MHGA Chapter 305: Yankuku… Tastes Amazing
With a hint of gratitude on his face, Kairo Retsu began carving the freshly-fallen Yankuku-sensei before its body had gone cold.
He needed to collect every usable material before leaving. Anything that couldn't be carried had to be disposed of properly to prevent secondary Frenzy Virus infection.
After such a satisfying battle, Kairo felt his entire body refreshed. With cheer in his voice, he called out to Kazuma and the others to help him harvest materials.
Then—
Kairo noticed something odd.
He had overcome the Frenzy Virus.
"As I thought… the Frenzy Virus must be overcome through all-out combat!" Kairo shouted triumphantly, hands on hips as he stood atop Yankuku-sensei's corpse. He gazed up at the endless starlit sky, his face full of satisfaction. "Now I am complete! A fully-realized, Limit-Break Guildmaster—!"
"Get your foot off!! You're in the way of the carving!!" Kazuma swatted at Kairo's leg until he moved it aside.
Meanwhile, Laios was lost in thought, staring at a freshly extracted liver covered in Frenzy Virus that he had just pulled from the Great Jaggi's gut.
He looked up at Kairo, who had just conquered the virus… then back down at the glistening hunk of liver in his hand. He spoke up to the group.
"The liver, cartilage, and skin of a Great Jaggi are all prized delicacies when grilled. So now that this one's in this state… can we still eat it?"
"Probably… not?" Joseph replied while detaching a bundle of scales. "It is infected with the Frenzy Virus…"
"But Kairo already overcame it… and the virus doesn't seem to affect humans as strongly as it does monsters, right?" Laios continued to stare longingly at the big chunk of "liver" in his hand.
"You know…" Kairo's eyes drifted to the liver too. "This is my first hunt of a truly wild monster. And I did just use my grill from the Felyne Meal…"
"Hmm? Can grilling even remove the Frenzy Virus?"
"Probably not. Even monsters that live in volcanoes can get infected."
And just like that, Kairo and Laios began chatting.
"Hey! Why are you two even considering eating that thing?! That's loaded with virus!! No matter how tasty it might be, you can't just eat it!!" Kazuma howled.
"Wanna join us, Kazuma?"
"I would NEVER eat something that dangerous!!!!"
—One hour later—
In the central plaza of the Gathering Hub, Kairo, Joseph, Laios, and Kazuma were all lying in a row on the ground, completely immobilized… as Granny Felyne scolded them sternly.
"Next time, no eating food infected with the Frenzy Virus, okay? Even if you really want to try it, you must bring it back for proper processing first," she lectured, tapping their foreheads with her freshly cleaned giant wooden spoon.
"Yes ma'am—" said Kairo weakly, who had managed to get reinfected just an hour after overcoming the Frenzy Virus. Around them, Palicoes were busily unloading Jaggi materials from their packs.
"Even though we got sick from eating it again…" Laios lay dazed, staring up at the clear sky above the hub. His face was still lost in the afterglow of grilled liver, grilled cartilage, and roasted Jaggi skin.
His sentiment, surprisingly, resonated with the others.
The four most foolish hunters in the guild simply lay on the ground, watching the sky together, sighing contentedly.
"…Grilled Yankuku skewers… were so damn good."
———————————
Roughly two hours after the battle, the area where the fight had taken place was now fully cordoned off by security forces.
Aki Kikuchihara had arrived on site, accompanied by Meteora and Selesia. What they saw in the middle of the field left them stunned—
The thoroughly processed remains of a Great Jaggi.
Even Kikuchihara was left dumbfounded.
She had already heard that a bizarre, non-human monster had appeared, but by the time she arrived with the two creations and her squad, not only had the monster been dealt with—it had even been categorized.
Bones and discarded tissue had been neatly arranged, still steaming faintly—a testament to how fresh the kill was.
In front of each categorized pile of bones and body parts stood small wooden signs. Each was labeled with the part's name and a short description of the Great Jaggi, including virus warnings. A large bag of blue fruits had been placed nearby, marked as "useful in suppressing viral outbreaks."
What annoyed Kikuchihara the most, though…
Was the scent of grilled meat lingering near the Jaggi's corpse—and the nearby remnants of a fire pit that had been recently extinguished.
"…So, Meteora. You think this was done by a Creation?" Kikuchihara asked, rubbing her temples as she addressed Meteora, who was inspecting the remains.
"…This creature doesn't exist in the world of the Creators. You know that better than I do," Meteora replied, shaking her head. "Didn't a local civilian record video footage?"
"About that…" Kikuchihara sighed. "Take a look for yourself."
When the smartphone footage was played, Meteora and Selesia leaned in to watch.
What they saw was a heavy-armored hunter locked in ferocious close-quarters combat with a Great Jaggi using a Great Sword.
After watching the video in silence, Meteora examined the surrounding area again. "It's likely a Creation, yes. At first, I thought the markings here were left by the monster… but comparing them with the video, it's clear they were caused by the hunter."
She then analyzed the damage patterns and extrapolated the hunter's power.
"And did you notice the other individuals captured in the footage?" she added.
"…Yeah." Kikuchihara's face grew grim. "We've confirmed it. They're all characters from those 'stories' that were circulating online."
"Joseph Joestar. Kazuma Satou. Laios Touden… We're lucky, I guess—those characters aren't especially strong within their own narratives." She adjusted her glasses. "But the fact that they—and this 'hunter'—are acting as a unit…"
"Maybe… the Rules of Acceptance are starting to shift in ways we don't yet understand."
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