The giant moth's wings were completely frozen, making it impossible for it to maintain even the most basic flight. Now, the only things it could move were its short legs and the two antennae on its head.
The creature plummeted helplessly through the sky.
"This Tier 5 Gastrea is Sagittarius. It's famous for spending most of its time in the air and commanding a large number of long-range Gastrea," Asagi Aiba's voice rang in everyone's ears.
She identified the Tier 5 beast for them. Hearing her, Ren Isana nodded. Sagittarius? Well, starting today, this Gastrea was going to be erased from the records.
With that thought, Ren Isana raised his staff. In the next moment, golden and red [Magic Circle]s appeared one after another in the sky. Everyone looked at the formations and silently retreated a bit further.
The transport plane also accelerated its retreat. Although they didn't know the specific power output, those massive [Magic Circle]s were terrifying just to look at, so it was better to keep their distance.
The moment the [Magic Circle]s were fully formed, the [Lightning-Fire Sword] crashed down. Lightning wreathed in flames descended from the heavens, striking Sagittarius directly.
Sagittarius had just hit the ground, its body shattering upon impact. Its powerful regenerative abilities began to slowly heal its frame, but it was already too late for recovery.
The magic from the sky struck. The immense power of the [Lightning-Fire Sword] instantly annihilated Sagittarius within a terrifying blast of fire and lightning, sending a massive shockwave rippling through the surroundings.
A mushroom cloud rose, signaling that Sagittarius's life was being harvested by Ren Isana. When everyone felt the surge of power growing within them, they knew Sagittarius had been completely dealt with.
Realizing this, the group grew excited. The surviving Gastrea in the sky that hadn't been dealt with began to flee frantically. Although they didn't possess much intelligence, the death of their leader sent them into a primal panic.
The remaining Gastrea didn't dare linger. Without a backbone to lead them, they could only run for their lives. No one bothered to pursue them, allowing the monsters to disperse on their own.
Once the explosion subsided, Ren Isana descended from the high altitude into the massive crater. Looking at the remains, he felt a bit of regret because, once again, there were no children.
He said nothing, simply packing away the salvaged materials. Then, he soared back into the sky to regroup with the others and headed toward the transport plane.
The pilots saw them and immediately slowed down, allowing Ren Isana and the others to re-enter the cabin. Being able to fly was truly too convenient. Once everyone was back on board, the transport plane accelerated away from the area.
"Ren-san, I leveled up!" The moment Ren Isana returned to the cabin, Bell Cranel shared the good news. His face was full of surprise and joy; he had broken through right when Ren Isana killed Sagittarius.
Hearing this, a look of surprise flashed in Ren Isana's eyes. He quickly offered his congratulations. "Congratulations, Bell. You can finally hold your own now."
In just a few months, his strength had broken through to Tier 4. His growth speed was incredibly fast, directly catching up with the rest of the group.
After congratulating Bell, Ren Isana turned his gaze to Haruhime Sanjouno. She had also broken through, her strength reaching Tier 4 as well.
However, Haruhime was more of a supporter. She didn't engage in direct physical combat like Bell did, so there was still a gap in combat power between them.
But that didn't matter to Haruhime. She was never meant to be a primary combatant; her role had always been support. She didn't even have spare [Magic Power] to cast other spells because [Uchide no Kozuchi・Magic Mallet] and the [Kokonoe] spell she gained at Tier 2 were unshakable cornerstones of the team.
A magic that could forcibly raise a person's level by one—no matter where you put it, it was an absolute T0 support spell. Now that Haruhime had leveled up again, how would her magic change?
"Haruhime, did your magic change at all after the level up?" Ren Isana couldn't help but ask. Everyone else turned their eyes toward her, especially those who had enjoyed her buffs before; they were full of anticipation.
Facing Ren Isana's inquiry, Haruhime felt her own condition and hurriedly spoke. "Ren-sama, I've gained a new spell called [Hikari Hideri]. It allows those I designate to cast [Uchide no Kozuchi・Magic Mallet]. The number of people depends on my [Magic Power]."
At this point, her face was filled with pure joy. When she broke through to Tier 3, she had only increased the duration of [Uchide no Kozuchi・Magic Mallet], but now she had gained a literal increase in quantity.
"Oho, the limit has been lifted? That's wonderful. So, with your current [Magic Power], how many people can you apply it to?" Ren Isana was intrigued. Haruhime truly never failed to deliver surprises.
Hearing this, Haruhime sensed her magical capacity and gave an answer. "I can only cast it on 30 people, Ren-sama. Any more and I won't be able to take it. It also depends on the [Magic Power] of the target. For someone as powerful as you, Ren-sama, I wouldn't be able to handle it."
As Haruhime explained the details of the new spell, everyone felt like something sounded a bit odd? However, they quickly moved past it, looking at her with pleasant surprise.
Being able to cast [Uchide no Kozuchi・Magic Mallet] on 30 people? What a ridiculous spell. From now on, Haruhime would be their absolute trump card. With her around, they would have a chance to turn the tables no matter what they faced.
After all, Haruhime's magic didn't just increase your level; it even caused your [Magic Power] and [True Qi] to surge out of nowhere. If you were out of energy, one spell from Haruhime would not only make you stronger but refill your reserves.
In a fight, this would make any opponent despair. It was the equivalent of fighting someone who suddenly recovered all their health and energy while also leveling up mid-battle!
"Not bad at all. It looks like I need to speed up the development of magic for storing [Magic Power]. Only then can Haruhime fully unleash the power of her spells." Limited by [Magic Power], huh? If that was the case, he'd work hard to get that thing finished.
But before that, the group had to deal with the remaining Tier 5 Gastrea in this world. The transport plane carried Ren Isana and the others toward their next target.
While Ren Isana's group was on the move, Seitenshi informed the leaders of other regions about their mission. Once they learned that the group was there to resolve the Tier 5 threat, the leaders welcomed them with open arms.
Over the next few days, Ren Isana and the others flew all over the world. Their transport plane was like a ship that never docked, soaring continuously through the world's skies.
There were no restrictions on their travel. Every regional leader had issued orders: as long as this plane entered their airspace, everyone was to cooperate unconditionally.
The moment the plane entered an airspace, a refueling tanker would come up to resupply them. Because of this, they didn't even need to find a place to land; they ate, drank, and slept on the plane.
One by one, Tier 5 Gastrea were being hunted down. Especially with Haruhime's magical assistance, everyone got to fight to their heart's content, experiencing the strength they would possess in the future.
After experiencing the combat power of Tier 5, everyone was exhilarated, gaining a clear understanding of the power they would have after their next breakthroughs.
It served as a preview of their future strength. Within a few days, Ren Isana and the others solved several Tier 5 threats, though most of their time was spent in transit on the plane.
They even brought on several more pilots to work in shifts. The travel time alone consumed a lot of their schedule, while the actual battles with the Tier 5 Gastrea were relatively brief.
Among the later Tier 5s, the group finally found more children after defeating Gemini. It was a pair of twins, which explained the name Gemini.
Ren Isana immediately placed [Magic Mark]s on the pair. After notifying Natsuki, he teleported them back. The spell he originally intended as a safety rope was now being used as a courier service.
A one-way courier service. Although Natsuki was speechless, she tacitly accepted his actions. After all, she had already figured out the condition of the child Ren had sent back earlier.
There was an issue with their souls, but curing it was quite simple. The main reason was that their souls were too weak to keep up with their bodies' growth, which kept them in a coma. By suppressing their bodies, they could slowly adapt and eventually wake up.
Because their talents were all heaven-defying, the children were sent to other locations to be carefully looked after. Perhaps when they met again, they would be able to stand on their own.
"Next up, it's the last two, right? Only Pisces and Aquarius are left. These two Tier 5s are in the deep sea," Ren Isana and the others said as they looked at Asagi Aiba's computer screen.
Only two dots remained on the map. The entire world monitored these Tier 5 Gastrea because the danger they posed was simply too great.
This was especially true for the two in the ocean. These two were the culprits responsible for sinking countless small island nations into the abyss. They were infamous; any country with a coastline kept a death grip on their movements.
"Yes, only them. But this time it's a bit tricky. They stay in the deep sea constantly, and this location is a deep-sea trench. If we can't get them to come out, we might not be able to deal with them," Asagi Aiba said, looking at the two dots with a headache.
These last two were the most troublesome because they stayed in the deep sea. No one knew when they would surface, and they had been in that position for a long time.
Was it possible they had entered hibernation? Trying to draw them out might be difficult. As for using [Ice Magic] to freeze that part of the ocean?
A surface area of dozens or hundreds of meters might be possible, but they were thousands or even tens of thousands of meters down. Trying to freeze the ocean solid that deep was an impossible task.
As for the group going down themselves? That option was never even considered. They couldn't possibly go down there; doing so would be no different from seeking death.
"Yeah, quite the headache," Ren Isana agreed, feeling troubled. They were only two away, but an unexpected hurdle had appeared. It would be fine if they showed their heads; he could end them in a second.
But they simply weren't surfacing. Ren Isana and the others had no way to reach them. The group looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.
"Can we just use [Lightning Magic] to shock them?" Sora couldn't help but suggest. If they shocked them awake, would they crawl out of the sea?
"Shock your head! That won't work at all. The ocean is so vast; your little bit of electricity would be like trying to stir a cauldron with a toothpick," Ren Isana snapped, rolling his eyes as he rejected the idea.
Sora scratched her head. For the moment, she couldn't think of a better way. It was just too annoying; this didn't work, that didn't work—so what were they supposed to do?!
"If there's no way, do we just have to give up?" Asuna Yuuki asked, sounding quite dejected. Everyone had been enjoying the massive amounts of [Excelia] lately. She estimated that killing a single Tier 5 increased her [Excelia] bar by about 3%.
Her progress bar was now at roughly 60%. If they could kill these last two and complete the [Great Feat] of saving the world, they would likely gain a massive amount of [Excelia]. This was undoubtedly important.
Just a few days was equivalent to farming monsters for a very long time. How could they not be excited by this leveling speed? But now they were stuck, which was very frustrating.
"Whatever. Let's ask Natsuki and see if she can help," Ren Isana sighed, feeling a bit of a headache. Ultimately, he decided to seek help from Natsuki!
The others thought this made sense. At this point, it seemed like the only option. They were completely out of ideas for getting them out of the deep sea.
"These two Tier 5s are very close to each other. If one is lured out, the other will likely be drawn out too," Asagi Aiba pointed out, showing the distance between the two targets.
They were only a few dozen nautical miles apart. This meant the group would have to deal with both Pisces and Aquarius at once. Taking on two at once wasn't a huge problem, as long as they didn't let them escape.
Ren Isana didn't overthink it. He directly contacted Natsuki, hoping she could provide a solution. He began communicating through a [Spatial Mark].
"Moshi moshi, Natsuki, are you there?" Ren Isana sent a call request to Natsuki's mind.
Natsuki, hearing Ren Isana's voice, was immediately annoyed. This damn brat! She had told him not to just add '-chan' to her name so casually!!
"Speak!" Natsuki's dissatisfied voice came through. Even across worlds, Ren Isana could feel her irritation, but he didn't take it to heart. There were more important things at hand.
"Natsuki, do you know anyone who can control the ocean? We only have two Tier 5s left, but they're stuck in the deep sea." Ren Isana quickly explained their dilemma and his request. As your student, you can't just not help, right?
Natsuki frowned upon hearing his explanation. In the deep sea? Looking for someone with the ability to control the ocean? Such existences were quite rare.
However, she actually did know someone who could control the sea. That person's strength wasn't much on land, but in the water, she was terrifyingly powerful.
As for the problem Ren Isana was facing, if she sent that person over, it would likely be solved easily. Having made her decision, Natsuki spoke slowly.
"I do. Get a few hundred yen of our world's cash ready. Once I send her over, give it to her."
Natsuki's voice echoed in Ren Isana's head, giving him instructions. Ren Isana was completely stunned. Prepare a few hundred yen for her? What kind of nonsense was that?
Did it only cost a few hundred yen to get an expert to help? Thinking this, Ren Isana looked up at the group in confusion. "Do any of you have cash from our world on you?"
Ren Isana's sudden question confused his classmates. Why would he suddenly need cash? Many of them didn't have any, as mobile payments were the norm and they hadn't used cash in forever.
"Ren-sama, I have some." At that moment, Haruhime spoke up. She reached into her [Spatial Backpack] and pulled out a stack of crisp, new bills, handing them to Ren Isana. It was exactly ten thousand yen.
Seeing the cash, Ren Isana took it, peeled off ten bills, and handed the rest back. "Natsuki said a few hundred is enough, but since it's across worlds, let's give a thousand!"
He really wanted to see what kind of person would take a job for just a few hundred yen. That was way too cheap. Someone who could control the ocean should be powerful, right? So Ren Isana offered a thousand, with the extra acting as payment for his [Jianjigu] to copy her ability.
Hearing this, everyone was a bit dazed. This was completely outside their expectations. You could hire someone to help for just a few hundred yen? Was labor that cheap?
Everyone was filled with curiosity about the upcoming support. Why did they only charge a few hundred yen?
Ren Isana didn't have to wait long before Natsuki's voice sounded in his head again. "Activate a mark. Don't teleport back; just let me know your location in that space. I'm sending her to you now."
Without a word, Ren Isana activated a [Spatial Mark] on his person. Following his action, Natsuki fell silent for a moment, and soon a [Magic Circle] appeared inside the cabin.
In the next instant, a little girl with blue hair, wearing a white dress and a white hat, was teleported in. What's more, she had already passed out? The group looked at the child who had appeared out of thin air, their heads full of question marks. Did Natsuki get the wrong person?