Chapter 38: Meeting with the captains
Chapter 37
Kaizen didn’t question and quietly followed them. He knew exactly why he was being summoned. He was led to the large meeting room at the end of the hallway.
He stopped for a moment, heart pounding in his chest. He took in a shaky breath before finally stepping inside.
Over thirty captains sat around a long rectangular table. The air shifted the second he walked in. Every pair of eyes locked on him like hawks circling prey. Kaizen tensed. He could feel their judgment, their suspicion, their confusion. He swallowed hard, fighting the urge to look away.
Wraith gestured to the guards who’d escorted him. They bowed silently and left, closing the heavy door behind them with a deep thud. The room was dead quiet.
"Your squadmates told us what happened," Wraith began, voice calm but firm. "But we also want to hear it from you. Mind telling us what went on inside that portal?"
Kaizen remained silent for a few seconds, eyes fixed on the ground. Everyone waited.
Eventually, he spoke. "I was spared. Just like the rest of them. There’s not much to say. All I remember is getting beaten to a pulp while desperately begging for my life." He paused, jaw tightening slightly. "She enjoys watching people suffer."
That part isn’t even a lie. She did enjoy it a lot. Damn Elf.
"So you’re saying she just beat you half to death and then let you go?" one of the captains asked, clearly unconvinced. They had all heard about how she effortlessly killed an entire squad from Black Veil, so seeing an E-rank hunter return alive was something hard to believe.