By Zephyria The scream that cut through the air and echoed in all directions also pierced Hugo and Leonardo’s ears.
Leonardo already knew this sound well.
A sound that he had heard on many battlefields and could never forget.
It was the painful last words of a human being, driven to the edge of a cliff and about to die.
His eyes widened, and he instinctively grabbed the railing and tried to jump over it as if a spring had sprung out. But he was pulled back two steps without being able to move forward because a strong arm grabbed him.
“Ah, why!?”
Turning his head with an impatient tone, he saw broad shoulders and chest blocking the front. Hugo grabbed Leonardo’s arms tightly and said in a urgent but serious voice.
“Leonardo, from now on, you go back the way we came and find Russell Squad Leader. She’s probably looking for us too, so you’ll be able to meet her soon.”
“What?”
“Go and explain the situation to her, gather the commanders, and come together.”
Hugo, who had unilaterally conveyed the message, patted Leonardo’s back once as if telling him to go quickly. Then, he immediately turned his body and kicked the railing in front of him hard.
The railing made of rock was shattered by the military boot, and it was the moment when he was about to jump in without delay, stepping on the scattered debris.
“Wa-wait a minute!”
This time, Leonardo grabbed Hugo. However, the method was somewhat violent.
Hugo instinctively inhaled and paused when a soft yet rough warmth suddenly hugged his waist from behind. As a result, he was pulled back two or three steps and barely managed to stand his ground, and the two hands that had reached out clasped firmly over his abdomen as if not letting go.
Eventually, a warm sensation reached his back, causing Hugo’s eyelids to twitch momentarily. He was momentarily dazed by the unfamiliar situation, but when he glanced back, he saw a golden figure clinging tightly to him, eyebrows furrowed with concern as he looked up at him.
“Then what about you?”
That single question held so much. Among them, the first thing Hugo saw in his furrowed brow was concern for him, so he could only move his lips slightly without saying a word.
But the urgent situation urged reason, and without time to understand his heart, Hugo finally covered Leonardo’s hand with his own. No sooner had the easily resolved determination fallen to the ground than Hugo turned and lightly brushed Leonardo’s cheek with his fingers.
“I have to go save my subordinate.”
“…….”
“I’m much stronger than you think, so there’s no need to worry so much. So I ask you, Leonardo.”
Leonardo only responded with distrustful eyes and said nothing. But Hugo, who had been looking into his eyes for a few seconds, turned around without hesitation.
If Agrizendro hadn’t smiled at him the moment he leaped into the air, he might have jumped in after him.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Watching his back as he drifted away, leaving him behind, Leonardo wore a complicated expression. He couldn’t even hide his dizziness until just now. The sight of him heading into the abyss with the single-minded determination to save his subordinate was truly reckless. But at the same time, in a way, it was the most Hugo-like thing to do.
In the end, Leonardo, who had been hesitating, couldn’t follow him and turned his body in the opposite direction. As if to shake the determination he had just made, pieces of rock suddenly fell from above his head.
He paused and looked up, and the surroundings looked hazy as small grains and sand dust scattered, as if fog had set in. Soon after, the ground he was standing on and the outer walls shook violently, and bizarre cries began to echo from all directions like ominous omens.
It was definitely an Illaptor’s, but it was definitely the sound of several of them tangled together, not just one.
Leonardo tensed his nerves and looked around. Their cries, like scraping metal, collided with the dome-shaped walls, creating a chain reaction of reverberations. The problem was that he couldn’t tell where they were coming from because of the echoes.
Meanwhile, the two 12th Battalion Commanders above quickly descended after the Legion Commander. Leonardo, who witnessed them passing by in an instant, bit his lip again as he watched their backs receding into the distance.
‘Damn it, this really leaves only me.’
With no radio to use, if those two went down there, he would be the only one who could inform the lost members of the situation.
Leonardo, looking annoyed, ruffled his hair and eventually jumped back into the narrow cave to fulfill his role. The vibrations spreading from that vast space were unusual, so he needed to hurry.
Fortunately, he had scratched the wall on the way in, so he didn’t have to worry about getting lost. The voice ringing in his head had stopped, and his troublesome headache had also improved relatively.
But even though his feet were definitely moving forward, his consciousness was still directed towards the receding back. He was so out of it, as if he had left his mind there, that he occasionally bumped his shoulder against a Boulder that popped out.
After making a few turns following the remaining marks, Leonardo felt the strength in his legs gradually weakening. When he realized that his speed seemed to be slowing down despite his energetic run, he had already stopped without realizing it.
“…….”
He took a deep breath and looked down at his feet, which wouldn’t move.
Inside this 118th Seal, there were restrictions on the use of Magic Power, so running was faster than flying. Moreover, in this place where the air itself was boiling and even breathing was difficult, no matter how good ice was, it was just ice that melted in the fire.
In any case, the situation was only disadvantageous, and he couldn’t immediately decide whether to leave Agrizendro as he was. He didn’t deny his strength, but he couldn’t ignore the anguish within him.
And then, as if to scold his dazed mind, a huge roar and shockwave rushed in from where he had come. When he felt the familiar Magic Power mixed in it, Leonardo didn’t hesitate any longer and placed his hand on the wall.
In an instant, a red Magic Circle spread widely from where he touched, deeply permeating the cave wall as if engraving it. Magic Power and light emanated from the recessed outline, and soon a Divine Beast burning with fire leaped out of the Magic Circle.
This Divine Beast was the one Leonardo had been constantly creating and destroying underground to figure out the extent of Magic Power consumption. It had nine abundant tails made of flames that flickered, and its appearance was like a half-mixed giant cat and fox.
Kkiyung?
This creature, which was much larger than Leonardo’s height, didn’t care about the urgent situation where the ground was shaking and began to rub its head against its master, whom it had met after a long time. However, Leonardo, the master, frowned and pushed away the affection with his hand.
“Wait, wait. Hey, there’s no time for this now.”
When the Divine Beast tilted its head as if asking why, Leonardo pointed in a direction and ordered firmly.
“Okay, listen to me carefully. Four of you go out this way and find the Illaptors hiding, and five of you tell the Council guys the location and situation over there. If you find Nero, he’ll notice first and move on his own.”
Leonardo took out a silver ring from his inner pocket and put it in the Divine Beast’s mouth, urging it again.
“Find the owner of this ring. Got it?”
At his urgent voice, the Divine Beast cried, “Kkiyung,” and fluttered its two ears that were raised upward as if it understood. Leonardo lightly patted the upper part of the creature’s tail and pointed to the side path next to him, saying.
“Go now. Hurry.”
The Divine Beast, which lightly shook its body and blazed fiercely, immediately created a wind and ran like it was bouncing into the complex cave. The nine flames that quickly disappeared into the darkness soon split into four and five, scattering to the left and right as the light faded.
As soon as the creature disappeared from his sight, Leonardo turned his head with a determined face.
Three 12th Battalion Commanders, no, four of them went, so there wouldn’t be any problems. But from the moment he entered this place, he had an ominous feeling for some reason.
Now that he had sent the Divine Beast, it was better for the caster to refrain from consuming Magic Power as much as possible, but it didn’t seem like the time for that now.
Leonardo licked his lips with his tongue and turned back to where he had come from. A blazing Flame Sword was once again held in his hand that stretched downward.
“Since when have I been such a good listener?”
White steam billowed around him as his body temperature rose. Golden eyes shone faintly through his fluttering hair.
His legs, with muscles expanded due to increased blood flow, leaped towards the King’s Nest at a speed that was incomparable to before.
He hoped that there would be no problems until he arrived.
Perhaps because he saw Rainer jump in first, Hugo didn’t have time to think deeply and move. He knew that he had been pretending to be okay all along, but that wasn’t the case at all.
Following him into the fog as gravity led him, Hugo immediately gathered air and compressed it into a spherical shape. He wrapped Magic Power around it and detonated it at once, scattering the mysterious gas that blocked his path in all directions.
However, because it was so thick, the explosion only accelerated the rate of diffusion and did not have a significant effect on securing visibility. Rather, the huge vibrations and the heat from below caused a reverse wind of ultra-high temperature.
Instinctively deploying a barrier in front, Hugo raised his guard to protect his face. He belatedly put on the gas mask he had hung around his neck, but his lungs, already exposed to the gas, felt as if they were burning hot, as if he had inhaled ash from the flames.
As a result, he slowed down and looked down into the dark abyss beyond his arms, and this time, a chilling scream echoed from all directions.
Kaaaak―
Kieeeek―
As the pale cries filled the space where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, he instinctively felt that it would be dangerous to go down any further. The estimated number was not one or two, but the cries sounded different from usual, which also played a part.
It wasn’t a sound made to threaten the opponent, but a scream as if filled with fear.
Feeling that it was an unusual sign, Hugo stopped in the air as it was. Then, he took off the mask, which had no effect, and shouted loudly into the lurking darkness.
“12th Battalion Commander Molton!”
His cry spread widely as if it would reach all the way down there for a moment. But before long, it was quickly buried in the noisy cries.
Dudududu―
Instead, as if responding to his call, a strange phenomenon immediately rushed in front of him.