“…Fufu, well, I tried my best, but it’s not yet at a level that can be used in actual combat.”

As Yue had said, spatial magic was extremely difficult to master, far more challenging than gravity magic. Even Yue wasn't at the level where she could use it in combat. Constructing a magic circle in her mind through "imagination" took a considerable amount of time and was inefficient in terms of mana. Just to teleport a hundred meters, Yue expended two uses of the highest-level magic.

Even so, thanks to Yue's mastery of space magic in a short period of time, Hajime and the others were able to escape. Kaori and the others also praised Yue, and Yue blushed slightly.

Everyone smiled at her shy look—and then their expressions froze.

Swish~~~~!!!

Accompanied by the loud sound of water, a huge tsunami suddenly hit from behind Shi and others.

No, huge wasn't enough to describe it. To Hajime and the others, it looked like a wall, or rather, the sky itself. White waves reached the sky, far higher than Tio, who was flying a hundred meters above. The tsunami bearing down on them was over five hundred meters high and appeared to be about a kilometer wide.

"! Tio!"

"learn! 』

Hearing Hajime's cry, Tio came to her senses, flapped her wings, and flew faster in one breath. There was no escape to either side, and no time to use space teleport. The only way was to "forward" without hesitation!

She could only escape at high speed, a speed that was even comparable to her escape from the Gulun Volcano.

“—‘Binding Brilliant Chain’! ‘Holy Slay’!”

“—『Holy Spell』!”

To prevent everyone from being swept away by the tsunami and separated, Kaori created chains of light to connect everyone, and together with Yue, she cast a high-level defensive spell. Shia closed her eyes, concentrating, and then opened them wide the next moment, issuing a warning:

"Miss Tio, please be careful! That guy is in the tsunami! The tentacles are coming!"

Shia explained what she had seen using her unique magic, "Future Vision," a derivative skill called "Assumed Future." Tio, unwavering in her belief, dodged immediately by twisting her body. Then, countless tentacles extended from the tsunami, piercing through the space Tio had been in the moment before.

Although he successfully dodged the attack, the distance between him and Haitsun was getting closer. Tentacles continued to fly towards him. Hajime used the flamethrower to burn them, but...

"Damn it! Everyone hold onto each other!"

On Tio's back, Hajime hugged Yue, Shia, and Kaori tightly, shielding them with his body. Then, a massive tsunami, like a natural disaster, engulfed them.

Thanks to Yue and Kaori's joint deployment of the "Holy Destruction", they were not directly affected by the tsunami. Even so, Hajime and the others were still swept by the strong current and were quickly returned to the sea.

One side of the "Holy Absolute" was completely shattered, and the other side had cracks. If only one side of the "Holy Absolute" was opened, they might have died in the sea by now.

Hajime and his group were being shaken like toys inside the barrier, and when they shook their heads and looked up, their expressions became even more tense.

"Will you keep your eye on your prey and prevent it from escaping?"

Before Hajime and the others, protected by the Holy Zetsu, a giant naked sea butterfly was already waiting. It had grown even larger, reaching over twenty meters in length. However, it seemed unsatisfied, gathering more translucent jelly from its surroundings, growing even larger.

"H-How can this happen... Not only can I not die, but I can also dissolve anything and even control the seawater... What should I do?"

"...Mr. Hajime, I'm not kidding. Could you please kiss me? I hope that at the end of my life, Mr. Hajime will take the initiative to kiss me."

"Master, I also ask for a kiss at the end of my life."

Kaori showed a desperate expression, Shia showed a troubled smile, and asked Hajime for a kiss, and Tio did the same.

However, when they looked at Hajime, their bodies trembled. His eyes were still gleaming. Hajime's gaze was sharp, filled with intense and insane killing intent, and he glared at the giant naked sea butterfly with his teeth bared.

Hajime didn't give up, and didn't even think about it; all he could think about was how to kill the enemy in front of him and how to survive.

If he had given up simply because he encountered an unexpectedly strong enemy, Hajime wouldn't be standing here now. He would have died at the bottom of the abyss long ago.

Yue understood Shi's thoughts and had experienced life and death together with Shi at the bottom of the abyss, so she had no intention of giving up and tried her best to find a solution.

Seeing Hajime's piercing eyes, Kaori, Shia, and Tio were mesmerized. They stared at Hajime's eyes with dazed expressions, their bodies frozen in place. But when the giant naked sea butterfly finally reached thirty meters in length and launched its attack, the three of them came to their senses.

Kaori hurriedly reopened her "Holy Spell," Shia used "Assumption of the Future" to explore the possibility of victory, and Tio exhaled, her eyes no longer filled with the thought of giving up. Because they believed that a woman who gave up easily was not worthy of staying by Hajime's side.

Although he hadn't figured out a solution yet, Yue first assisted in attack and defense in order to survive.

Hajime did nothing but ponder. Using the time Yue had bought him, Hajime activated his "Instant Light" while rapidly thinking, constantly searching for a way to win. He commanded himself to recall the information he currently possessed. Everything that had happened so far flashed through his mind at a furious pace!

Then, Hajime recalled their escape from a giant sea butterfly, which made him wonder, "Why would it, with such immense power, spare me just once?" The difference between that battle and this one was...

"It's fire. There's no use for fire this time."

That's right, both Tio and Yue used a lot of fire magic last time. The tentacles were burned to ash, so they probably didn't use it to regenerate.

Although there is no definitive proof, the regeneration of the naked sea butterfly may not be infinite, but the sheer amount of translucent jelly that makes up its body makes it appear to be infinite.

Furthermore, based on what we've seen before, it's likely capable of producing its own jelly. However, if a large amount of jelly is destroyed all at once, it needs time to replenish. That's why, last time, it gave up the chase and prioritized regeneration to replenish the large amount of bodies it had destroyed, which is why Hajime and the others were able to escape.

Then, they could adopt the same strategy, simply destroying the translucent jellies faster than the naked sea butterflies could regenerate or form. However, here in the ocean, the most effective fire magic was useless. Tio's breath, while possessing extremely high heat energy, wouldn't be enough to completely destroy the jellies. Hajime was at his wit's end; he had no weapon capable of destroying the jellies.

In this way...

"Just make it and it'll be fine."

Hajime took out ores and torpedoes from the "treasure house" one after another and forged them with great force.

“…Hajime? Have you come up with anything?”

"Yes, if we need to use fire in the ocean, this is the only weapon we have. If we succeed, we should be able to defeat it."

“Hajime-kun, are you serious!?”

“As expected of you, Mr. Hajime! I’ve believed in you from the very beginning!”

“…Shia, weren’t you the first one to give up and still ask for a kiss from your master… No, the important thing is, this is how you should be my master!”

Hearing Shia's sudden change of heart, Tio complained to her. Their expressions had regained their composure, their uneasiness vanishing after hearing this from the man they trusted most in the world.

"But I need some time, so I'll leave this up to you guys."

The only thing left to do next is to respond to his trust.

The corners of Hajime's mouth curled up, revealing a fearless smile; upon hearing Hajime's words, Yue and the others also showed the same smile and nodded vigorously in response.

He pushed his "Blink" to its limit, expanding his perception, and then used "Limit Break" to exert his concentration beyond his limits, pouring all his energy into crafting the weapon.

New weapons were being completed one after another, but their production was extremely difficult and couldn't be mass-produced like bullets. However, if they were used separately, the giant naked sea butterfly would transform into a translucent jelly to regenerate itself, and the situation would only worsen. Therefore, if they were to be attacked, they had to be destroyed all at once. The red magic power clinging to Hajime—evidence of his "limit breakthrough"—continued to "refine" with all his might.

However, reality is cruel. The advantage of being in the ocean is a huge advantage for the giant naked sea butterfly, and even the cheating groups like Yue and her group cannot compete with it for long.

Yue, Kaori, Shia, and Tio all wore painful expressions and tried desperately to hold on, but they simply couldn't hold on until Hajime was ready.

"Three minutes, at least give me three more minutes."

Hajime couldn't help but shout, using telepathy. Yue and the others finally couldn't withstand the onslaught. A giant naked sea butterfly approached them, its head wide open, trying to swallow Hajime and the others.

Hajime had no other choice but to at least ejaculate all the semen he had made so far and fight for survival in this moment.

But at this moment, the person who responded to Hajime via telepathy was neither Yue, Shia, Tio, or Kaori, but a deep, rich voice of an older man.

"Hey, Hajime-chan, you seem to be in trouble, uncle is here to help."

"!? This, this voice... could it be Uncle Ri!?"

"Yes, it's Hajime's friend, Uncle Ri."

That’s right, the Uncle Li who appears now is the human-faced fish monster Liman who was captured by the aquarium of Fran in the past and was originally called Uncle Li.

Hajime opened his eyes wide in shock and looked around. He saw a huge silver shadow suddenly collide with the giant naked sea butterfly from the side. The giant naked sea butterfly had opened its mouth wide, ready to catch the prey, but was unexpectedly knocked away and pushed back violently.

Taking advantage of this moment, a human-faced fish, a creature they had once encountered before, swam up to the Holy Zetsu. Due to the suddenness of the situation, Yue and the others were completely confused. Yue and Tio stared at Liman's appearance, their eyes widening. Shia, her eyes wide with shock, cried out, "It's the fish from that time!" Kaori let out a mournful "Eh!?"

"Is everything okay, little sister Xia?"

"Huh!? Uh, yeah, yeah! I'm healthy!"

"That's good. Why are you still daydreaming, Hajime? You said you'd give me three more minutes to finish this kitchen scraps, right? Hurry up and do what you need to do. I can't hold out for much longer, okay?"

"Yes, yes. Although I don't know what happened, you helped us a lot anyway. Thank you, Uncle Li."

Hajime's hands, which had stopped due to Liman's sudden appearance, began to move again, hurriedly continuing to craft weapons.

During this time, the massive silver shadows either rammed the giant naked sea butterfly or dodged its attacks, buying Hajime time. The silver shadows appeared to be a school of fish, not monsters, but ordinary fish. Even ordinary fish, if they numbered in the tens or hundreds of thousands, could still buy time against a monster. However, their numbers were dwindling rapidly, and they couldn't hold out for long.

Shia seemed to recognize it, so Yue and the others forced her out to ask on behalf of everyone why Liman was here. Yue and the others hid behind Shia, only sticking their heads out to watch. This was a very rare sight.

"Um, that Uncle Ri? Can I call you that? Um, what's going on here?"

"Hmph, it's nothing, actually. I was just wandering around here when I heard a loud telepathic call accompanied by a familiar magical energy. I came over to see what was going on, and saw Hajime-kun being attacked by kitchen waste. I have many questions, but after all, it's a friend in danger, and I wouldn't be a man to stand by and watch."

"So... what's with all those schools of fish? And what's with all that kitchen waste?"

"The kitchen waste refers to that monster. It's a monster that has inhabited the sea since ancient times... no, it should be called a natural disaster. Some say it's the ancestor of the monster. Those schools of fish were guided here by my ability. My species possesses a special telepathic ability that allows us to manipulate ordinary sea creatures without magical powers to a certain extent."

It was truly astonishing: the mermaid, Liman, could control fish. When Liman finished explaining, the fish were nearly wiped out, and the giant sea butterfly opened its mouth again, attacking them.

However, through the noble sacrifice of the fish, they gained... exactly three minutes.

A swarm of torpedoes, larger than usual, were neatly arranged around the barrier, numbering approximately one hundred and twenty. Hajime wore a smug smile, and an equal number of rings floated around him.

Hajime activated the sensor stone in his hand and simultaneously unleashed all his torpedoes. One hundred and twenty torpedoes, trailing a trail of bubbles, hurtled towards the gaping maw of the giant sea butterfly. However, even if a normal torpedo exploded, it would only scatter the giant sea butterfly's body, inflicting no substantial damage. It would likely regenerate quickly.

Yue and the others watched, wondering what Hajime was planning. The giant sea butterfly, seemingly unwilling to be hampered in its pursuit, extended its numerous tentacles, attempting to engage the swarm of torpedoes. Hajime, in his state of overreaching, manipulated the torpedoes with his utterly focused concentration, deftly avoiding the tentacles by a hair's breadth.

"You can't dodge, right? Come on, I'll let you eat your fill."

Hajime's murmur echoed. Because the giant naked sea butterfly, no, because kitchen waste can dissolve anything, Hajime thought it wouldn't dodge the attack.

Just as Hajime expected, the giant sea butterfly didn't dodge at all. After completely dodging the barrage of tentacles, the torpedoes hit the giant sea butterfly squarely, piercing its entire body.

However, there was no explosion. The torpedoes were buried within the giant sea butterfly, and despite being melted, not a single one exploded. The giant sea butterfly was covered in swarms of black torpedoes, its body covered in spots, as if it had been poisoned.

Before the torpedoes completely melted, Hajime immediately took the next step and extracted a large amount of black liquid from the "treasure vault"—the tar from the liquefied Fulham ore. Hajime poured the tar into the inner part of the ring floating around.

At the same time, the giant naked sea butterfly's body began to turn black, just like ink dripping on paper, changing color in an instant. The originally translucent giant naked sea butterfly was gradually eroded by the black liquid in its body. The black liquid was the tar that Shi Zheng was injecting into the surrounding ring.

These rings and torpedoes are connected by tiny portals, which allow objects inside the rings to jump through space and emerge from the exit of the same ring installed in the torpedo. In other words, the torpedoes are not explosives, but tools for transporting the rings and serving as physical barriers during the tar injection.

The tar itself will of course be melted, but a large amount of tar is continuously injected from a total of 120 portals, and the giant naked sea butterfly cannot keep up with the melting speed!

The giant naked sea butterfly immediately separated itself, attempting to escape the tar's erosion, but Yue and the others would not allow it. They used barriers, freezing, and breath to completely prevent it from separating. Furthermore, Yue's portal was unusable because she couldn't yet open it to move objects; it could only connect two designated points in space.

It exerted all its might, gathering the surrounding translucent jelly, intending to use its maximum power to kill Shi and the others. This move now backfired. The tar Shi had injected finally dyed the giant naked sea butterfly completely black.

The corners of Hajime's mouth curled up, his bright eyes staring directly at the giant naked sea butterfly, a small fire in his hand.

"May the flames burn you to death from within!"

Hajime flicked the fire with his thumb, and it flew out in a parabola, landing on one of the tar being injected, and instantly ignited a high temperature of 3,000 degrees Celsius. The fire spread through the portal in one breath.

The giant naked sea butterfly, which until a moment ago had been desperately trying to dissolve the tar within its body, was now dyed a scorching red. As Hajime had said, an irresistible fire erupted from its body, leaving the naked sea butterfly powerless as the flames instantly spread throughout its body.

The crimson lotus blossoming in the sea finally erupted from the giant naked sea butterfly's body, incinerating it from the outside, dotted with bubbles. The superheated flames instantly vaporized the seawater, triggering a powerful steam explosion.

The violent impact erupted, causing a massive explosion on the ocean surface far above, and a turbulent current beneath the surface, a sight as horrific as the passage of a storm. Hajime and the others waited in the churning waters for the impact to pass, searching for any trace of the giant naked sea butterfly across the barrier.

They didn't dare to be careless, carefully observing the gradually calming sea... but there was no sign of the nightmare-like naked sea butterfly. Hajime used the magic eye stone and "farsight" to carefully explore, but still could not find any trace of the giant naked sea butterfly.

At first they were convinced that they had successfully defeated the ancient monster - kitchen waste.

"Well, it's finally over..."

The floating rings lost their momentum and fell, and the crimson magic enveloping Hajime's body instantly dissipated. Due to the side effects of "Limit Break," Hajime's body swayed, and he fell to one knee within the barrier of "Holy Suppression." His overworked brain stabbed with pain, causing him to grimace in agony.

However, Hajime's eyes were filled with the joy of victory and survival, "I killed it!"

“…Hajime, are you okay?”

"Hajime-kun, I'll treat you right away!"

Yue immediately leaned against Shiji and supported his body; Kaori also immediately chanted recovery magic to heal Shiji; Shia and Tio also came over and hugged Shiji.

"You did it, Hajime-san!"

"As expected of you, Master, you killed it in such a cruel way. My spine is tingling."

With Kaori's help, Hajime felt his headache gradually subside, and he smiled when he saw his companions coming over to him. Just as Hajime and his companions were happily enjoying the afterglow of their victory, the voice of an older man in a bad mood rang out.

"Hey, Hajime-kun. If it was going to explode, you should have told me. I thought I was going to die."

"Ah~ Uncle Li. Sorry, I just wanted to kill it at that time."

It seems that the final explosion affected Liman. Since Hajime was so focused on killing the giant naked sea butterfly that he didn't consider Liman, and the final explosion was not what Hajime expected, he was a little surprised.

"But it's unavoidable to kill the food waste. Anyway, you did a great job."

"If Uncle Li hadn't come to help us, the situation would have been really dangerous. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm just being righteous. You don't have to take it to heart."

"As expected of Uncle Li, you still have such a manly spirit. I have to thank you for your chance appearance here."

"Hajime, if coincidences happen one after another, it becomes inevitable, right? It's inevitable that I was able to help you, and it's also inevitable that you survived."

Yu, who had an uncle-like face, smiled smugly, and Hajime also smiled. Seeing the two of them sympathizing with each other, the girls beside them discussed it quietly.

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