The cloth-masked Meowcenaries Felynes labored to carve up the Zinogre's corpse, collecting the heart and other tissues where the virus was concentrated. The Felynes wrapped the samples in oilcloth, secured them to the Palamutes' backs, and sent the Palamutes to carry them back.
Altaïr had originally planned to return to Kamura Village as soon as the Hunt ended, but now he found himself in a bind.
According to the scholars, the Frenzy Virus spread primarily by two routes. Shagaru Magala and Gore Magala could disperse it directly through their scale dust, while infected creatures could transmit it through their blood.
That was why creatures infected with the Frenzy Virus often became extraordinarily aggressive and lost all reason. Even a Kulu-Ya-Ku, a Monster known for its cowardice, might charge a Rathalos alone after becoming infected.
The Rathalos could easily kill the Kulu-Ya-Ku, but biting it to death might also infect the Rathalos through the tainted blood it swallowed.
The same applied to herbivores. Infection made them much more likely to be preyed upon, further increasing the virus's transmission rate.
Humans were no exception.
Altaïr could feel an inexplicable restlessness hanging over him, stirring an urge deep inside him to go and cut something else down.
For now, reason still allowed him to control his actions, but he could not be sure how long that would last.
Under the Frenzy Virus Research Institute's infection-severity scale, these were unquestionably signs of moderate infection, perhaps already bordering on severe.
Normally, progressing from initial exposure to this stage took at least several days and sometimes more than a week. In his case, that process had been drastically compressed.
Although several outbreak zones had appeared across Kamura, the area immediately surrounding Kamura Village remained uncontaminated.
What if he returned, lost control, grabbed a villager, and took a bite?
All right, the chance of that actually happening was very low. Even so, entering the village while contaminated with the virus would be enough to frighten the villagers and make them shun him. He had no desire to invite that kind of trouble.
With nowhere else to go for the moment, Altaïr had no choice but to take Sajji and Hibiki back to camp.
Seeing Hibiki so listless, Altaïr reached out and scratched his chin. "Sorry about this. I can't exactly go straight back to the village in this state.
"And I didn't bring any spices this time. If you don't mind plain Well-done Steak, I can grill some for you over the campfire."
Hibiki considered the offer, then shook his large head vigorously.
He had no interest in bland, unseasoned steak. He could endure a little hunger. Maki and the others would surely find a solution soon.
Altaïr ruffled the top of Hibiki's head a few times and comforted Sajji, who could not fully hide his worry. After eating just enough to fill his stomach, Altaïr went into the tent to sleep.
Between the meetings, the journey, and the Hunt, he had gone nearly forty hours without closing his eyes.
He wanted to keep his body and mind in the best condition possible. Only then could he better withstand the Frenzy Virus's harmful effects.
Unfortunately, his sleep that night was anything but peaceful. The unnatural restlessness and violent urges lingered constantly, preventing him from falling asleep. Only after Sajji found him some Sleep Herb did he finally drift off.
By the time he woke again, the sky was already bright.
Sajji and Hibiki, who had gone to sleep no earlier than he had, were curled together on the rug and sleeping soundly in a tight huddle.
Sitting on the bed, Altaïr carefully assessed his condition. The bad news was that he showed no sign of improvement. The good news was that his condition had not noticeably worsened either.
It seemed that skipping the virus's incubation and development phases and progressing so quickly to moderate or even severe infection had nothing to do with his constitution. The more likely cause was the vast amount of virus-laden Monster flesh he had absorbed while using Devouring Demon.
At the present rate of deterioration, he should still be able to hold out for several more days.
He carefully climbed out of bed and tiptoed from the tent.
To his surprise, a Meowcenaries Felyne sat crouched atop the camp's item box, facing the tent with head bobbing as sleep gradually won out. The Felyne seemed to be waiting for him to wake.
The sound of the tent flap lifting startled the dozing Felyne awake, sending the scout tumbling from the item box.
Fortunately, the Felyne was agile enough to recover quickly, flipping through the air and landing in a rather dashing pose on one knee.
"Lord Altaïr, you're awake, meow."
Altaïr remembered the dark-gray-furred Felyne. This was the same scout who had delivered intelligence and guided the group the day before. The scout's name was Lichens.
Lichens had directed the other Felynes as they carved up the Zinogre's corpse, and seemed to be a squad leader.
"Good morning." Altaïr greeted Lichens with a smile.
The purplish-black markings that the Frenzy Virus had brought out across his face made the smile look somewhat frightening, though not enough to unsettle an experienced Meowcenaries Felyne.
Lichens held up a tiny scroll no thicker than a little finger. "After Lord Altaïr completed the Hunt yesterday, we reported the situation to the village. This is Lady Maki's reply."
Altaïr was momentarily baffled. How had a letter made a round trip of several hundred kilometers each way in little more than ten hours?
Not even a carrier pigeon could fly that fast. Had the Meowcenaries brought a racing peregrine? Surely no one had flown back and forth on a kite.
"Coo-coo--" A cry came from atop the tent.
Altaïr looked up. Right, he had almost forgotten that Kamura Village was also adept at training Cohoots.
Whether it was due to the Frenzy Virus or not, Altaïr was finding it difficult to focus. He reined in his wandering thoughts and accepted the scroll.
Before unrolling it, another thought popped into his head.
Surely it would not simply read, "May our flames blaze to the heavens!" Lady Maki had sent messages like that before.
No, what am I rambling on about...
Altaïr rapped his forehead twice with his knuckles, forced himself to focus, and unfurled the scroll.
[Come to the Red Stronghold as soon as possible. I'll wait for you there.]
Oh? The Red Stronghold. That was actually a good destination.
During the previous meeting, he had heard that the scholars intended to move their research outside the village to avoid contamination. Lady Minoto had recommended the Red Stronghold at the time.
The stronghold had not been used in nearly thirty years, but it still received minimal maintenance and had not fallen completely into disrepair.
Very few people normally went there, and there were no civilians nearby. It was an ideal place for an infected person like him.
"What's the fastest route from here to the Red Stronghold?" Altaïr took out his map and asked Lichens.
Lichens proved every bit as professional as an intelligence operative and immediately laid out the route. "If you're riding a Palamute, follow this river southwest, then...
"At a Palamute's speed, you can reach the stronghold in about seven or eight hours if you don't stop to rest, meow."
"Good." Altaïr put away the map and called toward the tent, "Sajji, Hibiki! We're moving out! We're heading to the Red Stronghold!"
—--
At the same time, preparations were underway on the great bridge at the entrance to Kamura Village.
Maki and the others stood ready to depart.
Maki deliberately ignored the unnerving stare from Minoto, whom she had ordered to remain in the village, and turned to Isis. Isis sat nearby on her Palamute with worry written all over her face. Maki grinned.
Isis had worn that expression ever since the Meowcenaries' report arrived.
Maki had only managed to keep her there by explaining that they needed people to escort the scholars and a large quantity of supplies to the Red Stronghold, where they would establish a base. That was the only way to develop new Wystones and targeted medicines as efficiently as possible and treat Altaïr's Frenzy Virus infection.
Otherwise, Isis would probably have bolted straight for the Flooded Forest by now.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk...
Clicking her tongue repeatedly, Maki watched Isis for a moment, then spoke. "Hey, Isis."
It took Isis, whose thoughts had been wandering, a couple of seconds to react. "Lady Maki?"
"That... what was it, the Radiant Dragon? Is there anything left of it? I'd like to get my hands on some too."