ARIFURETA: Cooking to be the Strongest?

"GUUUUOOOOOHH!!!!"

The Behemoth's roar was a physical force, shaking the very stones of the labyrinth.

"Fall back! Hurry, go to the stairs!" Commander Meld bellowed, his voice straining to be heard over the monstrous sound.

But before they could move, the path to the stairs was cut off. Undead soldiers, far stronger than any lizardman they'd encountered on Floor 20, materialized, surrounding the group.

Panic began to ripple through the classmates. Shin, however, calmly pushed aside his anger towards Hiyama. The safety of everyone took priority now.

"Kouki! Ryuutarou! Shizuku! Assist the others!" he commanded, his voice sharp and clear amidst the rising chaos. "Kaori! Cast 'Sanctuary'!"

"Hajime, come. Let's help Commander Meld fend off the Behemoth!"

Hajime complied without hesitation. Meld was already chanting, his voice a low hum before he unleashed the spell 'Hallowed Ground.'

A large dome of shimmering light erupted, enveloping them, meant to protect against the encroaching threats.

But the Behemoth merely strode through it as if it were nothing more than a faint mist.

"Hajime, transmute a large wall! Buy us time!" Shin urged, his gaze fixed on the unstoppable beast.

Hajime immediately responded, creating a colossal wall. It was similar to the one Ryuutarou had used in their special regimen, but this one was noticeably tougher. The very materials of the bridge, seemingly harder to transmute, made the effort incredibly draining, consuming around a third of Hajime's current magic pool.

Yet, even with the improved wall, the Behemoth simply strode through it, unbothered, as if it were nothing.

"You're kidding me!!" Hajime shouted, disbelief lacing his voice as he watched the wall he'd transmuted break through bit by bit, effortlessly.

"That's just absurd!"

"Tch, Hajime, can you destroy this bridge with transmute?" Shin asked, his eyes scanning their surroundings for options.

"It's impossible, Shin," Hajime replied, shaking his head.

"The bridge is too thick, and its materials are too hard to transmute. With my current reserve, it would be impossible."

"We're stuck, aren't we?"

"Commander Meld, help the others!" Shin called out, raising his voice.

"We will try to hold it off and buy some time."

"And tell everyone who knows attack magic to prepare and destroy the bridge."

Commander Meld nodded, a flicker of grim determination in his eyes. He commended the two's bravery and thanked them.

"Understood! Be careful, you two! We're counting on you!" Then, Commander Meld proceeded to help the others with his elite subordinates.

"Hey, Shin, don't tell me you're going to take on that beast alone?" Hajime asked, a worried stare fixed on Shin.

"Hajime, we both know that's impossible," Shin said back, his gaze still on the Behemoth.

"I said we'd buy some time."

"Then any plans to stop that monster?" Hajime asked Shin, his voice strained.

"Not sure," Shin admitted, a rare hint of uncertainty in his tone.

"But it will buy us time." "Just trust me on this."

___________

With Commander Meld and his subordinates gone to help the others, the only ones left to buy time were two non-combatant class Apostles: a cook and a synergist, Shin and Hajime.

"First of all, Hajime, how long can you hold that monster still?" Shin asked, his tone crisp and decisive.

"With my current magic power, about three minutes at most," Hajime replied, already bracing himself.

"That's enough." Shin's response was firm.

"Well then, I'll try to poke it a little bit," Shin joked, a faint smirk touching his lips as he walked closer to the crumbling wall.

Then, the wall fully broke down, and the Behemoth appeared, its colossal form filling the passage.

"Transmute!"

Hajime immediately cast the spell, and the Behemoth's massive feet were encased in earth. The Behemoth struggled to move, but when the encasement began to crack, Hajime roared.

"Transmute!"

Hajime just repeatedly cast his transmutation magic, rebuilding and reinforcing the earthen encasement. This forced the Behemoth to stop and focus all its immense power on breaking free.

"Hey, big-oaf!" Shin shouted, unsheathing his katana, the [Hajime-Made Mark 5].

"Won't you be so kind and stay still so that I can test this on you?." Shin's eyes held a glint of challenge, completely ignoring his instincts that were screaming at him to escape immediately.

He stood there, dangerously close to the Behemoth.

Then, Shin bolted towards the Behemoth, appearing instantly on its head. He unleashed a powerful slash, aiming for a vital point.

"Ting!!"

"Tch," Shin clicked his tongue in frustration as his blade merely scraped against the Behemoth's hide. He immediately fell back, retreating to a safer distance.

"Its hide is surely really hard," Shin muttered, looking at his hand. It was shaking and felt numb from that encounter. It looked like this monster was truly in another league. Its hide was so tough that he'd barely scraped it. Instead, there was a little chip on his katana now.

Shin then changed his stance. From a slashing stance, he shifted to a piercing stance.

"Let's see if you can still block this," he taunted.

Shin then bolted again. This time, he appeared near the eye level of the Behemoth.

Psshhh.

His sword burrowed into one of the Behemoth's eyes. This made the Behemoth stagger and break out of Hajime's hold. It stepped back a few dozen meters from the pain in its eye and roared in agony. Shin could not pull out the sword in time and had to let go, falling back to Hajime, who was crouching and continuously casting transmutation magic to rebuild the hold on the Behemoth.

"That sure is nasty, Shin," Hajime jokingly said while sweating from continuously casting transmutation magic.

"I didn't think you'd actually do it!"

"Well, it did make it fall back," Shin replied, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

"But there goes [Hajime-made Mark 5]," Shin added with disappointment at letting go of the sword.

"I said that's not its name!!"

Hajime protested to Shin, even in their dire situation. "And you just lost it! Are you serious right now?"

____________

On the other side, during the battle with the Behemoth, Commander Meld had reached the others.

He was immediately barraged with questions from Shizuku, Kaori, Kouki, Ryuutarou, and now even Sonobe Yuka, all asking where Shin and Hajime were, and why they weren't with them.

"Commander! What happened?" Shizuku demanded, her eyes wide with worry.

"Where are Shin-kun and Hajime-kun?!" Kaori added, her voice trembling.

Commander Meld explained that they were fending off the beast to buy time. But when he said that, Shizuku and Kaori almost bolted to their side, only to be stopped by Kouki and Ryuutarou.

"Calm down, you two! We have to trust them!" Kouki urged, holding Shizuku back.

"They told us to buy time, so let's do our part!" Ryuutarou added, keeping a firm grip on Kaori.

It looked like the undead were mostly taken care of. With that, Commander Meld rallied every Apostle who could cast offensive magic and told them to prepare to destroy the bridge.

"Listen up, everyone! Those two are buying us precious seconds!" Meld's voice boomed. "All mages, prepare your most powerful offensive spells! We need to bring this bridge down, now!"

By the time Commander Meld glanced back at the two "non-combatants," he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Behemoth was stuck in a place far from its earlier position, held fast.

"They made it fall back?" Meld said in surprise and amazement at these two "non-combatants."

"Impossible... but they did it!" His subordinates also could not believe what they were seeing.

But Meld snapped out of his momentary daze and shouted at the two to hold on a bit longer, waiting for everyone to complete their chanting.

"Shin! Hajime! Just a little longer! We're almost ready!"

Hearing this, Shin and Hajime refocused on the Behemoth, which was now in a state of pure rage. If it could think, it might be fuming that mere inferior beings had managed to stagger it. It began to break through with far more force than before.

"Shin, I can't hold it any much longer!!" Hajime shouted, pouring all of his remaining magic and will into holding the Behemoth.

"My magic... it's almost gone!"

Then they heard Commander Meld's voice, shouting for them to fall back now.

"Now! Fall back, you two! NOW!"

Shin did not hesitate. He grabbed Hajime like a sack of potatoes and bolted towards the others. With their hold broken, the Behemoth began to move faster, consumed by rage as it chased the two.

"Everyone, Fire!!" Commander Meld shouted.

Then, a rain of offensive magic passed through them, impacting the bridge. With the barrage of offensive magic, the thick, hard bridge began to crack and slowly crumble. With the added weight of the Behemoth stepping on it, it completely collapsed.

Shin, focused on getting Hajime to safety, suddenly felt his instincts fire a warning sign. But it was too late. A certain fireball suddenly changed trajectory. Instead of hitting the bridge, it veered sharply, heading straight for them. It made an impact, causing Shin, still holding Hajime, to stagger. With the bridge already collapsing, they began to fall.

"Ugh! What was that?!" Hajime grunted, disoriented by the unexpected hit.

Shizuku and Kaori shouted at them, wanting to follow, but they were stopped by the others.

"Shin-kun! Hajime-kun!" Kaori shrieked, her voice filled with terror.

"No! Don't follow them!" Kouki yelled, holding them back.

Shin and Hajime plummeted into the abyss. Hajime, grunting from the impact of the magic, suddenly felt a tightening sensation around him.

"Hajime," Shin called him, his voice strained, filled with a grim finality.

"Take care of everyone, and tell them I'm sorry." Shin said, mustering all of his current strength, and with a powerful heave, he threw Hajime towards the edge of the broken bridge.

"Shin!!" Hajime shouted in despair as he flew upward and landed precariously on the edge of the broken bridge, watching his friend fall.

Shin, on the other hand, fell deeper into the abyss, his form quickly swallowed by the darkness.

________________

Above , the swirling dust settled, Hajime now lay sprawling on the jagged edge of the broken bridge. Everyone who thought both he and Shin had plunged into the abyss watched, transfixed, as he appeared.

"Hajime!!" Kaori shrieked, relief flooding her voice. She tore free from the restraining grasp of others and sprinted toward him. Shizuku followed immediately, her face pale with dread. But when they reached Hajime, only he was there. Shin was gone.

Hajime stared into the inky blackness of the abyss, his eyes wide and vacant, streaked with dried tears. The frantic shouts of the others seemed not to reach him, lost in the echoing void.

"Ha-ha-Hajime, where is Shin?" Shizuku asked, her voice a fragile whisper. She clung to a desperate denial, believing Shin must still be there. But Hajime's silent, dazed stare confirmed her worst fears.

"Hajime, please, say something! Where is Shin?!" she pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

A profound despair shuddered through her. Even with her formidable willpower, she couldn't withstand the crushing mental stress and lost consciousness, her body collapsing to cope.

"Shizuku-chan!" Kaori cried out, quickly cushioning her friend's fall.

Hajime, meanwhile, felt a sliver of magic return. His gaze, still fixed on the abyss, slowly shifted. He began to chant, his voice a low growl.

"Transmute."

Walls of coarse earth erupted from the ground, quickly enveloping a struggling figure.

"Wha- what are you doing, Hajime!" the encased person screamed, muffled by the rapidly forming earth. Hajime began to walk, his steps deliberate, his eyes now alight with unadulterated murderous contempt.

"It was you, wasn't it, Hiyama?" His words were a lethal accusation, aimed directly at the figure he knew, with chilling certainty, was responsible for that stray magic attack.

"You shot that spell."

Hiyama's usual swagger and disdain for Hajime vanished, utterly replaced by raw, paralyzing fear. He stared at Hajime, who was clearly not joking.

"Transmute."

Hajime repeated the spell, and the earthen walls began to slowly, agonizingly, crush the rotten trash trapped within.

"Stop! Please, stop! It was an accident! I swear!"

Hiyama screamed, a desperate, guttural sound, pleading for him to stop.

"I didn't mean to! It just... veered!" But his pleas were meaningless to Hajime, who seemed deaf to everything but his own raging fury. 

"Hajime, stop! What are you doing?!" Kouki shouted, finally breaking free and rushing forward.

"You're going to kill him!" Ryuutarou added, shock etched on his face.

Their classmates abruptly stopped the crushing walls, pushing and pulling at Hajime. What remained inside the earthen casing was a crippled Hiyama, writhing in pain.