After the ceremony ended, they told us we were now the next line of defense. We were the hope left for humanity against the demons. It wasn't just training anymore. We were part of the real fight now. The orientation had barely wrapped up, and we were already being sent on our first mission—to hunt lower-ranked demons.
Our team was a strange mix of people. Very different from each other. Sometimes I wondered how we were even supposed to work together.
Julian was the type who stood out immediately. He was muscular, probably around seventeen, always looking like he had something to prove. He didn't talk much, but you could see the fire in his eyes. He trained harder than anyone, always eager to impress our captain. He wanted to be remembered, to become the greatest demon hunter of all time. That's what he used to say. "I'll be the best, no matter what it takes."
Then there was Liam. He wasn't like Julian. Not muscular. He had a quiet presence. Calm. His gift was nature manipulation. He could control roots, vines, trees—anything from nature. It made him look peaceful, but when he fought, he was like a storm hidden inside a breeze. I never understood how someone so gentle could be so dangerous.
Iris was… difficult. She was fast—maybe the fastest I'd ever seen—but she had this crazy ego. She never respected anyone. Not even the captain. She always acted like she was better than the rest of us. But she fought like hell, and deep down, I knew she was hurting from something. Something big. She covered up a scar with a tattoo once. I caught a glimpse of it during training, before she noticed and pulled her shirt down. She looked embarrassed, and for a second, she didn't seem so tough. But then she turned back to her usual self—loud, arrogant, and ready to argue.
Carlos was the flashy one. He was muscular too, not like Julian, but close. He was the fastest runner in our rookie camp. And he knew it. Always smirking, always talking like he was the star of some movie. He believed the world should revolve around him. Most of the time, he annoyed the hell out of me. But when we were in danger, he showed up. He might act like a jerk, but he never ran from a fight.
And then… there's me.
Renzo Moretti. The average one. Not the strongest. Not the fastest. Not even the smartest. I didn't even want to be a hunter in the first place. But somehow, I ended up here. Maybe fate had other plans for me. I don't know. I never really believed in fate. But standing next to those four, sometimes I wondered what I was doing with my life.
We were led by Captain Strix. He was strict, serious, and strong. He never smiled, never joked, never gave more than one chance. But he was dependable. You always knew he would be there when it mattered. He saw everything, even when you thought he wasn't watching.
Now, I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything that had led us to this moment. Our first real mission was only a few hours away.
I couldn't sleep. My thoughts kept drifting to how we all met, how it all started. It was two years ago.
Julian was the first one to join the hunter ranks. He wasn't chosen. He forced his way in. He hung around the gates of the hunter fort for days. Didn't eat. Didn't sleep. Just sat there, waiting. The guards tried to chase him away, but he stayed. Until they finally gave in.
There were rumors about him back then. Some said his parents were killed by demons from the Far East. Others said he survived an attack that wiped out his entire village. Whatever the truth was, he had rage buried deep inside him. Rage that made him dangerous.
Then came Liam. Then Carlos. Then Iris. And then me.
We were placed in the same group under Strix's command. They called us rookies, but in training, we felt like we were already at war. We spent most of our early days inside the Sanctuary.The Sanctuary was a cold, grey place. A controlled zone where lower-ranked demons were captured and kept. Hunters used the area to train rookies like us. It was dangerous—but not fatal. Unless you were careless.
We trained day and night, learning how to fight as a team. How to kill fast. Where to strike. How to reduce injuries. It wasn't just fighting. It was learning how to stay alive.
I was terrified at first. Every sound made me flinch. Every time a demon roared, I wanted to run. But slowly, I got better. I started understanding how to move, how to think. I began to believe I could survive.
We all changed in that place.
That's where we discovered our powers, our true skills. We were Shizen—warriors blessed by nature. Part of the hunter organization, and slowly becoming one of its main forces.
It was a hard time. Brutal, honestly. The schedule was tight. The pressure was constant. I thought I'd break. I really thought I couldn't do it. But I didn't break. I bent, I cried, I bled—but I didn't break. I got stronger.
We all did.
Every one of us had a story. Every one of us carried pain. You could see it in the way we fought, in the way we avoided talking about our pasts.
Julian had nightmares. He didn't talk about them, but I heard him scream in his sleep once. He looked so helpless that night, curled up like a child.
Liam would sometimes stare into the forest for hours, like he was waiting for someone who would never come back.
Carlos would get angry easily. Too easily. But then, just as quickly, he'd walk away and cry where no one could see him.
Iris—well, Iris always wore that armor of arrogance. But her eyes were tired. Tired in a way no young girl's eyes should be. And that scar she covered with tattoos… I think that said enough.
Me? I didn't have a scar. But I did have something else. A strange tattoo on my shoulder. A Taijitu—Yin and Yang. Wrapped around it was a dragon, its claws resting on the symbol, its face turned slightly to the left. I didn't know what it meant. It had been there since I was born. No one could explain it.
Strix once stared at it for a long time during a training session. He didn't say anything. Just looked, then turned away. I wanted to ask him if he knew something, but I didn't. I still don't know why.
Anyway, that doesn't matter right now.
What matters is the mission.
We've been training for years. And now it's time. Our first mission outside the Sanctuary. A real one. With real demons. With real risk.
I'm scared again. Not like before. But a quiet kind of fear. The kind that sits in your chest and doesn't leave.
I hope we all come back alive.
No. That's not the right way to think.
We will come back alive. We have to.
"Renzo, you awake?" Julian's voice came from outside my room.
"Yeah," I said, sitting up.
He stepped in, leaning against the wall. "Can't sleep?"
"Nope. You?"
He shook his head. "Too excited. Or maybe nervous. I don't know."
I nodded. "Yeah. Same."
He looked at me for a second. Then smiled. "We'll be fine. We've trained for this."
"I know," I said quietly. "I just… hope nothing goes wrong."
"It won't. Not with us together."
I believed him.
Julian might be rough around the edges. But when he said something like that, you wanted to believe it.
After he left, I laid back down. Closed my eyes. Tried to breathe.
Hope for the best. That's what I told myself.
Wait… did I really just say that?
Me? Hoping for the best?
I almost laughed. Nothing in my life ever went according to plan. But maybe… maybe it didn't always have to.
Maybe this time, things would be different.
I didn't know what tomorrow would bring. But I was ready to face it.
With Julian, Liam, Carlos, Iris… and even Captain Strix.
We weren't just a group of rookies anymore.
We were a team.
And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I belonged somewhere.
Maybe… just maybe… that was enough for now.