Episode 158. Magic Dome
At that moment, the Kraken before them swung its long tentacles.
The twin-like brothers moved in unison, charging towards the giant Kraken and leaping onto its sticky, mucous-covered tentacles. The brothers' movements were heavier and rougher than ever before.
While reporters who had specifically sought out this chaos captured the scene with their cameras, the Prince's bodyguards and special forces soldiers were busy dealing with the Krakens that had come ashore.
Methone weaved through the Krakens like a whirlwind, then leaped onto one's head and drove his fist into its skull with all his might.
Thwack!
As the Kraken's body collapsed with the unpleasant sensation of his hand being sucked into the mucous, Methone let out a long sigh and looked down at his hand.
"Damn. My fair hands are ruined."
His hand, scraped by ink, was already covered in blisters, and in severe spots, blood seeped out as if his skin had melted.
It was then.
"Methone!!"
As Noah called out to him sharply and ran somewhere, Methone quickly leaped off the Kraken's corpse.
"Aaaargh!"
A new recruit from the special forces was rolling on the ground, clutching his eyes.
"Take him!"
Methone, with a heavy heart, picked up the fallen soldier. Meanwhile, Noah leaped as if flying onto the Kraken that had rendered the recruit's eyes unusable.
"Ugh, ooh, it hurts, it hurts, my eyes, sob."
Even as the sturdy young man writhed and cried, Methone silently carried him, saying nothing else. He simply moved quickly to avoid the acidic ink that could erupt from anywhere.
"Kuaaaargh!"
Black ink, a sour smell, smoke, screams.
Methone felt as if he were crossing through hell as he ran towards where the Royal Guards were gathered.
Meanwhile, Noah, who had slaughtered the Kraken that damaged the recruit's eyes, gasped for breath and looked around, his gaze falling upon two Magic Domes shrouded in darkness.
Olivia.
A small light receding across the black sea.
Noah pressed his chest without realizing it.
The light yet heavy touch that had pushed him away remained like a brand.
Just then, a sound like a dying scream echoed desperately.
"Aaaargh!"
Another person rolled on the ground, clutching their face.
"Damn it!"
Was the power of the Magic Dome this great?
The number of Krakens constantly emerging onto land was immeasurable, to the point of being unmanageable. If only they could be killed with Magical Power!
Noah drew up his Magical Power, leaped off the Kraken's corpse, and ran. Towards a place that resembled a cross-section of hell punishing sinners.
Upon arriving at the artificial island where the two Magic Domes were installed, Pierre quickly tied his boat to the dock. There were no convenient bridges to connect the boat and the dock here. Pierre nervously glanced at the long gap (subjective) between the boat and the dock and said to Olivia,
"If you don't mind, shall I carry you across, Her Highness?"
As he said this, Pierre couldn't help but glance at the land. He was certain that if Noah had heard this, he wouldn't have reacted normally.
However, Olivia's reaction was also not normal (by Pierre's standards).
Without waiting for Pierre to stop her, she leaped onto the dock and stared at Pierre.
"...Ah, you jump well."
"Even a ten-year-old could jump this far."
At the Princess consort's remark, Pierre blushed and quickly took the lead.
"We need to fix it quickly, Her Highness. The Krakens are already coming ashore."
Olivia followed Pierre, looking back. Even from a distance, she could see huge shapes sluggishly moving towards the land.
"They're intelligent. They know there's food inside that warehouse. They also know it's advantageous to push with numbers."
Pierre opened the door with a key and stepped inside. The temperature was cooler than outside, seeping through his clothes, and a peculiar smell of oil tickled his nose.
As Pierre reached for a lantern hanging on one side, Olivia handed him a flashlight she had brought in her coat pocket.
"Inject Magical Power into the silver plate, and it emits light."
Pierre, who had received the flashlight from her somewhat bewildered, was startled by the sudden bright light. Then, he soon realized it was a familiar object.
"Oh, this is Prince's item?! So this is how it's used!"
At his words, Olivia paused for a moment but soon resumed walking.
Olivia and Pierre approached the massive engine room behind the spiral staircase. The door, stamped with the Wilhelm Corporation's seal, bore a metal plate with the warning 'Do Not Open.'
Olivia looked at the warning plate with eyes as cold as lead and stepped back. Then she commanded Pierre.
"Open it."
At the clean, decisive command, Pierre felt a thrilling shiver run through his body.
How much had he wanted to tear it down!
"Yes, Her Highness! I will tear it down!"
Pierre shouted with exhilaration and concentrated Magical Power in his right hand. As the pitch-black Magical Power sharply pierced the lock like a keen blade, the door to the Magic Dome's engine room, which had never been opened before, slowly creaked open.
The Wilhelm Corporation's metal warning plate, which felt more powerful than the King's command, shattered into pieces at the Princess consort's simple order.
And the two stepped through the door they thought they could never pass.
As Pierre illuminated the pitch-black interior of the engine room, Olivia slowly scanned the room.
Naturally, the machinery that made up the Magic Dome looked extremely complex. Contrary to Pierre's concern about whether Olivia could fix it, she stepped forward without hesitation.
"Bring the equipment and follow me."
As she ascended the narrow, steep stairs without hesitation, Pierre couldn't voice even the slightest concern.
She moved through the complex machinery with ease, her sharp eyes examining the machines, exuding the professionalism of an expert.
"Unscrew this screw and that screw, and remove the panel entirely. Give me the flashlight."
Olivia, who had seemed frail, felt like an officer commanding a battle. The clean, decisive commands were not awkward at all.
"Yes!"
Knowing that hell must be unfolding outside, Pierre moved his hands frantically according to her orders.
"Connect the pipe attached to pipe number 1 to pipe number 2."
And after a certain amount of time, Pierre realized there was a consistent pattern to her commands.
"...Do you perhaps have a manual for when it breaks?"
The Princess consort, who had been watching him work, replied as if asking the obvious.
"It's a facility related to national security. It's designed so that even if the main engine breaks down, the facility can be used with a spare engine."
How absurd, then, was Ansen's 'Do Not Open' clause.
When she heard that clause, Olivia had gone to protest. Of course, Ansen hadn't listened at all, and Oliver's protest, which didn't even exist, was utterly useless.
Pierre paused for a moment at her words but quickly regained his composure and moved his hands.
"Then the statement that it can't be fixed due to lack of parts is..."
"Nonsense. A lie."
Experiencing the peculiar sensation of sharp words feeling cheerful, Pierre succeeded in moving the pipes.
Just then, a chilling scream echoed from afar. A man's scream, filled with agony.
Olivia's shoulders flinched.
She personally checked the connections. Meanwhile, screams continued to be heard from afar, echoing off the steel cylindrical walls.
Olivia tried to push away the man's face that kept obscuring her vision.
He would be alright.
Olivia's gaze quickened. Finally, after checking the last joint, Olivia shouted like lightning.
"Activate the second unit at once!"
Pierre, who had been waiting for these words, replied loudly with a voice filled with joy.
"Understood!"
"Hurry!"
"Do not go outside the Magic Dome!"
Pierre leaped down the engine room stairs, taking several steps at a time, and ran outside. As the sound of him ascending the spiral stairs inside the Magic Dome echoed loudly, Olivia peered outside through a small gap in the Magic Dome.
The brightly lit land on the other side was in great turmoil.
Her heart, trembling with anxiety, refused to calm down.
Olivia kept raising her head to look at the top where Pierre had disappeared.
"Please, please..."
As if her earnest plea was heard.
No sooner had her words ended than a rumbling sound was heard, along with the sound of gears beginning to turn.
Olivia bit her lip and looked back outside.
The sound of Magical Power driving the engine was heard powerfully, and then, a beam of light shot from above her head and moved forward.
Olivia's eyes turned red.
"Done!"
Her Magic Dome, which had been stopped for a long time, finally began to move.
King Leonard had hoped Noah would choose the path of a soldier, not a businessman. When Usher ascended to the throne after him, how reassuring it would be if Noah were the Minister in charge of national defense.
If one person managed administration and the other national defense, bringing glory to Herot, there would be no one more upright before their ancestors.
Ceding the throne to the eldest son and having the second son govern national defense was not just his blueprint. It was also the former King's blueprint.
That former King's blueprint was shattered by the second son, and it was the same for Leonard.
However, Leonard would argue that it was a blueprint that considered each son's disposition.
This was because Noah Astrid's leadership and valor were overwhelming.
"Load! Never aim for the head!!"
Following Usher's command, the Royal Guards loaded their rifles in unison. Even though the Royal Guards had combat experience, the muzzles trembled slightly.
The Krakens, by their mere appearance, inspired terror. Seeing the special forces, the cream of Herot's army, being carried back covered in their acidic ink, made one's legs tremble.
Yet, the reason they could stand their ground and not retreat was thanks to Noah Astrid, who was steadily holding back the Krakens while weaving through the midst of hell.
He was handling Krakens alone while also issuing commands. Noah, having just dealt with one Kraken, sent a signal towards the area where the Royal Guards were gathered.
Then, as if he had been waiting, Usher gave the order to fire.
"Fire!!"
Flames erupted from the muzzles of the Royal Guards' rifles.
A few Krakens, wounded in the legs, writhed in pain and sporadically shot ink.
Some of that ink splashed onto Noah's back. Most of his clothes were already tattered and stained black with ink.
This time, the ink seeped through his clothes, and Noah gritted his teeth, his face contorting. His back felt like it was burning.
"Your Highness!"
