"In the year 2030, Earth was terraformed by cosmic radiation.
Its magnetic field had been weakened, causing an infectious energy to spread across the planet."
For beasts, though, this mysterious energy caused a different change.
It transformed the weak into mindless, attacking creatures and modified the strong into smarter predators. They became monsters forged from the old animal kingdom, with destructive capabilities to match. They were split into three groups:
The mindless ones—those that grew in size.
The normal ones—beasts with thoughts and innate abilities.
The smart ones—creatures so changed they were less animal and more cunning.
Humans tried to defend themselves, but it was hard. Pets turned dangerous, oceans hid creatures unseen before. No nuke or missile could finish them off. Bullets killed some, but the next wave had tougher hides; the next would shrug off bullets entirely. Missiles worked until beasts could catch them from the sky and toss them back. It was an apocalypse, and humanity had to adapt.
Then the crystals appeared.
Dead beasts began dropping crystals. At first it seemed random, but after a few waves it became obvious: these crystals were a key. Governments mobilized forces to collect them. Scientists discovered they weren't fuel or conventional power — they amplified the same strange energy affecting the planet. When a crystal interacted with a human, it could create a condensed container inside certain subjects, leaving room for the crystal's energy to fill. The fuller the container, the stronger the person became.
With that discovery, the first generation of Beast Slayers was born. At first they were soldiers; the name "Beast Slayers" stuck because their job was simple: find, hunt down, and kill beasts. The beasts fought with ferocity and cunning, and humans fought back.
It escalated into a global war — EVENT: KHAOS.
Humans and beasts clashed in waves. Some humans had larger containers and thus greater power. At one point, the strongest slayers attacked the strongest beasts together. No one knows exactly what happened, but the waves stopped. They didn't retreat; they simply halted. Beasts settled where they stopped, and humans built barriers around countries and continents. Travel between continents became risky due to ocean dangers.
Those humans who gained power through crystals were called enerions, a genetic variation of humanity. With their abilities, they could do extraordinary things. To govern them, a collective organization was formed: THE AETHERIUM COUNCIL.
And that is how enerions came to be.
---
"Survival as a Beast Slayer is crucial. You are soldiers of the planet as well as its heroes.
There are two types of slayers: Docile and Rogue. As their names suggest, Docile slayers are part of the country's main military force — they follow orders and protect their city or nation. Rogue hunters don't take orders; they act freely and can form or join groups called guilds. But rogues have two rules:
● They must kill one beast per week, or they will be suspended.
● They must defend their city during an attack.
Of course, this doesn't apply to S-Ranks and above."
After the man finished, the room was as quiet as when he started. Then he said,
"My name is Ayo Nifemi. I am the overseer of this training ground. Like I said in the announcement, I want the best from you, and I hope an S-Rank will arise from among you. Even if that doesn't happen, I want you strong enough to protect the ones you love. No one is to kill another student on these premises. Do so, and you will be expelled — with a missing limb."
A chill ran down everyone's spine except a select few.
Neto, one of them, stared and thought, Enerions? An odd name. So there are beasts we are meant to fight?
"Do your best and get stronger, for your sake and for humanity's. That's today's class — leave."
And with that, the lecture ended.
The next class started a few minutes later in a gym. The instructor was a middle-aged man—about 6'2". Twenty students gathered around him in a circle.
"Gather round."
Everyone closed the circle. The man looked each of them over and spoke.
"Good afternoon. My name is Suyin Leo. This is your martial-arts training class — hand-to-hand combat basics. Your task is simple: one of you must land a clean hit on me. No abilities. I want to see your base physical strength. Begin."
"One clean hit?" someone muttered. "Easy."
"Does he think we're kids?" another scoffed.
More than half the class rushed him. The first was smacked in the face with a foot. The second was flattened by a knee. The third doubled over from a stomach kick. Suyin moved so fast the students could barely see him. He limited his force to avoid serious injury.
Neto and four others hung back, watching. When most of the students had been cleared, Suyin moved closer.
"Shit, we can't even touch him."
"My stomach hurts. Who kicks women?" someone complained.
Hit him? He seems… oddly slow. I wonder if…
Suddenly, Suyin saw a hand so close to his face he could have touched it. He kicked Neto in the gut to propel himself back, then checked the student who had attempted the strike. This kid… I barely saw him.
After skidding on the floor, Neto stood and checked the soles of his shoes. They're still good; these wears are surprisingly strong. He looked at the instructor and said, head tilted and smiling, "Almost touched you…"
Neto felt oddly excited. He didn't know if it was the challenge or the act of fighting itself.
"You'll need your entire class — and more — to land a hit," the instructor said with a smile.
"You almost touched him, Neto," a familiar voice said. Zuri stood to his side.
"Odd that we're in the same class," Danso remarked.
"I guess they want us to stay together?" Neo offered.
"This is so unnecessary," Aniyah said as she walked over.
"We simply have to hit him, right?" Neo asked, an excited smile matching Neto's.
Neto looked at the instructor and grinned ear to ear. "Then let's hit him."
It felt strange—he didn't know how to fight, yet his body moved with uncanny precision. The sensation excited him.
He ran to the side and swung a fist upward. The instructor swerved to the right to dodge. Neo came in with a head kick, but Suyin bent backward to evade. Suddenly a fist in the shape of a claw snapped toward Suyin's face from behind—Zuri had reached him. It was a caught position, but Suyin used Zuri's shoulders to pull himself up and cycle out of the attack, dodging cleanly.
In less than ten seconds, three attacks had been launched and evaded. The instructor hopped back and stopped.
"Good teamwork. But your attacks don't complement each other — you merely take turns. Attack simultaneously, maintain synergy, and strike fluidly without obstructing one another."
"It's odd not to use my eyes here," Aniyah muttered.
"Come on, you're not the only one not using abilities," Danso replied.
"We'll have to learn to work together," Zuri said.