By Zephyria The gentle touch that contrasted with the sunken Gold Eyes slowly caressed the other person’s firm jawline. Hugo’s gaze briefly fell on that hand before meeting the frowning eyes again.
“You’re more seriously injured.”
“…….”
Hugo stared at Leonardo, feeling the familiar yet unfamiliar sensation that was wandering around his face.
For some reason, he felt like he was being scolded by a much younger child, but strangely, it wasn’t so bad, so he softened the corners of his mouth instead of answering.
Thanks to that, Leonardo’s hand, which had been staying in the same place for a while, went up a little more and touched Hugo’s lips.
The lips, which seemed like they would be as cold as his cool skin, were very hot, perhaps because they were covered in blood. Even though he was inwardly surprised and twitched his fingers, Leonardo didn’t show it and lightly wiped away the blood droplets that had formed.
After that, Hugo’s gaze followed the end as if he was sad about the receding warmth. Then, when their eyes met again, the silence that followed subtly colored the space.
But soon, the atmosphere in the cave didn’t last long due to the mysterious roar that followed.
Thump― Thump― Thump―!
The two people, whose eyes had sharpened in an instant, simultaneously turned their heads out of the cave.
All kinds of attacks were still pouring down like rain there, but something strange caught their eye. The shadow of the monster, which had been struggling fiercely, had disappeared without a trace in the short time they had taken their eyes off it.
Instead, as if to announce its location, a mysterious collision sound and a savage roar echoed from directly above. Following that, a gust of wind that cut the skin like a blade swept through, passing by the two and instantly penetrating the narrow passage that stretched far back. Clearly, Ultrasound was mixed in it.
Dudududu―
‘Could it be….’
Leonardo, whose eyelids widened greatly, rolled his eyes and scanned the surroundings. As soon as he thought that this was not the time to be doing this, another ominous premonition quickly rushed in.
Moreover, this time the scale was unusual. Whether the Queen, who had been cornered, had finally started gathering the escaped worker bees, the vibration that tightened his heart was raging from all directions. Moreover, its intensity was getting stronger and stronger.
With the shaking that was running through his entire body, Leonardo finally sensed that the moment he had been waiting for was approaching. As he rested his hand on the wall to infer the direction of the vibration, Hugo suddenly grabbed his hand and said.
“Leonardo, I need you to help me.”
The gaze that had been staring at the trembling wall shifted to Hugo. Leonardo, who had briefly looked down at his clasped hands, asked back with a hint of doubt.
“With what?”
“You already know that the core can use Hardening Art, right?”
At the question that followed, Leonardo nodded without answering.
“When I tried to drive the core away and launched an attack earlier, the monster seemed to be trying to protect only its nape with Hardening Art, even while giving up other parts. And in the ancient records that the investigators briefed at the meeting a few days ago, there was this passage. The dazzling sun displayed its spirit and the monster’s neck―.”
“Stabbed the monster’s neck and sealed it in a deep abyss.”
Leonardo, who had been listening intently, immediately recited the following passage. Hugo, who had paused for a moment, nodded and continued.
“Yes, when you combine all of that, the most likely place for the monster’s weak point is its neck. So if you and I aim for that area and attack together, we may be able to inflict a major blow, if not kill it instantly.”
Leonardo recalled the image of Hugo continuously firing at the monster’s nape from above, just before he had gone down to cut off the Queen’s tail. At the time, he had thought that he was just trying to press it against the wall to prevent it from escaping, but now he was starting to understand his actions.
But if he thought about it differently, it meant that even though the strongest Mage of the Ice system had concentrated his attack on one area, the hardened monster’s hide had not been pierced. And that was the same for the lava chunks he had launched. It seemed to be quite effective on other parts, but from a fleeting memory, it seemed that there wasn’t even a faint steam around the monster’s nape.
Leonardo, who had been recalling the situation, made an uncertain expression.
“…But, just looking at the compatibility, it seems that ice is more effective than fire against that monster. Even if I join in, can I really pierce it if you couldn’t pierce it?”
At the question filled with doubt, Hugo answered firmly.
“It might work. A high-speed jet of water fired with strong pressure is powerful enough to cut diamonds. If you add heat to the pressure of my attack and send a high voltage current through it, the probability more than doubles.”
“……”
“And more than anything, it’s better to try something than to do nothing.”
His blue eyes were calm, but they contained determination and desperation. Leonardo, who was facing them directly, somehow felt assimilated into that pure emotion.
He certainly agreed that it was better to do something, as he said. However, since both of them were injured and their Magic Power was controlled, trying to use powerful magic would definitely slow down the casting speed significantly.
Besides, the core was rampaging outside like that, and in the meantime, to aim for a single moment to attack the demon’s body parts simultaneously. It was easier said than done, requiring extremely delicate control as well as considerable luck. The demon wouldn’t just stand still and take the attack.
Leonardo, his head filled with such thoughts, bit his lip for a moment. But soon he cut his worries short, swept back his wet hair, and nodded lightly.
“Let’s do it.”
A faint smile appeared on Hugo’s lips, who had been swallowing pain all along, at the clear answer. Immediately, he got up from his seat, grabbed Leonardo’s hand, and pulled him up in one swift motion with a gentle but strong force.
Now accustomed to it, Leonardo felt a familiar sensation as he was half-dragged to his feet and faced Hugo.
It wasn’t long before he remembered the time when he was walking alongside him in the cave.
“Ah―.”
Leonardo, his eyes widening for a moment, looked down at his injured shoulder. Hugo, who was about to examine the area one last time before going outside, paused.
Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Leonardo raised his head, grabbed his arm, and asked abruptly.
“Do you still have the Dregalianif we found earlier?”
Meterion, who was reinforcing the surface with Magic Power in the sky outside the barrier, gradually became more serious.
Despite the attacks poured out by over a hundred members, the core was crawling up to the top of the barrier, sticking its body tightly to the edge.
Moreover, the demon’s flesh, which had burst from the continuous attacks, wriggled like a living creature, and new flesh gradually sprouted from within, slowly restoring the lost areas.
Meterion, seeing the sight, frowned and chuckled with mixed feelings. He never imagined it would have regenerative abilities, it was getting worse and worse.
Thump― Thump― Thump―!
In the meantime, the bigger problem was that the demon was constantly banging its hard skull against the ceiling as if trying to break down the prison that confined it.
Even the impact was causing considerable damage to the barrier, and clear cracks were appearing on the surface of the barrier, which had seemed to be holding up at first.
As a result, some commanders hurriedly went down to help reinforce the barrier, but as the massive force and weight of the giant persistently dug into one point, the rate of cracking was overwhelmingly faster than the rate of filling the gaps. Even with a significant number of members stationed above stopping their attacks and joining in, it was the same.
“Battalion Commander! At this rate, the barrier will collapse!”
“Everyone, stop attacking and reinforce the barrier!”
Two commanders, who were doing their best at the closest point to the core, shouted urgently. However, despite hearing their shouts, Meterion could not easily issue a stop order.
Even now, the members were getting tired and the ammunition for the firearms was running out, so the intensity of the attacks was gradually weakening. But the more that happened, the faster the demon’s flesh regenerated, and the frequency of banging its head increased. Meterion judged that completely stopping the attacks would be like openly giving the demon a chance.
And Felix Montero, who was aiming his gun from the cave entrance on the other side, or rather, Nero, who was acting as him, was thinking the same thing.
With cracks on the surface, it was clear that the barrier would not last long. However, if they stopped attacking here, it seemed like only a matter of time before the demon escaped from the barrier. Meanwhile, the rifle he was holding was silent even when he pulled the trigger, as if it had run out of ammunition.
Nero shook his head and clicked his tongue, immediately lowered his gun and looked down below.
His face was filled with anxiety, and his teeth were grinding so hard that he seemed ready to chew up Boulders. If he could, he wanted to throw away this troublesome act and run straight to where ‘he’ was.
‘Why isn’t he coming out yet? Is it because of his shoulder injury?’
Nero had caught a glimpse of Leonardo’s left shoulder area turning red earlier, and he had been out of his mind ever since.
His head was filled with ‘CommanderCommanderCommanderCommander’, and the fact that the Commander had injured the same spot again was a bigger shock to him than witnessing the giant monster. He knew very well what the meaning of that wound was.
‘Is it a relief that the Legion Commander is with him? That bastard, I hate him, but he knows how to use Recovery. …No, no, no. Wow―, what kind of nonsense am I thinking? If it weren’t for that bastard in the first place, the Commander wouldn’t have come here.’
“What’s wrong?”
The urge to run out immediately was strong, but Nero only frowned and did not act on it at the woman’s voice that came from behind. In fact, the existence of this woman was a major reason why he couldn’t act as he pleased.
She stuck to him as if she was constantly monitoring him. Even now, she stopped attacking and approached him when he lowered his gun and stood still. It was annoying that she tried to interfere with his actions in every little thing.
But Nero, who reminded himself that he was a professional who maintained composure in any situation, returned to Felix’s pure face and turned around to answer Squad Leader 8.
“Ah, well… I’m out of ammunition. I think there might be a few more if I go to the place where the supplies are stored, so I’ll go get them quickly. Squad Leader, please stay here for a moment―.”
“I have extra. Use this.”
Squad Leader 8 casually opened the pocket of her protective gear and immediately took out two 30-round magazines. As she forcibly handed him the magazines, Nero, who received them without realizing it, stared at them silently for a moment. The reason was none other than….
He was dumbfounded.
…Were the Legion Commander’s direct subordinates all like this? He wondered why someone who didn’t even use a gun was carrying magazines.
He thought his answer just now was a pretty good excuse. Whenever he saw a loophole, the other person would block it in some way, so he rarely had a chance to be alone.
Nero felt the tendons in his jaw tense, but he forced a sullen smile at her. Then, he praised her, saying, “As expected of Squad Leader,” and lowered his head with a quiet sigh.
After that, he inserted the magazines into the rifle and reloaded the bullets for another meaningless act.
Soon, he stared at the Squad Leader again with an indifferent gaze. She gestured towards the outside as if telling him to prepare for an attack, and stepped back.
Nero nodded while remaining silent, but his eyes scanned the other woman’s neck, which was hidden by her collar, with a look of regret. And he thought quietly to himself.
‘Should I just knock her out?’