"ROOOAR—!"
The Deviljho let out a furious roar at Bai Chen in the sky.
Its bean-sized eyes locked tightly onto Bai Chen, who hovered at an altitude of thirty meters.
Cosmog peeked out from the collar of Bai Chen's rain cloak, staring at the Deviljho below with obvious fear.
The monster was completely unaffected by Bai Chen's Ultimate Aura.
There was only one word to describe it—reckless.
From the air, Bai Chen glanced toward a massive sinkhole ten kilometers away.
That abyss led straight down to the Vale beneath the Coral Highlands.
If something without the ability to fly fell into it, escaping would be impossible.
Easily dodging the Deviljho's pursuit, Bai Chen gradually lured it toward the edge of the sinkhole.
Hovering in midair, Bai Chen used telekinesis to pull over two massive boulders and repeatedly smashed them into the Deviljho's head.
In response, a Dragon-element–laden Dragon King's Breath shot toward Bai Chen in the sky.
The breath spread like dense fog, covering a huge area.
Bai Chen used Instant Transmission to evade the attack.
He thought to himself:
If I could, I'd really like to hunt you down right now… but unfortunately, I need to conserve my strength for Kirin.
Deviljho was a master of Dragon-element energy.
Its Frenzied State was extremely tempting to Bai Chen.
He had a strong feeling—if he could acquire that ability, both his Aura Transformation and Aura Hardening would advance significantly.
Bai Chen continued alternating boulders, smashing them into Deviljho's head.
The damage was minimal, but the humiliation was immense.
Behind Deviljho lay the sinkhole.
If it attempted another leap, there was a real chance it would jump straight into the abyss.
But Bai Chen had underestimated the monster's intelligence.
After being humiliated in this manner, Deviljho roared twice and fired another breath attack.
Then—
It turned around and began to leave.
Bai Chen froze, frowning as he watched Deviljho retreat.
"Is this thing really that intelligent? It didn't fall for it at all?"
From the sky, Bai Chen glanced back at the ominous sinkhole.
"It knows the terrain here very well… It understands that getting close to that place is dangerous."
Bai Chen tried again to provoke it with flying rocks.
But this time, Deviljho didn't react at all.
Instead, it headed straight toward the direction where the Field Master and Koen were waiting.
"Is it planning to go after them?"
In the distance, Bai Chen saw the Field Master and Koen standing atop the Coral formations.
BOOM—!
The massive beast slammed into the Coral.
The entire structure collapsed instantly.
Bai Chen quickly used his psychic to catch the Field Master and Koen.
Floating in midair, the Field Master asked anxiously what had just happened.
Bai Chen gave a brief explanation.
"I didn't expect its intelligence to be this high,"
The Field Master muttered.
│ "Does Cosmog have a way to teleport a chunk of terrain—with the monster still standing on it?"
Bai Chen's eyes lit up slightly.
That suggestion was genuinely useful.
Deviljho could directly resist Psychic-type techniques—
But the ground beneath its feet certainly could not resist Instant Transmission.
The problem was that Cosmog alone could barely teleport a monster of Deviljho's size.
Adding the weight of the terrain would exceed its limits.
│ "In theory, it's possible."
Bai Chen nodded.
Cosmog alone wasn't enough—
But with Bai Chen's assistance, it could work.
Bai Chen himself could also use Instant Transmission.
While his range was inferior to Cosmog's, acting as a backup power source was feasible.
│ "Then let's try it,"
The Field Master said.
│ "Help us down and give us ten minutes—we'll prepare a trap."
Both of them were veteran hunters.
Setting traps posed no difficulty.
Bai Chen gently lowered them to the ground.
│ "I'll leave it to you two."
Landing steadily, the Field Master took out her map and studied it.
She pointed north.
│ "Let's go that way."
That direction was closest to the sinkhole.
If they were going to trap Deviljho, it was the ideal location.
From above, Bai Chen saw Deviljho attempting to pursue them.
He dove downward.
Using momentum, Bai Chen delivered a powerful kick to Deviljho's head.
BANG!
Deviljho's head was knocked sideways.
But its nearly hundred-ton body barely moved.
│ "Your opponent is me."
Bai Chen leaned forward.
"Quick Attack."
A streak of white light flashed as Bai Chen struck Deviljho's hind legs.
That enormous body relied entirely on its legs for balance.
If he could destabilize it, he could buy valuable time.
A prolonged skirmish began.
Seconds ticked by.
Eight minutes had passed since the Field Master and Koen departed.
Using speed alone, Bai Chen continued to harass Deviljho.
As long as he focused on evasion, Deviljho's clumsy body made landing a hit nearly impossible.
"Good. If I can hold it here and buy them time, that's enough."
Just as Bai Chen relaxed slightly—
A terrifying peal of thunder erupted from the distant clouds.
Pale lightning tore down from the heavens.
The thunder roared as if exploding right beside his ears.
Bai Chen stopped attacking.
Deviljho also halted.
Man and monster both turned toward the distant Coral highlands.
A pure-white lightning beast approached, walking upon thunder itself.
A cerulean lightning horn crowned its head.
Its pale mane flared wildly with electricity.
The sky itself bent in reverence.
The Phantom Beast—Kirin.
This was the third Elder Dragon Bai Chen had encountered.
In the storm, Bai Chen truly felt the oppressive might of an Elder Dragon.
"I was guarding against Deviljho's interference…
I didn't expect Kirin to be the one to intrude."
After a moment's thought, Bai Chen used Instant Transmission, retreating several kilometers.
He needed to observe the situation.
Perhaps Kirin could drive Deviljho away.
He found the Field Master and Koen mid-preparation.
Seeing Bai Chen, they assumed he had already lured Deviljho over.
│ "The trap isn't ready yet—two more minutes!"
The Field Master shouted.
│ "We might not need the trap anymore,"
Bai Chen replied.
│ "?"
Bai Chen pointed toward the thunderclouds.
│ "We've been stirring up trouble in its territory.
Now the owner has arrived."
Following his gaze, the two saw the raging lightning.
They instantly understood.
│ "Kirin came out of its cave on its own…"
They stared at the lightning in awe.
Such phenomena only accompanied the arrival of an Elder Dragon.
Bai Chen lifted the two with telekinesis and moved them to a safe vantage point.
Below, Deviljho launched an attack on Kirin.
A massive Dragon King's Breath engulfed the Coral platform.
│ "That's bad—Kirin took it head-on!"
The Field Master gasped.
She sincerely hoped Kirin would emerge victorious in this territorial clash.
Kirin was exceedingly rare.
If it were driven off, they might never encounter the Lord of Lightning again.
│ "Relax,"
Bai Chen said calmly.
│ "In some ways, Kirin is the perfect counter to Deviljho."
Before they could question him—
Three bolts of divine lightning fell from the sky.
Deviljho was struck and staggered backward.
Looking again, Kirin appeared completely unharmed.
That earlier attack had been virtually meaningless.
│ "This… is this really the power of an Elder Dragon?"
The sight exceeded all expectations.
Bai Chen shook his head internally.
That wasn't merely Elder Dragon power.
It was Phantom Beast power—or more precisely, Fairy-type power.
This Kirin had only just reached a high rank.
Level 50.
Abilities included:
• Lord of Lightning (Rarity 8)
• Lightning Mantle (Rarity 7)
• Phantom Beast Blood (Rarity 6)
• Kirin's Strength (Rarity 4)
Along with numerous exclusive skills.
It possessed three Master-level proficiencies.
On paper, it was powerful—
But still not enough to outright defeat a level-60 Deviljho.
Its resistance to Dragon attacks came from its attributes and traits.
This was the first monster Bai Chen had seen in this world with a Fairy-type attribute.
Lightning + Fairy dual-attribute.
Trait: Phantom Beast
—All skills carry a small amount of Fairy-type energy.
Bai Chen didn't know what traits other Kirin possessed.
But this one was terrifyingly effective.
By mixing Fairy energy into its lightning, Kirin became a natural nemesis of Dragon-type monsters.
Of course, such power came at a cost.
Unlike other Elder Dragons with Elder Dragon Blood (Rarity 7)—
This Kirin only possessed Phantom Beast Blood (Rarity 6).
Thunder roared again, pulling Bai Chen back to reality.
Deviljho screamed in pain.
│ "Is Deviljho weak to lightning?"
Bai Chen shook his head.
│ "No. That's not it."
│ "Then why does it look like it's suffering so badly?"
│ "Because Kirin's lightning contains a special energy—one that specifically targets Dragon-type monsters."
│ "Targets Dragon-types?"
They squinted through the blinding light.
Within the pale lightning, they glimpsed faint traces of pink.
So faint it almost seemed like an illusion.
│ "That energy is called Fairy energy."
Bai Chen explained.
Monster Hunter World classified only five elements.
Fire. Water. Thunder. Ice. Dragon.
But the Pokémon world had eighteen.
From Bai Chen's perspective, monsters here possessed far more attributes than scholars realized.
They simply hadn't discovered—or named—them yet.
If no one else will name them,
Then I will, Bai Chen thought.
I'll fill in the gaps myself.
│ "Fairy energy…"
The two repeated softly.
Their sense of Bai Chen's mystery deepened.
│ "Deviljho is retreating."
Bai Chen warned.
They turned and saw Deviljho fleeing in panic.
│ "It was actually driven off…"
│ "That was inevitable,"
Bai Chen said.
│ "Deviljho is four times weak to Fairy.
If it stayed any longer, it would've died."
Four times weak.
Another unfamiliar term.
But now wasn't the time for academic discussion.
Kirin had no intention of letting Deviljho escape so easily.
It sensed the danger Deviljho posed to its territory.
Lightning surged as Kirin gave chase.
A lightning beast pursued a fleeing tyrant.
Bai Chen quickly brought the two along to observe.
This was a perfect opportunity to evaluate Kirin's combat ability.
Thunder roared ahead.
Deviljho fled desperately.
At a Coral bend—
Deviljho suddenly changed direction.
Kirin followed.
Then—
A massive maw burst from behind the Coral formation.
Deviljho lunged and bit down on Kirin's body.
│ "It ambushed Kirin using the terrain!?"
The Field Master cried out.
The monster's intelligence had far exceeded expectations.
Koen spoke grimly:
│ "This is bad. Deviljho's bite force is among the strongest of all monsters.
If it gets a solid bite, that's usually the end."
The situation appeared completely one-sided.
But—
As an Elder Dragon, Kirin was far from helpless.
│ "Deviljho can't defeat Kirin."
The instant Bai Chen spoke—
A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking Deviljho directly.
In the next moment, the Kirin in its jaws vanished.
When the Field Master found Kirin again, it had reappeared atop another Coral platform, accompanied by thunder.
│ "Was that Instant Transmission?"
She asked in disbelief.
After seeing Little Nebula's teleportation, it didn't seem impossible.
│ "No,"
Bai Chen replied.
│ "That was pure speed.
Deviljho only bit into an afterimage."
│ "Its speed is fast enough to leave afterimages…"
Deviljho finally realized something was very wrong.
It fled with everything it had.
Driven by lightning, it reached the same sinkhole Bai Chen had used earlier.
Deviljho looked back at Kirin approaching—
Then, at Bai Chen, hovering in the distant sky.
Hatred and resentment burned in its eyes.
Then—
It leapt.
Straight into the abyss leading to the Vale.
│ "To force Deviljho to flee into the Vale…
Is this the power of an Elder Dragon?"
The Field Master murmured, turning to Bai Chen.
│ "Bai Chen, perhaps your decision to hunt Kirin—"
But when she looked again—
Bai Chen was gone.
A thunderous impact echoed.
Kirin was sent flying by a single kick.
Bai Chen had already made his move.
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