Silence fell upon the hall. No more laughter could be heard.

Whats going on?

Vaches had a shocked expression.

His body definitely didnt show any signs of training. That much was clear.

Nevertheless, the movements that hed just displayed were in no way lacking when compared to top-class hunters.

It was strange.

The power of the body could never be hidden. When one reached Vaches level, one could infer the level of ones opponent just by looking at an exposed forearm.

And according to Vaches eyes, Lukas was a weak man who could have been overwhelmed with just a pocket knife.

This place looks shabby, but its completely soundproof. Its made of concrete, the wallpaper is made of soundproof material, and the window and door frames all have a silicone finish. So no screams will be heard.

Lukas pointed behind him.

Theres only one entrance. Once someone enters this house, escape is nigh impossible. Or that would have been the case if the two idiots who were blocking the entrance didnt collapse.

You bastard.

I will rip your tongue out.

The surrounding men threatened him with angry expressions on their faces. But they wouldnt have been able to shoot their guns here.

It was clear between a majority and a minority that the majority would be at a disadvantage if they were to open fire in such a small space.

Lukas judged that they werent stupid enough to be ignorant of the dangers of ricochets.

Vaches spoke in a confident tone.

Are you going to escape? You better give up. My men are all over this area. Youll be caught before you can even take ten steps. Then well be the ones with the last laugh. Youll scream and shout everything that you know by the time were done with you.

Lukas, who was thinking about something else, paid no heed to Vaches words.

These men were all humans.

No Demon, Demonic Humans, or possessed humans.

This fact was very important to Lukas.

He walked towards the iron door.

Where the hell do you think youre going?

Catch him!

Click-

The bodies of the gang members, who were about to rush forward, froze when they heard the unexpected sound of the door being locked.

Vaches expression also hardened.

This was because Lukas had deliberately made the room a half-enclosed space.

Whats going on?

Vaches knew that if he and his men were to surround them, even Titled Hunters would falter.

Even if it was a bit unusual, Lukas action wasnt a big problem. Numbers were the most overwhelming form of violence, and Vaches knew how to use them well.

But at that moment.

For some reason, he felt that it wasnt Lukas had trapped himself. It was they who were trapped there with Lukas.

* * *

Bang!

Kuk!

Vaches slid in his blood for a few seconds as his face collided with the floor.

His head was spinning. And it wasnt only because of the pain.

Whats going on?

Even with the pain that seemed to come from every part of his body, he couldnt understand.

What just happened?

Was it one minute? Was it longer? Was it shorter?

He didnt know.

Vaches had 25 men waiting in the house, and all of them were veterans who wouldnt lose even if they were to go head-to-head with hunters.

Yet they were all annihilated. They didnt even have a chance to reach for their handguns.

Despite seeing it with his own eyes, he still couldnt believe what happened.

But he definitely remembered what happened next.

Lukas had overpowered him in three seconds.

Hes a monster.

He didnt use any special powers like magic, sorcery, or witchcraft. He simply read their movements.

Surprisingly, this feeble-looking blonde man had taken out the Red Mafias most elite group with nothing but his physical ability.

Whats your name?

The soft voice sounded threatening, and Vaches shook as he replied.

Va-, Vaches Bondarenko.

Who gave you the order?

I-, I cant say

As he said this, Vaches clenched his teeth. He thought that pain would follow. Perhaps there was a high chance that the man would break a finger or an arm.

Ill try.

He wasnt afraid of such pain. The same went for dying. He always knew that a day like this would come from the moment he joined the organisation.

Above all, Vaches knew that betrayal now would come with consequences that were far worse than death.

But Lukas got up from his seat without doing anything.

Then, he simply walked out of the house.

What the hell?

Where was he going?

He looked at the door with anxiety.

If he had been in a good condition, he would have tried to escape, but currently, his head was the only part of his body that could move.

Vaches could only look at the iron door in fear.

Click.

Then, the door opened again and a group of people walked in.

When he saw the faces of these people, Vaches expression crumpled.

They were hunters from the European Branch.

* * *

Those Red Mafia bastards just because I looked the other way a few times, they got really ballsy.

Nina swore angrily.

Vaches Bondarenko is one of the Young Bosses in charge of Sochi.

By Young Boss, it meant that he was in charge of a single division of the organisation instead of the entire Red Mafia.

How is the interrogation coming?

Not very good. As you know, theyre not afraid of pain

Then you dont need to keep being nice to them.

When Nina said these words in a cold voice, Ludwigs eyes shook.

You mean

Regardless of what method you use. Get the information out of them without breaking their minds.

Basically, it was an instruction to no longer mind the administration of drugs or use of magic.

Regardless of how inhumane the Presidents orders were, Ludwig simply bowed.

Ill do as you command.

Just before leaving the room, he glanced at Lukas, who was drinking coffee while sitting on a sofa in the corner.

who exactly is this man?

He went in and out of Ninas office as if it was his own place, and he had even been given a free pass that only the President could issue.

In all honesty, it didnt look good. After all, from Ludwigs perspective, Lukas was still an unknown.

However, he could have clearly seen that Nina had extreme trust in this man.

In fact, it made him feel a bit jealous. Even Ludwig, the Vice President, had rarely seen Nina smile so comfortably.

Then he suddenly went outside and suppressed every single organisation in the city under the Red Mafia. He defeated every one of their best fighters, including the Young Boss, Vaches. This was something that would have been extremely difficult even for Titled Hunters.

I dont think shed tell me even if I asked.

Ludwig tried to suppress his curiosity and left the room.

You seem to like it a lot.

Nina spoke up while watching Lukas drink the coffee mix.

I havent tasted anything like this since a long time ago.

Huhu.

Nina chuckled for a moment before her expression changed.

Master, did you know about the Red Mafia?

I did.

If you had told me about it in advance, I could have assisted you.

If they were Demons, I would have.

Lukas took a sip of coffee.

It seems there are spies in the headquarters.

Nina wasnt surprised by that, so instead, she nodded.

Im sure there are a lot of them. Theres probably no other headquarters as mixed as this one.

Nina sighed heavily.

Can I do anything about it? Europe is now in such a desperate situation that were literally grasping at straws. We cant check and monitor the reinforcements sent from each region. We cant afford to.

Lukas nodded.

He understood what Nina meant by mixed.

The European Branch probably had some of the worlds most diverse hunters.

Not everyone is who they appear to be. As you know, this place is on the front line, so they have no choice but to send their informants here.

One of them targeted me.

Yeah. If I had to guess, it was probably Neils doing

Lukas expression became gloomy.

This was because the name Nina had just mentioned was the person who was his first disciple before Min Ha-rin.

Have you met him recently?

No. I havent had a reason to go to America.

Nina was being honest.

The United States was the region with the fewest amount of Demons. In the first place, the Demons hadnt stretched their hands too far in North America when compared to the other regions, but it couldnt be denied that America had handled the problem better than any other country.

In fact, there were many people nowadays who called America the Land of Paradise. Even if it was a utopia built on ruins, it was clearly the safest and most peaceful place on the planet.

Although, the Association took the place of the government.

And now, that man was sitting in the seat as Head of the Association. He was the strongest, greatest, and most powerful person Nina knew.

Neil seems to be looking for you, Master. Its been like that for over 10 years. Do you have any plans to meet him?

I will see him soon. In about 3 months.

Ninas eyes shined.

Are you going to show your face at the world conference?

Right. I intend to talk about the establishment of Argento Spell there.

It was the right call.

Argento Spell would act as an independent organisation, but support from the Hunter Association would be indispensable. If the relationship between the two grew sour, it could lead to bad results.

The existence of the organisation should have at least been revealed, even if it didnt obtain the support he wanted.

Im sure there will be a lot of people wholl oppose it, but

An armed organisation that was outside of the control of the Association and that could, at times, act upon arbitrary judgements was certainly something that many high-ranking members of the association would definitely not be pleased with.

Thats right. But it would be possible if we got the consent of one Director and three Branch Presidents.

Three Branch Presidents.

Naturally, Nina would follow Lukas judgement regardless of what happened. But they would still need two more.

Do you have anyone else in mind?

Maybe there was another person with a powerful influence among the transformers whom Lukas had saved.

Nina asked that question with this expectation, but Lukas shook his head.

No.

Then how?

Ill have to negotiate.

Huh?

Lukas spoke with a calm voice.

Im thinking of meeting the President of the Asia Branch.