Chazon's head slammed to the ground as 2 of the 6 level 50 mercenaries pinned him with his arms behind his back. He and Obsidian were powerless to do anything with their glass cannon party members at sword-point. Amber and Obsidian got hand-cuffed by magic cuffs that prevented everything, including transformation.

He was barely able to look up to see the demi-humans of his party pinned down as well in compromising positions. Amber and Obsidian were being held off to the side; they were effectively powerless without their hands or ability to transform. Where did these guys get such things?! And how did they know we-

"Ohohoho, what a wonderful job you mercenaries did." Came a voice that was all too quick to boil Chazon's blood. He barely looked up and saw the very same fat noble he had stabbed on the night of Rino's kidnapping. "Having one of you disguised as a knight to make the Spear Hero lower his guard enough for a proper ambush, I'll make sure you're rewarded handsomely."

Chazon let out a feral snarl as black veins entered his vision immediately. "You!"

"Long time no see, oh "vaunted" Spear Hero. I certainly hope you didn't forget about me because I never forgot about you, not after you paralyzed my arm for the rest of my life." The noble scowled. "I didn't think a so-called "hero" would be so brazen in attacking people like that."

"That's because you were trying to RAPE my party member, you absolute fucking-"

"My my, such language. Besides, its not rape if its merchandise sampling, considering I actually OWNED the girl before you rudely came along and stole her from me." Rino let out a whimper at that. "Besides, I really should just give you to the church for fraternizing with demi-human filth."

That set Chazon off as he began struggling against his captors, who were strong enough to keep the hero pinned even with his strongest spear equipped. "You… I offered you MERCY at that time! I offered it because she wanted me to spare you from your deserved fate! Is this how you repay her kindness?!"

"Verily, she has a good heart for what it's worth, but in the business I plan on putting her in it's irrelevant." The noble lets out a greedy laugh. "But I digress. We have spent far too long out here in this stuffy forest. I want my toy brought with me back to the capital where I can "sample" her in better comfort."

"What shall we do with the rest of them?" One of the mercenaries asked, eyeing Rifana's assets with lust as she whimpered.

The noble pretended to think before smiling. "Methinks the Spear Hero needs to be taught that us nobles are the ones in charge of this world. As such… feel free to have your way with his party members until they break. I'll give you further rewards once you've… satisfied yourselves." He laughs loudly as he beckons the two in charge of Rino, who follow closely. "Also, someone I know has an interest in the Spear Hero. The more broken he is when you bring him in, the better."

Hate...

The black veins had almost completely overtaken Chazon's vision as he heard the mercenaries laugh and cheer.

I… hate… you...

"Dibs on the kitsune! I'm sure her tail will feel wonderful as she pleasures me!" Kardia no longer had a serene look on her face. The one pinning her down made sure she wasn't trying to cast any spells as she struggled.

I͖̰͈̦͡ ̵h̲̮͈a͇̜̜̙t̺́e͎͚̟͓̭̻͇ ̷͍̞y͖͢o͏̣u̥͈̮͖̭̩̝.̪̥.҉̠̼̰̬̭̩͇.̵̯

"This weasel looks like a tough nut to crack. Leave her to me; it'll be like unwrapping a birthday gift!" Rifana struggled in vain as she felt drool fall onto her tail.

1̴̪̱͘͡ ̷͓͇͕͈̲̖̮̥͍H̴̝̥̣̜̻̣4̫͢͝Ṯ̘̻̲͕͖̫͔͜3̼̪͚͓̬̣̜ ̤̭Y̧̩̗̻͞͞0͉̰͖͍́͟͠U̳͇͍͠ ̢͇͞4͔̪̩1̟1̡͏̘̦̞͔͉̟͙͔!̵̭̲͍͎̫͢

"Ooh! Can I have the white-haired little girl and the black-haired boy?"

"Dude, you with your fetish for little kids… I swear, I would have knocked some sense into you if you weren't so skilled." Everyone laughed as Amber, for the first time since her transformation, started sobbing in fear. Obsidian did his best to put on a brave face for his little sister, but it was failing.

1̴̝̗̤̬̹͢ ͈̠̪ͅH̨̫͇̗͚̱͚̩4̦̦̘̕͜T͏̣͖͠3҉̙͡ ҉̯͖̜̙̣̫͓̖̫3̸̷̙͇V͍͉͖̦͔͖̻̙̳͝3̹̹̬̪̱̣͈̹͟R҉̞̟̕Y̜̞̪̲̙̬̳͡͞ͅ7͔̻̘͠͠H̶̡͙̤̣͎̪̤1̻͔͇̙̼̕͟͡N̨̹͙̖͔̦̣̼͔͟9̷̴̻̱̘͍!̴̧̹̭̳̯͓̥͖̖͠

4̯͚1̘̜1̳͎̜̰͜ ̳̪̹0̴f̩̖̺ ̯ͅy͍̝̳͈͜0͏͈̝͎̱̱ͅu̱̝̣͞.̶̖͎̦̘̭.̸͕̹.̦͕͞

5͇͙̦̕h̭̮͔͞0̮͔̠͔̩̪̮͠ụ1͏d̵ ̤̟̥͚͙͉́j͉͓͕͓ṵ̘̩͔̜̗́ͅ5̳̩̕7̶̺̺̳̣̲̭

G̡͖̣̮̯O҉̨͖̤̭̳̞̜̲͝

D̹͠1̧̣̮̥͢͞ͅ3̸̼͚͡!

Ć̷̨̭͍̝̠̱͙o̝̥̻̹̜r̵̘͚̘͚͍͙r̞̼̳͉͔ư̮͚̬̟̮̤͕̜̜͡p̭̣͓̯t͔͓̘͔͚͜͢i̵̺͖̪̲ǫ͠҉̫͓̣̥͚̮̦ń̲̘͇̘͝ ̢͏̹̜͍S͏͍̗̘̹͇̩̀̕ͅe͏̹̖̤̦̞͈̜r̦̲̯̻͙í̱̦͉̥͕͟e̷͕ͅs̻̯͓͞:̘̘̜͇͖̰̦̙ ̲͙̜̬͝H̗͚̭͈̟̝̺̼̲͝ą̷̪̥͖̭͓̳͔t҉̥̗͝ŗ̛̺̯͍̼̦̀e͖̜̲̬̜̙̘͖ͅḓ̢̮̦̝̖̗̦̕ ̰̰̗͍̺̝͢ͅƯ͍̜̟͈͇̯̪n҉̶̪̤̯̗͉̣̜̗̦l҉̯̞̝̤͕͈̰̻o̜͇͍̙͈̖̕͢c̨͏̖̳̪̹͕̘̗̘k̭͖̮̗̦͞ę̸̰̭͞d҉̼̮

̤̮͇͇H͕̫̭͕̭a̸̵̞̣̭̯̰̪̻͜ṯ̛̗̣̣ͅr͏̨̻͙̟̙̱̳̱̩e̢̱͔͙̣̙͙͉͜d̳̣̮̰͓͈̼̰'̠̳̠̻̕s̠͈͔̝ ͏͍̠̜͚̥̫Ṭ̱̬̱̙̘̜̘̲͞r͟͏͓̠i̧̺̭͓̼̙͜d͙̦̮̬̩̘̖͎̣e̤̞̯͟ṋ̡̦t̨͚͔̙͈̱̞̰͖̀ I ̠̬̗̻̘̝͓̺̪̀Ú̢͕͔̪n̘̱͚͎̠̜̗̹l̛͓̗̲̘̟̺̭͔͕o͏̢̛͕͙̳͔̤c̥̮̱̫̹̯̹͝k̲͚͚͉̝̫͈͎͘͠e͏̭̙̗͚̺̟͜d̫̖̦͖͇͉̗̲

Ę̸̰͕͕͟q̷̴̛̺̳͍͙̟̩̗̻̩u̖͓͍͜͡i̞̙̕͟p̘̻͍̦ ͢͏̟̜̪̫̫̝͍͠ͅb̴̨̺̲̝͔̣̠̥͘o̧͚̩̘̟̭͍͟ń̬͕̕u̞̝̟͚̥͟s̻̥͠:̶̴͉̯͇͚͔̳͇ ̤A͘͏̴̖̟̩̮̜̥T̼͟K͈͚͕̹̼ ̶̯͙̗̠͎͞ͅb̴̖ͅo̵̙͎̮̗̩̻̹͘n̴̬̮͖̼̙͡ͅu͈͔̖͍s͕͖͔͚̱̙͜ ̨͏̸̣̤͓͚͍̰̫̳(̵̩͇͔̪͟͝h̲̭͈͚͉i̖̥̦̱̭̞͎g̪͇̼̜̪͎̖h̴̯̮̱̝͔̼̬́)̧̦̺̠̱̙,̛̖͍͘͝ ̹̳̹̗͟M̰̟͓ͅA̲̤͓̪̻͖͈͜ͅG҉͏͏͔͉̙̞̙ ͏̧͉̹̠̬̗̝b̷̴̞̟̣͎̘̝̺͓͝o̸͘҉͔̤̪̻n̶̞̺̲͜u̴͉̣̲͇̖̣s̨̢̛̙̥̻̦͔͇̺ ̝̲̘͚̗͎͎͚̞͠(̦̟̬͟h̶̜̩̮̯̰͓̠͞͞i̵̩̫̜̭̹̲̩͙͘g̟̟͈̘̮͙̙̯̜h̶̪̦͠)͔͖̯̰̩͘͜,̛̛͔̙̦̟͍̞̰̰̞ ̹̹̫̙͎͍A̙̱̮̤G͚̝̦I̥̫͎͙̝̹͕͟ͅ ̷̰̱̰͓̬̦͇̜ͅb͙̠̦͍̬͕̬́o͔̳̕͠n͏̼̝͖̙̤̞̜͙́u̙͉̫̕͝ş̶̼͎͎ ̰͙̫̗͖̣̦͕̀͟(̷̳͚̦̰̟̘̱͔͔h͙̻̫̣͇̤̀i͙̦̮͔̳̱̼͖g̻͙̣̞̫̺͜͠h͉)̹̞͖͍͖̀̕,͏̴̠̦ ̝̲̼̻̻̻͘ͅM̴̥o̡̮̦̜̹̣͈ͅv̵̞̯͉̣̮̰̟͟ę̴̪̱̺̪̼̥͉̦̝m̵̵̲̖͈͟e̸̛͉͚̼̟͉̟͔n̞͖͜͡t̴̗̯͞ ̝s̮͍̗̭̘p͍̜e͕̳e̞̜͡d͍͇̰̤͕̀̕͝ ͙̜͈̖͖b͇͓̦͞ǫ̴̛̘͕̩̟̬ͅņ̸͎̳͢ú̸͖̫̮̰s͖̦̩͈̮͜͢ ̢͈̝̮͝(̹͓̳̪̞͙̪̠̕h́҉̦̰͈̮i̵̙͕̤̻̲̞͎g͏̼̝h̷̢̫̯̰̤̣͢)͈͖,̛̙͔̣̙͇̻̗͠ ̗͇̬͈̥̤̳͈D͍̤̟͈̳̦͡a͎͚͎̫̗r̬̤̟̝͘k̨̼̘̣̥̞͜-̺̥̣͝a̢̡̳͈̤̻̗͓̬͖s͏͈̰͎ṕ̭̪͚̳̲̰̀ͅe̴̸̝̤̲͚c̖̜̥t̪̫ ̶͎̪̹̗͚͔͎̕a͏̪̮̼͎͡t̡̡̨̺̹͕͇͉̭͔ţ̸̜̻̙ą͓͙͓̗̤̫̹͓̠c̢̼̣̠͚̙̳̣͡k̢̗̭͓͉͎͎̕ ̵̬̱(̸͍̞̱m̶̟͝e͇̹͙̠̲̱̺͕̪d̴̳̜̭̗͖͉͍̀i̡̛̯͎͈͈͎͘u̸̗̹̞͉ḿ̴̺̱̕)̸̗̺͓͙͠͝,̬̟͎͚͔̜͝ ͇͎̜̹'̨̙̬̝̘̘ͅH́͏̭̙̝a̴͇t̮͈͘r̢̨̩̞̹̭͈͇̳̻͞é͙͇̺̪̺̯͖͓d̛̳̼̼̟̥̺͟'͎̰̜̻̳̜͜ͅs̷̢̬̘̪̼͓̰ ͈͍͓͓̫͔͜͢Ģ̵͎̱a̸̰̭͕̪z̭̬͕̮̫e̢̟̪͘'͔

S̮͖͔͔̕͢͞p͍͕̮̪̥͓̩͠ę̭̱́́c̶̜͘͞i҉̼̮̟̼̞͕͝a̸̜̻̠͓ļ̠̦̤̹̹̤ͅ ͓̹̫̺͎͓͖̤̀͡ͅe̛̻̩̜̤͍͙̕͜f̦̕f́͏̝͉̺̠̳̦͙e҉̘̠̟͠c̫͚t̶̡̗:̵̝̩͍̱̜͘ ̨͔̬̠͡A҉̢̭̼̤̖ͅT̛̹̱̰̗͓̜̱͡Ḱ͍̻̪͉̤̣͎͞ ̸̳͙͎̯̪̱̙́͜u̼̼̩͎͍̳͓̻̕p҉̱́ͅ ̲̺̖̱̺̗͇(̖̪̦̗̞͉͜͞h̢̩̭̯̖̟̳͎í͉̫̰͎̪͞g̷̵̥̤̜̠̹͇̗h̴̲̝̯͟)̵̮̩̝̩̣͔̣̀,̺̳͈͈̖̮ͅ ̯̞͉͘M̸̷̜͎̯͇̻̞͙͉̀ͅA͖͓̳̹͍̣̺͠G̢̝̥̹̗̬ ̸̻͙͔͚͉̱͘u̢̘͚͍̻̗͔̼p̷̛̭͙͔̥̭ ̢͇̹̤̻̘̥̙̥͢͢(̤͖̱͠ḩ̶̵̯̻͓̳̣͚͈i̧̹̬͔͓̣̳͡ǵ̮̥̖͍̭͡h̸̩̞̗̤̻̫̤̲̺͝)͉̠̲,̠͓̦͔̭̗͡ ̢̮̠̻̳̥̞A̷̶͔̪̙͜G̷͍̟̪͓̠͠I̡̤̦̝̘̣̺̮͞ ͎̫̳́u̶̧̧͙̗p̢҉̨̯̦̲͖ ̢̨̻͈̻(̶̨̱̪̹̩̹̼͇͖ẖ̻̪̤̳̞̯͢͢i̷̱͙̺̻̻g̵̗̜̜̙̺͉h̴̶̠̼̥̲͈)̸̶̗̦̠̳,̟̥́̀ ҉̘̦̠͙̜͇̕C̢̛̦̠͕͠o̠͈͍ŗ̫̯̱̬̞̜̭͉͟r̘u̻p̵̪͎̣͈t̵̬i̵̟͜o̺ṋ͍͙ͅ ͟҉͈(̮̯̹́͡S̙͞u̴̹̱̦͇̝̞̟̠͝͠ͅf̡̺͈͚̱̙͓̪̩́f̷̺͓̭͚̘̦̯̀ơ͎̫͚c̛̘̼̦͕̣̞͝͞a̩͉̤͓t̗̯̠i̡̝̞̻̰͖͢n̨̮̰̭͙̗̠̰͕̦͟ģ̥̣̗̮̥̯̭ ̛͇̫͖͕̭̭̩M̤̻͈͓i͏̹̗͔͞a͎̬̞̹̮̥̩s̗̰̜̠͍͜͞m͎̫̝͎a̶̪̱̪)̧̨̝̹̭̦̝

T҉̧͓́i̲̺̟̼̻m̺̻̥͕̟͇͇͚͟͟ę̮̭̖͍̼̘̪ͅ ̨̙͓̹̥̙̰͘t̷̜̘̩̠̘̮̗̳o̸̶̹ ͏̹͇̗̳̟̦̼͖s͓͈̫̯͎̕͜h̛̟̞̬͉͉̖͈o̸̗͉̫̤̱͙̤̻̱͡w̖̜̰̜̥̠̭͙̦ ҉͔̤̤͞y̜̙̦̯ͅơ̙̙̬̼u̞͍̕ ̯̲̳̥̬̜͢͞a͏͚́l̨̡̛̮͇̭̗̖̰͎̗l̰̪̭̰̜̬̞̜͡.͍̗̮̝̪̞̬͘.̢͏̲̫͔.̶̩̪̘̗̬̪͝

̷̩̟͚͟T̷̺̰͈̖͎̘̭͡h͏̧̳̥̞ͅe̷̻̻̜̗͚̫͇̺͠ ̝̳̪͍͉̼͝͝t̸̛̺͓̥̳ͅr̦̗̮͈͢u̡̠̦̯̻̦͉͈̻͘e̵̜̜̹͎̲̤̗̞ͅ ̵̛̤̪͕͡d̕͏͉̫͔̬͔e̜̩̬͕̼̻ͅf̵͈̫͉̣̩̮̰̘ͅi҉͔̀n̛̦͚̼i͍̱̦t̩͓̗̟̬̻̹͘į̸̤̲o̼͎͔̻̗̯̺̼͔n͚̣̥͉ ̩̤͎̺͇̜̬͡o̡̜̱̫̤f̻̼̣͘͘͠ ͇͙̰̼̱̗͇̱͠t̹̩̼͖̕͢ḩ̺̦̥͔̫̱̫̤̤e̠̫ ̸̸͈ͅt̛͉̟̝̦̖̯̬ḙ̰͞͝r҉͎͕̬͖̠̺̻̱͟m̷̡̮̠̟̼̣̕.͉̣͙̖̜͚̲̞̕.̛̳̬͕.̨̳͇̮͙̤

̳̪̬̩̦͇̝̲̕N̴̡̫̦̥̗̤u̶͕̪̫͚̜̠̝l̷͏̺͔͓͍̣̯͎̠ͅl͝҉̼̞̳̙̥̭̠.̸̠̟̤͚̝̖̝͓.̼̰̤͔͓̯͞.̷̣̪

̧̩̰̙͜.̠͖̬.͓.̢̛̩̟̣̪̰̲á̸҉̥̺n҉̫̪͞ḍ̷̝͞.̷̱͙̯̫̭̞̤͞.̴͚̙͇.̷̹̰̗̺͙͎̝̹̺̕

̗̪̩̞͓͟͡.̵̫͓͙̹͙͎̬.͉͕͔.̷̲͜ ͏̴̜̫͖̲̝̞̳͈v͙̟͡͠o͘҉̬̱į͇͙͟d͙̱̱̠͉͞͞.̰̥̖͝

One of the mercenaries that had Chazon pinned down looked at him in disappointment. "Aw come on, the so-called Spear Hero isn't struggling much anymore. I was hoping for him to at least scream more, or does he not care about-"

"You think you can just waltz up to MY party and expect to get away with everything you do?" The area went dead silent with chills down their spines at the demonic voice full of hate as everyone looked at Chazon, who proceeded to overpower both his captors and smash his spear into the backs of their heads.

The spear had gone back to its default form… but the metal was darkened and the normally brilliant red jewel was pitch black with no luster. Wisps of shadow leaked off the jewel until it exploded with a torrent of darkness as deep as eternity… before revealing itself as a black trident with a very hateful design. At the other end of the shaft was a magical, unblinking black eye.

Chazon opened his eyes and everyone saw what lay behind them. His scleras had become pitch black and his blue irises were filled with nothing but hate, like an abyss that actively stares back.

"I think it's time… to show you worthless vermin the fate you so richly deserve. Faust Hatred's Umbral Pulse!" The remaining mercenaries had scrambled to try and put his party members at sword point again, but Chazon was having none of it. He launched a wave of darkness throughout the area that knocked all the mercs away from their captives. The hate in the air was literally suffocating, like a dark miasma.

One tried to rush him and strike him down in spite of how difficult it had become to breathe. "You're not a hero! You're a monster!"

All that got him was a trident through the heart, killing him instantly. "Perhaps I am and I'll gladly play the part… if it means showing you mongrels how it feels to be truly HATED."

"C-Chazon-sama…" Rifana had tears of fear in her eyes as she remained rooted to the spot, memories of what he said running through her head.

"Hey… don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Only monsters hurt others without reason."

"All Zweite Aqua Wave!" Kardia launched watery waves at all of the scrambling mercenaries before running over to Rifana and helping her up, doing her best to breathe through the dark miasma that was now hanging in the air; it was slowly draining everyone's HP. "Snap out of it! I don't like it as much as you do, but this is our only chance to get out of here and find Rino-sama!" Rifana nodded numbly. "Obsidian, how's Amber?"

"She's a mess, but she'll be fine, Kardia-nee." Obsidian was hugging Amber to comfort her as best as possible, while also keeping her eyes away from the bloodshed his father was causing now. "But… Daddy is…"

"Leave him to me for now." Kardia nodded at that before looking at Rifana. "Get those two kids to the carriage and wait for Chazon-sama and I to return. Trust nobody until we come back with Rino-sama." Rifana managed to snap out of it and nodded more firmly before guiding the two kids away. She approaches Chazon, who had just finished killing the sixth and last mercenary. "Chazon-sama."

Chazon looks at her, eyes still black as eternal darkness and full of hate, only for said eyes to visibly soften at the sight of her being alright. "Kardia… are you going to lecture me on what I'm doing? Because it can-"

"Hardly. None of these men showed a shred of morality and, in my humble opinion, got what they deserved." Kardia felt like the big sister of the four younger members and hearing how they were going to be assaulted, even innocent Amber, enraged her even more than the prospect of herself getting raped.

Chazon let out a hollow sigh before coughing a bit from the miasma his attacks have been spreading; he wasn't immune to it either. "Doesn't mean I feel the greatest taking lives like this. I'm just glad you and the other three are safe." That told Kardia all she needed to know; Chazon was still somewhat in control and was doing his best to direct his hate at anything but his closest companions. Even he had no control over the miasma his attacks were producing. "Take care of them in my absence. I'm going after Rino."

"I managed to snap Rifana-chan out of it and now she's looking after the other two. I'll join you in rescuing Rino-sama."

If Chazon wanted to show gratitude, he couldn't because of how much hate was flowing through his veins. "Then let's stop wasting time. The longer we wait, the less chance we have of rescuing her. Climb on, it'll be faster this way." He kneels down and Kardia climbs onto his back before activating his hate-boosted High Jump.

Rino had been gagged and was being carried by an underling as his boss and the noble walked towards the carriage that had brought them there. The noble was insufferably up-beat regarding the situation. "Ahh, got my special toy back after all this time! I couldn't even get around to feeling her up last time, but even then I knew she's something special. I might just keep her for myself!"

The merc leader rolled his eyes in disgust, but kept walking. As long as the noble paid him in full, he didn't care about anything else. Even those other mercs I was hired with were a bunch of low-lifes… they besmirch the names of the good mercs that exist in Melomarc by acting more like cutthroats despite their class up status… or maybe they act like that because they believe nothing can really stop them.

He was brought out of his thoughts by what he thought was screaming from afar, but because nobody else heard it, figured it was his imagination. Or one of those girls got-

He was never able to finish his thought when a chill fell over the area and everyone felt it. The noble looked insulted. "What now?!"

A shadowed figure leaped out of the nearby trees, two magic circles in front of it as a female chanted, "As the source of thy power, the Spear Hero and I command thee!"

"Decipher the laws of nature, unleash pulsating darkness upon all!"

"Attack my opponents with fierce gusts of wind!"

"And produce a black wind that blows away our targets!. FELL WINDFALL!"

Black winds whipped up around the feet of those standing below and whipped them to the sides mercilessly. The merc leader managed to correct himself before any major damage could be sustained, but his lackey and boss fared poorly. In fact, the lackey had his head whipped into a tree so hard he was killed, which resulted in him dropping Rino.

The shadowy figure landed and revealed itself as Chazon with Kardia on his back, which surprised Rino… only for her to realize in horror that his eyes were full of undying hate. No… Chazon-kun… please…

"Kardia, take Rino and get out of here. I'll deal with this rabble myself." Chazon notes that the noble was trying to crawl away in fright as Kardia quickly takes Rino away. "As the source of thy power, I the spear hero, command thee. Decipher the laws of nature and bind my target in dark chains. Faust Hatred's Shadow Hold!" The noble became covered in shadowy chains coming from the ground, unable to move an inch as he felt hatred wash over him and he started coughing from the miasma around him. "I'll deal with you soon enough."

The merc leader knew that the Spear Hero would kill his boss, so if he wanted his pay after everything that happened, he would have to fight him. "Spear Hero, I will never condone what those other mercs were doing to your companions. But if I wish to receive my promised pay, I'll have to stand in your way, no matter how powerful you've seemingly become."

"You definitely seem more like a real mercenary than those other corpses. But if you won't let me through, then I'll just have to remove you all the same!" Chazon dashes forward with Hatred's Trident, only to discover that this merc was a level 65 class up warrior as their weapons collided; the same guy who initially disguised himself as a knight. Chazon was only level 38, meaning that even after facing 6 level 50 opponents beforehand he had a severe up-hill battle.

It also quickly became apparent that, even with all of the bonuses Hatred's Trident provides AND the miasma effect, the merc could easily keep up with Chazon and his attacks thanks to his raw skill and high level. "You are strong but your spear skills lack any polish. That will be your downfall, whether it be from me or another properly trained warrior."

"Perhaps. But you are keeping me from exacting my revenge upon that sleazeball lowlife and I'll have it by any means necessary!"

They clashed a few more times and, for all intents and purposes, Chazon was able to keep the merc leader on his toes even if the difference in skill was enormous. Chazon noticed this and decided to guarantee his victory. "Worthless mortal, I condemn thee! Suffocate and wither under my gaze as your feeble life draws to a close. Hateful Gaze!"

The magic eye on the trident suddenly focused on the merc and became slitted. At that moment, the merc felt unsuppressed hate wash over his very soul as his status magic showed him a debuff he's never seen before.

Hateful Gaze

Eternal hatred is staring at you. Level and ALL stats cut in half!

The effects became apparent immediately. Because he was knocked down to what basically amounts to a level 32; not only was he now much weaker than the spear hero but with that trident in his possession and the amount of miasma he was flinging around per attack, he didn't stand a chance.

It became apparent when Chazon was dodging his attacks without effort and swiftly counter attacking with vicious strikes that the merc had met his match. Is this unholy power… the result of what we did to his companions? If so… then I may as well accept my fate. Forgive me, for I have done an unimaginable wrong.

After a particularly harsh clash that resulted in his sword being launched far away from the battle, merc fell into a kneeling position while coughing harshly. "Well done… it seems you have won, no matter what method you used." He looks into the hero's hate-filled eyes. "My life is in your hands now."

Chazon folded his arms at those words. "How… courteous of you. I'll give you some credit; not only are you strong, but you don't seem too comfortable with this job. Care to explain yourself?"

"I for one pride myself on a mercenary's code. All we take for payment for our services is money, everything else will wait until off duty. Besides, the ones you slaughtered are not of my normal band. I was hired because I was a very strong class up mercenary. You may not believe me, but I would never condone what those other ones were doing to your companions."

Chazon looked into his eyes and saw that he wasn't lying about anything. He really was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. The noble, who was still trapped and trying to breathe through the miasma coming off the chains binding him, started panicking. "H-hey! You aren't supposed to give up so easily! I promised you a small fortune if you completed your contract, now keep defending-"

"Sorry, but I'd much rather keep my life than throw it away for something that might not be worth it in the end." He looks back at Chazon. "Like I said, Spear Hero, my life is in your hands. What is your verdict."

"You never lied to me and I can see you possess some shred of morality. Very well… you will be the only one receiving mercy from me today, but you will not be forgiven again if we cross each other later. Am I clear?"

Relief spread throughout the merc's body. "I am eternally grateful for your mercy and will take your words to heart. May we meet as allies one day on the battlefield if we cross paths again. Also… I will speak nary a whisper about what happened here as my personal promise to you." The merc bowed and left the area, ignoring the pleas from the stuck noble as he was approached by hatred personified.

"Too bad, so sad… you squandered my mercy and tried to not only have Rino raped again, but all of my party members. You are filth that even normal filth thinks is dirty and for that… accept the slow, agonizing death I promised you before!"

With a slow, excruciating movement, Chazon dragged the blade of his trident down the noble's gut and proceeded to pull his intestines out. Chazon watched with cold indifference as the noble screamed in agony until he expired. Extracting his trident from the corpse, he left it to be monster food as he headed towards his carriage, where his party members waited.

The entire way he felt sluggish while trying to rid his lungs of excess miasma. He initially thought it was the weight of all the lives he had taken that day, only to see that he had a debuff on himself.

Hatred's Backlash

Expended too much hate. Level, HP, MP, SP, and all stats cut in half. Cannot feel as much hate.

The consequence of using such a forbidden skill… I better be careful; I'm literally a level 19 right now if anyone felt like jumping me…

Thankfully he reached the carriage without any problems. Rino saw his approach and rushed towards him with an extremely worried look. "Chazon-kun, please… tell me you didn't…

"I spared the mercenary leader due to him being at the wrong place at the wrong time, though I gave him a stern warning. As for the noble… well he's rotting in hell now."

"I… I didn't want you to do that… I don't want you to lose your kindness to senseless murder…" Tears were beginning to gather in her eyes; once again, despite being kidnapped to be raped, she showed more concern for Chazon than for herself.

"We can't always have what we want. Some people will never quit unless measures are taken, no matter how extreme they are." He said this as a matter of factly, like he didn't even care.

"Please… come back to us…" She suddenly grabbed his head and held it against hers. "Please don't lose yourself to hate anymore than you already have."

"Papa… please, your eyes are scary… I want your old eyes back." Amber whimpered from behind Rino, her own tears in her eyes.

Those words, that image, and Rino's action drove needles into his heart as he began to realize what he's doing. "I… I… urgh."

"Do you… hate us as well?" Came Rino's extremely heavy question.

N-no… how could I…

No, you need to! You need to hate everything!

I don't… I don't need to hate…

You have to! If you don't hate everything, you'll just lose everything-

I don't need to hate everything! Leave me alone!

"H-how… how could I… hate my friends? My family?" Chazon stuttered out as the black in his eyes receded and his voice went back to normal. His weapon transformed back into the Mutated Mauler Fur Trident he had equipped before he succumbed to hate. Any miasma that remained in the air instantly dissipated.

"Chazon-kun!" Rino hugged him like she was afraid that he would slip out of her grasp and be lost forever. "Please… no more of that. No more hating everything! It's eating you alive!"

"Papa!" Amber rushed forward and clutched Chazon's side, bawling her eyes out.

What am I doing? I never wanted to scare you guys like this… He saw Kardia and she gave him an understanding nod. Rifana and Obsidian joined Rino and Amber in hugging Chazon, all of them wishing for him to never succumb to darkness like that ever again.

Turns out that Kardia had been softly explaining what has been happening to everyone else and making sure everyone understands that things like this will happen. There will be times when they need to kill other people in self-defense or to prevent them from causing too much harm in the future. Mercy offered sometimes isn't well spent in this world, she knew that from experience.

However, even she didn't want her master- her hero to succumb to his hate as much as anyone else. The only reason why she let him continue on is because she trusted him to have enough control to make the right calls; something that was proven correct when she found out that he spared the supposed leader of the mercenaries that attacked them.

After getting rid of the magic cuffs and traveling a distance, they rested for the night before continuing to Lute. Chazon took some time to go through his spear web and try to find the Hatred's Trident that he had been using. It's not in here, yet… didn't it say something about a Corruption Series? I vaguely recall something like that being unlocked in my despair after the duel, but I was too out of it to remember until now…

"And I am glad to see that Despair's corrupting influence has left you, spear hero Chazon."

Reine Skala said something about despair having a "corrupting influence" as well, didn't he? Making a note to return to the dragon one day to ask about it, he pushed those thoughts to the side, made sure to try and reassure his party members that he's fine now, and went to sleep. The nightmares that plagued him not only reminded him of the lives taken, but also attempted to make him succumb to hate once again.

It was midday when they rolled into Lute for the first time since the wave. Reconstruction had been proceeding apace and it bore a resemblance to how it looked before.

Chazon had visited the Elder of Lute and inquired about what had happened a while back. Turns out Malty had attempted to use a royal decree to make him the new lord of Lute, which would have been fine if it weren't for the obscene tolls that were introduced. After some intervention from some black-garbed figures, Malty had Naofumi race Glone for the right to rule Lute, which Naofumi handily won thanks to Filo.

Chazon apologized for having his name used in an attempt at ruining Lute, which the Elder made sure to tell him that nobody blamed him. Even so, he went around to make sure nobody was overly affected by the incident, which earned even more trust from them for some odd reason.

After going into the mines briefly and gathering a small amount of ore both for Refinement and to give to Naofumi later for accessories, including a fair amount of light metal ore and another piece of ultralight metal ore, he found out that an apothecary from Castle Town was visiting Lute to see his grandson. Taking Amber with him, who had gone back to being a cheerful girl much to his relief, they found him, much to his delight. "Ah, Sir Spear Hero! Allow me to extend my thanks for helping the Shield Hero defend the people of Lute in the wave, including my grandson."

"It's nothing… er, I'm glad he's safe after such a harrowing experience." Chazon noted that he had grown a bit colder and rougher, kind of like how Naofumi was between his trial and the wave, and was doing his best not to come off as too blunt. Why is it suddenly so difficult to treat people normally all of a sudden?

"Indeed, but I imagine you didn't come to me just to have a chinwag with me. I'll help you in any way I can."

Chazon brought out some of the inert scales that he had Amber shed last night. "Is it possible to process these into some kind of powder?"

The apothecary took them with widened eyes. "These… are these scales from the mythical Solar Empress?!"

"Yup, that's me!" Amber piped up cheerfully, earning a shocked look from the old man.

Chazon sighed at that. "I'll let it go this time, Amber, but don't be so quick to reveal what you are. Bad people might try and take you away from me… and Papa might lose himself again if that happens."

Amber whimpered a bit at that, not wanting her papa to become hateful again as she deflated. "Yes, Papa..."

Chazon quickly berated himself for using an admittedly harsh tone on her and gave her a kiss on the head along with a hug. "That's a good girl. Don't worry, your Papa is plenty proud of you." She cheered up from that and giggled happily. I love Obsidian… but Amber's such a sweetheart as well.

The apothecary smiled at the scene. "I'm glad to see you treating her well. Anyways, I ask because the scales a Solar Empress grows have very special properties according to legend."

"We're using legends to determine what they do?"

"There's always a kernel of truth in legends, don't forget that. Anyways to answer your question, yes they can be turned into powder. In fact, while they are potent as scales, turning them into powder allows them to be even more potent in their effects."

That piqued Chazon's curiosity. "What kind of effects are we talking about?"

"Well, let's go over them individually. Blast scales are explosive, blaze scales ignite into hot fire, and bright scales flash upon activation, correct? They seem to be magical in nature, so a high magic stat will increase their potency when shedded directly for combat.

"In powder form, these effects increase due to being more concentrated, though you need to process inert scales for powder. That means blast powder is far more potent than the more common explosives, blaze powder gains the ability to burn through more fire-resistant materials, and bright powder emits brighter flashes."

The description of blaze powder almost sounds like thermite. Chazon nodded at that. "Is there a special way to process them, or can anyone do it?"

"Actually, once scales are inert the only thing that'll set them off is an electric or fire spark. As such, something as simple as flint will set them off, though they lose the ability to go off on contact if shed while inert. Because of that, all you need is a pestle and mortar to crush the scales into powder. Just make sure no sparks get into the powder, or you'll have to deal with premature detonations."

Then my idea might have viability after all. Plus, I think I do have bonuses dealing with processing materials like an apothecary. "Are there any pestle and wooden mortar sets for sale in this village?"

The old man smiled. "You can have the one I have. I'm a bit embarrassed that this is all I can give you despite helping the shield hero save my grandson, especially when I gave him an apothecary's book in comparison."

"This is fine. The information and tools you gave me are repayment enough, thank you."

After leaving the apothecary's place, he headed back to his carriage, only for Rifana to come up to him in a panic. "Chazon-sama, Kardia-chan is sick!"

"Lead the way. Amber, think you can backtrack and inform the apothecary we just visited? We'll need a professional analysis if we don't want to resort to our Yggdrasil's Drought."

"Can do, Papa!" Amber flies off in the direction they just came from while Chazon rushed back with Rifana.

Sure enough, Kardia looked like she was running a high fever and was in a lot of pain. Rino was doing her best to make her comfortable. "She suddenly collapsed not too long ago and has been like this the entire time."

Obsidian brought up more cold water. "Kardia-nee… please be okay. Daddy, can you tell what's wrong with her?"

If… if my unlocking Hatred's Trident and getting miasma into her lungs caused her to get sick, then I'll never forgive myself. "I'm sorry, Obsidian, but I'm not an expert. If push comes to shove, we do have the Drought but I doubt she would like us wasting it on a high fever. I got an earful from her already, so let's make sure it's nothing regular medicine can't cure." He gave Obsidian a reassuring hug.

It wasn't long before Amber came back with the apothecary, who was carrying an assortment of medicine. "Let's see the patient first."

"She's a kitsune, I hope that doesn't make any difference." Rifana said softly.

"Hmm… this is strange. Her illness seems magical in nature." Everyone looked at each other in confusion. "I've heard that some kitsune have problems with their magic going out of control at points in their lives, but this is the first I've seen it." He has her drink some of his medicine. "Sadly, all I can do is ease her pain for now and hope she can fight it off."

It's bad when a doctor says that and having it hold water. He noted his spear's jewel flashing strangely. "Wait… why is my legendary weapon acting up?"

The apothecary looked between the legendary spear and Kardia before an idea struck him. "Try having your legendary spear absorb some of her rampant magic and see if it'll ease her symptoms."

"This better work…" Chazon held his spear in its default form above Kardia's chest.

What happened next was something nobody was expecting. The jewel emitted a red light into Kardia's chest as if it was attuning to her magic like it attuned to the Dragon Hourglass. After a couple of tense seconds, the light faded and her fever went away. She was now sleeping normally.

Spirit Bond formed

"Spirit bond?" Chazon asked out loud. "This is the first I've heard of it."

It became clear that nobody knew what it meant… other than the fact that it helped calm Kardia's magic down. Rifana shook her head and smiled. "Let's just be glad that she'll be alright. Who knows what would have happened if her magic was left unchecked."

"Indeed. The Cardinal Heroes never cease to amaze me. Regardless, just make sure she gets plenty of rest tonight." The apothecary left after that, grateful to have been of further assistance.

"Guess we'll be staying the night here. May as well do what we can to help this village out."

The Elder informed Chazon that both he and Naofumi had unlimited access and no mining limits in their mines; due to the waves, it had become considered a dungeon and too dangerous to restart mining operations. As such, while Rino, Rifana, and Amber went around the village taking care of requests and helping people, Chazon and Obsidian spent some bonding time in the mines. He noted that the mining nodes from earlier had, somehow, replenished almost like they were infinitely-replenishing gathering nodes in a video game. You're not helping my case here, world...

Chazon was able to find various gemstones for Naofumi to use in accessory crafting and a good amount of gold and silver ore. He had always been a bigger fan of gathering than crafting, so gathering materials for Naofumi could help give each other more synergy. He also made sure to craft another Aetheryte Crystal in his inventory, though he decided against putting it in Lute due to its proximity to Castle Town. The last thing I want is certain people discovering that I can teleport freely.

After returning from the mines that night with a haul of ores and gems, he got down to turning all of Amber's inert scales into powder. Thanks to Amber being very enthusiastic about it, despite how tiring it is for her due to scale growth costing MP for her, he had a good amount of scales to convert. He made sure to absorb both the scales and the powder for new spears, though they didn't unlock anything spectacular.

After crafting enough powder and putting it into his inventory, his status magic updated.

Recipes unlocked:

Blast-blaze mini-bomb

Bright-blast mini-bomb

Blaze-bright oil

Those names made Chazon give a shrewd smile. Way to avoid calling them grenades, flashbangs, and ultrabright firestarter. Even so, this'll give us an attack item, a support item, and a quality of life addition.

"Chazon-kun, why are you smiling like that?" Rino gave him a concerned look.

"Just discovered something I can craft with the powder. Besides, keep looking at me like that and it's going to stick." Chazon meant it as a light-hearted jab, but it came out a bit blunt. Why is this so difficult?

"I'm just… I'm always so concerned for you. The night after the banquet was the start and now what happened the other day... " She started shivering violently, which made Chazon hug her quickly. "I'm afraid… I'm afraid that this world will take away your kindness and compassion forever… that you'll become someone you're not."

Ever since the duel… I really have been changing and not for the better. Sure my original personality shines through on occasion like with Rifana and Kardia, but it keeps getting buried under negative emotions. Perhaps we should go somewhere relaxing and have a de-stress day so that we don't feel like butter spread over too much bread.

However, he desperately wanted to comfort Rino right here and now, something to reassure her that the person who showed her such kindness and compassion when she first joined him was still inside his heart. Only one idea came to mind; thinking back to the Alchemist's Cave reminded him of one thing she did that she never did again since then. "Rino… will it make you feel any better if you slept with me tonight?"

She let out a small squeak of surprise and embarrassment. "I… I mean I wouldn't be opposed to it, but… why?"

"It's clear that you're stressing out over me a lot lately, yet I've done nothing to try and ease your fears and worries. I can offer words of comfort but it's apparent that they can ring hollow at times. As such… perhaps if we're close by each other, then we can give each other comfort even in our sleep. Or maybe I'm thinking too deeply into this and-"

"No… I want to sleep with you tonight. I want to fall asleep to your heartbeat, knowing that you're not slipping away from me." Rino tearfully admitted. "Even if you allow Obsidian or Amber to join us, I'll be fine with it."

"No... for tonight, it'll just be the two of us. Just for you." Rino leaned her head onto his shoulder, which made him rest his head on hers.

Rifana smiled at the sight; both of them have been through a lot lately. They needed moments like this to reconnect. I just hope she doesn't accidentally kiss him on the lips. I doubt she wants to be pregnant now with the waves going on and be separated from him that way.

Amber and Obsidian felt a sense of calm in their family for the first time in a while, which made them happy. When they went to bed Rino cuddled up to Chazon, her head against his chest, as he protectively hugged her.

Neither of them suffered their nightmares that night.

Spirit Bonds formed with all party members

Analyzing…

Corruption Series progress: 1/7

Purity Series progress: 0/7

Status: C͓̟̩̞̘͍͘o̶̙̲̪̙̣̖̤͘r̵̪̱̹͎͝r̞̲͍̰u̡̹͈̤̮͙̙̟̜͘p͔͎̗̹̳͖͎̕͢͝t҉͍e̝͙͇̼̪̗͟͜d̷̶̙̻͖̮̩͔́ͅ

Itsuki trudged on as he helped a young woman walk while she was carrying a small baby, both clearly tired from their ordeal. I never thought… that the game would suddenly force a follow-up quest on me like this...

The Bow Hero's party had just evacuated a village from a nation in the north due to the danger they were in. They were the first village to fail at paying their obscene taxes and it was discovered that the leaders had sent knights to arrest everyone. Itsuki managed to drive them away, but knew that the villagers needed to vacate to a new spot. The best he could figure was an abandoned village to the south of them that hasn't been lived in for a long time.

"Do we really have to do this?" A big, armored man asked in exasperation.

The blond female adventurer that had joined Itsuki's party some time ago glared at him. "Do you really think that helping these people is a waste of our time, Mald? Because it sounds like you're implying that."

"Alay, you know that's not what I meant!" Mald grumbled a bit before clarifying, "Couldn't we have just gone after the new leaders and made them lower their taxes?"

"And be forced to kill them if they don't comply? We'd be stuck in a never ending loop of constantly killing people for trying to take the reigns. This is the best we can do for now."

"Alay is right." The pink-haired man named Welst nodded. "Senseless death is unbecoming of a hero like Itsuki. Besides, he had the foresight to go back and get these people evacuated to a new location. I'd think that's plenty heroic."

Mald nodded at that. "Praise be the Bow Hero, one of the stronger and wiser heroes!"

Itsuki sighed at that. In the past, he ate up praise like that because it made him feel good, like he truly mattered. Now it felt hollow to him because of what had happened to the country he tried to help. The villagers had tried their best to reassure the bow hero that they helped goad him into doing it, but he felt no less guilty about it.

Chazon… what would you think of this whole situation?

For those of you wondering, Hatred's Trident shares a similar design to the Trident of Power from the Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, with the two side prongs being longer and more blade-like, the jewel is pitch black, and there's an eye on the other end.