My gaze moved toward the direction where I had kicked the creature. The crash it made left a jagged trail across the pavement and through crumbling buildings, ending at the kingdom's border, where part of the wall had collapsed. Dust and rubble swallowed its form. For some reason, it remained buried there. No immediate movement.
I narrowed my eyes, activating
[Did I knock it out? No… that shouldn't be. Then is it preparing for something…?]
Rihito overviews the situation. His gaze sweeps across the battlefield.
The others seem to be managing well, their command of ancient magics sharper than before—likely the influence of the liberators.
[That's good.]
But then his eyes catch something strange—the monsters from the tower have stopped. The silence is unnatural. Something is definitely wrong.
"Papa!"
"Rihito!"
"Hmm…"
Their voices reached me—Myu, Shea, and the others.
With a swift move, I appeared atop the tower.
"Papa~," Myu leapt into my arms.
Levy followed, rubbing its head against me.
"You are finally here," Shea cheered.
"Are you alright?" Remia asked, worry flickering in her tone.
"Rihito, what the hell were you doing?!" Shizuku's voice was sharp, exasperated.
Tohru stood silently beside me, dutiful as ever.
"Yeah, I am fine." I smiled at them.
I looked at Shizuku with innocent eyes. "What are you talking about?"
Before she could retort, my gaze shifted to Myu.
"Now then, Myu… What is that whale saying?"
Myu paused, her eyes on me but her mind elsewhere—likely speaking to the whale.
While she focused, my gaze drifted to Hajime and Oscar, both bent over the broken crystal. The other liberators stood nearby, and my eyes locked on the blond little shit.
Miledi shivered under my stare.
"Umm… Meiru, isn't that guy staring at me… a bit too hard?" she whispered nervously.
"He probably is. He might even have a grudge against you, like those three," Meiru replied calmly.
"B-but I did nothing to them, believe me…" Miledi wailed.
Naize side-eyed her. "Maybe the current you didn't. But they're from the future. Seems like the future you did."
Rihito mused at Naize's sharp speculation.
"Umm… master, I am sorry I didn't get the chance to punch that annoying girl before. But if you want, I can do it now." Tohru's voice was apologetic.
"Na, it's fine. Actually, it's better this way…" I handed Myu to Remia. In a blink, I appeared before Miledi.
"So, this is how you look in your human form, huh?" My voice was low, my stare unyielding.
Miledi shrieked, "Eeekk!" She jumped, hiding behind Meiru.
"Hey, I am sorry, ok? I don't know what the future me did to you, but it isn't the me now." She trembled like a leaf.
I said nothing, only staring at her emotionlessly.
"You know… " You really do have a punchable face," I muttered.
Miledi buried herself deeper behind Meiru. "Pleaassee… don't hurt me!"
"She is quite the pain in the ass, isn't she?" I remarked.
Naize agreed, "I can't deny that. She's really annoying, especially when she gets on one of her tangents." Meiru nodded.
"Hey!" Miledi protested weakly.
"But," Meiru spoke firmly, "she is someone we cannot do without. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be here fighting for what we believe. Is she annoying? Absolutely. But without her, none of this would be possible."
The liberators nodded in agreement.
Miledi blushed, hearing their words.
"Well, I guess you're right about that," I conceded.
"But this doesn't mean I like her." My eyes narrowed.
Miledi hid again.
Ignoring her, I walked toward Hajime and Oscar.
"Need a hand or two?" I asked casually.
"Stop spouting nonsense, I'm busy stealing the old man's techniques. If you've got time, fix the crystal magic circle," Hajime grumbled, his demon eye glowing as he studied Oscar's work.
"Quite the student you've got, no?" I said to Oscar with a wry smile.
Oscar chuckled. "Talented, yes. Respectful? Not so much."
"Papa…" Myu's voice called out again.
"What did it say?" I asked.
"Umm… Mr Whale isn't saying anything. For some reason, he went silent."
"Is that so…" My gaze returned to the crystal.
"It seems the whale is connected to this crystal. Since it broke, he's out of commission for now."
"Then we need to fix the crystal fast," Oscar nodded.
"I'll take care of the magic circle. You two fix the crystal."
We exchanged nods.
Rumble!
Rumble!
The ground trembled, the silence breaking. Something was stirring beneath the ruins.
Another tremor ran through the kingdom.
"Um… Rihito…"
"Hajime."
"Oscar."
We were suddenly called.
"What is it, Shizu?" I asked.
Hajime and Oscar, too, looked at her.
Shizuku pointed toward the border—the place where I had kicked that disgusting creature. All at once, every monster nearby was gathering there, being absorbed into a grotesque, fleshy blob. Its surface writhed with veins, pulsing as it devoured the others, swelling in size.
"What is that?" Shea voiced what everyone was thinking.
"..."
The blob pulsed again, each throb making it grow larger.
"That thing definitely doesn't seem good at all," Miledi grimaced.
With a final pulse, the blob twisted violently, reshaping itself into an abominable monster straight out of some eldritch nightmare.
It rose nearly 30 meters tall—an octopus-like head fused with a man's upper body, broad arms ending in clawed hands, and a lower half of writhing tentacles. Its skin was a grotesque patchwork of absorbed monsters, constantly shifting. From its head erupted a distorted wail.
"Eeiiiiirrrraaaaeerrrrrriiiii!!!"
==IMG==
Its roar unleashed shockwaves across the kingdom, shaking the very pocket dimension itself.
[Oh, come on! What the hell did that thing just become? Some eldritch nightmare?] Rihito's eyes twitched.
Yue, Miledi, and others rushed to raise barriers to withstand the blast.
"Not good; this tower will fall. Everyone we—" Miledi tried to warn.
Before she could finish, Rihito moved. In an instant, he appeared before everyone, redirecting the shockwave back with
The counter-blast slammed into the creature's head, splattering part of it and making it stumble. But the scattered flesh writhed, crawling back together, reforming the destroyed portion.
"Eww, that's disgusting," Miledi gagged. The girls turned away, faces twisted in revulsion.
I moved quickly, covering Myu's eyes.
"Papa?"
"Don't worry, Myu, there is nothing to see here." I handed her to Remia.
"EeiiRRRirrrrAAAaaeerrrRRRriiIIi!!!"
Its regenerated head turned, glowing yellowish-orange eyes locking onto us.
"It's looking towards us now," Shea said the obvious.
"EeaAAARrrraaaaaaaIIiiiiii!!"
[It seems it has noticed me.] I turned sharply to Hajime and Oscar.
"Change of plans. You two fix the crystal fast."
Then to the others:
"Myu, keep trying to talk with that whale. Ask how to deal with this. Levy, protect her."
"Kyu." Levy kyued with determination.
"Un, ok papa," Myu nodded, drawing her gun and short sword. "I will fight too."
I ruffled her hair.
"Remia, Shea, Shizuku, Kaori—you four stay here. Make sure they're undisturbed. Other monsters may attack." The girls nodded firmly.
I looked at Yue and Tio. "With me." They nodded.
Then at Miledi, Meiru, and Naize. It seemed Naize and Meiru would stay, while Miledi would follow.
"EeaAAARrrraaaaaaaIIiiiiii!!"
Another roar shook the dimension. The monster gathered a massive amount of mana, condensing it into a purple orb near its face. The orb pulsed violently, then launched toward us.
"Tohru, let's go."
"Ok, master." Tohru's confident smile flashed as wings unfurled from her back.
Rihito analysed the attack and concluded that it was pure energy. Using
Boom!
With a burst of speed, I shot forward, Tohru and the others following close behind.
Naize's eyes widened. His mastery of space magic told him instantly—the attack's destructive potential was catastrophic.
"If that orb hits the wall of the pocket dimension, it will shatter it. If it collapses, everything inside will be expelled into who knows where. We could end up any time, any place."
He glanced at Myu, then at Oscar and Hajime. "And the one who controls this pocket dimension isn't responding."
"What a mess," Hajime growled, frustration boiling.
"We need to hurry up, old man," he snapped at Oscar.
Meanwhile, Hajime and the others saw Rihito—already intercepting the orb, holding it in place with sheer force.
...
Chapter end
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==Insert IMG of an underrated waifu==
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