Bermuda [bl]

Leonardo took advantage of the iron cage shaking violently to exert force on his right hand.

Although he couldn't apply much strength, he was able to move it to some extent. He grabbed the chain part of the handcuff tied to his wrist and started shaking it hard.

It seemed that the overall force restraining his body had definitely weakened compared to before. Soon, the chain of the right handcuff broke off and fell from the bottom of the iron cage. The handcuff didn't shatter, but feeling his hand and wrist become free, Leonardo once again put strength into his entire right arm and pulled hard a few times.

Before long, with thudding sounds, the restraints that had been holding his arm in place fell off.

With one arm completely free, he immediately threw off the cloth covering his eyes and ears and ripped off the gag in his mouth in one go. As a result, the sensations throughout his body gradually became clearer, and the sounds from outside started to be heard distinctly.

Even though the cloth covering his eyes was gone, the interior was completely dark. However, with his hearing unblocked, even without being able to see ahead, he could roughly sense how many people were nearby.

At that moment, the speed of the rapidly moving iron cage began to slow down gradually. Leonardo, feeling impatient, immediately resumed his actions.

He easily tore off the restraints holding his neck in place with his right hand. With one arm and the area around his neck free, the rest was easy.

A short while later, when he had completely detached his bound left arm and waist from the floor and sat up halfway, the violently shaking iron cage had come to a complete stop.

Sitting and catching his breath, Leonardo stared straight ahead into the pitch-black darkness. Agrizendro's mana was clearly flowing in from that direction.

Thinking that he shouldn't let them notice from the outside that he had partially freed himself from the restraints, Leonardo immediately controlled his breathing. Hiding his mana like that, he focused on the sounds.

"Oh no..."

Hugo Agrizendro's voice was heard very close as if he was standing right in front. Unfortunately, it seemed he had already noticed the change in the flow of Leonardo's mana.

Leonardo bit his lip. Although he had torn off half of the restraints, thick magic stone handcuffs and shackles were still attached to his wrists and ankles.

'Can I escape?'

Even if he charged quickly towards the gate, it was uncertain whether he could actually escape. From what he could sense, this place was around the 2nd Mana Control Zone. Since he had already entered quite far into the Imperial Capital, it would take a considerable amount of time if he flew without using teleportation.

During that time, just dealing with Agrizendro alone would be overwhelming, and if the other guy next to him also supported Agrizendro, escape would have to be considered virtually impossible.

"What's wrong? Isn't it fine as long as it stops?"

"The seals have been disrupted."

"What?"

"Evacuate the citizens immediately."

Upon hearing the words from outside, Leonardo anxiously released his bitten lip.

This place was the Imperial Capital. He had nothing more to lose, but for the Commander of the Council's army, there were too many things to protect here.

'Two at the battalion commander level. Even then, one of them is far inferior to Kazad.'

Leonardo ran his hand through his hair and assessed the Council's forces that would be outside. It seemed they had underestimated him, as there were far fewer personnel compared to the Northern Branch.

Letting out a snort of laughter, he immediately started shaking the restraints holding his torso and legs like crazy. He had to quickly undo them while Agrizendro couldn't make big moves due to the people still nearby.

"Hurry!"

Following that, the Commander's fierce voice was heard, and at the same time, the restraints binding Leonardo's legs were torn off one by one. As the heavy chunks of metal creaked violently, the sound of people outside fleeing in a panic could be heard.

'Trembling in fear over just this much.'

The public would cower in fear with a mere gesture from him. Yet, they hide in the forest called the majority and criticize and condemn him so much.

Among them, there were surely people to whom he should pay for his sins and apologize, but on the other hand, there would also be those who pour out baseless attacks, swept up by agitated voices and false emotions.

The stone of condemnation was so light from the perspective of those throwing it.

So light that it was too unjust to simply accept death.

Eventually, around the time Leonardo had completely freed himself from the restraints holding his body in place, the ground suddenly shook, and a loud sound was heard, and a chill lingered in the surroundings. It was definitely Agrizendro's mana.

Given his combat characteristics, it seemed he had trapped Leonardo inside an ice wall.

"Quite the effort you're putting in."

Leonardo let out a sneer and struggled to stand up from his spot, his muscles stiff from being bound for a long time. Perhaps because he was in the cool air, the sensation of hot blood spreading throughout his body was vividly felt.

He immediately walked a few steps forward and fumbled with the bars confining him, feeling his mana being absorbed and even disintegrated. It was definitely not an ordinary iron cage.

It was nullifying his mana itself. Moreover, considering that there would still be magic stones stuck all around, it made sense that the bars didn't melt no matter how much heat he generated.

In the end, Leonardo gave up on escaping by melting the bars, removed his hand, and silently glared into the darkness, thinking.

'If I fail, my sins will be aggravated, and it may become difficult to move in the future. In a situation where it has been revealed that I can use magic to change my face, it may no longer be possible to move in secret. Even so, is it right to go out?'

At that moment, when he was briefly lost in thought, considering all possibilities, an idea flashed through his mind. Right now, he had a sufficient justification to cause a commotion, having been "dragged" all the way to the Imperial Capital.

With that, Leonardo exhaled deeply as if taking a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly.

'Even if there is a risk of failing to escape, there is value in going outside once.'

His eyes shone like lightning in the darkness. Having reached a conclusion, he eventually threw his body towards the iron cage with all his might from the inside to further disrupt the surrounding sealing stones.

* * *

Kwang!

As the sound of something strongly colliding with the iron cage rang out, Andreas was startled and looked inside the ice wall from above.

Was the guy suddenly going on a rampage? Along with the sound of heavy metal being dragged on the floor, rough collision noises echoed. Each time, the iron cage was moving slightly to the side, and before long, one side completely touched the ice wall, and the impact caused a heavy vibration throughout the entire wall.

Bang! Bang!

"What... is that..."

The surreal sight rendered him unable to continue speaking.

The huge chunk of metal moved arbitrarily as if it had a will of its own. The more it did so, the more the tightly wrapped sealing stones became disrupted, and the energy of the guy inside gushed out, and fine cracks were forming on the thick and sturdy wall.

The sound resonated even louder due to the ice walls blocking all sides, and the overwhelming pressure was extraordinary.

Andreas, who had been blankly looking down at the scene, fully felt the ripples of mana seeping out and gulped.

The thing inside the iron cage, breaking free from the seals that rendered it unable to move a finger and thrashing about fiercely as if it would burst out at any moment. Only then did Andreas truly realize the meaning of Hugo's words that he had been underestimating the guy. The guy's mana he had felt was merely a tiny fraction that had leaked out despite being crushed by all sorts of sealing stones.

Bang!

he damaged sealing stones fell to the ground like scraps of paper, and the overflowing mana of the guy doubled and rose through his bones.

"Is that even human?"

Andreas spoke self-deprecatingly with a hollow laugh. An unimaginable level of pressure surged in. It felt as if some high-level monster was rampaging inside.

The people who had briefly stopped to observe the situation started fleeing in fear once again as the ominous impact sounds echoed toward the top of the ice wall.

The members of the Council guided them to escape routes and made them move as far away from the scene as possible, and in the meantime, the elite members of the 4th Battalion cast a huge barrier in a semicircular shape, encompassing the ground and the sky centered around the iron cage.

As soon as the space was secured, Hugo piled up more ice in a double layer around the cracking ice wall to make it even sturdier.

The reason they had been able to restrain Leonardo with a dragon-capturing bullet was that his strength had been nearly depleted after more than half a day of battle with Hugo.

However, while being transported here, the guy had been suppressed by all sorts of restraints and sealing stones, unable to move, but his exhausted stamina would have mostly recovered by now.

But this place was the middle of the Imperial Capital.

It was not a place where they could engage in a merciless battle like when he had confronted the guy on the uninhabited island of Frost.

As the shockwave spread, the hair of Hugo and Andreas in the air fluttered slightly, and their cloaks billowed.

Hugo looked down at the violently shaking iron cage and took out a communication magic tool to report to the Central Branch headquarters.

"This is the 2nd zone near the northern gate of the Imperial Capital, coordinates 113, 452, 43. Requesting support from two battalion commander-level personnel."