Bunny Princess, what are you doing?

The time when the sun dipped low, sinking slowly beyond the horizon.

In the twilight boundary that cloaked the plains, hunter and monster stood face-to-face.

Cometras let out a deafening roar.

A cry brimming with agony. The piercing scream threatened to rupture eardrums, forcing everyone to clap their hands over their ears.

Every so often, the heat capable of melting the rocks within its maw seeped outward.

Alice was the first to snap out of it and charge forward.

A maddening ringing echoed in her ears, sharp enough to spark a headache.

Yet her unyielding resolve refused to falter.

With a grimace, Alice stepped forward.

To bring down Cometras with her greatsword, she had to close the distance fast, seizing this fleeting opening.

But Cometras wasn’t about to stand idly by.

Spotting Alice’s approach, it raised a massive forepaw. It swung its arm, aiming to smash its foe.

An arrow from Cloy struck true. The explosive tethered to its shaft detonated, halting the beast’s assault for a heartbeat.

Alice flicked her gaze backward.

Her eyes locked with Cloy’s.

The archer flashed a bright, confident smile.

With a nod, Alice dove straight into Cometras’s reach.

In one fluid motion, she swung her blade sideways.

Leather split open.

The creature’s underbelly wasn’t armored with stone—just the hide of a mere beast.

Even an iron greatsword could inflict plenty of damage.

Alice wasn’t alone in her assault.

Leo and Aaron joined the fray.

Each took their position, fulfilling distinct roles.

Leo wielded a steady sword and shield, tenaciously diverting Cometras’s focus.

Hammer in hand, Aaron smashed apart the monster’s rocky exterior.

Cometras was formidable.

But shatter the shell that blades couldn’t pierce with a hammer, and the story changed.

Beneath the fractured stone lay tender flesh, vulnerable to cutting edges.

That widened the field of attack.

It might feel underhanded, perhaps, but there was no such thing as dishonor in hunting monsters.

It was simply a means to victory.

A clear chime rang out as the greatsword clashed against the shell.

Alice winced, forcing strength into her tingling hand.

She pressed her attack, though the occasional strike against stone posed a problem.

It wasn’t a careless error. Cometras twisted its body, leveraging its own durability. Attacking solely from below, however, threw off her stance and proved awkward.

The sheer size and heft of her greatsword made Cometras’s helmeted head a particular nuisance.

Even so, she dodged its strikes, slashing laterally and swinging wide, steadily stacking up damage.

The four of them moved in sync—not a bad rhythm at all.

Aaron’s hammer, fueled by his full might, gnawed away at Cometras’s left flank.

Leo intermittently blocked the beast’s flailing arms with his shield, linking seamlessly with Alice.

Even Cloy’s stray arrows landed with perfect timing, stalling Cometras’s movements.

A steady hunt.

At this pace, they’d topple it, however long it took.

But Cometras had no intention of being a passive target.

It jerked its head upward once. Its claws scraped the earth twice before it barreled forward with brute force.

Alice rolled swiftly to the side, ducking beneath its bulk, but the others weren’t so quick.

Leo took the brunt of the sudden charge, shoved backward.

Aaron, mid-swing with his hammer, caught a blow to the leg and crumpled.

Yet Cometras didn’t relent.

This time, it set its sights on Cloy.

“Tch!”

Cloy clicked her tongue, yanking the arrow from her bowstring.

She kicked off the ground, narrowly evading the beast’s rush.

Cometras only halted when it slammed into a massive boulder.

“Ugh…”

Leo and Aaron wrestled with their aching bodies, dragging themselves upright.

They scooped up their shield and hammer from the dirt and dove back in.

The formation had to hold, no matter what.

A low growl rumbled from the beast.

Frustration mounted as attacks failed to break through, and Cometras’s nape began to glow red.

Heat swelled within it.

“Dodge!”

Alice, silent until now, barked the command.

A searing heat organ pulsed in Cometras’s throat.

Typically used to melt rocks for feeding, it doubled as a weapon when its life hung in the balance.

Heeding Alice’s call, Leo and Aaron scrambled back.

In a flash, a blistering breath erupted from Cometras’s jaws.

A shrill whistle, like a boiling kettle, pierced the air as a heat haze swept over everything.

Grass on the plains shriveled, and rocks caught in the scalding vapor glowed red.

The firepower was staggering.

Leo swallowed hard. Without Alice’s razor-sharp order, they’d have been cooked.

Still, that pattern bought them a brief respite. Alice turned her gaze to Aaron, hammer in hand, as he exhaled heavily.

“Aaron.”

“…Yeah?”

“The rock on its head. Can you handle it? Breaking that would make this easier.”

Alice’s voice was steady as she posed the question.

Aaron ran the numbers in his head.

Could he pull it off? Standing at the monster’s front meant absorbing every blow.

Enduring that heat was a given.

But he lacked Alice’s agility to dodge with ease.

“I’ll block the attacks.”

Leo stepped up.

He rapped his sword against his shield.

“I’ll cover the front, so let’s smash it somehow. Cloy, back us up!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got support locked down.”

Cloy replied, pulling explosive canisters for her arrows from her pack.

Aaron, after a moment’s pause, let out a dry chuckle. He wasn’t alone. If the load was heavy, his comrades could shoulder it with him.

“…Alright. Just the head’s rock, right?”

“Yeah.”

Alice gave a firm nod.

Cometras’s heat blast subsided. The air shimmered with warmth. Sweat streamed down their faces.

This time, they shifted tactics.

With Aaron at the core, they’d hold out until the head’s rock shattered.

Cometras’s patterns evolved too, heat pouring out in waves.

Phase two.

Leo drew its aggression, mind racing.

To match Alice’s adaptability, he had to stay attuned to every shift in the enemy.

Offense was off the table. Defense and evasion were his focus now.

If he didn’t fall, Aaron could strike the head without hesitation.

Leo hugged his shield close. His brown eyes tracked Cometras with razor focus.

Cometras lunged into close quarters.

It stomped forward, charged, or spewed heat from its neck.

It even gouged the earth with its helmet’s horns, flinging dirt around.

Those weren’t attacks a shield could fend off, so Leo hurled himself out of harm’s way.

Abruptly, Cometras twitched a forepaw upward.

Leo locked eyes with it. Its gaze veered elsewhere.

This wasn’t aimed at him—it was a sideswipe at Alice, pestering it from the flank.

“Alice!”

She’d clocked it before Leo’s shout.

She dropped low, nearly kissing the ground, then rolled beneath its tail, greatsword slashing.

As Cometras’s bulk closed in, their paths crossed. The blade bit into its fragile ankle, and the beast howled.

Leo gulped. Worrying about her was a waste—better to plan the next move.

He couldn’t pinpoint why, but Leo felt he’d slipped into a trance after that.

With every ounce of focus on Cometras, he sensed a web of possibilities.

The beast was sluggish. That slowness let him read its actions, its motions unfolding in his mind.

He parried with his shield, jabbing with his sword to keep its eyes on him.

“Leo!”

When Aaron swung his hammer, Leo ducked or sidestepped, carving an attack lane.

For moves he couldn’t predict, Cloy’s explosive arrows landed with impeccable timing, rattling Cometras’s focus.

Alice gave a subtle nod, impressed by Leo’s execution.

His movements were crisp, devoid of excess.

He was pouring everything into shielding Aaron and Cloy behind him.

No—every one of them was giving their all.

A faint smile tugged at Alice’s lips. She carved into the beast’s leg hide with her greatsword, eyes scanning the fight.

She was poised, waiting for the helmet to crack.

Her hope bore fruit.

Aaron’s hammer arced wide and slammed into Cometras’s face.

The rock gave way, crumbling at last.

From the cascade of broken stone, Cometras’s unmasked face emerged.

A beast’s head, crowned with twin horns.

The impact sent Cometras tumbling sideways, down.

Dazed by the shell’s shattering, it couldn’t recover.

“Yes!”

Aaron roared, clutching his hammer tight. The clean strike washed his exhaustion away.

“…Well done.”

Alice murmured, eyeing Cometras thrashing on the ground.

Break the head, and the limits on their attacks vanished.

She struck its writhing form with her greatsword. It wasn’t just her—everyone shared the same drive.

They had to pile on damage before it rose.

Rise it did.

The end loomed near.

Blood dripped steadily, and its yellow eyes, stripped of ferocity, pleaded to live.

A low snarl rumbled out.

It didn’t charge, just watched, drooling blood and saliva.

Alice lifted her head.

Night had crept past evening’s edge, the moon now blazing full.

Time had slipped away.

“Huff, huff…”

Breaths came ragged, strength sapped.

Monster and hunters alike were drained by the grueling clash.

Alice wasn’t unscathed.

Her rough handling had torn her clothes, coating her in dust.

At this point, Cometras might flee.

They could rest, then track it tomorrow.

Fighting on wasn’t an option.

Cloy glanced at her quiver.

She’d scavenged fallen arrows when stocks ran low, but now they were all snapped, leaving her defenseless.

Leo’s arm throbbed with mounting pain.

Potions had kept him going, but nonstop shielding had overtaxed him. His arm quaked, grip faltering on the shield.

Aaron fared better, but swinging that hefty hammer full-force to break rock had his muscles screaming.

A look at the team said retreat was wise.

Pushing further was like wringing out a dry rag.

Yet Alice burned to keep fighting.

They’d driven it this far—she couldn’t let it slip away.

The rush of combat still blazed within her.

She stoked her resolve.

Her eyes gleamed under the moonlight.

“Everyone, rest.”

“…Alice?”

She stepped before Cometras.

The beast, no knighted warrior, met her gaze.

Why wouldn’t she leave it be?

No reason existed. To defy a threat was instinct.

Cometras’s mere presence endangered humans, sealing its fate for culling.

Alice hefted her greatsword. Mercy wasn’t on the table.

No quarter for this creature.

She swore to end it here, before it could clad itself in iron.

Cometras accepted the final stand.

Its neck flared red.

Radiating heat once more, the Stonehide Dragon hauled itself into battle.

A side shove from Cometras.

Alice rolled aside, swift and sure.

A sweeping paw swung in.

She rolled toward it, dipping beneath the strike, flowing back to its head.

Flawless.

Her precise stance and motion overwhelmed Cometras.

Without its helmet, it had no choice but to endure her onslaught.

Textbook greatsword work.

It laid bare how human skill and intellect outstripped monstrous might.

“Whoa…”

It was as if the moonlight spotlighted only them.

The duel was raw, breathtaking—impossible to look away from.

Leo reckoned the tales of Alice in Antico undersold her.

Witnessing her firsthand was near art. A craft words couldn’t capture.

That fleeting insight Leo had grasped against Cometras—the knack for reading its moves—was second nature to her.

Her eyes pierced every twitch.

She even foresaw its last desperate gambit.

“Huff… Haa…”

As Alice steadied her breath and edged back, Cometras bellowed.

It blasted heat into the earth, softening it, and burrowed in. Not fully hidden, though.

The catch: only its rocky shell showed.

No chink for her greatsword to exploit.

The ground tore apart under its grinding.

It tunneled closer, heat carving its path.

Wriggling, it swam through the soil.

Straight for Alice.

Danger loomed.

Plain as day, it was perilous.

Any strike would ricochet off stone. She knew it.

Two backsteps. A deep breath.

Counting silently, she raised her greatsword, pooling her strength.

This charge had a tell.

At the end, it’d surge upward, head first, jaws snapping for its prey.

Alice tracked the writhing shell.

When its head rose, two signs marked it.

Horns breached first, and the ground blushed red under the heat.

That instant.

Her eyes flared wide, greatsword flipping over her shoulder.

Channeling her full power into the blade, she leapt lightly, yanking it overhead with force.

Cometras burst forth, jaws gaping, heat spewing as it lunged at her.

But it met a massive blade racing its way.

The greatsword hunted its head.

Unhelmed, it was defenseless.