MHGA Chapter 238 – The Hunt Begins!
"?????"
"????????"
"???"
As soon as Kairo Retsu sent the emergency alert through the Gathering Hub channel, a flood of question marks popped up—and then the voice channel exploded in chaos.
"What's going on?! Didn't we just finish kidnapping Arasaka Raizen to negotiate a partnership?!" Kazuma shouted. "Why the hell is Kirin heading off to become fire now?!"
"What happened?" Naofumi Iwatani asked, focused and composed. "What's the situation? What about Arasaka Raizen?"
Joseph was stunned. "I just spirit-photographed it—Kirin already rushed over?!"
While the Gathering Hub boiled over, Kairo rapidly explained the entire chain of events in the fastest language he could muster.
And then—
"Time's short, folks! It's time to accelerate our hunt plan!" Kairo's voice rang out with resolve. "If you're not occupied, lend a hand! We might be jumping straight into an Elder Dragon battle!"
"This is way too sudden!!!" Kazuma screamed. "We just finished dealing with one crisis! My butt hasn't even warmed the seat yet—!"
"What do you want me to do about it?! That's how hunting works! Monsters change zones suddenly—how the hell is that my fault?!"
Kairo cried out, clearly wronged. "Kirin's already en route to Arasaka Tower! It's in a rampage state! You think I wanted to fight it so soon?"
"…Actually, this might not be as bad as it sounds," said Naofumi, after some thought. "Maybe we can use Kirin to resolve the Night City situation outright."
"Hm?" Kairo raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
…
Meanwhile, Arasaka Raizen was feeling extremely tense.
He was currently sitting on a 70%-new motorcycle, clad in an awkward layer of plate armor…
On the other side, the Hunters had already assembled and were squatting in front of the Wasteland camp, discussing battle tactics.
Everyone except Himmel had made it—he was still tied up handling monsters in his own world and would be late.
Kairo now stood up to deliver an impassioned speech.
"Listen up—this time we'll be hunting on motorcycles! Kirin moves fast, so we need to encircle it as much as possible…" Kairo outlined the updated plan to the Hunters.
"The main goal is to drive Kirin toward low-population zones. Also, considering corporate interference, we'll likely have to deal with Arasaka and Militech along the way…" Kairo clenched his fist. "Get ready—this will be our first true Elder Dragon battle!!!"
"Ohhh!!"
The Hunters gave a synchronized fist-bump, then each mounted their motorcycles. Kazuma even slicked his hair back into a pompadour, looking like a biker punk straight out of the last century…
"Wait—you're hunting with just motorcycles?!" V was dumbfounded. "You Hunters don't have, like… I dunno, any badass tech or anything?"
She had been handed a motorcycle too.
But the idea that she was about to ride this thing into battle against both megacorporations and a natural disaster-class monster—it was enough to make her want to laugh from disbelief.
"We may not have high-end tech, but we've got high-end muscles, okay?" Kairo scratched his head. "Count yourself lucky. Back in the day, the first-gen Hunters protected their villages with just a kitchen pot and a kitchen knife…"
"Huh? I thought the lore said they used Sword & Shield?" Laios looked confused. "So Hunters used to fight with pots too… just like Senshi…"
"NO WAY that's canon! Kairo's totally injecting his own delusions again!!!" Kazuma howled.
"Well, Sword & Shield really has been getting weaker and weaker!!!" Kairo punched his motorcycle in frustration. "Every other weapon's got DPS, got style, got mobility!"
"Meanwhile Sword & Shield is just a hymn to the courage of humanity! Damn it! It's too weak in the new game!!!"
"You dare say that in front of Himmel?" Joseph raised an eyebrow.
Himmel—who had chosen Sword & Shield specifically to match his former single-sword style—was, without a doubt, the top Hunter in the Gathering Hub.
Even if he was currently off in his own world helping villagers handle monsters, his status as Sword & Shield king was indisputable…
"Himmel's just built different!" Kairo argued. "Anyway! Kirin's probably already almost in the city! Let's get moving!"
Kairo drew his Hunter weapon and jumped onto his motorcycle. "Raizen, in your opinion…"
"If Saburo detects Kirin, what will he do?"
Kairo stared directly at Arasaka Raizen.
After a moment of silence, Raizen replied, "He won't stay in Arasaka Tower. But I can guess where he'll go… he'll probably bring my sister Hanako. I've resisted him long enough—I think I know how he'll act."
"Then… V, how about you go with Raizen?" Kairo turned to her. "As you can see, the main battlefield will be chaos between corporations and Kirin. You may be strong in the future, but right now you're not quite there."
"Got it. I'll stick with Raizen—and blow Saburo's bald skull to hell," V growled viciously.
"Then… Kazuma, I'll count on you to accompany them," Kairo said seriously. "You're the most suited for this role."
"Hmph. This kind of vibe… Kazuma-sama doesn't hate it," Kazuma said, smugly rubbing his nose and slinging on his bow. "I am a strong adventurer… so long as there aren't any deadweight teammates."
"Oh, so you can do tactical planning," V muttered, clearly relieved. "For a moment I thought you were the kind of brute who charged in without a plan."
"Ahahaha, of course not! We Hunters are master tacticians…" Kairo laughed heartily, then twisted the throttle on his motorcycle. "Perfect! The rest of you—WITH ME!! We're charging straight into Night City!!!"
"YAHOO——————————!!"
With a wild yell, Kairo surged forward—and the other Hunters fired up their bikes and followed suit.
A band of Hunters, brimming with end-of-the-world messiah energy, thundered toward Night City like an apocalyptic cavalry…
"ISN'T THIS JUST A FULL-ON CHARGE AFTER ALL?!?!" V screamed.
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