Chapter 107

Rock debris rolled down below the split cliff, and smoke from the friction was thick everywhere. Hugo exhaled a slightly rough breath and used the greatsword stuck in the wall as a foothold to climb up in one breath.

He tried to immediately check on Leonardo, who would be hanging, but the situation was not favorable as the water stream stretched long over the protruding rock edge below the sword, hanging precariously.

Worried that the water stream wrapped around the sword hilt might break, Hugo carefully grasped it. At that moment, a creaking sound came from above, and a huge shadow rapidly approached, swallowing all the light in the narrow ravine.

As Hugo raised his head to the suddenly darkened sky, he saw that a part of the ice support he had created to block the falling rocks had been half-destroyed and had come right in front of him.

Composing his breath, he stared at the huge chunk of ice mixed with rocks with cold eyes, without any particular movement. As his frosty gaze touched the center of the ice mass, the surface of the ice expanded rapidly, and fragments scattered like snowflakes with a sharp sound as if glass was shattering.

Slightly frowning and averting his gaze, Hugo grasped the water stream wrapped around his hand again with a somewhat tired look. The snowflakes fluttering in the air melted surprisingly quickly and fell as rain, and he spread barriers in all directions to protect those below from being hit by the falling rocks and rain.

But suddenly, a strange sense of discomfort brushed the tips of his fingers holding the water stream.

Even considering that the weight was distributed as the water stream was caught on the protruding rock, the weight felt at his fingertips now was abnormally light.

Feeling an ominous premonition, Hugo immediately stepped on the edge of the rock slightly below the greatsword. Then, holding the water stream so that it wouldn't touch the sharp edge, he pulled it up at once using the rebound.

Eventually, as he caught the one dragged along by the end with both arms, his complexion darkened to a miserable extent.

Only one person had come up.

Only the unconscious 8th Platoon Leader was tied to the end of the water stream.

Hugo's expression froze rapidly, and holding her, he immediately looked down the cliff. In the dizzying abyss shrouded in darkness, only falling rocks brushed past him and grew distant, with no human figures in sight.

"Ha—."

As he sighed in confusion, a brutal aura gradually surged on his face. As he tightly closed his lips, blue blood vessels clearly rose near his jaw and neck.

'When on earth?'

After staring down for a moment with a menacing gaze, Hugo rested the 8th Platoon Leader's head on his shoulder so that her neck wouldn't twist from hanging limply in his arms, and held her again with one arm.

Then, turning his gaze back to the endless cliff below, he pulled out the greatsword he had thrust into the wall with one hand. The eerie chill emanating from his body reacted with the high temperature rising from below, creating a thick fog. As he lowered his posture in it and was about to jump into the darkness, that's when it happened.

"Commander!"

Hugo's body, which had been about to glide, stopped in midair. It was not of his own will, but of others.

As Hugo turned to the side at the sensation of his arm being strongly grabbed, he saw Liner Molten, the commander of the 9th Battalion of the Southern Branch, and Charlotte Hastings, the deputy commander, holding onto him. They had followed at full speed without knowing the exact location of the Council Commander, who had suddenly disappeared without a word.

The moment they grabbed Hugo's arms and stopped him, a part of the cliff that the greatsword had split a little while ago vertically cracked and tilted, collapsing toward the opposite cliff.

As Liner and Charlotte felt the urgency and raised their heads, 1st Battalion members, who had come from somewhere, appeared in the air and attacked the collapsing rock, barely preventing the collision.

They had been retreating and searching for their scattered comrades after seeing the horde of Dermocas they had been confronting suddenly stop attacking and all flee. But then, suddenly feeling the Commander's powerful mana nearby, they sensed an unusual situation and immediately flew over.

Thanks to that, the collision was temporarily prevented, but as the situation was much worse than expected, Liner grabbed Hugo's injured right arm and spoke firmly,

"You have to avoid it."

However, Hugo looked down the cliff as if the passing time was making him impatient and said,

"There are still two people down there."

"You've used too much large-scale magic from the plains a few hours ago to the ice wall above. If you go down any further, it could become dangerous even for the Council Commander."

Liner's judgment was extremely rational. However, Hugo answered, trying to be calm while hiding his frustration,

"I'm fine, so please let go of my arm."

Although it was a gentle tone, Liner narrowed his brow at Hugo's words, which were as firm as his own, and resolutely countered,

"I cannot do that."

As Liner expressed his intention not to comply, Hugo's gaze turned noticeably cold. He warned Liner with a frozen gaze in an instant, as if it was an obstruction.

"That's an order."

At his voice that had become abruptly frigid, Liner and Charlotte flinched. Eventually, shifting his gaze to Charlotte, who was holding his left arm, Hugo handed the 8th Platoon Leader, whom he had been holding with one arm, to her and said,

"I entrust Platoon Leader Russell to you."

"Pardon?"

Charlotte, who had unexpectedly received the 8th Platoon Leader, had a very perplexed look. Hugo took advantage of that gap and lightly shook off the two, trying to glide down again. However, Liner, who had been slightly pushed back, moved to Hugo's front in an instant and blocked his way.

Hugo frowned as if annoyed, but Liner opened his mouth to persuade him, regardless of that reaction.

"Commander, no mana or presence is felt at all in this vicinity except for us. For now, retreat and proceed with the search again later—."

"Then all the more reason to find them right now. It means the situation is serious enough that they can't use mana!"

His raised voice echoed through the ravine.

His brutal eyes and voice contained clear anger.

Liner, who was quite taken aback as it was the first time seeing the Council Commander like this, unknowingly held his breath. However, in the midst of that, he was seeing his own figure from a little while ago, engulfed in anger after facing the disappearance and death of his subordinates.

It wasn't that he couldn't understand. Rather, he was the one who could fathom the Commander's feelings more deeply than anyone else right now.

However, just as the rational Commander had ordered him to rest instead of acting on emotion, he thought that someone was needed to make him realize that what he was trying to do now was by no means a desirable action as a commander.

Hugo exhaled a small breath filled with anger, trying to maintain his composure, and tried to pass Liner. However, Liner, who had hardened his resolve, blocked the way again. Then, knowing it was somewhat disrespectful, he grabbed both of Hugo's shoulders and shouted strongly with a distorted face,

"Commander!"

The roar that occurred while shattering the collapsing ice support and rocks filled the ravine. It could have been buried in the noise that was loud enough to make the ears distant, but Liner's appeal, like a reprimand, was intense enough to grab and shake Hugo's mind.

"You have to judge rationally. If you get in danger trying to save them, all of us here could be in danger as well!"

When Liner arrived, those the Commander was trying to save were already out of sight. In such a situation, his action of trying to jump under the collapsing cliff seemed like an uncharacteristic recklessness. No, in a situation where he had suffered a large wound on his right arm and was even exhausted, it wasn't just reckless, but a foolish act.

Hugo flinched at Liner's words that everyone could be in danger. Noticing that reaction, Liner calmly continued his words to stimulate the sense of responsibility he possessed,

"I lost two subordinates just a few hours ago. So I know better than anyone the sorrow of not being able to protect them. But to pour everything into that one sorrow, don't you and I still have too many people to protect and responsibilities to bear?"

"..."

"If by any chance the Commander falls into a critical situation, our entire Council will fall into great chaos. So for our sake, please, make a wise decision."

Liner's deep amber eyes blazed fiercely.

"You have to come up with us."

His low voice was excessively clear.

As he faced Liner's sincere eyes, Hugo, who had been thinking of only one thing, suddenly felt his mind become complicated.

For Hugo, who had been filled with thoughts of the two people who had fallen down, the countless thoughts that came in an instant made him look back at the position he was standing in.

Thanks to that, his narrowed vision widened and his blocked ears opened, but his body didn't readily move.

"The mountain will collapse soon!"

"You have to avoid it!"

The sound of the 1st Battalion members struggling in the distance was heard faintly. Each and every element of the situation blocked the path he wanted to take, and with everyone crying out from all directions that he was in the most urgent state, Hugo couldn't properly make a judgment on what decision to make.

But despairingly, looking back at himself, he was in a position where he had to care about each and every one of them.

Liner, who had been blocking Hugo's way with an unyielding spirit, saw his confused expression and gestured for him to look to the side once.

Hugo, who had been silently staring at Liner, turned his head following that gaze. Then, he saw Charlotte Hastings, the deputy commander, who had approached at some point, and the 8th Platoon Leader in her arms.

The forehead of the platoon leader, who had lost consciousness and had her eyes closed, was torn and bleeding, perhaps due to the aftermath of the earlier explosion.

Seeing that, Hugo's eyes trembled. He had been holding her until just now, but he had been so distraught that he hadn't noticed that wound. With a pained hand, he reached out and wiped the injured area on her forehead with his fingers. Then, the flowing blood gradually stopped, and the wound healed in an instant.

However, the scar didn't completely disappear.

Soon after, the cliffs on both sides collapsed as if closing the sky. As the two walls collided, everything began to sink at a terrifyingly fast pace. The collapse site, where debris flew and explosions spread as rocks hit the large barrier spread in the air, was reminiscent of the middle of a battlefield.

Facing the situation surrounding him, Hugo lowered his hand that had been wiping the platoon leader's forehead. Further agonizing was meaningless.

He shifted his gaze to Liner, who was holding his shoulders.

Hugo felt that it was truly remarkable that the battalion commander, who had directly confirmed the corpses of his subordinates and sent them off not long ago, could maintain such composure.

To Liner, who had blocked his way with his whole body and gave him candid advice in the midst of that, Hugo said with heartfelt respect,

"Thank you for making me realize, Battalion Commander Molten."

As he heard the calm and quiet voice, Liner observed the Commander's state.

His eyes seemed to have returned to being a rational commander, with the turmoil that had been fluctuating settling down and looking much calmer. As his blue eyes seemed to have found their own temperature again, Liner let out a sigh of relief. Then, as if responding to that respect, he lightly saluted and lowered his hand that had been holding his superior's shoulders.

Hugo, who had his gaze on that hand, closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again and met Liner's eyes, saying,

"But, they might be waiting for me."

At his incomprehensible words, Liner reflexively asked back,

"...Pardon?"

After a brief silence, Hugo showed a strange smile mixed with regret to the person in front of him.

"I'll be back as soon as possible."

Before Liner could grasp the situation, Hugo swiftly passed by his side and leaped into the darkness.

As he rapidly descended and grew distant, too fast to be held back any longer, those watching couldn't say a word.

Like a dam bursting, earth and sand poured out madly through the split cliff.

All the rocks supporting the wall collapsed, and a vast amount of dust rose. Centered around the huge mountain, all the peaks, large and small, in the area sank.

In the reddened exposed soil, only the corpses of monsters were entangled here and there, and not a single trace of those who had fallen under the abyss could be found.

Charlotte and the 8th Platoon Leader, along with the nearby members, safely escaped from the collapsing ravine.

Among them, Hugo and Liner were not present.