A Hero, a Vessel of Wrath, and even the dogs of God who were trivial but enough to be annoying.

Caught in an obvious encirclement, Leviathan panicked. How did it end up like this? He couldn't even bring himself to think such a thought.

"Wasn't it a contract violation?"

[How dare you...!]

At first, when a massive lump of divine power approached his direction, he thought it was just a coincidence.

However, when it tracked his exact direction even after he changed locations twice, he realized it wasn't a coincidence.

He didn't know what trick they had used, but those damn bastards were now able to pinpoint his location in real time.

[A mere human...!]

However, he never would have guessed that the cause was none other than the lowly human he had planned to use and throw away.

It was because, until now, no human had ever managed to pierce through the loopholes of a contract he had forced upon them.

Even if the number of beings he had forced into contracts and exploited was small from the start, making the sample size minuscule, it was still true.

It was the most surefire form precisely because it was so simple, so why?

No, more importantly, how did that human know his location? Even he couldn't pinpoint a contracted target's location with such precision, so how.

The same went for those damn fanatics keeping that guy alive. They were the type to kill him on sight, so why, this time...!

"I will never let you return alive...!"

"Kuhaha! The Berserker will join in, too. I can't let my comrade have all the fun to himself!"

He thought he could at least deliver the shock of a comrade's betrayal, even if it didn't become the blade of treachery he had aimed for, but it seemed that had completely failed as well.

Leviathan looked at the dogs of God, who were beginning to weave a more perfect encirclement from a short distance away, and the Vessel of Wrath slowly approaching him.

This was a crisis.

[Hah, you idiot who couldn't even properly take over a single vessel!]

"May victory be upon my sword."

"Uahaha!! It's my first time hunting a Great Demon!"

[Do you think I'll be defeated just like this!]

"May glory be to the heavens."

"Please, entertain the Berserker!"

Was it a crisis?

[You think I'll be defeated by the likes of you!]

Leviathan shuddered at his own thought.

He could never accept it. To be put in danger by a mere human. He was so unfairly enraged that he simply didn't want to consider it reality.

"Death to that demon...!"

"Here I go!!"

Thus, Leviathan drew up his power.

He forgot the fact that he couldn't exert his full power because it wasn't the King's Domain and there was no water. He also ignored the fact that the Hero and the Vessel of Wrath were beings that even a Great Demon would find difficult to face alone, let alone both of them simultaneously.

[I am the Seat of Envy, Moby Dick—!]

BOOM!

A sword stained with black demonic energy and an ink-black halberd clashed against his silk garments.

At the same time, water erupted like a geyser from what had merely been solid ground, shooting up into the high heavens.

Swimming in a space above the clouds where even breath would be scarce, the sky whale let out a massive cry.

I quietly pondered as I looked at the water rising like a reverse waterfall, the vanished demon, and the sky whale—likely Moby Dick—that had revealed itself in its place.

I wondered why, every time I went on a raid, the enemy wasn't on the ground, and why it was always structured so that I had to transcend human limits and perform a miracle just to catch them.

'That's just how raids are,' if someone said that, I wouldn't have anything to say, but it was still too much.

Usually, raids like that at least gave you stepping stones to reach the striking position, or the enemy came down themselves.

"I will block it!"

They wouldn't just bombard us from above like this!

CRASH!

I saw a golden barrier intercept the stream of water spewed out by Moby Dick. It was a miracle performed by the group of Priests led by the Inquisitor.

"Ease the Hero's burden!"

"Oh God, grant us the courage to stand against evil!"

At first, I thought we had brought too many of them, but seeing it now, it seemed pretty good. Even though the plan to encircle and bleed the demon dry had failed, it would definitely lessen the Inquisitor's stamina consumption.

"It went up. We can't hit it like that! Come down!"

Meanwhile, the Berserker spat out such words in indignation. Setting aside her simpleness, I also agreed, so I wouldn't nitpick.

"So it really was a Great Demon... You there, is your body alright?"

"Yes, yes. It's still bearable for now."

"Then that's a relief. Still, step back just in case. You never know what kind of trick that demon might try to play on you."

"Yep."

As for the Archmage, she checked on DeB's safety and then began chanting a spell in earnest.

The unusual accumulation of magical energy made it seem like she was preparing a massive strike fit for a raid. Although, since she was the only Mage in this expedition force, it wouldn't reach the level of the siege battle at Pa Enoch.

CRASH!

And when the stream of water finally stopped. I unleashed a Bombard that I had charged to the limit, and the Archmage fired a tightly condensed bolt of lightning.

"... The distance is too far."

However, the distance between the enemy and us was far too great. My attack didn't even reach, and even if the Archmage's attack hit, it ended up doing practically nothing.

"On top of that, it's too big. I thought it was within range, but for it to look that large even when it's not..."

The point the Archmage raised was also a huge problem.

With that level of sheer size, our attacks wouldn't have worked properly even if it were within range. It wouldn't just be at the level of stabbing a human body with a toothpick, but rather stabbing it with a tiny bloodletting needle.

"The Berserker wants to use magic, too..."

"Kugh. There's no way to attack with divine power."

So did we just have to sit here and take hits? I hated that idea.

I agonized over a way to strike Moby Dick.

And when the sky whale shot another stream of water, and the golden barrier blocked it. I came up with an idea.

That barrier, if it possessed physical force, couldn't it be used as a stepping stone? In other words, wouldn't it be fine if we used it as a stepping stone to reach up to where that bastard was?

"You."

"At this rate, it'll be a war of attrition... Did you call me?"

Seeing the Kimchi Dumpling blankly point at himself, I was momentarily caught in conflict. Now that I was about to say it, I wondered if it was too reckless of a method.

However, I also hated taking a one-sided beating like we were now.

Figuring it wouldn't break my concept anyway, I refined my hypothesis into words.

The listeners silently asked with their facial muscles if I was crazy, but a light slowly began to gleam in the Kimchi Dumpling's eyes as he listened.

"It might... be possible! I've never created a barrier at such a far distance, but it should work if I go with you!"

"Th-That's too dangerous! If you go up there, you'll lack breath as well...!"

"It's fine, it's meaningless if we just keep going like this anyway, isn't it!"

The Inquisitor shouted that and looked up at the sky. Perhaps shooting streams of water also required a cooldown, as Moby Dick was currently silent for a brief moment.

If we were going to do it, now was the time. After all, it was hard to claim that a human's stamina was higher than a Great Demon's.

"However, Demon Knight. In that case, you will take damage..."

"I don't care."

Ah, of course, if I used a divine power barrier as a stepping stone, I would continuously take damage every time I touched it. But the HP I'd lose just from touching it wasn't that much.

Rather than the stamina drained by the divine power, wouldn't the oxygen problem mentioned earlier be more serious? Or altitude sickness.

I wondered if I really had to worry about things like that, but still.

"Then the people going up will be..."

"The Berserker is absolutely going!"

"Th-Then we will also..."

"What should the Mage do..."

More importantly, it's not like I'm going to stay up there, right?

"You, you, and I are the only ones going."

No, honestly, it's true. The problem with this operation was that even the slightest mistake from the Inquisitor meant falling to our deaths. Even if we took more people, if we suffered non-combat losses due to altitude sickness, the cold, or whatever else, that would be a problem in itself. They would just become dead weight.

"That's too danger—!"

"We go, and we crash that bastard down to the ground."

"...!"

Rather than continuing to fight while bearing such risks, wasn't it better to just try dropping the enemy to the ground?

Whether we cut off its wings or crash into it from above to downwards with overwhelming force to knock it down, we would find a way if we looked for one. If we failed, we'd just fight as is.

"Kuhahaha! My comrade is smart! If the enemy is above, we just need to drag it down!"

"Th-There's no way something like that is possible..."

"... Would that even be possible?"

At any rate, the Priests, who knew what kind of people we were but didn't know what kind of path we had walked, began to have mental breakdowns.

On the other hand, the Archmage only examined the practicality and didn't argue that it was impossible. DeB, who had stepped back to the rear due to unresolved suspicions and for safety reasons, also had a face that seemed to say, 'He's doing it again, again.'

"We better stay on the ground just in case."

Still, the ones fighting were us, not the priesthood. In the end, permission was granted.

Well, it was closer to being pushed by the lack of time, but anyway, it was what it was. The Inquisitor struck his mace into the ground.

"I'm still not used to moving the barrier itself. You'll have to jump!"

"Kuhat, I don't mind!"

"Then here we go!"

Using his mace like a walking stick, the Inquisitor created a stepping stone in midair. Perhaps considering his own jumping power, it wasn't positioned very high.

"Ooh!"

But moving in a staircase-like fashion at this height, how long would it take to reach all the way up there? Wouldn't his divine power run out before then?

I half-closed my eyes at this section that would have been skipped in a normal game. I felt a sense of skepticism about whether the plan I had come up with was actually a good one.

However, the moment I stepped onto the barrier, I retracted that judgment. Our Kimchi Dumpling was a smart dumpling.

THUMP!

The barrier pushed us upward. Since he couldn't move the barrier itself freely, he moved it just enough to launch us into the air.

"Hup!"

Immediately after, right before we began to fall, a new stepping stone appeared in the air. It was exactly the picture I had envisioned.

The three of us gradually moved up, and up.

BWOOOOO!

Perhaps feeling a sense of danger from that, Moby Dick let out a long cry and gathered water in its mouth. I say water, but it was a mass of water streaked with demonic energy, glowing brightly.

"A-At this rate, I don't know if we can block it...!"

"A frontal breakthrough! Excellent! The Berserker can endure it!"

When he already had to focus on the barrier under our feet, blocking the force pouring down from above would definitely be difficult. The Berserker was acting cocky, but enduring that attack with her bare body was honestly impossible.

That being said, if we randomly created stepping stones elsewhere to hop around like cave crickets, it would all be for nothing if the whale simply shifted the direction of its cannon.

Normal games didn't pull such unprincipled maneuvers, but then again, this place had never adhered to any morals from the very beginning.

Therefore, I raised my sword. There was no special reason; it was just easier to visualize.

"I'll somehow try to—."

"Ignore it."

"Pardon?"

"Your job is to make the ground for us to step on."

I had used quite a bit of magical energy earlier, but I had also recovered a little while Moby Dick was on cooldown.

"What are you trying to do?"

"If you have any tact, move."

"T-This way, please!"

Recalling the sensation of the technique I had used in the Great Forest, I extended lines of magical energy in all directions, starting from the tip of my sword. My target was a dome made of lines.

"My comrade, what are you going to do with this?"

"Demon Knight, this is..."

'Don't even think about touching it and just lower your height, you idiot.' Considering it a silver lining that the Inquisitor had pulled the Berserker close and stuck right behind me, I slowly began to revolve my magical energy.

The lines began to spin like a pinwheel.

KABOOM!

And when those lines ended up looking exactly like a hemisphere due to their acceleration, Moby Dick fired its cannon.

My magical energy and the whale's water cannon began a contest of strength. It was like piercing through a water cannon with a drill, or rather, enduring it.

"...!"

"Ooh!"

"Demon Knight, this is...!"

RUUUUMBLE!

More importantly, the sound I was hearing was exactly like an old-school automatic car wash. Whenever the high-pressure water was shot, the soapy water was sprayed, and the brushes swept down the sides and top, it always made a sound exactly like this.

GRIND.

Meanwhile, my arm was hurting like crazy.

Feeling the presence of the water droplets that had inevitably splashed inside, I gritted my teeth tightly. Setting aside my body getting wet, the arm holding the sword hurt so much that I had no choice but to do this to swallow my groans.

Well, since my arm was basically enduring the pressure meant for my whole body, or rather, all the pressure being shot at us right now, it was a natural outcome.

"Mm! If it's something like this, I can do it too! I'll do it next time!"

"To think, to think a method like this was possible..."

Still, I had my pride in my concept. It wouldn't do to complain or collapse right now. Especially when it had just been revealed that defending like this was possible.

So, I stubbornly held on, and the stream of water finally ended.

POP!

Water droplets holding light scattered through the magical energy that sprayed in all directions as if shattered to pieces. Drifting against the backdrop of the cloudy, pale sky, the black fragments and sparkling drops of water looked just like jewels.

"We did it!"

"Ooh, down below is perfectly fine, too!"

The Inquisitor, with a flushed face, drove that fact home once again. The Berserker, shading her eyes with her hand to block the light, was currently checking on the people waiting below.

According to her words, it seemed like the bottom hadn't taken much damage either. It was probably because we had completely shredded the stream of water, though.

"Keep going."

'So let's hurry up and go! Because this pattern makes my arm hurt so much I don't have the confidence to shred it more than three times!'