Click, click, click! Alva worked the shutter at top speed until he had used up the entire roll of film in his portable camera.
Beside him, Alma watched with a conflicted expression. "Professor Alva, can we really just stand here doing this? As a Handler, shouldn't I be more proactive about advising and supporting the Hunters? All I'm doing is taking pictures..."
"Have you replaced the film yet?" Alva had no time to answer the young girl's question. He shoved the camera with the spent roll into Alma's hands, all but snatched the other camera she was holding, and resumed his frenzied shooting.
Only after he had thoroughly documented the Hunters blowing off the "Demon King's" sole remaining horn and sending it crashing pitifully to the ground did he lower the camera for a moment. Turning his head, he asked, "Miss Alma, what do you think a Handler's duties are?"
The young scholar blinked, then answered earnestly, "Providing Hunters with various forms of assistance, including preparing supplies, offering tactical advice, and sharing specialist knowledge."
"Exactly. So what tactical support do you think they need from us right now?" Alva pointed at the Hunters surrounding the fallen "Demon King" and attacking it without mercy.
"It seems... they don't really need any."
"Then at times like this, we should quietly get on with our own work and stay out of their way."
Alva watched Isis swing her Gunlance one-handed as if it were a little wooden club, battering the fallen "Demon King's" head and spraying herself with blood. The terrifying sight made him raise his camera and snap several more pictures.
Those shots had no academic purpose whatsoever. He had taken them purely as keepsakes. Once the photographs were developed, he would send them to Gordon and Hayata with a single line written on the back: "A Victory for Genetics."
After taking the pictures, Alva continued addressing his conflicted young successor. "Miss Alma, whatever you do, remember this: judge every situation on its own merits. Never apply rules mechanically.
"The instructors teach you to become a Hunter's best assistant and partner. There is nothing wrong with that in itself, but not all Hunters are alike.
"If the Hunter you're supporting is a rookie, then of course you should give them your full support, provide every kind of assistance, and even act as a temporary hunting partner when necessary by helping to set traps and the like.
"But if your partner is a veteran capable of handling everything alone, then you can safely become a machine that does nothing but follow procedure."
"A m-machine that does nothing but follow procedure?"
"That's right. Take my partner back then, for example. He handled all the hunting and fighting on his own, so there was absolutely no need for me to interfere. All I had to do was stamp forms and write reports.
"If your future partner is the same type, your work as a Handler will become very easy...
"Ah! The 'Demon King' is getting back up! Now that it has lost its last horn, how furious will it become?
"Wait, why is it running away?! Could the theory that a Diablos's horns are tied to its pride actually be true?"
Just as the scholar had guessed, the shot that blasted off its horn had also shattered the "Demon King's" rage and dignity.
Once that surge of spirit ebbed, its grave wounds made even standing almost impossible.
Its most basic survival instinct overwhelmed the last of its will to fight. Limping and staggering, it fled the oasis.
The rocky ground around the oasis was too hard to burrow through. It would have to reach the sandy stretches of the desert before it could tunnel underground and swiftly escape those terrifying little creatures.
The Hunters pursued close behind.
Aside from Morgan firing the occasional shot, the others were in no hurry to begin their final assault.
A Monster fighting for its life was at its most dangerous; caution was essential. Besides, the Hunters had already set traps at several exits from the oasis.
Driven exactly where the Hunters wanted it to go, the dying, dark-red Diablos eventually stepped into a Pitfall Trap.
Although they had deliberately enlarged the pit beneath the Pitfall Trap, most of its massive body still protruded above ground. It would need only seconds to break free.
The Hunters surrounded it in time and delivered a heavy dose of Tranq Ammo.
Escape lay right before its eyes, but it could no longer reach it. With a mournful roar of frustrated defiance, the "Demon King's" head slammed heavily into the sand, and it lost consciousness.
A debate began beside the deeply anesthetized "Demon King."
Alva spoke for the scholars. "Now that we've captured it, why rush to execute it? The Knowledge Seeker has ample carrying capacity, and we already have all the hoisting gear and rope we need! Bringing this creature back alive would maximize its research value!"
Lady Lania's expression remained cold. "Don't even think about it. When Sid was escorted back to the Guild, the Supervisor explicitly ordered us to execute the 'Demon King.' That order cannot be changed."
"Even if we took it back to Dundorma, wouldn't it still be under the Guild's supervision? You could execute it at any time. What difference would a few days make?!"
"You scholars said the same thing when we captured 'Crystalbeard.' That creature is still soaking in the depths of the Volcano."
"...
"...That was the Wycademy's problem. Our Royal Academy has never let a Monster with a high Danger Rating escape!"
Lania gave a cold snort. "And so what? This is not a discussion. Hunters, get to work. If you keep arguing, I'll have them chop it into pieces."
Buck hefted his Hammer, eager to begin. "I didn't get a chance to swing earlier! Let me land a few good hits!"
"All right, all right." Francesca stepped in to mediate. "The Knowledge Seeker isn't a transport ship. It's a fully equipped mobile research facility, isn't it? Even if you only have a corpse, we can dissect it here while it's still fresh. That isn't much different from taking it back to the Royal Academy."
Watching the Hunters draw their weapons, Alva closed his eyes in anguish. "Fine. If that is the Guild's order, and if you insist...
"But the Black Diablos is innocent. She is still alive, and she is pregnant. Surely you wouldn't harm a poor, dying, pregnant female carrying her unborn young?"
"..."
Everyone stared speechlessly at Alva.
So that was what he had been after all along. Start by asking to tear down the wall, and they might agree to open a window.
Lania narrowed her eyes. "That Black Diablos is extremely dangerous."
"How is she dangerous?!" Alva was genuinely agitated now. "There is no record of her ever harming anyone, is there? She isn't even the target of this operation. If you lay a finger on her, I'll report every one of you for poaching!"
Alva tried to protect the Black Diablos on legal grounds, but Lania was unmoved.
"I have the authority to issue temporary Hunting Licenses."
"What? There isn't a town or trade route anywhere nearby. Tell me what possible reason you have to kill her!"
"Hmm..." Lania paused in thought. "She could pose a threat to the scholars' safety while they study the 'Demon King's' corpse. I think that is a perfectly good reason."
"You fucking..." Alva could not hold back a curse.
Altaïr watched the two argue with amusement. He understood now. Lady Lania had no real intention of harming the Black Diablos. Otherwise, she would not have wasted so many words on Mr. Alva. She could simply have issued a Hunting License directly to the Hunters.
Given the Black Diablos's half-dead state, killing her would take almost no effort. It was practically free money. They would receive the reward for a 6★ quest along with Black Diablos materials, and the Hunters would certainly have been willing.
She simply refused to let Mr. Alva get his way so easily, or he might spend every day from then on threatening to tear down walls whenever he wanted a window opened.
Once Altaïr was certain they would not actually harm the Black Diablos, there was no reason to listen to the rest of the argument. He turned to Francesca, who wore the same amused look of a fellow spectator.
"Senior Francesca, studying the 'Demon King's' corpse will probably take quite a while. Can we return early aboard that small Airship?"
"That should be fine. The Hunters from the Vanguard Hunting Party should be enough to escort them. You all..."
Before Francesca could finish, she and Altaïr shivered at the same instant. A resentful, aggrieved gaze had settled on them both.
They looked over and found Isis staring at them.
"Didn't we promise we'd visit the black market together and rob the Sand Raiders..."
"..."
Altaïr: "..."
Wait, you still remember that?
* * *
Conquering the Anime Multiverse is another story you can read here on Webnovel. Thank you for reading.