An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"Needless to say, I'm going to kill that expressionless woman."

"Wow, I'm sorry, I'm a burden to you..."

Aiko gritted her teeth in regret, feeling she was a burden. Hajime hugged her tightly and did a somersault.

In the upside-down world, silver bombardments passed overhead, a flash of light that destroyed the upper floors of the isolation tower where Ai Zi was imprisoned.

Once again, the trembling impact weighed on Aiko, who was unable to speak. However, Hajime's chest was pressed against hers, and she could hear the rhythmic, uninterrupted beat of his heart. Although Aiko knew that now was not the time for such a thing, she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of relief.

Although she mentally rebuked herself for letting her mind wander in this state, she hugged Hajime even tighter, entrusting her fate to him.

"Don't worry, this little difficulty was within my expectations."

"! For me... you're willing to take such a big risk..."

Of course, what Hajime meant was that "in order to learn the magic of the Age of Gods, a conflict with the Church is to be expected", not that he was taking risks just to save his beloved son.

But Aiko seemed a little intoxicated by the situation and completely misunderstood it.

Moreover, Shi Zheng was hugging and protecting himself, which accelerated her misunderstanding. It seemed necessary to wake her up as soon as possible.

"...You actually have the leisure to chat. You're quite the odd one out there."

“Uuuuuuuu!?”

Just after dodging the silver bombardment and barrage, a cold and ruthless voice came from beside Hajime.

Hajime instantly fired a shotgun shell from his prosthetic elbow, using the recoil to turn around. He then saw Noin using one of his two greatswords as a shield to block the shotgun shell while simultaneously slashing at him with the other.

The silver-gleaming sword, two meters long and thirty centimeters wide, gave off an astonishing sense of oppression just by looking at it.

Furthermore, the power that resides within it is also extremely ferocious. The silver magic controlled by Noin is all endowed with the inherent magic of "decomposition", which is equivalent to a fatal attack if touched. It can be said to be an ability beyond common sense.

Even though he understood this, as long as he held his beloved son, Hajime couldn't make any drastic moves. Hajime instantly used his shrug to strike the greatsword's spine, forcing it to deviate from its trajectory. He leaned backward, falling, barely avoiding the attack.

The big sword passed through Shi's bangs, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Whether it was the Hulak or the prosthetic arm, the bond between the diamond and the Azantium ore could resist decomposition and block the attack. However, every time it took the attack, it would inevitably suffer damage.

This time, a small piece of Hulak's surface was also shaved off. If he continued to use weapons to resist, it would be destroyed soon.

Noin spun in a circle due to the centrifugal force of the sword, his beautiful silver hair gleaming brightly in the moonlight fluttering in the wind. He then raised the sword that had blocked the shotgun shells and swung it at Shi who was leaning back.

The speed of the sword, generated by the immense arm strength, was extremely fast, even so fast that it was impossible to see with the naked eye.

Hajime fired the shotgun on his prosthetic arm again, using the recoil to flip his body, avoiding the greatsword while pointing the muzzle of Hulak's gun at Noin, and fired three shots in succession.

As the gunshot rang out, three flashes of light accurately hit Noin's head, heart and abdomen.

However, her reaction speed was extraordinary.

The moment Shi pointed the gun at Noin, she had already raised her greatsword and used the sword's spine to block all the bullets.

Noin was forced to retreat by the power of Shulak, and Hajime took the opportunity to launch the cross floater to pursue him.

The explosive shrapnel loaded into the cross floater spread out red ripples in the night sky and sent a strong shock wave towards Noin.

Although the impact was easily offset by the silver wings on Noin's back, Shi successfully distanced himself as planned.

“Ahhh, ahhhh, what’s going on now…”

"...Sensei, please stop making those cute noises while we're fighting. It'll make me lose my strength."

“Cute!? Nagumo-san! W-What are you saying to the teacher—”

Despite the breathtaking, high-level battle, where victory or defeat depended on mere milliseconds, Aiko's occasional cries of pain were incredibly endearing, significantly weakening Hajime's spirit. Hajime couldn't help but look at Aiko with a suspicious look, "Isn't she afraid at all?" Hajime was half right, but he never dreamed that Aiko's comfort came from being embraced by him.

"...You're still able to dodge these attacks even with this burden... You're truly too strong. It's unbecoming of you to be your master's pawn."

"I'm truly honored by your words. He's a self-absorbed guy who gets upset when people ignore him. You saying I'm not compatible with that kind of guy is the ultimate compliment. Thank you."

"...If you're trying to irritate me, it's a waste of time. I have no feelings."

"What? What are you talking about? Do I really mean that?"

"..."

Noin narrowed his eyes, spread his wings wide, and crossed a pair of greatswords in front of him.

Is she really emotionless and just wants to end this useless conversation...

To Hajime, she seemed angry, but there was no point dwelling on that kind of thing, so he stopped thinking about it.

They were going to kill her anyway.

Whatever Noin was thinking or feeling, it didn't matter to Hajime.

Noin flapped his wings again, releasing silver feathers into the air. This time, they didn't fire towards Shi. Instead, they instantly gathered in front of Noin, overlapping to form a formation. That was a magic circle, a shimmering silver magic circle that appeared in front of Noin, glaring down at Shi.

then……

"—[Fire Wave]."

The magic that was unleashed was a fire as huge as a tsunami, powerful enough to burn the sky.

It seems she can use not only magic bullets but also elemental magic. The reason she didn't use it before was simply because she thought the silver magic bullets alone would be enough to deal with Hajime.

In other words, she is starting to get serious now.

A fire of unimaginable heat and scale swept down from the sky, and Aiko had the illusion for a moment that the world was covered in crimson flames.

She looked up at Hajime, wondering what he was going to do. Hajime was sweating down his cheeks, desperately searching for something.

He was searching for the core of the magic. If he could find it with the Magic Eye Stone and destroy it with a precise shot, the magic would dissipate.

This of course required sharpshooting skills to hit the target every time, but it was nothing special for Hajime.

However, Noin unleashed a wide-area magic so large that it illuminated the entire Sacred Mountain like daylight. Finding the core was like searching for a needle in a haystack; it was impossible to tell where it lay.

The moment of destiny arrives without mercy.

The tsunami of flames stretched for hundreds of meters, leaving Hajime and his beloved son with no way to escape and being mercilessly devoured by the flames.

Anyone who sees them would think they are hopeless.

Most people would think that the two men had been burned to ashes.

But Noin's eyes did not leave the center of the flames.

“…I can still get through this.”

As Noin spoke these words, the spell's effects ended, and the fire dissipated. In the center, Hajime and Aiko appeared, unharmed, surrounded by four cross-shaped floating cannons.

The four cross-shaped floating cannons are centered around Shi, each floating at the vertex of a triangular cone. Each vertex is connected by metal wires, and the surface formed by the metal wires is covered with a layer of red light film.

"It's still in the experimental stage... but it looks like it was a success."

“This, this is…”

Hajime's expression seemed relieved.

This mechanism uses Generative Magic to apply spatial magic to metal wires and ore, then attaches it to a cross-shaped floating cannon, creating a box-shaped barrier at four points. It's not just a barrier, but a barrier that blocks space itself, theoretically possessing top-tier defensive power.

However, since it was still in the experimental stage, I was not sure how strong an attack it could actually withstand, so I was a little uneasy.

Aiko looked at the barrier in fear, and Hajime hugged Aiko tightly again, looking in the direction of Noin, and she formed the magic circle again.

However, this time, while she was shooting Silver Feather at Shi, she also opened more than a hundred magic circles.

It was an attack like a tidal wave.

While the four-point barrier should provide a solid defense, hiding within it wouldn't improve the situation. Furthermore, there was no way to predict how well the barrier could withstand Noin's decomposition abilities.

The downside of this barrier was that, due to the spatial obstruction, Hajime couldn't attack while it was in place. Hajime hurriedly dismantled the barrier, greatly increasing the distance between him and Noin, preparing to focus on evasion again until Tio arrived.

At this moment, there was a burst of singing that resounded throughout the entire [Sacred Mountain].

Hajime dodged the silver-feathered bullets and looked toward the singing, wondering what was happening. Ishtar led the priests of the Holy Church gathered there, guarded by a group of Templar Knights. The priests clasped their hands together, in a prayerful gesture, and sang.

The chorus of a hundred priests gave people a sense of solemnity. It was probably the so-called hymn, which they had seen when they were on Earth.

Hajime was confused about what they were doing, and then—

"!? What's going on? My body...!"

“Nagumo-kun!? Ah, w-what’s going on…”

Hajime and Aiko experience abnormalities in their bodies.

Strength was drained from their bodies, their magic gradually dissipated, and it felt as if all the energy in their bodies was being plucked out. There were also things like light particles entwined around them, hindering their movements.

"Hmm, is this an abnormal status magic? As expected of the Church's headquarters, they have comprehensive measures to defend against external enemies."

Hajime's guess was completely correct.

Ishtar discovered that Noin, the "true apostle of God," was fighting, and to support her, they used the magic called "Hymn of the Fallen."

This is a fierce demonic spell that can hinder the enemy's movement and weaken them. It is a unique magic that can only be performed during the singing of multiple priests in a chorus, and it is also a secret art of the Holy Church.

"It's Ishtar. He knows his duty well and is a very good chess piece."

Ishtar stared at Noin from the ground, her expression dazed. Noin responded with an emotionless look, expressing his feelings.

From Ishtar's expression, it's clear that he considers aiding the Noin in battle the pinnacle of his life. He acts entirely in accordance with God's will, presumably serving as a convenient puppet for God.

Putting aside the personalities of Ishtar and the other priests, the magic they were currently unleashing was, to be honest, extremely difficult to handle.

Hajime used the immense magical power in his body to make up for his gradually lost strength while dodging Noin's attacks, but his movements were obviously not as agile as before.

Moreover, Noin's attacks were not simple, and he could not dodge them continuously in this state.

Lightning flew out from the magic circle surrounding Noin, drawing an irregular trajectory in the air before attacking.

Although Hajime used Shulak to destroy the core and eliminate several lightning strikes, the lightning made the air electrified and Hajime couldn't completely avoid it, so he still got a slight shock.

Even though my body was stiff for only a moment—

However, in Noin's view, it was a fatal gap.

「!?」

Noin approached at high speed, swinging his two greatswords in a cross motion. Stiffened by the electric shock, Hajime reacted slightly late, parrying one blow with his sullen clasp, but was unable to dodge the next, coming from the side, and was struck in the neck.

“Guuuuu!”

If it went a few millimeters deeper, Hajime's carotid artery would be severed. As the Grim Reaper's scythe brushed past him, Hajime couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

But he didn't have time to worry about the injury.

Even though he cried out in pain, Hajime still managed to bounce his body back by firing his prosthetic arm, and then used his "air power" to desperately escape the attack range of Noin's greatsword.

Of course, the enemy wouldn't give him time to escape, and launched a fierce attack. However, Hajime fired continuously with the cross-shaped floater, and finally managed to distance himself from him.

"Nagumo-kun!?"

"I'm fine, stop arguing!"

Blood splattered from Hajime's neck and dripped onto Aiko's cheek. Aiko, protected by the Kongo, was also severely impacted by the cross-shaped cannon's fire, but she struggled to maintain consciousness, calling out Hajime's name anxiously.

However, Hajime had no time to worry about his beloved son.

As he responded coldly, the silver feathers shot by Noin were approaching.

Hajime shot down Silver Feather with Shulak, countering with Diamond and Wind Claw. Affected by the light particles surrounding him and a sense of fatigue, he was unable to completely dodge the attack.

At this moment, Noin rushed towards Hajime from the front... But it was just a feint. She instantly made her silver wings emit a strong light. The sudden bright light made Hajime unable to open his eyes.

However, Hajime had excellent perception ability. He immediately grasped the presence of Noin behind him and turned around to shoot continuously with Shulak.

Several flashes of light scattered the dummy made of silver feathers behind it.

That’s right, the aura behind it was the bait made by Noin’s gathered silver feathers.

「!?」

The hairs on Hajime's back suddenly stood up, and his instincts sounded the alarm. He had no time to curse or look back.

Without even looking, Hajime fired directly behind him.

The bullet luckily flew towards Noin's head, but she just turned her head and easily avoided it.

One of the two greatswords, Ichi's greatsword, slashed diagonally down at Hajime's back.

Hajime used the derivative skill of 'Vajra', 'Concentrated Strengthening', with all his strength, and prepared himself mentally to be killed.

Noin's greatsword and Hajime's "Vajra" clashed for a moment, but the Diamond's defense was quickly broken down by the decomposition ability, and the greatsword's blade slashed into Hajime's flesh.

“Ughhhhh!!”