Hajime!"
"Hajime-san!"
Shouting Hajime's name, Yue and Shia came running. Tio landed in the nearby foothold. She did it because the possibility of the current Hajime not being able to endure Tio's battling movement and fall was high. Having jumped onto the same foothold, Yue and Shia immediately came to Hajime's side and supported his body.
"... What a dreadful force. Those women are also not normal. A Ryuujin race that should have been annihilated, no-chant no-array using magic-user, and a Rabbitman tribe with unexpected power and ability to see the future... They are also possibly users of Age of Gods magic. And to have cornered me now... it would have been my side that would have gotten beaten if I didn't first attack, huh..."
Squeezing his words, Freed was exchanging gaze with Hajime, creating sparks. Panting, Freed touch the wound carved on his chest with his unhurt right hand.
"Why are you assuming this is the end? I can still fight."
Hajime's expression turned ugly because of Freed's words. But even with his tattered body, Hajime's eyes were shining with killing intent while he declared the battle to continue.
"... Of course. The torrent of killing intent overflowing from you expressed you would not give up no matter how wounded you are. Not only do you have dreadful powers, you also have killing intent that could devour your enemy... No, was it the attachment to survive..."
Guessing once, then Freed made a resolute expression and glared at Hajime again.
"I don't want to use this method... but it is necessary to use it if it can kill powerful enemies like you."
"What did you say?"
Not answering Hajime's question, Freed said something to the small bird-shaped demonic beast, unknown as to when it landed on his shoulder.
Then,
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE!
SPLASH!
KABOOM!
Great tremor shook the entire space, no, the entire «Guryuu-en Great Volcano», and the ocean of magma began to rampaging, accompanied with a terrific, roaring sound.
"Uoh!?"
"Nnah!?"
"Kyaa!?"
"Nuoh!?"
Suffering from the sudden shockwave from below, Hajime's party got on all fours and screamed, while desperately trying to balance themselves. The great tremor was gradually becoming even more intense, and could be said to reach seven in the richter scale. From the ocean of magma, numerous fire pillars, no, magma pillars began to spout.
"Hajime-san! The magma level-!"
With Shia's words, the magma surrounding the foothold, where Hajime's party were, was indeed rising in level.
"What did he do?"
Hajime squeezed his words and asked the obvious culprit behind this situation, Freed. Having moved to the ceiling above the middle island, Freed answered the question.
"I only destroyed the keystone."
"Key... stone?"
"That's right. Didn't you think it was strange when you saw the magma? «Guryuu-en Great Volcano» is obviously an active volcano. However, there's no record of it erupting until now. What I mean, is there must be something controlling the activity of the underground magma reservoir."
"That's the "keystone," huh... Don't tell me!?"
"It is. I have destroyed the gigantic keystone that calmed down the magma reservoir. Thus, this Great Dungeon will soon be destroyed. And although I deeply regret that I can't give my kins the Age of Gods magic of this dungeon... it isn't that regrettable if it means I can kill you here. Be destroyed along with this Great Dungeon."
Coldly looking down at Hajime's party, Freed held a pendant on his neck towards the ceiling. Then, the crack on the ceiling began to be open. Along with the circular hole on the ceiling, several doors above it also opened.
Apparently, Freed had opened the shortcut to the outside using the proof of having conquered «Guryuu-en Great Volcano». For the last time, Freed glared at Hajime's party then turned on his heel along with the white dragon, disappearing into the passage on the ceiling.
With the surrounding magma rampaged like the sea influenced by a hurricane, the number of spouted magma pillars kept increasing. The magma began to swallow the edges of the foothold where Hajime's party were. It was a spectacle worthy to be called the end of world.
In a short while, Hajime closed his eyes and was thinking of something. Having decided on something, he stood up despite his injury. Immediately, the Ash Dragons left behind by Freed and the white dragon began to simultaneously fire small beams. They seem to want to kill Hajime's party here by all means.
While Yue was intercepting the small beam attacks using "Absolute Calamity," Hajime put his hand on the "Treasure Box." Then, he put his hand on the hard dragon scale covering Tio's cheeck, who was firing Breath towards the Ash Dragons overhead, to make her face him.
"Tio, listen. Take this and you alone must escape from that ceiling to the outside."
For a moment, Tio was blinking, not understanding what was said. Then, she realized it in the next moment and raised a voice which mixed with sadness and anger. Hajime's words were as if telling her to let herself survived, casting him and the other two away.
"Master, is this one, is this one not worth spending the last time with thee? Art thou discarding this one? This one..."
"That's not it, Tio. I will say it just once because there's not much time left. I am not giving up anything at all. I will get the Age of Gods magic and I will someday beat that bastard. Also, I am going to fulfil my promise to bring back the "Serene stone." However, it is impossible to do it alone. That's why I want you to lend me your power. If it is not you, it is impossible to break through everything and return to Ancadi... Please, Tio."
Hajime looked at the dragonformed Tio with a serious gaze he had never looked at her with before. With his pride and arrogance, Hajime had said he would be able to do anything by himself, but he relied on her. Expressing he needed Tio's cooperation to accomplish his wishes, and to overcome all of the difficulties. He said he needed Tio's power. There was neither trace of him giving up, trying to sacrifice himself, nor was he excluding Tio at all.
The sadness and anger in Tio's heart changed radically into one of joy as she trembled. She was "entrusted" with something important by the man she liked, no, the one she wanted to be her partner in this life and death situation. She would not be a woman if she didn't answer him.
Therefore, Tio only answered with one sentence.
"Leave it to this one!"
Hajime put "Treasure Box" in the inner part of Tio's scale. Doing so, he was directly touching the Tio's body while she was in her dragon form.
Confirming the "Treasure Box" with her skin, Tio quietly rubbed her head against Hajime. It was the best expression of love she could do now. Hajime also gently stroked Tio once before he parted. Tio turned her gaze to Yue and Shia. Then, she nodded powerfully having felt that the two also haven't given up.
"Tio, deliver this message to Kaori and Myuu. "I will meet you later." Okay."
"Fufu, acknowledged."
The too nonchalant message Hajime gave made Tio laugh inadvertently, and after a beat, she flew at once while cladded by a powerful wind. Using barrelroll to evade the incoming small beams, Tio immediately tried to pierce through the group of Ash Dragons. The Ash Dragons, sensing the crisis from the black dragon's movement, concentrated their attacks on Tio.
The rushing small beams were counterbalanced by Tio's Breath, but it wasn't easy because the beams keep coming one after another. However, the moment the balance about to collapse, a beam gushed out from below and blew several Ash Dragons that were attacking Tio.
It was the small beams compressed and fired by Yue's "Absolute Calamity." In addition, exploding-slug bullets were fired and the shock wave blew the Ash Dragons away.
Suddenly, maybe because Freed and the white dragon had reached outside, the doors on the ceiling began to close. Realizing she didn't have much time, Tio focused on accelerating with resolution of receiving the bombardment. Tio's flight speed was further increased, but the fired off small beams began to break Tio's dragon scale.
"Hmph, a pain only of this degree, it feels good! Bring it on~!"
Just as she said, Tio's mood brightened along with the increment of her speed whenever the attack from the Ash Dragons damaged her body. It was the effect of "Pain Conversion" in "Dragonform." The more pain she felt, the more her tension increased along with temporary boost of her ability, an awful skill derivation. Incidentally, it was something she obtained when she met Hajime after living for several hundreds of years. So, rather than "breaking through the wall (as in the wall before the skill derived)," it was more like "the door had opened."
With the Ash Dragons somewhat taken aback, Tio passed through the storm of small beams and passed through the door right before it closed. Looking above, a small, nostalgic light could be seen. It was the light of the outside. There were still several doors that had begun to close one by one.