PROLOGUE

'Light and darkness.'

In this world, people had long forgotten which one was truly better.

Sometimes, light deceives. 

Sometimes, darkness shields us from what we don’t want to see.

Does hope always come from the light?

Does despair always arise from the shadows?

...What does hope truly means?

________________________________________________

…

It was utterly silent.

Just a long, pitch-dark hallway. No light. Not even a sound.

Step... step... Someone was walking through it.

Calmly, each step taken with his dark cloak trailing behind, brushing against the cold floor.

Strangely, he carried no source of light—almost as if he could see through the darkness.

Step... step...

Step.

He stopped.

The man reached a door on the side of the hallway, and opened it.

…

Creeaakk... 

A dim apartment revealed itself—half-lit by a distant gleam.

A single source of light: the balcony door in the corner, slightly ajar.

Slide... 

He slid it open.

...

“Hehehehe…”

“...H-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“LOOK AT THIS—ISN’T IT BEAUTIFUL!?”

The cloaked man stepped forward, approaching the balcony railing before him.

The balcony sat atop the tallest floor of the building.

A massive tragedy had just taken place.

Far below was a terrifying sight—a shattered city stretched across the land. Smoke billowed in every direction. Fires blazed amongst the buildings.

Bodies were scattered everywhere—stabbed, burned, slashed.

They had died in vain. No one knew why they were killed.

The sky above burned a haunting crimson, casting its bloody glow across the scene.

Drap, drap. The cloaked man climbed the railing, standing tall with his arms spread wide.

“Hff..!

“—BEHOLD!!!”

“THIS IS THE UNHOLY POWER OF THE DEMON!!!"

"THROUGH US, HE SHALL CONQUER THE WORLD!!!”

“WE SHALL—!”

—RATATATATA..!!

"Hmm..?”

The man looked down.

Out of nowhere, a barrage of bullets tore through his body.

Down below, several military soldiers had taken aim, firing on instinct.

“WHY DID YOU STOP SHOOTING!?"

“SHIT! HE CAN'T BE KILLED!!”

Sreaak!  The man unsheathed the sword strapped to his back.

“Annoying little flies…”

Fwoosh—!  He jumped.

The man accelerated downward, slicing through the wind—his cloak whipping violently.

The soldiers could only stand there in stunned silence, frozen in place.

Twenty meters. Fifteen. Ten. Five—

BOOM..!!  He slammed into the ground with thunderous force, the impact shaking the earth.

Dust, sand, and shattered debris thrown and scattered to every direction.

His sword glinted in the smog, thirsty for blood.

“Lowly humans like you…”

The man charged toward the stunned soldiers, fury in his steps.

“CANNOT STOP US!”

Slash!  One step. One swing—landed on the first soldier.

…

Elsewhere, military forces and special resistance units had been deployed.

They fought desperately to stop the tragedy.

But none of them knew who—or what—they were truly up against.

Ratatatata…!!  They fired at the figures behind it all—only to watch in horror as their bullets did nothing.

A soldier attempts to radio command.

“COME IN! THIS IS SHARD-1 DIVISION, WE NEED BACKUP!!!

MY ENTIRE UNIT IS DOWN—ONLY ONE OTHER AND I ARE LEFT!”

“DAMN IT! FALL BACK—WE CAN’T KILL THOSE BASTARDS!!!”

…

It was a nightmare.

The terrorists… they spared no one.

They did only one thing: cut down every living soul they saw.

Who are they…?

—Zap! 

...

And then, everything stopped.

The video paused. The screen went black. A voiceover began.

...

They called themselves Hellgate, an extremist satanic cult.

The footage shown earlier was a recording of the massacre they orchestrated in Illinois, USA.

It took place in the year 2001.

According to reports, a thick crimson fog covered the area around the scene of the tragedy. Some photos show bodies scattered everywhere.

The cultists had carried out a mass killing ritual on the city.

Hundreds died. Dozens were severely injured.

The rest survived—but suffered incurable trauma and psychological damage.

Various media did face-to-face interviews with the survivors.

"T-they… they killed my two children…"

"Hhhnh... I-I saw… H-Hiikh..!”

"...I saw… dead people… everywhere…"

Some footage shows a cult member slaughtering several soldiers with a single swing of his sword. In another clip, soldiers fired endlessly at one cultist—who walked forward, unaffected by the hail of bullets.

"We kept firing until we ran out… It didn’t even slow them down."

It was clear—they were not ordinary humans.

...

In the next years, the world continued to be shaken by their terror and bloodshed.

Two years later… February 18, 2003.

"...We are now broadcasting live from the United Nations headquarters..." Said a reporter, who was doing a live broadcast.

The UN Security Council had come to a decision.

The General Assembly Hall—the largest room for global declarations, was overflowing with press and officials.

Hungry journalists pushed and shouted, desperately trying to get information. The crowd blocked the path of the United Nations.

"Out of the way, move it!!!"

"Damn it, give us some space!"

...

Eventually, the UN officially declared Hellgate a Global Threat.

To protect humanity, they called upon the world's scientists to collaborate in a crucial research initiative.

It leads to an establishment of a special operation, with the name :

‘Project VEDICT.'

Short for : 'Variable Entity: Demonic Intervention Containment & Termination'

The operation goal is to investigate and find weaknesses in dark energy resonance and supernatural phenomena—especially demon magic and those who wield it.

At first, the researchers struggled to find effective methods of countering the cult—according to the interviews with the VEDICT researchers.

"...We still have to do more deep researches."

"We will give it our all to stop Hellgate..."

...

The world was no longer the one we used to know.

Years passed, but there was nothing they could do.

Attacks could come at any time, anywhere.

No place was truly safe. Hiding indoors was no protection.

Cities felt dead. Streets were empty. 

No one dared linger outside for too long.

And all that time… the researchers found nothing.

…

But eventually...

Hope flickered once more—after years of silence.

Their efforts paid off. They discovered something.

The Researchers finally announced a big news

"We've just found an anomaly—  demonic powers can be disrupted by electrical waves."

"Excuse me, what does that mean?"

"So electricity can kill them?"

"How did you find this out?"

The crowd of journalists clamors.

"...We still need to investigate further."

Hey..!

Hey..!!

"We have to understand why electricity affects them—

Kuroda-san..!!

"Huh..?"

...

***

Click! It was just a video.

...

I was brought back—to the real world.

Someone had called out to me.

I leaned back slightly. The screen still showed the paused footage.

Feeling a little hazy, I glanced around the room.

I was still here—in a large workspace. Desks surrounded me, some equipped with computer setups on top.

I turned my head and met the blank, slightly confused stare of a shoulder-length blonde girl.

“What are you watching…?” She whispered, peeking at the monitor.

“...Digging through old files, until I stumbled upon this vintage documentary—”

“Shhh..! Look beside you.” She gestured to my left.

Zzz... zzz... Not far from me, another girl lay sound asleep, head buried in her arms.

“…Huh? When did she fall asleep?” I muttered.

“Hehehe! What did you do to knock her out like that?” She asks with a giggle.

“She’s always like that. A total napper…” I answered.

“Why not just wake her up?”

“Hmm?... Koronda-san?” she teased.

“…Say my name right.”

“It’s Naoya Kuroda. Na—o—ya Ku—ro—da!!”

That’s right. My name is Naoya Kuroda.

Unfortunately, this girl has a talent for twisting names.

“Emmhmeeh...”

Maybe the noise woke the sleeping girl.

Or maybe… she just changing positions?

...

Apparently, the girl just tilted her head to the right.

"She just... changed positions..." Naoya muttered.

“Koronda-san, wake her up already!" The blonde girl barked, 

"Our shift starts any moment now!” 

“The name is Kuroda,” Naoya grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah… just wake her up.”

“I’m heading to the bathroom…” she said, walking off.

“Sigh…” Naoya let out a breath.

A small puddle of drool had gathered on the desk. Guess who it belongs to.

“Eugh...”

“Of course… she drooled too...”

Shake, shake!  Naoya tried to rouse the girl with a few shakes.

“C’mon, Komaki."

"It’s almost our shift.”

But she didn’t budge. Not even a twitch.

He shook her harder. Still no sign of waking up.

"…Guess I have no choice.”

Naoya pulled out a handheld electric shock device.

A grin spread across his face.

Something bad was about to happen…

…

Bzzzt!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Honestly, that electrical stun felt a bit personal.

...

* * *