By Zephyria Leonardo, who was hurrying down the gentle slope, headed towards the cliff where almost no grass grew. After scanning the complex shape of the human world spread out under the hazy clouds, he took out a portable telescope and Coordinate System to check the target point.
‘South latitude 32 degrees 55 minutes.’
The Boulder floating around was a bit threatening, but it seemed like it wouldn’t be too much of a hindrance because they were sparsely scattered. He adjusted the scope and checked the approximate terrain, then put the telescope back in and took a step forward. It was the moment when he was finally loosening his body by spinning his shoulders and arms.
“Captain―!”
A desperate call was heard from afar. Leonardo clicked his tongue and let out a small sigh.
‘Did I dawdle too much?’
When he turned his head, Nero’s figure, who had come right in front of him, was visible, making the distance he had estimated by sound seem insignificant. He grabbed his forearm tightly and questioned him.
“Captain, were you trying to go without me?”
The crushing grip that made him feel pain for a moment was terrifying. Nero, who was unusually out of breath as if he had run in a hurry, had a murderous look in his eyes, unlike yesterday. His face was full of resentment and betrayal.
“Uh, well….”
“Ugh, seriously! Are you going to keep doing this? When did I ever say I wouldn’t let you go? You can at least say goodbye!”
“No, it’s just that you were sleeping so soundly….”
“Then you should have woken me up! The person who used to throw cold water on me during missions―.”
Nero realized that it was an excuse, so he gritted his teeth and lowered his voice. In the meantime, he had diligently picked up and put on the clothes he had left at the head of the bed earlier. Instead of adding excuses such as he had already woken him up, Leonardo grabbed Nero’s hand, who was angry, and pulled him towards him.
“I thought I wouldn’t want to leave you if I saw your face, so I was going to go while you were sleeping.”
He uttered cheesy words and constantly fiddled with Nero’s palm. He didn’t forget to raise his lowered eyelashes with a pitiful look. It was an action with a clear intention to escape the situation, but there was nothing that worked better for Nero than that.
“…Damn it―.”
As expected, Nero was speechless. He roughly swept back his sticking-out hair as if he was annoyed by his own appearance.
It’s that expression again. He knew that the captain was deliberately pretending to be pitiful, but Nero’s heart melted at the pleasant words and the touch of his hand pressing down on his palm. He couldn’t get angry anymore even while glaring at the other person with resentful eyes.
The best actor in the world was whispering pleasant words, who could shake off the warm hand that was playing with him?
Leonardo, noticing Nero’s softened momentum, smiled slightly and patted his back.
“I’m sorry, it was my fault.”
“…….”
“But we’re going to see each other again soon anyway. Didn’t you see the note I left?”
“How can you just leave a note without any explanation? Anyway, you’re the only one who’s busy. I’m the one who came all the way here during a really busy time.”
“…I know. I’m sorry―.”
He thought to himself, ‘What a whiner,’ but Leonardo hugged Nero’s shoulders and apologized repeatedly. He then stroked his tousled red hair and sharp eyes once each.
“Go to the station on the east side of Solia within two hours. Do you remember my face from yesterday? Disguise yourself with that and get out to Celestia. The Gondola captain will find it strange if you don’t come.”
“Are you really sorry?”
“Of course I’m sorry. Should I even bow my head?”
“…It’s okay.”
“Hey, I even put this much money in my pocket for you….”
Nero, who ignored Leonardo waving his arms exaggeratedly, looked at the cliff with a sullen expression. Seeing him standing in front of it, he could roughly guess what he was thinking. Nero took out a thick quilted jacket from the Artifact and naturally put it on Leonardo’s shoulders.
“Are you listening to me?”
“I know. Even though it’s warm around the equator, the wind is cold in the sky. Don’t catch a cold, wear something thick. You get cold easily.”
Leonardo looked at Nero, who was answering vaguely as if he had heard it or ignored it, with distrustful eyes. However, Nero soon fiddled with the jacket he had put on him, put his arms in the armholes, and put on his gliding suit. Only after he zipped it up tightly to the end of his chin did Nero’s expression, which had been furrowing his brow, ease up a bit.
He took a step back and asked.
“What is the most precious thing to Captain right now?”
Leonardo raised his eyebrows at the sudden question. After rolling his eyes for a moment, he gave an answer without hesitation, an answer that had never changed since long ago.
“‘Us’.”
At that moment, the corners of Nero’s lips twitched against his will. He couldn’t help but smile that was spreading on its own.
However, Nero quickly composed himself and cleared his throat to change the atmosphere.
“Ahem, wrong.”
This time, he tidied up the captain’s hair and clothes with his own hands and answered.
“The most precious thing Captain should cherish right now is himself.”
From the high sky, which may be several thousand feet high, Nero slowly folded the sleeves of the quilted jacket. The hand that had been hidden underneath was revealed. Nero fiddled with Leonardo’s empty left middle finger.
He rummaged through his pocket and took out the Dark Silver mark again and put his ring on it.
“Keep that in mind. Don’t bother taking care of other people, take care of yourself first. And gain some weight.”
Leonardo, who had also slightly furrowed his brow, stared intently at the thick silver ring. Soon after, he slowly lifted his eyelids.
“…Why the ring again?”
“I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like we always meet somehow when you have this. Keep it until we meet next time. I won’t let you off if there’s even one scratch on it.”
Nero threatened and folded Leonardo’s fingers neatly to make a fist. It used to fit perfectly on his middle finger, but now the ring felt like it would fall off because his fingers had become thinner. Leonardo quietly looked down at the fist that felt heavy and scoffed at the absurd warning.
On the one hand, he thought it was cute that Nero was expressing his concern about him getting caught up in dangerous things in this way. He wondered if he should rub his cheek against him, but he thought the person in question would dislike it.
“Hey, what do you mean you won’t let your hyung off?”
“I’m just saying, do you have to nitpick everything like that? Like an old man? I even saved you.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Leonardo smiled and patted Nero’s back.
“Okay. I’ll keep it well as an old man, you punk.”
“Take care of yourself too. Don’t faint while falling. Is your Magic Power okay now?”
“I’m okay, I’m okay. My ears are going to bleed.”
I was the one who used to nag every time, but the positions have been reversed in the past few years. Leonardo frowned but smiled as if he didn’t feel bad. He then took his hand off Nero’s waist and turned his body towards the cliff.
“Say hi to the kids for me. They must be worried a lot.”
“If you know that, show your face more often. Can I bring one or two more people here?”
Nero said, taking out the note and bills from his pocket and shaking them. Leonardo turned his head halfway and answered.
“If it’s okay depending on the situation… Ah, ask Taylor. She’s good at judging those things.”
He then lowered his posture and prepared to jump, tamping down the ground. There is no more sure way to erase his traces in Celestia than this.
Leonardo, who had finished all the preparations, briefly raised his head and gazed at the sky where the light was shining down. He intentionally constricted his pupils by exposing his eyes to parallel rays. It was a method often used when shooting, and it made the field of vision clear and reduced glare, making it easier to aim at the target accurately.
Leonardo blinked a few times and then recited to the person behind him who didn’t answer.
“Nero, thank you.”
He deliberately didn’t look back. Because he felt like he really wouldn’t want to leave if he saw his face.
Soon, he stepped on the grass roots that had barely grown on the edge of the cliff and ran towards the sky. He picked up speed so much that it was hard to handle, lest his mind change.
It didn’t take long for his body, which had kicked off the ground, to plunge headfirst. Nero quickly moved his steps to the edge of the cliff, following Leonardo, who had left the ground in an instant. He overlapped and stepped on his last footprints, unable to take his eyes off the captain’s receding figure.
He had done high-altitude descent training quite often, but he didn’t know why it always made him anxious. He counted numbers in his mind, and when Leonardo passed the last Boulder that was visible to the naked eye, Nero finally let out a sigh.
His golden hair, which had attracted attention even in the bright daytime, became a small dot and soon disappeared from view. He’s a bad person who doesn’t even show his face until the end. But because he knew what kind of heart he had left with, Nero tried to maintain a calm expression.
He then clenched his right hand into a fist and firmly brought it to his left chest.
“Good luck, Captain.”
The wind with a fresh light passed by Nero and headed south leisurely.
Leonardo, who had free-fallen from an altitude of 5,000 feet, emitted heat from his back and feet to increase propulsion. Within the magnetic field orbit of Celestia, he had to use Magic Power to descend downwards as if he was going against gravity. It wasn’t like he was floating around, but he also didn’t fall in a straight line like common sense.
But this process is not easy. It’s even difficult to move his arms and legs as if he’s struggling in a rapid current. He even has to avoid the Boulder floating through the resistance of the magnetic field. Like this, going against the flow of the world requires more courage and strength than you think.
The magnetic field has a cut-off influence as if it is divided into layers after passing a certain section, and from this point on, it becomes a true falling state, and sometimes people die from being careless. Leonardo, who was descending without a break while searching for that subtle boundary line, was finally able to entrust his body to gravity when he came down to a point 45 degrees diagonally from Solia, 500m away.
Gravity was nothing compared to a mere human using Magic Power to cross the sky. The earth’s pull is so threatening that he can’t even open his eyes properly, and even the slightest gap allows the wind to penetrate and flutter his entire body.
But Leonardo liked this moment in the air without using any Magic Power. Sometimes the thrill is so exhilarating that it sends shivers down his spine.
Perhaps it was because of these moments of deviation that I, who had lost everything three years ago, was able to come to my senses.
When you glide from a high place with all your sins, it feels like the passing air cleanses your polluted body and mind. Even when I wanted to bury my head in the buildings and rivers that were gradually becoming clearer, I held on to my will to live thanks to this moment that was closest to the boundary of death. Ironically.
When the altitude dropped below 300m, Leonardo turned towards the field he had seen in advance. He fell at a speed that was incomparable to what he had been doing until now, and used Teleport right before touching the ground to perfectly hide even the landing traces.
After quickly crossing the wasteland and swamps created as the Floating Island rose, he passed through the barrier-like Gate twice with a fake ID. If you enter the End Gate where there is virtually no autonomous power, a lawless zone unfolds.
It is one of the top five slums and entertainment districts in Laina Rogia, called Dooms Ark on the outside and Libertas on the inside.
The Ark of Destruction and Freedom. It seems like they can never coexist, but surprisingly, the two coexist here. It is a different area from Barmot, which is attached to the vicinity of Fidele Territory. This means that it is on a different level from a den of thugs who simply rolled around on the streets.
If Barmot formed a large slum solely based on numbers, Libertas is a place where the most deeply rooted guys gather.
Free the oppressed!
As soon as he passed through the End Gate, red spray paint scribbled on the wet concrete greeted the traveler. That unrestrained handwriting and proud slogan allow us to get a glimpse of their spirit.
Leonardo stopped walking for a moment at the sight he hadn’t seen in a long time. He took off the hood he was wearing and looked up at the sky, which was like his future, where the acrid smoke formed smog.
Even though it’s still a bright day, there’s a strange sense of gloom. This is probably because there isn’t a single spot where light enters the illegal extensions lined up on both sides like a canyon. The old, drab low-rise buildings all had iron bars on them. I don’t know what they’re meant to protect against.
There are no signs of life, but people live there. They are people for whom the night is more beautiful than the day.
Occasionally, people who visit the pleasure district during the day feel bizarre when they see the seemingly empty city and run away. I just saw two outsiders who were hesitating at the entrance of Libertas heading out.
Leonardo hurried along more diligently than usual, having wasted some time waiting to avoid encountering them.
He stepped on the damp, sticky ground clinging to the soles of his shoes and seeped leisurely into the middle of the city. Along the way, a small, white fluttering caught his eye in his gray vision.
Leonardo, rolling his eyes, stretched out his palm and asked,
“Did you come to meet me?”
The white Butterfly, which had been wandering around, naturally landed on his fingertip. It fluttered its wings a few times as if pleased, then flew up again. It led the way, drawing an 8 in the air as if to guide him.
“Let’s go.”
Following the Butterfly into the alley, Leonardo also increased his pace. He wore a smile on his lips, but the solemnity in his Gold Eyes was quite incongruous.