After Rihito disappeared, Tohru sensed his presence appearing near the castle before disappearing again. Her gaze flicked toward the direction of the group of four he had mentioned. A fleeting thought crossed her mind: [Should I deal with that blond girl now?] It would only take minutes. But she dismissed the impulse. First, Myu had to be secured. Everything else could wait.
She dove gracefully from the sky, landing gently in front of Myu.
Both Myu and Levy stiffened at the sudden arrival, but their tension melted as recognition set in.
"Big sister Tohru~! You found me!" Myu cried, rushing into her arms.
"Kyuu~," Levy cooed, equally relieved.
Tohru hugged them close, patting Levy's head with gentle reassurance. "Are you two alright?"
"Un. Do you know where Papa is?" Myu asked, noticing Tohru had come alone.
"Yes. He's busy for now. We should regroup with the others first."
Myu nodded firmly. "We have to find everyone. There's something..."
Boom!
A loud crack of thunder echoed through the air, followed by a violent explosion.
Tohru sniffed sharply, her instincts guiding her. "That way. The others are there."
[Hurry, my child. Time is running out.]
Myu's eyes widened at the whale's voice. "Let's go. If we don't hurry, something terrible will happen."
…
Meanwhile, on the battlefield...
Hajime and others have gathered around, dealing with a large swarm of monsters heading towards them. They fought relentlessly against a swarm of monsters. Shizuku and Shea carved through the frontline, blades and hammers flashing. Behind them, Remia and Kaori struck down stragglers with precision. Overhead, Hajime's Gatling gun, Metzelei, roared, mowing down countless enemies. Yue and Tio unleashed devastating lightning dragons and black breath attacks, tearing apart the horde from above.
Yet the monsters kept coming, more and more monsters spawned from the ground and poured out of that damn castle at the center.
"Another army? This is getting ridiculous," Hajime muttered, irritation flashing in his eyes. Their supposed sightseeing had turned into a nightmare.
But something was different. The monsters no longer charged mindlessly—they moved in crude formations, coordinated.
[How did they learn that?] Hajime scanned the battlefield. There is no commander in sight… then someone must be controlling them from the shadows.
His jaw tightened. "So annoying. And where the hell is Rihito? With all this chaos, even the deaf and blind would notice something's wrong."
Though worry for Myu gnawed at him, Hajime trusted Rihito's preparations. As for Tohru—well, anyone foolish enough to stand in her way should be the one afraid.
Suddenly...
"Tidalwave Giant Serpent!"
A colossal serpent-shaped torrent of water surged from the right flank, obliterating swathes of monsters.
"Asura!"
Gravity itself crushed the frontline, scattering the horde.
"Void Fissure!"
Spatial shockwaves shredded the retreating monsters, cutting off their escape.
The monsters, realising their escape was blocked, panicked and ran frantically; their previously synchronised movement descended into complete chaos. The flying monster attempted to escape through the air. But…
"Black Umbrella Mode 9: Thunder lord's Judgement!"
Thunder rained down, blasting through all the flying monsters.
Boom!
The battlefield fell silent; the monster army reduced to chaos and ash. From one attack after another, Hajime and others were taken aback by the sudden turn of events.
"Everyone, get back," Hajime ordered, wary of whomever it was that swept through the monsters.
Was it a new enemy? If it were, they need to prepare.
As the monsters were annihilated, about a few meters away from them, three people appeared out of thin air.
From the smoke and ruin, three figures materialised, stepping out of thin air.
"That's… spatial magic?" Yue whispered, her voice taut with caution.
Tio moved protectively in front of Hajime, her eyes blazing towards the dust cloud. She would not allow harm to reach her master—not now, not ever.
"Master, we should retreat," Tio urged, her tone steady but cautious. "We should regroup with the others."
Hajime narrowed his eyes, considering the suggestion. Retreating would mean finding Myu and teaming up with Rihito and Tohru—their strongest fighters. Logically, it made sense. But after all the battles he had fought and the training he had undergone, he was stronger. Backing down now felt wrong; that wasn't his style.
At that moment, his decision was made. "No, we hold here. If it comes to blows, be ready to unleash hell on them. Show me just how strong you have gotten."
Tio smiled faintly, pride flickering in her eyes. "Understood. Then I will protect you as your guardian."
"Just don't get in my way," Hajime replied with a fierce grin.
"I'll protect Hajime too," Kaori chimed in from behind.
"No need. I'll do that instead," Yue jabbed, her voice cool but sharp.
"Why you…" Kaori bristled, and the two slipped into one of their familiar squabbles.
Hajime sighed, and the corner of his mouth turned upward. Their bickering, oddly enough, eased the tension. "Everyone, get ready," he ordered, raising his guns.
As he prepared, three figures emerged from the dust. Hajime was astonished to see them. He turned to Yue and asked, "Is this an illusion?"
Yue shook her head, her expression grave. "No. I scanned them with
"But how is that possible? They are…"
"Hajime? Are they real?" Shizuku asked cautiously, having identified the blue-haired woman's obvious features as a Dagon, and, upon seeing her, it didn't take her long to figure out who the two men with her could be.
"Yeah, they seem to be, but I am not quite sure if it's them or some trick like the labyrinths."
"Then… Did you find him?" Shizuku pressed.
Hajime shook his head. He knew exactly whom she meant. "No. He's hiding his presence—or found something that caught his attention. If not, he'd already be here."
Shizuku's lips pressed into a thin line, her knuckles whitening around the hilt of her katana. She nodded grimly, though unease flickered in her eyes.
Hajime caught the tremor in her stance, but this was not the time for hesitation. His voice cut through the heavy silence like steel. "Yaegashi, focus. He'll be fine. Right now, we need to make sure we survive too…"
A mocking laugh echoed ahead of them. Shea, standing tall with her hammer casually resting on her shoulder, tilted her head with a sly grin. "Losing your nerves already? If this much pressure rattles you, how will you ever hope to stand beside him?"
Shizuku's jaw tightened. The taunt stung, but it also lit a fire in her chest. She stepped forward, shoulder to shoulder with Shea, her katana gleaming in the dim light. "Ha… like that will stop me." The group's spirits rose; they were ready to face whatever came before them.
…
"My, my… quite the energetic bunch, aren't they?" of the three people, the dagon woman said with a smile. "Well, at least by their behaviour, we can be sure they are not puppets of the church."
The man with the rust-red hair nodded. "It seems so, but it's better to remain cautious."
Both then turned to the last person with them. "What do you think?"
The man at the front adjusted his glasses, black umbrella in hand. His gaze sharpened as he activated the artefact-detection function. With a polite smile, he said: "Hello, friend. Could you lower that weapon? It seems dangerous. We're not here to harm you."
"..."
Hajime remained silent, his finger steady on the trigger.
"What should we do, Hajime?" Yue whispered.
"There's something wrong with this place," Hajime muttered, lowering his gun slightly. "I intend to find out what."
Seeing him putting the object down, the man relaxed a fraction. "I am Oscur. These are my companions, Naiz and Meiru."
"..."
"..."
Oscar frowned at their silence, then tried again. "Can you tell us where this place is? We seem… lost."
Hajime, observing them talk amicably, responded, "To tell you the truth, we don't know." He spoke in a measured tone. "We ourselves suddenly found ourselves here after a sudden storm."
"Hmmm…I see, and here I thought you guys lived here," Oscar said jokingly, trying to ease the tension. Which kinda worked, but Hajime still kept his guard.
Hajime's gaze sharpened. "Tell me one thing? Are you three, Oscar Orcus, Naiz Caliente and Meiru Melusine?" He asked just to confirm.
"…"
"..."
"..."
The trio froze.
Oscar tensed at the sight of a stranger who had just addressed them by their full name. He couldn't recall ever meeting this man before, not to mention giving their full name. So, how did he know their names?
Oscar's grip tightened on his umbrella, suspicion flashing in his eyes. "How do you know our names?" His gaze swept over Hajime's group, noting all the weapons, no, they were artifacts and powerful ones at that. Are they from another group under the church? If they were, this would get troublesome.
Between the two groups, tension started to build again. Both groups are instinctively ready for a fight.
The situation was escalating, and Hajime still couldn't confirm whether these people were real or fake.
Then...
"Mama!"
Suddenly, the voice of a child cut through the tension.
"Hmm…" Hajime heard a familiar voice.
Remia, immediately recognising the voice, looked to the left and saw Tohru carrying both Myu and Levy, flying towards them.
"Myu!" Remia cried, tears welling. She was really worried about her, especially not seeing her beside her in this unknown place.
Tohru slowly touched down, her dragon wings retracted, and placed Levy and Myu.
"Mama!" Myu rushed into her embrace.
"Kyu~" Levy followed after.
"My baby… I was so worried," Remia whispered, clutching her daughter tightly.
"It's okay, Mama. I'm strong now—I can beat bad guys!" Myu puffed her chest proudly, then quickly shook her head. "But we need to hurry. Something bad is about to happen."
Hajime frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Cough, hey, can we get in the conversation too. It seems, according to the child, something really bad is about to happen here." Oscar interjects.
Seeing the emotional reunion between mother and daughter, they were sure that they were not with the church or associated with it.
Both the mother's and the daughter's emotions were genuine. There was no way the church members who discriminated against demi-humans and beastmen would allow such an event within their ranks. Furthermore, having a bunny girl and two dragon men among them would be considered the highest form of blasphemy for the church.
[And what's that creature with them?] It kinda reminded him of that Leviathan they dealt with a while back. [No way, right?] Sweat bedewed on Oscur's forehead.
Hajime noticed their change of emotions. "So will you answer me now?"
…
Chapter end
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==Insert IMG of your waifu==
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