Shia, those art actually dead fishes."
"Once again it makes me think the artifacts Hajime-kun made are a foul."
From then on, Hajime's party advanced while easily beating the flying fish-lookalike they frequently encountered.
They advanced without knowing how long it would be.
At that time they began to notice the sense of incompatibility of the unchanging scenery. Hajime's party arrived at a place where the surrounding walls had been randomly destroyed. When they looked carefully, torn heads of flying fish-lookalike were placed between the rock walls with their hollow eyes looking at the sea.
"... Hmm, isn't this the place we passed before?"
"... Seems so. Are we going in circles?"
Apparently, Hajime's party were going in circles in an annulus ring cave. They had thought the Great Dungeon was ahead of them so they advanced, but Hajime was doubtful that he had mistaken a road here, as if it was a normal bottom sea cave. Resultantly, the party now didn't advance according to the laid road, and carefully searched the surrounding for any clues.
As a result,
"Ah, Hajime-kun. There's one there too!"
"With this, it is the fifth place..."
The party discovered several place inside the cave that were carved with fifty centimeters long crest of Meljeene. The carved crest of Meljeene was of pentagram with lines connected to each five points and the center was carved with crescent moon-like design. It was similar to the five places in this annulus ring cave.
For a thorough examination, Hajime's party approached the crest they first discovered. Because they were exposed to the swift current, Hajime took care in controlling the submarine.
"Well, there are five places with pentagram, so if the remaining light inside the pendant is used..."
Muttering, Hajime took out the pendant he wore on his neck and held it before the front crystal. Then, the pendant reacted and light was released straight from the lantern. Following that, the light touched the crest and the crest shone.
"It will be disastrous for people who come here using magic... if they didn't notice this immediately, their magic power would be depleted."
Just as Kaori said, this RPG-like method would be too cruel for people who somehow survived only by maintaining their magic. It might be because the objective was to make them reach their limit in a different sense than 【Guryuu-en Great Volcano】.
Afterwards, three more crest in their own location was poured with light from the lantern, and the party arrived before the last crest. The light collected inside the lantern decreased when it was released to light up the crest, and the remaining light had enough for only one more usage.
Hajime held up the pendant and poured the last crest with the light, finally, a way to advance from this annulus ring cave opened. With a rumbling sound, the wall of the cave split in two.
Not much happened as the party advanced into the interior, but the water was descending right to below. Then, the submarine was wrapped with floating feeling as it was falling down.
"Ohh?"
"Nh."
"Hyah!?"
"Nuoh."
"Hauu!"
Respectively the five of them raised different scream. Hajime was enduring the floating feeling between his groin. Then, the submarine hit the hard ground with a roaring sound. The severe impact was transmitted into the interior, and Kaori whose body wasn't that strong raised a groan.
"Kh... Kaori, are you okay?"
"Uhh, I-I'm okay. More importantly, here is?"
While frowning, Kaori looked at the outside through the front crystal, and unlike a while ago, the outside was not sea water but a cavity. Because there was no sign of demonic beast, Hajime's party went outside.
Outside the submarine was a huge hemispherical space. When they looked above, there was a large hole, but they didn't know what kind of principle caused the water's surface to sway to and fro. Without any drop of water, it was swaying to and fro, and it was the place where Hajime's party fallen to.
"Looks like here is the real thing. Rather than a bottom sea ruin, it is a cave though."
"... It's good that there isn't water everywhere."
Returning the submarine into "Treasure Box," Hajime urged Yue and the others to advance into the passage they could be seen inside the cave... but he called out to Yue before the party moved.
"Yue."
"Nn."
With just that, Yue immediately created a barrier around them.
Momentarily, laser-like water current attacked them like meteors from above. The laser made of compressed water was similar to "Rupture" Yue used in 【Raisen Great Dungeon】. If one gets hit by it, a hole would be easily created in their body.
However, Yue's barrier was extremely strong even if it was put cast in a hurry. As a proof, it easily blocked the incoming attack from above. Because Hajime promptly perceived the rise in magic power and killing intent, Yue who promptly answered him, the surprise attack was no longer a surprising one. Naturally, the moment Hajime called out to Yue, Shia and Tio had guessed the attack and was undisturbed by it.
However, Kaori didn't react the same way as them.
"Kyaa!?"
The too sudden, and the intense attacks made her instinctively raised a scream. She immediately clung on Hajime who was beside her.
"I-I am sorry."
"No, don't mind it."
Sneaking a glance at Hajime whom she parted from, Kaori would usually blushing here, but Kaori's complexion didn't look good. She seem to be a little depressed from exposing her disgraceful behavior when she clinged onto Hajime.
Also, she was once again shocked by Yue's proficiency in magic.
When she was still with Kouki's party, Kaori also used defense magic to assist Suzu. She trained hard, and her activation speed was not inferior to a "Barrier Master" like Suzu. Even so, when compared it to Yue, her defensive magic was child's play.
She had felt "that" when Hajime's party rescued them from 【Orcus Great Dungeon】, she understood, but she pushed her "inferiority complex" into the bottom of her mind because only when she could do that would she be able to stay by Hajime's side. However, the question whether she would only be a burden crossed her mind again.
"Are you alright?"
"Eh? Ah, nothing. There's nothing wrong."
"... I see."
Kaori immediately tried to deceive him by making a forced smile. Although Hajime slightly narrowed his eyes towards her action, he didn't say anything.
His action made Kaori feel a little lonely, but relieved at the same time. Then, she noticed Yue, who continued to block the rain of dread, staring at her. Her eyes seem to see through Kaori's heart, which made Kaori put strength in her eyes and stared back at Yue.
Kaori would not let her feelings be laughed at like that time. After all, if that happens, the pretty girl before her who received Hajime's love would stop to recognize her as a threat.
That... was something she wouldn't be able to endure.
Receiving Kaori's powerful gaze, Yue smiled a little and once again looked above. At the same time, Tio fired her flame to burn the ceiling. With that, the culprit of the attack fell in a tatter.
It was a barnacle-like demonic beast. A lot of them were sticking on the ceiling, shooting "Rupture" from the hole above. A physiological disgust-inviting spectacle.
Maybe because it was still an underwater creature, it was weak to flames and was immediately burnt by Tio's flame magic, "Spiral Flame."
After defeating those barnacle-lookalike, Hajime's party walked into the passage. They went lower than the previous room, and even the seawater reached their thighs.
"Ah~, it's hard to walk..."
"... Should I get off?"
With splashing sound as they advance through the seawater, Hajime started to complain. And so, Yue, who was sitting on his shoulder, asked. Yue was carried by Hajime because with her height, she would be soaked faster than anyone else.
Hajime returned a gaze saying there's no problem while he ignoring Kaori's and Shia's envying gaz. Then, he put his hand on Yue's thigh so she would not fall, firmly fixing her in place. Yue was also wrapping her hand around Hajime's neck.
Kaori and Shia were sending even more and more envying gazes, but they were now focusing on another problem; an attack from demonic beasts.
The appearing demonic beasts looked like shurikens. They moved in a straight line towards their target while rotating in high-speed, but sometimes they also curved on the fly. Hajime smoothly pulled Donner and unhesitatingly fired, shooting down everything in the air. Although some died with their bodies still intact, the dead demonic beasts which floated on the surface of water had a shape of a starfish.
In addition, having perceived sea snake-like demonic beasts swimming fast in the water below them, Yue skewered them using spear of ice.
"... Aren't they too weak?