Boom—! Kwakwang—!
While the two were still speculating about the corpse’s identity, unaware of the man’s actions, several loud explosions echoed from outside the cave, the sound gradually drawing closer.
It seemed someone battling monsters was driving them away and approaching this area. From the impact, fierce vibrations rippled inside; cracks split the ceiling, and rock dust drifted down from the gaps.
Leonardo glanced up once, then quickly wrapped the corpse he held in a cloth and lifted it. Turning his head, he said to the member,
"Let’s get out for now."
"Ah, yes!"
The new member, who had been staring nervously at the ceiling, answered as if he had been waiting.
"Cuff that bastard so he can’t move. You have handcuffs, right?"
"Well... I tried to cuff him earlier, but I dropped them because of the explosion..."
Leonardo, gathering what he needed to take, froze for a moment at that stupid reply and stared at the new member in silence. He didn’t speak, but his gaze seemed to say the world was pathetic, and the member wilted under it.
In the end, rather than wasting his breath, Leonardo strode over to the man.
As he neared, the man let out a yelp and stumbled back, but was caught before he could get far. Before he could react, Leonardo struck the back of his neck hard, knocking him unconscious. Grabbing him by the scruff, he flung him down in front of the squad member, saying,
"You carry him."
Having never seen someone knocked out right before his eyes, the member stared at the man at his feet in alarm.
"He’s not dead, right...?"
"He won’t die from that much."
Leonardo’s casual tone somehow made it feel even more disturbing, but the member put aside his worries. Getting out of here was the top priority.
Wondering how to move him, he slung the man over his shoulder like a sack. Fortunately, the body was small; otherwise, he would have had to drag him.
But from the start there was a foul smell, a rancid stench of someone unwashed for days, stinging his nose.
"Ugh..."
Feeling nauseated, the new member instinctively covered his nose and grimaced.
Leonardo immediately shouldered the man’s bag and followed the markings on the wall. Thanks to that, they wouldn’t get lost, but the ground was trembling more ominously, so they had to hurry. He glanced back and shouted, irritated,
"If you don’t want to die, move it!"
"Yes, I’m coming now!"
Abandoning any attempt to breathe through his nose, the new member rushed after Leonardo, who was already far ahead.
Before long, wind blew in from outside, and the cave entrance appeared. Yet, from the small shockwaves that kept reverberating, the ground seemed more caved in than before, dangerously unstable.
Below yawned a wide cliff, and above, a massive rock face loomed like a collapsing roof, making their knees weak. Awed by Leonardo’s unhesitating pace, the new member adjusted his grip on the man once more and hurried after him.
But the farther they went, the more it felt as though the rock ceiling was slowly descending, and it was hard to tell whether they were nearing it or it was pressing down.
****
Hugo immediately handed the egg brought by Deputy Commander Hastings to an investigator, then held a brief meeting with the 9th Battalion commanders of the Southern Branch. In the midst of this, Liner Molten, Commander of the 9th Battalion, raised a question that struck at a weakness.
"Even if they carried the egg because they laid it, why take the corpse of our squad member?"
As every gaze turned to him, Liner swept his eyes across the room and continued,
"The creatures seemed to sense their disadvantage the moment reinforcements arrived and showed signs of retreat at once. Yet isn’t it strange that they carried away a corpse while fleeing, knowing we’d give chase?"
A brief silence fell among the commanders, his words making uncomfortable sense.
As they ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) pondered the reason, Flynn—standing a little apart—was receiving a report from a messenger of the border headquarters on Hugo’s behalf. Once he had it, he quickly approached the commanders.
Feeling their eyes on him, Flynn gave a short salute and spoke.
"A message just came from headquarters. A large stable near Parren’s main camp in Elder Millie’s western sector was attacked by monsters. When the site was found, every horse was gone. From the claw marks left behind, it’s almost certainly the work of Dermocas."
As Flynn finished, Liner muttered incredulously,
"Attacking a stable near the main camp? Those creatures have grown bold."
At that, Hugo also raised a brow and asked,
"Near the main camp?"
"Yes. To be precise, the most remote of the stables managed by Parren’s camp, but not far in distance."
"The time of the attack?"
"They estimate dawn. But since the sentry at the stable was also found dead, the exact time is unknown. Incidentally, this is the first such incident since the army stationed at the border."
Flynn relayed the information. Listening, Liner said to Hugo,
"It seems the creatures want all-out war."
His voice was icy, his eyes flashing with murderous intent—born of guilt over his fallen battalion members and rage toward the creatures. Given the circumstances, composure was hard, but Hugo, sensing his impatience, shook his head.
"It’s too soon for a hasty judgment."
"But too many things don’t add up if they went all the way near the main camp just for food. Prey is scattered all over the peninsula. Yet they not only neared our camp and hunted horses, they swarmed in and killed our squad—"
"Excuse me, Commander."
Charlotte, the deputy commander, quietly cut him off before he pushed further toward war. She meant to calm him. At her action, Liner realized he’d become too agitated and fell silent.
Flynn, who had come to report, watched Liner’s reaction a moment, then swallowed the rest of what he’d meant to say. To speak now would only stoke the commander’s anger.
Hugo studied Liner for a while, then checked the watch on his wrist and said,
"Let’s take a short break and reconvene."
Though the meeting hadn’t run long, the commanders were puzzled by the call for a break. But Liner realized the Council Commander was indirectly ordering him to cool off.
"...Understood."
With that, the meeting was adjourned.
As the group dispersed, Hugo moved a short distance from the hall, then gestured to Flynn, who was standing idly, to approach.
Flynn glanced around, then cautiously came closer. As he neared, Hugo spoke directly,
"What’s the situation?"
Flynn answered with a sour look,
"First of all, they say no particular movements. Nothing obvious either."
"I see."
"Commander, please don’t send me alone for things like this. Do you know how nervous I was about being caught?"
Though Flynn grumbled, Hugo looked at him coolly and said,
"There’s no guarantee they haven’t planted someone on that side. Considering that, you’re the only one suited for the task."
Hearing he was the only suitable one, Flynn felt a flicker of pride, then quickly berated himself for being simple-minded and scratched the back of his head.
Seeing him fighting to suppress a smile, Hugo turned his gaze toward the 9th Battalion Commander, who sat cooling his head some distance away, and asked,
"Flynn, what do you think this situation means?"
"Pardon? What situation?"
"I’m asking what you think of the Dermocas—after lying quiet, suddenly appearing in force and running rampant."
At the sudden shift, Flynn followed Hugo’s gaze. Spotting the 9th Battalion Commander, he understood the question’s intent.
It seemed Hugo had noticed Flynn holding back at the meeting out of regard for Liner, even though he’d thought he’d hidden it.
Realizing Hugo was giving him space to speak, Flynn unhesitatingly voiced what he had swallowed earlier.
"Commander Molten seems to think the creatures want war, but I think the opposite. It feels more like they’re trying to cleverly needle us while avoiding an all-out clash."
Hugo turned from Liner back to him.
"What makes you think so?"
"Uh... You mentioned before that when the Central Branch procession first entered the peninsula, Dermocas appeared at dawn and Leonardo handled them, right?"
At that sudden name, Hugo’s brows twitched slightly.
"Right."
"At that time, the Dermocas appeared on the opposite peak from the base camp, a considerable distance away. If their goal was attack, they would have raided the camp directly instead of revealing themselves far off."
Flynn explained his reasoning in detail.
"So I believe they came for reconnaissance, not attack. When most of their scouts were taken out by Leonardo, they judged it too risky and avoided the Central Branch procession afterward—avoiding war."
Indeed, though their path afterward ran through Dermocas territory, the creatures hadn’t been seen for a suspiciously long while.
Hugo nodded, following the logic. Encouraged, Flynn continued,
"But I felt the recent uptick in attacks, their deliberate targeting of Parren’s camp vicinity and our Council members when numbers were thin, was them constantly showing themselves to provoke us."
"..."
"And then, as if dealing a final blow, they carried off the squad member’s corpse to lure the pursuit. Would such intelligent creatures really not expect that? I think they staged it deliberately. And this pattern feels familiar. It’s similar to..."
Flynn, speaking smoothly, suddenly stopped and looked up at Hugo, debating whether to continue. Hugo, watching him closely, prompted,
"Similar to?"
Under that gaze, Flynn hesitated, then carefully said,
"Similar to... when Leonardo was deliberately trying to lure the Council?"
