It was as if yellow dust had settled everywhere from the collapsing piles of earth and cliff fragments, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead. Each breath drew sandy dust into his lungs, and Leonardo coughed without pause.
Unable to open his eyes properly from the stinging, he let out a hollow laugh at the weight of the massive cliff pressing down on his back and head. It was absurd that he was still standing at all, holding it up with trembling arms and body.
When the coughing finally subsided, Leonardo muttered into the void beyond the dust in a hoarse voice,
"If you were going to come, you should have brought some others with you. What are you planning to do, coming alone..."
His voice scattered in the narrow space under the cliff. Then the 8th Platoon Leader, likewise supporting the cliff a short distance away, spoke with a furrowed brow,
"If I hadn’t come, you’d already be crushed to death, and you still have the nerve to talk."
"Doesn’t it look like we’re about to get crushed to death together now?"
The two of them, after throwing out their remarks, glared at each other in silence with the swirling dust between them.
Creak—! Thud—!
As if to mock their pointless exchange, the cliff they were holding began to sink lower. Leonardo, forced to bend even more, swallowed dryly as he heard the earth and sand crumble.
The cliff above was barely held in place, precariously wedged against the opposite precipice, but it looked ready to collapse the moment either of them let go. Nearby, the new squad member and the outsider lay unconscious at Leonardo’s feet.
They had been struck by falling rocks while trying to escape the cave by flying under the cliff.
Luckily, there was no visible blood or sign of head injuries, but it was far from good. Worst of all, the 8th Platoon Leader, who had come looking for the new squad member, was now trapped in the same ridiculous state with him.
Leonardo felt sensation fading from his back and shoulders, numbness giving way to emptiness under the crushing weight. She had said her platoon members would find them soon, but that sounded just as hollow as the new squad member’s insistence earlier.
The soil had softened from days of rain, the battle with the Dermocas had shaken the ground, and tunnels dug by the creatures weakened it further. From what Leonardo could sense, the mountain was on the verge of collapse.
In such a situation, the Council’s delayed response was nothing new, and waiting here for rescue was suicide.
After a pause, reaching a reluctant conclusion, he asked the 8th Platoon Leader,
"Hey, you can use teleport, right?"
After a brief silence, she replied warily,
"Why are you asking that?"
"Why do you think? To escape, of course."
She turned toward him, thinking it was absurd. As the dust began to settle, his unusually vivid golden eyes shone through, fixed on her.
She didn’t like being stuck here with Leonardo either.
But the pressure above grew heavier, and although she had said her platoon members would come, she couldn’t be sure they weren’t still caught up fighting the Dermocas.
Seeing the seriousness in those golden eyes, she chose not to dismiss his suggestion outright.
She quickly scanned the surroundings for an escape route. She spotted a position where they could survive if the cliff fell and roughly gauged the distance. It seemed possible—for her alone.
Then her gaze shifted to the two unconscious figures at Leonardo’s feet. She couldn’t abandon a subordinate and an unconscious civilian.
"I can manage alone, but I can’t move while carrying someone."
At her words, Leonardo’s mouth curved slightly.
"Then that’s good. See that gap where the light comes through? On three, we get out that way."
"Wait—what about Kenis and that guy?"
"Kenis?"
At the name, Leonardo followed her gaze to the collapsed pair. Since a Council platoon leader wouldn’t know the outsider’s name, it seemed the new squad member was Kenis.
Now that he thought about it, he’d only ever heard ‘Ken.’ He hadn’t even known the man’s full name.
"I’ll take both of them."
At Leonardo’s reckless words, the 8th Platoon Leader gave him an incredulous look.
"This cliff will collapse the instant either of us lets go. And you think you can get away with both of them in that time?"
"...I’ll have to try. We can’t stay like this."
Though there’s barely any mana left.
Hearing that seemingly careless answer, she frowned, sensing his depleted mana.
Still, given the situation—and knowing his strength—she didn’t argue further.
"Fine. Since there’s no other choice, I’ll follow your lead for now."
Her quick decision surprised him. After checking the two bodies before him and their escape point, he spoke clearly in a low voice,
"I’ll count to three. We let go together and move. The moment we hesitate, we die."
Staring at the gap of light with sharp eyes, she answered,
"Okay. I’m ready."
He pictured in his mind scooping up both unconscious men and teleporting, then licked his dry lips.
"...I’m counting."
And just as he opened his mouth to say one—
Rumble—!
The ground shook and earth poured down like water. As the cliff tilted, about to overturn, Leonardo and the 8th Platoon Leader locked eyes and shouted,
"Three—!"
They released the cliff almost at the same moment.
The 8th Platoon Leader teleported in one breath to the spot they had chosen. Leonardo bent low, seized both sprawled bodies, and likewise teleported toward the opening ahead.
But then—an oops moment.
The mana cost of moving alone versus carrying two more was on a different scale. Nearly drained from the search for Kenis, his strength was gone, and the distance fell short of what he had intended.
He stopped abruptly midway as the cliff roared down just above his head.
With his back crushed by the force, Leonardo, desperate, stamped the ground, forced the air to expand, and hurled himself with all his might toward the gap. The 8th Platoon Leader blasted the collapsing cliff to cover him.
Boom—!
Her strike shattered rock, opening a narrow gap. Through it, he slipped, but unable to control his speed, he tumbled to the ground entangled with the two men.
He must have swallowed dirt in the fall; the thick taste filled his mouth, and a curse almost burst out.
Shaking his head clear, he kicked Kenis, sprawled across him, aside and spat out the grit.
The sight of the cliff collapsing in front of him was eerie after such a narrow escape. But the relief was brief: the impact had triggered a full collapse. He sprang up, shoved the 8th Platoon Leader’s back, and shouted,
"Hurry, out, hurry!"
"I’m going!"
The usually reserved Platoon Leader raised her voice, grabbed the outsider by the neck, and dragged him outside. Leonardo followed, slinging Kenis over his shoulder.
She blasted the air repeatedly, scattering falling rocks to either side. But it only bought moments, and blocking them all was impossible.
Leonardo wanted to help, but after the teleport, his mana and stamina were nearly gone. He could barely hold a barrier as he clung to the wall to follow her upward.
He clutched Kenis, who kept slipping, with one arm and clung to the cliff with the other. Straining so hard his veins bulged, the tingling grew worse.
The cliff loomed dizzyingly high, and it felt like the agony of endurance training had come back through his body.
He gripped the edge with all his strength, blood rising under his fingernails without him noticing. Just as he pushed himself to the limit, a powerful mana presence—one he had been waiting for—brushed against his skin.
