The Count of Bloodraven Castle announces a trial to select a captain for the Duke's personal guard. The assembled demon hunters all expect his son, Alexei, to win easily. The trial is to hunt a mid-tier monster called an Arachne in a forest estate, a task Alexei dismisses. However, an unnamed person privately reveals a crucial twist: the monster has evolved far beyond its mid-tier classification in the past five years, setting up a dangerous and misjudged hunt.