If this were an ordinary Diablos, even without the earlier battle against the Black Diablos or the Barrel Bomb traps, the Hunters' relentless assault alone would have left it barely breathing.
But the "Demon King" was the "Demon King."
At this point, it was certainly gravely wounded, but it remained a long way from true weakness, let alone death.
Caught in the Hunters' pincer attack within the narrow pass, it sensed the threat to its life and struggled with mounting ferocity.
As the "Demon King" roared and heaved itself upright, Isis and Altaïr, responsible for pinning it from the front, braced themselves to hold their ground and force it back.
Yet the "Demon King" defied their expectations and retreated instead.
It twisted its body. Its wing claws, trapped by the rocky ledges on both sides and unable to spread, scrabbled against the rock walls and ground alongside its hind legs.
Serl, positioned beneath it, and Morgan, firing from behind, could do nothing but watch as it "pulled" its massive body out of the pass.
With a furious roar, the "Demon King" stamped its thick hind claws against the ground, propelling its hundred-ton bulk straight upward. Using its wing claws to climb, it quickly scrambled onto a nearby rocky ledge about two stories high.
Once it reached open ground, the "Demon King" finally regained its freedom. It raised its head, spread its wings wide, and unleashed a long, exhilarated roar.
Then it lowered its head and fixed its crimson eyes on those detestable Hunters.
It would grind these wretched little things into dust!
Watching the "Demon King" escape, Altaïr felt a twinge of regret. The ideal outcome would have been to trap it completely within the pass and finish the Hunt with ease.
But that had always been too much to hope for. A direct confrontation was unavoidable.
Fortunately, their preparations had done their job. The "Demon King" was gravely wounded and its stamina badly depleted. Now it came down to their own skill.
"We'll try a fixed battle. If you can't hold it, switch to mobile combat immediately. Don't force it!" Altaïr warned Isis quietly, then sheathed his weapon and broke into a run.
"Got it!"
Isis snapped her Gunlance through a Quick Reload, then sheathed it and ran out of the narrow path between the rocky ledges into the open.
The "Demon King" was no fool. After what had just happened, it would never enter such a confined space again.
Morgan and Serl also sheathed their weapons and began to move.
Until Isis, their heavily armored defender, had firmly secured the target's attention, they would not act rashly. They would resume their offensive only once she had pinned the "Demon King" in place.
If Isis could not hold the "Demon King" there, however, it would be a different story. The Blademasters would have to take turns drawing the Monster's attention and strike whenever openings appeared.
Compared with the tight formation of a fixed battle, mobile combat was less efficient and more dangerous, but they had no other choice.
Given the "Demon King's" size and power, the heavily armored Hunters in this world capable of pinning it down could probably be counted on two hands, with fingers to spare.
If Isis had not insisted on trying, Altaïr would never have considered a fixed battle in the first place.
Once in the open, Isis quickly downed a bottle of Mega Demondrug and a bottle of Mega Armorskin. Clawdia, at her side, scattered two handfuls of powder over her, while Morgan found time to hit her with a round of Demon Ammo.
She knew her own limits. Her strength far surpassed that of an ordinary person, enough for her to wrestle some Monsters head-on, but matching strength with a Monster at the "Demon King's" level was out of the question.
Even against an ordinary Diablos, she needed an entire sequence of techniques, exploiting angles that denied it leverage, breaking its balance, and creating openings, before she could force it backward in a contest of strength.
Against the "Demon King"... all she could do was give it her best. Using every potion available might increase her strength enough to narrow the gulf between them by the tiniest margin.
Once every preparation was complete, Isis readied her Gunlance, raised her Large Shield, and roared a challenge at the "Demon King," which had looked around and started after Altaïr.
Unable to tolerate the provocation, the "Demon King" whipped its head around and glared viciously at her.
Isis slammed her shield down, leveled her Gunlance, and assumed a standard Defensive Stance, peering over the rim of her shield as she locked her gaze on her opponent.
The Hunter's eyes met the wyvern's. To a Diablos, that was an invitation to duel.
The "Demon King" immediately abandoned its original target and turned toward her.
It lowered its head, its single horn aimed straight ahead like a lance, and scraped its hind claws against the ground as it gathered strength.
Truth be told, Isis wanted to meet the "Demon King" head-on, with no tricks at all.
But she knew that would be suicide...
Even in a head-on clash, she needed some strategy. Otherwise, she could never overcome an opponent hundreds of times her size and weight, much less pose any threat to it.
She could not let the "Demon King" build up speed!
She drew a deep breath, locked the muzzle brake in place, swung her Gunlance behind her, and squeezed the trigger.
Boom!
The cannon thundered, and Isis shot forward low enough to skim the ground.
This time, she did not angle the muzzle slightly downward, as she normally did to lift her feet off the ground and raise her point of impact.
Against an opponent like the "Demon King," a reckless "takeoff" would only turn her into a target.
The sole purpose of this Blast Dash was to close the distance to zero before the "Demon King" could begin accelerating!
The instant the cannon roared, the "Demon King" also began to move, but it clearly had not expected its opponent to close so quickly. Before it could take a second step, the Hunter's Large Shield was already braced against the protruding fangs beneath its jaw.
Isis immediately planted both feet and lowered her center of gravity as far as possible. To an observer, the tall Hunter looked almost as though she were crouching, her rear knee nearly touching the ground.
Against a Monster of the "Demon King's" height, that point of contact was far too low.
It was like asking someone to lie flat and push something with their chin. In that posture, the "Demon King" could barely apply any force.
It tried to wrench its head upward and toss Isis into the air, but she held her shield diagonally overhead and maintained her Defensive Stance with all her strength. The "Demon King's" fangs scraped a white line across her Large Shield, and before a true clash could begin, the two had already slipped past each other.
At that moment, the drawback of its enormous size was laid bare.
It had only just started forward and could not stop at once, allowing Isis to slip directly beneath its belly.
Seizing the opening, Isis angled her Gunlance upward. Its greatsword-like blade cut through the tough hide along the "Demon King's" belly, opening a long, narrow wound that was not especially deep.
At the same moment, she pulled the trigger without restraint, unleashing every shell in the chamber along with a Wyrmstake Cannon and opening several more wounds along the "Demon King's" underside.
The "Demon King" charged another forty or fifty meters before finally stopping, sweeping its massive tail around as it turned.
That distance sounded enormous, but given its size, it was less than two body lengths, only three to five strides.
Isis turned with it, worked her Gunlance through a Quick Reload, and immediately raised her shield to resume her Defensive Stance.
Grrrrrooowl!
Their eyes met again. Realizing it had been tricked, the "Demon King" let out a series of furious, rumbling growls.
Isis knew she had successfully drawn its attention. Now she had to see whether she could withstand its violent onslaught.
* * *
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