The death of the female Nerscylla allowed the initiative in battle to swing back to the hunters.
With his momentum pushed to the limit, Altaïr, now in a Red Gauge state, did not rush to unleash high-commitment moves like the Spirit Helm Breaker. Instead, he utilized the fluidity of the Crimson Slash and the overwhelming pressure of the Spirit Blade combo to maintain a continuous offensive against the male Nerscylla.
Having cast off the heavy burden on his mind, Altaïr suddenly felt that a Nerscylla was actually quite an excellent sparring partner.
Its strength wasn't so overwhelming that it created that frustrating sensation of having a thousand tactical variations shut down by a simple headbutt from the opponent.
Its movement speed was brisk, and its aggression was high, especially now, having witnessed the death of its mate and fallen into a blind rage, it provided a significant amount of pressure.
After finishing off the female Nerscylla, Sajji rushed over and raised the Rathalos Model-06, loading a shell to provide support.
He saw Altaïr force the male Nerscylla back with a series of Crimson Slashes before shouting loudly, "You take a break first!"
This Urgent Quest served as a Rank-Up Quest for him. Previously, the situation had been critical, and he had to prioritize protecting the villagers above all else, leaving no room for personal challenges.
But now, only this one monster remained, and the difficulty of the rest of the hunt had leveled out to that of an ordinary 4★ quest.
It was the perfect time to treat this as a self-evaluation to see if he could successfully hunt a Nerscylla while fighting solo.
He performed a Foresight Slash to leap back, evading the Nerscylla's thrusting sleep-venom stinger, then immediately lunged forward to counterattack.
The Nerscylla's reactions were equally swift; it retracted its stinger before the blade could connect and snapped its pair of sharp chelicerae together, shearing toward the hunter like a pair of giant scissors.
By observing the movement of his opponent's joints, Altaïr anticipated the Nerscylla's intent in advance. He swung his Long Sword in a timely counter, using the inertia of a Fade Slash to leap several meters back, narrowly avoiding the pincer attack.
Immediately after, he swept the Long Sword upward at an angle, parrying the claws as they lunged once more.
The hunter and the monster traded blows back and forth in a relentless exchange.
Seemingly growing weary of this stifling close-quarters brawl, the Nerscylla screeched and performed a long leap backward to create distance.
The hunter, restricted by his weapon's limited reach, gave chase.
Facing the approaching hunter, the Nerscylla raised its abdomen and sprayed several globs of silk, sealing off the hunter's charging path.
Altaïr was forced to slow his pace to dodge the frustrating webbing.
The Nerscylla seized this opportunity to continue its retreat, leaping onto the trunk of a massive tree nearby. It spat out silk to suspend itself beneath the canopy, swinging back and forth.
"Do you all just love pouncing from high ground that much?"
Having already experienced similar tactics from the now-dead female, Altaïr muttered to himself as he took two steps back and performed an Iai Sheath. He stabilized his center of gravity and quietly gathered his strength.
Having gained sufficient kinetic energy from its swinging, the Nerscylla locked onto the hunter dozens of meters away and came crashing down like a flying boulder.
At the exact moment he was engulfed by the shadow and the giant spider was about to slam into the earth, Altaïr drew his blade, meeting the strike with an Iai Spirit Slash.
The two crossed paths in a flash.
Exploding Spirit Gauge energy carved multiple gashes across the Nerscylla's body; upon the blade, the Spirit Gauge that had been showing signs of fading due to the protracted engagement condensed once more.
Moving as if in a dance, Altaïr stopped his sliding step as his body rotated with the inertia, his gaze locking back onto his opponent.
The Nerscylla's offensive, however, did not end there.
Compared to the injured female Nerscylla he had faced previously, this specimen was in significantly better condition. The energy from the Iai Spirit Slash was not enough to deal a crippling blow, at least not enough to compromise its mobility.
After the cunning giant spider's pounce missed its mark, it raised its abdominal Silk Gland and sprayed several clumps of spider silk before its body had even fully turned around.
Had Altaïr not maintained the highest level of vigilance and dodged to the side in time, he likely would have been snared by this sudden ambush.
But a hunter is more cunning than any monster. Altaïr's gaze swept over a clump of spider silk that had landed near his feet, and a bold idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
He remained standing right where he was. He pulled out a Might Pill, crunched it in his mouth, and began to struggle and writhe his body, feigning as if his feet were stuck in the webbing and he was unable to move.
This scene fell right into the eyes of the Nerscylla as it rapidly spun around.
A Nerscylla's eyesight is not particularly excellent; they are merely sensitive to light. Like common spiders, their core sense is a keen perception of vibration.
It could not see clearly whether the silk had actually landed on the hunter; it only knew the hunter's footsteps had stopped in place. To the monster, this was the signal that the hunter had been restrained by the silk.
Realizing this, the Nerscylla clicked its venom-dripping chelicerae open and scurried forward a few steps, closing in on the "trapped" hunter until he was within the strike zone of its jaws.
At this moment, it had not yet realized that for the hunter, this distance was also the optimal range for an attack.
Facing the prey that had delivered itself to his doorstep, Altaïr flipped his wrist and twisted his waist. He held the Eager Cleaver level at shoulder height, the tip of the blade pointing forward, aimed straight at the rapidly approaching Nerscylla.
Every muscle in his body braced, momentum building as he quietly waited for the perfect moment to strike.
At the exact instant the Nerscylla opened its chelicerae to their maximum width, about to snap them shut with a vengeance, Altaïr blurred into an afterimage and lunged with a thrust.
The tip of the blade sank deep into the Nerscylla's mouthparts. Using the momentum of his forward dash and the leverage of the blade, he leaped upward.
Snap!
The venom-coated chelicerae snapped shut futilely beneath his feet.
Soaring into the air, Altaïr flipped his body mid-flight. With the blood rushing under the stimulus of the Might Pill, the power surging through every layer of his muscles, and the Spirit Gauge energy condensed to its absolute limit, he poured everything into this single strike.
Amidst the torrential rain, a crimson blade-light wreathed in electricity fell vertically like a lightning bolt, splitting the Nerscylla's head clean in two down the center.
—--
Midsummer thunderstorms often do not last long. By the time the night reached its latter half, the sky had cleared completely.
The night sky, devoid of even a shred of cloud, was startlingly clear. Continuous sheets of stars, beyond counting, illuminated the vast Jungle.
At this moment, however, Serl was in no mood to appreciate the scenery.
Earlier that evening, having just returned to the Metapetatto Guild Hall after finishing a mission, he hadn't even had time to settle his rewards before learning the news from Guild Manager Noya that Altaïr had been forced to take an Urgent Quest.
Without even taking a moment to catch his breath, he swapped his sidearm, boarded the already prepared Airship, and rushed off to provide support.
After several hours of high-speed flight, the Airship arrived above the Hunter's Camp in the target area. Before the vessel had even descended to a safe rappelling height, he grabbed a rope and vaulted overboard.
Hearing the commotion, Archi ran out of the tent just as Serl was preparing to dash out of the camp. The two turned at the same time, their gazes locking as they spoke simultaneously.
"Are you the support from the Guild? I'll take you to the den!"
"I'm the hunter sent by the Guild. Do you know where the hunter who arrived before me is?"
Serl's gaze fell upon the boy's crude gear, which could hardly even be called leather armor. He shook his head and pulled out a map. "Just point out the location to me."
"I've already run back and forth several times..." Archi muttered, feeling a sting of distrust. Before he could say anything more, the flap of the camp tent was pulled aside.
A middle-aged hunter, his face deathly pale and barely able to stand, stepped out while leaning against the tent frame.
"The den is about twenty degrees south by southwest, two and a half kilometers away in a straight line. There is a stream at the entrance of the camp; follow it and you will reach the area quickly. I'm counting on you."
"Right," Serl nodded to the middle-aged hunter.
Looking up at the Airship that had yet to fully touch down, he shouted and made a gesture, signaling the craft to halt its descent and prepare to lift off again.
Though the distance wasn't far, using the Airship as transport would save time, and every minute counted right now.
"Someone's coming this way!" the operator on the Airship shouted from his high vantage point, where he could see much further.
Serl, Archi, and the weakened middle-aged hunter all looked toward the camp entrance.
A hunter and a Felyne stepped out from the dark shadows of the trees, dragging a mountain of monster materials to the edge of the camp.
Catching sight of Serl, the hunter dropped the monster materials in pleasant surprise and flipped up his visor. "Brother Serl? What are you doing here?"
Two mangled Nerscylla heads rolled to the side, drawing the eyes of everyone in the camp.
Serl withdrew his gaze and couldn't help but let out a "Heh." "You kid..."
(Translated by yourtl.app)