Chapter 44: Reverence

I floated in the middle of the broken wall leading to the desolate Barrens that the monsters continued to rush to. [Infernal Purge] and [Frigid Impermanence] continued to fall onto them, but not a single one turned around to face me as they escaped with all their might

Things began settling down until only one or two could be observed running here and there, with most of them already deep in the Barrens. I couldn't leave the city now as I didn't know what else would occur, and there were still rank B dungeons that were red and nearing another dungeon break

Movements could be heard behind me as hunters began appearing, the first one being Elizabeth. She stood on her injured eagle that was licking the wounds all over its body as she looked at me with a complicated expression.

Elizabeth approached from behind as she said, "The city is gradually being stabilized, with some teams already clearing the dungeons in the high-risk category that haven't had a dungeon break."

She was looking at me differently and speaking in a much more reserved tone than usual. I nodded as she continued, "We're trying to get in contact with other cities of the empire, but we don't have an estimate of deaths and which cities are still standing." She held back the pain as she said this, and I thought about her new tone towards me and the looks I had been receiving

Ever since I had begun moving around the city destroying the monsters relentlessly, people began looking at me differently. This was even more so for the rank A hunters and higher-ups that saw my power first hand when I handled the TITAN and its minions from the rank A dungeon break

I took the change with a calm mind as there were too many things to think about for me to worry about what other people were thinking. We waited at the portion of the destroyed wall until more hunters came and were stationed to rebuild and protect the hole leading out into the Barrens, and we went back into the city

In the military sector, there was significant damage done to many areas, but there was still functionality as people in their respective positions got things going again. I knew nothing besides being a hunter, so I continued to fly over the city while using [Eagle Eyes] to catch anything I missed

Four rank B dungeon monoliths were now in the city, with two in the high-risk category shining red, and two shining orange. There were already teams set up and clearing the two that were high risk, but they were still red. I thought for a bit and chose to quickly clear them a few times so that another dungeon break doesn't occur if the clear rate was too slow

In the next two hours, I dived into each of the two high-risk category dungeons three times before their color changed to light orange, gaining more [Core]s and [Skill]s. Nothing disastrous had happened while I was going in and out of the dungeon

Once there were no dungeons that would have any immediate dungeon breaks, I went back to the military sector where there would be a debriefing. I ignored the thankful and reverent looks from the soldiers and hunters that I had either healed or saved and went into a huge conference room, finding the only open seat at the front center of the room, with everyone else waiting

I sighed and sat down as the debriefing began. The discussion was somber this time around. We had lost much of the connections with surrounding cities and were not able to get in touch even with Blessed City.

The consensus was that this occurred throughout the world, and we didn't know the extent of the damage yet. But one thing was clear, there were now many more monsters roaming the desolate Barrens.

It would be much more dangerous to pass through from one city to another, with not much hope for the people stationed on guard posts along the roads leading to and from the cities

The next step was what we would do from here. When we got to this point, the room quieted and many people turned in my direction. This was what I was thinking about how to deal with before coming here. In the cities, those who held the most power would be the ones in high positions and have a large influence on the direction and lives of all the people living in it. Currently, they had seen with their own eyes that I was the strongest, and by a large gap at that, so more influence was pushed onto me.

I knew my strengths and weaknesses though, and leading people was not something I was confident in. I thought for a bit and said, "All I can do is hunt down the beasts, so I will rely on the help and ideas from everyone else on matters I am not knowledgeable on."

The hunters in the conference room nodded as they waited for my opinion about what we would do from now on. I continued, "The first thing is information. We need to find out which cities are still with us, and which cities still need a helping hand that haven't already been overwhelmed."

The officials in the room nodded as they began moving around busily, The issues after that were logistics about the city, its people, food and water, and many more things I didn't know or have an ounce of knowledge on that I left to the relevant departments to take care of.

After the direction was decided and the officials began to act, I went towards the melancholic Elizabeth who was standing in the corner of the conference room. I looked at the sight of this person that I didn't know how to feel about and said, "Are you doing alright?"

She looked at me and put a smile on her face as she replied, "Yeah. I just thought we were close to being done, but it looks like things are just beginning"

I looked at the tired woman that seemed to be trying her best. She had lost another friend today, someone she knew much longer than I did. Magnar's face flashed in my thoughts as I observed the sad expression on her face and replied, "Get some rest, it'll be a new day tomorrow."

She nodded her head as she looked around the room and went towards the living quarters. No other thoughts passed through my mind as I went out of the building and flew to the skies of the city once more. I looked to the destroyed buildings and people that were moving about and mourning for the losses of those they knew. My thoughts moved to something I didn't want to imagine right now, which was the people of Outer Bank X. With the highest ranker there being rank B...I shuddered as I thought at the possible number of deaths that had occurred there and in other similar cities

I continued to fly higher and higher up until the buildings seemed tiny and the outline of the city could be viewed fully by me. I would wait for the information to come out after what remains of the military acts to move their drones and other things to obtain intel, but I could still move myself and be ready for whatever might occur

The immediate surrounding of the city's walls were clear, and I couldn't see much else in the darkness this high up even with [Eagle Eyes]. But I instinctively felt that there was something in that darkness. I stayed in the air, watching and waiting for dawn to break to see what was waiting for us in this darkness