In the center of the Dark Continent, Africa...
Two yellow eyes glowed as a black monster the size of a small jeep padded softly along the forest floor. It was one with the darkness, after all, it was a being that had evolved to be nothing but the ultimate predator. The ultimate hunter.
Soft pads under its feet so that it made no sound. A coat of darkness to stay well hidden. Claws, teeth, and a few more appendages that could easily shred a grown man. That on top of a truly terrifying physique that rolled with muscle.
It could see in the dark, on top of having a sense of smell so good it created a map in its brain.
It was currently following that map to a large clearing of land that absolutely reeked of prey to be hunted.
It licked its chops in anticipation as it moved faster, and soon it came to a stop several meters from a strange, large creature surrounded by dead prey.
The monster could feel it, a kinship with the standing beast. It was a fellow predator, a dangerous opponent.
However, that did not mean the opponent was to be feared.
Within a moment, the monster covered a distance of nearly one-hundred and twenty meters in a single leap, its gaping maw aiming straight for the strange creatures head.
The strange creature's fate was sealed in the monster's eyes. It was still a weaker opponent.
Its instincts barely shivered as it suddenly met eyes with the creature.
The next moment, however, it was dead.
Sliced into quarters, from its gaping maw to its stinger of a tail.
The strange creature observed its handiwork for a brief moment, then sighed and turned his head away.
"I wonder where Jet is..."
The creature was of course, human. A large brown man who had short brown hair, stubble on his chin, and two large scars on his face. One ran horizontally across hi entire forehead, whilst the other cut from slightly above it to straight down over his left eye, touching his chin. Both scars were pale and had jagged edges.
The man himself was clad in black military clothing, and his gloved hands brushed the golden insignia of a stylized wolf and a letter 'E' artfully blended together. Around his neck was a silver tag, and engraved on it was a name.
KANE.
The next moment, he turned his head to the right.
"There he is."
The very next moment three figures burst out of the the jungle and into the clearing. Two were human sized monsters, whilst the other was an actual human.
They Burst towards Kane with inhuman speed, but the big man barely flinched at the sight of his comrade fighting tooth and nail to survive.
'Kane!' a voice shouted directly into Kane's ear. 'I could really use some help buddy!'
The other man barrel rolled over attacks from either side whilst parrying those said attacks. He and the humanoid beasts were nothing but blurs as they tried and failed to tear each other apart.
'If you have time to talk, you can handle them,' Kane said into the comm-link.
'OH COME ON!' the man nearly screamed. 'I'VE FOUGHT AT LEAST WENTY OF THESE THINGS ALREADY! RIGHT AFTER THE FOUR PLANS FAILED! HELP ME OUT! I'M BEGGING YOU!'
Kane sighed. 'It's good training-'
'GOOD TRAINING CAN KISS MY ASS!' the man nearly screamed before performing a near perfect roundhouse kick over one of the monsters and landing it on its partner. Flames exploded out of his boot and sent the monster rocketing back.
Back into Kane, who still stood several meters away.
The big man sighed as the beast zoomed towards him like a literal live missile.
It stinks, he thought even as his hand reached out and grabbed the winged monsters slightly charred head.
The monster was an insectoid. Humanoid insects with intelligence traits. One was roughly five to six feet in height with large, leathery wings. This particular species was dark with spots mottling its exoskeleton.
An exoskeleton which had the strength to withstand the force of sixty elephants. It also possessed mandibles strong enough to bite back at anything giving it trouble.
However, due to its incredible physique, the insectoid had a weakness that, if it could be exploited, was fatal.
After receiving a powerful blow, the massive amounts of force would cause friction and immense thermal energy, effectively causing the insectoid to overheat, and its joints to 'weld' or simply close shut.
Basically it couldn't move after receiving a devastating blow.
That did not really matter in the long run. Even if it could still move after Jet's attack, it still wouldn't have been able to fight Kane.
"I might as well..." said the big man as his huge hand began squeezing the insectoid's head. Within seconds, cracks began to appear. Within a few more, the insectoid's head exploded in purple lymph as Kane's fingers joined together in a fist.
He shook his hand once, stopping it in the air, and the lymph flew off his gloved hand like it had never been there in the first place.
'You done, Jet?'
Kane looked over at the finally stationary man-who was sitting on the body of the insectoid he'd just killed-and immediately assessed him.
The man's entire head was covered in a black mask with dark accents. Its contours were sharp and streamlined, resembling the nose cone of a rocket. The cheeks flared backward into swept fins and a single, narrow V-shaped visor stretched across the eyes, glowing with a molten-orange.
Instead of a mouth opening, the lower face had an exhaust grille, hexagonal in shape. Every breath he took caused the air around his mouth to shimmer.
The forehead bore a stylized emblem resembling a rocket plume split into three rising flames, all made with polished silver, though it was currently covered in dirt and lymph. Thin vents run along the brow and jaw, opening automatically to release heated air during battle.
It seemed like it wasn't enough though, so the helmet split apart in a hundred different places and melted into a skin tight substance underneath his suit, which was identical to Kane's except for the emblem on his chest being a silver '1' and the linings of his suit to be silver as well.
He was handsome, and his rugged look seemed to add to the appeal. Blond hair which moved faintly in the breeze, a chiseled jawline, fair colored stubble, and amber eyes with flecks of blue in them.
Scars could be seen right below his ear, across the bridge of his nose, and at the base of his jaw.
"You seem fine," Kane rumbled.
Jet scowled as he began to clean his daggers, whose blades where a foot-and-a-quarter in length and slightly curved. "I'm not. I'm tired, hungry, stiff, and overheated. All because someone refused to help me when the trap failed."
Kane ignored the jab and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "It's not my fault you could not fight and win against twenty plus insectoids."
Jet stared at Kane with murder in his eyes. "I'm pretty sure those twenty plus insectoids all died by my blade."
Kane shrugged as if it was no big deal. "So you killed twenty plus Asura grade Mo. What's there to talk about?"
Jet sighed, exasperated by his friend's complete disregard for the impossibly rare monsters that were strong enough to wipe out an entire country if left unchecked.
"So what data were you able to collect on their-"
SKREEEEEEEE!
Both Kane and Jet looked south, which was were the scream had come from.
Jet sighed and scratched his hair, whilst Kane simply closed his eyes and listened.
"Looks like you missed a few insectoids..." Jet glared at him. "No, the sound of their wings beating is different..."
Jet remained silent so as to avoid breaking the bigger man's concentration. He could tell Kane was relaying the information out of consideration for him, as the big man preferred silence most of the time.
"Ten insects. Two Saber-Tooth tigers. A Faceless Caricature leading several different monsters."
Jet looked at the big man in shock, then froze as he saw the savage grin on his face.
"A force of monsters that can't even compare to Broken class, but a powerful force nonetheless."
Jet turned away and sighed. "Sure, go crazy or whatever. I'll be here waiting for you."
Kane didn't reply as he stretched then popped his knuckles. From underneath his collar, tattoo-like black marks appeared on his neck. His canines grew slightly in size, and so did his body, his muscles like thick coils of rope.
"How long will this take you?" Jet asked.
Kane paused and tilted his head as a small black wave engulfed his head, forming a beast-like helmet with sharp ears pointing backwards, thin, purple glowing eyes, a strange pattern of intersecting lines that made the helmet look sharp and dangerous, and a set of large, dark fangs where the mouth was.
'Give me one minute,' Kane said over the comms.
Jet chuckled. The amount of time a Hunter could complete a task was not just for re-assurance; it was also both a challenge and an inside joke for all Hunters. Whoever popped the question would be the one to time the challenger. Refusing would mean weakness, and in the Hunters' line of work, weakness was tantamount to sin.
'Good luck then,' Jet replied.
Kane chuckled. 'I don't need luck.'
He leaned forward slightly, making it look like he was falling a little, then he exploded from his starting position.
Jet shied away from the powerful gust of wind and the dirt that flew his way with one thought prominent in his mind.
Show off.
Kane zoomed through the forest like a dark, gold lined wraith. He ricocheted off trees, weaved through the underbrush, or straight up destroyed whatever stood in his way. One second, there was peace. Dense underbrush, thick vines, a few small monsters. The next second, a path was cleaved into the area. The small monsters became blood splatter, and the dense plants simply didn't exist anymore.
In seconds the Hunter reached the Saber-Tooths, which were plodding along at a pace that would look like a galloping horse to a regular person. To Kane, they might as well have been standing still. He shifted slightly, slid on the earth, and swung his arm up at blinding speed.
The first tiger was immediately sliced into quarters, and before the second could even register that something had happened, Kane grabbed one of the large fangs of the dead tiger from midair and slammed it into the side of the second tiger's head.
Before the blood could fall, Kane was already gone, grabbing one other saber tooth before zipping away.
His senses told him the insects where currently in his path. They were a different species from the ones he and Jet had just killed. Kane noted a long proboscis, slightly smaller wings than the previous insectoids, and a softer body. Whereas the previous insectoids looked to be wearing sun-kissed bronze armor, these ones would be wearing leather armor instead.
They'll have a much weaker defense, but that just means they'll be faster. Doesn't matter though.
The Mo were ten in number, and the lead one suddenly sensed something approaching them.
Before it could relay that information, however, it found itself sliced in half, straight across the middle.
Kane held the saber tooth away from him as he came to a stop. He nodded in satisfaction.
Guess they're called 'saber' teeth for a reason.
The other insectoids had paused a few meters away from Kane, who faced off against them.
Nine left.
Both sides blurred and boomed forward, then immediately engaged in highspeed combat.
Kane parried a zooming javelin-thrust like attack, vaulted over another Mo's claw attack, and stabbed the head of yet another who tried to mimic the first attacker.
Eight.
He grabbed the insectoid's javelin like proboscis and spun before landing on his feet.
He slammed the monster he held into another who attacked, broke off the proboscis of the monster he'd been holding, and continued to move.
For a few seconds, he and the monsters were locked in deadly combat. Kane dodged their relentless barrage of claw strikes and javelin thrusts, whilst they zipped in and out of his range just like-
A bunch of mosquitoes, Kane growled.
Mosquitoes with attack patterns. One particularly large pattern was the slight distance the insects gave whenever one of them attempted a full body thrust
He spun and parried a thrust from an insectoid before his other hand blurred forward and grabbed the insectoid's proboscis.
He sidestepped and ducked over a few attacks before blocking a full body thrust with the still living insectoid and stabbing the monster's thorax with his javelin.
Seven, six.
Kane snapped off the proboscis of the insectoid whose head he'd grabbed with a thumb and grabbed it properly whilst shifting his feet and body into position.
With a growl, Kane threw the javelin-like weapon so fast it seemed to have vanished. The same could be said for the torso of the insectoid who had been the target.
Five.
Kane went even faster, blurring behind an insectoid and slicing its head off with a chop of his hand.
Four.
Bloodlust rippled off him, causing the insectoids to flinch for half a second before deciding to turn and run.
However, it was futile.
In a single moment, the next insectoid got a hand run straight through its chest.
Three.
Another got its head ripped off.
Two.
One more met its end when a javelin was stabbed into the top of its head.
One.
The last on received a boot to the back. Its wings were ripped out immediately, cutting off any means of escape.
In fear, the monster turned its head round and was immediately hit with a wave of killing intent so thick it distorted the monster's already fragmented compound-eye vision.
Standing over it was a beast unlike any other. It was huge, its entire body coated with darkness, the air around it thick with the red hue of blood. Its eyes held a promise, the promise of every Mo's death.
That was the last thing the monster felt before it died.
The fear of extinction. The fear of the unknown.
The fear of a prey locked in the sights of a predator.
Further to the west was the Faceless Caricature and its minions. The Asura class Mo stood at a staggering ten meters in height, its entire body covered in dark fur. It possessed a bone white head with a black dot on its forehead, nothing more. That was what had given it its name.
It had four barrel like arms, two of which where folded onto the main body, and two of which helped its relatively small legs to move.
The Mo was one of the many monsters in existence that had special abilities. It's own power was the ability to control monsters mentally weaker than it. As such it was highly susceptible to abstract mental concepts, which gave it an instinctive understanding of how most monsters' minds worked.
And due to this sensitivity, it could feel something coming for it impossibly fast.
It was about to command its minions forward, but then froze as a wave of indescribable fear crashed into its mind.
It froze up completely, and the next moment its senses shut down completely.
Unseen by the monstrosity, holes running from its forehead down to the base of its spine spat blood as a dark blur tore through its forces like scissors through paper.
Kane stood amongst the carnage he had wrought and put a hand to the side of his head.
'Jet. I'm done.'
There was silence over the comms, then Jet spoke, his voice deadpan and devoid of emotion.
'Oh wow, already?'
'Yes.'
'Hmmm... you took forty-six seconds to wipe them out. Congrats.'
Kane chuckled as he turned to the area from which he came.
He had just slaughtered thirteen Asura class monsters, each carrying power similar to armies, in less than a minute.
Most people would be going crazy over the feat, and some would brag till kingdom come if they were the ones to accomplish it.
Kane however?
'I've gotten slower it seems.'
'No shit,' Jet replied. 'Hurry up and get over here. We've got guests.'
*****
Kane walked into the clearing, helmet off. Immediately he took in the changes in the area noting several things at once.
First was a large carrier plane with special landing gear and rotating engines, allowing it to land in almost any terrain. It was surrounded by large black crates and cases. Second were the people wearing yellow suits that were worn by some of the most important people in the Hunter Association: Sweepers.
A group of people dedicated to collecting, dismantling, studying, and possibly even using the Mo hunted down. Through their efforts, several weapons had been created, as well as the discovery of weaknesses for those weapons to exploit.
"Welcome back partner," Jet said, patting Kane's shoulder. "Mind giving these kind gentlemen the coordinates of the Mo you killed?"
Jet handed him a sleek tablet with a map of the area on its screen. Kane jumped a few mental hurdles before inputting the exact coordinates and handing it over to a Sweeper who accepted it with a bow.
"We'll get right on it sir," the Sweeper promised with a salute.
Jet watched him go, then spoke. "Kane, we've been called back to HQ."
Kane turned to the shorter man. "Why?"
Jet shrugged. "We've been tasked by the VP to move out."
Kane nodded and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, so it was bathed in the hues of several colors.
"Where? Sahara? Himalayas? Amazonia?"
"No," Jet replied with a smirk. "We're going to be teachers at Dawn Academy."
Kane blinked in genuine surprise, then smiled.
"Interesting," was all he said.