Kaisa disappeared with the boy again.
Joanna didn’t seem to be able to overcome her shock. Lukas, on the other hand, was thinking about the last word Elijah said.
‘Hybrid.’
This word, which he heard in the place where the member of the Top Three, Kran, was, perfectly matched the hint he’d been given by God.
Lukas was confident that he’d grasped a faint clue. Of course, he couldn’t do anything with that information yet.
“The African Branch of the Hunter Organisation is already rotten to the core. They chose to live on their stomachs rather than stand and die, and the proof of this is the Hybrid you just saw.”
All of the humor had disappeared from Elijah’s face.
After managing to finally calm herself down, Joanna spoke.
“What the hell is going on in this place?”
“You could say it’s a living matter experiment or a hybridisation experiment. Countless experiments were carried out on countless second-generation humans and demons. The corpses could pile up to form a mountain, and the blood could create a river.”
“Th-, that…”
Joanna shook her head with a pale complexion. The determined attitude that she’d displayed earlier had completely disappeared.
“But… is that really possible? In the decades that the Demons have been on Earth, this is my first time hearing about hybrids.”
She knew that some demons had the disgusting hobby of sleeping with their human slaves. But there had never been cases of women becoming pregnant with the demon’s child or of a demon becoming pregnant with a human’s child.
The genes of humans and demons were so different that it was fair to call it ‘impossible’. Common sense deemed it impossible for them to conceive, so naturally, no second-generation would be born.
“As expected of an American hunter.”
It was Camilla who spoke up with a sarcastic tone. But this time, Elijah didn’t restrain her.
“It’s not that bad. They were working on this project very discreetly. In all honesty, it hasn’t been 10 years since we found out. And by that time, the experiments were already almost complete. So even we don’t know when this madness truly began.”
“…”
“It gives me goosebumps. It’s a hunter’s duty to protect the civilians and stand up against the Demons, and yet they were kidnapping people and delivering them to the Demons. What’s even worse is that most people didn’t even know about it. It’s the same for the Congo Branch that you passed through. The people there have complete faith in the association. Even though hundreds of people go missing every day.”
Joanna gulped slightly.
“You could tell them the truth…”
“We tried, but it didn’t do much. For most people, the Gray Sun is the most dangerous thing after the Demons.”
“…”
Joanna had no choice but to remain silent at those words.
Until that day, she had also thought the same thing.
“After learning this, we sent requests to the leaders of each region. Just holding their line was the only help that Europe, who is in a similarly urgent situation, could give. Asia and Oceania helped by sending key talents to us. And North America…”
“Didn’t help at all.”
It was Lee Jong-hak who interrupted Elijah’s words. He continued in his distinctively calm tone.
“In the past decade or so, Mr. Elijah must have sent at least a hundred requests for assistance.”
With the support of North America, the misunderstanding and distrust that the general population had towards the Gray Sun could have been washed away. It might have even been possible to inform everyone that it was the African Branch of the Hunter Association that went astray instead of the Gray Sun.
Only North America, revered as the greatest government in the world, could’ve fulfilled this role.
Knowing that, Elijah explained the situation dozens or even hundreds of times, asking Neil for help.
The African Branch was working with the Demons and experimenting with hybridisation, and those who refused to give in had created an organisation called the ‘Gray Sun’. He explained that the Gray Sun was being slandered as a criminal organisation in order to discredit them. And he asked for help.
“However, Neil Prand, President of the Hunter Association, never responded to our requests.”
“It wasn’t just that he didn’t respond. I’m not sure if it was because he was afraid American Hunters would leave on their own, but he completely hid the situation in Africa. I can tell, just by looking at you, how well Neil kept the secret.”
Camilla looked at Joanna with a mocking expression.
An Archmage was someone with considerable authority and qualification in North America. Naturally, this meant that they were also aware of confidential information that ordinary hunters weren’t privy to.
And yet even an Archmage wasn’t aware of the situation.
Camilla’s words were biting, but she wasn’t wrong.
Joanna remained silent because she couldn’t refute her despite her harsh attitude.
“This is the situation in Africa right now. And this city, Zinga, is one of the largest breeding grounds in Africa. Where Lee Jong-hak was supposed to carry out an important mission, but…”
Elijah’s expression dropped a little. His face appeared solemn.
“…he failed.”
“…”
This failure was a result of the appearance of Joanna and Lukas. Knowing this, Joanna couldn’t help but lower her head.
Elijah paused for a moment before continuing.
“So, what I’m trying to say is… Joanna Goldberg, will you help us?”
“Huh?”
“Africa is absolutely devoid of Wizards. In the first place, magical science wasn’t widespread, and we rarely had the chance to interact and exchange with other regions.”
“I…”
Joanna shook her head in confusion.
Lukas couldn’t help but sigh inwardly when he saw this.
In truth, he couldn’t blame Joanna for this. Because her response was already not so bad. It was Elijah’s ability to speak that was too great. He pressed Joanna slowly as the conversation progressed, controlling the flow completely. Then, he induced guilt in her heart.
It was possible that he’d planned to do this from the moment he learned who she was.
Elijah’s offensive had been delivered perfectly. Now, Joanna’s sharp aura couldn’t be felt at all.
This wasn’t a good situation.
Of course, helping them in itself wasn’t bad. It seemed that Gray Sun’s influence stretched across the entirety of Africa, so building a close relationship with them would help him find Kran.
But the thing Lukas was scared about was the first step. If their relationship was developed from this situation, then they might get dragged around by Elijah and made to do more missions here. Being his hands and feet and moving around busily until they eventually forgot their original objective.
So they had to pursue an equal relationship. It wasn’t just about helping them but also receiving help. But it was hard to expect such a result from Joanna.
Reluctantly, Lukas opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that is something we can agree to do so easily.”
For the first time, the eyes of those in the room turned to Lukas.
Some of them had even forgotten his existence.
Camilla made an unpleasant expression, like someone was interfering with their work.
Elijah, on the other hand, seemed interested.
“You… said you were Frey, a European hunter, right?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s Joanna Goldberg whom we’re asking for help, not you.”
“We are on a joint mission. If she accepts your request, I will have to follow her. I think that gives me enough right to refuse.”
Elijah’s gaze grew deeper when he heard Lukas’ words.
He stared at him for a while before narrowing his eyes slightly.
“You…”
After a while, Elijah sighed and muttered.
“It seems I made a mistake. I didn’t choose the right target.”