So this is a story I recently published on Spacebattles, and I decided to put it up here as well! Enjoy!

Prologue: The Hunters

The people of Orario, generally speaking, were used to seeing strange events happening in their city from time to time.

Sometimes it was funny, like when two gods starting fighting in the street. Sometimes it was simply eye-raising, like when a waitress at a bar drop-kicks a particularly annoying customer out the door. Then there were the terrifying, unprecedented occurrences that people had no idea how to react to, like when Evilus was causing mayhem a few years ago.

A dark shape descending from the heavens most definitely counted as the last category.

Few people walking the streets had reason to look up as they went about their daily business. It was only when they discovered the ever-darkening shadow that seemed to swallow a significant portion of their town did they tilt their heads up to see the dark silhouette that eclipsed a large portion of the Sun.

Panic had ensued. Bells chimed, doors locked, window shades were drawn. Civilians and ordinary folk dashed into their homes as adventurers unsheathed their weapons and prepared for a fight. It hadn't happened in a long time, but Orario knew what to do when monsters were unleashed within the city.

As the object approached, the sharper-eyed adventurers realized it was not a monster they were facing. Monsters did not have balloons attached to their spines that helped them to float in the air. Monsters did not have great white cloth sails that harvested the winds to propel them through the sky. And most certainly, monsters were not made of wood, and were not supposed to have people scuttling aboard their decks.

If anything, the revelation only made them even more nervous.

Monsters, they could deal with, and had dealt with many times in the past.

An invading army, on the other hand, was completely foreign territory. As adventurers, they killed monsters. They were not used to killing their own kin. At least, most of them weren't.

In times like this, the hardened warriors looked to the Guild, not their gods and goddesses, for instruction. Administrative officials, pencil-pushers, advisers... it didn't matter what people called them. They were the closest thing Orario had to a government and out of everyone else, they were the best equipped to handle hot-headed, battle-thirsty, and sometimes-stupid warriors.

The head delegate swallowed a gulp as the object touched down onto the ground. Like many others, she was born and raised in Orario. She'd never seen a ship in real life, not one with masts and sails and cannons on it. She'd gone on rowboats and canoes but they were nothing compared to the monstrosity before her. They also couldn't fly. A glint of sunlight caught her eyes, and her gaze was drawn to the bow where golden letters that spelled out 'Argosy' were engraved into the hull.

The Argosy was huge, bigger than the Pantheon. Ballistae, giant crossbows that were loaded with arrows bigger than swords, were installed on its top deck. The muzzles of dozens of cannons reared themselves through the many windows on its armored hull. She doubted they were the only threat the Argosy had. With so much space, the Argosy could probably fit a Dragon within.

She forced herself to calm down, wearing a confident, yet polite, mask as a ramp lowered down from the hull. The foreigners were probably friendly, she comforted herself into thinking. They could have rained cannonballs and arrows from the sky, but had instead willingly descended into an empty field surrounded by armed adventurers.

Or maybe they are just that confident of their power.

She struggled to hide her gasp. There were monsters walking down the ramp. Spikes jutted out of their shoulders and horns grew out of their heads. Sharp claws flexed as they gripped weapons almost as big as she was. She took a step back, bringing her hand to cover her mouth in horror when their leader suddenly removed his own head.

She blinked.

A charming smile. A scar-adorned face. Short white hair and sharp blue eyes. It was a human, and the object he held in his hands was nothing more than a helmet made in the cast of a grotesque monster's head. One by one, his followers took off their own helmets, revealing men and women that adorned cheerful grins.

Their armor looked terrifying, as if they had taken the skin of the beasts that lurked in the Dungeon and wore it as their own, but their disarming postures and friendly waves went far in assuring her that Orario was safe. They were fellow adventurers, no doubt about it. They looked strong and rugged. Their weapons were seemingly bigger and more unwieldy than those found in Orario, but that only spoke of their might. Perhaps they were a foreign Familia?

But if that was the case, who and where was their god?

Already, she could see the adventurers around her lowering their swords. They were undeniably human. The strange group was also observing Orario's population, and she could see looks of confusion and surprise spreading across their features.

She needed to take action. She took a step forward, and in the voice she reserved for new adventurers, she said. "Welcome to Orario. I am from the Guild, can I know whose Familia you are all from?"

The leader scratched his head in bafflement. Perhaps a language barrier?

"Familia?" No, he had understood her perfectly. "What's a Familia? We're from the Guild as well, but we've never heard of such a thing before."

Now she was the one confused. There was no way these people were from the Guild. Perhaps... another Dungeon had arisen, and with it, another Guild? No, that was impossible. Such an earthshaking event could not have stayed hidden from the Guild's eyes and ears.

"I'm sorry. But you are adventurers, are you not?"

The man smirked as a ripple of laughter spread among his ranks. "We're not adventurers," the man clarified, "we are Hunters."

She raised her eyebrows. "Hunters?" She felt her own voice going high.

The man nodded.

"Monster Hunters."