail of blood across the ground, the female Nerscylla finally reached the vicinity of the cavern entrance.
Her vision was already blurred and her consciousness was fading; she failed to notice the man-made device sparking with tiny electrical arcs on the ground.
Dragging her heavy body, the female Nerscylla continued forward until one of her limbs stepped directly onto the inconspicuous mechanism.
A powerful current erupted instantly. The extremely weakened female Nerscylla didn't even have a chance to shriek before the electricity left her deadlocked in place, unable to move a muscle.
"Gotcha, meow!"
Sajji leaped out from the side and tossed several Tranq Bombs in quick succession, releasing a cloud of medicinal mist.
However, whether it was because Nerscylla naturally possess the ability to secrete sleep toxins, giving them a higher resistance to Tranq Bombs, or because this particular Nerscylla was so severely weakened that it was practically at death's door, it actually refused to go under.
The female Nerscylla had not been captured.
Seeing that the Shock Trap was about to expire, Sajji swiftly pulled a short, thick barrel from his back.
Unlike the Rathalos Model-06, which was clearly a labor of love with its exquisite design, this barrel looked like nothing more than a simple tube, and a bamboo one at that.
And this was his recently crafted "Zinogre Model."
The name sounded imposing, but in truth, it wasn't anything fancy; it was just a simplified version of the Thunderbug Launcher used by many Assist Cats.
It used a spring mechanism inside the bamboo tube to fire pre-loaded Thunderbugs at monsters to paralyze them.
Hearing the muffled thunder rumbling overhead, Sajji unhesitatingly dumped out the Thunderbugs originally packed in the bamboo tube. He then reached into his pouch, pulled out the Lightning Rod he had begged from Altaïr, and stuffed it into the bamboo barrel.
"Witness the power of my makeshift soul, meow!" Sajji shouldered the bamboo barrel. "Zinogre Model-2, fire meow!"
"Thwip—"
In stark contrast to Sajji's fierce meowing, the sound of the bamboo barrel's spring mechanism was entirely underwhelming.
The Lightning Rod traced a weak parabola through the air, wobbling as it landed on the back of the female Nerscylla six or seven meters away.
Click!
With a faint snap, the Lightning Rod deployed, a spark of bright blue electricity dancing on its tip.
The spark itself was inconspicuous, but a second later, a terrifying roar of thunder exploded through the Jungle.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning as thick as a barrel pierced the dark clouds and descended from the heavens, following the guidance of the Lightning Rod to strike the female Nerscylla directly.
The instantaneous flash of lightning and fire nearly blinded Sajji, and the ensuing explosion and shockwave sent him flying backward.
The torrential rain finally began to pour.
A dizzy Sajji shook his head and clambered to his feet. Before he had even steadied himself, he looked toward the lightning-charred creature with a face full of anticipation.
"The tranquilizers should work now, meow... wait, why are you dead, meow?"
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — LORE SECTION Some terms and creatures referenced in this story may be unfamiliar to readers new to the Monster Hunter universe. The following entries provide additional context.
ITEMS Tranq Bomb — A thrown device that releases a cloud of powerful sedative mist. When a monster's health is sufficiently low, Tranq Bombs can put it to sleep and trigger a capture. However, their effectiveness varies by species; monsters with natural toxin resistance, such as the Nerscylla, may require more doses or prove difficult to capture altogether.
Herbal Medicine — A high-grade medicinal compound derived from rare herbs. Significantly more effective than standard Antidotes, it neutralizes even powerful hemolytic venom within seconds and promotes rapid wound recovery. Its cost reflects both the rarity of its ingredients and the speed of its action.
CONCEPTS & SYSTEMS Thunderbug Launcher — A tool used primarily by Assist-type Palicos. It fires Thunderbugs at a monster to induce paralysis, interrupting the monster's movements and creating an opening for hunters to act. Sajji's "Zinogre Model" is a simplified homemade variant of this device, using a bamboo tube and a spring mechanism in place of more refined engineering.