“We’ll talk about it later. For now, there is work to do.”
“What work?”
“I also have to look for people.”
Lee Jong-hak spoke in a cold voice as he turned to look at the city.
Kim Go-hyuk tilted his head to the side.
“Who?”
“The civilians who are still in this city.”
“So you don’t want to look for them. You want to rescue them. Are you serious? You actually wanna go in there?”
As Kim Go-hyuk spoke, a five-story building was eaten by fire and collapsed.
Even if it was Lee Jong-hak, entering a city that was completely consumed by fire was incredibly dangerous. And assuming that Demons were lurking there, it was no different from suicide.
Lee Jong-hak didn’t respond. But Kim Go-hyuk realised that nothing he said would change his mind.
“You’re still the same.”
He burst into laughter, which seemed to be filled with admiration and something else.
Then, Kim Go-hyuk’s expression suddenly changed.
“Lee Jong-hak, do you believe in God?”
“We can talk later. I don’t have time now.”
“This isn’t the same. This is important.”
This was said in a serious voice.
Lee Jong-hak had no choice but to stop because he knew of the way Kim Go-hyuk usually acted.
God.
Did he believe in God?
“I don’t.”
There was no way he would believe that. Anger and hatred were mixed in Lee Jong-hak’s voice.
Kim Go-hyuk nodded as if he expected it.
“Right. But you will believe from today.”
“What?”
“I… no. We saw God. Lee Jong-hak, follow him from now on too.”
“What are you…”
It was then.
Kim Go-hyuk suddenly stretched his hands to the sky. That wasn’t all. The Hunters from East Asia, who hadn’t said a single word before then, also followed his movements.
“Nodiesop! Please save the people in this city!”
“Give your lambs the hand of salvation!”
“Please!”
“…”
Lee Jong-hak’s eyes dimmed slightly.
What the hell were they doing?
“Uh… Heavenly Dragon, Kim Go-hyuk… did you go crazy? Or is this some kind of play?”
Drisa asked this while spinning his finger around his ear.
Kim Go-hyuk didn’t answer him. The other people also didn’t seem to care about his words.
They all should have heard Drisa’s voice, but their attitudes remained the same.
At that moment, they were all staring at the sky solemnly.
“…”
Drisa’s eyes narrowed.
‘This is weird.’
There was a creepy chill in the air. The hunters’ cries grew louder and louder.
Gradually, it felt like a strange feeling was tickling his heart.
“I’ll go ahead.”
Lee Jong-hak spoke in a contemptuous voice before turning around.
Suddenly, someone stopped him.
“Wa-, wait.”
It was Drisa, not Kim Go-hyuk.
He spoke with a stutter.
“Lo-, look at the sky.”
Hearing his shocked voice, Lee Jong-hak looked up to the sky. And his mouth fell open.
Giant droplets of water floated in the sky above them.
“Huh?”
It was a scene that went beyond strange.
Lee Jong-hak took a step back, suddenly feeling like the borders between real and unreal had blurred.
This was a phenomenon that far surpassed human understanding. And the fear of the unknown made him tremble slightly.
How was this possible?
“Ohh…!”
“Great God…! Thank you!”
“Look! God’s power!”
Bang!
Suddenly, the balls of water in the sky exploded and heavy rain began to fall down.
Shaaa-
No, it couldn’t be called heavy rain. The rainwater was so violent that it could even pierce windows.
Rather than just dousing the flames, the raindrops pierced through the concrete. Not only was the fire extinguished, but the buildings in the city also collapsed.
“What have you done…?!”
Lee Jong-hak grit hit teeth.
With that degree of power, not to mention the humans who were extremely weak, even the Demons in the city would not be able to withstand it.
Ahhh-
“…!”
When he heard the screams, Lee Jong-hak could no longer hold himself back. Just as he drew his sword and prepared to charge into the city.
Kim Go-hyuk blocked him from the front.
“Get out of my way.”
“The people are safe. Don’t worry.”
“Do you think I would believe that?”
“Calm down. Listen carefully. Do those sound like human screams?”
Kiiieeek-
Lee Jong-hak froze when he realised he was hearing the screams of Demons.
“Relax, do I have to explain this to you?”
“…what kind of spell did you use?”
“Spell? Hahaha!”
Kim Go-hyuk burst into laughter.
“It’s not something stupid like that. Hey, Lee Jong-hak! Haven’t you realised it yet? What you see before you is not something that can be explained by common sense.”
Kim Go-hyuk turned to the city.
All the Demons in the city were dead. He was sure of that.
The rain was the work of a noble god. At the same time, its benevolent touch would also heal the humans.
Kim Go-hyuk spoke in a fanatic voice.
“To put it simply, a miracle is happening here.”
“…miracle?”
What he’d wished and hoped for the most in the past.
Lee Jong-hak stared at the city with a blank gaze.
The flames that had engulfed the city had died down. And people could be seen gathering together among the rubble.
None of them were wounded.
All of the civilians had survived.
“…”
Lee Jong-hak clenched his fist.
God’s miracle.
The moment he thought of those words, his heart began to beat violently in his chest.
* * *
“Leo.”
Leo turned around when he heard someone call his name.
It was Gerard, who was walking up to him with a bright smile on his face.
“It’s been hard to see your face these days. Have you been busy?”
“A little.”
“I see.”
Gerard came beside Leo. When they stood side by side, he naturally had to look down at him.
For a strong, healthy man like Gerard and a boy who was not fully grown like Leo, the difference in physique between them was obvious.
“You’ve been frequently in and out of the 12th Training Room these days.”
“Right.”
“The person there is supposed to be Lukas, right? I heard he was an important acquaintance of Nina.”
Lukas was now somewhat of a celebrity in the European headquarters.
“…”
Leo remained silent.
This wasn’t because he was afraid to reveal his relationship with Lukas. Instead, it was because he just didn’t want to tell Gerard anything.
Gerard laughed.
“In any case, we have a mission tomorrow, so prepare to leave at dawn. We have a new hunter in our group, so you’ll have to prepare six sets of supplies.”
“I’m not going.”
“…huh?”
Gerard couldn’t help but wonder if he’d heard incorrectly.
“What did you say?”
“I won’t be going on any more missions with you.”
Gerard’s expression changed. He looked down at Leo with a slightly stiff face. Then, he took a deep breath.
It was clear that he was trying to keep his true thoughts from showing.
“What are you talking about so suddenly? Tomorrow is the day of the mission. This is too sudden.”
“I’m not breaking any rules.”
“…”
This was true.
Supporters weren’t officially included in hunter groups. For this reason, the rewards they received for completing missions were extremely low. But they had the advantage of being able to withdraw from their group without needing the permission of the leader.
Leo was the same.
He could quit being the supporter of the group just by telling Gerard.
Of course, this would offend Gerard. But that was exactly what Leo wanted.
“It’s not like you’d lose any power in battle.”
“No way. It would be hard to find a supporter like you.”
Leo laughed.
That was the crucial part.
“…why are you laughing?”
His strained voice contained obvious displeasure. Gerard’s mask was beginning to crack.
“I intend to stop being a supporter from now on.”
“…does that mean you’re going to stop pretending to be a hunter?”
“Mhm. I will stop pretending and become a real hunter instead.”
Gerard wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t.
Leo’s quiet voice was filled with confidence.
His mouth twisted subconsciously.
“You? That’s impossible.”
“Would you like to test it yourself?”
“What?”
Leo didn’t respond. He simply stared at Gerard.
Only then did Gerard realise his true intentions and burst out laughing.
“Ha, haha… do you intend to duel me?”
“Yeah.”
“…can’t we come to some kind of understanding? We can have a personal match, and I’ll let you beat me. How about that?”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to do it.”
When Leo said that and turned around as if he didn’t care, Gerard called out impulsively.
“Fine. Let’s duel. When will it be?”
Leo turned around at those words.
“As soon as your mission is over.”
“That will be about a week from now. Fine.”
Gerard then smiled.
“However, I have a condition. It has to be an official duel in which the fight clauses apply.”
The fight clauses.
In a duel recognised by the association, if one side was crippled or worse, the other side would not be held accountable.
In other words, it could be a fight to the death during which they were allowed to kill each other.
Gerard thought that Leo would back down after hearing this.
“Good.”
However, his reaction was unexpected.
“I look forward to it.”
Leo was smiling softly.