A/N: Don't get too used to the quick updates. I literally have nothing better to do nowadays. Just don't be surprised if I eventually lose interest in this and discontinue it like all the other stories I have typed up. Lol.
Also, I didn't type up the fight scene because...well...they're a pain to write out. However, to please your eager mind, I did write up a little something. Enjoy!
Soft sand under her feet.
Reiya kneeled down, looking at an indentation in the sand.
The shape of a foot. Not one that had ever been seen in the New World. The sight of it only caused Reiya to grimace, unsure of what it was.
Fingers dug into the sand, checking for the depth of the prints.
Sadly, it appeared as if she had just missed her quarry.
With a sigh, Reiya stood back up, her scoutflies suddenly turning blue as they began flying all around her. Following them with her eyes, she watched as they flew around in circles, seemingly trying to find where the source was coming from. She wasn't new to it; the scoutflies weren't always the most reliable, especially when the scent of a monster was littered all over a particular area. However, this time seemed different. Like…they were being driven crazy.
Nearby, a shadow peeked from around a giant termite mound.
Reiya's senses shot into overload, her gaze immediately shooting toward the mound.
Only…nothing was there.
Furrowing her brow, Reiya kept her eyes locked squarely on the mound. Her hand twitched, ready to draw her Longsword on demand. There was still an uneasy feeling in her gut, unable to take her eyes off the termite mound. The scoutflies continued flying around in a lost frenzy, seemingly unable to detect danger and return to Reiya. It was only then that Reiya forced her attention away from the termite mound and looked at her scoutflies, pulling the scoutfly cage off her waist and holding it up. Only a few returned, surprising her, to which she then began walking around, chasing her flies to help them find their way back home.
"...weird…," Reiya muttered, finally getting the last of her flies back. Looking at the cage in her hands, she noticed that the flies were still seemingly in a frenzy, causing her confusion as she put it back onto her waist. Her attention then went back to the giant termite mound, narrowing her gaze at it. It was still suspicious to her, but she couldn't leave her scoutflies in the condition they were in. She needed answers.
With a sigh, Reiya finally began leaving the termite mound riddled wasteland.
Nearby, a dark, shadowy cloud began seeping out from behind the termite mound.
—-
"Hey, Joe."
Joe glanced at Hazel, the young man asking, "So what happened with that Black Diablos?"
Having returned to the Astera Gathering Hub, Joe had opted to join the two rookies, considering his usual hunting partner was still out in the Wildspire Waste. His eyes remained locked on the young hunter, contemplating on how to explain how the battle had gone. Anna was seated across from Joe, just putting her mug down before digging right into her meal, taking her time with it. Joe finally grinned, turning his gaze away from Hazel before he then said, "Well, I'm not exactly the best story teller, but if you really want to know how it went…."
"Hey, there's the man, the myth, and the legend!"
Joe looked up, having just been interrupted by his close friends Lucian and Ilia, the two approaching him jubilantly. Lucian was grinning from ear to ear, sitting down in the one vacant spot at the table while Ilia stood behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders as the man said, "So we heard you took down a Tempered Black Diablos. What's the story with that? There weren't any reports of a tempered monster in the area."
"Well, that's what I'd like to know," Joe replied, his eyes locked on his friend, "Oh yeah, these two are the noobies. This is Anna and Hazel."
The two rookies nodded their heads respectfully, to which Lucian chuckled and said, "Wow, so formal. Name's Lucian."
"I'm Ilia," the woman behind Lucian piped up, Joe now eyeing them curiously.
"...I thought you two were supposed to be in Seliana?"
Lucian turned back to Joe and replied, "Well, we WERE in Seliana, but then we got called back. Apparently, Reiya's supposed to be going over there for something now."
"Reiya, huh?"
Joe turned to look at his beer mug.
It had been a while since he had spoken more than one or two words with the woman.
Even longer yet was their last time going on a hunt together.
"...Just catch her for one moment out at the Waste and now she's going straight to Seliana," Joe sighed, swirling the beer in his mug, "How convenient."
"Aww," Lucian said, scooting over to Joe and throwing an arm around his friend's shoulders, "Joe misses his hunting buddy! How cute!"
"Stop it," Joe immediately replied, jamming his elbow into Lucian's gut. The latter immediately reeled back in pain, holding his gut as Ilia began laughing. The two rookies simply sat there, unsure of how to react seeing as they had never met Lucian and Ilia before. Joe shot a glance at Lucian, then back at the two rookies, seeing how uptight they were. The reaction only caused him to smirk as he then said, "You guys are free to laugh, you know. It's not fun when all you do is act serious all the time."
—
One slash.
Two slashes.
Shield thrust.
Sliding slash.
Red lightning sparked, followed by scattering red sparks. The Deviljho teeth of Fate's Curtain sunk deep into his prey, Joe then pulling his sword back as the Black Diablos turned, trying to keep up with its smaller adversary. It proceeded to take a small step back, just in range of Joe's sword as he released a charged slash, a piece of his sword's handle suddenly turning yellow. Before he even took notice, however, Joe followed this up with a roundhouse slash, the sword more smashing than slashing and causing the Diablos's head to swing off to the side a bit.
Joe's sword, now glowing an angry red, was suddenly jammed back into his shield, a loud "k-CHK" filling the air as the Diablos turned to face him again, letting out another shriek before charging. Acting quickly, Joe then pulled his sword out of the shield, quickly blocking the charge. Sparks flew from the collision, the Diablos's mass versus Joe's technique. Joe let out a grunt, the energy transferring all the way through the shield, into his body, and down into the loose sand below. With a shout, he lowered his center of mass slightly, the Diablos's body going right over him, narrowly avoiding the trampling feet as well.
As he turned around to face the beast, he immediately raised his shield again, the giant hammer-like tail swinging right into him. In one smooth motion, Joe deflected the blow, the tail as well going right over him as he slammed his sword back into the sheath, charging his vials yet again before the dragon element began sparking crazily all over the surface of the shield. Before the energy went too crazy, however, Joe drew the sword back out into an Element Roundslash, the shield now letting off a red hue.
The Black Diablos then turned, letting out yet another shriek as Joe slammed his sword into the sheath yet again, letting out a sigh. The Diablos lowered it's body, arms on the ground as it clawed at the ground angrily. The red lightning began sparking angrily from where the sword was contained in the shield, Joe letting out a grunt as the dragon element screamed at him to be released.
The ground began thumping loudly.
The Diablos's heavy breathing filled the air as it charged, clearing the distance between it and Joe with terrifying speed.
Just then, a click filled Joe's ear.
With a smirk, he let out a shout before drawing his sword from the shield, dragon element sparking angrily as he slammed the sword down onto the Diablos's head. Red lightning sparked madly off the horned wyvern's face as its momentum was suddenly stopped, its head being slammed down into the sand before the sword hit the ground next. The dragon element then transferred from the sword and into the ground, causing an explosion of red lightning from the sand and blasting the wyvern in the face.
A shriek of pain followed as the wyvern lifted its giant head, a black horn falling onto the sand in front of Joe.
However, he wasn't finished yet.
Through the dust and sand, a clutch claw came from where the hunter had been standing, latching onto the wyvern's face. Joe came flying through the dust, landing on the wyvern's face and holding on for dear life. He raised his arm, looking the wyvern in its red, evil eyes.
One slash.
Two slashes.
Joe then pointed his slinger at its face, suddenly discharging all the stones he had grabbed earlier and getting sent flying off.
Landing on his feet, Joe just barely caught the Black Diablos running into a wall, the sound of the collision almost deafening in the cave.
With a smirk, Joe then charged, drawing his Charge Blade into an immediate axe mode.
—
"Joe!"
The man was suddenly thrown off from his thoughts, looking up at Anna, who had, evidently, been looking at him for some time now.
"Is something wrong?"
Joe blinked, then turned to see Lucian and Ilia having some idle conversation with Hazel, the rookie hunter having finally opened up to the two. He then turned back to Anna, then turned back to his mug and smirked.
"...Let's just say," Joe stated, "It was a hell of a fun hunt."