An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"Yes, YUE means 'moon' in my hometown. When you first entered this room, your blonde hair and red eyes looked like the moon hanging in the night sky... What do you think?"

Perhaps because she couldn't imagine a clear reason, the girl blinked in surprise. Although her face remained expressionless, her eyes seemed to sparkle with joy.

"...Yes, from today on, I am Yue. Thank you."

"Oh, then, first..."

"?"

The girl, Yue, thanked Hajime. She saw Hajime let go of her hand and took off his coat, and she had a puzzled expression on her face.

"Put this on. You can't stay naked all the time."

"..."

Hearing what Hajime said, Yue instinctively took the clothes and looked down at her body. She was indeed naked, and her important parts were exposed. Yue blushed instantly, hugged Hajime's coat tightly, raised her eyes and murmured:

"Hajime is lecherous."

"..."

Saying anything seemed like digging his own grave, so Hajime insisted on remaining silent. Yue hurriedly put on her coat. At only 140cm tall, it felt very loose. She desperately shortened her right sleeve, a sight that made one smile.

Hajime took advantage of that time to drink the sacred water to recover. After regaining his vitality, his mind began to work. He used "Aura Sense"... and suddenly froze in place, as he detected an extremely strong demonic aura nearby.

The location is right above...

Hajime became aware of the monster's presence, and almost at the same time, the monster descended from the ceiling.

Instantly, Hajime rushed towards Yue, picked her up with one hand, and used his full strength to shrink the earth. Hajime, who had moved in an instant, looked back and saw the monster, with a loud clatter on the ground, standing where they had just been, revealing itself.

The monster was about five meters long, its four long arms sporting enormous pincers, its eight legs moving rapidly, and its two tails tipped with spikes. To use a simple analogy, it resembled a scorpion. It was best to consider its tails poisonous. The aura it exuded was distinctly different from that of the previous monsters, and sweat naturally dripped down Hajime's forehead.

After entering the room, I had been using the "Breath Sense" at full power, but I hadn't detected any reaction. But now, the "Breath Sense" clearly detected that breath.

This meant that this scorpion-like creature only appeared after Yue's seal was broken. In other words, this was the final mechanism to prevent Yue from escaping. This meant that as long as Yue was left behind, Hajime could escape alone.

Hajime glanced at Yue in his arms. She didn't even glance at the scorpionoid, only focused on Hajime. Her eyes, as calm as the surface of still water, already showed some understanding. That look, more than a thousand words could say, clearly conveyed her will. Yue entrusted her fate to Hajime.

The moment he saw that look, the corners of Hajime's mouth turned upwards, revealing his usual fearless smile.

The lives of others should be of little concern to Hajime, but he could empathize with Yue's plight. A heart that should have been shattered and largely lost, a light rekindled. This girl, cruelly betrayed, now entrusted her fate to him. If he couldn't respond to her, would he still be a man?

"Very good... I'll give it a try if I can kill him."

Hajime carried Yue on his shoulder and instantly took out the sacred water from his waist bag. After hugging Yue again, he stuffed the sacred water into her mouth.

“Hmm!?”

The sacred water flowed from the test tube into Yue's body. Tears welled up in Yue's eyes at the foreign object in her mouth, but she widened her eyes in surprise as she felt her weakened body regain vitality.

Hajime directly swung Yue onto his back with one hand. Although she was a burden in her weakened state, if left alone, she would likely be wiped out first. Hajime didn't want to protect her while fighting the scorpionoid.

"Hold on tight! Yue!"

Although she was still far from fully recovered, Yue, whose strength had returned to her limbs, clung tightly to Hajime's back.

The scorpion-like creature made a chirping sound and gradually approached. Hajime, feeling the moon on his back, made a declaration with a fearless smile.

"If you stand in my way...I'll kill you and eat you."

Receiving Hajime's declaration of war, the scorpionoid launched its first wave of attacks. From the needles of its tail, which instantly expanded, a purple liquid gushed out with great force. Hajime immediately leaped backward, dodging the rapidly approaching liquid. The purple liquid landed with a sizzling sound and instantly dissolved the floor. It seemed to be a liquid.

Hajime confirmed this with his peripheral vision, then drew his Donal and fired.

boom!

The bullet, with maximum power and a range of 3.2 kilometers per second, exploded the scorpion-like creature's head.

Hajime could sense Yue's surprise behind him. He was attacking with a flash of lightning, using a weapon he had never seen before, and there was no sign of magic involved. Although his right hand was pulsing with electricity, it wasn't generated through a magic circle or chanting. In other words, Yue had discovered that Hajime, like him, had the ability to directly manipulate magic power.

Being the same person as herself, and somehow finding herself in this abyss, Yue knew very well that now was not the time to think about such things, but compared to the scorpionoid, Yue could not help but be concerned about Hajime's existence.

Meanwhile, Hajime continued to leap, using his 'air power' to leap repeatedly, his expression more serious than ever. This was because Hajime, through his 'breath sense' and 'magic sense', knew that the scorpionoid was not shaken at all.

As if to prove that fact, the needle from the scorpion-like creature's other tail aimed at Hajime, and then the tip of its tail instantly expanded, immediately shooting out the sharp needle at an astonishing speed. Hajime tried to dodge, but the needle broke in mid-flight, striking him in a wide range like a shotgun.

“Ouch!”

Hajime growled bitterly, then struck down the Donar, deflected it with his "Gou Kick," and cut it with his "Wind Blade," barely managing to survive the barrage of scattershot. He then fired a shot as if to retaliate, then tossed the Donar into the air, taking a grenade from his waist pouch and throwing it.

The scorpionoid withstood Donard's blow once more and prepared to unleash its shotgun and dissolving liquid. But before it could do so, an eight-centimeter-diameter grenade, lying on the ground, exploded. As the grenade exploded, flaming black mud splattered from it, clinging to the scorpionoid's body.

That's the so-called "incineration grenade," made from Fulham ore found on the tar floor, and capable of spraying flames at 3,000 degrees Celsius.

This weapon must be effective. The scorpionoid interrupted its attack and swung its body violently, trying to shake off the attached flames. Hajime took advantage of the gap to land and reload the Donald, which he had already caught in his hand.

By the time the reload was complete, the flames from the incendiary grenade had almost died down, perhaps because the tar had burned out. However, smoke was still billowing from all over the scorpionoid, indicating the grenade had also taken its toll. I could sense its intense anger emanating from it.

“Jihahahahahaha!”

The scorpion-like creature screamed and suddenly flapped its eight legs, rushing towards Shi and the others. Suddenly, its four large pincers extended and roared towards Shi like cannons.

Hajime dodged the first pincer with 『Tightening the Ground』, dodged the second with 『Aerodynamics』, and kicked the third away with 『Gokyaku』. As a result, Hajime lost his balance and the fourth pincer struck him.

However, Hajime instantly shot Donal, using the impact of the shot to send himself flying while twisting his body, barely dodging the attack. Yue behind him moaned at the intense movement, but she seemed to be holding it in.

Hajime leaped through the air and landed on the scorpionoid's back. Barely maintaining his balance on the scorpionoid's constantly thrashing, he pressed the muzzle of his gun against its shell and shot Donal at point-blank range.

Zikeng!!

A violent explosion sounded, and the scorpion-like creature's body was impacted and hit the ground.

However, the shell, which had been directly hit, received only minor scratches, sustaining no significant damage. Hajime gritted his teeth at this fact and swung down Donal, unleashing Wind Claws. However, only the sound of metal clashing echoed, and it still couldn't break through the shell.

The scorpion-like creature seemed to be protesting, "Get down now!", and shot shotgun needles at its back.

Hajime immediately leaped backward, twisting his body in mid-air, and fired at the base of Shotgun's tail. The high-speed bullet hit the base of the tail squarely, sending it flying wide... but even the thinner part of the tail seemed to be covered in a hard shell, causing no damage to it. The attack power was completely insufficient.

Four large pincers stormed towards the airborne Hajime again. Hajime managed to toss the "incendiary grenade" onto the scorpionoid's back and leaped backwards. The tar scattered from the explosions once again struck the scorpionoid, but this would probably only delay it.

“What should I do?” Hajime’s consciousness left the scorpionoid in an instant, and then the scorpionoid’s scream, which had never been heard before, resounded around them.

“Ji-Ji-Ji-Ji-Ji!!”

Hearing that cry, a chill ran through Hajime's body. He immediately used "Shrinking the Earth" to create distance, but... it was too late.

As the screams resounded through the space, the surrounding ground suddenly rippled, and with a loud bang, countless conical spikes shot out.

"hateful!!"

This attack was completely unexpected by Hajime.

Hajime desperately tried to escape into the air, but felt the cone-shaped spikes approaching from behind. He twisted his body to protect Yue, losing his balance. He managed to dodge with the help of Donal and his "Gao Jiao", but at the edge of his vision, he could see the scorpion-like shotgun needles and the tail of the dissolving liquid, already aiming at Hajime.

Hajime's expression stiffened.

The next moment, both tails simultaneously fired shotgun needles and dissolving liquid to shoot down the target in mid-air. Hajime prepared himself mentally and gritted his teeth, as dodging both was impossible in this situation.

He barely dodged the liquid with his aerodynamics, crossing his left hand, which was missing below the elbow, with his right hand as best he could to protect his vitals, then shielding his face with the barrel of Donal's gun. Through direct manipulation of his magic, he strengthened his body to the limit, tensing his muscles.

Then, accompanied by a strong impact, dozens of sharp needles pierced deeply into Shi's body.

“Ughhhhhhhh!!!”

Hajime screamed, but managed to avoid a fatal injury. With Yue behind him, Hajime used his body to catch the needle, preventing it from passing through.

Hajime was sent flying by the impact, enduring intense pain as he hit the ground and rolled over. Yue was also thrown off Hajime's back by the impact.

Despite being pierced by countless needles, Hajime gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He pulled out a flash grenade from his waist pouch and threw it at the scorpionoid. The flash grenade flew in a parabola, emitting a strong flash before the scorpionoid's eyes.

“Jiya~~~~~!!”

Stimulated by the sudden flash of light, the scorpionoid couldn't help but scream and retreat. Hajime had always felt that it had been using its eyes to confirm his movements from the beginning, so he assumed that the flash was effective before throwing it. It seemed that his assumption was correct.

Hajime chewed the sacred water in his molars and drank it, then pulled out the needles one by one in one breath.

“Guuuuuuu!”

A groan escaped from between his clenched teeth due to the excessive pain. However, it wasn't unbearable pain. Hajime had endured pain several times more intense than the current one to be able to stand here. This level of pain was not enough to frustrate him.

As Hajime pulled out the needle, he looked for Yue, but before he could find her, Yue got to Hajime's side first.

"beginning!"

Yue ran to Shi's side worriedly, her originally expressionless face now looked as if she was about to cry.

"I'm fine. The problem now is, that thing is just too tough, right? I can't find a way to attack it. Even if I try to aim for its eyes or mouth, the four pincers block it and I can't get through... Am I just going to attack it anyway, expecting to take some damage?"

Hajime ignored Yue's concerns and thought about how to conquer the scorpion-like creature. Yue then asked Hajime:

"……Why?"

"what?"

"Why don't you run away?"

Yue's implication was, "If you abandon me and run away, you might be saved. You understand that, don't you?" Hajime looked at her in surprise at this question.

"What are you talking about now? It's just a slightly stronger enemy. I haven't fallen so low as to abandon you like this."

Hajime would resort to any means to survive, whether it was sneak attacks, covert attacks, surprise attacks, deception, lies, or even bluffing. The battle with the Claw Bear was the only exception. He saw no need to fight openly and squarely, as this wasn't a place where he could afford to do so, and he didn't feel guilty about it. Hajime had become that kind of person.

However, he didn't think he'd fallen into depravity because of his love. He was very clear about the moral principles he should abide by, and he could still distinguish them. And it was Yue who reminded him of this incident and restored his conscience.

Because of this, since he had already saved Yue, he had no choice but to abandon her. When she entrusted her fate to Hajime, the decision Hajime made at that time was the turning point that determined whether Hajime would fall.

Yue may have seen something beyond words in Hajime. She nodded as if she understood something and suddenly hugged Hajime.

"Oh, oh? What's wrong?"

“What is she doing suddenly in this critical situation?” Hajime was a little hesitant. The scorpionoids were almost back, and Hajime’s injuries had healed. He had to prepare for battle quickly.

But Yue didn't seem to care about that and put his arms around Hajime's neck.

“Hajime… trust me.”

After saying this, Yue kissed Hajime's neck.

「!?」

No, that wasn't a kiss, she was biting on the neck.

Hajime felt a sharp pain in his neck. Then, he felt a strange sensation as if his strength was being sucked away. Hajime immediately tried to break free, but he remembered Yue had said she was a vampire, so he understood that she was just sucking his blood.

"Believe me"—she must have hoped that even if Hajime felt terrified or disgusted by the thought of having his blood sucked by a vampire, he wouldn't run away.

Thinking of this, Shi gave a wry smile and hugged Yue who was clinging to him, supporting her. Yue's body trembled instantly, but she hugged Shi tighter, burying her face in Shi's neck. She seemed very happy, and she didn't know if it was an illusion.

“Jiya~~~~~!!”

The scorpionoid roared, apparently recovering from the shock of the flash grenade. It seemed to have grasped their position, and the ground began to ripple again. That must be the scorpionoid's unique magic. It seemed to be able to manipulate the surrounding terrain.

"But this is my specialty."

Hajime placed his right hand on the ground to infuse it, and the ground within three meters immediately stopped fluctuating, instead forming a circle of stone walls around Hajime and Yue.

Although conical spikes flew out from all around to attack Hajime and the others, their attacks were all blocked by Hajime's defense wall. Although the defense wall would collapse every time it was hit, Hajime would immediately build a new defense wall, not allowing the spikes to get close.

In terms of scale, strength, and attack power in terrain manipulation, the scorpionoids clearly have the upper hand. However, Hajime's transformation speed is superior, though the range is limited to three meters, which seems to be the limit. Even if he creates spikes, they are powerless and cannot be used to injure the enemy. However, Hajime's transformation is more suitable for defense.

While Hajime was refining his skills and concentrating on defense, Yue finally removed his mouth from Hajime's neck.

She licked her lips, her expression transfixed with ecstasy. Her youthful appearance, accentuated by that gesture, gave her a voluptuous air. Somehow, she didn't look the haggard she'd once been. Her porcelain-white skin had regained its radiance and elasticity, her cheeks a dreamlike rosy hue, her crimson eyes radiating a faint warmth. Her slender hand rested on Hajime's cheek, caressing it gently.

"...Thank you for the hospitality."

After saying this, Yue slowly stood up and raised one hand towards the scorpion-like creature. At the same time, an unimaginable amount of magic power surged from her delicate body. That was probably her magic light... The golden light swept away the darkness.

Then, Yue, who was full of mystery, spoke a few words with her golden hair that was the same color as her magic power fluttering.

""Heaven"."

At that moment, a pale blue sphere of fire about six or seven meters in diameter appeared above the scorpion-like creature's head.

It wasn't a direct hit, but perhaps because it was so hot, the scorpion-like creature screamed and tried to escape.

However, the vampire princess at the bottom of the abyss would not allow it to escape. She stretched out her beautiful fingers and waved them like a baton. A pale blue sphere of fire, faithfully carrying out the conductor's instructions, chased the fleeing scorpion-like creature... and hit it directly.

“Gujiyaa ...

The scorpionoid screamed, a cry never heard before, a wail of unmistakable pain. As the spell struck it, a pale blue light filled the surroundings, obscuring everything. Hajime shielded his eyes with his arms, watching the spectacular display of magic in utter amazement.

Soon, perhaps because the magic had worn off, the pale blue flames died down, leaving only the scorpion-like figure in agony, its shell burning red, its surface softening and melting.

Even the 3,000-degree Celsius "incineration grenade" couldn't melt it, and it remained unscathed by the railgun's close-range fire. Its defenses were monstrous. Though only slightly, Yue's magic had penetrated its shell. Directly under such high temperatures, it merely melted the surface. Hajime was torn between praising Yue's magic or the scorpionoid's defenses.

Hearing the sound of something falling to the ground, Hajime turned his gaze away from the surprised scene and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw Yue sitting on the ground, panting. It seemed that her magic power was exhausted.