Watching Alva rage in frustration, the Hunters could hardly keep from laughing.
Altaïr cleared his throat and kept a straight face to hide his amusement. "So, Mr. Alva, have you figured out why the 'Demon King' refuses to mate with females?"
Rather than wallow in defeat as they had expected, Alva immediately pulled himself together at Altaïr's question. "The cause has not yet been confirmed. Determining it will be one of the primary goals of our continued observation and research.
"At present, we have several theories.
"First, the 'Demon King' may have lost its reproductive capacity for some reason, leaving it without any urge to mate or reproduce.
"Second, it may not consider itself the same species as Diablos, much like Yian Garuga and Yian Kut-Ku. Although they look extremely similar, their divergence goes beyond the bounds of a Subspecies.
"Third, the difference in size may be too great. Of the female Diablos that have approached the 'Demon King,' the largest was only around twenty-one meters long, which may not be... compatible with a thirty-meter 'Demon King.'"
Alva's methodical answer left the Hunters momentarily speechless.
Were scholars always this quick to explain why something had failed?
"Then stop looking for a reason. Skip the observation and research phase entirely," Lady Lania said flatly.
"No! Don't! There's still hope!" Alva shouted at once. "If the first theory is correct and it has lost the ability to mate altogether, then there really is nothing we can do.
"But if it's the second, it is still worth trying. There have been cases of a Rathian mating with a Khezu and a Yian Kut-Ku mating with a Yian Garuga, so the 'Demon King' should at least be reproductively compatible with Diablos.
"And if it's the third, all we need to do is find a larger female Diablos..."
After more than twenty years of marriage, Lania knew exactly how to stop Alva once he got going.
With one slender yet remarkably strong hand, she pinched Alva's cheek to cut off his rambling, then turned to Altaïr.
"The information on the 'Demon King' has been submitted. The Guild has revised its Danger Rating to 7★. You may abandon the quest without penalty, including forfeiture of the contract fee.
"Alternatively, you may continue the quest. However, the Supervisor asked me to remind you to exercise the utmost caution and prepare as thoroughly as possible before the Hunt. If the battle turns against you, do not hesitate. Retreat at once. He can entrust the 'Demon King' to other High Rank Hunters with greater strength and more experience."
Lania's tone was deadly serious.
The young people before her were among the finest Hunters of their generation. The Supervisor and His Immenseness would both have heart attacks if any of them were lost.
"We choose to continue the quest, but we will need a few days to finalize our tactics and find favorable terrain," Altaïr replied.
They had discussed the matter on the first day they encountered the "Demon King" and reached a consensus long ago. All that remained was to figure out how to improve their chances of success.
The Hunters began discussing their battle plan right there in the tent. Altaïr asked to see the scholars' observation reports from the past few days. Alva was reluctant, but Lania immediately barked at him to fetch them.
Alva reluctantly played the "henpecked husband," helplessly watching the Hunters use the fruits of his team's days and nights of observation to plot the death of their research subject.
The tent flap was suddenly thrown open, and Alma rushed in, her face alight with excitement. "Mr. Alva, a message just came from the observation Airship! There's been a development!"
"Really?!" Alva came alive at once. His sudden burst of strength even allowed him to break free of Lania's grip.
Lania immediately caught him and forced him back down, then looked at the young woman whose name sounded so similar to her husband's. "What sort of development?"
Alma had not expected to find so many people in Mr. Alva's tent.
The message sent back from the observation Airship by carrier pigeon was not classified, however. After a moment's surprise, she answered, "Several hours ago, the 'Demon King' engaged in mating behavior with a female Diablos..."
"Argh!" Alva slapped his thigh in frustration.
Why had he come back to camp halfway through the operation? He should have stayed aboard the observation Airship and worked shifts around the clock!
But he recovered quickly, tore himself free once more from Lania's hand on his shoulder, and leaped to his feet. "I'm heading there right now!
"Diablos mating can continue on and off for an entire day, even several days. There's still time to make it!"
"So... what should we do?" Isis asked Altaïr quietly.
Lania also looked toward him. As the Hunters in the field, they enjoyed considerable autonomy. She would support their decisions as long as they did not violate any regulations.
Altaïr leaned toward Serl and exchanged a few hushed words with him, then nodded. "Let's go assess the situation first. With the 'Demon King' and a female Diablos together, this is hardly the right time to begin the Hunt anyway.
"To be honest, I'm also curious about why the 'Demon King' suddenly changed its mind. Is there something special about that female Diablos?"
—--
Alva and the Hunters set out that very night. They boarded a Sandship and arrived near the stretch of sand sea roamed by the "Demon King," where the answer became clear.
Although still nowhere near the "Demon King" in size, the female Diablos it was mating with was astonishingly large in her own right.
Measurements taken with the telescope's reticle put the female Diablos at roughly twenty-six meters long, nearly the upper growth limit for an ordinary Diablos. She was a true Gold Crown specimen.
So the "Demon King" really had driven those earlier females away because their "sizes did not match"?
To avoid startling the two mating behemoths with a camera flash at night, Alva clutched his sketchpad and drew at furious speed.
He filled sheet after sheet, recording the mating process between the "Demon King" and the Gold Crown Diablos from every angle.
The scholars were beside themselves with excitement, but the Hunters grew drowsy as they watched.
Once their initial curiosity had been satisfied, continuing to observe the "Demon King" mating with the Gold Crown Diablos began to feel like a waste of time.
They were indeed displeased with Alva's earlier deception and manipulation, but the two Diablos had already mated. From one perspective, the act could even be considered natural breeding. The Hunters had little reason or need to intervene by force.
After escorting Mr. Alva aboard the observation Airship, the Hunters returned to camp.
—--
The "Demon King" and the Gold Crown Diablos mated intermittently for four days. Afterward, the female Gold Crown Diablos left the "Demon King's" range of her own accord and returned to her territory.
The scholars made a point of tagging the female Gold Crown Diablos so they could continue tracking and observing her in the future.
The Hunters were relieved when the female Gold Crown Diablos left of her own accord.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of Diablos ecology knew that a female Diablos underwent drastic physical changes once she had been fertilized and began gestating offspring.
Under the influence of hormones, her carapace would thicken and harden until it turned as black as obsidian. Her temperament would become exceptionally violent, and any intruder that dared approach her territory would be crushed without mercy. Even the father of her offspring was no exception.
According to scholarly research, this was a specialized mechanism that ensured offspring could be raised safely and a key reason Diablos populations could thrive in the barren Great Desert.
A female Diablos in this state was known as a "Black Diablos." Her Danger Rating jumped straight across the boundary between Low Rank and High Rank to reach 6★. Even among Monsters with a 6★ Danger Rating, Black Diablos were considered especially troublesome.
The Hunters targeting the "Demon King" had no desire to watch for a second threat, a Gold Crown Black Diablos roaming nearby. Her departure was the best news they could have hoped for.
With mating over, the scholars' breeding observation experiment effectively came to an end, and preparations for the Hunt formally began.
Immediately afterward, however, a new report arrived from the observation Airship.
For the scholars driven by the pursuit of the unknown, the news ignited their curiosity. For the Hunters preparing to carry out the Hunt, it was unequivocally bad news.
For reasons unknown, the "Demon King" had left its former range and set off after the female Gold Crown Diablos, following her scent and tracks farther and farther into the distance...
* * *
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