Heart-Piercing Strike

But what I don't get is...

Based on what you said, they started mining seven years ago, and the person who lead the project was your uncle, the current village headman.

So... why do the tunnels stretch so deep after just seven years? They can't possibly have dug all this themselves.

You're half-correct.

Huh?

The mining tunnels weren't dug by the villagers, they were already here before.

Remember what I said earlier, about the beast outbreak seven years ago?

Yeah, you said it was a real serious one, and that old Kashiwau's son, Akira, was also a hunter... and lost his life in it.

That was a direct consequence of the mining.

Meow!

You good, Scholar?

Bones?!

Yeah, that's a whole lotta bones, plus teeth, and... claws?

They have been dead fur a long time...

Wait, this form... It must have been a large carnivorous creature! This is my furst time seeing one here!

Judging from its remains, it would have been covered in scales and have well-developed forelimbs with long and sharp claws. So it most pawbably was good at digging holes!

An arma-clawbeast.

That's their name. A type of predator that once inhabited this region. They were social creatures that would dig their nests in the mountains.

This mine was actually one of their nests, and they built majestic palaces over the years while tunneling through the surrounding Originium veins.

But we haven't seen a single one down here, or in the forest.

That's because... they disappeared seven years ago.

Disappeared?

Disappeared? Fur real?

The very last trace of their species in this area is the pile of skeletons before you.

How... How exactly did something like that happen?

Back when this Originium mine was newly discovered, Akira Kashiwau was firmly against the project.

He reckoned destroying the arma-clawbeasts' nests would net unpredictable consequences, and that Originium mining itself wasn't exactly safe either.

On the other hand, my uncle and the other villagers believed that they desperately needed the potential profits to change their grueling way of life.

So concealing it from Akira, they and the other hunters banded together to exterminate all the arma-clawbeasts in the region. In order to freely mine the Originium.

But the slaughter resulted in the surviving arma-clawbeasts rampaging through the forest, leading to the beast outbreak that year.

So many innocent lives were lost... just for the sake of opening a mine.

You must have seen my uncle's attitude, yes?

To him, the Rathalos is simply the manifestation of vengeance from all the beasts he's slaughtered. He definitely has dreams about Akira's death on the regular too.

His closest friend, his apprentice, carried out the will of a hunter to the very end... and died for his sake.

And now that Akira's predictions have come true... naturally he's terrified.

Akira died for the headman's sake? I thought he lost his life protecting the village...?

The outbreak wasn't threatening the village, but was closer to the mine.

He was beset by frenzied beasts whose numbers far surpassed any regular outbreak we'd seen.

Oh, we're here.

Chikushou-me.

It's surrounded by a bunch of Originium rocks.

Since you didn't want to deal with it right now, take care not to get too close.

If we accidentally anger it, we'll be in deep trouble.

Got it. Scholar... where you at?

The Rathalos... seems to be using the Originium fur its lair.

This is impawssible to comprehend...

It looks like... it's in a lot of pain. Is it because of the Originium on it?

Most pawbably, and there seems to be substantially more particles compurred to our previous encounter.

Right now it's more or less an oversized source of pollution spreading Originium dust wherever it goes.

My hypawthesis is that... the Rathalos most pawbably was just trying to survive, and ended up nesting here.

But being deep in the mines, it's constantly exposed to Originium.

When it returns to the forest to feed, the flames it spews while hunting will in turn trigger the clusters on its body, dispersing purrticles everywhere.

So it's a victim of Originium too.

Must you hunt it, Noir Corne?

The Originium is too much of a danger to leave alone, and considering the safety of both the village and ourselves, hunting it is the best way of handling the situation.

But if we can deal with just the clusters... I just need a little more time! I'll bring out my binoculars...

What else could there be...

Mrow? Those tracks are...

Scholar, come quick! You're too far out, the ground's too unstable over there!

Mrow?

Meow!

Haha... caught ya.

Mrow.. I was so afuraid!

Noir Corne! Why didn't mew warn me earlier?

Did mew see that?

Uh-huh.

The bignawculars just bounced off the Rathalos's head.

Ah.

Sparks are coming out of its jaws.

Just run already! The mine is gonna be destroyed!

Run fur it!

I'm running!

If it triggers all the Originium here, the anomalies are definitely going to spike, and then...

It'll be a Catastrophe!

Nghh... hah... hah...

They're dodging my slashes so easily.

How foolish. You clearly lack a hunter's intuition. Their weak point is the soft patch of skin in their jaws.

Stab straight in, so you can slit the throat.

...Got it.

(Sixfold Slash!)

A hit! Ah...

Have a taste of this, kono yarou!

Aghh—

We did it!

Be careful of the rear, mew two!

Nanja korya?!

(Twofold Slash!)

Hmph...

You're welcome.

Are my hands... losing their strength?

On my way to a certain village, I heard tales of an endless stream of dragons, but to... purrsonally witness a similar event.

The beast outbreak is showing no signs of abating. If we remain trapped here, we'll eventually collapse from exhaustion. We have to find a way out.

If we can make our way to those tall trees over there, we can make use of the canopy's height to avoid the rampage.

I have an idea.

What's this?

This is the powder I used to trigger the hornbeasts earlier, in hopes of luring out the Rathalos. But I used too much and lost control of the herd.

Using it on people is unheard of, and probably suicidal. But right now.... this might be our only method of drawing them away.

But that means...

Yes, whoever is affected by it will be beset by the entire horde... But as long as we can make our way through, it will be worth it... Probably...

No... Artisan, do you still have that rope from earlier?

Yes! I made so meowch of it!

Good... it's long and tough enough to support the weight of multiple people. If we tie it to the tree, we can use it as a makeshift grappling hook to retrieve whoever's acting as bait.

Which will be me, so if you would...

No, I must be the bait.

I won't allow it. It's too dangerous to let you get surrounded by the horde again. If you sacrifice yourself here, wouldn't that make my efforts to save you meaningless?

I don't know if I'd be able to rescue you with these old hands of mine, but I can at least make sure not to croak before you rescue me.

I have faith in you, girl.

...Fine, let's do this.

Come, you dastards! Over here!

Yes, just like that! Chase me like the lunatics you are!

Now's my chance!

(Flurry Rush!)

Hrrh—haah!

It worked... purrfectly!

Deploy the grappling hook immediately, I'll go retrieve Kashiwau!

These beasts just charge straight at me with wild abandon.

We really lured them away...I can't believe it.

There's simply so many of them...

That day... that day seven years ago, was also like this...

Brat... Is this how you felt, that night? Did you... die to something like this?

Was this... what you saw in your final moments?

Surrounded by these beasts, encircled by their jaws, drowning in their saliva.

You must have been slaying them one after another with this spear, just like this.

But no matter how many you killed, there were always more of these damnable beasts, wave after relentless wave.

Ngh—Agh! Begone!

Kuso! They saw you as a mere slab of meat to be divided between themselves, no longer among the living.

And knowing you, brat, you probably just kept your mouth shut, rather than calling for help.

Simply brandishing this lance till your strength failed you, till you could wield it no longer.

Collapsing on some rocks, slowly falling to your knees... Yet the beasts never ceased their advance!

Ah... so that's how it was.

Kashiwau, grab my hand!

What are you blanking out for?! Quickly!

Got you!

Palico, pull the rope!

Finally...

Not yet, your meowjesty... The branches over there have broken...

......

Meowny more beasts rush over as we speak!

Chikushou, is there anything else we can do?

Your meowjesty, look! The beasts are scattering all of a sudden!

Mrow... A noise from the sky.

The Rathalos soars through the sky! And that's...

Nantekotta...

A Catastrophe...

Jump down! Brace for impact!

Is everyone alright?

I'm fine.

I'm... purrfectly fine as well.

The sky is alight... Pillars of crimson flame... Kuso, what a truly terrifying sight.

...I've read about a similar case on the landship before.

A hurricane unleashed by a Catastrophe encircled a mountain on fire, becoming a ferocious firestorm.

As it moves, the vortex pulls from its surroundings. And with everything combustible in this forest... I can't imagine the consequences.

Why... Why did the Catastrophe strike so soon?

The center of the firestorm... it's near the mine.

The mine?!

—!

Taste my blade!

Hey! So this is where you guys were. See, Scholar? Just like I said...

That's enough yapping, Noir Corne. I expect a full report soon.

Aight.

...Old Kashiwau? What are you doing here?

I could ask you the same thing, Mirai.

You can hardly call this fortunate, but at least we managed to escape the horde thanks to the Catastrophe.

I don't know what the situation in the village is right now, but the core of the Catastrophe is still quite a ways away and moving fairly slowly. However, that's not the case with the beast outbreak.

Any ideas on how to return to the village as soon as possible?

Ah, if that's still nearby... Maybe we can use it to descend the mountain quickly!

It has not been used for a long time. I can't be sure if it still works.

So, uh, planning on letting the rest of us in on this?

There's a railcar. We used it a lot when the mines were just opening, and it made things real convenient, but after the cave was repaired we more or less abandoned it.

Don't worry, it should still work fine. It was the very first thing I designed, after all.

Weren't you an ecologist? I'm not sure I should trust your skills as a railcar engineer...

Kashiwau, our next battle won't be any easier, so I hope you're prepared.

I don't suppose you'd let this old man loaf about for once?

Please, by all means. I fully intend to respect your opinion.

Oh?

I'm aware that I tend to ignore the ideas of those around me and insist on doing things my way. And that this is a behavior I should correct.

The mistakes I've made were precisely because of that, and I should also apologize for what I said earlier.

I'm sorry for my unproductive words, without knowing anything about your background. I did not intend to hurt you.

Hm...

So will you accept my apology?

Fine... if it pleases you.

Good, then that's settled.

Girl...

Earlier you said you understood me... what did you mean by that?

Ah, that... It's a bit of a long story.

If it's a bother, just pretend I didn't ask.

No, I don't mind. You see, before joining Rhodes Island, I was an assassin.

Nani?

A literal killer, acting on orders to take the lives of my people, day and night.

Until one day, I looked at my bloodstained hands and felt nothing but fear in my heart. The next day, I was tasked to dispose of a mother and daughter, but chose to protect them instead.

Because I didn't want to be a killer anymore. That was also the day I met Noir Corne, who listened to my story and chose the same path.

......

But I'd made a mistake. It wasn't just a matter of refusing to kill.

The pair I saved were so frightened of me that I could only leave them in a safe place. And while in the moment I felt only the weightless relief of not taking a life, I had forgotten something important...

That the only end awaiting them was to be killed by someone else.

Do you... regret it?

Yes. For a long time after that, I... often dreamt of them. They would ask me why I had left them to die.

I didn't want to hurt innocents anymore, but I still ended up indirectly cutting their lives short.

...I used to wonder if I was even capable of protecting anyone at all.

Luckily, I had help... Thanks to him, I made my decision.

You mean the boy over there?

Yes.

Heh.

He scolded me—a rare occurrence—and said...

'The past is the past... All your remorse, all the sins you carry, make up for them with your future.'

I took him for just an oddball, but I suppose he's got a proper head on after all.

What he said seemed right to me, and since then I haven't given it much thought.

We decided to make it our mission to protect others, and he dragged me along to join Rhodes Island. And because of our similar objectives, we're still working together even now.

This must be some company, to hiring on people like you.

So protecting others is your way of atoning for your past?

You might say it started like that, but I've had a few additional insights along the way.

I've seen too much life and death. There are many reasons people might surrender their lives, and some even seek death out of ignorance.

You could say I stubbornly impose my will on others, but only because of my duty to protect your lives.

Life in this land is not meant to end so easily, but to be lived and experience all its possibilities.

So I will continue my efforts.

I don't want to regret anything, or to see people forced to gaze only at ruins.

So I refuse to leave you alone.

Yato! Kashiwau! We found the railcar and it's still working!

Hey, what're you both looking at me like that for? Is there something on my mask?

It's nothing. We'll be right over.

Anyway, I look forward to cooperating with you in the upcoming battle, Kashiwau.

(Holds out hand)

...No.

I've told you this so many times already, that's my quarry.

You need only watch from the sidelines and applaud my brilliance.

I'll just pretend I didn't hear that.

......

The path you've chosen is not an easy one.

All I can do is wish you the best.

Likewise.