Leo lay on a hospital bed while staring blankly at the ceiling.
The last thing he remembered was his fight against Gerard. It had probably been the most painful and desperate fight he’d ever had.
But in the end, he won. It was Leo who won in the end. The moment Gerard admitted defeat, that fact became set in stone.
With the great joy and satisfaction that came with victory, Leo lost consciousness.
…And when he opened his eyes again, Gerard was dead.
“…”
When he first heard it, his entire face had become pale.
Did he kill him? No, that was impossible.
Unlike Leo, who fainted, only Gerard’s sword had been broken. His body was in a much better condition.
In addition, Gerard looked different from how he had when he fell unconscious. His entire body was covered in blood, and there were numerous knives embedded in his body.
He had died from excessive blood loss, and he’d died standing. But what truly confused Leo was where Gerard was standing.
He had his back towards him as though he was protecting him and died facing an enemy who had probably stood in front of him.
Afterward, Min Ha-rin filled him in on what happened.
She told him that Asian hunters attacked the base. As a result, the key figures in the European Headquarters were either killed or severely wounded, and the damage done to the base was irreparable.
“…”
Too many things had happened. And in all honesty, he still wasn’t sure how to feel.
Just as Leo sighed for the umpteenth time, he heard a knock on the door.
“Yeah.”
After giving a brief response, the door opened and the first thing he saw was glossy black hair.
It was Min Ha-rin.
When she entered the room and saw Leo, she smiled softly.
“Hey, Junior Brother.”
“Hey, Senior Sister.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine.”
“I’m glad.”
Min Ha-rin sat on a chair beside the bed and silence fell in the room for a while.
“How is the situation in the headquarters right now?”
“Should I be honest?”
“Yeah.”
“…not very good.”
She sighed.
“The President, Vice President, and even the Head of the Knights Division. The three people who could be called the core of this base all suffered irrecoverable damage.”
“…I see.”
Min Ha-rin turned to look at Leo.
Unlike her, who had only been in Europe for a short period of time, Leo had grown up here. So it was natural for him to feel great sorrow and confusion.
“Master is going to North America today.”
“North America?”
“Yeah. I think he’s going to meet the President of the Association and discuss a way to deal with Asia.”
Leo nodded.
The attack by the Asian Branch was a treacherous action. And if North America was informed of their actions and promised their support, it might be possible to reverse this desperate situation.
“I will be going with him. I might not be in the best condition, but I think it would be a good learning experience. That’s why… I came to ask what Junior Brother would like to do.”
“If you allow me to, I’d like to join you.”
Leo expressed his opinion with a calm voice.
Then Min Ha-rin’s expression became serious.
“…you know why the Asian hunters attacked the European Headquarters, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
They came looking for a man named Lukas.
According to them, Lukas was a high-ranking Demon Noble, Nina was a witch who was colluding with him in the dark, and everyone who sheltered him was evil.
From Nina’s perspective, this argument was so far-fetched that it wasn’t even funny.
“A few hunters seem to believe that claim.”
When Min Ha-rin said those words with a solemn voice, Leo spoke out with disbelief.
“That’s impossible. That rumour is just ridiculous. Master doesn’t even have the slightest hint of demonic energy in him. If they thought a bit more rationally, they’d realise-…”
“The situation can no longer be considered rational.”
Leo had no choice but to fall silent at those words.
The European hunters always risked their lives when they went out on missions. And because of its position on the frontline, the hunters in Europe tended to have a closer relationship than those in other regions.
Their colleagues and teammates were annihilated overnight, so it was natural for them to look for someone to blame.
However, the Asian hunters who attacked them were already dead.
So, naturally, their resentment fell to Lukas, who was thought to have attracted them in the first place.
“I won’t hide the fact that I’m Master’s disciple.”
“…!”
“It’s going to get harder. It’s going to get dangerous. And I might even die.”
Min Ha-rin rubbed her stomach. She had already been healed, but the pain of Kim Go-hyuk’s attack was seared in her mind.
“And there will probably be more misunderstandings like this one in the future. But if we want to help Master, then we’ll have to deal with similar… no, we might have to deal with even worse situations than this one. Leo, can you handle it?”
“Are you okay, Senior Sister?”
Min Ha-rin was surprised by Leo’s sudden question.
“Huh?”
“You might end up fighting the Asian hunters.”
“Haha.”
Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but laugh.
This is because Leo’s care for her really comforted her. She stroked Leo’s hair gently, just like she did with her siblings.
“I’m fine.”
Min Ha-rin was probably the only person who’d seen Lukas’ power up close.
She’d seen him kill a Demon Duke. So she knew that Lukas wasn’t a Demon.
…No.
She didn’t believe in Lukas just because of such a logical reason.
Lukas had taught her for a month.
Being taught by someone meant getting to know them. Because the way a person taught had a certain degree of subjectivity. And through his teaching, Min Ha-rin was able to get a glimpse of the type of person Lukas was.
Lukas wanted to save the humans. He wanted to save the humans more than anyone else.
And he was planning something huge in order to do that.
She didn’t know what the exact plan was. However, she was convinced that it would benefit her, the hunters, and the entirety of the human race.
And Min Ha-rin wanted to help Lukas with his plan, even if it was just a little.
It was different from simply hunting the Demons or Demon Beasts. At that time, she simply swung her sword like a machine.
She didn’t want to die. And in order to just see the sun rise on the next day, she killed the Demons. But she knew that her actions didn’t have much of an effect on the bigger picture.
Could she change anything by simply killing a Demon Noble, a few dozen Demons, or Demon Beasts?
She couldn’t.
Another noble, another Demon, or another Demon Beast would simply take their place.
Nevertheless, Min Ha-rin continued to do it.
Because she couldn’t see the way or find the answer, she simply did the only thing she could think of.
But Lukas had shown her the way.
He was moving towards the ultimate goal not of driving out the Demons but of freeing the entirety of humankind from their misery.
She was truly happy and honoured to be able to join such a great cause.
Unlike before, when she simply killed Demons and Demon Beasts, she felt different. Her spirit was uplifted.
For Min Ha-rin, it was like she’d been reborn the moment she decided to step off the path of swordsmanship and become a Wizard.
Since then, her body and mind were constantly under tremendous pressure, but the heaviness in her heart had disappeared.
She felt free.
“I will continue following Master.”
“Me too.”
Leo looked up at Min Ha-rin as he spoke.
“I feel the same way as Senior Sister.”
“I know you can handle it.”
Min Ha-rin smiled as she stroked Leo’s hair once again. She was confident that Leo would walk a similar path to her.
Then, after a moment, she asked a question that had been bouncing around in her mind for a long while.
“By the way… What shampoo do you use?”
“I use soap.”
“Huk…”