I am cursed.
There was something or some kind of demon following me wherever I go and killing the people around me.
It started on the 18 of July 2022 after my family's death due to a monster that appeared from the skies.
That day will forever be known as the great disaster of Empire city.
A monstrous six-headed snake laid waste to the majority of the city, leaving many survivors homeless, forcing them to stay with relatives or in remote camps.
I was not only one of the survivors but one of the few that became homeless.
Yet ever since that day I felt a mysterious presence following me, wherever I go.
There were times people would bully me and make fun of the fact that I was begging for money, only to be turned into a bloody corpse by something that was stalking me.
At first I thought it was a fluke, but it happened again only two days after that. This time I was mad because someone was harassing a blind girl. I let my emotions become the best of me and next thing I knew...an entire survivor camp was destroyed by demon that was following.
Rumours about what occurred started making headlines amongst the survivors.
Beware of the curse orphan with hair.
That was only two months ago, I stayed in my old bedroom all day long, but for some reason I'm still alive.Â
For some reason whenever I don't eat or drink water, my body don't feel thirsty or hungry during the next day. Actually my body felt refreshed.Â
Whenever I hear howling from the monsters outside, I feel something holding onto me that felt so warm comfortable.
I never looked behind. I just controlled my composer and hope it would go away.
Even pain felt like something I can't feel anymore.
I was beyond convinced that I was haunted by a demon or some sort.
I was getting ready to sleep for today when I heard a random knocking outside my bedroom door, "Hello, is the curse orphan here?" The voice was smooth and deep, with a masculine tone voice.
"Um, yes, that's me. Why are you here? You do realize that anyone who gets close to me dies instantly." I responded to the voice.
The door was unlocked and swung open. A man with spiked-back black hair and golden eyes, dressed in a white robe with a sword attached to the sides, waved at me from beyond the outside of room, saying, "I know the risks, but I still wanted to meet you in person."
"Please leave already." I said in a threatening tone.
He stepped forward into the room, a smirk on his face. "Are you afraid that the monster clinging to you will kill me?" he said.
He noticed it as well. "If you know something, then please leave. I just want to stay here alone." I said.
The man began to walk forward slowly. "During the Red Gate incident, there was an eighteen-year-old kid who watched his family get killed. Now, that kid isolates himself." he said as he draws his sword.
I sensed the demon growing angrier and angrier. "LEAVE NOW!" I shouted, as I felt something being unleashed.
But the man dodged the attack, and whatever he dodged left a hole in the wall.
"Why don't you turn around and see what's holding on to you?" he suggested. Taking his advice, I cautiously turned my head to glimpse at what was lurking behind me.
It was the first time I've ever looked at the demon, I was looking at something that I don't even know what I was looking at or what to comprehend.
It had a white snake like lower body, two upper arms that looked like arm like cannon and two lower arms had a bladelike arm, a short neck split mouth woman.
I was beyond shock at what I was looking at, "That's how you look?".
The man with black hair advanced, sword in hand, declaring, "You were marked for execution as you're considered too perilous to live. Let's not make this harder than it needs to be." He was enveloped in a blue aura as he surged forward towards me.
However, the snake demon intervenes, striking him with its tail and sending him crashing outside.
This guy is serious, he trying to kill me.
"That wasn't nice." he said, reappearing behind me with powerful kick to my right arm, sending me through the walls and out of the building. However, the snake monster caught me in mid-air and, surprisingly, set me down gently on the ground.
I was taken back at this thing protecting me, "Why are you doing this?" I asked the demon to which it rub it head against my face. I guess it just wants to protect me.
The demon immediately got in front of me and blocked the incoming slash from the black hair man.
In point blank range the monster fired a cannon blast that sent him flying away. The monster didn't stop there, immediately follow after and created an x like slash wound on chest.
The man coughed out blood before vanishing and reappearing in front of me, attempting to slash my neck. But my instinct took over and I dodged his attack. And immediately followed up with straight right hook against his face and then an uppercut and a kick that pushed him back.
Afterwards the demon wrapped its tail around his leg and fling towards a house.
I stood there in amazed by what just happened.
Suddenly I heard the footsteps of someone else approaching behind.
I swiftly turned to confront the woman in question who was dressed in the same white uniform as the man I was fighting with, a golden sword in her hand. "Settle down, we are not your enemies kid." she said, placing the sword on the ground and gazing intently into my eyes.
The demon held me tightly and release a sinister cry that echo across the ruined city.
"Who are you people? Why do you want to kill me?" I asked.
The girl in question released her brown hair from its ponytail state, "Simply really, that monster which is protecting you was deemed too dangerous due to the concerning high levels of energy within it. If you were to ever go on a rampage, you could potentially destroy countless cities and kill innocent lives. Me and my partner who you just fought were tasked to eliminate you but we were also given another option depending on the person. You can either choose to become a Hunter who uses his abilities for protecting others or you can be executed and save countless from your potential destruction-" as she continued to speak the demon turned us around and that guy from earlier was back.
He seemed irritated, "Hinata, stay back and don't interfere." He dashed forward but much faster than before.
The demon begun blasting its arm cannon which almost stop the man in his tracks, but he suddenly vanished and appeared behind me, "Curse orphan like you deserve to die." His blade in directed course to my neck.
That instant I had a random flashback before my eyes. It was me and my family together. My mother, my younger sister and older brother all stood side by side with each other whispering something.
When the flashback ended, the man looked beyond terrified, and his sword didn't even graze my neck.
The girl called Hinata stopped the attack with her own sword, "Loki, we were told that option B was still available depending on the target. Mr Mizukami would hate it if we killed a valuable asset." She said also noticing that he was stab by the demon's right blade arm.
Hinata jump back keep a good distance after the monster pulled its blade arm out of Loki's stomach and smack him towards a car. Which blow up seconds later.
I stared intensely and coldly at the fire, "Is he...dead?" I asked.
Before he was sent flying, his purple sword was lying on the ground.
Hinata appeared behind me with her left arm wrapped around my neck, "He isn't important right now. You are starting to see the type of power you wield. Imagine multiplying the numbers by a couple of thousand, that's level of destruction you will cause if you were left alone. Now I need to ask, are you going to be become a problem or do you want to live a few years longer and protect the people?" She asked.
The demon was not aggressive; in fact it appeared quite calm. Yet, I wondered for how long. "If I choose you, what will I receive in return and will happen to me?" I asked.
Hinata smiled softly, "To begin with, you'll battle monsters every day of your life, or you'll confront dangerous individuals like yourself. In return, you'll be rewarded with a nice house, you'll be fed, you'll have the opportunity to make friends, or even meet a potential lover, and most importantly, you'll find a purpose." Hinata removed her arm from my neck and retrieved Loki's sword.
She presented it to me, "It's your choice." She said as red eyes glowed brightly.
My confusion was evident as she offered his sword to me. "But that's-" I began, only to halt mid-sentence, understanding that her eyes were silently urging me to remain quiet and make a choice.
There was nothing here for me. The only reason I locked myself was because I feared the demon that was bound to me.
If I am not careful, I would most likely kill a lot of innocent people and live with that regret for the rest of my life.
Isn't it the right move to take this opportunity and change the way I live my life. Like she said, I will find my purpose.
...
I reached for the sword and looked firmly at her eyes, "I accept."
Hinata made her way to her sword, "What your name kid?" She asked.
"Xavier Edwards." I replied.
Once she enveloped both her sword and herself in a dark purple aura, she sliced through the air, creating a rift, "Xavier, allow me to introduce you to the Hunter's Sanctuary." she said, stepping through the portal. "Let's go already, and don't worry about him."
I cast a brief look at Loki as he was reduced to ashes. Then, I moved onward toward the rift. Stepping through, I found myself in a strange yet stunning land.
A landscape dotted with beautiful white houses, a grand temple in the distance, and countless people in white robes savouring their days.
This was the type of world people like me never knew existed. This was the of Hunters.