An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

“…You really have become a father, and you even have a harem of beautiful girls… What on earth happened to cause such a drastic change in that Nagumo…”

Endo ran quickly towards the deeper levels of the Great Labyrinth, still unable to comprehend Hajime's attitude and the surroundings he was in, and kept muttering to himself.

Now that he had a powerful reinforcement, Endo felt a little more at ease. However, Hajime complained that if he had more time to talk, he might as well run faster, which completely shattered his confidence in his agility. Despite this, Endo still prayed for his friends to be safe.

“Ugh…”

"Rin-chan!"

"bell!"

Ling groaned, moved her body, and slowly opened her eyes. Kaori and Huili, who had been staying beside her, called out Ling's name happily. Ling was stunned for a while, looked around, and finally spoke slowly.

"A strange, strange ceiling~" (Translator's note: A line from the anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion").

"Rin, I know you love to perform, but you don't have to be so funny just to liven up the atmosphere, even at a time like this, okay?"

Ling must have been very thirsty, and despite her hoarse voice, she was still desperately trying to find a joke. Shizuku heard her voice and ran over, complaining with a half-speechless, half-praising expression, and brought the leather water bottle next to her mouth to let her drink water.

Gurgling, Ling's throat made a cute sound, and after replenishing water, she shouted, "I'm truly resurrected!" She struggled to sit up, and Kaori and Eri supported her.

Seeing the class's happiest kid regain consciousness from a near-death state immediately brought joy to everyone, and the classmates who had been wearing sad faces couldn't help but smile.

However, in contrast to her cheerful demeanor, Suzu looked utterly dismal. Fatigue was certainly to blame, but low health was also a factor. Her face was pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes, and her smile was almost unbearable. Despite being pierced several times, Suzu, having just regained consciousness, managed to maintain a smile, undoubtedly due to her "strength." Shizuku and Kaori both looked at Suzu with respect.

"Xiao Ling, it's better for you to lie down. Even if the wound heals, the blood that shed won't come back..."

"Hmm~ This wobbling feeling turned out to be anemia~ That damned monster~ actually pierced such a cute Suzu... I wanted to say 'I'm pierced ❤' in bed!"

"Rin! That's too obscene! Have some self-respect!"

Suzu looked at Hollow with resentment at what he had said, and Eri blushed and rebuked her. Nomura and Nakano couldn't help but let out a laugh, "Pfft!?" But Shizuku glared at them, and they immediately looked away.

"Rin, we're so glad you woke up. We were so worried about you, huh?"

"Hey, are you okay? You look pale."

Seeing Qian making a lot of noise as soon as he got up, Guanghui and Ryutaro walked over with smiles on their faces.

Guanghui, weakened by the effects of his Limit Break and devastated by the battle, was depressed for a while. However, after quite some time had passed since he fled to this temporary hideout, he finally calmed down.

"Good morning, Kouki-san, Ryuutarou-san! Looks like we've escaped this disaster, huh? Uh, everyone's okay... Eh? It seems like someone's missing... Is it my imagination?"

"Ah, it's Endo, right? We let him escape alone. If it's his invisibility, he could have broken through the floor even if he was alone..."

Ling smiled and greeted Guanghui and Ryutaro, then looked around at the classmates around her, only to find that there were fewer of them. Since Ling lost consciousness during the battle, Guanghui and the others not only answered her questions, but also explained the current situation.

By the way, Kondo and Saito's petrification has also been lifted. They woke up earlier than Qian and listened to their classmates' explanation of the situation.

"I see, Ling has been unconscious for quite some time... Oh, by the way, Xiang Xiang, thank you! Xiang Xiang is Ling's savior!"

"Xiao Ling, treatment is my duty. I just did my duty. It's an exaggeration to call me a benefactor."

"Hmm~ The abstinent little Xiang Xiang is also great! Let's get married?"

"Rin... you look very pale. Saying that will only scare people. Anyway, can you lie down for a while?"

As Ling pestered Kaori, Eri persuaded her to stop, and if she went too far, Shizuku would physically stop her, just as usual. The others had begun to think they might never make it back to the surface alive, but seeing that Qin and the others were interacting just like usual, as if they didn't care about losing, they felt a little relieved.

However, when the atmosphere gradually becomes relaxed, there are always people who come out to pour cold water on it.

“…What are you laughing at? We almost died, didn’t we? And the situation hasn’t gotten any better! Instead of joking around, we should be thinking about what to do!”

Kondo glared at Qian and yelled. Saito, who was standing next to him, didn't say anything, but his eyes were full of reproach when he looked at Qian.

"Hey, Kondo, how can you talk like that? Ling is trying to lighten the mood..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Do you have the right to blame me? It's all because you lost! I almost died! Damn it! What kind of hero are you?!"

Guanghui tried to persuade Kondo, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Kondo suddenly became excited and began to blame Guanghui.

“You bastard… who do you think we were able to escape thanks to? Wasn’t it because of Kouki that we found a way out?!”

Ryutaro responded angrily, and Kondo retorted unconvinced.

"After all, if he had won, we wouldn't have had to flee! Besides, the situation was clearly unfavorable to us at that time. We could have just pretended to accept the demon's proposal and defeated them later! But this guy started the war without permission! This is all your fault! You must take responsibility!"

Kondo stood up, and Ryutaro stood face to face with him, staring at each other. Saito and Nakano, perhaps agreeing with Kondo, also stood up and confronted Ryutaro.

"Ryuutarou, I'm fine... Kondo, I'll take responsibility and I won't lose this time! I've mastered the monsters' characteristics, and their sneak attacks won't work. I'll definitely win this time!"

Kouki clenched his fists and emphasized, but Saito said with a gloomy look:

"...But, you can't win even if you use Limit Break, right?"

“T-That’s… T-It’ll be fine this time!”

"Why is it okay this time?"

"This time, I'll use Kamui to deal with them right from the start. As long as everyone covers me..."

"If we chant for too long, the enemy will surely know we're going to use our ultimate attack, right? They'll have a countermeasure, right? And there might be more monsters out there than we have."

Even though Guanghui said it was no problem, Kondo and the others seemed to have already developed distrust in his ability. They looked at Guanghui with suspicion and complained.

At this point, even asking Guanghui to take responsibility or guarantee absolute victory was meaningless. However, the fact that they had nearly died, and the enemy's unreasonable strength and numbers, seemed to have made them lose their composure.

Ryutaro's irritable retort, as if ready to argue, was probably the main reason for Kondo and the others' agitation. Gradually, even Tsuji, Yoshino, and Nomura, who were trying to dissuade them, began to exude a menacing aura.

Finally, Ryuutarou raised his fists, and Kondo drew his spear, a tense atmosphere rising in the air. Kouki shouted, "Ryuutarou!" and grabbed Ryuutarou's shoulders to stop him. Ryuutarou seemed beside himself with rage, veins popping in his forehead as he glared at Kondo, refusing to give in. Kondo seemed half-sullen, too.

"Everyone, calm down! No matter what, if we want to survive, we have to bet on Kouki! We must defeat that woman within the time limit of Kouki's 'Limit Break'. Since she won't let us escape, this is the only way. You all understand this, right?"

Shizuku intervened, trying desperately to calm them down, but to no avail. Kan staggered to his feet and even apologized to Kondo, but he seemed oblivious. Kaori thought it might be necessary to tie everyone up first, and just as she was secretly preparing the Light Binding Blade... a voice rang out.

"Horrrrrrrrrrrr..."

““““!?”””””

It was the growl of a wild beast, an impressive growl that went straight to the heart.

The images of the Chimera and the black four-eyed wolf flashed through everyone's minds, and they froze in place, unable to move. The previous menacing atmosphere instantly vanished. Even the faintest breaths sounded unusually loud, and they naturally held their breath. Everyone's eyes were focused on the camouflaged wall at the front of the passage.

Crack! Crack! Sniff! Sniff!

Through the wall, he could hear the sound of something scraping, and the sound of someone breathing heavily, as if swallowing. Endō must have eliminated any traces of scent, even a powerful monster wouldn't be able to sense Kouki and the others within. Even as he thought this, his body tensed with tension, and a cold sweat broke out.

It would take some time for Guanghui and the others to fully recover. Qian was still too weak to fight, and Kaori and Tsuji had expended too much mana on healing, leaving little to none. While the forwards were nearly healed, the magic-heavy defenders had only recovered half their mana, and their healing potions were nearly exhausted. The students had hoped to at least wait a few more hours for a gradual recovery.

In particular, the absence of Kaori and Tsuji, who were responsible for recovery, and the absence of the defensive seal, created an irreparable loophole. Therefore, Kouki and the others could only stare at the wall separating the outer room from the secret room, praying with pleading hearts that they would not be discovered.

The demon lingered outside for a while, its presence finally fading, and silence returned. Even so, for a long time, no one dared to move. Only after they were sure the demon had completely departed did they breathe a sigh of relief, and several people collapsed to the ground. Everyone was sweating profusely from the extreme tension.

"...If we had continued arguing, we would have been discovered by now. I beg you to calm down and focus on your responses for now."

"well……"

“Y-yeah…”

Shizuku proudly wiped away the beads of sweat that trickled down her cheeks as she spoke. Kondo and the others also stopped arguing with a look of regret, feeling as if they had been poured with a bucket of cold water, finally calming down.

They had escaped danger for the time being and immediately relaxed... At that moment -

“Hooa ...

With a terrifying roar, the wall separating the inside and outside of the secret room was shattered.

“Wow!?”

“Aaaaaaa!!”

The debris from the wall flew into the chamber like a bullet, striking Kondo and Yoshino as they were in the path. They both groaned and fell to the ground.

The next moment, the shaking space that they didn't want to face for the time being jumped in and appeared in front of Guanghui and others who were speechless.

"Prepare for battle!"

"Damn it! Why were we discovered?!"

Kouki gave the order, immediately drawing his holy sword and slashing at the Chimera. If he stopped, the Chimera would vanish without a trace, so he couldn't let it get away. Ryuutarou cursed as he blocked the passage leading outside, trying to prevent more monsters from entering.

however--

“Ooooooooooooooooooo!!”

“Guuuu!!”

The fake Brutal rushed over like a cannonball with his iron body, then pounced on Ryutaro with great force, knocking him to the ground.

Taking advantage of this opening, dozens of black cats successfully invaded and immediately released dozens of tentacles. The tentacles shot out with a density like a hail of bullets, mercilessly attacking Kondo and the others, who were still standing where they had been arguing. Kondo and the others immediately prepared to attack with their weapons, but the tentacles were too numerous and they were about to be pierced, but -

“—『天绝』!”

“—『天绝』!”

Thirty gleaming barriers appeared at an angle in the space before Kondo and the others, finally deflecting the tentacles. The skill of activating these barriers with such a short incantation was something everyone admired. Suzu created twenty of the barriers, while Kaori created ten.

However, it was only a temporary barrier after all. Moreover, Qin's body was very weak, and Kaori's magic power was almost exhausted. Their weakness was also reflected in the strength of the barrier.

The sound of shattering barriers echoed repeatedly. Though the barrier's angle had clearly deflected the impact, it couldn't withstand the onslaught of the tentacles and shattered one after another. Then, several tentacles, undeflected by the tilted barrier, shattered it and struck their targets behind them—Nakano and Saito.

The two men twisted their bodies to dodge, but they were both guards and had limited physical strength. Therefore, although they avoided fatal injuries, Nakano was still stabbed in the shoulder and Saito was stabbed in the thigh. Both men screamed and fell heavily to the ground.

"Shinji! Yoshiki! Damn it! Daisuke, come help!"

"well."

Hiyama had been lost in thought ever since he escaped into the secret room, and Kondo had noticed it, so he hadn't spoken to him, but the current situation wasn't the time to be polite.

Kondo dragged the injured Nakano and Saito to Suzu's side. Although Suzu was weak, she had relatively more magic power left compared to everyone else, so her side was the safest area and it was easier for her to receive Kaori's treatment.

"Kui! Use 『Limit Break』 to break out! We'll deal with the enemies in the room!"

"But, they can't move yet..."

"If we keep going like this, we'll be outnumbered! Please! Break through the encirclement and kill the demon alone!"

"Kui! Leave this to us! We won't let anyone die!"

“…I understand! I’ll leave this to you! [Limit Break]!”

Hearing Shizuku and Ryuutarou's words, Kouki's mind raced. However, he knew this was the only way to change the current situation, so with a resolute expression, he activated his second "Limit Break" of the day.

Using Limit Break again within a day would place a considerable strain on the body. Because of this, Limit Break's duration was typically around eight minutes, but with consecutive uses, Kouki predicted it might be even shorter. Therefore, he ignored the other enemies and focused solely on defeating the female demon as he rushed out of the chamber.

After Guanghui entered the large octagonal room from the secret room, he saw a large number of monsters and a female demon standing behind them. She had a cold look in her eyes, a white crow perched on her shoulder, and was surrounded by monster guards.

Guanghui stared at the female demon, his heart burning with anger at being forced into such a desperate situation and the mission to save his companions.

"Hmph, I spent so much time looking for someone, and I have other important tasks..."

"Shut up! I'll definitely defeat you! Wake up!"

After declaring this, Kouki, accompanied by a brief chant, channeled a burst of his magical energy into the holy sword. Since the power was far less than the original "Divine Power," this strike likely wouldn't reach the demon girl. Even so, Kouki still believed that this strike should be able to open a path, and prepared to unleash a "Divine Power" with abbreviated chant.

However, facing the holy sword whose light was getting brighter, the female demon smiled coldly and ordered the pseudo-Bruttal who was on standby beside her to drag something out from behind.

Guanghui had a puzzled expression, but upon seeing that "thing," she was stunned. She involuntarily lowered the holy sword she had held high, opened her eyes wide, and called out his name in a trembling voice.

"...Mei, Captain Meld?"

Indeed, Captain Meld was covered in blood, dying, with the back of his neck being grabbed by the false Brutal. At first glance, because his body drooped limply, he looked dead, but the occasional groan of pain showed that he was still alive.

“You, you bastard! Let go of Captain Meld—!?”

Guanghui saw Captain Meld's plight and was instantly enraged. Just as he was about to charge at the demon girl, a massive shadow suddenly appeared, as if waiting there for the moment, and at the perfect moment, it covered Guanghui. Startled, Guanghui turned around to see a massive fist like a wall, tearing through the air, approaching with terrifying momentum.

Guanghui instinctively raised his left arm in defense, but the fist, packed with immense force, easily shattered it, sending a powerful impact through Guanghui's body. As if struck by a gravel truck, Guanghui was flung forward at a furious speed, crashing into the wall with a resounding thud. The force of the blow radiated cracks from the wall behind him.

“Ugh!”

The impact forced the air out of his lungs. Guanghui slid down the wall and fell to the ground. He relied on his uninjured right hand to desperately support his body, spitting out a lot of blood from his mouth. It seemed that the previous attack seemed to have damaged his internal organs.

Guanghui also seemed to be experiencing a concussion. His eyes were unable to focus, but he still tried desperately to grasp the situation, his gaze darting around. Then, Guanghui saw that where he had been just now, stood a giant monster about three meters long, maintaining a fist-raising motion, guarding against the enemy's counterattack.

The monster had the head of a tusked horse, its muscular upper body adorned with four thick arms, and its lower body resembling that of an ape. It glared at Guanghui with bloodshot eyes, and whenever its long horse face breathed, steam erupted from its mouth. The aura it exuded was distinctly different from that of the previous monster.

As the horse-headed monster retracted its fist, it radiated an incomparably strong murderous aura and charged relentlessly at Guanghui. Then, not far in front of Guanghui, who was kneeling on the ground, the horse-headed monster leaped up and fiercely struck Guanghui's head with its fist.

Guanghui obeyed the strong warning of his instinct, rolled to the side, and tried his best to leave the spot.

Then, the horse-headed monster's fist struck the ground, dark red ripples spreading out, and the ground immediately exploded. The destruction caused by the explosion could only be described as shattering everything.

This is the horse-headed monster's unique ability, "Magic Shock Wave." Its effect is very simple: it converts magic power into shock waves. Precisely because of this simplicity, it is incredibly powerful.

Guanghui barely recovered from the dizziness of the concussion, struggled to stand up, and raised the holy sword in his hand. However, at this time, the horse-headed monster was already in front of him and swung his fist again.

Although Guanghui used his sword as a shield, his left hand was shattered, and his right hand alone could not completely absorb the impact, and was forced to be knocked back again. Afterwards, Guanghui tried his best to dodge, barely avoiding fatal injuries, but just dealing with the "Magic Wave" fired by four hands in succession was already exhausting his strength. The damage caused by the initial blow was more severe than expected. Guanghui's movements were slow, and he had no chance to counterattack.