This was a small oasis, covering only a few thousand square meters.
The underground waterway sustaining it was tiny, not even large enough to form a visible pool on the surface. Only drought-resistant shrubs and desert plants such as cacti grew stubbornly in the slightly damp sand.
Even so, it remained the most important food source within the surrounding dozen or so square kilometers.
Several thick-skinned but slow-moving Apceros had gathered there, their heads lowered as they nibbled at the few precious green leaves among the shrubs.
Thump, thump...
Heavy footfalls traveled through the ground.
The placid Apceros raised their heads and warily looked toward the sound. A hundred meters away, a massive Diablos was approaching.
Covered in tough armor and bony spikes, these creatures would form a defensive ring and calmly stand their ground even against a Rathian. Now, however, they let out panicked lowing cries and scattered.
They knew that if a Rathian found them too difficult to crack, it would leave in search of easier prey.
A Diablos, on the other hand, would charge in like a madman, knocking them down one by one, flipping them over, and trampling them...
It did this neither to hunt for food nor to compete for resources or territory, but simply because it could not abide anything that dared stand in its way.
Diablos were nothing but brutish, raging demons!
Watching the Apceros scatter, the Diablos, which had been eager to charge only moments before, snorted hot air through its nostrils and lost all interest in pursuing them. It lumbered over to a dense stand of cacti, buried its head in the plants, and began chewing voraciously.
Not far away, Isis crouched behind a sand dune at the edge of the oasis and lowered her voice. "Whoa, isn't it afraid of the spines?"
Altaïr answered softly, "A Diablos's tongue, mouth, and esophagus are all lined with thick, tough hide, so cactus spines don't bother it.
"Besides, cacti are among the few tender, juicy foods found in the desert, aren't they?"
"They really are juicy. A little bitter, though." Isis nodded in agreement.
Morgan pulled his eye away from the scope and stared at Isis in utter bewilderment.
Is there anything you haven't eaten?
"This one's a decent size. Looks over twenty meters long." Altaïr steered the conversation back on track.
Morgan leaned into the scope again, adjusted the focus, and checked the scale.
"Its body length is between twenty-three and twenty-four meters. A fairly large individual," Morgan answered with relative precision.
Altaïr nodded in satisfaction. "Good enough. This one will do. Conveniently, it's male too."
"So what exactly is the plan you and Alva came up with?" Isis pressed.
"Simply put, we're going to lure the 'Demon King' over here," Altaïr explained. "Diablos have poor eyesight, but extremely keen hearing, especially when they're underground. They can hear footsteps from hundreds of meters away.
"We intend to take advantage of that.
"The Vanguard Hunting Party and our group will each find a reasonably large male Diablos, then lure the two together.
"It's breeding season. Given how Diablos behave, if two males meet, they're bound to fight. The resulting commotion, along with the victor's triumphant roar, will definitely attract the 'Demon King.'"
"What if the 'Demon King' is too far away to hear it?" Isis asked.
"Then we'll lead the victor to another Diablos. As long as the 'Demon King' is still active in this area, it'll be drawn out sooner or later."
Isis nodded. "True. Otherwise, a Diablos can just burrow into the sand, where we can't even see it from the sky. At least this method is more proactive than wandering around aimlessly. So we're just waiting for Alva's signal now?"
"Yeah. They don't have a Sandship, and luring a Diablos on foot is a real problem. In the desert, Diablos can run far faster than people. Once they send up an SOS Flare, we'll lure this Diablos over to them. For now, we wait."
Less than a minute after Altaïr finished speaking, an orange SOS Flare rose in the distance.
Altaïr stared at it, taken aback.
Leading a Diablos in a specific direction was extremely dangerous. To avoid endangering anyone else who might be in the area, he and Alva had specifically agreed to use orange, a color rarely seen among SOS Flares.
Weren't they traveling on foot? How had they found a target so quickly?
Despite his surprise, Altaïr acted at once.
He rose from concealment behind the dune. "Isis, get that Diablos's attention. Morgan, come with me and start the Sandship. We'll pick you up in five minutes!"
Sending his girlfriend out alone as bait to draw a Monster's attention sounded rather heartless. But when the woman in question could go head-to-head with a Diablos, that changed matters...
Isis always accepted such tasks with delight.
She answered with a spirited "You got it!" and leaped out from behind the dune, sliding down the slope toward the oasis while calling out at the top of her lungs to attract the Diablos's attention.
The Diablos, which had been feeding with its head lowered, suddenly looked up.
Its already poor eyesight, combined with the obstruction of the two curved horns on its head, prevented it from seeing clearly what was making all that noise.
But it understood one thing: it was being challenged.
Without a moment's hesitation, the Diablos threw its head back and unleashed a furious roar, then charged violently toward the source of the sound.
Watching the Diablos race toward her as she slid down the slope, Isis felt not a shred of fear or panic. Instead, she was utterly exhilarated.
Her last quest had sent her running all over the frozen wastes after Elderfrost. The one before that had sent her chasing Chameleos through the jungle...
How long had it been since she had properly clashed with a Monster head-on?
She was getting rusty!
The distance between them shrank rapidly. The perfect opportunity to strike would last for only a moment. Unlike Alva, she could not calculate the timing with numerical precision.
But she knew the perfect moment was now!
Still sliding low against the sand, she drove her heel down hard. As she rose, her legs exploded with power, launching her high into the air with the momentum of her slide.
But that was not enough! The force of the slide alone would not let her gain the upper hand in a head-on clash with a Diablos!
She pointed the Gunlance's muzzle behind her and fired with a deafening boom. The shelling gave her a second burst of acceleration in midair, sending her straight in front of the Diablos's eyes.
The Diablos had barely begun to react. It instinctively tried to raise its head and see what had flown toward it when it heard Isis roar.
The momentum of her slide, the recoil from the shelling, and her own superhuman strength all flowed into the massive blade, which was every bit as formidable as a Great Sword.
The enormous blade crashed against the curved horns. Caught off guard, the Diablos nearly had its head driven into the ground by the sheer force of the impact, and it stumbled as its footing gave way.
Isis flipped through the air and landed, then rolled to bleed off the momentum from the rebound.
Without a moment's pause, she roared and charged again, slamming the huge shield in her hand straight into the underside of the Diablos's jaw.
Still dazed by the previous heavy blow and unable to steady its center of gravity, the Diablos immediately lost the contest of strength and was driven several steps backward by Isis.
By the time it finally recovered, steadied its footing, and prepared to teach the hateful little creature a lesson...
The Gunlance's muzzle was already jammed into its mouth.
"Wyvern's Fire!"
Amid the explosive flames and thunderous roar, the Diablos's head and most of its upper body reared violently backward, on the verge of crashing to the ground.
Isis was about to press her advantage and launch a full assault when the Sandship piloted by Altaïr came racing toward them.
Altaïr and Morgan had imagined the Diablos chasing Isis, the speeding Sandship picking her up, and the three of them making a thrilling but safe escape.
What they actually found was Isis wrenching the Diablos's head around and pounding it mercilessly.
Watching Isis force the Diablos backward step by step with her shield, Morgan murmured in a daze, "She's becoming less and less human..."
Altaïr's mouth twitched. He raised his voice and shouted, "Take it easy! It's not our hunting target! We're leaving!"
Another Full Burst sent the Diablos crashing to the ground. Reluctance flickered in Isis's eyes, but she could only put away her weapon, sprint a few steps, and leap aboard the swiftly passing Sandship.
"Why did you get here so fast...?" Isis grumbled in dissatisfaction. She had not had her fill of fighting yet.
Altaïr pulled the sails taut for maximum speed and snapped, "If we'd arrived any later, you'd have killed it. What would we use to lure the 'Demon King' then?"
Looking back at the Diablos as it scrambled to its feet behind the Sandship and unleashed furious roars, Morgan said with utter seriousness, "I think having Isis roar a few more times would work just as well."