"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" the host, Olivia, announced cheerfully, her smile infectious. "For this next segment, we're going to be discussing the devastating gate disaster that occurred last week."
"And joining us today is a special guest," Olivia announced, her voice filled with excitement. "He's one of the renowned hunters who survived after braving the most dangerous yet extraordinary mission and confronting legions of the most terrifying creatures."
"Please welcome the captain of the third hunter division from The White Tiger guild! Captain Marcus Turner!!!" Olivia's voice resonated through the studio, and the audience's applause filled the room. The camera panned to the entrance, revealing Captain Turner entering the stage, dressed in tactical gear with a hardened expression. He nodded appreciatively at the audience before taking his seat opposite Olivia.
"Captain Turner, welcome to the show!" Olivia greeted, shaking his hand. "Now, tell us about this high-grade gate you and your team just faced and cleared after a week alongside other guilds. It's been making quite the news."
Marcus leaned back in his chair, his gaze steely and focused. "Thank you for having me. The mission was very intense. We were dealing with a level of threat we hadn't encountered before. Honestly, that disaster that we faced was unlike anything we've seen."
Olivia leaned forward, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "Can you walk us through the operation? What challenges did you and your team face?"
After taking a deep breath and exhaling, Marcus continued, recalling the harrowing details. "When we first received the news, I felt really horrified to hear that the gate suddenly broke open, unlike usual, where there is time to prepare for the situation, with hundreds of monsters pouring out after it suddenly happened in the densely populated downtown area."
"And when my team and I finally arrived at the scene, it was a complete mess in many ways than I could describe for example, our team had to immediately face a lot of aggressive monsters like those hordes of harpy that target our archers and hordes of basilisk that our tanks have difficulty dealing with."
"With the added hundreds of more gates suddenly appearing out of nowhere, you could say the entire situation can rival the first era or perhaps surpass it with all of that destruction and chaos." Marcus then said, shivering a little, recalling that horrifying moment. "Despite all of that, we fortunately managed to minimise the damages they caused as much as possible with the coordinated effort of many, including the production association, the unaffiliated hunters, and the authorities."
Olivia nodded, absorbed in the narrative. "And how did your team manage to close those gates? What was the turning point in the operation?"
Marcus's eyes glinted with a mix of pride and melancholy when he heard that question. "It was thanks to the combined effort of many guilds that took action at the scene, whose leaders at the scene, I'll admit, are very adaptable and flexible, allowing us to close those gates successfully."
"And the main turning point of this event is thanks to the effort of Techno guild's specialists who lead all the tech support during the event and worked tirelessly to pinpoint the gate's boss and the leaders that have been leading the monsters, while the rest of us held the line against the onslaught," Marcus said, looking at the crowd with a soft smile, reminiscing about that moment. "After gathering all of the necessary information, it finally came down to a precise sequence of dealing with every type of monster with its weakness, and when the moment presented itself, some of us who had the opportunity quickly dived into the gate and sealed it by defeating the final boss and destroying the core, preventing further incursions."
Olivia leaned back, feeling impressed. "Incredible. Now, Captain Turner, there's been speculation about the aftermath of such operations. Can you shed some light on the impact and the measures taken to ensure the safety of the affected area?"
Marcus nodded, his expression grave. "After closing a few of the gates, our White Tiger guild's main priority was securing the area and providing immediate aid to those affected by the aftermath with the challenging part being required to provide constant ongoing support but fortunately, thanks to the collaboration between us, the local authorities and relief organisations, we're able to provide enough relief to all communities that lives in the area."
Olivia leaned forward, her tone serious. "Captain Turner, you and your team are hailed as heroes after that event. Would you like to share any final thoughts or messages with our viewers?"
Marcus smiled with a hint of humility in his eyes. "I appreciate the recognition, but the real heroes are the ones who endure the aftermath. To the affected communities out there, please stay strong and stay safe. We're here for you, and together, we can overcome anything."
The audience erupted in thunderous applause, acknowledging Captain Marcus's and his team's sheer bravery in facing disaster head-on. Olivia, visibly moved by their tale, expressed gratitude to him and even bowed down, as her mother was also one of the disaster survivors.
While the show headed into a brief break, a man named Agent Faris sighed, leaning back in his office chair. He watched the interview on his laptop, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes.
"All this glory for the hunters," he muttered, a sour taste in his mouth. "Wish I could get a fraction of that recognition for all the crap we deal with."
Just as Faris was imagining himself on stage, receiving a standing ovation for successfully navigating a mountain of paperwork, a sharp smack landed on the back of his head.
"Ow!" Faris yelped, rubbing the sore spot. He spun around to face Aina, his colleague, who was standing there with her arms crossed and an annoyed look plastered across her face. "What the hell, Aina?"
"If you have enough energy to daydream about being a celebrity, you've got enough energy to finish your actual work," Aina said, deadpanned while dropping a stack of files onto his desk. Faris grumbled, picking up the top file. "Hey, it's not my fault they make it look so glamorous. We're out here slogging through paperwork, dealing with all the messy fallout, and who gets the spotlight? The guys who punch monsters."
"Don't be a baby. You know what our job is." Aina said, rolling her eyes while leaning against his desk. "It's not about fighting monsters, Faris. Not directly, anyway. Our duty is to protect people from the hunters. From rogue hunters misusing their powers, from guilds getting too big for their britches, from all the shady stuff that goes on behind the scenes."
"And the occasional rogue monster that somehow slips past their 'heroic' efforts," Faris added, a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he looked through the files.
"Exactly!" Aina exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. "Those things don't just disappear into thin air. Someone has to track them down, clean up the mess, and make sure they don't cause more chaos. And that 'someone' is us, not a musclehead like him."
Faris scoffed. "Still, a little recognition wouldn't hurt. I practically wrestled a rogue teleporter last week who kept turning my coffee into Jell-O."
"Oh, the horror. Anyway, I have a case for you," She said, pulling a file from the stack and placing it directly in front of him. "It's a murder case."
The victim's body was found shrivelled up like a prune in some abandoned building near downtown. No blood, no usual signs of struggle, just… dried out." Aina explained, recalling the details that she had reviewed so far while Faris picked up the file, his brow furrowing as he read the cover. "A mummy, huh? Any ID?"
"Yup. Identified as Jake Gunner, a deliveryman who was reported missing last week." Aina replied, leaning against his desk, a serious expression replacing her earlier annoyance. "Forensics is baffling. No known monster type does that to a human. And it's awfully close to where that gate disaster happened."
Faris sighed, slowly closing the file with his earlier frustration now replaced by a familiar sense of dread mixed with a hint of annoyance.
"Just when I thought we were done with the weird stuff from last week," Faris grumbled, tapping the "mummy" file against his desk. "Now we've got a dehydrated deliveryman in a vacant lot. What's next? A monster that turns people into garden gnomes?"
Aina snorted. "Don't tempt fate, Faris. You know how quickly those things become reality around here. Remember that time a minor gate opened in the city zoo and all the monkeys started breathing fire?"
"Oh, yeah," Faris chuckled, a rare, genuine smile touching his lips. "And then the hunters had to explain to the public why they were blasting super-powered primates with ice magic. Good times."
Just then, Aina's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, a small frown creasing her brow as she read the message. "Ugh, speak of the devil. Looks like the chief's meeting just wrapped up, and I'm needed for the next one."
"Already?" Faris asked, leaning back in his chair. "Don't tell me it's another 'synergy and stakeholder engagement' meeting. My eyes glaze over just thinking about it."
Aina sighed, pushing herself off his desk. "Worse. It's the 'lessons learned from the gate disaster and how to prevent future PR nightmares' meeting. Basically, an hour of everyone blaming everyone else, and us getting stuck with all the follow-up work."
"Sounds riveting," Faris deadpanned. "You have fun with that. I'll be here, trying to figure out how someone gets turned into a human raisin."
"Try not to get too jealous of Captain Pretty-Boy and his dramatic interviews while I'm gone," Aina teased, already heading for the door. "And don't even think about using my mug again. I'm watching you."
Faris threw his hands up in mock surrender. "No promises! Now go on, your adoring public of bureaucrats awaits!"
Aina sighed and rolled her eyes at Faris' antics, but a little grin spread over her lips as she walked out of the office. The corridor was crowded with agents, some immersed in whispered talks and others rushing to their next duties.
As she rounded a corner, her steps faltered. Standing a few yards away, engrossed in his phone, was a man with his recognisable close-cropped hair and sleek black suit. Aina immediately straightened, her smile vanishing, and quickly bowed her head.
"Sir," she murmured, her voice respectful and low. The man with close-cropped hair turned his sight from his phone and nodded quietly to her before she immediately continued on her way, knowing that interrupting him was a definite no-go.
After she left, the man with close-cropped hair turned serious with a deep furrow appearing between his brows as he murmured, "It's time to visit the child."
To Be Continued