WHIIII

The sirens continued to blare throughout the entire station. Walking past the buildings, I headed towards a familiar location.

'..If my guesses are right, then the missing page will be what allows me to understand what's going on properly.'

While I didn't check the other guilds, I was sure they also had no information regarding the tree.

The fact that none of the post-leaders knew about it was also concerning. It was as though all information about it had been completely wiped from the world.

It didn't make sense.

No, it did make sense. But that would mean that...

'That's impossible.'

I bit my lips while staring at my hand. There was another possibility I was entertaining to explain the situation.

It was a possibility that I wanted to refute with all my heart, and yet, thinking about everything that had happened, it seemed to become more and more likely to be true.

"Hoo."

I took a deep breath and slapped both sides of my cheeks.

'Let's not think about it. I'll first get over this part.'

Cra Crack

Accompanying the blaring sound of the sirens, a wild wail echoed throughout the air. It pierced through it, almost drowning out the noise from the sirens.

At the same time, more cracks started to appear on the walls of the city as the station started to become flooded with even more eaters.

Quite obviously, the sirens had startled the beast outside.

It was now putting even more effort into trying to get in.

"..I better hurry."

Quickening my pace, I turned a corner where a flickering lamp cast a dim glow under the red-tinted sky. In the distance, a familiar dome-shaped building came into view.

From where I stood, I could see the windows of the bunker and I headed directly for it.

'.I see a familiar face.'

It looked like Aoife, and as if noticing my presence, her head turned to face me. Immediately, her eyes widened and shortly after, Kiera's face also appeared.

Her eyes widened in a similar fashion and she slapped Aoife...?

'Uh...?'

She slapped her?

It really did seem like it as Aoife glared at her and the two started to argue.

But it wasn't just the two of them that noticed my presence. The others situation by the windows also spotted me, and a crowd soon started to gather as they all pointed at me.

'Good.'

This was what I wanted as I headed closer to them.

I couldn't hear anything that was going on on the inside, but it didn't matter. Soon, the crowd split, and a few faces appeared. I could tell from just a glance that they were powerful.

I also knew exactly who they were.

The post-leaders. They were all looking at me with different expressions, but I didn't care as my gaze fell on a certain person.

What stood out the most to me were his glaring red eyes as they looked at me. It felt as though I was being stared at by a hound, ready to pounce at me at any second.

'Karl Jashmire. Post Leader of the Black Hound Guild.'

I felt the corner of my lips twist slightly at the sight of him.

'This may be the first time I've met you in real life, but it isn't as though I'm not familiar with you. '

I had plenty of memories to work with.

"You've got the page, don't you?"

As I spoke, I made sure to do so extremely slowly so that he would understand my message.

..And I was sure he did as his expression changed slightly. It wasn't much, but it was enough for me.

I fully smiled then.

"I'd like it please."

***

The outer area of the bunker was in chaos. Julien's appearance appeared to shock many of those who were inside.

"What's going on?"

"Is there someone outside? What is he doing outside? Should we let him in?"

"What's the situation? He seems to be saying something."

All eyes were on Julien who was standing outside of the bunker while staring directly at Karl who was staring back with a serious expression.

He appeared to be saying something, but because of the soundproofing, nobody was able to hear a thing.

But of course, they didn't need to as they could read his lips.

"You've got the page, don't you? Page...? What is he talking about?"

Having noticed Julien saying something to Karl, Lennon turned his head to stare at him and asked,

"Karl, was he speaking to you? He said something about you having something, what is he in about?"

"."

Karl didn't answer. He appeared oddly calm as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hey!"

It was a slight nudge to his shoulder that woke him up from his state as he looked around. All eyes were on him, and he cocked his head.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean what's going on?"

Lennon frowned, his deep voice resounding throughout.

"That should be our question. Wasn't the cadet talking to you?"

"Oh, right."

Karl massaged his shoulders slightly.

"I'm also not sure about what he said. But if there's one thing I know is that he has a grudge against me. I was the one who did order for his torture after all."

The others didn't say anything.

They were there. Of course, they knew what had happened.

"Then?"

Penelope turned to look outside where the cadet was with furrowed brows.

"What do you plan on doing?"

"The obvious."

Scratching his cheeks, Karl headed for the main entrance of the bunker.

"Not only has he killed multiple guards, but it's also very obvious now that he has some involvement in the situation. I'll go catch him myself. We need to get to the bottom of this to better understand the situation."

He paused for a second, turning his head to stare at the others.

"I don't need any help. I'll be enough."

He proceeded to leave shortly after that. Staring at his departing back, the post-leaders looked at each other before frowning.

Lennon was the first one to speak, his white eyes scanning Karl's back.

"I feel like there's something that we are missing about the situation. I want to get to the bottom of this, but..."

He looked around.

"....There needs to be someone to stay here and watch over the situation."

"I agree. I'll stay behind."

Penelope offered.

Following her words, a few other post-leaders stated their stances.

"I'll stay too."

"I'll go help."

Like that, the groups split.

Although there was no need to send out so many post leaders, they couldn't be sure of the situation given how the cadet had managed to escape. Furthermore, they were all extremely curious about the things he said.

There was something that they clearly weren't aware of now.

"Let's go."

With Lennon at the helm, the group headed for the main entrance where a small chamber awaited them. Within the chamber, Karl was nowhere in sight. It was likely that he had already left.

Turning to look behind him, Lennon didn't say much and closed the door behind them.

Swoosh!

Immediately, the heat began to seep in from every corner of the room. They channeled their mana to block the heat, and for them, this process was rather easy. In no time, they adjusted to the rising temperature.

Following this, Lennon spun the wheel of the door and the door opened.

Trrrrr

Immediately, the colors around them began to fade, and the world transformed into shades of red.

A familiar scene appeared before their eyes. Looking around, Lennon stepped out of the space and the others followed from behind.

"Let's go. I want to see exactly what's going on."

He proceeded to head to where the cadet had been.

At the same time they moved, Karl had already arrived before the cadet who was sittingon top of a rock with a tired look on his face.

".It took you a while to get here."

Karl stopped and looked around. He didn't jump into catching the cadet just yet. He was afraid he had something planned.

It was laughable.

He was a lot stronger than him, and yet he was wary

How could he not be since he knew about the page? Nobody was supposed to know that it was in his possession. The thought made him warier.

"Where is the page?"

Breaking him out of his thoughts was the cadet's voice.

Meeting his gaze, Karl's red eyes flickered as he cooly spoke,

".....I don't know what about any page that you're talking about. I'm only here to take you in for the crimes that you've committed."

"Oh?"

The cadet smiled, almost mocklingly.

"I've committed crimes...? Can you list them?"

"I've got no time to play with you."

Clenching his teeth, Karl was just about to make a move when he heard the collective sound of steps moving behind him. Turning his head, he saw the other post-leaders had appeared.

".....What are you doing here? I said I could handle this alone."

"We know."

Lennon spoke, turning his gaze to stare at the cadet with narrowed eyes.

"I just wanted to see him for myself. In case he plays any tricks, we'll be here to stop him."

".....I see."

Karl thanked them with a nod.

Just as he was about to make a move, the cadet leaned back slightly, tossing something in his hand.

All eyes fell on the device.

It looked somewhat familiar, but Karl wasn't sure where he had seen it. It wasn't big, and rectangular.

"Ah."

It was Lennon's surprised yelp that alerted Karl. Turning his head, he saw Lennon stare at the object with a somber expression.

"That's the device that controls the sirens."

"....Ah, I recognize it too."

"Is that what it is...?"

The other post-leaders appeared surprised by the revelation besides a few. Karl was also surprised, but he soon sighed in relief.

Was that his trump card...?

'It's not a bad plan. However, it's a reckless plan.'

The cadet's plan was easy to understand. With the controller, he could turn off the sirens at will. When that happened, all the silent eaters would head their way if he shouted. He was threatening them with that.

.....However, this much was nothing.

By the time, the eaters would come, he'd have him already incapacitated and brought back into the bunker.

Not only that, the eaters were nothing for him and the other post-leaders. It was an empty threat.

Karl was just about to relax when the cadet spoke again.

"Want to see something weird?"

This time, he didn't seem to address him. Rather, he appeared to be addressing the other post-leaders.

"Something weird...?"

"Oh, yeah."

Julien fiddled with the device in his hand before turning his head to stare at Lennon.

".....How much do you bet that once I turn this off the monsters will come and attack all of us with the exception of a single person."

Before the others could say anything, Lennon raised his hand to block them from speaking.

"What are you saying?"

"Don't listen to him. He's trying to waste time."

Karl suddenly spoke, appearing to head in Julien's direction.

However, before he could even get close, Lennon appeared before him.

"What are you doing?"

"Wait...? Why are you even listening to him?"

"It's because they're curious."

Tossing the device in the air, the cadet caught it before turning to meet Karl's gaze. Staring into his blood-red eyes, his smile faded.

".....About the words that I said."

He went on to press on the remote, and the sirens immediately stopped.

Immediately, the entire station plunged into silence which was shattered by the cadet who shouted in the air.

"Oy!!!!"

His voice was so loud that it reverberated throughout the entire station. Immediately, wails echoed in the distance and thousands of figures appeared before them.

"Hieeeeek"

Staring at them with their grotesque eyes, they surrounded them from all sides.

The only reason they hadn't attacked yet was because of the small translucent shield that had formed around them.

Crossing his arms, Julien looked around before turning to look at Karl.

"How much do you bet none of the monsters will attack him even if he steps outside of the barrier and screams?"