The emergency room on the 58th floor was spacious and open. The ceiling wasn’t just higher than other floors; it was several times higher.
It was so large that it seemed to have been created from multiple floors. At least five floors had to be combined to create such a large space. This naturally meant that it looked incredibly spacious.
Nevertheless, there were so many people on this floor that the large space still didn’t seem like enough. Doctors, nurses and those who appeared to be Priests ran around busily to the extent that one couldn’t help but pity them.
Lukas’ eyes turned to the far right side of the floor. There, a hazy light that didn’t quite suit the modern atmosphere shined brightly.
This light was coming from what appeared to be small Warp Portals. There seemed to be a dozen of them lined up along the wall.
“This place has the most state-of-the-art facilities and equipment as well as the very best medical staff. Its services aren’t just limited to North America. Depending on the circumstances, every Branch all across the world can send their critically ill patients here.”
“I see.”
Lukas nodded.
In other words, it meant that each of these portals was linked to a different Branch.
It was at that moment.
A portal hummed loudly before a large group of people stepped out of it. There were perhaps ten of them. They all wore distinctive costumes, which seemed to be a mix between robes and lab coats, and each of them had a staff in hand. The reverberation of mana could be felt from every part of their bodies.
Lukas immediately recognised them as Wizards.
And they were all quite talented.
Among them, it was the woman at the front of the group who truly caught his attention. She had dark hair with a slight hint of blue, and her eyes were deep and calm.
‘This woman…’
Was a powerful Wizard.
At the very least, she was a Wizard who was much stronger than Joanna. This was quite surprising considering Joanna’s improvement during their trip to Africa.
In short, this woman was the strongest Wizard Lukas had met since entering this world.
‘She’s approaching 9 stars.’
The woman then turned her head in their direction.
She hadn’t felt Lukas’ gaze. Instead, she was looking at Joanna. Then, the woman’s lips slowly opened.
“Joanna.”
“Vice President.”
Joanna greeted her in a pleasant voice.
Vice President.
Lukas realised that this woman was the second-in-command of the <Wizard’s Association>, an organisation comprised of only the most outstanding Wizards in North America.
It seemed Joanna knew her well.
“I heard that you were sent on a top secret mission, but it seems you’ve returned.”
“Yes. Fortunately, we were able to complete the mission quickly.”
“I see.”
The Vice President’s voice was clear and bright. Her voice alone was enough for one to get a hint of just how much she’d accomplished.
Soon, her clear gaze turned to Lukas, who was standing beside Joanna.
“…by the way, who is this beside you?”
“Ah. This person is…”
Joanna seemed to hesitate for some reason as she turned to look at Lukas.
Lukas stepped forward and opened his mouth.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Frey Blake, from the Europe Branch.”
“…Frey Blake.”
The woman narrowed her eyes for a moment as if trying to recall the name before she made an embarrassed expression.
“I’m sorry. It seems my knowledge is still limited as I haven’t heard your name before.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not well known.”
“…”
The woman’s expression became a bit strange when she heard that.
Lukas realised that she had noticed his status to an extent, or at least she considered him a formidable opponent.
It was the same case as with Destin and Elijah in Africa.
Humans who had reached a certain level could not disregard Lukas as a nonentity, and instead, they felt that there was something about him that they ‘couldn’t ignore’. Kran was probably the same. That must have been why he’d attacked so fiercely the first time they met.
“Pardon my rudeness. My introduction is late. My name is Gloria Piniya. It’s nothing special, but I am the Vice President of the Wizard’s Association.” (TL: Should I change her last name to ‘Pinilla’?)
“I’ve heard many things about you.”
Joanna watched the meeting between Gloria and Lukas with anticipation, but their conversation didn’t go any further.
So she turned to Gloria with a brief look of disappointment.
“By the way, Vice President, what brings you to the headquarters?”
The Wizard’s Association’s headquarters was located in Texas, and it was extremely rare for one of the Wizards from the Association to leave the area. The Wizard’s Association was a very sequestered organisation. This was why Joanna had left in the past.
And yet, these reclusive people had come to the headquarters in a group. Including Vice President Gloria, all of the Wizards behind here were high-level executives in the Association.
It was not easy to see all of these Wizards in the same place like this.
Instead of answering, Gloria tilted her head to the side.
“Of course, it’s… No. Wait. Joanna, didn’t you hear what happened?”
“Huh?”
Just as Joanna blinked in confusion, another portal activated. This time, it was a group of men who appeared. The man standing at the front had a rock-like body and a fierce gaze that seemed to be filled with fighting intent.
‘Brazilian Fighter Squad…?’
More importantly, the man at the front of the was the legendary Fighter Squad leader, Anderson Hamus.
He took a crude but firm step forward and chuckled cynically when he saw Gloria.
“What a rare sight, I didn’t expect the dear Vice President to lift her heavy ass off her seat and come all the way here to the headquarters.”
“Anderson. It seems your childish provocations haven’t improved at all over the years.”
Gloria smiled similarly as she replied. Anderson let out a cheerful laugh.
“Haha. A fighter doesn’t need to provoke. But it is fun to play with you.”
“Hmph…”
“Well, take your time. I’ll be going ahead.”
After saying that, he walked past Gloria. Unlike the two leaders who seemed to be exchanging playful banter, the groups behind them exchanged fierce gazes as though they would jump on each other at any moment.
Joanna subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva as the two groups passed each other.
‘From the Vice President to the Fighter Squad leader. What the hell happened?’
Joanna was shocked, but that seemed to just be the beginning.
As she stood there, the portals activated time and time again, with powerful individuals or groups appearing each time. From influential executives to famous hunters who represented each region to even a group of Catholic Cardinals.
She’d been active in the North America Headquarters for a long time, but this was the first time that she’d ever seen so many big names gathered together.
“What the hell happened?”
“That…”
“Master!”
Then, someone called out to Lukas.
When he turned, he saw Min Ha-rin and a man he’d never seen before.
“You’re here too, Master!”
Min Ha-rin ran over to Lukas with a face that could not hide her joy. Lukas smiled faintly.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes. I’m glad you returned safely.”
“Thanks.”
“…”
Min Ha-rin smiled brightly for a moment before she heard a soft cough from the man standing behind her.
“This is Vincent J. Heider. He is the one who taught me while you were away.”
“Vincent.”
As he said this, the man held out his hand to Lukas. Lukas took his hand and he responded.
“Frey Blake.”
“…I heard about your mission.”
Vincent’s expression became a bit strange as he said this, not letting go of his hand.
“I’d like to formally commend you for your achievement.”
“You’re flattering me.”
“No. Argento Spell… Soon, everyone in the world will have heard this name.”
“…?”
Min Ha-rin tilted her head to the side, an expression that showed she hadn’t heard the news yet.
Lukas wasn’t too surprised, though. They’d probably heard about it from Elijah.
About him ‘slaying one of the Five Dukes’.
It was an achievement that would surely shake the world, but Lukas didn’t intend to talk much about it. It was so absurd that the more he talked about it, the more distrust and resistance he would get.
Instead, it was better to let it spread at its own pace. Of course, most of those who heard it would only dismiss it as a bluff or hearsay.
They would ignore it and carry on their duties.
This would continue until the thought ‘maybe’ appeared in the minds of the doubters.
This wasn’t a difficult task.
In the past, when Lukas and his team first defeated a Demigod, the various tribes and kingdoms didn’t believe it. Some even criticised Lukas, claiming that he’d shaken a beehive for no reason.
Back then, every day was hard, but he missed it.
A young man who was only able to survive because he had a like-minded group of friends.
‘I was ignorant back then. I’m sure they knew that.’
Lukas suddenly remembered the voice of a man.
He’d spoken in an arrogant tone with his arms crossed.
‘You just have to think hard. And show me the way to go. In exchange…’
The man, Kasajin, smiled so brightly that even a man might have fallen in love with him at that moment.
‘I’ll protect your back.’
“…”
Lukas awoke from his brief reminisce. This wasn’t the time to get sentimental.
Joanna turned to Vincent.
“Vincent, what the hell happened? Are they holding an emergency meeting because of what happened in Africa?”
“No, it’s more serious than that… It’d probably be better if you saw for yourself. Follow me.”
They followed Vincent without a word.
The place where they stopped was a special ward. But Joanna was surprised by the huge crowd standing outside of the room.
Vincent approached the doctor who was standing at the door.
“Anthony, how is he doing?”
“…not good. He’s still on the fence.”
The doctor replied with a heavy expression. Then, his eyes turned to Lukas, who was standing behind Vincent.
He spoke in a quiet tone.
“That’s them? Frey Blake and Joanna Goldberg?”
“Right.”
“I’ll allow you to enter. However, please do not stimulate the patient too much.”
Vincent nodded before slowly opening the door and entering the room. Joanna followed him, filled with confusion.
When she first heard that they should go to the emergency room, she thought that it was Leo Freeman who was in critical condition. After all, as far as she knew, there were only two people in North America who were related to Lukas, and one of them was Min Ha-rin, who was beside them.
But it wasn’t.
The large group outside consisted mostly of hunters from various regions, group leaders and high ranking officials.
There was no way these figures would gather just for Leo Freeman. Most of them probably didn’t even know the boy existed.
More importantly, this room was a special hospital room. One that could only be used by senior officials and higher ups of the Association.
Dak.
The door opened and the inside of the room was revealed.
And Joanna finally received an answer to her questions.
“Ah…”
At first, she thought it was a corpse.
That was how miserable the man lying on the bed looked. Being moved to this place meant that he’d already received the very best treatment available. And yet, it didn’t seem that way at all. To be precise, it felt like he hadn’t received any treatment whatsoever.
Joanna couldn’t help but call out with a stunned expression.
“A-, Association President…?”
Because lying on the bed in a state between life and death was none other than the President of the Hunter Association, Neil Prand.