Chapter 772
The agitation, the speech, and the declaration had ended.
Yet the tremendous roar continued without end.
The reporters’ cameras on site captured the sight of people pouring into the streets, and the microphones picked up hoarse cheers mixed with shouting.
Everywhere was filled with a festive atmosphere.
The city, which had been struck by disaster just a few days ago, was now overflowing with an unknown hope and joy, and before long, those emotions all flowed toward a single person.
“Michael! Michael!”
They shouted one man’s name and gave him unreserved applause.
For a very long time. With all their strength.
Without a shred of selfish desire for the immense authority of the World Hunter Federation, they were filled only with gratitude and respect for the true hero who had stepped forward for them more than anyone else.
And their hero, standing on the podium, looked out at the scene with an overwhelmed expression. Then, as if unable to hold back his tears, he turned around and quickly left the spot.
The back of the hero who always seemed so strong was beautiful.
His back.
“You’ve arrived.”
As Huginn, who had been waiting below the podium, bowed and gestured, the Hunters of Odin Guild hastily blocked the reporters trying to follow.
“Step back.”
“Just a moment. Just a moment is enough…”
“My apologies, but not today.”
As he kept walking, the bright lights and the cheers of the people gradually faded.
Michael Silbert wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes and spoke in a dry voice.
“The reaction is good. Better than expected.”
“They needed that much hope. And those final tears. You were magnificent.”
“You thought it was an act?”
At the unexpected reply, Huginn’s steps slowed.
“Was it… sincere?”
“It was sincere. Though I’m not sure it was the same emotion they felt.”
Tears were truly mysterious.
They could flow from joy, sorrow, rage, or even from emotions too complex for a person to clearly define.
And in that sense, the tears he had just shed were closest to the last of those.
‘What was that?’
The joy of finally reaching a great objective?
Or… the few scraps of emotion still left inside him?
Michael Silbert pondered the reason for tears even he himself could not understand, then soon shook his head inwardly.
There was no need to always find the right answer.
If he had insisted on finding the correct answer to every problem he faced throughout his life, he would not be standing here now.
No, he would already be dead.
On that day, decades ago.
“Guild Master?”
At the voice pulling him out of his thoughts, Michael Silbert gave a short reply.
“Speak.”
“There is something to report. Just before you began your speech…”
“The minor disturbance on the outskirts of the city?”
“You’ve already received the report?”
“No. I merely sensed it vaguely.” As Huginn, who was following behind, slowed for a moment, Michael Silbert gave a faint smile. “Why? Is that surprising?”
“To be honest, yes. It is.”
“Yes, I suppose it would be.”
Even though it had been a considerable disturbance, it was still several kilometers away.
Recalling the sensation that had washed over him so suddenly, Michael Silbert continued.
“For a brief instant, the heat that reached me from that far away made it feel as though every hair on my body would stand on end. For only a very brief instant, it felt as if I were looking down on this entire city.”
“…Guild Master, perhaps?”
“I know what you’re thinking, but there is no need to worry that much. I only felt that kind of sensation for that one moment.”
Michael Silbert muttered as if speaking to himself.
“Perhaps my training was excessive.”
“It would be wise to stop training for a while.”
“I’ve already been restraining myself. Still, I did push too hard over the past year. Perhaps I grew impatient without realizing it.”
And he already knew the cause of that impatience.
Along with the identity of that intense heat he had felt from far away just before he began his speech.
“Did something happen to Jin Taekyung? If it had been an emergency, you would have intervened even during the speech, so it cannot have been anything too serious.”
“According to the observers’ reports, Stone King left the hotel first, and shortly after that, the surrounding area shook.”
“Then the epicenter must have been the top floor where they were staying.”
“Yes. After that, it became quiet again as if nothing had happened.”
“The monster left first, you say. Anything else?”
“We approached as closely as possible and tried various spells, but not only was the inside impossible to see, even the sound was completely blocked…”
“That’s enough. That much was to be expected.”
Lost in thought, Michael Silbert suddenly murmured,
“It seems there was internal discord.”
“Discord, you say?”
“It’s obvious their opinions clashed. And judging by the conduct Jin Taekyung has shown up until now, he may do something even more reckless than expected.”
“If it’s that reckless, surely he wouldn’t…”
“What could it be? In a situation like this, the number of paths open to him is very limited.”
Looking at Huginn, whose eyes had widened, Michael Silbert continued.
“Tighten security and strengthen surveillance until the inauguration ceremony. Above all, do not take your eyes off that monster even for a moment. He is the most important key in all of this, and he must not be lost.”
“Understood.”
Huginn replied with a hardened expression, then immediately asked,
“What about taking advantage of this opportunity to seize the monster now?”
“Seize it?”
“Yes. If they hide the monster, or choose to expose its identity and sacrifice it before we do…”
“Huginn.”
He cut him off in a soft voice, then continued while looking at his right-hand man.
“I told you before. Jin Taekyung has a more fatal weakness than anyone else. Do you remember?”
“Emotions… you mean?”
“Yes. And that is precisely why he has no choice but to hold on to the monster until the very end.”
“You mean…”
“Correct. At some point, Jin Taekyung started thinking of that monster as a friend.”
“Isn’t it laughable?”
Michael Silbert could not help but let out a dry laugh.
Even though he would one day be remembered as one of the heroes of the Great Cataclysm, countless walls had once blocked his way.
At the time, he had not been overwhelmingly powerful, and Odin Guild had also been too weak to be called a major guild.
So he had no choice but to become stronger. By whatever means necessary, he had to crush the walls and rivals blocking his path.
But it was truly ridiculous.
Now that he had amassed power and a force so formidable that no one could ignore him, the obstacle in his way was the most foolish rival he had ever faced.
‘Stupid fool.’
Michael Silbert let out an empty laugh and kept walking.
Before he knew it, his surroundings had been tightly enclosed by a security team, no, a guard unit radiating sharp energy.
Thud. Thud.
The footsteps of dozens of people merged into one and echoed around them.
When they reached the building being used as his temporary residence, the Hunters escorting him spread out like a fan and surrounded the area.
An ironclad defense no one could possibly breach.
Michael Silbert silently nodded toward Huginn, who stood at the forefront of them and bowed, then stepped into the space permitted to only one person.
Click. Whirr.
The moment he entered the room, the lock and dozens of defensive and security spells activated one after another.
The cheers of the people, which had still been faintly audible only seconds before, were abruptly cut off.
At last, perfect silence arrived.
But instead of leaning back into the sofa, Michael Silbert crossed the wide carpet and stopped before a large full-length mirror draped in black cloth.
Then, after pulling away the cloth, he poured his energy into the clear mirror.
Hummm.
A faint resonant hum rang out. At the same time, the flawlessly smooth surface of the mirror rippled, distorting everything reflected inside it.
Whoosh.
The wide room, the furniture and objects placed here and there, and finally the person himself all changed.
In that place where everything had reversed in an instant, only pitch-black darkness remained, along with a figure in a thick robe waiting for Michael Silbert.
“That was a very moving speech.”
A voice in which neither age nor gender could be discerned.
Watching the corners of the Prophet’s lips curl faintly beneath the robe, Michael Silbert’s eyes sank deeply.
Winter nights were long.
But the reason that night felt especially long was because most people around 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 ignited a flame in the hearts of the public once again, just as it had three days earlier.
People rushed into the streets, shouting cheers and roars. Brilliant fireworks exploded all over the city, and countless people sang and paraded through the roads.
All they had needed was a small glimmer of hope.
The hope that someone would protect them and the people precious to them from the monsters. The wish that humanity would once again triumph, just as it had in the past.
And Michael Silbert’s declaration washed away the fear that had painted their hearts over the last three days and spread to every corner of the world.
[Nigeria Civil War Comes to an End! “We merely wanted the answer we wished for.”]
[In Congo, the protesters marching toward the presidential residence halt their advance.]
[French President: “The demonstrators dispersed. This moment of peace was made possible by the hero who gave the UN its answer.”]
Strictly speaking, all of this had begun with a single statement from Michael Silbert, but the public saw him differently.
– “Michael did all of this. He’s a true hero.”
– “Exactly. If he hadn’t stepped up, when would the World Hunter Federation have been re-established? It would’ve taken at least a month.”
– “A month? Fuck, those UN bastards would’ve dragged it out for a year. By then, me and my family would’ve already been dead.”
– “What the hell are the other Hunters even doing? Why did Michael have to solve everything alone?”
– “F.”
– “Hey, calm down. The other Hunters are doing their best too. It’s fine to praise Michael, but don’t belittle them.”
– “You sound just like my mom. Is your name Martha or something?”
– “Honestly, I was a little disappointed during this whole incident. Especially with Sky and Jin.”
– “Hmm. I agree.”
– “What the hell are those two doing in a situation like this? Everyone around me, including me, loves them… but it was hard to understand. Especially Jin. Three days ago, he even cursed at Michael.”
– “I saw an article saying Jin is showing symptoms of PTSD. We should at least understand that much.”
– “Fine. I understand. Then what about Sky?”
– “Even the U.S. President must be wondering that. He hasn’t shown himself for too long.”
– “I know one thing about him. He saved my parents.”
– “Yeah, we all know that. But where is he, and what is he doing right now?”
– “You’ll find out soon enough, so shut up and stop whining like a brat. The inauguration is tomorrow. Can you really not wait even one day?”
Hope. Joy. Doubt. Anticipation.
Amid those countless emotions mixing and intertwining, the inauguration ceremony of the World Hunter Federation drew closer minute by minute, and the influential Hunters and Guild Masters of countries all over the world boarded private jets bound for South Korea.
Of course, I was one of them.
Rumble. Thud.
Thud! Boom.