The end of battle is near!

As they traveled along the swift magma current, a considerable number of demons attacked them; however, finally reaching what may have been the end of their trip, the magma began calming down.

Many meters ahead of them, there was a light. It may have been an exit, but it was still quite suspicious. The magma broke off at this time.

"Hold on!"

Yue and the others gripped Eleonora's waist as she and Hajime held onto the boat. The boat was thrown out of the cave; that much was natural with how rapidly they had descended.

Hajime immediately grasped their situation as they entered a large room; it was a vast space where the final trial would be held as it had been in Raisen Great Labyrinth. Eleonora who was completely new at this wondering what kind of large room they have entered right now.

He could not accurately grasp the size of the room since it had an irregular shape, unlike the spherical room in Raisen Great Labyrinth, but it was surely greater than 3 kilometers in diameter. Most of the ground was filled with magma; there were rocks sticking out here and there which could act as footholds.

There were areas of the wall which strutted inward and other areas with small crevices pointing out. Countless rivers of magma crossed through the air, most of which drained into the sea of magma below. Scorching pillars of flame sprouted from beneath. If the cauldron of Hell existed, surely it would look like this.

However, what was more noticeable than anything else was a massive rock, about 10 meters in height, in the center of the island. Though it was larger than the others, it was also covered in a dome of magma. The magma was like a small sun, stealing Hajime's eyes.

"—[Wind]."

Tio, who fell off the boat as it was overturned, regained her stance in midair and boarded once again. Eleonora used her own magic to soften the landing of the boat and catch Yue by princess carry, make the blond vampire has mild blush on her cheeks; earning jealous look from the women.

As Eleonora already princess carry her, Yue then spoke to her.

"E-Eleonora, I'm okay… you don't have to carry me anymore."

"Is that so? Then, whenever you want it, I'll gladly accept that."

Yue's cheeks became redder and hot hearing Eleonora's sweet and gentle voice said that to her. The blond vampire just nods slightly at her and trying to regain her composure as she calm herself for a few minutes.

"... So that's the home?"

Yue muttered after she regain her composure while looking at the center of the island.

"Given how deep we are, that might be an appropriate thought... but somehow..."

"The final guardian would be here... right? Master?"

"Didn't we pass it with that shortcut earlier?"

Tio had a sharp glance beyond that of her typical massive M tendencies as she confirmed with Hajime. Hajime was bracing himself, looking for something he may have overlooked. Shea, on the other hand, spoke optimistically.

Hajime followed Shea's gaze and noticed a large landing with stairs leading upward. If they went up, they likely would have found the proper route by which they should have traveled.

However, even if it was typically impossible, to think riding the magma as a shortcut would bypass the final trial of the Great Labyrinth, even Shea was not so naive; her sharp expression showed she did not believe her own words.

This was proven as the magma jumped out from the lake like a bullet.

"Muu, leave it to me!"

Tio moved her magic as she called out, meeting the magma which was flying at them from above.

But the attack was just the signal to begin the fight. As soon as Tio's magic hit the ball of magma, it split apart, only to be followed by lumps of flame being fired from the magma lake and the magma rivers above like a machine gun.

"Tch, jump!"

Hajime decided to abandon the boat and get to the land nearby. The flames crushed the boat which sank into the sea of magma. Everyone landed on their own rock, intercepting the magma which came at them. Though they were not difficult to stop,

Hajime was clearly getting irritated by the wave of assaults.

The air was being distorted by the heat of the magma.

To break this situation, Hajime performed a gun spin and reloaded Donner & Schlag. He then covered himself by firing at the masses of flames with his guns as well as the weapons in his artificial arm.

Eleonora who saw it then covered herself and Yue. Seeing this, Yue would not miss this chance and activated her Gravity Magic the instant she had an opening as she spreads out her arms ahead and said the spell name.

"—[Sever Calamity]."

A large sphere whirled between the six people. The mass of flames was drawn into it, one after another. The black star crushed all with its supergravity, made it gone forever and didn't cause any extreme heat or harm to them anymore.

Free from the barrage of fire attacks, Hajime, who earlier trapped in the masses of flames used [Air Walk] and quickly approached the island in the center and try regroup with everyone that currently on the island.

The curtain of attacks was a means to stop them from progressing; it was the most troublesome attack. The culprit behind the attack was still unseen, but he very likely existed in this Great Labyrinth. Hajime judged the culprit would show himself if he simply approached the island in the center.

Hajime used [Telepathy] while approaching the island in the center.

(I'll search the island. Cover me.)

(Roger.)

Though the magma attacking Hajime was beyond the range of Yue's [Sever Calamity], everyone worked to cover him. Yue continued using [Sever Calamity] to intercept all attacks and being helped by Eleonora at her side as she also using [Server Calamity]. Yue smiled at that and feel a bit happy she was getting help from someone she crushed on.

Tio also flew and fired flame bullets into the magma while Shea used Drücken's shotgun mode.

With their cover, Hajime was able to take one last jump to the center island.

However, at that moment…

"Goaaa!!!"

"!?"

With a massive roar, a large snake opened its jaw right beneath Hajime who was flying above it.

Because it was encased in magma in this area covered in magma, he could not notice it with either Heat Perception or Physical Perception. Furthermore, this area was filled with magic, so he could not perceive it with Magic Perception. This attack was a complete surprise.

However, Hajime quickly twisted his body and barely evaded its jaws.

The magma snake bit down where Hajime was a moment before.

Hajime twisted like a cat in midair and fired at its head. The snake's head was caught by the blast and flew off.

"What!?"

Hajime called out in surprise.

That was natural.

What sprayed out of the snake's body was magma and nothing else. In this Grand Gruen Volcano, every creature was clad in magma; however, they were never composed of magma alone.

Hajime recovered immediately and fired mercilessly at its body.

Still, he could see no signs of its body. This magma snake was completely composed of the substance.

"Annoying."

Though Hajime was surprised for a moment, he managed to jump away with [Air Walk] to escape as the magma snake, which should have been incapacitated, made a jump for him.

The snake's attacks had not yet ended. The moment Hajime jumped to the side, the separated head lunged at him.

Hajime shot out a shell from his artificial arm and barely managed to avoid the attack. A chill ran down Hajime's back at that time. He followed his instincts and shot shells from his artificial arm continuously while running with "Air Walk" to escape.

More Snakes appeared, one after another, from the sea of magma, their huge mandibles opening and closing.

"This is annoying."

Hajime landed nearby and retreated again through the air. Yue and the others approached him. It seems the rapid fire attacks had ended.

"... Hajime-san, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It seems its finally showing up."

Hajime said as she looked at Eleonora who gently touched Yue's arm to relieve her of her anxiety, made him a bit irritated as he continued looking forward. The magma Snakes piled up, one after another, blocking the way in front of them as if trying to make the group cannot get past of it.

"So the island in the center is our destination. We can't get past if we don't take care of this."

"But it came back, even after you shot it apart earlier, right? Can we really knock it down that easily?"

Twenty magma snakes had appeared and were glaring at Hajime.

The initial snake had finally reconstructed itself and regained its original appearance as if nothing happened.

Shea frowned as she pointed this out. In Raisen Great Labyrinth, the knights could regenerate, and they needed to move rationally. Her rabbit ears moved about restlessly.

Hajime smiled bitterly and expressed his thoughts.

"Most likely it's a demon like the Bacherm. There's a nucleus somewhere in the magma. With all the magic in the air, I can't perceive it... I guess there's nothing else to do but to eradicate them."

Everyone nodded to Hajime's words. The snakes attacked all at once.

The magma snakes emitted flames from their mouth. All twenty attacked at once. Typically, there would be no choice but to be engulfed in a sea of flames.

"It truly has been a while! Make sure you get a good taste!"

At the tip of Tio's hands as she yelled out was a large amount of black light. Focusing and compressing it quickly, she shot out a [Dragon's Breath].

This terrible power, which pushed even Hajime's defenses, abolished the magma snakes in its path.

Eight snakes disappeared in an instant. Hajime quickly made his way through the hole they left.

As expected, they would not disappear if they were not completely annihilated. Even so, creatures of a Great Labyrinth were not this simple.

The twelve remaining magma snakes returned to the sea of magma. When they jumped out again, they numbered twenty.

"Hey, isn't blowing you away the clear condition here? I even used my Evil Eye to check that you were gone."

Hajime was suspicious. He had utilized his eye to confirm the creatures' disappearance the moment Tio's attack destroyed them. While Hajime was doubting the conquering conditions, Eleonora called out to him from the center of the island.

"Hajime-san! Please look! There's something shining in the rocks!"

"What?"

When he glanced to the center of the island, he saw a place where a light, about the size of a fist, appeared. It was an orange light; he had not noticed it before, so it may have been buried beneath the rock.

Hajime confirmed it with [Far Sight].

Apparently an abnormal amount of ore was buried beneath the rock wall on the island.

Since the island in the center was like a column, it was possible a hundred ores were buried. Currently, there were eight lights which shined... the same number as Tio had destroyed earlier.

"I see... So one hundred magma snakes is what we have to destroy."

"... Considering this heat and the concept of this Labyrinth, that seems suitable enough."

The challenger who was worn away by the heat and surprise attacks would be at their wits end. It was a suitable trial for a Great Labyrinth.

Seeing how Hajime and the girls were certainly tired mentally, Eleonora then cast a spell to them to make their mental and body not tired again as she remove their mental and physical fatigue that already accumulated; they surprised at first and after that their faces changed expression; they had learned how to conquer this Labyrinth, so they all smiled fearlessly.

After understanding this and their fatigues totally removed by Eleonora, they became energetic and ready for another round with the snakes. As they about to face it again, the snakes jumped up again, but everyone used irregular movements so as not to be caught in the attack.

Everyone spread out and began their counterattack.

Tio grew dragon wings from her back and used wind she generated with them to float. She created wind blades and tornadoes to strike away the attackers. It was an Intermediate Rank Wind Magic, [Imperial Cannon].

"That makes nine! Master, I'm in the lead. If I knock down a lot, I hope you allow me to be punished by Eleonora-san! Of course, I want to be punished by you too, Master but I want to experience a new sensation this time! Ahhh~ the bliss!"

Tio shouted out as she blew apart the ninth magma snake.

Though Hajime was about to refuse with an amazed expression and slightly annoyed at the mention of Eleonora name within it, Shea stopped him first.

"Wha! Tio-san, that's tricky! I'm also entering this fight! I will not allow you to get that! I also want to be with Eleonora-san!"

While crying out, Shea took Drücken and lowered it at the magma Snakes before her. A ripple of magic extended from the location of impact followed by a violent blow. Many of them magma snakes exploded, their magic cores broken by [Magic Radiation].

Shea let Drücken burst to avoid the magma snake attacking from behind; however, as if aiming for it, the snake headed for the place she was landing at.

But Shea was not particularly rushed as she poured magic into her short boots. They had an ability built into the metallic boards transmuted into the soles, causing a ripple of powder blue magic to spread at her feet. Shea kicked off the air, dancing in the skies once again.

These boots were made for Shea who could not fight in the air, allowing her to use [Air Step] like Hajime. Combined with Shea's ability to manipulate her weight, she was truly able to "fly through the sky."

Shea looked at the snake which flew beneath her and pointed the muzzle of her transformed Drücken, pulling the trigger. It was not a normal shot but a slug bullet.

Even then, it was not a normal slug bullet. It was made from an ore with [Magic Radiation] imbued upon it. It utilized magic to create shock waves. Considering power alone, it far surpassed that of a grenade cartridge.

An explosion sounded, scattering star-like flashes of light as they tore up the creature's body.

"Hey. What are you..."

"... Then I'll have a date, just me and Eleonora."

Hajime opened his mouth to complain about their selfish competition, but he was interrupted by Yue who was completely in the mood to compete. All of them declared boldly to Hajime that they want to be with Eleonora and completely ignoring the source of their previous affection which is Hajime.

"…So, if I did more, Eleonora and me will have a chance?"

Shizuku muttered as she immediately unsheathe the sword that she receiving from Hajime and jump toward the magma Snakes at slashing one of it with Black Blade as Hajime named it with such creativity because it was replacing her broken sword.

With just one slash, one of the magma Snakes being cut off and Shizuku was amazed by the quality of sword she get from the white-haired young man who also an otaku. Though she still find it funny about his chuuni and edgy title.

Yue, while enjoying herself, called forth a vicious magic. It was already the eighteenth time she had used [Thunder Dragon].

However, her skill was going up too quickly; seven [Thunder Dragons] had appeared. They attacked a separate target, all at once. With a clap of thunder, many snakes were crushed like the lumps of magma they were.

Seeing this, Shea said "Yue-san really is the most powerful one!" while Tio said "Yue-sama must have a bug or something! This is too weird!" while having hasty and annoyed expressions respectively. Shizuku who saw Yue who is skilled like that also felt a bit dangerous since her chance together with Eleonora may decreased and she suddenly improving her speed.

"... As long as they're happy."

Hajime said as he sighed and decided to give up. There is no point to be jealous anymore since they already said that so frank and didn't hide it anymore. At least he knew that he isn't their target of attention and affection anymore from those three; it's tiring and hard to maintain three women.

But he didn't really care about Shizuku, since him and her didn't have any relationship other than just a simple classmate. He give her a new sword crafted with the hardest ore in this world because she is one of the people who aren't despise him and also the friend of Kaori.

He then turned to Eleonora and give her a glare and made the girl smile nervously and trying to avoid his gaze since it's kind of frightening for her, especially with how bold the declaration of Tio, Shea, and even Yue who is Hajime's current lover, or it will be his former lover now.

"You better treat them well, hear it? If not, your head will full of holes with this thing."

Hajime said as he cocked Donner and Schlag as he trying to scare the young girl.

"Of course not. I will always treat those who loves me dearly very well, Hajime-san. I see that you already accept that Yue-san is has a feeling towards me, hm?"

He nodded in annoyed manner since he don't want to admit it. Before Eleonora coming, he slowly feel a connection with the three girls, but it somehow also slowly dispersed when Kaori coming into his party and the sudden confession from her that made him think twice—or thrice.

The magic core flew upward and into the magma. With pinpoint accuracy, Hajime shot through it before the stone could fall into the magma.

The bullet Hajime shot was the same kind as Shea's. However, there was an issue of size in this case, so the impact was still a problem. Of course, he could increase its destructive powers significantly with Schlag, but he decided to experiment with these bullets using his two handguns.

With his handguns, the bullets did not have the power to destroy the magma snakes in a single blow. Hajime had to shoot one to rid the creature of its armor and another to destroy the exposed magic core. Naturally, he could ignore this by utilizing his rail gun abilities, but the spray of the magma would be too great, and he could not easily pinpoint the location of the nucleus.

When two snakes attacked from each side, Hajime used [Air Walk] and [Ground Contraction] to flip up into the air. He fired Schlag.

A single explosive sound.

However, he had shot two at once. The magma snakes collided, exposing their cores.

At that time, he shot Donner twice, but the bullet was missed and made him groan in annoyance. Seeing this, Eleonora fired two [Fireball] to the magma snakes and destroying the cores which were burned nicely.

Before they noticed, only eight lights remained on the column in the center. Not even 10 minutes had passed since the battle began.

The concept behind Grand Gruen Volcano was handling a situation where concentration was numbed by the poor environment.

They had managed to get through it all.

Tio's breath attack cut down two of the remaining snakes.

—Six remained.

Shea shot out slug bullets with her Drücken and Shizuku along slashing diagonally downward, then switches grips and swings sideways with her sheath instead to perform [Mountain Tempest] as the snakes gathered together.

—Four remained.

Snakes attacked Yue from both sides only to be stopped by the [Thunder Dragon] coiling around her. The next moment, four [Thunder Dragons] attacked the two snakes.

—Two remained.

The snakes attacking Hajime scattered every time they were shot, but they moved back and forth to avoid being destroyed.

When they were crossing each other, Hajime shot Donner through an exposed core, crushing one of them.

Finally, the final snake jumped into the magma and launched a surprise attack from below. Hajime jumped up with [Air Walk] and fired Schlag through the snake's open mouth.

The magma scattered, exposing the magic core to the air. Hajime aimed Donner. The girls watched him in satisfaction.

"This is the end."

Hajime shot, watching the column from his periphery vision.

That moment—

From above, an aurora appeared.

'What?! I can't evade—Not good, I won't make it in ti— '

Hajime's thoughts froze as an aurora covered his vision.

A light which mortally injured Hajime before shot down as if it were divine punishment from the heavens. No, it may have been far stronger than that. At the moment he was most defenseless, the light swallowed the atmosphere, engulfing

Hajime and the final snake.

As if it were some kind of joke, Hajime's figure disappeared in the light.

Seeing Hajime swallowed by the aurora, though Shea and Tio could simply stand in blank surprise, Yue and Shizuku gasping at that, bringing the other two out of their state. If Kaori ever come and seeing this, she must be heart broken and cried like never before.

The aurora poured down with a tremendous roar. The final magma snake was swallowed, and the magma below was blown away.

Finally, the light grew thin and dispersed into space.

Eleonora ran to Hajime as the light disappeared. Though he was tattered here and there, Hajime had managed to remain in the air. He had both arms crossed, defending his chest and face; however, he immediately began falling down to the magma, having lost his balance from the impact.

"—[Soar]!"

Having lost consciousness, Hajime fell back in fatigue, and Eleonora lifted him up with gravity magic and trying to make Hajime landing slowly and gently on a nearby foothold.

"Hajime-san! Stay conscious, Hajime! Not good… seems I have to heal him completely."

Concern filled her face. As Eleonora about to heal him, he stopped her hand as he stammered.

"D-Don't… I have this, thing… I have no need of your… help."

Seeing how stubborn Hajime is, Eleonora didn't stop him and let him heal by himself. He then use her [Treasure Trove] ring and take out Holy Water that already stored inside it.

Hajime drank Holy Water and can sigh in relief for a moment. He was in a terrible state. His right arm was covered in burns, and even the bone could be seen in places; his artificial left arm was partly melted, too. His eye patch was torn off, and a deep scar extended from his cheek to his neck, blood spilling and refusing to stop. In addition, his entire abdomen was black.

Still, it was proof of his growth that his internal organs had not been damaged.

Had he receive Eleonora's help, he would be restored completely and his state would become better. But he refused, may be because of his pride was already being destroyed by Eleonora who is a woman and he trying to regain his pride as man left.

At that time, when the aurora poured down, Hajime managed to defend himself; he twisted his body forward and activated the derivation skill of [Strength of Gold], [+Focused Strengthening.] He used it to defend his head and artificial arm while he defended his heart and lungs with Donner held in his right hand. The clothes around his abdomen were made from demon skin which had been strengthened with [Grant Strengthening]. Though there was no obvious danger to Hajime's life...

"This is... too slow…"

Eleonora muttered in disbelief as the healing from the Holy Water was not progressing much. If it too much using what Hajime has as he don't want to be healed by her, he won't have a chance to stand back and facing the magma snakes.

Eleonora takes a deep breath and cast a spell that covered Hajime and made him floating by using gravity magic she posses as she trying to take him somewhere, although there is no safe place in this place, she will create it herself.

"Hajime-san, rest for a while and don't do anything stupid. Yue-san, Shea-san, Tio-san, and Shizuku-san—let us defeat this snakes ourselves while Hajime-san recovering."

She said after get Hajime as safe as possible and ignoring his protest and groan since he don't want being helped by the person he hates right now.

"Okay!"