Claiming she had almost beaten the Lagombi to death was, of course, just a joke.
There is an insurmountable wall between being barehanded and being armed. Even for a high-rank Hunter like Haifa, equipped with high-level Armor, taking down a Lagombi without a weapon would be no easy feat.
Tumbling to evade the Lagombi's wide-armed embrace, Haifa looked toward Altaïr's group as she stood. Seeing that their "chat" was drawing to a close and that Altaïr's gaze had shifted toward her, she let out a roar.
"Watch closely!"
She suddenly drew the Iron Sword from her back and swung it forward with a violent burst.
Compared to a Great Sword's standard Overhead Slash, the angle of this strike was slightly tilted. The blade bit into the Lagombi's shoulder, and the sudden counterattack startled the creature into recoiling.
However, Haifa's assault had only just begun. Due to the angle of the swing, the tip of the Iron Sword did not slam directly into the ground.
Instead, it lightly grazed the earth. Following her interlocking steps and a pivot of her body, she raised the blade again and hacked forward, effortlessly bringing the retreating Lagombi back into her range.
The second strike, heavier than the first, carved a bloody gash across the Lagombi's chest.
"What is this?"
Altaïr, who frequently cycled through various weapons, quickly noticed the difference.
The swing speed was faster than the basic sword techniques of a conventional Great Sword, placing more emphasis on fluid transitions and utilizing techniques to repurpose inertia.
At the same time, her footwork was more frequent, allowing the Hunter to adjust their positioning with greater agility, though the difficulty of controlling hit zones rose sharply as a result.
After two consecutive slashes, Haifa spun again, hoisting the Great Sword onto her shoulder.
This motion was finally familiar; it was essentially the stance for a Charged Slash. However, Haifa did not Charge. The moment the Great Sword hit her shoulder, she took a heavy stride forward and brought the blade down.
This strike slammed directly into the Lagombi's forehead.
Given the Sharpness of the Iron Sword, it failed to cleave through the thick bone plating atop the Lagombi's head in a single blow. However, given the power behind Haifa's strike, the pure impact was more than the Lagombi could withstand.
The monster was knocked flat to the ground by this third strike.
Haifa was in no hurry to follow up. After all, their purpose here was not to hunt the Lagombi, but to demonstrate these moves.
"These three strikes form a combo, though they can certainly be used independently. Drawing on the momentum of the falling blade's pressure, these are known as 'Falling Slash'!"
Having said her piece, she retreated several meters and waited for the Lagombi to stand.
Scrambling to its feet, the Lagombi raised its arms high to make itself appear larger, letting out a signature intimidating roar.
Haifa, of course, was not about to be intimidated by a mere Lagombi. Her eyes were locked onto its movements. As it swung its sharp claws to attack, she took a massive step forward, letting the Great Sword sweep upward in a Rising Slash.
Iron Sword collided with sharp claws; Haifa effortlessly parried the creature's swipe.
Immediately after, she continued her forward momentum, spinning her body to sweep the Great Sword upward once more. This strike caught the Lagombi in the belly, forcing it to stagger backward.
Seizing the opening exposed by the Monster, Haifa stomped her right leg down to steady her stance.
Strength rose from the soles of her feet, transferring through her legs, waist, and back, finally surging into her arms. The power of this strike was clearly superior to the previous two consecutive slashes; it was no longer a rising cut, but a thrusting upward stab driven by the tip of the blade.
The uneven, blunt Iron Sword, still marred by patches of rust, sliced through the Lagombi's belly. Its momentum undiminished, the blade continued upward, impaling the creature's lower jaw from below and knocking it onto its back once more.
"These three strikes form a different combo, drawing from the upward momentum of the blade. It's called 'Vortex Slash'!"
After two rounds of attacks, the Lagombi realized it was no match for the Hunter before it and turned to flee.
But how could Haifa let her "target" leave so easily? She gave chase with two quick steps, spun, and swung the Great Sword horizontally.
She kept her center of gravity lower than during a conventional Wide Sweep, pivoting on a single foot with much greater rotational speed.
This strike bit into the Lagombi's hind leg, cutting its escape short.
Not quite used to this version of a spinning slash, Haifa's movements paused for a split second. Once she stabilized her center of gravity, she spun with even greater speed, swinging the sword forward in a horizontal sweep.
This time, the Great Sword in her hands didn't just trace a single circle; it unleashed two perfect arcs like a whirlwind, carving two massive, bloody gashes into the Lagombi's side.
"Awoo!"
Realizing it could not escape, the Lagombi roared and turned back, lashing out with its sharp claws in a desperate counterattack at a speed far exceeding its normal state.
Haifa acted as if she hadn't seen it at all, continuing to rotate her body and swing the Great Sword forward.
The storm formed by the high-speed rotation of the massive steel blade easily deflected the Lagombi's final struggle, knocking it to the ground for the third time.
The damage it sustained this time was far heavier than the previous two; one foreclaw was severed outright in the collision, and a massive rent was torn from its ribs to its belly, with blood and viscera spilling from the wound.
Struggling and wailing in a pool of blood, the Lagombi clearly no longer had the strength to stand back up.
Splattered with blood, Haifa smacked her lips. "Forget it, I've demonstrated everything once. I'll give you a quick end."
With that, she swung her sword and took the Lagombi's head.
Shouldering the blood-stained Iron Sword, she turned around. "Did you catch all that, kid?"
"I've got it."
"If you can't remember it in one go, there's nothing I can do. This Lagombi couldn't take a hit. I'll show you the moves a few more times in the air later... wait, you're telling me you learned it just by watching once?!"
"I've memorized the movements. I just need to figure out the details of the power transition through practice," Altaïr replied, nodding thoughtfully.
He was no longer a novice who needed to be taught everything hand-over-hand. While he couldn't be called a master of swordsmanship yet, his mastery across multiple weapons meant his level of Weapon Arts was already quite sophisticated.
For many things, he only needed to watch, think, and try them out a few times to get the gist of it.
Altaïr's flat reaction made Haifa feel a bit slighted. She worked hard to recall and repeat the words of the woman who had taught her years ago. "This style is called 'Surge Slash,' named for the relentless flow of running water.
It is divided into three forms and nine moves: Falling Slash, Vortex Slash, and Rising Slash. They can be fluidly transitioned between one another. The core lies in..."
"The core lies in building momentum? Accumulating power in the first and second moves to explode during the third?" Haifa's cheek twitched. "...Right."
"To be honest, this Surge Slash style is less like a Long Sword and more like a Hammer; it puts a lot of emphasis on the accumulation and utilization of inertia.
Then again, it really feels like you're not suited for Surge Slash. Your use of inertia is honestly terrible.
When the tip of the sword brushes the ground during the first move, Falling Slash, you're supposed to use that resistance to accelerate and build momentum, right? It's just like how an Iai Slash uses the sheath to catch the blade during the draw, but you just let it glide past aimlessly.
And with Rising Slash, the inertia just cuts off in the middle. What a waste. If you could stack the inertia of all three moves together, that Lagombi would have been dead before it even hit the ground.
All in all, it's an incredibly powerful sword technique with immense detail in movement and power application. The predecessors were truly amazing to create such an exquisite sword technique using a weapon as fierce as the Great Sword.
But the way you use it... it's honestly a bit of a ruin."
Faced with Altaïr's relentless negative review, a vein throbbed in Haifa's temple.
It was true that when she learned Surge Slash back then, her evaluation was that she "only learned the form." And it was also true that she hadn't used Surge Slash in all these years.
But damn it, don't I get to keep any dignity?
She clenched her fists. "You're looking for a beating, aren't you, kid?"
Altaïr hid slightly behind Karin. "If you don't believe me, why don't you give me the Great Sword and I'll show you?"
"Take it, just take it!" Driven to fits of rage, Haifa slammed the Iron Sword into the snow. "I don't believe for a second that you can actually pull it off after seeing it just once."
Altaïr walked over and picked up the blood-stained Iron Sword.
First, he spent a few moments reminiscing, practicing each move a few times. Occasionally, he would stop to ponder for several seconds, adjusting the finer details.
Once he grew somewhat familiar with each individual move, he began to practice the transitions and switches between them.
The initial stiffness gradually dissolved, the transitions between moves becoming increasingly fluid, and the speed at which Altaïr swung the sword grew faster and faster.
Falling Slash, Vortex Slash, and Rising Slash interspersed with one another. As inertia accumulated, he gradually unleashed a sword speed that ordinary Great Sword users could hardly hope to reach.
The wind from the blade danced wildly, and the surrounding powder snow was swept up by the Great Sword, wrapping around his body like flowing water as he continued to swing.
"..."
Karin and Haifa, watching from the side, fell into silence.
"His Surge Slash is indeed better than yours," Karin said, pausing briefly before adding, "That's just the truth."
"Shut up!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — LORE SECTION
Some terms and creatures referenced in this story may be unfamiliar to readers new to the Monster Hunter universe. The following entries provide additional context.
SKILLS & TECHNIQUES
Surge Slash — A Great Sword branch style said to originate from the era before the Long Sword and Great Sword fully diverged into separate weapons. Named for the relentless flow of running water, it is divided into three forms and nine moves: Falling Slash (three downward strikes that exploit the falling blade's pressure and ground resistance to build momentum), Vortex Slash (three upward rising strikes that harness upward inertia for a finishing impalement), and Rising Slash (spinning horizontal sweeps that accumulate rotational force across multiple arcs). Rather than relying on a single weighty Charged Slash, Surge Slash chains consecutive strikes to build exponential inertia, with each form's power culminating in a devastating third blow.