Min Ha-rin’s request was quickly accepted.
Vincent vowed to use all of the connections available to him to gather the very best hunters they had.
This was the selection of elite personnel who would be sent on a mission to save Neil. This matter was much more important for Vincent than it was for Min Ha-rin, so he would definitely find the most skilled and trustworthy hunters that he could.
They would most likely be hunters who weren’t just renowned in North America but in the entire world.
‘…I’ll probably be the weakest…’
That thought made her feel depressed.
Min Ha-rin had managed to increase her combat power by a level through her fights with Vincent, but she knew that she was still lacking a lot.
She wanted to at least return to the level of the White Flower of the past, but for now, she was at best a 4-star Wizard.
‘I have to reach 5 stars as soon as possible.’
Of course, she knew that reaching 5 stars wouldn’t help her Master much.
Slaying one of the Five Dukes.
Her Master’s achievement in Africa was amazing.
Of course, she’d personally seen him easily get rid of Duke Sandro with her own eyes, but she still found it hard to believe that he killed one of the Five Dukes.
‘Why did Master take me as a disciple?’
All of sudden, this question appeared in her mind.
In her opinion, Lukas was close to perfect. Whether it was his skill, personality, or spirit, she could not find any flaws.
No matter how she looked at it, she could not find how she could be useful to such a master.
As she silently contemplated this question, the door to the meeting hall opened and a group of people came out. The meeting wasn’t over, but it seemed they were taking a short break.
Min Ha-rin looked at their faces with a hint of admiration in their eyes.
‘Powerful.’
She could tell from a glance. Each of these people had an aura that was as strong as if not stronger than Nina Rednikova’s, the head of the Iron Blood Division, or Lee Jong-hak’s.
These were some of the most powerful people in the entire world. Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but feel even smaller.
It was then that she saw a familiar face among the group of unfamiliar faces.
She didn’t have her usual arrogant expression, but she still appeared confident. Of course, she wasn’t someone that Min Ha-rin was particularly close to or even fond of.
The woman also saw Min Ha-rin, which caused her expression to become a bit strange. Then, with a slight cough, she began walking towards her.
“Hello.”
Min Ha-rin didn’t expect her to greet her first.
She wanted to ignore her, but in order to not appear rude in front of the group of important individuals, she could only respond in a dull tone.
“…hello.”
Joanna coughed again.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m waiting for Mr. Vincent.”
“I see.”
“…”
Silence.
It was extremely awkward. Min Ha-rin felt frustrated because of the uncomfortable atmosphere that had descended around them. The fact that Joanna had come to talk to her meant that she wanted something, but from the look on her face, it seemed that she wouldn’t bring it up easily.
After being silent for a long time, Joanna finally opened her mouth.
“…how is that person?”
“That person?”
“Frey.”
Frey Blake.
That was the alias Lukas was currently using.
“He left a short while ago.”
“Where did he go?”
“I don’t know either… Is there something you need to say to Master?”
Subconsciously, her voice became sharp at the end.
Had she been offended by the fact that she called her Master’s name so recklessly?
Or was it because of the hint of familiarity in her voice when she mentioned Lukas?
“Are you Frey’s disciple?”
“…”
She answered a question with a question. Min Ha-rin decided to nod her head without mentioning it.
“Yeah.”
“Then you must also be a member of that group called ‘Argento Spell’.”
“That’s right.”
“…”
Joanna’s expression became one of deep contemplation for a moment.
‘Joanna Goldberg.’
While staying in America, she’d learned a bit about her. She hadn’t even needed to go looking for information.
For example, it was easy to see broadcasts she’d appeared in while watching TV. And since Joanna was also a fashion model, she would see her image whenever she opened a magazine that she got from a store down the street.
She was the youngest Archmage as well as a celebrity.
She was a big star who received enthusiastic support from the American people to the extent that she even had her own fan club.
At the very least, it was safe to say that there was not a single young person living in America who didn’t know who she was.
It was understandable.
After all, from an objective perspective, she could admit that Joanna was extremely beautiful, and she was also quite skilled at talking. In addition to that, she was also a talented hunter.
However, among all of her traits, the thing to which Min Ha-rin paid the most attention was her skill in magic.
‘…there is not much of an age difference between us, but she’s already an Archmage.’
Lukas had once told her the difference between a 6 star and a 7-star Wizard.
Simply put, the difference between them was like heaven and earth. It was a gap that could not be closed despite being only one level apart.
“On your mission in Africa.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Joanna, who seemed to have been lost in thought, regained her senses with a shake of her head.
“Did something happen between you and Master?”
“…something?”
“I feel like your attitude has changed a lot.”
Min Ha-rin spoke in a direct tone.
Joanna’s expression became a bit sullen. For her, her first meeting with Lukas had already become dark history.
“Now that I think of it, I never apologised for my attitude at that time. I’m sorry. I was immature.”
“It’s fine.”
“…I’ll be sure to apologise to Frey later.”
After saying that, Joanna pointed to the seat beside Min Ha-rin.
“Can I sit there?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
Even after she sat down, Joanna remained silent for a long time. Then, after their surroundings had become almost completely silent, she opened her mouth again.
“Do you know Frey’s true identity? Er, I’m not trying to pick a fight or anything. I’m just curious.”
Lukas’ identity…
In truth, Min Ha-rin didn’t know much about him. When she slowly shook her head, Joanna spoke in a cautious voice.
“…I might.”
“…?”
“I might know Frey’s true identity.”
Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but blink slowly at those words.
“…huh?”
* * *
Taht.
He arrived at his destination.
As he landed, Lukas looked around.
A city in Northern Ireland.
To be precise, it was the city that Sedi had once used as her hideout.
Currently, the city had taken the appearance one would expect to see from a city that wasn’t protected by the association. In other words, it was in ruins.
Lukas slowly walked down the street where he could barely sense any human presence before stopping at a certain place.
“…”
Even in the ruined city, this place could only be called the scene of a disaster.
He could hardly imagine what had happened to give it such an appearance. Even if the greatest natural disaster imaginable to man had swept through this place, it wouldn’t have been this devastating.
However, for the site of a battle between Absolutes, it was still lacking.
Lukas knelt down as he slowly inspected the deep hole that seemed to stretch to the very core of the world.
It was as though a giant worm had drilled its way into the ground.
‘Warrior King Fist.’
Lukas could easily feel Kasajin’s traces.
Suddenly, he felt a faint presence. Lukas’ eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a hint of disbelief appeared in his eyes.
No. It wasn’t possible.
Despite his denial, Lukas still spread his senses toward the presence. He got up from his seat and gradually began walking towards it. The closer he got, the clearer the presence became. At that point, it became difficult for him to deny it.
After a while, Lukas stopped in front of a collapsed building. As soon as he waved his hand, the rubble of the building split apart, and the limp figure of a little girl was revealed.
She wasn’t dead. She was simply unconscious.
This was the first time Lukas was seeing this girl, but it wasn’t the first time he’d met her. As strange as that sounded, it was true.
Lukas could easily tell the true identity of this being who had taken the form of a young girl.
“…Sedi.”
The Absolute, Sedi.
She was still alive.
Only, she was different from before.
