The city of Crammond is a popular tourist area for people with a certain profitable economic amount.

There wasn't a single corner, street or block where there wasn't a store.

People had jobs, if someone didn't have a job, they were checked to see if they were fit to work or not.

If you turned out to be a criminal, you would be locked up in the only jail in town.

It was a medium-sized building of at least two stories.

The first floor was the reception area.

The second floor was the knights' office.

The third floor was where the criminals who deserved to be locked up there were.

Among a group of criminals behind bars was Barossa sighing.

"Damn."

He was waiting to be taken to the capital for his trial.

He had committed many crimes, among them kidnapping and raping a nobleman's daughter.

The girl committed suicide when she learned she would have a pirate's child.

Barossa laughed like mad when he heard.

He had impregnated so many innocent women, he did not know their current states.

But like all criminals, he did not care about the lives of others.

Only his own.

He devised different ways to escape, but he couldn't do it.

His companions would give him away if he tried to do so.

If they went down, so would he.

"It hurts so much."

For a while now, his head began to ache.

He wasn't the only one.

"Hey, you fucking knight. My head really hurts, take me to a doctor."

The knight he was talking to was playing cards with his companions.

"Shut up already! I'm busy, if you want a doctor, pay for it with the money you stole. Hahaha."

The knights habitually mocked the criminals as they all deserved to be locked up for life without seeing the sun.

But they weren't the only ones.

"Are you okay?"

A knight who was the one in charge of the place started sweating out of nowhere.

They laid him down in a plush armchair and gave him a glass of water.

"Are you really feeling well? You look very pale."

"I'm fine."

Although he claimed to be fine, the headache increased dramatically with each passing second.

Some of them had that strange headache, suddenly, one of the inmates fell to the ground.

It was Barossa.

He was convulsing.

"Damn it. Even side vermin, we're going in."

The knights noticed him and quickly went to check his condition.

If he was serious and a major criminal, he would be attended to immediately.

The medical expert knight came over to check his vitals.

"Weird."

"Why do you say that?"

"His signs are fine."

"Then what happened to him? Is he faking it?"

"No. Spasms can't be faked as they could kill you."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Without expecting it, Barossa began to scream.

The other inmates were frightened seeing that it was real that he was fainting.

"Get out of my head!"

"I'm scared!"

"I won't hurt others again, but stop talking to me!"

"What's wrong with him?"

The knight doctor tried to calm Barossa who began to say strange things.

He was not the only one.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Other inmates started banging their heads and crying in position.

"I'm so sorry, I'll pay for my crimes, but don't talk to me anymore!"

"Uwaah! Get out of my head! Don't tell me any more of those horrible things please!"

"I'm Sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The knights began to panic as they saw the strange reaction of the inmates.

But they were not the only ones affected.

Some knights who were on the first floor, including the captain in charge of the place, began to scream.

The captain screamed in terror as he writhed on the floor.

"What is this!"

"I don't like it! Get those twisted images out of my head!"

"I promise not to extort money from store owners, but stop sending me those terrifying images!"

"... What did you say?"

The knights who did not bleed heard a confession they thought was hearsay.

Tears of blood ran down his cheeks, his nose, mouth and other orifices began to bleed.

The captain's back bent in a circle.

The bones breaking could be heard.

When the doctor tried to go to his aid.

"Jio."

He heard a strange sound.

It was a squawk coming from a person's voice.

As he turned to look.

Barossa's eyes were completely black.

His neck began to stretch and his skin was turning blue.

His chest expanded and tentacles from his pores protruded.

The limbs elongated into tentacles.

The other inmates also turned into strange similar creatures.

This is the power of the dark baptism that Nero activated.

It was wide enough to reach this place.

The knights who didn't have a black heart, ran out of the place.

A large portion of the people inside the commissary came out and found something worse outside.

"Kyah!"

"What is that?"

Outside, the same thing was happening.

People who possessed a black heart were turning into strange creatures called Lahmu.

It does not matter whether they were male or female, young or old, handicapped or sick.

All who possessed a perverse heart would become an abomination.

The Lahmu approached some innocent bystanders, showing their teeth.

The knights on seeing them went to help them.

It was useless.

Their swords imbued with magical power were of no use when they struck their legs.

They went for his arms and then his ribs.

"No... it can't be..."

They began to feel fear.

Suddenly, an eye opened in the back of the Lahmu whose jaw was as big as a well.

Hundreds of sharp teeth were in sight, ready to eat.

"Nooooo! Get away!"

The knight's shouts made the Lahmu behave euphorically and it lunged at the knight.

They don't eat meat, they eat... fear.

◇◇◇

"Mom, hurry up!"

"M-Mary, hold on please."

Mary, her mother and Julie were running through the streets scared.

It all started five minutes ago.

They were having breakfast at a fancy restaurant.

Julie was with them.

"Why did you follow us?"

Mary said with a look full of anger in those beautiful blue eyes.

"Hehehe, it's my duty to take care of them."

"Mary-sama, try this dessert, it has fudge with strawberries. Say Aah~."

Mary was still angry about the morning, she was annoyed how Julie wanted to erase that event and make it never happened.

She was really annoyed that they touched her, because she really liked it when she pinched her weak spot, that pissed her off.

Someone other than Regulus making her feel good.

She remembered it at that moment.

"Regu-chan still isn't coming."

"Cedric either."

Shannon could feel her daughter's distress and concern in her words.

"Mary, I'm sure they're fine. Just give them some time, it's still early."

"Yes..."

Despite the fact that she was anxiously awaiting her boyfriend, Julie's thoughts were different.

(The count told me to find out what they did in the forest.)

(The acres around the forest of darkness don't belong to the kingdom, but because foreigners claiming to have a document signed by the palace to enter the kingdom's territory. It's really suspicious.)

Julie hoped that Regulus was not a participant in any suspicious activity such as treason or plotting.

She didn't want to report him to the proper authorities.

(If the worst comes to the worst, I'm really sorry, Mary-sama.)

"Gah!"

Suddenly a man collapsed.

Everyone panicked believing that the food was poisoned.

Julie approached to check on him, if something bad happened in one of the count's territories, his reputation would be affected.

But as she approached, she watched as the man began to deform.

He was not the only one.

Some of the people around him began to deform and turn into strange monsters.

People screamed, the fear in their hearts was so great that one of the Lahmu with a trout-like head devoured a woman's head.

The sound of the skull crunching as the strong teeth pulverized it was repulsive.

Mary grabbed Julie's hand and then her mother's to run from there.

That's how we got to the current situation.

"Mom, it doesn't matter if you drop your sandals, run!"

"What was that?"

Julie asked in a panic after her glasses fell off.

"I have no idea, we must get to the Count's mansion fast!"

The girls were terrified, they weren't the only ones.

At every corner they looked, strange monsters started attacking people.

Some tourists, local people and knights were turning into Lahmu.

Dark hearts, even for the tiniest of details, were turning them into abominations with the sole purpose of feeding off of people's fear.

Mary thought of Regulus as she fled in terror.

(Regu-chan, help us.)

◇◇◇

"There's no way it's still standing!"

At the count's mansion, a group of Lahmu were approaching.

The knights came out to defend the residence.

They were holding their hands tightly.

They could neither retreat nor flee.

The exits were blocked.

This must be a cruel joke they thought.

Even Russell, who lost all his drunkenness at the sight of these monsters, couldn't hurt them.

His sword almost flew out of his hands the moment he hit one.

"This is the worst vacation ever."

He was trying to let out a laugh to keep from feeling afraid.

Lahmu's numbers were growing larger and larger.

Suddenly, a strange silhouette landed over the mansion.

Russell noticed the mysterious shadow the moment it jumped over him.

"Damn!"

◇◇◇

Mary and the others hid in an abandoned restaurant.

The number of monsters was increasing.

They were multiplying.

They were reproducing like plants.

The Lahmu began to laugh after their bodies began to grow larger and become more repulsive.

Shannon was so scared that she hugged Julie in response.

Julie had her head resting on Shannon's breasts, the happy feeling was covered by fear.

Mary watched out the window waiting for everything to calm down.

"They're still out there."

"Shall we stay here until it's all over?"

"It's the best we can do, we have to trust the knights."

Julie could barely speak as her head was pressed against the soft flesh of Shannon's chest.

Mary rested her back against the pillar and cursed under her breath.

"Those damn monsters."

"This vacation was nice and now it's a nightmare."

"I want to go home."

Shannon wanted to cheer her daughter up, but she didn't know what to say to her.

"I'm sorry."

Mary said with tears streaming down her face.

"I wanted to cheer you up mom, I really wanted you to forget about our house being taken away from us."

"But now... what all I want more than anything is to go to my bed."

Shannon remembered the first time she saw her daughter cry like that.

It was raining hard, lightning would strike the houses and streets at times.

Mary came crying into her mother's room.

Shannon let go of Julie and crawled over to her daughter.

She hugged her with a security that only a mother could give.

"You don't have to worry about anything, despite this, this is still a great vacation."

"I don't care about the house anymore. We had many happy and sad times there."

"But I understood this. Those memories will always live with us, just like this place."

"We were scared, but we'll be fine. It will be a bittersweet memory, but it's a memory after all."

"As long as we're together, we can make more memories."

Shannon wiped away her daughter's tears tenderly.

Julie bit her apron at the sight of such a beautiful mother-daughter scene.

(I wish my mother was like that...)

The peace was short-lived as a Lahmu burst in smashing a window.

It looked like a dog with the face of a man.

It was Barossa.

"Run!"

Mary removed the boards and then shouted for her mother and Julie to get out.

She would protect them.

When they came out, they got an unpleasant surprise.

"M-Mary!"

"Uwaah!"

Mary turned around and saw that they were surrounded.

A dozen Lahmu were in front of them.

With no escape.

One of them looked like a cookie man moving in a funny way, tentacles came out of his head.

Mary wanted to go back inside, but Barossa was blocking the way.

They were surrounded.

She grabbed a broom that was near her feet and faced the Lahmu.

She was frightened.

"Get away from us!"

"You'll see! Someone will come to save us and you will pay dearly for it!"

"Get away now if you don't want to die."

The cracker-shaped Lahmu used its tentacles to destroy the broom, then one of those whips grabbed Mary's leg and dragged her to stand in front of it.

The smell of the Lahmu was worse than rotten fish.

But even with that stench and slime falling on her.

Mary's fear was replaced by courage.

She didn't want to die.

She wanted to live.

She didn't want her mother or Julie to die.

She quickly got to her feet and kicked the Lahmu several times.

"You idiots!"

"You big assholes!"

"Don't mess with me!"

"He'll come and kick your asses, just wait for him!"

The Lahmu didn't like the courage Mary brought out.

They feed on the fear of others, not feeling fear, the food would taste horrible to them.

To return the fear, Barossa ran up to her and using his strong jaws gave her a big bite.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The bite was so strong that it pierced the skin, burying itself in the flesh.

Blood poured out in droves.

Mary fell to the ground.

Due to the pain of the bite, she couldn't help but cry.

But it was not enough.

The cracker-shaped Lahmu used its tentacles to lash hard at her body.

"Aah!"

"It hurts!"

"Help!"

Mary was trying to play tough, but she couldn't help but cry at the abuse.

(Help me, Regu-chan.)

The torment was not going to end, watching helplessly, Shannon and Julie watched as an alligator-jawed Lahmu opened its mouth to chew on Mary.

It was the end of Mary.

*Freeze*

Or so she thought.

Suddenly, an intense cold began to hit her.

She thought it was from blood loss.

But as she opened her eyes wide, she noticed how some Lahmu were freezing at a hurried pace.

"I heard your screams, sorry for the delay."

Someone approached.

His footsteps were loud and deep.

Silence filled the atmosphere except for that man's footsteps.

The Lahmu who were not freezing, starting with Barossa, rushed toward the mysterious male voice.

They detected something similar to Mary.

No, Mary exuded courage, which they hate.

But that man walked alongside a thick blue fog behind him.

He exuded something else.

Hatred.

Hatred of the Lahmu.

That hatred that rejected their existence.

That hatred made the Lahmu angry and they went to attack without hesitation.

But the moment they approached Barossa.

"Get lost."

The man raised his hand and as he touched Barossa's nose, Barossa froze at a great speed.

The temperature at which he froze was equivalent to an ice age.

He could control that ice age at his discretion.

Using his hands, the approaching Lahmu were turned into petrified ice.

Their muscles, bones and organs were instantly frozen, causing absolute death.

One of the larger Lahmu was freezing.

He broke the ice from his legs and new legs grew.

He looked like a centaur, he ran up to the man who pulled a sword from his side.

"Don't you seem to understand?"

The man leapt into the air and using his sword, the moment he touched the Lahmu, it froze only where the sword hit.

The sword easily pierced the frozen flesh all the way to the ground.

The Lahmu was defeated.

He approached Mary and put his hand on her wound.

She couldn't believe what happened.

"Who are you?"

She didn't remember.

But the orange-haired, green-eyed man in that friendless look was in fact the ship's bartender.

"Gram."

But that wasn't his whole story.

"Gram Zora Rutherford."

"Sword Saint of the Rosenthal Kingdom."

Mary's eyes widened in surprise.

"Kyah! Here come more!"

Julie shouted pointing in the distance as more Lahmu approached.

"I thought these were the last ones after cleaning out the count's mansion."

"Go get attended to."

Gram stood up and began to run toward the Lahmu.

The clouds began to gather near him.

"My mission is over, I was resting while I waited to return to the capital."

The clouds gathered near his feet and formed a slider made of clouds.

"It was supposed to be like this..."

His serious expression warped to one that expressed his hatred of the Lahmu.

"But I can't rest knowing that demons lurk around here!"

"I hate demons!"

Gram flew in his flying cloud over to the Lahmu and the tallest of them he touched.

He activated his magic, it was alchemical water magic.

The ability to modify the states of water at will.

The oyster-shaped Lahmu began to dry out rapidly.

His body, even if he doesn't want to acknowledge it, has liquid in it.

Therefore, no matter if it is blood or water, any liquid Gram touches can turn it into vapor or dry it up.

Then, he created a cloud in the sky.

A downpour was falling on many of them.

The clouds approached his sword and began to swirl, generating black clouds and sparks.

He thrust the sword into the puddle and said.

"As long as I am alive, the demons will die."

For the entire capital, Gram had a specific nickname.

And that was.

"Demon Slayer."

It was Russell who said that after he got to where Mary and the others were.

"Demon Slayer?"

Mary asked.

"Yes. That guy is known throughout the capital."

"They say that any mission involving demons should be given to him."

"..."

Mary watched Gram's face as he killed the Lahmu.

"Does he enjoy it?"

"No. It disgusts him."

Gram's expression indicated how much he hated demons.

This was the power of a Sword Saint.

The strongest knights in the country.

◇◇◇

Regulus was fighting until recently with the Lahmu.

They were biting and beating him relentlessly.

But suddenly, something happened.

One of them that wasn't moving at all.

He started attacking his companions.

It was biting them and tearing off parts of their bodies.

It was now attacking Zald, whose head it tore off.

After nibbling and swallowing.

The remains of the Lahmu turned to dust and disappeared into thin air.

The Lahmu's face, which was identical to an octopus, began to transform, forming a similar face.

"Zartras?"

Zartras was taking on a humanoid appearance.

His hair was made of tentacles and his human form was humanoid.

His skin was blue and his hands had tentacles.

His legs turned into spider legs.

Zartras spoke to Nero.

"Let me apologize please, Nero-dono."

"Oh, it seems you have mastered your awakening."

"You have finally become a new human."

Nero said clapping his hands.

"Thanks to you. I finally managed to get what I had hoped for so much."

Zartras raised his tentacles to the sky.

"God's grace is real! But I was wrong, we were all wrong!"

Black tears streamed down his blue cheeks.

"The God I needed so badly was not that of the Theocracy. It was you, Azathoth-sama!"

He turned his gaze to Regulus.

"Allow me to save you."

"Go to hell, I want nothing from you!"

Zartras stepped closer to him.

"This is not something you can refuse. The grace of the God of Despair! The Dark God is real!"

"Suffer and then accept its love!"

Regulus used his sword to create a small flare to burn his face, but it had no effect.

Zartras was smiling terrifyingly thanks to his distorted voice.

"Don't worry. God is all you need."

The end of the battle, the end of Regulus. It was about to conclude.