Chapter 212: Chapter 212

Blue Gate City, Military Outpost.

Several hunters lay on stretchers, groaning in pain as doctors worked tirelessly to treat their wounds.

In one corner, Lake and his seniors sat silently receiving treatment. Hana winced occasionally as the doctors wrapped bandages around her, but otherwise remained dazed, staring blankly at the ground. The others were much the same—physically present but mentally elsewhere.

Gwen leaned against a support pole, her waist and arms tightly bandaged. Landur stood vigil near Hana, quietly watching her get treated. Lake remained apart, arms folded as he leaned against the wall.

When the doctors finished with them and moved on to other patients, Jayce—slumped on a bench—was the first to break the silence. His voice came out dry and hollow.

"...So much for a simple mission."

No one responded. The awkward silence stretched for several seconds before Landur finally added.

"You think we’ll still get our Academy points?"

Landur chuckled hollowly, the sound somehow lightening the mood enough that Hana gave a weak laugh too.

"Knowing those demons...I doubt we’ll get even a fraction of the promised reward."

Jayce rolled his eyes. "The mission brief said we only had to raid it, not flawlessly complete it."

"So you’re saying we should be hopeful?" Landur shot him a blank stare.

"I mean, it’s the only thing we can be right now, right?"

Listening to their conversation, Gwen finally broke her silence with an exasperated sigh.

"...You guys are insufferable, you know that?"

"Heh. At least it keeps us sane."

Landur’s response earned immediate nods from Hana and Jayce. Gwen rolled her eyes again, her gaze drifting inevitably back to Lake.

At some point, he’d closed his eyes, his breathing slow and even. Remembering those final moments—the rift collapsing, Lake’s frantic efforts to gather scattered hunters—Gwen wasn’t surprised he was exhausted. He’d been the reason so many made it out alive. Without him, she doubted even half would have escaped in time.

’Just how does he do it...?’

Her mind replayed the scene: Lake darting through chaos, rallying survivors, unerringly leading them to a stable exit portal.

Gwen’s gaze hardened as her family’s motto whispered through her thoughts:

’Leave no secrets untold...’

Despite Gwen’s intense gaze, Lake continued to rest with his eyes closed—at least that’s how he appeared on the surface. His mind, however, was racing in all directions, a jumbled mess of unanswered questions.

’Why was Prestige there?’

’Were they there because of that woman?’

’Did they awaken her?’

’Is she part of Prestige?’

’If not, then what is she?’

These thoughts swirled relentlessly in his head, but they were easily overpowered by two others that refused to be suppressed no matter how hard he tried.

’...Why? Why did she seem like she knew me?’

Recalling the way she had looked at him, Lake couldn’t help but wonder what about him had attracted such blatant desire.

’And why...does she look exactly like Sylph...?’

As this last thought echoed in his mind, he saw the hyperactive, airheaded fairy’s face overlapping perfectly with the noble elven lady’s features—an exact match.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t piece it together. Unlike other mysteries he’d encountered, this one refused to be shelved in the back of his mind.

With a sigh, he tuned back into his surroundings, his senses immediately picking up the commotion outside the military base’s perimeter. A crowd of reporters had gathered, having somehow learned about the catastrophic raid results.

Despite his best efforts during the rift’s collapse, Lake hadn’t been able to save everyone—many hunters had already fallen to the ent army before the disaster struck. In the end, fewer than a dozen of the original fifty-six hunters had escaped alive, and neither the military nor Liam appeared capable of suppressing that news for long.

Several warrior-ranked soldiers held the crowd at bay, but they couldn’t silence the shouted questions:

"I want to interview one of the hunters!"

"Is it true the raid had over an 80% fatality rate?!"

"What is the government’s response to this tragedy?!"

"Are you trying to bury the incident?!"

"Sources claim outside interference caused the raid’s failure—any comment?!"

"Rumors say a hidden powerhouse commanded the raid yet still failed. Care to respond?!"

The barrage of questions seemed endless, the crowd’s agitation only growing. Lake’s attention shifted to Liam, who was issuing orders to soldiers to maintain the perimeter and avoid engaging with reporters. He also overheard Liam instructing some unusual-looking men to detain certain reporters—likely to uncover their information sources.

Lake shook his head silently.

Gwen’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up to find her studying him.

"...I’m fine. Just exhausted."

"That’s surprising." Gwen raised an eyebrow. "I don’t usually see you tired."

Lake paused, reflecting. Fatigue had been rare throughout his life. Only recently, as the scale of his encounters escalated beyond control, had this relentless exhaustion set in.

"...I guess even I can get exhausted if I try to do everything alone."

His slow reply carried a weight Gwen almost grasped—but before she could dwell on it, Liam entered the medical area. His sharp gaze swept over them, confirming all had been treated.

"All of you are returning to the academy now."

His tone brooked no argument—not that any of them had objections. Turning specifically to Lake, he added, "Switch back to your uniform and follow the others out the back. Soldiers will escort you to the transfer station."

Lake nodded silently as the group gathered their belongings and followed their escorts past the clamoring reporters. They reached the transfer station without incident and soon arrived back at the academy.

The group parted with little conversation, each retreating to their dorms to process recent events.

Lake sat at his desk in silence, arms folded before him, face shadowed.

’First came the large-scale terror attacks on the major cities...’

’Then the exam venue chaos, followed by minor incidents across the continent...’

’Now they’re involved with beings from other dimensions...’

Recalling Prestige’s escalating activities, Lake’s hands clenched unconsciously.

"They’ve grown too big for me to handle alone..."

A strange gleam flashed in his eyes as his gaze dropped to his wristwatch.

’I’ll have to accelerate my plans.’

A tap on the screen projected a hologram listing names—familiar hunters and contacts from recent months: The Empress, Kate, Romero, Harper, Elizabeth, Leon, Leah, and others he’d been monitoring.

As he studied the list, determination hardened his features.

"...It’s time to form my Kingdom."

Specks of floating blue light drifted lazily through the air, bathing the dark chamber in an ethereal glow. Their reflections shimmered across the still water’s surface, where an enormous lotus blossom floated serenely at the pool’s center.

Three figures knelt at the water’s edge, heads bowed in reverence toward the woman reclining on the lotus. Her long green hair fanned across the water’s surface like living silk, swaying gently with unseen currents. A dreamy smile played across her lips as she reached out with delicate fingers toward a passing light speck.

The moment her pale fingertips made contact, the speck pulsed warmly, nuzzling against her skin with apparent affection. A rosy blush bloomed across her cheeks, her breathing quickening as her expression melted into one of pure adoration. She gathered several specks into her cupped hands, her musical laughter filling the chamber with an almost childlike delight.

"...I knew you still loved me," she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. The kneeling figures tensed slightly at the raw devotion in her tone.

"They all claimed you’d forsaken me," she continued, stroking one particularly bright speck, "but your light never faded from my heart." Her fingers suddenly tightened as the speck tried to drift away. "Haha~ Did you think I’d let you leave so easily?"

Her grip was firm but not cruel as she brought the trembling light to her lips. "Now that I’ve found you again," she whispered against it before pressing a tender kiss, "I’ll cherish you forever."

With practiced ease, she pressed the speck against her chest, sighing contentedly as it dissolved into her skin. The remaining lights swirled around her in agitated patterns, their glow intensifying as if sharing her excitement.

"Just a little longer, my King," she promised, stretching languidly across the lotus. "Soon we’ll be reunited completely." Her emerald eyes shone with absolute conviction as she watched the remaining specks dance, already reaching for another with eager fingers.