"Headed straight toward that Shen Gaoren?"
Altaïr turned his head. The fog lingering around them muddled his sense of direction, so he pulled out a compass to confirm Guren's heading... no, perhaps they should call it the Teppeki Shen Gaoren now.
As the Professor had said, the massive creature, now dark blue-black, had already turned southeast and was heading straight toward another Shen Gaoren dozens of kilometers away.
The Professor had been right to call off the luring operation. There was no longer any need for it.
"But isn't that good news? We don't have to do anything. The two Shen Gaoren will run into each other on their own," Isis said, puzzled.
"At this point, it may not be good news." Anxiety creased the elderly Professor's brow. "The Teppeki Shen Gaoren's behavior is highly unusual.
"Since it sensed one of its own kind, why didn't it approach immediately? Why did it come to the coast first?
"If it only wanted to cool itself down, could the timing really be this perfect? Or is this some kind of preparation?"
"Maybe it's worried that it's too hot and might hurt its kin, so it came for a cool swim first?" Isis suggested.
"I doubt the reason is so gentle. But if it isn't about mating, what else could it be? Could it lead to even worse consequences...?"
"Professor, we've been cautious enough." Altaïr waited until the Professor had finished before continuing. "Aside from the Small Monsters Isis hunted earlier, we've spent the past few days in the volcano tracking and observing without taking any substantial action.
"Granted, we each landed two blows just now, but the target didn't even realize it was under attack.
"What I'm saying isn't that I want us to act more proactively or aggressively. It's that, so far, we haven't influenced either Shen Gaoren's behavior in any way.
"Whether we came to the volcano or not, they would still have approached each other.
"If something unexpected does happen, like the two Shen Gaoren joining forces to attack Manti Town, as Nymera suggested, we'll adapt to the situation.
"You don't need to start worrying now or shoulder the entire burden yourself."
"Exactly! Worrying now won't accomplish anything. We might as well wait and see what happens. If something bad does happen, leave it to us!" Isis chimed in, patting her breastplate.
The Professor's expression shifted. After several seconds, he gave a wry smile and shook his head. "I really am getting old. Now I need you youngsters to remind me of something so simple."
He looked up at the two of them. "Hold on to that outlook. You may not realize it, but it's precisely the mindset best suited to High Rank Hunters.
"Maintain your reverence for nature. Don't place too much faith in your own strength, try to control everything, or assume that all creation will bend to your will.
"But when a crisis truly arises, you must also have the courage to step forward and the confidence to avert tragedy."
After saying this, the elderly Wyverian seemed to relax considerably, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Let's follow them and see what happens."
Neither Hunters nor scholars could understand how two Shen Gaoren could pinpoint each other's locations from dozens of kilometers away.
Yet the two were indeed heading straight toward each other.
By timing the Teppeki Shen Gaoren's gait cycle, the Professor further determined that the creature was steadily accelerating.
When only a few kilometers remained between them, Altaïr spotted a Cohoot circling overhead.
That meant the tracking team was close by as well.
After a moment's thought, Altaïr sent Sajji and Hakucho into the air to meet Nymera and the others. Soon afterward, the two teams reunited before the two Shen Gaoren met.
They quickly brought each other up to date.
During the time they had been apart, nothing of note had happened to the tracking team or the base-species Shen Gaoren.
No powerful creatures in the volcano's core area had attacked them, and the base-species Shen Gaoren had done nothing unusual. It had simply continued its steady, unhurried march.
The only thing that could even be called a "change" was that the base-species Shen Gaoren had also quickened its pace during the final leg of the journey.
This was exactly what the Professor had expected.
Both the larger base-species Shen Gaoren and the rare Teppeki Shen Gaoren seemed impatient to see each other.
"You're saying that's a Teppeki Shen Gaoren? One that's only ever been sighted twice before?"
Of everyone present, Erik was undoubtedly the most excited.
Just the thought that an exceptionally rare individual of the species was on its way and might mate with another base-species Shen Gaoren made him tremble with excitement.
Not only could this solve the mystery behind the Teppeki Shen Gaoren's appearance, it might also unravel a puzzle that had long plagued scholars: how Shen Gaoren mated and reproduced.
He could barely keep himself from cheering aloud.
"H-how... how much longer until they meet?" he asked with a slight tremble as he rummaged through his pack.
The Professor considered this before replying, "At their current speed, about forty-five minutes. They should meet within sight of our present position."
"Excellent! Altaïr, Morgan, thank you!" Erik pulled a bundle wrapped in waterproof cloth from his pack.
"What?" Morgan had no idea why Erik was suddenly thanking them.
"Thank you for not letting me approach the Shen Gaoren earlier! Otherwise, I would've used up all my portable camera film by now!" Erik unwrapped the waterproof cloth, revealing the portable camera inside.
"Now I'm going to use every last bit of film on those two Shen Gaoren mating! I'll hang the photos beside my bed!"
"..."
Altaïr decided to ignore him and turned to his companions. "Prepare for battle. We still don't know what will happen when they meet, so let's prepare for the worst."
The Hunters nodded, settled down wherever they could, checked their equipment and items, ate, and rested.
The entire two-day, two-night pursuit seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye, yet these final few dozen minutes dragged on endlessly.
Heavy footfalls rumbled in the distance, all but indistinguishable from an earthquake.
The massive silhouette of the base-species Shen Gaoren appeared at the end of the mountain path.
Almost simultaneously, the Teppeki Shen Gaoren, its shell dark blue-black, rounded a rocky mountain wall and came into view.
They approached each other step by step.
The group did not dare get too close. They watched from atop a low cliff some two to three hundred meters from the anticipated "meeting point."
Erik slung the portable camera against his chest and held a stopwatch in one hand. His face, gray with volcanic ash, brimmed with excitement.
"Listen! Their footfalls are beginning to overlap and synchronize! They're matching their steps! It's like they're ballroom dancing!
"They're speeding up! This gait cycle is almost a full second faster than the last! They're sprinting toward each other!"
Isis looked from the still-plodding base-species Shen Gaoren to the equally unhurried Teppeki Shen Gaoren, utterly baffled. "Are you serious? How am I supposed to see them running?"
Sajji curled his lip. "A gait cycle is sixteen steps. It takes all sixteen just to shave off less than a second. There's no way you can see that, meow..."
"Keep it down," Altaïr said helplessly, silencing the chatterboxes. "Everyone, put on your Ghillie Mantles and hide.
"Don't let them realize we're nearby. There's no telling what might happen."
The group crouched low atop the cliff and watched the two mountain-sized Carapaceons slowly draw closer.
"It's starting, it's starting!" Isis's eyes sparkled as she muttered under her breath.
She was a young girl, after all, and she liked the same romantic stories as plenty of other girls. She simply had little time or opportunity to read them.
Starved for that kind of "nourishment," watching two supergiant crabs forty to fifty meters tall fall in love was not a bad substitute. Once fewer than fifty meters remained between them, practically face-to-face given their size, the base-species Shen Gaoren and the Teppeki Shen Gaoren stopped at the same time.
"Crack... crack..."
A strange sound rang out. The giant dragon skull on the base-species Shen Gaoren's back slowly opened. As it did, the creature turned around, exposing the soft, vulnerable abdomen beneath the skull's protection and a massive gland several meters in diameter.
"Could that be the Shen Gaoren's reproductive gland?!" Erik excitedly pressed the shutter.
The Professor's pupils abruptly contracted. "No! That's–"
As the words left his mouth, the base-species Shen Gaoren's abdomen contracted violently. Several masses of foul, viscous green fluid erupted from its abdominal gland and hurtled toward the Teppeki Shen Gaoren directly in front of it.
At the same time, the Teppeki Shen Gaoren's body began glowing red with intense heat.
It gave a soundless shriek and swung its massive pincer, black with a red glow, at its kin with undisguised malice.
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5 bonus chaps for every 100powerstones