Beijing, China.
This used to be a large metropolitan city that housed more than 20 million people, but now, only about 1 million people remained. And about 5 percent of them were hunters.
This meant that there were more than 50,000 hunters in this city alone.
Cha Gung-hwan, President of the East Asia Branch, was already over 70 years old. Although training in martial arts had slowed down the aging process to an extent, his white hair and wrinkles could not be hidden.
There was usually an ever-present smile on his lips, but today, his expression was hard as if he’d bitten a rock.
“You’re here.”
“How’s the situation?”
“It’s been quiet since the first fall.”
“Good work.”
Cha Gung-hwan briefly commended his subordinates before turning around.
“Hmm…”
An invisible aura seemed to swirl around his body.
There was a crater in the ground as though a small meteor had landed here. The surrounding area also had a horrific appearance as if there had been a disaster.
Most of the skyscrapers in the area had collapsed, and the lower buildings were all buried in the torrents of rock.
This had been an area where civilians stayed.
‘Thousands must have died.’
Cha Gung-hwan’s heart became heavy, but no signs of this were visible on his face. After all, the President and leader of such a large group could not display such weakness.
The Demon Slayers, known as China’s strongest hunter group, were watching him.
“Let’s go.”
At Cha Gung-hwan’s words, the Demon Slayers followed him. They descended to the center of the crater.
There was still dust lingering in the air, and the burnt smell had yet to fade.
After a short walk, they found the main culprit of the disaster.
“…”
It was a handsome man with blue hair. He was wearing a fur coat, and as they approached him, they felt a strange pressure.
“Kuk…”
Ten steps.
That was his limit. When he reached ten steps away, Cha Gung-hwan found that he couldn’t get any closer.
If he tried to get closer, his airways might get blocked or his heart might explode. It was the same for the Demon Slayers.
The man opened his eyes. His golden eyes gleamed with a light that made them feel like their souls would be sucked out.
Cha Gung-hwan forcibly swallowed his saliva and opened his mouth.
“Who are you?”
In fact, there was no need to ask.
The only reasonable explanation was that he was a Demon.
This man had reportedly fallen from the sky. He’d smashed the protective barrier which surrounded Beijing in an instant, and even then, his momentum had not reduced in the slightest.
It was not something a human could do.
‘Beijing’s protective barrier is among the top three in the entire world. If he smashed it in an instant…’
This meant that he was at least a Demon Duke. However, Cha Gung-hwan found that he couldn’t identify whether the man in front of him was a Demon or not.
He couldn’t feel any demonic energy from this man. In fact, his calm eyes seemed to have a serenity that even a sincere monk would find hard to match.
‘The stronger the Demon, the harder it is for them to hide their demon energy.’
If that was the case, then who was this person?
The man looked at him and spoke.
“You are the leader of these people.”
“…you! Don’t you know who this is?!”
One of the Demon Slayers growled out. His strength and willpower seemed great as the other members beside him were having a hard time even opening their mouths.
But it wasn’t a smart move.
“U-, urk…?!”
The Demon Slayer member grabbed his neck, his face becoming pale.
“H-, hey!”
“Why all of a sudden…?”
“K-, kuk…”
Suddenly, water began flowing from the man’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. A ghastly amount of water was flowing out of his body. As it flowed, the water became redder and redder until it became as red as blood.
“Kuh… Uk… Kuk…!”
The member of the Demon Slayer’s held his neck tightly, as though he was being choked, before collapsing.
And after twitching a few times, he stopped moving.
“…”
A cold silence fell.
The man opened his mouth again.
“I will give you two options.”
“…options?”
“The first is that you’ll all die.”
“…!”
Cha Gung-hwan’s heart sank.
The man continued in an emotionless voice, seemingly ignorant of their feelings.
“The second is to obey me. If you do that, then your enemy, the Demons… I will destroy them.”
* * *
In the sky without a single dark cloud in sight, the largest lightning bolt in history suddenly struck down.
Boom!
If someone were to see this occurrence, they would only have seen an incredibly bright light that completely filled the horizon. It was several times larger than the largest lightning bolt ever recorded.
If this lightning bolt had struck down in a populated region instead of in the middle of the ocean, it might have multiplied the number of deaths ever caused by lightning bolts by a few times.
A tidal wave as tall as skyscrapers rose up into the air, and dozens of large and small vortices formed.
For a long time, the ocean raged and the waves roared as if they were afraid.
This phenomenon happened for a while before the ocean finally settled down once again like it had never happened.
No one noticed this disturbance, which had suddenly occurred in the South Pacific.
* * *
Lukas didn’t get the chance to meet Lee Jong-hak.
He was told that he’d left on a mission just the day before.
It seemed that he had completed his rehabilitation to some extent.
The mission he had chosen was a long-term mission, so it could take up to a few weeks or even a month in some cases.
‘He wouldn’t come if I called him.’
Despite the fact that he was currently staying in the European Branch, Lee Jong-hak was an Asian hunter. Together with the fact that he held the high position of Vice President, this meant that Nina could not force him to obey her orders.
The only option would be to go to him directly. But Lukas decided against that for now.
There was a disciple whom he had to pay attention to at the moment.
“Magic Missile.”
Woowoong-
A bluish energy projectile formed with a soft hum.
Min Ha-rin looked down at the projectile that she’d created.
Lukas nodded.
“You were successful. That’s your first spell.”
“My first spell…”
A sense of accomplishment filled her heart with those words.
Min Ha-rin clenched her fist as her body shook.
Lukas patted her on the shoulder.
“Congratulations on taking your first step on the path of Magical Science.”
These words brought her back to her senses.
Right. Min Ha-rin was no longer a Swordsman. At that moment, she had been reborn as a newbie Wizard, not a first-rate Swordsman.
It would be a lie to say she didn’t feel a bit strange at that revelation. After all, her dedication over the past 10 years had basically been for nothing.
But her heart still beat uncontrollably in her chest.
It was a very thrilling and special experience to manipulate this mysterious power.
“Did you read all the books?”
“Yeah. But I didn’t memorise everything.”
“You don’t need to force yourself to memorise everything. It’s good enough to just read it. Don’t try to cram it all into your head. Instead, read them like novels. That way, even if you don’t remember the exact wording, you’ll still be able to remember the concept.”
Lukas chuckled as he said that.
Min Ha-rin lowered her head a little, and she couldn’t help but think that that smile was very attractive.
Her Master was a strange person. Especially when it came to teaching magic.
She could never tell what he was thinking, and his words were always short. He was beyond blunt. He was like a person without emotions or a monk who had truly separated himself from the world.
But when teaching magic, he was like a young boy who was doing the thing he liked the most.
When the usually blunt image and this not-so-bad image overlapped, Min Ha-rin seemed to feel a fluttering in her heart.
“Did you have any difficulty?”
Moreover, her tone when she spoke to him seemed to be getting softer and softer. Maybe that was why Nina sometimes shot a resentful gaze at her.
She finally understood.
‘It’s not that.’
Min Ha-rin let out a breath as if to get rid of her clustered thoughts before replying.
“No. It’s just… fun.”
“Which part?”
“Everything.”
She enjoyed increasing her mana while meditating, reading books and learning about Magical Science, and using magic directly.
That’s why she was slightly nervous.
“Should I be enjoying it like this?”
There was a saying that it was easier to learn something you enjoyed.
Min Ha-rin knew this.
But she was still nervous.
As a human who was living in this apocalyptic era, she instinctively rejected the thought of training with such a light heart.
Lukas also understood what Min Ha-rin was thinking.
That’s why he spoke in a slightly mischievous tone.
“When the time comes, you’ll desperately wish for that feeling.”
“Huh?”
“Your talent is obviously excellent, but someday, you will inevitably hit a wall. At that time, you will naturally have a different mindset.”
“…”
“There’s no need to worry about that now. First of all, you should try to reach 3 stars. Then, you’ll be able to do your part.”
“When will I know that I’ve reached 3 stars?”
“Hmm… Right.”
Lukas raised his index finger and a ball of flames appeared on it.
“You should at least be able to create a Fireball this size.”
Fwoosh-
As he said that, more balls appeared above his finger.
“At least three of them.”