Bermuda

For a very brief moment, a dangerous, impulsive thought crossed Nero's mind, but he soon shook his head. He raised the rifle stock to his shoulder again and aimed the sight at the monster.

'Still, they're the commander's direct subordinates; nothing good can come from messing with them unnecessarily.'

Rather, if he continued to act as a benevolent member like this, he would probably remain in their memories as 'suspicious but still an ally.' It seemed better to keep quiet instead of entertaining unnecessary thoughts.

Although he had followed them here out of concern for the captain, he didn't intend to step forward rashly from the start if there wasn't a major problem with his safety. Officially, he was a person who shouldn't be here right now.

Moreover, he had been hiding the fact that he could use mana all along, but when the captain's divine beast came to find him, he left the ring and disappeared with flames, and it seemed the woman behind him had caught on to something.

As evidence, since then, blatant gazes had been boring into the back of his head. Though he was anxious, doing anything more conspicuous would not be good for him, the captain, or his comrades in many ways.

Lost in these thoughts, Nero stared at the end of the muzzle and tightened his finger on the trigger. However, just as the trigger was pulled about one-third of the way and the bullet was about to be fired, the movement of the monster twisting its body beyond the muzzle seemed ominous.

With its hideous mouth wide open, the creature repeatedly inflated and deflated the hide of its entire body. Then, letting out a strange roar, it writhed madly. At the same time, the fierce wind pressure that spread out shook the members standing at the entrance of the narrow passage as if about to knock them over.

"W-what's going on!"

"Everyone, hold on tight!"

Urgent voices of other members were heard nearby. Meanwhile, the voice of a commander shouting that the barrier must not be disrupted followed.

Nero also stumbled back a step at the sudden gust of wind. He instinctively placed his hand on a pillar and quickly regained his balance. However, his narrowed gaze through his fluttering hair fixed on the somehow familiar movement of that monster rather than anything else.

'Could it be...'

As if to confirm his guess, the pillar under his palm began to shake violently. As the trembling vibrations traveled up his arms and legs, Nero placed his hand on the railing in front and thoroughly scanned above and below the vast space.

The 8th Platoon Leader, who had also staggered for a moment behind him, took a step forward to stop the member who was suddenly stretching his neck toward the cliff.

And at that moment, Nero, who had been looking outside, sensed her presence and turned around, immediately aiming his muzzle at the Platoon Leader's face as if about to fire.

The 8th Platoon Leader's eyes widened at his action as she was approaching. She immediately stopped in her tracks and showed her palms with a perplexed expression.

"Wait, what are you—"

Bang-!

Before she could finish speaking, a gunshot rang out, and the bullet passed by her head at high speed. As she reflexively twisted her body and pressed her back against the wall, something hit by the bullet behind her howled with a bizarre sound.

Without time to assess the situation, five more bullets were fired in rapid succession. They accurately hit the heads of three or four monsters rushing from behind, killing them instantly.

The 8th Platoon Leader, who had been staring at the fallen monsters with surprised eyes, immediately turned her head toward the member. However, before she could fathom his true intention in aiming the muzzle, she couldn't help but be shocked by the scene unfolding beyond the member's shoulder.

"Aaaaargh-!"

"Look behind!"

"They're coming in swarms!"

The Ilaptors, which they thought had fled, were crawling out one after another from the holes in the walls surrounding them.

As the writhing black wave suddenly poured into the interior, the throats of several who had been watching the front were instantly torn out by the monsters that pounced from behind.

Some, with their limbs cut off one by one, became entangled with the creatures and fell down the cliff in the blink of an eye.

The smell of blood flowing from severed bodies and chilling screams instantly dyed the space red. The Platoon Leader's complexion turned pale in an instant °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° at the voices of her comrades heard nearby.

In the moment her mind briefly went blank at the catastrophe before her eyes, she immediately rushed forward and grasped the railing with her hands. At that moment, a mysterious liquid dripped from above, soaking her head to neck with heat.

She abruptly raised her rigidly set jaw. The head of a corpse that seemed to have died instantly from a neck bite was seen protruding. The skin that must have been flushed with blood until just moments ago was pierced by needle-like teeth, and the gaping mouth spewed thick blood.

Grrrr-

Seeing the Ilaptor looking down with its head thrust forward above, the 8th Platoon Leader's eyes turned fierce, and she immediately stretched out her arm to attack.

But at that moment, another ear-splitting gunshot rang out right beside her. The bullet, fired faster than magic, instantly dug into the creature's eyeball. The metal, rotating inside and grinding the brain, penetrated the head and burst out the other side along with flesh.

The Ilaptor, unable to even scream, collapsed so easily it seemed almost futile, and the corpse it had been holding in its mouth slipped out between its jaws. That body, still not completely cold, quickly plummeted down into the darkness below, passing by the two people.

"Ah-"

The 8th Platoon Leader reflexively reached out her hand, but sadly, her fingertips didn't even brush the clothing.

Her eyes below trembled with a sigh at the cold human figure rapidly disappearing in that brief moment.

She immediately straddled the railing, trying to grasp the life that had just been extinguished. Then Nero, who had been loading bullets beside her, hurriedly pulled back her shoulder with a face as if he had seen something bizarre.

"What are you doing? This isn't the time; we need to go save our other comrades. ...First, take a breath."

At his voice, which sounded unusually calm, the 8th Platoon Leader suddenly raised her head. Then she belatedly realized that she had been holding her breath until just now.

After exhaling a few rapid breaths, she looked down again with confused eyes to where the corpse had fallen.

However, the figure of the comrade she had lost was no longer visible there. Only pitch-black darkness lurked, along with another scream.

"..."

Her lips moved silently as she stared blankly into space, struck by the sudden scene of death that had just passed. But soon, as the "other comrades" the member had mentioned came to mind, she realized this wasn't the time to be like this and barely managed to gather her complicated emotions.

She roughly wiped her blood-soaked face with her sleeve, then swiftly drew the sword at her waist. Then, looking at the member again, she spoke in a rather solemn voice.

"Let's hurry."

Nero stared at the Platoon Leader, who seemed to have quickly regained her composure. He belatedly noticed her hands trembling with an emotion he couldn't tell was shock or anger, but he averted his gaze and gestured with his chin toward the side path that stretched along the railing.

"We don't have time, so let's move separately for now. I'll go this way. You go that way."

At the member's words, which swiftly decided the direction as well, the 8th Platoon Leader nodded immediately without thinking deeply. Then she instantly turned her body and moved toward the opposite direction.

Her legs, stretched out as if about to fall, leaped fearlessly toward the comrades who would be fighting the monsters.

Although her own platoon members who had arrived here together would probably manage even if scattered, the monsters' howls mixed with human screams gradually narrowed her vision and thoughts.

She ran vigorously with steps covered in urgency, but that sprint didn't last long. It was because she suddenly thought that the member's tone and atmosphere when giving directions were different from before in many ways.

The Platoon Leader, who immediately stopped in place, turned around while breathing heavily. Then she quickly scanned with her eyes the place where she had been standing just a few seconds ago.

However, she could only stand there blankly blinking for a while.

Because the figure of the member, who should have been running in the opposite direction from her, was nowhere to be seen.

Kung, kung, kung, kung, kung-!

After letting out a roar containing ultrasonic waves, the mother body twisted its body as if going berserk and rammed its head almost every second.

Meterion, who had been pouring mana into the center of the barrier, instinctively felt that they were gradually reaching their limit as he watched this sight. Whether it was himself or the barrier, they had reached a situation where they could no longer endure.

He had already sent a request for support outside a long time ago, but it was unknown how long it would take for the troops to reach this place. Moreover, due to the monsters that had suddenly reappeared and ambushed from behind, the members could no longer put effort into the concentrated bombardment toward the mother body and reinforcing the barrier.

Fragments of the broken barrier flew higher and higher each time the mother body collided. Moreover, the cracks that had only appeared near the edges now spread throughout the entire cylindrical barrier, drawing savage diagonal lines as if lightning were striking.

Finally, Meterion, having made a decision, shouted to the commanders holding out above the mother body.

"Everyone, get away from it!"

Some commanders hesitated at his order, which sounded as if he was telling them to give up on the barrier. However, it seemed to be a signal for the mother body as well, as the creature that had been constantly thrusting its head upwards suddenly changed direction and crawled downwards.

Just as the commanders, surprised by the creature's unexpected behavior, were looking down, the beast, covering its skull with hardening techniques, grasped the wall and charged at an incredible speed.

"Get away!"

Meterion, who had noticed the creature's intention, shouted loudly once again. Even those who had been holding out until the last moment pulled each other's arms and quickly moved away from the surface of the barrier.

The massive body that immediately rushed upwards with all its might strongly collided, aiming for the cracks on the surface. At the same time, the barrier that couldn't withstand the impact shattered, exploding with a roar while pouring out dazzling light.

Kwaaang-!

The enormous dust raised by that tremendous aftermath was enough to swallow the surrounding visibility. Meterion, floating in the air, immediately deployed and expanded a magic circle to subdue the floating particles. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

And at that moment.

The queen, who had leaped in aiming for a single point, burst through the thick curtain and soared upward in one breath.