The moon shone bright. As the mechanical flying balls darted up and down, they reflected its crystalline light in tiny, flickering flashes.
They led Gelman and the others between piles of monster corpses until they reached the front of the fortress.
Several spotlights swept over them, then moved on. The muzzles of all the cannons lowered; none fired at them.
The fortress gates did not open for them. They stood beside the broad channel, which rumbled and churned, watching as a small side door opened with a clatter of turning gears. A figure emerged from within.
The mechanical flying ball flew into his palm, folded its wings, and curled into a ball.
He grasped the mechanical flying ball and tucked it into his trouser pocket.
List, with short blond hair and a white shirt, bowed slightly to the group. When he raised his head, his cheeks were faintly flushed.
Even someone as composed as he was couldn't help feeling excited to see Gelman, Ging, Biscuit, and Shizuku at such a critical moment.
List had spent two months aboard BW1 with the Hunter Association's exploration team, amid an atmosphere of extreme tension.
He had often thought about reaching the hypothetical continent as soon as possible, before the "bomb" that was BW1 exploded.
But he hadn't expected that, just before they were due to land, an unstoppable Great Chaos would erupt aboard BW1 after all.
There was nothing he could do about it.
After all, his specialty was technical support. If Chairman Netero and the others couldn't resolve the situation, there was no way he could handle it.
So when he sent out numerous mechanical flying balls to look for and link up with other survivors, he was overjoyed to unexpectedly spot Gelman and the others.
Now, too, he said with heartfelt