A CONFUSED ERA

The wind blew strongly, carrying a lot of vegetation with it. Buildings were destroyed, and people died. A red, scaly Scarlet Demon emerged from the vault. He was followed by more creatures of his kind, but Shawn and Butler were there to meet him.

Throughout the late centuries, there has been a constant fight between demons and humanity. Through many encounters with the demons, humanity faced total annihilation, with two-thirds of the human race suffering painful deaths.

Some humans had their tongues pulled from their bodies and eaten. Some had their heads torn apart by many teeth feeding on their brains. Others had their eyes gouged out and eaten, their noses and teeth chomped off, and their intestines and hearts devoured.

Artificial explosives, four-by-five-metre bombers, and high-end, fast-reacting guns have, for some time, served to save humans from extermination.

But that was not the solution.

There has to be someone—or something—capable of completely stopping the materialization of demons.

But what can be done?

All the methods that have been tried have proved most fatal in the end. Though the attacks appeared physical, many humans did not know that this was an enchanted curse brought about by the goddess Fortuna before her death.

Before Fortuna, the goddess of fortune and luck, died, she poured out curses upon the entire human race. She binded humanity with divinity, but no place was found for man after he broke the Sacred— the one Sacred promise man had made in the beginning.

From that time, the Earth was open to all. Every creature in existence once lived on planet Earth, but due to the increase in weaponry and the growing knowledge of mankind, many of them, mainly the weak, moved on to other parts of the universe.

Through the curse of the goddess, which linked Earth to the underworld and other places, many creatures have been materializing on Earth at spasmodic intervals. Many of them were exterminated on sight, but a few like the elves, dwarfs, and others, hid themselves in a magical fortress, forbidden to any human entry.

Other stronger creatures, such as the Aghurs, rock monsters, and sea monsters, had killed a small percentage of humanity. There existed, though, one archenemy—more ruthless and stronger, greater in number, and seemingly invincible to explosives or bullets.

A creature that, even when its head was removed, kept moving.

The Scaled Monsters had the appearance of devils. A creature with yellow, glowing, cat-like eyes. Their long, slender arms ended in finger-length nails that jutted forward. Their well-scaled bodies were protected by thick breastplates.

A creature with cat-sized molar teeth, capable of tearing and ripping human flesh within seconds. A creature whose very appearance on Earth sent humanity into question—a being that seemed to have blotted humanity from the Earth.

The creature, the hideous and dreadful horror called the Demon.

Some mythical creatures, too, faced numerous attacks from the demons. But unlike humans, who relied on weapons and science, these other creatures used magical means.

In a certain decade, the creatures joined forces to defend themselves. For a time, they were invincible, but due to human intervention, the whole group scattered around the Earth.

Among them was an enchanted creature. The creature sat at the right side of a dynasty. When man fell into a trap from the beginning, the whole Earth was engulfed by darkness. The dynasty was forced to split.

Before they scattered, the Sacred Key, which had the power to unlock the future and the past, was handed to the creature. Upon leaving, the creature vowed to protect and hide the key from any evil hands.

When moving, the creature got cornered by many evil-minded creatures, including man. The creature tried to run but could not. Many hands reached for the key, but only one hand managed to grab it—the human arm.

Seeing this, the creatures tried to pursue the human, but they were blocked by many explosives and projectiles.

Humanity had the power of the whole universe. They could shape the future and more. For a time, and half the time, humans dominated the universe. They were rulers until one day, a great occurrence landed on the human race.

The Creature, called Torifinal by name, handed the key to humanity. In the course of her death, the Curse appeared, opening the door to the underworld as she was the only remaining Creature with such power.

Due to this, humans, ignorant of the absence of magic, lost power in the universe. The key got sealed in a box with immense energy. The key got there with the help of another mythical magical species and a group of the oldest humans on Earth.

The key was sent out of sight into oblivion. It was sent somewhere safe, waiting for somebody—the one true self-protector of the key and the universe—to be born.

The key was sent away as many dirty-minded Creatures appeared and disappeared on Earth. The knowledge and duty was also passed on to human kind.

Humans, together with other species, vowed to protect the key, the Earth, and the arena.

Monsters appeared and fought against evil-minded Creatures.

An organization was established to protect the key. The organization was tracked and predicted from where and when a Creature was to materialize.

Mainly, they tracked demons, as they were the only true threat to everything.

Humans were exposed to magic as a result, and they evolved.

The question still hangs: Who will find the key first? Is it the evil ones, or the true protector of the key? If it lands in the wrong hands, what will happen?

Who is the true protector?