At first glance, this Monster called to mind words like "bewitching" and "beautiful."
Its entire body was covered in pearl-white scales that reflected iridescent light beneath the forest's dappled sunlight.
Pink fin membranes fanned from its head, back, and tail, covered in golden patterns that shifted with the changing light, like the feathered raiment of a mythic enchantress, dazzling, magnificent, and brimming with danger.
Whole swaths of trees collapsed beneath the sweeping high-pressure water blade. The attack's range was immense, threatening to engulf Hibiki as he retreated with the Princess.
Isis rolled out of the area covered in slippery foam, then sprinted a few steps to intercept the water blade's sweeping path.
She had only just raised her large shield and had not fully set her footing when the high-pressure water blade swept into her.
"Riiip!"
Amid the sharp screech of a high-speed grinding wheel scraping metal, the defensive stance Isis had hastily raised was nearly broken through. She stumbled backward several steps but could not fully dissipate the force.
On the verge of falling, Isis gritted her teeth and raised her Gunlance, planting the weapon's spear-like tail against the ground to shed the force, finally managing to stabilize herself before she completely lost her balance.
Her gaze swept over the large shield in her hands.
A white score mark ran across the shield's face. Even Wyvern's Fire would struggle to leave such a distinct mark on this large shield.
"It's Mizutsune!" Nymera shouted as she ran in the opposite direction from the Princess's retreat, firing shots to divert the Monster's attention.
"It's extremely agile! Its tail attacks hit hard! Watch out for the bubbles!"
"Understood!" Isis moved her right arm, easing the soreness from taking the breath attack.
They had no desire to fight this Monster, let alone Hunt it.
But the opponent had already shown immense aggression. They had to find a way to keep this creature occupied first, giving Hibiki time to escape safely with the Princess.
Isis let out a fierce roar and charged straight at the bewitching Monster crawling out of the water.
Nymera also locked onto the target's head and fired continuously, providing covering fire for her comrade.
"Oouuwaarr!" Scorched by the Flaming Ammo, the Mizutsune, having just finished its water-blade breath attack, let out a howl and turned its head to evade the shots.
The reaction surprised Nymera.
Back in Kamura, Mizutsune was not a particularly rare Monster. Though she had never Hunted one personally, she had some understanding of the species.
Fire Element attacks should be effective, but they were not exactly Mizutsune's weakness. If she remembered correctly, its true elemental weaknesses should be Thunder Element and Dragon Element.
Why, then, was the target's reaction so pronounced before she had even finished a single magazine? Was this individual exceptionally afraid of fire?
While Nymera was suppressing the target with firepower, Isis also managed to close in on the Mizutsune.
Without slowing, she swept her shield aside and, carrying the momentum of her charge, swung that Gunlance, massive as a Great Sword, forward in a cleaving blow.
Sensing danger, the Mizutsune pulled its head back at the very last moment. The strike hit only air, the broad blade of the Glavenus Gunlance smashing into the ground and erupting in a burst of light.
But Isis's attack did not end there. She twisted her body, driving power from her back and legs, forcibly wrenching the Gunlance from the earth and carrying the motion into an upward Rising Slash.
This blow the Mizutsune could not avoid. The dark crimson blade sliced across its slender lower jaw, and the explosive flames that followed licked at its face.
These flames might not have been able to cause it serious harm directly, but they successfully burned away the large patch of foam covering the side of its face.
It revealed a hideous wound beneath, a mess of claw marks and mangled flesh.
Isis froze for a brief moment. She had noticed earlier that parts of this Mizutsune's face were covered in foam, but she had not thought much of it.
After all, at least a third of its body was coated in foam; a little on the face was nothing unusual.
Only now did she realize this Mizutsune had unhealed injuries. The foam on its face was probably being used to treat its wounds, much like bandages for humans.
"Its left eye is injured! Even if it isn't blind, its vision is compromised!" Isis immediately shouted, sharing the information with her companion.
The confusion in Nymera's eyes dissolved into sudden understanding.
No wonder it reacted so sharply to incoming attacks; if it had an old injury, that was not surprising at all.
Without needing further discussion, Isis and Nymera instantly adjusted their tactical strategy.
Isis slid and side-hopped toward the Mizutsune's left front, launching a continuous offensive from that position.
Nymera sprinted at full speed, rapidly closing in on the Mizutsune's flank, then fired a Wirebug into the air. Pulled by the Ironsilk, she performed a Fanning Vault over its back, landing on its left rear.
For this visually impaired Mizutsune, that spot was a blind spot. Unless it twisted its head a full one-eighty, it could not see her at all.
The Mizutsune clearly had not anticipated that while nursing its wounds in the pool, casually ambushing a few "small animals" for a meal would prove so troublesome.
Facing fierce attacks from both Hunters, the Mizutsune's supple body contracted, then it leaped sharply backward.
Aided by the viscous slime coating its entire body, it slithered backward like a nimble snake, retreating in a flash and leaving a large slick of water on the ground in front of it.
For a Gunlance user burdened by heavy movement, this kind of agile enemy was the most vexing.
Once the enemy gained distance, closing in again was extremely difficult, and the slippery foam left on the ground made pursuit even harder.
Unwilling to let her opponent escape her attack range so easily, Isis emulated the move she had seen Altaïr perform earlier. As the Mizutsune swiftly slid back, she raised her hand and fired the Clutch Claw.
The sharp hook of refined steel bit precisely into the scales of the Mizutsune's face. As the powerful mechanical winch retracted the cable, Isis was pulled off her feet and launched toward the retreating monster.
"Watch out!" Nymera shouted nervously.
Isis's strategy of using the Clutch Claw to pursue was effective against most Monsters, but the Mizutsune was an exception.
As its body swayed and retreated, the viscous slime secreted across its entire form was worked by its fin membranes and mane into giant bubbles, some over a meter or even two meters in diameter.
Pulled in close pursuit by the Clutch Claw, Isis had nowhere to dodge in midair. She only had time to position her large shield in front of her before slamming headfirst into those transparent bubbles.
Pop! Pop!
The soft sounds of bursting bubbles rang out in succession.
Bracing herself for a heavy blow, Isis was surprised to find that she was not injured at all.
Those bubbles seemed to be... just bubbles.
Just as relief washed over her and she thought she had narrowly escaped danger, an unexpected mishap occurred.
Having climbed onto the Mizutsune's face with the Clutch Claw's help, Isis reached out with her fingers to find a firm grip, but her hands slipped immediately, sending her tumbling straight off the Mizutsune's head.
The Clutch Claw, however, remained firmly hooked onto the Mizutsune's head, leaving her dangling against the side of its face.
The Mizutsune itself could not quite grasp how this "little creature" had flown directly onto its face, but its reaction was far from slow. It simply turned its head and bit down.
Seeing the enormous, fang-lined maw about to swallow her whole, Isis frantically pulled the trigger mechanism to release the Clutch Claw. With her sole support gone, she immediately crashed to the ground as the Mizutsune's bite snapped shut on empty air.
Landing on the ground, Isis hurriedly tried to scramble up, but halfway to her feet, she slipped and fell again.
Unlike the first time, when she had merely stepped on a small amount of slime, she had now crashed through several bubbles in succession. Her entire body was drenched in slime, so much so that even the steel anti-slip cleats on the soles of her battle boots were rendered useless.
Isis's attempts to stand failed one after another. The sight of her flailing and slipping around was utterly comical, yet neither she nor Nymera could manage a laugh now.
Seeing the Mizutsune lower its head and lunge to bite her, Isis had a sudden flash of inspiration. She abandoned the effort to stand, instead lying flat on her back, leveling her Gunlance and firing a shell.
BOOM!
At this near point-blank range, the shrapnel from the Wide-type shell scattered bursts of sparks across the Mizutsune's face.
The recoil from the shelling, combined with the slick slime coating her and the ground, sent Isis sliding two or three meters backward, narrowly evading the Mizutsune's downward bite.
The Mizutsune refused to give up such an opportunity. Tilting its head and grimacing through the pain of Nymera's sustained fire from range, it continued its relentless snapping pursuit.
"Then have a taste of this!"
Lying propped up on the ground, Isis gritted her teeth, raised her Gunlance, and pulled the trigger decisively.
A blazing glow of energy gathered within the muzzle. At the very instant the monster's maw descended to consume her, a searing blast of explosive flames erupted forth.
"Wyvern's Fire!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)