"What is happening?!" Erin's voice was hushed, but the panic in her tone was clear to everyone.
She skillfully ducked behind a thick tree, using the gnarled, exposed roots as cover. Her body was pressed tight against the bark; she peeked out briefly before snapping her head back, her eyes straining to find a sense of direction through the drifting crystalline mist.
These exposed roots had become like new trees themselves. Each one was as thick as a grown man's waist—well, a man's waist—and coated in a thin shell of Bio-crystals. They emitted a faint blue glow in the fog, casting a cold hue over half of Erin's face. Her fingers dug deep into the crevices of the bark, her knuckles white.
In this world, the unexpected was always the leading cause of death.
On the other side, Sophia mirrored her movements, shrinking behind a protruding root system. She pressed her back against the trunk and forced her breathing to remain shallow.
As an Editor, the first rule upon encountering danger in the field was always to ensure one's own safety. Only then could they use their vast knowledge to support a Hunter's battle by identifying monster weaknesses. It wasn't cowardice; it was the protocol—the prerequisite that allowed a Hunter to fight without restraint. Sophia understood this, yet her heart was still hammering at an abnormal pace.
"I don't know!" The Leader (Hara) covered his nose and mouth with one hand while waving the other in front of his face, trying to clear the thickening crystal mist. It was futile; the fine crystalline powder merely dispersed slightly under the air current before swirling back together, becoming even denser than before.
"This mist... I can hardly breathe... remind me, once we're back at the base, I have to get the researchers to make a mask. Otherwise, fighting in this forest is impossible!" Hara's voice was muffled and strained behind his hand.
The forest they were currently in was a high-crystallization zone. It was entirely different from the Wildspire Waste or the transition zones they had passed through after leaving the cliff tunnels. While those areas showed signs of Bio-crystal infection, the plants there still retained most of their original form—they were just a different color or had a few crystals on the surface.
But here, it was different.
Every tree, whether towering or small, thick or thin, was encased in a shell of Bio-crystals. Some of the more delicate plants seemed to have solidified into ore entirely; a few still bore the faint texture of bark, but most had transformed into the smooth, hexagonal structures characteristic of crystals.
They had fused completely with the Bio-crystals. It was impossible to tell if the trees had grown into the stones or if the stones had grown into the trees. Even the moss and low shrubs shimmered with a translucent blue luster, crunching softly underfoot.
This meant that once a Large Monster began to fight here, the violent collisions would inevitably shatter countless Bio-crystals. Once broken, they would turn into an extremely fine, light powder that drifted through the air, forming the visible crystal mist.
The three humans and one cat were currently trapped in this dreamlike yet incredibly dangerous fog.
Reduced visibility and blurred sight were headache-inducing enough, but the biggest problem was something even Hunters with less academic knowledge, like Hara and Karl, understood: humans could not breathe air saturated with Bio-crystal powder.
It wasn't just a matter of whether human lungs could handle it. These floating particles carried concentrated Dragon-element energy. One didn't need to consult scholarly journals to imagine the consequences of inhaling it; common sense was enough.
Talk of "Azure Rajangs" was just a joke—at least for now, Hara and Karl had no desire to turn into "Azure-infused humans."
It was predictable that this mist wouldn't dissipate on its own through explosions or the wind through the canopy. Instead, it would only grow thicker as the battle between the monsters continued. The shockwaves from explosions would shatter more crystalline shells while kicking up the powder that had already settled. The concentration would only continue to stack.
Even covering one's mouth and nose was merely psychological comfort at this density; it couldn't stop the particles entirely. This was especially true during combat, where high-intensity physical exertion forced a Hunter to take deep breaths. The muscles' demand for oxygen would override all reason—and that was when it would be most dangerous.
"Let's pull back first," Karl decided, scanning their surroundings. "We need better equipment to—"
"ROAARRR!!!"
A roar suddenly cut him off. It came without warning, sounding so close it felt like it was right behind them. The ground shook, and pebbles tumbled from the crevices in the roots. Hara's expression shifted instantly.
"It's a Deviljho!"
He would never forget the roar of a Deviljho. That savage howl was distinct from other Large Monsters; it didn't sound like it came from a throat, but like a threat rising from the depths of hell. It was because the roar was so close that Hara felt his tension spike.
Before they could get a better look, a dark shadow crashed through the wall of trees. Accompanied by shards of Bio-crystals and snapped branches, it swept toward them like a moving wall. However, this primal, brutal collision wasn't an intentional charge.
As they scrambled to look, they saw a behemoth coming from the direction of the shadow. It had its massive head pinned to the ground, arching forward like a charging bull. Every step made the earth tremble. The tree roots in its path were snapped clean off, creating a continuous sequence of explosive cracks!
"Run!!"
In his desperation, Hara only had time for that one shout. He lunged toward Sophia, using his Hunter's strength to effortlessly scoop her up by the waist. He sprinted toward the cover of distant rocks, kicking up clouds of crystal dust with every stride.
On the other side, Karl reacted almost simultaneously, grabbing Erin and leaping toward a nearby rock wall.
The moment they cleared the area, it collapsed with a thunderous boom. Two Large Monsters had collided head-on exactly where they had been standing. A shallow trench opened in the earth, and the surrounding trees buckled outward from the shockwave, leaving a thick layer of shattered crystal shards behind.
When two Large Monsters entered a state of direct conflict, creatures the size of Hunters weren't even worth their notice. As long as they weren't unlucky enough to be hit by the collateral damage, the group was safe for the moment.
"Here!"
The first thing Sophia did upon landing wasn't to fix her clothes, but to tear at her outer garment. She snatched the canteen from her waist, her movements so practiced they seemed rehearsed. She splashed water onto the torn fabric, gave it a quick wring, and slapped Hara's arm to get his attention while he watched the battlefield.
"Tie this around your face! Tight!"
It was a makeshift filter mask born of desperation. The damp fabric would trap the floating crystal powder. It wasn't sophisticated equipment, but it was enough to reduce the risk of inhalation in the short term.
She didn't stop at one. Sophia moved quickly, reaching Karl and Erin to press the remaining wet cloths into their hands. At the very least, they could temporarily set aside their fears regarding respiratory safety.
In that short span of time, a thin layer of crystal dust had already settled on their hair, armor, and clothes. The hazy mist obscured their vision, leaving only the blurry outlines of two massive figures biting and clawing at each other.
"It's a Bazelgeuse!" Erin shouted, having pulled her goggles down from her forehead to shield her eyes from the powder. She huddled behind a rock and yelled, "An Azure-infused Bazelgeuse!!"
"No! That's not right!" Sophia disagreed.
But the rapidly shifting situation left her no time to explain. They all saw the monster—the one currently goring its head into the fallen Deviljho's underbelly—suddenly snap its thick head upward. In the next second, the dense clusters of blasting scales beneath the Bazelgeuse's neck began to glow. No, they were already glowing, but the brightness had just surged to a terrifying new level!
The scales were still the typical teardrop shape, their silhouette normal, but their color was far from the usual dull silver-gray. Instead, they looked like translucent, crystalline jewels, currently emitting a violent, ghostly blue light.
There was no artwork more lethal than this. It looked as though the Azure Bazelgeuse's neck was encrusted with glowing gemstones.
It was blinding.
Hara instinctively turned his head, shielding his eyes with his forearm.
Once that light reached its peak after a second or two, the explosions began naturally. Ghostly blue flames instantly engulfed the Deviljho's entire body. These weren't ordinary orange-red fires; they were blue flames infused with Bio-energy.
Even the way they burned was different. The fire crawled across the skin, wrapping the Deviljho in a shroud of blue. The monster roared in agony as its massive frame was swallowed by a sea of azure fire, looking like a mountain being consumed by blue lava.
The Azure Bazelgeuse swung its massive, club-like head casually, shaking off the flames and the smoke from the blasts. In that split second, the group clearly saw its silhouette through the fire and mist.
At the same time, Karl and the others felt the gaze of this monster—which looked as though it had countless crystals glowing inside its body—sweep over them. It didn't linger for a moment.
It was truly beautiful.
It was the kind of beauty that even the simplest Hunter could appreciate.
It was as if an infinite source of heat and energy was flowing inside it. That energy leaked outward, illuminating the monster's thick shell from the inside out until every plate of armor became a piece of glowing crystal.
It looked more like a moving crystal mine now. Only the midsection of its body, connecting the head and tail, still resembled a normal monster. While it still emitted light, you could at least see the appearance of flesh and blood there.
"You were right, Sophia. That's no ordinary Bazelgeuse..." Erin muttered, her hand gripping her goggles as she refused to look away for even a second. "That's a... Seething Bazelgeuse—an Azure Seething Bazelgeuse!!"
There was a brief silence. The group, Karl included, didn't even know how to begin lamenting their luck.
The Bazelgeuse was already an apex predator of the New World, a massive powerhouse with terrifying attack capabilities—a battlefield interloper that no Hunter wanted to encounter. The Seething Bazelgeuse was a special variant born from extreme agitation, far more powerful than a standard Bazelgeuse, with even greater energy reserves and a higher frequency and scale of explosions.
But now, even a Seething Bazelgeuse had been completely corrupted by Bio-energy. It wasn't just a monster in an extreme emotional state anymore; it was an entirely new Subspecies.
Every Hunter present knew exactly what this meant for the intensity of the fight without having to engage it themselves.
To make a long story short, everything happened in an instant. Furthermore, the Deviljho wasn't just taking a one-sided beating. Even though it had been gored to the ground by the Azure Seething Bazelgeuse and was being pinned down by that club-like head to prevent it from standing, its counterattack never ceased.
Its thick, rounded tail thrashed wildly, whipping at the Azure Seething Bazelgeuse's legs. The Bazelgeuse was actually affected by these strikes, forced to stumble back a few steps, only remaining upright by using one of its wings as a brace.
It was hard to describe the Deviljho's fighting style. It looked like a giant, vibrating rod—er, well—undulating on the ground from both ends.
Essentially, while it used its tail to whip and counter, its massive maw was constantly trying to snap at the Azure Seething Bazelgeuse. The Deviljho's entire body was writhing, with its head and tail curving toward its opponent like they were competing with each other to land a hit.
A pair of powerful legs pushed desperately against the Azure Seething Bazelgeuse's body, preventing itself from being completely pinned for a point-blank blast. Given the Deviljho's raw strength, the Azure Seething Bazelgeuse really was having a hard time dealing with it.
To be honest, the fight was getting a bit ugly. Before seeing it with their own eyes, who would have thought that the Deviljho—feared by Hunters as the "Greedy Devil King" and seen by many as a true demon—would fight in such a clumsy manner?
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