Chapter 223: Chapter 223- Return
*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.
But, it seemed his father was far stronger than he expected.
'Why am I even surprised? I got this trait from him. Not to give up against anything no matter how hard it was… He taught me that.' Smiling wryly, he put his hand on his father's shoulder.
"What a coincidence, it's the same for me."
"Really?!"
"Yes, I have realized how important it is for us to remain strong. That's what my mom would've wanted. So, let's fulfill her last wish." He nodded his head briefly.
Those words made tears well in Lucas' eyes as he felt a surge of emotions hit his heart. But, he quickly snapped out of it as he wiped his eyes.
"*Sniff* Yes, that is true."
"There, there…" Talon tapped his father's back as he turned around. "Although I want to talk. I need to go do some things. I will be back by the evening so we can have a long chat, ok?"
"Of course! Take care. I'm going to leave and explore the place later either way. I will be waiting for you later." His father nodded his head.
"Good, see you later then. If you need anything, you can ask one of the guards roaming the place. They are all wearing distinct military uniforms. Just tell them that you're my father and they will do anything you want."
"O-Oh…" Lucas blinked as he nodded his head.
With that, Talon left his flabbergasted father behind and exited the hotel. On his way to meet up with Hyun-Jae and the others, many people greeted him excitedly. Since they didn't see their leader in a few days, everyone thought that he was really busy.
No one knew what happened so their reactions were rather normal. Talon tried to greet everyone back as normally as he could to hide his mood.
Eventually, he reached the main operations building which was on the other side of the base. It was a rather small building with only two floors where only a few survivors were allowed. It was the temporary place Talon and the others had chosen to use for their plans.
Walking inside, he went straight to the second floor where the conference room was. Walking through a double door, he found himself inside a vast room with a long table at the heart of it. The table had many chairs surrounding it. Hyun-Jae was sitting in the main chair as she was talking to some students.
"Are you sure about it?"
"Yes, we have noticed that some monsters started appearing here and there across the entire route back to Seoul. Their numbers aren't threatening, but we still wanted to tell you just in case."
"Thank you. You can go."
With that, Hyun-Jae turned toward Talon with a small smile on her face. "Good morning."
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He asked as he sat down next to her.
"Good, a lot better than yesterday. What about you?"
"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.
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