When Lukas left, the atmosphere in the hall instantly became lighter.
Everyone there owed him their lives. And it was true that they were all grateful. But Lukas hadn’t said a single word to them.
They couldn’t even tell what he was thinking.
This man had power surpassing imagination. He had the power to kill Rutan like a bug.
That’s why it was natural for them to feel terrified in his presence instead of relieved.
‘An uninvited guest.’
Who could it be?
Drisa was bothered by it, but he didn’t get the chance to ask.
Everyone there had their attention focused on Lukas.
“Hoo.”
Then, Lee Jong-hak, who was helping bandage the other hunters, sighed,
“Drisa, it would be better if you were more careful of the way you spoke to him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know who Lukas is or what his goal is. But there is one thing that is clear.”
Drisa spoke without having to think long about it.
“He’s strong.”
Lee Jong-hak nodded and continued.
“Could you tell how Rutan died?”
“…”
There was no way he could’ve. Evan Lee Jong-hak, who had the best eyesight out of the group, couldn’t tell.
Drisa remained silent, and the other hunters were no different.
“I’ve been rolling around on this Earth for decades. Even when I was weak, I was still able to broaden my horizons. Now, even with the most secretive techniques, I would be able to see through their tricks just by looking at them. However… I have no idea what Lukas did. In all honesty, for a moment, I thought that he might have been a Demon.”
It was a simple guess, but no one in the room refuted it. If this guess was true, then it would have been no different from saying they directly fell into the hands of the reaper.
“But as far as I know, the only reason Demons kill each other is to take away the other’s Soul Crystal.”
Lee Jong-hak then took out Rutan’s Soul Crystal.
“That man gave this to me. A Demon wouldn’t do that.”
“Maybe he did it cause he thinks he can take it back at any time.”
“That’s a stretch. A Demon wouldn’t do something so annoying.”
“You are making a decision too quickly. Hey, this matter involves all of our lives. This isn’t something we can afford to be half-assed about.”
“…well, it’s not like it’s a problem that we’d be able to answer just by discussing it.”
“That’s true…”
Meanwhile, they had basically finished giving first aid to the injured. No one had been more severely injured than they expected.
Of course, this wasn’t because they were lucky. Instead, this was due to the fact that Rutan had controlled the force of his attack so that they wouldn’t get fatally injured in the first place.
“By the way, Min Ha-rin. How was your collar released?”
“Uh. That…”
Min Ha-rin hesitated for a moment before saying.
“Mr. Lukas released it.”
“He released it? How?”
If she told them that it crumbled like sand after he touched it… they would definitely treat her like a crazy woman. Fortunately, Min Ha-rin had a basic level of discernment and didn’t just blurt it out.
Then how should she put it?
Her eyes became dazed as she tried to think of something to tell them.
“What are you waiting for?”
Not only Drisa’s but the faces of the other hunters were also filled with suspicion.
Min Ha-rin made a bold choice.
She decided to just pretend.
“I don’t know. I don’t know how he did it.”
“…you too? Tch, it feels like we’re going deeper and deeper into the unknown/abyss.”
As he said this, Drisa got up from his seat.
There was a refrigerator in the lobby, and when he opened it, he found many combat rations inside.
“This is nice. It’s been a while since I had human food.”
His expression became one of joy, but then a hunter spoke to him.
“What is the expiration date??”
“Uh. What month is it?”
“Should be May.”
“Then… it’s about a month off. I won’t die if I eat it.”
“Shouldn’t you look at the year? This hideout has been abandoned for decades.”
At Lee Jong-hak’s question, Drisa looked at the year and his expression became stiff.
“…it’s about 13 years…”
“Put it back.”
Drisa looked down at the combat rations again, his face going through various shades of color as he seemed to be contemplating something.
“I mean… If I ate this…”
“It wouldn’t end with just a stomachache and diarrhea.”
“You’re right. Shit.”
He couldn’t afford to get diarrhea in such an urgent situation.
Drisa cursed before throwing the combat ration back into the refrigerator. Then, he slammed the refrigerator door.
Juk.
And at the same time, Lukas came back into the room. Nothing seemed to have changed since he went out, but he didn’t say anything and instead leaned against the lobby wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.
His expression, appearance, and posture were like a perfect representation of the phrase ‘don’t talk to me’.
“Kuh.”
Drisa was conflicted.
Shouldn’t he ask him what happened outside?
Just as the conflict intensified and he was about to make a move, Allida returned to the lobby.
Unlike when she disappeared, her expression was much brighter.
Still, they couldn’t be completely relieved.
As the hunters looked anxiously at her, Allida smiled and spoke.
“The portal seems to be working.”
Many of the hunters released sighs of relief.
“We survived…”
“C-, can we finally go back?”
Most of them had given up all hope of survival after they were captured. They didn’t get their hopes up even when planning to escape. It was only when they heard that the portal was working that they could finally relax.
Unlike the hunters whose hearts were pounding, Lee Jong-hak remained calm.
He asked with a sharp gaze.
“Where does the portal lead to?”
“The European branch. The mana capacity is almost empty. It will probably be spent after just one Warp.”
“The European Branch…”
Lee Jong-hak was conflicted.
The places in the world with the highest Demon activities were Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Naturally, this meant that most of the land in these places had fallen to the Demons.
“Where in the European Branch? Is it the headquarters?”
“That…”
Allida glanced at Lukas without answering.
Drisa nodded with an enlightened expression.
They had not figured out Lukas’ identity yet, so they had to avoid mentioning the specific location of the headquarters.
However, this was not a problem that they could keep avoiding. They had to go back to the association as soon as possible and get rid of the collars.
As if she’d made up her mind, Allida walked up to Lukas and said.
“Can you tell us who you are now?”
This time, Lukas didn’t ignore the question.
“If you take me to Nina, I’ll talk to her.”
“…!”
Those words caused the expressions of some of the hunters to harden considerably. The same was true for Allida.
No, it could be said that she was the most surprised in the group.
“Are you talking about President Nina Rednikova?”
“Nina Rednikova, head of the Hunter Association’s European Branch. I don’t think there is another president with the same name, so I think we’re talking about the same person.”
Allida’s expression became even more shocked.
An acquaintance of the president? The freaking president?
Allida knew Nina’s personality better than anyone else there. That’s why she didn’t understand.
Was he lying to get out of the situation?
“…can you prove that?”
“It’s impossible to do that here.”
“Then it’s hard for us to trust you.”
“Allida.”
When Lee Jong-hak called her name, Allida scratched her head.
“I know. I look like an ungrateful bitch who is turning on the person who saved us. However… what if it was all a ploy? To find the location of our headquarters and kill our president? We can’t afford the risk. It’s like taking an unknown monster right into the heart of our association branch.”
Allida’s words caused Lee Jong-hak to fall silent. That was because there was nothing wrong with what she said.
They couldn’t trust Lukas just because he saved their lives.
“That’s not it.”
It was Min Ha-rin who spoke up in a firm voice.
“How can you be so sure?”
“He killed Duke Sandro.”
“…”
Silence fell upon the lobby once again. Every hunter had an expression of disbelief.
But Lee Jong-hak and Drisa’s expressions became strange instead.
They had already heard those words before.
It was none other than Lukas who had said them.
‘Sandro is dead. And soon, you will be, too.’
And then he’d killed Rutan.
They had seen it with their own eyes but they still felt like it was unbelievable.
“…that man killed a Duke? On his own?”
“Yes. It wasn’t a Count or a Marquis but a Demon Duke. He killed a Demon Duke, whom humanity had only been able to slay twice, with his bare hands. I don’t think he’d take the risk of killing a Duke just to sneak into the headquarters.”
“That should have been the case if what you said was true. But what you saw could have been an illusion. How can you prove that Duke Sandro is really dead?”
Fortunately, she did have a way to prove it.
That was because Min Ha-rin still had the Soul Crystal that Lukas had given to her.
The Soul Crystal she took out had an unpleasant, blood-red color.
“…”
Allida gulped.
She’d heard before in rumors that the higher the rank of a Soul Crystal, the redder and darker it was.
‘The dark red light is somehow illuminating the entire room.’
Due to her profession as a Wizard, Allida had seen, created, and transformed numerous Soul Crystals. But she’d never seen one that was so ominous.
“…and it’s possible that the Demons already know the locations of the Hunter Association Branch Headquarters located around the world.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because Duke Sandro knew that Busan was the location of the Asia Branch Headquarters.”
“That means…”
“It would be impossible for them to know if they didn’t have people on the inside.”
“…”
In the end, Allida couldn’t help but sigh.
Right. She already knew.
The chances that Lukas was a Demon were incredibly slim.
In the first place, the Demons would never do something so troublesome and annoying. They much preferred the aesthetic of crushing their opponents from the front.
Nevertheless, as a hunter of the European branch, she couldn’t just trust Lukas. After all, for her, who had lost her homeland, the association was her new home.
However, the time had come for her to stop casting her doubt.
Allida immediately walked up to Lukas and bowed her head.
“I’m very sorry for doubting you. Please forgive my rudeness.”
It was a sincere apology, but Allida was still prepared to be criticised to an extent.
After all, it would be natural for Lukas to feel disgruntled. He had saved their lives without asking for anything in return, but he was still met with their doubt and suspicion.
But Lukas shook his head calmly.
“Your suspicion was valid.”
“Huh?”
It was a blunt but soft voice.
Allida raised her head, her eyes wide open.
She looked into Lukas’ eyes, which were like a glassy lake without a single ripple.
“Sometimes, we have to assume the worst. There’s no harm in being careful. I understand your judgement.”
“…ah. Yes. Thank you.”
She had a strange feeling while bowing her head. This was because she never thought that he would not criticise her, and, instead, agree with her.
‘What is this feeling?’
It was a strange, tickling sensation in her heart that she hadn’t felt for a long time.
But one thing was clear. It wasn’t a bad feeling.