Volume One: In the Prime of Youth Chapter One: The Onset of Calamity

All things arise from causes and yield their effects; what is owed must ultimately be repaid.

In the year 2936 AD, Earth’s resources were nearly exhausted. After fruitless attempts to reach into the cosmos, a scientist’s groundbreaking invention became a turning point in human history.

An artificial black hole shattered the boundaries of time and space. Humanity glimpsed a new world—though not the paradise of endless ores and oil-rich riverbeds they had hoped for.

"Calamities"—that was the name given to the unique beings that poured in from the breached parallel world. To call them living creatures would be inaccurate; they were monsters. Their sustenance was not food as humans understood it—they fed on human flesh.

No one knew what they had eaten before the two worlds overlapped, but after their arrival, one thing became certain: they devoured people.

Instead of finding paradise, humanity had opened the gates of hell, unleashing a horde of man-eating demons.

Yet, whether by divine mercy or sheer fortune, when the Calamities crossed over, an unprecedented wave of radiation accompanied them—a radiation with a unique and variable frequency. A small number of humans, exposed to this energy, awakened extraordinary abilities. In the struggle against Calamities, these powers far surpassed the destructive force and combat prowess of any known human weapon. Five years under the Calamities’ dominion passed before humanity could finally mount a resistance. The energy that fueled these abilities was systematically categorized into seven attributes: Ice, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Space, Holy Light, and Darkness.

Those gifted with such powers were called Espers.

After nearly a century of struggle, humanity reclaimed much of its lost territory. Along the way, they built more than a dozen new colonies behind colossal walls around the world. Espers formed Calamity Hunting Corps, staking their lives to bring stability to those behind the walls. But the war between humanity and the Calamities was far from over.

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The Wilds of Calamity: "Calamity" for the monsters, "Wilds" for the untamed land—these were the regions still ruled by the Calamities despite countless sacrifices by Espers. Vast and boundless, the Wilds separated the great colonies. Anyone wishing to travel between colonies had no choice but to brave the trains crossing these perilous lands.

In the autumn of 3224 AD, beneath a boundless sky, a train rumbled across an endless desert. Huo Ye was riding his hover-bike, following this train to his new academy.

His name, a homonym for "Calamity Wilds," was an oddity in the Age of Espers. The two characters seemed cursed, shrouded in ill omen, causing others to keep their distance. He once asked his parents why he was given this name. His father offered only that it was the name his birth mother had chosen.

Yes, his birth mother. Huo Ye had been adopted by his current parents. His adoptive father was Eddie Halls, humanity’s strongest Esper, leader of the First Calamity Hunting Corps—the Reaper Corps—known as the "Black Reaper."

This train would pass by Huo Ye’s new academy, his intended destination. Yet he wasn’t aboard; his father had assigned him an internship—to protect the train.

By law, every train traversing the Wilds of Calamity required at least five Espers as escorts. Huo Ye had been temporarily assigned as the sixth.

"This is Number Six. All clear. Over." Huo Ye reported on schedule. It was his first time interning away from his father’s protection, and he quickly realized that, to these people, he was just a useless rookie.

He had interned with the Reaper Corps before, but no one dared show him contempt to his face—those were his father’s soldiers, after all.

Huo Ye felt indignant. So what if they’d enlisted a few years earlier? Did that make them better?

As he was considering what he’d do once he graduated and joined the Reaper Corps, the radio crackled: "Tracks ahead damaged—alert!"

The next instant, the shriek of emergency brakes pierced the desert, but the train’s momentum was too great. It skidded along the rails before inevitably derailing.

"There are Calamities! Numbers Two, Three, Four, and Five, engage with me. Number Six, protect the passengers!"

A chorus of "Yes, sir!" echoed through the radio. Huo Ye sensed their disdain; assigning him to protect the passengers clearly meant they thought he couldn’t face the Calamities head-on. Underestimating him, were they?

"Requesting permission to join the battle, sir. Number Six reporting!"

"You’re still too green! Focus on protecting the passengers!"

"Yes, sir," Huo Ye replied, muttering to himself, "Who are you looking down on?"

The train’s derailment left everyone in disarray. Before they could recover, a wolf-shaped Calamity leapt through a window into the carriage. Though small, it seemed like a death god from hell, come to harvest souls.

"No, no! Ah!" The Calamity pounced on a man, biting through his throat in a single snap. Blood gushed, and the man’s scream was cut short—life extinguished in an instant.

As the first victim fell, the rest realized this was no nightmare—this was real. They were among the unlucky few to encounter a Calamity attack on a train.

A man’s legs gave out and he crashed to his knees, wailing, "Heavens above, you’ve got to be kidding me! Why did this have to happen to me?"

His cries became a dirge for those present, plunging everyone into despair. Calamities had appeared; they were doomed. Only Espers could kill Calamities—ordinary people could only await their unjust fate.

A little girl cowered in her mother’s embrace, whimpering, "Mommy, I’m scared!"

"Don’t be afraid, darling. Mommy’s here—nothing will happen." Her mother’s voice trembled with forced calm, tears shining in her eyes.

The Calamity gnawed at the dead man’s throat, then turned its gaze toward the little girl, greedily licking blood from its lips. It advanced with unhurried steps, savoring the fear in human faces. Though still beast-shaped, it had long since awakened intelligence. Having survived this long, it had learned one truth from humans: the world belonged to the strong.

The Calamity’s throat rasped in anticipation. Its hind legs tensed as it sprang, aiming to push aside the mother and claim the child.

But at that instant, the carriage door was kicked open. A flash of electricity, a gleam of blade—a youth of eighteen or nineteen pinned the Calamity’s upper body underfoot. Black lightning crackled over him, and in his hands gleamed a pair of long, shining blades.

"A stupid dog that can’t even wag its tail—what’s all the swagger for?" Huo Ye said coldly.

His expression was grim as the Calamity writhed beneath his feet. Calamities were composed of a core and a body; the core was a crystal the size of a fist, while the body was secreted tissue imitating Earth’s creatures. Unless the core was destroyed, a Calamity could not truly be killed, and would eventually regenerate.

Just like the one beneath him—split in two, yet its wolf head still howled. Huo Ye stabbed down, striking the core.

The Calamity whimpered and, as its body turned to black smoke, dissipated into nothing.

Huo Ye wiped cold sweat from his brow and exhaled heavily. "Just in time," he murmured. Approaching the petrified little girl, he knelt on one knee and gently patted her head. "Don’t be scared, big brother’s here. You’ll be alright."

His words echoed those of her mother, but carried a natural confidence that made his reassurance believable.

The hilt of his blade pressed against the girl’s head, making it ache a little, yet she felt safe. Wiping her tears, she asked, "Big brother, who are you?"

The youth smiled warmly. "Me? My name’s Huo Ye, and I’m an Esper." He straightened, glancing at the man whose throat had been bitten through. He opened his radio and reported, calm and methodical, "Number Six reporting: one Calamity entered the carriage, eliminated; one passenger dead, no injuries, over."

No sooner had he finished than Captain Krauser’s voice shouted, "Stay in the carriage and keep protecting the passengers! There are twenty Icefang Wolves—ten C-class, ten B-class. Request immediate support from headquarters!"

"Yes, sir!" Huo Ye answered, a scowl on his face. After reporting the attack to the Railway Security Bureau, he simmered in silent frustration.

Why did they get to fight the Calamities while he was stuck in the carriage with the passengers? He doubted any more Calamities would make it inside after he’d just dispatched one—unless all five outside were killed.

Still, he reasoned, those five were in for a tough fight—ten of the Calamities were B-class Icefang Wolves.

Calamities were graded by two systems: ability and disaster level.

Ability grades ranged from C to S, based on the Calamity’s power—this was their combat strength. Disaster level was more complex, typically using the destruction caused by an average C-class Calamity as one unit, with numbers stacking for greater threats.

Generally, a Calamity’s ability and disaster levels corresponded: 1–30 for C, 31–60 for B, 61–100 for A, and over 100 for S, with no upper limit.

Huo Ye knew the one he’d just slain was merely a C-class—nothing to fear. But outside, those B-class Calamities would be a challenge for the team.

He readied himself, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths to store energy.

The full name for the power was "Exo-Energy," not "Esper Ability." Exo-Energy was akin to the "qi" in old martial arts tales—warriors used qi for their skills; Espers used Exo-Energy for their arts.

Huo Ye’s deep breathing was not from nerves; it was how Espers generated energy. Their bodies contained a special respiratory enzyme that broke nitrogen into atoms, storing them as organic compounds. When needed, these compounds decomposed, releasing the energy known as Exo-Energy.