Monster Hunter : Freya

Entry 10 : Nergigante

Update. Ballista bolts are still pretty damn heavy, but I still have both arms so that is fantastic. This time around, I was a little smarter and better prepared for travel in regards to those stupid wingdrake rides. I know it seems like I would be used to it by now, and didn't pee on myself, but in reality I just made sure to bring an extra pair of panties - because I still peed on myself. Sadly, my favorite pair of period panties had to be sacrificed for this journey.
The rumbling in the ground has grown even greater, and Hunters are dropping in all over the place. Apparently, a detachment was sent to literally ride the Zorah Magdaros, attacking active volcanic magma cores on its body to weaken it before reaching our station. I'm scared to death because Lee isn't here - which means he's one of the unlucky bastards to end up on that thing's back. It feels like its been forever, but things are supposedly going pretty well.
"Second magma core destroyed!!" Everyone cheered at this news, shouting every update from the Elder Dragon's bedrock-ridden hide. No-one seems to notice that even though the Zorah Magdaros is a friggin Leviathan, it's not fighting or attacking anything - not even the Hunters bothering it. This thing has a mission, and it isn't gonna let us get in its way.
"N-Nergigante has appeared!!"
Nergigante? What the hell is that? I go outside the cave we've been awkwardly assigned to wait in, and Hunters are no longer hitching wingdrake rides. They're freaking terrified of whatever the heck Nergigante is.
"Run me that." I snatch a telescope off of some awe-inspired schmuck, and try to catch a glimpse of what's going on.

A huge, musclebound wyvern was approaching the Zorah Magdaros, covered in jagged bone spikes with horns that looked big enough to gore a Gammoth. Its jaws were savagely wide, and its fangs looked perfectly attuned to rip through flesh. As it landed, the freak of nature uttered this horrid roar that could be heard clearly even from where we stood. Lee ran at it headfirst, grinding his sword against the ground and swinging at the unforeseen threat. My buttcheeks have never been tighter, because that thing took Lee's greatsword to the chin like a champ. It swung backwards, the spikes on its body darkening in color. Lee went in for another attack, but Nergigante somehow deflected it like it was nothing! It's like, those spikes get harder as the fight goes on. The sounds of the fight echo vibrantly throughout the ravine, the clashing of Lee's sword against Nergigante's jagged hide ringing loudly enough to make the air around us vibrate.
The monster quickly ascended, loading its claws before diving to the ground, creating a deep fissure in the rocky surface as it grinded its nightmarish spikes against the ground. Lee rolled out of the way, turning to face his opponent but was bombarded by some other unseen attack. The entire crowd behind me clamored in confusion as to what the heck hit him, sending him flying to the ground. I could see it though, some kind of crazy aftershock of its attack - there's no way any Hunter could prepare for that.
"Not so fast!"
Takamasa hopped off a ledge, stabbing a knife into the beast's neck. I guess that's a sword? I dunno. Honestly, normal swords look like toothpicks compared to that guillotine Lee carries around. Takamasa hacked away on the thing's back, wrestling with the massive beast. The size difference shows just how mighty Hunters really are. Even Lee got up and went back to fighting like nothing happened, his armor cracked and falling apart.
"Target is in range.. FIRE!!"
Cannonfire filled the air, clouds of smoke surrounded us, clearing up to reveal black iron rounds raining down on the Zorah Magdaros, breaking chunks off its craggy shell. One attack after another in almost perfect synchronization, Lee and Takamasa managed to shatter the spikes on Nergigante's head. The beast reeled back before a handful of other Hunters landed on the shell, including the Huntsman, who surprisingly fired off some pretty fire combos with that longsword before the Nergigante retreated.

He's acting all cool, but I can see his lazy ass huffing and puffing from those five little hits. Now everybody's cheering, after sitting here not doing jack. Hunters flew in, rushing to the cannons and ballistae. I marched over to where Lee was landing, but only because I needed to check on the ballista stationed on that ledge, not because I was worried and wanted to check on him or anything.
"That thing packed one hell of a punch," said Lee, while I pretend to test the aim of the ballista in front of me, moving it around and peeking through the sights, like I actually know what I'm doing. He saw me run my little legs over here, why the heck am I acting like this?
Takamasa pulled Lee's arm over his shoulder. "You're right about that, but.. well, we managed to scare it off!"
Oh. He wasn't talking to me. Good thing I was being unnecessarily douchey, or I would've felt pretty stupid. Okay, never mind, I feel stupid anyways. In other news, Takamasa's sword is actually pretty big. Looks like it could slice a grown man in half. I shudder, at how even the smallest weapons Hunters typically wield are still huge.
Everyone's blasting away at the Zorah Magdaros, even managing to restrain it with One-Shot Binders. Of course it broke out, but I'm seriously wondering if the Zorah Magdaros truly feels any of this. From what I observed, the thing only uses that volcano on his back like a turtle shell. Still, it takes some serious might to peel off a tectonic plate and use it like a backpack.
The sight of Lee in actual danger freaked me the hell out, and I can't get the image out of my head. Even with Karo, I felt like Hunters were just.. invincible, so to get a reality check on that is devastating. In the middle of my thoughts, the ground shook wildly, knocking me off my feet. I look over, and not only has the Zorah Magdaros broken through our barricade, but he made it look easy. before tumbling through and continuing its stride.