By Zephyria Exactly 5cm. It was when the distance between the intense Magic Power and the monster was less than the length of a finger.
Leonardo stepped on the edge of the core’s eye with his foot and barely stopped his accelerated body. The monster’s pupil, which would have been pierced with a single touch, drew a horizontal line at the sight.
Watching the parabola curving like a bitter smile, Leonardo moved only his lower lip without moving.
‘Is it threatening me?’
He knew it was intelligent, but he never imagined that a mere demon beast would dare to threaten a human by taking him hostage. If he hadn’t stopped in time, Agrizendro might have had his internal organs crushed by the monster.
His wavering Gold Eyes shifted towards Hugo and then back to the monster. The terrible imagination clouded his mind, and he couldn’t decide what to do. And that was the same for Hugo, who was also hearing the core’s voice. As if to prove his words, the monster tightened its grip on Hugo’s throat.
“…Khuk.”
The pressure of the giant was so enormous that it felt like the broken bones would pierce through his skin. It was difficult to think properly, but even in the midst of that, Hugo stifled a groan and looked at Leonardo.
He was relieved that his condition was better than his own, but he was also convinced that Leonardo was suffering from the monster’s voice. There were countless questions that came to mind, but first, they had to get out of this unfavorable situation.
‘There must be a way….’
As his blue eyes scanned the surroundings for a helper, something suspiciously flickering beyond the giant suddenly caught his eye.
‘Light?’
Hugo’s gaze naturally led to the wall in the distance. The narrow caves that had been sparsely visible when he first arrived in this space. Something was twinkling in that dark gap.
Moreover, it wasn’t just one, but the faint light flickering in dozens of caves repeatedly became clearer and then faded.
The irregular blinking in length and tempo was reminiscent of Morse code. When conveying the situation to a distant opponent, they would send signals in that way by adjusting the brightness of the light ball.
‘…Short three times, pause, short twice. Long once. Pause…. S, U… R. RO…….’
Hugo’s eyes narrowed.
‘Surroundings complete.’
He wondered why he hadn’t seen them for so long. While he was desperately fighting a fierce battle, someone had been diligently moving to form a formation for the operation.
Hugo knew that there was only one ruthless commander in the Council who usually used one side as bait and moved from behind, but he couldn’t just blame his actions, as he was a hope that appeared exquisitely when needed, and he hadn’t been seen since the barrier was lifted.
While he was silently interpreting the meaning of the light, fine debris fell from the top of the rock wall as if to show its presence. At that moment, the core’s eyeball, which had been facing Leonardo, sensed an unusual current and rolled towards it.
Hugo instinctively sensed it. This was the only chance to escape.
Stopping his breath, he drew out extreme cold from his entire body. Sensing the unusual energy, the two eyeballs of the core came down at a terrifying speed.
‘……?’
Leonardo, who had sensed the cold, also rolled his eyes to grasp the situation, but the moment his blue eyes met his, there was no need to do so.
His two hands, filled with strength, unleashed black sparks without delay as if receiving a signal. The murderous tip with the current flowing through it dug deep into the eyeball that was aiming at him.
Kaaaaaak―
It didn’t even take a second to cut off the pupil and optic nerve. With a chilling roar, the sharp claws wildly stirred the air.
Leonardo, who had quickly dodged, repeatedly poured fireballs into the torn flesh to prevent the monster from regaining its senses. The flesh mixed with blood roughly splattered, indicating that the already open flesh was quite damaged. Meanwhile, Hugo, feeling the grip that had been tightening had loosened, rapidly cooled the core’s foot skin.
By creating a momentary explosion by friction with the hot air, the flesh shattered and the claws that had been hanging like bars instantly flew away. However, he, who had suffered internal injuries, could not avoid the impact, so another stream of hot blood flowed from Hugo’s mouth, who had succeeded in escaping.
But there was no time to hesitate. Hugo immediately fired a Magic Power-filled flare into the sky. Then, he grabbed Leonardo’s waist, who was firing at the core’s head, and threw himself with all his might into the first cave he saw.
Kwaaaang―!
As soon as they squeezed their bodies into the narrow gap, a huge claw followed them menacingly from the entrance. The tip, which crushed the Boulder with the determination not to miss them, savagely scraped the inside of the cave with a scream.
But as other presences were felt one by one from the outside, the Queen instantly raised her head. The six remaining eyeballs frantically scanned the surroundings. Just in time, Meterion confirmed the blue flare and raised his arm.
“Everyone, prepare to attack!”
In response to the signal, over a hundred members who had been holding their breath in the caves stepped forward one by one. Following that, huge Magic Circles appeared at two points about 100m above and below the core and rapidly expanded their radius.
The edges of the Magic Circles permeated the uneven Boulders and seamlessly meshed with the wall. They had deployed a powerful cylindrical Sealing Magic to suppress the core and prevent its escape.
Different Magic Powers and heavy firepower were simultaneously aimed at one point from all directions. The Queen, realizing that the situation was unfavorable in the dazzling light pouring down from above and below, clung to the wall and curled up her body as much as possible.
At the same time, the company commander of the 3rd Battalion, who had approached Meterion from behind, calmly conveyed the outside situation to his superior.
“Battalion Commander, preparations for activating the barrier throughout the peninsula are 99% complete.”
Meterion, who glanced back, simply nodded as if to confirm. Meanwhile, the core, which had been growling down below, savagely screamed, grabbed the rock wall, and began to rush upwards.
The monster climbed the wall like crazy as if running on flat ground and fearlessly leaped into the sky.
Meterion, who had been watching the movement, lowered his arm and shouted loudly.
“Full attack!”
The voice that had spread for a moment was instantly swallowed up by the subsequent sound of destruction.
Kwagaaaang―!
As the members relentlessly fired at the giant, a deafening roar covered the area and caused vibrations. The attacks that flew like hundreds of arrows in the ancient records dyed the desolate space with colorful streaks.
Meterion, who had straightened his hair that had been disheveled by the shockwave, stared at the dark shape with indifferent eyes. As the barrage collided and caused a chain explosion, the shadow of the giant rose menacingly from within and then sank back down.
Meanwhile, in the narrow cave below, Hugo and Leonardo went further inside to avoid the falling bombardment. The two awkwardly embraced each other’s waists and slumped down, then watched the situation outside and caught their breath.
Only after a fierce air raid that resembled the middle of a battlefield did Leonardo belatedly realize that others had arrived. He couldn’t take his eyes off the outside of the cave with a dumbfounded expression. But all he could see beyond the smoky haze was the continuous flashing light.
“Haa….”
Whether it was because he was out of breath or relieved, a low sigh escaped through his lips. As if telling him not to let his guard down, the shadow of the roaring monster vividly fluctuated from moment to moment in the midst of the scattering dust.
Just then, two large hands suddenly approached and grabbed Leonardo’s face. Leonardo, who had been on edge, flinched more than necessary for a moment. He immediately tried to pull his head away, but the firm hand forced him to look in his direction.
“Leonardo.”
“…Huh?”
His confusion was short-lived, and the other person’s unusually subdued voice caught Leonardo’s attention. Hugo had already taken off his tattered gloves and swept back the Gold Eyes hair that had grown quite long to his eyes.
“Close your eyes.”
At the rather sudden words, Leonardo just stared blankly. Then, Hugo covered his cheeks with his warmly heated hands and opened his mouth again.
“Hold your breath for a moment too.”
Before he could figure out what he meant, a large hand suddenly covered his eyes. Leonardo reflexively closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forgetting the pain in his ribs.
But the sensation that was then poured on his face made him quickly exhale the breath he had taken.
“W-wait, what?”
Startled by the unexpected sensation, he hurriedly turned his head. Cold water that would make him wide awake was soaking his entire face.
With his eyes only half open due to the flowing water droplets, he pushed away Hugo’s arm with a face that asked what he was doing. But the other person didn’t care and continued to create water from his hands and lightly rubbed the small face he was holding.
It was a meticulous touch for something that had come without permission. But he wasn’t very happy with this situation of being suddenly washed. Leonardo shook his head strongly from side to side to shake off the water from his wet face and hair. Then he asked the other person as if questioning him.
“No, what are you doing?”
“It’s already swollen. I have to wash it off.”
The uncaring, forceful touch reached the neck of Leonardo, whose skin was red. His eyebrows slightly furrowed as he felt a stinging sensation when his hand brushed against his sensitive skin. It seemed that the liquid had splashed and damaged his skin when he had tried to cut off the core’s tail and struck down the flesh earlier.
Hugo, who had briefly examined his expression, gently stroked the swollen area with his fingertips. The swelling quickly subsided, but the red mark still remained.
He stared at the area with an unpleasant expression, then turned his gaze to Leonardo’s left shoulder, which had been bothering him. He could see that it was only tied with a single cloth on his shoulder, which was stained with blood, as he had been too preoccupied. Hugo couldn’t help but sigh.
“How did this happen here?”
When he asked in a dissatisfied tone, Leonardo moved his lips. Soon, he retorted with a dumbfounded look.
“Is that the problem now?”
As if frustrated, the warm hand that immediately reached out now touched Hugo’s face without hesitation.
Carefully wiping away the blood that flowed from his firmly closed lips to his jawline, Leonardo made a more painful expression.