Deep within the Ancient Forest, in a spacious grove surrounded by trees, there was a platform overgrown with vines and wild grass.
There, a colossal Glavenus—over 27 meters long—leapt onto the platform, its massive sapphire-blue tail blade swaying behind it, nearly half its total length. In its jaws, it held prey that had narrowly escaped being sliced in two.
But after setting down its catch and scanning the area, it found nothing—just a shattered tail segment over 2 meters long and a few scattered bloodstained bits of carapace at the edge of the platform.
The Glavenus let out a lion-like roar of agony. Its fiery sac began to overheat, glowing ominously as though it might erupt with molten flame at any second.
Enraged by the loss of its offspring, the Glavenus rampaged through the surrounding forest. Trees were felled one after another, and massive boulders were left with deep, scorched gashes.
Finally, not far from its nest, amidst the trees, the Glavenus found a suspicious trail.
A small pile of shed teeth.
Sniffing them through its grief, it confirmed the identity of its enemy.
This was the scent of the enemy of all life.
Glavenus’s eyes burned red—driven by hatred, it quickly locked onto a direction.
Returning to its nest, it began devouring the prey it had just hunted—whole mouthfuls at a time, barely chewing at all.
Only when its stomach could take no more did the Glavenus stop. Without hesitation, it abandoned its territory and began marching in the direction where that scent had vanished.
...
At the Rathalos nest in the Wildspire Waste, ever since that shared roast meat meal, relations between the two sides had grown noticeably warmer. At the very least, when Sita came down to set up the grill, he was no longer chased away.
Over the past two days, the Admiral had been looking at Logan like he was some sort of rare and endangered species. The way he stared made Logan’s skin crawl—but since the Admiral didn’t actually do anything that could be misinterpreted, Logan didn’t lash out.
After a few days of rest—and with the help of the Research Commission’s honey-based healing potions—Aki had mostly recovered. Once Logan confirmed she had no issues flying, he said goodbye to Tonkotsu, who had been faithfully standing guard every day after finishing training, and the two of them left the nest, beginning their journey back toward the Ancient Forest.
“We’re heading out.”
Hearing Tonkotsu’s words, the Admiral scratched his head, a touch of regret in his voice.
Still, over the past couple of days, he had already sketched a few portraits based on Logan and Aki’s appearances. He planned to have the scribes document them in detail. That way, if any of the Guild’s hunters ran into them out in the wild, it wouldn’t lead to unnecessary conflict.
When he heard of Logan’s departure, Sita paused mid-motion while setting up the barbecue rack. After a moment of thought, he switched to using a smaller grill.
Truth be told, he felt a bit reluctant to see the Fire Wyvern pair leave. Not for any deep reason—just the simple pride of a chef who had managed to cater to their tastes. Every time he saw Logan and Aki eat and then quietly wait for the next piece of meat, it gave him a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
“Heheh, don’t get all mopey, Sita. They might’ve left, but I’m still here, aren’t I? Come on, show me what flavor you’re working on today!”
The Admiral clapped Sita on the shoulder, only to receive a cold, dismissive side-eye in return.
Sita wriggled free from the Admiral’s grip, turned around, and began preparing today’s batch of barbecue sauce.
...
Logan and Aki’s return trip took longer than their journey out.
Part of it was due to Aki’s injuries—she had only recently recovered, and extended flights weren’t ideal yet.
But there was something else too.
While flying, Logan noticed something felt off. The forest… it felt restless.
He couldn’t quite pinpoint the cause, and aside from that faint sense of unease, nothing unusual had happened.
In the end, he chalked it up to normal ecological fluctuation.
...
On the fourth day, the weather was clear and sunny.
Logan finally returned to the Ancient Tree—the place he’d been longing to see again.
But from a distance, he noticed something strange: thick black smoke was rising from the canopy.
“…Don’t tell me it’s another barbecue?”
The thought flashed through Logan’s mind, half in jest.
Of course, that wasn’t likely.
Given the density of the smoke, it looked more like a section of the tree’s crown had caught fire.
Flapping his wings lazily, Logan glided toward the outskirts of the Ancient Tree.
Once there, he finally saw what was happening.
In the skies above, an Azure Rathalos was locked in fierce combat with a Rathalos whose scales had begun to gleam with a metallic sheen—one clearly undergoing a transformation into an Arch-Tempered form.
The two were evenly matched, their battle brutal and intense.
Logan recalled that during the Chameleos invasion, an Azure Rathalos had been living in the Ancient Tree as well. But that one had joined the Fire Wyvern swarm during the chaos, ignited the forest, and never returned.
This Azure Rathalos, however, had deeper, richer blue plating and appeared much younger. The light green tint of its wing membranes was especially vivid. It fought with ferocity, and to Logan’s eyes, the Arch-Tempered Rathalos seemed to be on the losing side.
...
As a subspecies of the Rathalos, the origins of the Azure Rathalos have long been the subject of speculation.
Some say it's a mutation that occurs once a Rathalos reaches a certain age.
Others believe it's simply the result of evolutionary divergence, leading to the emergence of a new subspecies.
But regardless of the theory, one point remains consistent:
Compared to the original species, this subspecies not only displays a change in coloration, but also boasts enhanced physical capabilities across the board.
Its aerial abilities in particular have been heavily specialized—greater burst power, longer endurance, and faster flight speed!
However, this comes at a cost: its legs are less suited for ground movement. Once it lands, the Azure Rathalos becomes noticeably slower and less agile. If it moves too quickly on the ground, it may even lose its balance.
Overall, with its sky-colored scales, the Azure Rathalos is arguably more worthy of the title King of the Skies than the standard Rathalos.
Though the battle here was intense and evenly matched, the clash between the Azure Rathalos and the Rathalos—both aerial predators—had evolved into a close-quarters brawl.
Meanwhile, the crown of the Ancient Tree had caught fire. That was caused by another ferocious battle playing out atop the cliffs: Pink Rathian versus Rathian.
As another Fire Wyvern subspecies, the Pink Rathian stood out with a shell as pink as cherry blossoms. From Logan’s vantage point, the Pink Rathian looked almost like a girl in a pink kimono.
But that delicate appearance was deceptive. The mutated pink carapace wasn’t just for show—while it had become tougher and more resilient, the skin between the armor plates had softened. This combination significantly increased the Pink Rathian’s defense while also greatly enhancing its agility.
And in stark contrast to its dreamlike elegance was its temperament—violent and vicious.
Even when facing far weaker creatures, the Pink Rathian would attack with full force, showing not the slightest mercy.
Just as the Azure Rathalos had evolved in terms of flight, the Pink Rathian had undergone its own specialization: the venom in its tail spines.
Compared to the original Rathian, the toxins in the Pink Rathian’s tail spikes were far more concentrated and potent.
Even a brute like the Bazelgeuse, one of the apex predators, would struggle after taking a few hits.
It’s not that the Pink Rathian was invincible because of its venom—but rather, with poison of that caliber, it was like a venomous viper: it could be killed, but getting bitten in the process was going to hurt.
Since both the Azure Rathalos and the Pink Rathian were subspecies, they had no interest in mating with standard species. Subspecies attracted subspecies. Judging from the situation, it seemed the two intended to nest in the Ancient Tree and raise offspring.
However, unlike the Rathalos and Rathian that had long made the Ancient Forest their home, this pair likely intended only to produce a single brood here before moving on once their young were able to survive on their own.
The Pink Rathian would likely seek out the scorching heat of the Wildspire Waste, or perhaps head to the more nutrient-rich and ecologically favorable—but far more dangerous—Coral Highlands.
As for the Azure Rathalos, it might stay in the Ancient Forest, or else fly alone to the Elder’s Recess. Given the brutal ecosystem there, it certainly wasn’t a place to raise a family—not even for a monster of its power.
They definitely weren’t going to make this their permanent home!
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