The appearance of the blonde-haired woman made all the awakeners gathered in this harbor both astonished and puzzled. Why would the LR Enterprise owner's daughter-in-law go to the port? And their curiosity was answered as they saw Anna hugging Klaus and Joanna.
They were pretty surprised to find that some members of the conglomerate's family had joined the search for the orange dungeon.
Meanwhile, Klaus was still trying to escape his mother's embrace.
"Mom, let go! You make me look like a child," Joanna sighed in annoyance while pushing her mother.
"Yes, Mom. There are many people here." Klaus also persuaded his mother.
Anna raised an eyebrow and took her hand off the two siblings. Her eyes narrowed, looking into their eyes.
"What do you mean? You two are my little kids. And so what if there are a lot of people here? Are you ashamed that your mother is hugging her own kids?"
Joanna hissed. "Well, you're embarrassing me. I'm 16 years old now."
Hearing the complaining reply escape her daughter's mouth, Anna gave Joanna a piercing glare, and the girl broke out cold sweat instantly.
Joanna might be a brat who was not afraid of anything, but her mother's gaze was still enough to make her gulp.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Rays of Hope guild members watched. The sight of a conglomerate mother scolding her kids was a rare for them.
And Klaus realized how people looked at them, so he preferred to keep quiet.
Anna let out a long sigh. "I came here because I wanted to encourage my kids. Do you know how worried I must be about you sailing into danger? You… huft." She shook her head.
The mother of two has accepted that Klaus and Joanna were awakeners. It was hard at first, but Anna understood their choices as time passed.
Inhaling, Anna looked into their eyes, her gaze turned sincere. Joanna sensed the change in mood from her mother, quickly changing her attitude.
"I won't against you like I used to. Or do anything that prevents you from achieving your desires. I realize I've been a bad mother. I'm sorry." Anna bowed her head.
"It's okay," Klaus said. He stroked his mother's arm.
And Joanna lowered her eyebrows, catlike. "It's okay. I was wrong too."
Then, a smile bloomed on Anna's face.
The mood warmed for a moment. The people around who watched them were moved. Some of the female awakeners clasped their hands with teary eyes. Even in passing, they could feel the sincerity of a mother.
"Anyway, Mom," Klaus raised a finger. "You're not carrying a bunch of arcana bags anymore, are you?"
Anna raised her eyebrows for a moment and then laughed.
Furrowing his brow with a face full of questions, Klaus did not understand what was funny about her question.
And then Luis joined the conversation. "Take it easy, Klaus. We won't do that again."
Anna stopped laughing. "I've learned from my previous mistakes. I've heard from your father that Mors Industries is successfully making artificial arcana. I'm sure yours is more powerful than I could find."
Klaus smiled, accepting his mother's trust. "Thanks, Mom."
After looking at Joanna and Klaus for a while, Anna turned her attention to the crowd behind them, and her eyes opened wide with jaw-dropping as she saw Sylvia and Olivia standing beside each other.
"Ah, Olivia! And Klaus's girlfriend!" Anna trotted over to them and stroked the two women's shoulders excitedly.
Of course, the other guild members were surprised to hear "Klaus's girlfriend." They wondered who she was. And the one who looked the most curious was Justin.
"Olivia! I'm glad to see you! You know your mom was worrying about you."
"Haha, yeah." Olivia put a forced smile on her face. She wasn't ready to face Anna.
The blonde-haired woman began to tell her various things about Julia and how she was doing.
As she realized she had been talking to Olivia for too long, she quickly turned her attention to the red-haired woman standing next to her.
"Ah, dear Sylvia. I'm glad to see you with Klaus. Where do you live now? I would prefer you to stay with my son."
Sylvia raised her hand and shook it. "Uh, thank you for your concern, but please don't give anyone the wrong idea."
The entire Rays of Hope guild members gasped when they discovered Sylvia had lived in the same place as Klaus. Wild imaginations began to pop into their heads. And Klaus could help but bury his face in his hands.
They should have been tense about the Bermuda Triangle voyage, but they relaxed after Anna came to them instead. Besides, the crowd around Klaus' group became curious. Some tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.
While the Rays of Hope group was enveloped in joy, a different scene was seen among the guild masters of the Five Pillars.
"Who the hell is that?" muttered Hugo. He squinted to see Klaus and his crew.
Vincent snorted. "They're from New York. A small guild has recently risen to prominence because a celebrity became their guild master. And even funnier, it's owned by a conglomerate's little boy." The last sentence had a bitter tone.
Hugo raised his eyebrows. "New York? That's not from yours. I've never heard of them." He squinted, focusing his vision on Klaus and his entourage. Not long after, his eyes opened wide. "Wait a minute, isn't that dude who appeared at the Golden Hammer Expo presenting the Elemental Gun. Am I right?"
The guild master of Sunstrike waited for an answer but did not get one from either of them. Hugo turned to Vincent and found this man darkening his face.
"Ah, you don't need to answer that. Your face says it all." Hugo turned his attention to Elizabeth. "Hey, do you know him too?"
However, the blonde-haired woman also showed a similar expression.
Hugo had sweat on his forehead. "Well, it looks like you guys have a common enemy."
The Guild Master of Morning Star had not been able to forget the yellow dungeon break in SoHo and Morning Star's defeat at the Golden Hammer Expo. On the other hand, Elizabeth still couldn't accept her loss in the coin toss bet. She lost 25 million dollars to buy a factory for someone else.
...
The sun was getting higher, and the light intensity was increasing. The awakeners' wait to sail the Bermuda Triangle was over when a line of black SUVs pulled up in front of them.
Dozens of men and women in black suits typical of bodyguards got out of the cars, and then they formed a row with their hands behind their waists and their legs open 45 degrees.
A bodyguard opened the door to one of the SUVs, and a tall, beautiful woman exited the car.
She wore a white blouse wrapped in a blazer and a short knee-length skirt. Her black hair, contrasting with her fair skin tone, waved in the sea breeze.
She stood in front of the crowd of awakeners, looking at them with a stern look.
She deeply breathed and said, "Good afternoon, the brave awakener. I'd like to say a word or two of encouragement to you, though I know it probably won't help much. But before that, I, Amanda Carlsen, as President of the Awakener Association, thank you sincerely for your contributions."
The president gave a speech, her voice impressive and loud. She spoke confidently in front of thousands of awakeners despite the defiant aura emanating from them.
Most of the content of her speech was the same as her opening, saying thank you. However, at the end of the address, she specifically mentioned certain guilds.
"I know a dangerous voyage awaits you; I don't know what's there. But honestly, I am relieved that three of the Five Pillars in the United States are willing to join this quest."
Amanda turned to where Hugo, Elizabeth, and Vincent were gathered.
"Morning Star, Sunstrike, and Oathkeeper. I expect you to be the spearheads for this crew."
The woman clapped her hands, and the other awakeners followed suit like dominoes falling. A roar of applause echoed through the air.
The guild masters Amanda was referring to smiled broadly. With his arrogant smile, Vincent shook his head, Elizabeth waved as if she thought she was king, and Hugo clapped with a grin.
The applause stopped. When everyone thought the speech was over, Amanda opened her mouth.
"And finally, for the guild that was so instrumental in this quest, Rays of Hope. I would like to thank you very much for all the awakeners here. Without you, this might never have happened."
And then, the air shook with applause.
When everyone clapped their hands, two people did not. They were Elizabeth and Vincent. Their faces darkened as they heard the name of the guild they hated the most.
Suddenly, Vincent smirked.
Hugo furrowed his brows, reading Vincent's expression. He could guess what that man was thinking.
"Don't tell me you're going to do something to them."
Vincent chuckled. "Yeah, something not good."
"Whatever your idea is, I'm in," Elizabeth said.
No matter what idea crossed his mind, Vincent would harm Klaus and his crew in the search for the orange dungeon.
