A/N:
This is a revised version of our previous story with the same title. The purpose of this was to showcase the plot's background and have the storyline flow better.
This is not my work alone, but a collaboration with Rottensentence. She does the artwork for this ff. Please visit my profile if you're interested in our Character Banner for this story. The sketch includes all of our characters that will be introduced in the next two chapters!
Now then, onwards!
Prologue
A great war between men and monsters took place five hundred years ago. No man knows where these monsters came from or why they have waged war. But in order to save humanity, the humans had no choice but to fight back.
Warriors have witnessed many monstrosities during the war but the worst of them all were beings of intelligence. The highest classes of monsters were strong, powerful divine beings who were virtually immortal and held high positions within their hierarchy. Humans called them the Monsters of the Vast Pandemonium due to their immense destructive power that even one can bring. And amidst this dark army was their leader – Naght Seiger.
These monsters were proven to be too powerful for men when the outcome was one-sided from the very beginning. Men were discouraged, losing morale and hope when faced with countless defeats. On their peak of despair, the ruling King called out to Odin, the ruler of Asgard, to save the people of his Kingdom. Asgardians usually do no interfere in human relations; however, this war was an anomaly as the enemies were not humans themselves.
In response to the King's plea, Odin himself confronted Naght and in all his benevolence, gave him a chance to surrender. As proud as Naght was, even if he knew he could not win against the major god, he did not subdue or flinch an inch in the presence of the Allfather. Shaking his head in solace, Odin thrust his spear upwards where a tall dark prison tower made of bricks and built with a hundred floors appeared above them. Naght and all of his loyal subjects were sealed and confined in this very tower for eternity. Odin had sent the tower to a hollow dimension where Naght and his army could never do harm to anyone ever again.
To say that peace has been brought back to the Kingdom is not quite right as Midgard is not the same as before. It was the beginning of a new age as men and monsters began to co-exist in the human world. During Odin's and Naght's confrontation, there were monsters of different classes who willingly surrendered to Odin as they were not too fond of the idea on being sealed for an eternity. In accordance to Odin's command, these monsters were scattered around Midgard to be hunted countless times by humans; in exchange for the lives they took, as their punishment. Cursed with reincarnation powers; they were to be reincarnated again once they die.
Nonetheless, after the war was finally over, the King decided to burn all evidence related to the war in hopes that the people of Midgard would forget about that time of turmoil and calamity. Only a handful of documents about the Monsters of the Vast Pandemonium, known as MVP for short, are stored in the royal library.
As years passed, the emergence of magic and science created a new job system where different professions are allowed to hunt the monsters that have resided in Midgard. Subsequently, many adventurers and travelers emerged from all over the country. Seemingly harmless creatures were even kept as pets. The MVPs have turned into myths and legends as they have not been seen by many. And the Great War is now ancient history; shrouded in hidden truths and fabricated rumors, talked about every now and then. It was truly a time of peace and harmony.
Until ten years ago…
An eerie sky-piercing tower was discovered on the islands of Midgard.