In the three years since the initial appearance of monsters and gates, humanity's Chosen have adapted quickly. They only had two main goals, the extermination of monsters and the reclamation of human territory on Earth.
At first, most of them were terrified by the prospect of war, but as the world drew ever closer to ruin, they embraced their fears and turned them into desperation. Seeing the efforts of those who fought on the front lines of the war against monsters, the rest of the Chosen, including those who newly received their stigmata, gained courage and joined them.
Slowly, humanity was able to push back the monster invasion. But it was all they could do to preserve what was left of the human territories. It was at this point that the governments of the largest nations began their campaign of gathering Chosen for their respective nations alone. However, nearly 50% of the world's population had already been lost.
The protests against the governments' selfish actions escalated rapidly until a civil unrest on a global scale was about to erupt. The governments all around the world were forced to dissolve save for a minor few. In their place, the United Nations stepped up to connect all the lands and people.
They learned from the previous mistakes and created a new world organisation whose sole purpose was the protection of humanity and the world. It was called the Global Alliance (GA). This new organisation was composed of officials from the UN and the strongest of the Chosen.
And under this organisation, multiple smaller organisations made up of only Chosen were created and based all across the remaining human territories. These came to be called 'guilds'.
One such guild called Titans was based in the Vermont Eventide. The appearance of the Imaginary Tree did not only change humanity and create monsters. It also drastically changed Earth's geography and environments with the introduction of a mystical energy called mana.
Eventide is a designation for the areas in the world that have unusually high concentration of mana leading to more monsters and gates appearing within its range. As such, several large guilds were stationed here.
Titans' guild master, Liam Smithson, was in the training room of their guild headquarters when an alarm rang out in the entire building. It was not to notify the people of a fire, but to warn them that there has been a monster outbreak in their region.
Even as the alarm was blaring, an urgent voice came from the speakers installed within the building. It was a voice belonging to a female non-Chosen personnel assigned to them by the GA in order to better coordinate their operations.
[Attention! Blood-type gate appearance in the southern area of Reignbow Park! Multiple casualties have already been reported!]
With those words, Liam Smithson rushed to the locker room and put on his equipment. Several other members who were inside the building were rushing just like him. As soon as he put on the earbuds made from a fusion of mana and modern technology, the announcement came in again.
[I repeat! Blood-type gate appearance in the southern area of Reignbow Park! Multiple casualties have already been reported! Units on patrol, head there immediately!]
"Everyone, gather in the garage in two minutes! Hurry!"
Liam shouted as he left the training room. As he rushed through the lobby, he gathered the rest of the members who had just finished preparing and led them to the garage. Not long after, all members of Titans Guild remaining in the headquarters, except for 3 who were assigned to protect the premises and the non-Chosen personnel, had climbed into a repurposed military truck and sped away.
Titans' headquarters was not far from the scene so this incident was fully their responsibility, but that did not mean that they would have to face it alone. As part of the Global Alliance, other guilds in Eventide and those close to the site were being mobilised together. In just a few minutes, the truck was nearing the park when they received a new report through communications devices.
[Monster type confirmed! It's an unknown four-armed humanoid! Temporary designation is Scarecrow! Multiple sightings already confirmed, please hurry!]
"We're looking at them right now! Preparing to engage! Let's clean this up before more come!"
Liam Smithson replied while jumping out of the vehicle. Before them was a scene they could easily recognize. They haven't even reached the park, but monsters had already spread out, reaching the roads.
The flow of traffic had slid to a grinding halt and people were running away in fear. Fortunately, only a handful of monsters were here for now. The members of Titans followed their leader, exiting the truck immediately to rush toward the monsters.
"Guild Master, patrol units A and B have entered the park! They're requesting immediate backup!"
"We can't split our forces against an unknown enemy! Miss Sara, request support for the patrol units!"
[Done! But there's too many monsters in the park! Even the reinforcements from other guilds are being slowed… Wait!]
The non-Chosen GA liaison, Sara, shouted in a panic. Liam Smithson and his team of eight were already engaging the Scarecrows while protecting the people who have yet to escape. They were already in high tension, so her exclamation was just too much to bear at the moment.
"What is it?! What's going on?!"
[No, I don't understand either! The monsters seem to be gathering near the gate! Even those that have spread out have gone back! You need to hurry!]
"What do you think we're doing?! Everyone, get ready for an overflow!"
All members tensed up more upon receiving the order from their guild master. They all heard the report on their comms, but didn't want to think about what was happening. Liam Smithson, on the other hand, realised what it could potentially be.
A large group of monsters gathering to protect the gate until they have enough forces to wipe out everything in their vicinity to the point where they would not have to worry about the gate being closed by anyone. At that point, monsters would just keep flooding out of the gate without anyone being able to do anything, an overflow.
Thinking of the urgency of the situation, the team doubled down on the monsters they were facing. The scarecrows were a new type of monster that had never been seen before. Their combat abilities were exceptional among the lower ranked monsters, but their four arms and speed could easily earn them a place among the middle ranks, D and C.
They could not fight it one on one. Even for elite Chosen of B or A ranks, these new monsters are very troublesome enemies. Lower ranked Chosen would be overwhelmed easily. For Titans, however, it was easy to pull through with their well-balanced team. They quickly killed two of the scarecrows when the remaining three ran back into the park.
"Miss Sara, we're chasing after the monsters running back into the park! How's the situation?"
[I don't know what's going on, but their numbers are slowly decreasing. There's someone in the park that's killing more monsters than what's coming through the gate! It doesn't look like they belong to any guilds!]
"Well, we'll find out soon! We can see the cluster far ahead! Everyone, prepare to engage!"
Liam Smithson decided not to kill the scarecrows that went back into the park. Instead, they followed them thinking that they would be led toward the gate. They thought correctly as a horde of monsters appeared ahead of them.
They couldn't see anything beyond the scarecrows running and jumping wildly. Until black blades suddenly pierced through the monsters. Considering how many monsters were gathered there, they could only guess how long the blades were.
The team had now reached close enough to be able to better discern the situation. However, as soon as they were about to attack the skewered monsters, they all stepped back in shock and fear.
"What… the hell just happened?"
Someone asked in a slightly trembling voice, but they received no reply. None of them could understand what was happening either. Or more precisely, they could not believe it.
The large blades spun around like a chainsaw and tore apart the horde of monsters. In an instant, they were reduced to a mere twenty or so. And at the centre of that black storm of blades was a man with dark brown hair that reached his shoulders. His clothes were rather plain, but he looked both incredibly beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
Everyone who saw him, including the other Chosen who had arrived from different parts of the park, were stunned. Was there such a powerful Chosen among them? It took a full team just to take down two and yet this man alone slaughtered what looked like a hundred at once. Then a voice rang out as though to free them from their shock.
[Guild Master, report! The large number of monsters had vanished! What happened?!]
"...I don't know how to explain this. We'll talk later, Miss Sara! Everyone, help him! Don't let the scarecrows block him!"
Immediately after the shocking scene, the man rushed toward the gate. Liam Smithson realised that the monsters gathered to stop him from closing the gate in the first place because of his overwhelming strength, so he shouted orders to all the Chosen that gathered.
As the master of the guild who had jurisdiction over the area, even reinforcements from other guilds followed his orders. Although it was not really a matter of jurisdiction anymore as everyone understood what they needed to do.
Not all monsters had gathered to stop the man, so besides those that survived the slaughter, there were others that they had to kill. Fortunately, all of the remaining monsters were either those who did not move far from the gate or those that rushed back.
"Hey, does anyone know who that guy is?"
There were a lot of Chosen gathered so the fight that ensued was more leisurely than before which allowed some of them room to talk amongst each other. However, none of the people gathered here recognized the man. It was as the last of the scarecrows was killed that someone shouted simultaneously with a new report from Sara.
"The boss is coming out!"
[A large monster has just been detected! Everyone, be careful!]
They were already too late to notice the presence of the boss monster as half of its body had already crawled out of the gate. Liam Smithson gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his sword, expecting a tough fight. He was already resolved to take responsibility for the lives that would be lost. After all, it was a monster that they all recognized.
[Monster signature analysed! Oh god, it's a troll!]
Troll, a monster with incredible strength that could fight against an elite group of A-ranked Chosen alone. But the most terrifying thing about it is the incredibly tough skin and absurd vitality capable of regenerating grievous wounds within minutes.
There were only two other instances of a troll appearing on Earth before. And the common thing about those two events was the destruction they left behind. Even though they were successfully killed, the damage to the surroundings was great, but the number of casualties was devastating.
The people who saw the troll crawling its way out of the gate were overwhelmed by despair. There were those who were resolved to die in order to stop the troll here, but there were also those who wished to run away. Yet none of them were able to do anything as their gazes fell onto the man who was suddenly flying in the air.
[Please… please hold out. I've sent a request directly to the GA… I'm sorry...]
Sara's weak and trembling voice came through their comms, but no one replied. They were only focused on the man who had landed on the scarecrow with reddish skin, instantly pulverising it. And with the gate closed, the troll, which had haunted everyone even in their dreams, was now rolling on the ground, screaming in pain with tears in its eyes.
Half of its body was gone, stuck on the other side of the gate that had been closed before it could fully come out. Its blood spilled out as its guts lay torn out in the open. Then all too quickly, a white lance pierced and killed the hideous monster.
[Huh…? What?! Guild Master! Liam! What happened?! The troll's signature just vanished! Report, please!]
Sara's flustered voice rang out again, but no one replied again. They could only stare at the man in both fear and awe.