Although this situation still felt a little suspicious, Yue began to feel the sincerity in El's demeanor, making her heart a little calmer.
In a soft voice, Yue finally spoke up, "Hajime, we should be more careful. But... I don't think he has any bad intentions."
Yue stood up slowly, tucked herself beside Hajime, and looked at El with a softer gaze. "If he just wants to talk, maybe we can give him a chance."
Hajime looked at Yue for a moment, still hesitant, but finally sighed heavily. "Alright," he said, though still wary. "I'll give you a chance, but don't expect me to trust you completely just like that."
El felt a little relieved, his smile growing. "Thank you, I promise I won't throw this opportunity away," he replied sincerely, and slowly began to lead into lighter conversation.
In the back of his mind, El smiled in satisfaction as Tanjiro's style always worked. Although he didn't really expect to be fully trusted, the friendly and sincere approach provided some relief.
For some reason, El preferred to speak in Tanjiro's style when communicating with others. He suspected this was a side effect of the fusion of their fused souls.
This was similar to when he obtained Sasuke's soul together with Rinnegan.
However, back then, Rinnegan was too domineering, making El's nature become extremely cold and almost lose his emotions completely.
Without hesitation, El stepped closer to Hajime and Yue with a friendly smile.
However, just a few steps into the walk, suddenly a giant scorpion with a shell as hard as unrefined steel fell right on top of his.
Boom!
Hajime and Yue were shocked, but the surprise wasn't over yet. The monster immediately lunged, swinging its claws and tail ferociously, not just randomly attacking, but clearly targeting Yue.
With sharp reflexes, Hajime immediately picked up Yue and darted backwards using the Flicker Skill. He jumped to the ceiling, dodging the monster's deadly attacks.
In the same motion, he countered with a thunderous Donner shot, even including a powerful kick to provide an opening for the next attack.
However, all efforts were in vain as the monster's shell was so hard and impenetrable.
Hajime paused for a moment, just enough time to grab the Incendiary Grenade, a grenade made from Fulham ore, which could cause combustion up to 3000 degrees Celsius.
On Hajime's back, Yue was still shocked, as she witnessed the incredible speed at which Hajime jumped to the ceiling, even the wall he used to jump from seemed to move very quickly.
'He doesn't use magic symbols or cast spells. He controls magic directly, just like me...' Yue thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Hajime remained focused on the monster, watching as the surface of its shell began to sizzle from being burned by the grenade.
Suddenly, however, the monster shot sharp needles at them, posing a new threat.
Hajime immediately used the Flicker Magic Skill to dodge the attack, but due to the late anticipation of the attack from the start, the sharp needles were not completely avoided.
Crat... Crat... Crat!
"Ugh... Damn, this hurts!" complained Hajime, as he quickly pulled out the needles that pierced his body.
Yue's eyes widened, shocked at what happened. "Hajime..." Yue said softly, looking at Hajime's wounded body.
"Don't worry, it's nothing!" Hajime replied, immediately taking out a shell casing filled with Ambrosia, and immediately drank it to heal himself.
On the other hand, Yue who was still on Hajime's back looked very surprised. "Why... Why didn't you just run away yourself?" she asked, still confused by Hajime's decision.
"After all this, I can't just leave you, especially after a strong enough enemy appears," Hajime replied, staying focused on the situation at hand.
Hajime's words made Yue's heart feel warm. Even her cheeks flushed, feeling happy with Hajime's words.
"Your name is... Hajime, huh? Then this girl is Yue? Then greetings, my name is Adrian," El's voice suddenly rang out, startling them.
Without hesitation, they turned to the source of the voice at their side.
They found El unharmed, even though the giant scorpion monster had fallen right on top of his, as if to crush him with its massive weight.
With bright purple eyes that were so calm, as if everything would be fine, El looked at the giant scorpion monster without fear.
"You're... Still alive?" asked Yue with a look of disbelief.
"How is that possible..." said Hajime, clearly confused.
El should have been crushed by the creature, and the sound of the fall was so loud, showing how heavy the monster was when it hit the floor, even creating a deep crater.
With that much force, it was impossible for someone to survive unscathed.
But in reality? El was not injured at all. Even his clothes remained intact, without the slightest dust stain or damage.
The only reasonable explanation was that El was moving very fast, faster than Hajime's already powerful eyes could capture, after all the monsters he had eaten.
"Sorry, this is not the time to chat," El said, still staring at the giant scorpion monster with eyes that were burning bright purple. "Although chatting was my original intention."
El glanced at Hajime and Yue for a moment, then returned his attention to the giant scorpion monster before them. "But... Are you guys okay? Need some healing?"
Hearing El's words, Hajime smiled slightly, immediately realizing that this place was a nightmare, a hell filled with powerful monsters.
It was no wonder that a figure like El could be so casual in a place and situation like this, him monster-like strength should be very natural.
Hajime and Yue shifted their focus, watching the monster before them. Meanwhile, part of El's consciousness recalled information about the monster.
Scorpion was its nickname, a giant monster found as a guardian inside a room on the 50th floor of the Great Orcus Labyrinth, where Yue was.
The monster's shell was made of Shtar ore that hardened whenever exposed to mana, and could also spit out needles filled with acid.
Since this monster was not originally part of the Labyrinth's ecosystem, it will not reappear after being defeated. It was created through a combination of metamorphosis and creation magic.
While El's consciousness was partially lost in thought, Hajime spoke up. "That thing's shell seems to be very hard... If we can break it, then there will be a chance of us winning."
Hearing that, El smiled faintly and remained focused on the giant scorpion. 'Good analysis! Full 100 points for Hajime.'
On the other side, Yue brought her face close to Hajime's neck. "Hajime... Trust me."
Without warning, Yue bit Hajime's neck until it bled and started sucking his blood. Hajime was shocked for a moment before smiling faintly. "Alright, suck all you want. I'll give you some time."
Then, just as Hajime was about to form a protective wall using the Transmutation Magic Skill to block the giant scorpion's thorns from firing, El came out of the protective area, ready to face the threat head-on.
Hajime was startled, as the thorns shot out like projectiles. However, in one swing of the right hand, a reddish-purple Dou Qi energy barrier was created, making the thorns bounce off with great force.
"I don't think that thing's shell is too hard for me," El said as he stepped forward and stretched his right arm. "Don't worry, one blow will be enough."
In the next instant, El moved quickly to the monster, his finger flicking the monster with considerable force.
BOOM!
KRAK!
A loud banging and cracking sound was created in the aftermath, as the monster was thrown out of the room, creating such a violent vibration that the floor formed a crater.
While the monster smashed through the doorframe, flung out into the room, its hard shell shattered like glass falling from a height and hit the wall across the room hard.
Hajime was silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on the extraordinary power El had just shown. For a moment, he felt that there was something very different about El.
His strength seemed to exceed the limits he was used to, even being able to fight the power of such a big monster so easily, so easily! Just one jolt.
A sense of awe and disbelief mixed within him, though he kept his guard up.