An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"! Damn it! Stop getting so cocky!"

Meredi Fire Earth cried out. Meanwhile, Hajime, having driven his anchor into the floating block above, used his pendulum-like skill to maneuver through the air and caught the falling Shia. However, he didn't hold her in his arms, but rather tucked her under his arm.

"Hajime-san~ At a time like this, you should hold me in your arms as a reward, right? Could you please check on me~"

"Don't make others sound stupid. You're trying to satisfy your own desires in this situation as if nothing happened. You should show me the situation!"

The moment they landed on a nearby floating block, Shia muttered in frustration, while Hajime retorted in frustration. However, for some reason, Meredi, having lost both arms, didn't call upon the surrounding floating blocks to reconstruct them. Instead, she stared at the ceiling, her eyes gleaming with a fierce light.

Hajime had a strong sense of foreboding, and frowned. As if to confirm his premonition, Shia's expression turned grim.

"Mr. Hajime, Ms. Yue! Get out of the way! She's going to fall!"

Hajime speculated that Shia's unique magic had been activated. And that meant something dangerous, even death-threatening, was about to happen to Shia. Hajime checked Yue, who was a little distance away, with his peripheral vision and positioned himself for whatever was about to happen.

The next moment, something strange happened.

The entire space rumbled and began to shake. A low rumble echoed, and pieces of debris fell from the ceiling. No, not just pieces. The ceiling itself was about to fall.

“!? This guy!”

"Hehe, this is my way of getting back at you. I can't command many things other than knights at once, but if I just want to make objects 'fall' at once, even hundreds of units can do it~ Please hold on well~"

Though he was irritated by Meredith's carefree words, he didn't have time to let that distract him. While the walls of this space were packed with blocks, the ceiling was even more crammed with blocks, and they were about to fall. Each block was a massive boulder weighing at least ten tons, and they were about to rain down like a torrential downpour—a cold sweat broke out on Hajime's forehead.

"Mr. Hajime!"

"Meet Yue!"

Hajime held Shia, whose voice was trembling from the shock, and shot out the anchor, using the principle of the pendulum to jump towards Yue. Yue also jumped over using the floating block as a springboard to meet them.

Meredith Golem also stared at the ceiling during this time. Perhaps, as she'd said, the Block's operating system was different from that of the Golem Knights. Golem Knights were more capable of improvising, and therefore possessed a certain degree of self-discipline. This was why Meredith could issue commands to them, allowing them to engage in group combat and coordinated attacks.

But beyond that, delicately manipulating completely uncontrolled objects, one or two might be the limit. Even if it was just to drop them, it seemed like making hundreds of boulders fall from the ceiling would require considerable concentration.

The time she spent concentrating allowed Hajime and the others to reunite. The moment the three of them came together, huge rocks began to pour down from the sky.

Boom boom boom boom boom!!! Clang boom!!

Blocks fell from the ceiling, the rumbling stopped, and in its place, a cascade of boulders descended with a resounding roar. It seemed she was somehow able to adjust her trajectory, deliberately scattering the boulders towards Hajime and the others. Meredith Golem likely wasn't about to die with them, so reaching her would be safe. Hajime looked around and saw she had retreated rapidly to the wall. It would be too late to catch up now.

"Tsuki! Shia! Hold on to me! Don't let go!"

"Um!"

"yes!"

The moment Hajime said this to Yue and Shia, he once again retrieved Alcorn from his "treasure vault." Then, he unleashed all twelve rockets at the falling boulder. The rockets, trailing trails of fire, surged upward, as if to blast death away from them. Massive explosions erupted one after another, shattering the boulder.

His vision was completely obscured. The boulders were so densely packed that the ceiling was invisible, but Alcorn's attack had created a tiny gap. Through that tiny gap, the ceiling was visible. Hajime sheathed Alcorn and instead drew Donal and Hulak, raising them to the sky and firing continuously. To expand his escape route, Hajime unleashed a meticulously calculated, precise shot, shattering the shattered boulders even further and sending them flying backwards.

However, Hajime's counterattack ended here.

The boulders, falling at high speed, finally reached Hajime and the others. After confirming that Yue and Shia were clinging to him, Hajime activated his signature magic—[Blink of Light]. Hajime's world instantly lost its colors, leaving only the fragments of death falling one by one.

Hajime dodged the barrage of boulders with minimal movement, like slipping through a needle. Simultaneously, he spun his pistol, loading it with the bullets teleported to his hand. He concentrated his attack on the unavoidable boulders, deflecting their trajectory without wasting a fraction of a second. Back in the Orcus Great Labyrinth, during the battle against the Guardians, his "Flash of Light" had first awakened. But expanding his senses to that point wasn't enough; he needed to possess a concentration beyond his limits!

Hajime activated his special magic again—『Limit Break』.

Hajime's body was momentarily enveloped in a red glow, which then vanished in an instant. The unique magic that had previously tripled Hajime's physical abilities was now negated by the maze's magical decomposition. This was because "Limit Break" was essentially a magically enhanced exoskeleton wrapped around the body. Unlike a standard enhanced exoskeleton, however, the user's internal organs were also strengthened. In other words, even if the physical enhancements were canceled, the enhanced perception remained intact and remained effective.

However, the burden placed on his body by 'breaking' his limits was certainly not ordinary. Furthermore, Hajime had already used 'Blink' to enhance his perception to the limit. If it weren't for his strong body, infused with the flesh of monsters, Hajime would have been destroyed long ago. In fact, while he could still hold on, his eyeballs were already showing capillaries, and he was also bleeding slightly from the nose.

Hajime let Yue and Shia hold onto him tightly, and he teetered, dodging the downpour of death by the tiniest hair. He maintained his balance with a miraculous skill on the platform that was shaking rapidly from the shattering, using the occasional falling debris as a stepping stone.

He refined his thoughts to the tenth of a second, now able to sense every scratch on the falling rock. He even surpassed his limits, concentrating his energy into realms impossible for humans, seeking a way to survive amidst death!

Observing Hajime and the others from the wall, Meredith saw them instantly swallowed by the boulders. Though they struggled desperately, they ultimately couldn't withstand the sheer weight. With a touch of disappointment, Meredith released the "Fall" effect from the boulders.

The floating blocks that had fallen to the ground after being swallowed by the falling boulders floated up along with the debris in the sky and scattered throughout the space again.

"Hmm~ Hmm, it's still no use~ But if this is all I can do, there's no way I'll be able to defeat those bastards~"

Meredy muttered this while searching for the bodies of Hajime and the others. At this moment—

"Didn't I tell you I'm not interested in those damn bastards?"

"what?"

A familiar voice rang out. It was that rebellious, self-centered young man with white hair and hooded eyes, who had never seen a divine weapon before—yes, it was Hajime's voice. Meredith let out a cry of surprise mingled with a hint of joy, and looked behind her. Standing there was indeed Hajime, panting heavily, blood streaming from his eyes and nose, but his limbs were still intact. He was standing on the floating block, glaring down at Meredith.

“How, how did you…?”

Mireidi had indeed seen Hajime being swallowed by the boulders with her own eyes, but his sudden appearance before her made her utter a sound of confusion. Seeing her like this, Hajime smiled slyly and said:

"You can ask me to answer...but is it okay for you to just stare at me?"

"what?"

Meredy raised her question in the same tone as before, but her doubt was wiped out by the direct attack of magic in the next second.

"——'Break'!"

Yue's chilling chant echoed throughout the scene, and several water lasers blasted from behind, striking Meredith Golem's back, feet, head, and shoulders. The water blades cracked the armor wherever they struck.

"It's the same thing no matter how many times I come here~ I'll fix it while I'm rebuilding my arms~"

"No, I won't give you that chance."

Without even turning back, Meredy took all of Yue's magic with ease, while Hajime approached her in one breath while driving in the anchor, still holding Shurajan in one hand.

"Ahaha, that again? There's no way you can break my Azantium armor with that~"

Meredy's attitude remained relaxed. Even when Hajime grabbed her and Shurajan pressed against her chest, her attitude was as if to say, "If you want to shoot, shoot!" She didn't even bother to use the floating blocks around her to hinder him.

This was understandable. After all, it had already been proven that Hajime's weapons were no match for Meredith Golem's armor. Yet, even at this stage, Hajime still chose this unchanging attack method. Therefore, Meredith concluded that Hajime was helpless and was simply making a last-ditch effort.

However, that calmness was the cause of death.

"I know!"

As Hajime spoke, the Shurajan began to flash red. The electromagnetically accelerated bullet, resembling a full-metal jacket, struck Milledi Golem's chest at close range. A resounding explosion and the impact sent Milledi Golem flying.

However, Hajime didn't immediately break away from her like he had last time. He reeled in the anchor, holding onto her tightly, and pressed his prosthetic arm against the shattered Meredith Golem's chest. Then, he unleashed every remaining shotgun blast inside. The intense impact sent Meredith Golem flying even further, crashing into the floating block behind him.

"Even if I do something like this, the result will be..."

"moon!"

Hajime ignored Meredith's words and called Yue's name. Then, Yue leaped over and cast another spell.

"Freeze it! — 'Frozen Coffin'!"

As she wished, the magic that trapped the opponent in an ice coffin was triggered. However, ice magic is a higher level than water magic, and intermediate-level magic or higher should not be used in this area. Even so, in order to temporarily restrain Miledi Golem, this magic was necessary.

Meredi Golem's back hit the ceiling block, and his back was instantly frozen by ice, fixed to the floating block.

"What!? Why are you able to use advanced magic?!"

Meredith cried out in surprise. Yue's ability to use advanced ice magic was simple. Just like with "Break," she had simply prepared water as a source to reduce the amount of mana consumed. They had decided from the outset which area they would hit Meredith Golem and sprinkled water there beforehand. Then, they took advantage of the opportunity to sprinkle water behind Meredith Golem. The initial "Break" spell was intended for this very purpose.

Even so, Yue still consumed a large amount of magic power. Finally, she drew out all the magic power stored in the magic crystal beside her. Yue panted violently and hid on a nearby floating block.

"Well done, Yue!"

Hajime stood on the chest of the immobilized Meredith Golem and pulled out his trump card from his 'treasure vault'. A long, straight cylinder, approximately two and a half meters long, appeared from thin air. Several rigid mechanisms were mounted on the exterior, while the interior was filled with pitch-black stakes, each twenty centimeters in diameter. Four sturdy brackets sat at the bottom, the interior hollow. Hajime could insert his prosthetic hand into these, activating it and making it work.

Hajime clamped the immobilized Milledi Golem directly below with the brackets, then launched the anchors attached to the outside of the cylinder. Six brackets in total penetrated deeply into the floating mass, firmly securing the cylinder. Simultaneously, Hajime poured his prana into the cylinder. Then, the cylinder radiated a crimson glow, and the jet-black stakes within began to spin violently.

Jiyiyiyiyiyiyi!!!

The melody of the high-speed rotation echoed throughout the room, and Hajime let out a wicked smile. If Meredi wasn't a golem, her expression would have undoubtedly been distorted.

This weapon with a ferocious appearance is the "Pile Bunker", a prosthetic arm external weapon.

Through "compression forging," a four-ton mass is compressed into a pile 20 centimeters in diameter and 1.2 meters long. This pile is then covered with Azantium ore, creating the world's heaviest and hardest pile. Then, a large amount of compressed combustion powder and electromagnetic acceleration are installed above the large cylinder to launch it.

"Savor this, and die."

As Hajime spoke these words, he drove the pitch-black stake into the core of Meredi Golem, just as he drove a white wooden stake into the body of a vampire.

Boom boom boom!!! With a startling impact sound, the Pile Bunker began to rotate, and the pitch-black pile drove into the absolute defense of Meredi Golem.

The Azantium armor on Meredi's chest cracked instantly as the pile's tip pierced through it relentlessly. The overwhelming force of the impact caused Meredi Golem's massive body to sink into the floating block, creating radial cracks and causing the floating block itself to drop in height. The friction caused by the Pile Bunker's high-speed rotation caused white smoke to rise from Meredi Golem's chest.

...But the light did not disappear from Miledi Golem's eyes.

"Ha, haha. Looks like it's still not powerful enough. But it's pretty impressive, huh? It's already penetrated about three-quarters of the way."

Meredy's voice was a little stiff, but she feigned composure, though inwardly she was sweating profusely. While the Pile Bunker was Hajime's ultimate weapon, its electromagnetic acceleration wasn't sufficient to unleash its full power. Therefore, it unfortunately failed to penetrate the armor. However, there was no trace of resignation in Hajime's eyes, as if he had anticipated this situation.

"Go! Shia! Finish her off!!"

After Hajime stored the remaining pile bunkers into the "treasure vault", he leaped away from Meredi Golem's chest with great force.

Instead, Shia appeared, her rabbit ears swaying in the wind, holding Drukken high in the air, and flying down from the distant sky in a free fall.

「!?」

Perhaps sensing what Shia was about to do, Meredith Golem became truly anxious this time, attempting to evade. She attempted to move from the floating block she was pinned to, but realized she wouldn't be able to avoid Shia's swift fall in time...

So she stopped as if giving up.

Shia fired the shotgun fiercely, and using the impact, she struck the stake with all her might.

With a loud bang, the stake drove deeper. However, it still couldn't penetrate the armor. Shia kept pulling the trigger, hoping to fire all the remaining shotgun shells.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Aa ...

Shia's scream echoed throughout the space. She poured her intense will into her companion's hammer, determined to decide the outcome with this attack. She poured all her might into it, unleashing her full firepower. And with the impact, the floating block dropped with astonishing force.

With a resounding thud, the floating block crashed violently into the ground. The impact finally forced the pitch-black stake through the Azantium's absolute defenses and reached the core of Meredi Golem. A small portion of the stake's tip penetrated, cracking the core with a creaking sound.

At the moment of violent collision with the ground, Shia used Deluken as a fulcrum to stand upside down and did a somersault. Then, she poured all the strength of her body into her feet and kicked the stake with centrifugal force, delivering the final blow to Meredi.

The stake struck by Shia's kick penetrated deeper, widening the crack in the core...

Finally it was completely shattered.

The light vanished from Meredith Golem's eyes. After Shia confirmed this, she finally released all her strength and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Shia heard the sound of someone landing behind her. She turned around and saw, as expected, Hajime and Yue standing there. Shia smiled broadly at them and gave them a thumbs-up. Hajime and Yue returned her smile and gave her a thumbs-up.

The final trial of one of the seven great mazes, the [Lesin Great Maze], was confirmed to have been conquered at this moment.

"That was quite impressive, Shia. That final blow was truly impressive! I'm impressed!"

"...Yeah, you're working hard."

Amidst the dust and smoke flying around, Hajime and Yue praised Shia.

A massive crater had formed in the ground, etched with several radiating cracks. Lying motionless in the center, resting on the chest of Meredi Golem, Shia leaned against Druken, supporting herself, almost to the point of falling to her knees with relief, and chuckled.

She didn't fall down because she wanted to show off until the end, for Hajime and Yue who were approaching. Shia's desperate perseverance made Hajime narrow his eyes in admiration, and Yue looked at her with tender eyes.

“Hehe, thank you. But Hajime-san, at this point, shouldn’t I say ‘I’ve fallen in love with you all over again’?”

"What do you mean by starting over? I never fell in love with you from the beginning."

Hajime made a scathing remark to Shia, who was joking (?) to hide her shyness, but his expression was inversely proportional to his words. Shia's final, imposing and heroic figure was truly captivating.

In reality, she, who until recently had no interest in combat, was able to be so incredibly active simply because she truly desired to stand on the same stage with Hajime and Yue, to remain with them forever. This deep and strong desire, combined with Shia's latent abilities, enabled her to confront the greatest trial of the Seven Great Labyrinths head-on, even achieving the remarkable feat of delivering the finishing blow.

To Hajime, the final battle didn't necessarily depend on Shia. He'd anticipated that Pile Bunker might be insufficiently powerful and had other options for stabbing it. However, Shia, a gentle, uncombatant Bunnyman who had until recently learned no combat skills, had never once uttered the dejecting words "I want to go back." She'd endured the terror, the anxiety, the hesitation, and even reached the depths of the Great Labyrinth. Hajime concluded that it was perfectly acceptable to let her deliver the final blow.

And the result was beyond his imagination.

Shia's final attack, delivered with such breathtaking energy, was truly captivating, even Hajime was mesmerized. He could even feel Shia's powerful will, carried along by the shockwave, radiating into his heart. Despite this, Hajime hadn't yet developed the feelings for Shia she desired. However, her effort and perseverance captivated Hajime's heart. As Hajime gazed at Shia, his gaze softened.

“Eh? I, I feel like… Hajime-san’s eyes are so gentle… Was, was this a dream?”

"You... no, considering how I usually treat you, it's understandable that you would react like that..."

Shia pinched her cheeks at the gentle look in Hajime's eyes, as if she had seen something unbelievable. Her reaction made Hajime want to complain, but considering how rude he had been to her until now, it was understandable that she would think so, so he hesitated.

Yue gently approached Xia, who was still pinching her cheeks, grabbed Xia's clothes, asked her to bend down, and slowly stroked Xia's head, slowly and carefully helping her comb her messy hair.

"Um, um, Miss Yue?"

“… Hajime probably won’t pat your head, so it’s a shame, but let me take his place. You’ve been working really hard.”

"Tsuki-san~ Uuuu, eh, why? I don't know why you suddenly started crying, wuhehe."

“…Good boy.”

Shia, initially bewildered by Yue's sudden action, realized she was being praised, and as if a thread of tension had been cut, tears streamed down her face, hugging Yue tightly and sobbing. Chasing the seven great labyrinths on her first trip must have been quite daunting for her, right? Yet, she persevered solely out of her determination to follow Hajime and the others. The praise, the recognition, and the overwhelming sense of relief made her unable to hold back her tears.