March 12, 1946
It is 12:22, but the sky has grown dark, as if it were midnight. The alleys were plunged into darkness, only torches and powerful lightning illuminated the ground, accompanied by the sound of battle songs.
A demon horde, holding shields, swords, and various types of medieval weapons, advanced through the ruins of the city, among burning buildings and the corpses of those who fought.
A man in armor raised his sword and shouted:
"My friends, my brothers, my sisters, this battle won't be the last, but it will allow our children and their children to live in peace for a while. So, we cannot lose. We must destroy these demons who want to see you vanish, and if this is where we must perish, then we shall take them with us. Who is with me?!"
The entire crowd present in the battle let out a war cry and launched into a legendary battle.
81 years after the First World War, two scientists were working on a machine that would revolutionize the world: a teleportation device. During its demonstration in Western America, the machine malfunctioned and connected several worlds together—the world of demons, elves, and others.
Due to this fusion, Earth saw its size multiplied and the continents merged into one. Humans quickly got along with the elves, but it wasn't the same with the other creatures who wanted humans wiped out. So, they declared war on humans, and in 1944, the greatest war of mankind broke out: the First Demonic War.
Before the war, humans started seeing marks appear on their bodies.
These were sacred marks, granting them the strength and power to fight off their attackers. They fought back and succeeded in pushing the demons away. After that, humans created one united nation called "Humanity."
Within this Humanity were individuals born with the strength and abilities to defeat those creatures: these were the ones born with the mark, the demon hunters.
PRESENT DAY: August 7, 2026
18:19
A very skinny boy with a large afro haircut sat on a bench in the university garden. His clothes looked like they were hanging on a hanger, swaying with the wind.
He held in his hands a barely-bitten sandwich. He complained, saying:
"Ah, yuck! Why did I buy a sandwich with mayonnaise? I hate mayonnaise, it's disgusting!"
He threw the sandwich into a nearby trash can and added in a frustrated tone:
"I should've kept my money…"
That's when he heard someone call him from the left:
"Hey, Igris!"
When he turned around, he saw his best friend, Sempai, walking toward him with a smile. He immediately stood up and replied with joy:
"Sempai! I've been waiting for you for a while, what were you doing, huh?"
Sempai scratched his head and replied:
"Well, I was talking to one of the university professors."
Igris tilted his head, surprised:
"Man, it's just the first day of university and you're already trying to cozy up to the professors? You're unbelievable, you know that?!"
Sempai smiled and replied:
"Well, I like getting to know the professors early, you know."
He then looked at Igris and added:
"Igris, you should start working out, you know?"
As he began walking home, Igris responded with a smile:
"No man, no. I don't have the strength to lift that kind of stuff, you know that. I can barely carry my books and I'm already struggling with my backpack, so gym? Nah, forget it."
Sempai insisted:
"But you're 1.88 m tall, you shouldn't be so skinny, you know? At least do some push-ups, it could help, I promise!"
Igris shook his head:
"No thanks, it's not really my thing. But let's talk about you! You have an assassin's mark, and it's your dream to become a demon hunter, right, Sempai?"
Sempai, looking optimistic, replied:
"Yeah, that's my dream! To become a legendary assassin that everyone talks about, to stop the Great Demonic War... I've always admired the demon hunters. They give me the will to follow my dream when I see them preventing demon appearances.
So when my parents told me that the X on my neck means I'm an assassin, my heart filled with joy! I'll do everything to become a great warrior assassin!"
He then turned his gaze toward Igris and added:
"But you, Igris... you'll never have that chance, since you don't have a mark. Doesn't that seriously piss you off?"
Igris, still smiling, replied:
"Yeah, I don't care about all that war and demon stuff. Even if my father died on the battlefield… he died as a Class C. So, even though I hate violence, I won't really get involved."
Sempai stayed silent for a moment before saying to Igris:
"Dude, did you know that before 2006, to get into university, you basically had to study for 17 years?"
Igris, shocked, replied:
"Huh, what? 17 years of school, were they insane or what? Seriously, were they mad back then? I'd be done at 15, for real. So that means we had to finish school at 18 or 19?"
Sempai laughed at that response:
"Ahahahah, Igris seriously, 15 is too early? Well, it's a good thing they changed it—now we can start university at 16, otherwise, you would've filed a complaint already."
"Yeah, 18 years of study is way too long, even you wouldn't have survived that, right Sempai?"
Sempai, a little annoyed by the nickname Igris gave him, shouted:
"Igris, it's been 12 years that you've been calling me 'Sempai'! You know that means 'old' in Japanese?"
Igris looked at him with a smug expression:
"Yeah, I know exactly what it means. It's because of your white hair that I call you that
"you look like an old checkers player like Mister Tetsuya."
But before they could continue their conversation, a security alarm suddenly went off, followed by an emergency broadcast:
"To all residents of N'djili! A level D demon has been detected. We ask everyone in the district to return home and not to go outside under any circumstances."
People in the streets, gripped by panic, rushed to take shelter in their homes, shops, and restaurants. Igris and Sempai couldn't keep up with the pace, and in the blink of an eye, the street became completely deserted.
Sempai, panicked, shouted:
" Igris! We can't stay here or we'll die! Come on, let's get out of here! "
He knocked on several doors, but no one wanted to open. Overwhelmed with fear, Igris suggested:
" Sempai, we have only one option left: run to the house! It's just a few meters away! "
" Alright! Sempai replied. "
They started running through the alleys of the city. Igris, already out of breath, looked up and saw a shadow moving swiftly across the rooftops.
"Sempai! There's something weird moving on the roof! he shouted."
Even though he didn't fully understand, Sempai felt it was something dangerous. Probably a demon. He immediately replied:
"Let's go, Igris! Run!"
Igris followed him without hesitation. But as they neared the house, a crushing pressure descended upon them. Fear took hold of him, and his legs struggled to keep up with the frantic pace of his heart.
"There's the house! It's just ahead! Igris cried, his voice tense."
But just as they took a few more steps, an icy chill suddenly filled the air. A shiver ran down Igris's spine. He glanced behind but saw nothing clearly. Then, as he turned his head back...
A creature, dark as the night, had appeared right in front of them.
They froze.
The creature stood about two meters tall. Its body was completely black, its hands shaped like claws, and its blood-red eyes glowed with a sinister light.
It gave them a twisted smile and said in a psychotic tone:
"Hello, friends..."