Seeing that the others had yet to react, Leon was the first to turn and dash back toward the path they had come from.
"Coco, Dumpling, Biscuit—cover-fire retreat mode!" Flora reacted with lightning speed, sheathing her sword and shield as she sprinted after Leon.
"Meow! Roger that!" Dumpling pocketed the carving knife he'd been using and scurried after them.
Coco blew into the Hunting Horn, and a faint white light enveloped everyone.
—Their stamina had been slightly increased.
Biscuit whipped out a Flash Pod and hurled it toward Vaal Hazak.
Bang!
The brilliant white light flared for a moment, only to be swallowed by the black fog an instant later.
Clack... clack, clack...
The grinding sound of bone armor drew closer, and a draconic silhouette lunged out from the dark mist!
It was only then that the group got a clear look at Vaal Hazak's form.
Vaal Hazak was an Elder Dragon with a classic skeletal structure, resembling the silhouette of a western dragon.
Its skin was a pale, silvery white, featuring an exaggerated maw of jagged fangs and limbs that appeared deceptively thin alongside its slender tail.
Most striking were the countless hooked barbs covering its body, used to snag pieces of rotting flesh. Draped over it like a macabre shroud, the dragon looked like a corpse brought back to life.
"What the hell is that thing..." Vos intended to cover the rear, but an incoming breath attack blasted him backward, sending him tumbling past Leon and Flora.
"Vos!" Flora moved to turn back, but Leon grabbed her.
"I'll draw its attention! You save Vos!" Leon took a sharp breath and downed his three hunting essentials in quick succession before entering Demon Mode.
Playing it safe, he slammed a Shock Trap onto the ground.
Leon wasn't trying to be a hero, but he was the only one who recognized Vaal Hazak. Furthermore, his Blazing Hatchets were fire-elemental—the creature's primary weakness.
Though games differed from reality, Leon was certain that Vaal Hazak was one of the more manageable Elder Dragons, provided one was careful of the effluvium and its breath attacks.
Even if the rot took hold, he had Nulberries to cleanse the status effect.
In a flash, Leon was directly in front of Vaal Hazak.
Demon Flurry Rush—into a Left Roundslash!
He moved like a gale of fire, closing the distance to the dragon's underbelly, which was matted with carrion and barbs.
"Hah!"
The Blazing Hatchets carved crimson arcs through the air, biting deep into the dragon's flank. With a sizzle of burning flesh, the shroud of rot was scorched away, exposing the hard, pale bone-plating beneath.
Vaal Hazak roared in pain and whipped its tail around in a massive sweep!
Leon was ready; he threw himself into a side-roll.
The massive tail whistled past his leg, kicking up a storm of bleached bones and gravel.
"Flora! Get back! It's going to breathe!"
Leon saw the black mist churning violently deep within the dragon's throat.
It was its most lethal attack—the corrosive breath. A direct hit would bypass armor and leave a hunter crippled by the effluvium.
"On it!" Flora dragged the semi-conscious Vos, shouting for Coco and Dumpling to spread out and keep the monster's attention divided.
But in a momentary lapse, Flora couldn't prevent the breath from clipping Vos's leg.
Biscuit arrived beside them, pushing a wooden felyne cart. Understanding the situation immediately, Flora hoisted Vos onto the bed.
Rattle! Clatter!
The cart sped away, carrying Vos toward the safety of the temporary camp.
Simultaneously, Coco arrived with another cart next to Flora. "Quick! I'll take you back too!"
Flora refused. "No! We can't leave him behind."
"But..." Coco hesitated, watching Leon weave through the battlefield.
"If I leave, Dumpling won't have the timing to save Leon if things go south." Flora knew the rules of the felyne cart—if the cart was destroyed by the monster, the hunter's situation would be far worse.
Currently, Vaal Hazak's aggression was focused entirely on Leon. Dumpling would never find an opening unless someone distracted it; the rescue would be impossible.
On the battlefield, Dumpling threw a Flash Pod.
Bang!
The blinding flash caused Vaal Hazak to falter for a second.
Leon seized the moment and fired his Clutch Claw!
He hauled himself onto the dragon's back, hooking his left Blazing Hatchet into a dorsal barb and hacking wildly with his right.
Slash!
Crimson fire-trails raked across Vaal Hazak's spine. Rotten flesh flew, but he couldn't break through the bone.
The dragon let out a piercing screech, thrashing violently to throw Leon off.
"The Meow-ster is here!" Dumpling tossed a Small Barrel Bomb at the dragon's head.
BOOM!
At the same time, Leon finished a flurry of Demon Slashes, causing Vaal Hazak to lose its balance and collapse to the ground.
"Dumpling, fall back!" Leon leapt to the ground and sprinted toward Flora.
Despite the successful assault, Leon knew his gear wasn't up to the task of hunting an Elder Dragon. His margin for error was razor-thin, and at his current damage output, it would take days of constant hacking to kill it.
The cardinal sin of hunting was overextending; there was no telling what other monsters might show up in the meantime.
Leon and Flora bolted.
Since Vaal Hazak had long-range breath attacks, Leon didn't trust he could lure it into the Shock Trap effectively.
They ducked through narrow, serpentine tunnels with the Elder Dragon hot on their heels.
Every step the beast took sent tremors through the earth.
The hellish landscape of rot, bone, and thick mist seemed to swallow all hope of survival.
"How... how is that thing so fast?" Flora gasped, her lungs burning.
"It's an Elder Dragon!" Leon gritted his teeth. "Don't compare it to anything else."
"An Elder Dragon?!" This was Flora's third encounter with one. She had seen Kushala Daora as a child, and then Zorah Magdaros, but Vaal Hazak wasn't just ugly—it smelled like death itself.
"Meowww! Stop chatting and run, meow!" Dumpling shrieked as he sprinted for his life.
Suddenly, a strange, thunderous rumbling echoed from the end of the tunnel.
"Watch out, something's coming from the front!" Leon slowed, pressing himself against the wall.
"Is that a Radobaan?" Before Flora could finish, the rock wall ahead shattered.
A Radobaan came crashing into the tunnel, rolling at high speed.
Encrusted in bones and spinning like a massive, lethal wheel, it hurtled toward them.
"Get over here!" Leon grabbed Flora, pulling her into a desperate halt against the wall.
VROOOOM!
The Radobaan roared past them like a whirlwind of death, scattering stone and bone in its wake.
It left a trail of thick, black adhesive liquid on the ground.
"That was close..." Sweat beaded on Flora's forehead, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Suddenly, a massive impact shook the air behind them.
They turned to see the rolling Radobaan swatted into the wall by Vaal Hazak's tail.
CRASH!
Before the Radobaan could recover, Vaal Hazak unhinged its jaws, the black mist in its throat churning.
"Damn it, it's going to use its breath!" Leon's face paled as he tackled Flora to the ground.
—But the attack wasn't aimed at them.
Vaal Hazak unleashed a concentrated blast of effluvium directly into the disoriented Radobaan.
Hiss—BOOM!
The tide of rot disintegrated the surrounding bones.
The Radobaan had no time to react before it was swallowed by the deathly black fog.
Within seconds, the once-fearsome beast was reduced to a heap of bones, collapsing amidst the billowing fumes.
"This..." Flora was speechless. "That's brutal... One shot and the Radobaan is done?"
Leon realized with a jolt of horror that they were in a lethal pincer.
The path forward was blocked by the Radobaan's black tar, and behind them was Vaal Hazak...
Vaal Hazak kicked the carcass aside and resumed its pursuit.
"Go! Move!" Leon's eyes were locked on the approaching dragon.
Then, in the blink of an eye—
Vaal Hazak flared its wings and lunged like a falling black meteorite.
Enveloped in mist, the tide of death surged forward.
Flora tried to dive away, but her foot landed in the black tar—her movement jerked to a stop!
Leon reached out, but he missed her hand...
"Flora!!!"
In an instant, Flora was pinned to the ground by Vaal Hazak, its massive claws pinning her down like a nail!
Dust and effluvium exploded through the tunnel.