68

While I lounged in the hotel, I noticed how much better the world’s technology had become. TVs could now show movies in all languages, which allowed me to watch two films and some TV shows.

I liked it but eventually got bored, so I decided to meet up with my teammates. I wanted to know what they were doing.

What greeted me was intolerable. I arrived just in time to see some douchebag, an S-rated Hunter, about to assault So-Eun. Yoo-Jeong and Ee-Na tried to come to her defense, but they moved too late.

That was why I caught his attack, seemingly out of nowhere.

The guy was British, someone I had never seen before.

I threw him back and turned to look at Kim So-Eun. She was just a beginner; her physical ability was understandably not that strong. She looked at me apologetically.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Also, remember what I told you before?”

She widened her eyes as I chuckled.

“You’ll grow stronger. So, how’s your regeneration going?”

“…I can swing Excalibur with full power just once.”

I stroked her hair and stepped forward.

I didn’t know that man, and I didn’t really care. What was important was that he attacked one of my people.

As I stretched my hand out, Kim So-Eun handed me her Excalibur. In my hands, it was not heavy. I turned to face the S-rated Hunter.

“You want this?”

“…….”

“Answer me.”

“…If I do, will you give it to me?”

That surprised me. He spoke to us in our own language. The three women behind me were also surprised.

“If you can use our language, then use it,” Kim Yoo-Jeong murmured.

“We are in the UK now,” the S-rated Hunter said proudly.

I didn’t care about his pride or anything about him.

I tossed Excalibur in his direction.

“It’s yours, but only if you can touch it.”

“…Huh?”

“As the legend says, the sword is sealed. Only the rightful wielder can carry this sword. Try it. Maybe it will choose you as its master.”

He stepped back for a bit and looked around. A large crowd had gathered and were watching us. The man stepped forward and tried to grab the sword.

As soon as he took a step, I sliced his arm off. Blood flowed out of his arm like a scarlet fountain and spilled on the ground. The man screamed and scrambled backward. I stepped forward to get closer to him.

Again, I tossed Excalibur in his direction.

“Take it if you can.”

He stepped back and fell on his rump.

“I said take it.”

He tried to grab the sword with his remaining hand, and I stomped on his arm. Without warning, I quickly sliced off that arm as well.

The man was screaming loudly as blood continued to spill out from his severed torso. I pointed the sword directly at his face.

“How dare you try to attack my kiddo?”

He tried to run, but I grabbed him and continued to stab his body.

Any form of resistance didn’t work.

“Why are there a lot of fools who want to be an example?”

I never let someone who harmed my people live. I always killed them brutally so that no one else would dare to stand against me. This was the same process.

“Say something for your last words.”

He didn’t reply. In fact, his body was not moving. Clearly dead, I suppose.

I tsked and kicked his dead body.

Suddenly, I heard someone laughing loudly from behind. The sound was coming from the large man who was with Jeong Gi-Hoon and Sophie.

I was quite surprised. I was not expecting someone as strong as him to exist on the Earth.

“Haha! The video was not wrong! I like your style.”

It was the first time I was seeing this guy.

“Who are you?”

“Me? Raul Albanes.”

***

After their conversation, Jeong Gi-Hoon and Sophie headed straight to the hotel. She thought it would be appropriate for her to apologize to Lee Hwan personally.

While they were on the way, she thought of King Alexander. She found his actions rather strange. The previous queen was a respected ruler. If she had kept her position, all of this would have never happened. But even if Alexander was showing strange behavior, he was still the heir to the crown.

Despite its questionable royals, the UK was functioning well. Awakeners like Sophie willingly volunteered to serve their country. Even so, Sophie felt that something was not right.

Suddenly, her smartwatch rang. She was getting a call from Lee Ho.

[ I’m sorry for calling you at such a late hour. ]

“No worries. I’m always ready for your calls.”

Sophie respected this man, but the words that came from his mouth were rather unexpected.

[ Did you know that Alexander was connected to the anti-Hunter organization? ]

Sophie was speechless. There must be something wrong; she couldn’t find the connection between the two.

[ I suppose you don’t know yet. ]

“…..”

[ I’ll send you some documents. Read them. ]

After a short while, she received the files. Sophie read them quickly and frowned. Her eyes were shaking.

“…Is this true?”

[ I hate to say this, but yes. ]

According to Lee Ho’s documents, Alexander and his people were sending their money to anti-Hunter organizations. They were also able to get photos of them shaking hands with members, and some information was leaked from anti-Hunter organizations.

Furthermore, there were some recorded files as well.

Sophie checked the list of names in one of the files. It included Michael Huntington, other members of MI5, and a lot of people who worked for the royals.

“What the…”

Sophie was upset. Even Jeong Gi-Hoon had to step back.

“What the hell is this?”

[ From pure spring, pure water flows. Unfortunately, this is not the case for the UK. These people wanted to fulfill their own greed by controlling the young boy who had just become a king.]

That was true. After the Queen’s death, her husband took her place for a while. But after a short reign, he suddenly died. Lee Ho was saying that the anti-Hunter organization had something to do with the previous king’s death.

[ Alexander may not know about this. I suppose he was brainwashed since he was still young, but the fact is that there are people who are not suitable to work for the royals. I checked them all out and sent you the list. ]

Sophie sighed. She thought that her country would be in danger from the gate, but it turned out to be a different kind of danger.

She understood what Lee Ho was meaning to say. To save the UK, they must kill all those who were planning to ruin the country. His documents were so specific that even she could understand his point.

However, how did he get this information? From China?

No. He was at the gate. Then how?

Did he not enter the gate? But the gate had been cleared by him.

She wondered how he got this information, but she had to make it clear.

“In short, the anti-Hunter organization was plotting something in the UK. Am I correct?”

Lee Ho answered in the affirmative.

[ To clean this up, you must do it well. And how much do you know about Colman? ]

He meant Andrew, the good friend of Michael Huntington and loyal servant of King Alexander. He was also an S-rated Hunter.

[ You should get rid of him. ]

“Why?”

[ Do you know what kind of person is the most dangerous? ]

It was a bit off-topic, but there must be a reason for this question. Sophie answered.

“A man with power?”

[ No. The most dangerous person is a person with the wrong faith. ]

“……..”

[ This man is incapable, but he always justifies himself. He believes that he is some sort of main character in a movie; his life in school shows that clearly. According to the report, Michael Huntington protected him. ]

Sophie read the files again.

[ Recently, he murdered a teenager—I wonder how he hid this crime. Also, he worked as an assassin. Colman himself is already a danger, but several others like him are also near the king. ]

That was correct.

[ These men blinded the king and caused a lot of damage to your country’s society. That may have ruined the UK completely. ]

Sophie was speechless. Jeong Gi-Hoon knew that they were having a serious conversation, so he stepped away from them.

Lee Ho continued.

[ I don’t want the UK to suffer like that. It’s an admirable country. ]

“……”

[ I hope you know that I’m one of those who want the UK to recover its power. ]

“……”

[ I’m sorry for taking your time. I’ll visit your country soon. ]

“Oh… Yes, please. Contact me when you do.”

Lee Ho laughed and added an afterthought.

[ Also, I sent someone over who will be helpful to you. Be careful. ]

That was the end of their call. Sophie wondered what he meant.

Suddenly, she saw that there was a man nearby. She immediately frowned. It was Raul Albanes.

“Why on Earth are you here?”

“I’m here for you, darling.”

With this, Raul grinned.

***

So the dead guy’s name was Andrew Colman. That was all I needed to know. He deserved to die, and that was the only thing that mattered. There’s no need for me to know anything else about him.

It was that simple.

“Throw that trash away.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon and Sophie were frozen in stunned shock, but they eventually did as I asked. They also took care of the after-work. It was an easy job for Sophie.

We gathered at the bar. I learned that the large man with them was Raul Albanes, an SS-rated Hunter from the US also known as the strongest Hunter in the world.

He spoke to me.

“I assume you are my bro’s brother.”

That made me laugh.

“My bro?”

“Oh, he is like a brother to me.”

I understood. It was only natural for my brother to have a friend, but…

“You seem too old to be his friend.”

“We are more like brothers from different parents.”

I frowned. What was he trying to say?

“I was like an older brother to him.”

“What did you do?”

“I saved him at the Demon King’s gate.”

I looked at Jeong Gi-Hoon, who nodded to confirm Raul’s words.

“I also saved him in the Grand Canyon.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon nodded again but added a comment.

“He saved you as well.”

“He did. My point is that we saved each other. Oh, I remember you. You are Jeong Gi-Hoon.”

“…You remember me.”

“Sorry for not noticing you earlier. You worked hard in the Grand Canyon. You should visit the US, I’ll give you a drink that I’m keeping for my bro.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon smiled awkwardly, and I looked at Raul, noticing that he didn’t seem to be here by his own will.

“Did my brother send you?”

“Huh? Didn’t you know?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“He told me that he was going to send you a message. Haven’t you checked?”

To tell the truth, I don’t really know how to use the smartwatch. Gi-Hoon checked it for me, and there was indeed a message.

[ The SS-rated awakener from America will go there. His name is Raul, and he will be my companion. Can you evaluate him? ]

Lee Ho had sent that message nine hours ago.

Should I reply? While I was pondering that, Raul whispered.

“He told me that an anti-Hunter organization is aiming for Sophie.”

He tried to whisper quietly, but everyone could hear him. Luckily, no one else was nearby. Sophie was still thinking about it carefully.

Hmm.

“So that’s why you’re in London?”

“Yes. Your brother is always correct.”

“I suppose you don’t like that job.”

“You can read people well; you really are Lee Ho’s brother. But while we were in the spa, he told me to work for him. That guy is certainly interesting.”

Raul was talkative and enthusiastic as well.

He finished his bottle of beer and exclaimed, “Let’s spar.”

“……”

“Let’s do it in the park.”

What was up with that sudden challenge? Jeong Gi-Hoon was surprised as well.

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Literally what I said. I saw your video. You were amazing.”

I laughed. I was really starting to like this man.

Ho told me to evaluate him. I suppose I could do that through sparring. I always accepted challenges to fight, so I stood up.

But…

“The park is not big enough. Let’s go to the mountain.”

“I like it. Bring it on.”