Monsters At The Gate (CHAPTER 1)

Monsters At The Gate (CHAPTER 1)

By JunkkFactory

Chapter 1:

“The Monster Elimination Agency and the End of the World, CONTRACT ACCEPTED!?”

It was never a well-regarded job, or perhaps it was simply considered by many to be a complete waste of time. “Monster hunting” was a role played in the great city of KILLPOP CITY. Living in a city where paranormal or para-dimensional activity was an everyday occurrence, it gradually became the most cursed city in the world.

Ghosts, specters, poltergeists, and other unexplained events were already very common. No one ever asked “why” these things happened; the population simply accepted them as if each supernatural event were just another day at the picnic.

But if there was one phenomenon that caused everyone to run in terror and unleashed chaos, it was the appearance of monsters called GODLAMBS, beings thirsty for blood and hungry to cause chaos. These attacks were not very frequent, but there was no doubt that when they occurred, many would end up dead.

This is why this agency for storing dark objects and eliminating monsters exists.

“Monsters At The Gate.”

Which is responsible for containing and eliminating such beings, and which is now at its worst. On the verge of bankruptcy.

In a small building hidden among the big city lies the agency that once kept everything calm (well, only sometimes).

Only one employee is working her shift, but this employee did not belong to the “Monster Hunting” section located in the same building as the agency. Her role was to store the evil objects called DARK RELICS, which were obtained by the agents of “Monsters At The Gate.” A pile of relics covered the place: statues, jewels, clay figures, paintings, and even weapons of all kinds. This place itself was given a name, THE GALLERY, or as its sole custodian called it, “the old dusty gallery.”

Inside THE GALLERY, only dust and evil objects kept the employee company, but even knowing the dark history of everything around her, her imagination to avoid boredom remained very active, even playing with two cursed figures as if they were “action figures.” No spirit or dark entity would prevent her from escaping the hours of doing nothing.

“Oh no! Now the curse of this statue in the shape of an unattractive woman will fall on me and my whole family. Oh no! What a terrible misfortune!”

A little childish imagination helps to make her workday (barely) more bearable.

Their game was based solely on playing “action heroes” with two cursed statues, which must have had more than one death on their record, and were now being used as toys on a counter by the careless and lazy employee.

“Don't worry, I'll protect you from the unattractive woman statue! Punch!”

Just one more glance at the large office of dark objects revealed not only cursed objects of all kinds, but also many boxes of hamburgers, magazines, some action figures, an old television, and bottles of whiskey and beer. A real mess occupied the large gallery.

In the end, the fun didn't last long; boredom was by far the greatest curse of all.

“It's really so boring here. When I accepted the job, they told me I would see some really cool things, but I'm just surrounded by old junk that's supposedly ‘cursed,’ and on top of that, this pigsty is closing today!”

The young employee struggles not to break the delicate porcelain figurines out of anger, which can only mean one thing: she will be out of a job.

The manager of the GALLERY was quite young, just turning 21. She wore a long, reddish jacket with some decorations and medals that linked her to the air force (only the jacket). Underneath, she wore a gray blouse with straps that revealed a little skin and her large bust, but this was protected by a black shirt underneath. Her pants were jeans with some decorations with straps and some faded lines.

But without a doubt, the most notable thing about the lazy jacket was her huge, messy orange hair that covered her entire back down to her waist. And finally, bright red eyes that never took their gaze off the dusty relics. With that beauty, she would undoubtedly have gone far as a supermodel or the face of a clothing or perfume brand, but that was just a distant dream. The problem was that the orange-haired woman was lazy.

Everything about her job was boring, except that sometimes something happened that broke that “boring spell.”

Until finally, something she had been waiting for happened.

One of the statuettes began to float slowly, as if it were a leaf in the wind. Its gentle movement was everything the redhead had been waiting for.

“Finally! It happened again! Damn it! I have to film this!”

Making sure she has a camera in hand and positioning it just right, the red-haired girl tries to capture the paranormal phenomenon.

“All right, this is for posterity and the internet. I think I've found my next vocation once this mausoleum closes!” Placing her camera carefully on a table to make sure she is also in the photograph, the GALLERY custodian poses for the terrifying moment of a floating object. But the whole moment is interrupted by the sound of her cell phone in her pocket.

“Damn it! They won't let an artist work!” Stepping out of the camera's focus, the hunter answers the call angrily, “No! I already told you I'm not interested in buying a Swiss watch!”

(Looking to photograph ghosts and nonsense, right? I didn't think you'd take it so lightly that you'd be out of a job in a few hours, Katherine.)

“Oh? Ah!!! I'm sorry, Miss Shade! I thought it was another shopping offer.” The manager of the GALLERY, whose name is Katherine, becomes upset when she realizes that the call is not another offer for Swiss watches, but from someone worse, her supervisor. “Hehe, you know how shopping calls are! They never take no for an answer and...”

The voice on the other end of the line. Miss Shade suddenly cuts off Katherine's excuses, who already sounds nervous and fearful.

“Listen, girl, come to the main room right now, Mr. Ras has arrived, this is a last-minute meeting! BRING YOUR USELESS ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!”

With an order that sounds like a foreman addressing his slave, Miss Shade ends the call.

With a worried expression on her face, but also frowning slightly, the hunter Katherine is forced to put aside her artistic moment and prepare to face her boss and the very possible news of the end of the supernatural phenomenon containment agency, “Monsters At The Gate,” and thus the closure of THE GALLERY.

“What a useless ass, huh? Damn old shadow! In a couple of hours, I'm going to tell you everything I think! To hell with this agency!”

BROOM!!!! (Tremor)

Kat's complaints to her superior are cut short as a very strong earthquake begins to shake the building, and therefore, THE GALLERY.

“What's happening!? Is it an earthquake!?”

Kat throws herself down to try to protect some relics and jewels so that they don't break when they fall due to the movement.

“Shit! If this breaks, they'll fire me without paying me!”

As quickly as it came, the tremor was gone, but Kat looks confused at what just happened. “What was that?”

Before she can continue searching for an answer, a large shadow appears on one of the walls of her office, and a ghostly blue hand grabs her jacket and her, swallowing her up into the enormous shadow.

“WAHHHH!” Kat screams in terror.

As if through a portal or wormhole, the orange-haired caregiver arrives in the building's lobby, a place covered in dust, littered with newspapers and boxes. A building soon to disappear or collapse due to the passage of time.

“Well, that's better than the stairs,” Kat says, sitting on the floor and shaking her hair with a feeling of dizziness.

In front of her is the person who has brought her here by force using a strange power. A slender, curvaceous figure, undoubtedly a spectral woman with dark blue skin and electric blue flames for hair. Her supervisor and her boss's right-hand woman. Miss Shade.

...

“My other idea was to drag you all the way down here through the building, but you should feel grateful that it's your last day at work,” Shade observes Kat, who still looks frightened by the presence of the spectral woman, with her arms crossed and an authoritative posture. “Consider this your farewell gift.”

“Oh, thank you very much, my ‘useless ass’ and I are grateful that you didn't drag us down here. I'm really going to miss you, Miss Shade.” With anger she is forced to hide, Kat thanks her supervisor with a lot of sarcasm, who doesn't take anything the agency's worst employee, or perhaps the most useless, says seriously.

“Shut up! Your boss is here. Behave like a lady for Mr. Ras.” Without saying another word, a “knock knock” sound is heard behind the door.

Shade approaches to open the door for his boss, displaying a friendly and cheerful attitude.

“Mr. Ras! I hope you had a great trip and are feeling well! Please allow me to make you some tea, or can I also hold your coat?” Shade approaches his boss with almost excessive admiration and respect as he enters the building for the latest meeting of his monster hunting and cursed object storage agency.

A tall man covered in a thin, dark coat that reaches his feet, a scarf around his neck, his long hair tied back with a small hair tie so as not to cover his face, revealing part of his face with a short, unkempt beard. Finally, a sleepy gaze with dark red eyes looks at his employees and also at his building, which is almost in ruins.

“Sorry I'm late, I had to attend a company business meeting and we've come to a conclusion, dear ones,” in a rather pleasant and calm tone of voice, the boss reports on the future of the agency, “Monsters At The Gate.”

“We're bankrupt,” without further ado, boss Ras delivers the bad news.

“Well, you already told us, so what will happen to us now?” Kat is quite concerned, even though she didn't seem interested in being fired or the agency closing. “I don't want to look for a job again! Believe me, I've lost many!”

“You've lost a lot, huh?” Shade looks at Kat with a questioning gaze. “I'm not surprised. A useless person like you couldn't even handle a hamburger stand.”

“Hey, I did a great job protecting those RELICS. It's not my fault this job is just babysitting. I have nothing else to do!” Kat stands up angrily, pointing her finger at her boss for her comment.

“Ha,” Shade laughs at Kat's attitude. “You got this job because your uncle Simo is friends with Mr. Ras. You didn't put in much effort!”

“I wanted to be a relic collector! To be in the action! I'm a magician!” Kat keeps protesting, waving her arms like a child.

“You failed all the tests! You're just a mediocre magician! You should thank Mr. Ras for letting you get this job as a RELICS KEEPER, and now you're going to lose it, HAHA!” Shade and Kat argue on the last day of the Agency. It just seems like a childish employee argument, which boss Ras watches silently and with little interest.

“Mr. Ras, please let me work at one of your other companies, maybe at one of your hotels or casinos, please!” With a pleading expression, Kat approaches her boss Ras with a look almost like a helpless kitten begging for help, or in this case, a new job. "Or I could be a freelancer or personal mercenary! I'm sure some hotel or casino agencies need some ‘leg breakers’ to keep the business in order, am I wrong?"

Ras's gaze reflects attention to Kat's words, a slight friendly smile never leaving his face as the young magician and future ex-employee holds his hands for support.

“Well, it's true that there are some cases where businesses have to resort to those ‘leg-breaker’ practices, but it would be too irresponsible to put someone with no experience in that field, Miss Katherine.”

“Experience is gained by being given the opportunity,” Kat brings her face closer to her boss Ras to increase her plea.

“I'm sorry, Kat, but you really should realize by now that you have no talent for battle. As a mage, you leave a lot to be desired, even with your ‘outstanding gifts.’ If you were a freelancer, you would undoubtedly die on your first assignment.” Shade joins the interaction, revealing that Kat has no talent for being a mage.

“PLEASE, MR. RAS! I HAVE TO PROVE TO EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY MY PARENTS, THAT I'M NOT A FAILED MAGICIAN! WAH!!!” Kat throws herself into her boss Ras's arms in a desperate embrace, lifting him off the ground. He is a little surprised by her strength.

“Really? And what do your parents do, Miss Katherine?” asks boss Ras with vague curiosity.

“They're magicians, and they have a lot of influence in that world. They have a great reputation and are also filthy rich, although the family's main job is to safeguard magical contracts and eliminate specters. You could say they're also RELICS KEEPERS. IT'S A DAMN NIGHTMARE!” Kat explodes in despair at the mere thought of having to return to her family out of desperation, unable to find a job or take care of herself.

“That's the same thing you do here, brat,” Shade mocks her with an expression exhausted by his employee's stupidity.

“Please, Mr. Ras! Give me a job! Can I bring you your coffee? Or wash your clothes? Anything!” Kat throws herself at her boss's feet to beg for another job.

Ras pauses to think for a moment, even though Kat is still clinging to his feet. Managing to descend with some balance so as not to fall, Ras gently strokes Kat's hairy head.

“Hehe, don't worry, young Katherine, I'm sure there's a vacancy for someone with your skills, don't worry about a thing.” Ras searches his mind for a job for Kat for when she loses her old job as RELICS KEEPER.

“Now that I remember, I still own that antique shop.” Ras recalls one of his old acquisitions, which he needs to reopen.

“Antique shop?” Kat's expression reflects a look as if she had received an unwanted surprise.

“If you wish, you can take charge of a large gallery of antique objects, but unlike the GALLERY, these are common, everyday objects. Your job will be the same, Miss Katherine. It will be as if you never changed jobs, hehe.” Ras leans toward Kat with a smile, who only proceeds to bury her face in the old wood floor, crying over her own bad luck.

Shade, who does not take his attention away from what is happening even while preparing tea. “Speaking of antique objects, Mr. Ras, what will you do with the DARK RELICS that are in the GALLERY? If I remember correctly, Miss Pandora obtained most of them.”

Boss Ras pauses to think about that “problem.” Although he had already considered possibilities, it is a possibility he does not see as very accessible, for reasons beyond business.

“It's true that my dear younger sister Pandora spent a lot of time obtaining them, and you could say that a large part of the GALLERY is hers,” Ras's gaze wanders a little to the ceiling of the room, as he recalls his younger sister with some nervousness, and also a reason for refusing to take that exit. Getting rid of the GALLERY through one of the agency's best monster slayers, if not the best, is not something to be considered lightly.

Ras yawns with disinterest, “but we no longer have a good business relationship, I doubt she wants her GALLERY back or a job offer, or a birthday card from her older brother.” Ras hides a slight nervousness when talking about his younger sister, a feeling that reveals a little fear.

After that conversation about jobs and cursed objects and dangerous sisters, she quickly changes the focus and proceeds to continue with the real topic of conversation.

The future of the monster hunting and dark object agency. It came to an end.

“So, let's get back to what brought us here,” Ras says as she moves to her old, dusty desk.

“Great, and how much will you pay me for this last day?” Kat remains lying on the floor in a very relaxed manner, which makes her supervisor Shade explode with anger for taking the situation lightly.

“You ungrateful brat! Get up!” Shade pulls Kat up unkindly, yanking her by her long orange hair.

“Ouch! CRAZY OLD SHADOW!” Kat screams in pain as Shade tries to take her to her boss to show more respect.

Paying little attention to the argument and fight between his right-hand woman and last employee, Ras glances sideways at his building with a certain sense of regret.

“It's really a shame, I had invested a lot of capital in this agency to keep ‘monster hunting and collecting cursed objects’ among my favorite businesses. As a businessman, it's hard to see one of your projects come to an end.”

Shade ends up throwing the red-haired woman as if she were a beach ball.

“Don't be depressed, Mr. Ras, you still have several other businesses. You're just going through a bad patch, you'll recover, I know it.” Shade approaches with a cup of tea to cheer up her boss, who already looks somewhat discouraged.

“That's true, my dear Shade. To be honest, I didn't think these times of peace would be so detrimental to business. When my employees started quitting due to the lack of hunting, I feared the worst.” Ras gives a cold, analytical look. Ironically, the times of peace and the absence of monsters ended up destroying the extermination agency he opened. “Killpop has officially entered a time of peace. How sad.”

As she gets up from the rubble where Shade had thrown her, Kat also draws her own conclusions upon hearing the reasons for the agency's closure.

“Most likely, Noruh, Rip, Violet, and Eddie are responsible for us going bankrupt. They always wipe out all the monsters, and they never bring back even a measly cursed ring! They left me without a job!” Kat shouts indignantly as she names her former coworkers.

“OR MAYBE THEY WERE DOING YOUR JOB!” Shade looks accusingly at Kat.

Kat is left speechless or refuses to respond when Shade reveals how inadequate her work or attempt at being a “hunter” is.

"Yes, but if I remember correctly, I COULDN'T BE A MONSTER HUNTER! I'M JUST A CARETAKER OF CURSED OBJECTS! I ONLY STORE OBJECTS, THAT'S MY JOB!!!” Kat excuses herself from Shade's accusations, knowing that she is only an employee who stores and obtains cursed objects; hunting is not her job, despite possessing certain superhuman abilities.

While the two women draw conclusions and argue, Ras tidies up the dusty office a bit and sits down in the old receptionist's area, who had also already quit.

“Come on, let's not fight. Miss Katherine always did a good job taking care of the RELICS, and also in... let's see.” Ras closes his eyes to think about the times his employee Kat did her job well, but no memories or evidence of this come to mind. “I can't think of any right now.”

Kat falls to the floor, defeated by the arguments and also realizing how useless she was at her job.

While the terrible news that “Monsters At The Gate” was closing its doors spread, another strong tremor shook the old foundations.

BROOM!!!! (Earthquake)

“AAAHHH!!! AGAIN! EVERYONE HIDE!!!” Kat screams in fear as she tries to hide under an old table, but Ras and Shade remain calm as the earthquake occurs.

“Mr. Ras...” Shade looks at her boss with a serious expression.

“That's right, my dear Shade, it has already begun,” Ras crosses his arms as he watches his old building sway from side to side.

“What do you mean, what is really happening?” Kat asks as she covers her head, trying to keep anything from falling on her.

“It's the end of the world,” Shade replies coldly to Kat's question.

“THE END OF WHAT!?” Kat panics even more, "IT'S NOT FAIR!!! I HAVEN'T ACHIEVED ANYTHING IN MY LIFE YET!!! I HAVEN'T BECOME A POWERFUL MAGICIAN YET!!! I HAVEN'T BECOME A MILLIONAIRE YET!!! I DON'T HAVE A MANSION!!! JEWELS!!! A GOOD MAN!!! AM I GOING TO DIE A VIRGIN HERE!???" Kat begins to cry inconsolably at the tragic news of the end of the world.

But as soon as the earthquake came, it was gone.

“Huh? It's gone.” Kat stops crying as she looks around.

Both her boss and his right-hand man remain calm in the face of the chaotic situation, which makes Kat begin to feel annoyed by their calm attitude.

“Hey! What's wrong with you guys? Is the world going to end, or are you just messing with me?” Kat protests.

With a guilty smile, her boss Ras reaches into his coat and pulls out a large envelope.

“Nothing of the sort, my dear Katherine. The agency has always been aware of these catastrophic events. Since we work for the government (or used to), we are among the first to know what is going to happen next. It's the end of the world.”

“WAHH!!!!” Kat starts running like crazy down the reception hall.

“It's our best work, without a doubt, or perhaps our last. Look,” Ras shows his two employees a huge contract outline. “TADA! This is what will save our business, my dears!”

Both women look at the monster hunting contract with great surprise.

“Mr. Ras, so this means that...” Shade doesn't finish her comment because her boss interrupts her.

“That's right, my dear Shade, this is our company's latest job. Let me apologize for a moment ago, as I was very unsure whether to take this contract or not.” Ras hands both girls the information about the “end of the world contract.” “But with these tremors and that huge circle in the sky, I think it wouldn't hurt to try.”

“Huge circle in the sky?” Both employees say in unison.

Kat quickly moves to leave the building to see what is happening outside, just to verify her boss's words.

Outside the agency, chaos had already broken out. People were running for their lives, with no explanation for the strange circle in the sky, a dark manifestation, a black hole that was slowly coming into contact with the city of KILLPOP. Everyone was running and shouting words of total panic.

“What the hell is going on?” With an expression of fear and amazement, Kat watches the large lights appearing inside the hole, a terrifying sensation running through her body.

Following that revelation, another tremor shook the ground.

“Okay, let's see the reason for this catastrophe,” Ras began to cough to adjust his voice and start explaining the basics of the contract in the midst of the strong earthquake.

BROOM!!!! (Tremor)

“A small group of GODLAMBS monsters have begun to emerge from the strange hole in the sky. The origin of this event is still unknown, but immediate extermination is required.” Despite being rather vague, the contract's instructions are sufficient to begin a hunt, regardless of the reasons. In the end, it's business.

“WAAHHH!!!” Kat doesn't seem to hear her boss's instructions, as her only concern is trying to hide and protect herself from the impending catastrophe.

“Well, that's it. There is no description other than a few locations where these GODLAMBS have been seen.” Ras stands up in the middle of the earthquake and joyfully announces that Monsters At The Gate has one last job before closing its doors.

“Oh my goodness! You see, Mr. Ras, I told you there was nothing to worry about. Lady Luck always smiles on you!” With great joy, the spectral woman Shade approaches her boss Ras to congratulate him.

“That's right, Shade, dear! We must now begin preparations to start this work. Please bring all our staff here!” Ras and Shade look at the huge lobby, completely empty except for Kat, who is hiding in a corner.

An expression of surprise on Ras's part and one of disappointment on Shade's part is evident.

“Is this a joke?” Shade says disappointedly.

“I told you so! We lost all our staff! And I'M NOT A HUNTER!” Kat shouts angrily and fearfully as she sees what has happened outside on the streets.

Kat approaches her bosses with annoyance and nervousness to inform them of what happened to all the hunters.

“Noruh went back to his swamp. Rip, I think he went back to gambling in the casinos in Vegas. As for Eddie and Violet, I haven't really been able to get any information on where they are.”

After a brief summary of the agency's former hunters and their possible locations, Ras shows a certain look of concern on his face, bringing his hand to his chin as if for extra help in thinking of solutions.

“I think they could have been kinder and told me personally about their departures,” Ras laments the abandonment of his employees and how he was not informed about it.

“THAT BRAT ALWAYS TELLS US EVERYTHING AT THE LAST MINUTE!” Shade prepares to reprimand Kat, who also prepares to fight.

“It's not my job, you stupid exhibitionist shadow!” Kat begins to release a strange reddish aura that grows into fire.

Kat is a mage who “specializes” in fire and all its variants.

But one of her favorite abilities is quite strange, even in her field. The creation of the Bourne family's fire “familiar.” The fire centipede, FIREBALL.

“FIREBALL!!!” Kat shouts as she unleashes her fire magic.

From the same aura of fire at Kat's feet, a centipede emerges, its body completely red and with a large mane covering the area where its neck should be, and two enormous horns on either side of its head.

“I'm officially out of a job! That means you're no longer my boss! Take what you deserve!” Kat shouts with joy, as she will finally be able to get back at her boss after all the mistreatment she has received from her, but one detail in all the fiery fury makes a big difference.

“Uh?”

Kat watches with surprise and also great embarrassment as her familiar centipede ends up burned by her own flames, which have also started to burn part of her shoes.

“DAMN IT, I'M BURNING!” Kat runs away in terror, trying to extinguish the flames she herself caused.

In fact, Kat is a terrible magician with zero skill and talent. Despite having such a powerful familiar and coming from a very powerful family of magicians, Kat is the definition of wasted talent.

Shade watches with great embarrassment and disappointment as Kat hurts herself with her own abilities. “I'm really glad your only job was to keep the GALLERY clean, brat.”

After a futile and very unfortunate attempt to show off her fire skills, Kat finally manages to save herself from being burned alive.

“Really!? Last week I did it! I didn't burn myself, and I even managed to make my centipedes materialize almost completely!” Kat cries in frustration at her failure. "NO! NO! NO! I AM A GREAT FIRE MAGICIAN!!! IT'S EVEN ON MY RESUME!!! MOM AND DAD WILL BE EVEN MORE ASHAMED OF ME!!!"

“I'm sure you'll soon be able to achieve great things, my dear Katherine, you just have to be patient,” Ras offers words of encouragement to the young fire mage and somehow calms Kat and her whining, “but now let's get down to business, we must gather our workers again and time is running out.”

Kat and Shade watch attentively as Ras stands on the table in his lobby, showing initiative and confidence.

“To combat the threat that probably involves not only our beloved Killpop, but also the world, I must reunite those who have protected it during this time, reunite our GODLAMBS assassins, the GODKILLERS! That is today's mission!”

With great excitement, the last employees applaud their boss's initiative and decision. But the cheerful atmosphere changes when a powerful explosion occurs just outside the monster hunting agency.

“WAAAHHHH!!!” As always, Kat is the first to scream and hide, but now her reaction is to go and see what caused that huge explosion that threatened to blow the agency building to pieces.

To her surprise and that of everyone present, the huge impact was close to the building and even outside it, as it was not a bomb or anything like that. A huge burst of lightning struck and electrocuted everything on the ground, creating a kind of “electric sea,” which had begun to leave human remains and corpses everywhere.

“HAHAHA!!!”—a loud, electrified laugh is heard from the sky, more specifically from a cloud. “Feel the power and fall to pieces! Death from the sky and the storm is what I bring!”

A woman with completely red skin and a few black lines commands a cloud and is also responsible for such electrical destruction.

Her appearance is not only that of an exotic red skin color, but black fabrics reveal most of a voluptuous yet muscular body. Her short, tousled white hair stands on end from the enormous electrical discharges, but without a doubt, the most threatening aspect was neither her lightning bolts nor the enormous spiked mallet she carried on her shoulders. Her eyes, with black sclera and yellow irises, reflected power and terror to those who had the misfortune of looking at the beautiful and dangerous mistress of the storm. Goddess of thunder.

“Very well! How many will I kill today?” With a devilish smile, the storm monster prepares to launch her next attack.

To be continued