Chapter 1 Prologue.
English isn't my first language
Before I begin my novel, I would like to apologize in advance for my inadequate level of English proficiency. But I am getting better so please hang in there, Thanks for reading. ;)
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A man with black hair and dark empty eyes sat in what appeared to be a hospital bed, reading an untitled crimson book.
Because he was so engrossed in it, he lost track of time.
He then put down the book and grumbled to himself while watching the sunrise.
He murmured as he closed his eyes, which seemed to be losing vitality.
"This book was rather interesting."
He took a brief break from reading and then noticed an envelope that appeared to have fallen from the book.
He decided to open the envelope and look inside,
Opening the envelope, he saw a black piece of paper inside, and something appeared to be mentioned on that paper with a crimson-red tint.
He was so horrified by what he read on that black piece of paper that he had to take a moment to catch his breath.
After reading it again, he tried to calm himself down by considering the significance of the information and where it had come from.
The book he was reading was once owned by his late girlfriend, she was an accomplished S-Rank hunter.
During the gate outbreak, she lost her life defending him against an SS-Rank monster.
***
A gate is a chaotic world space that connects to the human world via these gates. They usually house a horde of monsters led by a leader, and the gate remains open until the leader is killed.
When the leader is killed, the gates remain open for about an hour before closing on their own.
It should be emphasized that to minimize the loss of human life, a monster gate must be cleared as soon as possible. If it is not, a gate outbreak will occur.
The monsters inside the gate will be able to cross over to the human world and destroy the surroundings, posing a threat to civilians.
And the 'HUNTERS' were assigned to fight these monsters.
Hunters are humans who have magical abilities, they use them to fight and kill monsters and magical beasts.
They first appeared around the same time that humanity became aware of the existence of gates.
As hunters proved to be the only ones capable of killing these monsters and magical beasts and closing the gates, a multinational industry grew up around them.
Hunters are ranked from SS to E on an international scale to indicate their strength, with E being the weakest and SS being the strongest.
They have a diverse set of skills. There are also two types of hunters: combat and non-combat, as well as six different subtypes: warriors, assassins, mages, guardians, rangers, and healers.
SS-Rank Hunters are differentiated by the fact that their "Soul Force" levels are so high that they can't be measured by Soul Force Level meter technology.
Because the vast majority of hunters never achieve that level of power, SS-Rank Hunters are extremely rare in the human population, with only a few dozen per country and a few hundred worldwide.
SS-Ranks are extremely valuable wherever they go as a result of this and the increasing demand. Additionally, it should be noted that battles between SS-Ranks frequently leave the surrounding area in ruins and that because of their incredible strength, it can be difficult to hold them accountable when they enact crimes.
This also applies to the current battle between SS-Rank monsters and hunters, which is taking place.
The monster they were fighting was a huge Magical Beast, it is a magical monster that resides inside dungeons.
Due to being controlled by the leaders, the vast majority of them are extremely hostile toward humans.
Much like the hunters who fight them, their power levels vary from individual to individual and thus their threat levels are categorized by the SS to E in the ranking system.
Despite their appearance as irrational monsters, magical beasts can forge their equipment and are as intelligent as humans, with some of them even speaking human languages.
They also have their own language, which humans refer to as beast language or monster vocabulary.
The SS-Rank Magic Beast they were fighting was the latter, who understands human language.
***
Ares survived despite being only a B-Rank hunter thanks to his girlfriend's selfless sacrifice of deflecting an SS-Rank Magic Beast's attack that was headed straight for him.
She tried to protect him even though it was impossible for her to completely stop the onslaught.
As a result of the attack's aftereffects, he became disabled, but his beloved, who tried to prevent it from happening to him, died in his arms.
An SS-Rank magical beast used its devastating power to destroy the area it attacked, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake. He was fortunate to have lived at all.
The monster had already sustained injuries from fighting so many S-Rank hunters, and the reinforcement that eventually showed up killed it.
However, for him, the price was too high.
He lost someone dear to him throughout that process, and the saddest part was that she passed away as a result of him getting in the way of her.
It's unpleasant to witness the person you treasured beyond all else die before your very eyes.
Even though Ares survived, he now has to live with disabilities, and the anger, guilt, and hatred he had toward himself, as well as a host of other emotions, broke his mental health.
Ares would not have lived if it hadn't been for his beloved, who had given up everything for him. So, he didn't want her sacrifice to be in vain.
If it weren't for that, he would have long before, put an end to his miserable life.
When he read the information on that black piece of paper, the gasps of air that were making it difficult to breathe stopped.
On that piece of black paper, he noticed his name, birthday, and the date of his death.
...Which appears to be today.
He quickly felt dizzy, his head ached, and his eyesight blurred. His eyes were closed because he was losing consciousness, yet a smile could be seen on his face.
He thought that the pain and suffering he had been through were finally ending, and he could now rest in peace, and soon he lost consciousness and ultimately he DIED.!!!
At least that's what he thought...