I dove sideways to dodge a punch from the monster draped in flames.

Spinning around immediately, I saw it firing a rapid-fire barrage of roaring fireballs.

"Watch out! 'Light, light, and light! Become the hand of protection and block the calamity! Crystal Guard!'"

With a deafening roar, the incoming fireballs were deflected by Priestess-chan's defensive barrier, making a sharp sound like bullets hitting a wall. The fireballs veered off in a random direction, striking the ground and causing small explosions.

Seeing an opening, Hetty-san slashed from behind, but the enemy unleashed an upper-cut-style punch even as it took the hit. Hetty-san avoided it by a hair.

This time, I slashed from behind, but my attacks barely seemed to go through. I managed to land a few hits, but a powerful roundhouse kick sent me flying all the way back to where Hetty-san was standing.

"Ugh...! Are you okay, Hetty-san?"

"I'm fine. Still... Jirou-sama, your strategy was a hit. If we had let the other spots fight normally, they might have been wiped out."

"Right! I never imagined something like this would show up...!"

The monster we were fighting was the sixth one in the boss rush. One of the beings that should have been the final monster of the Hitotsuzuki.

"Vooo! Is that all you've got?! Get hotter! Come at me with your life's flame burning!"

A super-macho man with a bright red body.

A middle-aged guy who was suffocatingly hot in more ways than one.

It was the Fire Djinn, Ifrit.

* * *

After defeating the second boss, Rakshasa, with ease, we held a faint hope that our preparations might actually see us through.

The third monster was a giant snake with eight heads. It was a nuisance that attacked mentally by speaking directly into our minds, but we defeated it without too much trouble.

Perhaps because it fell under the "dragon" category, Rebecca-san's holy sword roared with power, which was the deciding factor. I never imagined that the rusty sword from the junk shop would be this useful back then.

The drop item was "Naga's Long Wallet".

It sounds like a joke item, but apparently, just holding it increases your luck. In this world where gods actually exist, that's an effect you can't laugh at. Since it wasn't relevant to combat, I left it next to the Wyvern egg.

The fourth monster was a demon. A giant, half-naked middle-aged man with a goat's head. With black wings to boot, he looked like a demon from every possible angle.

"I am Baphomet. I am a demon. Baphooo."

He gave a half-hearted self-introduction, but he was a troublesome foe with a wide variety of special attacks. I was genuinely terrified when he pointed a finger and shouted a curse-type spell, "You, turn to stone! Petrifaction!" which nearly turned Priestess-chan into a statue.

Diana's spirit magic saved the day, but without her, I would have had no clue how to recover from that. Magic didn't work on him at all, and he retaliated with fire, ice, wind, and earth, though the potency was surprisingly dull. In the end, Shello-san cleaved him in two.

Still, he forced us to use seven Spirit Stones for our defensive barriers. The drop item was an amulet in the shape of a knight's sword, but before I could appraise it, the next monster spawned.

The fifth monster was—

"Gau-gau-gau-gau!"

"Wan-wan!"

"Wa-on!"

...A massive, energetic hound with three heads. A "doggie" that leaked flames from its mouths, unleashed roars, and tried to bite with its huge jaws.

It was the gatekeeper of hell, 'Cerberus'.

We struggled quite a bit with this one, but if I do say so myself, I was the MVP. There was no better match for a "Magical Beast Slayer" than this.

After all, my "Absorption" success rate was a staggering 100%. My attacks were guaranteed criticals if they landed. Its roars were neutralized by my "King of Beasts: The Lionheart" skill.

That said, it was still a muddy fight where I took hits and relied on healing magic, but thanks to the high damage output, we killed it before the situation became catastrophic. Since we summoned Ai-chan here too, you could say it was a total war.

I finally had to use Diana's healing magic here as well. We used nine Spirit Stones.

The drop items were five metal ingots and a dagger. I appraised the dagger: "Cerberus Dagger". A cool-looking blade with instant death and deadly poison effects. Since neither would likely work on a boss, I put it aside with the ingots.

"...We finally made it this far. Is the next one the last...?"

By this point, our stock of Spirit Stones had dwindled significantly, even considering the ones we lent to other spots. Conversely, I was so glad I got 100 of them from Efta. Without them, we'd be covered in wounds by now.

There were too many attacks that Priestess-chan's base barriers and healing couldn't block. Meanwhile, the other spots were apparently still doing a good job stalling their Wyverns.

Sixty minutes had passed.

If there was only one left, we should be done before noon.

Everyone still seemed to have physical stamina to spare. I was fine thanks to the magic sword's absorption, and even Marina, who should have been exhausted, was still energetic. The others, being battle-hardened former mercenaries, were holding up well too. Shamash-san seemed mentally fatigued from spamming magic, though.

The count for people receiving Diana's "time-reversal" healing for severe injuries was: me once, Marina once, and Rebecca-san once. Hetty-san and Shello-san? Zero. Impressive.

Because we were conscious of the "memory loss" side effect before the fight, we were able to jump back into the fray immediately. Actually, since the memory of the gruesome injuries is gone, returning to the front line is easy. If the memory of the pain remained, we might have been too paralyzed by fear to move.

Five minutes after defeating Cerberus.

Priestess-chan healed our scratches with magic, we ate some prepared cookies, and I drank some decarbonated cola I'd prepared. My stomach was somewhat full, and my stamina was perfect thanks to everything I'd absorbed from Cerberus.

Technically, the Last Monster only appears at the "fastest" spot among all the locations. That meant there was a high chance nothing else would spawn.

Wait... Does that mean we're done?

Cerberus was a powerful foe; it wouldn't have been strange if that was the end...

"Diana, does it look like more monsters are coming? Even if they do, the next one is the last, right...?"

"About that... I'm sorry, Goshujin-sama. The laws are still inverting. Another one is coming."

"Are you serious...?"

Does that mean we defeated the first six faster than anyone else in the world...? Are we really that strong?

"Ah."

A pillar of light rose from the monster spot, signaling a new arrival.

Well, if it's just one more, we have to do it.

If we kill this, the Hitotsuzuki is over!

"...But this is strange. It's different from the way the Last Monster spawns in the legends," Diana murmured.

Her whisper was drowned out by the scream of the emerging monster.

"VOOOOOOOOO!! I am Ifrit! Get hotter! Clash with me with your very flesh!"

A thick, burning red body. Magnificent, twisted horns. Half-naked. An arsonist muscle-brain had arrived.

* * *

Ifrit attacked immediately. He was fast, clever, and his repertoire was diverse.

Shello-san and Hetty-san moved to engage, but even the two of them were being pushed back. Rebecca-san, Marina, and I scrambled to join the fray, desperately chipping away and landing strikes whenever we could.

Ifrit was an overwhelming monster. First of all, his body was so hot you felt like you'd get burned just by standing near him—a literal giant of living flame. And this guy was coming at us with everything he had: haymakers, kicks, and bursts of fire.

"Hahahahaha!"

I found myself laughing as I dodged Ifrit's attacks and gradually retaliated with my magic sword.

This was a razor's-edge battle with our lives on the line. My limbs were moving at full capacity, my heart was thumping a violent beat, and my breathing was ragged. Yet, I kept stepping up to face the giant foe before me.

Looking at myself objectively, the absurdity of it all just made the laughter bubble up.

"Aruji-dono! Why are you laughing at a time like this? Are you okay?! It's too early to give up hope! Marina will definitely protect you, de-arimasu!"

Marina looked genuinely worried.

She must have misunderstood my laughter as a "nothing left to do but laugh" sign of despair.

"No, no, that's not it. It's just... before I came to this world, I lived a lazy life without even exercising. Now, here I am gripping a magic sword and fighting a literal flaming demon! The sheer weirdness of my life just makes me want to laugh!"

Even as I spoke, I ducked under Ifrit's iron fist and counterattacked. Just getting close to that blazing body felt like stepping into an oven.

But a few burns were nothing; I could just have them healed with magic later. I was in a total state of battle high.

"Uwooooooooh! I don't care if I die! Let's goooo!!"

The back-and-forth struggle continued. Ifrit's pattern consisted of punches, kicks, tackles, and fire magic. He'd even grab you and try to hurl you across the field. Every single attack was at a "you'll probably die if this hits" level.

Plus, he was nearly four meters tall. Facing a monster more than twice your size is inherently exhausting.

I thought about fighting from a distance, but magic barely scratched him. Shamash-san had gleefully lobbed ice magic at him, figuring ice beats fire, but the spells evaporated before they even touched his skin. No matter how many times she tried, it was the same—ice was useless.

Fire and wind would likely be no better. In the end, it seemed like Ai-chan's beam was the only effective long-range option.

It felt like an eternity, but looking at the clock, the struggle had actually lasted about fifteen minutes. Even with my high tension, I was reaching my limit. We were dealing damage, but I didn't feel like we'd landed a decisive blow.

We'd tried summoning Ai-chan long ago, but he sniped her out of the air with fireballs and she was quickly downed. Ai-chan's attacks were strong, but she was extremely weak to projectiles.

"Dammit! How are we supposed to kill this guy?!"

I couldn't help but curse. He was so tough it was hard to even get close.

Only Hetty-san, Marina, and Shello-san with their polearms were landing effective hits. Just getting near that blazing thing made you feel like you'd suffocate.

"Ice magic doesn't work... if only we could douse the flames... hm?"

Something red caught the corner of my eye.

I had prepared so many things for this Hitotsuzuki that I'd forgotten about several items left sitting unused.

"T-That's it...! I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a shot! Marina! Rebecca-san! Over here, quick!"

I called out to Marina and Rebecca-san, who were desperately clinging to the fight.

I was worried about the quantity, but I had exactly three of them prepared. I'd originally gotten them because I felt they were necessary since we were handling gasoline, but I hadn't intended to use them like this...

I handed the items to the two of them and explained how to use them.

"Pull this pin, point the nozzle at Ifrit, and fire. Don't let go of the lever until the white stuff stops coming out! We all go at once!"

"I-I get it, but what is this thing?"

"It's an item that sprays white powder to put out fires."

In other words: fire extinguishers.

I'd prepared them just in case the gasoline burned out of control. I'd considered the possibility of using them on monsters, but only as a makeshift blinding tool.

I never thought I'd be using them to literally "extinguish" a monster...

『Etowa! When we get close enough to the monster, tell Shello-san and Hetty-san to back off. We fire two seconds after that!』

I gave the order to Etowa via walkie-talkie. Next was Shamash-san.

『Shamash-san! Summon four golems now. Also, you mentioned you could summon a Dullahan if you used a giant magic crystal, right? Summon him too! This is the time to use those crystals! When we start our attack, give them the order to strike simultaneously!』

Receiving the instructions, Shamash-san began chanting her summoning magic.

She'd summoned golems a few times already, but they were too slow to be useful against Ifrit. However, with the right timing, they could work.

I hadn't forgotten about the Dullahan summon, but the extravagant idea of using such a powerful summon as a "disposable" asset hadn't occurred to me until now. A Dullahan was the same type of monster as the second day's Last Monster. It should be plenty powerful.

Etowa signaled Shello-san and Hetty-san to retreat over the speakers. The moment they pulled back, the three of us fired the extinguishers in unison.

PSSSSHHHHHH!

Vigorous white powder blasted out from three directions, enveloping the four-meter giant.

"VOO?! GWAHHH—! What is this?! It's disappearing! My body!!! My magnificent, blazing muscles are—!!!"

Ifrit seemed to be in more pain than I'd imagined. Even though we were just dousing him in fire-suppressant, shards of light were spraying off him, indicating heavy damage.

I thought he might flee, but he stayed rooted to the spot, writhing in agony and taking the full brunt of the extinguishers.

Suddenly, I heard a woman's refined, noble-like voice, and a headless knight on horseback crashed into Ifrit with a powerful lance charge. The impact was explosive, sending light shards flying everywhere.

We continued to turn the Dullahan, the golems, and Ifrit completely white with the extinguishers. As for Ifrit, he was still convulsing from the agony of having his elemental flames snuffed out.

"The powder's gone, de-arimasu!"

"Mine too!"

"Then discard them and resume the attack!!!"

All three extinguishers went empty at once.

In that moment, we charged the now-snow-white giant. Ifrit had dropped to his knees, seemingly having taken more damage from being extinguished than any of us expected. If we left him alone, he might "self-burn" back to life, so we couldn't miss this chance!

"Geez! Just die already!"

I was a bit foul-mouthed as I relentlessly hammered his face with my magic sword. The others were doing the same. There was no room for fancy swordplay against a monster like this; it was just pure, brute-force hacking. I made sure to be "mean" about it, targeting what looked like weak points without mercy.

When hit by the full-power assault of six people—me, Marina, Rebecca-san, Shello-san, Hetty-san, and Shamash-san—even a Fire Djinn couldn't hold on.

"I'm... burned out... into pure white ash..."

With a line that sounded suspiciously familiar, Ifrit dissolved into countless red shards and vanished.

Then, the shattered red fragments turned into fist-sized stones and thudded to the ground. No magic crystal dropped; only a pile of those stones remained.

"What are these...?"

I touched one of the crimson-glittering stones and appraised it.

【Category】  

Spirit Stone

【Name】  

Spirit Stone (Ruby)

【Description】 

A crimson Spirit Stone of the highest rarity. A special red even among Ruby Spirit Stones.

Celestial Hue: Crimson Jade (Akekougyoku)

【Magical Properties】 

None

【Spirit Blessing】 

None

【Owner】  

Jirou Ayase

"Whoa."

Wait... were these all Spirit Stones?

And "Crimson Jade" was supposed to be a special grade. The appraisal confirmed it.

Regardless of the type, getting this many Spirit Stones was a massive help.

"Ah... AAAAAAAH!"

Suddenly, Diana screamed and collapsed, clutching her head.

I was in the middle of collecting the stones, and the sudden cry startled me.

Looking over, Priestess-chan had gone pale as well, staring blankly at the moon floating in the sky.

Before I could run to the slumped Diana, the area went dark, as if the sun had been blocked by something.

"Eh?! W-What? What's happening?"

"Night came all of a sudden, de-arimasu!"

Like looking up at a round patch of sky from the bottom of a well, the moon hung alone in the darkness.

Instead of the sky, the ground itself faintly glowed white, so strangely, it didn't feel dark.

"D-Diana! What's going on?! What happened?! What's going to happen?! Wasn't Ifrit the last one?!"

I pressed Diana for answers.

Too many things were happening at once, and my brain couldn't keep up.

Wasn't it over? Wasn't it supposed to be over?

Diana looked up at me, her face ghostly pale, and spoke through trembling lips.

"The Laws have been inverted the entire time... The stars and the earth... have turned upside down... It's just like the legends, Goshujin-sama... Please be careful. From here... the true Last Monster comes..."

The true Last Monster...

The final boss of the "Globe-Trotter"...?

A pillar of light, looking as if it were being fired from the moon directly overhead, connected in a straight line with our monster spot. It looked like an elevator leading to the moon.

Then, at the center of the moon, a black speck appeared, blinked several times, and began a slow descent down the "elevator."

In a world that had fallen completely silent, we watched this celestial spectacle—this grand, cosmic show—in stunned silence.

Hitotsuzuki was said to be the marriage of the male moon Misumikandallu and the female moon Linklumie... And the monsters that spawn are their children.

I remember Diana telling me that on a beautiful moonlit night.

—THUD.

With a tremor that shook the earth, it landed. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust.

As the dust cleared, a massive silver knight stood there, gripping a gargantuan sword.

"T-The... Armor of the Guardian Knight...?"

Rebecca-san trembled.

But hadn't the "Armor of the Guardian Knight" appeared during a regular, small-scale Hitotsuzuki? I think it was during the "Falling Pendulum."

For such a thing to appear at the end of a massive Hitotsuzuki like this...?

"...Rebecca, that is not the 'Armor of the Guardian Knight.'"

"T-Then what is it?! He's definitely shown up before!"

"That is... not the spiritual avatar that is the 'Armor of the Knight'. That is the Guardian itself...!"

Bathed in moonlight, the "Guardian" stepped forward with a dull metallic gleam. Not a magical construct, but a knight with actual weight, approaching us with firm, certain footsteps.

—The true final battle was beginning.