Even though they were resting in the relative safety of camp, the Hunters had still arranged a watch as a precaution.
Seconds before the attack, Mochi sat on a branch with one eye open and the other closed, then suddenly let out a sharp, urgent screech.
Apparently afraid that the cry alone would not wake the sleeping Hunters in time, the Cohoot dove from the treetop and raked Morgan with one claw as he lay beside the campfire.
Without pause, Mochi flew toward the tent, plunged through the fabric flap, and careened wildly around inside.
Startled awake, Morgan opened his eyes just in time to see a vast, dark red silhouette streak through the gaps in the canopy above the camp. A moment later, a burst of firelight illuminated the night sky.
His mind was still hazy, but his body reacted before his thoughts could catch up.
Instead of scrambling to his feet, he immediately rolled several times away from the campfire.
That reaction arguably saved his life. An instant later, a ball of dragon flame struck the campfire, and the explosion blasted a crater two to three meters wide into the ground.
His bedding caught fire, while stray sparks and embers landed on him and burned holes through his clothes.
Without stopping to beat out the flames on his body, Morgan sprang to his feet and grabbed the Cannon: Calamity propped beside the item box.
He was immensely grateful for his habit of keeping the Bowgun's magazine full so it could fire as soon as he worked the action. He hauled back the bolt, and amid the roar of gunfire, Bowgun Ammo streaked toward the raging Rathalos overhead.
The sudden counterattack seemed to enrage the Rathalos even further. It opened its bloody maw and rained down a torrent of dragon flame.
The canopy above the camp became a torch in an instant. Burning branches and leaves poured down like rain, swiftly setting fire to the tent sewn from animal hide and heavy canvas.
Morgan nearly cried out in alarm. Fortunately, a moment later, Nymera burst from the burning tent covered in soot, Light Bowgun in hand and a Wirebug pulling her along.
Unlike Morgan, who had removed his Armor before bed and slept in a close-fitting shirt, Nymera apparently treated her Shell Set as sleepwear.
Thus, although she looked somewhat... scantily clad, she was in fact fully armed for battle.
Her reaction had seemed a beat slower than Morgan's, but certainly not because she liked to sleep in.
Amid the chaos, she had remembered to grab not only her all-important weapon but also her equally vital Item Pouch.
Releasing the Ironsilk, she twisted in midair, drew a Flash Pod with a reverse grip, and hurled it skyward.
A brilliant light burst through the night sky, which was already aglow with dragon flame. The Rathalos had been circling above the camp as if admiring its handiwork, and the sudden flash caught it completely off guard.
Its flight thrown into disarray, the Rathalos plummeted and crashed into a forest clearing not far beyond the camp.
Morgan and Nymera exchanged a glance. Without a word, both loaded fresh magazines and charged out through the camp gate, one after the other.
Rapid gunfire thundered through the nighttime forest, and blinding flashes flared several more times. A little over fifteen minutes later, the barrage gradually fell silent.
Driven into an even greater frenzy by the Frenzy Virus, the Rathalos had been reduced to a ruined corpse riddled with bullet wounds.
Morgan glanced at its skull, half of which had been blown away when several Sticky Ammo rounds detonated together. He worked the Bowgun's bolt twice to confirm that the chamber was empty.
After loading a fresh magazine, he asked, "This Rathalos should be the one listed on your quest form, right?"
"Probably. Rathalos are fiercely territorial. There shouldn't be another one within several hundred square kilometers." Nymera wore a conflicted expression.
After being cooped up in the village for so long, she had been looking forward to a satisfying Hunt for the first time in ages.
Instead, the fight had begun for no apparent reason and ended just as abruptly...
"The corpse is badly mangled and full of shrapnel, but it should still be usable." Nymera muttered to herself as she took out a location-marking signal flare and fired it into the air.
The signal summoned the Felynes and Palamutes of the Meowcenaries to come and "collect the body."
"I'll stand guard here. You should clean yourself up first." Morgan gave Nymera a pointed look.
Nymera looked down and only then realized the problem.
They had used the standard Flash Pod tactic for hunting Rathalos. To inflict as much damage as possible while the wyvern was grounded, both Gunners had repeatedly fired Spread Ammo at close range, leaving them splattered with blood.
The Wystone suppressing the Frenzy Virus meant brief contact with blood would not infect her, but her Armor left a great deal of skin exposed. Her chest, abdomen, arms, and thighs were all smeared with virus-rich Monster blood.
Unless she washed it off quickly, the risk of infection would rise dramatically.
Compared with that, any embarrassment over wearing revealing equipment in front of a man hardly mattered.
The Flooded Forest never lacked creeks, and one lay within sight. "Give me two minutes," Nymera said. She jogged over, crouched beside the water, and began washing the blood from her body.
Hakucho landed beside Morgan and nudged him, as though to say he would keep watch while Morgan washed up too.
Morgan was wearing a shirt rather than Armor, so very little skin appeared exposed. Thin fabric, however, could not keep Monster blood from reaching his skin. In that sense, he might as well have been bare.
Morgan could not be bothered to explain to a bird that "any decent adult man should give a woman privacy while she washes, not go over and join her."
Just then, something rustled in the nighttime forest.
Morgan warily raised his Bowgun, then immediately lowered the muzzle.
Several Felynes riding Palamutes emerged from the bushes. They belonged to Kamura Village's Meowcenaries.
The Felynes were equally surprised to see the Rathalos corpse on the ground. "You already dealt with it, meow? And during a night Hunt, meow?"
Just as Morgan was about to explain, Nymera returned, having washed away the blood as quickly as possible.
"Go wash up too. Leave the rest to me." Nymera's gaze settled on Morgan's shirt, which was soaked through with Monster blood. After a moment's thought, she added, "That shirt... you should throw it away. Did you bring any spare clothes to camp?"
Morgan's expression grew complicated. The plan was to complete the Hunt within three days and return to the Red Stronghold, so he had not bothered to pack a change of clothes.
Nymera gave him a knowing look. "I brought a spare shirt. On you... it should fit well enough."
Morgan looked down at the sticky shirt clinging to his body, sighed, and said, "Thank you." He put away his weapon and turned toward the creek.
Nymera wrung out her wet hair and turned to the Meowcenaries Felynes.
She was about to recount the Rathalos's attack on their camp when she noticed that the Felynes and even the Palamutes were staring at her with sparkling eyes. Not one spared a glance for the Rathalos corpse, the very quarry they had come to retrieve.
Nymera's gaze instantly grew guarded. "What's with those expressions?"
Although Kogarashi led Kamura Village's Meowcenaries, nearly every Felyne and Palamute in the unit had been raised by Iori.
All of them felt a special, familial affection for Iori's family of three.
"A solo Hunt became a two-person Hunt, then you washed up together and even lent him clothes, meow. That gentleman must be Miss Nymera's..."
"Thump!"
Nymera's face darkened as her fist came down on the lead Felyne's head. "What utter nonsense! Unbelievable! What are you all thinking?!"
Holding both paws against the head, the Felyne squad leader mumbled, "This is important intelligence that we need to report to Lord Iori and Lady Yomogi, meow..."
"Don't you dare!"