Published: January 24, 2026
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Time rewinds a bit.
"Caroline!"
Sophia dashed forward, trying to chase after Caroline and Ruella, who had gone outside the innermost area.
"Hey! Sophie, below!"
Logan, who had been regaining his balance after being kicked by Ruella, sensed something and called out to Sophia.
Hearing that, Sophia instantly changed her course.
Immediately after, a giant jaw emerged from the ground.
"...A crocodile?"
Luna murmured upon seeing what had risen.
It was a gigantic crocodile made entirely of rock, as if its whole body was crafted from stone.
"Heh. Boy, you noticed that quickly."
Oswell spoke with admiration toward Logan, who had sensed the crocodile’s appearance in advance.
"I don't care if you’re impressed. Prepare yourself—I’m going to punch that smug look right off your face. I’ll never forgive you for always hurting Carole!"
"Haha! Such spunk! But do you really think a kid like you can make it all the way to me?"
Oswell, completely unfazed by Logan’s murderous gaze, provoked him while snapping his fingers.
Then, the space around Oswell warped, and a large number of demonic beasts crawled out.
"With this huge difference in forces, the outcome is already clear, right? If you don’t resist, I’ll kill you easily."
Frederick spoke to Logan in a drawn-out tone.
Behind him was the gigantic crocodile; in front, a horde of demonic beasts and Frederick himself—the numbers heavily favored Oswell’s side.
However—
"We're at a disadvantage? This little?"
Logan spoke as if he couldn’t understand what they were saying, tilting his head.
"If it’s just this much, I can handle it alone. On top of that, Sophie and Sister Ru are with me. I don’t see any reason we’d lose. I’m worried about Carole. You all will be wiped out quickly."
Previously, Logan had caught Ruella off guard and won.
That had led to some complacency deep down.
Now, fully aware that this complacency had caused his rift with Caroline, Logan held no illusions.
He stated the facts plainly and encouraged himself to break through this situation to reunite with Caroline as soon as possible.
"Heh, that’s some confidence!"
Frederick, hearing Logan’s words, let out a voice full of admiration and began casting magic.
Frederick’s specialty: debuffs through support magic.
The three who were hit by the debuff should have gone down to their knees—supposedly.
"—[All Stats Up] [Triple Stacking]"
Immediately, Logan cast a buff on himself, Sophia, and Luna that outmatched the debuff, canceling it out.
"Tch! So that’s what you had!"
Frederick clicked his tongue in frustration that his debuff didn’t work.
At the moment Logan used support magic, the giant crocodile behind him began to move.
—but Sophia’s telekinesis interfered with the crocodile’s movement,
"—Shadow Swamp"
and Logan’s shadow manipulation transformed the shadows under the crocodile’s feet into a swamp.
The crocodile’s massive body gradually sank under its own weight.
"Heavenly Thunder Hammer (Mjölnir)!"
From above the immobilized crocodile, an enormous lightning strike summoned by Luna’s magic rained down.
However, even after receiving this top-tier magic, the crocodile wasn’t seriously damaged.
Observing the entire sequence, Sophia solidified her plan.
"Sister Ru handles the giant crocodile, Log takes on the demonic beasts! I’ll fight that boy! If we have time and room, support each other!"
"Got it!!"
Following Sophie’s instructions, Luna immediately separated from the two, firing mid-level offensive magic at the crocodile while activating her original magic toward her advance direction.
"—Decoy Magic Light (Induction)!"
Thanks to this series of actions, the crocodile’s hate shifted to Luna.
Confirming this, Luna was about to switch to full attack when a young man’s voice echoed in her mind.
'Luna, if you want to destroy that ugly thing, let me help with the destruction.'
A soil-element fairy, a gnome, displeased by the presence of Oswell’s rock crocodile, offered its assistance to Luna.
Luna had noticed the gnome before but had assumed it was just observing as usual, so she was surprised by this offer.