The 8th Platoon Leader, having confirmed the member's face, immediately checked the path behind him, where he had come from. However, she couldn't sense anyone else there.
When conducting a search operation in such a dangerous place, they usually moved in groups, so if other members were approaching from the opposite side, the movements stirring the air would feel wider. Yet the movement she had felt from this member in the darkness had been very still and quiet.
In fact, there had been almost no sign of presence at all, so unless one could manipulate the wind or read its flow like she could, it would have been hard to even notice him. In other words, he was either alone or moving with great care. That was the point the 8th Platoon Leader found strange.
However, it didn't seem likely that an ordinary member, not a commander, would wander alone through an unknown cave where anything might jump out, so the 8th Platoon Leader asked for confirmation.
"Where are the other members?"
"I'm alone."
At the clear answer, the platoon leader was momentarily at a loss for words and blinked.
"...Alone? The order should have been to always move in groups of three."
When she pointed this out, the member's eyes lifted slightly and then dropped again.
"The two comrades in my group showed severe heat-related symptoms and had to withdraw first. But they said there was no one to replenish from the standby group... So I've been moving alone for now."
The platoon members behind them murmured in confusion. Normally, if a member was left alone, they would either be attached to another group or even held back, but they would not be allowed to move alone.
Sharing the same thought, the platoon leader checked the badge and embroidery on his combat uniform and asked,
"Your affiliation?"
"Ah, loyalty. Felix Montero, 11th Platoon, 6th Company, 3rd Battalion of the Council's Central Branch."
He belatedly saluted and stated his rank and name as if it had just occurred to him. Then, beneath his raised arm, his empty waist without a sword came into view.
'...He's been wandering around alone without even carrying a sword?'
As if sensing the thought in her suspicious gaze, the member glanced down at his own waist while maintaining his salute. Then, he showed that same awkward smile from a moment ago.
"In the rush, I... I'm sorry."
The platoon leader, who had been looking at him with disapproval, then noticed one more strange detail.
When they had met the members of the 1st group in front of the crack, this member had definitely been wearing heat-blocking protective gear. But now, he wore only a combat uniform. Moreover, he wasn't sweating at all. Just like that powerful fire mage who had gone with the commander.
For a moment, she wondered if he might also be a fire mage, but there was no hint of fire mana from him. In the first place, judging from the fact that she could barely feel any mana and from his agile movements earlier, he seemed to be someone whose body had been trained mainly in physical techniques.
This time, her gaze dropped to the blade of his hand as he saluted. Aware of it, the member subtly adjusted his hand. Where the back of his hand had been slightly more visible before, after the adjustment, his arm and the edge of his hand lined up perfectly straight.
In response, the 8th Platoon Leader returned a brief salute, allowing him to lower his arm. Then, after one more glance at the path he had walked from, she spoke.
"If you lose consciousness and get isolated in a place like this, there's no way to locate you. It's dangerous alone, so it would be better for you to move with us for now."
"...Pardon?"
A perplexed look crossed his face at the slightly delayed question. Noticing it, the 8th Platoon Leader asked,
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"Well... I'm truly grateful, but I belong to another battalion. Is it all right for me to join you? Just in case, I’ll go back to the standby group and request a new formation."
"I'll inform the 11th Platoon Leader separately later, so you don't need to worry about that. Stand at the very back and follow me."
She pointed to the rear of the platoon members. The member stayed silent for a few seconds, looking reluctant.
However, because they had little time to spare, the 8th Platoon Leader turned away to resume her pace, whether he replied or not. Then, pausing for a moment, she glanced back at him and added,
"Ah, and our group is prioritizing locating the commander over the mother body. So we plan to move at a fast pace, and I hope you keep up without falling behind."
"Pardon? Are you talking about the commander?"
In an instant, the member's eyes changed. Even the tone of his question sounded slightly different.
At first, she thought he might be struggling because he was being sent to search for a superior he wanted to avoid, but on a closer look, that wasn’t it.
The lifeless, dried-fish eyes from earlier were gone, and his face lit up as if he had just heard something delightful. The gazes of the 8th Platoon Leader and the others grew strained at his suddenly changed demeanor. As those puzzled looks converged on him, the member seemed to notice the mood and quickly managed his expression, adding,
"Ah, that... Now that I think about it, it does seem much safer to go together. I was constantly worried about running into a monster alone... Thank you for suggesting it first. I'll do my best to keep up without falling behind!"
With his voice full of resolve, the member bowed, his waist bent at a right angle.
The way he greeted—fist clenched and pressed to the side of his leg, bending from the waist rather than the neck—was a habit often seen in members who had served in the Imperial Army before transferring to the Council. The salute posture, with the back of the hand slightly more visible than the blade, was the same.
In fact, ever since seeing the commander pay attention to this man, the 8th Platoon Leader had been keeping an eye on him.
It wasn't that she suspected him of anything specific, but he definitely didn't seem ordinary, so her suggestion that he join them was not without the intention of observing him more closely.
However, contrary to that intention, the newly added member came to stand right by her side, as if his rightful place were next to the 8th Platoon Leader herself. The face that met her eyes and beamed brightly was completely different from the reluctant one from moments earlier when he had resisted the order.
The 8th Platoon Leader looked at him with perplexed eyes and stepped back a little.
'What? Why the sudden change...'
His attitude shifting so abruptly left her feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
However, thinking that he wouldn't dare try anything strange while they were on their way to find the commander, the 8th Platoon Leader maintained a reasonable distance and nodded once, without asking any particular questions.
"Let's keep moving."
Eventually, she set off again in the direction they had been heading, with the members following.
The sound of many footsteps echoed through the cave, and they had just taken their fifth step when—
Kukung-
Suddenly, a heavy impact rang out from somewhere. The sound itself was small compared to its weight, and the source seemed quite far away, but it was enough to draw the full alertness of the platoon, including the 8th Platoon Leader.
They stopped immediately and looked up at the cave ceiling with heightened vigilance. Rock fragments crumbled down to the floor, feeding their unease. Then, as if carried on the wake of the impact, a faint wind blew along both sides of the passage, rippling through the entire cave.
A platoon member, looking around with a tense face, stammered,
"Wh-what was that just now? Could it be the mother body—"
"It's the commander."
The 8th Platoon Leader cut him off at once and snapped her head in the direction they had come from, eyes wide. From that way, a chill that had not yet been swallowed by the suffocating heat swept through.
"This way, hurry!"
She immediately pointed out the direction and took the lead without hesitation. The members, briefly flustered, quickly fell in behind her.
However, their swift dash soon had to stop. A split second later, a massive roar, enough to make their hearts sink, erupted right behind their backs.
Kwaaang-!
Startled, the members all whirled around as if they might topple over. What greeted them first was the dusty earth, whipped up and carried by the fierce wind pressure.
"Everyone, barrier—!"
The 8th Platoon Leader reflexively shut her eyes and shouted, hastily covering her face with her forearm as the grit clogged her mouth. Then, as the members around her raised barriers and wrapped the area, she pushed forward two steps.
The swirling wind gathered at her fingertips as if drawn by a magnet. She fed mana into it, transforming it into an even stronger force, and unleashed a whirlwind straight ahead, blasting away all the wildly churning dust.
Afterward, she managed to pry her eyes open with effort, but a dark shadow flickered beyond the strands of hair stuck to her face. The 8th Platoon Leader, slowly lifting her gaze, unconsciously froze.
As her blurry vision cleared, a stark and desolate outline came into view.
It was an impossibly huge hole that had torn open in the left wall of the cave. The destructive traces, as if some monster had smashed through the wall, radiated outward, cracking the ceiling and floor as well.
"What... is that?"
Mouthing the words, the platoon leader immediately stepped back and drew her sword. The members, who had been hesitating, closed in around her and drew theirs one after another.
However, the being that had created the hole was nowhere to be seen, and just as everyone was on edge—
A presence stirred beyond the shattered wall.
The one who abruptly stuck his face through, stepping on the debris scattered across the floor, was the very member who had joined them a short while ago.
"This way is faster!"
He beckoned as if telling them to follow, and leaving only those words, disappeared again into the darkness beyond the wall.
The 1st Battalion members, their minds momentarily blank, stared after his retreating back with wide eyes. Then, one by one, they exchanged dumbfounded looks.
A moment later, the 8th Platoon Leader, afraid of losing sight of the member who had gone ahead, was the first to leap ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ into the hole. The rest of the members followed after her, one by one.
*****
Kwang! Kung!
Sword of flame in hand, Leonardo panted as he looked around. It was hard to tell where the sounds of destruction were coming from, ricocheting off the walls and rolling in from every direction.
At that moment, the chill left behind by Hugo brushed his skin, as if pointing the way. Leonardo reflexively turned his head, swallowed a breath down to his chest, and sprinted in that direction. The subsequent roar and the falling rock fragments acted as signposts.
A few minutes earlier, as Leonardo clutched his head against the stabbing pain, a dull impact had torn into his ears along with the cry of an Ilaptor.
He had snapped his eyes open at once, come to his senses, and charged into the cave, but Hugo and the creature he had been chasing were already out of sight.
He had tracked the two of them by relying solely on his senses, rushing blindly through the cave, but even after quite some time, he still hadn't caught up. However, from the constant roars echoing in this area, he could at least surmise that the presence in the darkness Agrizendro was pursuing was an Ilaptor.
Ilaptors were as intelligent as Dermocas, so it was puzzling that a creature that had never shown itself would reveal its presence in such a suspicious way. It could very well be a trap, but it was the first monster they had discovered since entering Peak 118. Therefore, regardless of its intentions, they absolutely could not let it escape.
However, despite his resolve, Leonardo was barely clinging to the traces Hugo left behind and had fallen far behind. This had much to do with the way he occasionally misstepped as he ran.
"Hungry."
Ever since entering the crack, even he felt that he was half out of his mind more often than not. There were two main reasons for that, and one was the member whose eyes he had met earlier.
He had no idea how that guy was managing to pose as a Council member, or even before that, why he was still here. The only thing certain was that this member was clearly the one Leonardo had been searching for these past few days, and the man had turned into a complete fool who could no longer tell right from wrong.
And the other was this damn auditory hallucination.
"Hungry."
This voice, which he had started faintly hearing when he first sensed it in front of the crack, had been echoing non-stop from all directions ever since he heard the Ilaptor's cry.
Because of it, he kept losing his sense of direction, his head pounding as if pierced by an awl, shattering his focus and judgment. It would almost have been less hellish if something had literally eaten his brain.
But the bigger problem was that the sound was reaching only his ears.
"Hungry."
Earlier, he had secretly watched the others, just in case. But apart from occasionally mentioning the sound of the wind, no one said anything strange.
Later, when he casually asked Agrizendro if he'd heard any unidentified sounds while they were alone, the man had taken it seriously and advised him to rest.
In the end, Leonardo became certain he was the only one who could hear it, and since then, he had stopped mentioning the hallucination at all.
"Hungry."
The deeper they went, the clearer and louder it became, whispering in his ear before spilling into the air and echoing in his skull.
If he had to assign it a gender, it leaned more toward a woman's voice than a man's, but frankly, it was eerily like the two were mixed.
It was too distinct to be a beast's cry, and too hoarse and grotesque to be a human voice.
And in his opinion, there was only one kind of existence inside Peak 118 that could mutter about being hungry in such a resentful tone.
"Leonardo."
Tadak-
Leonardo, who had been staggering through the winding cave, suddenly stopped at the sound calling his name. Enduring the pain that felt like his eyeballs would pop, he leaned against the wall and lifted his head—and there, at the end of the narrow passage, stood Hugo, the one he had been desperately searching for.
He seemed to be breathing hard, his chest and shoulders rising and falling rapidly. And although his expression was hard to make out, veiled by the darkness, there was a strange urgency in the voice that had called out to him.
Because of that, Leonardo squeezed his eyes shut once, then opened them and hurried toward Hugo.
But something odd caught his eye behind him.
'A pillar?'
It was the artificial structure he had seen when he first opened his eyes after being trapped in the collapse. If you took one of the pillars from that temple-like building and set it here, it would look exactly like that.
Moreover, behind it, a faint light lingered, like a halo shining. He thought it might be from light orbs floating nearby, but it wasn't.
As he drew closer, Hugo's face, growing clearer and clearer, looked somewhat surprised, unlike his usual self. Seeing him gesture urgently in his direction, Leonardo picked up even more speed and ran straight to his side.
The moment he fully emerged from the cave, his vision flared with light, and he couldn't see for an instant. As he flinched at the glare, a large hand naturally came down around his shoulder and guided him forward.
"Look over there."
The other hand extended toward the distance, pointing at something.
Following his voice and fingertips, Leonardo slowly lifted his head.
In time, his eyelashes trembled, and his eyes gradually widened.
