As soon as he entered, the first thing that caught his eye was the intermittent glow of light orbs cutting through the pitch-black darkness, barely revealing the countless glinting scales around them. Leonardo realized that the suspicion he’d harbored had been correct.
The name of those glittering scales was Sawtooth Fish—a deep-sea species with saw-like teeth, typically found in the ocean’s depths.
Though small, Sawtooth Fish were known to swarm together, attacking prey many times their size and tearing apart whatever they could with relentless ferocity.
All those unpleasant eyes embedded in the glittering scales turned toward Leonardo, reacting to the ripples stirred by his dive.
The moment he met their gaze, Leonardo immediately swam deeper. The swarm of Sawtooth Fish responded in kind, darting after him at alarming speed.
Using magic underwater as one would use flight magic in the sky, Leonardo plunged downward. But the water’s resistance was immense, severely hindering his speed.
Back when he had discovered the skeleton tomb while following the procession, he’d suspected the scratches on the bone fragments were left by Sawtooth Fish. However, he’d never imagined they’d truly be present—let alone in the middle of the peninsula, and in a high-altitude crater lake of freshwater, no less.
Still, thinking back on the unidentified monster cohabiting with them in this lake, it became a bit more plausible that Sawtooth Fish had survived here.
The Elder Millie Peninsula had been formed by rising land and underwater volcanic eruptions, making it entirely possible that deep-sea species had migrated inward.
The remaining mystery was how saltwater fish could survive in freshwater. But if the toxic elements of that monster functioned similarly to Ilaptor's venom—as a sodium chloride substitute—then it wasn’t an entirely far-fetched theory.
Resolved to rely solely on close-range combat, Leonardo raised his hand toward the massive swarm of Sawtooth Fish and detonated an explosion by expanding hot air around them—all in under a minute.
A violent whirlpool formed as the pressurized air burst underwater, scattering the creatures in disarray.
With a glance downward, he confirmed that he had bought a little time. Below, his teammates were intercepting the Sawtooth Fish, keeping them at bay, while a few members were breaking away to attack the enormous monster.
He had wondered why they hadn’t taken it down immediately—but clearly, the presence of the Sawtooth Fish had complicated matters.
Spotting the rapidly moving monster, Leonardo synchronized his teleportation spell to intercept it. But its underwater speed was beyond expectation. As soon as he teleported, the monster shot past, and the force of its wake sent Leonardo tumbling through the current.
Yet another reason he hated underwater combat. Water refracted light in a way that distorted perception, making accurate teleportation nearly impossible.
In that moment, two members managed to cling to the monster and sever its limbs. The creature twisted its remaining limbs into coils, pulling one captured member toward the center of its body—as if attempting to use them as a shield.
The 8th Platoon Leader plunged her sword deep into the monster’s body. Despite the crushing water pressure, she unleashed a magical assault directly into its core.
The monster’s skin, saturated with injected air, expanded grotesquely and burst under the pressure—but underwater, its regeneration accelerated. The shredded flesh writhed and reformed with disturbing speed. After repeating this cycle several times, the creature only seemed to grow larger.
Leonardo scowled and teleported again in the direction of its movement. This time, his calculation was precise—the monster’s limb was right in front of him. He lunged and caught it.
However, the flesh was so slick it nearly slipped from his grasp. Scratching at the skin with his nails, Leonardo summoned flames in his hand and seared it directly. Then he dug his fingers in.
The monster thrashed in agony, generating crushing pressure. Before he could be thrown off, Leonardo concentrated more heat into his hand, grabbed the limb wrapped around his comrade, crawled toward it, and ripped it apart.
As the torn stump writhed and tried to regenerate, Leonardo immediately cauterized it with fire, halting the regrowth. Gradually, the movement ceased—and it didn’t regenerate further.
More than half of the entwined limbs were severed in thick chunks. The remaining strands were swiftly sliced by a nearby member clinging to the creature. The unconscious captive floated freely now, still bound to a severed limb. Yet the stump tried again to regrow and latch onto it.
Leonardo summoned a flame sword, cleaved off the regenerating section, then kicked the detached limb far away to prevent it from being reclaimed. He grabbed the arm of a nearby member and hurled him toward it.
The thrown(?) member rolled through the water, startled, then glared fiercely at Leonardo. But upon spotting the unconscious comrade in front of him, he swiftly shouldered them with one arm.
Though reluctant at first, the member nodded at Leonardo’s hand signal and began swimming toward the surface.
Leonardo watched, surprisingly satisfied at how obediently the other followed orders. Just then, a limb wrapped around his ankle and yanked hard. He involuntarily exhaled, swallowed water, and his breathing spiraled into chaos.
He reached down to tear it off, but another limb came and bound his entire body. He couldn’t even move a finger.
Is this thing insane? Does it want to die?
With air running out, Leonardo writhed, struggling against the crushing pressure that threatened to snap his bones. In the end, he ignited flames across his entire body, drawing heat from his dantian in hopes of forcing the creature to release him.
As he convulsed in searing flame, the 8th Platoon Leader suddenly appeared. She sliced through the monster’s binding limbs with a sword wrapped in mana, moving with blinding speed.
The layered constriction was instantly severed, and Leonardo slipped free of the shredded mass. She glanced at him briefly to confirm his safety, then turned back and launched another barrage against the regenerating creature.
Leonardo looked at her back—his rescuer—then swam to the surface, gasping for air as his lungs hit their limit.
Hugo removed the glove from his left hand and wiped the black blood off his face with his bare palm. He quietly studied the dark fluid on his fingertips, then conjured water and rinsed it clean.
In his right hand was a colossal greatsword made of ice.
Black blood trickled down its glacial blade, some of it freezing into runic patterns along the steel. Where it dripped, the ground darkened—but something about that ground was off.
Hugo stood between two cliffs in a deep ravine, once filled with boiling water from magma. Now, the entire valley was frozen solid—even the blood dripping from the sword turned to slush the instant it touched the earth.
Beneath his feet, encased in the ice, was a massive shadow—a monstrous fusion of lizard and fish. It was frozen mid-charge, mouth agape to reveal jagged teeth, its bright yellow eyes still gleaming.
Amid this eerie scene, Hugo checked his watch and clicked his tongue.
Did I take too long?
He and two members had ventured far while scouting the next target zone, only to encounter a mutant monster.
Mutants, never seen before, were dangerous due to their unknown traits. Standard protocol called for capturing two or three alive for analysis and exterminating the rest on sight. That explained the two netted monsters lying unconscious beside Hugo.
Luckily, they had made contact with a nearby battalion’s messenger and were now awaiting the expedition team to collect the specimens.
A member emerged from the ravine and approached Hugo to report.
"Commander, we’ve confirmed the nest."
His combat suit and blade were also drenched in black blood. He looked fatigued from the skirmish. Hugo, still checking his watch, turned toward him and asked:
"And the rest?"
Just as the member stepped forward to respond, the frozen monster’s yellow eyes rolled—eerily—and locked onto him.
He froze. Hugo, without a word, raised the massive greatsword in one hand and drove it through the ice.
A thunderous boom echoed through the gorge. Cracks spiderwebbed across the frozen ground as the blade plunged through the gap—its tip piercing the center of the creature’s eye with ruthless precision.
Wind gusted outward from {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the shock. The member flinched and turned his face from the flying shards. When the air stilled, he saw the lifeless eye beneath the fractured ice, and looked back to Hugo.
"They’ve been wiped out."
Hugo nodded once, pulled out a spare glove, and began putting it on as he said:
"Good. Stand by until the expedition team gets here."
The member received Hugo’s removed glove and surveyed the frozen valley.
This place had been scorching when they first arrived, heated by the volcanic zone. Now, every cliff in the area was buried in frost, and an eerie cold hung thick in the air.
All around them, monstrous corpses sprawled across the terrain—bodies shattered and soaked in black blood.
The creatures’ blood had frozen along the cliffs like a black waterfall, and most of their necks were impaled by jagged ice.
At the sight, the member felt a bit ashamed to be told "good work" by the Commander.
