Altaïr had never heard of electricity and Dragon Element canceling each other out. Whatever that golden energy was, it was not ordinary electrical current. The instant he completed his Rising Slash, he had no time to study the Monster's response. He immediately swept his blade around, pivoted, and slid backward.
Foresight Slash!
That caution saved his life yet again. As he slid backward, golden energy erupted from the left side of the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern's body, and its massive frame slammed violently to the right.
The wind pressure from that sudden, short-range displacement nearly knocked Altaïr off balance, and that was only the wake of its movement. If the seemingly instantaneous body slam had struck him directly, even heavy armor would not have spared him from serious injury.
Having evaded the body slam, Altaïr carried the successful counter through into a Spirit Roundslash.
Then he immediately sheathed Tyrant Blade [Solar Eclipse] and settled into an Iai Spirit Slash stance.
He had never intended to launch an offensive. The Rising Slash, Foresight Slash, Spirit Roundslash, and now the waiting Iai Spirit Slash were all counters, techniques meant to react to an incoming attack.
Even as he countered the Monster's attacks and maneuvered around it, Altaïr spared a sliver of attention for his surroundings, searching for a route that would let him disengage safely.
Soon, a plan took shape in his mind.
"ROAR!"
A pitch-black Wingtalon swept toward him. Spikes covered the Monster from head to tail, turning every part of its body into a lethal weapon.
Altaïr tore his gaze from the cavern ceiling, focused on his opponent's movements, and drew his blade at precisely the right moment and angle.
He surged forward with his body nearly skimming the ground. His blade swept out, carving a dazzling arc through the dim cavern.
With the Iai Spirit Slash, he slipped past the Monster's wing strike and moved behind it in the same motion.
The blade seemed to glide past without resistance, but a swirling torrent of Spirit erupted in its wake like an invisible storm, carving a dense web of wounds across the Monster's hind leg.
"ROAR!" the Monster bellowed in pain.
That slash had truly hurt it. The creature ruled this underground cavern unchallenged and had not experienced such pain in a very long time.
Fury consumed it. The Monster wheeled around and spread its wings, lifting its chest and head high as the prominent horn on its head shimmered with dazzling golden light.
Its posture made one thing clear. The creature was preparing to unleash a powerful attack.
Altaïr immediately raised his blade and entered Focused Stance.
With his current skill, drawing out the full power and speed of Instant Slash required nearly two seconds of charging. The Monster obviously would not give him that long.
Still, he could execute the move before it was fully charged. Its range would simply be shorter and its speed slightly lower, much like a Great Sword user's Charged Slash released at a lower charge level.
The moment the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern roared and drove its head down, Altaïr waited just long enough to confirm that it could no longer change the direction of its attack, then burst forward in a thrusting Instant Slash.
In the next instant, the gleaming golden spiral horn crashed into the spot where he had just stood. The hard stone floor exploded beneath it, and the surrounding ground cracked and heaved upward.
Then the spiral horn, now buried almost to its base, flared with brilliant light. The black-and-gold Flying Wyvern roared and wrenched its body upright.
Freezing air and golden energy fused into a devastating shock wave. It blasted continuously along the path of the rising horn, only fading after tearing forty or fifty meters across the cavern.
Several hundred square meters of ground in front of it had been churned into ruin, as though pounded by a concentrated Machine Cannon barrage.
Cold sweat beaded on Altaïr's forehead. Fortunately, he had charged toward the side of the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern's body. Had he retreated straight backward, even avoiding the descending horn would not have saved him from being blown apart by the eruption that followed.
What was that energy? How could it unleash such power...?
The eruption had taken a considerable toll on the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern as well. It panted heavily instead of immediately pursuing him.
Had his goal been to hunt the creature, this would have been the perfect opportunity to press the attack. But Altaïr was ill-prepared and had no desire whatsoever to fight it. At last, his chance to retreat had arrived.
He sheathed his weapon and broke into a full sprint.
Although the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern did not pursue at once, its enormous ears stood straight up and locked onto the sound of the Hunter's movements.
It was not worried about its prey escaping. The creature had absolute confidence in its speed.
Once it had caught its breath, it unleashed another furious roar. Golden jets blasted from behind it, and its explosive burst of speed erased the distance between them in an instant.
Feeling the mortal threat bearing down on him from behind, Altaïr raised his left arm as planned and fired his Clutch Claw at a stalactite hanging from the cavern ceiling.
The mechanism whirred at high speed, and the cable hauled the Hunter into the air, carrying him clear of the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern's charge.
When the creature realized something was wrong and stopped to locate him again, Altaïr vanished from its hearing once more.
It spat out a cloud of freezing air in fury, trying to force the Hunter to move and make a sound, yet its hearing detected nothing.
The black-and-gold Flying Wyvern grew still. It raised its head and released a sharp cry while its huge ears swayed from side to side, capturing the faint echoes in the air.
The sight made Altaïr's hair stand on end as he clung to the stalactite overhead.
Could this thing use echolocation like a bat too?
On second thought, it only made sense. If the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern's sight had completely degenerated and it possessed no similar ability, it would have crashed headfirst into a cavern wall long ago.
Fortunately, echolocation through hearing could not match the precision of vision.
The black-and-gold Flying Wyvern could not distinguish Altaïr clinging to the stalactite from the stalactite itself.
The realization eased some of Altaïr's tension, but he still held his breath. Even the faintest exhalation might reach those sensitive ears.
Of course, this safety was only temporary.
Once the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern realized he might have climbed to the ceiling, a few wide-area attacks would be enough to flush him out.
Fortunately, his plan still had another step.
With his free hand, Altaïr flicked the small stone he had scooped up while running toward the far end of the enormous cavern, using the same motion as a skipping-stone throw.
The pebble struck the ground and bounced onward with its remaining momentum, producing a rapid series of click, click, click sounds that resembled footsteps.
The noise immediately drew the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern's attention. It roared wildly, stamped forward, and charged at full speed toward the bouncing stone.
Seeing the Monster move away, Altaïr did not release his hold at once. He raised his Slinger again, fired a Sonic Bomb after the creature, and only then let go.
The black-and-gold Flying Wyvern's unusual auditory anatomy prevented the high-frequency noise of a Sonic Bomb from stunning it. That did not make the Sonic Bomb useless.
When the Sonic Bomb burst, the blast still disrupted its hearing. At the very least, it would leave the creature disoriented.
Just as the Sonic Bomb detonated and its shriek swept through the cavern, Altaïr's feet struck the ground. He rolled to absorb the impact, then sprinted at full speed toward the rope dangling over the nearby slope.
As he had expected, the high-frequency noise reverberating through the cavern bought him two or three seconds.
By the time the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern shook its head clear and used his footsteps to lock onto him again, only a short distance separated Altaïr from the rope.
"Gyaoooooo!!"
Realizing it had been deceived, the black-and-gold Flying Wyvern bellowed in rage. The jet-like organs on its wings, back, and the tip of its tail hammer vented energy at full force.
With a thunderous boom, it shot forward like a black-and-gold meteor.
"Pull now!"
Altaïr lunged, seized the end of the rope, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
His heart pounded. The black-and-gold Flying Wyvern had crossed the cavern even faster than he anticipated, and he feared his companions above would not be able to pull him up in time.
Fortunately, Isis never let him down.
Another blast echoed from the cavern above. The rope snapped taut with enough force to nearly dislocate his shoulder, then yanked him upward with a whoosh.
Is she actually using Blast Dash to haul me up?!
(Translated by yourtl.app)