A small magic-tool shop in Akuseru had recently risen to unexpected fame among the high-level adventurers arriving from other regions.
It wasn't just because the magic tools sold there were of a quality comparable to those found in the royal capital. The people inside the shop were just as famous.
The shop owner was a breathtaking beauty with a slightly airheaded personality, while the clerk was a kind, sunny-looking young man. On the surface, that was all they seemed to be—but any adventurer who had been "taught a lesson" knew just how mysterious these two truly were.
Whether it was adventurers who tried to skip out on payments, or those who saw the owner's beauty and apparent naivety and decided to get handsy, every single one of them ended up being beaten senseless and thrown out of the shop.
At first, most adventurers assumed the pair were relying on some unknown magical tools.
But now, it was clear that wasn't the case at all.
After all, the transparent barrier that had just blocked the mobile fortress's attack—short of a divine artifact, no ordinary magic tool could ever accomplish something like that.
"Mizuru, check how much magic power that thing still has.Completely destroying it feels like a waste. If we sell it to the royal court, it should fetch a pretty decent price."
In truth, Yūto had been ready to act the moment the mobile fortress approached Akuseru a day earlier. He'd even said his goodbyes to Kazuma and the others.
But then the royal commission was suddenly announced, and a flood of high-level adventurers poured into Akuseru. Figuring that if there were leeks to be harvested, there was no reason not to harvest them, Yūto temporarily put things on hold—selling off the shop's inventory in the meantime so that Mizuru wouldn't accidentally starve herself to death while he was gone.
"Since the mobile fortress was only maintaining movement before, it didn't consume much magic power.Aside from the minor drain required to sustain its anti-magic armor, its magic core is still at about two-thirds capacity."
Because the mobile fortress was a cold, lifeless machine with no aura, Yūto couldn't accurately gauge its strength on his own and had to rely on Mizuru instead.
Activating her highest-level Magic Perception skill, Mizuru's eyes glowed faint blue as she studied the massive fortress before calmly giving her assessment.
Yūto himself showed little reaction—but the adventurers sprawled all around them nearly lost their minds.
It wasn't that they doubted Mizuru's judgment.
It was that they couldn't accept the reality that after fighting nonstop for an entire day and night, all they had accomplished was draining one-third of the fortress's magic.
And that one-third even included the energy it had already spent beforehand—plus the enormous magic shell it had just fired!
Just how absurdly powerful was the magic core inside that giant hunk of metal?That level of magic was practically on par with a dragon.
"Two-thirds left, huh…Looks like this'll take a bit more time."
The first massive magic shell had been blocked by Yūto's Kidō technique, Dankū, but the mobile fortress didn't stop there. In the brief moments they spoke, a second gigantic magic shell had already finished charging.
"Mizuru, I'll handle that metal lump.Keep an eye on the adventurers—they're all former big customers. And quite a few of them still have IOUs outstanding.If they die, that's going to be a real headache."
Before the fortress could fire its second shell, Yūto vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared, his body was already positioned directly in front of the pitch-black cannon muzzle.
And almost the instant Yūto appeared, the compressed magic shell launched—flying straight toward his face at point-blank range.
Facing the oncoming torrent of destructive energy, Yūto condensed an enormous amount of magic into his right fist. At the very moment the shell reached him, he threw a straight punch.
"Fist of the Mad Gods!"
"Is that shop clerk insane?!That's a compressed magic shell meant to destroy city walls!He's not even trying to defend—he's colliding with it head-on!Is he committing suicide?!"
When the adventurers had seen Yūto successfully block the fortress's first attack, they'd thought that even if they couldn't stop it, at least they might survive under his protection.
But they never imagined that Yūto wouldn't try to retreat with them at all—instead charging straight at the unstoppable mobile fortress alone.
And even worse, he wasn't just charging it—he was brave to the point of madness, literally shoving himself into the cannon's firing line.
That was practically volunteering to die.
BOOOOOOM———!!
The compressed magic shell detonated mere moments after launch, exploding right in front of the mobile fortress. Thanks to its anti-magic armor and the fact that it wasn't a direct hit, the fortress itself suffered minimal damage—only staggering back a single step.
But amid the violent explosion, a figure was blasted backward at terrifying speed.
That figure slammed into Akuseru's city wall, carving a clear human-shaped crater into the stone.
The adventurers' hearts sank to rock bottom.
Their last hope had just been blown away.
No matter how strong someone was, no one could be reckless enough to block a fortress cannon with their own body.
"Not bad.I thought you were just a lump of metal—but you're actually pretty capable."
Yūto peeled himself out of the wall. His upper clothing had been shredded by the explosion, so he simply tore the remains off and stood bare-chested.
The moment the adventurers saw his exposed torso, they froze.
Yūto's physique was perfectly balanced and powerful. Aside from a terrifying scar across his left chest, there wasn't a single sign of injury. And that scar was clearly old.
Which meant—
That point-blank explosion… hadn't injured him at all.
"Is this guy even human…?That was a compressed magic shell strong enough to breach city walls!At that distance, he should've been erased from existence!"
"Or did he reinforce himself with some kind of magic or artifact beforehand…?"
Their shock was understandable. Any normal person would have been reduced to dust by an explosion like that.
Yet Yūto stood there unscathed—not even a scratch.
And that was only the beginning.
What happened next completely shattered their understanding of reality.
"Magic barely works. Weapons get dulled by that thick armor.And I don't want to damage you too badly…Guess that leaves only one option—fists meeting flesh, huh?"
Still half-embedded in the wall, Yūto reached into empty space and pulled out a massive gourd. Without a care in the world, he tilted it back and began chugging.
Fragrant, potent liquor poured down his throat, instantly transforming into raging magic that surged through his body. The magical pressure radiating from him skyrocketed at a visible rate.
The mobile fortress was just a machine—its attacks were purely automated. Yūto wasn't worried about drinking too much and losing clarity.
Solidified magic erupted outward. The stone ground beneath his feet cracked and shattered under the pressure as the aura he'd been concealing fully burst forth.
For the first time, everyone present could clearly sense it.
And the mobile fortress—detecting this sudden, overwhelming magical signature—could no longer afford to ignore him.
Previously, the fortress had paid little attention to the adventurers because, as a strategic weapon, it had been designed to target cities and war machines, not individuals.
Once it detected a city ahead, it automatically entered siege mode.
But now, in its perception, the colossal magic source standing before it was another strategic weapon—one capable of posing a genuine threat.
The mobile fortress shifted its targeting priority. Its cannon began rapidly charging yet another massive magic shell.
But this time, before it could fire—
Yūto raised one hand and unleashed a chantless Crimson Fire Cannon, detonating the compressed shell mid-charge.
BOOOOOOM———!!
The magic shell exploded inside the cannon, causing the fortress to lose its balance.
And in that same instant, Yūto kicked off the ground, leaving behind a small crater as he shot forward like a missile—arriving beneath the fortress in the blink of an eye.
The mobile fortress resembled a gigantic spider: multiple sharp metal limbs stabbed into the ground, supporting a massive stronghold above. This design allowed rapid movement while keeping the control center elevated and protected.
As Yūto closed in, the fortress quickly stabilized itself and thrust its spear-like metal legs downward at him.
Though slender relative to the fortress's body, each leg was like a towering metal pillar to a human.
Yūto dodged the impaling strike by a hair's breadth.
And then—
Something happened that no one present could have ever imagined.
The fortress attempted to pull its leg back for another attack.
But it couldn't.
Because the tiny figure at its feet had wrapped both arms around the massive metal limb, hugging it tightly—wearing a smug, triumphant grin.
Then, before the adventurers' eyes—
The mobile fortress, a war machine of overwhelming size and weight…
Was tripped and sent crashing down.
..
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