The beam of light created a wound on the giant shark's body that seemed to melt, and the shark returned to the sea as the water tornado dissipated. As other monsters rushed over to grab the piece of flesh that had been cut in half, Tio said calmly:

"Well, it would be nice if I could do some warm-up exercises with you."

Her point was that through these battles, they could become familiar with the enhanced performance of the necklace and cheat friends, and try out new moves that could only be performed in this enhanced state. From this perspective, her opinion made sense.

"Of course, I understand your desire to move forward as quickly as possible."

"No, I'm not anxious."

"Is that so? If you were the master, being constantly transported to different dimensions like this, you wouldn't have considered the possibility of never reaching your destination, right?"

Just like what Hajime said earlier.

This is the Divine Realm, the domain of Esid. Even if they could find the portal, if the portal's destination is also controlled by the gods, it's very likely that they'd intentionally prevent the group from reaching the moon.

Moreover, Hajime had been staying in the Time Crystal the entire time. Although only three days had passed in reality, within the time-delayed space, Hajime had spent nearly a month preparing.

He missed Yue more than anyone else, and had been separated from Yue longer than anyone else.

After finally breaking into the divine realm, I was forced to take detours all the time. No matter what, I couldn't help but feel anxious and impatient.

Tio was worried, but it seemed like she was just worrying for no reason.

"I appreciate your concern, but that's impossible."

“…What do you mean?”

"That guy, Esid, has no concept of 'necessity' or 'rationality'. He only pursues pleasure."

While hurrying forward, Hajime's tone remained calm and composed.

"If you don't want the enemy to get close, deliberately getting them lost is a reasonable approach. However, he would never resort to such tactics."

"Because that wouldn't be fun, would it?"

"That's right. The fact that the transfer gate itself hasn't been sealed proves that."

"That's true. If you don't want us to move forward, you can just close the portal."

"That does make sense."

Shia raised the fur on her rabbit ears in indignation. Tio gave a wry smile.

She thought, Eshid, the worst pleasure-takers, his thinking was indeed easy to understand. He had overlooked this point. It seemed that she was the one who was accumulating resentment and impatience.

Tio took a deep breath and cleared her mind.

"So, Master's quick finish along the way was a way of saying, 'I don't intend to play with you.' Fufu, Master is really mean."

"Ah, I see... It's really cruel to imagine. It's like... Esid excitedly brings a board game to Hajime-san, but Hajime-san doesn't even play it and just crushes it. Something like that?"

No matter what kind of space the group was transported to, or what kind of enemy was sent, Hajime always took the shortest path with the help of the compass, crushing all obstacles without hesitation.

This really wasn't a game. If Esid was watching, he'd probably be furious.

Although if we just wait, Esheed will probably show up because he loses interest; however, this method can indeed force him to show up for a confrontation faster.

This is indeed in line with Hajime's style - never passively waiting, and considering attack as the greatest defense.

"That guy wants to see us struggle with hope, only to wail in agony and die. Therefore, it's impossible for him not to confront us. Given that, if our progress isn't interesting..."

"Master, you mean, it's almost here, right?"

"That's true... Miss Yue...!"

Shia raised her eyebrows and stared ahead with determination, as if gazing at the light after the storm in a dark world.

She must be very worried about Yue, caring about her from the bottom of her heart...

"Really? One moment she's trapped in the abyss, the next she's trapped by the past, and finally she's captured by the evil god. She's clearly the strongest vampire princess, but does she really have to be so important as a heroine?!"

No, she seemed indignant. Her rabbit ears twitched in anger as she clung to Yue's need to rebuild her courage and perseverance.

"Fufu, that's true. After I bring her back, I'll have to give her a good scolding."

"No, it would be too much of a blow to my heart if I were to be lectured by Miss Tio. Let's forget it."

"Isn't that a bit too much?!"

The two girls' bickering made Shi, who had always had a sharp expression, burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, with Yue's abilities, she'll definitely prepare one or two ways to get her body back, just in case we come knocking. So don't get too hung up on her."

"Hajime-san, you're saying something so hubristic like that. It's really annoying."

"Don't be so irritable."

"Because I'm itching to fight. My soul is clamoring to fight."

"Master, is it true that there are no dangerous ingredients in the cheat friends?"

Shia, full of fighting spirit, swung the Veled Luken repeatedly, making a buzzing sound. Hajime turned his gaze away from her and continued to check the compass.

As if he was pretending not to hear Tio's trembling question.

Tio's expression grew even more uneasy. Just as she was about to press the issue further, Hajime suddenly narrowed his eyes sharply and raised his fist to stop her. Tio swallowed her words.

“…We were deceived.”

"Confused? Master, are you saying the compass isn't working?"

“No, this is…”

Hajime looked up at the sky with a serious look and expressed his speculation.

"This storm itself is probably a barrier, and it's the type that can cause space to cycle infinitely."

Judging from the compass, the transfer gate was getting closer and closer, but the distance suddenly widened, as if all the distance previously traveled had been reset.

The monsters above the clouds are as powerful as those in the lowest layer of the abyss, or even more powerful, but they will not come below the clouds. This is probably because the storm itself is not ordinary.

"What should we do now?"

"If it's a barrier, it should have a center. Just find it."

Having said that, Hajime turned the compass to another target. What was the cause of this storm? Perhaps—

"Found it."

Hajime's eyes turned cold as he looked down.

"There seems to be a big thing down here. It seems to be the cause of the storm."

"So it's a monster?"

"What kind of monster is it that can create such a large-scale storm and even has the ability to interfere with space?"

As they imagined the massive entity lurking in the sea, Shia and Tio's expressions turned solemn. At this moment, Hajime summoned ten metal balls, each one meter in diameter, into the air.

Instead of catching the balls, he let them fall.

"Shia, Tio, just to be safe, please move closer."

Shia and Tio's expressions froze, as if they were in disbelief. They quickly manipulated the skylight and moved to Hajime's side.

Hajime manipulated the "Transformable Full Moon Wheel Orestes" to move it below the cupola, transforming it and opening a massive "Gate of Space and Time." Simultaneously, the sea surface began to erupt in flames.

With a blast so loud it would shake the pit of the stomach, a massive column of water erupted from the sea. Simultaneously, a large amount of steam continued to rise, swaying in the storm.

Because Orestes activated the space exile function, Hajime and the others were completely unaffected, but the situation below was as frightening as an underwater volcanic eruption.

"That's what the master used just now, right? A bomb filled with abyssal tar."

"Uh... I remember it was called a steam explosion, right?"

"That's right. This destructive power should be enough to destroy most monsters, but..."

It seems that the monster was not destroyed.

Shia and Tio stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it. At this moment, a violent whirlpool appeared on the sea surface.

It was a gigantic vortex, almost boundless, with a large depression in the center.

There seemed to be a large, long creature swimming around the outer edge of the vortex. It looked to be over a thousand meters long, and its body was about as thick as a large submarine.

Even though it was hidden in the sea, one could still see that the creature was covered in metallic black scales and had a dorsal fin that looked like a mountain of swords.

Then──

— Uooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The sea erupted once more. The presence within the sea emanated an overwhelming pressure, enough to crush the survival instincts of all living things, plunging them into deep fear.

The water rose like a mountain and then formed a huge waterfall and flowed back into the sea. In the waterfall, the monster raised its head and finally appeared.

The dragon's head, its dark red eyes, and its massive mouth held two rows of teeth roughly the size of an adult human. Its body, rising from the sea, was at least three hundred meters tall, like a giant tree. Each scale was as large as Hajime's shield and appeared incredibly tough. Beneath the black scales were dark red lines, like capillaries.

With such appearance, it resembles the sea monster in Earth legend - the giant.

Only now could Hajime and the others see this clearly from a higher vantage point; however, if they were to cross the sea by boat, they would definitely think a wall had appeared on the sea.

"It's even more oppressive than the 'evil food' we fought in the West Sea before."

"It's probably a monster from ancient times. Since it's a demon from the divine realm, calling it a 'divine beast' might not be an exaggeration."

The gigantic monster before him was on a completely different level from the previous attackers. Perhaps the monsters above the clouds wouldn't come below because the area within the storm's range belonged to the domain of divine beasts.

Regardless, the divine beast's gaze was now completely fixed on Hajime and his group.

"Ah, it seems completely angry."

"Now's not the time to be sarcastic, it's coming!"

As Tio warned, the beast opened its bloody mouth. A huge amount of seawater gathered towards the center of the dragon's mouth at an incredible speed.

"Anyway, like any other enemy, I don't intend to spend time playing with them."

Before the divine beast could take action, bright red lightning burst out.

Shia and Tio turned around in surprise and saw Hajime holding a long and large weapon on the right side of his abdomen, with his left hand gripping the upper handle of the weapon.

It looked like a gun over four meters long—no, the weapon's caliber was about the same as the muzzle of a tank gun, or rather, the barrel.

Its appearance is very similar to the "Electromagnetic Acceleration Anti-Object Sniper Rifle Shurajan", but all parts are two times larger.

There are four more mechanical arms at the back, emitting bright red ripples and having the function of fixing space.

——Electromagnetic acceleration sniper cannon Shurajan A.A (achtacht).

This was a beautiful weapon, imbued with Hajime's romance and dedication. This electromagnetic cannon used 88cm armor-piercing shells and could accurately fire at targets up to ten kilometers away.

After a beat of time.

The "Roar of the Divine Beast," capable of piercing through and destroying everything, strikes fiercely.

A bright red flash launched an attack, and the moment the trigger was pulled, a strong impact occurred, and even Shia and Tio on the skylight could not help but stagger.

From the sidelines, both attacks looked like extremely thick laser beams, colliding violently with each other.

Which was superior, a divine beast or a weapon? No, there wasn't even a moment for such doubt.

In a split second, the crimson light devoured the dragon's breath. Its trajectory remained perfectly intact, and the dragon's breath, capable of piercing even steel, was blasted to dust, its power undiminished.

The shell continued to move forward, shot into the mouth of the divine beast, penetrated deep into its throat, and came out from the inside near the back of its head, shattering the scales.

A huge scream was heard, but it didn't sound oppressive. It was undoubtedly a miserable wail.

The divine beast violently spurted blood and flesh, twisting its body violently and struggling.

A.A.'s entire body was engulfed in intense sparks, emitting a sizzling sound. Its power made Shia and Tio's expressions somewhat unimpressed.

Hajime pulled the handle with his left hand.

The barrel ejected the massive 88cm armor-piercing shell with a click, and then loaded a new bullet directly from the "treasure vault."

Hajime pushed the handle forward, completing the reload. A fierce flash of light flashed, and the charge was completed in an instant.

A second explosion echoed. Unable to accurately aim at the violently flailing head, a second flash of light, like a streak piercing the sky, struck the torso near the sea surface.

This blow clearly proved that the cannonball could shatter scales as hard as the Azantium ore even without being struck from the inside.

As the sound of smashing was heard, a large hole was punched through the body, and a large amount of blood and flesh splattered out with a bright red flash.

After howling loudly for the second time, the beast finally sank into the sea.

“I didn’t get a chance to show off again…”

"No, Shia, it doesn't look like it's over yet."

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