“Come to think of it, even Aya couldn’t keep that heat up for long, right? If she swings a few more times, she might roast herself first.”

The heat was like standing beside a little sun. Even the others watching from far away were struggling with it, so Tiran released freezing Chi to cool things down and barely managed to keep the temperature at normal levels—though they were already high above the ground, where the temperature was below minus fifty degrees.

As it turned out, she’d guessed right. Aya was already regretting summoning her greatsword. She’d slowed the vibration of molecules in advance to lower the temperature of her Chi scales and shield herself from the heat, but the moment the greatsword appeared, the heat still pierced through them.

“Tch. Your law’s pretty impressive too, son.”

With Aya’s mental power locked onto him, Anticas couldn’t smile anymore. The sword’s terrifying heat made even him want to run.

If he took even one hit, he’d probably be burned away even if he turned his body into clouds in time.

What a pain to deal with. But that’s my son for you—he’s gotten so strong. Dad couldn’t be prouder.

“Take this!”

Aya swung the giant sword in her hands with all her might, bringing it down at Anticas’s location, pinpointed by her mental power. The blazing inferno seemed capable of burning everything into nothingness.

“A father’s gotta do his best to grant his son’s wishes. So, just as you asked, I’ll take your attack head-on.”

Anticas jerked his right hand up, eyes wide. “Cloudflow: Cumulonimbus—Sea of Thunder!”

Beneath his feet, the cloud pillar Aya had sliced apart suddenly surged upward. Its pure white had turned pitch-black, and blue-violet lightning crackled through the gaps in the clouds. More astonishing still, the pillar stretched not only upward, but all the way down to the sea.

On the beach, which had been calm and peaceful, crowds of visitors were still enjoying the last of the early autumn seaside weather before the chill set in. Then the bright sunshine was suddenly blotted out, like a storm was about to break.

“Look up!”

“A storm? Why so suddenly?!”

“The beach is temporarily closed. All visitors, please leave in an orderly fashion.”

The sudden change caught people on the beach off guard. Still, tropical storms during typhoon season were nothing unusual in Gold Coast. The seaside towns had reliable drainage systems and sturdy buildings, so no one panicked too much.

“What a pain. It was such nice weather just a moment ago...”

“But a storm means we get to slack off for a while, doesn’t it?”

As the visitors gradually cleared out, two lifeguards in nothing but swim trunks and sunglasses made their final rounds, chatting as they went.

“Maybe, but if some idiot gets it into his head to run down to the sea, we’ll just have more work. Remember that bard who went to the pier to watch the waves last time? He nearly drowned, then yelled at us for dragging him back.”

One of them sighed. “Goddess help us. I hope there are fewer idiots like that this time.”

“Forget that...”

His companion glanced toward the sea. “Am I seeing things, or is the water a lot calmer than you’d expect with winds this strong?”

“Huh? Is it?” The other lifeguard followed his companion’s gaze.

The wind was already strong enough to make it hard to stay on their feet. But just as his companion had said, the sea was still rolling in neat little waves, one after another, like it was a sunny day.

Then, the water that had just washed onto the beach abruptly began to recede.

Thinking he must’ve seen it wrong, the lifeguard hurriedly rubbed his eyes and looked again. The sea had already retreated more than twenty meters from the original shoreline, and it showed no sign of slowing down.

“Hey, hey, no way. Could it be...?”

At the sight, the two lifeguards, both born and raised by the sea, exchanged a look. Without hesitation, they turned and ran toward town, where a bell tower would sound the warning to evacuate.

It was all too obvious what this meant.

Behind them, far away where sea met sky, a silver line appeared. It rapidly grew larger, becoming a towering wall of water that surged toward the coast, reaching from sea to sky.

“A storm was bad enough, but now there’s a tsunami too...?”

The two lifeguards ran, glancing back to judge how long they had before the tsunami hit land. Out of the corners of their eyes, they spotted a few people by the changing rooms who seemed remarkably unbothered, still chatting among themselves.

“Hey! You guys are still here? Can’t you see the tsunami over there?!”

“Can’t help it. We’re waiting for someone... Oh, lifeguards? You’re pretty dedicated to your jobs.”

Ransel waved at the two men in reply.

Was this really the time to talk about how dedicated they were? Had these guys been hit in the head? The two lifeguards nearly said it out loud.

“Whoever you’re waiting for, you need to save your own lives first! There’s still time to get to higher ground. Hurry and run...”

One of the lifeguards, who had a little more patience, was still trying to convince them when Ransel cut him off. “Oh, thanks for the concern, lifeguard. You should get on with your job. Don’t worry about us. We’re staying here to put an end to this disaster.”

“Put an end to it...?”

The lifeguard was about to say more when his companion tapped him on the shoulder and quietly reminded him, “They look like members of that Dragon-Slaying Party. The super-adventurer group from yesterday’s festival.”

The lifeguard took another good look at the gear worn by the four people in front of him. At last, he understood, and his expression turned to one of surprise.

“Sorry! But you said you’d put an end to the disaster...”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Hurry and get on with your job.”

Ransel waved him off.

Once the two lifeguards had run off, Ransel also looked worriedly at the wall of water racing toward them. “Still, causing a tsunami is over the top. Even when we fought that water dragon, it wasn’t this dramatic, was it?”

“It shouldn’t have been. For ordinary Magic to do something on this scale, you’d need a forbidden spell. The enemy we’re facing this time is no pushover.”

At last, the final person came out of the changing room.

“Old man, hurry up next time! At this rate, the whole place’ll be underwater!”

Seeing Domingo Sen in his white robe eased some of the tension in Ransel’s heart. “Hurry, hurry! Cast Flight already. I don’t want that wave slamming me to the bottom of the sea.”

The other members of the Dragon-Slaying Party had already changed into their full battle gear. But until the old man showed up, not one of them could fly—someone as unusual as Tiran, with enough Chi reserves to shape wings and take off, was one of a kind.

“I’m a lot older than you lot, so at least give an old man some time to get ready!”

The old man glared, his beard bristling, but he didn’t let up on the incantation. He planted his staff on the ground, and the six-sided gem at its tip sent four beams of light into the other members of the Dragon-Slaying Party. Wings woven from light appeared on their backs.

The Dragon-Slaying Party members clearly weren’t using the old man’s Flight spell for the first time. They’d often needed to fly when fighting dragons, after all. Each of them took off with practiced ease, quickly climbing beyond the water wall’s reach.

“Old man, is there any way to stop the tsunami? If it hits the shore, the whole town could be wrecked. The festival meet-and-greet and all that might be a pain, but I really like this place as a vacation spot.”

Ransel asked, watching the water wall enter the crescent-shaped bay.

“You really think I can do anything...?” Domingo Sen said, his face darkening.

Never mind whether he could actually pull it off. Even if he stopped the tsunami with an ice wall or some other spell, it’d take a huge amount of Magic. What about their magical attacks when fighting the dragon? What about enhancement spells? What about Flight?

But it wasn’t Domingo Sen’s words that made Ransel abandon the idea. It was what happened right in front of them—a scene no one could’ve expected.