Monster Hunter: This Dragon's Built Different

Sensing that something was wrong, the Rathalos began to abandon their nests. Circling the Ancient Tree, they flew through the skies, roaring to spread the warning. For a while, the upper canopy of the Ancient Forest was filled with chaos and noise.

That was—until a colossal male Rathalos appeared.

It was nearly twice the size of an ordinary one, stretching over 30 meters in length. Its body was covered in a rugged, black-and-crimson carapace, and its massive wings, wide enough to blot out the sun, shimmered with golden patterns. Its thick scales radiated a searing heat, and scars crisscrossed its form, with jagged bone spines jutting out like a veteran who had survived countless battles. It let out a thunderous, piercing roar.

Only then did the Rathalos fall silent.

As if finally finding their backbone, they gathered around this mighty creature, perching quietly on the branches of the Ancient Tree, awaiting its command.

Logan was among them, his eyes fixed on the enormous Rathalos flying overhead. Even though it was soaring calmly, the sheer force of violence it radiated was overwhelming.

He recognized it.

He had never imagined such a being would exist in the New World.

Logan had lived near the Ancient Tree for quite some time. He had flown around its territory countless times, yet he had never once caught sight of this creature.

And truthfully, even if it did exist, it shouldn't have made its home here. In the entire New World, the only place it truly belonged was Elder's Recess.

This wasn't some subspecies. By nature, it was simply a standard male Rathalos—except something had changed. Perhaps it was the environment. Perhaps it had lived through something unique. Combined with an extraordinary wealth of combat experience, it had evolved into its current terrifying form.

In the records of human scholars, such monsters were granted a special designation—a Title Monster.

The shadow tyrant of the Rathalos species:

The Black Flame King.

The moment it appeared, Logan suddenly felt as if all his recent planning—every scenario he had simulated in his mind about how to fight Chameleos—had been nothing more than the foolish antics of a clown.

Compared to the Black Flame King—a monster capable of battling Elder Dragons head-on—a still-immature Chameleos was nothing.

Just as Logan thought he could finally rest easy and wait for the Black Flame King to charge into the poison fog, find Chameleos, and crush it—

—it made a completely unexpected move.

It began calling out to the Tempered Rathalos around it, inviting them to leave together and travel to that life-infused, sacred place in search of a way to transcend the limits of their natural lifespan.

Logan was stunned.

Good grief. Just—good grief.

He had seen creatures fiercely resist because their homes were invaded. He had also seen those who could only leave quietly, powerless to fight back.

But he had never imagined that in this world steeped in bloodshed and brutal combat, governed by the raw and ruthless law of the jungle, there would be someone who took advantage of the chaos to plunder others—to dig up the very foundation of their kind.

Was this really the Black Flame King?

No. Logan even began to question—was this imposing figure truly a Rathalos at all?

How could its actions feel so utterly out of place in this blood-drenched world?

Carrying these doubts, Logan took another careful look at the Black Flame King, who was still rallying the other Rathalos. And as he examined it more closely, he noticed something off.

Along the edges of the creature's scale seams, there was a faint, ashen-white hue.

Its body, which had seemed vigorous at first glance, had only radiated heat for a brief moment when it first appeared. Now, it was cold and still—like a campfire on the verge of dying out. The core might still be warm, but everything around it had turned to charred ash.

It was clear now: this Black Flame King had entered the twilight of its life.

Its time was running out.

Its body could no longer sustain intense combat. Alone, even if it managed to reach Elder's Recess, it wouldn't be able to claim a favorable spot—let alone settle down to bathe in the life energy found there.

And so, it had turned its sights on the Tempered Rathalos around it.

After understanding everything, Logan decisively turned and flew away.

The Black Flame King had completely lost the will to fight. Even if some tempered Rathalos were willing to follow it to the Elder's Recess, failure was inevitable.

In the Elder's Recess, where life energy surged abundantly, not even Elder Dragons—who could actively absorb that energy—could guarantee they would break through their natural life limits. Yet those who did all shared a single trait: a heart reborn through death. Elder Dragons that transcended their own limits gained strength far beyond their original power and were bestowed the title of Arch-Tempered.

If it didn't even have that mindset—then as a unique subspecies of Rathalos, not even a true Elder Dragon—it had no chance of success whatsoever.

In the end, he would have to rely on himself.

As he passed by the nest, he called once into the hollow of the tree. Aki flapped her wings and flew out.

Now that he had made his decision, Logan flew straight toward the thickening mist ahead.

Hovering above the fog, Logan looked down and steadied his mindset. Then he activated his Flame Body ability.

Letting out a determined cry toward Aki, he spread his wings and unleashed his fire energy without restraint, raising the temperature of his flames to their maximum.

A flicker of hesitation passed through Aki's eyes. But upon seeing Logan's resolute actions, her gaze grew firm as well.

She drew a deep breath. Her throat began to glow bright red, fire energy rapidly gathering within it.

Once it reached a critical threshold, she unleashed a jet of flame—its core a blazing orange, while flickers of blue and violet shimmered at the edges—straight at Logan in a fan-shaped blast.

Even wrapped in fire, Logan could clearly feel the searing heat surging behind him.

A moment later, the pain struck—sharp and burning.

Not even his fully awakened Flame Body and Ignition Trait could completely withstand the damage from her breath.

Though Aki had always been known for her unmatched brute strength, Logan knew her true power was far more well-rounded.

Whether it was fire or poison, Aki possessed a destructive force equal to her physical might.

It was just that compared to ranged attacks, she preferred the feel of close combat.

Bit by bit, Logan absorbed the flames. As they passed through his flame sac, the energy was transformed and gradually became his own.

The fire surrounding him began to change color, slowly shifting toward a deep bluish-violet hue.

Logan's flames were actually evolving—taking a step toward the realm of Cataclysmic Fire.

Soon, the absorption reached a bottleneck. Logan let out a cry.

Immediately, Aki cut off her flames. The redness in her throat faded swiftly as she looked toward the burning figure of Logan, worry shining in her eyes.

Without uttering a word, Logan, now filled nearly to bursting with fire-elemental energy, dove straight into the mist without hesitation.

Under the scorching enhancement of his empowered flames, the moment he neared the thick fog, the intense heat instantly vaporized it. The toxins within didn't even have a chance to take visible form before they were twisted into nothingness and vanished.

As Logan charged into the haze, Aki quickly took to the skies. To locate the Chameleos as swiftly as possible, she needed to ascend to a height where she could observe the overall layout.

Meanwhile, Logan sliced a straight path through the mist. Boosted by both speed and fire, the fog in his wake dissolved completely.

From above, it looked as though the thick fog was a massive cake being cleaved in two by a ribbon of fire stretched across its center.

The sections cleared by flame would be refilled by the surrounding mist. From the air, Aki only needed to track which half refilled faster to determine the source of the poisonous haze.

With that, half of Logan's search area was immediately eliminated.

A few more passes like this would drastically narrow down the Chameleos's hiding zone.

When Logan emerged from the mist, Aki let out a loud roar to report what she had observed. Upon hearing it, Logan adjusted his direction and immediately dove back in.

Over and over again—just four times in total—Logan managed to isolate a small enough area, and within it, the Chameleos was concealed.

Now with a definite target, Logan forced down the surge of excitement in his chest and reminded himself to remain calm. Cautiously, he flew straight into the marked zone.

The region was sparse, not particularly lush, and it was here that the toxic mist originated.

Logan glided low through the air, wings beating nimbly as he swept over the land. With his Mind's Eye, he meticulously scanned every patch of ground below, not missing a single abnormal detail.

Soon enough, he sensed it—a faint, flickering figure moving slowly and tranquilly through the fog.

Perhaps even the Chameleos hadn't expected that another dragon would dare to storm through its poison mist in pursuit.

With such thoughts, the Chameleos moved with unhurried ease, calm and at peace.

Suddenly, its curled tail—used to gather information about its surroundings and shaped like a cochlea—quivered slightly. In that instant, its large eyes locked onto Logan in the distance.

The Chameleos's ability to absorb and rapidly process environmental data relied entirely on that cochlea-like tail.

Thanks to it, the Chameleos's environmental sensitivity rivaled Logan's Mind's Eye.

After all, this was the organ that allowed it to instantaneously analyze its surroundings and achieve perfect mimicry for stealth at any moment!

Only Elder Dragons could possess such irrational, logic-defying organs.

Now that it had been discovered, Logan made no attempt to hide. In truth, he had never intended to conceal his presence in the first place.

Having locked onto his target, Logan let out a furious roar. Holding nothing back, he unleashed his full strength—his entire body transforming into a massive fireball. Shooting upward into the sky, he then plummeted like a comet, trailing a long, blazing tail before crashing down onto the earth.

A violent gale scattered the thick fog. A blinding explosion erupted first, followed by a thunderous boom that split the sky. The shockwave bent trees to their roots and scattered the clouds above. Only then did the rising plume of flame and smoke begin to swell upward.

Feeling the rush of wind, Aki immediately descended from the sky. Ignoring the scorching heat, she dove straight into the cloud of dust and embers.

She quickly found him—Logan—his scales cracked in places, blood at the corner of his mouth, his eyes glowing with barely contained madness.

Facing him was the Chameleos.

Its carapace was partially charred black, faint traces of blood seeping from the cracks. The illusion was broken, its cloaking dispelled. Its form was revealed, and in its eyes, a cold and murderous gleam burned.

Since the day it was born, the Chameleos had never suffered an injury like this.

Though the damage did not impede its movements—just surface wounds and some internal shock—to the Chameleos, it was something entirely unfamiliar.

Something infuriating.

And it recognized him—the same fire wyvern that had once struggled through its poison mist, the one who could pierce through its camouflage and see through its stealth.

Even with the larger Aki now present, the Chameleos never took its eyes off Logan.

For the first time, it felt an overwhelming urge to utterly annihilate its opponent.

Poisonous mist began to billow from its mouth as its form once again started to vanish into the haze.

This time, it would strike first.

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