By Zephyria About 20 minutes after the two broke through the smoke screen and headed south, Hugo, who was shaking off the volcanic ash while stirring up the wind, suddenly stopped in mid-air and scanned his surroundings.
‘Water?’
He could feel the energy of water not far away. And quite a large amount of it.
He had noticed a thick fog about 300 meters ahead, and it seemed that there was a fairly wide lake around here.
It was slightly salty, so at first he thought he had reached the coastline, but he couldn’t hear the sound of waves and there was little of the sea’s unique fishy smell. If so, it was likely that it was the lower reaches of a river formed by seawater flowing in from the sea and a valley flowing inland. In other words, the coastline was not far away either.
The thought that the summit was in sight made Hugo’s rough breathing a little calmer. He loosened his stiff shoulders and leaned his cheek against Leonardo’s head, who was leaning on him, and whispered.
“We’re almost there. Just hold on a little longer.”
As he lightly stroked the golden hair, soaked with cold sweat, white steam hissed and scattered wildly. It was originally hot as if he was holding a ball of fire, but it wasn’t to this extent, so Hugo paused for a moment.
He immediately pulled his chin back slightly to check the other person’s face, but he couldn’t see it properly because Leonardo was hanging his head. However, his rapidly rising and falling shoulders and wheezing breaths gave him an idea of his poor condition.
‘Is it that hard?’
Hugo, with a hardened expression, readjusted his slumped body. Then, he took his hand off Leonardo’s head and placed his fingers on the nape of his neck, where his bare skin was exposed.
Leonardo’s shoulders twitched in surprise at the coldness, and at the same time, a faint steam and a stinging heat spread to Hugo’s fingertips. He knew that the heat in his arms was getting hotter and hotter, but it seemed that his condition was much more serious than he had expected.
Thinking that this was no time to relax, Hugo wrapped his arms around his bent back again. Then, he turned towards the source of the moisture and was about to spread the dust in front of him and move forward when it happened.
Kugung!
Suddenly, a mysterious explosion spread from a distance, and a huge vibration occurred from under the ground. Hugo had been suffering from similar noises all the way here, so he just glanced at it and didn’t pay much attention to it.
But he felt the heavy roar spreading in succession and narrowing the distance at a terrifying speed. Hugo, sensing something was wrong, narrowed his eyes as he watched it.
Pshhhhh!
“…!”
Hot steam that felt like it would burn his skin barely brushed past the two people floating in the air. Hugo reflexively deployed an Aura and stepped back to avoid the steam that had sprung up from below.
However, whether there was a cluster of hollowed-out tunnels and cracked ground formed around this area, steam was spewing out from all sides, front, back, left, and right.
As the sharp sound of swishing filled the vicinity, Hugo, judging that the lowlands were no longer safe, stepped on an ice barrier and leaped upwards in one breath.
The sulfur gas containing volcanic ash quickly covered the sky 30 meters above the ground. Hugo covered Leonardo’s ears, scanned the situation below, and turned his head towards the source of the explosion.
“…This is bad.”
Gray smoke and red light flickered in the distance. Moreover, black dust was gradually expanding its area from there.
He had been feeling uneasy since earlier, but it seemed that volcanic activity had started in other craters affected by the explosion. If a full-scale eruption began, it would be difficult to secure oxygen and escape, as well as obscuring the view.
Hugo clicked his tongue and quickly turned his body. There was no time to delay. He had to get out of here quickly.
He broke through the air resistance and flew at full speed, and after flying for about 3 more minutes, he heard the sound of rushing water between the moist and eerie mist. Each time he passed through the winding valley between the steep valleys, small streams boiling like hot spring water gathered one by one and grew in size.
They formed a fairly strong stream of water and flowed in one direction all at once, and at some point, the sound of water friction became louder, and a fairly high waterfall poured down under the cliff.
Hugo, chased by the roar and dust rushing from behind, fearlessly jumped into the water droplets that were splashing up. The moment the two people covered in volcanic ash passed through the mist, the boiling temperature dropped sharply and the stuffy breath and vision cleared.
“Haa—.”
Hugo, exhaling the breath he had been holding in and opening his frowning eyes, fired three or four Light Balls towards the front. Then, as the trajectory of the light extended, the curtain of night was lifted, and a large lake that could be mistaken for the sea appeared.
Then, on the surface of the water stained with darkness, a huge barrier reflected and rippled.
Kugung, kung—
But before he could enjoy the joy of arrival, an ominous sound quickly followed the two.
Hugo flew to the middle of the lake. Given the situation, it seemed that he would have to bring the plan forward a little.
The mist floating around him condensed and formed three fairly large masses. Swelling like living creatures, they absorbed Hugo’s Magic Power and transformed into the form of a Divine Beast. They were three sleek falcons with blue wings that glowed faintly.
“Find the nearest escape route within a 5-mile radius. As soon as you find a suitable place, signal the location with a self-destruction.”
As soon as the master’s order was given, the three birds of prey flapped their wings quickly as if they understood. Then, they roamed around Hugo, cried piiiiii, and scattered in different directions.
As they left, Hugo Teleported to the front of the barrier that was visible in front of him. Then, he tapped the surface of the barrier with his military boots to gauge its approximate condition.
‘The barrier is shaking. At this rate…’
Since Barrier Stones could not be erected in the middle of the lake, the distance between the Barrier Stones would be relatively wide. That meant that, like the coastline, the barrier was relatively weak here as well.
As Hugo had expected, the surface of the southern barrier, which he had reached with difficulty, was shaking slightly due to the difference in air pressure inside and outside. As soon as he discovered this phenomenon, Hugo tightly tied himself and Leonardo’s body with a stream of water created from his hand.
Then, he held Leonardo in one arm and began to hit the transparent barrier hard with the other hand. He checked the density and hardness by hitting it with his fists and palms, and even bumping his shoulder against it if necessary.
As the shaking gradually intensified due to the impact, Leonardo, who had been burying his face, struggled in Hugo’s arms. He bumped his forehead against his solid shoulder and barely managed to lift his head and blink his unfocused eyes.
As he took a wheezing breath and placed his hand on Hugo’s shoulder to focus, Leonardo faced the dark waves that were rushing behind Hugo.
The sight of the dark smoke quickly tightening his breath not far away caused him to cough roughly, as if trying to expel the dust accumulated in his respiratory system.
“Cough, cough—.”
Hugo, who had been examining the barrier, paused at the sound and looked back at Leonardo.
“Leo, are you okay?”
At the voice full of worry, Leonardo barely managed to answer even in his hazy mind.
“Cough, uh… I’m okay, I’m okay. But behind you…, …!”
He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and continued to cough falteringly, but suddenly his shoulders heaved greatly and he stopped talking in the middle. It was because a stabbing pain, as if stabbed with a spear, had pierced his heart.
Leonardo, who suddenly widened his eyes and inhaled, grabbed his chest with a face that had turned red in an instant. As blood vessels suddenly appeared on his clear forehead and around his eyes again, Hugo, sensing something ominous, hardened his expression.
“Leo, what’s wrong, what’s wrong? Does it hurt there again?”
Hugo had seen Leonardo clutching his heart during battle before, so he grabbed his arm with a stiff face and asked. However, Leonardo, who seemed unable to even answer, heaved his chest again and complained of difficulty breathing.
‘Damn it, why does it keep happening here…’
Until just now, even if there was pain, it wasn’t unbearable as long as he quietly held his breath. But suddenly, his heart and lungs felt squeezed, making it difficult to breathe properly, and fear suddenly rushed in, causing hyperventilation symptoms to appear as well.
The trembling golden eyes distorted and fluctuated erratically, and the blood vessels turned red before revealing the whites of his eyes again. In addition, the chilling, hoarse voice that sounded like he was about to pass out reproduced the same nightmarish memory as before.
Hugo, watching his opponent, looked even paler than the person in question. He immediately grabbed Leonardo’s chin and forced it back.
“Leo, Leo! Take a deep breath slowly, it’s okay.”
“Hic—, sob.”
Hugo, holding his head in place and securing his airway, tried to tear off Leonardo’s clothes buttons to make it easier for him to breathe.
“Just focus on stabilizing your breathing as much as possible….”
But as soon as he saw Leonardo’s collarbone exposed between the opened collars, Hugo stopped moving as if he had frozen.
‘…What is this?’
Even considering the bruises, Leonardo’s entire neck was an excessively reddish light. Red spots, which looked like a skin disease, were gradually spreading as if they would cover his entire body.
Kugugung—
To make matters worse, a heavy roar announcing the explosion of ejecta erupted not far away. Volcanic ash containing heavy metals rushed over the lake like a whipped horse.
But Hugo had no time to pay attention to it. The dark blood clots collected inside Leonardo’s skin emitted a strange light and increased in size.
Meanwhile, Leonardo was panting as if he was being strangled, and kept trying to get out of his arms, perhaps because of the fear of going berserk. He emitted cold air to suppress the boiling energy, but Hugo was careful even about that, fearing that the steam rising from their gaps would interfere with his breathing.
The situation was rapidly escalating, and golden light was emanating from Leonardo’s body.
And at the same time, the flash bombs fired by the commanders outside the barrier exploded.