“…!!”
When Lukas started turning the doorknob, he suddenly heard tumbling inside the room. He paused for a moment, the doorknob in his hand, before opening the door slightly.
“A-, ah. Y-, yo-, you’re here.”
Joanna called out to him with an awkward expression. She was sitting on the bed and seemed a bit nervous.
Lukas pretended not to notice.
“How are you feeling?”
“I, I’m fine. Uh. But, my mana room seems to have become a bit larger.”
“Yesterday’s experience must have caused your mana room to expand. That’s a good sign.”
It would probably pay off sooner or later. When he said that, Joanna responded with a bright expression.
“Yeah!”
“…”
“Ah…”
Then, her expression became nervous once again.
She kept glancing at Lukas out of the corner of her eye before taking a deep breath and turning to him with a determined expression.
“Hey, is there a chance- ”
“Frey, are you there?”
The door opened, and Elijah walked in.
If looks could kill, Elijah would be dead thousands of times over as Joanna glared at him with a hand on her pounding heart. His timing couldn’t have been worse.
But Elijah didn’t notice her reaction as he approached Frey with a serious expression.
“There you are.”
“What’s the matter?”
“We finally restored the communications equipment here in Zinga. Using the channels that you told us, we established communication lines with Europe and North America.”
“I see.”
Elijah hadn’t come here just to report that. Lukas’ gaze told him to continue.
“And we immediately received an emergency call from North America.”
“…from North America?”
“From the Association President, Neil Prand.”
Elijah spoke with a serious expression.
“He’s urgently looking for you.”
* * *
“…”
After giving his explanation, Elijah didn’t say anything for a while. Instead, he looked at Lukas before speaking in a cautious voice.
“There is warp equipment in Zinga as well. It’s an old and outdated model, but it should still be functional. If you want to leave now, we will start maintenance right away… What do you intend to do?”
The North America Headquarters had already given their approval. They hadn’t truly acknowledged the existence of the Gray Sun yet, but under the orders of the Association President, they did not express any resistance to opening a portal between the two sides.
In Elijah’s opinion, this could already be considered quite beneficial. Even if it was only temporary, they had managed to form a connection with North America.
He still didn’t like their attitude and behaviour, but he didn’t deny the strength of the North America Headquarters.
He couldn’t. He had to put his reason in front of his emotions.
‘Use whatever is available.’
In order to bring peace to the African Continent, he was willing to throw away his pride a thousand times.
Lukas bowed to him and spoke.
“I will have to ask for your help.”
“I will forever be indebted to you. This is nothing.”
Elijah chuckled softly before leaving the room.
“…”
After he left, a heavy silence befell the room. Lukas seemed to be lost in serious thought.
Joanna looked at him for a moment before speaking cautiously.
“Leo is the boy who came with you, isn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
Lukas replied with a nod.
Joanna fell silent after that because she didn’t know what else to say.
No. In truth, she was also quite shocked.
‘The Canadian Branch has fallen.’
Of course, it was just Toronto, Canada, and not the entirety of the Canadian territory that had been occupied.
Nevertheless, that news was no less shocking. After all, Joanna knew who the Branch Manager of the Toronto Branch was.
Marcel Morgan.
A Master rank Warrior and the President of the Canadian Branch. He was also one of the most influential members of the council who actually controlled North America.
She’d only ever met him once during a meeting at the North America Headquarters. At that time, he refuted Neil Prand’s words directly and shared his thoughts without backing down. It also seemed that Neil was reluctant to openly go against him. But it was clear that the relationship between the two of them wasn’t good.
The fact that he could directly oppose the Association President showed that he was not a weak man. He was not a man who would die easily.
…Or, at least, that would have been the case if his opponent hadn’t been one of the Five Dukes.
Joanna shuddered.
It had only been for a moment, but she had felt the power Gullard released when he became serious.
The only expression she could think of to describe it was ‘natural disaster’. To be honest, Joanna still couldn’t believe that monster was dead.
After fainting, she had a terrible nightmare. She dreamt that she’d become a shriveled corpse after all her blood had been sucked out by Gullard.
‘That’s why I wanted to return to America as soon as possible.’
After having that thought, Joanna couldn’t help but feel a bit depressed at how cowardly she was.
‘…the Five Dukes.’
The highest ranking Demons, who had been moving in the shadows before their existence was finally revealed not so long ago.
Was it a good sign? Or was it bad?
She turned to look at Lukas once again.
“…”
Unlike Joanna, who was terrified, there were no changes in Lukas’ expression. Even though he’d heard everything that Elijah said.
His expression made her feel strange.
She couldn’t tell if he was shocked, upset, or if he didn’t care at all.
Lukas then turned his eyes to look at Joanna. But as soon as their gazes met, Joanna looked away, her heart pounding. As she was now, she didn’t dare to meet Lukas’ gaze.
After coughing slightly to regain her composure, she opened her mouth.
“…first, we should head back to America.”
Lukas nodded.
* * *
“What?”
Rose, the Rose Duke, asked as she looked at the shadowy figure of a man before her.
Her pupils had dilated because of the shocking news she’d just heard.
Azazel, the blurry figure in front of her, repeated his words.
[Gullard is dead.]
“That…”
Was he serious?
Rose restrained herself before she could ask this question. Because she knew the man in front of her would never lie or joke around. Especially about something as serious as the death of one of the Five Dukes.
Rose bit her lip before asking.
“Who the hell did it?”
[Lukas Trowman.]
Rose froze slightly when she heard that name. She stared at Azazel with an incredulous expression.
“What did you say?”
[Lukas Trowman killed Gullard. Rose, if you find out that man’s location, don’t try to face him alone. We are no match for him.]
“…”
[This is a direct order from the King himself. Killing that man is the King’s job.]
Nevertheless, Rose’s expression didn’t change much. She bit her nail and appeared lost in thought.
Lukas Trowman. That was a familiar name.
She knew who he was. Of course she would.
That man was someone who held a position that Rose greatly desired.
‘But why does the King want to kill him?’
She couldn’t help but have a strange feeling at that, but it was swiftly followed by a deep sense of pleasure.
What if…
What if she killed that man?
Not only would she be able to satisfy her own desire but even the King’s favor…
She cut that thought off before it could go any further.
[…you’ve been with us for a long time.]
Rose shuddered slightly when she heard Azazel’s deep voice.
[And there have been many times when you didn’t follow the King’s orders.]
When she lifted her head, his cold eyes made her freeze.
[In this case, such an attitude cannot be dismissed as individuality or deviation. It will be considered as outright disobedience. Understood? This matter is very sensitive for the King, so don’t do anything stupid. This is my first and last warning to you.]
Rose gulped before forcing a small smile.
“You didn’t have to say all of that. I know.”
[I hope so.]
After saying those words, Azazel’s blurry figure began fading.
“Azazel, wait. Are you with His Majesty right now?”
[The King isn’t here right now.]
Again?
“Did he enter seclusion again…?”
“That’s not it. I don’t know the details. Just that he went to Asia. What is it? Is there something you need to report to the King?”
“…that…”
Rose suddenly closed her mouth before shaking her head.
“No. It’s nothing.”
[…]
She grimaced slightly when Azazel gave her a silent look.
“I will tell him in person later. Is that a problem, Lord Grand Duke?”
[Of course not. You are also a Duke. You naturally have the right to an audience.]
Azazel had probably realised that Rose was hiding something, but he didn’t try to pressure her for it. He’d already told her. This was her first and last warning. The consequences of whatever Rose did would be hers to bear.
Sss…
It wasn’t until Azazel had completely left when Rose turned around.
There, she saw Leo, who was covered by vines.
“…”
This situation.
She might be able to make use of it.
A pleasant smile stretched across Rose’s lips.
* * *
In the underground facilities beneath the Pilsky Tower.
This was no ordinary underground space. It was a space that extended several kilometers below the surface.
Very few people knew about this place. Several of the builders who constructed this place had been deliberately selected, and they even had their memories altered afterwards.
Of course, Neil Prand, the President of the Association, knew about this space as well as its purpose.
This underground facility even had a special elevator that connected directly to the President’s quarters on the 177th floor.
And that elevator was currently in use.
Ding-
The elevator stopped, and the door opened.
A rough hallway with dim lighting was revealed. Neil’s destination was the communication room, which was at the end of this hallway.
But he stopped walking before he got very far. This was because he found someone standing in the middle of the hallway.
Unperturbed, Neil simply looked at him before finally opening his mouth as the elevator doors closed.
“What do you want?”
“I’m just curious. Why are you here?”
After saying that, Letip stepped forward.
“You have a question? I thought you were all-knowing.”
“Omniscience is not a concept that mortals should talk about carelessly.”
“…”
Letip smiled for a moment before pointing towards the communication room.
“You haven’t been to this [Communications Room] where you contact Demons for a while. What brings you here now?”
“Do you expect me to answer?”
“No. But from what I know, you told Lukas you wouldn’t contact the Demons anymore.”
“…”
This wasn’t something that he’d spoken about in Letip’s presence.
But Neil wasn’t surprised. Instead, he spoke with a sour expression.
“You eavesdropped.”
“I didn’t mean to hear it. Your voices just leaked out and I happened to be nearby.”
“In this world, that’s called eavesdropping.”
“I see.”
“And this isn’t something you have to worry about.”
Neil’s voice was cold.
“If you have nothing else to say, can you leave? I’m in a hurry.”
“Sure.”
Not caring about his attitude, Letip smiled before mockingly stepping to the side and disappearing.
Neil couldn’t be sure if he had truly left or if he was still hanging around.
If Letip wanted to conceal himself, then Neil Prand would have no way of finding him.
So he decided to stop worrying about it.
Letip, as always, was someone who was driven only by his personal interest. Trying to understand his intentions would only give him a headache. It was better to just let him do what he wanted without caring about it.
Fortunately, he never seemed to be too interested in what Neil was doing.
After a fingerprint scan, iris scan, and password, the door opened.
Inside this room was a small computer. The monitor was a type of CRT(1) monitor that had been phased out as science advanced.
Click.
When he clicked a button, the monitor lit up. As if they had been waiting, the figure of a person appeared on the screen.
[It’s been a while since I last contacted you. You’re late.]
The quality of the video was very bad and the image was blurry. Nevertheless, the figure’s features allowed him to immediately recognise who they were. It was none other than Rose, the Rose Duke, who appeared on the screen.
“Did you forget the situation?”
[I did kill a few but not that many.]
“…”
Neil’s gaze sank slightly. Then, he spoke curtly, getting to the point.
“Tell me what you want.”
[Do you see this boy?]
The image turned slightly and he saw Leo hanging from vines.
[I want you to find the person who taught him the Warrior King Fist and send them here.]
Neil didn’t know what the Warrior King Fist was.
But he knew who Leo’s Master was.
“He’s not someone you can handle.”
[Did I ask you that?]
Rose’s voice became unpleasant.
[You just need to answer. Just like before. Will you do it or not?]
Neil thought for a moment.
“He’s not in America right now. It’ll be a bit hard, but I’ll send him as soon as possible.”
[Good boy, Neil Prand.]
Rose smiled brightly at Neil.
[Our deal will continue for the time being.]
“…”
Neil didn’t answer, and the monitor went blank once again. He sat there in the darkness for a while.
“Everything for America.”
After solidifying his resolve, Neil got up from his seat.
(TL: What do you guys think Joanna was about to say?) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
(Note:
1. CRT stands for “Cathode Ray Tube.” It’s a technology that was used in traditional computer monitors and television.)