Kyros Aleister lied in the back of an ambulance. His body battered and bruised from his fight against an Exousia and the fall he took from the fifth floor of the hospital. His life would’ve met its end if not for ambulance vehicle he landed on, as evident from the human shaped dent that presided on the ceiling.

A fall like that would’ve killed any ordinary human being. But, Kyros was far from ordinary. As a Captain in the Soterian Military, his body had endured through rigorous training since the early age of seven. At that point, his body might as well be as hard as steel.

Or, at least that’s how he would’ve liked to believe.

Fortunately, there were other methods of surviving the fall besides a well-trained body.

His Praus.

A natural emanation of power that all living creatures on the planet possess.

Kyros coated his entire body with his Praus the moment Thelo threw him out the hospital building. It increased his durability and significantly reduced the damage of the fall, but the pain still lingered. He was left unable to move for about half an hour.

When he finally regained the ability to move, he broke free from his restraints and escaped from the back of the ambulance—more than ready to continue the fight where he left off.

With great haste, he rushed back over to the front of the hospital. By the time he got there, he was shocked to see Thelo being carried out over the shoulder of Chayse. Following behind him was Elma.

Crowds of people, civilians and news reporters alike, gathered around the Hunters, bombarding them with questions and comments about the incident. Chayse stepped forward, all too eager to speak to the people about his capture. Before he could get a word in, Elma forced the people aside, making a path for them to continue towards their destination.

Just when Kyros stepped forward to approach the Hunters, his subordinates called out to him. They gathered around him and bombarded him with questions about his whereabouts. He was about to answer them until he noticed something strange.

There were only eight of them. The Fifth Recon Unit consisted of twelve soldiers in total. Three men were missing.

A knot formed in Kyros' throat as the worst-case scenario immediately clouded his mind. He had only been out of commission for thirty minutes. A lot could happen in that time frame.

The military captain swallowed the knot, feeling the sensation reach his stomach next.

“Where are the others? Shouldn’t they be out here by now?” Kyros reluctantly asked.

The cursed feeling in his stomach only worsened when solemn expressions crossed the faces of his subordinates. Kyros recognized the meaning behind those faces. He had seen it all too many times.

But, even then, a sliver of hope remained in the back of his mind. After all, his subordinates had not yet given him a verbal answer. With every fiber of his being, he forced himself to demand a straight explanation from his men.

When they told him, Kyros’ world came to an abrupt halt. Three of his men lost their lives in the battle against Thelo. Argus, Bion, and Homer.

Well-decorated officers that he recruited into his unit. They had been together for years. And now, they were gone.

Because of Kyros’ incompetence as a captain, ignorance in battle, and weakness, his friends died. Twenty-one years of rigorous training and that was the result?

To add insult to injury, two teams of Hunters had to finish what he started. They proved themselves far more formidable than he did. Who could blame them?

Unlike Kyros, the Hunters weren’t restricted to the confines of the walls that encircled the country. Outside the walls resides dangers that most Soterians are ignorant to. The Hunters, however, have experienced them one way or another. Their strength and fortitude could overshadow perhaps even the best Soteria had to offer.

“Pathetic. I’m pathetic.” Kyros walked past his men as if he were in a trance. His prolonged steps alarmed his subordinates.

“Captain? Where are you going?” The first soldier called out to him.

“The bodies…” Kyros said, “have the bodies been collected yet?”

“Yes, sir. The paramedics have collected every corpse that they could find after the Hunters cleared the building.” Another soldier replied.

Kyros stopped in his tracks. He watched Elma and Chayse take a Nemean and drive off down the road. Soon enough, the civilians and news reporters cleared the area. No one bothered to go near Kyros or his unit.

“So, the Hunters were the real heroes here today.”

“Captain?”

“You men go on ahead and return to Headquarters. I’m going to stay here in the city for a little while longer.” Kyros turned to face his subordinates with a forced smile.

“Are you sure about this?” The first one asked.

The man wasn’t in good shape. That fact was clear as day. To leave him alone to his own devices after such a tragic event—none of his men wanted to do it.

“That’s an order.” Kyros changed his soft tone into one of absolute authority. His men acted instinctively and saluted their superior officer before heading back to the Nemean’s.

When the vehicles disappeared down the road, Kyros wandered down another—taking immediate notice of the destruction the Varvara left in their wake. Homes and establishments laid to waste, nothing more than piles of rubble and debris. Tracks of blood lined the nearly empty streets.

But, they led to nothing.

The common thing about Varvara attacks was that finding bodies was nearly impossible. Whenever a Varvara attacked occurred, and people went missing, most chalked up the disappearances as Killed in Action.

The Alsus breeze gently caressed every inch of Kyros’ aching body. Carried in the refreshing wind were vibrant colored leaves, the dust of destroyed buildings and the stench of death.

Amusing how a soft gust of wind could bring refreshing delight and debilitating sorrow in a single moment.

Eventually, Kyros found himself standing in front of an apartment building. Vibrant leaves decorated the concrete steps, utterly undisturbed by the chaos.

A soft chuckled escaped past Kyros’ lips as he reminisced about the building before him. Two decades had passed since he’d last come here. Ever since he joined the military, he had to stay at headquarters at the far other side of the country.

Now that he had the chance to visit Pandora city, he thought he might as well say hello to a friendly face.

Kyros entered the building then immediately approached the front desk. To his confusion, there was no one there. He reached his hand out then rung the bell on the counter. Following the chime of the bell, a loud crash came from the back room.

“Go away!” An angered voice shouted from the back room.

A familiar voice.

Ignoring the explicit orders to leave, Kyros continued to ring the bell until the person in the back decided to come out and reveal themselves. Eventually, his desire was granted. A stout man came out to the front wielding a wooden bat. He swung it around wildly, swearing up a storm.

Kyros raised his arm and caught the bat in the palm of his hand, tightening his grip on the blunt object until he crushed a portion of it with a firm grasp.

“Is this any way to treat an old friend, Elias?” He asked.

Elias blinked in surprise and set down the bat behind the front desk. He came out from behind the counter then embraced Kyros in a tight hug, lifting him off the ground while also cutting off his circulation.

“Kyros?! What are you doing here? Finally decided to come down the peak to visit me?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Kyros answered once he was put back down on the floor. "How've you been?"

"Pretty good. Business is going well as usual." Elias returned behind the counter. "So, what brings you all the way down here?"

"I decided to come stay here for the night. I'm too tired to travel back to the capital." Kyros rested his hand on his aching shoulder.

"Well, you're in luck. I've still got some rooms open." Elias turned his back to Kyros, searching the key rack behind him. He grabbed one of the keys then tossed it over to his friend.

Kyros caught the keys then bid his friend goodnight before he prepared to head upstairs. He stopped once he heard the television turn on from behind him.

It was the Soterian News.

The news reporters detailed information regarding the initial sighting of Thelo. About how Elma and Chayse confronted the Exousia at the restaurant. Their first clash resulted in the destruction of the establishment and the deaths of many.

"Goddess damn it! What's with these Exousia?!" Elias complained. He heaved a sigh and continued to listen as the news reporters informed their viewers about the attack on Pandora Hospital. Slaughter of innocents, the Varvara attacks, they left nothing out. "Varvara too?! What's happening in this country?!"

Kyros clenched his hands into fists once he heard the news reporters mention the arrival, defeat, and death of his squad members. He figured that it was intentional, the unconcerned and monotone the reporter used when detailing the event. He couldn't hear a shred of sincerity in their voice.

He didn't care if they didn't respect him. But, they had to respect his subordinates, especially the ones that gave their lives to protect the people.

“You were there at the scene, Kyros? You even fought against the Exousia?” Elias called out to Kyros.

“Yes, I did,” Kyros reluctantly answered, making sure not to turn around and show his weary face, “But, it turned out just how the reporter said. I was defeated and thrown out the building.”

“Who cares if you lost? You still showed great bravery today, and you survived.”

"So what if I survived? Three of my subordinates didn't. Argus, Bion, Homer, all three of them are dead."

"Kyros..." Elias paused once the news reporters mentioned the capture of Thelo by the hands of the four Hunters.

"My men and I couldn't defeat the Exousia. It took four Hunters to capture him," Kyros' gaze dropped to the floor. "Recently, it's been the Hunters that have been solving the problems of this country. While the army and police force sit on the sidelines.”

As humiliating as it was to admit—it was the truth nonetheless. The job of a Hunter was just as it sounded; it was their job to hunt down and slay creatures. It was rare for them to get employed within the walls of Soteria, so imagine the surprise of many once four of them arrived in the city.

Usually, Hunters didn’t involve themselves in the affairs of the police or military unless permitted by the higher-ups. However, special privileges were allowed to them as long as they didn't break any laws.

“Does it matter who has been doing what as of late? In the end, peace is getting restored to the country,” stated Elias, “I don’t care if it’s the Hunters, police force, military, or even the Goddess that settles our problems.”

Elias had always been a laidback guy. He often went with the flow and figured that problems would solve themselves with time. It was thanks to that attitude of his that he was discharged from the military over a decade ago.

“Of course, a retired military officer wouldn’t. I bet you have lost all of your military pride.” Kyros turned and scowled at his friend. "Hunters are meant to slay monsters. It's up to the police and military to deal with the Exousia."

"The Exousia are monsters, Kyros. The Hunters did the right thing in capturing it before anyone else could get hurt." Elias nodded his head. "Yeah, it sucks that you lost some of your men. But, that's just what happens in battle."

"What would you know about a battle? You've never experienced one." Kyros spat. The venom in his voice momentarily shook his friend. When he realized his outburst, he took a step back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry about it. You're right," Elias shrugged his shoulders, feeling nothing of the outburst. "I can't imagine what you're going through right now. Losing comrades, friends, it's nothing something one gets over with easily. You've had a rough night. Go ahead and get some sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Kyros turned around and headed up the stairs.

Elias sighed and looked at the television screen again. He arched his eyebrows at the photos displaying the four Hunters. “Huh. I didn’t know that they were involved in the incident.”

“Who are you referring to?” Kyros stopped.

“The one-eyed Huntress with the spear. She and the little brown-haired girl next to her rented a room out here the other day." Elias rubbed his chin. "If the people were to learn that my apartment building houses heroes, imagine all the money I could make."

"Leave those Hunters alone, Elias." Was all Kyros could say before he headed to his room for the night.

Although it wasn't much, his interaction with his old friend made him feel a little better. His defeat at the hands of Thelo and the loss of his men had yet to hit him as hard as he knew it would. As a soldier, one had to always prepare for the loss of lives. Kyros was no exception.

Throughout his years as a Captain, he had never lost a single subordinate until today. And it had to be at the hands of an Exousia no less. He took no pride in the fact that it took a supernatural being to bring down members of his unit. None at all.

The Exousia had taken enough from the world for seven years. Kyros didn't know how long it would take, but he swore that it would all end. One way or the other.