*The Next Day*
After an entire day spent being pampered by Acrypha, Talon slept through the night with the beauty sitting next to him like a caring mother. The entire time, she kept massaging his head and talking to him whenever he wanted.
They spent a peaceful time together, something that was very rare for Talon. He was able to relax completely and try to forget about all the responsibilities he had on his shoulders. He also felt a lot better about his mother's death and by a lot better, it meant that he was still very devastated. But, he wasn't a completely broken mess as he was before.
The abyss that wanted to suck him in before was now slowly vanishing, leaving behind a deep trace that perhaps would never disappear. He knew that it would take a very long time for him to heal and perhaps he would never be able to actually fully heal. But, he didn't care about that. He was ready to carry this pain to his grave if he had to.
His mother was an important part of him as a human and now that she was gone, he wasn't complete like before. He was now a different person, the same Talon, but a completely different human being.
Still, even through all of that, Acrypha was there for him. She gave him advice, told him about pain, how to handle it, and what is required for him to feel better and stand on his feet again. She gave him valuable information and lessons that he was sure to remember in the future.
The more he talked to her, the more Talon realized that he was the luckiest person in the world to have someone like Acrypha next to them. He had no idea what he could've done without her after everything that happened. She had been the most important pillar that kept him from collapsing on so many occasions and she was still showing more and more worth.
In Talon's eyes, Acrypha was simply manifesting the words she had told him the first time they met. She had promised him that she was going to bring him to heights he had never imagined before and she was doing that step by step.
That only made her grow in Talon's eyes. His respect and admiration toward her skyrocketed beyond anything else. He was sure that even if he was to become a great figure in the future, Acrypha was still going to be someone he would rely on in every instant.
She was that valuable to him now.
With that, by the time the next day rolled in, Talon felt energized and somewhat ready to go back to his routine. However, before doing that, he went to the first person that came to his mind when he left his room.
Now, he was standing in front of the room that Hyun-Jae told him about and he was feeling really nervous.
'Why am I feeling like this? It's my dad...' Inhaling a long breath, he knocked on the door and waited.
A few seconds later, the door was opened. His old man appeared from the other side, looking a little tired. But, the moment his eyes fell on Talon, they widened.
"T-Talon?!" He exclaimed.
"Hey..." Talon greeted him awkwardly.
"Son!!" Without waiting a moment, Lucas jumped on Talon and gave him a hug. The latter was taken aback before he smiled slightly as he tapped his father's back.
"I'm sorry for not coming to see you yesterday. I needed some time to think."
"It's fine! Take all the time you want... I also had to spend some time with myself, rethinking many things." Pulling away, Lucas rubbed his son's shoulders with a complicated expression. "It's going to be hard. But, I decided to fight for our lives like your mother wanted us to do. I'm not going to let this break us!"
His father's words were strong and filled with energy. Staring into his eyes, Talon could see that his father had settled his mind. Two days ago, he had a hopeless look in his eyes, like a man who had given up on life long ago. It was a terrifying thing to see that made Talon think that even his father was going to get snatched away from him.
"Same here."
"You could've taken a few more days as a break if you wanted, you know?"
"No, two days is already more than enough. I cannot prolong our plans anymore. I'm feeling good enough to get back to work." Talon replied.
"Mmm, ok... Well, things are going smoothly so far. I have already prepared a few groups to explore the area around the base. It seems monsters had appeared again after being absent for a while." She explained.
"Appeared again?"
"Yes, the forest up north is now filled with monsters from what the scouting team had told me. It's weird how we didn't notice them the entire time they were there. Very weird..." Hyun-Jae murmured thoughtfully.
'It's almost as if they were deliberately hiding... Was it because of the Shadow Crawlers?'
With how terrifying those monsters were, Hyun-Jae wouldn't exclude the possibility of other monsters being terrified of them. After all, a Shadow Crawler is a peak predator by nature.
"That won't be a problem. Once we go back to Seoul, we can clear that path. As for the forest, that will have to wait. We need to finish Seoul first to move outside of it." Talon replied.
So far, their progress on the capital was rapid but reached a halt once they left for this mission. So, they had to return there in order to continue the progress.
"Yes, I won't send anyone to investigate any further."
Talon tapped rhythmically on the table as he fell into deep thought. Hyun-Jae noticed that change in his expression and asked.
"What are you thinking of?"
The young man turned to the girl for a moment before he replied. "We need to do something else first before we can think of our plans. Something essential." He said.
"What is it?" Hyun-Jae raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Where did we put that bastard?" He asked as he stood up.
"Bastard? You mean Hyun-Ki? We put him in the basement here. He has been there for a few days now with guards on his door 24/7." She said.
"Good, I think I'm going to pay him a visit now," Talon said.
"Let me come with you. I have the keys."
With that, the two left the conference room and headed downstairs to meet their most important capture so far. The previous leader of the human society in Gwangju.
A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading :D