— — — — — —
"Rooaaar!"
Damocles unleashed another blast of dragon breath.
Kazuma instantly summoned his shadow soldiers, trying to dive back into the Shadow Realm to avoid the attack—but the moment he slipped in—
"Dimensional Gate…!"
Damocles's eyes flashed. A portal to the Shadow Realm tore open on the spot, and the dragon breath blasted straight into it.
"Block it!"
The shadow soldiers rushed forward, clutching energy bombs as they threw themselves into the path of the breath. The shockwaves from the explosions managed to cancel out most of its power.
"Seriously? I only used that trick once and he already figured out how to counter it? This old bastard's combat experience is insane!"
Kazuma couldn't help but curse. Damocles was hands-down the strongest opponent he had ever faced—no exceptions.
Strength, speed, magic, combat instincts… the guy was overwhelming in every category.
He'd avoided Vajras sweep by instantly switching into human form. He saw through the Shadow Realm after witnessing it only once. Each thing he did piled more pressure on Kazuma.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Damocles was just as stunned. "Such massive attacks, held for so long… yet his aura and mana haven't dropped at all."
"His mana reserves rival the strongest of the ancient dragons. If he were fighting anyone else right now, any other dragon… he really might have succeeded in defeating them."
At this moment, Damocles finally understood why Kazuma dared to say what he'd said earlier. The kid really did have the power to protect Tohru.
In all his countless years of life, Kazuma was the strongest human he had ever encountered.
---
Meanwhile, in the Human World—
"Damn it… I still can't get in! What's happening in there!?"
Tohru paced anxiously outside the sealed dimension. After being sent out, she'd tried to re-enter immediately—but the pocket dimension was locked by a force even she couldn't break through.
Her worry was spilling out uncontrollably; a violent aura leaked from her body. Her pupils thinned into dragon slits, her teeth sharpened—every sign screaming how frantic she was.
"Tohru, I can't break the seal to get you inside… but maybe I can open a tiny slit to take a look." Yolda had finally recovered and refilled her energy. After a moment's hesitation, she spoke.
"Hurry!"
Tohru instantly appeared in front of Yolda, gripping her shoulders. Her wings flared open behind her, trembling with tension.
"Y-yes!"
Yolda nearly broke into tears. For a second she genuinely felt like she was about to be eaten.
She immediately began searching through the seal, looking for even the tiniest crack.
Dragons could use teleportation magic, but when it came to precision, they were nowhere near dimensional demons.
After a long struggle, she finally found a micro-fracture—caused by the violent clash of Kazuma and Damocles's attacks.
"I found one, but with my power alone, there's no way to tear it open. Izabella, Satura, Hilda—I'll need your mana."
She turned toward them.
"You can use mine. Take as much as you want." Tohru spoke instantly.
"Please don't. I'm a demon—I can't handle dragon mana, I'd explode!" Yolda felt Tohru's grip tightening and panicked.
"O-okay then—just hurry!"
Tohru was shaking with urgency. Not being able to see what was happening only made her more terrified.
Yolda fused the mana of Hilda, Izabella, and Satura, trying to force the crack open—but compared to Damocles's power, even the four of them together weren't close. And they couldn't borrow Tohru's mana.
"It's not gonna—"
Yolda was about to admit defeat, when a tiny figure toddled forward.
"Dadada…" (Take mine.)
Baby Beel crawled over and placed his tiny hand on her leg.
He was the Demon Lord's son. Even as a baby, the magic in his body dwarfed the combined mana of all four of them.
"Master Beel!"
For reasons she couldn't explain, Yolda felt something stir inside her. Being moved by a baby was not on her bingo card today.
For an instant, she even thought—compared to En, Beel had much more of a king's presence.
"Don't waste his magic. If you screw this up after our master helped you, I'll kill you myself." Hilda warned coldly.
"Yes! I—I won't disappoint anyone!"
With Beel's power added, Yolda forced the crack open at last. But then came the bad news.
"The battle in there is too intense. The space is unstable… a full teleport is impossible."
"But I can at least show everyone what's happening."
Seeing the murderous looks around her, Yolda didn't dare hesitate and projected the scene immediately.
"Kazuma!" Tohru froze the moment she saw Kazuma on the screen, facing her father as he roared at him. She stared without blinking.
"Hisss~"
"That power is terrifying…"
"It's only a projection, but I can still feel the pressure…"
"It feels like just watching that breath will evaporate us."
The demon maids trembled as the faint aura leaking from the projection washed over them.
The dragon breath that seemed capable of vaporizing everything. The endless torrent of Vajra that raged like a river of storms.
They knew that if they themselves ever faced that kind of attack… actually, they didn't even need to face it. Just standing nearby would turn them all to ash.
"Tohru, Kazuma is really strong. Maybe he can win?"
Kanna walked up quietly. She was a dragon too, but still a child, inexperienced and not much of a fighter.
She looked at the screen and saw the battle going back and forth. In her mind, Kazuma seemed to have a real chance.
"No… he can't win. Father hasn't even used his full power."
"To avoid vaporizing the entire space, he's been holding back. But Kazuma is already fighting at full strength."
"If this keeps going, Kazuma will die."
Tohru finally understood why her father sealed the space. He wasn't keeping Kazuma out. He was keeping her out. He knew she would jump in to protect Kazuma the moment she saw this.
"Father's aura is rising. He's getting serious."
Tohru felt the temperature spike and knew it instantly. Her father had decided Kazuma was too troublesome. He was done holding back.
He was willing to risk breaking the rules if it meant ending Kazuma in one blow.
And at that moment, the projected image suddenly blurred. A second later, the screen went dark.
"Yolda, what happened?!" Tohru snapped toward her.
"It's not me. The power in there surged too much. It overwhelmed the projection. I can't see anything anymore."
Yolda explained quickly. The clash inside had grown so violent that she couldn't even peek into the space.
---
Meanwhile, inside the sealed dimension…
"As a human, you've already reached incredible strength. If your opponent weren't me, you would almost certainly win."
"But unfortunately for you, your opponent is me. All creation eventually returns to its end. Consider this my acknowledgment of your skill. I will not show mercy."
Damocles genuinely admired Kazuma's power and resolve. Ending him without hesitation was the highest respect a dragon could give.
"You think I'll let you charge up?"
Kazuma launched himself forward, using all his power.
*Stormforge Aetaris Armor's amplification had risen from one times to eight, combined with his Devil Fruit's twenty-fivefold boost. His strength, speed, magic, and focus reached their limit.
He attacked first, determined to shatter the breath before Damocles finished gathering power.
"You charge instead of fleeing. A brave hero… but a foolish one."
Damocles's breath erupted. Its temperature was so destructive that the entire dimension twisted and boiled.
"Element fusion, Aetaris-Cleave!"
Kazuma unleashed his strongest strike. Every ounce of his power, plus the elemental force of the dimension itself, compressed into a single point.
The Shingetsu style technique reached perfection. An attack once as massive as an iron pillar now condensed into a single bullet.
Its raw energy didn't increase, but its destructive effect multiplied many times over.
The collision tore the dimension apart. A massive shockwave burst outward, instantly shaking everyone outside.
Every head snapped up toward the sky as a hole ripped open in the once-clear blue sky.
.
.
.
* Stormforge Aetaris Armor (Effects)
The ultimate fusion of elemental armor, forged from the powers of fire, wind, earth, water, and lightning.
Once summoned and merged with the user, it immediately doubles all physical attributes. As the battle continues, it can continuously absorb energy from nature, raising that multiplier even further.