A quiet, city-edge neighborhood.
Suddenly—
SCREEEEECH
Mutated, rat monsters burst out near a grocery store.
Some of them swarm toward civilians clutching grocery goods.
People run. Shops slam shut. Chaos exploded in seconds.
"AREN'T THERE ANY HUNTERS PATROLLING NEARBY?!"
"CALL THE GUILD!"
"THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"
One man doesn't run.
He's well-built, broad-shouldered, the kind of guy who's spent considerable time ensuring he looks the part.
His girlfriend is beside him — stunning, terrified — and something in him decides this is the moment. His moment.
He steps forward and stomps down hard on a rat—
It doesn't die.
CRUNCH.
The rat twisted beneath his shoe.
The man's face drained white.
"…What?"
The creature launched upward.
Its teeth sank deep into his leg.
"AAGHHHHHH—!"
Blood splashed across the pavement as he crashed down screaming.
The girl stumbled backward, frozen in terror.
The rat jerked violently, trying to tear another chunk free—
SPLAT
A spear pierced through the rat's skull inches from the girlfriend's face.
Blood sprayed across the pavement.
The rat went limp.
Standing over her, behind the spear was Sain - a lean hunter with navy-blue hair.
For a split second, his eyes locked onto the twitching rat corpse.
And widened.
Sain (thinking):No....not rats. Anything but rats. God, I hate these things.
Another screech echoed behind him.
Sain flinched—jumping three feet farther than necessary, almost slipping.
His body recoiled on instinct—
—but his spear moved anyway.
THUNK.
The rat hit the ground dead before it could touch him.
Sain immediately stepped back.
His breathing sharpened.
His hands were shaking and his jaw tightened.
Another rat rushed him.
His spear flashed again.
Clean thrusts. Perfect accuracy.
One dead...Two dead....Three dead.
His technique is efficient — each strike clean and deliberate, guiding the rats away from the civilians.
But his expression fooled absolutely no one.
A civilian blinked from behind a car.
"Is he… scared?" he whispered.
"He looks like he's about to cry." another snickers.
Meanwhile the rats scattered in every direction.
Sain chased after them relentlessly.
Suddenly—
BOOOOOOM
A mace hammer crashes down on a rat reducing it to a wet smear on the pavement .
A loud, echoing scream rips through the street.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!"
Maru - A tall, broad-shouldered hunter with bright orange hair charged forward.
Tears flew off his cheeks like rain.
"DON'T COME NEAR ME—AAAAAAAH!!!"
Wild swings—but backed by terrifying strength, a hurricane of sobbing violence.
THWACKK— a rat explodes. Another crawls—
BAM — crushed into the pavement.
Maru kept screaming.
"STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY!!!"
Blood splashes everywhere.
People peek from hiding.
One whispers, "Why is he screaming like that?!"
Sain glanced at Maru.
For a split second, the absurdity hits him.
A short, hysterical laugh escapes— and instantly he kills another rat on panic reflex.
A few civilians couldn't help laughing.
"That guy's fighting like his life depends on it!"
Silence falls.
Rat corpses litter the street.
Two hunters stand drenched in sweat.
Maru bends over, panting.
"I....I hate rats"
Sain stands stiffly, spear tip dripping.
He felt weak in the knees.
An ambulance arrives .
Sain approached the ambulance and guided the medics to the injured man.
The medics immediately slap a tourniquet on the bleeding man's leg to stabilize him before loading the stretcher.
Maru stared at Sain as the injured man is taken away.
Sain noticed.
They lock eyes.
Sain quickly looks away.
Maru walks over.
"Didn't realize someone got hurt that badly."
Sain stood there, breathing heavily.
"When I got here, a rat was already on him."
He looked toward the ambulance.
"I had to call for emergency services immediately."
Maru frowned.
"Poor guy. His leg might be gone for good."
Awkward silence.
People came out of hiding.
A single clap echoes—slow, hesitant—from a shop doorway.
Then another. Then another.
Applause spreads. Laughter mixes in—sharp, relieved bursts.
Sain looks uncomfortable.
Maru waves enthusiastically.
He whispers to Sain
"...Guess I screamed too much."
Sain wipes his spear clean, hesitating.
"...You screamed efficiently."
Maru scratches his head.
"...That's a compliment, right?"
Sain smirks.
"...Perhaps."
"Rats seriously freak me out" Maru mutters.
Sain makes a disgusted face.
"...Yeah. I'm not a big fan of them either."
Then, sincere—
"But your strength… it's extraordinary."
Maru blinks.
"...Really?"
Sain nods.
"Even I could feel your hits."
Maru immediately flexed.
"I do work out."
Sain smiles.
"...I can tell."
From an alley corner—
Ten hunters watch them from hiding.
One finally spoke.
"These guys are better than I expected."
Another hunter folded his arms.
"Neither of them has joined a squad yet."
A third smiled.
"Then we'd better make our move before someone else does."