"I've finally returned here once again."
Beneath the colossal form of the Dalamadur, countless voices cried out in shock—the soldiers from the nearby islands, the astonished shouts from the surrounding ships, and the backlash suffered as the barriers that had sealed off the area were shattered.
"I've been curious this whole time," the Winged Lion looked toward Kairo Retsu. "What exactly were you all planning to do with me?"
"But now… I don't think it matters anymore."
The Winged Lion revealed a somewhat satisfied smile. "This place is indeed outside the Dungeon. Whatever you intend to do, you're free to try."
It could feel its power assimilating this world. At any moment, it could tear open the seam between dimensions…
This entire world was already shifting toward the Dungeon, using this island as its core.
"Kairo Retsu, I'm truly grateful for the effort you Hunters have shown." The Winged Lion leaned forward slightly, as if already certain of its victory. "It seems you believed that if you gathered enough strength, you could slay me…"
"But strength… means nothing to me."
The Winged Lion addressed Kairo Retsu as if it had already claimed victory. "Just like… this very moment."
In the next instant, Kairo Retsu could clearly feel it—the entire world had fallen silent.
The Dalamadur beneath him froze. The noise from the islands and the surrounding area—gone.
The world had been paused, as though someone had struck a cosmic 'pause' button.
"No matter how much strength you've amassed, to me—no longer bound by the Dungeon—it's all meaningless."
The Winged Lion looked at Kairo Retsu with ease and smiled. "Still, you all really did give it your all. As fleeting lives go, you've done your best. And… you even let me taste some fine delicacies."
"Time Stop… what a terrifying power." Kairo Retsu stretched out his hand, reaching for a grain of sand that had been kicked up by the Dalamadur's earlier motion.
The grain hovered in the air, shifting slightly as Kairo Retsu moved it—but it didn't fall. Its shadow faintly danced in the palm of his hand. The sight made Kairo Retsu smile.
"A world where only you can move… how does it feel?" The Winged Lion lightly descended, its tall humanoid form reverting back to its bestial appearance. "Unfortunately, your hunt ends here. But… you're all welcome to come with me, to my world."
Its paw pads touched down on the Dalamadur's back, not making a sound—like it was strolling across level ground. It continued walking, speaking to Kairo Retsu as it did.
"I can take you all to the world where I reside!"
"No one will die! In a world where everything exists without end! I will grant the wishes of every last one of you!"
The Winged Lion proclaimed, "We shall begin our never-ending feast of happiness… what are you doing?"
Its words were cut off by Kairo Retsu's actions.
At that moment, Kairo Retsu was leaning over the edge of the Dalamadur's back, gazing down curiously.
"Representing infinite power… that's truly frightening," Kairo Retsu muttered. "Anything tied to infinity is not to be underestimated—especially not something like you…"
"To be honest, this matchmaking system is completely abstract! I only found out after entering the quest that we're just a bunch of rookies in Low Rank gear, and now we're supposed to take down you, the so-called 'Demon of Infinity.'"
Kairo Retsu rambled on and on, complaining. "This kind of request should at the very least be Master Rank, maybe even higher! Who sends people in Low Rank gear to do this?!"
"Have you lost your mind because you can't accept it?" the Winged Lion asked, puzzled by Kairo Retsu's demeanor.
"Nope."
Kairo Retsu replied casually. "By the way, I've been wondering…"
"If, instead of appetite, the first impulse you had encountered from this world had been mating season lust… then wouldn't this world have turned into a hentai scenario?!"
Kairo Retsu's eyes widened. "Now that I think about it, maybe it's actually a good thing you started with appetite…"
"..."
Something about Kairo Retsu's attitude made the Winged Lion feel vaguely unsettled.
Why did it seem like Kairo Retsu didn't care at all? Even now, with the entire world frozen before him—did he truly not grasp the sheer difference in power between himself and something infinite? He even had the leisure to crack jokes?
"You seem to have… understood something."
Kairo Retsu raised his head, a bright grin on his face. "I'll admit, there's one thing you said that was right—sometimes, strength really doesn't matter."
"For us Hunters, the strength needed for a hunt is only part of the equation. What matters most… is understanding and exploiting."
"Winged Lion, haven't you noticed it even now?"
He pointed far off into the distance. "Or maybe… you suddenly unleashed part of your power and got a little dizzy? If you really had that kind of insight—"
The Winged Lion's pupils, in their anthropomorphic form, contracted as it followed Kairo Retsu's pointing finger… and saw a Felyne craftsman, wearing goggles, standing at what looked like a boundary line. The Felyne extended a paw and pressed it against a wall.
"This isn't your domain."
"This is—ours!"
Kairo Retsu raised his voice: "Welcome to the Arena!!! Winged Lion!!!"
The Winged Lion suddenly understood, and looked around in disbelief along the wall.
That wall stretched from the land to the seafloor, encircling the island in a massive, continuous boundary.
Only now did the Winged Lion realize that the region it had assimilated was merely this small patch within that circle. Everything outside the wall… still had time flowing normally.
The moment the Felyne craftsman pressed its paw against the Arena wall, time within the Arena surged back into motion. No one had noticed what had just happened—but in the next instant, their communication channels were overwhelmed with messages.
"What?! We lost contact for several minutes?!" Patadru clutched the fairy in her hands, stunned.
Next to Flaméla, the fairy who looked just like her was also communicating with the Queen.
"Wait… the demon has already left the Dungeon, but why hasn't the world been affected yet?!" Flaméla exclaimed in shock, raising her head to look at the colossal Dalamadur overhead.
And at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the air—grabbing the fairy Flaméla was using to speak with the Queen.
"Mithrun?!" Flaméla shouted in fury. "What are you—"
She didn't even get to finish her sentence before Mithrun teleported her away.
Then Mithrun spoke directly to the fairy.
"Your Majesty the Queen."
He clenched the fairy, speaking toward the Queen on the other end.
"I have something important to say. Please… relay this to everyone in the world who knows of the demon."
"It concerns the demon… and the Hunters from other worlds who came to slay it."
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