Nina cried for a long time before falling asleep.
The Archbishop, who returned to see this, blamed Lukas. Because he had stimulated the patient in a time when her mental stability was the top priority.
After apologising to the Archbishop, Lukas returned to his room.
“…”
He hadn’t comforted Nina.
He was the reason those hunters invaded the European Hunters. And as a result, he was responsible for the tragedy that happened here.
…God had suddenly appeared at that time.
If he hadn’t followed him, he might have been able to minimise the damage. At least he would have been able to prevent many of the casualties.
‘No.’
Nodiesop’s operation was also hampered by God’s appearance. He didn’t care about the devastation caused or the deaths of thousands of humans.
All he cared about was Lukas.
Don’t be burdened by those you couldn’t save.
Such an argument burdened his mind and ate away at his belief. He knew that, but he couldn’t stop his heart from feeling heavier.
Lukas forced himself to think about something else.
In any case, the European Headquarters was currently in a very precarious situation. In its condition, it would not survive a second attack by the Asian Branch.
It might have been greatly damaged in their assault, but the Asian Branch was at least ten times larger than Europe.
That wasn’t all.
Because of this attack, the European Headquarters had lost the deterrent factor to control the Demons in the surrounding area.
‘The supplies from Asia will be cut off.’
That would be another fatal blow.
Europe was used to receiving a lot of support from Asia. If that support was suddenly cut off, most of the resources in the branches across Europe would soon be exhausted.
Most of the land in Europe was already dead.
And there was a limit to how much one could sustain oneself on dead land. In less than a year, most of the hunters in Europe would move to other regions.
Then the protection in Europe would naturally become lax, and soon afterwards, the Demons would be able to easily take over the territory.
Humanity would once again lose a vast territory.
But now, there was only one region in the world that Europe could trust and ask for support.
North America.
And in order to receive that support, he would have to persuade one man.
Neil Prand.
He was the President of the North American branch, which was the strongest force in the world as well as the current President of the Hunters Association.
His influence spread beyond the Hunters Association and reached the entirety of the human race.
He was also a man who was associated with Lukas. In fact, he was the first human Lukas saved after coming to this world.
Neil’s transformation power was far greater than that of the Human Dragon Lee Jong-hak, Bow God Na Jong-cheol, or Min Ha-rin.
It could be said that his power was one that appeared every hundred… No, every thousand years.
He was a person who was destined to change the fate of mankind.
Lukas had tried to make him his first disciple, before Min Ha-rin, but he’d failed.
Because Neil had one big problem that he could never fix.
* * *
The blood hadn’t been completely cleaned from the hallways. But this was to be expected as it had only been a day since the attack.
Lukas headed to the communication room.
The communication room, control room, and portal management room could be said to be the three most important rooms in the entire base. So naturally, when the Asian hunters launched their attack, they took control of these rooms first.
“You…”
Matthew Costa, who was organising the communication room, couldn’t help but pause slightly when he saw Lukas enter.
He had been the referee in Leo and Gerard’s duel, and he had fought fiercely against the Asian hunters who showed up afterward.
So naturally, he’d seen Lukas, who appeared just before he thought he would die, easily take care of the situation.
Therefore, Matthew’s feelings towards Lukas were very complicated.
He’d heard many rumors about who this man might be. Some said he was a secret executive of the Hunters Association, some said he was the President’s relative, and some even said that he was the mysterious Vice President. There were many rumors.
Of course, even now that Lukas had showcased his strength, his true identity remained a mystery.
They didn’t know how to treat him.
Many of the hunters in the European Headquarters blamed Lukas. The Asian hunters had attacked their branch looking for a man named Lukas. And that’s how they came to know that he was the reason for the attack.
Matthew was rational. He thought that Lukas might be the reason, but the real instigator of this event was the Asia Branch’s new President.
But he didn’t reveal these thoughts to anyone.
The European hunters needed an outlet to vent their anger and frustration. So in a sense, Lukas was a good scapegoat.
They hadn’t overstepped any boundaries yet, but it was clear that it would gradually get worse even if they were only talking behind his back for now.
However, it was not possible to stop the flow of this tide. Because he couldn’t tell just what the hunters would do.
In fact, some of the hunters in the communication room were looking at Lukas with fierce gazes.
Matthew coughed.
Among those present, he held the highest position.
“What are you doing here?”
“I would like to communicate with North America.”
“…mm.”
Matthew couldn’t help but frown at those words.
This wasn’t to say that it was impossible. After all, the branches around the world had naturally established communication lines between themselves.
The problem was that North America had never had a good relationship with Europe. This was because during the conflict between Asia and North America in the past, Europe chose Asia.
This was a choice that Europe couldn’t help but make. Because there was more certainty of being protected by the neighbouring Asia than by North America, which was across the ocean.
‘But there is a high chance that the request will be ignored…’
Lukas had a close relationship with President Nina, so it was possible that he also had connections in the North America branch. And if he did, it would be of tremendous help in the current situation.
“They won’t refuse. As long as you send them the password I tell you.”
“By password…”
“Frey Blake.”
“…”
Frey… Blake?
Matthew tilted his head to the side in confusion, but Lukas’ expression remained unchanged.
Seeing that he gave it out without hesitation, it might be a one-time use password.
After thinking about it for a while, Matthew finally decided to do as he wished.
Chichichi-
A noise sounded from the hologram desk which sat in the center of the communication room. And for a while, it was the only sound that could be heard.
“Ha.”
“Pretending to be a bigshot…”
Some hunters laughed outright.
Matthew turned to look at Lukas with an embarrassed expression.
This was because their voices were clearly audible to everyone in the room. But Lukas’ expression remained unchanged.
‘If they haven’t responded after so long, there is a high chance that they chose to ignore it…’
Just as Matthew was about to turn off the hologram desk.
Paht-
“…!”
The screen brightened.
And the face that appeared stunned Matthew as well as every other hunter in the communication room.
“Hu-. huk.”
“Th-, that person…”
It was a man with an amazing physique. He was wearing a black suit that looked like it would rip if he flexed his muscles even a little. He was a man who seemed to contain unlimited power within his body.
His short blonde hair and cold blue eyes gave everyone who saw him a glimpse at his personality.
It was Neil Prand, President of the Hunters Association.
The man who stood at the pinnacle of millions of hunters looked at Lukas for a moment before speaking.
[Should I say it’s been a long time?]
“…”
He knew him?
Looking at President Neil’s expression made Matthew’s already complicated feelings even more complex.
He thought that at best, it would be a Branch Head or even just the Head of Communications at a random branch. He never would have expected it to be a direct line to President Neil.
Matthew shuddered.
What kind of person was this man in the hologram?
He was the most powerful man in the world. The former President of the United States wouldn’t have as much power as Neil currently possessed.
Even Cha Gung-hwan, the Asian President, and Nina, the European President, were mere fireflies before the sun when compared to Neil’s power and influence.
Their position in the association might have only differed by two or three levels, but the difference in their individual powers was unsurmountable.
Just as Matthew wondered if he should leave the room for a while, Lukas spoke.
“There is something I want to talk to you about.”
[…How surprising. I would have thought you never wanted to see my face ever again.]
He muttered with an expression that looked anything but surprised before nodding.
[Fine. I will leave the portal open for two days.]
Tuk-
With those words, the communication ended.
‘Is he asking me to come over directly?’
Lukas frowned slightly.
The current situation was so critical that even a single day couldn’t be wasted. It would have been better to talk and negotiate through the communications room, but if he wanted to talk face to face, then he had no choice but to comply.
After all, this was urgent.
“Yo-, you…”
Meanwhile, Matthew couldn’t help but stutter as he looked at the man standing beside him.
“…who the hell are you?”
(TL: My entire worldview was shifted because of this chapter. T~T. The author finally put their english version of ‘Frey Blake’ and it’s ‘Pray Blake’. T~T I’m shook. I’ve been wrong for almost 300 chapters now. Of course, I won’t change it, it’s much too late for that, but still interesting.)