Kyoshu Island, Japan
The sky above Kyoshu Island was burning red.
Thick smoke wrapped around the island from the coastline. The wind nearby carried the scent of ash and burning.
Sirens wailed loudly in the distance, but it was impossible to say if anyone was still alive to hear them.
The ground of the island trembled violently.
Boom!
Then something massive burst through the ground.
A black figure emerged from the dust.
An enormous body, higher than a two-story building. When the dust cleared, it was...
The Giant Black Ant.
It had an armored shell over its body and steel-like six legs that were crushing the remaining buildings.
The creature emitted a piercing screech that was so sharp it made the soldiers' eardrums burst, and blood dripped from their ears.
Around the Giant Ant King, hundreds of smaller ants swarmed over, destroying cars, broken walls, and even eating the corpses of civilians and fallen hunters.
They were what we called the "Monsters."
But these monsters weren't alone.
In the battlefield, there were people standing against these monsters.
They were "Hunters."
Under the order of the World Government, Japanese and Korean S-Rank Hunters were fighting alongside each other to protect the civilians.
A man wearing a reddish hat that looked like a cowboy hat brandished a Japanese katana.
He stepped forward, holding a beer in his hand.
The Giant Ant King ripped the corpse from the ground, blood gushing forth.
"Oooo, that's a horrible death," he said, sipping the alcohol.
Looking at the terrified sight, fellow hunters were sweating from their foreheads. They looked at each other as if to say, "I don't want to die."
"Kids these days don't have guts. I have to show what the S-Rank Hunter of Japan, Isuka Takeru, can do."
He threw the beer on the ground and unsheathed his katana. The long katana began to glow bright blue as mana surged through it.
Sparks flew from his feet, cracking the ground.
"Lightning Step!"
In an instant, he vanished into thin air.
Air exploded behind him as he moved forward faster than the eye could follow.
The moment he reappeared, he was behind the Giant Ant.
His sword swung in a flash once. A deep, clean cut split the legs of the monster in half.
Black blood sprayed all over the ground.
The ant cried in pain, its massive body shaking the ground. The creature slammed its claw down at Isuka.
But luckily, he dodged.
The nearby car turned into scrap metal and blasted a shockwave across, shattering the windows of the buildings that were still standing.
Then a figure appeared, red-haired and in a white suit.
"This bastard stormed off alone to kill."
His body was glowing red as mana surged through him.
Floating several meters above the ground, he raised his right hand toward the sky.
"Now, I will show you what the Dragon of Seoul, Do-yoon Chul, can do."
"Dragon Flames!"
Several magical circles appeared above him.
Then a pillar of fire descended from heaven itself.
Then, Isuka Takeru glowed with a blue aura.
"That bastard is also trying to kill me! I have to show what the Shogun of Kyoto can do."
"Thousand Blades of Death!"
A magic circle appeared in the air, and blades floated in the air.
"Now!"
Thousands of blades poured down on the monster, slicing through its skull.
A massive explosion erupted near the Giant Ant King's face.
In fear, the Giant Ant King dug into the ground and escaped.
But other ant bodies piled across the street.
Blood flooded the street.
Not only ants but also many hunters lost their lives.
The television cameraman struggled to keep up with the battle.
The lens zoomed in on the battlefield.
Smoke and blood.
Many hunters were disappointed because they couldn't avenge their friends' deaths.
What was more disturbing was the strength of the S-Rank Hunters.
The cameraman was asking questions to every hunter.
But then Isuka Takeru appeared, thrusting his katana inside the camera lens and breaking everything apart.
Then the broadcast suddenly cut to static.
The screen flickered.
Several kilometers away, far from the battlefield, in a narrow street in Seoul.
Outside a TV shop, a boy wearing a thin high school uniform stood watching the displayed television in silence.
"Those are S-Rank Hunters."
The boy, who was looking at them, didn't yet know that he was going to be the greatest Hunter of all time.
His name is
Kang Tae Jun.