“Two of the Five Dukes are coming to Busan.”
“…”
Early in the morning, before the sun had even risen, the Bishop of the Church of Eternal Life delivered the news.
‘…I was unable to sleep for most of the night, so it’s like I’m half awake.’
Had she simply heard incorrectly.?
Min Ha-rin, who had a slightly dazed expression, realised that she was simply trying to escape reality, so she went to the sink to splash water on her face, hoping it would help her wake up.
Splash.
When the cold water hit her face, she felt her mind clear up a bit.
The Five Dukes.
She was well aware of the weight of those words.
After all, she was one of the few hunters who had personally witnessed the power of a Demon Duke. A Duke was a walking disaster. They were comparable to disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, or tsunamis.
The Five Dukes was said to be a level above normal Dukes, and yet, not one but two of them were on their way?
When faced with such a crisis, it would be normal to feel fearful and contemplate running away, but she didn’t think about that.
After all, it was none other than Lukas who had accompanied her there. Min Ha-rin had learned that her Master had already slain one of the Five Dukes. Surprisingly, Lukas had been able to accomplish a task that no one could even imagine without a single scratch.
‘Besides… Sedi is also really strong.’
Although she would never show it in front of her, Min Ha-rin acknowledged Sedi’s transcendent strength.
This was only natural. She’d personally seen her play around with the veteran hunters back in America.
It also occurred to that she might have been an old monster who was many times older than her appearance. Even though she looked like a child and also acted like one sometimes, her strength made her suspicious.
There was also the Saint, the Bishop of the Church of Eternal Life, and all of the believers who used to be hunters on standby. The two Dukes would certainly be fearsome, but she felt that it would be possible to eliminate them.
However, there was something else that made Min Ha-rin feel uneasy.
‘I don’t know what the hell I want to do.’
Creak-
She turned off the faucet.
Min Ha-rin looked at herself in the mirror. She could see the water dripping down her face, the dark bags under her eyes, her dry lips, and her flaky skin.
It was just a haggard face in general. But she couldn’t help it. She had been having trouble sleeping.
The Church of Eternal Life.
The organisation that had completely devoured the Korea Branch of the Hunter Association down to the bones.
The ones who had let her meet her parents’ souls.
The ones who were training her younger siblings without her knowledge.
She didn’t know how she felt about them. Her mind was a tangled mess.
And yet, before she could even begin to organise her thoughts, the Five Dukes had made an appearance.
“Huu.”
Min Ha-rin shook her head with a sigh.
This wasn’t the time to dwell on her troubles. A believer had just delivered some news to her.
There would be an emergency meeting in the morning and she was to be a participant.
She had been puzzled at first but soon nodded her head in understanding when she learned that it was the believers who used to be hunters that were called.
Perhaps they were thinking of exchanging opinions on how they should deal with the imminent arrival of the two Dukes as hunters were professionals when it came to facing Demons.
The meeting place was the underground auditorium that she’d gone to before. It seemed that space was used for multiple purposes.
When Min Ha-rin stepped into the auditorium, there were already many people there.
She also saw a few familiar faces.
No. It wasn’t a few.
‘They said that they would only be gathering the hunters.’
It took a while for her to realise because their clothing was different from what she remembered, but most of the believers there were Korean hunters.
It was the first time in many years that she was seeing some of the people here.
In a normal situation, she would have happily approached them, held their hands, and reminisced.
But it was hard now.
This was because the entire underground auditorium was filled with a strangely heated atmosphere.
It felt like they were all excited, and they couldn’t contain their excitement.
…No. It wasn’t just a feeling. They were genuinely excited.
‘But why?’
The approach of two of the Five Dukes was not something she’d expected to feel excited about. Min Ha-rin hesitated for a moment before approaching someone she knew.
“Hello.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, it’s Ha-rin. Long time no see.”
They smiled and greeted her.
Min Ha-rin was slightly surprised. After all, the reunion was less heartfelt than she expected.
This wasn’t what she expected from a reunion after several years. It felt like they were meeting after only separating just yesterday.
It wasn’t just them.
Min Ha-rin also treated them much more coldly than usual. Probably because of her experience with Kim Min-chul.
“Did you also join the church?”
“Haha. That’s right. Ha-rin, you should too. I’m sure that you’d be very helpful to the Bishop, the Saint, and the entire Church of Eternal Life.”
The person she was talking to was someone Min Ha-rin had known to be a strict atheist.
“…did you hear that members of the Five Dukes are on their way?”
“What a strange thing to say.”
“Don’t you know that that’s why we’re all gathered here?”
They all spoke as if it was an insignificant issue.
Looking at their nonchalance, Min Ha-rin could only think of one conclusion.
“Have you guys heard of countermeasures against them?”
“…”
The others didn’t answer this question. Instead, they simply exchanged glances with strange smiles on their lips.
At that moment, the door to the hall opened and Bishop Slei walked out.
Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but feel that the brilliance which surrounded his body had become a bit brighter. He also had a strange smile on his lips, similar to the other believers’. What was strange was that he now carried a staff in his hand.
Slei walked up to a table that had been placed in the center of the room. Despite the emergency situation, he was exceptionally calm. Then, he took a relaxed gaze at the audience.
When his eyes met Min Ha-rin’s, they curved up slightly.
Min Ha-rin didn’t have any ill will towards this old man. She also didn’t think that the doctrine he preached was bad either.
To be with your loved ones forever. Wasn’t that something every human longed for?
But at that moment, when their eyes met, Min Ha-rin had an extreme feeling of discomfort and unconsciously shuddered. It felt as though a bug had just crawled down her spine.
“It looks like everyone is here. Hmm. First of all, I’d like to say a brief word of thanks to all of you for gathering here so early in the morning. Now then, let’s get down to business.”
Tak.
Slei tapped his staff against the floor. The sound wasn’t very loud, but it immediately caused the atmosphere of the room to shift.
“Two of the Five Dukes are coming here.”
He slowly looked around before continuing.
“I don’t know what their goal is. But they are destroying every city in their path. Many people have already died by their hands. And it’s unlikely that their destructive attitude will change when they arrive at Busan.”
Min Ha-rin focused on Slei’s voice. She felt that she would be able to hear it now.
Just why Slei and the other believers of the Church of Eternal Life were so relaxed.
“I need you all to stop them.”
“…”
She thought that Slei would mention some kind of plan afterward, but he didn’t say anything more, and instead smiled warmly.
This couldn’t be it. Min Ha-rin tried to suppress the creeping anxiety that welled up in her heart at that moment.
If.
If they were to face the two Dukes like this without any countermeasures in place, it would be no different from suicide.
It was at that moment.
“Yes, sir!”
“Eternal Life with the ones you love!”
“Long live the Church of Eternal Life!”
Shouts erupted one after the other. The temperature in the room seemed to rise several degrees in an instant. This was because of the heat that was erupting from the believers’ bodies.
This sight made Min Ha-rin speechless.
She looked around. At the strange expressions of the believers as they expressed their excitement…
It gave her goosebumps.
It was only then when she realised where the heat came from.
Distorted faith. Fanatic and misguided beliefs burned in their eyes like flames.
‘This isn’t…’
Just as Min Ha-rin bit her lip and decided to say something…
“Isn’t that just ordering them to die?”
The door suddenly opened, and someone walked in.
It was the person Min Ha-rin had been looking for since she’d arrived at the branch headquarters.
Slei smirked slightly.
“Branch President Jung Ho-min.”
“Bishop Slei, you called for all hunters, so why didn’t you call for me too?”