Chapter 772

The incitement, the speech, the declaration—it was over.

But the enormous roar did not end. It continued without pause.

Reporters’ cameras caught the crowds pouring into the streets, while their microphones picked up cheers shouted in half-hoarse voices. Everywhere felt like a festival.

Only days ago, disaster had descended on this city. Now an inexplicable hope and joy filled it. Those feelings gathered and flowed toward one man.

“Michael! Michael!”

They chanted his name and applauded with all they had.

For a very long time. With all their strength.

They poured out their gratitude and respect for a true hero who had stepped forward for their sake, without the slightest desire for the immense power of the World Hunter Federation.

Their hero stood on the stage and gazed at them, his face full of emotion. Then, unable to hold back his tears, he turned and hurried away.

The retreating figure of a hero who had always seemed so strong was beautiful.

From behind.

“You’ve arrived.”

Huginn was waiting below the stage. He gave a slight bow and gestured, and the Odin Guild’s Hunters hurried to block the reporters following Michael.

“Please step back.”

“Just a moment. It’ll only take—”

“I’m sorry, but not today.”

As Michael walked on, the bright lights and the cheers gradually faded behind him. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and spoke in a dry voice.

“They responded well. Better than I expected.”

“They needed hope that badly. And those tears at the end—you were magnificent.”

“Did you think I was acting?”

Huginn slowed at the unexpected question.

“You… meant them?”

“I did. Though I’m not sure I felt what they did.”

Tears were strange things. They came with joy, sadness, anger—even emotions the person shedding them could not easily name.

His tears had been closest to that last kind.

What was it?

Joy at finally reaching his grand objective?

Or… a few of the fragments of feeling he had left?

Michael Silbert thought about the reason for his tears, which even he did not know, but soon shook his head inwardly.

He did not always need to find the right answer.

If he had tried to find the right answer to every problem he had faced, he would not be standing here now.

No. He would have died decades ago.

On that day.

“Guild Master?”

Huginn’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Go on.”

“I have something to report. Just before you began your speech…”

“The small disturbance on the outskirts of the city?”

“You’ve already received a report?”

“No. I sensed it, faintly.”

Huginn, who had been following behind him, stopped short. Michael Silbert smiled faintly.

“Surprised?”

“To be honest, yes.”

“I thought you might be.”

The disturbance had been considerable, but it had happened several kilometers¹ away. Michael recalled the sensation that had swept over him.

“It surprised me too. Heat reached me from all that way off, so suddenly it felt as though every hair on my body might stand on end. For an instant, it was as if I could look down over the entire city.”

“…Guild Master, could it be—”

“I know what you’re thinking, but I wouldn’t worry. I only felt it that intensely for a moment.”

Michael muttered, almost to himself, “Perhaps I’ve been training too hard.”

“You should stop training for a while.”

“I’ve already been holding back. I did push myself too hard this past year. Perhaps I grew impatient without realizing it.”

He already knew what had made him impatient.

As well as the identity of the intense heat he had suddenly felt in the distance just before beginning his speech.

“What happened to Jin Taekyung? If it had been an emergency, you would have interrupted me in the middle of the speech. It can’t have been too serious.”

“According to the watchers, the Stone-King left the hotel first. Not long afterward, the area shook.”

“The top floor where they’re staying must have been the source.”

“Yes. Then everything went quiet, as if nothing had happened.”

“The monster left first. What else?”

“They tried various types of magic after approaching as closely as possible, but both the view inside and even the sounds were blocked, so…”

“That’s enough. I’d expect as much.”

Michael fell into thought. Then he murmured, “It seems they’ve had a disagreement.”

“A disagreement?”

“They must differ on what to do. And judging by what Jin Taekyung has shown us, he may do something even more reckless than we expect.”

“If you mean that reckless, surely…”

“What else? He doesn’t have many options in this situation.”

Huginn’s eyes widened. Michael continued.

“Increase security and strengthen the surveillance network until the inaugural ceremony. In particular, don’t take your eyes off that monster for even a moment. He is the most important key to this entire affair—he cannot be left out of it.”

“Understood.”

Huginn answered grimly, then asked, “Wouldn’t it be better to use this opportunity to capture the monster alive?”

“Capture him?”

“Yes. If they hide him, or reveal his identity and sacrifice him before we can…”

“Huginn.”

Michael cut him off gently and looked at his right-hand man.

“I told you before that Jin Taekyung has a more fatal weakness than anyone else. Do you remember what it is?”

“His emotions…?”

“Exactly. And that is why he has no choice but to hold on to the monster until the very end.”

“You mean…”

“Yes. Somewhere along the way, Jin Taekyung began to think of the monster as a friend.”

“…!”

“Funny, isn’t it?”

Michael could not suppress a quiet laugh.

Even though he was remembered as one of the heroes of the Great Cataclysm, there had been plenty of walls in his way. Back then, he had not been overwhelmingly powerful, and the Odin Guild could hardly have been called a major guild.

So he had become stronger. He had brought down the walls and rivals before him by any means necessary.

But it was truly laughable.

And now? He had built a force and fighting strength no one could ignore, only to find that the obstacle in his path was the softest-hearted bastard he had ever faced.

Idiot.

Michael gave a hollow laugh and kept walking.

By then, his security team—no, his personal guard—had surrounded him on every side, each Hunter giving off a sharp aura.

Step after step, dozens of feet sounded as one.

When they reached the building where he was staying, the escorting Hunters spread out like a fan to secure the area. Their cordon was so tight that no one could break through.

Huginn stood at their head and gave a slight bow. Michael nodded to him without a word, then stepped into a space reserved for him alone.

Click. Whooom.

The moment he entered the room, the lock engaged. Dozens of defensive and security spells activated in succession.

The distant cheers he had still been able to hear seconds ago cut off.

At last, perfect silence.

Instead of settling onto the sofa, Michael crossed the broad carpet to a large full-length mirror covered in black cloth. He pulled the cloth away and channeled his energy into the clear glass.

Hummm.

A fine resonance filled the room. The mirror’s flawless surface rippled, distorting everything within it.

Whoosh.

The spacious room changed. So did the furniture and fixtures scattered around it. Finally, the person changed too.

In an instant, the scene in the mirror became one of utter darkness. A figure wrapped in a thick robe waited there for Michael Silbert.

“A very moving speech.”

The voice gave away neither age nor gender.

As The Prophet’s lips curled slightly beneath the robe, Michael Silbert’s eyes sank deep.

Winter nights are long.

That night felt especially long because most of the world could not sleep.

“The World Hunter Federation will protect humanity!”

Michael Silbert.

The declaration of a hero who had proven himself over decades set the public’s hearts ablaze again, just as his words had three days earlier.

People rushed into the streets, cheering and shouting. Fireworks burst over cities, and countless people sang as they marched through them.

All they had needed was a little hope.

Hope that someone would protect them and their loved ones from that monster. The hope that humanity would win again this time, just as it had in the past.

Michael Silbert’s declaration washed away the fear that had gripped them for three days, then spread to every corner of the world.

Nigerian Civil War Ends! “We only wanted answers.”

Congo: Protesters Halt March on Presidential Palace

French President: “The protesters have dispersed. The peace we have now was possible because a hero gave the UN an answer.”

Strictly speaking, all of this had begun with a single word from Michael Silbert, but the public saw him differently.

└ Michael did it all. He’s a true hero. └ Exactly. If he hadn’t stepped forward, how long would it have taken to reestablish the World Hunter Federation? At least a month. └ Fuck. A month? Those UN bastards would’ve dragged it out for a year. My family and I would be dead by then. └ What the hell are the other Hunters doing? Why did Michael have to handle everything himself? └ Shooting commercials. └ Calm down. The other Hunters are doing their best too. Praise Michael all you want, but don’t put them down for it. └ You sound just like my mother. Is your name Masa? └ Honestly, I’ve been a little disappointed watching this unfold. Especially in Sky and Jin. └ Hmm. Same. └ What are those two doing right now? Everyone I know loves them, me included, but… I don’t get it. Jin even swore at Michael three days ago. └ I read that Jin’s showing symptoms of PTSD. You can at least cut him some slack for that. └ Fine. I get it. What about Sky? └ Even the President of the United States probably wants to know. He hasn’t appeared in ages. └ I know one thing about him. He saved my parents. └ Yeah, we all know that. Where is he now, and what’s he doing? └ You’ll find out soon, so shut your fucking mouth. The inaugural ceremony is tomorrow. Are you whining like a little brat because you can’t wait even one more day?

Hope. Joy. Questions. Anticipation.

Those countless emotions mixed and merged as the inaugural ceremony of the World Hunter Federation drew closer by the second, and prominent Hunters and Guild Masters from countries all over the world boarded private planes bound for Korea.

Of course, I was one of them.