By Zephyria Thrown about in the rough currents, Leonardo clung to the Master of Water with only his survival instincts.
At the heads of the two people, united as one, a bird of prey that had been washed ashore with them fluttered, shaking off the water droplets from its wings.
“Cough, cough—”
Suddenly, a large amount of air rushed into his lungs all at once, and Leonardo coughed incessantly as he lay sprawled on the ground. Each time, his ribcage and abdomen twitched as if in pain, and the water he had mistakenly swallowed while struggling underwater flowed up his esophagus and into his mouth.
As a result, Leonardo curled up and trembled, pushing away the navy blue chest nearby with his hand. Only after securing a small space did he vomit up clear liquid in gulps. Most of it was lake water, but occasionally it was mixed with blood that had leaked from damaged organs.
In the meantime, the opponent’s cool Magic Power, which he had been forced to swallow until the fever subsided, trickled through his teeth.
His lips, which had been violated for quite some time, were slightly swollen with the traces of someone else still lingering. The corners of his lips, which occasionally twitched from the stinging sensation, intermittently fluttered as if unable to escape the strange sensation.
As he panted with saliva dripping from his mouth, his pale complexion gradually regained its redness. Moreover, because he had been opening his eyes in the salty water, his thinly revealed golden eyes were bloodshot.
“S, Supreme Commander—!”
“We found the missing person!”
When the golden-haired man appeared intertwined with the Supreme Commander’s silhouette, the members who had been wandering around nearby discovered them and ran over in surprise.
Their commotion made Leonardo’s head, which had just regained hearing, buzz. Annoyed by it, Leonardo frowned and tried to strain his neck to look around, but his thoroughly soaked body felt incredibly heavy even to just nod his head.
Perhaps sensing that he looked quite exhausted, the blue hawk drying its wings approached Leonardo with quick steps. It gently pecked at his wet golden hair without hurting him, and then lightly rubbed its beak against Leonardo’s head as if to encourage him. Then, when its owner next to him moved slowly, it seemed to think it had done its part and returned to its intangible Magic Power, instantly absorbed into Hugo.
“Supreme Commander! Are you alright?”
As the running and murmuring grew closer, Hugo’s loosely furrowed brow gradually narrowed. He had also been swept away by the wave that the Divine Beast had recklessly created a moment ago, so his head was dizzy and his nerves were on edge.
Hugo steadied his wet face with his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, quickly regaining his senses. Afterwards, the first thing his drowsy blue eyes checked was the violent golden presence in his arms.
His complexion didn’t look too good, but the red spots that had covered his white face had completely disappeared. Moreover, he seemed to be breathing properly, so the seizure he had feared seemed to have stabilized, and thankfully he seemed unharmed.
Hugo, gazing at the other’s crumpled forehead, let out a low sigh and pulled the golden head towards him. After putting him through all sorts of hardships, it seemed he had still managed to bring him out. With his nose and mouth buried in the other’s wet hair, Hugo closed his eyes for a moment and thanked the heavens.
It was a bit unfair to be beaten up in the water, but he was still proud and grateful that Leonardo had endured the pain so well.
However, the increasingly clear shouts of the members soon pierced Hugo’s deafened ears. Their voices, sounding quite urgent, made him realize that the situation was not over yet.
“Supreme Commander, you must get away!
“The barrier is collapsing!”
At the word ‘barrier,’ Hugo’s half-closed eyes snapped open. At the same time, the troubled members grabbed the entangled two and helped them up. Thanks to this, Hugo, who had managed to raise his upper body halfway, looked towards the lake where he and Leonardo had been swept away.
There, he could witness the dazzling scattering of light, with the huge barrier that stretched to the sky glowing and fluctuating as if it would break at any moment. The way it crackled with savage cracks was reminiscent of the precarious situation just before the Sealing Magic Circle inside Seal 118 was about to break.
Moreover, over 30% of the barrier within a 100m radius had already lost its function and was riddled with holes. The members who had confirmed that the two had escaped hurriedly activated the Auxiliary Barrier Stone, but the rate at which lake water was gushing out like a waterfall was much faster than the rate at which a new barrier was being created.
Liner Molton and other high-ranking commanders were guarding the front, barely preventing the collapse, but they staggered each time water gushed out from the cracks, and it seemed they wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
Leonardo, who had also witnessed the scene, instinctively grabbed Hugo’s collar tightly. Then, he tapped the thick arm that was holding him and urgently shouted as if urging him to hurry.
“Cough, Hugo, get up!”
As if that was the signal, Hugo, who had been assessing the situation, stood up in an instant. Then, he helped Leonardo to his feet and ordered the members around him in a solemn voice.
“Everyone, move to higher ground where the water can’t reach. Every single one of you.”
“Yes?”
“Spread out and inform the commanders, quickly!”
The Supreme Commander suddenly raised his voice without explaining the reason, so the bewildered members hesitated for a moment. However, they soon answered loudly and quickly scattered around, grabbing everyone they passed and relaying the Supreme Commander’s orders.
Meanwhile, Rainer, who had been gritting his teeth and enduring in front of the barrier with one arm, felt that he had reached his limit even while squeezing out his Magic Power to the fullest. He felt a bitter pang at the thought that he could have endured longer if he had two arms, but the situation was too urgent to calmly dwell on past events.
He looked back at Bruno, who was deploying a large Aura next to him and enduring. Then, Bruno, sensing his gaze, looked back at Rainer at almost the same time.
The two exchanged glances and nodded lightly. Soon, they shouted loudly at the same time so that all the commanders who were enduring nearby could hear.
“Get away from the barrier—!”
Starting with the two’s shouts, numerous streams of water burst out from the cracks in the barrier. The vast amount of water, pushing over with tremendous pressure, fiercely slammed the hastily scattering commanders to the ground.
The members who were nearby also scattered in panic, and the members who were operating the Auxiliary Barrier Stone also leaped into the air, driven by their survival instincts.
As most of the personnel fled from his front, Leonardo slipped out of Hugo’s arms and concentrated Magic Power in both hands. The crimson flames that were rotating at high speed were soon slammed into the thoroughly wet ground.
Then, the overflowing water met the flames and evaporated, spreading fierce steam like a gas explosion. At the same time, the muddy ground dried up for a brief moment, and Hugo, not missing that fleeting moment, created a huge Magic Circle in front of the barrier.
At that moment, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and a huge ice wall soared along the barrier line. The pouring water froze in the blink of an eye, and icicles like the claws of a demon hung from the ice wall like a gruesome sculpture.
The writhing streams of water blocked the cracks in the broken barrier, completely sealing it off. The lake, frozen in the shape it was about to overflow, stood still with a vividness that seemed to swallow the opponent it faced. Occasionally, fragments of ice that fell to the ground and turned to dust made one realize that time alone had not stopped.
“……”
In the place where the two’s Magic Power had swept through, a jagged barrier like melted glass stood tall, flaunting its presence.
A chilly wind quietly brushed past, and a moment of silence flowed through the noisy scene.
Hugo’s eyes, looking up at the barrier, busily scanned the surroundings. He hadn’t been able to freeze the entire lake due to a lack of Magic Power, but he seemed to have succeeded in temporarily blocking the broken part of the barrier with ice walls and ice.
Bruno, staring up at the frozen barrier with a dumbfounded expression, looked around to find the one person who could use that level of ability. Then, he discovered the Legion Commander in the middle of the ice field and covered his head in indescribable relief. He closed his eyes tightly with a deep sigh and then opened them, calling out to his superior as he ran over.
“Supreme Commander!”
Following Bruno’s voice, the commanders and members who had heard him turned their heads one by one. They also discovered the highest commander who had safely returned and even prevented the collapse of the barrier, and they murmured and hurried over.
At the same time, Leonardo was standing a little distance away, blankly staring up at the barrier. Nero’s eyes, who had been desperately searching for his Captain, caught sight of him at that moment.
“…Oh!”
Nero, who had almost unconsciously shone his eyes red and jumped out towards him, barely calmed his excitement and surveyed his surroundings first. Afterwards, after confirming that everyone’s attention was focused on one side, he quietly approached Leonardo alone.
“Cap, no, Blaine!”
He almost blurted out ‘Captain,’ but he made an effort to change to an unfamiliar title, thinking that he shouldn’t make a mistake. Even so, he quickly approached Leonardo, who was standing blankly, and grabbed his arm.
Leonardo’s gaze, which had been directed upwards, turned to Nero with a somewhat surprised look. His face was quite flushed and his pupils were contracted, and Nero realized that he was still in a state of tension due to the chaotic situation.
“It’s me. Are you okay?”
Nero carefully spoke to him, who seemed to be in a strange state. However, Leonardo, despite clearly recognizing him, did not respond for a while, nor did he show any particular change in expression.
Instead of responding to Nero’s question, he glanced once at Hugo, who was in the center of the crowd. There were navy blue combat uniforms swarming around him like bees, and the Legion Commander was such a noticeable person in many ways that he stood out even among them.
Leonardo fixed his gaze on him and lightly clenched and unclenched his dry palms. After staring in that direction for about 5 seconds, he shifted his gaze back to Nero.
“…You—”
The first thing Leonardo wanted to say to Nero was a scolding for why he was still here.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say the rest of the words. The voice that had been circling in his throat wouldn’t come out.
In the meantime, Nero’s figure kept shaking for some reason, even though he seemed to be standing perfectly fine on two feet. Along with the increasingly blurred vision, darkness covered everything in an instant the moment his strength gave out.