Nero, wearing Felix's face, quickly tied knots after weaving iron chains between the barrier stones on both sides. Occasionally, he turned around and flapped his hands at the other members, gesturing for them to hurry.
"Ah, this way, this way!"
His voice was a little irritable, like he might burst watching these Council bastards who moved like slugs.
It had already been more than twenty minutes since the entire search team arrived at the target point. Yet the installation of the barrier stones still wasn’t complete, dragging out the preparation time for the rescue operation.
He knew they had to be thoroughly prepared, double- and triple-checking for any contingencies. But the inside of the barrier was already filled with smoke, making it impossible to see anything, and the Captain's mana, which seemed to be screaming, kept scratching at his cheeks. He felt like just smashing through the barrier and jumping in to find the Captain—to hell with it all.
'If Senior Taylor had come along, she would’ve moved ten at a time. Do these bastards even train regularly?'
Meanwhile, it seemed like only weaklings were here, because the sight of them groaning while moving stones that weren’t even that heavy was utterly pathetic. If that self-proclaimed princess of Armsilver's 11th Squad had come, the situation would have been resolved already.
The weight of the clothes that senior—who loved shopping like her life depended on it—bought monthly with her salary was incomparable to these barrier stones. Considering how she used to walk around easily carrying numerous clothes and accessories in both hands, it seemed like she alone would use her strength better than all these guys combined.
Nero, who had been grumbling that he should have brought that senior along, finally couldn’t stand the frustration and sprang up from his seat. He’d been trying to refrain from using his strength since he’d already drawn too much attention... but time felt too precious to leave things as they were.
Nero, his face flushed red, approached the members moving the barrier stones and squeezed in between them. As he shoved shoulders aside and took a position in the middle, the trembling members exchanged glances as if to say, "What's with this guy?" But that was only for a moment, because suddenly the heavy stone was lifted so lightly. They all stared at Nero in surprise, eyes wide.
"Come on, quickly—over there!"
Nero firmly supported the bottom of the barrier stone with both hands and moved toward the designated position, jerking his chin. As the weight eased unbelievably with just one more person helping, the members followed Nero, still bewildered, almost as if being dragged along.
As three or four members rushed together like this, Meterion, who had been watching them nearby with folded arms, glanced to the side. There lay the iron chains Nero had left half-knotted. Though it wasn’t certain since they were only half-tied, the knot pattern looked unfamiliar yet somehow familiar.
'...Imperial Army?'
It was definitely not a method commonly used in the Council, but one occasionally seen among those from the Imperial Army. Meterion slightly furrowed his brow, a strange expression on his face.
Eventually, he carefully examined the iron chains tied elsewhere, then shifted his gaze back to Nero, who was mixed in among the members.
The sight of a mere member going around interfering here and there as if giving orders didn’t look particularly good. But the reason no one said anything was that this member was the one who had flown here first, finding the location of the survivors.
It was also him who had found the appropriate place to install the barrier stones and fired the flares from the vanguard. He was leading the on-site situation, demonstrating abilities no less than a commander’s, to the point where one might wonder if there was really such a person among the 3rd Battalion's members.
Of course, without thinking too deeply, one could take him for an overzealous member. But Meterion, who had been watching his actions since discovering the 3rd Battalion mark attached to his battle uniform, increasingly felt he was no ordinary member.
Setting aside finding the survivors' location, he was the one who had kept the lead of the search team throughout the journey here, overtaking even himself. He couldn’t possibly be ordinary.
'Felix Montero, was it?'
Meterion narrowed his eyes, unfolded his arms, and finished tying the chain knots. All the while, he kept mulling over the member's name engraved on the battle uniform.
Kugung—
At that moment, thunder vibrated through the darkness-dyed sky. Occasionally, flashes of lightning pierced the smoke screen, spilling beams of light.
As the thunder reverberated, Meterion, sensing something, quickly turned his head toward the inside of the barrier. The atmosphere, lowered to a heavy pressure by the volcanic eruption, seemed to be fluctuating, and the flow of air felt ominous. Moreover, whether by coincidence or not, 'his' mana, which had been surging until just now, was suddenly cut off.
"...?"
And Nero, who had just set down the barrier stone, also abruptly raised his head at Leonardo's suddenly severed energy. His face stiffened at once, and he scanned the blackness ahead with cold eyes.
'What's going on?'
Nero left the rest to the members with him and immediately rushed to the front of the barrier. Then, placing his palm against the transparent membrane, he rolled his eyes, every nerve on edge.
It was no ordinary matter for that surging mana to be cut off so suddenly. Worried that something might have happened to the Captain, Nero strained to sense his energy, anxiety tightening his chest.
But the mana that had been like an active volcano had subsided into extinguished embers. On the other hand, judging from the faint currents remaining in the air, it didn’t seem like he’d [N O V E L I G H T] moved to a completely different place.
'...It seems he's nearby, but why did it suddenly go quiet?'
Nero tilted his head and looked around. He wished he could see the light he’d been emitting, but apart from the lightning flashing in the sky, nothing like that was visible.
Instead, the more he concentrated, the more strongly he felt the Commander's mana, unlike before. As a chilling cold—repulsive enough to raise goosebumps—undulated inside the barrier, Nero felt an unpleasant sensation for reasons he didn’t understand. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but it was like the Captain's energy had been devoured by the Commander's energy... such a shitty feeling...
Shwaaaa—
At that moment, the lake water inside the barrier began to swirl violently. At the same time, waves crashed against the transparent membrane, making splashing sounds.
The lake water, surging like a massive tsunami, gradually rose higher, and Bruno, who was checking the final placement of the barrier stones, hesitated for a moment upon noticing the phenomenon.
Assessing the situation, he carefully examined the surface of the barrier and instinctively created several light balls, sending them close to the transparent membrane. Although shining light from outside wouldn’t let them see through the smoke-filled interior, this strange phenomenon made him think the Commander might be sending some kind of signal.
And as Bruno had expected, faint traces appeared on the surface of the barrier, illuminated by the light. With each scrape of the lake water, the marks gradually expanded, revealing large letters etched by ice crystals on the transparent membrane.
"What's that?"
The members who had been focusing on the finishing work noticed it too and began to murmur. Meanwhile, inside, lightning and thunder continued to pour down in succession as if a storm had broken out, asserting their presence.
Each time it happened, the whirlpool’s current grew stronger, pounding the membrane as if to destroy the barrier, etching sharp strokes into its surface.
Those relentlessly scrawled strokes soon formed the shape of characters. Bruno drew in a soft breath as he saw them.
The Commander inside was ordering the members outside like this:
'BREAK'
