By Zephyria A very brief, dangerous, and impulsive thought crossed his mind, but Nero shook his head. He raised the butt of the rifle and put it back on his shoulder, then aimed the end of the sight at the monster.
‘She’s the Legion Commander’s direct subordinate, so there’s no point in messing with her.’
It would be better to continue acting as a good member, so that he would be remembered as ‘suspicious but still an ally’ in the future. It seemed better to stay quiet instead of having unnecessary thoughts.
He had followed her here because he was worried about the Commander, but from the beginning, he didn’t intend to act rashly unless there was a big problem with his safety. Outwardly, he was someone who shouldn’t be here right now.
Besides, he had been hiding the fact that he could use Magic Power all along, but it seemed that the woman behind him had caught on when the Commander’s Divine Beast came to find him, and he left the ring behind and disappeared with the flames.
As evidence, he had been feeling a blatant gaze on the back of his head ever since. He was anxious, but doing anything more noticeable would not be good for him, the Commander, or his colleagues in many ways.
Nero, who was thinking about this and that, focused on the end of the gun and put strength on the finger on the trigger. But just before the trigger was pulled by a third and the bullet was about to be fired, the movement of the monster twisting its body beyond the gun was unusual.
The demon opened its hideous maw wide and repeatedly inflated and deflated the skin of its entire body. Then, it let out a bizarre roar and thrashed wildly. At the same time, the strong wind pressure that spread out shook the members standing at the narrow passage entrance as if to knock them down.
“Wh-what!”
“Everyone, hold on tight!”
He heard the urgent voices of other members nearby. In the meantime, he also heard the voice of the commander shouting that the barrier must not be disrupted.
Nero was also pushed back a step by the sudden gust of wind. He instinctively grabbed the pillar and quickly regained his balance. However, his gaze, which was narrowly opened between his fluttering hair, was fixed on the monster’s movement, which was somehow familiar.
‘That, could it be….’
Soon, as if to tell him that his guess was correct, the pillar touching his palm began to shake violently. As the trembling vibrations traveled through his arms and legs, Nero put his hand on the railing in front of him and scanned the wide space above and below.
Squad Leader 8, who had also staggered for a moment from behind, took a step forward to stop a member who was suddenly sticking his head out towards the cliff.
And then, Nero, who felt a presence and turned around while looking outside, suddenly pointed his gun at the Squad Leader’s face as if he was about to fire.
Squad Leader 8 widened her eyes at his actions, stopping in her tracks. She immediately stopped walking and raised both palms, making a bewildered expression.
“Wait, what are you doing―.”
Bang―!
Before she could even speak, a gunshot rang out, and the bullet passed by her head at a high speed. As soon as she reflexively twisted her body and leaned against the wall, something behind her, hit by the bullet, howled in a bizarre voice.
Before she could even figure out the situation, five more bullets were fired in rapid succession. They hit the heads of three or four demon beasts that were rushing in from behind, killing them instantly.
Squad Leader 8, staring at the fallen demon beasts with surprised eyes, immediately turned her head to the member. But before she could even figure out his true intention in pointing the gun, she couldn’t help but be shocked by the sight that unfolded beyond the member’s shoulder.
“Uwaaaaaaack―!”
“Look behind you!”
“They’re coming!”
The Illaptors, who they thought had escaped, were crawling out of the holes in the surrounding walls in droves.
As the swarming black tide suddenly poured into the interior, some of those who were watching the front were instantly torn apart by the demon beasts that attacked from behind.
Someone had their arms and legs cut off one by one, and they were entangled with the demon beasts before falling off the cliff in the blink of an eye.
The smell of blood flowing from the severed bodies and the chilling screams instantly dyed the space red. The Squad Leader’s face turned pale in an instant at the voices of her colleagues coming from nearby.
In the midst of the horrific scene before her, she immediately ran forward and grabbed the railing with her hand. At that moment, a mysterious liquid dripped down from above, scalding her head and neck.
She immediately raised her stiff jaw. She could see the head of a corpse sticking out, as if it had been bitten to death. The skin, which had been flushed with color until just now, was pierced by iron skewer-like teeth, and the raggedly open mouth vomited thick blood.
Grrrrr―
At the sight of the Illaptor leaning down and looking down from above, Squad Leader 8, her eyes turning fierce, immediately reached out her arm to attack.
But then, another ear-splitting gunshot rang out right next to her. The bullet, fired faster than magic, instantly pierced the demon’s eyeball. The metal, which had been rotating inside and grinding the brain, pierced through the head and burst out with flesh on the other side.
The Illaptor, who couldn’t even scream, fell down so easily that it was anticlimactic, and the corpse that the demon was holding flowed out of its mouth. The corpse, which was still warm, passed by the two people below and quickly plummeted into the dark depths below.
“Ah―.”
Squad Leader 8 reflexively reached out her hand, but unfortunately, the end of her hand didn’t even brush against the hem of the corpse’s clothes.
Her eyes trembled with lament as she watched the cold figure moving away for a moment.
She immediately put her legs on the railing to grab the life that had been extinguished. Then, Nero, who was reloading the bullets next to her, grabbed the Squad Leader’s shoulder from behind as if he had seen a strange sight.
“What are you doing now? It’s not the time to do this, we have to go save the other colleagues. …Before that, take a breath.”
Squad Leader 8 raised her head in surprise at his unusually calm voice. Then, she realized that she had been holding her breath until just now.
After taking a few heavy breaths, she looked down again at the bottom where the corpse had fallen with confused eyes.
But the figure of the colleague she had missed was no longer visible there. Only pitch-black darkness lurked, along with another scream.
“……”
Her lips trembled as she stared blankly into the air at the scene of death that had suddenly passed by. But when she remembered the ‘other colleagues’ that the member had mentioned, she thought that it was not the time to do this, and barely managed to control her complicated feelings.
She wiped her blood-soaked face with her sleeve and immediately drew the sword from her waist. Then, she looked at the member again and said in a rather solemn voice.
“Let’s hurry.”
Nero stared at the Squad Leader, who seemed to have regained her composure. He belatedly noticed that her hands were shaking with an emotion that was hard to tell whether it was shock or anger, but he turned his gaze away and gestured to the side path that stretched along the railing.
“We don’t have time, so let’s move separately for now. I’ll go this way. Squad Leader, you go that way.”
Squad Leader 8 nodded without thinking deeply at the member’s words, who quickly decided on the direction. Then, she immediately turned around and headed towards the opposite side.
Her legs, which were about to fall, leaped towards the colleagues who were fighting the demon beasts without hesitation.
Even if the members of her squad who had arrived here together were scattered, they would be able to take care of themselves, but the human screams mixed with the demon beasts’ roars were gradually narrowing her vision and thoughts.
She ran forward with a pace covered in impatience, but the run didn’t last long. She suddenly realized that the member’s tone and atmosphere when directing her were different from what they had been until now.
The Squad Leader immediately stopped in her tracks, took a deep breath, and looked back. Then, she quickly scanned the place where she had been standing just a few seconds ago.
But she could only blink blankly and stand there for a while.
Because the member who should have been running to the opposite side was nowhere to be seen.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump―!
After letting out a roar containing Ultrasound, the core twisted its body like crazy and slammed its head almost every second.
Meterion, who was pouring Magic Power into the center of the barrier, saw the sight and sensed that he was slowly reaching his limit. He had reached a point where neither he nor the barrier could hold on any longer.
He had already sent a request for support from the outside a long time ago, but it was unknown how long it would take for the troops to reach this place. Moreover, because of the demon beasts that suddenly reappeared and ambushed the rear, the members were no longer able to focus their firepower on the core and reinforce the barrier.
The fragments of the broken barrier were gradually rising up each time the core collided. In addition, the cracks that had only appeared near the edge were now spreading throughout the cylindrical barrier, drawing a brutal lightning-like pattern.
In the end, Meterion made a decision and shouted to the commanders who were holding on above the core.
“Everyone, get away from it!”
At his command, which sounded as if he were telling them to give up the barrier, some commanders hesitated. But as if that shout was a signal to the core, the creature, which had been pushing its head upwards, suddenly changed direction and crawled downwards.
The commanders, startled by the creature’s unexpected behavior, looked down at it. The creature, its skull covered in Hardening Art, gripped the wall and charged with tremendous speed.
“Get away!”
Meterion, realizing the creature’s intent, shouted loudly once more. Even those who had been holding on until the very end pulled each other’s arms and quickly moved away from the surface of the barrier.
Immediately, the massive creature, putting all its strength into rushing upwards, aimed for the cracks in the surface and collided forcefully. At the same time, the barrier, unable to withstand the impact, shattered, emitting a dazzling light and exploding with a deafening roar.
KWAH-AAAAANG!
The immense aftermath created a vast cloud of dust that swallowed the surrounding view. Meterion, who had been floating in the air, immediately deployed and expanded a Magic Circle to quell the debris.
And at that moment.
The Queen, having aimed for a single point, pierced through the thick curtain and soared upwards in an instant.