“President.”
Nina opened her eyes when she heard the deep voice.
She was tired. She was so tired that she felt like she was losing her mind.
She’d only slept for a few hours in the past week.
‘Damn insomnia.’
When she grit her teeth, the man in the black suit standing in front of her flinched.
Nina Rednikova was the president of the European branch of the Hunter Association. This woman, who had silver hair and looked like she was in her mid 20’s despite her true age, had such a ferocious personality that every hunter in the European branch was afraid of her.
Not to mention Ludwig, the Vice President of the European branch who was practically Nina’s secretary.
“It’s urgent.”
In a subdued voice, he recounted his reason for being there.
“We received a signal from Warp Portal 15.”
“Number 15… that’s Milan. It’s been a very long time since that city was occupied. What could the signal be?”
“As you said, it has been more than a decade since it was conquered by the Demons, but…”
“It’s probably just a dummy signal. Ignore it as usual.”
After saying her piece, she put her head back on her desk.
And before Ludwig could say anything else, he heard a murmur.
“…tch. Just thinking about it makes me annoyed. Do you really think you need to report every little thing to me? Can’t you see the dark circles under my eyes? Do you want them to reach down to my chin?”
Nina’s voice was cracked with fatigue and sleepiness, and its pitch was low.
Anyone who knew her could tell that she was about to explode.
“W-, we received the signal multiple times. And they knew the code that is only known to Hunters in the association.”
Nina looked up at those words. Her expression became serious.
“…could it be the Demons?”
“I think the probability is 50/50.”
“Hmmm…”
It was certainly possible that the Demons were contacting the headquarters after prying the information from a hunter.
Nina tapped a pale finger on her desk as she said.
“Wait. Milan… That’s where the Chester Company’s event is being held.”
The gathering of such a large number of nobles in one city might have only been an event for them, but it was something that the hunters and even the entirety of mankind had to pay attention to.
The fact that the Chester Company was hosting an event in Milan was something that most European Hunters were aware of. This was mostly because the Demons didn’t try to conceal this event.
“Does that have anything to do with it?”
“You heard about it, didn’t you? The Duke hunt in Shanghai, about a month ago, failed.”
“You mean the large-scale operation led personally by the Human Dragon, Lee Jong-hak.”
Ludwig nodded.
This was also something that most hunters had heard about.
He spoke in a somber tone.
“At best, 300 of those hunters survived. Lee Jong-hak is still missing. It was considered a huge loss. Not just for the association but the entire human race.”
“…”
Nina seemed to think of something before suddenly smiling.
“Ludwig, open the portal.”
“Why? No, you mean me? You want me to go and open it myself?”
Nina’s smiling face seemed to become a shade darker, and Ludwig’s head became covered in cold sweat.
“A-, as you wish.”
Nina was left alone in the room. Her thoughts, which were a mess, finally settled.
Her cheeks became pink, and her eyes began to shine like stars.
“Finally….”
* * *
“Don’t let down your guards.”
As he said this, Ludwig looked at the portal.
Around the portal were the fully armed hunters whom he’d gathered.
They all had stiff faces, and the atmosphere in the room was tense.
Except for one person.
“I don’t know why you chose to do this in the middle of the night, Ludwig.”
A middle-aged man in military attire lit a cigarette as he said those words.
His voice was harsh, but Ludwig could only smile bitterly.
“Sir Nicholas, please understand. It was the President’s orders.”
Nicholas.
Although he was ranked below Ludwig as the Knight Commander, he was also a legend among European hunters and he had been a hunter for much longer.
Even if Ludwig was the second-in-command of the European branch, he could not treat him recklessly nor did he want to.
“Nina? What can we do if it’s that damn woman’s order.”
Despite his fierce words, the harshness in his eyes faded a little. This was because he and Nina had been working together for decades.
He puffed his cigarette with a sigh.
“There shouldn’t be any possibility of Dukes showing up.”
“Isn’t that better? I think that would be better than a bunch of weaklings showing up.”
“Why?”
“At least, that way, we can all hold hands and die together. Neatly and painlessly.”
“I’m sorry, but my daughter baked apple pie and is waiting for me to try it. If you want to die, then you can die alone.”
“Haha.”
Woowoong-
It was at that moment that the ripples in the portal increased.
Nicholas raised a hand.
Churk.
Every hunter raised their weapon.
They had intentionally not brought a firearms squad. To break through the Demons’ defenses, one needed to use a mounted machine gun or anti-tank weapons. And with the size of the base where the portal was held, it would be impossible for them to use such weapons.
‘The president said that there was no reason to worry…’
But how could he not be worried?
Ludwig looked at the portal with a stiff expression.
In the meantime, the whirring sound grew louder and the Warp Portal doubled in size.
It felt like a large force was pulling them.
Paht!
The portal flashed.
Then, the shadow of a person appeared. It was soon followed by others.
There were many of them. Appearing to be twelve. And they all looked like humans, but that didn’t mean they could let down their guards.
There were many more Demons who concealed their appearances and hid amongst the humans than they thought.
But when he saw the face of the red-haired woman who was leading the group, Ludwig couldn’t help but relax his guard a little.
“Allida.”
“Ludwig, haha…”
When he heard Allida’s soft laugh, Ludwig’s eyes trembled.
“Are you really… Allida?”
“Do I look like a fake? Ah, shit. My nose hurts so much I feel like I’m gonna die.”
“You dumbass! I told you not to go to Italy!”
“Would it hurt for you to just come hug me? Tactless fool.”
While the two of them were enjoying their reunion, the other hunters were looking at another man with disbelief in their eyes.
“Lee Jong-hak?
“The Human Dragon.”
“There’s the Black Panther too.”
“I think I’ve seen that Asian woman before…”
As the chatter grew louder, the tension in the room dropped considerably.
It was Nicholas who changed the mood. He drew the sword at his waist.
Sssng-
Strangely, the faint sound reached everyone’s ears. The bustling atmosphere disappeared in an instant, and heavy silence fell in the hall.
“Outsiders, stop there. I will not tolerate any reckless movements. Vice President Ludwig, you can have your reunion later.”
“But Allida is…”
Nicholas sighed.
Although he was a young man with outstanding talent, he sometimes had the disadvantage of being too affectionate to the point where he failed to recognise the proper course of action.
This wasn’t a virtue that one wanted a superior to have.
‘I see why Nina called me.’
He shook his head before commanding in a cold voice.
“Knights, maintain the order and let the guards check their identities. There could be Demons mixed in amongst them.”
When Nicholas said those words coldly, Allida looked at him with a smile.
“Uncle, it’s me. Allida. Have you already forgotten me? These people aren’t suspicious. They’re my party. We were all slaves, and after numerous twists and turns, we finally managed to escape. There aren’t any spies. Listen. What happened was…”
“Be quiet and let them do their work. I will listen to your explanation later.”
Allida’s expression hardened. She was unable to keep her disappointment from showing on her face.
Nevertheless, there was no change to Nicholas’ expression.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t trust you right away. Please understand my position and duties.”
Of course she knew. She knew, but she still couldn’t help the slight sting that she felt.
Allida nodded, and the guards soon approached them.
They thoroughly investigated the identities of the former slaves, including Allida.
Nicholas watched this scene with a sharp gaze.
“The investigation is complete, Sir.”
“The result?”
“There are no problems. All of them are hunters who either went missing or were confirmed to have been captured by the Demons.”
“Is there any possibility that a Demon is hiding amongst them?”
“I think the possibility is extremely low. They’re all wearing collars.”
Then he added with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
“…except for two.”
“Two?”
“One of them is pretty well-known. The Asian Rookie, White Flower. Have you heard of her?”
Nicholas nodded. He knew most of the names of the top rising hunters in every region.
Min Ha-rin was one of the young Korean Hunters. He’d heard that there were great expectations of her not only in the Asian Branch but in the entire Hunter Association because she had an amazing track record despite her young age.
“We also confirmed her identity. Her fingerprint matched the one that was in our database. She’s not a Demon. The problem is the other one.”
“Who?”
“That guy.”
It was the blonde-haired Lukas that the guard pointed to.
“There is no matching information for him. It’s possible that his identity was never registered. I think we need to do a more detailed investigation, but that will take time…”
“Stop, you did a great job. I’ll handle that guy, so you guys just stand back.”
“Yes, sir.”