BMD 212

Thud—

A heavy collision sound echoing through the mountains resounded above the crater. Volcanic gas and ash soaring high were pushed away in all directions by the shock wave.

The tip of the Greatsword smashed the monster’s skull and instantly killed another monster hidden inside. Small ice crystals dug into the sunken skull and instantly froze the wriggling cells and tissues.

A piercing scream that seemed to tear the ears mixed with the black smoke and scattered. The monster, grotesquely distorting its face, plummeted down with a scream.

Because some of its sensory organs were cut off and frozen, the monster’s physical regeneration was delayed and it even lost its balance. As it continued to fall through the thickly laid curtain and got closer to the bright red lava, it twisted its body violently.

At that moment, the chilling storm that had been raging from above became a human form and appeared in front of the core’s eyes. Hugo, who had caught up with the target while emitting explosive cold, swung his Greatsword once more with the momentum to throw the monster down to hell.

The core quickly expanded the muscles of its wingtips to avoid the sword energy flying from the end. Instead of giving up on regenerating its eyeballs and skull, it further increased the size of its wings and made a sharp turn.

Ice crystals fell over the boiling crater, occasionally causing small explosions as if recreating the hellish inferno. Sparks mixed with heavy metals and ash soared up terrifyingly, but the core glided while increasing its speed, not caring about the flesh that was being cooked. It was because it knew that the human chasing fiercely behind it was vulnerable to heat.

Whether its goal was to completely escape the lava zone, the monster crossed the deeply carved crater at full speed. But the huge shadow that had been moving forward without hesitation soon faltered and had no choice but to stop midway.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

A dazzling fire demon appeared in front of the retreat. Leonardo, who blocked the front at the speed of light, glared at the monster’s head and swung his Flame Sword greatly. It seemed that the two small monsters he had seen when its head was split earlier were affecting the monster’s reaction speed and regeneration ability.

However, his attack narrowly missed the skull because the core immediately kicked off the air and flew up. However, as if proving that his guess was partly correct, the golden stream of air that flew from the blade cut off one of the front legs that could not be avoided.

Kyahhhh!

The heavy flesh and acidic liquid that burst out from the cross-section poured down onto the thickly boiling lava. The molten, blackly undulating Boulder cracked as it rubbed against the flesh, and the red magma inside completely swallowed even one of the claws of the severed leg.

In the meantime, a chill that seemed to cut the skin swept over the core, which was raising its head and running away.

Ice from above, fire from below. As the two figures, who could be said to be the strongest in the peninsula, were tightening their breath from both sides at a crazy speed, the core rolled its few remaining eyeballs and scanned the chaotic surroundings.

Then, it spewed yellow smoke from the gaps in its skin, blurring the vision of the two humans. From the gaps in the billowing smoke, the light of the ray that had brought about the previous chaos stretched out.

‘Damn it.’

‘Oh no.’

The two people, noticing the ominous sign, slowed down at the same time.

Kwaaaang—!

The hot light that burst out from the blurry smoke sharply cut through the ash-flying air. An explosion accompanied by intense wind pressure swept away, instantly pushing back the two humans who had been hesitating.

Even in that fleeting moment entangled with gusts and heat, Leonardo stretched out both arms towards the shadow fleeing leisurely. He concentrated all his nerves on control rather than output and fired an attack aiming for the monster’s wingtips.

A thunderous burst sound covered the area. At the same time, the scream of the core, whose wings had been pierced, spread widely. Subsequently, whether it was the aftermath of a terrifying magic, even a strong collision sound like Boulder collapsing was heard from an unseen place.

As the ferocious magma soared in front of him, Leonardo belatedly increased his altitude and created distance. Just as the thought that he was a little late crossed his mind, Hugo pulled his waist with one arm and created a thick ice barrier in front.

Lava grains that soared like water droplets stuck to the surface of the ice and deeply dug into the thick barrier. Those that were emitting hazy steam and cooling down eventually became black stone fragments and were embedded in the ice.

Looking at the scene, Leonardo, who was hanging on Hugo’s arm, bit his lip as he realized his slowed reflexes.

‘My body has become heavy. At this rate…’

But there was no time to be discouraged. Because the sound of the core, which had been thrown into the edge of the crater, scratching the Boulder and struggling, was heard.

As sharp roars containing Ultrasound echoed in succession, Hugo let go of Leonardo and immediately went to chase the monster. Leonardo was also about to break through the thick smoke following Hugo’s back when it happened.

Thud— Thud—

‘……?’

If he wasn’t mistaken, what he just felt was definitely a vibration. Not a temporary shock, but a vibration that was simultaneously ringing in a fairly wide area.

It abruptly stopped Leonardo, who had been following the core’s roar, in the middle of the crater. Subsequently, the monster’s cry, as if gathering from inside its stomach, spread widely throughout the area, starting from the crater’s sky. It was a different dimension of wave than what he had felt so far.

The strange energy generated from the monster’s mouth was like whipping the beings on the ground. As if responding to such a call from the core, the demon beasts that had gathered to the south began to roar with chilling sounds from below.

Kkieeeek—

Kiaaaak—

Amidst the blocked vision, the sharp metallic sound heard from the vicinity stimulated the fear of an unidentified phenomenon. At the same time, the reddish-black lava boiling under his feet surged like a wave, and then soared upwards as if bubbles were bursting. Its flow was unusual, as if it was being distorted by strong pressure from deep underground.

As abnormal phenomena occurred in various places, Leonardo felt his spine getting colder and colder. Just in time, the core’s roar mixed with a heavy shock wave pushed away the thick volcanic gas, briefly clearing the vision.

Because it was on the top of a fairly high altitude, even though it was in the south, the situation in a place farther away than ever before came into view at a glance.

In the northern plains revealed beyond the scattering smoke, a whitish light was flashing repeatedly as if sending a signal. Around it, a magnificent cloud of dust rose, and the sounds of hooves and horn trumpets majestically crossed the land.

It was a sound that Leonardo also knew well.

“Paren’s cavalry?”

He had the memory of hearing it while being dispatched as a support force in the war that Paren had waged for independence in the past. They were driving the widely positioned demon beasts into one place and running towards the southern ridge.

In the fleeting moment when his gaze was taken away there, a fierce shock wave spread as a monster and a human confronted each other across the crater.

Leonardo, who had no time to think deeply, threw himself to where Hugo and the monster were entangled. Before long, the monster, who had been hit by the Greatsword and thrown into a corner, scratched the ground with its claws and jumped out of the crater.

As if determined not to miss such a monster, two people who appeared from different directions blocked the front of the core’s head at full speed. A bright red breath was boiling from its mouth, but the two arms covered in flames and ice swung their blades towards the monster without hesitation.

Kwaaaang—!

A burst sound covering the mountains swept through once more, and the breath was directly embedded in the ice Greatsword. The hard ice shattered in an instant, and sharp fragments grazed the fragile skin. In the middle of it, the energy of the two people who were close together collided and explosive steam leaked out.

But whether the all-out strike was quite effective, thanks to it, the trajectory of the core being pushed back entered within range. It was a suitable position that was neither too high nor too low, and where a certain pressure could be maintained even in the heat of the volcano.

Whether the small monsters inside the skull had lost their function due to the shock, the speed of the core spreading its wings had noticeably slowed down. Hugo sensed that the time had come and immediately created a whirlwind. He pushed away the debris that had obscured his vision and shouted loudly.

“All battalion commanders, deploy RAID 5 barrier!”

The voice amplified using the wave in the air was clearly heard in the ears of the battalion commanders who were ambushing near the crater. Not only that, but it also became a signal flare for the demon beasts that were crawling towards the Queen from the bottom of the peak, and the monsters clinging to the cliffs began to glow and increase their speed.

Because of that, an unusual wave arose on the lava that had been splashing along with intense vibrations. At that moment, five white lights soared into the sky all at once from the grayish-white smoke that was blindingly covering the eyes.

The figures widely positioned based on the crater widened their area at regular intervals and moved away. Then, when each other’s light became blurry and difficult to see, they stopped at the designated positions, relying solely on their senses and trust in their comrades.

Bruno, who was wearing protective gear and Light Balls, took a deep breath in the urgent moment. With the deputy commander, who was clearly nervous, at the head, the five commanders who had created distance shouted simultaneously with their hands clasped together.

“Council End Gate Binding Technique deployment, Pentagon!”

The arms of the five commanders spread out simultaneously, forming an angle of 108 degrees. Then, the lines of magnetic force extending from their palms were connected in a straight line with the help of the power of the heavy Routers attached to their respective combat uniforms.

The lines of magnetic force extending from different directions generated a tremendous shock wave at the moment of collision. However, rather than the aftermath spreading in all directions, it was rather sucked into the center, so Hugo, feeling that the myth of success was near, grabbed Leonardo’s arm next to him.

“Leo.”

At that moment, Leonardo was staring blankly at the terrifying vortex that seemed to suck even his body in. Hugo grabbed Leonardo’s waist and lightly lifted him up.

“Huh?”

Leonardo, who was suddenly lifted up by his two hands, looked down at the other with a bewildered face. Hugo met Leonardo’s forehead and whispered into his face with earnest wishes.

“Now is the time.”

Without giving him a chance to understand the meaning, he grabbed Leonardo’s waist and quickly spun him two and a half times in the air. As centrifugal force swirled so hard that it was difficult to endure due to his sudden action, Leonardo widened his eyes and grabbed Hugo’s arm to hold on.

“Uh, uh, wait—!”

Just as his soul was about to escape from the spinning vision, Leonardo felt his body floating in the air.

And with the figure of Hugo below getting smaller and smaller as the end, he flew silently into the sky above the crater in the blink of an eye.