The battle raged on, the clash between the Titans and the sea monster echoing across the battered coastal city. The ground quaked with every tremor of the beast’s massive limbs, and the air was filled with a relentless chorus of thunderous roars, shattering masonry, and surging surf. Despite the Titans’ combined efforts, the creature’s raw strength and resilience seemed boundless, making every attack feel like trying to halt a tidal wave. Rei hovered in mid‑air atop a telekinetic platform of shattered timbers, barking crisp orders that kept the S‑rank guild’s formation tight. “Keep pushing, everyone! We’re making progress!” Her voice snapped like a commander’s whip, anchoring the team as they hammered the leviathan. Below, Hiroki maned in flame, lunged forward. “I’ve got it on the ropes!” he shouted, launching a fresh barrage of fireballs. Each detonation hissed against wet scales, raising gouts of steam. But the monster snapped a limb across his path; Hiroki twisted aside just in time, rolling through debris. This thing is relentless! A little farther down the embankment, Hikari was a granite blur. Her war‑hammer rose and fell with dwarf‑forged fury, each impact rippling cracks through barnacled armor. “You think this big fish can handle the might of a dwarf?” she yelled, grin never fading. Aira churned water into glistening shields, dampening fires and cushioning civilians swept in the creature’s wake. Overhead, Daichi’s wind blades whistled across the monster’s tendons, while Akima’s voice fed constant readings of its maddened thoughts. Yet even an S‑rank guild felt the tide turning against them; the behemoth’s stamina seemed limitless. On a cracked jetty at the fight’s fringe, The Strongest guild watched, battered but still standing. Shunjiro’s ribs ached with every breath; Aiko’s legs quivered; Yoshinori’s reserves of lightning thinned to sparks. But their eyes tracked the Titans’ rhythm, and they saw a pattern, a subtle hesitation whenever the monster’s left eye flickered. Shunjiro caught Yoshinori’s sleeve. “That kink near its eye‑ridge, if I hit it with everything, we might break through.” Yoshinori’s gaze sharpened. “If you land it, Rei and the others could finish the job… but we’ll need her to open a lane.” He turned to Aiko. “Can you swap us to their commander?” Aiko nodded, teeth clenched. “One more short hop, I can manage.” A breath later they appeared beside Rei, timing the jump between her telekinetic volleys. The wind whipped Shunjiro’s hair; Rei’s head snapped toward them, surprise flashing in her eyes. “Rei!” Yoshinori called over the roar. “Give us ten seconds. I can blind its left eye; Shunjiro will strike the skull seam you’ve been targeting. It might drop if we hit together!” Rei’s stern gaze swept over their torn C‑rank cloaks, the sweat and bruises. “I’ve never heard of the ‘Strongest’ guild,” she said, voice flat. “And I don’t send C‑ranks to their deaths.” Shunjiro stepped forward despite the tremor in his knees. “We’re C‑rank only on paper. If you make the gap, I’ll land the punch. You have my word.” For half a heartbeat Rei hesitated, then Akima’s telepathic murmur cut through her earpiece: “His conviction is genuine; opportunity may never come again.” Rei exhaled sharply and nodded once. “Fine. You get one window. Titans, hammer the left flank and drive it upright! Ten‑second breach, do not waste it.” Shunjiro flashed a weary grin. “We won’t.” Rei’s command cracked like lightning through Titan comm‑stones. Hikari and Hiroki redoubled their assault, a fiery hammer‑and‑anvil that rocked the beast sideways. Daichi’s downdraft jammed water into its gills; Akima pinpointed its shifting focus; Aira erected a wall of swirling water to veil the maneuver. Rei counted down aloud, “Four… three… two… now!” Aiko clenched her fists, vision tunneling, and swapped Shunjiro into thin air a hundred feet above the exposed skull seam. Shunjiro felt the world drop away, night wind roaring past. “This ends now!” Shunjiro rocketed toward the earth like a falling star, the glow around his fists intensifying until it bleached the night. He struck the creature square between the eyes, an impact so violent it boomed like thunder and flashed like lightning at the same time. A geyser of seawater and shattered stone erupted sky‑high; every window within sight rattled in its frame. For one stunned heartbeat the monster hung motionless, then lurched backward, carving a trench through the surf before collapsing with a tidal crash. Silence followed, only the hiss of receding waves. The beast twitched, dazed, its blue eyes flickering. With a groan that rolled across the shoreline, it dragged itself into deeper water and slipped beneath the frothing surface. A collective breath whooshed from every chest. Aiko staggered forward and caught Shunjiro as he drifted down, his limbs limp. “Did… did we just win?” she whispered, voice trembling. Shunjiro managed a ragged grin. “Yeah,” he croaked. “We won.” Yoshinori’s usual reserve cracked into a broad smile. He thumped Shunjiro’s shoulder. “That was a punch worthy of legend.” Tetsuo, finally upright, whooped with laughter. “Greatest fishing story ever!’” Laughter rippled through both guilds, washing away the fear of moments before. Aira brushed wet hair from her face, cheeks glowing with pride. “We did it,” she breathed. Rei strode up, eyes sharp yet warm. “The victory belongs to everyone who stood their ground tonight.” She gave The Strongest a curt nod, respect unmistakable. Shunjiro glanced around the circle of exhausted, smiling friends and heroes. “We’ve got a lot to learn,” he admitted, voice hoarse yet steady. “But tonight proved we’re on the right path.”