The Sapphire Star looked at the fellow wearing the Boar Headgear and raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.
Her keen hunter's senses immediately picked up on his rough breathing, his warm body...
"This Boar Monster is definitely human. A human wearing a headpiece."
The Sapphire Star narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
"Come to think of it, I used to love wearing Boar Headgear and Wiggler headpieces too."
She remembered the happy times she had spent running around the New World base in that floppy, slippery Wiggler headpiece, scaring Palicoes and AIBO.
"That thing felt great. So slippery!" She instinctively touched her head.
Although the Boar Headgear before her was crude and roughly made, its swagger and wildness unexpectedly appealed to her. She watched Inosuke wave his two little swords and roar at her, brimming with fighting spirit.
"What an energetic kid! Did I accidentally hurt you just now? Sorry!"
"Who wants your apology, woman?! It's an honor for you to hurt the great me! Are you challenging me, bastard?! Then get a taste of my moves!" Inosuke roared and charged.
"Wait, dude? Aren't you the one challenging me?"
She flexed her wrist, and the chill radiating from her scabbard eased a little.
She had absolutely no idea what this examination was testing, nor why the boar-headed boy had come charging at her with a roar. But since he had issued a challenge, how could she refuse?
"I don't know what's going on..."
She took the Fatalis Demolisher off her back and casually planted it beside her!
"But bring it on!"
Boom! The heavy sheathed blade plunged deep into the ground.
The Sapphire Star rolled her neck with a series of sharp cracks, then settled into a stance to meet Inosuke's charge.
She was a hunter who could subdue monsters with her bare hands! Playing with this "boar boy" using her fists would be perfect!
Inosuke had no idea what the Wiggler she had been muttering about was, but he understood the stance she took after putting down her weapon and raising only her fists!
"Raaagh!!! You looking down on me?! Take this! Beast Breathing: Second Fang!!!"
With an enraged roar, he crossed his swords and charged straight at the Sapphire Star like a rampaging boar! His speed was tremendous, his momentum fierce!
"Nice form!" The Sapphire Star's eyes lit up. With that charging speed and explosive power, he would have been a promising youngster even in the New World.
Rather than retreating, she stepped forward to meet his blades!
Just as Inosuke's twin swords were about to reach her-
The Sapphire Star moved!
Her body flowed sideways through a tiny arc, slipping past the crossed blades with perfect precision. At the same time, she clenched her right fist, instinctively gathering a thin layer of fighting spirit over her knuckles, and gave his completely unguarded flank a gentle push!
Thump!!! A dull impact rang out.
Inosuke's frenzied charge froze in place.
The next instant-
Whoosh!!!
Inosuke became a blurred afterimage, hurtling backward in a straight line toward the Wisteria Forest behind him at a terrifying initial speed far beyond that of his own charge!
Crack! Crack! Crash!
He smashed through several trees as thick as the mouth of a bowl! Wood chips and wisteria blossoms scattered as though an explosion had gone off.
He flew over twenty meters before slamming into a dense clump of bushes like a torn sack with a dull thud. Then he went still.
Only his signature Boar Headgear remained, hanging crookedly from a broken branch and swaying in the wind.
Still holding her punching pose, the Sapphire Star slowly withdrew her fist. She looked down at it, then stared incredulously at the wrecked trail leading to where Inosuke had vanished and the Boar Headgear hanging from the branch.
Uh-oh. I overdid it.
Every examinee, including Tanjiro, gaped, their jaws practically hitting the ground.
They stared at the path his body had smashed through the woods, then at the Sapphire Star standing there looking utterly bewildered. Their brains completely shut down.
Several seconds later, the Sapphire Star's scream finally shattered the silence:
"Oh, shit!!! I didn't mean to do that!!!!"
She jumped like a startled Palico.
"I just poked him like I would a Popo! He..."
She completely panicked. Sparring between hunters wasn't supposed to go like this!
"Bad, bad, bad! Tanjiro! Tanjiro, get over here!"
She waved urgently at the black-haired boy, the only person whose name she knew.
"Quick! Come check on that boar boy with me! What was his name again? Hashibira... some kind of boar?"
Tanjiro snapped out of his daze, swallowed, and answered in a trembling voice:
"Y-yes! Inosuke... he should... still be alive, right? I... I'll take you over there!"
He felt as though his outlook on life and the world had been repeatedly crushed and rebuilt tonight.
"Potions! Potions! Thank goodness I always carry lethal quantities of Ancient Potion combining materials!" The Sapphire Star rummaged through her bag.
As the New World's finest hunter, she always stocked her supplies to handle consecutive battles against Elder Dragons!
In one swift stride, she swept like the wind to Tanjiro, who was still standing there in a daze, and grabbed his arm.
"Huh? Oh!" The tremendous strength in her grip hurt Tanjiro's arm as she dragged him flying toward the bushes where Inosuke had landed.
They pushed aside the shattered bushes to find Inosuke Hashibira embedded spread-eagled in a pile of broken branches and leaves. His Boar Headgear was long gone, exposing a handsome, scarred face that was now as pale as paper.
His eyes were tightly shut, and a trace of blood clung to the corner of his mouth. A clear, slightly sunken fist mark on his torso made for an alarming sight! His breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
"Gasp-"
Tanjiro sucked in a sharp breath. These injuries... were far too serious.
At the sight, the Sapphire Star's heart sank.
He looked much worse than someone who had been swatted by a Rathalos's tail! She slid to her knees beside Inosuke.
"He's still breathing! As long as he's breathing, we're good!"
Her fingers quickly checked Inosuke's carotid artery. His pulse was weak, but it was definitely there!
"As long as he's still breathing, I can bring him back!"
Under Tanjiro's dumbfounded gaze, she swiftly pulled a palm-sized medicine pouch from her pack. It radiated rich life energy and a strange, sweet fragrance.
"Lucky you, kid!" the Sapphire Star muttered, then tossed its contents into the air without hesitation.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
The rough treatment made the unconscious Inosuke choke and cough violently. Miraculously, however, as he inhaled the dust rich with life energy, color began returning to his paper-white face at a visible rate. The bruising around the sunken fist mark on his chest rapidly faded as well.
"Super effective!"
The Sapphire Star nodded in satisfaction, but she still wasn't reassured. She pulled a strange, fist-sized pill from her pack.
"And an Ancient Potion too. In you go!" Aiming at Inosuke's mouth, she boldly stuffed the enormous potion pill inside.
"Holy crap, you woman! Pfft-cough, cough, cough!"
Inosuke coughed hard a few more times, but this time he spat out not bloody froth, but dark material mixed with clotted blood. The pain in his chest ebbed like the tide, and even the internal injuries caused by the Sapphire Star's earlier shock wave healed rapidly! He actually let out a comfortable little grunt.
Beside them, Tanjiro's eyes nearly popped out of his head!
He had never heard of a "treatment" so simple and rough, yet so immediately effective! The miraculous pill and green dust radiated life energy so rich it made his nose itch!
The Sapphire Star's "rescue" wasn't over yet.
She frowned at the bloody scratches that branches had left on Inosuke's face.
"Tsk. Can't have you getting disfigured."
She took out another bottle and poured out a little ointment, thick as honey and pleasantly fragrant. Without bothering with any technique, she slapped it straight onto Inosuke's face, then spread it forcefully with her palm!
"Mmph...!!"
Inosuke had only just begun regaining consciousness when he felt a burning sting and tremendous pressure on his face. He nearly passed out again.
Immediately afterward, however, the ointment brought a cool, soothing sensation. Under the combined effects of the potion and ointment, his facial wounds were healing and scabbing over at an unbelievable speed.
"All done~"
The Sapphire Star clapped her hands and smiled in satisfaction at Inosuke, whose breathing was steady and face rosy, even the little scratches on it nearly gone. She was immensely proud of her first-aid results.
"All right, Tanjiro, he should be fine now... hm?"
Before she could finish, Inosuke, who had just stirred awake, abruptly opened his eyes! His beastlike gaze was briefly confused, then instantly focused, filling with utter fury and... a barely perceptible trace of fear?
That terrifying experience of being sent flying as though struck by a Primordial Colossus Dragon had definitely been the closest he had ever come to death! And this woman, who had punched him away bare-handed and then forcibly healed him with strange substances, seemed ten thousand times more terrifying than the Hand Demon!
"You... you damned woman!!! What did you do to me?!"
Inosuke roared in anger and grievance, struggling to sit up.
"Oh, you're awake? You recovered pretty fast!"
The Sapphire Star paid no attention to his anger. Instead, she thought this "little boar" had impressive vitality. A promising youngster.
She casually produced an enormous piece of beast meat, roasted to fragrant perfection and radiating remarkable heat and a rich, meaty aroma, then shoved it into Inosuke's hands without giving him a say.
"Here. You just fought, and you've had a potion and dust, so you must be depleted, right? Eat up and replenish your strength! That's prime roasted Anjanath tenderloin. Really nourishing!"
Her expression said, "Come on, praise me for being so thoughtful."
Inosuke stared at the roast meat in his hands. It was bigger than his face and smelled tempting, but it definitely wasn't the meat of an ordinary animal. He smelled the overpowering presence of an apex predator lingering on it, then looked at the Sapphire Star's face, which was full of "genuine concern." An indescribable wave of grievance and indignation rose in his heart.
He was the mighty Mountain King! First, he had been accidentally injured by some inexplicable Sword Aura while minding his own business slaying demons. Now he was being treated like a little animal that needed feeding?!
This woman... is terrifying! I can't beat her, her medicine is bitter and burns, she smeared powder all over my face, and even the meat is scary!
"Ugh..."
Inosuke let out an indeterminate whimper, clutching that enormous slab of Anjanath meat. For a moment, he couldn't decide whether to be angry or take a bite first to see how it tasted.
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Tanjiro watched from the side, his mouth twitching as he screamed inwardly.
He felt as though the mingled scent of the potion, the glow of the dust, the smell of the ointment, and the overpowering presence of the roasted Anjanath meat were about to overwhelm his nose and knock him out.
Seeing that "boar boy" Inosuke was clearly full of life despite his contorted expression-and had even been forcibly given a piece of roast meat larger than his face that radiated the presence of a terrifying predator-and seeing Tanjiro's blank look as his worldview repeatedly collapsed and rebuilt itself, the Sapphire Star clapped her hands in satisfaction.
"All right, since everyone's fine now..."
She planted her hands on her hips, her ice-blue eyes sweeping over the mountain forest filled with the scent of blood and wisteria blossoms.
A trace of worry quietly crossed her heart-
Dire Miralis... and the Field Team Captain and the others. I hope they're safe in that spatial turbulence...
She shook her head and returned her attention to this unfamiliar world.
Before you continue