First Encounter
A street that both unfamiliar and strangely familiar was burning.
Ruins reduced to ashes. My vision growing dark.
Beyond it all, I could hear people screaming...
Accompanied by a howl, filled with hostility and drawing closer by the second.
If I don't move, I'll die!
Just as I tried to force my body up with that single thought in mind...
...Looks like I landed in the wrong place.
Don't move. Stay put. If you wander around in that condition, you won't live long.
A goddess appeared.
Captain, are you all right?!
Oh! You shouldn't get up!
Please rest for now. Luckily, none of your vital points were hit, but your injuries are still serious.
Medical staff will be here soon to examine you. Until then, please stay still.
Still, that was far too close. Of all times, for this to happen right before the [Journey]...
Yes. It happened so suddenly that everyone was caught off guard.
Without any warning, countless Voidborns appeared in the sky.
Most were intercepted mid-descent, but some crashed into the city and went on a rampage.
And unfortunately, you were caught up in the chaos, Captain.
...
As I listened to Lisa, the memories I had forgotten slowly came back.
I'd come to NOA because of the [Journey], planning to wait until my Journey member arrived...
...Come to think of it, what about the goddess?
Goddess?
I didn't know you were religious, Captain.
Wait, you didn't hit your head during the accident, did you?!
Ah... You mean her.
You know her?
Of course. After all...
She's the [Journey member] who will be accompanying you, Captain.
After undergoing several examinations, I was advised to rest for the time being.
But I couldn't stay in a hospital bed forever, so I decided to meet my Journey member right away.
Following the address Lisa gave me, I arrived at the quarters where she was staying...
What's this? A rookie?
Still green. How'd a newbie like you even find this place?
...This place feels incredibly hostile.
Hehe. Judging by your expression, guess you've got no clue where you walked into.
This is where hunters gather.
We're not like those posers who call themselves the Savior Party. This is a world for professionals.
So what are you here for, rookie?
What...?
Did I hear that wrong? Who did you say you were here to meet...?
Yeah, we must've heard wrong! No way this puny kid came looking for that destruction incarnate!
You bastard! Don't you dare say that name lightly, even by mistake! I'll kill you!
Real bad... More times than I can count.
Ask her to retrieve a relic, and she wipes out a village. Send her on a search quest, and she razes an entire forest.
Then she has the gall to claim the quest was fulfilled! Sure, it was, technically!
Yeah! A guy I know tagged along with her once and...!
Damn it! That kid had a bright future as a hunter, but when he came back, he said he was quitting to take over the family business back home...!
...Isn't that a good thing?
She's only been in this line of work a short time, but she bulldozes through everything without restraint!
It's not too late. She's out right now, so run away before you bump into her.
I looked around and realized the other hunters were already watching us with tense expressions.
Just as I started wondering if Lisa had mistaken my Journey member for some other Hilde...
The door opened, and she walked in.
...Completely drenched in blood.
Are you all plotting something? What are you doing, gathered here in broad daylight?
Eek! She's here!
I-I don't know anything!
So you make a living with blades, yet a little blood is enough to scare you stiff.
Well, whatever... Hmm?
I don't recognize you. Who are you supposed to be?
...I see. So you're the Captain the [Witch] mentioned.
Circumstances being what they are, we'll be working together for a while. Call me Hilde.
It's from a monster from a nearby lake.
Its shell was softer than it looked. It was lively enough, so I expected it to last a bit longer.
A lake near NOA...
She must be talking about the massive monster that had been all over the news lately.
What's wrong? You look like someone got the ambush on you.
Graceful?
...Can't say I know anything about grace. I do have one apprentice who's rather soft, I suppose.
In any case, you came at the right time. Let's get started.
Aren't we going to finish up this [Journey] of yours?
I don't like leaving work piled up.
...One year.
Hmm? What was that?
It takes a whole year to complete the Journey.
...That damn witch left out the most important detail.
Stay here. I'll go deal with her.
Deal with her? How?
I know her type. Smiling on the outside, pitch black on the inside.
With people like that, fists are faster than words.
I'll drag whatever else she's hiding out of her.
Stop!!
...In the end, it took an entire day to stop Hilde from heading to Astro Sanctum.
That day, the goddess in my head... was dead.