Unknown-Time.

for some time Damian watched as his warship went and go without much resistance, after half a day of travelling the Damian's warship finally passed the Baltic Sea and Denmark, into open, warmer and wider waters.

the cold and chilling winds finally off their backs and the midnight sky shining bright down them, it was dark but slightly less colder than the winters in Russia, there, cruising a few hundred thousand miles north Damian encountered the Valiant, the third threat that ravaged this world apart from the monsters and abominations that littered the sky, land and sea.

Damian: what is that? a flying boat?

there was indeed a flying boat over the horizon, but a fleet of them, airships, and medieval ones at that, one that didn't have the balloon part attached to the real body which was the ship itself.

Warship-Navigator: multiple threats detected, unable to identify.

Warship-Captain: all guns on alert, prepare for possible confrontation.

the two main guns at the front of the warship turned to face the incoming threat, the Valiant airships in the distance were approaching fast, faster than a car on the road, however there was one problem for them, they were facing someone else.

Night-Time.

two Valiant stood at the edge of the ship, watching as their fleet of 49 approached the lone warship in the distance, their forms fully revealed by the heavens above, their faces indistinguishable to that of a human, because they are humans, but to a certain extent, they are the distant and long lost relatives of humanity, incorruptible but as cold as steel, literally.

they were supposed to be the original humans, however they were too heartless, thus they were deemed unacceptable to take the crown of a true functioning species, and just like the elves, they were arrogant.

Commander-Emir: is it not confusing that the ones who carried the mantle are far weaker than us?

Emir, the commander of AVD, AKA the Archive Vault Division in charge of everything related to information.

the young man had white skin, golden hair and eyes, he wore a white clothing similar to that of a tuxedo but without the tie and the buttons, he also wore a thin suit at the bottom from the foot to the neck, the only black parts were the gloves, shoes and the glasses that were not identical to any of Earth's current clothing.

Master-Damon: not at all, that is to be expected of a race divided by emotion.

Damon, the assistant of Emir and second-in-command of the AVD.

Damon, unlike his superior had black skin, hair, red eyes and was much taller, taller by half a foot, Damon also wore heavy armor, similar to that of a knight mixed with roman armor, however this armor had no specific color, since it would change depending on the weather, environment and time, and on his back was a massive sword as long as his height.

Commander-Emir: ah... is that so? then perhaps we should exterminate them no?

Master-Damon: it is as you say commander...

Damon bowed his head while Emir smirked and retorted.

Commander-Emir: then that is exactly why we are being pushed back.

Emir took two steps forward before explaining.

Commander-Emir: why do you even think they survived this long? did you think because they were arrogant? if so then you are correct, their emotions drive them... negative or positive emotions, hate, pure hatred or the lust for vengeance... pride, the arrogance that leads to persistence... duty, that is the role of the protector... and most of all... love.

Master-Damon: l-love? how can love drive one to battle?

Emir looked up towards the stars and continued.

Commander-Emir: simple, the love for family, they fight for those they cared for and would gladly fight to the last not knowing whether they won or not, but they would gladly cling onto any... I almost forgot... hope.

Master-Damon: hope... what does hope...

Commander-Emir: that would be difficult to explain, perhaps another time, we are nearing one of their warships.

Damon and Emir looked towards the silhouette of a warship in the distance, a Valiant soldier in steel armor mixed in a European medieval and modern style design approached the two before kneeling down and giving a report.

Valiant-Soldier: milord! American warship sighted up ahead! shall we sink the enemy vessel?

Commander-Emir: clearly that not American... keep the distance, send nine of our ships to board and capture the warship, tell the rest to withdraw and await further instructions, that will be all, dismissed.

the Valiant soldier left and went to follow the instructions given by the superior while Damon approached Emir and stood next to him as he watched nine ships slowly break away from the fleet and approached the warship ahead.

just as expected, a hail of gunfire reached the nine approaching ships, but unlike the human warships that Emir faced in past battles the attacks were precise and accurate, and far more destructive, each shot that came from the main guns of the warship immediately penetrating the reinforced hull of the Valiant ships.

so much so that each direct hit led to an instant explosion, or if they pierced through the entire hull, they would first fall before exploding a second later, this outcome, Emir did not anticipate.

Commander-Emir: this... this is a different warship, and that flag... I do not recognize it...

Emir was thrown into a deep thought, he knew that Earth's inhabitants would eventually come up with a plan to pierce the armor of the Valiant warships but to think it came this quick, something was off.

at the first six years of conflict never had the nations of the world ever shown this much resistance, let alone annihilate nine ships with only one, they would have used the nukes they were so feared of using, but then again why a ship, why would their cousins put their hopes on a single ships, unless, there were more of them, this, Emir feared.

he already knew of the dangers of conflict with a desperate species, let alone their weaker cousins, they wanted to overthrow them but he felt something different, using his advanced eyes he extended his sight to watch one of the soldiers onboard the warship, but the result horrified him, the one he looked at wasn't a human, let alone an imitation of one.

he could see the black aura that seeped out from the uniform of the gunman, it didn't feel anything, literally no emotion, Emir felt sick to consider this life, if this is what happened to the humans on Earth because of the war then it was a big mistake to have turned them into such things, fear, he felt that emotion once, but not on a sickening level he felt now.

Master-Damon: commander, what are your orders?

Emir returned back into reality as he quickly calmed down and assessed the situation before giving an order.

Commander-Emir: withdraw, we will return to HQ, the humans have found a new way to combat our fleets.

Master-Damon: why withdraw? we were merely caught unprepared.

Commander-Emir: trust my judgement Master Damon, we are here for information gathering, we are not meant for fighting, our ships are barely considered combat-ready by the ISI.

the ISI AKA the Invasion Site Initiative, was the name given to the first of the invading Valiant who landed on Earth and the name of the Valiant army stationed on Earth, apart from the AVD and FDD known as the Foreign Defense Division, in charge for foreign matters as well as diplomacy with other species or nations from other worlds.

Commander-Emir: now withdraw the fleet, I must report this matter to High Master Illimund... 

Damon bowed before leaving to follow his superior's command.

Master-Damon: as you wish commander.

and as the small fleet withdrew from the skirmish, leaving with a significant portion lost to the unknown warship both Emir and Damon returned to their base at Norway, on the west coast near Bergen.

but when they returned a day later during the night they found a mushroom cloud at their base, and a few more exploding in the distance, as if the stars were descending right before him, a sea of fire engulfed the entire northern part of Europe, and just as it was already worse, when he tried to contact all the other HQs he got no answer.

even though he only knew this a day later after encountering Damian's warship this actually happened a day and a half earlier, though not noticeable due to the world already in constant self-destruction.

as he watched in horror at what destruction these nukes could have brought to his own planet he began to wonder why his superiors even questioned the decision of why they should overthrow humanity, the Valiant would have paid a heavy price if not for the pesky squabbling of their divided cousins, they would soon know there is another they should fear.

Day-Time.

America, Washington DC, the Pentagon, the RDA.

below the many layers of dirt, rock and other things the RDA or Research Development Action was located, it was a newly made team of researchers tasked with reverse engineering alien technology, but now it was about making weapons of mass destruction in all forms shapes and sizes, big or small, significant or not, it didn't matter, not anymore.

above a platform that overlooked the testing grounds Walter watched as RDA soldiers were being equipped with new and advanced equipment as well as new uniforms.

General-Livieur: is everything alright sir?

the man with white skin and yellow hair, blue eyes approached him, General Livieur, a respected general in the US, although unlike the others he looked less scarred from the war, but wore a different outfit, this time though instead of a green uniform he wore a white one, but of a different material, Secluded Ore.

an ore far stronger than titanium and mana stones, an ore lighter than wool but durable and far more flexible than steel and any other material on Earth, but is highly reactive to long-term pressure though basically next to impenetrable to even heat, even if thrown towards the center of the sun it wouldn't melt, but the pressure will.

only one must guess where America found such a material, and it was in the North Atlantic Ocean, somewhere at the very center of it inside a new ravine called The Devil's Pocket, since it was next the new largest volcano in the world called Gehenna, also known simply as Hell, but only because it looked like one, not because of the terrible things on it.

the fact that they managed to take 15,003,031 tons of this ore from the bottom of an ocean is a miracle, not talking about the pressure of the water but by how lucky they were when they finally depleted the place of it before it was filled with humongous nightmare creatures the size of entire islands and even mountains, the small ones though, they swarm.

also, inside that massive ravine the laws become different, there was no pressure to kill people, instead massive monsters that were nightmare fuel will be the ones to crush the unfortunate, so yeah they were extremely lucky.

President-Walter: *sigh* it's nothing, what brings you here today general? something important you want to tell me?

Livieur stood next to Walter as he watched his new men wore their new armor.

General-Livieur: well sir, I have good news and weird news.

Walter blinked his eyes for a moment, and wondered what could have been the weird news that Livieur spoke about, perhaps it was something weird that happened or something that he could not have accounted for.

President-Walter: let's go with the weird one first.

Livieur scratched the back of his head before answering.

General-Livieur: uh... you remember the auras that the first aliens left right?

President-Walter: *chuckle* well of course, our scientists found out that this... Dark Energy they called it were left wherever they stepped foot on, and wherever they were at the time.

General-Livieur: well you see... we detected a clear signal.

Walter's eyes went wide as he slowly turned to face Livieur as he explained it to him.

General-Livieur: yesterday the Russian base in St. Petersburg had just reported that one of their warships went missing, and turns out that we happened to have found a strong signal of Dark Energy a day before that near the UK.

Walter's eyes returned to normal as he tried to make sense of the situation.

President-Walter: so they stole a Russian warship... to do what exactly?

General-Livieur: sir, I think you should review the results yourself, we should have the pictures by tomorrow, I've already dispatched a small group of special forces to head towards the last known location of the signal.

President-Walter: are you still tracking them?

General-Livieur: of course sir, in fact...

Livieur and Walter both turned towards the massive monitor behind them to see a moving green dot in a map.

General-Livieur: they're actually easy to track because of the massive Dark Energy that they keep leaving behind, although it would probably disperse in a matter of years just like before.

Walter walked closer to the monitor as he spoke his mind.

President-Walter: well... if they're here, then why don't we keep an eye on them this time...

Walter and Livieur continued to watch the monitor while tests were being conducted below.

and just above them inside one of the many room of the Pentagon, X, Yamato, Edo and Heath were discussing the matters in which how to deal with the remaining threats, they only had 1,020 nukes left, the only remaining nuclear weapons left on the planet of every nation, even with new ones being developed, it still took a lot of time, and time was money.

seated on chairs and couches X started with a heavy sigh as he began their little meeting.

X: I would like to begin by telling you all that this meeting is to discuss the current matters in Asia and Europe, as well as the matters that happened in Aetreia, I am certain you were all notified of this?

the rest nodded in agreement while X continued his discussion.

X: the White Dragon Semper had been sighted near the Shi-intari borders, we are likely to find white demons near Asia in the coming months, nevertheless I am actually here to discuss the more concerning matter...

Edo raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward.

Edo: you mean the Terrans? they are literally identical to us, they are supposed to be science fiction, we made the word Terran during the 1800s and beyond, how did they exist?

X: I wished that was the case, but here we are... and god is nowhere to be seen.

Yamato: then perhaps they are more willing to negotiate unlike their more hostile counterpart.

Heath: yeah right... as if they're the same as the cocky Valiant.

Heath took out a piece of candy from his pocket and chewed on it for a moment before continuing.

Heath: with them up our asses, we should be more careful of them, the quiet ones usually hide the strongest weapons... and who knows? they might be hiding nukes like ours.

Yamato nodded in agreement to Heath's statement, while Edo sighed in exhaustion.

Edo: look we're in deep here, if we use all our nukes we might as well surrender now, Walter's temper tantrum depleted most of our supplies but also our problems, but those Valiant are still alive and well, and those flying monsters are free and roaming as birds in the sky... not to mention the flying continent above Russia, we don't know much about them.

X: but still, we should finish one problem first before moving onto the other, we cannot simply consider one problem finished without making sure, they might pose a problem at a later time.

Yamato: agreed, but apart from the economy I suspect security is another problem.

Heath relaxed his back as he snapped his fingers as he realized what the security problem was.

Heath: oh... you mean national security right? that's not a problem, the recruitment program is swarming with volunteers, but the thing is there is not enough of them, they die too fast the moment we send them out into the field.

X: that is why we equip them with much needed better equipment, the RDA is doing as it was intended, and... test subjects are always in abundance, so we do not need to worry about that either.

Yamato: Russia's borders are wide, they are separated, they cannot fight on multiple fronts.

Edo: what do you think the satellites are for?

Yamato: that is not what I meant, what I mean is that even with the abundance in recruitment none of us can be prepared for a concentrated attack on a single border, then, the entire nation will collapse...

X: unless we go on the offensive...

Yamato: correct, if we keep them at bay and keep their armies busy we should be able to prevent any counter attacks, they will be swarming to defend their coasts, but the problem is unforeseen forces.

Heath: so a party we didn't know about... maybe the floating continent?

the room fell silent, the Heaven and Hell above the skies always never seem to make a move, it just floated in space, orbiting the Earth without life or any inhabitants, something, or someone must be up there.

Heath: don't you think that it's a bit suspicious that nearly anything new on Earth, be it the sea, islands or an entire new continent, there seemed to be always a sign of life there, hostile or not... that floating continent on the other hand... didn't...

Edo: maybe there's nothing on it?

Heath: just hope that you're right, whatever's on there... better stay there.

X: well... whatever problems that may arise from that continent will be dealt with, Professor Callus will wake us weapons that kills these things, I think he called it... the Huntsman Program.

while the four debated for the following minutes, outside the Pentagon the famed Professor Callus once a doctor performed multiple tests on his newest inventions, the Huntsmen.

the professor just like the rest aged, although he still had the same face his skin and hair changed, from light brown skin to white and from blue and black mixed hair to silver, he also wore glasses unlike before, and unlike his usual self, he was far more respectful and had a longer temper to manage, but still maintained some of his usual self.

the testing grounds were littered with shrapnel and debris as massive manned robots fought with sword and shield, some carried guns while others carried rocket launchers, some were big, some were small, for this would prove the final design of the T-17 Huntsman, all of the 1,234 contestants were custom-made by Callus, to determine which was the best.

Huntsman-Pilot-516: d-dammit, I'll never let you win!

a pilot in a blue Huntsman taunted his enemy in the red Huntsman as he blocked a shot with his shield.

Huntsman-Pilot-76: hah! you wish loser! 

the pilot in the red Huntsman retorted as he fired a few more shots from his riffle.

Huntsman-Pilot-312: out of the way! this one's mine!

another Huntsman pilot in red color bashed his teammate aside as he went in for the kill.

Huntsman-Pilot-516: should've never done that...

the pilot in the blue Huntsman blocked the attack that came from the second red Huntsman's massive sword as he fired a shot from his pistol before redirecting the broken body of the second red Huntsman.

Huntsman-Pilot-312: argh!!! this is impossible!

Huntsman-Pilot-516: now for the other one.

the blue Huntsman pilot redirected his attention back to his original enemy, but before he could even get a glimpse he was shot from behind, deactivating his Huntsman.

Professor-Callus: that's it! match over! the winner is Pilot-76! Jack Cain!

Callus called for the end of the match with a megaphone as the last Huntsman standing raised his weapon high in victory, surrounded by the many other defeated contestants, including the one he just defeated.

the 76th pilot, Jack, stepped out of his Huntsman as the front of the chest opened in a damaged motion revealing an advanced cockpit filled with wires and damaged screens and panels.

Jack raised his arms to remove his helmet from his head to reveal his face, white skin, blond hair and light blue eyes, a young man nearing adulthood, no facial features as of yet but a clear scar on his face was noticeable.

Jack looked at Callus as he approached him, he placed his helmet next to him as he asked.

Jack: so what do I win professor? do I own the mech?

Jack waited for a response while Callus stopped a few feet away and looked up, the sheer size of the Huntsman casted a shadow over him even though the Huntsman was just 54 feet high, unlike the others that were much bigger.

Professor-Callus: yes Jack, you own the mech...

Jack's face lit with joy as he climbed down his Huntsman before walking towards Callus.

Jack: so what now? new assignments? new missions?

Callus took a few seconds to think before answering with a slight grin as he crossed his arms.

Professor-Callus: well Jack, you'll soon be assigned to Europe, your team will be waiting for you there.

Callus turned around as he looked at the Pentagon and continued.

Professor-Callus: Commander Johnathan will be directing you from this point onward... and oh, don't forget to stay hydrated Jack... you're going to need it to survive out there, it's gonna be a long night...

multiple jets passed over them as repair crews rushed to salvage whatever scraps that were left in the testing grounds, huge helicopters moved in different directions, all while Callus slowly walked away towards the Pentagon for work.

leaving Jack to ponder to himself for a moment, meanwhile, Damian's warship had just passed the North Sea next to the UK, landing on a now uninhabited area known as Faroe Islands, tracked by approaching RDA and Russian forces.