Do You Like Him?

Even if Luca didn't want to leave by then, the pressure coming from Alessa's gaze was slightly crushing his conviction to stay. In the end, he had to pull away from Noah and leave him on the floor. However, when he did so, Noah grabbed his arm.

His dark eyes looked up at Luca and Alessa.

Alessa returned the glare and watched him sit up properly. However, the grip he had on her brother's arm was still there. She huffed. "There's nothing to be scared of. We're his family. It's more dangerous for him to be left in a witch's company."

"Then, I can rest assured that Luca won't get hurt?"

Alessa glared harder at the question thrown at her. Did this witch think that Luca's own family would hurt him? Then again, judging from the circumstances, it was already miraculous that she only stood behind Luca today.

If it was another hunter, she would have to sever their head for convening with a witch.

The other woman outside was watching them from the crack of the door. Her lips puckered as she stared at Alessa's silence. She then flicked her gaze at Noah whose head was hidden from view. From Luca's smartwatch, Isla could hear their conversation.

"Mr. Rocco, if we have any intention of hurting Luca, he wouldn't be moving anymore right now," Isla spoke through the smartwatch, which bothered Luca since he wasn't sure if even Theresa was listening, "Don't worry, the most powerful woman in the world wouldn't let Luca be scathed."

By that, she meant their mother… who even Orpheus dared not mess with.

Noah had no idea who that was, but he only continued glaring at Alessa as if warning her. To this, the woman only erased her glare and leaned down to grab Luca by the collar. With a tug, she sent Luca a message that made him take a deep breath.

Only an apologetic nod was left to Noah when Luca moved to leave with his sisters. Noah only watched them disappear from view before turning to Caseus who was also keeping an eye on Luca. If anything, seeing that Luca was well had become Caseus's obligation.

"Caseus…" Noah called on the hellhound, but he ignored his master. The witch then murmured, "Don't get caught. That's a level seven hunter."

Caseus's ears folded before he moved out to follow the hunters. Even if he could phase out of the mortal plane, Alessa could still see him prowling around. It would be extremely difficult to sneak up on them, what more trail them without her noticing.

It's just that when Caseus got out of the hospital, he stopped by a tree. The black shadow it cast seemed to have attracted Caseus's full attention. Then, the hellhound walked into the shadow and vanished.

As for Noah, he sat there until the other agents managed to find him. He wasn't a priority to rescue, and he didn't seem to be hurt anyway. The doctor with him was only unconscious, and the culprit was already subdued.

The only problem was that Pane had discovered the body of the dead demon. Likewise the level seven from before, he had also eaten it. A surge of magic continued to burn inside Noah again, and he wasn't even finished digesting the dense magic of the level seven.

In the end, Noah was left to rest in the hospital some more…

Not.

…

Luca found himself in the waiting area of a very luxurious presidential suite. Next to him on the couch was Alessa and Isla, one was only nibbling at a cookie while the other was on her laptop. Their father was yet to arrive, but he was already feeling the thorn in his throat.

"Relax, you're protected." Isla giggled as she reached out to pat Luca's knee.

"Try not to make a fool of yourself." Alessa noticed the main door open and saw their father walk in. She only wanted to remind Luca, but he was pained instead.

Orpheus saw his son hanging his head low while the two women acknowledged his presence with a respectful gaze from Alessa and a wide smile from Isla. He sat down across the center table and looked at the male who bowed down to him.

At this juncture, Orpheus couldn't decide if he wanted to look benevolent and forgiving or if he wanted to make an angry impression on Luca. In the end, he just cleared his throat and went neutral. "Luca, you were sent here by SCC?"

Luca lifted his face and answered, "Yes, Father. We're investigating the dealings of Thomas Connor, the man who assumed the identity of his older twin brother and his entire business conglomerate. However, we realized that things were also connected to a coven… and so we continue to hunt them down as well."

"The level seven Alessa dealt with is part of that coven?"

"Yes, it was the handler of the cult. However, we have no guarantee that the cult or the coven was already shut down after what happened. We have yet to receive information from Intelligence."

Orpheus only nodded. "And the witch of Belphegor? How come you're sticking close to him?"

Luca paused and averted his gaze. He could lie and try to make use of a bad excuse, but that would be insulting his father's intellect, right? "I… I wanted to know why he's actively helping SCC in wiping out his fellow witches.

"I heard that he was sent to kill Bomberman, and he had been doing exactly what he said. Bomberman's absence is attributed to the damage Noah—Sleepydog had caused to him."

"Mariz showed up as well?"

"Yes, Sleepydog had also engaged in a fight against Mariz. Though… it seemed that he wasn't quite a match for her by then."

"A level-five witch…" Orpheus huffed. "You were directly transferred to SCC's elite squad when you came. Does this mean Cicero knew that Sleepydog is a level five witch? Arsene didn't make use of him as one… as if Altis had no idea about Sleepydog's capabilities. How come SCC knew Sleepydog is a witch?"

Luca twitched and didn't know what Arsene was, but it seemed to be something that should know Noah was a witch. Then again, it didn't. It must be that organization handling the Shadow Hands. For him to hide from its radar…

The son then brought his gaze to his father again. "I… I met Noah Rocco here in New York City last year so I knew he was a witch. It didn't occur to me that his organization had no idea that he was one."

Last year! Those words again!

Both Orpheus and Alessa had a reaction when he said so; however, it was different for the two. Isla noticed the change in their faces, but she only hummed as she continued to type down on her laptop. She didn't want to get involved in whatever they were talking about.

Orpheus held onto his forehead like he was nursing a headache and heartache at the same time. None of his children knew how bad it was for him to listen to this; neither did he let any of them realize what actually happened. Perhaps they were all bound not to know for now.

"You remember the people you met last year?" Orpheus almost whispered as if he was scared to hear something from Luca.

"I… yes, I do, Father." Luca frowned. Was it strange for him to remember?

"Do you remember why you were pulled out?"

"…a strong demon appeared out of nowhere… and my recklessness had placed most of my seniors in danger." Luca hung his head low. He hadn't forgotten why, and he was still working on correcting so. That was why he wanted to be prepared at all times, making sure that no one would fail just because he recklessly came.

A demon… Orpheus sighed. He said a demon… not a name, just 'demon'.

The father then hummed. "Your mother wants to know if you're faring well. Even if it's just a few days ago that you came here, she grew worried. The Order is receiving multiple hits in a region, and the readings were all daunting. We just dealt with a level seven, didn't we? It's not the worst.

"Level nines were lurking around the area. It seems that another rising is underway. If things came to a bloodbath, you might have to go home. A level four like you had no place in a catastrophe like that."

"I understand." Luca kept his head down.

He then snuck a look at Isla who was not even bothering to train a lot, but she was also level seven like Alessa. Even Gianna was also level seven. All his sisters were way above him when it came to strength… and he was being praised before.

He couldn't help but become disappointed in himself.

Orpheus realized that he must have gone rather harsh. However, he had already spoken the words, and he refused to take them back. Moving on… "Have you located the cambion?"

"Not yet." Luca shook his head.

Orpheus only shook his head before turning to Isla. "Isla, have your mother on the phone. She wants to talk to Luca."

Isla only hummed an 'okay' and started calling Sophia for a video call. Alessa also wanted to see her mother so she didn't leave. Luca slid his eyes to the laptop and hoped to find the courage to look at his mother's eyes. Would she be disappointed in his strength and incapability as well?

The call connected, and Sophia's face showed up from the video. Her mellow face smiled at her children before having her eyes lock onto Luca.

"Luca, I heard you protected a witch from getting killed." Sophia chose not to beat around the bush. "Do you like him enough to gamble with your life for him?"