By Zephyria Nero, who was holding a mass of flesh more than ten times the size of his body, rotated once and threw the core’s leg far away. Then, the heavy leg flew away with a whoosh, collided with a nearby hillside, and plummeted to the ground.
Immediately afterward, a roar like a heavy rock falling rang out chillingly, and dust that bloomed in an instant shot up to 200m above the crash site. In the meantime, a vast sinkhole created by the heavy mass of flesh sinking downward slowly revealed its appearance.
As the ground cracked around the black hole, the swarming demon beasts screamed and fell down. Seeing that, Nero went up to the core, which was twisting its body in pain, and concentrated Magic Power in both hands.
Black smoke rotating at high speed surged from his grasp, and the red flames generated within it flickered and surged threateningly. Nero gradually widened the two hands he had gathered together, maximizing the size of the flame.
Nero, who had lifted up a mass of fire that had grown so large that it would swallow his body before long, threw it at the core and chanted a spell.
“Blast Bomb.”
As he clenched his fist at his fingertips along with a low voice, the mass of fire that was flying shattered in the air as if it had received a signal.
The embers scattered like broken glass fragments, embroidering the sky and falling onto the ground. The embers were so small that only thin streaks could barely be seen, but a few seconds later, the moment they fell on the ground, a huge shockwave of tremendous power swept through the mountain range.
Kkieeeek―
Kyaaaak―
Each ember crashed into the ground like a meteorite, causing a chain explosion. The torso of the demon beast nearby was blown away by more than half due to the impact, and the eerie screams of the sharp and sharp demon beasts filled the area.
As the terrifying embers glowed as if they were about to touch the hide and explode, the Queen roared fiercely in the gaps of the explosion and quickly descended downward. Then, she crawled into the gaps of the teeming demon beasts and covered her entire hide with their bodies. She used her descendants as shields to protect her body from the falling bombardment and explosions.
Kuoong― Kwaaaang!
The demon beasts controlled by the Ultrasound trampled on each other and crawled up to protect the Queen even as their flesh burst. The sight of them gathering and swarming like a swarm of bees was not very pleasant, so Nero frowned and fired three more fireballs into the center of it.
Then, a hole that seemed to be deeply dented was created for a very short time in the large mass that they had made by tangling together. However, it was only for a moment, and the newly attached ones filled the area and the gap was restored in the blink of an eye.
Hugo, who was watching the scene from not far away, narrowed his eyes. Then, as threatening embers flew near the ice wall, he narrowed his brow and moved his position.
Immediately, he placed the ice wall behind his back and widely deployed a Magic Circle in front of it, then created a strong wind and directly countered the embers flying mixed in the whirlwind.
Ice daggers shot up diagonally like rain from the blue-shining Magic Circle, intercepting the embers flying in all directions and exploding them in the air. However, because the surface area of the embers was so small, he couldn’t shoot them all down, and explosions occurred one after another above the members who had hurriedly spread their Auras.
As the members were pushed over by the impact and cracks appeared even on the surface of the ice wall, Hugo clicked his tongue with a displeased expression and coldly recited.
“Whether he’s an enemy or an ally.”
Mages of the natural element attributes, including the four elements, have a higher degree of assimilation between their attributes and their bodies as they possess stronger Magic Power. Considering that, the aura and unusual combat skills of that person were clearly not those of an ordinary member. If there was a capable person who could handle fire to that extent in the Council, the Legion Commander would not have been unaware.
That figure, who not only used fire-attribute magic freely but also seemed to be almost assimilated with fire, made Hugo feel a sense of déjà vu as he estimated the identity and ability of the opponent. It was because the movements, patterns, and attack methods of the ‘strongest fire’ he knew were very similar. It was as if one side had been watching and learning for a long time, and there were many overlapping parts.
And at that moment, Hugo, whose eyes widened, instinctively looked around.
‘Where is Leonardo?’
It was clear that it was that person who had taken the injured Leonardo and flown far away. But now that that person had returned, Leonardo’s figure was nowhere to be seen. If he was nearby, there was no way he wouldn’t have felt his aura or presence… Currently, Leonardo was not among the ‘fires’ detected in the vicinity.
As he became convinced, it soon turned into anxiety. Several bad thoughts flashed through Hugo’s mind.
Following that, there was a reprimand for his complacency in condoning the kidnapping by a person whose identity he didn’t even know in front of his eyes. But Hugo, who didn’t have time to think deeply, Teleported to Nero’s side, who was pouring attacks on the demon beast, in an instant. Then, taking advantage of the opponent’s carelessness, he reached out and grabbed his collar in one swift motion.
“Hey, you―.”
A chilling aura and a chilling voice plunged into Nero’s neck. As a strong force pulled him closer, Nero, who was holding a fireball, flinched and instinctively reached out towards Hugo. Hugo also flinched for a moment at the chilling aura lingering at the end of it.
‘Murderous intent?’
As the fireball seething in his hand was thrust in front of his eyes, Hugo reflexively tilted his head to avoid it while pushing the opponent’s arm outward. The ultra-high temperature magic that was fired in the blink of an eye grazed past his head, and the auras emitted by the two people rubbed against each other, causing thick steam to rise in the air.
Nero, whose eyes had turned cold with bewilderment at the unexpected situation, glanced at his arm where the Legion Commander’s hand had touched. White steam was spewing out like crazy from the point of contact, and although it was covered by clothing and he wasn’t sure, this sensation of flesh tearing was definitely the pain he felt when he had frostbite.
Nero stared at the ice fragments attached to the fabric and looked at Hugo with a dumbfounded expression.
‘This bastard, did he freeze my arm just now? He froze my fire right before the attack?’
“Where is Leonardo?”
As if he didn’t care about Nero’s confusion, Hugo tightened his grip on him with a fierce momentum and asked coldly.
As force was applied to his frozen arm and the cold eyes came even closer, Nero, judging that his arm would break if he continued like this, immediately grabbed the opponent’s wrist. Then, he removed the Legion Commander’s hand in one swift motion and caused a small-scale explosion between him and himself.
Kwaaaang―!
Hugo, who had noticed the sign, shook off Nero and similarly created distance. Nero barely escaped from Hugo, then grabbed his frozen arm and melted it, trying to suppress his excitement and coldly responded.
“Don’t worry, I’ve taken him to a safe place. But, isn’t freezing my arm a bit too much?”
Hugo’s eyebrows shot up at the answer that came back. The attack that had flown past his head a moment ago would have resulted in at least blindness, serious injury, or a vegetative state if he hadn’t dodged it. But he said it was too much just for freezing one arm. It was absurd.
Moreover, the way he spoke and the atmosphere were so distinctly different from the person he had seen inside Cell 118 that he wondered if the person he was seeing now was the same person. He had only shown the bare minimum of formal courtesy as if he was reporting to his superior, and what was revealed in his eyes was clear hostility.
Hugo, who had been staring at the man’s actions, which now didn’t even seem to be bothering to act diligently, coldly asked back.
“A safe place? What are you talking about?”
“Wherever it is, it’s safer than here.”
Nero lightly retorted to him, who had half ignored his words, and smiled with his eyes. At the same time, his mouth, covered by the gas mask, was spewing out curses that he couldn’t bring himself to utter.
‘The Legion Commander froze his own subordinate’s arm? Is he crazy? It felt like it would have broken if he had put a little more force, was he really trying to break it? Is that a human?’
Then, perhaps because of the insincere answer, or perhaps because he had read the invisible mouth shape, the Legion Commander’s face, which was already stiff, gradually hardened coldly. But just in time, a woman’s voice, which was unusually high-pitched, echoed from down below and pierced Nero’s ears.
“Commander―!”
In response to Dellua’s call, Hugo’s vision, looking down, showed a swarm of demon beasts huddled together and climbing over the ice wall. Dellua’s golems buried in the gaps were struggling to prevent them from crossing over.
Hugo, who was assessing the situation with fierce eyes, soon created a long ice spear in his hand. Then, he aimed the end of it at Nero and warned in a low voice.
“I hope you’ve really taken him to a safe place. If anything happens to him, I won’t let you off the hook.”
As the aura as cold as his voice spread widely around and an unpleasant chill touched his skin, Nero trembled silently and stepped back. At the sight of his figure, Hugo turned his body as if he had no more business and headed to where Dellua was.
Nero, feeling absurd and frustrated at Kajard’s actions of suddenly approaching and freezing his arm, and now leaving after saying what he wanted to say, glared at his back with resentful eyes.
‘Isn’t that what I should be saying? Why is that bastard saying it?’