By Zephyria At that moment, something rustled in the far corner, dragging across the dirt floor. Most people didn’t seem to hear it because it was drowned out by the strong wind, but the two who had sharpened their senses definitely heard it. It was then that they remembered the Dermokas that had been lying around haphazardly.
Leonardo and Squad Leader 8 turned their heads with tense faces. No sooner had they shifted their gaze than they saw the unconscious creature wriggling and crawling on the floor.
The Sleep Pellet that had put the creature to sleep was so potent that it would have knocked it out for almost half a day, but it seemed that the strong wind carrying the core’s Ultrasound had shaken the creature’s consciousness earlier than expected.
If the Dermokas regained consciousness and called its comrades before the subjugation team could pinpoint the exact location of the core, there was a risk that the entire operation would fail. Moreover, it was the largest and most ferocious of the three captured, so it would be quite troublesome if it started rampaging in a place like this.
Before Leonardo could finish his thoughts, Squad Leader 8 immediately reached out towards the staggering Dermokas. The five spines created from her hand became longer and sharper, gathering and compressing the surrounding air as if they were about to be fired.
Seeing him, Leonardo widened his eyes and immediately grabbed her arm and pulled it down.
Kwaang!
Kaaaak!
Her attack, which was fired in the blink of an eye, grazed the Dermokas’ feet. The creature, which had been biting through the sealing stone with its teeth, flinched back and roared savagely.
The sharp cry served to alert the other members of the team to the emergency, but Squad Leader 8 glared at Leonardo, who had caused the attack to miss.
“What are you doing?”
“The creature is also one of the elements of the operation, so you have to knock it out, not kill it—.”
Leonardo couldn’t finish his sentence. It was because the creature began to swell and tremble.
As the lump on its back twitched as if trying to shrink, Leonardo immediately drew the longsword from Squad Leader 8’s waist. If he used magic, it could end up dying, so he was going to knock it unconscious by hitting the back of its head with the flat of the sword.
As if the sharp sound of the sword being drawn was a signal, the Dermokas, instinctively feeling the threat, twisted its muscles as if awakening its body and stood on all fours.
The creature, clutching the Boulder with its claws, suddenly climbed up the wall and rolled its feet to jump into the area where the members were concentrated. It seemed to know that it would not be easy to swing a sword if the target was entangled among allies.
“Everyone, get out of the way!”
Starting with someone’s urgent cry, the inside became noisy. Hugo, who was listening to the briefing from a distance, also turned his head at the cry and savage roar that pierced through the sound of the wind. The complexion of the commander, who had turned around with a puzzled expression following him, turned pale rapidly.
“Why is that….”
In their field of vision, they saw the Dermokas rampaging in all directions and Leonardo following behind it. The members scattered to the side to avoid the creature and quickly drew their swords, but some of them seemed to have frozen in the sudden situation and stood still.
Hugo, realizing the seriousness of the situation, immediately took about three steps forward and stretched out his arm towards the front. His palm was aimed at the Dermokas. He was going to kill the creature.
The Council’s Sleep Pellet was very powerful, but once it was used to subdue the creature, it became resistant to anesthesia for a certain period of time, so it was difficult to calm it down immediately even if the drug was re-administered. Therefore, the only way to stop the creature from swelling its skin and calling its comrades was to kill it instantly.
From the tip of his outstretched hand, a fierce chill was instantly heightened, and powerful energy gathered to create a transparent sphere. Just as the aggregate of Magic Power, which seemed calm yet sharp, was about to be fired at the creature.
Suddenly, Hugo’s vision blurred.
‘This is….’
Hugo, who had hesitated at the sudden dizziness, quickly lowered his arm.
“Supreme Commander?”
The commander next to him was startled and grabbed his shoulder and arm as if to support him as Hugo bowed his head and touched his eyes and temples.
Hugo immediately waved his hand as if to say he was okay, but his complexion, as he closed and opened his eyes, didn’t look good.
In fact, he had been feeling uneasy because things had been occasionally blurry since a while ago. However, it was obvious that if the chief officer left the scene for any reason during the operation, it would increase the confusion for those who remained.
For that reason, Hugo, who couldn’t bring himself to show that he was dizzy, quickly raised his head and composed his expression before the commander could even ask if he was okay.
In the meantime, the Dermokas, which had turned its direction, was rushing towards a member who was standing still. The others couldn’t easily attack because the element to be used in the operation was rampaging, and they were at a loss.
Hugo, who had focused his eyes by blinking his eyelids, immediately calmed his breathing and watched the creature’s movements.
His cold eyes aimed for a single timing.
Meanwhile, Leonardo, who had narrowed the gap with the Dermokas, bit his teeth as if annoyed as he saw the member standing blankly not far away.
‘What is he doing over there?’
“Hey! What are you doing without dodging!”
Some of the members who had scattered around discovered a colleague who had not been able to avoid it and shouted urgently. Some turned back to save their colleagues.
However, since the distance between the Dermokas and the member was less than 10m, Leonardo had no choice but to kill the creature and gripped the sword in his hand. Soon, he put strength in his legs and kicked off the ground to gain speed and rushed forward.
Just before the tip of the sword he was holding was about to be inserted into the wrinkled lump on the creature’s back. The member, who had been standing still, slightly changed his posture as if he was taking a run-up.
Leonardo, who had captured the momentary movement, suddenly stopped in mid-air.
Kugugung!
Suddenly, the floor shook violently, and a chill that could not offset the hot air and overwhelmed it gushed out from the ground.
The floor between the member and the Dermokas cracked, and a thick Ice Pillar, about three spans thick, soared upwards as if to protect the member.
Leonardo, who had reflexively turned his body, barely managed to stop, but the Dermokas, which had been rushing forward with its mouth wide open, could not avoid it and collided head-on with the pillar.
It was a moment when the member’s foot, which had crossed the air, kicked the creature and the pillar as they were.
Kwaang!
The heavy body of the Dermokas instantly flew to the wall and collided, echoing inside the cave.
Dust rose with the impact sound and swirled in the wind. The creature made an uncharacteristic sound, then its body slumped as soon as it fell to the floor. It seemed to have fainted from the strong physical impact.
“……?”
Leonardo, who had witnessed the scene right in front of him, staggered for a moment and stood on the ground, holding his sword high. Even he, who had fast dynamic visual acuity, found it difficult to immediately accept the situation that had suddenly unfolded.
‘What was that just now?’
He lowered his arm slightly, looked alternately at the Dermokas that had fallen far away with wide eyes and the Ice Pillar fragments under his feet. Then, he raised his head and stared straight ahead, and the face of the member, who looked dazed, was reflected in the Ice Pillar, exactly half of which had been blown away.
Leonardo and the member silently looked into each other’s eyes for about 3 seconds of silence.
It was the member’s colleague who had belatedly arrived who broke the silence first.
“Hey! Are you crazy?”
The colleague, who had come in a panic, looked up and down at the member’s condition. Then, judging that he was outwardly fine, he immediately grabbed his shoulder and shook him repeatedly, shouting.
“You should have dodged, what if you had been eaten and kicked that with your foot?”
The member, who had been standing blankly at the worry-filled nagging, stared blankly at his colleague’s face. Then, as if he had suddenly come to his senses, he suddenly looked down at his leg.
The member, who had been blinking for a while, gradually frowned. Soon after, a groan leaked from him as he bent over.
“Ah, aaaaah!”
The member slumped to the floor, clutching his leg and trembling. His face quickly turned red and he was sweating profusely, looking quite painful.
The other colleagues, who had hesitated because of the soaring ice, heard his painful groans and immediately gathered nearby. On the other hand, Leonardo looked down at the member who had fallen to the floor and stepped back two steps to avoid the crowd.
In the meantime, he kept feeling that something was wrong.
“Why, why is that? Does it hurt here?”
“It hurts, it hurts!”
The colleague who had arrived first touched the member’s leg with a flustered face. Then, as if he had pressed the injured area, the member’s voice, filled with pain, grew louder.
Another colleague nearby, who couldn’t stand it, tried to roll up his combat uniform pants to check his leg condition. Then, a mixture of surprise and worry poured out from the surroundings.
Ankle and shin that were bruised so badly that they were almost red were revealed from under the hem of his pants. It even looked quite serious because it was slightly swollen.
As a matter of urgency, those who were capable of recovery came to examine his leg, but the people who were good at treatment were excluded from this deployment, so everyone was very embarrassed.
At that time, when they were at a loss because they couldn’t do anything, a low voice was heard cutting through the chaotic crowd.
“Step back.”