MHGA Chapter 144 – Aerial Combat, Hunter Style!
The demon immediately noticed something was off.
Joseph's body had undergone a sudden transformation, and he was now using that altered form to ascend rapidly.
Joseph could feel the power of the Pillar Man coursing through him.
Though he was attempting to utilize the strength of Gale God Slash, he had only ever seen it once with his own eyes—being able to wield it now was the result of extended development and practice.
Even so, forcing his body to ascend using such a technique strained him to the brink of collapse.
Even the regenerative capabilities of a Pillar Man couldn't keep up with the damage inflicted by his forceful ascent using Gale God Slash.
"Which is exactly why I swapped into the Demon Set!"
Feeling the pain across his body, Joseph pushed even harder.
The Hunter armor he was wearing was constantly accelerating his recovery.
The Demon Set—crafted from materials obtained after defeating Muzan, it was a new gear set developed by Hunters.
It focused on Hyper Regeneration and Stamina Recovery as its core.
With the combined healing powers of demon physiology and Pillar Man regeneration, Joseph was just barely able to overdraw his strength to use Wamuu's Mode to soar skyward.
This sensation—this flight—was like nothing he'd ever experienced before...
Sure, Joseph had ridden in planes, but this… this was soaring under his own power.
The demon had also taken notice—clearly, the enemy's flight had a purpose aimed at itself.
The Shah Dalamadur suddenly opened its massive jaws, anchoring its lower body into the mountain and lunging its upper half outward, seemingly intending to swallow Joseph whole midair.
But as the Shah Dalamadur's head approached, the gale from its enormous mass was redirected by Joseph's open Glider Mantle. He glided right along the monster's head, narrowly avoiding its bite.
"This feeling… is thrilling!"
Joseph controlled the Glider Mantle as he shouted, "But… this angle's no good! I need more height!"
He needed a frontal vector to pierce into the Shah Dalamadur's defenses. The last chance had been close—but Joseph hadn't seized it in time.
The Shah Dalamadur's attack speed was faster than expected. Joseph needed more time to adapt.
Just then, a sharp dragon cry pierced the air near Joseph's ears.
"Joseph! How's that wing suit flying for ya?!"
Kairo Retsu's cheerful voice rang in Joseph's ear. When Joseph looked back, he saw Kairo riding atop an Astalos, soaring through the sky.
Using the Iron Silk of his Wirebugs, Kairo had fully synchronized with the Astalos, enabling aerial maneuvering for both of them.
"Guildmaster! You're here!" Joseph's eyes lit up. "In that case… you know what to do!!!"
"Ha! I've been so ready for this!" Kairo slapped the Hunter insect perched on his arm. "Let's show these people what aerial Hunters are all about! Aerial Combat Style!!!"
"Go! Astalos!"
Kairo shouted, "Hit it with the Big Beak Buster!!"
With that, he charged straight at the Shah Dalamadur's turning head atop the back of the Astalos.
"Kairo Retsu!!"
The demon's voice grew irritated as it glared at Kairo. Within the Shah Dalamadur's thunderous roar, one could faintly make out the demon's vexed voice: "Let me out of here!!"
"No way in hell!"
Kairo steered the Astalos as it suddenly veered mid-pounce.
At the moment of the turn, Astalos's blade scales launched outward, embedding themselves directly into the Shah Dalamadur's head.
Already ravaged by Kazuma's Explosion Magic, the Shah Dalamadur's cranium had long since lost its toughness—making it easy prey for the blade scales.
In their secondary explosion, those scales fragmented like razors, riddling the Shah Dalamadur's head with fresh wounds.
Its blood, upon emerging, was instantly scorched away by the monster's own intense heat.
And under the demon's influence, the Shah Dalamadur completely ignored the pain, forcibly wrenching its massive body toward Kairo and the Astalos for a vicious bite.
"Eat… my damn exhaust!!"
Seeing the motion, Kairo yanked hard on the Iron Silk: "My bond with Lil' Astro is unbreakable! No way some punk like you's keeping up with my Speeda Mode!"
The Astalos, already absurdly fast, surged even faster under Kairo's command, leaving the Shah Dalamadur's head trailing behind in an instant.
The Astalos—an apex monster forged by nature's survival-of-the-fittest—was now revealing its full, monstrous power as a true Monster Hunter's partner.
"Where the hell did your 'bond' with an Astalos come from?! And since when did you give it a nickname?!!"
Kazuma's indignant roar echoed through the gathering hall's voice chat, his rant drawing a strange glance from Mithrun.
"…What is that monster?" The elves were already done trying to understand.
One monster after another was showing up. They had thought that by coming to this Dungeon Island, they only needed to defeat the dungeon master Shisle—but the situation had evolved far beyond any normal battle.
"This is… infuriating!"
An elf slapped herself in frustration. "Captain, we're going to check the battle status through our familiars!"
"Alright."
Mithrun nodded, granting her teammates' request. "Find Kabru—he's acting as Guildmaster among the adventurers, and helping the Hunters install equipment targeting the monster overhead."
"Assist them however you can." Mithrun grabbed Kazuma's cloak alone. "I'll take him with teleportation magic."
"What exactly are your companions trying to do?" Mithrun asked Kazuma as she cast the spell. "Do their weapons really stand a chance against something of that size?"
Mithrun didn't mean to doubt the Hunters—but in the face of such an overwhelming situation, she couldn't help but feel uncertain.
Compared to a monster over 2,200 meters long, the Hunters' weapons—no matter how oversized—still seemed far too small.
If it were a powerful spell like the one Kazuma used earlier, perhaps they could do more serious damage to the Shah Dalamadur… maybe only that kind of destructive power could actually overcome the demon.
"Also," Mithrun added, "The demon can't be defeated just by killing monsters. It is magic itself…"
"Do your Hunters… really have a way to beat the demon?"
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