Strangers in a Strange Land

by EvilMuffinLord

What's a hero-in-training to do when he awakes in a strange land filled with fantastic sights and terrifying monsters? If you're Izuku Midoriya, then you fight like hell to help the people of your new home out. Together with Mina, now his trusty Palico sidekick, he'll show the residents of Astera what it means to be a hero!

6. Search

"So, where do we start?" Mina asked as she and Izuku stepped out of the front gate of Astera and into the edges of the Ancient Forest. They had been given a long-term objective by the Commission, but the exact path they took there had been left up to them.

After Mina and Izuku's initial success in the Rotten Vale, progress on the investigation into Zorah Magdaros had ground to a halt. It was obvious from the massive chunks of solidified magma at the bottom of the Vale that Zorah Magdaros had been there at some point, but it had moved on before the Commission had gotten anywhere near the area, and didn't seem to be coming back anytime soon.

Not that Mina really blamed the massive Elder Dragon for not wanting to stick around in the Vale. In addition to being a deeply unpleasant place to spend time, the Vale apparently served as some sort of monster graveyard, feeding the rest of the New World with nutrients. It sounded weird to Mina, but Izuku had found the idea quite fascinating. He and the Tracker had spent several hours back in the Third Fleet's Research Base swapping ideas about how the Vale "fit into the broader ecosystem of the New World" while Mina did her best not to fall asleep at the table. She hadn't succeeded, of course, and Izuku had eventually carried her back to the room the Third Fleet had set aside for them, but he at least had seemed to have fun with the discussion.

In the end, despite several more missions to the Rotten Vale (including an assignment to capture a live Odogaron for a half-mad researcher who wanted to keep the ravenous monster as a "pet"), they hadn't been able to find out any more about Zorah Magdaros' movements or destination.

The members of the Commission were nothing if not determined, though, and they had immediately come up with several new angles to attack the problem from. The Tracker was staying in the Vale, both to search for any clues that had been overlooked, and to monitor the effluvia levels there, which seemed to be rising the longer the Commission was there.

Meanwhile, the Field Team Leader was leading an expedition to follow Zorah Magdaros' trail from where it had first made landfall to the canyon where they had attempted to capture it. They hoped that with the new information they had uncovered about Zorah Magdaros' reasons for coming to the new world, they would be able to uncover some new clues about where the massive Elder Dragon was heading.

Lastly, Izuku and Mina had been dispatched to the Ancient Forest to search for a First Wyverian who was rumored to be living there. The reclusive native inhabitants of the New World were said to be expert hunters, as well as incredibly knowledgeable on the subject of monster behavior. If there was any group that would know why Zorah had fled its grave site, it would be them.

Unfortunately, they were tricky to find when they didn't want to be seen, which meant none of the other hunters who regularly visited the Ancient Forest had seen hide nor hair of the Wyverian. Their only clues were a few scattered footprints and a hunch that the recent changes in monster population had to do with a very skilled hunter in the area.

Izuku and Mina's search for it was a bit of a Hail Mary, but they had known that going in. Besides, it wasn't any less likely to turn up results than the other avenues the Commission was pursuing, so there was no harm in trying.

There was also another reason that Mina had so ardently pushed for her and Izuku to take the assignment. The researchers had gone on and on about how knowledgeable the Wyverians were supposed to be, to the point that even she had begun to think about what all that knowledge could include. If the stories about them were to be believed, the First Wyverians had been around for ages, and had even interacted with civilizations that were now lost to time. Some of these civilizations had possessed incredible technology, and Mina hoped that one of them might have passed along information about how she and Izuku could return home.

Not that she wanted to do it right away, of course. They needed to help the Commission find Zorah Magdaros before they could return. There were far too many people counting on their help at this point, and Mina was far too invested in the project to leave now.

But she did miss her home, her parents, her friends, and her original form. Life in the New World was great, aside from the monsters that regularly threatened to eat her, and she had made many excellent friends, but it just wasn't the same as she was used to.

She knew Izuku was feeling a bit homesick as well. They hadn't discussed it much, but she often caught him looking at a portrait of his mother that he had drawn in the back of his hunting notebook. The way he had drawn her made his mother look like the sweetest, gentlest woman in the world, which Mina had no trouble believing. After all, only someone as good as that could have raised someone as amazing as Izuku.

"I was thinking we should ask the Bugtrappers if they have any leads," Izuku replied, breaking her out of her reverie, "They take a lot of paths that the hunters don't, so they might know where the First Wyverian is staying. Even if they don't, they should be able to point us in the right direction."

"Sounds good to me," Mina said, setting her course for the Bugtrapper village near the top of the Ancient Forest.

After the adventures in recent weeks, the trek through the Forest was actually rather relaxing. The air was clean and fresh, and made Mina feel all the healthier for breathing it. The ground was firm enough that she didn't have to worry about turning an ankle on a random patch of gristle or falling into a hidden swamp hole if she wasn't paying attention. Even the weather was excellent, with nary a cloud in the sky as they picked their way through the foliage and towards the base of the massive tree.

Eventually they reached a large clearing at the base of the tree, one that she and Izuku were quite familiar with. After all, it housed the entrance to the cave where the largest Jagras pack in the Forest made their home, and where Izuku and Mina had fought their first monster.

The clearing was far from empty though. Apparently the Jagras pack agreed that the weather was quite nice, and had decided to take their lunch outside. The pack was arrayed in a loose semicircle around a pair of Kestodon carcasses, with some mid-feast and the rest sunning themselves in nearby patches of sunlight.

It didn't take long for one of the Jagras to notice that their meal had been interrupted. The cry of alarm rippled through the pack, causing every member to leap to their feet and rush the hunters.

While Izuku unlimbered his charge blade, Mina wasted no time in charging the pack. She remembered their first encounter with a Jagras pack well, and she didn't want to risk Izuku getting surrounded again. True, he was much better equipped to handle a pack than he had been back then, but she still didn't want to risk him being overwhelmed and gnawed to pieces.

She dashed through their ranks, slashing wildly at any Jagras that came within striking distance and just generally making herself a nuisance. It worked like a charm, and a large part of the pack broke off to attack her, leaving Izuku to battle a much more manageable group of six Jagras.

She, on the other hand, had attracted the attention of nearly a dozen of the miniature wyverns. They hissed and spat as they circled her, weaving back and forth around each other to create the illusion that there were even more of them present. Every few seconds, one of them would dart forward to swipe at her, but Mina was easily able to avoid such blows while countering with her own.

Finally, after seeing that fighting defensively was getting them nowhere, the Jagras paused their circling, then darted forward as one.

Mina had to admire their teamwork and coordination. She and Izuku were a well-oiled team at this point, and they could sometimes communicate their intentions without words, but it still took them time to do so. The Jagras seemed to move as a singular unit. Maybe it was an ability that was inherent to the Jagras species, or maybe it came from living as a member of a pack for their entire lives. Either way, the display had Mina hoping that she and Izuku would someday reach that level of coordination.

Instead of retreating from the charge or defending herself, Mina surged towards one of the larger members of the Jagras pack. It blinked in surprise and confusion, slowing slightly and making Mina's job all the easier. She leapt forward, springboarding off of the Jagras's head and flying over the pack. Behind her, she could hear the cries of surprise and alarm as the Jagras lost sight of their prey and ran into each other.

She snickered, picturing the surprised looks on their faces, then prepared to actually fight them. She'd made them good and angry by now, and Jagras were nothing if not tenacious once they were provoked. They wouldn't be dissuaded by some surprise maneuvers and a few light blows.

True to form, the Jagras were already recovering from their confusion and lining up to attack again. Rather than let them get into formation, Mina began her assault on the Jagras in earnest. She danced between the members of the pack, slashing at their legs and faces wherever she could and moving on before any could land a blow on her.

The pack, unused to fighting anything her size that was so aggressive, struggled to keep up with her movements. As the damage increased and morale dropped, the Jagras began to retreat one by one. The more that fled, the more their morale dropped, which only increased Mina's chances.

For her part, Mina was happy to let them flee. She and Izuku might be spending quite a bit of time in the Ancient Forest in the near future, and making the Jagras wary of them might prove to be very useful. Besides, they had an entire box filled with Jagras scales and talons back in Astera at this point.

Then, when only five Jagras remained and her victory was nearly assured, disaster struck.

One of the Jagras that Mina had thought she had knocked unconscious turned out to be merely dazed. It regained its senses, and lunged at her from behind at the same time as another Jagras attacked from the front. She was able to deflect the attack from the front, but was unable to pivot out of the way of the attack from the rear. The Jagras's fangs closed around her shoulder, and Mina tensed in anticipation of the pain she was sure was coming.

Only it never arrived. Instead it was the Jagras that cried out, releasing it's bite on her and stumbling backwards while both Mina and the pack looked on in surprise and confusion. It was only when the Jagras opened its mouth again to reveal a set of chipped and broken fangs that Mina understood what had happened.

After the loss of Mina's weapon during their first hunt in the Rotten Vale, as well as their difficulties with the area, it had been clear that it was time for an upgrade. Mina now sported a set of plate armor that had been crafted from Legiana materials. The scales that made up the bulk of the armor were incredibly light, as was the membrane that stretched between the plates, meaning it hardly hampered her mobility. The chestplate even glowed slightly when in dim light, though not really enough to see by, which had been slightly disappointing. It was also, as the Jagras had just proved so decisively, incredibly durable.

"Mina!" Izuku called from across the clearing. "Are you all right?"

"Purr-fectly fine!" she replied, hopping quickly back to her feet.

Thankfully the Jagras's confusion had given her a moment to breathe and collect herself, which was much appreciated. She quickly checked her armor to make sure it hadn't broken anywhere and was delighted to find that it was pristine, aside from some Jagras slobber.

Satisfied that she was uninjured, she turned her gaze to the remaining Jagras. Nearly getting savaged by them had brought her mood down significantly, and she wasn't feeling quite as generous as she had before. It was time for the lizards to learn that when you messed with Mina, you got her claws!

Reaching around, Mina pulled the boomerang that was strapped to her back free and lined up her shot. Boomerangs were standard Palico equipment, but Mina had never been able to hit anything with them, and since everyone seemed to just expect her to be good at it already she had never gotten the training to use it. Until the Plunderers, that is. Their 'Plunderblades' functioned similarly to a boomerang, and the tribe had been exhaustive in teaching Mina how to use both pieces of equipment. She was now deadly from any range, and even to opponents in the air.

The boomerang arced through the air and cut through the pack like a hot knife through butter. The remaining Jagras scattered in all directions, with the exception of one poor soul that didn't get out of the way in time and was sent sprawling while the boomerang careened into the underbrush.

Mina didn't spare it a second thought. It carried the Smithy's seal of approval, which meant it wouldn't break from such light use. In fact, it would probably survive anything short of being sat upon by a Great Jagras.

Taking advantage of her opponent's disorganization, Mina closed the gap and lashed out at the back legs of the nearest Jagras. It too went crashing to the ground, letting out a wail of pain as it did so. She caught the next opponent in the tail, then slashed the forehead of another. They went running off into the trees, the latter one tripping on a few roots as it dashed about, blinded by the blood dripping into its eyes.

A few moments later, the rest of their fellows followed after them, their tails between their legs. Mina watched them go with a satisfied smile on her face. True, they hadn't been the most difficult of opponents, but she still took satisfaction at having defeated them with only minor effort. In fact, if it hadn't been for the one Jagras catching her from behind, she would have called the battle flawless.

"Are you hurt?" Izuku said, jogging over to her.

The Jagras he had been facing were all lying on the ground looking dazed. Based on the imprints left on their heads and the clangs Mina had distantly registered during the fight, Izuku had probably used his shield to knock them all unconscious. It made sense, considering how wary he was of the poison that infused Dear Lutemis's blade. It wasn't incredibly potent, but it was strong enough to be lethal in large doses. A deep enough cut in the wrong location would have sent the Jagras into the afterlife, rather than dreamland.

"Not at all. They didn't even scratch my armor," Mina replied, rolling her shoulders for emphasis.

After hearing that, Izuku dropped into a squat and let out a sigh of relief. After a long moment, he looked up at her and smiled.

"Sorry, I just… I saw you go down and I couldn't get to you in time. For a moment, I thought something awful was going to happen."

She knew exactly how he felt. The hopelessness, the fear that coursed through her when Izuku was in danger. It was a feeling that she tried to put out of her mind as much as possible, because if she acknowledged it she would never be able to go out in the field with him again. She would spend the entire time fretting only to freeze up at a crucial moment.

So instead, she did what she always did. She pushed the thought out of her mind with a joke and a smile.

"Aww, relax," she said, giving him a light punch to the shoulder. "No two-bit Jagras is gonna hurt me. And even if they did manage to catch me, they'd just get a bunch of hair stuck in their teeth!"

That earned her a small smile and a slight relaxing of his shoulders, which she counted as a victory. If she kept this up, she might even get him back to normal before they encountered another monster, which was almost inevitable. Thankfully, they had battled nearly every type of monster in the Ancient Forest at that point, so whatever they encountered shouldn't be too much of a difficult fight. And if it was, then they could simply run away. Sure, it would irritate her if they had to flee from something at this point, but their current objective was more important than taking down some random monster.

"Your fur does get everywhere," Izuku said, rising back to his feet and adjusting his charge blade slightly.

You don't know the half of it," Mina said dryly. "You only have to deal with fur on your clothes. I, on the other hand, keep getting hair in my mouth. I have no idea how it ends up there, considering I don't even wash myself!"

She'd tried it once, mostly just to see if she could, and if it would be more effective than baths. That was an experience she'd never repeat. Her fur tasted awful, and that was before you factored in the dust and gunk that she'd been trying to get off in the first place. To top it all off, she hadn't been able to maintain her balance while she was licking and had tumbled to the floor in a heap. Explaining the sudden noise to Izuku had been a lesson in abject humiliation, which was when she had made the vow never to do it again.

"That sounds tough," Izuku said. Then he glanced up at the sun overhead. The branches overhead were thick, but not enough to completely block the light out, so they could still use the sun to gauge the time.

"We should probably get moving. That fight didn't take too long, but there are always more Jagras, and I'd like to make it to the Bugtrappers before lunchtime. That way, even if they don't know where the Wyverian is, we'll have all afternoon to search the Forest for clues."

Mina nodded in agreement, then set about retrieving her boomerang. It would be nice to be able to eat lunch in peace with the Bugtrappers. And, if they were lucky, one of the trappers might be willing to accompany them on their search. An extra set of eyes would make the work that much easier.

With that, the pair set out for the Bugtrapper village once more.

---

"Is it just me, or does this tree seem to get taller every time we climb it?" Mina said, panting slightly with exertion.

Izuku was fairly sure that it hadn't actually gained any height, since such a change would have required a truly staggering amount of energy and materials, but he couldn't be completely certain. After all, it would be far from the strangest thing that they had encountered in the new world.

Before he could answer, however, he felt a prickling sensation run up the back of his neck. He quickly spun around, expecting to find a hungry monster of some sort. Instead he found empty ground and a few branches waving in the wind.

"What is it?" Mina asked, padding over to him with a look of concern on her face.

"Nothing," Izuku said, trying to force himself to relax. For whatever reason, his heart wouldn't slow down from the adrenaline-charged state that it had immediately launched into. "I thought something was watching us, but I guess it was just my imagination…"

"That, or there's a new kind of monster that can turn invisible," Mina said with a shudder.

That was a horrifying thought, and one which Izuku immediately wished Mina hadn't come up with. Now he was going to be glancing over his shoulder for the rest of the day, worried about the possibility of them being snuck up on.

"Let's hope not. That would be really hard to deal with," he said, returning to his original course.

They were nearly at the peak of the great tree, and just a few minutes and some vine swinging away from the Bugtrapper village. Their journey there hadn't been entirely smooth sailing, though. They had been forced to detour twice in order to avoid getting embroiled in monster conflicts.

Near the base of the tree they had spotted a Tobi-Kadachi and an Anjanath embroiled in a furious scuffle over territory. The dispute had ended firmly in the Anjanath's favor, with the Kadachi fleeing in shame, but it had left the Anjanath looking particularly irate and bloodthirsty, which had led Izuku and Mina to pick a different path to the top of the tree.

Near the middle layer they had encountered yet another pack of Jagras, though they managed to sneak by this pack by launching a scatternut in the opposite direction and slipping past while the pack investigated the disturbance.

Now they were in the home stretch, and both of them were looking forward to a break and company that didn't want to eat them.

A few minutes later, they crested the great tree and were able to gaze out over the Ancient Forest in its entirety. Just like the first time he had seen it, the view took Izuku's breath away. The thick jungle that made up the heart of the Forest spread from the base of the massive tree for miles in every direction, thinning as it went until it eventually gave way to the coastline in the south and grasslands in the north. Countless birds flitted about the canopy, discernible only as bright spots of light from this great height.

There was an especially dense group of birds fluttering around a section of trees that were shaking violently, likely from another monster battle. Given the occasional flashes of fire that were visible, and the general area, it was probably the same Anjanath they had spotted earlier causing trouble again. Izuku made a mental note to write a report of the encounter when they returned to Astera. If the Anjanath kept that kind of aggressive behavior up, the Commission would have to do something about it.

Suddenly, a Blissbill burst out of one of the foliage from one of the lower branches and rocketed upwards until it was nearly level with Izuku and Mina's position. It hovered there for a moment, searching around for something and letting Izuku get a good look at it.

The Blissbill was larger than most of the specimens Izuku had encountered, with sleek and shiny plumage that was extremely well groomed. A small collar was fastened around its neck, and there was a small, cage-like object hanging from its right leg.

It was obvious that the creature was someone's pet, and Izuku was surprised to see it in the field. While many of the more established hunters of Astera kept pets in their rooms, they rarely took them outside, for fear of them escaping and wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem. As far as Izuku knew, Palicos and scout flies were the only non-human companions that the hunters of the Commission used for hunting or tracking.

Eventually, the Blissbill turned its attention to the upper part of the tree and caught sight of Izuku and Mina. It flew directly towards the pair, then began to circle around their heads, crying excitedly all the while.

"What is it girl?" Mina said. "Did little Timmy fall down the well?"

Izuku chuckled at the reference, though her comment did get him thinking. The Commander hadn't said anything about it, but if the Commission wanted to get in contact with him and Mina quickly, a carrier pigeon equivalent would be one of the fastest and most reliable methods. It would also explain the cage on the Blissbill's leg.

Thankfully there was a simple way to test if that were the case. Izuku simply stuck out his arm in front of him and waited to see how the bird would respond. Within a few moments it spotted the gesture and came in to land on his outstretched arm. Then it looked at him expectantly, as though it were used to receiving a treat at this point.

Thankfully, a bit of Aptonoth jerky seemed to mollify it, and let Izuku investigate the device attached to its leg. It was a small cage, but it didn't contain a message, or even paper of any sort. Instead it contained a truly foul-smelling mix of herbs and what appeared to be dung.

"God, that reeks!" Mina said, covering her nose and putting some distance between them. "What the hell is it?"

From time to time, Izuku was a little jealous of the enhanced senses that came along with her transformation. This, however, was not one of those times.

"It's pretty bad," he agreed. "Maybe someone was testing out a prototype stink bomb?"

"By tying it to a bird? Kind of a dick move."

Izuku had to agree. That idea had been fairly flimsy anyways. The device had no noticeable trigger or mechanism to it and simply sat there getting its stench over everything near it. Which, unfortunately, included Izuku as well. He would need a bath once they were done for sure.

A massive roar in the distance distracted Izuku before he could make any sort of reply. It echoed throughout the Forest and resounded inside of Izuku's chest.

It wasn't the first time he'd heard that roar. It rang throughout the Forest from time to time while its owner soared on the lofty currents that danced around the great tree. It belonged to the undisputed king of the Ancient Forest, and the monster that Izuku had been warned to stay clear of at all costs.

Rathalos.

In mere moments he could hear its wingbeats as the crimson wyvern barreled towards them, trailing jets of flame in its wake. It crashed through a series of branches as it passed, heedless of the destruction and completely unhindered by their impacts.

Before it even reached them, it sent a fireball roaring their way, forcing Izuku and Mina to throw themselves out of the way to avoid being scorched. Izuku barely made it in time, and could feel the heat from the blast radiating through the soles of his boots.

He managed to roll to his feet while unsheathing his charge blade at the same time. After a blast like that, it's protection felt much more meager than it had when he was battling the Jagras earlier that day. It was still far better than taking a direct hit, though.

Mina had also made it out of the blast radius, though the tip of her tail was smoking slightly. She quickly began to pat it down, smothering any lingering embers, while she glared at the Rathalos.

The Rathalos, meanwhile, was hovering just beyond the edge of the area, wreathed in flames and smoke from the fireball. Much like the Rathian that they had faced in the Wildspire Wastes, small gouts of flame burst from its lips with every breath, and twin trails of smoke curled up from its nostrils. Its massive talons gleamed in the sunlight, their tips dripping a purple liquid that Izuku was sure he didn't want entering his system.

As he watched the Rathalos, waiting for it to make a move, he noticed the Blissbill flying dangerously close to the wyvern. It didn't seem to fear the monster in the slightest, though it did keep clear of the monster's powerful wings.

To Izuku's surprise, the Rathalos actually turned to look at the Blissbill. It began to draw in breath, its chest visibly expanding as it did so. For a moment, Izuku thought the poor bird was about to be char broiled. But then the Rathalos released the breath without sending forth any fire, and turned in the air to face Izuku once more.

That was when Izuku realized why the monster would pay attention to something as insignificant as a Blissbill. It wasn't interested in the Blissbill itself, but the scent that the creature was giving off. The same scent that had drawn the Rathalos there in the first place, and the same scent that now coated Izuku's armor.

He didn't have time to dwell on who exactly would want to lure a Rathalos towards him, or even how they would have known where he was, because the Rathalos had decided to go on the offensive. It lunged forward with its talons outstretched. Each was long enough to impale him, and wickedly sharp. Izuku had encountered enough gashes around the Forest to know exactly what they were capable of and how much he wanted to avoid getting hit by them.

He brought his shield up, angling it to deflect as much of the force away from his body as he could, but didn't quite have enough time to set his feet properly. The force of the blow sent him stumbling backwards as the talons raked down his shield. For a moment, he was worried that the force would damage the shield, but the Smithy's work was top notch and didn't even chip under the force.

The Rathalos continued past Izuku, forcing Mina to duck out of the way of its attack as well, before beating its wings furiously to carry it back up and around towards them once more.

As he waited for the Rathalos's next attack, Izuku took stock of the situation. They were at a disadvantage for sure. The Rathalos could come at them from the air almost as easily as it could attack them on the ground, while they only had Mina's boomerang to retaliate with. Eventually, flying around and launching fireballs at them would tire the monster out and it would be forced to land. They would be thoroughly cooked well before that, though, so waiting for that moment wasn't much of an option.

They could try running, but Izuku had his doubts about that choice. The first problem was that they would have to turn their backs on the Rathalos while they retreated. If they timed it right, they might be able to make it, but the risk of taking a fireball to the back was fairly high.

The second problem was that Izuku wasn't sure that they would be able to lose the Rathalos if they did flee. It had locked on to him fairly quickly after they had encountered the Blissbill and its mysterious lure. The Rathalos might be able to use that scent to track them all across the Forest. If Izuku could find a water source quickly enough, they might be okay, but that was a big if.

Thus Izuku reasoned that their best bet was to drive the Rathalos off, there and then. If they could do enough damage to it, the wyvern would have to retreat for a while to lick its wounds. That would give Izuku the opportunity to wash away the scent that was attracting it.

"Mina!" he called, "When it comes around, I'm going to flash it. Once it's down, focus on the wings. We need to ground it fast!"

"Rrrrroger!" she called, her voice a half growl and full of excitement.

As he faced down the oncoming Rathalos, taking careful aim with his slinger, Izuku understood how she felt. She had taken to the thrill of the hunt more readily than he had, but he had begun to feel it too. He wanted to fight, to put his life on the line and defeat the overwhelming opponent that stood before him. Not to slay them, of course. That part still bothered him, and probably always would. But he still wanted to test himself and to reach even higher limits of strength.

He wondered if it was the same feeling that had driven Bakugou to aim for the top. Certainly his explosive classmate had always striven to be the best fighter that he could be and had never backed down from a challenge once it was laid at his feet. The idea was strangely calming for Izuku. It made him feel more confident, more sure of himself. For all of Bakugou's flaws, no one could deny that he was an excellent fighter or that he excelled at nearly everything he tried. If Izuku was following a similar path, then it was almost guaranteed that he would be driven to new heights. Especially with an opponent like the Rathalos standing in his way.

As it drew in close, the Rathalos opened its jaws to let loose another fireball. Flames swirled about inside its maw, brightening and condensing as the temperature rose. They didn't come close to the fire in its eyes, however.

As he stared into those, Izuku knew deep in his gut that the Rathalos would follow him to the ends of the earth and would see him dead, or die trying. It was beyond livid, a state that very few hunters encountered, and that even fewer survived. A state that was normally reserved only for those who had challenged its place as the King of the Skies.

At the last possible second, Izuku loosed a flashbug directly at the monster's face. It was a perfect shot, landing directly between the monster's eyes and bursting into a blinding flash of light.

The Rathalos roared in pain, its controlled dive turning into a wild spin as it careened forward and the fireball it had been charging blasting off into the sky. To its credit, the Rathalos attempted to stop itself by throwing out its wings, but it was far too late for that to work. It slammed into the ground with enough force to send tremors rippling through the tree. The tremors weren't hard enough to knock Izuku off balance, but they were enough to send a cascade of leaves drifting down on the forest below them.

He and Mina wasted no time charging the wyvern. Mina leapt onto its back, dodging around its wildly flailing limbs and going directly for the wings. Izuku, meanwhile, began to hack at its tail. Their fight with the Rathian in the Wildspire Wastes had taught him that a wyvern's tail was both a potent weapon and a powerful rudder, letting the monster take incredibly tight turns with little effort. Reducing its maneuverability and its attack power at the same time was too much of a tempting target to pass up.

He slammed his sword blade into the thinnest part of the tail, hoping that the scales there would be thinner since they did the most bending as the wyvern maneuvered. Despite him putting as much power as he could into the blow, it barely did anything. The scales stole most of the power from the blow, though many of them chipped and broke in the process.

He slashed at the tail several more times until his blade was glowing cherry red with stored energy. A part of him was tempted to keep attacking, but he paused for a moment to store the energy away. It would be seriously bad if the excess of energy damaged the blade, and there would probably be a use for the energy at a later point in the fight.

Just as he finished pulling the blade free, it's edge back to a normal silvery-gray, the Rathalos recovered from the effects of crashing into the tree. It scrambled to its feet, forcing Izuku to hop back to a safe distance. Mina joined him a moment later, a look of irritation on her face.

"It's super tough," she said by way of explanation. "I tried to go after the thin bits in the middle, but it kept moving around before I could cut them. Sorry."

A quick glance at the wings confirmed her words. There were a few minor cuts along the ridges of the wings, and one deeper wound near the shoulder joint of the right wing, but on the whole the membrane was nearly intact.

"It's fine," he replied, "you did your best. Besides, I don't think this would have been an easy fight, even if you had succeeded."

She nodded in agreement and turned back to face the Rathalos. Izuku did the same, shuffling slightly so that they were side by side as they faced it down.

The Rathalos was glaring at them, looking slightly more wary than it had been before. It's eyes still flashed with anger, but that anger was tempered by caution and patience. Now that it knew they were willing and able to fight it, the wyvern would take things at its own pace.

Izuku surged forward, hoping to catch the Rathalos by surprise and close the gap before it could react. The first part was successful. The Rathalos's eyes widened as it saw him coming, clearly startled to see such a small opponent take such an aggressive tactic. Unfortunately, the surprise didn't last for nearly long enough.

With a powerful stroke of its wings, the Rathalos lifted into the air and began to hover just out of easy reach. Izuku could probably reach its feet with his blade if he jumped, but such a slash would have next to no power and probably wouldn't do more than irritate the monster.

Rather than diving at him, the Rathalos threw its head back and sucked in a massive breath. A massive gout of fire followed, coating the area in flames. Even with his shield blocking most of the burst, Izuku still felt the flames licking at his extremities. In fact, he could feel them even after the initial attack had ended.

He looked down at his legs, where the feeling was the strongest, and was horrified to see that the flames had caught on his armor and were burning steadily away. At the sight, his mind went absolutely blank. He knew there was something he was supposed to do in this situation, but he couldn't think of what it could be for the life of him.

A furry weight slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground, then roughly shoving him onto his side.

"Izuku, roll!" Mina commanded.

Her harsh tone finally kick-started his brain, and he did as he was bade. A few lingering patches of flame from the Rathalos's last attack made the task trickier, but he quickly rolled away from them. After a few revolutions, he glanced down at his legs again, and saw that he was gloriously flame free.

He hopped back to his feet, somewhat amazed to still be alive. While he'd been rolling, he'd been sure that the Rathalos would drop down on top of him at any second and squish him flat.

When he caught sight of the Rathalos once more, it was obvious why that hadn't happened. Mina was dangling from its tail, ramming her blade into the weak spot Izuku had created earlier over and over again while the monster desperately tried to shake her off.

As he watched, the Rathalos tired of swinging its tail around ineffectually and attempted to remove her by slamming its tail into the nearest wall. Mina saw the attack coming though, and leapt off a second before the impact. The Rathalos continued forward, slamming into the wall with a force that would be bone breaking for most creatures.

Next to the site of the Rathalos's impact, a spout of water caught Izuku's eye. The wall had sprung a leak, one that didn't show any signs of slowing, despite the prodigious amounts of water that was leaking out.

With a start, Izuku realized that the wall was, in fact, the edge of the tree-top reservoir that the Bugtrappers drew most of their water from. It filled with the prodigious rain showers that were common in the Ancient Forest, and was even home to some small schools of fish that the Bugtrappers raised for food.

When a second water spout appeared, Izuku realized that while the reservoir had been built to withstand a lot, it was far from Rathalos proof. The wall was coming down sooner or later, and Izuku didn't want to be next to it when it did.

At that moment, a wild plan occurred to him. It was dangerous, and the timing would have to be precise, but Izuku figured that they could use the flood of water that the reservoir would release to send the Rathalos packing in one attack.

"Mina, idea!" he called.

Her ears instantly perked up, and a wild grin spread across her face. "Lay it on me!"

"We're going to blow the reservoir, and use the water to knock the Rathalos off the tree!"

Her smile disappeared in a flash, and she looked at him like he was mad. "Will that even work?"

"We'll need to ground it again, but it should. That slam weakened the wall enough that a bomb should be able to break it. I'll distract the Rathalos, and you plant it. Once that's done, wait for my signal, then detonate it."

Rather than wait for her to voice her objections, he took off running towards the edge of the platform, whistling loudly all the while.

The noise and motion instantly drew the Rathalos's ire, and it winged its way over to him, sending a flurry of blows his way. The first two were simple enough to dodge or knock aside with his shield, but the third blow came from his blind spot and raked a line of burning pain along his shoulder.

He pushed the pain to the back of his mind and kept on moving, making his way around the hovering Rathalos so that it was positioned near the center of the area, with its back to the rapidly splintering reservoir wall.

The position also let him keep an eye on Mina, who had begun to lay out their explosives. The barrel bombs were nearly as large as she was, and couldn't have possibly been carried in a pouch in Izuku and Mina's world.

They had started to carry the explosives with them on every hunt after a particularly harrowing incident deep in the bowels of the Rotten Vale. They had been in a small cave relatively near the Plunderer village when one of the rib bones that supported the cave's ceiling had suddenly snapped and triggered a cave-in.

Neither of them had been crushed, obviously, but the debris from the collapse had been too large for either of them to move, leaving them trapped in the cave for quite a while. Eventually they had been rescued by some other hunters who had heard the collapse and came to blast them out, but being trapped like that had been an experience that neither Izuku nor Mina wanted to repeat.

Mina was working quickly to lay down the explosives, which meant it was almost time for Izuku to make his move.

With perfect timing, the Rathalos abandoned its previous strategy of trying to cut Izuku to pieces with its talons and pulled back for an aerial charge. As it came in, Izuku threw himself to the side. The Rathalos overshot him significantly, forcing it to swing around and giving him enough time to set up.

A few quick shifts, and Lutemis was fully charged. The axe blade glowed with energy, and the internal phials were humming faintly as Izuku held the weapon in front of himself as casually as he could. When it was in its axe mode, the center of gravity was so far forward that it was difficult to hold the weapon, let alone move with it. He'd been training as hard as he could to counteract that downside, swinging a weighted bar for as many reps as he could manage, but he still couldn't move faster than a shuffle.

Despite this, he faced the Rathalos as calmly as possible while it unleashed another gout of flames. Instead of leaping away from the flames, Izuku hopped forward and into easy axe range. The Rathalos didn't like that, and instantly began to curl in on itself before letting loose a massive tail swing.

Izuku ducked low, feeling the wind from the attack ruffling his hair as it passed over him. As he came up, the perfect opportunity appeared before him. The Rathalos's spin had thrown it off balance, and it was struggling slightly to reorient itself.

He wasn't going to give it the opportunity.

Normally when he unleashed a fully powered strike with his charge blade, Izuku tried to land the stroke directly onto one of the vulnerable parts of the monster to end the fight cleanly and quickly. With a flying opponent, this wasn't possible. He could take advantage of the lightning such a blow emitted though.

He brought Dear Lutemis down with a mighty crash, and the excess energy from the weapon sparked out of it, triggering a mini lightning storm and a series of minor explosions. A precious few arcs caught on the Rathalos, dancing along the length of its body and sending the monster crashing to the ground below as its wings were shocked.

"NOW!" Izuku called, shifting his weapon back to its sword and shield form and stowing it on his back in a polished motion. He needed to get clear of the area, and having the unwieldy weapon out wouldn't help one bit.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Mina sparked the fuse. A moment later, an explosion rocked the area as the bombs blasted the already fragile reservoir wall into pieces. A massive flood of water poured forth, flowing directly downhill and right on top of the Rathalos. It cried out in fury and surprise as the flood pushed it over the edge of the tree, and sent it plunging to the ground far below.

Izuku had no doubt that the monster would survive the impact. Its scales were ridiculously durable, and the fact that it could fly indicated that it was much lighter than its size would suggest. If he had to guess, it would probably come back even angrier than before. He and Mina would be ready for that though.

As the water continued to sluice past, Izuku finally let himself relax. And that was when the pain hit.

His shoulder throbbed horrifically where the Rathalos had scratched him, with the feeling running down his left arm towards his fingertips. A quick glance confirmed what he already suspected. The veins in his arm stood out in stark relief, tinted a dark purple by the poison running through them.

"Oh, that's not good," he said, stumbling backwards as his head spun.

He fumbled at his belt, trying to remember exactly where he had stored the antidotes through the fog that had descended over his mind. Everything seemed oddly stretched out, which was making the task even more difficult than usual.

As it was, it took him nearly a full second to realize that a small glass phial was being pressed into his palm. He brought it up to his face, frowning in an attempt to make the shifting image hold still for just a moment. He wasn't entirely successful, but he got the sense that the phial was blue, which seemed just like what he had been searching for.

He tipped the contents into his mouth, spilling a generous bit over his shirt in the process. Thankfully, the antidote was extremely potent and even the portion that he had managed to swallow was enough to negate the poison that was spreading through his body.

The wave of sweet relief spread quickly through his body, bringing clarity of thought with it as well. His vision expanded from the tunnel he hadn't even noticed that it had been restricted to, and he was able to see Mina's face staring down at him.

When his eyes focused on her, she let out a massive sigh of relief and threw her arms around him. The hug was slightly suffocating, both due to the force and the layer of thick pink fur that suddenly filled his nose.

When she finally pulled away, Izuku was expecting an admonishment of some sort. He wasn't expecting the full slap to the face that he received.

"Can you please go more than one mission without getting stabbed, or poisoned, or breaking every bone in your body!?"

Izuku winced at the raw emotion in her voice. He'd known that he had screwed up and hurt her yet again the second that he had taken the blow. But it had been necessary to ensure their victory, so he was willing to defend his choice.

"I wasn't trying to get hurt."

"No, you just ran off to fight a Rathalos by yourself for no reason!"

"We needed to bring it down, and I had the better chance of doing that!"

"Well maybe we could have come up with a better way if you hadn't just decided to sacrifice yourself again!"

"I—" Izuku stopped, unable to find the words to continue. He hadn't really been thinking about the danger at the time. It had just seemed like the best option for both of them. The monster had been focused on him, which meant he was the logical choice to distract and ground it.

Or had he been? Mina had done an excellent job of getting its attention while he had been putting out the fire on his legs, and she had done it without taking any injuries. Had he really acted selfishly, placing himself in harm's way without thinking about it, just because the earlier with the Jagras had made him conscious of Mina getting injured?

He'd like to think that he was better than that, that he didn't let his emotions cloud his judgement in the heat of battle. A part of him knew that wasn't true, however. Deep in his heart, he had done the calculation and came to the conclusion that he would go through the poison, and the burns, and the impalings a thousand times over before he saw Mina suffer any of them.

"I'm sorry," he said simply, hoping that a humble apology would mollify her.

She let out a long sigh before responding. "I know you are, even if you're absolutely going to do it again."

He, wisely, said nothing.

"Just promise me that you won't try to take on too much alone. You can't move a mountain by yourself, no matter how strong you are."

"Quite the interesting turn of phrase, young one," a new voice said, startling both Izuku and Mina.

On the opposite side of the still trickling floodwaters stood a diminutive figure. It was clad in a strange cloak that was nearly invisible against the foliage in the background and a broad brimmed hat with a thick, cobweb-like veil that covered its face. In its left hand was a beautifully carved staff that was at least a foot taller than the figure, and seemed to be more of a walking stick than a weapon.

Nonetheless, Izuku felt a faint sense of unease as he stared at the figure. Some instinct was telling him to be wary of it, and that it was much more dangerous than it appeared

"I would be curious to learn where you heard it," the stranger continued, it's voice surprisingly deep for its size, and oddly sibilant, "but first, I believe congratulations are in order. For one who crossed the sea, you are quite skilled."

Izuku didn't quite know what to make of the statement. On the surface it seemed to be a compliment, but there was a pointed barb against the people of Astera just beneath the surface there.

"Thank you?" Izuku said, not wanting to appear too aggressive before they learned who exactly the stranger was. "Uh, may I ask who you are?"

The stranger chuckled, sending ripples through the veil it wore. "How amusing for you to seek someone so ardently, yet know so little about them."

"You're the First Wyverian?" Izuku said.

"Indeed. And you are the one they call 'Emerald Star'. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Izuku flushed at the use of the nickname. Ever since the party in the Gathering Hub, it had spread like wildfire throughout Astera, to the point that people he had never met before would greet him with it while he was walking throughout the city.

It was embarrassing beyond belief, particularly because Izuku didn't feel like he had earned the moniker. Sure, he and Mina worked hard for the Commission, and they had been through some tough battles, but none of it had been impossible. Besides, Mina had been at his side the entire time, so it wasn't fair that he was the only one saddled with a nickname.

"So, what do we call you?" Mina asked the First Wyverian.

"My proper name is unpronounceable in your language, I'm afraid. You may use an epithet to refer to me, if you wish. I understand those in your city are quite fond of them."

Mina rolled her eyes in response, but said nothing. She had complained to Izuku several times about the Commission's use of epithets instead of names, since she felt it made things too impersonal. Izuku didn't mind it nearly as much, since it made first introductions much simpler. He did get some odd looks for using his actual name from time to time, though.

"It's a, uh, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. First Wyverian. Sir." Izuku said, attempting to mimic the bizarrely formal style that the Wyverian used. "We apologize for disturbing you."

"It is no bother," the Wyverian said, cocking its head to the side, "Indeed, I rather enjoyed monitoring your progress throughout the Forest."

As it moved its head, another ripple passed through the veil it wore, giving Izuku a glimpse beneath. For just a moment he could see a single, orange-tinted, slit-pupiled eye gazing out at him. The sight sent a shiver down his spine. He felt like he was being measured and found wanting beneath that stare. It reminded him a lot of being watched by Principal Nedzu. He had the same aura of implacable confidence that the First Wyverian possessed, as if he were in complete control of the situation at all times.

And then the moment passed. The eye was covered again, and the sensation vanished, leaving Izuku to wonder if he had imagined the entire thing.

"Hold on," Mina interrupted, "you were watching us?"

For the thousandth time, Izuku thanked the gods that Mina had been sent to this world as well. He'd been so caught up in the Wyverian's gaze that he had nearly forgotten the comment about it watching them.

It explained the feelings of being watched that Izuku had felt earlier. It was also a little disconcerting to realize that the First Wyverian could have gotten the drop on them at any point during their exploration. After all, it had only been towards the end of their expedition that Izuku had begun to notice its presence.

Apparently Izuku was displaying his discomfort with the idea, since the Wyverian was quick to address his concerns.

"Fear not. I had no intention to harm you. I observe many hunters who enter this forest, judging both their abilities and their intentions. In fact, it was only after I began to observe the two of you that I noticed your talent…"

"Our talent, eh?" Mina said, clearly intrigued. Unlike Izuku, she seemed to bask in praise.

"Indeed. While your combat skills are somewhat unpolished, you show great potential for improvement. More intriguing still is the way you walk."

"The way we what?"

"Walk. Your bearing. It is most unlike your fellows. You are brave enough to walk this forest alone, yet humble enough to seek help from those many would call your lessers. You are powerful enough to fight, yet wise enough to avoid battle where possible. Greatest of all, you do not treat hunting as a sport, or a game to be won, but as the duty it truly is. But enough about your qualifications. You have my attention. Now, tell me why you have sought me out."

Swallowing hard, Izuku stepped forward. This was the moment that could make or break their search, and he was feeling the pressure. If the First Wyverians didn't know where Zorah Magdaros was, or worse, wouldn't share the information, then their time would have been wasted, and they would be back where they had started from.

"We were hoping that you could tell us the location of Zorah Magdaros," he said, as clearly as he could.

Slowly, the Wyverian nodded its head. "Ah, you seek the dragon who carries the mountain of fire on its back. To defeat it is no small task."

"We don't want to slay it," Izuku said quickly. "We want to understand it. If we can do that without harming it, then that would be ideal."

Again the Wyverian cocked its head, and Izuku could feel himself being evaluated.

"Truly, an oddity," it said after a few moments. "Still, I find myself intrigued by your task. However, you must prove your resolve and ability before I do so."

Izuku felt his spine straighten, and he could see Mina doing the same next to him. Here was the catch that they had both been expecting ever since they had first received the assignment from the Commander. Their path had been nothing but twists and turns so far, and they had come to expect such things with every mission they undertook.

"What do you need us to do?" Izuku asked, trying to sound more sure than he felt. Mina's presence at his side helped a lot, but his palms were still building up a fine sheen of sweat.

"I would see you finish what you have started," the Wyverian said, gesturing with its staff toward the forest below.

Izuku turned to look where it was pointing and saw the Rathalos had recovered from its fall and had taken to the sky once more. To his relief, it wasn't winging its way towards them. Instead it was heading for the edge of the Ancient Forest, and the plains beyond. Once it reached them, the Rathalos briefly dipped out of sight before rising quickly into the sky with an Aptonoth clutched in its talons.

"The Rathalos?" Izuku asked, making sure there was no misunderstanding on his part.

"Indeed. If it is not dealt with now, it will recover from its injuries and turn its fury on the Forest, as well as your fellows. Slay it, and bring me one of its fangs before the sun has set. If you manage this, then I shall grant you the knowledge that you seek."

Izuku let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he'd hung out with Tokoyami too much during their time at UA, but a part of him had been expecting the Wyverian to ask for some sort of blood sacrifice. The fact that it was just asking them to do something they probably would have done anyway was a weight off his shoulders.

"We'll do it," Izuku declared.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but he could swear that the Wyverian smiled at the response. At the very least, there was a shifting of the veil, and its voice sounded vaguely amused.

"Excellent. I shall look forward to observing your battle. And, though it should go without saying, this is to be your battle and your battle alone. If you should require assistance to best the Rathalos, then I may need to re-evaluate my opinion of your skills."

The implication was clear. Do this as a duo, or don't bother coming back for the information.

Rather than say anything else, Izuku nodded his assent.

"Good luck, young hunters. You may well need it," the Wyverian said. Then it stepped backwards into the foliage behind it and seemed to disappear. Izuku blinked twice, thinking he was seeing things, but no matter how he tried to clear his eyes, the Wyverian refused to appear.

"Okay, tell me I'm not the only one who saw that dude disappear," Mina said, looking up at him.

Izuku shook his head, still a bit in shock. It was one thing to hear the Wyverian talk about following them unseen, and another thing entirely to see it vanish before their eyes.

"Guess I'm not going crazy then," Mina said, a wry smile on her face. Then her gaze turned serious once more. "Izuku, are you going to be up to this? Just driving that thing away was hard enough."

Rather than give a quick answer that would only worry her further, Izuku took his time to contemplate the question.

The Rathalos was one of the most powerful monsters that they had faced so far. It was fast, strong, had exceptional mobility on both the land and in the sky. And then there was the fact that it had both deadly poison and powerful flames at its beck and call. It was truly worthy of being called "The King of the Skies"

But even with all that, Izuku was confident that they could defeat it. After all, they'd manage to do some serious damage in their first encounter, despite being on the back foot the entire time. In a second encounter, one that they could manipulate to their advantage, they could do even more. Maybe Izuku could even keep his promise to Mina this time around.

"I'll be fine," Izuku said, settling down to rest for a while, ",just need a bit of a mega potion break, and I'll be right as rain."

Mina let out a long sigh before sitting down next to him and pulling out her own potion flask. "I hate that this world enables you so much. It's like Recovery Girl all over again."

He scrunched his brow in confusion. "You were just complaining about how I always get hurt. Shouldn't the fact that I can get healed make you happy?"

"It would, if you didn't use it as an excuse to just go out and get hurt again the next day. You're lucky you're cute."

Izuku nearly choked on his potion, which would have made for quite the ironic death. He couldn't have heard that right. It was just his imagination acting up, putting words in her mouth that she hadn't said.

"What was—"

"NOTHING!" Mina practically shouted, "I didn't say anything. I'm going to scout now!"

With that, she dashed off, leaving Izuku to wonder if he'd managed to offend her with his question. He certainly hoped not. The idea of driving Mina away, even for a short time, sent a lance of pain through his chest.

He clambered to his feet, shouldered Dear Lutemis, and began to make his way after her. As he did so, he resolved that he would do his best to make up for the unintentional slight. He didn't quite know how to do that, but if he stuck close enough to her, he was sure he'd figure it out eventually.

---

Mina could kick herself. She'd practically just blurted out the fact that she had feelings for Izuku right to his face, without any buildup or preamble.

That wasn't how things were supposed to go. A confession was supposed to be romantic and heartfelt, not just something you said when you weren't paying attention. And besides, wasn't it supposed to be the guy who confessed their feelings, not the girl?

She sighed heavily. It was getting harder and harder every day not to say something. She'd nearly confessed a half dozen times over the past several weeks, and had only barely managed to distract herself by filling a page torn out from Izuku's notebook with embarrassing doodles and scribbles of "Mina Midoriya".

It was just so frustrating, having Izuku be so close and yet so out of reach. She could sleep at his feet every night and pretend that the warmth was from them cuddling, but she could never shake the feeling that he was just doing it to make her feel better and not because he actually wanted her there.

She'd only made it a short distance before she could hear Izuku rapidly catching up, much to her frustration. She hadn't had nearly as much time to calm down as she had been hoping for. She needed more time, and maybe a little space, or she would be a complete mess going into the fight.

Something told her that wouldn't be a possibility though.

---

Tracking the Rathalos was as simple as letting the scout flies out from their cage. They had memorized the monster's scent while Izuku and Mina had been fighting it, and were all too eager to follow it to its source.

Before that, however, they took a quick detour to the spot where the Rathalos had crashed to the ground to look for any scales or other materials that had been dislodged by the impact. Slaying the Rathalos would net them many more scales than any that had simply fallen to the ground, but the Smithy was always looking for quality materials, and if he found out that they had let any go to waste, he would have their hides.

With their packs now noticeably fuller they set about following the scout flies to the monster's location. To Izuku's surprise, the Rathalos had not retreated to a lair high atop the great tree, but had instead taken its kill to a clearing on the far side of the Ancient Forest from Astera.

It was at the far end of the clearing, feasting noisily on the Aptonoth it had grabbed. Nearby, a small pack of Jagras looked on hungrily from atop a small ridge, waiting for the Rathalos to move on so that they could devour its scraps. Other than them, the clearing was nearly devoid of movement. The smaller creatures had all fled to their nests or burrows, preferring to wait until the massive monster had moved on.

Izuku and Mina crept through the underbrush, as slowly and quietly as they could. From time to time, their armor would clank and they would freeze, waiting for the Rathalos to notice them. To their utter relief, the monster was far too engaged in its meal to listen for someone sneaking up on it. It had spent too long as the undisputed king of the Ancient Forest to pay attention to such things.

When they were just a few feet away from it, they parted ways. Izuku went to the monster's left side, keeping to the foliage wherever possible, while Mina went to the right. Her path took her extremely close to the Jagras pack, but her small stature let her slip under their line of sight and into position without incident.

After that, it only took her a moment to get into position. She darted into a large shrub that was just out of the Rathalos's peripheral view, and made ready to attack. A moment later, she shook the shrub twice to let Izuku know that she was ready to go.

He whistled softly to let Mina know that he was ready as well. The Rathalos perked up at the sound, finally looking up from its meal, but it was far too late to do anything to stop the pair.

Izuku burst from the shrubbery, triggering his weapon's transformation as he went. By the time he was in range of the Rathalos, it was already in its axe form and ready to deal a devastating blow.

Izuku swung it in a wide, horizontal arc that could have felled a tree in other circumstances. As he did, he triggered a small burst of energy in the weapon. A single phial's worth flowed into the blade, taking the already powerful blow to the next level.

The weapon bit into the Rathalos's thigh and sent it toppling to the side with a roar of pain. Not willing to give up the initiative, Izuku pulled the weapon back and made a second, phial-enhanced swing along the monster's flank. The blow wasn't deep, but it peeled off a dozen scales as it went and revealed a line of vulnerable maroon flesh.

As he brought Dear Lutemis around for a third and final blow, he spared a glance towards the Rathalos's head, where Mina had attached herself. She was doing her best to claw at any vulnerable part she could reach, from the Rathalos's eyelids to its lips. She even seemed to have gone after its nostrils, if the trail of blood leaking out of one of them was any indication. The Rathalos was trying to snap at her, but she was too nimble, and it couldn't really put any sort of power into the bites with her so firmly attached to its face.

Satisfied that Mina was in no danger, Izuku turned his full attention back to his own attacks. He whipped Dear Lutemis behind him, and pulled the trigger. The mechanism hummed to life, shifting the weapon into the hybrid between sword and axe that allowed it to discharge the full force of the remaining phials.

He was about to bring it down on the Rathalos's side, dealing a potentially lethal blow, when the Rathalos's tail suddenly lashed out and knocked Izuku's legs out from under him.

He crashed to the ground, releasing the trigger in his surprise. The charge that had been building in the blade dissipated uselessly, along with Izuku's hopes for a swift resolution to the fight.

He scrambled to his feet, ducking under another wild tail swing as he did so, and made to attack the Rathalos's legs. Sadly, he wasn't quite quick enough. Before he could close in, the Rathalos managed to get its feet back underneath it and stood. The left leg wavered slightly, but didn't bend or buckle under the Rathalos's weight, which was slightly disappointing.

It then let loose a thunderous roar that had Izuku clapping his hands to his ears, while Mina went tumbling off the wyvern's face. She somehow managed to roll out of its path as she did so, a feat which Izuku found truly miraculous. He couldn't do more than stumble a few feet under the assault, and her ears were even more sensitive than his.

Not for the first time, Izuku wished they could wear some sort of ear protection when battling large monsters. Most of the monsters they had faced left themselves open when they did so, which he and Mina could exploit, and he was tired of the headaches enduring such sonic assaults caused. The main problem with wearing earplugs was that it would limit his and Mina's ability to communicate, which was an unacceptable risk. Their teamwork was one of their main advantages over the monsters they faced, and a miscommunication or a misunderstood direction could prove incredibly detrimental to their fighting efforts. It could even prove deadly in the wrong circumstances.

The Smithy had mentioned that he could make some sort of charm that would help mitigate the problem, but Izuku was slightly skeptical. The Elder Melder had introduced him to the charms that many hunters wore a few weeks before. According to her, they granted various benefits to the hunters that wore them. She had then given Izuku one such charm, which was supposed to enhance his fighting ability.

The logical part of his brain told him that it was just a placebo effect, that if the hunters believed the charm would help them fight better then they actually would hit harder. The other part remembered that this was a world that only occasionally acted like he expected it to, and it was very possible that wearing a carved necklace could make him strike harder or make monster roars affect him less. Either way, the Smithy didn't have the requisite materials for an Earplugs charm, so Izuku would have to wait to see if it really worked like he had been promised.

As the last echoes of the roar faded, Izuku pulled his hands away from his ears and readied himself to counter a charge. The Rathalos was pawing at the ground and eyeing him angrily, which let him know the attack was coming well before the wyvern moved.

He brought his shield up to intercept and shoved forward against the oncoming monster, trying to reduce the force as much as he could. The shield bash didn't do much, but every little bit helped when facing down a charge like this.

The force was incredible, knocking him back several steps without even slowing the Rathalos down, despite its weakened leg. His shield was nearly knocked out of his hands, and he had to fight fiercely just to keep it in front of himself. That task was made significantly harder a moment later when the Rathalos's weight slammed into his shield again.

He was flung backwards two more times before his feet finally gained some purchase. His heels pressed up against a thick root, and Izuku used that foothold for all it was worth, throwing his weight forward to meet the charge. It was barely enough, but he did manage to stop the Rathalos in its tracks.

It pulled back, staring down at Izuku in obvious surprise. It had probably been expecting him to be reduced to a long red smear after taking its charge.

Izuku took advantage of its surprise and lashed out with his sword at the Rathalos's face. It jerked back, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the entire blow. His sword carved a line of blood down the monster's face, from its temple down to its chin. He tried to catch its eye in the process, but the monster blinked its eye shut before his blow could reach it, so all he managed was some damage to the eyelid.

Rather than attack again, Izuku took the opportunity to roll to the side. Now safely out of harm's way, he pressed his sword blade against his shield for a moment, letting energy flow between the two, and then let loose with a flurry of strikes. They peeled yet more scales off of the Rathalos's side, creating more areas that were vulnerable to attack.

He tried to go for a second volley of strikes, but the Rathalos spun in place before he could. Its tail whistled through the air and came close to taking his head off, but he leapt back and out of range before it could.

He idly noted that Mina had been hard at work on the Rathalos's tail while he had been engaged at its head and side. There were a few spots on the appendage where Mina had chipped off its scales and driven her sword into the vulnerable flesh beneath. The damage from these attacks wasn't severe, but the pain they caused would be distracting to the monster, which could be fatal in its own right. Mina herself was on the opposite side of the monster from Izuku, keeping low to the ground while she looked for an opportunity to strike.

Izuku was about to move in once more when the sound of splintering wood filled his ears. The Rathalos spun around to face the source of the noise, which was coming from almost directly behind Izuku, and let out a roar. To Izuku's surprise, it wasn't a deafening roar like earlier in the fight, or a roar of challenge. It sounded almost… excited?

With a sinking feeling, Izuku turned to face the source of the sound, and found himself staring at a Rathian. It was even larger than the one that he and Mina had faced in the Wildspire Wastes, and had long, thick scars running down its head and neck. He swallowed hard. Those scars were proof of numerous difficult battles that the monster had fought—and won.

Izuku swallowed hard and tightened his grip on his weapon. The odds had just massively shifted against them once more, and he wasn't sure that they would be able to manage a victory as things were.

As if to confirm what Izuku was already thinking, the Rathian opened its mouth and let loose a massive fireball that careened straight for Izuku. He brought his shield up as quickly as he could, managing to stop the projectile by a hair. The impact of the blast sent him skidding back though, and into the reach of the Rathalos once more.

He felt its hot breath on the back of his neck and dove forward. Rolling to his feet while keeping his shield in position was a difficult maneuver, but he'd practiced it enough that he didn't have to worry about tripping himself any more.

As he came to his feet, he realized this battle was going to be even tougher than he had thought. The Rathian was keeping its distance, sticking to the edge of the clearing, while the Rathalos remained at the center. In that formation, it was nearly impossible for him to keep his eyes on both opponents.

Thankfully, he didn't have to do it alone.

"Izuku, dodge left!" Mina shouted.

He obeyed without thinking, and the fireball that the Rathian had launched at his back whistled straight past him. It continued forward and splashed against the Rathalos's hide. The fire didn't seem to do any damage to the wyvern, but it did irritate it. The Rathalos snarled in its mate's direction, and the Rathian returned an apologetic sounding whine.

"Looks like they don't fight together too much," Mina said, bounding over to stand at Izuku's side.

"I guess," Izuku said, "That, or… DODGE!"

He hurled himself out of the way of the oncoming fireball, barely making it out of the way in time. A wave of searing heat washed over him as the fireball impacted where they had been standing just moments ago. The heat scorched his lungs and made it hard to breathe, but Izuku forced his way past that, and fixed his eyes on his opponent.

It was that self-discipline that let him see the second fireball careening directly towards him. The Rathian had held its fire until Izuku and Mina were vulnerable from dodging its mate's attack. It was a clever move, and one that he really should have seen coming.

He tried to bend out of the way, but his efforts were too little, too late, and the blast impacted almost directly into his chest. He hurtled backwards, skipping along the ground until he crashed into one of the vine covered trees at the center of the clearing. A shower of splinters rained down around him as the old, dead wood cracked under the force.

His breath was knocked out of him, and his vision swam. For a terrifying moment, he couldn't draw in a single breath, no matter how hard he struggled. Finally, his lungs started to respond to him again, and he drew in a delicious gulp of air. His entire body ached from the impact, and he still couldn't make sense of the swirling colors and shapes before his eyes. A few moments later, a blur of pink filled his vision, and Izuku could faintly hear Mina saying something to him. He couldn't quite make out her exact words through the ringing in her ears, but he could guess.

He waved her off, and struggled to his feet. The ground beneath his feet didn't feel as steady as it normally did, and it took a great amount of his concentration to keep from pitching over.

"I'm fine," he said, shaking his head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs.

He still couldn't make out her response, but he could imagine it. She would tell him that he was being stupid and self sacrificial, staying in the fight even with a serious injury. He couldn't help it though. Just like earlier, turning their backs now would only incline the Rathalos and Rathian to chase them, which could be even more dangerous.

He reached into one of his belt pouches and pulled out a bit of Astera Jerky. The meat had been treated with both herbs and honey, making it both delicious and nutritious, which was exactly what Izuku needed at the current moment. He scarfed the piece of jerky down in record time, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The delicious taste gave him something to focus on other than the searing pain that was still coursing through him, and he could actually feel the herbs taking effect and helping to soothe his injured muscles. Not for the first time, he was incredibly thankful for the potency of the New World's medicine.

With his wounds somewhat tended to and his stamina recovering, Izuku turned his attention back to their opponents. This time the Rathian had taken to the air and was just behind and to the left of its mate. The Rathalos, meanwhile, was pawing at the ground while it eyed them angrily.

There was no way around it; they needed to separate the pair. Izuku was reasonably sure that he and Mina could defeat either one in single combat, but together they represented an obstacle that they wouldn't be able to climb.

He cast his eyes around the clearing, searching for some feature of the environment that he and Mina could bend to their advantage to take one of the wyverns out of the fight. Nothing was visible, but as he craned his head around one of the splinters from the tree he had crashed into poked him in the neck.

That was just the spark he needed. He spared a quick glance at the tree to confirm that he was remembering things correctly, and was delighted to see that the tree was indeed as vine covered and fragile as he remembered it. If they could trick one of the wyverns into charging into the tree, it would get tangled in the vines, giving them a window. It would be a small window, of course, but it was better than what they currently had.

It would have to be the Rathalos they trapped. The wound on its leg meant it couldn't stop a charge nearly as easily, so if Izuku could get it to charge him while he was standing near the tree, that would be perfect.

But first Izuku would have to lure it into charging him again. Sadly, the Rathalos didn't seem to want to comply with his desires. It was charging yet another fireball, although this one seemed to be charging much slower than its other blasts had. It was probably running low on fire at this point, which was a very good sign for Izuku and Mina.

What wasn't a good sign was the twin glow that was gathering in the Rathian's mouth. It was preparing for a second volley attack, like the one that had just sent Izuku flying a few moments prior.

He could try to block the volley, but doing so would risk the tree behind him burning down before he could use it to trap the Rathalos. It was basically just dried wood and vines at this point, and would go up like a matchstick if it were clipped by the attack.

He needed some way to either stun the monsters or distract them before they could finish the attack. A flash bomb would work, but Izuku had neglected to load any into his slinger before the battle, and there were no resident flashbugs in the area to use.

For a moment he wondered if he could use an elemental discharge from Dear Lutemis to shock them out of the attack, like he had done with the Rathalos at the top of the tree, but that idea was quickly dismissed. The lightning from that attack did carry on for some distance after the initial strike, but it wasn't nearly far enough to reach monsters. Aside from that, he just didn't have enough energy saved up in his weapon for a full discharge. Dear Lutemis had only built up about three phials worth of energy, since he'd been forced to dodge so many attacks rather than attacking himself.

What they really needed was a distraction of some sort, though it seemed unlikely that something sufficient enough to distract the two wyverns would suddenly appear.

Not a second after the thought occurred to him, a massive roar echoed through the clearing as a battle-ready Anjanath burst through the trees on the far side of the clearing, proving that even Izuku and Mina could get lucky from time to time.

---

Anjanath was in a foul mood. The stupid, slippery electric wyvern that had been challenging it for territory had managed to escape once again, fleeing to whatever hole it had made its den in and left Anjanath with disappointment and anger.

A good fight would have gone a long way towards relieving its frustration, but there were no other monsters around to battle. They had all sensed Anjanath's bad mood, and knew to stay away from it if they valued their lives.

As if to prove the point, Anjanath sent a burst of flame at a little flying lizard that had glided too close to its head. The tiny creature was roasted in midair, and crashed to the ground as a charred husk. The small act of destruction went a little ways towards relieving Anjanath's mood, though it was far from enough.

It was just contemplating whether it would be worth the effort to roast the entire flock of panicking lizards when the distant echoes of a roar reached Anjanath's ears. It instantly turned its head in the direction of the noise and listened as hard as it could. That had sounded like a roar of challenge, though Anjanath couldn't quite figure out which monster had made the noise. That didn't matter to Anjanth, though. Any monster that was in the lower reaches of the forest was in its territory, and for that, they would pay.

It immediately took off in the direction that the roar had come from, simply pushing through any tree limbs or vines that got in its way. It left a trail of destruction in its wake that would be simple for any pursuers to follow, but that didn't matter to Anjanath. It welcomed any to challenge it, and to be ground into the dirt beneath its claws.

With each step, the sounds of distant combat grew louder and louder, and Anjanath's excitement grew with them. Blasts of flame burst from its nose with every heaving breath, and its limbs tingled with anticipation of the glorious battle to come.

Finally, Anjanath reached its destination and burst into the clearing with a thunderous roar that had sent many lesser monsters running for cover. Not that Anjanath would let this group flee from it. Their fates had already been sealed when they decided to battle in its territory.

Anjanath had expected the combatants to charge at it in a foolish display of confidence, or to attempt to flee in cowardice. It had not expected them to freeze in place, staring at the new arrival with looks of shock. The lack of movement confused Anjanath for a moment, and the battle haze that had been building in its vision the entire run there began to fade slightly.

With the clarity of thought came a realization that the clearing had been thoroughly torn to shreds. Large gashes had been torn into the ground by dragging tails and talons, while other sections had been turned into mud by the copious amounts of blood that had been spilled. What little ground remained had been scorched by intense flames that even now threatened to spread to the rest of the forest.

That was all secondary though. What really caught Anjanath's attention was the sheer amount of power that was radiating through the clearing. The sensation was electrifying, and it sent a shiver down Anjanath's spine to even be in the area.

It was, of course, familiar with the royal wyverns. Every resident of the forest had seen them gliding through the skies at some point, or had encountered the aftermath of one of their hunts. Anjanath had even challenged the Rathalos to a turf war of its own at one point. To its chagrin, the skirmish hadn't even been close. The Rathalos's flames could singe even Anjanath's resistant hide, and its powerful jaws and deadly poison had sent it fleeing in shame within just a few short minutes. Anjanath had carried a grudge ever since.

If it hadn't been for the presence of the Rathalos's mate, Anjanath would have been very tempted to avenge its loss. With the Rathian there, though, Anjanath wasn't even going to attempt it. The two of them worked together in a way few other monsters in the forest would or even could. Alone, they were dangerous. Together, they were nearly unbeatable.

Unlike the royal wyverns, the other two were completely unknown to Anjanth. They were also completely unlike anything it had encountered before this point.

The small, fuzzy one should have been far beneath Anjanth's notice. As a rule, it didn't pay much attention to anything that was less than a mouthful, except when they provided some sort of entertainment. But there was something savage in this one's eyes that caught Anjanath's attention, and it was emitting an aura of bloodlust that rivaled monsters many times its size.

And then there was the two-legger. Anjanath had seen its kind before. They were much like the Jagras, weak and cowardly on their own, and only moderately more dangerous in a group. This one was different, however. It was bloody and singed from its battle with the royal wyverns, but its spirit had yet to be broken. Its gaze pulsed with energy when their eyes met, taking Anjanath right back to when it had been a child.

Long, long ago, when it was just barely old enough to walk on its own, Anjanath had strayed from its mother, and had come across a massive crimson wyvern in the depths of the forest. That wyvern had thrummed with so much energy that just its presence had been enough to scar Anjanath for life, and had sent it scurrying back for its mother in utter terror.

And somehow, this little green speck was emitting the same feeling. Lesser by far, but still unmistakable. In the face of that, Anjanath was instantly transported back in time to that terrifying moment in the forest. Its tail trembled, its stomach churned, and all the fire it had been gathering for the battle left it in an instant. At that moment, Anjanath made perhaps the smartest decision of its life.

It turned tail and fled the clearing without a single glance backwards.

---

Izuku wasn't particularly religious, or even that spiritual, but after an incident like that he felt like he should send a prayer of thanks to whatever god or gods were listening. There was no way that an Anjanath would behave like that normally. It had to have been a divine miracle.

Or maybe it had been due to the actions of everyone in the clearing. Izuku had noticed that Mina had started emitting an aura of bloodlust once the Anjanath had revealed itself. That had prompted him to try and do the same, though he wasn't sure how effective he'd been, especially when compared to the others around him.

There was no time to dwell on the Anjanath's odd behavior though. The royal wyverns were distracted for the moment, but that wouldn't last for more than a few seconds.

Izuku threw himself forward, trying to close as much of the gap as he could before he was noticed. To his surprise, he made it nearly half of the way before either of their opponents noticed.

The Rathian was the first, turning slightly in the air to face him once more, but it was far too late to be able to stop him from attacking.

Izuku swung his weapon for all he was worth, spinning as he did so to add as much force as he could into the blow. Dear Lutemis crashed into the Rathian's left side, the force of the blow knocking it out of the sky and directly on top of its mate. The two collapsed into a heap of writhing limbs and small gouts of flames, each one's attempts to rise hampering the other's efforts.

Izuku shifted his weapon back to its shield-and-sword mode and took the opportunity to lay in a few slashes on the downed opponents while they struggled to untangle themselves. They didn't do much damage, but it did build up a little more charge for him to use when the time came.

"Mina, when they get up, can you distract the Rathian?" Izuku called. He wasn't sure where she had gotten to, but he trusted her to be nearby and working on something useful.

"On it!" she replied from off to his right.

He risked a glance her way, and found her racing towards the monsters. Her fur was splattered with a mix of mud and sweat, and sticking up in some crazy patterns that Izuku knew would drive her crazy if she could see. She had also developed a slight limp in her right foreleg, one which Izuku hoped was just from overexertion.

A flailing wing nearly clipped him, drawing his attention back to their opponents. They seemed to be recovering from the collision, which meant it was time for Izuku to get moving on his plan.

He holstered his weapon, trusting the shield to protect his back, and dashed back towards the tree. Despite the run being fairly short, it felt like forever before Izuku reached his destination and turned back around to face his opponents.

Mina had done an excellent job at holding their attention, and had even done some damage in the meantime. The Rathian was now nursing a gash in its wing membrane, and the Rathalos seemed to be keeping its distance from their ferocious feline attacker. The boomerang that Mina was holding triumphantly over her head made it clear that she had adopted a ranged strategy.

Izuku was seriously impressed at how quickly her skill with the weapon had grown. A few weeks ago, she hadn't been able to hit the broad side of an Aptonoth, and now she was making shots that would make the most proficient Palico jealous. He made a mental note to congratulate Mina for her skill and to thank her for covering for him. He owed her the biggest cake that the Chef could concoct.

The downside to doing so much damage was that she had drawn the Rathalos's ire as well. Apparently, it cared for its mate more than Izuku had realized, and it was now stalking towards Mina in tandem with the Rathian.

Thinking fast, Izuku grabbed a small stone off the ground and loaded it into his slinger. It was far from the most effective ranged weapon, but it would serve well enough for getting the Rathalos's attention. The rock bounced off of its scaly hide without doing any damage, but it served its purpose. It whipped its head around, clearly surprised to see Izuku still involved in the fight. Perhaps it had forgotten about him after seeing its mate injured, or perhaps it had thought his repositioning had been a retreat from the battle.

As he gazed into the monster's eyes, an idea popped into Izuku's head. While monsters didn't quite grasp the specifics of human or Palico body language, they often got general meanings, as Mina had proved several times before. She was able to taunt them into attacking her with just some simple words or gestures and a dismissive tone. So Izuku took a page from her book, and began to paw at the ground in a similar manner to the Rathalos when it was about to charge. Then, in a move so childish it made him cringe internally, he stuck his tongue out at the monster.

Apparently that translated, since the Rathalos roared in fury and abandoned its pursuit of Mina in favor of charging directly at Izuku.

At the very last moment Izuku hurled himself out of the monster's path, rolling to his feet so he could watch it dash by. The Rathalos, which had obviously expected him to try and block the charge again, struggled to come to a halt before it could impact the tree and failed spectacularly. It slammed into the bit of dead wood and shattered it to pieces. As the tree collapsed, the vines that had been draped around its remaining limbs curled around the Rathalos's limbs and wings as though they had a mind of their own, effectively forming a net that would contain the monster for several seconds.

Izuku took a moment to smile to himself. There was something so satisfying about seeing a plan go exactly as he had envisioned it.

With the Rathalos trapped, he turned his attention to its mate. Driving it off in the short time that the Rathalos would be trapped for would not be a simple task, but with a little luck and a lot of teamwork, Izuku was sure that they could do it.

Mina and the Rathian appeared to be dancing with one another. The Rathian would lunge forward, only to have Mina pirouette out of the way, or duck beneath the blow and return one of her own. These tiny slashes only irritated the monster and made its strikes more desperate and telegraphed.

As Izuku watched, the Rathian took a great leap forwards, trying to crush Mina under its claws. She jumped backwards well before the monster landed, but the shockwave that raced through the ground caused her to stumble slightly. It also sent a low-hanging scatternut crashing to the ground with a noise similar to a gunshot.

The unexpected noise caused both combatants to flinch, creating a perfect opportunity for Izuku to jump into the fray. He unsheathed his sword and charged forward, moving to stand directly beside Mina as they fought side by side.

They fell into the rhythm of combat quickly. Izuku covered them with his shield, blocking any attack that came too close and attacking where he could. With her back thus covered, Mina was able to unleash her full acrobatic prowess against the monster. She rained blows on its face and neck, exploiting any vulnerability that she saw.

Finally, the Rathian made one last desperate attempt at a finishing blow. It reared its head back, putting as much force behind the blow as it could, then thrust its head forward in an attempt to spear Izuku with its poisonous chin spike.

It was a powerful blow, but that power came at the cost of being ridiculously telegraphed. If the Rathian had been thinking straight, it probably wouldn't have ever tried such an obvious tactic. Not that Izuku was going to look a gift wyvern in the mouth. The telegraphed nature of the attack made it exceptionally easy to parry.

He caught the blow with a perfect guard point, redirecting most of the force straight back at the Rathian, with a little extra for its trouble. As his shield connected with the Rathain's face, a sharp cracking sound filled the air.

The Rathian stumbled backwards, its eyes glazed and unfocused, and its tongue lolling out of its mouth. Izuku could almost perfectly imagine a set of cartoon stars floating around its head to indicate its stunned state, which caused him to chuckle slightly and made Mina look at him like he had gone insane.

Putting the brief spell of mirth aside, he hefted his sword once more and took a step towards the monster. It turned its gaze towards him, but the force behind such a look had almost completely dissipated. Izuku was confident that, with time, the fire would return to its eyes. For now though, it was broken and defeated.

It was at that point that Izuku knew he couldn't slay the Rathian. It would feel wrong, and it was unnecessary. Their real target was already trapped, and Izuku didn't want to have any more blood on his hands than was necessary.

Instead he adopted an equally stomach churning, if far more gentle solution. Their fight had thoroughly torn up the ground of the clearing and exposed several patches of new soil. It had also exposed a rather pungent patch of buried monster dung. Steeling himself, Izuku reached down and scooped up a handful and loaded it into the cup of his slinger. It was absolutely disgusting, but probably the best way to get the Rathian to disengage without hurting it. That said, he was going to be washing his hands very thoroughly when they were done.

He launched the excrement directly into the Rathian's face, thoroughly coating its nostrils and face. It snorted in disgust, shaking its head in a vain attempt to remove the foul smelling substance. The dung was stuck fast, though, and the Rathian only succeeded in making itself dizzier than it already was.

A few moments later, the Rathian gave up on its futile attempt to remove the dung and launched itself into the air. It flew in the direction of the coast, probably to go wash itself in the seawater. It was probably a good move, since none of the streams or small pools around the Ancient Forest would accommodate its prodigious bulk.

A weight seemed to lift off of Izuku's shoulders. They were finally down to just one opponent, which made the fight seem truly winnable once more.

"That was super gross," Mina commented, looking at Izuku's hand in disgust.

"It was," Izuku agreed, wiping his palm uselessly against his armor. All it did was spread the dung around, but at this point he was so worn out and dirty that he didn't really care. He just wanted the day to be over with. "But I'm just glad it worked. I heard another hunter mention he'd tried it with a Barroth, so I figure it would work on the Rathian even though it's much more aggressive."

"Glad it did. But you're not petting me 'til you wash your hands. With soap!" Mina declared.

Before Izuku could respond, the sound of snapping vines reminded him that the fight wasn't quite over yet.

The Rathalos was just pulling itself free of the constraining creepers. A few were still draped around its frame, stuck on the spikes that ran along its back and wings, making it look like it was trying to blend into the surrounding foliage, and failing miserably. The scene would have been quite comical, if the Rathalos hadn't been quite so terrifying and dangerous.

It roared, but the force was nowhere near what it had been when the Rathalos first attacked them. Izuku barely even flinched at the noise, and he was ready to go again in a moment when the Rathalos charged at them. It was still packing enough power to do some serious damage, but it had slowed down considerably, and its steps were far more unsteady than they had been at the start of the battle.

Izuku and Mina were easily able to dodge out of the way of its charge and strike back with their own blows. Izuku focused on its side, exploiting the wound that he had struck at the beginning of the fight. It had mostly clotted over at this point, thanks to the Rathalos's incredible vitality, but it was still vulnerable compared to the rest of the monster. Mina, meanwhile, went after its already weakened legs. She targeted its exposed tendons and the weaker parts of its armor, quickly making a series of painful looking incisions that further hampered the Rathalos's movements.

In just a few moments, it was clear that the Rathalos was done for. It had yet to land a single blow, while Izuku and Mina returned every attempted strike twofold. If things continued, they would slowly chip away at it until it could fight no more. Sensing this, the wyvern made its final stand a blaze of glory. It leapt backwards with a powerful flap of its wings and let loose all of its remaining fire in a single torrent.

Izuku was barely able to throw his shield up in time, this time crouching behind it so that his extremities didn't catch fire. Mina threw herself behind him and pressed herself up against his back as far as she would go. Thankfully, Izuku's shield parted enough of the flames that she didn't get absolutely toasted by the blast. He did smell some smoldering fur though, which wasn't a great sign. Hopefully it was just a tuft that had been dislodged during the fight.

After a few terrifying moments the fiery assault ceased, and the Rathalos collapsed to the ground in a heap. Its breath came in great, heaving gasps, and its mouth was foaming with exhaustion. It made a half-hearted attempt to rise once more, but even Izuku could tell that it was well and truly beaten.

He didn't prolong its suffering. A single blow from Dear Lutemis's axe form ended their quest, as well as the Rathalos's reign over the Ancient Forest. As it fell, several flocks of birds burst out of the nearby trees, calling loudly as they did so. It was as if the balance of power in the Forest had shifted, and they were taking news of this change to all its denizens.

Izuku let out a sigh as he hefted his weapon once more. Now that things were done, his energy was rapidly dissipating, and the pain he had been suppressing was making itself very known.

He stumbled over to the small raised area where the Jagras had been watching at the beginning of the fight and sat down heavily. A moment later, Mina hopped up beside him and began to idly kick her feet.

"That was a tough fight," she said, sounding as tired as he felt.

"Yeah," Izuku said, "But we made it through okay, didn't we?"

"I'm filthy and I hurt all over. 'Okay' is not how I'd describe myself at the moment."

Izuku chuckled, Mina's ever present humor lifting his mood as usual. He had no idea how she managed to stay so positive all the time, but he was incredibly thankful for it. He quite literally couldn't have done any of this without her.

Despite her earlier admonition, he reached out and began to run his hand slowly down her back. For her part, she didn't complain about the contact, despite where his hands had been. She just leaned against his side with a tired sigh.

Across the clearing, a few Jagras emerged from the foliage. Izuku and Mina tensed at their appearance, but it quickly became apparent that they weren't going to cause any trouble. They were skinny enough that their ribs were showing through with every step, and they crept across the clearing like thieves in the night, keeping well away from where Izuku and Mina were sitting.

Instead of hassling the pair, the Jagras made their way over to the Rathalos's carcass and, after a quick glance towards Izuku and Mina, began to tear into it.

"Jeeze," Mina said, watching the spectacle with a mix of fascination and disgust, "No respect for the dead, I guess. Should we do something about them?"

"I don't think so. They're not going to eat any scales or any other important materials, and we don't really care about the meat. I doubt even the Chef can make that edible."

"You're probably right," Mina said, "Still, it would have been cool to be able to say we ate dragon meat when we got back home. Kaminari would have been super jealous!"

"Wouldn't eating the dragon be secondary to slaying it?" Izuku pointed out.

"Don't you bring logic into this!" Mina said, punching him lightly in the side, "It's cooler because I say it is, and that's that!"

Izuku shrugged, somewhat used to the occasional ridiculous statement from his partner. He even found it charming, from time to time.

Eventually, they would have to return to the First Wyverian, taking one of the Rathalos's fangs for proof of their victory over it, but that would come later. For now, he just wanted to relax and enjoy a moment of peace for as long as he could.

---

They returned to the top of the tree to find the First Wyverian waiting in almost the exact same spot that they had left it in. In fact, if the Wyverian hadn't been carrying a different staff this time, Izuku would have sworn it hadn't moved in the first place.

"Congratulations on your victory," it said, indicating the large Rathalos fang that Mina was lugging around.

Izuku had offered to take the burden, since it kept Mina off balance and prevented her from walking on all fours for extra speed. She had been insistent, though. The fang was still secreting the odd drop of poison, and Mina claimed that Izuku would probably trip and fall onto it if she let him carry it around.

"You bet we won, no thanks to you!" Mina said, pointing the fang accusingly at the First Wyverian. "Did you know we fought two dragons? At the same time too!"

"I am aware," the Wyverian replied, as calm as ever. "I was watching as you fought. The two of you are quite tenacious."

"And you didn't feel the need to help us?" Mina said indignantly.

"You handled yourself admirably, if not without flaws. There was no need for me to intervene."

"We nearly died half a dozen times!"

"And yet here you remain, victorious and stronger than ever."

Mina let out an angry growl and looked like she was about to try and strangle the Wyverian. Before she could, Izuku gave her what he hoped was a calming pat on the head. Hearing that the Wyverian had stood by while they were in danger was undeniably frustrating, but attacking it would only prove counterproductive.

"We've completed your task," Izuku said. He stepped forward, grabbing the Rathalos fang from Mina and presenting it to the strange being.

It glided forward, its footsteps not even making a sound on the twigs and dried grass that covered the ground. A single hand emerged from beneath its cloak to take the fang. Its four scaly green fingers reminded Izuku a lot of the Rathian they had just fought, and made him wonder what exactly was under its cloak and veil.

"That you have. Tell me, how does it feel to stand at the apex of this forest?" the Wyverian asked while admiring the fang.

"Like we just went through a really tough battle, and could use a bath."

The Wyverian chuckled at that, sounding more genuine than it had since they had met it. "I suppose that is fair."

"Ahem!" Mina interrupted. "Speaking of fair, I think it's time you held up your end of the bargain."

"Ah, yes. The fiery Elder Dragon that circles this land. Tell me, do you know why it has come here, so very far from its homeland?"

"It came here to die," Izuku said, thankful for his discussions with the Tracker about this very subject. "It went to its resting place in the Rotten Vale, but then it left. We don't know why."

"It saw what so many see at the end of their lives. It saw a light that called to it. But where this is but an illusion to most, Zorah Magdaros sensed the light of life. An energy even greater than that which it carried. Energy enough to sustain it for many cycles yet. And so it follows the Everstream, in a last hope to continue on."

"The Everstream?" Izuku asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Perhaps I am using the wrong term. My knowledge of your language is far from perfect, after all. I am referring to the stream of bio-energy that circles this land, feeding the plants and animals that call it home."

Izuku shrugged. The idea was an interesting one, and he would definitely bring it up with the researchers of the Commission when he returned, but he had never encountered it before now. Maybe that was his lack of experience with this world showing through though.

The Wyverian hummed at his response, cocking its head to the side. "Odd that one such as you should be unfamiliar with it. Perhaps the knowledge will come with time…"

"One such as me?" Izuku pressed.

"Regardless," the First Wyverian said, pointedly ignoring Izuku's question, "the Elder Dragon hovers on the brink of death, circling this land again and again. But such a state cannot be sustained forever. Soon it shall fall, and the energy it yet carries will surge through the Everstream like a cleansing fire."

Izuku felt his stomach drop. This was way beyond what the Commission had been planning for, and way beyond what he had been expecting. It sounded like an end of the world scenario.

"Hold on!" Mina said, "When you say 'a cleansing fire', you don't mean an actual fire, right?"

"I do indeed. The Dragon's energy is attuned to fire, and its release will sear this land to ash."

"And you haven't done anything about it!?" Mina cried, stomping towards it with a furious look in her eyes.

"It would not be proper," the First Wyverian replied, shrugging its shoulders. "To interfere with the course of Nature would not befit one such as myself."

"Oh yeah?" Mina said indignantly, "Well you can take what's "proper" and stuff it! We're gonna stop Zorah Magdaros in its tracks, save the world, and then come back and shove it in your stupid face! C'mon Izuku!"

She spun on her heel and marched away, not even checking to see if he was actually doing as she had bid.

"I'm sorry about that," Izuku said to the First Wyverian, bowing to the diminutive being.

"You need not apologize for her passion," it replied. "I suspect it may serve you well in the trials to come."

As it spoke, a large Blissbill flew down and perched atop the First Wyverian's staff. Attached to the Blissbill's leg was a cage-like device that Izuku would never be able to forget.

"Did you—" he began, only to be cut off by the First Wyverian.

"As I have said before, to defeat an Elder Dragon will require a great amount of strength. To gain this strength, one must face adversity. I simply... accelerated the process."

Something about that explanation felt wrong to Izuku. It took him a moment to work out what it was, but when he did, he could have smacked himself for missing something so obvious.

The First Wyverian had lured the Rathalos to them to make them stronger, but it had done that before they had told it about seeking the Elder Dragon. It was possible that this was a coincidence, or the First Wyverian was lying, but Izuku didn't think so. There was only one explanation that fit, in his opinion.

"You... want us to defeat Zorah Magdaros."

The First Wyverian didn't so much as twitch at the accusation, but an aura of approval seemed to emanate from it.

"But why?" Izuku wondered out loud, his mind working at the possibilities, "You're at least as strong as the Huntsman, so you shouldn't have too much trouble fighting an Elder Dragon. Is it because Zorah Magdaros is so big? A staff wouldn't do too much damage, no matter how strong you are. Or maybe you just don't know how to? No, attacking the magma crystals is the obvious way to do it. Or maybe you just—"

The sound of hissing laughter interrupted him, and Izuku turned to look at the First Wyverian. It was near doubled over with laughter, the strongest reaction that it had displayed thus far.

"I see your companion is not the only one that is passionate," the Wyverian said, its sibilant accent even more pronounced. "Perhaps that is why your bond is so strong, despite your… differing personalities."

The comment made him blush on multiple counts. First, for monologuing about the Wyverian's intentions right to his face. Not even his time in the New World had gotten rid of the habit, even with Mina to elbow him in the ribs every time he went overboard. He was also quite embarrassed by the reference to the bond between him and Mina. Of course the Wyverian hadn't meant anything more than their bond as partners, but his brain had immediately jumped to other implications, as it was wont to do.

Before he could overheat, the Wyverian rapped the end of its staff on the ground twice to get his attention. Once he was looking at it again, the diminutive figure raised its staff to gesture at the lush forest far below them, and the beautiful horizon as the sun began to sink beneath it.

"This land has a savage beauty to it, wouldn't you agree?" it asked, without looking at Izuku.

Looking out into the sunset, there was no way that Izuku could disagree. Even with the aching pains that covered his body and the terrible combination of sweat, blood, and excrement that covered him, the way the golden rays glistened off the treetops had a way of making it all disappear. He nodded his head, unable to find the proper words to describe what he was feeling in that moment.

"No matter how many years pass, it never fails to take my breath away. And I would not see it end by such a simple twist of fate. Thus, while it may not endear me to my fellows, I have decided to place my thumb on the scales, so to speak. Through you, I have given your people a chance to save this land. Whether you take it is up to you though..."

By the time Izuku turned back to look at the Wyverian, it was gone. There wasn't even a single footprint left behind to begin tracking it, and the scout flies were lying dormant in their cage, unable to follow a scent.

He considered trying to follow it for a moment. 'The Everstream' wasn't exactly a specific location for them to search, and if the First Wyverian was telling the truth, they were short on time to track Zorah Magdaros down. Some more detail could prove exceedingly helpful to their efforts.

Unfortunately, it was clear that the First Wyverian was done helping them out for the time being. Perhaps it would show its face again if the situation demanded it, but Izuku doubted it. It seemed that whether or not they managed to keep Zorah Magdaros from destroying the New World was entirely in their hands.

"Izuku, hurry up!" Mina called from down the path, "I wanna take a bath ASAP!"

He let out a tired sigh, then turned to walk after her. It had been an extraordinary taxing day, and he had a feeling that their trials were only just beginning.

---

Author's Note: First off, I'm sorry that this chapter has taken so long to get out. It wasn't my intention to keep you waiting this long. I don't have any proper excuse for the delay. My motivation has just been running extremely low these last couple months thanks to a myriad of factors. My mood/situation has improved quite a bit since then, but it has put quite a damper on my writing output, which you have my sincere apologies for.

In more relevant news, the number of planned chapters for this fic has once again increased. I swear that someday I'm going to sit down to write a new chapter without increasing that number. That will probably be when I'm writing the finally, but hey, it still counts :P

Massive thanks to Mazongian for betaing and being a general bro through the tough times, and to Raef_Darksbane for editing/betaing. You're the cream of the crop. And thank you to everyone who's read and enjoyed this story. Your support and enjoyment mean the absolute world to me. Can't wait to see you next time for chapter 7-Alpenglow