By Zephyria Squad Leader 8, who was suddenly pulled to the surface with him, was momentarily deafened and flustered by the pressure difference caused by Leonardo’s formidable speed. However, he quickly assessed the situation and shouted to his squad members waiting in the air.
“Now!”
At the same time, at least several hundred Sawtooths, massed together in the shape of a large fish, leaped out of the water.
The squad members relentlessly unleashed ranged attacks on the massive swarm of Sawtooths. The attacks from the air caused chain explosions due to friction with the water’s surface, shattering the creatures that had jumped out of the water. Grotesque death cries echoed incessantly throughout the lake.
Leonardo spat out the water he had swallowed and made his way to shore. Squad Leader 8 immediately leaped back into the air and joined the attack with his squad members. With powerful mages unleashing attacks in unison, the creatures were torn to shreds and pulverized.
After a few coughs, Leonardo’s airway cleared, and he gasped for breath. Then, with his arm behind him, he sat down, propping himself up with his hand on the ground, and frowned as he looked around as if searching for someone.
‘I can feel magic power nearby, but why can’t I see it?’
A short distance away, a squad member who had lost consciousness after hitting the wall was spitting out water, apparently having regained consciousness. The squad member who had been hit by the poison dart and fallen from the air was also awake and receiving treatment from a healer.
Judging by the exposed wound on his arm, he didn’t seem to be seriously injured.
When the squad members in the air stopped their rapid-fire attacks, fragmented flesh and debris floated to the surface in the center of the lake.
However, before long, dark shadows were seen approaching the surface again, and as the squad members prepared for battle, the Sawtooths that remained in the water leaped up low, tearing at the flesh of the demon beast and the corpses of their kin.
The sight of the water’s surface teeming with them was not a pleasant one.
Leonardo, feeling that the immediate crisis had passed, sighed and swept back his wet hair.
But his relief was short-lived. Suddenly, there was a cracking sound, as if rock was splitting. The loud noise caused everyone to turn their attention to the source, and they saw the ground right next to the lake shore cracking and water sloshing around, threatening to spill over. Leonardo felt a chill run down his spine.
He remembered the demon beast’s massive body slamming into the wall in the water earlier, and the fact that this area was a hollow cave.
If the ground collapsed like this, a massive amount of water would fall below, causing a chain reaction of collapses due to the water pressure and weight. If that happened, the other column that might still be inside the cave could be harmed.
Before Leonardo could decide what to do, a series of loud booms echoed, as if urging him on. The cracks across the ground grew wider and wider. Then, starting from the small hole that had been pierced from below when they came up from the cave to this crater, the ground began to sink.
Leonardo bit his lip and immediately placed his hand on the ground. Earth magic was the least compatible with his magic power, and he had hardly ever used it in his life, but now he could only think of using anything to block that hole.
At that moment, a vast amount of water plunged vertically like a waterfall through the cracks. Leonardo was just about to unfold a magic circle in his hand.
“Freeze.”
Air so cold that it made his hands and feet ache filled the area in an instant. It wasn’t Leonardo who had cast the spell.
The water that was rushing into the sunken ground was frozen in place, even down to the individual droplets. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that everything froze the moment it leaped up.
Even the Sawtooths that had risen above the surface of the lake were flash-frozen in mid-air. As they fell to the frozen ground, they shattered like glass from the impact, sending shards flying in all directions.
Leonardo could feel frost forming on his wet hair and eyelashes. But without time to worry about such things, he was captivated by the sight of the entire vast crater lake before him, frozen as if time had stopped.
The time it took for this vast amount of water to freeze felt like less than a second. He stared at the wide lake, frozen in its dynamic form, then turned his head towards the direction from which the voice had come.
Two squad members who had gone to scout the area, Flynn, and Hugo Agrizendro were approaching. Flynn saw Leonardo sitting awkwardly on the ground and rushed over to him.
“Blaine, are you okay?”
Leonardo stared blankly at Flynn’s face, which was filled with concern for him. Flynn became slightly puzzled when he didn’t get any response.
Whether it was because of the unbelievable magic power that had frozen this vast space in such a short time, or because of the chilling cold that was surging from the frozen lake, or because his premonition seemed to be correct and his anger was growing stronger, Leonardo could clearly feel his body trembling slightly.
Squad Leader 8 and the squad members found their legion commander and all descended from the air, flocking to his side.
“Commander!”
Squad Leader 8 was the first to arrive, and after calming his urgent demeanor, he calmly conveyed the situation.
“A demon beast appeared in the lake, so we dealt with it urgently. You told us not to go inside… but one of the squad members was dragged in, so we acted first because of the situation. I’m sorry.”
At her words, Hugo looked around and said.
“It’s alright. Any injuries?”
Squad Leader 8 silently shifted his gaze to the injured squad member who was receiving treatment. Both of them were conscious, and one was being treated for his wounds.
Hugo also looked at them and asked.
“How are the injuries?”
“He was hit by a poison dart from the demon beast, but it was a light graze, so he’s fine. Most of the poison was released when he fell into the lake in the first place, so there won’t be any problems if we just heal the external wound.”
The squad member in charge of healing answered as he treated the injured squad member’s arm, indicating that it wasn’t a serious injury. The squad member who was receiving treatment with his arm exposed was the rookie squad member who had dozed off while on night watch last night. Perhaps that was why he was slumped over with a tearful expression, as if he was confused by this situation he was experiencing for the first time.
After checking his condition, Hugo turned his eyes back to Squad Leader 8.
“The type?”
“Ah, yes. It was a malformation I’d never seen before…”
Squad Leader 8 trailed off for a moment, glanced at Leonardo, then looked at Hugo and continued.
“It seemed impossible to capture alive because it had regenerative abilities, so we prioritized extermination and couldn’t leave the corpse behind. And there were Sawtooths in the lake.”
“Sawtooths… I had a feeling, as expected.”
Hugo scanned the squad members once and said.
“You fought well without any major injuries. Good work, everyone.”
Leonardo remained sitting on the ground, staring at him silently. Hugo’s magic power gradually melted the ice that had frozen on Leonardo’s face and hair, and it began to wet his body again. Water dripped from his chin, and his lips were slightly purple.
Hugo approached him as if to help him up and extended his hand.
“Good work, Leonardo.”
Instead of taking his hand, Leonardo just stared at him and asked Hugo with a slightly cold look and voice.
“Where were you, only showing up now?”
At the reproachful question, Hugo calmly replied, still with his hand extended.
“I was scouting the area to select a route and encountered a malformed demon beast. It’s the principle of the subjugation force to eliminate malformations immediately upon discovery, so it seems I returned a little late as a result.”
Leonardo looked straight into Hugo’s eyes as he said that. Sensing that there was something strange about the energy emanating from him, Flynn and the other squad members became a little tense and watched the two of them. Then, Leonardo slowly blinked his eyes and asked Hugo again slowly.
“No, what I mean is, you clearly arrived here, so why didn’t you show up right away and where were you?”
This time, there was no answer. Flynn flinched and looked back and forth between the commander and him.
When the person in front of him didn’t answer his second question, Leonardo suddenly chuckled. Then, he didn’t take the hand he offered and got up from where he was sitting on his own.
Leonardo created flames around him, instantly drying his wet body and dusting off the dirt on his clothes. The self-mockery that had been lingering around his mouth gradually disappeared.
Soon after, he finished dusting off his clothes, suddenly became serious to a frightening degree, and stared at Hugo with a cold gaze. Then, he lowered his voice and spoke to the seemingly indifferent, cold eyes.
“Hey.”
Everyone tensed up, not knowing why he was acting like that, due to his chilling atmosphere. Flynn was momentarily flustered and wondered if he was calling him, but Leonardo’s gaze was clearly directed at the commander.
Even in that atmosphere, Hugo straightened his slightly bent back without any particular movement, withdrew his outstretched hand, and looked at him with calm eyes.
Leonardo took a step closer to Hugo with a fierce momentum. Unlike Hugo’s calm gaze, Leonardo’s eyes burned hotter than ever, glaring at him as if to devour him, just like when he had faced him in the Arctic sky.
In the suffocating silence, Leonardo suppressed his anger and opened his mouth first.
“You, you tested me, didn’t you?”