A few days after killing the Lamia lookalike, Saito has finally managed to cool off Hikari's mood. It took several hours of head patting, mana feeding, and sweet words on how well she handled the whole thing, but she finally caved and forgave him.
All of those lessons from his uncle about the female heart and his own experience with a rarely upset Sakura really came in handy. Though she did "eat" so much mana from Saito that it almost made him pass out.
They were now currently one floor away from reaching the hundredth floor from where Saito started from. But first he needed to prepare. So he and Hikari took shelter in another one of Saito's homemade bases and got to work before delving to the next floor.
As usual, Saito began crafting supplies, and Hikari watched him with peaked interest, occasionally helping him with simple tasks like reloading magazines. Though she way reluctant to show it, Hikari was obviously starting to become comfortable being around Saito, her face being more relaxed and cheerful than when they first met.
Her changed behavior was especially noticeable when they were hiding out in their bases. She'd stopped sitting on the makeshift stone rock he usually made for her and instead sat next to him, albeit a little too closely. Even when absorbed in his work or exercise, Saito usually caught her staring at his face and body very intensely but then she quickly looks away when she caught his gaze.
When they slept, she asked if she could use his thighs as a pillow, and when it came time to give her some mana for food, she'd refuse the Indy Whip pseudo-IV and instead sit in his lap while Saito hugs her from behind. Even after finishing she'd just cling to him while nuzzling in her neck. Overall, Hikari was getting so close to Saito that she might as well attach herself to his waist.
This was beginning to become a problem for Saito. Because he was, well…still a guy. Hikari might act childish sometimes, but in terms of her physical appearance due to her rejuvenating soul stone, she was the same age as him. Not only that, there were slight instances where her true age shone through her captivating appearance. Demon or no, even humans that have a grudge against her kind had to admit that she was beautiful.
The way her golden eyes shone in the dim light, her fiery red hair stretching flowing down to her back like red-hot lava. How the distinctive features of her womanly charm fitted perfectly under Saito's handcrafted snakeskin dre—
Snap out of it! Saito realized he was staring too intently at Hikari and quickly jolted away from her. Saito silently sighed in relief for being able to control himself. The more time he spent with her, the more Saito realized that he was becoming attracted to her.
His initial theory was because his Empathy Skill was reacting to Hikari's emotions and he was just feeling the feedback, or that he was just simply horny after god knows how long without intercourse. His suppressed emotions didn't change the fact that still has cardinal human needs.
He's been able to remain abstinent for this long since the area they were in was teeming with danger he needed to keep vigilant for. But once they were safe from danger, he won't be able to suppress his feelings and urges for much longer. And if he was being honest…he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
He'd be betraying Sakura, even though the only thing that has kept him going for this long was the thought of seeing her and Hajime again. Not to mention that Hikari would be better off in the demon homeland where she could find a way to get her mana-suppressing seal off of her and where she won't be immediately executed by the church just for being a demon. But even then the thought of Hikari leaving him was just…
"So… you're being a lot more careful than usual."
"Huh? Oh yeah. That's because the next floor is the hundredth one from where I started. my guts telling me that there's something big waiting for us in there, so there's no harm in taking a few extra precautions."
Same as Hajime's case, Saito has gone further down the standard depth where it was believed that the Great Orcus Labyrinth came to an end. But instead of ending up where Hajime landed, he was in an area that was not only completely uncharted but shouldn't even exist, basically a "secret area" in the labyrinth.
Considering how all of the floor's monsters were extremely similar to his earth's animals and nearly impossible to beat, and all of the floors were places from Japan, Saito came up with two theories: One, the creator of this labyrinth built this place as some kind of tribute for someone special to them that was somehow brought here from his home country, and also to make sure that no one finds what hidden down here.
Or two, the Japanese person himself created this part of the labyrinth for some reason, without the original creator's knowledge. Either way, it was clear that someone from Japan had some influence over making these creatures.
Whatever down here that made them go to such lengths, must be important enough to make a nearly impossible to beat floor just to guard it. With that in mind, Saito was even more determined to find out what was at the end of this. So he made sure to train every skill in his field to the utmost limit.
Marksmanship, swordsmanship, physical abilities, specialized magic, regular magic, weaponry, and all of his essential inherited jobs, especially transmutation. His strength and skills have far past even Hajime's. It was a terrifying thought that there might still be something down here that could kill him with one single attack, or even could be virtually unkillable. Which was why he has made as many preparations as he could. As a reference, this is how much stronger Saito has grown:
SAITO HIRAGA
Age: 17
Male
Job: Slavemacer
Level: 80
Strength: 3040
Vitality: 4900
Defense: 3020
Agility: 3050
Magic: 2900
M. Defense: 2900
Skills: Slave Crest Creation [+Increased Obedience] [+ Increased Perception Adjustment] [+Dishonesty Sensor] [+Pain Inflictor] • Magic Circle Appraisal [+ Magic Circle Decryption] [+Magic Circle Manipulation] [+Magic Circle Nullification] [+Magic Circle Multiplication] • Image Composition [+Spell Melding] [+Multiple Spell Image Composition] [+Increased Imagination] [+Increased Casting Speed] [+Increased Spell Duration] [+Multicasting] [+Image Supplementation] [+Spell Retention] [+Effect Multiplication] • Inheritance (Jobs: Farmer [+Plant Appraisal] [+Soil Restoration] [+Automatic Restoration] [+Wide-Area Temperature Control] [+Temperature Optimization][+Weather Barrier] [+Selective Breeding] [+Fermentation] [+Mixed Breeding] [+Increased Properties Effectiveness] [+Increased Growth Rate] • Portion Brewer [+Potion Appraisal] [+Potion Desynthesis] [+Potion Synthesis] [+Increased Effectiveness] [+Automatic Reaction] [+Delayed Reaction][+Formula Replication] [+Wide-Area Effect] • Toxicologist [+Poison Appraisal] [+Poison Desynthesis] [+Poison Synthesis] [+Increased Antidote Effectiveness] [+Automatic Reaction] [+Delayed Reaction] [+Swap Concoction] • Cloth Artisan [+Increased Weaving Rate] [+Increased Textile Strength] [+ Automatic Fabric Curation] • Zoologist [+Sooth][+Monster Parts Appraisal] [+Monster Taming] • Artist [+Image Desynthesis] [+Precise Image] [+Increased Imagination] [+Third Dimensional Imaging] • Synergist [+Transmute] [+Ore Appraisal] [Precision Transmutation] [+Ore Perception] [+Ore Desynthesis] [+Ore Synthesis] [+Duplicate Transmutation]) • Mana Manipulation [+Mana Discharge] [+Mana Compression] • Iron Stomach • Heat Field [+Temperature Control] • Air Dance [+Leap] [+Supersonic Step] [+Aerodynamics] [+Steel Legs] • Empathy • Sense Presence [+Echolocation] • Night Vision • Farsight • Gale Claw • Mana Sense • Detect Magic • Sense Heat • Hide Presence • Water Manipulation [+Water Retention] [+Water Pressurization] [+Water Walking] • Lightning Field • Paralysis Resistance • Poison Resistance • Petrification Resistance • Diamond Skin • Intimidate • Telepathy • Language Comprehension
Saito came to the same conclusion that Hajime came to how the more monster meat he ate, the less abilities he gained from the weaker ones, but the more monstrous his body became.
Since monster don't obtain the magic of the other monsters they eat, he figured that added up. The thing was that every monster in his part of the labyrinth was ridiculously strong, so his stats were rising higher with each meal. Even the relatively weaker monsters boosted his stats ridiculously even after he stopped gaining abilities from them. Of course that meant that he was able to defeat them due to not just skill, but sheer luck.
Of course I wouldn't have ended up here in the first place it wasn't for my luck… Despondent that his luck was practically a double edged sword, Saito finally finished his preparations and he and Hikari descended the stairs to the floor below.
The bottom of the stairs opened to a large room filled with giant stone structures of all shapes and sizes stretched out through the entire room and towering over them. Despite their immense height, he could make out the ceiling made of the same material. A path spanned ten yards wide all the way to the stone structures. Saito could see that the stone structures were carved to look a lot like buildings. It was like they were in the middle of a city.
No way… Is this place…? Saito knew what this room was made to look like, cause he has been here so many times since he was a kid. But there was one way to truly find out.
Saito and Hikari took a step forward as they gazed astonishingly at the area around them, but the moment they stepped foot into the room, one of the building's windows—or rather hollowed out indention that was made to look like a window—started glowing. Saito and Hikari immediately returned to their senses and watched cautiously. Then one after another, every building glowed dimly, almost lighting up the entire room. Sensing nothing else happening, Saito and Hikari continued forward.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, they've arrived at what appeared to be the center of the floor. It was a huge intersection the size of a stadium. It spanned in four different paths and had more of those stone structures in each direction. It was like being in the middle of a city. In fact, Saito knew exactly what city it was made to look like. He's known it since he was a kid.
"It's Shibuya." While there were a few distinct differences, mainly the lack of cars, plant life, electronic billboards, people, and was relatively smaller than its real-world counterpart, it was an exact replica of one of the most busiest commercial districts in Japan. If he had the time, there was no doubt that he would find every landmark Shibuya contained.
"Shibuya? Another city from your world?" Hikari asked as she admired the landscape.
"Yeah… I've been here with my family, my friend, and my girlfriend almost all the time. It's not a perfect replica, but we're definitely standing in Shibuya crossing."
"Wow… your world must be amazing." Saito was only mildly impressed at the detail that was put into making this floor, but Hikari, who has never seen any other city other than her hometown, was astonished at its size. Though it was only a replica.
"Hey, look over there." Hikari pointed towards what was in front of them. It was a giant door over thirty-two feet tall with lavish engravings etched into it. In the center was a gold rectangle-shaped plate with a large red sphere in the center. It was clearly a replica of Japan's flag. Even from over half a mile away he could clearly see the details.
"It must be the entrance to…" Saito started.
"…the maverick's lair." Hikari finished.
It was over ten yards from where they stood at the edge of the Shibuya Crossing. Even though he couldn't sense anything, every instinct in Saito's body told him them the moment they stepped forward into the center of intersection, something dangerous was going to come. Hikari was thinking the same thing, evidenced by her trembling hands and the fear Saito sensed coming from her. Seeing this, Saito grabbed her hand and held it tight. Startled, Hikari looked up at him and saw in his eyes a calm gaze.
"Don't be afraid. This just means that we've finally made it to our goal. Whatever's waiting for us, we can beat." Saito didn't know what laid ahead of them. And hypothesizing that this entire labyrinth was made to keep people out, he wasn't sure that there would be a way back to the surface. But there was no turning back now. The only way to find out was to keep moving forward.
"…O-Obviously! I wasn't scared or anything." Hikari returned Saito's gaze her usual prideful retort. Though there was a gleam of resolve in them as she stared hostility at the double doors, so to Saito that meant that she was okay.
Together, they took a single step into the center. The moment they did, six shining magic circles appeared several feet away from them in the middle of the crossing. Saito knew what it was the moment he saw it. Even without his eidetic memory, he could never forget the dark red color radiating off of the magic circle in droves. Those types of circles were responsible for summoned the Behemoth that tormented his class back on the bridge, that nearly killed him, and sent him into this pit of hell.
Each circle was about the same size as the one that summoned the Hydra Hajime fought. But these inscriptions were different and more complex than his were.
"That number and size… So these are the final bosses?"
"It's like you said. We're not going to lose." Saito was understandably a little unnerved at this, his hands slightly trembling. But Hikari tighten her grip, causing Saito to look over and see that Hikari was not the least bit unnerved. Saito nodded in response and took a deep breath in and out as he watched the circles finish their summoning.
The magic circles finally finished and each one let out one last flash of light, spreading throughout the entire floor. Saito and Hikari covered their eyes to protect their sight. After the light cleared, they took their first looks at their foes.
Each standing over thirty feet tall were the king of monsters themselves. Giant reptilian sea monsters with the appearance of a dragon, the texture of a crocodile, and the posture of a dinosaur. They were none other than…Godzilla. Or rather Godzilla Juniors. And like the Hydra, each one had a peculiar colored pattern with the same colors on their heads.
"Raaaaaaaaaaah!" As they started at Saito and Hikari with their deep red eyes, they roared in perfect unison not with the same roar from the movies, but it was no less earth-shaking. Determined to punish the foolish intruders, a wave of bloodlust emanated from each one so strong that it would've killed even the most brave-hearted men.
At the same time, the red Godzilla breathed a torrent of flames at the pair. They dove in different directions and began their counterattack.
Saito pulled Connor's trigger, sparking the Blastrock packed within the bullet, and bursting out of the electrically charged barrel at breakneck speed towards its head. The bullet slammed into Red-Zilla's head, blowing it off instantly.
As Saito smirked proudly, the White Godzilla let out a loud screech and then light began to envelop the deceased Red-Zilla's head. Then as if in reverse, it's head returned back to its body.
Tch. So whitey's a healer, huh? Saito clicked his tongue in annoyance. It was the same for Hikari's side. She melted the head off of Blue-Zilla, but White-Zilla screeched again and healed it too. He needed to change tactics. So using Telepathy, he gave Hikari orders.
"Hikari! Aim for the white one!"
"Okay!" Hikari then began firing spells one after another. Each one killing a Godzilla Junior, minus the white and yellow one, which for some reason the latter stayed close to the former.
The yellow one must be protecting it. As a test, Saito fired off a few rounds at the white as he rushed forward them, but the yellow came in front of it and blocked the bullets. It survived with barely a scratch on it.
I knew it. It's like fighting a well-balanced party. Saito decided to try to get around the yellow. Green-Zilla ran after Saito, trying to stop him from getting to their boss, but a spear of flames slammed into its head and melted it. After Hikari incapacitated the attackers, she focused her aim at the white and the yellow as usual defended it.
But Saito used Leap and Aerodynamics to vault over the yellow's head and dive bombed towards White-Zilla while it was distracted. He drew out Vader and prepared to cut down the white one. But just before Saito could strike the beast…
"Raaaaah!" Yellow-Zilla let out a loud roar and Saito was inexplicably thrown sideways just before he could reach White-Zilla. He lost his balance and rolled away a few feet before coming to a halt.
It has a defensive barrier? Saito shakily got back up and saw that the white was finished healing the rest of the Godzilla Juniors and started doing the yellow. But Saito wasn't going to give them that chance. He threw a grenade made of glass out of his pack and threw it at the two. He then fired an entire clip's worth of full-powered rounds at them. Hikari matched his attack and fired off a hurricane of Air Scythes.
Maybe if Hikari used her Azure Blaze, she'd be able to take out both the yellow and white at once. But I could already feel my mana dwindling from all of those spells. If she uses a big spell, we'll both be exhausted. I could replenish it using my potions, but I don't think they'll give me the chance. Even then, there's the chance that it could withstand even her strongest attack. Therefore, Saito concluded that they should wait until they take care of the healer and tank.
As he tried to come up with a plan, Saito dodged a barrage of fireballs, wind blades, and ice shards. It seemed that the attackers have stopped paying attention to Hikari and now turned their attention on Saito.
The white head finished healing the yellow, but as it did, the grenade Saito threw into the air exploded and rained down a colorless substance on top of their heads. As it landed, the white and yellow roared in pain as the substance began to smoke and their skin blistered.
That was Saito's acid grenade, made out of the same acid produced from the acidic sludge monster Hedorah, acidic sap from the plant-monster Biollante, and venom from his old friend the Limbed Serpent. Fused together to create an acid strong enough to eat through almost anything.
But it seems that the acid wasn't strong enough to melt them instantly and they only flailed around in pain. Or maybe they themselves were too strong for the acid to work on. Still, the were vulnerable now.
He contacted Hikari again to tell her to ready her spell. But before he could say anything…
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Hikari?!"
Her bone-chilling screams reached Saito and he looked to where she was. When he found her, she sank to the ground. Wondering what happened to her, he realized that the black one wasn't among the group of attackers. It was then the Black Godzilla revealed itself, as it was camouflaged. It then raised its giant hand, intending to grab and devour her whole.
"Don't you touch heeeeeer!" Logic flew out the window as he was filled with white-hot rage, and he used Supersonic Step to run as fast as he could to Hikari. The red, green, and blue fired their respective spells at him, but Saito took it all head on, using Vader to deflect any fatal attacks.
He made it just scarcely before it did. There was no time to mount a counteroffensive, so Saito activated Diamond Skin. Diamond-hard mana wrapped around him as the gigantic hand grabbed him.
"Gah!" Pain surged throughout his entire body as the tremendous weight of a gigantic scaly hand wrapped around him. He felt like he was being pressed against a vise, but the Diamon Skin held.
"Grrrr!" With a low snarl, Black-Zilla push more weight into its hand, attempting to crush Saito completely. But he braced his body and lifted the hand with his back with as much strength as he could muster. Seeing that there was no way out of this without him having to suffer a little more pain, Saito deactivated his Diamond Skin and activated Heat Field, coating himself in a layer of superheated mana.
Black-zilla roared as the spell seared its skin, but it mistakenly loosened its grip and Saito managed to grab Vader and slice its hand. Black Godzilla's roared as Saito cut through its wrist like butter, causing it to completely lose its grip around Saito and he managed to get free.
He landed onto the ground and, even as his body was still sore from being squeezed, quickly grabbed Hikari and ran towards one of the buildings. The other Godzilla Juniors fired off their attacks and tried to go after them, but Saito dropped three grenades as he ran. They all simultaneously burst, and a combination of light, sound, and electricity stunned them.
Saito's lightning and sound grenade came from the harvested organ of the King Kong and Ghidorah lookalikes, respectively, which he went back and fought after finding the exit on the Aokigahara forest, along with the other kaiju. While he didn't gain any new magic off of them, he had pulled off a boatload of useful materials off of them, the sound and lightning grenades being one of them.
The lighting grenade stored electricity and released it with tremendous force strong enough to incapacitate even monsters of their size, made even more effective with the intense sound and flash grenade, so Saito was able to buy he and Hikari some time.
"Hikari! Wake up! Come on, wake up!"
"…"
She didn't respond at all to Saito's words, and just sat there trembling.
"What did that bastard do to her?" Saito slapped Hikari's cheek lightly, called her using Telepathy, and gave her a little Ambrosia. Soon enough, her eyes regained some light.
"Is that…really you?"
"Yeah, who else would it be? Can you tell me what happened?" Hikari blinked in bewilderment for a few seconds before her expression changed from confused to frightened.
"I thought…you were leaving me in there…alone in that place. You kept calling me…worthless and…gutter rat."
"Huh? Why would I…?" Apparently Hikari was assaulted with visions of Saito leaving her inside of her prison, while calling her names she was once called back when she was still a street kid. Experiencing that again must've terrified her so badly that it rendered her paralyzed.
"So the black ones both an assassin and a de-buffer. It really is a well-balanced party."
As Saito cursed at the Godzilla party, Hikari looked up uneasily at Saito. It was then she started truly acknowledging what Saito meant to her.
Not only was he the person who risked his life and lost his arm saving her from her three centuries-long prison, but even after telling him her past, listening to all of the horrible and awful things she's done, Saito never resented her for any of it.
He gave her his own mana to feed off of and to use magic again after so long. He let her sleep next to him, praised her hard work and never got annoyed with her admittedly intolerable personality. Most humans wouldn't have thought twice about trusting Hikari, let alone turning on her.
But Saito entrusted his life to her their whole journey together in the labyrinth, and she in turn entrusted her life in his. From the moment she was born, has never felt such an intense feeling for anyone.
Although she knew in her heart that she wanted nothing more than to be by his side, she couldn't bring herself to tell him that. He already has a girl he truly loves, someone who he has been fighting this whole time to be with again.
And even then she knew going with him would put their lives at risk. Going back to her own home alongside her own kind was for both their sakes. She would only get in the way of Saito's goal.
But even so, the thought of Saito abandoning her, calling her the same insults she was told almost her entire life, it stuck her more deeply than she imagined. Saito was her hero. Someone that she trusted more than anyone in her entire life. She would give anything to stay by his side for even a second. Being alone again, without him, the mere thought was just unbearable.
The seeds of doubt that have been planted by Black Godzilla spread throughout her mind even now. Saito didn't have time to console her though. The Godzilla Juniors were already beginning to recover from the grenades and were bring healed. He had to return to the battle. But as he got up, Hikari grabbed the hem of his shirt and held it tightly.
"…" She couldn't bring herself to say anything, but Saito could see she was still trembling. And he could feel inside of her through his Empathy Skill her fear, sadness, and longing. It was crippling her to the point that she could burst into tears at any second.
Even without his ability, he could tell that nightmare affected her deeply. And he's long since known of her developing feelings. But even though he was already in love with another girl, he couldn't just ignore her plight. Neither could he give her and half-baked words of reassurance, otherwise it would make things worse if Godzilla used its fear ability again. And if it targeted Saito, he needed Hikari in perfect mental condition to follow up in the case he was hit.
Am I…just making myself excuses? Saito scratched his head, contemplating his thoughts as he crouched down in front of Hikari. She looked at him with confusion as he held her cheek and…
"…Aah?!" He kissed her. Like Hajime, Saito's kiss was also merely a peck, but it had the same effect. Hikari's eyes widen as she stared dumbfoundedly at Saito. A little embarrassed, he avoided eye contact and got her to her feet.
"Keep it together. We're going to kill those sons of bitches, and we're going to make it out of here. Then…we'll go home. Together." Hikari gasped softly as she processed Saito's words.
"You…you mean…?" Seeking confirmation, Hikari asked Saito if what he said was what she hoped. Realizing that, Saito nodded once. It was then Hikari truly began to cry, but these weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of overwhelming joy, evidenced by the most dazzling smiled Saito has ever seen her make.
"Alright!"
Saito awkwardly cleared his throat and switched gears back to battle mode as he relayed his plan. "I'm going to use Arnold to take out the white and yellow ones. Can you handle the others on your own?"
Hikari wiped away her joyful tears and said, "Yeah! I've got this!" Hikari was always pretty emotional, and it wasn't the first time Saito has seen her smile, but this time was different. There was more signs of self-loathing, insecurity, or guilt. She was freed from all of her old fears. And it seems like something else awoken within her as well. When he thinks about how needy Hikari was, he may have gone went a little overboard.
This is going to be tough to explain to Sakura, he thought, as he smiled wryly.
It seems the Godzilla Juniors got sick of their lover-like display, caused they angrily roared at the pair, reminding them that they were still here. A barrage of fire, wind, and ice assaulted the building as the two leaped out from behind it and began their counterattack.
"Crimson Javelin! Air Scythe! Hailstorm!" Hikari released spell after spell. Spears of fire, blades of wind, and large spheres of solid ice (which she recently learned to use thanks to Saito), rained down on Red, Green, and Blue-Zilla. She focused on attacking them just as they did when they were at their most vulnerable.
Meanwhile Saito focused on getting to the White and Yellow-Zilla.
"Raaaaaah!" The yellow slammed its giant feet into the ground and stone protrusions began jutting from the ground. It seems that the yellow had a powerful earth manipulation ability too. Saito weaved through each jutting rock, shooting down the ones that blocked its path.
Saito managed to get close and prepared to fire. The yellow one began to glow, preparing to fire another defensive shockwave at Saito with even greater magnitude, but Saito threw another glass grenade at it. Recognizing it as the acid grenade, it quickly got out of the way, but when it burst, instead of acid, a cloud of white smoke came out of it, and ice began to form around their bodies.
That was one of Saito's Toxicologist Derivative Skills, Swap Concoctions. He used it to switch the chemical properties between one of his acid grenades and cryo grenades. He called them his Fake Out grenades, as a means to catch his enemies off-guard.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" The roared in pain as the extremely cold ice burned their bodies.
Hikari continued fending off the other Godzilla Juniors. Black-Zilla once again used its fear-ability on her and she once again felt the fear and unease well up within her, but the memory of Saito's kiss, filled her with such warmed that it overshadowed the fear.
"That won't work on me again!" Since she was just covering Saito, she didn't need to worry about the strength of her spell and focused solely on keeping them occupied, a barrage of spells neutralizing each one and at least one attack in between each one, even as they recovered. Seeing that its magic won't work on her, Black-Zilla turned to Saito.
Even without making direct eye contact, Black-zilla's power worked. Saito felt fear and unease well up within his heart, his mind filled with visions of his days back in the pit of hell. The agony and starvation he felt from his first day inside returned too. But…
"Like I care!" Saito has long since overcame his past. He too has suffered enough that pain was meaningless to him now. So he nonchalantly fired a round at Black Godzilla and continued.
White Godzilla began to heal the black one, but before it could, Saito jumped up to the air using a combination of Leap, Aerodynamics, and Supersonic Step. He holstered Connor and then drew Arnold from the back of his waist and pointed it at White-Zilla. Yellow-Zilla moved to block Saito, but it wouldn't have mattered either way.
"I'll just hit you both then." He then activated his Lightening Field, and there was a brief black spark as the shell ignited. This specialized shell was a slug, made with a Taur core and the coated with material the stone dragon was made out of.
The bullet worked the same way as Hajime's full metal jacket. The Shtar hardens through Saito's magic, and was packed with even more Blastrock than his other slugs and bullets, causing a mini-explosion as the slug rocketed forward.
Boom! There was a sound of a cannon firing, and his special black bullet rocketed through his sixteen inch barrel, picking up speed as it passed. The electrically accelerated slug was four to five times stronger than Connor's firing power. That tiny bullet packed more fire power than the cannon of an AC-130 gunship.
The creation of such a terrifying weapon was made only possible through the special magic Saito was given by Hajime, and the super hard mineral from another world. Only two weapons could compare to it: a very powerful laser, and Schlagen. The bullet scorched the very air as it passed and headed straight for Yellow-zilla.
Yellow-zilla had its own powerful version of Diamond Skin, but the slug easily broke through it like glass. It pierced through Yellow-zilla's head, then White-Zilla's head, and exploded against one of the buildings behind it. It was just seconds before the entire floor shook from the bullet finally hitting the wall after tearing through dozens of buildings, and Saito could faintly hear the sound of one of those many buildings collapsing.
When the dust settled, all that remained were the cadavers of the two Godzilla Juniors, whose head somehow fused together, and a large hole so deep that the end was inextinguishable.
The three remaining Godzilla Juniors turned to the sight of the noise and were appalled at the sight of their fallen comrades. Saito landed neatly onto the ground and emptied out the single slug he stored inside, since that was all he needed. At the clatter of the slug casing, the Godzilla Juniors came to their senses and realized they were still in the middle of a fight.
They glared menacingly at Saito but switching their malice towards him instead of their previous opponent proved to be fatal, as she was someone who taking their eyes off of came at a heavy price.
"Purgatory Blaze!" Tendrils of red mana erupted from the fearsome Crimson Empress. It should be noted that the spell she was using was advance level magic, which shouldn't be possible for her to use due to all the mana she most likely exerted fending off the three Godzilla Juniors. That's because it was no longer Saito's mana she was using, it was her own.
The answer to the riddle that was etched into the Sealstone magic circle sealed onto her back— Worthless to one, but priceless for two. This seal is stronger than the one that holds you. Losing this will hurt more than the magic you lost. You can't gain it back because it cannot be bought. Something no one can ignore no matter how hard they try, can melt even a heart made of the coldest of ice. Discover the thing that's worth every risk, or you shall never receive what you truly wish— was love.
In order for her seal to be broken, she had to first experience love, and then accept it into her heart. So the moment Saito kissed her to ease her fears, she had fully realized that she had fallen for her savior completely and surrendered her heart to him. It was then the seal that blocked her mana, the veritable chain that gnawed away at her feelings of insecurities, disappeared instantly.
So Saito now bore witness to the power that made her one of the most feared generals of the demon army, and that had one of her closest subordinates seal her away. Her magic came down onto the Godzilla Juniors like the wrath of God
A whirlwind of fire appeared in the air, the heat so intense it was nearly suffocating. Saito has seen these classmates perform this spell before, but the scale of this one far exceeds what they were capable of. Raised high in the air, it was pure destruction on the form of a natural disaster that threatened to engulf the worlds in flames, like the fabled world ending event Ragnarök.
Boom! A spiral cone of fire then came out from the bottom and touch down on the ground, and the tremendous force of it reached the Godzilla Juniors, consuming them in the flames. They tried to run from it, but the immense strength of the spell was too strong for them to escape from. All they could was scream in agony as they were sucked into a tornado of fire.
In mere seconds, Hikari's spell reduced the remaining Godzilla Juniors to scattered ash. She then slumped to the ground, as usual when she used a powerful spell. Painting heavily, she managed to give Saito a thumbs up. Saito returned the gesture and began walking towards her.
But then–
"Huh?!" Right underneath Saito, another deep red magic circle appeared, this one several times larger than the ones that summoned the Godzilla Juniors. It appears that they weren't the final boss after all and were simply just the first stage. Saito reflexively stiffened up as he stared in shock at the circle.
"Saito! Run!" Hearing Hikari calling his name for the first time since they've met spurred him back to his senses. He managed to run out of the circle before it finished its summoning. Another burst of light illuminated the room, and when Saito's vision finally cleared, what stood in front of them was the king of monsters itself.
Standing over a hundred feet, the real Godzilla was similar to its "children," but instead a silver pattern adorning its head. It glared down at Saito and Hikari, as if staring at two weakling ants. Then, without warning, it fired an aurora of its own in the form of a beam straight at Saito and Hikari. It closed the distance between them at an alarming rate.
Hikari was still too exhausted to dodge and there was no time for Saito to grab her and run. Saito shifted his gaze from the beast and Hikari, chills going up his spine. Without thinking, Saito stood in front of Hikari, held Arnold's base in front of him, and mustered as much mana as he could to block the aurora before it could wipe then off the face of the earth. Though things didn't end as well as it did like when he defended Hikari against the Black-Zilla.
The aurora beam tore through his spell instantly, engulfing him in its light. The resulting shockwave hurled Hikari backwards, even after Saito managed to absorb most of the attack.
After the light faded, Hikari forced her aching body up, and she looked desperately for Saito. She found him in the same place he stood before. His body was emitting steam, and the charred husk of Arnold slipped from his hand. The bottom part was already melted and fused to the ground.
"S-Saito?"
"…" There was no reply. Then suddenly, Saito keeled over backwards onto the ground.
"Saito!" Disregarding her weakened state, Hikari desperately tried to run over to Saito, but she ended up tripping over herself due to her exhausted body. She set aside her impatience and gulped down an Ambrosia vial. The moment she felt an iota of her strength return she ran towards Saito.
He was lying on his back with blood pooling from underneath him. Diamond skin couldn't protect him fully, so if he hadn't used Arnold to block the fire, which was made of Shtar from the stone dragon, he would have been killed instantly. As she got to him, she gasped as she saw his injuries. His lower to upper arm were burnt to a crisp, and white bone shone from the charred remains of skin and muscle.
The entire right side of his face was burnt to a crisp too, and blood dripped from his burnt right eye socket. The attack managed to reach even his prosthetic right leg and it was melted beyond repair. Had it not been for the angle of the attack, his other leg might've suffered the same fate.
Hikari rapidly tried to force some Ambrosia down his throat, but Godzilla was already beginning to launch another attack. It fired an onslaught of rainbow colored three inch spheres at them. Its attacks were similar to the Hydra Hajime fought, only much stronger. Hikari picked up Saito, squeezed every minuscule bit of strength she could muster, and carried him behind one of the buildings. The spheres slammed into the building with such sheer force that it was only a matter of time before it gave.
Hikari quickly poured Ambrosia all over his wounds, including all of the offhand healing and stamina potions he made for reserves. She began to feed him another vial, but he chocked it back out, no longer having the strength to swallow. Hikari then drank the potion herself and locked her lips onto his, forcing the drink down his throat.
It was then the bleeding stopped, but his wounds weren't healing right away.
What's going on?! Doesn't it usually heal right away?! Hikari was close to panicking as she wondered what was keeping Saito from fully recovering. Like the Hydra, Godzilla's aurora contained a poison that melted any living organism it hits, and it was the same powerful healing properties of the Ambrosia that kept Saito alive like Hajime did. The exemption being his right eye, which was most likely never going to recover.
So while both his monster-like constitution and the Ambrosia kept him from melting instantaneously, it was going to take time for Saito to recover. Time, unfortunately, neither of them had.
Hikari looked at Godzilla, who was still blasting its Gatling gun rainbow balls at the building, and at Saito, whose was still unconscious. He wouldn't be able to heal in time before the building finally collapsed. So, with a determined look in her eyes, she unholstered Connor and kissed Saito.
"…I won't let you die…" She then stood up and ran out from behind the building. She had very little mana left, and no more Ambrosia. The only thing she could rely on was her body-strengthening magic, her natural abilities as a demon, her near-empty revival stone, and Connor.
Godzilla raised its head and fired another volley of light balls. Since Hikari didn't have enough mana to shoot them down with magic, and she wasn't as skilled with firearms as Saito was, she chose to focus on evading.
There was only one bullet left in the chamber, and there was no time to figure out how to reload it, so she had to get as close as possible to make this count. But physical strength has always been her one weakness, even before losing her mana. Which immediately backed her into a corner.
Finally, one of them in her in the sides.
"Agh!" Even as she screamed in pain and nearly tumbled, she used the force to dodge another incoming fireball aimed at her head and kept running. It took longer than usual for the ruby's healing abilities to kick in. She feared using up the last remaining bit of mana in her stone, so she only absorbed small amounts of it to keep her wound from melting her. But still lost a considerable amount of mana in the stone to heal herself. At the rate this went, she won't have enough mana to keep her body-strengthening up.
Every time she got closer, Godzilla pushed her farther back. But she had to close the gab somehow. Otherwise she was going to be cornered again. But she wasn't confident enough to shoot directly at its head from such a far distance, even if Godzilla was a huge target.
Desperate, she took a chance and fired in the hopes of creating an opening. She wasn't as good with lightning magic as she was with fire and wind, so she ended up putting way more power into accelerating the bullet than needed.
The immense recoil ended up throwing her a few feet backwards, but out of sheer luck, the bullet managed to weave its way through the light balls and hit directly at Godzilla's head, throwing its head back.
Conveniently, the balls hit exactly where Hikari once stood, so the recoil served to help her dodge from that. Not to mention her body-strengthening kept her arms from shattering, though they were a little sore.
Unfortunately…
"Huh?" As she got back up, she saw that the bullet didn't blow Godzilla's head to pieces, and only left a small scar on its head, even after the immense force she put into it.
Despair darkened her face, but she can't give up yet, or else Saito will die. Gritting her teeth, she quickly got back up as Godzilla recovered from the shot. Clearly enraged from getting even slightly injured, Godzilla fired a second aurora beam after firing several rainbow balls.
Seeing no way to doge that bombardment, Hikari had no choice but to let one of the balls hit her to avoid getting engulfed by the aurora beam. It ended up hitting her square in the stomach and sent her sprawling to the ground.
"Ugh… Ghh…" Hikari tried to get back up, as she knew just lying there was a death sentence. But no matter how much she tried to force herself to move, her body wouldn't listen. She could feel the last of the mana stored within her ruby dwindling away. Before she knew it, she was in tears. They were tears of frustration.
This was a repetition of when she was completely helpless against the humans who bound her and branded that seal into her back. And even after she finally has her magic back, she was still unable to protect Saito, the one person in her entire life that truly cared about her, who has protected her all this time.
Godzilla took a moment to emit a victorious roar before letting out a mass volley of light balls. Even as Hikari's death drew closer in the form of rainbow-colored light balls, she refused to close her eyes.
"If I'm going to lose here, I won't be in spirit," Is what she thought. So in one last act of defiance, she glared down the king of monsters.
Soon enough the light filled her vision to the point she couldn't see Godzilla anymore. This was it. She was going to die.
Saito…I'm sorry. Her last thoughts were an apology to the boy—no, the man she has fallen deeply in love for. Both for dying before him, and for not being able to protect him. But suddenly…a gust of wind flew by.
"Eh?" By the time she registered what was happening, she was in someone's arm, and the light balls passed by her side. In disbelief, she looked up and saw…
"Saito!" He was covered in wounds, painting heavily, and his right eye was tightly shut, but it was none other than Saito.
"No need to cry, Hikari. You've won this battle." Overcome with emotion, she hugged him tight. Truth be told, his wounds are nowhere near fully recovered. In reality, willpower (plus the stone from the ground he transmuted to repair his leg) kept him standing. But he still glared angrily at Godzilla. It was looking at them derisively, as if saying, "What can a paltry, half-dead ant like you do? And fired a volley of light balls at them.
Saito waited until the last minute before dodging with unsteady movements. Godzilla narrowed its eyes at them and fired another volley.
"Saito, run!" Hikari feverishly shouted, but Saito wasn't the least bit perturbed. He held Hikari tightly in his arms and proceed to spin and dance around Godzilla's attacks. It was as if the balls were avoiding him and not the other way around. And Hikari watched it all. Her eyes filled with utter awe.
"Hikari, how much mana do you have left in your stone?" He spoke quietly, his silent gaze inviting her.
After sensing the amount of mana contained within, she gave her answer. "…None. The last of it was used to keep me alive from the attacks."
"I see…" It was then that Saito suddenly pulled off the stone from her head. It stung a bit as he crassly peeled it off.
"Ow! Why'd you—?" Saito ignored her and appraised the ruby. As he took out his Status Plate, what he long suspected was confirmed.
"Hikari, absorb my mana, as much as you need." Understandably, Hikari was hesitant and confused. For a completely inexplicably reason, Saito removed the only way she could heal herself, no to mention that if she absorbed his mana, it might drain him. He dodged were tottering, but still he pushed her closer to him.
"…Trust me. The only way we're going to win this is with your magic, Hikari. So do it. Let's finish this, together."
"…Okay!" Even though she had no idea what he was planning, Hikari choose to trust him. She began absorbing his mana, and to her surprise, her wounds began healing themselves without the stone. Nevertheless, she kept going as Saito evaded the storm of bullets, as if in the middle of the world's most deadly ballet.
Everything to Saito was colorless. The exemption being his movements, everything was moving at a snail's pace, as he weaved and whirled through a world of black and white.
As he struggled to stay conscious, he watched as Hikari fought desperately to protect him with his gun, until she was ultimately backed into a corner. It was then scorn welled up within him. Scorn diredted at himself.
Get up. Get up right now. Are you just going to keep lying here napping? Are you just going to let your partner die? Are you so weak that your just going to roll over and die by the hands of that Showa-era has been?!
No! No I won't! I have to survive! To survive, I have to fight those who threaten my survival. Because they are my enemies! And my enemies must…
"Die!" Saito felt a tingling through his body, and like Hajime, has unlocked the final derivative skill of Airdance: Riftwalk. All of his five senses were now heightened to the utmost limits, thus making his other Air Dance Derivatives that must stronger. He too has once again been pushed to his limits and forced to surpass them.
With this ability, he was able to teleport to Hikari's side, and dodge Godzilla's attacks.
Hikari finally finished absorbing his mana, restoring her body and mana.
"You have enough mana?" Saito asked.
"Yeah. For one Azure Blaze. Then I'm spent. Is that enough?"
"That's more than enough. Cast it once I give the signal."
"Okay… But what about you?"
"…I'm going to bring god to its knees." Saito set Hikari behind one of the buildings charged straight for Godzilla. He dodged each of the light balls by a split second with Supersonic Step. As some kind of test, he intentionally got in the path of one of them and swiped at it with Refra crystal cylinder he made for Vader. Risky as it was, he needed to make sure his plan could be achieved with this.
As he hoped, the light ball disappeared as soon as Vader touched it. The crystal rod glowed faintly as the light was absorbed. As reference, Refra crystal had the ability to absorb spells and double its strength without the need for magic circles. So the specialized magic monsters can use counted.
With that, Saito dodged the torrent of light balls and occasionally absorbing them into Vader. Growing tired of his games, Godzilla unleased a second aurora beam, but Saito effortlessly dodged that as well. Soon enough, he lit and threw his squid ink smoke grenades beneath Godzilla's feet, sending pitch black smoke around the entire floor. He then entered the smoke, completely unseen. Godzilla scoffed at Saito's attempt at concealing himself, so he simply swiped at the air, clearing the smoke instantly.
Hikari was still in the dark about Saito's plan, but she had absolute trust in Saito, so she chose to believe in him.
After the smoke cleared, Saito was nowhere to be seen. Confused, Godzilla looked around to see where went. After several minutes, it was about to turn its attention on Hikari until it felt something land on top of its head. Then, that something landed right in front of its right eye. Or rather, someone.
"Gotta admit. The view from atop of your head is amazing. Wish I could show this to my friends." Saito managed to climb all the way up Godzilla thanks to his Air Dance abilities and was now dispassionately standing on Godzilla's snout. Saito stared unafraid at Godzilla's menacing glare. Then, Saito Vader aloft and…
"This is for hurting Hikari. And for my right eye. Enjoy!" He thrust it straight into Godzilla's right eye.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Godzilla roared as the Refra crystal sword embedded into it eye seared through it, melting it just like how its attacked melted Saito's own. Saito used the Refra crystal to absorb the multiple light balls he purposely sliced at into it. The light balls were absorbed into the crystal, and still remained active. So Saito took the ancient proverb, "An eye for an eye," very literally, cast Light Beam into Vader, and used it to destroy Godzilla's eyeball.
His work done, Saito casually leapt off Godzilla and used Aerodynamics to slow his fall.
Enraged, Godzilla attempted to charge at Saito as he landed, but Saito predicted this. He too read his foe like an open book. As he began his charge, it suddenly tumbled and fell to the ground. As for why, its legs were rendered frozen by Saito cryo grenades that he threw at Godzilla's feet before the squid ink smoke cleared. Even though it didn't completely shatter them like the other monsters before, the residual ice on the ground was enough to make it lose its footing.
Not that it was completely incapacitated, Saito quickly reloaded Connor and took aim at the ceiling. He then fired six shots at the ceiling, setting off six explosions in different directions. Saito too weakened the ceiling foundations with transmutation and placed grenades into holes he carved into it.
A few seconds after the explosion, the ceiling finally gave way and sent ten tons of rock on top of Godzilla. The kaiju roared in both pain and confusion as the rocks slammed into its back. But believe it or not, Saito wasn't through with it yet.
He then began to transmute the rocks around it, creating a blast furnace similar to the one Hajime used to kill the Hydra. After he finished, Saito took off his backpack, the one he's carried with him since he was a middle schooler, that was given to him by his mother for his birthday, and callously threw it into the furnace.
He had filled it to the brim with a bunch of his grenades and poisons, and since it was the only thing big enough to pack the sheer amount of grenades he intended to hit Godzilla with, and he already took out everything he needed, he saw no more use for it.
After that, he shouted, "Hikari, now!"
"Alright! Azure Blaze!" A burning blue sun appeared within the blast furnace, sentencing the king of monsters to a fiery hell. The grenades exploded all at once, simultaneously burning, freezing, and poisoning the monster.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Godzilla roared as it tried to escape its prison, shooting light balls in every conceivable direction in a desperate attempt to free itself, But every time it broke one of the walls, Saito just transmuted it back into place. The king of monsters soon sunk deeper into the furnace, engulfed by the flames hotter than hell.
Saito used Sense Presence to make sure the beast was dead. When he confirmed its demise, Saito collapsed then and there.
"Saito!" Hikari tried to run, she was too at her limit and fell to the ground. He managed to crawl to his side and hugged him.
"To think…you'd push yourself like this…" Those words, and the feeling of her hugging him, were the last things Saito remembered before everything went black, as his consciousness finally drifted.