After saying those words, Letip left the room. No, he left the Pilsky Tower entirely.
Lukas didn’t try to stop Letip, but he couldn’t help but feel bothered by his words for some reason.
Just as he lowered his cup and sank into deep thought, something mysterious happened.
The shadows in the room began clumping together before rising to form the shape of a person.
It was the mysterious black-robed man.
It was the old spirit who roamed this planet, the God of Heaven and Earth who had lost his authority. He looked at Lukas for a moment before opening his mouth.
[It’s been a while.]
“Right.”
Lukas agreed with him. It truly had been a while since they last met.
The figure’s black robe fluttered despite there being no breeze.
[I heard a rough explanation of the general situation.]
“From whom?”
[God.]
It seemed God had approached him as well.
“What did he tell you?”
[Sorry. But I can’t tell you that.]
“…”
[I probably won’t appear in front of you for personal business in the future.]
“Is that what God wants?”
[Yes. I have become a witness for the upcoming Great Game.]
Lukas’ brows furrowed at those words.
[And before that, I came to give you a last hint. That is all I was allowed to do.]
“A hint?”
[…you should be aware that it is possible for mortals to become transcendent beings. There are people in this universe who have that potential. Potential to become an Absolute like you.]
It was an unexpected statement, but Lukas nodded after thinking about it.
In fact, it was natural.
The more chaotic the world, the more likely it was for heroes to be born in it. And this world had already reached a stage where calling it chaotic was not enough.
However, ‘having the potential’ and ‘actually doing it’ were completely different things.
Lukas, who was a mortal who transcended and became an Absolute, was well aware of this.
‘However…’
Since coming to this world, he had not met any being with this potential. Even Neil, the greatest transformer he knew, was not good enough to pass the threshold to become an Absolute.
As if noticing Lukas’ thoughts, the mysterious man opened his mouth.
[I interfered.]
“…you interfered?”
[I deliberately made some adjustments in order to prevent you from meeting them. I didn’t want you to interfere with their growth. No hero is born without suffering. And they didn’t fail to meet my expectations.]
The mysterious man paused for a moment before continuing in a clear tone.
[Keep an eye on the Top Three. They are a clue. If you are vigilant, you might be able to trick the laws of the world and use the Absolutes’ External Force without restriction.]
“…”
[This is all I can tell you. I sincerely wish for your victory, Saviour of Humanity…]
After saying those words, the figure of the mysterious man dispersed into shadows once again.
At the same time, the door to the room was opened without a knock. This time, it wasn’t Letip.
“Sorry for being late.”
Neil, who was unable to completely suppress his emotions, said those words as he sat at the table.
Lukas could easily tell that he was feeling troubled. He couldn’t help but wonder what happened.
“I’ve decided to accept your proposal, Lukas.” (TL: It should be noted that Neil is speaking formally now, but I felt it would be strange for him to say ‘Mr. Lukas’ so just keep it in mind)
Lukas wasn’t surprised because he’d expected Neil to make this choice from the start. But from the way things were looking, that wasn’t the main point Neil wanted to talk about.
He took a moment to calm his ragged breath before speaking in a slightly urgent tone.
“I will listen to everything you said. All I ask is for you to accept one request.”
“Request?”
Lukas couldn’t help but make a strange expression when he heard Neil’s next words.
“Please investigate the Top Three.”
Top Three.
This name was now mentioned by Neil mere moments after he heard it from the mysterious black-robed man.
In fact, Lukas knew a bit about them. He knew that they were better than anyone else when it came to hunting Demons and that they all had legendary achievements that most hunters could never even dream of.
However, Lukas had never met them before, nor did he know what they looked like or what abilities they had. He didn’t even know which, or how many Demons, they killed or what their legendary achievements were.
This was because Lukas didn’t attach much importance to public information. He only made judgements based on what he saw with his own eyes.
It was possible that Neil realised this fact as well because he continued in a much calmer tone than before.
“The Top Three… is a shadowy group whom we rarely talk about. The low-ranked hunters know basically nothing about them, and there are even a few higher-ups in the association who believe they are fake heroes created by the association.”
Fake Heroes.
Lukas understood what he meant.
Some of the heroes who made names for themselves during war actually had the ability, but there were countless other ‘so-called’ heroes who were created simply through false rumours and support from the government.
There were numerous reasons for creating such figures, but the biggest reason was to stop the population from losing morale. Soldiers felt greatly comforted knowing that such a hero was on their side.
The list of achievements made by the Top Three was incredibly absurd. And because of this, realists regarded them as heroes created by the association.
“But the Top Three is real.”
“…what do you mean by asking me to investigate them? Since they’re hunters, they should be under your influence.”
“They are not hunters from the association. All three of them either have their own independent forces or prefer to move alone. So naturally, I have no control over them.”
As he said this, Neil frowned. It seemed that he didn’t like the fact that the cards known as the Top Three weren’t in his hands.
After a moment, he took out a bunch of documents that he’d brought with him and handed them to Lukas.
“This is all the information we have about them. Would you like to read it?”
Lukas received the stack of papers and browsed through them slowly.
The names, ages, nationalities, abilities, main areas of activity, and supporting forces of the Top Three were described in detail.
But it was their titles that drew Lukas’ attention.
The Strongest Hunter.
The Saint of Salvation.
And the last one.
[The Black Witch.]
Lukas froze for a moment.
* * *
Purple hair that stood out especially at night and an ever-present mysterious smile.
She’d always looked at him with that mysterious smile.
…There were other characteristics that he could list, but his other memories were blurred.
Her eyes were as beautiful as her hair, her soft voice, and her gentle movements.
Only these words remained in his mind, not the memories that accompanied them.
That fact made Lukas feel depressed.
‘In this world, there is a being from your homeworld.’
Then he remembered God’s words.
There was only one being from his home world.
Lukas looked back at the documents again.
He couldn’t help but think of the woman who had given up everything for him and who was still waiting for him even now.
But he soon shook his head.
It couldn’t be her.
She’d said that she would make amends for her crimes.
She’d said that she would create a world so beautiful that Lukas would come to love humans again, even if he lost his humanity or came to hate humans.
That promise was her conviction. And he didn’t think she would break it.
Of course, there were other possibilities.
For a moment, Lukas couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t her who’d broken the promise but himself.
“…”
Lukas slowly read the information about the Black Witch.
<Shroud of Night.>
That was the name of the group led by the Black Witch.
In fact, this organisation, which was nothing short of a clandestine society, seemed to be the most secretive and mysterious of all the humanmade groups.
Its size, the location of its main base, and the key figures in the organisation were all a mystery.
“Among the hunters, there are many talented individuals who are supposedly part of ‘Shroud of Night’. But they are all incredibly good at hiding their tracks, and we have never been able to catch their trail.”
“Does the association recognise the existence of Shroud of Night?”
“As I said, there are many of them. And… we fundamentally shared the same goal.”
Although Neil said these words carefully, displeasure still spread across Lukas’ face.
Now that he thought about it, Lukas felt like there was something he had to make clear.
“Do you intend to continue dealing with the Demons?”
“…”
“Don’t tell me you think you can coexist. They are called Demons for a reason.”
At the end of the day, nature preceded reason.
The race of Demons was fundamentally incompatible with humans.
Neil must have known that, for he nodded.
“Yes. I know.”
Then, he seemed to think about something for a moment before he finally lifted his head and spoke.
“We will stop dealing with the Demons. After all, Duke Sandro is already dead, so there is no longer a reason to. On the other hand…”
Neil’s tone became serious.”
“What do you think about my request?”