Every year, before the start of the Perion Competition, twenty competitors from across the kingdom flock to the capital, Kaya. This year was different for Grind and Raven, who decided to take the plunge together.
In the large Kulas Market, the voices of vendors and the neighing of horses mingled with the noise of the crowds. Amidst the crowd, the two friends parted ways. Raven headed toward an old library located in a remote branch. He pushed open its wooden door, greeted by the scent of old paper. He asked the librarian for a book about King Perion and the Devil, then sat down at a wooden table and began reading.
One hundred thousand years ago, Perion Zenos was the deputy of the tyrannical King Devron, who held an annual competition in which he killed one hundred humans for entertainment. They ruled the world and enslaved humans. Twenty years later, Zenos rejected this brutality, and legend tells of his single-handedly defeating a thousand soldiers with nothing but his sword, without any supernatural power. He triumphed and ruled the world. Ten years later, he founded his family, but the demon appeared to kill him, wanting to restore evil to the world so that good and evil could coexist. Perion was killed, the demon disappeared, and monsters spread throughout the land.
The Perion family was unable to eradicate them until the second son, Grace Perion, arrived and gathered hunters from around the world. On their first mission, they killed a golden beast unlike any seen before. From its corpse emerged a crystal that merged with its soul, becoming the first and most powerful hunter in history.
Raven closed the book and left the library, heading toward the competition arena. The place was crowded with contestants, and he was disappointed to remember that only five would be chosen. A large man appeared with a booming voice, saying,
> "Welcome, contestants. I'm Glavin Honori, the competition organizer. You'll be divided into groups of four, and one winner will emerge from each group."
A blonde-haired girl approached and said,
> "Hello, I'm Olivia Cline. May I join?"
Raven and Grind welcomed her, and then a young man named Chris joined them. "Throwing the magic stone to summon monsters. I threw my magic stone and the monster came out. It wasn't strong, so I kept saying, 'Why is this happening to me?'" People started screaming and praising someone who had summoned a monster that hadn't been seen in ten years. The one they were praising was my friend Grind, who had killed a red monster.
Olivia was very fast. Her speed made her disappear, and the Ice Queen monster froze the place. But with one blow, all the ice shattered. Chris fought against an ancient skeleton that no one could stand against. With a blow from his sword, he shattered the ancient skeleton's soldiers and his own. I waited for my squad to finish fighting them. It was time to draw.
After the fight, the crystals began to be collected. Grind's crystal merged with his soul, granting him the power to draw monster souls. Olivia gained ice, Chris gained gravity, and Raven was ridiculed for his weak monster.
But when the crystal merged with his soul, everything changed. Silence fell, some fled, and others looked at him with fear and contempt. When he regained consciousness, he found himself standing in the middle of total destruction, with Grind lying unconscious behind him. Raven ran, unconscious, until he reached the forest. There, a humanoid creature emerged from the ground, reminiscing about the portal, clapping with an evil smile and saying, "Do you want me to give you everything back... demon?"
Raven agreed, and time went back. But this time, he knew his family would die at the hands of a monster. Everything had changed since that day, so he decided never to use his power again, declaring himself powerless. The squad leaders rejected him: Grievous of the Red Squad, Korn of the White Squad, King of the Blue Squad, and Lara of the Pink Squad. He remained with his family, waiting for the appointed day, until his story ended and William's began.
In the present, King calmly asked the squad:
"Tell Grind to come to the castle when he wakes up, and you, Denko, come with him."
Denko replied:
"As you wish, my lord."
The castle was large, containing more than twenty rooms on the second floor, and on the first floor was a kitchen, a meeting room, a room, and a lounge. Raven descended the stairs and found everyone staring at him. He said coldly, "Why are you staring at me?"
Denko replied, confused, "They want us to go to the Hunter's Castle."