Chapter 223: The Crown Beckons (2)

"Someone’s coming."

The old man spoke, and everyone immediately fell silent, settling into their places.

Only a few seconds passed before we heard the sound of the prison door being opened from outside.

And the moment it swung open, someone I’d never seen before appeared in the doorway.

"Oh my goodness. Have I interrupted something important?"

The young man coughed awkwardly, his shoulders trembling slightly beneath the sudden weight of everyone’s attention.

It was a face I’d never seen before.

He looked young, around my age, perhaps a year or two older. He was slightly taller than me, though his build wasn’t particularly imposing. In fact, his physique was rather similar to mine.

His skin was deathly pale, as though someone had dusted it with ash, and his large eyes were a striking shade of red. His features were sharp and somewhat attractive, but there was something about the way he carried himself that suggested a certain naivety.

What caught my attention most, however...

Was his hair.

I’d heard that those born with pure Heart Clan blood possessed fiery red hair, while those of mixed ancestry could inherit black or brown hair depending on their parents’ genetics.

But the young man standing before me was unusual.

He hadn’t settled for just one color.

The right half of his hair was red, exactly like mine, while the left half was pitch-black, just like Luna’s.

It was the first time I’d ever seen anything like it.

Although I didn’t recognize him, someone else clearly did.

"You... What are you doing here?"

Moon rose from her seat and faced him.

The young man scratched his hair awkwardly before answering.

"I’ve come as an envoy of the Council of Elders, to deliver a message and inform you that you’re free."

"Free?! Really?!"

Alicia practically jumped out of her seat the moment she heard that last part, excitement lighting up her face after she’d spent most of her time looking utterly listless.

"Yes, you’re free..."

The young man confirmed it before turning his attention toward the old man seated at the far end of the cell.

"It’s a great honor to meet you, sir. I hope you’ll accept this letter."

He reached into the black hunting robe he was wearing and withdrew an envelope, extending it toward Asterion.

The old man studied him for a while before raising his hand.

An invisible force seized the envelope and drew it toward him, sparing him the trouble of getting up to retrieve it himself.

"I see you’re still pretending to be harmless, wearing the skin of a sheep while concealing a wolf beneath it."

Asterion spoke in a dangerous tone, one I rarely heard him use.

Yet despite the pressure behind those words, the young man maintained his composure, seemingly unaffected by the Uncrowned Emperor’s presence.

"I’ll take that as a compliment, sir. Wolves do possess a certain majesty and ferocity, after all."

He laughed as he answered, his eyes wandering around the room.

For some reason, they eventually settled on me.

"Though I see there’s someone here who deserves to be called a wolf far more than I do."

It didn’t take a genius to realize he was talking about me.

That peculiar look in his eyes left little room for doubt.

"And who exactly are you? Am I supposed to know you?"

Since he’d gone out of his way to approach me, I decided to ask him directly.

"Oh! Oh!! Forgive my rudeness! I keep forgetting you’ve lost your memory."

Placing his right hand over his chest, the young man finally introduced himself.

"My name is Verso Heart, captain of the Second Hunting Squad and a cursed hunter... Just like you."

"Huh? You’re that talented hunter everyone keeps pestering me about?!"

"Hahahaha!! I’m not so sure about the talented part, but I’m the only person named Verso in the entire clan! Pleasure to meet you, buddy!"

Frowning, I found myself examining the hunter standing before me from head to toe.

I’d heard plenty about Verso.

He was supposedly an extraordinarily powerful hunter whose talent rivaled Moon’s, and he bore the fourth level of the Full Eclipse curse.

One level below mine, and equal to Ars’s curse.

He was also the captain of the Second Hunting Squad, the very squad Schierke had warned me to stay away from.

I’d already formed a particular impression of him.

But meeting him in person completely shattered the image I’d built in my head.

"Oh! You’re Luna, aren’t you? I heard you’ll be joining my squad from now on! On behalf of all the other members, let me welcome you!"

Verso suddenly turned toward Luna.

She couldn’t quite conceal the disgust on her face.

She’d had a poor impression of men from the beginning, and this guy was certainly going to make it worse.

As if to confirm my suspicions, Luna turned toward her older sister.

"Ummm... Sister, can I switch squads?"

"Rebellion on your very first day! How dreadful..."

"All of you, shut up. Especially you, split-head. One more word and I’ll split whatever’s left of you, too."

Asterion interrupted, pressing a hand against his face in obvious irritation.

But it wasn’t the noise that had upset him.

It was the contents of the letter.

"What does the letter say?"

I was the one who asked, having suddenly been overcome by a bad feeling.

Asterion raised his head slightly and looked straight at me before delivering the shocking news.

"You’re out of luck, kids. You’ve been summoned to the capital."

And with that unexpected announcement, my next destination was decided far sooner than I’d anticipated.

...

...

...

The Old Ashvarn expedition had changed everything within the hunters’ ranks, producing two major consequences.

The most significant was the near-total annihilation of the hunting squads.

Only the Third Hunting Squad had survived. Everyone else had perished, with the most notable casualties being the members of the First Hunting Squad, led by Gustav Heart, the longest-serving active hunter.

On the other hand, those who survived had grown tremendously stronger.

Every single one of them had now reached Elite-rank.

The Second Hunting Squad, led by Verso, had also experienced a considerable increase in strength.

After all, they’d been forced to shoulder the burden of hunting in the outside world throughout the months the other squads remained trapped inside the Legacy dungeon.

This sudden increase in strength accelerated the Royal Selection.

It was a process through which the most outstanding talents among the hunters were recruited to serve the princes and the royal family as a whole.

The same thing had happened to the previous generation of hunters, the generation that came before Ethan’s.

Under normal circumstances, the selection wouldn’t have taken place until much later.

But recent events had accelerated the process at an alarming pace.

"You’ll all be brought before the Emperor, and then you’ll be dragged into the damned swamp that is the War of Succession..."

Asterion sighed in frustration.

It was obvious that he wasn’t pleased with the decision.

"If you’re selected, the royal family will later send you on a major hunting expedition to suppress the curse as much as possible. After that, your duties as hunters will be suspended."

"You’ll become soldiers instead, used in political struggles, whether within the empire itself or against other empires..."

Asterion briefly explained the situation.

And it was thoroughly disheartening for everyone.

They’d survived Old Ashvarn after enduring months of hell, only to spend the very day they regained their freedom locked inside a prison.

Now, the moment they were released, they were being sent to the capital, where they would find themselves drawn into a war of succession without even knowing what roles they were supposed to play.

Worse still, the royal family hadn’t given them so much as a moment to think.

Their journey to the capital was already scheduled to begin tomorrow.

"It marks the beginning of a new Chapter..."

A Chapter that would bring them face-to-face with the very family that had enslaved them.