Theo’s body stiffened.

’’Alia... wanted me to have this?’’

His gaze remained on the green necklace, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.

Finally, he glanced up at Leoric.

’’Is she...?’’

Leoric nodded slowly.

"During the fighting against the S-rank creatures... she didn’t make it."

For several long seconds, the entire room fell silent.

Theo’s fingers slowly tightened around the necklace until his knuckles turned white.

But then... he closed his eyes for a moment.

His grip on the necklace slowly loosened as a quiet breath escaped his mouth.

’Why... don’t I feel anything?’

Alia had helped him immensely.

Without her, his father would’ve likely still been a dog from the Whitmores.

’But why...’ he thought, glancing down. ’I’m supposed to feel something, right?!’

’Why... WHY do I not feel ANYTHING!’

Just then, Leoric’s voice echoed out again.

’’Also,’’ he started, reaching into his pocket. ’’She wanted me to give you these before you left here.’’

Two thick paper envelopes slowly appeared, each with Alia’s name and signature on it.

As Theo accepted them, he noticed something immediately.

’One’s addressed to me... the other to Elise?’

Leoric didn’t give him any time to think about it though.

He immediately pulled out another envelope, this one with the government’s stamp on it.

’’This is the last one,’’ he said, handing it over. ’’It contains the inheritance you’ll receive from her.’’

’’...What?’’

Theo’s eyes widened slightly, accepting the envelope.

’’Inheritance?’’ he muttered, utterly confused. ’’For... me?’’

Leoric nodded once and pushed himself up from the chair.

He glanced at Theo with a tired smile.

’’Alia loved sponsoring children,’’ he said lightly. ’’Especially those with incredible talent.’’

’’The tournament was just one of the ways she did that...’’

With that, Leoric turned and walked towards the door.

Click!

The door shifted open again.

He glanced behind one final time, nodding respectfully in Theo’s direction.

’’You did your best, kid,’’ he said. ’’Sorry for jumping the gun on you, but I felt like you wanted to know this.’’

Theo looked at him for a moment and nodded.

’’Thank you.’’

With that, the door shifted shut behind Leoric, leaving just Madam Rea behind.

She glanced at Theo warmly.

’’I’ll say a few more things, and then I’ll go too.’’

Theo nodded once, his attention shifting over to her.

’’First off,’’ Madam Rea started, walking to his bedside. ’’You are perfectly fine now, outside a bit of mental fatigue.’’

She paused for a moment, really taking a look at him.

’’Though your core is in a pretty unique situation.’’

The room fell silent for a moment.

’’But I’m sure you already know about that yourself,’’ she continued, walking around him again.

Theo slowly nodded, though unsure what exactly she was mentioning.

There were so many unique things about his core... it almost became hard to keep track of them himself.

’’The situation with Owen’s core has also settled quite nicely,’’ Madam Rea continued softly. ’’It even looks like he’ll be making a breakthrough to silver core in a week or so.’’

She picked up a few medicinal items and arranged them neatly on a cabinet near the wall.

’’That speed is already really fast,’’ she said. ’’But yours... I guess it’s better to say it’s unheard of.’’

With that, she continued towards the door.

Click!

It slid open softly.

’’Stay safe.’’

With that, the door slid shut behind her.

Finally all alone, a deep uncomfortable silence settled in the room.

’Fuck...’ he thought, glancing up at the ceiling.

Slowly sinking deeper into his bed, his mind spun around in circles.

So many things had happened... it was nearly impossible for him to process everything.

’So Alia also... died?’ he thought, closing his eyes. ’David, Joop, Alia...’

At this point, he couldn’t help but think and worry about how much longer that list could get.

’No!’ he thought, clenching his fists. ’No matter what, I’ll protect the people I hold dear.’

Even if beast tides swallowed entire cities, or even nations, he’d protect them.

For a moment, everything fell silent again.

That’s when the dark-clothed figures flashed through his mind.

He clenched his fists so tightly, his knuckles began turning white again.

’They caused this,’ he thought, gritting his teeth. ’Without them, none of this would’ve ever happened.’

Countless people would have still been alive and going by their day...

Families wouldn’t have been broken, children wouldn’t have been separated...

And even his friends, family, and allies wouldn’t have been hurt.

’I’ll kill them all!’ he thought, grinding his teeth. ’Even if it’s the last thing I do... such a cancer shouldn’t be part of society.’

Many emotions ran through him.

Whether it was the Demonic Painter he’d seen on television, or any of the other calamities he’d seen or heard of in the past...

Sure, it had hit him in a certain way.

But... only after going through something like that himself, did something truly change inside him.

Theo slowly opened his eyes again.

A cold, determined light flickered through them.

’Strength...’

Only by becoming stronger... immensely much stronger, would it all be possible.

Theo slowly raised one hand above him and stared at it.

’I need more strength!’

Time passed quickly after that.

Theo only rested for a bit more, then quickly changed out of his hospital gown.

As he set foot outside his room again, he found himself inside an empty corridor.

’’Now where the hell am I?’’ he muttered, glancing around.

This didn’t look like a hospital in the slightest!

Making his way down the corridor, it didn’t take long before he found himself in front of another door.

Click!

It slowly shifted open in front of him, revealing a wide, empty area.

’A waiting room?’ he thought, tilting his head slightly.

But that’s when he heard soft noise coming from the ceiling.

Theo raised his head, his eyes narrowing immediately.

There, a set of televisions hung, displaying what appeared to be an emergency broadcast.

’’Three days ago, the nation was hit by a great disaster,’’ the newscaster’s voice rang out. ’’Nine cities were attacked simultaneously by some of the worst beast tides we’ve seen in decades.’’

The caster paused for a moment, a bitter and painful expression on his face.

Several images flashed past the screen.

Unlike in years before, none of the images were blurred this time. Even the most horrendous were put on full display.

’’Though the total casualties are hard to make out... it’s estimated that they’ll be in the millions.’’

Theo stared at the screen, feeling the same numbness spreading through his body again.

’’Relief troops are being sent everywhere as we speak,’’ he continued. ’’Several countries within Europe have also agreed to help... which the president will be making a statement about later.’’

All the images vanished in an instant.

The newscaster leaned forward slightly, the same helpless expression on his face.

’’May god be with you... in these hard times.’’

With that, the broadcast ended.

Right away, a casual program appeared back on the screen.

Theo stood there for a moment, lost in thought.

’Right... several cities were hit by this.’

He’d completely forgotten about what Joop had said in all the chaos.

After a moment, he shook his head.

Then he continued walking on.

Within seconds, he reached another door.

Click!

It slowly shifted open in front of him, revealing an even wider area.

Several gazes immediately landed on him.

Theo glanced around, seeing several civilians sitting around in what seemed to be another kind of waiting area.

’’Is that...?’’

’’The Lightning Hero...’’

’’It’s really him!’’

His expression immediately darkened.

’Hero... huh.’

That word almost sounded mocking to him now.

Several civilians quickly stood up from their seats, their eyes filled with disbelief and excitement.

A little boy wearing a blanket around his shoulders even pointed directly at him.

"M-Mom!" he shouted excitedly. "That’s him! The lightning guy!"

Theo’s steps slowed slightly.

The mother immediately lowered the child’s arm, looking embarrassed.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "He just... he saw you during the evacuation."

Theo froze for a moment.

The child’s bright eyes remained locked onto him.

"Thank you for saving us mister!" the boy said loudly.

The boy raised his fist with a wide smile.

’’Without you, my daddy wouldn’t be here right now!’’

Theo’s chest tightened painfully.

’Saving...?’

Several other civilians nearby slowly lowered their heads too.

One elderly man even stood up and bowed slightly toward him.

"Thank you," he said weakly. "If not for you hunters... none of us would still be here."

Theo’s mind spun in circles.

Countless memories flashed through his mind again.

Finally, he lowered his gaze with a numb expression.

’’It was... no problem,’’ he said quietly.

With that, he forced a small smile and quickly continued on.

But after only a few more steps, a familiar voice rang out in front of him.

’’Oh?’’

’’You’re up already?’’

Theo glanced up, his eyes widening as he found Owen standing right in front of him.

’’And I was just about to come visit you too,’’ he complained loudly.