Before Eschaton, there wasn't a single person who was titled 'villains' even if they were heinous criminals.
Now, there exist actual villains on this planet Earth. They are called 'villains' because they possess the power of Magic.
It is a simple way of calling them another dangerous type of criminals.
Furthermore, they are classified in terms of how much of a threat they are.
For example, an F-class criminal is mostly a petty thief that have measly powers such as unlocking every vehicle possible.
An A-class could be a drug lord with a devastating power such as exploding something insight.
It varies and the ones to decides the ranks given to those evil people are the Hero organization and the government together.
The categorization goes from F to E followed by D, C, B, A, AA, AAA, S, SS and finally SSS-class.
It is sort of a ranking system that Emperor Ryouma implemented. He stated that it would be easier to gauge the danger levels that the authorities are dealing with.
With that said, the lower-ranked villains can be dealt with by the police and the SMF only. Levels from F to C and even sometimes B.
But over that, it starts to become difficult for them.
They cannot be stopped by the likes of police officers and the SMF. In which case, Heroes are involved more frequently.
Everywhere in the world, Heroes has become a necessity because of the growth of strong villains.
So, Hero organizations are established around the globe. It is a more disciplined and effective way of battling the enemies that are spread out.
This organization is called 'The Apostle of God'.
The reason why it is called that is because the majority of the civilians view Heroes as aid from God.
The power they gained were assumed to be from God.
As for the villains, they were considered greedy people who became too exhilarated by their powers and in the end they embraced their dark side.
The populace envisioned the Hero vs Villain scenario as if it was the fate of Earth.
Anyway, Heroes may be stationed from every corner but its 'home' is the biggest building in one of its country.
In Japan, 2 such buildings cater for Heroes and coordinate any mission that is available for them.
Of course, in this 'Apostle of God' organization, there is a system of hierarchy.
Like previously in the case of Haze, the water Hero that assisted in the Heisei Shopping Mall incident, he claimed to be a silver ranked Hero.
A silver is not that high but it still is a rank.
The hierarchy goes like this:
Starting from Copper, to Iron, then Bronze finally Silver, continuing is Gold, then Platinum, then Mithril, then Orichalcum and last but not least, Adamantite.
Moving on, at the higher ranks, some fewer Heroes has reached that level of strength.
To be able to go on the summit, the Heroes must have a very useful or unique power, have a lot of achievements and most of all, a respectable character.
Then they can be acknowledged into Mithril and Orichalcum. To go further, into Adamantite, the Heroes will have to produce an even bigger result.
Probably on the national scale.
That's why so few numbers of Heroes have been able to resolve issues on the national level.
It is the same for all the countries that have a Hero organization building established.
The hurdles are high for an ambitious Hero aiming for the top. Luck has to be behind his or her back because not every Hero has a convenient power that can aid in their journey.
So from all the information gathered, it has become a fact that Heroes are needed in this world now.
However, some people may not be content with that.
Of course, the villains obviously would hate the existence of Heroes. But there is another group that dislikes the fated people that are called Heroes.
The Special Magus Force. In abbreviation, the SMF.
They are on the same side, fighting against criminals right? So why do they hate Heroes?
The answer is quite simple and common:
Jealousy.
The SMF is a branch of the organization from the military.
Like in the case of Heroes, a handful of soldiers are carefully selected based on their strength and the most important part, the magnitude of Magic components they have in their body.
Magic in a person does not come from thin air. As stated by Emperor Ryouma, a component called mana is involved.
This 'mana' was never in the world of Earth. But since the rifts in which the 'Rougarous' exited, their existence was not nil.
Emperor Ryouma confirmed the theory that Eschaton brought along not only Rougarous but also mana.
No one can see mana but if you try hard enough to concentrate, you can feel a tinge of that strange force.
There are some people in which mana flows more into their body than others. And they are unbeknownst to it since they do not know how to utilise it or sense it.
They are not Heroes after all.
Heroes' fundamental principle is to be able to manipulate their mana to use their powers.
Aside from Heroes, Nobles and Villains, other people don't know how to properly use mana. Even more so, they cannot feel such power in them.
It is because it is so small in amount that it is pretty much non-existent.
But, due to the Pielser's help, it has shown that some people have more mana than just non-existent.
The government decided to proceed with the plan of building weapons that are imbued by Magic. Nobles would help the government by using their own mana.
They were manufactured in such a way that no large amount of mana would be needed to operate on the weapons. Just the adequate quantity.
Nonetheless, the government did not want people who are old, handicapped or weak.
So what better option is there than to test it on soldiers. They are already well-trained, disciplined and also young.
That's how the SMF came to.
Well, despite being in the military, the selected ones have to undergo another training. It is more intense than they have to usually go through.
Passing through those tests and training, they will earn the reputation of being part of the most elite soldiers. The training is that hard.
Now to the ongoing issue, why are the SMF soldiers so much jealous about Heroes?
It is because the Heroes are stronger than them due to being full-fledged Magic-User.
They are not imperfect Magic-User like the SMF soldiers that need the use of Magic weapons to operate.
Also, no matter how much those soldiers went through harsh training, they would never be able to beat an Iron ranked Hero or even worse, a Copper ranked.
If those low ranked Hero uses their brain and properly utilise their powers, then those elite soldiers might lose.
It is as if, their training is pointless in from of a Hero.
This is jealousy, inclining towards the feeling of uselessness too.
That's the animosity is all about. When there are Heroes, they do not get the praise they deserved.
The population thinks that the SMF are petty cleanup crew whilst the Heroes are the ones that deal with the main problems.
Humiliating as it is, they cannot do anything but listen from one ear and let it out the other.
Still, for how long will this go on?
Well, the SMF are not the only ones in that position.
There are well-trained personnel similar to those elite SMF soldiers.
They are called knights.
Yemon, more commonly known as Seo, as said by the Myoji family, is part of that small group.
The only difference between a knight and an SMF soldier is their purpose.
The SMF is concerned about the safety of the populace of civilians. Knights are tasked with the protection of aristocratic individuals.
So like the SMF soldiers, Knights are selected carefully and trained in jarring tests.
However, Knights do not wield guns like the soldiers but swords imbued with mana. So they are stronger than just a normal blade.
Overall, those two groups are the same. Except for the fact that they are protecting different persons.
About the hierarchy, the aristocracy did not escape from them too.
The lowest aristocrat is a Baron. Then it rises to a Viscount, then Earl, then Marquis, then the Duke, the Prince and obviously, the Emperor.
Speaking of the Emperor, he is the one that implemented all these positions, these hierarchies the way they are today.
And also he was the one to put each person accordingly to their position and stature.
From how much they contributed during Eschaton and how much they achieved. The Emperor decided by himself for each of his companions to which title they earned.
Not sure why Emperor Ryouma was eager on laying down this type of fantasy setting on Earth.
Maybe they thought the Emperor wanted to build a world like this. Nevertheless, no one really objected to this.
There was no major problem that erupted because of it.
Moreover, in the case of the Nobles, the civilians found it right that the companions of the Emperor deserved such luxuries.
It is their reward for helping in eradicating the Rougarous. The populace even thinks that this is just a small price for them.
Preventing the extinction of the human race is quite a humongous feat.
....
The afternoon sun rays bestowed upon one of the biggest building the Hero organization, or more commonly known as the 'The Apostle of God', occupies.
It was situated in Kyoto.
Inside, multiple Heroes were wandering about, some were talking amongst themselves and the rest were waiting for someone.
One such Hero who was doing none of that was Haze.
He was actually looking for someone. After a few minutes, his search was in vain.
Behind his blue futuristic mask, he sighed but he did not give up. He resumed his search until it was time for him to go home.
Around 15 to 20 minutes passed and nothing came up. It was quite a big area considering he is in the biggest building in Japan.
He asked other fellow Heroes if he had the person he was looking for. Some did not know while a few gave directions since they saw that certain person.
Another 5 minutes and finally, he has reached his objective. He raised his hand and called out.
"Trista-Senpai!"
A figure clad in white clothing with white boots turned around and revealed her stoic silver mask.
It was the Hero, Trista.
Haze came jogging and approached her. The words that Haze uttered were that of felicitation.
"Congratulations on becoming the rank of Mithril, Trista-Senpai."
Trista was surprised by the joy of Haze but she did not forget to receive the words of gratitude.
"...T...Thank you, Haze-kun. You sure are energetic."
Haze put one hand behind his head and started rubbing, "What about you, Senpai? Why were you so confused when you saw me?"
Trista denied him, "No it wasn't that I was confused, just surprised."
"Surprised? But why?"
She paused for a few seconds before replying.
"It is the first time that someone called me Senpai here."
"Huh? That's it?"
Now Haze was confused.
"But Senpai, you are older than me. It is obvious that I will be calling you Senpai. Plus, I am learning from you."
"...How so?"
"You gave me those advices back during the Heisei Shopping Mall incident. I have been practising since then."
"Oh, is that so? Then how is it going?"
"I have been able to do multi-tasking little by little. It is only a matter of time until I have mastered it."
His confident tone clearly possessed his statement.
It was then that Trista put a leash on Haze.
"What did I say before? Do not be so overconfident. Do not claim that you have already achieved your goal before getting even close to it."
"...O-Okay..." Haze brought forth the 'instructor part' of Trista.
She realized it herself and then backed off.
"Well, sorry for enforcing such ideas into you if it is unpleasant."
"No no. It is really not a problem. Instead, I want you to be like this with me. I want to get as strong as you, Senpai."
Behind the stoic mask, she thinly smiled and warned Haze about any shortcomings.
"You must be beware though, Haze-kun. Our powers are completely so you would know better if you want to improve in that domain."
"Despite that, you already gave me a good tip, I will listen to everything you say."
"You have to figure some things out by yourself."
Her strict voice again put Haze's carefree attitude in check.
"...I understand."
Trista paused for a moment then lifted her one arm. Haze wondered what she was trying to do.
*Pats.*
"-Wha-?!"
She patted Haze's head.
The embarrassment filled Haze from toes to head. Ongoing Heroes who passed by them watched those two.
Feeling the multiple gazes, Haze immediately questioned Trista's action.
"What are you doing, Senpai!?"
Realizing what she did, she stopped as she was in a daze. He was being treated like a little kid.
Haze wanted an answer.
"You reminded me of someone."
"Still, this is so embarrassing."
Trista veered another direction and greeted Haze off.
"I have to do something, I'll catch you later. Keep training hard, Haze-kun."
She walked off as Haze too waved bye.
"Later, Senpai.'
Haze got what he wanted so he decided to return to his home and get off this outfit that is starting to sweat his ass off.