"But wouldn't it make Derrick..."

"No, Derrick's ability allows him to stop even his aging.

"He was always running away from everything.

"But now, I need him to show up." The Leader replied.

Sherry nodded as she knew the First Awakened had abilities that were much different.

Their Mastery Level didn't stop at Master.

From what she heard from the Leader, they were able to go beyond to Transcendent Level.

And that wasn't the end of it.

"What do you want from Derrick?" Sherry asked.

"Bring the demonic beast core, tissue and blood from the Apex demonic beast to him.

"I need him to use his ability to help create the genotoxin and also figure out these questions."

The Leader then continued to brief Sherry on the questions that Lukas had.

...

National Archives.

Lukas didn't embark on the new mission straight away.

He wanted to find out whether there was any information about Shiba and what the Apex demonic beast had said.

The guards were initially surprised that he had access to the National Archives.

But when they saw the clearance Lukas had and who granted it, they quickly let him through.

The Leader must have his reasons, they thought.

Lukas went through most of the books he thought were useful, like 'Encyclopedia of Demonic Beasts', 'Chronicles of the Awakening' and even 'Life Under the Old World'.

He read through them, trying to find any hint that was recorded inside.

Time passed from the morning to the afternoon, and he couldn't find any clue.

Frustrated, he glanced out of the window and rested his eyes on the distant trees.

He saw a cuckoo bird's chick pushing out the eggs of its host.

The cuckoo bird's chick, with its instinct for survival, tried its best to push as many eggs of its host as possible.

It was an impressionable scene for anyone witnessing it for the first time.

A thought then struck his mind when he saw this scene.

The cuckoo bird's chick was like the demonic beasts, coming from another realm, trying to push out mankind from the planet.

And the Apex demonic beast might be afraid of other beings from where they come from.

Lukas stood up and searched in another direction instead.

He took out several books on cosmology.

Initially, he found nothing unusual reading through these books.

It was in a magazine that he found something interesting.

There were interviews with a tour group that said they had gone into another realm, an alternate universe that was different.

They mentioned scary beasts that roamed the lands instead of mankind.

Many experts trashed what the tour group had said, calling it nonsense.

But Lukas knew the tour group wasn't lying as he recognized the photo of the tour group.

It was the same photo the Leader had.

And those interviewees were most likely the First Awakened.

Lukas had a hunch about what happened next.

He quickly flipped through the next publication of the magazine.

And he was right, as the tour group members were said to be hospitalized.

Lukas tried to get to the end but couldn't find any more of the magazine.

From the date and time, matching it with the 'Chronicles of the Awakening', he knew that disaster struck soon after, and demonic beasts started appearing.

When he glanced out of the window again, it was already nighttime.

The National Archives was about to close, and the guards stood at the entrance where he was.

Waiting to usher him out of the building.

Lukas sighed and knew he had to leave.

Even though he couldn't find his answers, he got to know more about the Leader.

Everyone had their own secrets indeed.

...

When Lukas got back to the hotel, everyone was waiting for him in the dining hall.

"It sure feels good to be young, eh." Rex gave him a wink and said with an envious look.

Emma rolled her eyes and slapped him on the back of his head.

"Not everyone is like you, with only women on your mind."

"Hey, you know what, now that I'm rich, I'm going to call all my exes and let them beg for me to give them a chance." Rex took out his phone and protested to Emma.

Now that they had gotten the $5 million reward, they were considered very well off in the South Battle Administration Area.

Emma couldn't believe what she heard and gave up.

She glanced over at Lukas and asked, "Any findings?"

Lukas shook his head and replied, "Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary."

He didn't want to alter their perception of the Leader until he had gotten to the bottom of it.

Riley interjected and said, "Then, I propose we make our move to the East Battle Administration Area tomorrow."

Harianto nodded and said, "I've made the necessary arrangements.

"We can move at any moment."

"If there's no objection to it, we shall move out tomorrow." Riley said and everyone nodded.

He then glanced over at Margaret.

Margaret had been crucial to their success, healing them when they got hurt badly.

Their agreement with Dr. Uwe was for Margaret to help them complete the mission.

And now, it was time to try and get Margaret to join their team permanently.

Riley wasn't sure what the relationship between Dr. Uwe and Margaret was, but he felt there was still a chance that Margaret might join them.

Everyone glanced over at Margaret.

"I... er..." Margaret looked down, not sure of her decision.

"If you have to, discuss it with the people important to you." Riley said.

Margaret hesitated for a moment and typed a message to Dr. Uwe.

It didn't take long for Dr. Uwe's reply to come.

She picked up the phone and looked at the message.

"You are young.

"Live your life the way you want.

"I've told you many times, I'm an old man, with my life ending soon.

"Go forth and be happy."

Margaret smiled as that was what Dr. Uwe had told her all along.

And he was right.

She definitely felt alive when she was needed by Riley and the others.

A feeling she didn't feel with Dr. Uwe.

After spending all these years trying to get him to be with her, maybe it was time for something else, she thought.

Margaret then nodded and said, "I'll join the team."