Breakthrough - Part 1
U.S. Adverse Realm Control Branch: New York Group
"Sir."
Wesley turned around, glancing at the agent that approached him at his desk.
"You have something for me?"
"...We've gotten reports of a D-Rank Realm Gate at Site 12, where 8 hunters have been confirmed deceased during the hunting mission. The only survivors are an E and F-Rank Hunter."
"...That can be a normal occurrence. Get to the point."
"You may have assumed that these two fled, but the realm gate was closed."
Wesley turned his rotating chair, giving the agent his full attention.
"Continue."
"We managed to pull the field cameras that each of the hunters carried. We've confirmed that each of them were killed by the priority beast."
"What about the cameras on the E and F-Rank Hunters?"
"Broken."
"Odd. Did they write a report?"
"The E-Rank Hunter remembered being paralyzed in fear and may have passed out subconsciously. She doesn't know if she was later knocked out by the priority beast or what happened to her camera after she lost consciousness."
"...That seems to be a normal response, especially in the face of a D-Rank Priority Beast."
"The F-Rank Hunter reported that he saw the female E-Rank Hunter, Yana Jackson, being thrown by the surrounding pressure of the beast's stomp, where her helmet was thrown near him. That encouraged him to confirm her status but he was also thrown back by a similar pressure."
"Jackson... as in?"
"Yes. The A-Rank Hunter, Special Field Agent Blake Jackson from Field Operations."
"...Were you able to access the log of the camera before it was broken?"
"Yes. It seems to confirm parts of his story, so it is credible."
"...This part of the story doesn't seem to be the reason why you came to me."
"The F-Rank Hunter is David Reece, sir."
"David Reece, as in the F-Rank Hunter I suspected to be a Resurgent?"
"Yes, sir. The one we visited at Site 11."
"...Hmm. We did confirm he did not go through Resurgence?"
"Yes, sir."
"...Yet."
"...That could explain how they were able to defeat the priority beast, sir."
"...That means he is now at least a C-Rank Hunter..."
"Yes, sir."
"...There's also one other minor issue... one of the deceased hunters is Hayden Evers."
"Evers... Shit. The younger twin brother."
"His older twin sister is Special Field Agent Holly Evers, also from Field Operations."
"Yes... The uncontrollable one."
"...We're investigating this matter. Put the Resurgence case on David Reece back for review, with haste."
"Yes, sir."
***
A Undisclosed Cafe
"Thanks for taking my call." David said as he pulled up a chair.
"No problem. You are the reason I'm still alive... after all." Yana said, sitting down.
"Coffee?"
"Please, I need it."
David chuckled.
"I didn't expect to see you again after we delivered the essence stones to the Hunter Branch and wrote up those reports."
"Why did you call me?" Yana inquired.
"...Not that I mind." She mumbled.
"I know they had an investigator question you, considering you are the highest ranking hunter that survived the realm." David answered.
"..."
"Other then inviting you out, since you are a pretty attractive woman... I wanted to make sure you actually did keep your mouth shut. Reports are just officialized documents of what happened, but you could've told that investigator anything."
Yana watched as David gave her a pretty stern look. He was serious.
"No, I didn't tell them anything. You would've been called in by now."
"...Agreed."
"...Is she lying?"
"No."
"I just wanted to look you in the eye, and make sure you were telling me the truth, is all."
"Ease up girl, I'm not gonna kill you." David's facial expression eased up.
Yana sighed out of relief, but she seemed to have something on her mind.
"...Looks like you wanted to see me too... What is it?"
She got up out of her seat and approached him, closing the distance.
"...I never did thank you for saving my life." She said, whispering in his ear.
"...I'd rather show you my gratitude."
David noticed her facial expression.
"...Seems like you wanted to be killed in a different way..."
***
"...So that's how you humans have intercourse and reproduce. What an interesting sight. Seemed pleasurable on her part as well, considering the fact she was moaning the entire time."
"Get out of my head."
"...I'm afraid that's physically impossible."
David sighed.
***
An Undisclosed ARC Black Site
"Ma'am?" A male soldier spoke up.
"...My brother's... dead, Lee." The dark-skinned woman answered as she held a phone in her hands.
"..." Lee remained silent.
"Can you get me the information on the two survivors?"
"...What for?"
"...We've been getting plenty of... those... reports..."
"...Captain, I honestly doubt..."
The woman stared at Lee with a serious, stern look.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll see if I can get that information for you."
"When can I fly to New York?"
"You have scheduled operations for the next month or so, ma'am."
"...The one time I actually hate my job in Field Operations." She sucked her teeth.
"Make sure I'm free after all my scheduled operations have been completed and book a flight to New York."
"...I want to at least see the two hunters that saw my brother's... last dying breath."
***
"...Are you sure you are ready for this realm, Heir?"
"I've been doing missions for the past few weeks, Desim. I've been getting better, but not stronger. I've been a C-Rank for this entire time, stagnant."
"...I am quite curious about this new realm you've conjured."
"...Don't say I didn't warn you, Heir."
David returned back to the same alleyway as before, as a new realm gate was summoned.
Before he even stepped forward, he felt the burst of majin energy that surged from the gate.
"...What the fuck..."
He then stepped into the realm gate, disappearing from his world.
*
He felt it.
That burst of energy, David knew.
"...An A-Rank Realm?"
"...A-Rank Monsters are known for being able to destroy entire states of a country within minutes if they wanted to..."
He entered the realm, filled with primordial ice and chaotic freezing weather. The energy he felt from the realm was both cold and dark. It took him constantly focusing on his mental state to even withstand the harsh conditions he witnessed.
He heard a stomp, as a giant approached him. His foot was visible, then his entire body. The giant towered over David, staring at him with its fierce blue eyes.
[] A-RANK. GATEKEEPER OF NIFLIHEIM.
"...Niflheim... Fitting name for this realm."
"...Right now, my chances are extremely low to even defeat this monster, yet alone survive."
"...There is a reason why Desim did allow me to enter this realm. He wants me to recognize my strength and weaknesses."
"...Now I see why A-Rank Realm Gates rarely open in our world... the intensity and energy needed to even maintain one is monstrous..."
One of the few A-Rank realms that opened on Earth occurred on the island of Puerto Rico, rendering the island no longer habitable for human life due to the entire island being torn apart and the extensive heat that surged from the gate.
"...Just from the energy I'm feeling, even if A-Rank Hunters formed a group, I doubt that they would be able to clear it...maybe just good enough to keep the creatures at bay."
"...Even though this giant is definitely menacing and it's taking everything I have mentally to even withstand its aura, let alone this weather..."
"The thirst I'm feeling... the urge to test and grow my strength..."
David rushed, propelling himself at his top speed. He immediately went for the giant's legs, slashing them with his retractable claws, sending a ripple of wind behind his strike. Purple venom penetrated the giant.
"...I received a more potent poison from the spider I fought... it must have never deemed the hunters it fought threatening enough to use it... a trump card."
David kept slashing and punching its lower body, sending vast amounts of wind pressure all around them, until the giant turned into a fit of rage as it slammed its fists into the ground.
David was immediately thrown away before his fists even touched the snow, a sonic boom was heard.
~CRASH~
David was thrown away, then onto the ground at terrifying speeds. His entire body felt like his insides were turned to atoms. He was inside of a massive crater that the giant had created.
"...Urgh....Mmph... I... can't move..."
He waited for his regeneration to kick in, as he slowly felt his body recover. He grasped his hands, then got back up.
The giant's fist was already in front of him, moving at a fast speed.
It took everything for David to catch and hold its fist, the force destroyed everything behind him. His muscle fibers were swiftly tearing inside of him, then constantly regenerating.
Holding onto the fist, he then stomped onto the ground with devastating force, gaining momentum and launched the giant away.
While the giant was in the air, David launched upward, using his sprouting wings to control his flight and flew straight into the giant's face.
He balled up his fist, sending all of the majin energy that was stored within him into a singular punch that landed onto the giant's head, midair. He loudly grunted while doing so, as it took a physical and mental strain on him.
The giant was launched downward, causing another minor crater beneath the giant by the sheer force David sent into his fist.
David looked down at the giant. It halted its movement, it merely seemed to lose consciousness as he did not receive a display showing its death.
He flew down near its large head, using his claws to slash into its head and destroy its brain.
"...This giant must've been a lower A-Rank beast... if I enter this realm any further, I'll die."
He used Gluttony and decomposed the giant.
"...Frost Manipulation..."
"...I'm also now a B-Rank... That beast was merely toying with me with the amount of energy I feel surging through my body."
"...It certainly was, I am proud that you handled the situation well, Heir. You did not cower, despite knowing and feeling you were outmatched, and won."
"...This trial was not just about determining my strengths and weaknesses, was it?"
"...No. It was to help you identify that you are much stronger then you appear to be. Your world's categorization of monsters and hunters are different, and rightfully so."
"...A normal A-Rank Hunter would not have been able to defeat the Gatekeeper of Niflheim, like you just accomplished."
"...So I am just as strong as an A-Rank Hunter?"
"Stronger. By your world's human standards, you are a B-Rank Hunter. But that is without taking account of your majin blood that flows within you."
"...Four D-Rank Hunters were unable to defeat one D-Rank majin..."
"...This has definitely been educational."
"Likewise." The skull nodded in agreement.
"...I'll come back here when I've gotten more stronger."
Desim opened up the realm gate, as David returned back to Earth.
***
U.S. Adverse Realm Control Branch: New York Group
"I want you to observe someone for me."
"...You don't usually call for me unless you need something, sir." The man responded.
He seemed around his mid-to-late 20s. He was of Hispanic descent, around 6 foot in height with medium brown coily hair.
"I need you confirm if this individual has had a Resurgence."
"...What's his name?"
"David Reece."
"I'll take care of the paperwork and the mission you'll be undertaking."
"...Does that mean I'll be able to use any means necessary to determine that fact?"
"...Just don't kill him."
"Of course. We're all fellow ARC compatriots, are we not?"
"...Sometimes I wonder about that fact."
***
A Metropolitan Firing Range
"You still got it, Mr. Corporal." A shooter nudged.
"Enough with that." He remarked. The man reloaded the M4A1 assault rifle that was currently in his hand and opened fire, spraying a few more bullets down the lane, each hitting the target either in the head or torso.
"Oi, Sloane. Your phone's ringing."
Sloane stopped shooting, stocked up his M4A1 and approached his phone. He looked down at it.
"...Back to hunting."
***
ARC Security Site-13
"...A D-Rank Realm Gate, huh?"
Sloane had entered the under construction security site, seeing many construction workers that were contracted by ARC, including a heightened security and military presence.
Sloane heard the conversation of two soldiers passing him.
"Isn't this the same realm gate that mysterious hunter came to?"
"Yeah, he's a Ghost apparently... Came down and defeated two large rock beasts and fled the scene like a fucking badass."
"Nobody who he is, huh?"
"Nah, apparently people think he's a unpopular A-Rank that ARC contracted, but those are baseless rumors..."
"Ghost, huh?" Sloane smirked, as he saw a shadow pass by him.
"...Wait." Sloane approached the hunter that came from the armory.
"Excuse me."
"Mm?" The hunter turned.
"David?!"
"Sloane?"
"...I barely even recognized you had I not realized... you look... different."
Sloane had noticed that David had gotten taller, his face matured and his frame seemed physically larger then before. There was no trace of his former self.
"...I guess everybody was influenced differently by that mental battle, huh?"
"...You have no idea, Sloane. You have no idea."
He glanced at Desim, then looked back at Sloane.
"I was afraid that you wouldn't survive, but then I heard you did, but to see you now."
"Are we on the same hunting mission?" Sloane inquired.
"Yeah, we received the same assignment. You should get ready, the mission's about to start." David said, pointing to the group that was gathering further down.
Sloane nodded, running to the security site's armory and barracks.
*
"...Wow, what a coincidence..." Sloane announced.
Five of the six survivors of Desim's mental trial stood together in a group.
"...And yet, only three intrigued me... the other three barely piqued my interest."
"...What happened to the other hunters?"
"...They were completely swallowed by their worst fears and memories."
"...Brain dead."
"Is that David?!" Kevin loudly questioned.
"...Ain't no way." Patrick spoke up.
"Didn't even recognize you man!" Kevin said, pushing his shoulder. He noticed he barely moved him.
"Got stronger, have we?" He snorted, but he was confused why he wasn't able to move him at all.
"What have you been up to this whole time?!"
"How'd you even get taller?! I know you're still pretty young, but damn! You're almost taller then all of us!"
"...Sorry to interrupt this grand moment." An individual spoke out.
"Are we in a movie film?"
"...Prisoners."
Four men began exiting out of a ARC military truck, as ARC soldiers gathered to keep close observation of them.
"...The only reason ARC soldiers would guard prisoners is..."
"They're hunters."
"Yo, shut the fuck up." A hunter said in a hispanic accent, as he also exited the military truck from the passenger side up front, referring to the prisoners that just disembarked.
"...Oh, scary." One of the prisoners said sarcastically.
"...Nice body, I'd be down to get you a good time..." One of the other men said, walking past Jessica.
"Not my fucking type, bastard. Watch where you're going." Jessica shut him down quickly.
"That uniform... you're a hunter, but..."
"Yes, I'm directly affiliated with ARC." The hunter replied.
"You can call me Manuel." The hunter extended his hand out. Sloane shook it.
"I have to ask, I wasn't informed about this... development." He pointed behind him to the prisoners being escorted by a full squad of ARC soldiers to the realm gate.
"They're hunters charged with criminal charges, but take on realm gates to reduce their sentences without payment. Think of it as enhanced community service." The hunter explained.
"...Has the number of available hunters decreased that drastically?"
"To take on D-Rank Realm Gates? Afraid so. Realm gates have becoming more active nationally. Hunters have been pulled from various cities and states across the country to help deal with them."
"...Those four men are D-Rank Hunters, and I am a C-Rank."
David glanced over at Manuel.
"He's lying... he's definitely stronger then a typical C-Rank Hunter... Maybe B-Rank."
"...Why do they need him in a D-Rank Realm Gate? I have a bad feeling..."
Manuel caught David's eye contact. He smirked.
"..."
Manuel walked over. "David Reece?"
"...That's me. Nice to meet you."
"...You look much different from the information ARC has on you... I wonder why."
"It happens. I am still a growing man, you know how it is."
"...Right." Manuel walked off toward the prisoners.
"Are you alright? You're being over-analytical again." Jessica nudged.
"....You know how I am."
"...Desim."
"...That human appears to know something about you. I'm unsure what he suspects you of."
"...That... may explain the bad feeling."
"Squad 5, I got it from here." Manuel called, addressing the squad leader.
"Understood, sir." The squad leader called off his group, as they walked away from the realm gate and back to their original post.
The group of hunters entered the realm gate with haste.
***
Inside the Realm Gate
"...Do not make me regret taking these cuffs early." Manuel said with a serious tone, as he began to release the cuffs off of each prisoner.
"Damn, that feels much better." One of the prisoners relaxed his wrist.
Manuel slung his bag on the ground, as he threw each of them their assigned weapons. The prisoners looked at them and proceeded to walk forward into the realm.
"...No guns?"
"Don't ask a ridiculous question."
"I'm trusting you with guiding the group while I keep close observation of them." Manuel pointed, addressing Sloane.
"Understood."
*
The group of hunters got deeper into the realm, yet another rock cave foundation.
"Contacts, front." Sloane yelled, as he immediately opened fire with his M4A1.
High-pitched giggles were heard, as hordes of hobgoblins rushed forward.
"...Higher ranked E-Ranks..."
Bullets sprayed as some hobgoblins raised up their shields, while others deflected the incoming rounds with their medieval-based weapons.
"Go." Manuel ordered.
"Don't have to tell me twice." One of the prisoners immediately rushed forward into a hobgoblin. The beast slammed his mace into the ground with force, the prisoner dodging by backflipping. The force behind the mace attack was enough to destroy a modern-sized house. He jumped onto the hobgoblin's arm and strongly slashed its neck with his sword, blood spiraling out.
The hobgoblin fell to its knees, holding onto its neck, trying to stop the blood and steadily died due to significant blood loss.
While the prisoners continued to fight the hobgoblins individually, the E-Rank Hunters in the back of the formation sprayed any distracted hobgoblin, supporting the prisoners' assault.
"...Three swords... two short swords, one longsword... and another is using daggers."
Sloane holstered his M4A1 and took out his dual SIG Sauer M17s. He launched forward, spraying a hobgoblin attempting to slash him with its sword. He leaped onto its sword and shot multiple rounds into its head. The hobgoblin swiftly fell.
"...Those are D-Rank Hunters for you." Kevin said, impressed.
"...But him..." Kevin turned his right, seeing Manuel deal with the hobgoblins that penetrated the lines that the prisoners were holding.
Two hobgoblins began to roar in his proximity as they charged and prepared to assault his position. Manuel holstered his M4A1 and slung it on his back, as he took out his axe.
He immediately leapt forward and before the hobgoblins could react, both their heads swung off their bodies.
"...Fast. Only those C-Rank or above could even notice Manuel's movement. To the others, it seemed like he disappeared."
Manuel then looked behind him and swung his axe to clean his blade, the blood smearing off the metal. He looked toward David, smiling. He knew David could see his movements.
"...If he didn't know of your potential, he knows now, Heir."
"...That isn't enough proof to tell his superior that I had a Resurgence... he's going to try something else."
The group continued forward, engaging any leftover hobgoblins that avoided their assault and other beasts that roamed near the entrance.
*
"Two entrance paths up ahead." Sloane called out and used a signal to halt the formation.
"I'll take the prisoners and go left. It'll be easier to split up as these cave entrances seem a lot smaller and harder to maneuver in." Manuel walked and pointed toward the entrances.
"...Whether by coincidence or not, the priority beast is on the left route..."
"I'll take the rest of the hunters and go right."
Manuel then smirked toward David, as he walked to the right entranceway.
"...That smirk, again."
*
"Those Orc beasts are lurking up there." A prisoner called out, as Manuel walked over to glance.
Beasts similar in stature and frame to Orcs stood in front of a large cave entrance that seemed to lead to the lair of the priority beast.
"Are you guys capable of taking down those Orcs?" Manuel asked the three.
"...They seem to be lower D-Rank..."
"Nah, it'll give us a real fucking challenge. Those hobgoblins we kept encountering was just target practice."
"I'm in too."
"...I'm sad to report that there has been a change of plans." Manuel announced before the three prepared to engage the Orcs.
The prisoners looked toward him.
"What do you mean?"
"Officially, you've been slotted to take part of this hunting mission to work toward eventually completing enough missions to redeem yourselves..."
"However, it has been deemed that you are much too volatile to be let back loose."
"...What the fuck are you saying?"
"You will be executed, on the spot, for crimes against humanity."
"BULLSHIT!" A prisoner said, raising his daggers toward Manuel and rushed toward him with the fastest speed he could pull off.
"...Slow."
*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"Sounds like one of the prisoners..."
Sloane perked up and did a hand signal that had the hunters regroup.
"We're heading to the right!" Sloane yelled out.
The group of five then rushed backwards to the right entrance toward a different section of the massive cave complex.
*
Low-pitched strained roars were heard in the distance as a rock was thrown at speeds that none of the hunters noticed immediately.
"!!"
The rock was aimed toward Jessica, as David rushed toward to grab the massive rock, suspending it on his hands.
To the other hunters, it looked as if he literally teleported to Jessica as they couldn't register his movements with their eyes.
"David?" Jessica gasped, realizing why he was in front of her and that he saved her life.
The rest of the hunters were in shock and utter surprise as they thought he was the weakest out of the group.
"...How were you able to do that?" Sloane immediately questioned.
"No time, we have Orcs moving up on us." David said as he threw the rock on the floor with minimal effort and then pointed forward.
The roars got closer and closer, as several lower D-Ranked beasts similar in stature to Orcs approached the group of five.
The hunters immediately opened fire with their M4A1s, but the Orcs moved forward with relentlessly, as the bullets barely slowed their assault.
"...Hardened skin."
"...Now I get it... exposing my power in front of the others... relatively no choice but to react..."
"...I'm not risking another group of hunters dying right in front of me."
"Sloane, I'm moving forward. Watch the crossfire."
"David?"
David rushed forward, charging forward and slammed into a Orc. The beast was forced backward by the sheer force of the push, as David then sent a punch right into its lower abdomen, as the beast was taller.
The punch sent the Orc slamming into the nearest cave wall, the beast already dead by the time it slammed into the wall, leaving a noticeable impact filled with its imploded insides all over.
David then looked down near his feet, looking at the prisoners' bodies. He quickly analyzed them with his eyes.
"...No majin energy... they weren't killed by these beasts... Manuel?"
As David looked at the prisoners, a beast attempted to take advantage of the situation as David swiftly dodged and launched upward, sending a kick into its head.
Its skull broke and its spine was disconnected from its head, as the head was launched off its body. The beast's body was sent falling to the ground promptly. Bullets continued to fly past his position, hitting the other beasts that approached.
Sloane reached David's position as he fought one of the Orcs himself in close quarters. He opened fire with his M4A1 to force the Orc to cover its eyes, as he went under its arms. He threw a grenade upward toward the beast's face.
The grenade exploded, as the beast roared in pain and anger, trying to kill Sloane with utter devastation by the position it remembered he was in. It left a noticeable impact in the ground that Sloane barely dodged, as the attack itself was enough to rupture a building.
Sloane was promptly thrown backward by the wind pressure as David stood there, the pressure and force not moving his body in the slightest.
David rushed forward again, taking on the beasts once again, using the other hunters' incoming rounds to distract the beasts before swiftly taking them down with minimal effort.
Sloane got up, then realized there was a Orc approaching him while he was on the ground.
"SHIT!"
David immediately rushed forward, deflecting the fist that the Orc was prepared to throw. He then grabbed the Orc's hand and flipped him around, causing the beast to spiral around midair and land on the ground.
He then immediately rushed toward its head and punched it with force, its head exploding onto the ground, splatting its remain onto the floor.
"...You've had a Resurgence, haven't you?" Sloane immediately inquired as David looked down toward Sloane with his shocked expression.
"...Something like that, yes." David responded, as he ran forward to deal with the remaining beasts."
"Sloane! Are you alright?!" Jessica ran to his position with the rest of the E-Rank Hunters.
"...Yes, I'm fine. David's dealing with the rest of the monsters... save your ammunition." Sloane responded as he grabbed his M4A1 and reloaded it.
"Seriously though... that guy... Reece... he's no longer the David we know..." Kevin said as he watched the one-sided battle between him and the beasts.
"He's stronger... much stronger." Patrick agreed.
*
After the ensuing battle, David regrouped with the others, as the priority beast's lair crumbled behind a incoming shadow shaped like a human.
"Manuel." David called out.
"Judging by the amount of dead monsters here... and considering the fact that there is only one confirmed D-Rank Hunter here... someone is stronger then they appear..." He said with a smirk.
"I can say, with certainty, there is no way you hunters would've survived against a horde of D-Rank Beasts..."
"Why did you kill the prisoners?" David walked forward.
"What?!" Sloane said, as he then looked at the prisoners' bodies.
"...Manuel did this?" Kevin questioned as he also went to check the bodies.
"...These precise slashes... no mere monster could do this, especially Orcs... these match with the axe Manuel's been carrying... David already realized that?" Sloane said, looking upon the bodies.
"I don't have to-."
"Answer the question."
Manuel saw as a dark and green menacing aura covered David's eyes and briefly his body, freezing him in place. His fight or flight response took effect, his entire being telling him to run.
He felt that his body was trapped within a darkness, a black void he couldn't describe. He could only see dark and green eyes, glowing and looking upon him with wrath.
The rest of the hunters briefly felt the wave of bloodlust, seemingly emitting from David, as they began to see what Manuel was seeing. The only reason they didn't feel the instinctive fear that Manuel was feeling was due to David not directing his majin energy toward them.
"...What the hell are you?" Manuel gulped.
"An aura..." Sloane perked up.
"...But don't monsters only have those...?" Patrick questioned.
There was a slight whimper in Manuel's voice, him trying to correct it but he couldn't hide his fear.
Manuel couldn't even use his muscles or strengthen himself, as he was seemingly paralyzed. It was almost as if David was manipulating his instinctive fear factor that all humans possessed.
"...I know who you are on paper... David Reece... F-Rank Hunter..." He got his words out.
"...You've been hiding your true colors..."
"...You can't be a monster either... there has been no recorded case that monsters can take a human form that precisely... and you seem to be on close terms with the hunters here for some time..."
"And judging by their reactions... it hasn't been long either..."
"Were you sent to investigate me?" David questioned.
"...Yes..." Manuel felt compelled to answer his questions.
"By whom?"
"...Lead Special Agent Jonathan Wesley... Adverse Realm Intelligence..."
"Blue eyes? Blond hair?"
Manuel nodded.
"...The same agent I met at the beginning... when I first reawakened."
"...There's no point killing Manuel at this point... that would cause too many problems... especially in front of the rest of the others..."
"You could just kill all of them, Heir... Unless, you believe that you are ready to expose yourself to the world."
"...Do you believe I am ready?"
"You've already surpassed the typical A-Rank Hunter that this world's people depends to defend Earth... I believe that you are."
"Alright."
"...I believe this mission is complete, don't you agree... Sloane?" David looked toward him.
Sloane then felt the similar instinctive fear that Manuel was feeling.
"...Yes."
"Then it's time to go."
David released his aura, the energy seemingly entering his body, as he walked away from the scene and back toward the realm gate...