‘BREAK’
The letters etched into the transparent membrane, blooming like snowflakes, looked as if a sharp metal object had scraped a wall. The sharp handwriting and the somewhat rough word immediately made anyone who saw it aware of the urgency inside.
Because of that, Bruno, who had no time to think at length, immediately leaped from his spot and flew into the air. Then, crossing over the members’ heads along the barrier line, he shouted at the top of his lungs to those in confusion:
“Attention! Within the next three minutes, re-check the position, fixation strength, and operational status of the barrier stones, secure a safe distance, and take defensive positions. Immediately report any non-operational equipment with light balls, and report the situation to the controller when all preparations are complete in each area!”
“Yes, understood!”
The operational area they had taken position in stretched about two hundred meters in a straight line. Therefore, it was impossible for Bruno’s voice to reach all members at once.
However, these were people who had heard the code of conduct for survivor rescue until their ears wore out throughout their journey from the northern barrier line to here. They moved at once in orderly fashion, visually inspecting the positions of the barrier stones, then tightening the chains to ensure they wouldn’t fall even under strong winds and water pressure, completing all preparations.
Nero raised his eyebrows with fresh surprise at the sight of the members moving so efficiently, as if they’d suddenly coordinated. Their movements had become incomparably faster than before. It seemed that when it came down to it, these guys could do it—their momentum had changed in an instant.
‘They should’ve done this from the start.’
Nero, who had been standing blankly in front of the barrier watching this, suddenly realized this was no time for that and quickly jumped in among the members. Then he planted his feet right at the base of the barrier stones, aligning even the finest lines, and diligently lent a hand.
At one point, remembering the iron chains he’d left half-tied, he turned his head to look around, but the chains he’d laid out had already been neatly arranged by someone.
“A-8, preparations complete!”
“A-9, preparations complete!”
After about two minutes, the voices of controllers stationed in each section began to ring out one by one.
Their calls of completion eventually reached the farthest point of the operational area. As the last controller reported completion and standby status, Bruno, who had received the signal from the blinking light balls in the distance, nodded briefly.
He quickly flew to the midpoint of the operational area, then dropped behind the armed members already on standby. After planting both feet firmly on the ground, he watched beyond the barrier where the currents were violently undulating and shouted loudly:
“Everyone, prepare to fire!”
The armed members standing in a single horizontal line simultaneously raised the firearms placed at their feet. After wrapping the connected straps around their waists and completing shoulder mounting, the remaining personnel stepped back a few paces as instructed.
What the members held in their hands were not ordinary rifles. With elongated magazines, they looked closer to machine guns, but they were meant to create small scratches rather than destroy the barrier.
The muzzles were narrow like needles, and the bullets were shaped like thin thorns. It was a weapon Bruno had devised to minimize the risk of barrier collapse while keeping the impact low, yet still create holes for entry and exit.
Piiiiii—
Just then, two blue birds of prey, from who knew where, fluttered about inside the barrier. They kept scratching the surface with their claws, then self-destructed midair, leaving behind an eardrum-piercing death cry.
Those urgent wingbeats instantly turned into tiny water droplets and scattered in all directions. At the same time, as chilling mana leaked out beyond the barrier, Bruno instinctively felt the Commander was urging them to hurry.
“Liner.”
Bruno shifted his anxious gaze and called out to Liner, who was in one corner. Liner, who had been engraving a magic circle on the barrier’s surface with a dagger, turned at his voice. He had just finished drawing the last stroke and was about to end it by stabbing the ground with the knife tip.
Receiving his superior’s signal through eye contact, Liner turned back to the front and placed his palm against the barrier. At that moment, the nearby membrane suddenly glowed bright yellow, and its surface rippled, sending subtle vibrations through it.
As if about to mingle with the rough waters behind, the barrier trembled in finer and finer pulses. Then, at some point, it hardened like a wall, and even the water droplets that had been violently splashing beyond it momentarily stopped the instant they touched the membrane.
This proved that Liner’s hardening ability was not only still intact, but affecting the entire barrier.
Certain all preparations were complete, Bruno raised his right arm without hesitation. His resolute gesture and clear voice rang out sharply among the members.
“Fire!”
Small thorns were fired simultaneously from dozens of muzzles aimed at the barrier. Bullets too thin to be identified with the naked eye pierced the transparent membrane, leaving successive scratches.
At the same time, members waiting with heavy tools brought them down hard on the upper parts of the pre-installed barrier stones. The whitish light rising from the barrier stones instantly flickered out, and cracks began to race across the barrier’s surface at a terrifying speed. However, thanks to Liner’s efforts, it only rattled precariously without completely breaking.
“Second wave, prepare!”
At the Deputy Commander’s continuous instructions, another group of armed members formed a double horizontal line. As the footsteps behind them stilled, those aiming their muzzles at the barrier ceased fire and quickly stepped aside.
Across the barrier surface they had swept, a thick semicircular crack was carved. The second-wave personnel, wearing thick gloves on both hands, stretched their arms toward this clear guideline. Most of them were those who primarily handled wind attributes, and among them was the 8th Platoon Leader from the 1st Battalion.
Following Bruno’s hand signals, the 8th Platoon Leader, mana concentrated in his hands, wore a face full of fatigue, but his eyes were as clear as could be. With the sole thought of saving his direct superior and Leonardo Blaine, he shook off his exhaustion while compressing transparent air between his crouched hands.
“Fire!”
As the Deputy Commander’s order fell once again, his finely honed magic shot forward. The attacks of about a dozen others, including him, flew at the same time and collided with the barrier.
At that moment, with a loud boom that jolted the senses, the lower part of the barrier exploded violently.
Kwaaang-!
The precariously shaking membrane shattered instantly as if struck by a tool. Along with it, the black volcanic ash that had filled the interior mixed with the swirling water and gushed out through the single exit.
“Everyone, spread your barriers and maintain formation—!”
The force was so great that even Bruno, shouting to maintain formation, staggered and was almost swept away. The bomb-like stream that burst out in an instant tore up the ground, throwing the area into chaos. Because of that, not only the barrier stones but even the members in defensive positions reeled under the shaking earth and crushing water pressure.
Fortunately, tightly woven with chains, the barrier stones didn’t topple, but the amount of water pouring out was enormous—enough to submerge everyone clinging on in a single surge. Moreover, the water was so cold it felt like nerves were being paralyzed in an instant, but the problem was that the two people they were looking for were nowhere to be seen in the overflowing torrent.
“Uwaah!”
“Grab the person next to you and hold on as much as possible! If you fall, you’ll be swept away!”
The shrill voices of the members didn’t cease amid the chaotic flood. Meanwhile, Nero broke away from the ranks and flew into the air. He searched for Leonardo, every nerve on edge, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ in the pitch-black smoke screen where nothing could be seen a foot ahead.
‘Where is the Captain?’
Just then, Meterion, who had leaped into the air to avoid the pouring water, manipulated the dust to clear away the thick volcanic ash. And in that moment, the armed members who had finished preparing to enter, tightly gripping each other’s hands, all looked up with pale faces.
“What is that?”
In their view was a huge tsunami approaching, tall enough to cover the entire barrier. It was of such overwhelming height that one might momentarily confuse whether this was a lake or the sea—as if seen in the middle of the vast ocean.
Liner, who had also escaped into the air with the support of his subordinate, blankly watched the approaching waves with his palm against the barrier. He instinctively sensed that if this hit the precarious barrier, something would happen that even his ability couldn’t stop.
Perhaps because of that, his head naturally dropped. Looking at the members below, he shouted with all his might.
“Everyone, fall back!”
Kwaaang-!
In the blink of an eye, the tsunami swallowed Liner’s voice and completely shattered the barrier. The fragments, broken like glass, mixed with the vast amount of water and poured down like a waterfall.
The pressure was beyond imagination, turning the already soft ground into wasteland, and with it, the resisting members were buried in soggy mud, tangled in iron chains.
In the midst of this chaotic pandemonium, two figures appeared, swept by the waves.
Washed ashore, their entire bodies soaked, they were tightly embracing each other.
