Bermuda

As soon as they reached the location indicated by the 8th Platoon Leader, the first thing they saw was the towering cave wall and the huge crack carved into it. From the crevice, split as if struck by lightning, a damp and creepy wind blew fiercely, painfully scratching the skin.

In front of the crack, many members from other battalions who had already arrived were analyzing the composition of the energy, and in the corner, one of the Dermocas that the 1st group had been responsible for transporting was lying on the floor, tied with sealing stones and ropes, unconscious.

The surroundings were littered with malfunctioning detectors, and some of them were emitting loud alarms, forcing the members to break the sensors to silence them.

As Hugo set foot in that chaotic scene, a commander from another battalion belonging to the same 1st group immediately ran up to him.

"Loyalty, you're here!"

"What's the situation?"

Hugo quickly scanned the surroundings and asked for a detailed report while responding with a light salute. The commander guided him to a spot slightly away from the noisy scene and swiftly began the briefing.

While the two stepped aside and talked for a moment, Leonardo, leaving them behind, slowly approached the crack in front of him. It was because the powerful wave emanating from there drew him in as if enchanting him.

As he unconsciously moved his steps, he instinctively became convinced that the flow of this air was caused by the creature that existed somewhere inside Peak 118. The sensation of his scalp tingling and his spine chilling every time the wind ruffled his hair and passed by was telling him so.

The sound of the wind hissing as the hot air passed through the narrow and sharp crevice scraped at his eardrums. Even though he tried not to listen, Leonardo frowned and covered one ear at the sound that strangely stimulated his nerves.

At that moment, a strange voice that couldn't be distinguished as human or beast brushed past his other ear.

"Hungry."

Leonardo flinched for a moment and abruptly turned to the side. It was a creepy sound, as if someone had whispered right next to his ear.

He immediately turned his body and scanned the surroundings, but there was no one within close range. There were members at a distance, but they all seemed to have no time to approach or spare a glance in this direction as they were focused on their own tasks.

'...What?'

Leonardo rubbed his neck for no reason and looked around. The air spreading in all directions was definitely hot, but a strange chill was in it.

Although he occasionally heard auditory hallucinations, it mainly happened when he was tired and sensitive. He had slept well last night, so his condition wasn't bad.

Moreover, the grudges cursing him would have spewed curses telling him to die, and they were even less likely to suddenly come out and say they were hungry.

After rubbing his neck and forearms with a stiff face for a while, Leonardo eventually dismissed the unidentified sound he had heard as just the wind leaking from the crack. It was more comfortable that way.

Later, when he took a few more steps closer to examine the crack in more detail, someone suddenly grabbed his forearm.

Pak-

Leonardo's face instantly turned cold, and he forcefully shook off the hand that had grabbed his arm. As he immediately turned around threateningly, an unexpected person was standing there. It was the 8th Platoon Leader who had come here with him.

She must have been surprised too, as she was shaking her numb hand with a rather flustered expression.

Leonardo, who had been frozen for a moment in tension, soon realized that it was her hand he had shaken off.

"...Were you the one who said you were hungry to me?"

Upon hearing the question, the platoon leader remained silent.

After a moment, her brows furrowed miserably. It sounded too nonsensical.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

When she coldly retorted, wearing an unpleasant look, Leonardo closed his mouth due to the subtle embarrassment that came over him. She certainly didn't seem like someone who would say such a thing.

At that moment, when he turned his head toward the crack to avoid her chilly gaze, another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Your main attribute was wind, right?"

Due to the rapidly changing topic, the 8th Platoon Leader couldn't grasp what he was trying to say at all. However, he seemed to be serious, so it didn't look like he was trying to make a joke, and she relaxed her frowning expression and answered with sincerity in her own way.

"...That's right. Why do you ask?"

"Do you know where this wind is blowing from?"

His fingertips pointed to the fierce wind crossing the crevice. The 8th Platoon Leader stared at the transparent flow of air and shook her head, answering,

"The structure of this interior is very complex, like an anthill. The wind blowing in a place like this has a high possibility of changing direction after colliding with walls several times. So it's impossible to find out the exact origin."

The answer was firm. Leonardo looked a little disappointed but soon nodded and turned his eyes away. If it could be found easily, there would be no reason for everyone to suffer like this.

"But it's certain that the origin of the wind is the mother body."

When words he thought had ended were heard again, Leonardo turned to look at the platoon leader once more.

"How are you so sure?"

Instead of answering, she held out her palm upward in front of Leonardo. Then, on the grayish-white magic circle, five long needles with a hazy appearance were created as the gas condensed, and small barriers surrounded them, protecting their form from the strong wind.

Leonardo stepped back slightly at her suddenly pushing out attack magic, but soon narrowed his eyes as he noticed the tips of the needles flickering strangely.

The 8th Platoon Leader opened her mouth after confirming that his gaze had reached the needles.

"Vibration can be felt."

At the sharp tips of the needles, intermittent tremors were detected at regular intervals. It wasn't a vibration caused by a huge impact, but a vibration created by periodic and uniform waves.

Until now, whenever a strong gust of wind blew in Peak 118, it was always right after a huge roar accompanied by an impact occurred. However, for the past three days, there had been no roar or sign that could be felt at all, yet such a strong wind was blowing, making one suspect that a different phenomenon was occurring.

In other words, it was a phenomenon /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ that humans couldn't feel, but the Ilaptors, which had been unseen all along, might be able to feel.

"This is...?"

The golden eyes that had been quietly staring at the flickering needles slowly shifted toward the platoon leader's eyes. The two people who made eye contact spoke simultaneously.

"The mother body's ultrasonic waves."