Logan had barely exerted any effort before the Flame Rathalos, engulfed in a burst of erupting flame, fell limply and crashed onto the scorched ground.
Logan dove down, landing with both claws on the Flame Rathalos' long neck, pinning it back into the ground as it tried to rise.
The Flash Fire trait flared to life with overwhelming force. The so-called inextinguishable flames covering the Flame Rathalos' body seemed to be drawn in, flowing along Logan's claws and being absorbed into his body.
Gradually, the Flame Rathalos stopped struggling, closed its eyes, and lay flat on the ground, letting Logan drain its fire energy.
One minute. Two minutes.
The flames cloaking the Flame Rathalos began to wane. Its crimson-red form once again became visible. The once-vigorous fire was now squeezed dry, leaving only a few flickering embers clinging to its scales like dying candles in the wind.
Meanwhile, the orange-red glow at the core of the flames on Logan's body began to expand. The bluish-purple hue gradually faded.
The metallic sheen on his scales disappeared, submerged beneath the growing red.
In the forest, the ambient temperature began to drop. Dark clouds gathered above, and deep rumbles of thunder echoed through the sky.
At that moment, the Fire Wyverns that had fled earlier returned. But upon seeing Logan standing atop the Flame Rathalos, they went berserk and charged.
Even with the Ancient Tree's Fire Wyverns blocking their way, several still broke through, flying straight toward Logan.
Just then, the Flame Rathalos, who had kept its eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened them—and let out a long, echoing roar.
A command to withdraw.
The Flame Rathalos was actually driving away the reinforcements that had come to help.
Several of the Fire Wyverns halted abruptly midair, clearly confused. Panic flashed across their eyes as they looked at one another, uncertain what to do.
The Flame Rathalos ignored them. Instead, it slowly turned its gaze toward Logan—its eyes filled with something Logan couldn't quite understand. Joy?
"Wu~"
A soft whimper of submission caught Logan off guard. After a moment of thought, he chose to release his claws and beat his wings, hovering low above the Flame Rathalos.
The Flame Rathalos struggled to its feet, the dying embers on its body seeming ready to vanish at any moment—yet it drew them back into itself.
It shifted its body, sensing a lightness it hadn't felt in many years. The once-violent fire energy within had grown tame, no longer surging to the brim, no longer threatening to erupt at any moment.
The Flame Rathalos tilted its head back and let out a long, liberating roar.
At the sound of that roar, the Fire Wyverns that had been fighting the Ancient Tree Fire Wyverns all stopped their attacks and descended to the ground.
Watching Logan spread his wings high above, the Flame Rathalos cast a glance of envy toward the flames coiled tightly around him—flames that showed no sign of overflowing—and then folded its wings, pressed its jaw to the still-scorching ground, and let out a deep, resonant hum from its nostrils.
All the Fire Wyverns from the Old World stared at the Flame Rathalos in disbelief. That posture—among Fire Wyverns—was a sign of submission, of yielding.
Put simply, the Flame Rathalos had been utterly subdued by Logan.
Their leader had bowed.
Witnessing this, many of the Old World Fire Wyverns quickly took to the sky, crying out in anguish as they flew away from this hunting ground.
They couldn't accept it—and so they chose to leave.
As for those that remained, after a moment of hesitation and struggle, they too chose to lower themselves and mirror the Flame Rathalos' actions.
Above them, the Ancient Tree Fire Wyverns soared in circles through the sky, roaring and bellowing in celebration of their final victory.
The flames on Logan's body slowly faded out. He looked toward the five tempered Fire Wyverns still circling nearby, curious to see how they would handle the Fire Wyverns who no longer resisted—only to find, in their eyes, not judgment, but fear… and awe.
Those eyes reminded Logan of the looks the ordinary Fire Wyverns once gave when the Black Flame King appeared.
What's more, Logan noticed that although those five tempered Fire Wyverns were still circling in the air, they hovered just slightly lower than him.
Among Fire Wyverns, strength was everything.
Logan's display just now hadn't only subdued the Flame Rathalos—it had won over the Ancient Tree Fire Wyverns as well.
If not for the fact that Fire Wyverns lacked a strong sense of hierarchy, Logan might well have been crowned King of the Ancient Tree Fire Wyverns on the spot.
The reason those five male Fire Wyverns had remained silent was precisely because Logan now held the highest status among them. Until he spoke, none of the tempered Fire Wyverns would make a move.
Understanding this, Logan looked down at the Old World Fire Wyverns still on the ground with wings tucked in. After a moment of thought, he used the Fire Wyvern tongue to explain the rules of the New World Fire Wyverns, then followed with a final order of expulsion.
He didn't concern himself with the rest of the Ancient Forest, but within the Ancient Tree's domain, all Fire Wyvern hunting grounds were shared territory. These Old World Fire Wyverns were to be driven out of this area.
Whether they might one day return like the New World Fire Wyverns, abide by the Ancient Tree's rules, and even take up residence in the upper levels of the Ancient Tree—that was no longer Logan's concern.
The Fire Wyvern rules of the Ancient Tree were also the ecological rules of the New World.
Adapt to the ecosystem, or be eliminated by it. That was the choice these Old World Fire Wyverns now faced.
Upon receiving the order, the Old World Fire Wyverns took off in dejection, scattering through the forest in family units.
All except the Flame Rathalos.
For some inexplicable reason, it didn't leave.
Instead, it trailed Logan from a distance, following him and the others to the hunting zones where battles still raged—and without Logan even needing to act, it took the initiative to deliver his commands.
It was acting like a proper guide.
In the end, the triumphant Ancient Tree male Fire Wyverns returned to the Ancient Tree, reuniting with the female Fire Wyverns who had been on edge the entire time, guarding the nests.
And that Flame Rathalos—shameless as ever—followed them back. Under a mix of puzzled and resigned stares, it chose to build its nest at the same elevation as Logan.
As for the formal procedures required to settle in the Ancient Tree? With strength like that—having forced a tempered Fire Wyvern to call for backup—no one in their right mind would dare challenge it.
...
The Flame Rathalos had never imagined that life could one day be this comfortable.
No longer did it have to worry about whether the other Fire Wyverns that came with it to this new land had managed to gain a foothold.
No longer did it have to fly around every day like it was patrolling its territory, rushing to aid others.
No longer did it have to constantly strain itself to suppress the energy within its body.
And no longer did it have to sleep on cliff edges for fear of its flames leaking out.
Originally, the Flame Rathalos had thought that once the Fire Wyverns from the Old World had successfully settled on this land, it would, just like in the Old World, head to the volcanic lava regions to make its home.
But to its surprise, it had somehow ended up living in a forest again—within its lifetime, no less.
Though it had been thoroughly beaten up, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The excess fire energy within its body had drained away, leaving only what it could perfectly control, with not a trace of leakage.
Such a life... back then, it wouldn't have even dared to dream of it.
Now, lying in a crude and misshapen nest, feeling the softness it hadn't experienced in ages, breathing air without the stench of magma—for the first time since its physical mutation all those years ago, it was enjoying life.
But its presence was still a little awkward for the native inhabitants of the Ancient Tree.
Its triple-wing-bone structure stood out starkly among the Fire Wyverns of the New World.
It didn't even know how to do something as simple as building a nest.
And even after living on the Ancient Tree for many days, it still outright rejected the cautious, tentative services offered by the cats.
This was nothing short of a challenge to the new rules of the upper levels of the Ancient Tree!
At this point, the number of cats had grown enough that they now served nearly half of the Fire Wyvern households on the upper levels. The Flame Rathalos had chosen to nest in the middle-upper tier, yet even after so many days, it still refused the cats' service.
What was it trying to do?
Even that Tempered Rathalos, the one that had originally chased cats relentlessly, only lasted a week after relocating before it fully gave in.
Throughout the upper levels of the Ancient Tree, every so often a Fire Wyvern family from the lower levels would challenge a higher-tier family, all for the chance to enjoy the benefits of symbiosis.
So now, with the Flame Rathalos having lived here for nearly half a month and still behaving like this—was it planning to challenge the entire new ecosystem of the Ancient Tree?
Under such circumstances, its presence naturally felt out of place.
But honestly, it wasn't entirely the Flame Rathalos's fault. Just like with humans, a monster's childhood experiences often shaped its entire life. Take the Astalos, for example.
Its brutality might be partly due to its nature—but more so, it stemmed from growing up without the protection of its parents, forced to survive by becoming stronger, fiercer, more vicious.
If Logan hadn't been taken in by Aki back then, the one living on the Ancient Tree now might very well be a cold-blooded, ferocious aberration.
The same went for the Flame Rathalos. The unquenchable flame within it gave not only greater power—it also led it to forget things on a very fundamental level, like how to build a nest.
Then there was the loneliness—its struggle to find others of its kind, to find a mate. For Fire Wyverns, whose sense of family ran deep, that was a form of torment.
And so, it simply needed more time to adjust to its new life.
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