Real Monster of Multiverse

POV: Narrator

—Don't you think it's strange? —asked a blacksmith to a hunter he was eating with.

—What is?

—All this nonsense about the Phageris.

The hunter began to push his food around with his fork without bringing it to his mouth, and after a moment he replied:

—Honestly, it makes no sense. When a new species is discovered, the procedure is to first observe how it interacts with the environment—whether it's an essential part of it, an invasive species, or has little impact overall. Then to find out if it's always lived in the habitat where it was found or if it migrated, and if it's the latter, then discover why.

He paused to eat a little, though he never lifted his gaze.

—But they're not doing that —continued the blacksmith.

—We're not doing that —affirmed the hunter—. As soon as it was discovered, we were given maximum priority orders to hunt it, whether to kill or capture it.

The hunter frowned, turning to look toward the distant forest.

—To give you an idea, a maximum priority order is the same level of mission we're given when a Deviljho is sighted, and those damned things can destroy entire ecosystems in just one afternoon.

—But why? If nothing was known about the Phageris, why make it a maximum priority threat?

—… That's the question. I don't know.

—… You don't know?

—Me, and everyone else I've spoken to.

—That means…

—That the Guild is hiding information.

The blacksmith stared wide-eyed at the hunter. The hunter smiled faintly at his reaction and said:

—Don't look so surprised. It's not that unusual for the Guild to withhold information. Now that I think about it, when I was still training to become a hunter, a Deviljho appeared near a village, and instead of making a big announcement, they quietly sent out a squad to hunt it.

He paused again to eat a bit more before continuing.

—Like I said, it's not strange for the Guild to hide information. What is strange is for them to hide information from hunters —the hunter's tone changed as he said this, and even his posture grew more serious—. Being a hunter is dangerous enough already, so the Guild is usually very frank with us. Of course, if they tell us to keep things secret, we do it or we face punishment. But right now, they're hiding something from us about the Phageris.

The two fell silent for a moment.

—What are they hiding?

—… Honestly, I have no idea. They keep us informed of her abilities, though it seems like every time someone sees her, she can do something new. They don't hide information about her ecology either, but the truth is we know so little that there's hardly anything to hide. —The hunter rubbed his forehead with his hand as he thought.

—I'm drawing a blank, just like everyone else. We were already busy enough with the Zorah Magdaros mess, and now this. *Sigh*… I don't know what's so special about the Phageris, aside from her humanoid form, but I just hope no one runs into her again—at least not until we're done with Zorah.

The blacksmith wanted to say something, but seeing the exhaustion on his friend's face, he decided to remain silent.

Lyra, who had overheard the whole conversation, only felt the knot in her stomach tighten further.

She knew the real reason behind the Guild's desperate hunt for the Phageris.

The Equivalent Dragon Weapon.

The Guild's greatest secret.

And she knew it.

It had only been a coincidence—she just happened to be there, the first to witness it, when the head researcher was too shocked to care who overheard.

Even after he calmed down, he said nothing, but she knew he had let slip more than he should have in that moment.

Lyra continued to be summoned to meetings about the matter. She herself didn't know why. It wasn't like she was a specialist in Chryssia's ecology. She suspected they kept calling her simply to make sure she wouldn't leak any information.

Without finishing her plate, she stood up and left the canteen.

…

Lyra wandered through Astera without a destination, unable to ignore the mood of the base.

It was… dismal, at best. Gone were the days of excitement as they prepared for the arrival of the Fifth.

In truth, the atmosphere had already begun to sour with its arrival, when multiple lives were lost accidentally at the hands of Zorah Magdaros.

Now everyone walked in silence, eyes cast downward. No cheerful conversations, no jokes among comrades. Not even the felynes were in the mood to cause mischief.

And as if that weren't enough, the injuries and deaths from the last encounter with Chryssia only added to the gloom.

The base felt emptier than ever, even after the arrival of the Fifth Fleet.

This was due to three reasons. First, Zorah Magdaros—every hunter in the New World was searching for him, even under the rocks, which ironically could be a likely hiding place.

Second, the atmosphere in Astera had grown so tense that those who could were actively leaving, usually by taking missions.

And third, the sheer sense of helplessness. Everyone in Astera had seen Zorah destroy ships and kill people simply by rising from the sea.

They also knew it had been nothing but an accident. Beings like them held no place in the mind of something like Zorah Magdaros. It wasn't an attack out of intent or malice—they'd just been unlucky.

And in a line of work like hunting, leaving things to luck was the same as suicide.

Everyone in Astera knew that even if they all banded together, stopping the elder dragon would take nothing short of a miracle. And with Chryssia, things weren't much better—she had managed to gravely wound the most veteran hunter in the New World.

After a walk that only worsened her unease, Lyra finally arrived at the medical wing.