Kwaaang—!
A massive explosion loud enough to draw the entire island’s attention thundered around the tower. At the same time, the humid air instantly vaporized and a dense white steam spread everywhere. The hem of the black cloak was caught in it and flung somewhere. Likewise pushed by the gale, Leonardo spun several times in midair, quickly regained balance, and landed atop a protrusion.
He first checked his stinging right hand; the flesh between his index and middle finger had torn open and was soaked with blood.
“Tch.”
He simply wiped his palm against his clothes and moved on. Rather than that, he hurriedly scanned the dust cloud for the sadist’s shadow.
The limp whip and shattered terrain were being sucked into the lake. The figure presumed to be the main body was nowhere to be seen.
Leonardo’s eyes narrowed as he looked around.
That bastard dodged.
At the instant the brutal high-voltage current filled the space between them moments ago, the eyes behind the mask had faltered, then he released the whip without hesitation. Afterward he condensed a spiral, ominous airflow into his hand, triggered a gust and shockwave, and widened the distance. It all happened within just two seconds.
So the beam exploding on its own was his doing too. If he could use magic, why didn’t he from the start?
Possessing a morphing whip alone already made him a troublesome enemy, but if he had used magic even before Leonardo climbed the stamen tower, it would have been far more advantageous for him. Back then Leonardo had been carrying the burden called Ero.
Does he have a reason to hide his true ability like I do?
The suspicion was reasonable given the mask. The presence felt from the gray eyes inside was far from ordinary. Yet to confirm the hypothesis, the man had done far too many conspicuous things—such as appointing himself gatekeeper.
Moreover, it was most puzzling that he had not passed the portal despite the qualification line now being tight. With his skill, stealing three crystals would have been trivial. He certainly wasn’t a pacifist wandering around picking flowers like Leonardo.
Rather, puzzled by how the man had rushed him as if waiting, Leonardo stood at the tip of the tower’s protrusion and looked downward. The spark had grazed the man’s right shoulder, so he could not be uninjured. But he had not been rendered incapable of fighting either, so it had to be confirmed.
Just as he leaned forward to descend and finish it—
“Hyuuung—!”
Ero’s distant shout rang out. Leonardo’s eyes widened instantly and he reflexively lifted his head. Without thinking he sprang from the spot like a released spring.
“...is gone—!”
What is he saying?
He could not hear clearly, but the tone was urgent. Did the bastard target Ero? Carrying the creeping anxiety, Leonardo shot upward fiercely, piercing through the clouds draped over the tower’s upper section.
***
Meanwhile, before Ero—who lay hugging the bag of crystals—a bizarre sight unfolded.
“Go away! I said go!”
The dark shapes that had lingered near the stamen tower since the beginning of the match. What Ero saw after crawling to the top was a mountain of sticky slime and a swarm roaming over it. They resembled pelicans with their broad beaks, yet were not birds. The creatures flocking until the sky looked black were demon beasts of a hybrid avian and insect form.
Each one, the size of a human torso, had short thick legs, vicious claws, and bristly hair, and occasionally clutched a Small Plarinus crystal. They seemed to play the role of bees and butterflies pollinating the Plarinus in this island’s ecosystem. However, unlike familiar insects, their appearance was anything but likable.
Ero desperately fended off the creatures pecking his back and head while swinging an empty pistol. Yet every time he swung his arm, teeth inside blunt snouts and sharp claws tore his clothes and scratched his skin.
The frightening part was that the beasts seemed to notice the contents of the bag, trembling their antennae and biting the strap to steal it. One might have been manageable, but dozens swarmed like bees, making even Ero’s body pressing the bag with his whole weight shake under their force.
As his exhausted fingers twisted, the slime-soaked bag slipped from his grasp in an instant. Losing his entire fortune, Ero cried out in despair.
“N-no!”
“Ero!”
He quickly raised his head and looked to the side. A boiling heat wind poured from the clouds. Then a fierce destructive force surged in, strong enough even a non-mage could feel. As the suffocating pressure tightened his throat, a sharp voice followed.
“Get your head down—!”
Instinctively shouting “Hy—”, Ero immediately covered his head and buried his face. At that moment, a slicing sound brushed past his back.
Kyaaa—
A sudden wave of scorching heat passed, and a chilling dying scream echoed above his head. Just as the startled Ero tried to look up again, something heavy dropped onto his face.
“Aagh!”
It was the bag stolen by the creatures. Since several fist-sized crystals were inside, it struck like a stone block. Clutching his seemingly broken nose in agony, Ero slowly opened one eye at the sight hanging in the sky. His squinting eyes snapped wide open.
“What the...”
More than half of the demon beast swarm that had densely darkened his view was scattering into soot and disappearing. It looked as though a circle had been carved out of a black canvas. Without analyzing the situation, it was obvious an overwhelmingly powerful magic had just pierced that space.
Yet within Ero’s common sense, the sight was hard to accept. As if a wound had been carved into the air, a vast hole pushed the clouds aside and stood majestically.
Through it, golden afterglow flickered in the evening sky—as if the sun had not set despite clearly having set.
The monsters that had attacked moments ago turning to ash made his jaw drop uncontrollably. His shoulders trembled not only from fear. He realized even intense exhilaration could make the body shudder.
“S-so damn strong...”
Muttering in awe, Ero sensed he had truly met a savior. As if he had never been scared, he shook his fist at the beasts proudly.
“Hah! You bastards see that? That’s my boss’s skill!”
He then smiled brightly and looked toward the king he had met in the wilderness. At that moment, the remaining swarm gathered like a giant organism and surrounded the man in the air.
Seeing that, Ero’s face turned pale. After hurriedly securing the bag, he sprang up—only to collapse again. Something had caught his ankle.
Reflexively checking his feet, he froze in horror.
“Hyung—, aaagh!”
A black whip wrapped around his leg and pulled tight. Having watched the whip’s owner all along, he did not need to look to know who waited below at the other end.
He jammed the pistol’s muzzle into the tower’s tip and held on. But the force dragging him to hell was enormous. Even as his nails filled with blood scratching the wall, it was useless.
“Hyuuung! Save me—!”
***
Leonardo, cutting down bat-like creatures clinging to him with a flaming blade, turned sharply at the shout. By then Ero had already been torn from the tower wall, clutching the bag and falling rapidly while reaching toward the sky.
“Ah damn.”
Talk about dead weight.
His hat had long been blown away during battle. Leonardo ruffled the back of his head irritably. He seized a bird-headed creature trying to tear off his mask and swung it around like a mace. Several were knocked back, opening a path through the swarm.
Using the strangled carcass as a guard before his face, Leonardo dived at full speed to save Ero. The crystals were with him, and he could not reach the goal holding hands with the sadist.
Breaking through fractured clouds and dust, he saw the lake below filled with debris from the battle. By a hair’s breadth, Ero hit first along with a broken protrusion.
Splash—
A huge ripple rose. Leonardo jumped in without hesitation.
Below the surface, it could hardly be called freshwater anymore due to the floating debris. «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» The largest portion was gelatinous masses drifting like jellyfish.
Leonardo grabbed the flailing Ero while stroking strongly. During the process, slime clung to the back and palm of his previously wounded hand.
...!
Pain stabbed his nerves as if disinfectant had been poured directly into the wound. But Leonardo merely grimaced briefly and grabbed the back of Ero’s neck, trying to surface.
“Mm!”
Then Ero shook his head underwater, grabbed Leonardo’s arm, and pointed toward the tower’s core embedded beneath the lake. There was a hole large enough for two people to enter.
