It was as though the force of corruption itself had descended upon the entire church. In a single instant, every negative emotion was amplified, swelling ever further beyond control. Even the steadfast demon hunters were driven back by the sudden tide, their minds shaken violently, like frail ships tossed upon a storm-ridden sea.
Loyd and the others sat silently upon the wooden pews as he gazed heavily toward the cheering townsfolk outside the doors.
"They attacked? Against the demon hunters themselves?"
Robin kept his suspicion toward every part of the story.
"Of course they did. Valley Town was an incredibly isolated place. Forget demon hunters — they didn't even understand what a demon hunter was supposed to be…"
Loyd let out a long breath. Those people understood nothing. In truth, he himself no longer knew whether, beneath that strange and oppressive force, the townsfolk still possessed any awareness of the "outside world."
It was like a sealed cage, abandoned to let the humans within live or perish on their own.
"Continue the story."
Red Falcon steadied himself and urged him onward.
Loyd nodded. Then, within his narration, the savage sounds of slaughter echoed forth.
"They were never a match for the demon hunters. Those residents hadn't even been tainted by demons. Worse still, beneath the gloomy skies of Valley Town, their bodies had become weak and frail. Killing them was no harder than butchering livestock… but the true terror came from the pressure upon the mind."
Within the tale, 042 raised his nail-sword in fury. Sometimes, the deeper the fear, the more it awakened the rage buried in a person's heart. The flames of wrath burned wildly, evaporating both fear and reason alike.
The entire church had been set ablaze. Roaring fire consumed every trace of holiness, while the four listeners remained seated upon the burning pews, quietly listening to the tale unfold.
The flames climbed ever higher. The demon hunters knew they could not continue holding their ground there. Thus, 042 chose to strike first. Out of caution, he immediately activated his Authority. Hardened divine armor erupted across his flesh, tearing apart the clothes binding his body before encasing him entirely.
The black-armored knight became a walking war chariot.
He charged straight through the front entrance, smashing aside every obstacle in his path. The remaining two demon hunters lacked his prowess in direct combat, nor did they possess an Authority capable of shielding their bodies as his did. They followed closely behind him instead, covering every blind spot his attacks could not reach.
"I thought it would become a desperate battle," Loyd said quietly. "But the truth was far easier than I expected."
042's nail-sword cleaved effortlessly through steel and wooden crosses alike. Those emaciated bodies were as fragile as paper beneath his blade. Severed limbs and flesh scattered through the air. Though the overwhelming tide of people gradually wore him down, every weapon crashing against him was repelled by the solid divine armor, leaving behind only scattered sparks.
"We broke out of the church with ease. There were only three demon hunters, but we were an exceptionally stable team. Our Authorities were different, yet they complemented one another perfectly."
Loyd recalled the members of his squad.
"My Authority was Metatron. 016 possessed Raphael. And 011 carried Sandalphon."
The white brick walls of the church collapsed away, exposing the world beyond before the listeners' eyes, allowing them to witness the story more clearly.
"I was the shield. 011 provided warning. 016 disrupted our enemies. We fought our way forward continuously, and only after I killed the final resident did we realize we had already arrived at the central square of the town."
The surrounding world began to fracture apart like the falling curtain of a stage play. A new scene emerged.
Now they sat upon benches within the town square, watching the bloodstained demon hunters not far away.
The young hunters were breathing heavily. They had battled demons before, yet never slaughtered humans driven so utterly mad. The entire town remained shrouded in dim fog. Corpses stretched from the church all the way to the square itself. When 042 turned to look back toward the road they had traveled, only blurred trails of blood remained to prove they had ever walked it.
"The feeling was strange," Loyd murmured. "Maybe it was an illusion, maybe not. But the deeper we advanced into Valley Town, the thicker the fog became. Our vision kept shrinking until, in the end, we could barely see a few meters ahead."
As he spoke, that obscure and oppressive force seemed to seep silently into the hearts of every listener.
"It was strange. During the fighting, we could clearly tell those residents hadn't been corrupted by demons. They were ordinary humans. Yet they were driven onward by some twisted creed, throwing themselves at us without end… and none of them seemed capable of fear."
042 lowered his gaze toward the blood-covered nail-sword in his hand. Within its reflection lay a world drowned in gray.
"And yet we… demon hunters with hardened wills… we were the ones shaken by that short slaughter. Like a ship riddled with cracks, seawater of fear slowly seeped into us from every direction, bringing freezing cold into the warmest depths of our souls."
The listeners' expressions grew solemn. They had begun to feel that obscure terror themselves. It was not overwhelming, yet just like the gray mist surrounding the town, it slowly swallowed both the listeners and the demon hunters within the tale alike.
Fear was an emotion born naturally within humanity itself — impossible to sever, impossible to fully suppress. One could only maintain its balance against reason, like a man walking upon steel wire over an endless abyss.
"The entire town radiated something deeply wrong. They clearly weren't under demonic influence, yet their abnormality felt even worse than demons themselves… After a brief discussion, we decided to continue investigating the town's secrets. The squad rested briefly within the square before moving out once more."
Loyd paused.
"Though during that short rest, I inspected several corpses. And from them, I uncovered something useful."
Within his narration, 042 knelt beside corpse after corpse, carefully examining them until he discovered something strangely familiar.
"A black cross?"
Robin's voice carried obvious surprise.
Loyd nodded.
"That's right. We found a common trait among every corpse. Each of them bore the mark of a black cross in some form. Some were scars. Some were tattoos. Others wore black crosses hanging around their necks."
"And that symbol existed within the records of the Demon Hunter Order. It belonged to a heretical cult that had endured for ages."
Within the story, 042 slowly raised the black cross in his hand, while 016 and 011 revealed faint traces of fear upon their faces.
"It was the emblem of a group known as the Finality Society. A gathering of lunatics whose origins even we never discovered. Their creed was exactly what their name implied."
Loyd looked toward his listeners and spoke softly.
"The end of all things."
The thick fog began to writhe.
Beyond the gray mist, it seemed as though something strange and unseen was slowly moving, stirring cold gusts through the drifting haze.
"To be honest, according to the records of the Demon Hunter Order, the Finality Society was perhaps the most genuine heretical organization of them all. They cared nothing for fame or wealth. Nothing for power or status. The only thing they sought was the end of everything — destruction in its purest form."
"They were extraordinarily dangerous madmen. And they never seemed to possess any true central gathering place either. They were scattered everywhere. Some had connections to demons, while others knew nothing of demons at all. Even after all this time, we still don't know where the Society originated… nor how its internal structure truly works."
Loyd frowned slightly as he spoke.
"Looking back now, the Society was filled with disturbing contradictions. Yet their scale was usually small, insignificant even. Like weeds growing along the roadside — easily uprooted… yet endlessly reborn."
"And what happened next?"
Red Falcon pressed forward eagerly, unable to suppress his curiosity.
An isolated town. Mist concealing unspeakable mysteries. Twisted evil lurking beneath the fog. A cult of fanatics. Three demon hunters caught utterly unprepared.
Had Loyd not spoken with such sincerity, they might truly have believed he was inventing the story on the spot.
Perhaps sensing Red Falcon's growing excitement, Loyd slowly shook his head.
"You may end up disappointed. It was a special mission, yes… but the truth behind it feels somewhat cliché now. At the time, however, it was something deeply unsettling, something worthy of caution and reflection."
"As for the rest… there were no shocking twists. No earth-shattering secrets. It ended much the same way most demon hunter operations do."
His voice turned cold.
"Find the target. Kill him… or kill all of them."
And so, within the story, the demon hunters tightened their grips upon their nail-swords once more and disappeared into the depths of the endless fog.