The next morning.

While most were still sleeping in the castle, Belian and Mika were already up and engaged in a sparring match.

The sound of metal clashing mixed in with the chirping of the morning birds.

And although it should have been just a sparring match, the two went at each other seriously. Belian had difficulties landing a clear strike on Mika as he had to focus on parrying Mika’s heavy blows.

It may seem that Mika had the upper hand currently but Belian still managed to scratch him at some spots.

The two continued until they heard people entering the garden where they were sparring.

"As expected of the leader of Hunters. Your strength can’t be simply described in words anymore." Belian remarked with a faint smirk as he wiped off his sweat with a towel.

"You, too, didn’t slack off in those two years." Mika replied.

Belian huffed quietly.

"I wouldn’t have believed it back then that you, who started out in the black class, would become someone whose strength surpasses that of a human. It feels like our roles were reversed."

While Mika grew rapidly stronger at an unusual rate, Belian who enrolled in the academy as the strongest student of the year remained consistent.

"Is that so? Maybe it’s because of my desire to get my hands on something specific that I trained like a mad dog." Mika speculated.

"..."

He stretched his body before he picked up his sword again.

"By the way, I don’t mean to brag but the others caused a huge scene yesterday night when they talked about Hunters and me being the mysterious leader. However, I was wondering... You remained calm all the time. Could it be..."

Mika narrowed his eyes.

"Could it be that you already knew?" he asked.

Belian took his sword, too, and faced Mika.

"It wasn’t that I knew for certain. Rather, I just had a feeling that it would have been you." he admitted nonchalantly, staring at the blade he was holding up.

"After you disappeared two years ago, we were told that nobody knew about your circumstances or whereabouts. Not even Ms. Ross or Sara who joined Hunters a while ago."

The two readied themselves for the next round.

"While the others trusted their words, they must have instinctively excluded the possibility of you being associated with Hunters, however, as I regularly read through the newspaper I learned about the achievements of your squad and even though everyone else was thinking something else, I believed that you were the leader. After all, there was not a single person that could pull off the things you did." Belian elaborated.

"Then, why did you keep quiet?" Mika wondered.

"Because I understood that you wanted to keep it a secret."

"I see."

The angles on his mouth slightly went up.

"But since your secret was revealed, can you tell me the reason why you hid from us in the first place?"

"..."

Mika looked stern again.

"It was because I had to get stronger. I knew that I couldn’t achieve the level I was striving for if I had stayed at the academy back then. Especially not with all uncertainties surrounding Loogam."

"So you decided to leave us in the dark, not even giving us a living sign?" Belian responded, sounding slightly offended.

"If I had told you about my plans, then some of you would have blindly chased after me without knowing how dangerous the situation was."

"Is that really what you thought...?"

"..."

Mika averted his gaze slightly and closed his eyes for a moment.

"In my state back then, I wouldn’t have had the capacity to look out for somebody else."

Belian sighed.

"So that’s why Queen Olivia and Sara were the only members of Hunters." Belian muttered exhaustedly.

Olivia was known as the strongest human whereas Sara already surpassed her peers in the Grand Order. Therefore, they did not need Mika to look out for them during missions.

"In the end, you were drowning in your desire for revenge, neglecting everything else in order to get strong enough to kill your target, right?" Belian stated seriously.

"You know about that, too?"

"Yes. Lily pointed that out once we saw the article about that."

Belian referred to the incident involving the empty villages which were victims of the attack of demons. In other words, he talked about Mika’s home village getting attacked and destroyed by Dreyar and Martha’s team.

Aside from Belina, none of the white class dared to mention that topic in Mika’s presence as they did not want to appear too insensitive.

"I can understand what it feels like going through an experience like that but still, we were worried about you. I may be fine but Rachel or Lily for ex-"

"What did you say?"

Mika’s tone suddenly turned threatening.

With sharp eyes, Mika walked over to Belian while gripping his sword tightly.

"How can you say that you can understand my situation?"

"..."

Belian was still calm when Mika was about to lose his cool on him.

"Was your home ever invaded by demons? Was your family killed by them? Your friends you grew up with? Have you had to suffer from your own helplessness as you couldn’t do anything to change the outcome...?" Mika asked in a quiet rage, gritting his teeth.

He frowned deeply once he stood in front of Belian.

"Then... What if I said that I experienced all of that?" Belian replied calmly.

"?!"

Mika widened his eyes in surprise.

"My eight-year-old self had to watch how my hometown got massacred and entirely annihilated by a demon. My parents hid me under the corpses of my neighbors and defended that spot, even if it meant losing their lives to that demon. And it was not just them, I remained paralyzed even when I heard the death screams of my older siblings and my friends."

Now, Belian was clenching his fists, too, as he remembered that day.

"I vividly remember even to this date how the girl that I liked back then begged for help as she ran away aimlessly."

"Only after everyone died, the demon would disappear."

Mika shakingly took a step back from him.

"Since that day, I swore to myself to get stronger until I can get my revenge on him...!"

For a moment, Belian gave in to his rage, however, he soon calmed down.

"What I’m trying to say is that we’re the same, Mika." Belian said, smiling gently at him.

However, Mika was averting his gaze again. This time, out of guilt.

"I-I’m sorry... I didn’t know that..." he confessed regretfully.

"It’s fine. It’s not like I’ve told you or anyone else before."

Belian took a step toward Mika and put his left hand on his shoulder.

"My life was miserable before I entered Loogam. It was only when I met you guys that I could finally experience joy again and let my broken mind heal step after step."

"..."

Exactly like Mika, Belian spent his days after that incident in his hometown training and getting stronger. While kids his age were playing with other kids, he picked up the sword and hunted monsters and honed his skills in swordsmanship and magic.

It was a sad and dull life but at that point in time, he did not care as he only wanted to kill that demon.

"And because I’m talking out of experience, I don’t want you to suffer any longer."

"..."

"Please let us, your friends, affect your life again. Let’s walk down the same road together again."

"I..."

"Just know that we’re there for you. You don’t necessarily have to tell us everything nor do we need to know every single detail about each other. It’s just enough to have someone whom you can turn to if needed." Belian said warmly.

Mika used the last two years to hunt demons for the sake of his revenge to the point that he neglected everything else just like Belian said. He did not view his friends as people with whom he could relax or have fun with. Instead, he viewed them as a burden if they were to follow him. That was why he distanced himself from them.

But after reuniting with them, he realized how much he had missed them. He had the chance to look at himself in the mirror and notice how ruined he was.

"..."

Mika’s sword clattered on the ground after he let go of it.

"Hey, guys!"

Simultaneously, Lily and the others ran over to them from afar.

"Looks like they woke up now." Belian commented in relief as he walked toward them.

Meanwhile, Mika stared at the friends with whom he walked side by side in the past. The same friends with whom he suffered and laughed together.

"Tone it down, you brats! I can hear you from here!" a grumpy Olivia shouted from her balcony.

A small smirk crept onto his normally apathetic face.

"Maybe I should try and accept them again."