Bermuda

Hugo immediately held his breath and drew cold energy from his entire body. At the ominous energy pooling in his grasp, two of the mother body's upturned eyes dropped at terrifying speed.

At the same time, Leonardo, who had also sensed the chill, quickly flicked his eyes around to assess the situation. However, the moment his gaze met the blue eyes, it became unnecessary. Both hands, taut with tension, unleashed black sparks without hesitation, as if receiving a signal.

The savage tip, coursing with electric current, dug deep into the eyeball it had been aiming at. It took less than a second to tear through the pupil and sever the optic nerve.

Kaaaak-

As soon as the chilling roar echoed all around, the mother body's raised claws slashed through the air. Leonardo, who had quickly dodged, repeatedly hurled fireballs at the torn flesh to prevent the creature from regaining its senses. The impact proved quite effective on the already exposed flesh, as bloody chunks of meat violently splattered.

Meanwhile, Hugo, feeling the grip on his body loosen, rapidly cooled the skin of the mother body's foot. Then he generated hot air in his hand and forced it into friction, triggering an instant explosion. The frozen flesh shattered into pieces, and the giant claws that had been hanging like bars flew off in an instant.

However, having suffered internal injuries, Hugo couldn't avoid the shock either, and another gush of hot blood flowed from his mouth as he successfully escaped.

But there was no time to hesitate. Hugo immediately fired a mana-infused flare toward the sky, then flew toward Leonardo, who was rapid-firing at the mother body's head to buy time, and clasped his waist tight.

Without even a moment to meet the puzzled golden eyes, Hugo threw his body with all his might into the first cave he saw.

Kwaaang-! 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

As soon as they squeezed their bodies into the narrow gap, a giant claw followed terrifyingly close behind. Its tip, digging in while crushing rock with a determination not to let them escape, savagely scraped the inside of the cave with a monstrous cry.

However, as other presences began to register one by one outside, the queen, that had been focusing only on the wall where the two had entered, suddenly raised its head. The remaining six intact eyes rolled frantically, scanning the surroundings.

Meterion, who had been watching this scene from high above, confirmed the blue flare bursting before his eyes and immediately raised his right arm.

At that signal, over a hundred members who had been holding their breath in the caves stepped forward one by one. Then, at two points about 100 meters above and below the mother body, light suddenly flashed. Soon after, a huge magic circle appeared and rapidly expanded its radius, filling the space.

The edge of the magic circle seeped into the uneven rock, interlocking seamlessly with the wall. It was a powerful cylindrical sealing spell deployed to prevent the mother body from struggling and escaping.

At the dazzling light and pressure pouring from above and below, the queen, seeming to realize that the situation had turned unfavorable, pressed tightly against the wall and curled its body into a ball. At the same time, a company commander belonging to the 3rd Battalion approached from behind Meterion and calmly reported the external situation to his superior.

"Battalion Commander, barrier activation preparations across the peninsula are 99% complete."

Meterion, who had briefly turned around, just nodded lightly as if confirming. Soon after, the mother body, which had been growling below, began to howl fiercely and grasp the rock wall, charging upwards. Whether curling up had been to gain momentum, the height it cleared in one leap was extraordinary.

Meterion, who had been watching its movements, immediately shouted loudly to the members on standby.

"Everyone, prepare to attack!"

The short, strong command echoed through the vast space. Immediately, different mana energies and heavy firearm muzzles from all directions aimed simultaneously at a single point.

The queen, climbing the wall as if running on flat ground, leaped fearlessly toward the sky as if it had a target in mind. At that moment, Meterion, lowering his right arm, aimed at the charging mother body and shouted once more.

"All-out attack!"

The voice that had briefly spread was instantly swallowed up by the destructive sound that followed. As the members mercilessly unleashed ranged attacks toward the massive body, a deafening roar covered the area, causing a huge vibration.

Kwagwagwagwang!

Those attacks flew in like hundreds of arrows cleaving the air in ancient {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} records, coloring the desolate space with multicolored diagonal lines. The mother body's screams, struggling inside the cylindrical prison with nowhere to escape, leaked out sharply.

Meterion, having smoothed back hair disheveled by the shockwave, merely stared at the dark form with emotionless eyes without giving an order to stop. Having observed the battle all along, he was certain that the creature wouldn't die from just this.

Even now, as the attacks collided, causing chain explosions, the massive body within occasionally leaped up savagely before sinking back down.

Meterion's brow slightly furrowed at the repeated movement. The attacks continued to pour from above, but the creature's behavior, as if trying to go against them, seemed strange somehow.

Meanwhile, in a narrow cave located below, Hugo and Leonardo went a bit further inside to avoid the bombardment raining down. The two sat down with a thud, awkwardly holding each other's waists, and caught their breath while watching the situation outside.

Leonardo, who only belatedly realized that others had arrived after the fierce air raid reminiscent of a battlefield, couldn't take his eyes off the cave entrance, dumbfounded.

All that could be seen beyond the acrid smoke flowing in were only continuously flashing lights. However, the shadow of the giant monster roaring violently vividly writhed moment by moment through the swirling dust.

And then, two large hands suddenly approached and grasped Leonardo's face. Then, with a gentle but firm movement, they forcibly made him turn to face their owner. The golden eyes naturally met Hugo's.

"Leonardo."

"...Huh?"

After a moment of confusion at the sudden situation, the particularly hoarse voice caught Leonardo's attention. Hugo had already taken off the glove on his right hand. As he brushed back Leonardo's golden hair that had grown quite long to reach his eyes, he said,

"Close your eyes."

At the rather abrupt words, Leonardo just blinked blankly. Then Hugo cupped his cheek with his bare hand, which he had warmed up, and spoke again.

"Hold your breath for a moment too."

Before he could grasp the meaning, the large hand quickly approached, covering his eyes. Reflexively squeezing his eyes shut, Leonardo took a deep breath, forgetting even the pain in his ribs. But the sensation that followed on his face made him immediately exhale the breath he had just taken.

"W-wait. What are you doing?"

Leonardo, who had flinched at the unexpected sensation, hurriedly turned his head. Cold water, enough to jolt him awake, was soaking his entire face.

With his eyes barely half-open due to the dripping water, Leonardo pushed away Hugo's arm with a face that seemed to ask what he was doing. However, the other man paid no mind and continued to produce water from his hand, gently rubbing the small face he was holding.

Although it was a careful touch for something that had come without permission, this situation of suddenly having his face washed by someone else wasn't particularly welcome. Leonardo shook his head vigorously from side to side, shaking off the moisture from his wet face and hair.

"No, seriously, what are you doing?"

"It's already swollen. We need to wash it off."

Hugo's somewhat forceful touch soon reached Leonardo's neck area, where the skin had turned red. As the hand brushed against the sensitive skin, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, feeling a sting. It seemed that the liquid that had splashed while he was frantically striking at the flesh, trying to cut off the mother body's tail earlier, had damaged his skin.

After briefly examining his expression, Hugo gently stroked the swollen area with his fingertips. The swelling subsided quickly, but the reddened marks still remained.

Hugo looked at it with dissatisfied eyes, then turned his attention to Leonardo's left shoulder, which had been bothering him. Seeing that he had merely tied a knot with a single piece of cloth on the blood-soaked shoulder, despite the urgency of the situation, he couldn't help but sigh.

"How did this happen here?"

As Hugo asked with a displeased face, Leonardo silently moved his lips. Then he retorted with an incredulous look.

"Is that really the issue right now?"

The warm hand that immediately stretched out, as if frustrated, now unhesitatingly touched Hugo's face.

Carefully wiping away the blood that had run from his tightly pressed lips down to his jawline, Leonardo wore an even more pained expression.