About 20 minutes after the two had started heading south through the smoke screen, Hugo, who had been creating wind to shake off the volcanic ash, suddenly stopped mid-air and scanned the surroundings.
‘Water?’
He sensed the presence of water not far away—and quite a vast amount of it, at that.
He had noticed thick fog from about 300 m away, so it seemed there was a fairly wide lake in this area.
There was also a slight saltiness mixed in, so at first he thought they might have reached near the coastline, but there was no sound of waves and the characteristic fishy smell of the seaside was minimal. If so, it was highly likely to be the lower reaches of a river formed by the meeting of seawater flowing in from the ocean and a valley stream flowing inland. In other words, it meant the coastline was not far off.
As the thought that the goal was in sight occurred to him, Hugo’s rough breathing calmed. Relaxing his stiffened shoulders, he leaned his cheek against Leonardo’s head resting against him and whispered,
“We’re almost there. Just hold on a little longer.”
As he gently stroked the golden hair soaked with cold sweat, white steam hissed fiercely. Although it had been hot as if he’d been holding a fireball all along, it hadn’t been this extreme, so Hugo hesitated for a moment.
He immediately tried to pull back his chin slightly to examine the other’s face, but couldn’t see properly because Leonardo had his head bowed low. Only the rapidly rising and falling shoulders and wheezing breath hinted at his poor condition.
‘Is it that bad?’
Hugo’s expression hardening, he adjusted his hold on Leonardo’s limp body. Then he removed his hand from Leonardo’s head and placed his fingers on the exposed skin at his nape.
Leonardo’s shoulders flinched at the cold touch, and at the same time, pale steam and stinging heat spread to Hugo’s fingertips. He’d known the heat in his arms was steadily boiling, but the condition seemed far more serious than he’d expected.
Thinking there was no time to spare, Hugo embraced the curved back again. Then, turning toward the source of moisture and about to scatter the dust in front of him and advance, it happened.
Kugung—
Suddenly, a mysterious explosion rolled in from far away, and a strong vibration rose from underground. Having suffered similar sounds all the way here, Hugo only briefly turned his gaze, not paying much attention.
However, heavy roars continued in succession, and he felt them closing the distance at a terrifying speed. Just as Hugo, sensing something strange, narrowed his eyes while watching that direction—
Pushuii—
“...”
Hot steam that felt like it could scorch skin narrowly grazed the two floating in the air. Hugo, who had reflexively spread a barrier, jerked back to avoid the steam surging up from below.
But as if a cluster of hole-riddled tunnels and cracked ground had formed in this area, steam spurted out from all directions—front and back, left and right.
As a sharp hissing sound filled the air around them, Hugo, judging that the low ground was no longer safe, stepped onto an ice sheet and leaped upward in one breath.
Sulfurous gas containing volcanic ash instantly covered the sky thirty meters above, dense and heavy. Hugo, covering Leonardo’s ears, took in the situation below and turned his head toward the source of the explosions.
“...Oh no.”
Gray smoke and red light flickered in the distance. Worse, the black dust from there was gradually expanding its territory.
He’d felt uneasy for a while, and sure enough, it seemed volcanic activity had begun in other craters affected by the explosion. Once a full-scale eruption began, not only would visibility be obscured, but securing oxygen and escaping would also become difficult.
Hugo clicked his tongue and quickly turned his body. There was no time to delay. They had to get out of here fast.
After flying at full speed through the air resistance for another three minutes, they heard the sound of rapids running through damp, eerie water mist. Each time they passed through winding valleys between sheer gorges, streams boiling like hot springs gathered one by one, growing in size.
They formed strong streams, all flowing in one direction, and at some point, as the roar of the water intensified, they became a high waterfall pouring down the cliff.
Hugo, chased by the roars and dust surging behind him, plunged unhesitatingly through the splashing spray. The moment the two, coated in volcanic ash, passed through the water mist, the boiling temperature dropped sharply, and their constricted breathing and vision cleared.
“Haa.”
Exhaling the breath he’d been holding, Hugo opened his squinted eyes and fired three or four light balls forward. Along the trajectory of the light, the curtain of night lifted, revealing a large lake that could be mistaken for the sea.
Then, on the water’s surface dyed with darkness, a huge reflected barrier undulated in place.
Kugung, kung—
But before they could savor the joy of arrival, ominous sounds followed close behind.
Hugo flew toward the center of the lake. Given the situation, it seemed he needed to push the plan forward a little.
The water mist floating around him condensed, forming three fairly large lumps. Swelling like living organisms, they transformed into divine beasts, absorbing Hugo’s mana. They were three hawks with sleek bodies and faintly glowing blue wings.
“Find the nearest exit within a five-mile radius. As soon as you discover a suitable place, indicate the location by self-destructing.”
At their master’s order, the three birds of prey flapped their wings swiftly, as if they understood. Then, after circling Hugo once, they scattered in different directions with a “piiiiii—” cry.
As they departed, Hugo teleported in front of the barrier ahead. Then he tapped the surface with his military boots, gauging its approximate condition.
‘The barrier is shaking. At this rate...’
Since barrier stones couldn’t be erected in the middle of the lake, the gaps between them would be relatively wide. That meant that, like the coastline, the solidity of the barrier here was also comparatively weaker.
As Hugo had expected, the southern barrier they had painstakingly reached trembled faintly along its surface, shaken by the difference in air pressure inside and out. The moment he noticed it, Hugo tightly bound himself and Leonardo with a stream of water formed in his hand.
Then, holding Leonardo with one arm, he began to strike the transparent barrier membrane hard with the other. He checked its density and hardness by pounding with fist and palm, or even ramming it with his shoulder when necessary.
As the shaking intensified from the impacts, Leonardo, who had been burying his face, stirred in Hugo’s arms. After bumping his forehead against Hugo’s firm shoulder, he barely raised his head and blinked his unfocused eyes.
Just as he caught his breath and tried to focus, steadying himself against Hugo’s shoulder, Leonardo came face to face with the dark wave surging behind Hugo’s back.
Seeing the black smoke rapidly choking the air not far away, a harsh cough burst from ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ his mouth, as if trying to expel the dust lodged in his respiratory tract.
“Cough, cough—”
Hugo, who had been examining the barrier, paused at the sound and turned to Leonardo.
“Leo, are you alright?”
At the voice full of concern, Leonardo barely managed to answer through his haze.
“Cough, ye... I’m fi-fine. But behind..., ...!”
He was continuing with small coughs, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, when his shoulders suddenly heaved and he cut off mid-sentence. A stabbing pain had pierced his heart as if with a spear.
Leonardo sucked in a sharp breath, eyes wide, and clutched his chest, his face turning red in an instant. As blood vessels stood out across his clear forehead and around his eyes, Hugo sensed something ominous and his expression hardened.
“Leo, what’s wrong? What’s happening? Is that spot hurting again?”
Having seen Leonardo clutch near his heart during battle before, Hugo grabbed his forearm, tense, and demanded. But Leonardo, seeming to have trouble even answering, only gasped for breath, his chest heaving again.
‘Damn it, why does this keep...’
Until just now, even if there was pain, it hadn’t been unbearable if he stayed still and held his breath. But suddenly, as if his heart and lungs were being squeezed, he couldn’t breathe properly, and fear rushed in, bringing symptoms of hyperventilation with it.
His trembling golden eyes twisted and wavered, and the blood vessels that had risen red once again bared the whites of his eyes. Worse, the chilling, hoarse sound—as if he were about to lose his breath—recreated, exactly, the nightmarish memory from earlier.
Hugo, watching him, went paler than Leonardo himself. He immediately caught Leonardo’s chin and forcibly tilted his head back.
“Leo, Leo! Slow, deep breaths. It’s okay.”
“Kkeuk—, heuk.”
Holding his head steady and securing his airway, Hugo tried to tear open Leonardo’s shirt buttons to make it a little easier to breathe.
“Just focus on stabilizing your breathing as much as possible...”
But the moment he saw Leonardo’s collarbone revealed through the opened collar, Hugo froze as if turned to ice, his hands stopping mid-motion.
‘...What is this?’
Even accounting for bruising, Leonardo’s entire neck was too red. Red spots, almost like a skin disease, were spreading—threatening to cover his whole body.
Kugugung—
To make matters worse, a heavy roar announcing the eruption of ejecta burst not far away. Volcanic ash laced with heavy metals surged over the lake like a whipped horse.
But Hugo had no time to look. The dark congestion pooled under Leonardo’s skin gave off a strange light and swelled.
Meanwhile, Leonardo kept gasping as if being strangled, and perhaps out of fear of going berserk, he kept trying to break free of Hugo’s hold. Hugo let cold seep out to suppress the boiling energy, but even then he was cautious, afraid the steam rising between them might interfere with Leonardo’s breathing.
The situation was racing toward a crisis, and golden light burst from Leonardo’s body.
And at the same time, flares fired by the commanders outside the barrier exploded.
