"RRAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!"
Facing the rampaging Goss Harag charging at full speed, Joseph Joestar chose to face it head-on, letting Misrun teleport him directly onto its back. He was going to give this beast a full-blown back-scrubbing combo!
Thanks to the elf's teleportation spell, Joseph landed right on top of the Goss Harag's head, Dual Blades drawn and spinning his entire body like a whirlwind.
Had the blades connected, he could've started carving from head to tail... but—
Just as Joseph's blades were about to strike, the beast's massive ice greatsword slammed into him mid-air.
The once-confident Joseph was instantly swatted away like a comet, streaking past Kazuma and the others, flung dozens of meters before crashing to the ground and falling into a brief daze. He began slowly recovering.
"Why the hell would such a kind guy like Tanjiro summon such a brutal monster?!"
Kazuma practically turned into The Scream personified.
Even though Joseph hadn't succeeded, his ambush had at least stalled the Goss Harag's charge.
"Is this monster from your world?" Misrun asked gravely.
With a portion of his emotions restored, Misrun could sense how dangerous the Goss Harag was.
Now that its attention was fully on them, the previously slain adventurers were finally being hastily resurrected.
"More or less. I remember hearing about it—it's called the Goss Harag."
Naofumi Iwatani's expression grew tense. "It's not the strongest thing out there, but it's definitely a pain to deal with…"
"I can still fight!"
Joseph, having recovered from his brief stun, stood up and shouted, "How the hell can it attack mid-air too?! Is it because Tanjiro fights with a katana? So he summoned a monster like this?"
"Probably modeled after Tanjiro's memories," Naofumi said.
"You should be more worried though—if even Tanjiro summoned something like this, then what happens when the Guildmaster…"
"HEY! I know we planned for this, but don't just drop something that terrifying out of nowhere!!"
Kazuma shouted in panic.
"…" Misrun fell silent, then spoke:
"I may not know the monsters from your world well, but I understand dungeon masters."
"Are you certain your friend only summoned one monster?"
Though he tried to look curious, his expression came off completely unnatural.
Just then, a massive explosion echoed from the distance, startling everyone.
Looking up, they saw the sky over that direction stained red—
Even the barrier overhead looked as if it were burning.
"RRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
A monstrous roar echoed from that same direction—
A roar no elf or adventurer had ever heard before.
Coupled with that blinding red light, everyone immediately understood—
Something major had happened over there.
And the ones encountering it were—
Kairo Retsu and his group.
They had already found the mountain where Tanjiro's family had lived and worked as charcoal burners for generations.
But just as they began climbing toward him—
A colossal figure blocked their path.
It looked like a tyrannosaurus, but its body was armored with protruding carapace plating.
On its back were blue, flame-shaped heat vents.
Its tail was massive—shaped like a blade—and made up more than half its body length.
"Holy crap! That's Glavenus!!"
Kairo Retsu couldn't help but swear aloud.
"One of the Fated Four!!"
"The what now?"
Laois blinked in confusion.
"This is not the time for questions!!"
Chilchuck screamed.
"Just looking at it, you know it's dangerous!!!!"
"Could I ask you all to wait a moment?"
Right then, the Winged Lion appeared before them with a smile.
"If you go in now, you'll interrupt Tanjiro."
"Winged Lion! Y-You—why aren't you letting them through?!"
Marcille shouted.
"Weren't you trying to devour their desires or whatever?!"
"That's true," the Winged Lion replied.
"But… eating them directly may be satisfying, yes—but just like humans don't always eat food raw…"
"I, too, want to savor those desires—make them a little more refined first. Isn't that only natural?"
"As for this one…"
The Winged Lion glanced at the Glavenus behind him and smiled at Kairo.
"You should like this one quite a bit, yes?
In Tanjiro's memories, you were the one who introduced him to this monster."
"Oh, I love it," Kairo grinned.
"But I'm not gonna wait around. You'd better hurry up and switch dungeon masters."
"In that case… I suppose I'll need more time," the Winged Lion replied regretfully.
Then—
Snapped his fingers.
The already-intimidating Glavenus suddenly began to swell in size—
From its mouth and tail, searing, incandescent dust began pouring out.
From afar, it looked like a raging inferno.
Up close, it resembled a wrathful demon with its hair ablaze.
"You'll like this even better, won't you?"
The Winged Lion beamed at Kairo Retsu.
"Let's see… you would call it…"
"Hellblade Glavenus," right?"
A monster whose breath melts metal and stone.
Its tail cleaves mountains.
Its wrath turns ten miles to cinders.
Fueled by overwhelming heat that never lets it tire—
Nicknamed the "Crimson Knight of Flame"…
This was Glavenus's Deviant Species—
Hellblade Glavenus!
"Son of a…!"
Kairo Retsu swore at the now-enlarged Hellblade Glavenus.
But then he frowned.
Something felt… off.
It didn't feel as strong.
Not that it was truly weak—but compared to—
As a Deviant Species, Hellblade Glavenus was supposed to be on par with Elder Dragons.
But this one's pressure didn't even compare to the slap he once got from Memeiko…
Maybe it was because this was only a replica based on memory?
If so… that was good news!
It wasn't as strong as the real deal!
"If I beat this thing and make it through—
You better pick me as the next dungeon master!!"
Kairo shouted, drawing his Charge Blade.
"If you truly manage it… I'll consider it,"
The Winged Lion licked his lips, then vanished once more.
Only the towering Hellblade Glavenus remained—
Letting out a thunderous roar as the explosive powder coating its body lit up the sky in crimson.
"Laois!! Let's go together!!"
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