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Bermuda Chapter 223
🕑 Added 2024-07-31 10:48:05 +0000 UTCChapter 223
About 20 minutes after the two had started heading south through the smoke screen. Hugo, who had been creating wind to shake off the volcanic ash, suddenly stopped in mid-air and scanned the surroundings.
'Water?'
He sensed the presence of water not far away. And quite a vast amount of water at that.
He had noticed thick fog from about 300m away, so it seemed there was a fairly wide lake in this area.
There was also a slight saltiness mixed in, so at first he thought they might have reached near the coastline, but there was no sound of waves and the characteristic fishy smell of the seaside was minimal. If so, it was highly likely to be the lower reaches of a river formed by the meeting of seawater flowing in from the ocean and a valley stream flowing inland. In other words, it meant the coastline was not far off.
As the thought that the goal was in sight occurred to him, Hugo's rough breathing became calmer. Relaxing his stiffened shoulders, he leaned his cheek against Leonardo's head resting on him and whispered.
"We're almost there. Just hold on a little longer."
As he gently stroked the golden hair soaked with cold sweat, white steam hissed fiercely. Although it had been hot as if holding a fireball all along, it hadn't been this extreme, so Hugo hesitated for a moment.
He immediately tried to slightly pull back his chin to examine the other's face, but couldn't see properly because Leonardo had his head bowed low. Only the rapidly rising and falling shoulders and wheezing breath hinted at his poor condition.
'Is it very difficult?'
Hugo, his expression hardening, adjusted his hold on Leonardo's limp body. Then he removed his hand from Leonardo's head and placed his fingers on the exposed skin of his nape.
Leonardo's shoulders flinched in surprise at the cold touch, and simultaneously, pale steam and a stinging heat spread to Hugo's fingertips. He had been aware that the heat in his arms was increasingly boiling, but the condition seemed far more serious than expected.
Thinking there was no time to spare, Hugo once again embraced the curved back. Then, as he turned towards the source of moisture and was about to scatter the dust in front of him and advance, it happened.
Kugung-
Suddenly, a mysterious explosion spread from far away, and a large vibration arose from underground. Having suffered similar sounds all the way here, Hugo only briefly turned his gaze without paying much attention.
However, heavy roars continued in succession, and he felt them narrowing the distance at a terrifying speed. It was just as Hugo, sensing something strange, narrowed his eyes while watching in that direction.
Pushuii-
"..."
Hot steam that felt like it could scorch skin narrowly grazed the two floating in the air. Hugo, who had reflexively spread a barrier, stepped back sharply to avoid the steam surging from below.
However, as if a cluster of hole-ridden tunnels and cracked ground had formed in this area, steam spurted out from all directions, front and back, left and right.
As a sharp hissing sound filled the immediate vicinity, Hugo, judging that the low ground was no longer safe, stepped on an ice sheet and leaped upwards in one breath.
The sulfurous gas containing volcanic ash instantly covered the sky 30m above densely. Hugo, covering Leonardo's ears, scanned the situation below and turned his head towards the source of the explosions.
"...Oh no."
Gray smoke and red light flickered in the distance. Moreover, black dust from there was gradually expanding its territory.
He had felt uneasy for a while, and sure enough, it seemed volcanic activity had begun in other craters affected by the explosion. Once full-scale eruption began, not only would visibility be obscured, but securing oxygen and escaping would also become difficult.
Hugo clicked his tongue and quickly turned his body. There was no time to delay. They had to get out of here fast.
After flying at full speed through the air resistance for about another 3 minutes. The sound of rapids flowing through moist and eerie water mist could be heard. Every time they passed through winding valleys between sheer gorges, streams boiling like hot springs gathered one by one, growing in size.
They formed quite strong streams of water, all flowing in one direction, and at some point, as the friction sound of water intensified, they became quite a high waterfall pouring down the cliff.
Hugo, chased by the roars and dust surging behind him, plunged unhesitatingly through the splashing water droplets. The moment the two, covered in volcanic ash, passed through the water mist, the boiling temperature dropped sharply, and their constricted breathing and vision cleared.
"Haa."
Exhaling the breath he had been holding, Hugo opened his squinted eyes and fired three or four light balls forward. Following the trajectory of the extending light, the curtain of night lifted, revealing a large lake that could be mistaken for the sea.
Then, on the water surface dyed with darkness, a huge reflected barrier undulated in place.
Kugung, kung-
But before they could savor the joy of arrival, ominous sounds soon followed the two.
Hugo flew towards the center of the lake. Given the situation, it seemed he needed to advance the plan a little.
The water mist floating around him condensed, forming three fairly large lumps. Swelling like living organisms, they transformed into divine beasts, absorbing Hugo's mana. They were three hawks with sleek shapes and faintly glowing blue wings.
"Find the nearest exit within a 5-mile radius. As soon as you discover a suitable place, indicate the location by self-destructing."
As the master's order fell, the three birds of prey flapped their wings swiftly as if they understood. Then, after circling around Hugo, they scattered in different directions with a "piiiiii-" cry.
As they departed, Hugo teleported in front of the barrier visible ahead. Then he tapped the surface of the barrier with his military boots, gauging its approximate condition.
'The barrier is shaking. At this rate...'
Since barrier stones couldn't be erected in the middle of the lake, the gaps between them would be relatively wide. This meant that, like the coastline, the solidity of the barrier here was also comparatively weaker.
As Hugo had expected, the southern barrier they had painstakingly reached was trembling slightly on the surface due to the difference in air pressure inside and out. As soon as he discovered this phenomenon, Hugo tightly bound himself and Leonardo with a stream of water he created in his hand.
Then, holding Leonardo with one arm, he began to hit the transparent barrier membrane hard with his other hand. He checked the density and hardness by pounding with his fist and palm, or even bumping with his shoulder if necessary.
As the shaking intensified from these impacts, Leonardo, who had been burying his face, stirred in Hugo's arms. After bumping his forehead against the firm shoulder, he barely raised his head and blinked his unfocused eyes.
Just as he was catching his breath and trying to focus, steadying himself on Hugo's shoulder, Leonardo came face to face with the dark wave surging behind Hugo's back.
Seeing the black smoke rapidly choking off breath not far away, a harsh cough erupted from his mouth as if trying to expel the dust accumulated in his respiratory tract.
"Cough, cough-"
Hugo, who had been examining the barrier, hesitated at the sound and turned to look at Leonardo.
"Leo, are you alright?"
At the voice full of concern, Leonardo barely managed to answer despite his dazed state.
"Cough, ye... I'm fi-fine. But behind..., ...!"
He was continuing with small coughs, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, when suddenly his shoulders heaved greatly and he stopped mid-sentence. A sudden stabbing pain had pierced his heart as if with a spear.
Leonardo, inhaling sharply with eyes wide open, clutched his chest with a face that had turned red in an instant. As blood vessels suddenly stood out on his clear forehead and around his eyes, Hugo sensed something ominous and hardened his expression coldly.
"Leo, what's wrong, what's happening? Is that part hurting again?"
Having seen Leonardo clutch near his heart during battle before, Hugo grabbed his forearm with a tense face and asked. However, Leonardo, seeming to have difficulty even answering, only gasped for breath, his chest heaving again.
'Damn it, why does this keep...'
Until just now, even if there was pain, it wasn't unbearable if he just stayed still and held his breath. But suddenly, as if his heart and lungs were being squeezed, he couldn't breathe properly, and fear rushed in, accompanied by symptoms of hyperventilation.
His trembling golden eyes contorted and fluctuated unstably, and the blood vessels that had risen red once again revealed the whites of his eyes. Moreover, the chilling hoarse sound as if he was about to lose his breath exactly recreated the nightmarish memory from earlier.
Hugo, watching him, turned even paler than the subject himself. He immediately grasped Leonardo's chin and forcibly tilted it back.
"Leo, Leo! Take slow, deep breaths, it's okay."
"Kkeuk-, heuk."
Hugo, securing the airway while fixing his head, tried to tear open Leonardo's shirt buttons to help him breathe a little more comfortably.
"Just focus on stabilizing your breathing as much as possible..."
However, as soon as he saw Leonardo's collarbone revealed through the opened collar, Hugo froze as if turned to ice, stopping his movement.
'...What is this?'
Even considering the bruising, Leonardo's entire neck was excessively reddish. Red spots that looked almost like a skin disease were spreading, threatening to cover his entire body.
Kugugung-
To make matters worse, a heavy roar announcing the explosion of ejecta burst not far away. Volcanic ash containing heavy metals surged over the lake like a whipped horse.
But Hugo had no time to pay attention to that. The dark congestion pooled under Leonardo's skin emitted a strange light and grew in size.
Meanwhile, Leonardo kept gasping as if being strangled, and perhaps due to fear of going berserk, he kept trying to break free from Hugo's embrace. Hugo emitted cold to suppress the boiling energy, but he was even careful with that, fearing the steam rising from between them might interfere with Leonardo's breathing.
The situation was rushing towards a crisis, and golden light burst forth from Leonardo's body.
And simultaneously, flares fired by the commanders outside the barrier exploded.
Comments
Jesse Gibson
Oh no
