But Kaori is different.
“Ahh!?”
The attack was so sudden and powerful that Kaori couldn't help but scream. She lost her balance and was about to fall, but Hajime, who was standing by, put his arm around her waist in time to support her.
"S-Sorry."
"No, don't worry about it."
Hajime pulled away from her instantly. Kaori glanced at him. Normally, she would have blushed, but she looked rather glum. She was more frustrated by the fact that she was the only one showing such an ugly appearance than by Hajime's embrace.
In addition, Kaori was hit again by Yue Gaoqiang's magical skills.
When Kaori was with Guanghui and the others, she would assist Qian's defense, so she would also use some defensive magic. After continuous and painstaking training, in terms of magic activation speed, Kaori's level was not inferior to that of Suzu, a "Boundary Master".
Even so… compared to Yue, his own defensive magic was child's play.
Ever since she was rescued by Hajime and the others in the Orcus Labyrinth, Kaori had been feeling a certain feeling: inferiority. Although Kaori knew it, she suppressed it deep down to stay by Hajime's side, telling herself that her only path was to work hard.
Will I just become a burden?
This thought flashed through Kaori's mind again.
"What's wrong?"
"Eh? Ah, no, nothing."
"……Yeah?"
Kaori hurriedly covered it up, forcing a smile. Hajime narrowed his eyes slightly at Kaori's expression, but didn't say anything in particular.
Kaori felt a sense of loneliness and relief at the same time. As the death toll continued to fall, she noticed Yue, who was fending off the attack, looking at her. His eyes seemed to see through Kaori's heart, and Kaori quickly glared back.
Kaori couldn't let Yue laugh at her feelings like she had done before. If she did, the beautiful girl who possessed all of Hajime's affection might no longer consider Kaori a rival.
——This is the only thing...I absolutely cannot tolerate it.
Seeing Kaori's intense gaze, Yue raised the corner of his mouth slightly and returned his gaze to the top. At the same time, Tio released a flame that burned the ceiling. As the ceiling was destroyed, the culprit who had been attacking continuously fell down.
At first glance, the monster looked like a barnacle, clinging to the entire ceiling, and from the hollow parts, it emitted a "breaking" sound. The sight made people feel physically disgusted.
Perhaps because it is an aquatic creature, it seems to be very afraid of fire attacks and was quickly burned to ashes by Tio's fire magic "Snail Flame".
After removing the false barnacles, Hajime and the others walked towards the inner passage. The height of the passage was lower than the previous room, and the sea water under their feet reached the height of their knees.
“…Hmm.”
Yue let out a lovely low moan. A closer look revealed that Yue was short, and the water had reached her waist, making it difficult for her to walk.
Hajime simply nodded and easily picked Yue up, placing her on his shoulders in the so-called 'shoulder sitting' position.
“…H-Hitsu, I’m really embarrassed about this.”
"But the water is getting deeper. It would be more convenient for Yue if I carried it."
“…That’s right.”
Hajime said this to Yue as he walked in the water. Yue blushed at the sight of being treated like a child, and shyly squeezed her thighs together, hugging Hajime's head. Yue stole a glance at Shia and the others, feeling more warm than envious. They all looked at Yue with warm eyes.
Yue shrank even more shyly. This scene was really quite strange.
"Hehehe, Miss Yue is so cute~"
“…Wuwu.”
"That's been Myuu's seat lately."
“…Ugh.”
"Hehe~ Then from now on, it would be better to call you Xiaoyue, right?"
"...Go to hell, Kaori."
"Why are you so mean to me only!?"
Light's cheeks turned even redder when he saw Shia and the others' gazes. However, when it came to Kaori, Light responded with harsh words as if he was about to throw a rock at her, and Hajime laughed softly at that.
However, their harmonious atmosphere was soon forced to focus on fighting due to the monster attack.
Monsters like shuriken appeared, spinning at high speed and flying in straight and curved lines. Hajime quickly drew his Donar and fired without hesitation, shooting down all the monsters in the air. The monsters' bodies were shattered, and judging by the debris floating on the water, they looked like starfish.
Then, Yue sensed a sea snake-like monster swimming at high speed in the water at his feet, so he pierced it with his ice spear.
“…Isn’t it too weak?”
Everyone except Kaori agreed with what Hajime said.
The enemies in the Great Labyrinth are generally divided into three categories: powerful alone; difficult in groups; and powerful and difficult alone. However, whether it's a starfish or a sea snake, their strength is comparable to the ocean monsters you'd encounter after being ejected from an underwater volcano, or perhaps even weaker. They really don't resemble the monsters of the Great Labyrinth.
Aside from Kaori, who was unfamiliar with the Great Maze, everyone tilted their heads in confusion, but the answer soon appeared in the huge space in front of the passage.
"!……What?"
As soon as they entered the space, a translucent jelly-like object appeared instantly, blocking the entrance to the passage.
"I'll take care of it! Drink it!!"
Shia, at the end of the group, instantly swung her Drukken, attempting to break the wall. However, it only caused the surface of the wall to scatter, leaving the jelly-like wall intact, and the spray still clung to Shia's chest.
"Wow! What is this!?"
Xia's cry was mixed with confusion and astonishment. They looked at Xia and saw that the clothes on Xia's chest began to melt, and the plump breasts wrapped in clothes and underwear were suddenly exposed.
"Shia, don't move!"
Tio instantly used her incredible firepower to burn away only the jelly-like droplets, leaving Shia's skin unharmed. The jelly seemed to touch Shia's skin slightly, causing a red swelling on her chest. It seemed the jelly blocking the entrance had a powerful dissolving effect.
"!here we go again!"
Hajime and the others were on high alert. After leaving the jelly wall, countless tentacles attacked from overhead. Though their tips were sharp like spears, they resembled the jelly blocking the entrance. If so, the tentacles might also possess a powerful dissolving power. Yue jumped from Hajime's shoulder, creating a barrier to block the attack. Meanwhile, Tio unleashed flames, burning the tentacles.
"Honestly, Yue's defense combined with Tio's attack feels quite unfair."
Yue put up an ironclad defense, while Tio, protected by it, launched a unilateral attack. It was natural for Hajime to describe it this way.
Perhaps because she saw Yue and Tio handling it so easily, Shia quietly approached Hajime, raised her exposed breasts, her cheeks flushed, and pleaded pitifully:
"Um—Mr. Hajime, I'm burned. Can you help me apply some medicine?"
As expected of a girl with bunny ears, she is cunning, really too cunning. Hajime showed an expression of being defeated by her and complained:
"...Do you understand what's going on right now?"
"No~ I was thinking that with Yue-san and Tio-san showing off, there shouldn't be any problems. If I don't show off in small places like this, my presence will become even weaker with Kaori-san joining the fight..."
Shia showed Hajime the burns on her cleavage and said this.
immediately--
"Purification and healing are bestowed upon this place—'Divine Grace'!"
Kaori, with a beautiful smile on her face, immediately healed Shia's wound. Shia wailed, "Ahhh~ My chance to let Hajime-san touch my breasts is gone!" Everyone looked at her with cold eyes.
“Hmm?… Hajime, it seems these jellies can also melt magic.”
Hearing Yue's words, Hajime's gaze shifted back to the barrier, and he could see that Yue's barrier was indeed being eroded bit by bit.
"Hmm, as I expected. I've been feeling the fire's intensity weakening a bit since a while ago. It seems it can even dissolve the magic power contained in the flames."
If what Tio said was true, it meant that this jelly could also dissolve magic power itself. This was a very powerful and tricky ability, just in line with the level of a Great Labyrinth Monster.
Although the other party probably wouldn't be able to hear Hajime's inner thoughts, the monster controlling the jelly finally appeared.
The monster oozed out from a tiny crack in the ceiling, hovering in mid-air before gradually solidifying into a translucent, crudely humanoid figure, its arms and legs resembling fins. Its body was covered in tiny, shimmering red spots, and its head sprouted what looked like two tentacles.
It paddled its fin-like arms and legs, seemingly swimming in the air, looking like a naked sea butterfly. However, a naked sea butterfly ten meters long was just a monster.
Without any preparatory action, the giant naked sea butterfly launched tentacles all over its body, and simultaneously sprayed jelly droplets from its head like a heavy rain.
"Yue also joins the attack! Leave the defense to me! — 『Holy Zetsu』!"
Kaori used the derivative skill "Delayed Activation" to activate the "Holy Spell" that she had chanted in advance; Yue nodded in agreement and together with Tio, she fired flames at the giant naked sea butterfly.
All of their attacks hit the naked sea butterfly, destroying its body or causing it to explode and scatter. Yue and the others' satisfied expressions seemed to say, "We've taken care of one!" But Hajime warned them.
"Not yet! The monster's reaction hasn't disappeared yet. Kaori, keep up the barrier... What's going on? The whole room is filled with the monster's reaction..."
Hajime's perception abilities picked up on the monsters' reactions throughout the room, and the entire horizon, as seen through the Magic Eye Stone, was a dark red, as if the room itself were a monster. Having never encountered such a situation before, Hajime's gaze naturally sharpened.
Hajime's worries were soon realized. The naked sea butterfly, which should have dispersed, regenerated in the blink of an eye. A closer look revealed that the false starfish and sea snake it had just defeated were still inside its stomach, having been digested by the naked sea butterfly.
"Hmm, it seems the monsters we thought were weak are really just ordinary monsters. They seem to be this creature's food... Master, if it regenerates infinitely, it will be very troublesome. Where is the magic stone?"
"So, even though its body is transparent, I can't see the magic stone."
Shia agreed with Tio's speculation and looked towards Hajime. Hajime was staring at the giant naked sea butterfly, searching for the location of the magic stone, but he had a confused expression on his face.
"……beginning?"
Yue called out to Shi, who scratched his head and reported everything he had seen.
"...No, that guy doesn't have any magic stones."
Hearing what Hajime said, Yue and the others opened their eyes wide in surprise.
"Hajime-san? You said there's no magic stone... does that mean that thing isn't a monster?"
"I don't know, but to be honest, that jelly-like body is made entirely of magic stone. My magic eye stone shows that its entire body is dark red, and the entire room is the same color. Everyone, be alert! We might already be in its belly!"
As Hajime spoke the shocking truth, the giant sea butterfly attacked again. This time, it launched not only its tentacles and a rain of jelly, but also a part of its body, which attacked from the sea water below like a torpedo.
Hajime took out a weapon that looked like a large black rifle from the "treasure chest." Instead of a magazine, the rifle was fitted with something that looked like a gas canister. The caliber of the rifle was also too large to be used for firing bullets.
That's no wonder, because it wasn't a rifle...
Boom~~~~~!!
But a flamethrower.
The tar-like Fulham ore caught fire as it was ejected, spewing out an inextinguishable flame at 3,000 degrees Celsius. Hajime's target wasn't the giant naked sea butterfly, nor its tentacles or spray, but rather the surrounding "wall" that was reacting dark red. As for the main body, Yue and the others would handle it.
The giant naked sea butterfly might have the ability to mimic itself, but the wall, which I had thought was perfectly normal, was ripped to shreds by Hajime's flames, like peeling wallpaper. It seemed the wall itself wasn't a giant naked sea butterfly, and Hajime breathed a sigh of relief.
However, no matter how hard it burned, translucent jelly continued to appear from the cracks or fissures in the wall, and finally even the jelly flowed out from the lower part of the feet, and the soles of the shoes began to make burning sounds.
Yue and the others intensified their attacks on the main body. The giant naked sea butterfly seemed to finally exert its full strength, and jelly gushed out from all the walls. Unconsciously, even the water level began to rise. Initially only reaching around the knees, it now rose to the waist, and Yue was submerged from the chest down.
Although Yue and the others defeated the giant naked sea butterfly several times, the jellies would immediately gather and revive, and it was simply endless.
Not only could they not find a way to annihilate the enemy, but they were also submerged in water, their combat effectiveness being reduced, and the situation was very bad. After all, defending against the giant naked sea butterfly was ineffective. Whether they set up barriers or hid in submarines, as long as they didn't have a way to annihilate the giant naked sea butterfly, they would be melted by it sooner or later.
So Hajime decided to leave here first, but all the exits were blocked by jelly. Hajime looked around desperately, and then found a vortex from the cracks in the ground.
"Let's retreat and regroup! There's a space beneath the ground, but we don't know where it leads to, so everyone be prepared!"
"Um!"
"yes!"
"learn."
"Understood!"
Hearing everyone's response, Hajime blasted the incoming jelly with his flamethrower, burning it while simultaneously using "Alchemy" on the swirling cracks. He stretched the cracks open and continued to dig deeper into the cave.
Hajime dove into the water and pulled out a cylinder from his waist pack, about 15 centimeters long and 3 centimeters in diameter. In the center of the cylinder was a protrusion resembling a snorkel's mouthpiece. This cylinder was a small oxygen tank, crafted from a mineral imbued with spatial magic using Hajime's creation magic. Inside, the cylinder contained a space similar to the "treasure vault," filled with air.
However, when Enison was preparing, Hajime prioritized damaged items and lost equipment. Furthermore, spatial magic was extremely difficult to control, and the space it could create couldn't compare to a "treasure vault," so it could only be a small one. Therefore, this small oxygen tank could only last about thirty minutes.
Keeping the time limit in mind, Hajime continued to refine the magic in the water. When there was no reaction from the ground, he took out the Pile Bunker from the Treasure House, fixed it in the water with anchor bolts, and filled it with magic power in one go.
Chirp, chirp, chirp! The distinctive sound of steam erupting echoed...
The next moment, a blow that broke through the floor was delivered.
The dull sound of explosion and vibration spread through the water.
A powerful force of water rushed into the cave that Hajime had opened. The water, which had originally reached their waists, suddenly receded rapidly, and Yue and the others were swept into the cave by the current.
Hajime desperately tried to keep his footing in the fierce current, while at the same time, huge rocks and countless incendiary grenades were sent from the "treasure vault" and were swept into the underground space with Yue and the others.
Behind them, rocks blocked the cave, and a dull explosion echoed. How long did this delay the giant sea butterfly's pursuit? Hajime couldn't confirm it.
"Ahem! Ahem! Ugh."
"Hoohoo~ Are you okay, Kaori?"
"Yeah, I'm fine... How about the others...?"
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