Boom—!
A tremendous explosion loud enough to draw the attention of the entire island echoed throughout the tower area. Along with it, humid air instantly vaporized, creating thick, hazy water vapor. Black cloak fragments were caught in the chaos and hurled somewhere. Similarly pushed by the blast, Leonardo spun several times in mid-air before quickly regaining his center and landing on a protrusion.
Checking his stinging right hand first, he found the area between his index and middle fingers torn and soaked with blood.
"Tsk."
He simply wiped his palm on his clothes and moved on. More urgently, he scanned through the dust to find the sadist's shadow.
The guy's limp whip and destroyed terrain were being sucked into the lake. No form that could be presumed to be the main body was visible.
Leonardo's eyes narrowed as he looked around.
'That bastard escaped.'
Just moments ago, when lethal high-voltage current filled the space between them. The eyes within the mask had hesitated, then unhesitatingly released the whip he was holding. Afterward, the guy had condensed an ominous spiraling current in his palm and created gusts and waves to increase distance. All of this happened in just 2 seconds.
'So he was also responsible for making my beam explode randomly. If he can use magic, why didn't he use it from the beginning?'
Possessing a shape-shifting whip alone made him a sufficiently troublesome enemy, but if he had used magic from before Leonardo climbed the stamen tower, it would have been much more advantageous for the guy. Back then he was carrying the baggage called Ero.
'Does he have reasons to hide his true abilities like me?'
Since he wore a mask, it was a reasonable suspicion. The intensity felt from those gray eyes within wasn't ordinary either. However, for the hypothesis to be true, the guy had done far too many conspicuous things, like appointing himself as gatekeeper.
Moreover, it was most puzzling that he hadn't passed through the portal until now when the passing line was precarious. With that guy's skills, he could have easily stolen 3 crystals and more. He wasn't a pacifist like himself who only searched for flowers either.
Rather, Leonardo, who questioned the guy's behavior of charging at him as if he had been waiting, stood at the edge of the tower's protrusion and looked down. Since the spark had grazed the guy's right shoulder, his condition wouldn't be intact. However, since he hadn't rendered him completely unable to fight, it was necessary to make sure.
It was when he leaned forward to go down and finish things.
"Big brotheeeer—!"
Ero's cry was heard from afar. Leonardo's eyes widened instantly and he reflexively looked up. Without thinking ahead or behind, he leaped from his position like a spring.
"...is missing—!"
'What is he saying?'
Though he couldn't hear properly, the tone of voice was urgent. Could it be that the guy targeted Ero? Carrying mounting anxiety, Leonardo shot up fiercely and broke through the clouds covering the upper part of the tower.
Meanwhile, in front of Ero, who was lying prone clutching his bag of crystals, a strange spectacle was unfolding.
"Get away! Go away!"
Dark forms that had been circling near the stamen tower since the early part of the match. What Ero witnessed after crawling to the top was a mountain of sticky mucus and swarms roaming above it. They had broad beaks resembling pelicans but weren't birds. The identity of those creatures flying in flocks so thick the sky looked black were monsters that were a mix of birds and insects.
Those things, each about the size of a human torso, had short, thick legs with vicious claws and fur, and some were clutching small Plarinerus crystals. They seemed to play the role of bees and butterflies that helped pollinate Plarinerus in this island's ecosystem. However, their appearance wasn't as appealing as familiar insects.
Ero desperately swatted away the creatures pecking at his back and head while swinging his bullet-less pistol. However, each time he swung his arm, his clothes were torn and his skin was scratched by the teeth in their blunt snouts and sharp claws.
What was frightening was that they seemed to recognize the contents of the bag, as they shook their antennae and tried to bite and steal the hanging bag straps. If it were just one, it might be manageable, but with dozens swarming like a swarm of bees, Ero's body, which was pressing down on the bag with his whole body, swayed from their momentum.
When his weakened fingers twisted, it was only a moment before the mucus-soaked bag slipped from his grasp. Ero, who had lost his entire fortune, sighed and shouted.
"Ah, no!"
"Ero!"
He quickly raised his head and looked to the side. Boiling hot wind wafted from between the clouds. Along with it came an intensely destructive energy that even those without mana could feel. Just as his throat was being squeezed by the suffocating pressure, an urgent voice followed.
"Duck your head—!"
Ero, who had instinctively started to shout "Big broth—", immediately covered his head and buried it. At that moment, a sharp sound scratching his ears passed behind his back.
Kyaaaaa—
Suddenly, hot heat passed by once, and spine-chilling death cries like human screams echoed from above his head. Just as the startled Ero was about to raise his head again, the heavy bag dropped onto his face with a thud.
"Ugh!"
It was the bag that had been stolen by those creatures. Since it contained several fist-sized crystals, it was like a rock striking his face. After briefly clutching his seemingly broken nose bridge with a grimace, Ero slyly opened his eyes at the scene above. Soon his squinting eyes snapped wide open.
"What the..."
Certainly, more than half of the monster swarm that had darkly colored his vision was being scattered in soot and ashes. It was a strange sight, like cutting out a circle from a densely filled black canvas. Even without understanding the situation, he could tell that powerful mana strong enough to send chills down his spine had just penetrated that area.
However, within Ero's common sense, the scene before his eyes wasn't easily acceptable. A vast, large hole as if the air itself had been wounded pushed away the clouds and sat majestically in place.
Through it, golden afterglow rippled in the revealed evening sky. Though the sun had clearly set, it was as if it hadn't set yet.
That monsters which had been fiercely charging just seconds ago had turned to ash and were fluttering away - Ero's jaw dropped uncontrollably. His shoulders trembling wasn't just from fear. He newly realized that one could shudder from intense excitement as well.
"Damn, so strong..."
Ero, muttering with an overwhelmed heart, instinctively knew he had properly met his savior. As if he had never been scared, he swung his fist at the monsters and boasted proudly.
"Haha, you bastards! Did you see that? How's our big brother's skill!?"
Soon he looked back with a bright smile at the king he had met while wandering through the jungle. Then, weren't the remaining monster swarm clumping together like a giant organism and surrounding big brother in the air?
Seeing this, Ero's complexion paled and he hurriedly gathered his bag first before jumping up from his position. Just before he could shout that he needed to go down, he fell flat again. Something had caught his ankle.
Ero, who reflexively checked his feet, couldn't help but be horrified.
"Big brother—, aaaah!"
A black whip was wrapped around his leg and pulling taut. Having watched the whip's owner all along, Ero knew without looking who was waiting down there where the cord stretched.
He stuck the muzzle of the pistol in his hand into the tip of the stamen with a thunk and held on. However, the power of the reaper leading to hell was tremendous. Even scratching the tower's outer wall until his nails bled and struggling was useless.
"Big brother! Please save me—!"
Leonardo, who was wielding a flame sword and dealing with bat-like creatures sticking to him from all directions, quickly turned around at another cry. In that time, Ero had already fallen from the tower's outer wall, and clutching his bag, he was reaching up toward the sky while falling rapidly.
"Ah, damn—"
'Who said Package wasn't baggage?'
His hat had long since flown away during battle. Leonardo ruffled the back of his head as if frustrated. He grabbed the neck of a bird-head trying to tear off even his mask and swung it around like a club in all directions. Then several creatures hit by the heavy body were pushed back, and a path to break through the swarming gap became visible.
Leonardo, who raised a guard in front of his face with the strangled monster's corpse, fell at full speed to save Ero. Anyway, that guy had the crystals, and he couldn't reach the goal hand-in-hand with the sadist.
Breaking through the disrupted clouds and dust and going down, he could see the lake where byproducts from the tower battle were floating. By a hair's breadth, Ero crashed first along with broken protrusions.
Splash—
A large wave rose and water sprayed up. Leonardo jumped into it without hesitation.
Below the surface, there were so many floating objects that it could no longer be called freshwater. Among them, the largest portion consisted of mucus floating around limply like jellyfish.
Leonardo swept his arms wide and caught Ero, who was kicking his feet frantically. In the process, mucus stuck to his hands and palms where he had been wounded earlier.
'...!'
Instantly, pain like pouring disinfectant directly onto a wound sharply stabbed his nerves. However, Leonardo only grimaced briefly before grabbing the struggling Ero's nape and trying to rise to the surface.
"Mmm!"
Then, Ero, who had shaken his head underwater, grabbed Leonardo's arm and pointed to the tower's core embedded in the bottom of the lake. There was a hole large enough for about two people to enter.