BMD 173

Dudududu―

Even though he was floating in the air, he could feel the air in all directions vibrating irregularly. In an instant, Hugo doubted his five senses.

Something of unknown origin was rushing in from below, causing a chain reaction of vibrations. Moreover, there were so many of them that he couldn’t handle.

Hugo’s eyes quickly scanned the fog at the vibrations that fueled his anxiety. At the same time, the cries of the demon beasts, which seemed to burst out rather than just scream, gathered in one place and tightened his heart.

Hugo immediately created a thin, long sword that he didn’t usually use. The environment here was literally like hell, so the speed of ice generation was unusually slow, making it difficult to maintain a Greatsword.

As if to prove it, water melted from the ice at the end of the sword extending from the handle and dripped down. The dull blade, which had not completely frozen, shone for a moment due to the moisture on the surface.

At that moment, an familiar scream was heard right behind him, as if his location had been exposed.

Kyaaaak―!

Hugo, who had been holding the sword, reflexively turned around and quickly struck down the air.

Then, the Illaptor’s neck was pierced straight through by the sword, and the creature that was rushing in stopped right in front of him. As if it was a pity that it couldn’t reach him, the creature convulsed and kept biting, but it could only make a hissing sound because of the ice that had pierced through its panting throat.

Soon after, venom dripped thickly from the end of the teeth embedded in the twitching gums. The bottom of the sword handle that touched the venom sizzled and boiled before breaking off and falling down with the creature.

Hugo’s eyes widened for a moment as he followed the end of it with his gaze.

“Supreme Commander!”

At that time, a voice calling him came from above at a good time.

When he immediately raised his head, 12th Battalion Commander Isabella and 3rd Battalion Commander Meterion were approaching in turn, cutting through the fog from nearby. They had come to find him after hearing the voice calling Rainer, as they had not been able to locate the Legion Commander.

However, without even being happy to see the grateful colleagues who had followed him, Hugo immediately sent them a hand signal to go up and shouted.

“Deploy RAID 2 barrier 100m above!”

The two 12th Battalion Commanders, who were approaching, stopped at his command.

Isabella, who was unfamiliar with the Supreme Commander’s urgent demeanor, intuitively noticed the urgency of the situation and quickly changed direction. As soon as she went up to the thickly laid surface along the path she had cut through, an unusual omen pushed her back, and she unconsciously turned her head.

Isabella’s complexion instantly turned to astonishment as she looked down at the place where she had been just a moment ago.

“What the hell is that….”

She was able to face the reason why the Supreme Commander was shouting so urgently.

Black masses were seething and boiling from below, filled with yellow gas. It looked like one big lump was wriggling, but small pieces of flesh that occasionally fell off soared upward one after another with screams.

As she stared at what the hell that was, it was a swarm of Illaptors that was swallowing the walls and quickly raising the water level, so she couldn’t even estimate how vast it was.

The creatures grabbed the heads of their own kind and climbed up the wall, using each other as stepping stones, and the sight of them biting each other with claws embedded in their skin and eyeballs was as terrible as the hellish chaos.

Meterion, who had come up at a similar time, also looked down following her gaze. Soon after, his expression crumpled miserably, and his eyes were filled with contempt and disgust, as if he were looking at wriggling bugs.

Hugo, who belatedly revealed himself in the middle of it, found the two people stopped in the air and shouted again loudly.

“Move quickly!”

As the Legion Commander’s voice rose, the two people, who had quickly come to their senses, immediately went up.

They ascended vertically at full speed without even having time to properly understand the situation, and as if they had promised, they slowed down and stopped when they reached a certain position. Then, even though it was the first time they were matching up, they skillfully made eye contact and nodded once before widening the gap and moving away to either side.

When the two people standing close to the wall stretched out their arms towards the opponent on the other side, a bright light flashed from the tips of their fingers and a thin Magic Power flowed out like a thread. It soon stretched out in a straight line towards the front and collided in the center, tying it into one line.

The line that was formed in that way expanded up and down, crossing the sky, and soon became a surface that covered the vast space, filling all directions without any gaps. A transparent barrier was created to protect the inner walls from the impact.

Hugo, who raised his head and checked the completed barrier, looked down again. The wave of demon beasts was rushing up at a terrifying speed, blackening the rock walls and the ground beneath his feet.

He still had no idea why the creatures that had not been seen all along were now revealing themselves. But whatever their purpose, he had to prevent them from going outside.

After making his decision, Hugo immediately gathered both hands and took an offensive stance. Then, he hesitated for a moment when he thought of Rainer, who was in there.

He had faith that he wouldn’t die because he knew his abilities, but it was unknown whether he would be safe from his attack, as he had not revealed himself until now.

But the black wave that was rushing in didn’t give him time to think, and Hugo bit his lip tightly and muttered quietly.

“Please hold on.”

Eventually, a cold and fierce wind rotated in his clenched fist, where a lot of strength was applied, and spiral Magic Power gathered at one point. The chilling energy rippling around him met the hot air rising from below, causing invisible sparks to burst and accelerating the speed of the flow, creating a vortex with destructive power.

Hugo, who held the condensed energy in both hands, stretched out his arms towards the wriggling creatures and chanted a spell.

“Excelayon.”

The ultra-high-speed blue ray emitted with a “Kiiing” sound stretched out towards the wave of black demon beasts.

As the powerful energy approached, the creatures that had gathered like a swarm of bees scattered in all directions, but the subsequent attack swallowed the area and caused a violent explosion, making their struggles pale in comparison.

Kkieeek―

Kyaaaak―

A portion of the wall where the ray had passed was devastated, and the Illaptors that had been stepping on their own kind and climbing up fell to the cliff with a thud. Some of them exploded and screamed strangely, and the creatures that had been pierced by ice shards decorated the wall in a limp state.

Even at a glance, the ripple effect was considerable, but the veins on Hugo’s neck and chin stood out slightly as he watched.

If it had been its original power, more than half of them would have been blown away. The Magic Power was suppressed due to the influence of the Sealing Magic Circle, so he couldn’t exert his proper abilities. Moreover, the barrier created by the 12th Battalion Commanders was also affected, and it was not properly blocking the impact caused by the Attack Magic.

Soon after, other creatures that appeared from below trampled on the corpses and continued to crawl up. Thanks to this, the traces of the attack were quickly covered up, and the situation was no different from before.

But without even having time to be disappointed, Hugo drew out Magic Power into both hands again. He could see the creatures sticking closely to the narrow hole located between the pillars and trying to crawl in.

Even though the barrier was blocking it, there was a risk that even the strongest barrier could be pierced if they dug into one point intensively. Hugo immediately changed direction and stretched out his arm towards that place.

A hazy smoke rippled eerily, and the extremely intense magic that had been heightened at his fingertips was about to be fired.

A clear shout echoing from the sky was engraved in his ear.

“Get out of the way―!”

Hugo, who widened his eyes, reflexively raised his head.

It was Leonardo.

Startled by his full-speed charge, Hugo was caught off guard for a moment, but Leonardo, who had quickly closed the distance, grabbed Hugo’s shoulders and pushed him back with all his might.

The force sent Hugo’s body flying, and the Magic Power swirling in his grasp was unintentionally released.

The sound of the wall collapsing momentarily deafened him, but the anxious look on Leonardo’s face in that instant made Hugo unable to tear his gaze away, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

The golden hair scattered in slow motion, as if time had slowed down.

Something surging up from below flashed into view through the parted golden strands.

It was a bizarre and enormous thing, enough to make his pupils dilate in an instant.

KWA-AAANG!

The two of them, sent flying in a tangle, crashed into the railing and pillars almost as if they had been thrown. But the force was too strong, and they smashed through the Boulder and were hurled into a narrow cave. At the same time, the entrance and ceiling collapsed, and dust and smoke swirled chaotically inside and out.

Feeling the strong impact of his entire body colliding, Hugo instinctively pulled the figure that had lunged at him into his arms. He wrapped his arms around Leonardo’s head and back, burying them in his shoulder and chest, and buried his own face in Leonardo’s hair.

When they finally realized they had stopped rolling after tumbling wildly through the narrow space, they were clinging tightly to each other like one body amidst the collapsed debris.

Pshh-shhh-shhh—

Hugo, who had been holding his breath in the thick dust, exhaled and, despite feeling extremely dizzy, didn’t loosen his grip. He craved the other’s scent that intertwined with his fingertips and cheeks, inhaling it deeply.

He struggled to open his eyes and looked into his arms, where a golden head was stirring, lifting its face close enough for their breaths to mingle.

Hugo blinked his blurry eyes, focusing despite the throbbing pain. The first thing that came into sharp focus was the softness against the back of his head.

The figure in his arms had also reached out and was now cradling his head.

“…Leonardo.”

Hugo, his eyes half-open, murmured his name, his gaze sweeping over the finely trembling eyelashes. The husky voice lingered between them for a moment, and then Leonardo, who had been facing him, immediately pressed his upper body closer.

He then covered Hugo’s lips with his hand and whispered softly.

‘Shhh.’

The hushed voice tickled his face. Hugo instinctively held his breath at the strange sensation. Instead of questioning, he quietly gazed into the golden eyes. He could feel the other’s heartbeat clearly from their touching chests.

The transmitted thumping was steady but quite urgent. And the eyes were filled with tension, as if warning him not to say anything.

As they remained silent in response to the serious expression, a sense of unease suddenly struck him.

“……”

All the sounds that had been tormenting his ears had stopped.

The outside was eerily quiet.

Just a moment ago, there had been a cacophony of screams that he had wanted to block out, but now the surroundings were strangely silent. The only sounds that permeated the silence were Leonardo’s breathing tickling his ears and the sound of something being chewed outside.

Crunch— Crunch— Cr-r-runch—

Squish, squish—

Leonardo’s wavering eyes turned towards the outside of the cave. Hugo, instinctively recalling what he had glimpsed, also slowly raised his body, following Leonardo’s gaze.

As they peered out of the cave with slow movements, a dark shadow came into view.

The eyelids that had been covering the blue eyes gradually opened.

‘A monster?’

He thought he had seen many hideous demon beasts, but the only word he could use to describe the shape before him was that.

One claw, an overwhelmingly large hook, was caught on the entrance, and that alone was enough to guess the absurd size of the thing.

Cracked like scorched deadwood, with a crimson-black skin reminiscent of lava. From within, erupted corrupted flames and yellow smoke.

A grotesquely protruding lower jaw, studded with thorns. Three large protrusions, half-buried on top of a smooth, glossy skull.

Five black eyes on the side of the streamlined head. Two red pupils imprinted in the center.

It was a gigantic, hideous monstrosity that seemed to be a mix of all the demon beasts he had seen on the peninsula so far.

The protrusions that rose upwards began to writhe like insect eggs, as if sensing the airflow. A dozen Illaptors, only half their bodies visible, struggled between the jaws that were torn long enough to reach the neck. But with each movement of the bizarre jaw joints, their struggles gradually ceased.

Reddish-black tentacles undulated, and scarlet blood dripped like saliva from the monster’s mouth. Among the corpses caught in the gaps, a torso clad in Council combat gear was riddled with holes, as if it had been shot at random.

Organs that had been about to spill out hung beneath the half-crushed ribcage. The eyeballs were blackened and sunken, and the human head, with its bitten-off half of skin exposing the cortex and brain matter, was clearly visible.

「Hungry」

Soon after, the monster, straightening its body vertically, twitched its wrinkled neck and began to greedily swallow the contents of its mouth.

Exposed to the surreal scene and the piercing smell of blood, Leonardo frowned at the hallucination he heard again.

「Hungry」

This hallucination was much louder than anything he had heard so far.

It was as if it was screaming in his head, trying to dominate his brain.

「Hungry」

Terrible pain gripped his head, as if fingernails were digging into his temples and eyeballs.

He wanted to scream at the feeling of being drilled and gnawed at.

「Hungry」

The monster, having pushed the last piece of flesh into its throat, smacked its lips with a long, repulsive tongue, as if satisfied with its meal.

Then, as if searching for new prey, it began to roll its five eyeballs around.

「Hungry」

「Hungry」

「Hungry」

「Hungry」

「Hungry」

Before long, the eyes rolled towards the two people hiding in the cave.

At that moment, the maddening hallucination stopped again, and the monster’s mouth tore open even wider.

The two red pupils embedded in the eyeballs merged, drawing a horizontal line like the eyes of a goat.

The slightly curved eyes seemed to be grinning.

「Looks delicious」