(A/N: Quick warning, if you have any questions about the lore, feel free to ask, I'll answer to the best of my ability.
This first chapter is based on the Lore Teaser on YouTube, so if you're more of a visual learner or want to see the official character art, I'd definitely recommend watching that too.)
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Warning messages were plastered all over a computer monitor.
"Phew~ Inter-knot's impressive! I had to use Ghost to hack in."
The sound of a cherry feminine voice rang clearly in the air.
"This level of security was unexpected. Stay Alert."
A far more serious monotone voice responded.
The girl sighed.
"Gotcha~ Youkai, start corrupting the database firewall-"
The warning messages began to recede one by one as the AI's data corruption initiated.
Still, it was clear that this corruption would take a while to complete, so the two had a bit of time to kill.
Entering the database, the owner of the monotone scanned the contents.
"For now, we have read-only access to surface files...."
The man continued.
"Hollow traits.... an all-devouring disaster with chaotic space, monsters, and Etheric Matter-"
"Bah~ All that info is outdated, but I guess that's all the public needs to know. Anything else?"
The man grunted and continued to read robotically.
"Long-term exposure leads to corruption, changing intelligent life into Ethereals. New Eridu mines Etheric matter and converts it into energy, using the Shiyu Pillars to transport it. With this system in place, New Eridu has any Hollows within its borders under complete control-"
Laughter interrupted the man's narration.
"HA! Complete control? How audacious of them~"
A series of messages flashed up on the computer monitor once more.
Countdown.
"Oh, look! Youkai's almost done with the corruption. Thank god, I was getting tired of listening to this bs~"
5
4
3
2
1
0
"Nice! We've got Deep Database access now."
Hundreds of words in all different languages flashed across the monitor, causing the girl to let out a quiet sigh of admiration.
"Wow~ That's a lot of key terms- Wait, look, there are even some on us!"
The man coughed into his fist.
"Focus."
"Hah~ Alright... Let's see here~"
Beginning her work, the girl started digging through the database, but she was soon interrupted.
"Huh? Why'd you close the index?"
"We don't have enough time to play games."
The man turned his attention elsewhere.
"Fairy, search for preset keywords."
In a matter of moments, the AI found the desired results.
Search complete: Eridu's Founding Report, Key Players in the Suppression of the Catastrophe.
Letting out a hum, the girl clicked on the first name in the report.
'SWORDMASTER'
Inside the report was a photo of the faint silhouette of a sword-wielding fox theiren, notably, one possessing multiple tails.
The man looked over and began to scan the contents, reading them aloud.
"First is the third-generation head of the Hoshimi family who took down the Exaltist overseer..."
"Hoh~ That's pretty impressive. That overseer was no joke."
The girl let out a hum of interest.
"Third-generation, huh? Wonder how her descendants are doing."
Ignoring his colleague's murmuring, the man clicked on the next name.
'SUNBRINGER'
This time, there were a few photos inside the report, each one capturing the likeness of a beautiful silver-haired woman carrying a massive blue flag.
"Next, Lady "Sunbringer." The former CEO of Mercel Group, who eradicated the "Hive Lord" Hollow in the sky-"
The girl cut him off once again, though he didn't seem to mind much.
"Oh, wait, I remember her! She's the one who invented Bangboo's."
"Indeed."
There was a bit more information inside the file, but nothing worth noting.
They continued to the next name.
'JOYOUS'
There were a few photos inside, but none of them clearly displayed the man's face.
The only thing visible was his mop of stark white hair, red pupils, and the faint scar on his left eye.
"Then, the Ace of the Investigation Guild, Leader 'Joyous," the one who went through the divine maze and created the standard for hollow exploration routes."
"Huh. I wonder if he counts as the predecessor of Investigators or Proxies."
A list of the achievements of Joyous was listed underneath, but neither paid it any mind as they continued.
'PROFESSOR ARCHE'
Numerous images were included in the report, each one capturing a figure with a flaming purple head.
"Next, here is Professor Arche, the founder of Helios Academy, the one responsible for discovering the common characteristics of Hollows."
The man continued reading a bit further.
"It says here that he entered Hollow Zero to seek out the truth, but, as of the time this document was sealed, Arche had yet to return."
"... Wait, this document is from Eridu's time! Jeez, this professor's been missing for an entire era-"
A sour expression spread across her face, but the two continued to move through the documents.
"Wow, these next three are grouped together!"
Colonel Vike
Leader of the Falkenhay Mercenary Troupe
Lieutenant Colonel Dan of the guard of Staves
Glancing at the photos of a purple-haired woman, a pink-haired woman with wings, and a gargantuan armor-covered figure, the two scanned the file.
"Together, Colonel Vike, Lieutenant Colonel Dan of the Guard of Staves, and the Leader of the Falkenhay Mercenary troupe pushed back the Dark Wall 37 kilometers, alone.... huh? No comment-"
"Sorry, what'd you say? I was reading a bit ahead."
"No matter."
"Alrighty... But uh, quick question, could you read this for me?"
The girl pointed at the next few lines in the report.
Raising an eyebrow, the man complied.
"To commend these eight heroes' deeds, the mayor established a new title of honor, Void Hunter. They were the hunters of disaster, the defenders of the city-"
"Wait, wait, wait- could you repeat the first line again?"
"... To commend these eigh-"
"Yeah! Right there! Where'd this report get the number 'eight' from? I only count seven void hunters in here... Did we maybe miss one?"
A furrow developed on both of their brows.
They ran through the entirety of the report once more, but there was no mention of this supposed "eighth" void hunter.
"Huh, that's so weird~"
The girl turned away from the monitor for a moment.
"Hey, fairy? Could you run a search for all documents related to this unknown Void Hunter?"
The computer screen flashed.
[Master, I have searched the entirety of the Deep Database, and I have only found a single result.]
Frowning, the man spoke up.
"Fairy, show it to us."
[I apologize, master, the security on the file is too powerful for me to bypass.]
"Seriously?! Alright then, Youkai, do your thing then!"
[Roger. Beginning corruption.]
The two watched in silence as one of the strongest AIs ever created struggled to tear down the files fire walls.
A whole minute passed before-
COUNTDOWN
5
4
3
2
1
0
"Alright~ Let's see who our mysterious hunter is...."
Opening the file, a big bolded name captured their attention.
'ILLYA'
The two began to scroll through, each line of this file causing their eyes to widen more and more.
"... Void Hunter Illya has destroyed over 273 Notorious Etherials and is responsible for the collapse of over 30 Hollows on the... I apologize, could you confirm if I am reading that correctly?"
"Uhm... I think we're reading the same thing..."
"Ahem. Void Hunter Illya has been recorded to have killed over 273 Notorious Etherials in Hollow Zero and is responsible for the suppression of over 30 hollows on the moon."
Despite their shock, the two continued to read Illya's file, and eventually, they came across a singular photo of this 'eighth' Void Hunter.
The figure in the photograph was quite short, probably only around 160cm, and bore a surprisingly gentle set of features.
His eyes curved softly in accordance with the slight arc of his lips, His dark brown pupils gleaming with a childish happiness, and his complexion was reminiscent of the hue of porcelain.
A long, straight mess of light brown hair framed his round face, emphasizing the inherent innocence of this set of traits and completing this 'Hunter's' look.
This Hunter looked ordinary by all means, well, ordinary in comparison to his peers, but this mundaneness was not what baffled the pair viewing the file.
What baffled them was the fact that this Hunter of Calamity looked like he was 12.
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(A/N: I love ZZZ's setting despite being a tourist in the game (only around level 54) and wanted to write something a bit more relaxed compared to my other fic since SS is lwk hella hard to write.
Since this is a bit more of a casual fic, I'll probably update this every once in a while (Probably twice to three times a week) when I'm trying to take a little break from school and my other fic.
Put this in your collection if you want, and leave some comments telling me what you guys think so far!)