Although Morgan's comment had only been a casual joke, Altaïr's chest still tightened.
He surveyed the eerily quiet forest. Dread crept over him from every direction, as though countless monsters might suddenly burst from the shadows, jaws gaping, to tear them apart and devour them.
Shaking off those horrifying images, Altaïr tore up a clump of turf and used it to wipe clean the claw, which likely came from a Lolo Gougarf cub. He scraped away the last of the sticky digestive fluid, wrapped the claw in cloth, and put it away.
Morgan watched until Altaïr had stored the claw, then asked, "You're planning to use that to enrage the Lolo Gougarf?"
Altaïr had left behind the more valuable Rathian and Diablos materials, yet had deliberately taken this Lolo Gougarf cub's claw. Morgan could think of no other reason.
"Yeah," Altaïr replied. "I don't know whether it'll work, either. Lolo Gougarf seem protective of their young, so it's worth a try. No harm done if it fails.
"Worst case, it turns its anger on us. But as long as it still has a shred of reason, it shouldn't do that.
"It knows we're not its enemies. There's no reason for it to fight us to the death."
Isis's expression grew wistful. "Now I feel kind of sorry for it. Its cub was swallowed by a Monster, and now it's wandering alone through this dangerous forest, trying to hunt down the culprit and take revenge."
Altaïr shot her a sidelong glance. "Don't get too sympathetic. We don't even know whether this claw really is one of its cub's 'remains.'
"There are plenty of Lolo Gougarf in these woods. The odds of that kind of coincidence are low.
"Rather than seeking revenge for its cub, I think it's more likely here to deal with a threat to its pack."
"That's true." Isis nodded, her mood brightening considerably.
Although the two foul-smelling sites were not far apart, there was plenty to document at each. By the time the Hunters finished investigating both, the sky had begun to darken.
Altaïr had no intention of taking risks at night. The piles of vomit containing flesh and materials from several powerful Monsters also left him deeply uneasy.
They made an extra effort to find an especially sturdy red tree and set up camp in its crown, at a fork where several branches spread outward.
The spot was cramped and uneven, difficult to lie down in fully, and unsuitable for a campfire.
Still, being seven or eight meters above the ground offered a sense of security and made them less likely to be discovered by Monsters.
After arranging the watch order, everyone wolfed down a few pieces of dry rations to fill their stomachs. Without even removing their armor, they went to sleep early.
—--
Late that night.
Morgan was on watch. He cradled his Heavy Bowgun in his arms and leaned against a curved branch, eyes half-lidded, looking half-asleep.
In truth, he was fully alert. His eyes and ears remained attuned to his surroundings, while his muscles stayed completely relaxed to conserve energy.
For anyone who spent much of their time in the wild, maintaining vigilance while remaining relaxed was an essential skill.
Suddenly, his ears twitched, and his half-closed eyes snapped fully open.
He had heard something. It was not nearby, but came from quite a distance away.
Another advantage of camping in a tree became apparent: the wide field of view. Morgan rose, took a few quick steps to the end of a branch, and peered toward the sound.
In the dim night, a large flock of birds rose from the distant forest. What he had heard was the chorus of cries as they took flight.
Most birds had poor night vision and usually roosted quietly in the canopy after dark. A flock this large would not have taken off all at once unless something had disturbed it.
He was about to turn back and wake Altaïr and Isis to alert them when he saw that they were already awake.
"Looks like it came from the area where we found the Yian Kut-Ku's foot earlier today," Altaïr said, gazing toward the birds.
"Yeah."
The Hunters exchanged glances and quickly began checking and organizing their gear.
Since they had gone to sleep without removing their armor, they were ready within a minute or two. After slinging their weapons across their backs, they slid down the rope to the ground and hurried toward the startled birds.
"I can smell the stench, meow," Sajji said as he trotted up beside Altaïr.
Given his current flying skills, aerial reconnaissance at night was still too risky, so he had strapped on the Rathian Model-1 Rocket Launcher and brought a few extra rockets to bolster the team's firepower.
Altaïr asked, "Is it the same stench as the slime and rotting flesh?"
Running on all fours, Sajji searched for the right words. "Sort of, meow, but it's also a little different. Maybe... fresher, meow?"
"Looks like the main event is here," Morgan murmured.
Altaïr stopped midstride. "Everyone, put on your Ghillie Mantles. Stay hidden as much as possible and avoid fighting. Our goal this time is to identify the Monster and gather information. The real operation will come later."
"Understood."
Once concealed by their Ghillie Mantles, the Hunters slowed their pace, quieted their footsteps, and continued forward.
After a while, they reached the spot where they had found the Yian Kut-Ku's foot during the day. To everyone's shock, the badly decomposed foot had vanished.
Even a large patch of the surrounding ground was gone, as though a giant shovel had scooped it away.
Near where the foot had lain, they found several fresh, slime-streaked tracks that had clearly been left not long ago.
"W-where did the Yian Kut-Ku's foot go?" Isis asked, her throat tightening.
The corner of Altaïr's mouth twitched. "Looks like it swallowed the thing again. Could that be part of its ecology? It regurgitates food it can't digest along with its stomach acid, then comes back a few days later and swallows it again to continue digesting it. There was still plenty of meat left, after all. Lick it clean and it's still edible..."
Isis grimaced. "Stop it, I'm about to throw up!"
"Could some other scavenger have eaten it?" Morgan asked, his own face paling.
"That's unlikely. Judging by the size of these claw prints and the length of its stride, a conservative estimate would put that Monster at over fifteen meters long. A Monster that large is unlikely to be a scavenger.
"Besides, that gastric slime is highly corrosive. Even a scavenger would probably struggle to swallow it. The most likely explanation is that the creature that swallowed the remains tonight is the same one that regurgitated them in the first place."
"Or maybe it wasn't the same one, meow." Sajji pinched his little nose, muffling his voice. "Didn't we say earlier that there might be more than one of them, meow?
"One throws it up and leaves. Another passes by, finds it, and swallows it again, meow. Are Yian Kut-Ku claws really that delicious, meow?"
"Both of you, enough!" Isis felt as though she never wanted to eat Yian Kut-Ku claws again, even if they were Metapetatto's signature dish.
Altaïr tapped Sajji on the head. "All right, this isn't the time for jokes. Morgan, keep watch. I'll examine the tracks."
"Got it."
"The claw prints aren't all the same shape. Front and rear feet, perhaps? A quadruped? A Fanged Beast or a Fanged Wyvern? No. Judging by its stride and the distribution of weight across the tracks, they're very similar to a Tigrex's. Could this be a primitive type of Flying Wyvern within the Wyvern Feet suborder?"
Altaïr was murmuring his analysis too quietly for anyone else to hear when a familiar roar suddenly echoed from afar.
"Wooaaah!!"
"That's the Lolo Gougarf!" Isis sounded certain. After all, they had fought it only the previous day.
"Sounds pretty angry."
Altaïr looked in the direction the tracks led. It matched the direction of the Lolo Gougarf's roar.
"Hah, looks like they've run into each other." He gave a quiet laugh. "I was just wondering how we could safely gather more information. Isn't this the perfect opportunity?"
(Translated by yourtl.app)