An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

After walking two hundred meters, they found themselves at a dead end. No, not a dead end, but a massive door. The massive double-leaf doors, over ten meters long, were also richly carved. The most impressive feature was the patterns depicted on the vertices of the heptagon.

“…This is truly magnificent! Could this be…”

"...The rebels' residence?"

This place felt like the final boss's room. In fact, even though his perception skills hadn't reacted, Hajime's instincts had already sounded the alarm, warning of danger ahead. Yue might have sensed it too, as a slight bead of sweat formed on her forehead.

"Ha, isn't that great? This means we've finally reached the end, right?"

Hajime ignored his instincts and put on a bold, fearless smile. No matter what was waiting for them ahead, they had no choice but to move forward.

"……Um!"

Yue also showed an expression of realization and stared at the door.

The two of them were about to reach the door, and just as they passed the last pillar, at that moment...

In the space of about thirty meters between the gate and Hajime and the others, a huge magic circle appeared, emitting a dark red light and beating like a heartbeat.

Hajime had a memory of that magic circle; he couldn't possibly have forgotten that day. It was the same trap Hajime had seen the day he fell into the abyss, the one that had trapped them. However, compared to Behemoth's magic circle, which was about ten meters in diameter, the one before him was three times larger, and the formula that formed it was far more complex and sophisticated.

"Hey, hey, what's with all that massive stuff? It really is the final demon king."

“…No problem…We won’t lose…”

Even Hajime couldn't help but smile stiffly, but Yue remained resolute, clutching Hajime's arm tightly. Hajime nodded, "That's true," and with a wry smile on his face, he stared at the magic circle.

The magic circle shone even brighter, finally emitting a light like an explosion. Hajime and Yue immediately shielded their eyes with their arms to prevent their vision from being paralyzed. Just as the light faded, what appeared before them was...

Thirty meters long, with six heads and a long neck, each with a different colored pattern etched on its forehead, this monster, with sharp teeth and dark red eyes, could be compared to the mythical monster Hydra. (Editor's note: A legendary nine-headed serpent in ancient Greek mythology.)

““““““Gurglea ...

It screamed with a mysterious tone, and six pairs of eyes shot towards Hajime and the others, as if declaring its intention to punish the reckless intruders. The murderous aura it emanated would have caused an ordinary person to instantly stop breathing, and that intense murderous aura was inflicted upon Hajime and the others.

The head engraved with red patterns opened its mouth wide and spewed out flames. The scale of the flames could be described as a wall of fire.

Hajime and Yue jumped to the left and right, starting to counterattack. Hajime's Donner burst out with red electricity, spewing flames. The electromagnetically accelerated bullet shot at the red pattern's head at an extremely fast speed, and the bullet exploded the red pattern's head without missing.

"Let's take care of one first!" As Hajime cheered inwardly, the white-patterned head clenched his fists, and with a cry of "Gurua ...

A little later than Shi, Yue's water bullet blew up the green-patterned head, but it also recovered with a shout from the white-patterned head.

Hajime clicked his tongue and told Yue via telepathy.

"Yue! Aim for that white-headed guy! Otherwise, it'll never end!"

"Um!"

The blue-patterned head spewed ice chunks like shotgun pellets from its mouth. Hajime and Yue dodged while sniping at the white-patterned head.

boom!

"'Scarlet Spear'!"

The flash and blazing gun approached Bai Tuwen's head.

However, just as they thought they were about to be hit, the yellow pattern's head quickly entered the beam, expanding like a cobra, emitting a faint yellow light, and using its body to block Hajime's electromagnetic cannon and Yue's "scarlet spear". After the impact and explosion, the yellow pattern's head was completely unharmed, and it stood there, looking down at Hajime and the others as if nothing had happened.

"Huh! Is that a shield? There's an attacker, a shield, and a healer. What a perfect balance!"

Hajime threw an "Incineration Grenade" upwards, simultaneously firing at the white-patterned head with Donal's maximum firepower. Yue also coordinated with Hajime by firing a series of "Scarlet Spears." Yue's "Blue Sky" might have pierced the yellow-patterned head and struck the self-patterned head. However, the highest-level magic carried the risk of Yue's mana being depleted. While allowing her to drain her life would immediately replenish it, the other heads were unlikely to miss such an opening. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that Hydra didn't have a secret move capable of resisting the highest-level magic. Therefore, the number of heads had to be reduced to at least half, or else the highest-level magic could not be used.

Huang Tuwen's head took all of Shi and Yue's attacks, but this time it was not unscathed. Wounds could be seen all over its body.

“Gurglea ...

The head with white pattern immediately turned back into the head with yellow pattern. What an excellent healer.

However, the "incineration grenade" exploded on Bai Tuwen's head, and the tar burned fiercely to 3,000 degrees Celsius, turning into a scorching rain and spraying out. Bai Tuwen's head was also drenched, and its body was burned. It struggled and let out a painful cry.

Hajime, realizing this was a golden opportunity, used telepathy to notify Yue, preparing to launch a joint attack. However, before he could do so, he heard a scream as if his body were being torn apart.

——That’s the voice of the moon.

“Nooooooooooooooooo!!!”

"!?moon!"

Hajime wanted to run over immediately, but the red-patterned and green-patterned heads fired countless fireballs and wind blades, as if to hinder Hajime. Hearing Yue still screaming, Hajime gritted his teeth, wondering what was going on. Then he remembered that the black-patterned head hadn't moved at all.

(No, if it has already done anything!)

Hajime desperately dodged the attacks with his "Shrinking the Earth" and "Aero" while firing his "Donar" at the black pattern's head. As the gunshot rang out, the black pattern's head, which had been watching Yue, was blown apart. At the same time, Yue collapsed to the ground, her face pale even from a distance.

The blue-patterned head opened its mouth as if to eat the moon, stretched out its neck, and launched an attack on the moon.

“Don’t even think about it—!!”

Hajime, fully aware of the damage he was doing, used Shukuchi to charge into the storm of fireballs and wind blades.

Only when the attack could have been fatal did Hajime use Donal's spear and Wind Claw to tear it apart. He finally managed to get between Yue and Blue Pattern's head at the critical moment. However, Hajime had no time to counterattack. He immediately activated Kongo. Kongo couldn't be used while moving, so he stood firmly in front of Yue.

As magic covered Hajime's body, the head of the blue pattern bit up.

“Gurgle!”

“Guuuu!”

The blue-patterned head growled, intending to swallow Shi whole, and was about to close its mouth, but Shi bent down, using his back and feet to support himself, preventing his mouth from closing. Then he pressed the muzzle of Donald's gun against the blue-patterned head's upper jaw and pulled the trigger.

As the gunshot rang out, the head of the blueprinted head exploded upwards as if it were spurting out fire. Hajime used his "big kick" to kick the powerless blueprinted head away, and in the meantime, kicked the "flash grenade" and "sound grenade" that fell out of his arms towards Hydra.

The "sound grenade" was taken from a monster found on the 80th floor—it could emit ultrasonic waves. The monster possessed a special organ within its body that allowed it to attack with sound. Even if the monster was defeated, its unique magic wouldn't increase. However, since the special organ was made of mineral, Hajime processed it into a sound grenade.

The two grenades forced Hydra back with their strong flash and sound waves. Hajime took advantage of that gap to pick up Yue and hide behind a pillar.

"Hey! Yue! Cheer up!"

"..."

Yue didn't respond to Hajime's calls, her face pale and trembling. "What the hell did that blackhead do!" Hajime cursed, patting Yue's cheek. He called out to her fiercely through telepathy and had her drink the sacred water. After a while, Yue's eyes began to light up.

"moon!"

"……beginning?"

"Yes, I'm Hajime. Are you okay? What did it do to you?"

Yue blinked, and as if to confirm Hajime's presence, she stretched out her small hand and touched Hajime's cheek. Yue may have finally felt Hajime's presence clearly, and she breathed a sigh of relief, tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes.

"...Great... I thought I was abandoned... and would be left alone in the darkness again..."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Seeing Yue like this, Hajime was confused. According to Yue, she suddenly felt a strong sense of unease, and then the scene of being abandoned by Hajime and sealed again unfolded in her mind. She could not think anything, and was bound by fear and unable to move.

"Tsk! Is that an abnormal status magic? Does that mean Blackhead can cause the opponent to panic? It really is a monster with a balanced offense and defense, damn it!"

"……beginning."

Hajime couldn't help but curse at how difficult the enemy was, while Yue looked at Hajime with an uneasy look in her eyes. It seemed that being abandoned by Hajime must be a very scary scene for her.

After all, she had fought tooth and nail to free herself from a three-hundred-year seal. Even after learning she was a vampire, her attitude towards herself remained unchanged. Not only that, she even let herself be sucked of blood every day. It was only natural for her to be attracted to Hajime.

Moreover, for Yue, Hajime's presence was her only refuge. Hajime had agreed to return to Hajime's hometown together, a promise that made her very happy. She didn't want to imagine herself being alone again.

Therefore, the implanted nightmare would linger in his mind, seriously eroding Yue's spirit. Feeling that Xudela had recovered from the confusion, Hajime stood up, but Yue couldn't help but grab Hajime's clothes to stop him.

"……I……"

Yue was on the verge of tears, her face trembling with anxiety. From the nightmare Yue had witnessed, Hajime could probably sense what Yue was thinking now. And from her usual attitude, Hajime also sensed Yue's feelings for him. After all, Hajime had already promised her to take her back to Japan, so there was no point in pretending ignorance at this point.

He should have said something to comfort her, but there was no time now. Moreover, half-hearted comfort would only make her the black-patterned man's bait again. Hajime might also fall prey to it, and if that happened, he would have to ask Yue for help.

For a moment, as if looking for an excuse, Hajime thought about these things, then he scratched his head and squatted down in front of Yue, matching her eye level.

then……

“?…!?”

Hajime kissed Yue, who tilted her head in confusion.

Although it was just a slight touch, Yue's reaction was very intense. She stared at Shi, while Shi looked away a little embarrassedly, took Yue's hand and made her stand up.

"We need to kill that guy and survive, then... walk down to the surface and return home."

Yue was still staring blankly at Hajime, but just like before, her expressionless face collapsed, revealing a beautiful smile that looked like a blooming flower.

"Um!"

Hajime coughed, gathered himself together, and informed Yue of the battle plan.

"Yue, I'm going to use Shurajan. Since it can't fire continuously, please cover me."

“…Leave it to me!”

Yue was more motivated than usual, her gentle whisper gone, replaced by a domineering response. His previous anxiety vanished, and many of his worries seemed to have vanished. Remembering how she usually acted coquettishly towards Hajime, Hajime's cheeks twitched at the thought of what would happen next, and he thought to himself that perhaps he had been too impulsive.

Seeing what Hajime and the others were doing, Hydra roared, "Explode!" and fired fireballs, wind blades, and ice bullets at them. The two of them leaped out from behind the pillars in one go, finally counterattacking this time.

"'Scarlet Spear'! 'Cannon King'! 'Freezing Rain'!"

Yue shouted out magic spells one after another, and the magic was built up at an unimaginable speed. The flame spears, the tornado of the vacuum knife with spiraling rotation, and the ice rain as sharp as needles all attacked Hydra.

Yue aimed at the gap after their attack and released magic. The heads with red patterns, blue patterns, and green patterns were unable to move. Although the head with yellow patterns wanted to block them, it may have realized that Shi's target was the head with white patterns, so it did not move, but roared instead.

“Gurgle!”

Nearby pillars rippled, transforming into makeshift shields. It seemed this yellow-patterned head could use the same techniques as the scorpion-like creature, albeit on a smaller scale.

Yue's magic hit the stone wall, the front magic shattered the stone wall, and the subsequent magic directly hit the three heads.

“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!!!”

The three heads screamed and struggled in pain. The head with black patterns once again used its eyes to capture Yue, who had just used magic, and cast panic magic on her.

A wave of uneasiness surged in Yue's heart again, but before she could be overwhelmed by it, she thought of the kiss she had just had. Then, as if a warm current had flowed into her body, her mood became excited, sweeping away the uneasiness.

“…It’s no use anymore!”

To protect Hajime, Yue continuously summoned magic that prioritized quantity over power, unleashing it like a barrage. After receiving their responses, the red, blue, and green heads each launched their attacks anew. However, Yue fought them alone, neutralizing their attacks and firing another spell whenever he found a chance.

On the other hand, while the three heads were concentrating on dealing with Yue, Hajime approached Hydra in one go. He had to kill it with a single blow, because if he missed and it became defensive, it would be a hassle.

The black-patterned head seemed to realize that panic magic was ineffective against Yue, and this time it turned its gaze to Hajime. Anxiety welled up in Hajime's chest, and the pain and hunger he had felt when he first arrived in the abyss were reawakened.

but……

"So what!"

That's right, that was the past that he had already endured. Even if he experienced the pain of those days now, it would be nothing. Hajime used Donal to blast the black pattern's head.

The White Pattern's head wanted to help it recover immediately, but before that, Hajime used 『Aerodynamics』 and 『Shock Wave』 to jump up, and in mid-air, he tucked the anti-target rifle on his back—the Shurajian—under his armpit and aimed it at the White Pattern's head.

Although the head with the yellow pattern was blocking the front as if to protect the head with the white pattern, that was within Hajime's expectations.

"Crush them together!"

As he began to use "Tangle Thunder," a red electric current emanated from the Shurajan. The bullet was made of Huytal ore, a layer of scorpion-like shells wrapped around a layer of Taurus ore—what Earth calls a full-metal shell. Huytal ore readily reacts with magical energy and is highly compatible with "Tangle Thunder." The incendiary powder, compressed several times more than a normal bullet, ignited by the sparks from the hammer, causing a massive explosion.

Boom! !

With a startling explosion like a cannon shot, the red, full-metal-jacketed bullet, accelerated by electromagnetic force through a barrel approximately 1.5 meters long, was fired. Its power was several times greater than the Donner's maximum, its destructive power making even battleship artillery fire seem like mere toys. Such a monstrous weapon would be impossible without the special minerals and unique magic of another world.

The light it fired was like an extremely thick laser weapon, and the bullets fired straightly burned the surrounding air and directly hit Huang Tuwen's head.

The yellow pattern's head did indeed deploy a defense similar to that of a "King Kong," but... as if unhindered, the bullet reached the white pattern's head behind it, then passed through it as if there was nothing in front of it, shattering the wall behind it, and the entire floor shook violently as if it were an earthquake.

After that, all that was left were two heads, their heads completely destroyed, their charred and melted sections exposed, scattered debris around them, and a bottomless hole in the wall.

Half of the heads were destroyed at once, and the remaining three heads unconsciously forgot about Yue who was fighting and stared at Hajime blankly.

Hajime landed on the ground and ejected the shell from the smoking Shurajan. With a clang, the shell fell to the ground. The three heads came back to their senses and looked at Hajime with hatred, but the enemy they were fighting was not an opponent weak enough to make them look away.

"'Skyburn'."

The vampire princess unleashes the magical power of gold. Her innate talent terrifies even her own kind, who seal her away in the abyss. As if to punish her enemies, a divine retribution descends from the sky.

I saw six lightning balls floating in the air around the three heads. The next moment, the lightning balls seemed to be connected together, discharging electricity and connecting with each other, creating a huge lightning ball in the center.

It was like the Parthenon built of thunder and the sun shining in the sky.

Then, the Temple of Thunder and the Sun released their hidden power with a loud sound like thunder.

Zikakakakakaka!!

The central lightning ball exploded, unleashing a powerful thunderbolt within the area enclosed by the six lightning balls. Though the three heads tried to escape, they seemed to be blocked by a wall, unable to escape the area enclosed by the lightning balls. Like the wrath of a god descending from the sky, a tremendous sound and flash of light filled the vast space.