Thrown out by the rough currents, Leonardo embraced the master of water on pure survival instinct alone.
Near the heads of the two people, fused as one, a bird of prey that had been washed ashore with them fluttered, shaking water droplets from its wings.
“Cough, cough—”
As a large amount of air suddenly flooded his lungs all at once, Leonardo coughed repeatedly, sprawled on the ground. With each cough, his chest and abdomen twitched as if in pain, and the water he had accidentally swallowed while struggling underwater rose up his esophagus and into his mouth.
Because of that, Leonardo curled into a ball, his upper body trembling, and shoved away the navy-blue chest nearby with his hand. Only after securing a small space did he vomit clear liquid in gulps. It was mostly lake water, but mixed in was blood leaking from damaged organs.
Meanwhile, the other’s cool mana—forced down his throat until the heat subsided—also flowed through his teeth.
His lips, violated for quite a long time, were slightly swollen, with clear traces of someone left on them. The corners of his mouth, which occasionally twitched from the stinging sensation, kept moving in fits, as if he still couldn’t escape the strange feeling.
As he continued to pant, saliva dripping from his mouth, a red tinge gradually crept onto his pale complexion. And because he’d kept his eyes open in the salty water, his narrowly revealed golden eyes were heavily bloodshot.
“Co-Commander!”
“We’ve found the missing persons!”
As the blond man appeared tangled with the Commander’s silhouette, nearby members—still in confusion—spotted them and ran over in startled strides.
Their commotion made Leonardo’s head, which had only just regained hearing, buzz. Irritated, Leonardo furrowed his brows and tried to tense his neck to look around, but with his soaked body out of the water, even a single nod felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Seeing him struggle, the blue hawk that had been drying its wings approached Leonardo with quick steps. It gently pecked at his wet blond hair without hurting him, then rubbed its beak lightly against his head as if encouraging him. Then, as its master beside him began to move, it seemed to decide its role was done and returned to formless mana, instantly absorbed by Hugo.
“Commander! Are you alright?”
As the running footsteps and murmurs drew closer, Hugo’s relaxed brow gradually furrowed. Having been swept away by the waves his divine beast had recklessly created, he too was dizzy and on edge.
Hugo quickly collected himself, rubbing his eyebrows while wiping his wet face with his hand. Then his half-open blue eyes first examined the violent golden light in his arms.
Although he didn’t look particularly well, the red spots that had covered his pale face had completely disappeared. And seeing that he was breathing properly, it seemed the dreaded seizure had stabilized, and he was fortunately safe.
Hugo, staring at the other’s furrowed forehead, pulled the golden head closer with a low sigh. After putting him through all sorts of hardships, it seemed he had somehow managed to bring him out. With his nose and mouth buried in the other’s wet hair, Hugo closed his eyes for a moment and thanked the heavens.
Although it was a bit unfair to have been hit underwater, he still felt proud—and grateful—that Leonardo had endured the pain so well.
However, the members’ increasingly clear shouts soon pierced Hugo’s muffled ears. Their voices, urgent and sharp, made him realize the situation wasn’t over yet.
“Commander, you need to get away!”
“The barrier is collapsing!”
At the word “barrier,” Hugo’s half-closed eyes flew open. At the same time, flustered members grabbed the two tangled people and helped them up. With his upper body half-raised, Hugo looked toward the lake where he and Leonardo had been swept.
There, he could see dazzling light scattering as the huge barrier stretching to the sky flickered and undulated, as if it might break at any moment. The sight of it cracking savagely and rattling brought back the precarious moment just before the sealing magic circle inside Peak 118 had broken.
Moreover, within a hundred-meter radius, more than thirty percent of the barrier had already lost function and was riddled with holes. Though members who had confirmed the two men’s escape hurriedly activated auxiliary barrier stones, the lake water gushing out like a waterfall was far faster than the speed at which the new barrier was forming.
Liner Molten and the other senior commanders were guarding the front, barely preventing a full collapse, but they seemed unlikely to hold much longer, staggering each time water surged through the cracks.
Leonardo, seeing it as well, instinctively clutched Hugo’s collar. Then, patting the thick arm that was holding him, he shouted urgently, as if to hurry him along.
“Cough—Hugo, get up!”
As if that were a signal, Hugo, who had been assessing the situation, rose in one breath. Then, helping Leonardo to his feet, he ordered the surrounding members in a solemn voice.
“Everyone, climb to high ground where the water can’t reach. Not a single person left behind.”
“What?”
“Spread out and inform the commanders—hurry!”
With the Commander raising his voice without explaining, the confused members hesitated for a moment. But they immediately answered loudly and dispersed, grabbing everyone they passed to spread the order.
Meanwhile, Liner, eyes tightly shut as he held out with one arm in front of the barrier, felt he’d reached his limit even as he squeezed out the last of his mana. Bitterness washed over him at the thought that he could’ve held longer with two arms, but the situation was too urgent to dwell on the past.
He turned to look at Bruno, who was holding a large barrier beside him. Bruno, sensing the gaze, looked back at almost the same moment.
They exchanged a glance and nodded lightly. Then they shouted in unison so all the commanders holding out nearby could hear.
“Get away from the barrier!”
At their shout, countless streams of water burst from the gaps. The vast volume, driving forward with tremendous pressure, slammed the hurriedly scattering commanders to the ground.
Nearby members scattered in panic, and even those activating the auxiliary barrier stones leaped into the air, pure survival instinct taking over.
As most of the personnel fled, Leonardo slipped out of Hugo’s arms and gathered mana in both hands. Dark red flames rotating at ultra-high speed plunged into the soaking-wet ground.
As the overflowing water met the flames and evaporated, fierce steam spread like a gas explosion. At the same time, the muddy ground dried for the briefest instant, and Hugo, not missing it, created a huge magic circle in front of the barrier.
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and a massive ice wall rose along the barrier line. The pouring water froze in the blink of an eye, and icicles like demon claws hung from the wall like savage sculptures.
The writhing streams sealed the cracks in the broken barrier completely. The lake, frozen in the very shape of trying to overflow, stood still—so vivid it looked as if it might devour whoever faced it. Now and then, pieces of ice fell to the ground and crumbled to powder, reminding everyone that time hadn’t stopped.
“...”
In the wake of the two men’s mana, an uneven wall like melted glass stood tall, asserting its presence.
As a chilling wind brushed by, a momentary silence fell over the chaos.
Hugo’s eyes, lifted to the wall, swept the surroundings. He couldn’t freeze the entire lake with his remaining mana, but it seemed he’d succeeded in temporarily blocking the broken sections with ice and walling off the worst of it.
Bruno, staring up at the frozen barrier in dumbfounded disbelief, looked around for the one person capable of such power. When he spotted the Commander in the middle of the ice field, relief he couldn’t put into words hit him. He squeezed his eyes shut with a deep sigh, then opened them and ran toward his superior, calling out.
“Commander!”
At Bruno’s voice, commanders and members alike turned their heads one by one. They too found the highest-ranking commander, safely returned and even preventing the barrier’s collapse, and hurried over, murmuring among themselves.
At the same time, Leonardo stood a short distance away, blankly staring up at the barrier. Nero, who had been desperately searching for the Captain, finally caught sight of him.
“...Ah!”
Nero, whose eyes almost lit red as he unconsciously jolted forward, barely suppressed his excitement and first swept his gaze around. After confirming everyone’s attention was fixed elsewhere, he quietly approached Leonardo alone.
“Ca—no, Blaine!”
He almost called him “Captain,” but, afraid of slipping, he deliberately switched to the unfamiliar address. Still, he closed the distance quickly, grabbed Leonardo’s arm, and held on firmly.
Leonardo’s gaze, which had been directed upward, turned to Nero with a faintly surprised look. His face was deeply flushed, [N O V E L I G H T] his pupils tight, and Nero realized he was still strung tight from the chaos that had just swept through.
“It’s me. Are you okay?”
Nero spoke cautiously to him, who seemed to be in a strange state. But although Leonardo clearly recognized him, for a while there was no response, no real change in expression.
Instead of answering, he turned his head once to look at Hugo at the center of the crowd. Navy-blue battle uniforms swarmed like bees, but perhaps because the Commander was such a striking figure, he stood out at a glance even among them.
Leonardo fixed his gaze there and lightly clenched and unclenched his dry palm. After staring that way for about five seconds, he shifted his gaze back to Nero.
“...You—”
The first thing Leonardo wanted to do was nag Nero about why he was still here.
But the rest of the words wouldn’t come out. The voice lingering in his throat refused to rise.
And though he seemed to be standing firmly on both feet, for some reason Nero’s figure kept wavering. As his vision blurred more and more, the moment his strength gave out, darkness swallowed him whole.
