Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Mankind had long lived an innocent, peaceful existence on the surface of the Earth. But when the Great Cataclysm - The Inferno Riptide - occurred, everything turned upside down. Monsters - demons from the realm Hell - invaded the mortal plane. Man desperately attempted to fight back the bestial hordes, but it was too much. It was like trying to fight a storm - pointless and fatal. Humanity was pushed to the brink of extinction, their magnificent cities laid in ruins and survivors scattered like ashes in the wind. They would have became extinct eventually if it weren't for them.
Man had christened them, the Masked Ones.
Saviors of the last vestiges of man, they drove back the monstrosities that emerged from the bowels of the Earth. While they were vastly outnumbered, the Masked. Ones made up for their lack of numbers in sheer efficiency, strength, and tenacity. Monsters fell against the roar of their guns and bite of their swords. Whether they were vampires, werewolves, or unspeakable abominations, that didn't matter. All were threats to humanity and they must be exterminated with ruthless efficiency.
So far, theor efforts broke the horde's stranglehold and helped humanity carve out strongholds in the sea of monsters. Inside these strongholds, Man has been rebuilding in quiet and in peace... For now.
They were mysterious, reclusive, uncanny warriors that seemed to work for an even more mysterious and reclusive organization. Garbed in intimidating hooded trench coats black as night itself, the Masked Ones are as frightening as the monsters they hunt. Their eponymous masks betrayed no expression from the wearer - on that blank silver slate, the only the expression was that of the frightened monster facing the hunter, reflected from the gleaming surface like water. But the most disturbing aspect of the mask were the eyes. They were as black as an abyss, absorbing all light and reflecting none back.
While humanity's weapons had little effect on the flesh of the monsters, the Masked Ones' weapons were able to severely harm or even kill a monster outright with one well-placed blow or shot. Blades were favored melee weapons, with machetes being popular. What they can't kill with a blade or is too dangerous or too large, they bring out their guns. Ranged weapons varied from repeating rifles, to revolvers, to sawed-off shotguns. And all of their weapons are either concealed under their thick coats or holstered on a leather belt, ready to be drawn when necessary.
So far, the identities of the Masked Ones remained hidden. Even though they helped man survive, they refused to They are reclusive, most of them preferring to do their main work under the cover of darkness. The only traces that a Masked One had visited is the rotting corpse of a monster displayed in the town square.
There had been occasions when a Masked One fought a monster in broad daylight. A famous bout happened in the town of Moors, when a trio of strigoi decided to make nest in the ton church. For three nights, they fed off the members of the church, even devouring the priest. But that changed the following dawn, when a Masked One entered Moors. Despite the coven of seven outnumbering the Masked One, the strigoi were no match for the black warrior. The Masked One decapitated one of the vampiric beasts with a machete within the first few minutes of the supposedly uneven fight, sustaining only minor scratches. The remaing two launched a desperate attack to overwhelm the hunter, but fight ended when the Masked One took out a revolver and dropped them. With the strigoi dead, the Masked One left Moors a grateful town.
On rare occasions, the fight ended in a mutual kill. However, even in death, a Masked One's identity cannot be so easily revealed. Their mask went under an unbreakable lockdown state when someone tried to pry it off with a crowbar. They then tried moving the body, but it seemed to weigh nearly three tons. The villagers' efforts were interrupted when another Masked One came to pick up the fallen warrior. He - assumed to be a man because of the gravely voice that spoke - simply told the villagers that everything is under control - but not before he gave them a stern lecture of to not interfere with their dead. Afterwards, he carried the dead Masked One into his arms like it was nothing. Before anyone could even ask, he disappeared into the forest.
Their genesis has been a gnawing mystery ever since they came about. No one has ever seen a Masked One unmasked or out of their trademark coats, but it's assumed they are humans. If not - which is very likely - they were at least human before they became Masked Ones. They can speak our language in a very eloquentl and fluent manner. They are also roughly the same height as humans. But that's were the similarities end. The Masked Ones are frighteningly fast and durable, with an inhuman reaction time. Certain ones can move so fast, they are but a blur. Masked Ones are even strong enough to go toe-to-toe with a fully enraged werewolf.
So are they humans? That can't be certain.
Some say the Masked Ones were angels sent from Heaven. Some say they're ghosts of those who died, seeking vengeance for humanity. Others, whisper they are the remnants of a secret society from Earth's past.
Me?
I call them monsters.
