Ethan stared at the screen of his smartwatch for a moment, the call ending with a cold finality. His father's words still rang in his head—twelve dungeons attacked, three executives dead.
A purge.
That was the only way to describe it.
He exhaled slowly before looking up at Emily. She was already watching him, her expression tense, waiting. He could see the worry in her eyes, the unspoken question lingering on her lips.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice steady despite the tension in her shoulders.
Ethan ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tightening. "It's worse than I thought." His voice was lower now, restrained. "Azure Crest wasn't the only one attacked today. My family's dungeons—twelve of them were hit."
Emily's eyes widened. She sucked in a sharp breath. "Twelve?"
He gave a slow nod. "And we lost Marin Kont, Royce Grant, and Valencia Marlowe. They were executives of our guild."
The room fell into silence.
Emily's fingers clenched at her sides. "Three executives…?" Her voice barely registered above a whisper.
Ethan nodded, his expression unreadable. "Yeah. That's why my father is calling me back to the Academy. He doesn't want me getting involved."
For the first time, Emily couldn't even argue. If the enemy was bold enough to take out high-ranking members of the Hartley Guild, then the scale of this conflict wasn't something she could fully grasp yet.
After a moment, Ethan turned his attention toward Harin, who had been listening quietly, his sharp gaze focused on Ethan.
"Mister Harin," Ethan said, his voice firm but not unkind. "From now on, things will only get more dangerous. If you wish to step back, you don't have to stay in this fight. I'll make sure that every member of Azure Crest is paid properly. If they choose to leave, they'll have the means to do so."
Emily stiffened. "Ethan, you don't have to—"
"I do." Ethan cut her off, his hazel eyes unwavering. "I pulled your guild into this war, Emily. My family backed you when you were struggling, and that means I have a responsibility. But that doesn't mean you have to stay in this mess. If your father, or anyone else in the guild, wants out, I'll make sure they have a way to walk away."
Silence stretched across the room.
Then, Harin let out a low chuckle.
It wasn't amused.
It was the kind of laugh a veteran gave when hearing something naïve.
He leaned forward slightly, despite the pain in his ribs, his tired eyes locking onto Ethan's with an intensity that hadn't dulled despite his injuries.
"Boy," Harin said, his voice rough but unwavering, "do you think I've stayed in this fight because I had to?"
Ethan's brows furrowed slightly, but he let Harin continue.
"This guild was on the brink of collapse long before your family got involved." Harin's voice was steady now, carrying the weight of years of struggle. "If you hadn't joined that expedition team back then—while I was injured—Azure Crest would've been erased."
Harin exhaled, his gaze distant for a moment, as if recalling the past. "It was when you joined that expedition team that things started changing," he said. "I was still recovering, but I heard the reports. The way you handled the situation, the way you fought alongside our people—it wasn't just some noble's son playing hero. You saw their worth. You saw their struggle."
Ethan remained quiet, his expression unreadable, but he remembered it clearly.
At the time, he had joined on a whim—or at least that's what he told himself. He wanted to prove something. Wanted to step out from under his family's influence and do something with his own hands. He had no title, no bodyguards, no weight of the Hartley name hanging over him.
Just him.
And it had been real.
The expedition had been rough, brutal even, but he had seen the guild's hunters pushing forward, refusing to let go of their dignity despite their lack of resources. He had watched the way they fought—not just for themselves, but for the people next to them. And that was when it clicked.
Azure Crest wasn't just surviving.
They were fighting to stay alive.
And Ethan had made a decision that day.
He wasn't just going to watch.
So he invested.
Not through his family's resources, not through the guild's typical channels—he did it from his own private funds. He didn't want this to be another Hartley Guild extension. He wanted it to be his decision, his responsibility.
Emily crossed her arms, nodding slightly. "From the moment that [that guy] betrayed us, the guild started declining," she admitted. Her expression darkened at the mention of him, but she pushed past it. "We barely held on. People left, resources were cut, and no one wanted to take the risk of associating with us anymore."
She looked at Ethan.
"But then you stepped in."
Harin chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "You gave us the lifeline we needed, Ethan. Even if we were just another part of some bigger plan for you back then, you still gave us a chance."
Ethan's gaze flickered for a moment. "It wasn't some bigger plan," he muttered, leaning back in his chair. "I just… wanted to see if I could do something without my family."
Emily gave a small smile at that. "Well, you did. And look at where we are now."
But even as she said it, a thought lingered in her mind.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest