The royal retinue took in the beauty of the Misty Peaks. After their adventure in the Arctic Ridge the previous day, they were relieved to be away from that frozen peak. Gladio had been caught up on a lot of things as well, including the Elder Dragon, Valstrax, causing trouble for the Wycademy. The boys had come to the conclusion that helping Aria defeat Valstrax was what they were brought there to do. It was the most logical thing they could think of.

Aria crouched, examining the tracks in front of them. "These prints look at least a day old, and there's no sign of any disturbance in the area..."

"Maybe the Deviljho really is gone," Noctis guessed.

"The Wycademy did report that the beast has vacated the area," Ignis said.

Aria sighed, standing up straight. "Yeah, but I don't understand why."

Prompto shrugged. "Well, maybe it decided it had enough of the Misty Peaks?"

Gladio nodded. "If it's as adaptable as you say, then it might have wandered off."

Aria shook her head. "No, that's not at all like a Deviljho. They'll only leave once they've devoured every living thing they can find, and we've seen plenty of animals still living here." She hummed in thought. "And it's a formidable monster, it wouldn't simply flee from any of the local creatures. The only thing that could scare off a Deviljho would be..." She gasped at the sudden realization. "Oh no, it must be here." Turning her gaze to the sky, she could see a crimson streak in the distance. "The Argent Comet..."

The boys stared at the red streak, noticing that it was growing closer. "Look out!" Ignis cried.

All five of them ran in different directions, just in time too, as Valstrax had launched down from the sky, landing right where they'd all been previously standing. The group stopped and turned to face the Elder Dragon. The beast was covered in gleaming silver scales, and it had piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare them down. Its wings were the most notable features, both of them being split to look more like giant claws than wings.

"So this is Valstrax?!" Noctis exclaimed.

As if in response, the beast gave an almost bird-like roar. "We have to drive it off!" Aria shouted to the others.

They all charged in from different sides, and Valstrax flipped its wings around so that the razor-sharp tips were in front, readying for a fight. Gladio moved in from behind, swinging his greatsword down at its tail, but the monster saw it coming, moving its tail out of the way as Gladio's blade hit the ground. It then swung its tail, hitting him in the chest and sending him flying back. Ignis moved in on its side, his daggers slashing away at its body, but they did little to damage it. Valstrax brought its wing down to try and crush the advisor, but he skillfully backflipped away in time. Noctis warped in to try slashing at its wings, but the bladed tips were too resilient for his sword to cut.

Prompto started shooting from afar, and after swatting the prince away, the monster set its gaze on the gunman. It charged up dragon energy in its wing tips, then fired red blasts of energy that homed in on Prompto like missiles. He managed to roll and dodge several of them, but one of them hit him, sending him tumbling to the ground. Aria charged in next, and Valstrax immediately turned to focus on her.

She expertly dodged its claw swipes and wing slashes, and when close enough, she even avoided the snapping jaws of the Elder Dragon. Now beside its head, the hunter sliced her blade into the side of its face, causing it to flinch back and screech in pain and anger. But it then snapped again, grabbing her leg in its jaws. Fortunately, its teeth didn't pierce her strong armor, but it did lift her up and toss her, slamming her back into a tree.

Gladio growled, frustrated. "It's tough! How are we supposed to beat it?!"

"So, this is the might of an Elder Dragon," Ignis said, trying to remain calm.

Prompto struggled to his feet, afflicted with dragonblight, which made red energy spark from his body while weakening his abilities. "Guys! I don't know if we can win this!"

"We have to!" Noctis yelled. "For everyone here, and for us to ever have a chance of going home, we have to defeat Valstrax!"

The prince warped in again, but this time, onto the beast's back. Valstrax thrashed about and screeched in pain as Noctis plunged his blade into its back and held on tight. Valstrax was quick to flip its wings back to normal position, and charged them up.

Ignis gasped. "Noct! Get out of there!"

Before the prince had time to react, the Elder Dragon shot off into the sky like a rocket, zooming away with him on its back. The cries of his friends grew distant until he couldn't hear them any longer. All he could do was shut his eyes and cling to the hilt of his sword for dear life. The wind beat against him, threatening to knock him off the monster, but he somehow managed to hold on. It seemed like in mere minutes, they'd landed on an unfamiliar mountain peak. There were ancient ruins all over, and the whole place looked untouched by people for centuries. The Ruined Pinnacle was a place abundant in life, and the primary stomping grounds of Valstrax.

Now on solid ground, Valstrax finally managed to throw Noctis off, sending him tumbling across the ground. The monster snarled in anger, stalking toward the prince. Knowing he wouldn't be able to face it alone, he ran, using his warping abilities to make the beast lose sight of him. But he didn't get to rest for long, as Valstrax appeared to be hunting him. He had a few confrontations with the Elder Dragon in the span of a few hours, each one ending with him fleeing. He was in the midst of a fight against the beast when, fortunately for him, a recognizable ship came soaring overhead. It was the Soaratorium, and the prince's teammates were all on board. They dropped down to join the fight.

"What took you guys so long?" Noctis jokingly asked, smiling with relief.

"Apologies," Ignis replied. "We came as quickly as we could. Turns out this place is hard to reach for most ships. But on our way here, we've devised a plan to defeat Valstrax."

"Those gaps in its chest, they're used to take in and pressurize air," Aria explained. "And the openings in its wings is where it charges dragon energy, allowing it to fly and use certain attacks. If we can inhibit its ability to use either of those, we should stand a better chance."

Prompto gulped, watching Valstrax flip its wings to face them. "Guys, it's doing that thing with its wings again!"

"We've gotta do something!" Gladio cried.

Ignis analyzed the way the openings in its wings glowed brighter and brighter as it charged up energy in them. "Noct! I have an idea!"

He took out a magic flask from his pocket, one full of ice magic. The prince quickly realized what he had planned, and grabbed his own flask of ice magic as well. In unison, they threw the flasks, each of them going into an opening in each of its wings. When the flasks burst, ice erupted and froze over the beast's wings. Valstax looked at its frozen limbs in alarm, and when it tried to continue its charge, they just blew up instead. The monster screeched and reeled back as ice shattered and smoke poured from its wings.

While the beast was staggered, everyone rushed in to get some hits in. Aria and Noctis both did extra damage to its wings in hopes of keeping it grounded. Ignis and Gladio moved under it, slicing up its legs and belly while Prompto shot at some of the weakest points on its body. The onslaught was causing Valstrax to tire, and it spun around to knock everyone away from it before flipping its wings back. In a desperate attempt, it ran and charged up its wings to try and fly, but it barely got off the ground before its wings gave out, causing it to crash down.

Struggling to its feet, air began venting from its chest. Gladio rushed in, cutting his greatsword across its chest, disrupting the flow of air through the vents. Valstrax retaliated, lunging and clawing at Gladio, but he used his blade to block its sharp claws, though he was pushed back by it. While the monster was distracted, Prompto fired a few shots at its face, one of the bullets going directly into its eye. It roared in pain, its eye bleeding as it flailed around. With it partially blinded and bleeding out, everyone moved in to help finish it off.

Aria managed to climb up onto the back of its neck where she plunged her blades down into its flesh. The Elder Dragon finally collapsed, breathing its final breath. Valstrax was dead. Everyone on the Soaratorium started cheering and coming down to collect data on the elusive beast. Aria sheathed her dual blades and high-fived each of the boys.

"Excellent work, all of you!" The hunter smiled. "I couldn't have done it without you."

Noctis chuckled. "Eh, I think you could've managed. You're the best hunter the Wycademy's got."

"You're the only hunter the Wycademy's got," Gladio corrected.

Prompto laughed lightly. "You are pretty awesome. The hunters of this world rule!"

Ignis smiled. "It was a team effort. We only defeated the beast by combining our strength."

Aria watched as a wormhole suddenly opened up behind the boys. "Hey, isn't that some kind of portal?"

The four males all turned to look, relieved at the sight. "I was right!" Prompto cheerfully cried. "Just like in the video games, we beat the boss and now we can go home!"

Ignis looked at his friends. "Well, there's our ticket back to Lucis. We should get going before it closes."

Gladio gave a small wave and a grin. "Be seeing you, Aria."

"Wait a moment," the hunter called, halting them. She went over to the fallen Valstrax, collecting a scale and handing it to Noctis. "I'm not into long goodbyes, but at least take this as a souvenir. That way you'll never forget about our little adventure."

Noctis stared at the jagged but beautiful silver scale. "Thanks." He gave a faint smile. "Despite the circumstances, it was fun." He glanced back at the portal. "Guess we should get going. Good luck on the challenges ahead, Aria."

The woman chuckled, resting her hands on her hips. "You too. Have a safe journey."

With a few waves and smiles, the royal retinue stepped into the portal, and it immediately closed up behind them. The boys soon found themselves right back in the wilderness of Lucis, right where they'd left the Regalia. Looking back, the portal was already gone.

The prince looked down at the scale in his hand, a smile tugging at his lips. "It was nice to fight alongside you, Aria. Happy hunting."

The End