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Bermuda Chapter 92
🕑 Added 2024-05-09 11:19:27 +0000 UTCChapter 92
Leonardo was amidst burning flames.
Originally, this place was a high ridge densely packed with low-growing grass, and beyond the ridge located far away, a vast plain could be seen.
However, now this entire area was engulfed in fiercely burning flames, and the surroundings were completely filled with smoke, making it impossible to see where this place originally was.
Leonardo stood in the middle of it, watching the monsters scream and burn to death. His face, which held a sense of indifference, was clearly marked with fatigue. Eventually, as a blazing crimson flame flew from his hand, even the last remnants of screams vanished.
Feeling that the things that had been tiring his ears had become a bit quieter, Leonardo plopped down on the spot. It was because his stamina had greatly decreased after hunting monsters all day without rest for the past few days.
Although unquenchable flames were rising around him, he had no intention of extinguishing the fire. Probably because that rational commander who would be watching his appearance even at this moment would arrive soon.
When he was sitting surrounded by fierce flames, as he expected, a blue barrier soon spread above his head. A larger magic circle unfolded on the ground, and from the ground at a certain radius from where Leonardo was sitting, thick streams of water gushed out from all directions.
They roughly tore through the burning flames, making a complete mess. Leonardo sat with his knees slightly raised, resting his arms on them, and quietly stared at the scene.
The flames were caught by the huge coils of water streams and extinguished as if they had never been burning. As the fire was put out, the rising smoke spread more thickly in all directions, blurring the vision as if in a fog. Perhaps because of that, his eyes started to sting.
However, a subtle wind soon blew, preventing the smoke from coming close to the barrier. The hazy gas cleared only where Leonardo was sitting.
"You'll suffocate if you stay like that."
Soon, the owner of the blue barrier appeared before his eyes. Hugo, who had appeared from somewhere, stepped in front of the barrier and approached Leonardo, who was sitting in the middle of it. Then, he abruptly held out a water bottle to him.
Leonardo blankly stared at the water bottle. Somehow, he seemed to have noticed that his throat was burning.
Normally, he would never have accepted it, but now his thirst was extreme, so Leonardo snatched it without even looking at Hugo's face. He opened the cap of the water bottle with a hurried motion and gulped down the water, tilting his head back.
As he drank hastily, a stream of water flowed down between his lips, brushing against his bobbing Adam's apple. Hugo silently watched him.
"Ha―."
Leonardo, whose thirst was quenched, removed his mouth from the opening of the nearly empty water bottle and let out a small sigh. After a moment, he wiped the stream of water that had flowed down his mouth with the back of his hand and handed the water bottle to Hugo. As Hugo took the water bottle, it quickly filled up again.
"Do you need more?"
Leonardo shook his head. Then, he ran his hand through his hair a couple of times and hung his head low. Seeing his appearance that looked particularly struggling, Hugo quietly observed him. It was understandable since the number of monsters Leonardo had slaughtered in the past few days was as numerous as the bees in a hive.
Recently, his appearance gave the impression that he was overexerting himself more than necessary.
Hugo had roughly guessed that there must be another reason, as he had heard from Flynn that the reason he was killing monsters like crazy was not only because he was angry at him but also because he seemed to have something urgent.
So, after getting a promise that he wouldn't go beyond a certain radius, he allowed him to roam relatively freely, and as a result, it had come to this state.
Hugo looked at this foolish guy who had used his mana to the point of nearly breaking his body and was almost depleted, wondering what to do with him, and opened his mouth.
"Leonardo, I know you're strong, but don't overdo it."
"..."
"It seems you haven't been sleeping much lately. At this rate, your body won't last."
However, Leonardo neither moved nor answered. Hugo sighed.
"Are you not going to answer now?"
When he asked as if frustrated, Leonardo, who had been keeping his head down and remaining silent, replied in a slightly choked voice.
"If you're not going to give orders, don't talk to me unnecessarily."
As a somewhat impudent answer was heard, his straight eyebrows narrowed. Hugo spoke to him, who was trying to ignore him, in a rather stern voice.
"If I order you to look at me."
A small sigh was heard from his lowered head. Eventually, Leonardo, who had been rubbing his eyes tightly, slowly raised his head. He had a deep frown on his face and looked quite dissatisfied.
However, even in the midst of that, a completely tired and fatigued appearance had settled on him.
"Leonardo, talk to me for a bit."
However, instead of answering, Leonardo placed his hand on the ground and got up from his spot. Hugo held out his hand as if telling him to grab it, but again, he didn't. Leonardo, who had roughly dusted off his clothes, retorted as if fed up.
"I have nothing to say to you."
Then, he tried to pass by Hugo like that. However, Hugo blocked his way and grabbed his arm with his left hand.
Leonardo flinched and tried to shake it off strongly, but he couldn't break free, either because Hugo was holding it firmly or because his strength had drained. He tried to pull it out with a frown, but now it was completely held and wouldn't even move.
He even thought of heating it up to make the other person let go on their own, but when he saw the bandage on his left hand holding his arm, he couldn't do anything anymore.
In the end, Leonardo glared at Hugo while nervously running his other hand that wasn't caught through his hair. Hugo, still maintaining the grip of his hand, spoke with a slightly worried tone.
"I don't think avoiding it like this is a good method. I don't know about other things, but your current appearance looks quite precarious."
"..."
"You must have some resentment towards me. So let's talk, Leonardo."
At his words, Leonardo let out a scoff.
"Then what? Are you going to tell me the reasons why you had no choice but to do that again and tell me to understand?"
"That's not it."
"Damn it, in the end, I have to understand everything, forcibly let go of my feelings, and cater to your mood? Why should I do such a thing?"
"Leonardo―."
As a sharp answer came back, a sigh naturally escaped. Hugo stared at him with sunken eyes for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"I said that's not what I meant."
"If that's not what you meant, then what do you want to talk about?"
Leonardo snapped at him with a cold look. Hugo answered in a calm voice.
"Since I talked about why I had no choice but to do that last time, this time I want to hear your story."
"..."
"I want you to tell me anything about the things that upset you, the things you're concerned about. Of course, I know you're angry because I tested you. But if we talk a bit more, we might find out things we thought differently about or didn't know. I think a conversation is absolutely necessary for you and me right now."
Leonardo didn't answer for a while. Hugo waited for him patiently.
And soon, a low voice leaked out between his chapped lips.
"If we talk, what will change?"
"There's a possibility of change compared to not talking."
At the answer that came as if he had been waiting, Leonardo frowned as if dumbfounded and turned his gaze elsewhere. Although he seemed to be held inevitably, there seemed to be room for conversation, so Hugo added while looking at him.
"As I said before, Leonardo, it's not that I don't trust you."
"..."
"I want you to understand that."
There was a brief silence at Hugo's words. However, when Leonardo showed no reaction, Hugo continued speaking.
"I trust you, but if there was a problem due to your unstable control, it could have put you in a difficult position. That's why I wanted to keep an eye on you to prevent such a situation. So―."
"I know that too."
At the unexpected sudden answer, Hugo stopped speaking for a moment. As a brief silence followed, Leonardo, who had been staring elsewhere, slowly turned his head. Somehow, his momentum seemed to have deflated a bit.
"I said I know that too."
"..."
"I know you were worried about my position. I know, but-. When you said you would try to trust me, I trusted you too. And when you tested me, I realized then. What I had trusted was greater than what you said you would trust."
Hugo quietly listened to Leonardo's words. Leonardo lowered his eyes for a moment to organize his thoughts, then opened his mouth.
"I thought that even if my ability was unstable, if I said I could prevent danger, you would believe me. Because until then, I was really confident. That even if my control was a bit unstable, I wouldn't let anyone get hurt. Even if someone got caught up, I believed I could prevent the danger."
"..."
"I know I'm strong, and I know my abilities. So originally, I didn't care that much. But because of you, I started to care."
Hugo narrowed his eyes as if trying to grasp the meaning of his words. Leonardo raised his head but continued talking with his gaze on the thick smoke rising from afar, not on the person facing him.
"When I heard about the responsibility you had to bear, it looked really heavy. So from then on, I started to care. I was worried that my damn unstable control might hurt someone and make your responsibility even heavier."
Hugo looked at him with slightly surprised and puzzled eyes. He always said things he never expected, but he didn't know he was taking his trust and responsibility that heavily.
Leonardo slowly shifted his gaze from staring into the distance to Hugo's blue eyes. Their eyes met each other.
"I know it was enough for you to find me lacking. And I know I alone misinterpreted that so-called trust. As the commander, you couldn't trust me as much as I had hoped. I knew that, so I just shut my mouth. I know, but, but I had to trust my abilities even if my control was unstable. Do you know why?"
Leonardo frowned deeply.
"You didn't come then."
At his words, Hugo flinched. The "then" Leonardo mentioned seemed to refer to the time when he had encountered the mutant and arrived late. Recalling the situation at that time, Hugo looked at his deeply furrowed face and called his name as if sighing.
"...Leonardo."
"The guys from the 1st Battalion went into the water and didn't come out. But you went far away and didn't even show your nose. So I had to believe again that I could save them, that I could keep them from getting hurt."
Leonardo bit his lip for a moment as his emotions gradually intensified, then opened his mouth again.
"I doubted and doubted my abilities until right before I jumped into the water, and I barely made up my mind, jumped in, and fought. I fought while trying not to let anyone get hurt even if my control was unstable, rolling around like shit. But you tested me like that and didn't believe me when I said I could prevent it."
"..."
"Damn it... But, apart from all that, do you know what's the most fucking terrible thing?"
"..."
"I doubted my abilities because of you, and I jumped into the water and fought because you were late. But you were thinking of testing me like that, and yet, I still―!"
Leonardo stopped talking as if he was highly agitated. He closed his eyes tightly with a frown, and his eyelashes trembled with anger.
"Ha..."
Eventually, a deep and heavy breath was exhaled through his lips. Leonardo hung his head low to control his emotions, then raised it again with difficulty. His face reflected in Hugo's eyes looked extremely struggling.
Leonardo gazed at Hugo not with a sharp appearance but with a desolate expression. Then, he brought out his true feelings that he never wanted to reveal.
"I... was waiting for you to come quickly."
Hugo's eyes widened.
He seemed to be momentarily confused in trying to understand what he had just heard. His mind went blank as if broken, unable to think of anything about whether he should understand this with his head or with his heart.
As he faced the hurt golden eyes looking at him, Hugo couldn't say a word.
His blue eyes, which had scanned the slightly trembling breath, the furrowed but still beautiful eyebrows, and the lips that had turned even redder from being bitten several times, gradually wavered.
At the same time, the strength in his hand holding the arm loosened slightly, and it slid down, touching Leonardo's hand as it was.
The cool and large hand gently grasped the warmth that had entered it. The gaze that had slid down together lingered at its end. Behind the lips that tried to say something but closed, his thick Adam's apple moved slightly.
Hugo looked at Leonardo's face again.
He couldn't say anything.
Comments
Jesse Gibson
See you big jerk!!! Even if you were locgically thinking you were right- you were actually WRONG! So freaking wrong! Ugh a punch, just one punch to his face!
