Vector eyed the quest board, looking for one to pass his time. With a gentle movement, he brushed aside sheets of paper detailing hunts for various Large Monsters. He saw a couple for a Paolumu hunt, a certain pink-haired hunter would love those, maybe he'd tell her when he next saw her.
A yellowing sheet of paper caught his attention. A Nergigante hunt would be the perfect thing to pass the time… until the next major monster problem reared its ugly head. He thought about his fellow hunters. Fay and Adney were in the Coral Highlands, culling Pink Rathians, Ullr had gone to the Wildspire Waste to hunt a Teostra. Sakura was chasing an Anjanath around the Ancient Forest… Looks like he'd have to take this hunt on solo, not that he minded, there'd be a better chance of him getting the items he needed.
A meow near his ankles caught his attention. His Palico, Zero looked up at him with that glint in his eyes.
"Looks like it's just me and you against our Nergigante then buddy" He reached into his pouch, tossing the Palico a sausage before taking the quest off the board.
Time to gear up. He had most of Nergigante's armour, he was just missing the headpiece. Pulling his armour out he checked it for damages and kinks.
He'd need it as free from faults as possible, an Elder Dragon was a whole load more difficult than regular large monsters
Once he was satisfied his armour was up to scratch he pulled it on, the spiked armour settling against his skin. Zero meowed approvingly, leaping across to his Meowster's side. He remembered a conversation with Adney about their choices of weapon, they'd agreed to try each other's weapon. It had been worth it to see the poor girl nearly topple over when she tried to pick up his Charge-Blade. She'd had her revenge when his first vault had catapulted him into the waterfall. It'd be a good challenge for him, to use an Insect Glaive against Nergigante.
Vector's next stop was the Canteen. It wasn't that the Handler's cooking was poor… he just prefered the environment of the Canteen, there was always a sense of community there. Taking a seat at one of the empty tables, he hailed a Palico over, it's little white hat bobbing through the crowd as it weaved over to him. The little ginger cat gave him a wave, holding the pad between it's paws as it scrawled down his order before running off to the chef.
The meal was fantastic, he placed a handful of Zenny into the canteen Palico's waiting paws as it watched him finish his meal. The Felyne purred and disappeared off to serve other hunters. Vector nodded to Zero and hooked onto his wingdrake, flying through the clouds towards the Elder's Recess
It didn't take him long to find the Nergigante, it was prowling around in the sector outside of its nest, the horned head casting back and forth as it sniffed the air. Smelling nothing it moved closer to the exit on its short, muscular limbs, beady eyes searching for its next meal. Vector wondered briefly what Elder Dragon it was looking to eat. The only ones that frequented the recess were Kushala Daora, Lunastra and Teostra. Xeno'jiva had been slain a few months ago by the twins. Ever since its death, the Nergigantes that made their way to the recess, looking for a meal, seemed a lot less vicious.
He unhooked his Insect Glaive from his back as the beast stalked closer, he could see the smaller spikes on its head now, the foul scent of its breath wafting towards him in waves. He readied his blade as his Palico held up a Palarang, ready to launch it on his command.
With a nod he stepped forwards, jabbing his glaive into the side of Nergigante's head, the dragon letting out a roar of pain. Vector smiled as his Palico flung his Palarang, the tool skittering across the Nergigante's back before returning to the waiting paws of the cat.
Bellowing with rage, the Nergigante swiped at Vector, forcing the hunter to dodge out of the way. Spikes began to push through the Elder Dragons skin, erupting through and turing a brilliant white.
He tried to remember what Adney had told him. Ah yes… the Kinsect, the small bug that the all insect glaive users carried. It responded to markers fired from the weapon and would retrieve extracts for the wielder. If the wielder could gather the three key extracts, they could power up their attacks and defence for a while, becoming immune to knockback.
Raising the glaive he concentrated on a spot on Nergigantes wing. Beneath his fingers the glaive hummed, firing a marker which buried itself in the wing, his kinsect immediately chasing after the marker, the end of his glaive glowing a brilliant orange. One down, two more to go. He recalled the insect, it depositing the gathered essence into his weapon.
Nergigante's spikes darkened to grey. Vector kept trying to cut them back but they were erupting as fast as he smashed them. Another kinsect, this time it brought him white. He wished for his trusty Charge Blade… he wouldn't bow out and switch, it wasn't his style. He'd see this through to the end and then go tell Adney and Fay how bloody useless their weapon was against a Nergigante. He made a couple more swipes, this time the glaive struck true, shattering a horn.
The spikes darkened to black. Try as he might, Vector just couldn't hit any part ot the Elder Dragon, even his kinsect struggled, the beetle bouncing off repeatedly. Nergiante roared, spreading his huge wings before taking to the air.
Vector took to the air too, using his glaive to propel himself away from the dragon as it crashed to the ground, the hardened black spikes shooting everywhere. A few buried themselves where he'd been standing just seconds before. Thank god dodging was easy with one of these.
The Nergigante approached the spot where he'd been stood, sniffing at the ground before dropping its head, clearly interested in something on the ground. Vector looked around, he hadn't seen his Palico escape Nergy's divebomb. With a triumphant roar the Nergigante tossed its prize into the air. Even from this distance he could make out Zero's terrified face as he fell into the jaws of the dragon.
A crunch echoed around the Recess as Nergigante snapped its jaws closed, severing the Palico clean in half. The remains of Zero's head and body flopped lifelessly to the floor, bright scarlet blood blossoming out like a gorey flower from his abdomen, the colour a startling contrast to the silver of the crystals that littered the sector.
A cold emptiness filled Vector's heart, many years of friendship had just been snuffed out like a candle. He narrowed his eyes at the Nergigante who had just killed his closest companion, the dragon now searching for him. Taking one step forward, it's massive clawed foot landed on top of Zero's tiny form, crushing the Palico's broken body to nothing.
Having spotted him, the dragon roared a challenge, extending its wings in a brilliant display of dominance as a fresh layer of spikes erupted from the flesh.
The roar was earthshattering.
He was still recovering from the roar when Nergigante's spiked arm slammed into his chest, catapulting the hunter backwards. A sharp, piercing pain tore through Vector's chest, forcing a strangled cry from the hunter's lips. Looking down he could see a shard of crystal had pierced him through the abdomen, leaving him dangling several foot from the ground. Rich, ruby red blood dripped from the razor sharp point.
He felt faint, the pain radiating through him like a dull ache as the Nergigante slowly approached, its beady golden eyes fixed on him. He tried to wriggle free, the sharp edge of the crystal tearing into his unresisting flesh, causing him to slide further down the blood-streaked spire.
The Nergigante sniffed at his leg, the blood from his injury had slowly been running down, pooling in his boot. It looked hungry.
With a roar the beast charged the spire, bringing Vector down to a lower level. The hunter swore as he jolted to a stop, the spike grating through his organs, cutting clean through them. His torture wasn't over as Nergigante crushed his leg between its massive jaws, pulling the hunter free and throwing him to the ground.
Some hunters in Astera theorised that, like Deviljho, Nergigante needed to eat so much to sustain its body. He didn't exactly want to test that theory by becoming it's meal. With a growl, the Nergigante pounced, grabbing hold of his leg, tearing into the flesh with its razor sharp teeth. Vector knew how his Palico had felt in those few seconds before he bled out, the pure agony of being torn apart by the monster's teeth filling his mind.
With a vicious yank, the Nergigante tore his leg free, the flesh ripping apart as it separated from his body. It flung its prize away, the rich tang of Vector's blood driving it into a frenzy as it's teeth dug through the thick material of his armour and hooked into the tender flesh below, prompting a scream of agony from the hunter as the material and a considerable amount of flesh was torn away with a swift jolt of Nergigante' head.
Vector looked down at the gaping wound inflicted by Nergigante. His intestines were visible, shining in the faint light as the Elder Dragon towered above him. It's fangs dripped with saliva and his own blood, droplets splattering against his skin. It leant down, its breath fetid and hot against the sensitive skin of his wound as it retched. Vector felt his skin burn as whatever the Nergigante had regurgitated hit him. Looking down, his eyes widened. Zero. His Palico lay dissolving in a disfigured lump, the charcoal black fur peeling off the discoloured flesh like a banana. Parts of the Palico's skeleton was visible, delicate bones poking like stars on a dark night through the sooty fur.
Bile rose in Vector's throat, seeing the remains of his Palico deposited upon his stomach, the Nergignate's stomach acid incinerating through the sensitive flesh of his organs, the tissue dissolving like sugar beneath the potent liquid.
He felt a warm liquid seep down his greaves, shame burned in his face, even though no one would know. He'd pissed himself out of fear and pain. If the other hunters knew they'd rib him mercilessly. The Nergigante seemed immune to the scent.
The other A-Listers… he thought about them now. The twins Adney and Ullr came to his mind first, he was loud and brash where she was quiet and gentle but together they shone brightly, they were the guiding lights of the A-Listers. Next he thought of Fay… the older white haired hunter was a bastion of support to most of the A-Listers. She was always willing to listen to a hunter if they needed help. The final A-Lister who was part of the pack was Sakura, a relatively new hunter to the team but a skilled bow user who's passionate spirit kept the fire burning in the other's hearts.
He wished they were here with him now, he couldn't kill a Nergigante.
He was torn from his thoughts by an agonising jolt as the Nergigante tore his stomach out, splattering his tanned face with a mixture of blood and bile, the acid melting the skin away, revealing the sinewy muscles below. Tears rolled down his face as the Nergigante tore his organs free, gulping them down. There was nothing for him now. He wouldn't survive this.
He froze in terror as the Nergigante grasped his head in it's steely jaw, the knife like fangs digging into his skull, the stench of rotting meat enveloping him. This was it. His final seconds.
With a twist, the dragon tore his head free, the neck dangling like a tail, blood dripping onto the remains of the hunter.
It swallowed it, leaving the pile of remains for the other creatures of the recess to feed on as it ambled off to it's nest.
It was late evening in Astera, the remaining A-List hunters were gathered around a table in the gathering hub, sharing a round of drinks.
Ullr looked over the gathered members "Where's Vector?" He asked, eyeing his sister "The one with the Charge Blade"
Adney shrugged, downing her drink before wiping her chin "Don't ask me. I think I heard the researchers were ecstatic that Nergigate hunt was finally accepted."
She placed the flagon on the table, crossing her long legs onto the table, the light glittering off her Odogaron greaves.
"I bet you any zenny that he took it"
Fay looked up at the pinkette's words "Vector does hunt that dragon a lot. He's almost an expert at killing it. It's unusual for him to take this long"
She mused for a few seconds "He may be injured. We should all head out and see. It may be that he killed the Nergigante and ran afoul of another monster"
Ullr looked at the rest of the hunters "I'm sure he's ok"