Chapter 22

Third Point of View

I heard there was quite a commotion with the Love Hunters," Luke said to Axel, who was sitting across from him. Luke was healing himself, nursing a wound he had received while hunting a soul.

"Oh, really?" Axel replied, barely looking up from his coffee.

"Nonchalantly?" Luke repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You know, it might not be a big deal, but I heard a Love Hunter was attacked by an MT last night. Also, another Love Hunter has gone missing. It's similar to other Hunter cases."

"Yeah, enough with the jokes," Axel said, taking another sip of his coffee.

"I'm not joking, though."

"You keep meddling in other people's lives. Why don't you just improve yourself instead of getting hurt like that?" Axel retorted.

"You know, just because you're strong doesn't mean we're all like you," Luke said, wincing as he tried to heal a minor injury.

"We're both Grim Reapers. How come I'm more powerful than you?" Axel shot back.

"It's easy for you to say," Luke muttered. Suddenly, Yuna arrived at the MT convenience store, her face clearly showing worry. As she entered, she immediately noticed Axel and greeted him.

"Good morning, Mr. Axel," Yuna said.

"What are you doing here?" Axel asked, but Yuna seemed hesitant to answer.

"W-well, it's about senior," Yuna said in a low tone. Axel paused for a moment.

"Is it La-La?" he asked slowly. Yuna nodded immediately.

"Is she asking you to buy some food or something?" Axel asked, trying to divert from his thoughts.

"No, actually senior is injured. Last night she was attacked—" Before Yuna could finish, Axel dropped his coffee, grabbed his hat and other belongings, and ran out of the convenience store.

Luke and Yuna were shocked. Luke just sighed, "Not again."

Axel, worry etched across his face, rushed to La-la's apartment. Without bothering to knock, he flung the door open. As he stepped inside, he saw La-la sitting on the sofa, and a man sitting to her right with his back to Axel. Recognizing the man's figure, Axel's concern intensified, and he hurried over to La-la.

La-la, noticing Axel's arrival, immediately stood up. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice tinged with surprise.

Axel didn't respond right away. Instead, he moved quickly to her side and grabbed her wrist, his eyes scanning her for any signs of harm. "W-who did this?" he demanded, his voice shaking with anger.

"Calm down, would you?" La-la asked, trying to soothe him. She then glanced at the man.

Axel turned his attention to the man, his expression stern. "Is it you?" he asked harshly.

Before the man could respond, La-la interjected. "No, it's not him."

Axel's grip on her wrist loosened slightly as he processed her words. "Then who?" he asked, his voice softer but still laced with concern.

"Would I be here chilling here if I knew who did it? Obviously not," La-la retorted. Axel sighed and let go of her wrist.

"That's why I said you should be more careful," Axel said, turning his furious gaze toward Zayne. "This is actually your fault."

"Hey! Don't just casually blame people around," La-la snapped.

"You’re injured. You should be more worried about people around you. If you hadn’t helped this man yesterday, this wouldn't have happened," Axel argued.

"Axel, that’s not how things work, you know—" La-la began to say, but Zayne interrupted her.

"I know it’s my fault. I shouldn't have left Ms. Lanaya alone in front of her house yesterday. This wouldn't have happened," Zayne admitted, his voice filled with regret.

"Tsk—so you were attacked last night in front of your house?" Axel asked La-la, still trying to grasp the situation.

"Yeah, so you can’t just blame anyone," La-la said firmly. "And it’s not your fault, Zayne. You helped me last night," she reassured him. "I'm sure that MT was already waiting for me since he attacked the moment Zayne left."

"What?" Axel exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock and concern.

La-la nodded. "Yes, Axel. The MT was targeting me specifically. Zayne had nothing to do with it."

A Few Moments Later

Yuna arrived with medicine in her hand and immediately handed it to Zayne. "Let me do it," Axel said.

"No, I'm the doctor here," Zayne replied firmly.

"Yeah, let him be," La-la agreed. Axel sat back on the other side of the sofa while Yuna and Zayne stood nearby. Zayne carefully removed the bandage around La-la's neck, and they were all shocked to see a hand-shaped bruise.

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"It must have hurt so much," Zayne said sympathetically.

"It's much worse than I thought, Senior," Yuna added, her voice filled with concern.

Axel remained silent, but his face betrayed a storm of emotions surging within him.

Suddenly, the phones of Axel, Yuna, and La-la chimed simultaneously with notifications. Yuna immediately looked at her phone, her eyes widening in shock.

"Yuna, what's wrong?" La-la asked, noticing Yuna's reaction.

Axel, looking annoyed, checked his phone as well. "What... what is it?" La-la asked, her curiosity piqued.

Zayne paused in applying the medicine to La-la's neck, allowing her to check her phone. La-la's eyes widened as she read the notification.

La-La point of view

The two reacted with obvious concern to the notification that arrived, making me worry as well. Zayne noticed and paused, allowing me to grab my phone to look at it. To my surprise, I saw the message:

Catastrophe Assembly!!!! All Hunters are required to arrive. It’s at 3 PM this afternoon. Location is sent via the link; kindly click it.

"Things are getting serious," I said.

"Yeah," Axel agreed, his expression grim.

The Catastrophe Assembly is a gathering for all Hunters, which means all—every one of the 13 Hunter divisions are required to attend. Overall, thousands of Hunters from the country of Elaria are meant to gather. Usually, not all Hunters can arrive since others are from distant places, so they often cut it into three separate assemblies to manage the logistics. However, since we are in the capital, it's expected that a lot of Hunters will attend.

But that's not the only problem. A Catastrophe Assembly signifies that something out of control, beyond the capabilities of the special forces, is taking place, necessitating the help of all Hunters. This means things are getting extremely serious.

"Is everything okay?" Zayne asked. I looked at the two of them and then back at him. "Yeah," I answered.

"Okay, if you say so. Let me just finish this," he said. He retrieved a fresh bandage to cover the wound. Zayne worked carefully, cleaning the area around the bruise on my neck. His touch was gentle, but precise, as he applied an antiseptic ointment to prevent infection.

"There, this should help reduce the swelling and pain," he said softly. He then began wrapping a new gauze bandage around my neck, securing it in place with practiced ease.

After finishing, Zayne reached into the bag he was carrying. I watched curiously as he pulled out a white scarf. He looked at me and offered it with a kind smile. "You can use this to cover the wound. It might take a long time to heal," he said.

"Being a doctor sure is helpful. Who would think to casually carry a scarf in the summer?" Axel remarked, his tone tinged with sarcasm. Wow, he is being rude again.

Zayne ignored the comment and gently draped the scarf around my neck, adjusting it so it comfortably concealed the bandage. "There, that should do it," he said, stepping back to admire his handiwork.

I touched the scarf, feeling the soft fabric against my skin. "Thank you, Zayne," I said sincerely.

A Few Moments Later

Now we are wearing our suits and badges that indicate which type of Hunter we are—a standard requirement for the assembly. For this assembly, we are not allowed to carry any weapons or items specific to our specialties. For example, as Love Hunters, we can’t carry our rings, which is a relief for me.

Other Hunters have similar restrictions: Reapers can't wear their hats, Energy Hunters must leave their bracelets behind, Hunters of Knowledge can't bring their griffin scarves, Wish Hunters must remove their earrings, and Hunters of Sins, like us, must forgot their rings. The Hunters of Dreams must leave their hairpins behind, and so on.

As I adjusted my suit and badge, I felt a sense of anticipation and unease. The Catastrophe Assembly was not something to be taken lightly, and the fact that we were required to leave our specialized items behind only emphasized the gravity of the situation.

“Let’s go,” Axel said.

“You ready, Yuna?” I asked. She had her hair up in a ponytail, wearing the black suit and a red badge brooch. I smiled at her.

“Yeah, I am, Senior,” she answered with a determined nod.

We arrived at the designated location, where a large number of Hunters were entering the building. Some looked gloomy, while others seemed ready to start a fight just by looking at each other. Yuna and Axel decided to talk to other Hunters—Yuna went to speak with the Love Hunters, and Axel with the Life Hunters. I, who didn’t know anyone well, waited for them.

"This is gonna be an exhausting day," I sighed, feeling the weight of the situation. Suddenly, I bumped into someone.

As I turned around, I saw a woman about my height with black hair, a mole under her eye, and stunning brown eyes. She was strikingly good-looking.

"A Hunter, huh? I couldn't sense you—a Love Hunter, at that," she said, glancing at my badge. What does she mean by that?

Then I looked at her badge and saw it was blue. "A Hunter of Wishes—a Genie," I said.

She smiled. "Yes, I am," she replied. Then suddenly, she started looking at me intensely.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No—nothing," she said, shaking her head.

The Hunters of Wishes, also known as Genies, are Hunters who grant wishes. However, they do not grant wishes casually; they only grant wishes with good intentions. They are also known for making miracles happen, so some of them see themselves as higher and above the rest of us. In short, they Hunters of Wishes, also known as Genies, often have the worst personalities, similar to Life Hunters.

"La-La," someone called my name, and I turned to see Axel. It seemed he was done talking to his colleagues. He looked at the girl behind me. "A Genie, huh," he said.

"Oh, interesting, a Life Hunter," she said with a keen voice. "And a handsome one at that—not just handsome, but blessed with a good look."

"So, you are the two rumored Miracle Friendship," she said. Miracle Friendship? My eyes widened with curiosity. What is she talking about? I looked at her as she smiled widely. She is weird.

"How come you two became friends?" she asked me. Hmmm, how should I explain it to her? She might get interested because of Axel's looks, but this guy is a pain in the ass.

"Don't answer her," Axel said to me, stepping behind me and placing both hands on my shoulders. "And it's none of your business," Axel said to the woman in front of us, giving off a rude vibe. As usual, we can't get along with each other.

"Chill, would you? Why are you Life Hunters always so hot-headed?" she added.

"Uhmm, I think it's getting rude," I added.

"Oh, you think so?" she asked me. What's with this woman?

"Let's just go, La-La. Don't mind her," Axel said, pushing me forward.

Wait—are we just going to leave like that?

Then we arrived inside the building, and Axel finally stopped pushing me. "What was that?" I asked Axel.

"You can't just casually talk to them and answer their questions," he said.

"Well, I know that," I replied, feeling a bit frustrated. "This is exhausting," I added. "I just wish my ring would arrive so everything could be done, and I could vanish," I said.

Then Axel looked at me in disbelief. "You can't just casually wish here, you know," he said.

I smiled. "Genies only hear human wishes, and they can only grant them if they come from a human," I said.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Still, it's best not to say things like that out loud. You never know who's listening."