~14 YEARS AGO~

*Knock Knock*

"Anyone home?" Called a man standing at our front door.

He had short spiky black hair and wielded a magnificent sword. He was wearing some sort of combat uniform with an emblem attached to it. When nobody answered the door, he opened his pocket and removed what appeared to be a house key. This was the man's home, it was my father. He had just returned from a typical workday of surveying potential threats across the city.

*Twist, Click!*

"Sara! I'm back early today!" said the man upon opening the door and entering our house. At this point, I was all but 2 years old. I was sitting on the ground, playing with my toys as I watched my father enter the house. I dropped what I was doing to run over to him.

"Daddy!" I said with excitement. My father lifted me into his arms and hugged me, grabbing the attention of my mother who was in the other room organizing the shelves. She walked into the main foyer.

"Kaizo? Is that you? Welcome home! What brings you back so early?" she asked.

"Well, remember how Daizen and I were called in to take a look at a couple of potential swarms making their way toward the northern outskirts of the city?"

"Of course, were you two able to survey the area? How were things?"

"Things are just fine. The Unusuals reported were very much under-leveled! Nothing more than a few aberrant-level demons whom we swiftly took out. As it turns out, those swarms were the only threats logged for today, so after we made quick work of them, we had nothing more to do!" said my father, setting me back on the ground.

"That's wonderful, I'm glad the city is safe again today! It's been quite a while since any major incidents have taken place here, thanks to The Purorigu's diligent work," she replied. The Purorigu was the name of the organization my father worked for. They are a team of some of the country's finest fighters, serving each day to keep the cities safe.

"Indeed it has. I can't believe this war has been raging on for almost 150 years now...when will it end?" my father said to himself, setting his blood-stained sword on the table and opening a drawer next to it where metallic cleaning materials were stored.

"It seems endless to me at this point. No matter how many demons we kill on a daily basis, more show up. Their rate of reproduction is too high, pretty soon we're going to be overwhelmed," he went on. My mother walked over to comfort him.

"You're not going to eradicate all of the demons that exist in this world, at least not in your lifetime. That would be an impossible task. Just focus on keeping your family, and your city safe. Can you do this for me, for us? Hachiro and I?" asked my mother.

"Of course I can, you two have no reason to worry about being in danger," replied my father, kissing my mother's cheek. She blushed and exited the room to continue her tasks for the day while my father began cleaning his blade.

In this world, there exist two species that have been at war with each other for time immemorial. Humans, each with their own goals, ambitions, and skills, and a race of demonic creatures known as The Unusuals, though society oftentimes refers to them as "demons". The history of the Unusuals is scarcely known, as not many in-depth research efforts have been made relating to their origin. However what we do know is that they are very aggressive toward humans, especially those with supernatural abilities. We call these humans Extraordinary Individuals.

Both of my parents are blessed with extraordinary abilities, my mother is a mage, using magic in her day-to-day life, whereas my father excels in melee combat, standing as one of the best world-class samurai in the land. The two of them met when my father saved my mother's life while on an important mission in City S, arguably the most dangerous city in the country.

An Unusual attacked my mother in an alley, and despite her best efforts in defending herself, her magic wasn't strong enough to defeat it. Before she was killed, my father noticed her struggling and approached the unusual, beheading it and saving my mother's life. After that, the two of them started going out, and a couple of years later, they were married. As a result, of course, I now exist in this world.

Due to both of my parents being extraordinary, I too was born with supernatural abilities, and though I was unaware of it at the time, and would remain so for most of my childhood, my abilities were exceptionally rare. When an extraordinary individual is born, they are born with a mark on the underside of their wrist, just below the palm. This mark signifies the type of ability that an individual possesses and is synonymous with a tattoo.

There are numerous types of marks, each with its own unique ability. For example, if your mark looks like a teardrop, it means you can manipulate water and ice. If your mark looks like a flame, you can manipulate fire. If your mark is a four-pronged star or a wizard hat, you're a mage and can cast spells. If your mark is a sword, you'll have exceptional combative prowess with melee weapons.

Furthermore, there are hundreds of sub-types of abilities, each with its own mark associated with them, as well. For sword marks, you can have a katana, longsword, shortsword, scimitar, dagger, etc. For mages, the size and shape of the four-pronged star or wizard hat determine the mage's capabilities, alongside any decorations that may appear on the mark. These subtypes determine your specific proficiencies, such as what type of weapons or magic you'll excel at.

Most Extraordinary Individuals are born with a single mark, however, extremely rarely, an individual can be born with two marks. If an Extraordinary Individual is born double-marked, it means they can use multiple types of abilities. This makes them exceptionally stronger than single-marked individuals.

My mother was a single-marked individual, her mark being that of a four-pronged star, as she was a mage. My father on the other hand had a double-mark. His first mark was that of a Gladius, and his second was that of a Titan, a sort of Olympian with large muscles, wielding the sword. You could tell they were two distinct marks, as each had a unique outline and design to them.

At the top of the totem pole exists one mark that is the rarest of them all, one which the number of individuals who have it can be counted on your fingers. The mark looks like a crescent moon with clouds beneath it. This is known as the Mark of The Possessor and signifies that the individual is capable of acquiring the abilities of those whom they defeat in combat. To put it simply, any Unusual I kill, I will possess some of their power from that point forward.

This mark is widely considered to be the strongest of them all, as it provides the user with near-limitless abilities. Those who are blessed with this mark are said to be "God's chosen ones" and are deemed worthy of protecting the world from harm. The first Extraordinary Individual, a man named Ark, having lived over 2000 years ago, was blessed with this same mark, though being alone in his league at the time, he hadn't much use for it.

The country we live in is called Minerva and is inhabited by a total population of roughly 130,000,000 people. There are approximately 45,000,000 Unusuals that exist alongside society in Minerva, with the majority of them existing within a region known as "The Cityscape". This region encapsulates 26 major cities each labeled with a letter of the alphabet, ranging from City A, the capital of Minerva, to City Z.

As my father finished cleaning his blade, he retired the supplies back to the cupboard and sheathed the sword. He hung it on the wall where it always went after each day and walked to the kitchen to make himself a meal.

"It's 2:00 PM, though I haven't had lunch yet due to our mission. I'm pretty hungry."

"I made a trip with Hachiro to the market this morning after you left, I picked up some of your favorite chicken and dumplings if you'd like to make some!"

"Oh wow, that sounds delicious, I haven't had those in a while! Would you like some too?"

"No thanks, I had lunch an hour ago!"

"Okay, no worries, I'm going to cook these up good," said my father with excitement. It pleased me to see my parents living so happily together. They had been married for almost 7 years now, and have known each other for about a decade. My father lit the stove and began preparing the required necessities to make chicken and dumplings. I continued to play with my toys on the ground, keeping myself entertained, that was until~

*Knock Knock*

"Is someone else at the door now?" asked my mother.

"I'll go check, our mail came today, right? We shouldn't be expecting anyone else today," replied my father.

"Yeah, it arrived early this morning, that's strange. It's probably just a solicitor."

My father answered the door, and unsurprisingly to us, a man wearing a blue suit and hat was standing at our door. He had white hair and blue eyes, though he couldn't have been any older than 35. The man examined my father for a few seconds before speaking to him.

"Excuse me, Kaizo, is it?"

"Yes, what brings you to our home?"

"My name is Senji, I'm with the Minervan National Police Force, I received a call earlier about a murder that took place within this household, and I need to come inside to investigate."

My father had a look of surprise on his face, which quickly turned into a look of immense confusion.

"A murder? What are you talking about? You must have the wrong address, and besides, I haven't heard or seen any crime around this neighborhood at all in the past couple of months."

"No, I can assure you this is the address that was delivered to our station. Step aside please, I need to search the property," replied Senji.

"Well, alright then, but you're not going to find anything!" Exclaimed my father with concern. The officer entered the home and began examining it thoroughly, gently shifting large furniture items about before setting them back in place. He entered every single room in our home, which was a larger, multi-story home. As a combatant in The Purorigu, my father was paid well over six figures.

"Do you have any hidden rooms or secret compartments in this household? If so, I am required to search those as well," said Senji. My father sighed and reluctantly walked over to one of the walls of our home. He pressed a hidden button that blended in with the wall, and after doing so, the wall began to open, revealing a hidden room with valuable items stored inside of it.

"Thank you, you may close it now. This concludes my search, I was unable to find any evidence related to a murder. As it turns out, you were right all along. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused your family."

"Don't worry about it. Has a murder truly taken place in City L though?"

"Apparently so, and the reports say it was quite gruesome..." replied Senji, walking out of our home and stopping on the front porch, holding his hands behind his back. He was wearing white gloves to protect his hands from leaving fingerprints on any of our household items.

"Who were the victims? If you don't mind me asking?"

"I have their names on this police document right here," said Senji, pulling some paperwork out from his pocket. He unfolded it and began reading off the names of the victims.

"A family of three was allegedly murdered in a home on the outskirts of City L on the afternoon of July 17th, 2007. The three victims were 31-year-old Kaizo Karasagi, 29-year-old Sara Karasagi, and 2-year-old Hachiro Karasagi. The family was attacked by a swarm of demons led by...hm, the name appeared to be expunged from the document..." said Senji.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

My father's heart sank after hearing the details of this preposterous police report. How could our family have been murdered if we were still alive? We were certain that this had to have been some kind of prank.

"You know, now that I think of it, isn't your name Kaizo, your wife's name Sara, and your son's name Hachiro?"

"...yes, what is going on here? Who are you?"

Senji turned around and gazed back inside our home. He turned his head and looked at me, sitting on the floor holding a miniature toy sword in my hand. Our eyes locked for a split second before the man adjusted his gaze to the mark beneath my palm, the mark of the possessor...

"That boy..." Senji thought to himself before pulling another, smaller document out from his pocket. He unfolded this paper and began reading it to himself. The paper was dated April 13th, 2021, the day I turned 16 years old. How could that have been possible? A document from the future? The document read as follows:

"On this day, the boy presented before you, Hachiro Karasagi, will enroll in the finest training academy for Extraordinary Individuals to begin his training in an attempt to oppose the great demon lord. If no action is taken on this matter, then he will defeat the demon lord, and eradicate the Unusual race from this world. Signed, [REDACTED]

Senji looked back at the mark on my wrist before folding up his documents and putting them back into his pockets. He lifted his right hand into the air and prepared himself to speak once more.

"Well then, I'll be going now. Once again, I apologize to your family for any inconvenience this may cause," he said.

"...may cause? What are you-" Before my father could finish his sentence, Senji snapped his fingers...

*Snap!*

*CRASH, BOOM!*

Immediately after doing so, every single window in my house shattered into pieces, followed by a swarm of demons barging through the now-open holes in the wall. Senji removed his hat and pointed to where I was sitting. Shards of glass flew into my body, piercing it and causing me to bleed. My mother Sara was also punctured by the glass.

"That's the boy, the one with the mark, THE POSSESSOR!" he yelled before his eyes began to glow a deep shade of red. My father quickly ran over and lifted me into his arms, removing me from the vicinity.

"NO! WHO ARE YOU!? WHAT ARE YOU!?" he shouted, smashing his fist into the button on the wall, opening our secret safe room. He tossed me into the safe room before ushering my mother in as well. She ran into the room and held me in her arms, crying in fear.

"Kaizo, what's going on!?" She yelled in terror, still bleeding from the glass penetrating her skin. My father didn't answer, instead grabbing his sword from the wall and unsheathing it.

"YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE, GET OUT!" He yelled in a deep tone. One of the demons swiftly made its way around my father and entered the secret room where my mother and I were sitting. The demon approached my mother and lifted her into the air by her neck, suspending her. She started to choke, gasping for air.

*Ack! T-Tsk!*

"K--Kai-zo..." she uttered. My father quickly beheaded the demon in one swift strike, causing my mother to fall to the ground, landing on her knees. My father turned around and assumed an expression of wrath, staring down Senji.

"So, you're as strong as they say you are, eh? Well then, I'll have to put a bit more effort into killing you," said Senji, pointing at him and directing an onslaught of demons his way. With each demon that came running towards my father, he sliced through its neck, killing it.

"RAARGH!"

*Slice!*

"ARGHRAGH!"

*Slash!*

"ROOAHR!"

*Swoosh!*

The demons, who couldn't have been any stronger than aberrant-level threats, started dropping like flies. My father had to have killed at least 20 of them before the carnage ceased. Senji, noticing my father's unwavering courage and skill with the sword, stopped sending demons his way, rather sending them back, away from our house, leaving just him and Senji.

My father was breathing heavily, blood dripping from his hands and torso as he had taken a couple of hits from the demons. Regardless, he was still standing in a fighting stance, with both hands on his katana.

"Bravo, Kaizo! It's no wonder you're a Senshi, my henchmen were no match for your power! You have me a little worried, what if the prophecy is true?"

"What prophecy...what the hell are you on about? WHO ARE YOU!?" my father asked with rage. Senji approached Kaizo and held his hand out toward him. My father wasted no time in counter-attacking Senji, preparing to make a swift and clean strike to his arm.

"HUUAAAAGHHHH!" he yelled as he swung his blade toward Senji.

...

*SHATTER!*

"...what the hell!?" yelled my father as his sword shattered on impact with Senji's arm. Senji looked into my father's eyes and smiled mischievously. He then started to chuckle, walking past my father, sending him into a state of paralysis out of fear.

"Well well, maybe you aren't as strong as the rumors made you out to be...but I'm curious about him..." he said, approaching me. My mother held me tightly in her arms, refusing to let me go by any means necessary. Senji kneeled in front of her and lifted her chin with his hand. My mother attempted to slap him across the face, but he caught her wrist in motion.

"Get off of me!"

*Sla-!*

"Shh, don't make a sound...you'll frighten this young child," said Senji, holding my mother's wrist in the air, causing her to drop me in front of her.

"He's already frightened! Can't you see him crying!?" replied my mother. I was now lying on the ground, completely exposed to whatever was coming my way. My father was paralyzed with fear, and my mother was immobilized. The blood of numerous demons stained the floor and walls of our home as it mixed and blended with the blood of our family.

"When I look at that boy, I see no fear...that boy is incapable of expressing fear."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Mark of The Possessor, the ones chosen by God...are boundless in nature. This boy will grow up to be the most powerful individual on the planet, and I cannot let that happen," said Senji, reaching down to grab me.

"STOP-Ack!" yelled my mother as Senji tightened his grip around my mother's wrist, breaking it. Now in tremendous pain, my mother had no choice but to surrender herself to Senji. He lifted me off of the ground and held me in his arms.

"You're going to come with me, and I am going to train you in the demonic arts. From then on, you will serve me in my army and aid me in ridding the world of the plague that is the Extraordinary Individuals," he said to me as I continued to cry. My father, seeing this, forced himself out of his paralysis and ran over to Senji, broken sword in hand.

"LET HIM GO, NOW!" he yelled. However, Senji did not listen. Rather, he lifted his hand in the air and aimed it toward my mother.

"Make one more move, and I will kill her," he said, preparing a powerful spell in front of him.

"NO! ...No...no...this can't be happening..." said Kaizo.

Senji turned his head and looked at my father, who was standing behind him, holding his broken sword in his hand. There was still a shard of the blade coming out of the handle, enough to stab somebody.

"You decide what's important to you. Your wife, or your son..." he said. Before my father could make any more movements, my mother Sara began to speak.

"Kaizo, save Hachiro...please...I'll be okay."

"No, I can't lose you, I love you!"

"I understand, but we both love Hachiro, he's what's important right now. You and I both know what the mark on his wrist means, he cannot be lost...he's one of humanity's only hopes...please, save him..." she replied. Kaizo was in tears at this point, he had a monumental decision to make. Save Hachiro and lose his beloved wife? Or surrender Hachiro to Senji and save her...

"..."

"HUUUUAAAAAAAHHHHH!" exclaimed my father as he ran toward Senji at full speed, preparing to strike him in the back with his broken sword. Senji's smile slowly faded, and the red beam of light from his hand started to glow brighter and brighter.

"Well then, you leave me no choice..." he said.

"YAAAAAHHHH!"

*STAB!*

"Huah!" yelled Senji, casting a deadly spell toward my mother as my father collided with him, sending him to the ground and dropping me in the process. The spell made a direct hit on my mother, immediately sapping the life force out of her.

"K-k-kaizo..." she uttered as the spell engulfed her body like a raging fire. The flames were a brilliant mix of red and pink and gave off the scent of Azalea, a horrific change in atmosphere.

"NO! SARA!" he yelled. Senji got up from the ground and made his way toward the door.

"It's too late, the spell has already taken effect. She'll be gone in a few minutes... Remember this name, Kaizo... Kojitenski Ankou, I am the one your son is looking for. When the time comes, I am sure we will meet again..." he said, before vanishing into thin air... he was now gone, nowhere to be seen, and I was injured, alongside my father, lying in a pool of blood on the ground as my mother slowly burned up in the spell.

"I...I love you..." said Sara, before ceasing contact with my father.

"SARAAAAAA!!!" he yelled, gazing at her now lifeless corpse. The spell ceased, leaving behind a husk of what was once my mother.

"DAMNIT!" he continued, banging his fist against the ground numerous times, sending blood spattering against the walls.

"Kojitenski Ankou...Kojitenski Ankou...KOJITENSKI ANKOU!!!" he yelled repeatedly. My father came to his feet, grabbed me, and quickly made his way out of our house.

"We gotta get out of here before they come back! Hachiro, please, hold on for dear life!" he yelled before placing me against his back. I held on tight as my father exited the house and began running away from the carnage that had just ensued.

My father and I fled our home quickly, making our way eastward toward the main city where we knew it'd be safe. He was severely wounded, still processing what had just happened to us. The amount of bloodshed left in our home painted the interior a deep red color, making it almost unrecognizable.

"Daddy, where are we going?" I asked, wiping the blood from my eyes. My hands were stained red, I couldn't tell my injuries from the blood of my mother. I held on tight to my father's shoulders as he ran from the home as quickly as he could.

"We're going to the city, I need to declare an emergency..."

The Unusuals attacked our home relentlessly that day, taking my mother's life and attempting to take me away…in total, nearly 20 demons swarmed our home, my father having defeated every single one of them...except one. The first demon to show up, the man in the suit, survived. It wasn't until much later in my life that my father told me who that man was.

After the incident, my father and I ran into the city and immediately booked it for the emergency phone service. He phoned the administration in City A, who then contacted The Purorigu's primary office. When you called The Purorigu, you were typically sent through a chain of departments eventually leading to the division you wished to speak with. However, in the case of an absolute emergency, my father had a way of contacting the CEO directly.

He told the CEO what had occurred, and what followed could only be described as chaos. Entire cities were shut down, all air travel was canceled, and a mandatory stay-at-home order was instantly enacted. In Minerva, the CEO of The Purorigu, Hiroshi Tanaka, had nearly as much power as the president himself. He was directly in charge of keeping all of humanity safe, so his orders were equally as powerful.

My father and I fled the city, leaving our home behind us. It was too dangerous to go back, and continuing to live in this city would be deadly. We called a Taxi and made our way south to City X, one of the safest cities in Minerva. From that day forward, my father retired his blade. His encounter with the man in the suit that day was so traumatizing that he couldn't bare to look at a sword the same way again.

The Purorigu discharged him from combat honorably, of course, having slayed over 600 demons during his years of service. Over the next couple of years, my father and I lived together in a newer, more secure home on the outskirts of City X. My father took up a new occupation as a weapons development specialist, continuing to work alongside The Purorigu, though in a non-combative division. He worked diligently to develop swords and other types of melee weapons to be used by extraordinary individuals.

My father re-married a woman in City X named Yukari a year later, a quick turnaround from the events that had just occurred. I have a feeling he was lonely and needed a companion to help him recover from what had just happened the year prior. Yukari was a wonderful stepmother, though she did not have any extraordinary abilities. When I was 5 years old, my sister, Misako, was born. Much like me, she was also born with a mark. Her mark appeared as a cog wheel, signifying increased intellect in the realm of engineering. She had a bright future ahead of her.

Throughout my childhood, my father tried his best to raise me as an ordinary child. Despite my mark, my father had absolutely no intention of training me in the art of combat, rather opting to shield me from it and protect me from anybody who possessed supernatural abilities. For most of my early years, I had no choice but to simply accept the fact that I was destined to be an ordinary kid with untapped potential...

It took me until the age of 10 to finally muster up the courage to ask my father why he was shielding me from the future I knew I was supposed to have. He had been sheltering me and my sister both from the outside world, always claiming it was much too dangerous for us, and to stay indoors, especially at night. After having been exposed to numerous extraordinary individuals throughout the years just roaming the city with my father, I was fed up.

I asked my father to tell me the truth about what happened that fateful day, nearly 8 years ago. At first, he entered an enraged state, demanding that I never bring up that day ever again, and sending me to my room. However, when he realized that his angry demeanor and commanding voice weren't enough to faze me, he backed down, realizing that he wouldn't be able to keep me from the truth forever and that he had to be an adult and educate me before I inevitably was able to educate myself on the matter.

He recounted the events that took place that day, including the man in the suit who approached our home and questioned my father. I don't remember anything from my life in City L except for the day of the attack, and even then, I barely remember anything from the actual attack itself. For the first time in my life, I was about to hear the identity of the man in the suit...

...Kojitenski Ankou... that was the name that my father uttered. Despite having no idea who he was, hearing his name sent immediate shivers down my spine. I questioned my father further about who this man was, sending him into a state of anxiety. I watched as my father shivered in place, his eyes darting around the room rapidly. To calm him down, I held onto his arm. This reassured him enough for him to continue his explanation.

The man known as Kojitenski Ankou is the most powerful demon in the world, having supernatural powers many times greater than any other demon in existence. He is referred to as "The Demon King" by society, and is the one directly responsible for the existence of millions of the demons that are alive today. Ankou is a name known worldwide as a threat to humanity, and it's been every Extraordinary Individual's goal in life to defeat him...

However, nobody has been able to do it. No matter how strong, no matter how many, and no matter how often, Ankou has been able to kill thousands upon thousands of Extraordinary Individuals each day through his henchmen, the demons whom he commands...

When Extraordinary Individuals turn 16 years old, they are eligible to enroll in one of Minerva's many training academies to refine their skills so that they too can enter the fight against the onslaught of The Unusuals. Eritoakademi, The Elite Academy for The Extraordinary, is among the absolute best of these schools and regularly produces top-tier fighters every year...

My name is Hachiro Karasagi, the year is 2021, I am 16 years old, and I am an Extraordinary Individual...