Chapter 119

"Fuck, without my permission, what—."

Leonardo stopped mid-sentence and covered his mouth with the hand he had reached out to grab the scholar's collar. It was because he suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

Feeling like everything he had eaten earlier was about to come up, he covered his mouth and took deep breaths.

'No. Don't think about it.'

As Leonardo turned his head with a suddenly pale complexion and said nothing, the scholar, who had been looking at him in puzzlement, narrowed his eyes. Eventually, the scholar, who had been observing his condition, seemed to realize something and opened his mouth again.

"I'm sorry for administering the drug without permission, but I couldn't wake up an unconscious person and ask. It's nothing strange, so don't worry. There's nothing for me to gain by doing something unnecessary, so can't you trust my good nature a little?"

'His good nature has all died.'

Watching the scholar spouting nonsense, Leonardo cursed him with his eyes, but as he thought of the worst-case scenario, his stomach seemed to feel increasingly worse, so he soon closed his eyes tightly and tried to think positively.

Right, if he had administered something strange, he would have noticed long ago. Although the scholar guy was fucking annoying, it seemed true that thanks to the stabilizer or whatever it was, as he said, the flow of his mana had returned to normal.

There had been no abnormalities since he woke up until now, and although he had Nero's ring, he had been a bit skeptical about his mana stabilizing to this extent.

But now that he heard that guy's words, he finally understood. Even though it was quite unsettling, the effect was definite, just as he said.

Perhaps due to the effect of such thoughts, Leonardo, whose stomach had gradually calmed down, let out a small sigh and lowered the hand that had been covering his mouth. Then, glancing at the scholar, he said coldly,

"If there's even the slightest abnormality in my body, know that you won't be able to leave the peninsula alive."

"I get threatened even after helping."

Unlike the smile he was still wearing, a slight displeasure was felt in his tone. Leonardo glared at the scholar and tried to put the filter back in his mouth, but perhaps because the earlier queasiness remained, the taste of the cigarette had dropped sharply.

It seemed like a sign to stop smoking so much, so he ended up burning the barely smoked cigarette again, and as if mocking the scholar's displeasure, he said,

"You wouldn't have helped for no reason, would you?"

Kenis had said that the scholar had helped out of a sense of responsibility because the outsider had run away with the bag and they had been caught in the explosion, but Leonardo's thoughts were different.

People whose faces he didn't even know. If he had just left them and gone, the possibility of getting caught would have decreased, so why bother? Clearly, the guy also had something he needed, so he had approached them.

The scholar replied with a grin.

"I didn't help for no reason. I have a lot of interest in pretty kids, like you."

"..."

Leonardo, who thought that acting like a jerk as naturally as breathing was also a skill, frowned and silently stared at the scholar.

At that moment, the scholar's hand suddenly approached his neck without hesitation. Leonardo, who immediately snatched the scholar's arm, looked at him with a slightly startled expression as if asking what he was doing now. However, the scholar didn't care and spoke with a very intrigued face.

"According to that friend named Kenis, your mana instability is due to the Council's handcuffs. Hmm, something's strange. Isn't this one of the causes of the instability in the first place? It seems like a quite complex curse."

"..."

"Who put this on you? Do you have a master with extraordinary tastes? Well, with this face, I guess even nonexistent tastes would emerge."

"Hey."

Leonardo warned, putting strength into his hand as if to crush the scholar's wrist he had grabbed.

"Are you deliberately doing this because you want to get hit by me? Even if I try to let it slide, you keep crossing the line."

Perhaps the grabbed spot was painful, as the scholar's expression slightly contorted. Leonardo stared at him fiercely and said,

"Cut the bullshit and tell me straight."

He had no intention of listening to any more nonsense.

"What do you want?"

With his words, a strange silence flowed.

The scholar's frowning face slowly relaxed. Eventually, his elongated eyes closed like slits and curved in a creepy way. As if he had been waiting.

In contrast to the smiling scholar, Leonardo's expression gradually crumpled. It was because he could no longer find any pain on the scholar's face. Even in a situation where his bones could break if he applied a little more strength.

"Do you want to make a deal with me?"

The scholar was the first to speak.

Upon hearing those words, Leonardo couldn't readily answer.

A deal was something that could only be made when both parties had something they wanted from each other. But did this guy know that he wanted something, or did he know something he shouldn't? He couldn't judge.

At that moment, footsteps approached the two of them. At the presence getting closer, Leonardo roughly released the scholar's arm he had been grabbing. The scholar still smiled and rubbed his wrist that had turned purple from the lack of blood flow.

The owner of the approaching footsteps was Kenis.

"Mr. Blaine?"

Kenis sent a puzzled gaze at the unfamiliar sight of the two people standing quite close together. Leonardo, who had been glaring at the scholar, relaxed his expression appropriately and turned his head to him as if asking why he was calling. Kenis alternately looked at the two of them, trying to grasp the atmosphere, then swallowed his bewilderment and opened his mouth.

"I've packed all the luggage. When should we leave?"

It meant let's return and rejoin the ranks now.

In fact, this was the natural course of action. Now that they had come to their senses and were safe, it was right for them to return to their original ranks. But...

"..."

Leonardo, who had been staring at Kenis without a word, suddenly turned his head back. The structure that was widely spread out, creating a strange atmosphere, filled his field of vision.

After fixing his gaze on the columns erected at regular intervals and the worn-out terraces for a moment, he raised his head this time toward the slanting light seeping through the cave ceiling. The angle of the light that had been coming down in a straight line had tilted, and the shadow that had been short had become long and loose.

Eventually, he shifted his gaze to the scholar. During the brief moment he had turned his head, his face had been expressionless, but as their eyes met, only then did he take on a smiling appearance.

Leonardo agonized briefly. Then, he finally looked at Kenis.

* * *

Screeeech—

Pitch-black darkness descended upon the rough mountainous area. The sky, which had been clear as the rain stopped, was momentarily covered with clouds again, and the cry of a bird of prey echoed through the unusually dark night sky.

The hawk that had been wandering the sky flew into a deep valley and slowly descended, riding the wind. Then, flapping its wings that had a bluish tint, it slowed down and perched on the sturdy forearm of the man standing at the edge of the cliff.

As soon as the hawk perched on Hugo's arm, its form distorted and was immediately absorbed into him. It was because it was not a real hawk, but a divine beast created by Hugo.

A divine beast was mana in a state where it fell out of the body and maintained a constant form, a different concept from summoning, and it moved based on the caster's consciousness and commands.

However, when it was separated from the caster, it had to judge and move on its own, so it continuously consumed mana. Therefore, if one didn't have a large mana capacity, it was not easy to create or handle a divine beast.

Also, absorbing a divine beast made with one's own mana did not directly transfer what the divine beast saw and felt to the caster. However, one could hear the words the divine beast wanted to convey to its master, and the hawk that had just been absorbed by Hugo was now saying this to its master.

'Footprints presumed to be of two people found near a swamp 6 miles southwest of the current location.'

Hugo's eyelids, which had been weary with fatigue, moved slightly. It was because the traces of the two people, which had not been found at all for two days, had finally been discovered.

His face was quite haggard from barely sleeping or eating, and the fine hair flowed down onto his usually neat forehead that had always been refreshingly exposed by his hair being swept back, giving a slightly disheveled impression. However, upon hearing the words conveyed by the divine beast, his eyes immediately shone sharply.

Two dark shadows appeared near Hugo. One was a member of the 1st Battalion, and the other was the 8th Platoon Leader. The 8th Platoon Leader, who seemed to have urgent news to deliver, approached closely with a stride and lightly bowed to Hugo before opening her mouth.

"Commander, a report just came in that traces of someone presumed to be the outsider have been found. They say he's moving southwest."

At her words, Hugo's eyebrows twitched. He thought it was probably unrelated and just happened to be in the same direction, but it was quite irksome that it was discovered around the same time. Casting a glance, Hugo looked southwest again and said,

"Traces of two people have been found in the swamp to the southwest."

The 8th Platoon Leader widened her eyes and asked,

"You mean those two?"

"Yes."

The 8th Platoon Leader followed his gaze and looked to the southwest. She also looked much more tired than two days ago, but upon hearing about the two people, her eyes changed in an instant. Hugo asked her,

"On your side, is it certain that it's the guy?"

"Yes, at the time the outsider was first discovered, it's a report from a member who directly confirmed his appearance and attire along with Kenis, so I think it's certain."

"Then have a tailing team attached to that side. Don't attack yet, and tell them to keep a distance and just follow behind in case there are others involved. We'll first proceed with the search heading to the swamp, and if we don't find the two, then we'll expand the possibilities and chase after the guy."

"Yes, understood."

After answering, the 8th Platoon Leader and one member disappeared from the spot swiftly. Even after they disappeared, Hugo's gaze was still directed to the southwest. After staring at that place for a moment, he suddenly raised his head and looked at the moon hidden by the clouds.

The hidden moon was shining faintly as if it would appear or not, but soon, it was covered by the fast-moving clouds and even its faint light disappeared.

His eyes looked complicated with various thoughts mixed together.

His gaze that had been chasing the vanished moon eventually turned to the bandage wrapped around his left hand, which had taken off the glove.

"...I believe you are safe."