By Zephyria The barrier being filled from bottom to top stood in the midst of a dim background. So, if one didn’t look carefully, it was easy to crash into the transparent membrane.
Even while flying at full speed, Nero kept checking the barrier’s shimmering surface by throwing fireballs. He occasionally used Teleport to fold space and move, but because the volcanic ash rising up to his chin blurred his vision, it was difficult to gauge where he was flying.
Therefore, Nero minimized the use of Teleport and instead groped his way through the smoke screen, following the direction of the wind flow. He thought if he lingered where the air was escaping, he might find an exit that hadn’t closed yet.
And just then, as expected, he saw a part where smoke was swirling and being sucked in at a fairly high altitude. From the moment he spotted it, he charged forward madly without even looking left or right. The size of the hole was noticeably shrinking over time.
Because the guy slumping over his shoulder made it hard to gain speed, Nero grabbed the buckle on Felix’s back and threw him toward the hole with all his might. Since it was a place where vast air passed through, even if he threw him roughly, he was sucked right in. Though it might have been drowned out by the roar behind him, he didn’t hear any sound of collision.
Nero, confident there was an exit, immediately raised a guard in front of his head. Then, igniting flames on his heels to add propulsion, he flung his body forward.
Fwoosh—
The hot air expanded, pushing from beneath his soles, and with a sound like a beam being fired, Nero shot out at supersonic speed. Mixing into the swirling dust, he lost balance, spinning round and round, and as soon as he completely exited outside the barrier, he was flung into the air without a chance to regain his footing.
His vision, with dizziness at its peak, looked like a painting with smeared colors. But shaking his head and widening his eyes, Nero looked for Felix, who should have come out before him. Scanning the area, he soon found a familiar figure, just about to plunge headfirst toward the ground.
Nero, startled, instantly moved in front of Felix. Then, grabbing him as he brushed past him horizontally while falling vertically, he positioned his own body below to minimize the impact on him.
‘Nice catch.’
Since it was the body of an adult male, possibly with gravitational acceleration, Nero, holding Felix, naturally had to be pushed downward. But thanks to the quick thinking of grabbing him as if snatching him sideways, they only rolled on the ground a few times, sliding over the dry grass into the bushes without major impact.
Of course, he hadn’t anticipated at all that they would then collide with a large rock hidden behind.
“Ugh—.”
Nero, forced to stop abruptly as his back hit the rock hard, twisted his whole body from the sharp, spreading pain. Perhaps because he collided while off guard, the impact was greater than expected.
Lying on the ground groaning for a moment, he irritably pushed Felix, who was sprawled on top of him. Then, grimacing with all sorts of expressions, shuddering from the lingering pain, when an explosion sounded from inside the barrier, he opened his eyes wide and abruptly sat up.
“Ouch, this is no time for this.”
Nero, patting his dirt-covered back, roughly brushed off only the surface dirt and got up. Then, feeling Felix’s head and neck, he quickly checked the guy’s condition.
Since he really hated seeing corpses with blown-off heads on the battlefield, he was anxiously worried if there might be some scratch. But fortunately, no noticeable wounds were visible, and his pulse seemed fine.
Judging his condition to be intact, Nero slung Felix over his shoulder a bit more roughly than before. Then, raising his head and looking around, he turned his gaze toward the northern ridge where the barrier was shimmering.
The area where the Barrier Stone’s light shone the brightest was near the northern plains, so it was highly likely that the majority of the personnel and the temporary Headquarters were gathered over there. If so, most of the medical staff would be there as well, so the first priority was to drop this guy off somewhere within reach of the medical staff.
Having made his decision, he kept a slight distance from the barrier line, just in case he ran into someone. Then, hiding in the darkness, he began to head north.
If he could just go and check if the Captain had escaped safely, whether he was injured, and whether the magic he had cast on Felix was working properly, then his job here would be done for the time being. After that, if he secretly escaped out of the peninsula and returned before the Headquarters’ surveillance network was restored, it would be as if there was no physical evidence that he had ever been on the peninsula in the first place.
Kwaaaang― Koong―
A destructive sound that shook the ground echoed from nearby. Whether it was because of the tension it gave, or because he thought it was almost over, Nero’s speed became uncontrollably faster.
Forgetting the pain, he used Teleport in units of seconds, heading towards his destination. Then, suddenly, his gaze involuntarily shifted to look inside the closed barrier.
That place was covered in jet-black smoke, so dark that even large objects could no longer be identified. Only the screams of demon beasts dying from gas exposure occasionally allowed one to guess at the pandemonium inside the barrier.
Casting a meaningless gaze, Nero forced himself to look away from the place and focused on the front again.
It felt as if he had left something he shouldn’t have left in there, and he hoped that this uneasiness was just his own worry because he hadn’t seen the Captain with his own eyes yet.
Before long, he found the answer to his ominous feeling after reaching the northern defense line.
As Nero had seen, the Barrier Stones were particularly densely packed near the northern plains. At the bottom of the triple barrier, there were traces of demon beasts digging into the ground and scratching with their claws, trying to escape.
Those who failed to escape were either crushed to death by being pressed against each other, or slowly suffocated by inhaling the smoke. As a result, the edge of the barrier was piled high with corpses that had died struggling, and the transparent membrane was clearly marked with the demon beasts’ bodily fluids along the claw marks. Even those who were barely breathing were trampled to death by the demon beasts that were gasping for air in the volcanic gas.
Scanning the horrific scene with his eyes, Nero held his breath and hurried on. Not far away, as expected, many Council members were stationed.
They were all moving busily, reinforcing the Barrier Stones and quickly moving the injured, and occasionally, groans of pain, shouts of desperation, and heartfelt wails could be heard.
Those who had died or were in critical condition and had not been able to escape would be left in there with the demon beasts, their bodies to be annihilated. It was only natural to weep so hard that one could hardly breathe when thinking of comrades whose bodies could no longer be found.
He had been like that himself about three years ago.
But he had no time to be caught up in the emotions of others and empathize with them.
Nero naturally blended into the chaotic scene and quickly moved through the gaps in the roughly erected tents.
Seeing the unconscious injured lying in a corner, he roughly threw Felix near them in a row. After that, he groped his face to make sure he was wearing his Guise properly, and just in case, he picked up a stray gas mask and covered his mouth and nose.
Then, after taking a deep breath, he went a little further towards the center, where the high-ranking commanders were presumed to be gathered. Sure enough, familiar faces soon came into view. They were definitely the Council’s battalion commanders and deputy commanders.
Among them were those who had bound the core at the last moment, and those who had not been part of it. But the atmosphere was somehow unusual.
“Everyone else has arrived, but we can’t find the Commander and Blaine! If they escaped properly, there’s no way they wouldn’t have shown up by now!”
As soon as Nero heard the word ‘Blaine’, his expression stiffened for a moment. His steps, which had been striding forward, stopped abruptly.
‘The Captain is missing?’
“Rivera Battalion Commander, please calm down first…”
“How can I calm down when those two might be trapped in there? I need to form a search party and send them into the barrier right now―!”
Kwaaaang―!
At that moment, a tremendous impact sound erupted from inside the barrier, drowning out Dellua’s excited voice. Not only that, but the emotional voices of everyone nearby were swallowed up by the roar that covered the earth.
At the same time, the ground beneath his feet shook violently, and a familiar Magic Power that exploded out ran down Nero’s spine.
‘…Could it be.’
Nero’s stiff jaw slowly turned to gaze at the inside of the barrier, which was filled with smoke. The Council’s commanders were the same. They all stopped talking and stared at the other side of the swaying barrier with pale faces.
There, a beam of light that had emerged through the gray dust flickered violently.
The chilling Magic Power that overflowed in all directions confirmed Nero’s ominous feeling that he had been trying to ignore.