Requiem Of A Failed Hero

“Hunter Kaiser, you can leave this to us. You really don’t have to wait around here like this.” The German association agent said to Kaiser who was sitting down at the tent area around the enormous gate that Raith had entered.

It has been over twenty hours, technically speaking the twilight of the day Dawn was high in the sky, casting a serene yellow glow on the horizon, and Kaiser had not gotten a wink of sleep.

‘How can I rest knowing that a hunter is there and he is there alone.’

Even though Kaiser had the look of a nefarious and menacing man, he was honorable and responsible and was a perfect displaying of ‘do not judge a book by its cover’

He wouldn’t have allowed Raith to enter that dungeon alone but he had no choice, knowing very well the kind of power Raith wielded, he wouldn’t dare.

But right now he was beginning to blame himself and wondering if he should just barge into the gate but the dangers that awaited him in it feared him. He was a catastrophe rank but he could feel the fear crawl on his skin every time he gazed upon the gate and thought of entering.

‘If it is taking him this long to defeat it what good will my presence bring? What if he is dead? Or he is in a desperate situation right now.’

He stood up from the chair he was sitting in and gazed intensely into the gate.

‘Or should I just be reckless and enter?’ His hand shook in his attempt to clench it tight.

Suddenly, a black SUV bus parked nearby. It caught his attention because this was very early in the morning and everyone should be asleep by now or at least not particularly supposed to be here.

‘Could it be the president?…’

But he knew the association president’s car, it wasn’t an SUV, it threw him in further confusion and caused him to look with unflaunted eagerness, wanting to see who it was.

A black-haired guy with a bag beneath his eyes and another red hair came out of the car.

The red hair ran towards him the moment he got out of the car.

“Where?! Where did he pass?! Where did Raith go?!” Absalom demanded.

‘Red hair? Red eyes…’ Kaiser’s eyes scaled towards the tall guy behind Absalom.

It was very obvious, this man was recognized by almost every strong hunter. An S-rank hunter that can hold his own against special ranks.

“Seiji Ryou”

The dark-haired Japanese man changed the focus of his gaze and looked at Kaiser for a while before talking.

“Oii, Kaiser kun. Forgive me for responding so lately I’ve been out of it recently.” Ryou responded sluggishly.

“It is rather fine… but may I ask to what do we owe this…”

“Ah, I am the manager of this hunter here…” He said pointing to Absalom who nodded with his arms folded.

“We came here because of Hunter Raven. You may already know but our hunter Absalom and hunter Raven are acquainted.” He said, emphasizing ‘our’

“Of course, privileged hunters like us saw the video. That is how we know that your hunter Absalom can be quite troublesome. According to the video he just barged into Hunter Raven’s hospital and began to fight him. It looks like he is just trying to do the same thing again today.”

Kaiser claimed, darting both of them an unwelcomed glare.

Seiji Ryou frowned upon this.

There was nothing he could say, thanks to Absalom’s recklessness everything that this hunter said was true and it was not like they could easily beat him or slip through him. He is a catastrophe-rank hunter. Well, if he and Absalom worked hand in hand, he saw the possibility of beating him.

But the thought of working hand in hand with Absalom was more scary than anything. That guy has not one shred of cooperation in him.

“So what is it gonna be? You want to leave or you want me to make you.”

Fuuuu

Someone that was not either of both of them exhaled, it was Absalom.

“See, I understand humans that I must have caused quite a number of misunderstandings when I attacked Raith. See, I have tried to explain to everyone that Raith and I have known each other before he came to this world but no one would believe or accept my words.”

“That is because your words sound like a piece of crap. What the hell did you mean you have met him before?” Seiji Ryou replied to him.

Absalom turned his head in defiance, “But you said you believed me.”

“I needed you to stop making a fuss so…”

Absalom bowed his head with a frown. But all that was not important right now.

“Anyways, I need you to allow me to enter the gate.”

Seiji Ryou was surprised, he just saw something that bewildered him.

‘Did he just do that?’

Seiji Ryou’s eyes were keenly fixed on Absalom. He had been assigned as Absalom’s protector and manager because of the young man’s troublesome nature and the fact that he was unfamiliar with a lot of things. He had studied Absalom in a short time and known him to be nothing short of a dumb, spoilt brat who gets easily carried away by things and gets easily distracted. The only amazing thing about Absalom was his strength and the great potential he had to even grow.

This was enough to make Ryou want to stay with him. However, right now, this same guy that Ryou had known and won’t usually care about anything especially when holding a conversation with someone was retracing his words back to what mattered.

How important is this Raith to him? To be able to cause him to enter focus mode is just what exists between Absalom and this guy.

That was what went through Ryou’s head as he was impressed by Absalom’s seriousness.

“I am sorry, even if you insist I will not allow you,” Kaiser replied to him with a stern expression on his face.

“Are you serious right now? How dare you?!” Absalom growled, toughening his vocal cords to sound intimidating but it was all for naught.

The man standing before him was Kaiser Kruger, a catastrophe-rank hunter. He might not be as strong as Turner or as strong as Raith but Absalom will have his ass handed to him on a silver plate should he decide to overstep his mark.

“Unless you give me a tangible and sensible reason I will not allow you.”

Absalom paused, his gaze slowly became blank after hearing what Kaiser said.

Kaiser too silently watched for what the red-haired hunter was going to do next.

“I can’t feel his presence anymore.”

“What exactly do you mean?” Kaiser began to get flustered.

“I can’t feel Raith’s presence in this world anymore. I am very sure he is not dead which is why I am asking to see him because whatever he is supposed to be doing in that gate, he is not there.”

Absalom’s words were like a confirmation of his fears but how could he accept the words just like that–

‘What if they are bluffing, how is it possible that he can tell the location of a hunter around the world from wherever he is.’

“I will not allow you still. Will you go to such extreme and disgusting methods to be reckless and unreasonable?”

Kaiser was determined not to fall for his tricks even though he was having fear somewhere behind his stern face.

“Why will I lie?”

“It is impossible for you to know the location of a hunter…that is unreasonable.”

“Of course… this is specific to just Raith. I said he and I go a long way back.”

Kaiser scrunched up his eyes as Absalom’s words were becoming convincing. Still, this was a heavy task, the moment he allows them in, whatever happens, would fall on him. He would take all responsibilities. 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

Seiji Ryou touched him on his shoulders.

“I guarantee you. If any harm comes to Raith from our side or there is any recklessness, you can have my head.” Ryou swore.

He could somehow understand what Kaiser was going through, if this went wrong and Raith died in any way after they were involved, a lot of international disputes could break out and South Korea could wage a war.

But Ryou’s words were reassuring, although the head of an S rank would never amount to that of a catastrophe rank but this meant that Ryou was vouching for Absalom and he was ready to trust Ryou’s reputation and trust them for once.

Besides, he also had fears that something could be wrong with Raith.

He sighed and lowered his shoulders, it was as if he was dropping all the tension.

“It has been over twenty hours since he entered. I do fear that something might be wrong but I don’t want to believe so.”

“No, Raith cannot die to a bunch of ant monsters. Perhaps the Raith before now would’ve but the Raith I met has become a force to reckon with. Raith has grown.” Absalom was sure with a furrowed brow. Something was going on, something that could only be known once they entered the gate.