Jong Ho remained silent, but countless thoughts flowed through his head.
“He was sparing me? In return for sparing Nina?”
President Nina Rednikova.
It was correct that Jong Ho had spared her. However, he hadn’t done so with good intentions in mind.
He just thought that Nina would be worth more as a hostage. So he persuaded Kim Go-hyuk to not kill her.
If they used Nina’s life to threaten and subdue them, it would be easier to take over the European Branch with fewer casualties.
Did this man not know that? Or was he saying that despite knowing that?
“…”
Jong Ho didn’t continue thinking about it. Instead, he suddenly looked around for some reason.
Just a few moments ago, Lukas killed five hunters. He didn’t even leave them proper corpses. Instead, their bodies shattered into pieces of ice, which were scattered across the floor.
The sight had been so terrifying that he had subconsciously believed he would die in a similar manner.
What about Kim Go-hyuk? The Heavenly Dragon had fallen from the sky and now had to crawl on the ground.
He stared at Lukas with a crazed smile, but Jong Ho could tell that it was false bravado.
He’d stopped bleeding, but he’d lost too much blood. His injuries were so serious that it wouldn’t be strange if he fainted or died at any moment.
Jong Ho suddenly had a thought.
“…what about the rest of them?”
“You are the only human in your group.”
“What does that mean?”
Lukas spoke with a cold voice.
“It means you are the only one I will spare.”
“What did you say?!”
“Kuk…!”
The remaining hunters burst into an uproar at those words. Jong Ho, on the other hand, bit his lip hard.
It appeared that they still hadn’t realised the difference between them. That man just had to move a finger, and they would all die.
In a way, he envied their ignorance.
Jong Ho closed his eyes for a moment. It wasn’t something one should do when there was an enemy standing in front of one, but it wouldn’t make a difference.
He already understood that he couldn’t avoid any attacks whether his eyes were open or closed.
He didn’t have to think for long.
When he reopened his eyes, Jong Ho’s heart and mind had calmed down once again.
“I refuse.”
“I see.”
Lukas glanced at this man, who willingly threw away his only chance at survival.
In truth, he wasn’t surprised. To put it bluntly, he’d expected Jong Ho to make such a choice. And in all honesty, it didn’t feel good to give him the choice despite knowing that.
After all, it made Lukas appear no different from Nodiesop. From Jong Ho’s perspective, he might even be considered a hypocrite.
Nevertheless, Lukas respected his choice.
“Farewell.”
With that word, everything ended.
All the chaos, fighting, and conflict that engulfed the underground base disappeared in an instant.
Instead, pure white light covered the Duel Room, the floor they were on, and the entire European Headquarters.
“…”
Min Ha-rin blinked, not understanding what was happening.
The light only lasted for a brief moment, and when it disappeared, the Asian Hunters were gone.
“Ah…”
“What the hell is…”
The surviving European hunters naturally turned to look at each other with blank expressions on their faces before gathering together.
Then, they looked at Lukas, their eyes filled with a mixture of awe and fear.
Ignoring their gazes, Lukas walked over to Min Ha-rin and examined her injuries.
“Can you stand?”
Min Ha-rin forced herself to stand up. Her body still throbbed from the pain, but she had the energy to at least stand up.
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
Lukas nodded slightly before his gaze turned to Leo, who, in his unconsciousness, didn’t know anything that was going on.
It seemed that the time had come for him to leave the European Branch Headquarters.
But before that, there were still some things for him to do.
* * *
The damage to the European Headquarters was severe, but the worst of the damage was to the humans.
The total number of casualties reached 2,000, and among them, more than 500 people were killed, with a similar number being seriously injured or completely unable to recover. The rest of the population also suffered large or small injuries.
The key figures in the European Headquarters were the ones who suffered the most severe damage.
They were all Titled Hunters. And their influence wasn’t limited to external force. This was especially so after considering that there weren’t many Titled Hunters in Europe in the first place.
The more famous a hunter was, the more followers they had. Because in this hopeless world, people wanted something they could depend on. And strength was the most effective method to attract them.
When Lee Jong-hak went missing in the past, thousands of people who followed him wondered whether they should move to a different region or not.
Now, the famous hunters of the European Headquarters had been reduced to three.
Nina, the President, Ludwig, the Vice President, and Nicholas, the head of the Knights.
Ludwig and Nicholas had received permanent injuries. Their danjeons had been destroyed, meaning they could no longer hold ki, and their tendons in both arms were severed.
Even if they recovered, they would never be able to fight as they once did.
But the one who suffered the most was the President, Nina Rednikova.
To put it simply, she was barely alive.
“…”
A Catholic Archbishop and multiple doctors came out of the hospital room with solemn expressions on their faces.
The hunters who were waiting outside immediately surrounded them.
“Ho-, how is the President’s condition?”
“…”
The Archbishop sighed.
“Death was averted. She will have no problems surviving, but… I’m afraid the aftereffects will remain.”
“Aftereffects?”
“Her eyeballs were directly cut out. And it seems that they used a cursed weapon because my divine power can’t heal it.”
“Ah…”
“Oh, my God…”
The hunters collectively collapsed at those words. Some even began sobbing.
The Archbishop looked at them sorrowfully. To be honest, Nina’s injuries were much more severe than he made them seem, but now wasn’t a good time to talk about that.
Nina Rednikova.
The influence that her charisma had across Europe was unimaginable. Because of her, the Head of the Iron Blood Division, countless hunters decided to come to Europe.
And yet, such a European treasure had been irreparably damaged. For a hunter, losing their sight was the worst possible injury.
Nina would not be able to fight bravely or lead hunters on the frontline ever again.
And only they could understand the helplessness and despair this fact would cause European hunters to feel.
“…”
Lukas went into the room with Nina.
Seeing this, the Archbishop hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should stop him. But in the end, he shook his head.
He knew that this man had saved their headquarters using great magic.
When Lukas opened the door and stepped into the room, he saw Nina sitting on the bed with bandages around her eyes.
“Nina.”
“…Master?”
Nina’s voice shook.
Lukas sat on a chair in front of her.
“Yeah. It’s me.”
As he responded, he inspected her body.
Most of her injuries had been healed thanks to the Archbishop’s divine power, but there were some injuries that couldn’t be healed.
One of them was her eyesight.
‘However…’
There were countless other wounds on her body.
Nina was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking in a bright voice.
“Kim Go-hyuk was definitely strong. I thought he was just strong for his age, but that wasn’t the case. Aside from him were the Sword Saint, Army Nun, and Hwarang Leader… none of them were easy to deal with.”
She chuckled.
“But I’m glad you saved us. Nicholas and Ludwig also seem to have survived, and the damage to the European Branch is serious. But when I get out of bed, I’ll be right-”
“Do you really think that?”
Lukas asked, interrupting her.
Nina fell silent. Then her head slowly lowered.
“…why do we fight each other?”
When she finally spoke again, complex emotions could be heard in her voice.
“This isn’t the time. We’re in such a desperate situation that it’s hard to see the end even when we put all our energy into it. So why are we still fighting ourselves?”
Since the advent of the Demons, humanity had united as one.
At least, that’s what most hunters thought.
However, those who held high positions, like Nina, could see the truth.
Even in such a situation, humanity failed to unite.
Humans still pressured or opposed each other. The fact that catastrophic beings like the Demons had appeared hadn’t changed that fact.
Europe resented Asia for treating them like shields. Asia tried to think of a way to escape North America’s influence. Oceania* was not interested in anything but their own survival. Africa had become a land of death that suffered the most damage. And North America watched the situation of the world from their safe haven. (TL: Oceania is a geographic region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia)
Most of the large and small disputes had disappeared, but in their stead, other disputes had become much larger than before.
“Master told me. Humans are the most beautiful beings in the universe. The only ones capable of accepting or overcoming the poison of evil. That the more desperate the situation became, the more strongly we would bond together and unite…”
Nina’s voice shook, and it felt like she was about to cry.
“…I thought so too… I believed you… But… But…”
Finally, it seemed that she was unable to contain herself as she began sobbing.
“I can’t now. I used to only see the good side, and I felt great pride to be human. But I’ve finally seen the bad side that I was trying to ignore.”
A human like Kim Go-hyuk had appeared, as if testing Nina’s will.
His mindset and actions caused Nina to wonder if he was even a human like she was.
Of course, the underlying cause of all of this was Nodiesop. It was this man, who had forcefully taken over the position as head of the East Asia Branch, who incited the Asian hunters.
But Kim Go-hyuk didn’t need incitement.
Nodiesop gave them an option and an opportunity.
Die as humans. Or abandon the humans.
And Kim Go-hyuk laughed happily while choosing the latter. He showed his true nature without hesitation, as though he was waiting for such a chance to come.
It was impossible for her to know just how much blood he’d shed.
No one had told Nina about how much damage the European Headquarters had suffered. But she knew instinctively.
She knew that the damage was so severe that it was probably impossible to recover from.
Hundreds of people had died and thousands were injured.
Not at the hand of Demons but their own kind…
“Master, I know I shouldn’t, but I… Right now…”
The bandages around Nina’s eyes had become wet. She shed tears of blood as she poured out her true feelings to her Master.
“…I hate humans more than the Demons.”