Last chapter before the epilogue! I want to use this opportunity to thank the (few) people who decided to check out this story as well as those who followed/favorited and left comments. I was trying something new with my storytelling and style and I'm happy to see that a few people seem to like it. As a writer, it always brings me joy to see that.

As for my current activities, I am writing an experimental fic. Unfortunately, I doubt I'd be able to post it here without it getting removed (hint: it's pretty much an excuse to write smut). If you do want to see it, be sure to check out my profile on A03 as I go by the same name there.

Anyway, that's enough talk, hope you enjoy the chapter.

...

Chapter 7

The villagers and medics immediately began to work on treating the two hunters, prioritizing Lavanda as her injuries were more severe compared to Wehner. The latter however had woken up first and was currently being questioned.

"It was different. Throughout all my years of hunting, I have never seen a Diablos act that way…"

"Can you tell us more about it?" Rachel asked.

Wehner nodded. "It was bigger, perhaps almost twice the size of a regular Diablos. Its shell has an odd dark coloring, alongside its face and horns and there were red tints at the edges…it looked a lot like dried blood. The horns were…huge, and one of them looked odd too. It was aggressive…incredibly aggressive for Diablos standards. And the roar…oh gods the roar. It sounded like something that came out of hell itself."

"That's…"

Wehner shook his head. "There's more. Diablos are normally brutish beasts who rely merely on brute force but this…this Diablos was intelligent." His eyes grew wide, and a crazed look came over him. "It was as if it knew our every move. It avoided traps, bombs, knew how to catch us off guard. It didn't fight like an animal…" He clutched his bald head, trembling in fear. "I'm done. I'm officially retiring after I recover. Lavanda too. I cannot risk losing her."

"Hey, you'll open up your wounds again!" Anna exclaimed, readjusting the bandages on Wehner's torso.

Rachel was too stunned to speak. Wehner retiring? Possibly Lavanda too? What sort of creature could bring forth such feelings of fear? What sort of Diablos was this?

"I suggest you evacuate this village. There's no point in trying to send hunters to fight that thing. They will die. All of you need to get out of here. Please, it's for your safety." Wehner was practically begging, and it made Rachel even more restless.

Later when she stepped out of the impromptu medical hut, she was greeted by her men, resident hunters, chief, and the rest of the villagers, all eager to get an update. Recalling Wehner's warning, she made her decision. "Evacuate the village."

The people all gasped in shock and began to whisper amongst themselves. The chief stared at her incredulously. "Why?" he asked.

"This beast, it would seem it's too powerful even for our best hunters. Considering its capability to annihilate an entire settlement, I'm afraid I must classify this as an Elder Dragon level threat. If you value your safety, I suggest you all get packing."

"But this is our home!"

"You can't just expect us all to be able to move so easily!"

"We survived Loc-Lac and now you want us to evacuate again?"

"What good are hunters if they can't even kill a monster?"

"Hey, I heard that!" Rachel warned.

More vocal protests came from the villagers, eliciting an exasperated groan from the Knight. She understood that there was likely a combination of anger, fear, and apprehension among the people, but this was ridiculous. "Silence! All of you!" she shouted with all her might. To her relief, they all complied.

"If we do evacuate, where do we go?" the chief finally asked.

"That's…" Shit, I never thought about it.

"I know a place." Immediately, everyone turned their attention to the person who spoke. It was Sven. Undeterred by all the stares, Sven cleared his throat and continued to speak. "An hour away, via airship, is Port Tanzia. It is big enough to house an entire village and its various markets as well its proximity to the sea should be enough to support you all."

The villagers looked at each other and back at the chief, who appeared to be thinking. They looked to him to make the final decision. After a few minutes of contemplation, the chief nodded. "Very well then. We shall move to Port Tanzia."

Rachel sighed in relief. "I'll contact the Guild and tell them to bring in their large transport airships."

The chief hummed and turned to face everyone. "You heard her! Everyone, begin packing!"

…

Sven was panicking. He had been walking around the village for nearly ten minutes now and he still had no luck. Where was Iris? He had asked every villager he passed by and none of them seemed to know where she was. He had asked Ximena too and even she had no clue. Don't tell me she's… That was until he stumbled upon an unexpected source of information.

"Excuse me what?"

"I saw Ms Iris head that way, behind the buildings. I don't know what she's doing but I heard her say stuff like 'I'll do this myself', or something like that."

Bless this child for being at the right place and at the right time. "Right, thanks, kid!" What was Iris thinking? He had seen Iris standing off to the side when Knight Rachel was informing the villagers of the situation and he naively assumed she would not do anything. Damn that stubborn woman!

As he ran, he happened to pass by Damian. "Oh, hey Mr Sven. Is everything al-"

"Sorry rookie, maybe later!"

"Huh, what is-" He was gone before Damian could finish his sentence.

The hunter ran as fast he could to the spot the village kid pointed out and sure enough, it was a moderately sized space sandwiched between the village walls and a hut. Once he moved closer, he saw the distinct shape of footprints on the ground next to the wall. Realizing what she had just done, Sven cursed. "Goddammit, Iris!" He quickly backtracked to pick up his armor and weapons before heading back to the same spot.

Once he arrived back, he drew a deep breath before jumping up and holding onto the wall. Using his strength, he pulled himself up and over the wall, landing firmly on the other side. Now, where did she go? He looked around before spotting something in front of him. Footprints! They stretched towards the distance, indicating that she likely had already gone quite far on her own.

"If we survive this, I'm going to give her one hell of a lecture," he muttered to himself before running off towards the direction of the footprints.

…

Somewhere, a huntress could be seen making her way through the desert. She had only her armor, weapons, and a pouch with her items and would have been lost if not were for the flying creatures above her.

Remobra. Flying Snake Wyverns and omens of disaster.

Whenever these Wyverns appear, it was usually a sign that an Elder Dragon was present. The Guild relied heavily on them to monitor the movements of Elder Dragons. However, Iris also knew that the Remobra didn't only follow Elder Dragons. As opportunistic scavengers, they were willing to feed on anything and that included the victims of a powerful monster's rampage. Wherever Remobra go, there was bound to be something powerful, and Iris made sure to closely follow the pack flying above her.

It wasn't long before the Remobra led her to an area filled with large rocks and dried-up trees. And then, she heard the roars. She crouched and quickly moved towards the source of the roar, concealing herself behind a sand dune and peeking over.

There in front of her was a Tigrex and it was facing…a Diablos. But it wasn't just a regular Diablos. It had a dark tint over its shell, a massive right horn alongside what looked like a deformed left horn. She had a feeling she knew the reason why it had one horn that looked that way. Though Iris was tempted to charge in immediately, she wasn't stupid enough to get in the way of a battle between Wyverns. So, she opted to wait and observe them, all while the Remobra pack flew over them, waiting for the opportunity to feast on the loser.

The Tigrex reared up and roared, presenting itself to its opponent. The Diablos met its challenge head-on and let out its own ear-piercing shriek, one that Iris noted sounded more like a demonic screech than a roar. Without warning, the Diablos attacked first, lowering its head, and charging forward. The Tigrex leaped out of the way and was prepared to pounce onto the Diablos's vulnerable backside when the Diablos made a sudden one-eighty-degree turn. Caught off guard, the Tigrex was helpless to stop itself from jumping straight onto the Diablos's horns, impaling itself onto them. It roared in pain as the Diablos shook its head furiously, throwing the large Wyvern away as if it weighed nothing. Wounded, the Tigrex attempted to flee but before it could, the Diablos was on it. Iris watched as the Diablos proceeded to gore the Tigrex with its horns, stabbing it repeatedly in savage rage. All Iris could hear was the agonized squeals and screeching of the Tigrex as the Diablos relentlessly tore it apart, staining the desert sands red with blood. When it had finished, it used its horns to toss the corpse away before roaring in victory. Almost immediately, Remobra began to swarm the Tigrex's body, their patience rewarded with a feast.

Throughout her entire career, Iris had never seen such a display of savagery in monsters before. She felt herself tremble and she quickly gripped her hand to halt the shaking. She had no time for fear. Unsheathing her weapons, she stood up and ran towards the Diablos.

"HEY!"

The Diablos turned around and saw her.

"Remember me?"

It stared at her for a while before Iris noticed its demeanor immediately change. Steam began to puff out of its body and the veins on its wings and skull flared red. It growled fiercely at her and Iris grinned widely.

"So, ya do remember! How long has it been?"

The beast snarled at her but made no move to attack.

"Nice horn ya got there. We chopped it off from ya remember? Now, look at it. Deformed. Fits yer ugly face perfectly!"

The two began to circle each other, neither side willing to make the first move.

"I realize we're probably alike. I want you dead because ya killed my husband and now one of my best friends. As for yer ugly mug…Aha, I remember! We killed yer mate, was it? That ugly thing ya were with on that day."

As if it understood her words, the Diablos growled lowly.

"I vowed to kill you that day, no matter what. Now the day has come." They stopped circling each other. Iris let out a growl as she stared down the Diablos. Her fingers tightened around the handles of her blades.

Letting out a guttural scream, the huntress charged forward as the two widows engaged in a battle years in the making.

…

When Sven heard that demonic screech, he knew he had to hurry. Quickening his pace, he ran as fast he could toward the source of the screech. The sounds grew louder as he approached. No, no, no! He ran up the dunes and looked down at the distance. There, he could see the Diablos, and running around it…was Iris. He had no idea how the fight was going but he knew he had to help.

"Iris!" he called out, sprinting towards the two and unsheathing his Longsword.

The huntress ignored him and continued to attack the Diablos, ducking under the swing of its tail, and slashing at its legs. The beast was also too occupied to notice Sven approaching.

"Damn it! Iris!"

At that moment, the huntress finally noticed his presence. "Sven? What are ya- Ack!" She was interrupted when the Diablos swung the length of its tail, hitting her directly in the torso and sending her flying several meters away.

"NO!" Sven surged forward with his sword. The Diablos, however, spotted him running towards it and in response, it leaped backward, dodging his strike. It let out a brief growl before lowering its head and immediately charging, forcing Sven to dive out of the way. But as quickly as it had attacked, the beast suddenly made a U-turn and charged back towards the hunter with frightening speed.

It charges twice! Left with no options, Sven decided to attempt to counter the attack with his blade. Waiting for the Diablos to come closer, he took a deep breath, hand hovering over the sheath of his blade. The moment the Diablos grew close, he drew his blade with lightning-fast precision while dashing underneath the Diablos's body, narrowly avoiding getting trampled and landing a precise strike on the beast. A moment later, he heard a loud agonized roar as blood spurted out from the large cut on the Diablos's belly.

That was dangerous, he thought. Had he made a slight miscalculation, those horns would have already gored him. He turned around facing the Diablos again, who snarled at him, ready for round two.

Just then, he heard rapid footsteps nearby. Glancing in the direction of the noise, Sven's eyes widened at the sight of Iris running towards the Diablos. "IRIS!"

She ignored his shouts and continued to press on her offensive. Sven could only watch as the Diablos swung its head around, landing a hit on the huntress and flinging her directly towards Sven.

"Oof!" Iris's body crashed against Sven, sending them both tumbling onto the ground.

"Shit…" the huntress cursed, spitting out blood and moving off Sven. The hunter could see that parts of her armor had been shattered, her hair disheveled and she was clutching her torso in pain.

"Please, stop this!"

His pleas were ignored again as Iris reached into her pouch and took out a vial filled with brightly colored liquid, immediately popping it open and pouring its contents into her throat before tossing the empty vial away.

"That hurt ya bastard…" she said, grinning wildly. Seeing her crazed expression, Sven could only stare in a combination of shock and came to a horrifying realization. The Iris he knew was gone. It was as if she had been possessed, erasing all forms of rational thinking and the will to survive. Immediately, Sven was filled with regrets…regrets for not trying harder to help her move on, regrets for not having seen the signs of her instability sooner, and regrets for failing to prevent Leonardo's death and starting Iris's path to darkness.

"Oh, Shaw…I failed…I failed to stop her…" he lamented as Iris and the Diablos engaged in battle once again.

At that moment, he contemplated joining in the fight, possibly getting a few hits in and dying alongside Iris but then he remembered the villagers. They were likely still evacuating and there wasn't enough time. He remembered the men, the women, the children, all who deserved to live on. He remembered Damian, still so young and with so much potential. The young man still had a future to look forward to in his career as a hunter and Sven couldn't bear to see him die before he could fulfill his goal. Faced with no other option, Sven swallowed his despair, sheathed his blade, and ran away as fast as he could.

…

Once he arrived at the village, he could see that the villagers were still in the process of evacuating, with several Guild airships docked in the village and their crew helping load all the baggage onto the ship. He spotted Rachel talking to the Chief and immediately ran up to her.

"Hey!"

Rachel turned around and saw Sven approaching her. "Where were you?"

"How far are they into the evacuation?" he quickly asked, ignoring her question.

"We're almost done," the chief answered. "With the Guild's help, we should be able to finish loading everything in due time."

"There's no time!"

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"The Diablos…It's close. There's no way you are going to finish in time before it arrives here!"

The chief's face paled in response to Sven's words, and he looked to Rachel for her thoughts on the matter.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Rachel then noticed that Iris wasn't around. "Where's that huntress?"

"She…she's gone."

"What?"
Sven shook his head. There was no time for mourning. "You need to speed up the evacuation and gather your men and all the hunters here! We must defend the villagers!"

"Now hold it, hunter, you can't just give out an order like that-"

Sven interrupted her by grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "For god's sake, if we don't do something, people are going to die!"

Glaring at the man, she was about to reprimand him when she saw it. She saw the desperation in his eyes, the horror, and fear in his expression. He looked as if he came back from a war. Realizing that he was truly serious, the woman nodded. "Alright, how long until it arrives?"

He released her and backed away. "I…I do not know. Diablos can tunnel underground at incredible speeds so I think it will arrive in-"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake as a loud rumbling could be heard. Sven's eyes widened and he spoke the two dreaded words, "It's here." Oh, gods did it follow me here?

BOOM!

An explosion-like sound could be heard in front of the village and seconds later, something slammed against the village gates, threatening to break them down. Mass panic ensued as people everywhere began to scream, cry and scramble for the airships.

"We're all going to die!"

"God help us!"

"Where's my baby!"

"Mother!"

Rachel knew she had to take control of the situation, no matter how dire. "Chief!"

The man flinched. "Y-Yes?"

"Rally the villagers and get everyone onto the ships and prioritize yourselves over your baggage! Go!

"A-Alright!"

The knight then turned towards Sven. "And you are coming with me."

Sven nodded without hesitation as he followed Rachel, who shouted for all her men to gather and help defend the villagers. Similarly, Sven called for the help of all available hunters. However, the prospect of being left for dead to fight a powerful monster elicited protests from many of the hunters and guards, who all quickly joined the villagers on the airships.

"Cowards!" Rachel admonished them. "You're all cowards!"

In the end, only a handful of Rachel's most loyal men chose to stay behind. The banging against the village gates grew more intense with each passing second.

"Everyone, formation!" Rachel commanded as she, her men, and Sven stood with their weapons drawn.

"Mr Sven!"

The hunter in question turned around and spotted Damian heading towards him. "Damian, you have to run!"

"But I can help!"

"No, you cannot! Join the rest in evacuation now!"

A horn burst through a hole in the gate as the Diablos further intensified its attacks against the gate. "I can fight too!" the young man insisted.

Sven growled in frustration and grabbed Damian's shoulders. "Listen to me. You're still young, full of life, and with a future to look forward to." He gestured towards the airships, where he could see Anna looking in their direction, an expression of sorrow on her face. "If you die here, you'll die for nothing! Now go!"

"Mr Sven…"

The hunter, however, simply flashed him a reassuring grin. "Make sure to live a long life yeah? Can you do that for us?"

Damian nodded fervently, placing a fist against his chest as his lips trembled. "I-I will! I swear, I'll forever honor your sacrifices."

Sven let out a grateful chuckle. "Thank you." Godspeed to you Damian.

Damian gave one last tearful bow before heading back quickly towards the airships. It was right on time too as the Diablos finally crashed through the gate, sending wooden debris flying everywhere. The moment the dust cleared; the brave warriors came face-to-face with the dreaded beast as it set its gaze upon the group.

"Weapons at the ready!"

The beast growled menacingly at them, not the least bit intimidated by the armed humans. From their position, they could finally get a clear look at the Diablos, noting its bloodstained horns, glowing red veins, and dark coloration. And of course, its massive horns, with one having grown irregularly. It looked more like a devil than an animal.

Sven quickly took his position next to Rachel. "We might have not known each other for long but…what do you say we go for drinks if we survive this?"

"I look forward to it hunter," the Knight responded with a grin. She glanced back towards the village, noticing that the airships had already begun to ascend into the air. She sighed in relief. The villagers were safe, that's all that mattered.

Taking a step back, the Diablos shook its head before letting out an ear-piercing screech, signaling the start of the battle.

Pointing her sword at the monster, Rachel uttered a loud battle cry. "Attack!"

…

As the airship ascended higher into the sky, Damian walked over to the edges of the ship. He could see the shapes of those left behind, engaging in battle against the creature. He didn't look away or flinch even when he saw a familiar figure get trampled underneath the creature's weight. Soon, the shapes grew smaller and smaller as the ship ascended further.

"Damian?" He felt a hand touch his shoulder and he instinctively knew who it was.

"Anna..."

The young woman didn't say anything and chose to embrace him from behind, wrapping her arms around his stomach and resting her head against his back.

The shapes continued to grow smaller and smaller until eventually, they were nothing more than tiny, barely visible specks, covered by the clouds.

…