Leo was startled, looking at Kennedy with wide eyes.
Blue Lightning Kennedy Jas!
As soone who paid attention to the news, Leo recognized him almost imdiately. Even though Blue Lightning wasn’t in the top 10 list of the strongest awakeners, his fa was even greater than most of those in the list.
Blue Lightning was a mber of the New World Protectors, a twelve-person group personally ford by Beyond, the strongest hero and awakener. Every mber’s talent was speculated to be at least A-rank, and so were even S-rank, but none of this can be confird.
However, the Blue Lightning was definitely a Limit Individual at the very least. But that wasn’t the reason he was famous. Leo could rember a news report where Blue Lightning once let a villain control his life to save a little girl. Ever since then, he has been honored as the most Heroic hero.
Leo helped Lia stand up, her eyes glittering with awe.
"One look and I could tell that you two are fans!" Kennedy smiled. "What are you two doing outside? Isn’t Nihono in a lockdown period? Did you guys run away from ho?"
Lia’s expression suddenly turned heavy.
Leo lowered his gaze briefly, asking a question in his mind.
Noticing their expressions, Kennedy was startled. His brows furrowed, and he took another glance at the two kids. The two of them were being chased by the security guards in the airport as an unidentified intruder...
Moreover, their appearances didn’t suggest they were from Nihono. Kennedy’s eyes widened, forming a guess in his heart. He stared at the two of them and solemnly asked, "The two of you... you aren’t from Nihono, are you?"
Lia suddenly showed an expression of fear, quickly hiding behind Leo.
"You guys..."
Kennedy sighed, but at this mont, Leo suddenly raised his gaze.
His gaze was so strong that it made Kennedy flinch.
"Mr. Blue Lightning, sir!" Leo suddenly bowed. "We’re currently here to find our teacher. Please help us find him!"
Kennedy and Lia were startled, looking at him with shock.
***
At the sa ti, in the 13th Demon Hunter Squad’s eting room, Akihito and the rest of the mbers sat across the desk, their expressions slightly nervous.
A few minutes ago, Zold had called them, telling them to gather in the eting room.
A week had already passed since he said that their squad was disbanding. This was the first ti he had gathered the entire squad for a eting since then. Instead of feeling relieved, they only felt bleak.
Did Zold call him here just to make it official?
Even though they already prepared themselves for this result, when the ti finally ca, the thought of it left a gaping hole in their hearts. They had already ford a bond with each other, and fought side-by-side.
It just felt wrong to leave everything behind so suddenly.
’I hope Ayase can stay calm later...’
Akihito glanced at the rest of the mbers.
Ayase had her cool expression. But to him who knew the real her, it was nothing but a façade. Proof of that was her fingers interlacing together, a habit he had observed from her when she was nervous.
Over the past week, all four of them spent most of their ti together. Ayase was even starting to open up to Seiji and Namita, while the other two n had begun to look after them. Akihito wasn’t certain about Namita, but Seiji was definitely starting to care for them.
Besides her, Seiji and Namita had calm expressions. But even Seiji couldn’t fully hide his concerns, his brows furrowing slightly. It was only Namita who he could never see through, like a block of stone.
Akihito suddenly blurted out.
"You think the captain will make it official?"
Ayase’s gaze turned to him but then lowered sadly.
Seiji sighed and glanced at Namita, saying nothing.
It was not like Namita had tried to hide it, but they had learned over the past week that Namita and Zold ca from the sa country. They might even have known each other before their squad was established. If anyone was close to their captain, it can only be him.
But Namita was utterly silent, showing a slight frown.
He shook his head.
"I don’t know."
"... Yeah, sorry, Namita-san." Akihito smiled wryly, shaking his head. Of course even Namita was uncertain... their Captain was truly a mystery. Zold could seem approachable at one mont, and then the next, it felt like he’d never let anyone truly know him.
’At least, it wasn’t a certain no.’
Just as he comforted himself, the door suddenly burst open, revealing a dark-haired handso young man.
It was their enigmatic, invincible Captain—Zold Starks.
Zold swept his gaze to everyone, walking to the center of the room. His steps were steady, like his eyes that never showed a trace of emotion. Each step disrupted the tense silence, making most of the mbers’s hearts race.
Once he was on the front, he stopped. Zold let a silence linger, tension running through everyone in the room. Their hearts sank. The longer that Zold stayed quiet was the more certain they were of their guess.
After a brief pause, Zold cut straight to the chase. He said, "The squad won’t be disbanded."
Akihito and the rest widened their eyes, but then Zold continued more.
"But I’ll be leaving." Zold said calmly. "From now on, Namita will be the Captain of the 13th Demon Hunter Squad. Good luck in your future cases, and this decision won’t change."
After saying that, Zold looked over everyone, seeing their complex expressions.
"Captain, may I ask why?" Akihito suddenly asked, his expression heavy.
Everyone turned to look at him, Zold included.
"I’ll be doing independent investigations from now on, being in a squad would limit my movents." Zold answered him. "Don’t ask about this an. Do any of you have any other questions before I leave?"
Everyone fell silent. Ayase clenched her hands, head lowered. Seiji frowned, but only sighed, knowing they can’t convince Zold on his decision. Akihito seed unsatisfied with his answer, but after seeing his look, he knew that he can’t do anything at this point.
"Captain, I don’t have any questions, but..." Akihito paused, then continued with a small smile. "I’m glad you were our captain during this ti. We never really helped much in the cases, but you didn’t mind and still guided us in your spare ti. Thank you very much!"
He suddenly stood up and bowed one-hundred-eighty degrees, causing Zold’s eyes to widen slightly.
The rest saw his actions and fell silent.
But Ayase suddenly stood up as well and bowed at Zold, "Thank you so much!"
Seeing his juniors show more respect than him, Seiji let out a tireso sigh and bowed as well. "Thank you. Our ti was short, but I’m glad you were our captain."
While doing so, he dragged Namita to stand up with him. Namita glanced at Seiji strangely and shook his head. He looked at Zold with an expressionless face as he nodded, "Thanks for leaving a responsibility before you leave."
"..."
Zold was silent, looking at him. Namita was far cry from the person he brought from Lunaria. His eyes were the sa, but his gaze wasn’t as lifeless anymore. He shifted his gaze, looking at each mber, lingering on Akihito longer than others.
If there was any mber who was responsible for most of this squad’s change, then it was Akihito. Akihito possessed a quality that very few people in the world possessed, sothing Zold never thought he’d see again.
’Purity.’
Zold thought, seeing him bow with utmost sincerity.
A brief silence befell on the room.
They raised their head and saw Zold’s lips part slightly, as if wanting to say sothing, but then at the last mont, they closed, as if ultimately deciding what he wanted to say wasn’t worth it. He simply just nodded at them and walked away, his steps leaving a heavy silence.
But before he stepped out the room, he left behind a few words.
"Thank you as well. Take care of yourselves, especially you, Akihito."
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