"Carted? What's carted?!"
Marcille didn't understand what Tanjiro was talking about—what did he mean, "carted by heat"…?
At that very moment, Laios had already been hauled back to camp by a dazzlingly rainbow-colored Felyne specializing in cart recovery.
[Teppanyaki Laios]
Ingredients: One Laios. One full set of Nergigante armor, used as a hotplate.
Cooking Method: Live grilling.
"AAAGH!"
Laios sat up in camp, visibly shaken.
As a newly minted Hunter, Laios wasn't very adept at controlling Wingdrakes, so he didn't manage to escape from the Dalamadur's head in time. And since the head is one of the primary heat-venting areas of the serpent…
The demon had, quite unintentionally, slow-roasted Laios into a gourmet dish using the scorching heat of the reborn Shah Dalamadur.
"Can I still become the Dungeon Master after this…?"
Laios groaned in frustration, looking toward the Winged Lion now embedded inside Shah Dalamadur's body.
In just this short time, the landmass around the island had already surfaced.
Seawater had drained into the distance, revealing the Golden Country's territory that had long been hidden beneath the ocean.
The ships from various factions—sent from Japan and elsewhere to contain the demon—were now all stranded, rendered useless.
Worse still, monsters began pouring out from the Dungeon in increasing numbers…
Just as people were panicking from the monster attacks, a wave of searing heat swept through—and a massive Great Sword slashed the rampaging monsters clean in half.
That Great Sword… was growing from the tail of a Glavenus.
"ROAR!"
The Hellblade Glavenus—the very gift the Winged Lion had once given Tanjiro—let out a fierce roar. But unlike other monsters, this one wasn't frenzied. In fact, it seemed full of vigor and purpose.
What left the survivors even more stunned was that behind the Hellblade Glavenus, a large number of adventurers emerged to assist the civilians.
They were the very adventurers whom the Hellblade Glavenus had once helped inside the Dungeon…
And not just that monster—on another front, Jugram, Namari, and others were still locked in a fierce struggle against a wave of raging monsters. Their situation had become dire due to sheer numbers.
But suddenly, a cascade of bubbles descended from the sky. As they struck the ground, they exploded violently. Some bubbles left behind a sticky fluid that ignited on contact due to the intense heat, burning the monsters.
Among the bubbles were others spinning at high speeds—charged with immense energy—and in the blink of an eye, dozens of monsters were felled.
"Hey! You're Laios's old companions, right?!"
Bursting out from the forest of the Dungeon, Joseph rode a massive, dazzling leviathan.
It was a creature clearly adapted to humid environments, with large fin-like structures shaped like flower petals. Its slender body shimmered with vibrant white, deep purple, and pink hues—making it resemble a geisha in mid-dance.
With a mix of snake-like and fox-like traits, its captivating appearance reminded Jugram of the youkai from his homeland.
"Yeah! I'm Namari!" Namari answered Joseph without hesitation. "What the heck is going on?! Where's Laios?! He hasn't actually turned into the Demon King, has he?!"
"It's too complicated to explain now! The point is—we're about to fight alongside the elves!" Joseph shouted as he maneuvered the Misty-Eyed Bubble Fox Wyvern beneath him. "You've seen that Shah Dalamadur, right?! That's what the Dungeon itself has transformed into!"
"To protect the world, we have to take it down!"
As Joseph spoke, he and the Misty-Eyed Bubble Fox Wyvern dove into the fray.
Ripple energy surged from Joseph, flowing across the bubble-producing slime on the wyvern's body—instantly transforming into high-speed rotating bubble blades. These not only retained the wyvern's searing burn effect but also gained powerful cutting ability…
"Hamon techniques are so damn useful!!" Joseph shouted, clinging to the back of the Misty-Eyed Bubble Fox Wyvern. "ORA ORA ORA DORAEMON!!"
"You mean we're going to fight that thing?!"
Joseph's announcement shocked everyone present.
That thing—massive like a mountain—was really something humans were expected to hunt?
No matter how they looked at it, it seemed impossible!
"We're not asking you to slay Shah Dalamadur—that's our job!" Joseph read the doubt on their faces and clarified. "Taking down the monsters spilling out of the Dungeon is just as important!"
"Please—we don't have the resources to handle everything at once!"
Shouting that, Joseph charged off, riding the Misty-Eyed Bubble Fox Wyvern into battle.
"…Tch." Jugram hesitated.
His retainer Maizuru and others looked at him with concern.
"Well, guess we don't have much choice!" Namari smacked Jugram on the back. "It's just monster culling. Way easier than fighting that walking mountain!!!"
"CHAAAAARGE!" Namari suddenly ignited with Dwarven passion, raising her axe and charging at the monster horde.
"..."
Jugram sighed, but given the state of things, he had no time to hesitate. He rallied his followers and joined the effort to repel the monsters.
Though the monsters were gaining ground and pushing against the human forces, the Tallfolk, Dwarves, and Elves quickly organized and mounted a strong defense to halt the enemy advance.
Perhaps because the Dungeon was now leaking into the Arena's space, revival magic—normally usable only inside the Dungeon—was still functioning here. It was as if the demon had no intention of killing anyone in this place.
"Hunters from another world—do you truly have a way to deal with that… what you call the 'Shah Dalamadur'?"
Naofumi Iwatani had just finished his conversation with the Elven Queen.
Though the Canary Squad still had lingering doubts, they began assisting the Hunters under the Queen's direct orders.
"Of course we do. If the Winged Lion's making moves, then we need to strike first."
Naofumi shouted into the gathering voice channel:
"Kazuma! Hurry up! It's your time to shine!"
"Our Guildmaster said it best—"
"Sleep Opening is an indispensable part of every true Hunter's art!"
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