The place where he spent his childhood was a church in the city that operated as an orphanage.
His friends? The other orphans living at the church.
Among them was a timid child who always followed at the back of the group.
That was Jonathan.
"Hey, you son of a bitch! Bark like a dog!"
"Go scoop some poop out of the sewer! Let's make him eat it!"
Playing with the neighborhood stray dog.
For the poor orphans with no parents, it was the most inventive game they could come up with.
'I'm a bit different.'
Watching them, even as a young child, Jonathan felt a sense of superiority.
He prided himself on being the most mature for following the nun's teachings and not tormenting the dog.
Then came a shocking day.
"Arghhh!"
"Holy shit! Tom got bitten!"
Had they stepped on its tail or something?
The neighborhood stray dog bit Tom on the neck.
It all happened in an instant.
Tom, who was one of his friends, collapsed in tears, clutching his bleeding neck.
The other children, terrified, ran off to find the nun.
But unlike the others, Jonathan stood frozen in place.
"Heh."
As he watched his friend being bitten by the dog, young Jonathan realized something.
"Heh heh."
He wasn't mature at all.
If anything, he was far worse.
"Heh heh heh."
That day, he redefined himself.
'I'm a bit different.'
His sensibilities were far removed from those of ordinary people.
For years, Jonathan worked hard to conceal his true nature.
But every night, Tom's final moments would appear in his dreams, as sweet and tempting as a succubus.
In the end, Jonathan started sneaking out at night.
"It wasn't anything special.
He simply wandered into the city's entertainment district.
There, chaos reigned every night.
Drunken brawls, accidental shoulder bumps, lust-driven scuffles.
It was a place where fights or even stabbings were common.
That night was no different.
Sneaking out of the church in the early hours of the morning,
Jonathan roamed the streets like a hyena starving for the scent of blood.
He overheard drunken complaints.
"Did you hear? There's a flock of man-eating crows roaming nearby."
"They say it's a big deal trying to hunt them down."
"Ahh, my son's in the guard. I'm worried about him."
At that moment, Jonathan felt his body heat up.
Man-eating crows, beasts the size of humans.
"People will die."
Lots of them.
The mere thought filled him with excitement and joy unlike anything he'd ever felt.
It felt like the perfect moment to bid farewell to Tom, who had haunted him for years.
After all, from now on, his dreams would feature the carnage brought by the man-eating crows.
A few days later, Jonathan didn't even need to go looking for them.
The man-eating crows flew over the city walls and entered the town.
"Jonathan?!"
Jonathan shook off the nun's hand and dashed out of the church.
The metallic scent of blood.
The familiar scenery, now painted with flesh and entrails, gripped Jonathan's heart like a vice, thrilling him to his core.
"Heh!"
Laughter bubbled out of him.
"Keheheh!"
He had never imagined he could feel something like this.
It was ecstasy.
It was exhilaration.
It was pleasure.
"J-Jonathan?!"
The terrified voice of the nun called out from behind him.
A betrayal of the woman who had raised him his entire life.
Using the nun's sobs as a rhapsody, Jonathan spread his arms wide and mourned alongside her.
Tears flowed, filled with conviction.
"Ah, I will-"
Live this way.
Though wearing the mask of a human, He would live as something other than human.
He would live like this-
Boom!
The black clouds covering the sky split apart.
It was the flock of man-eating crows, flapping their wings and falling to the ground.
A red energy surrounded them.
Everyone called it rose-colored,
But in truth,
It was closer to blood than any rose.
[…]
A man with crimson hair billowing in the wind walked casually down the main street, a massive greatsword in hand.
His name was Arandel.
Arandel Helmut.
The head of the glorious and revered Helmut family.
"Ah."
Before Jonathan knew it, the corpses around him no longer mattered.
The scent of spilled blood faded, replaced by the faint aroma of roses.
"Ahh-!"
With just one swing of his sword, Countless things were cut down.
But what he cut was not merely a horde of beasts.
He slashed apart the tragedy that had descended upon the city.
He severed the death that had come amidst peace.
He cleaved through the chaos that the crows would have brought.
And finally,
He cut through Jonathan's crumbling life.
And thus-
"Oh, great Helmut-!"
Jonathan's life was utterly transformed.
***
"My kin, hear meeeeee!"
"Shut uuuuuup!"
Blackened tears streamed down his cheeks as Jonathan shouted desperately, his voice raw with emotion.
"Why do you betray us?! My kin! Don't deny your bloodline, I beg youuu!"
Nortemus wept bitterly, But Jonathan paid no heed, baring his teeth in defiance.
"I am a knight of Helmut!"
"A mere knight?! Your blood is not of Helmut! Don't deceive yourself, my kin!"
"What does that-what does that even matter?!"
Like an unyielding greatsword, Jonathan's resolve remained unshaken.
"What incredible fortitude…!"
There was only one reason why he resisted Nortemus's temptation.
The shock of that day, still vivid in his mind.
The emblem of Helmut, engraved in his memory.
Nortemus had failed to leave a deeper impression than that.
"My kin! How can you deny yourself?! Denying your instincts is the same as labeling our very existence as evil!"
"…"
Jonathan wanted to respond, but no words came out.
The black smoke emanating from Nortemus enveloped Jonathan, invading his mouth and sealing his tongue and teeth in place.
However-
"What a distraction."
A voice answered from Jonathan's opposite side.
The wind split.
A graceful slash resembling a crescent moon.
"What-?!"
Slash!
Nortemus's right arm fell to the ground.
Blood sprayed as veins bulged in his eyes, and he gasped for air.
"Isaac!"
Isaac's swift action severed Nortemus's elbow in an instant.
Thud!
At that moment, a spear pierced through the air, driving straight into Nortemus's abdomen.
The spear, lodged beneath his greatsword, forced Nortemus to cough up blood instead of words.
Silverna, who had thrown the spear, glared at Nortemus in silence.
Though the greatsword obstructed her from view, Nortemus fully grasped the situation, seething with rage.
"Graaahhh! You, you all-!"
No one cared to listen.
Faster than anyone, Isaac reversed his blade and plunged it into Nortemus's side.
Squelch!
"Gah! Kuhhhk!"
Nortemus tried to scream, but blood surged from his mouth, choking his words.
But Isaac wasn't finished.
He adjusted his stance to draw his blade once more.
Two swords remained at his waist.
Instead of his Pearlsun sword, Isaac's hand went to his katana as his gaze followed the trajectory ahead.
[When you draw the sword from its sheath, it carries an inevitable conclusion.]
"…!"
[It is called Iaido.]
{Iaido (居合道) is a Japanese martial art focused on drawing the sword and cutting in a single, smooth motion.}
A red line appeared on Nortemus's pale neck.
The spot where the sword had passed began gushing blood before Nortemus could even scream.
Desperately, Nortemus clutched his nearly severed neck with his left hand and glared viciously at Isaac.
"Puaaah!"
Whether his nerves were severed or not, Nortemus opened his mouth wide and released a burst of smoke despite his dangling head.
[Listen well. This is not something that can be easily learned.]
'Why bother teaching me something I can' t even use?'
[Even if you beg to see it again, I won't show you, so bear that in mind.]
Isaac felt as if he could hear his master's scolding voice ringing in his ears as he backed away hastily.
"I should have watched more carefully."
It was a perfect opportunity to end it.
Squelch!
Silverna's spear, reacting to her aura, withdrew itself.
Jonathan took advantage of the opening Isaac had created and retreated as if fleeing.
A greatsword was lodged in his chest along with a thick book.
A gaping hole pierced his abdomen from the spear.
His right arm was severed, rolling on the ground, and his neck dangled precariously.
"He's still not dead?"
Despite it all, Nortemus stood firmly on his two legs, glaring at them.
"Guh, urgh!"
Nortemus struggled, gasping for air.
The attention that had been focused on Jonathan now shifted to Isaac, and Nortemus shouted in frustration.
"How dare you mimic our swordsmanship?!"
Isaac didn't respond.
It wasn't worth answering.
"Huff… huff…"
The long hair Nortemus had been proud of, now severed by Isaac's blade, fluttered in the wind.
He was effectively a walking corpse.
Black smoke billowed from the wound where the greatsword was lodged, spreading in all directions.
"Planning to run away?"
Silverna swung her aura-infused spear in a wide arc.
The fierce wind, sharp as blades, pushed the smoke away.
However, when the smoke cleared, Nortemus reappeared, not in the same spot, but elsewhere-
"Huff… huff…"
Right before a pile of corpses belonging to the villagers.
"Stop him!"
Before Isaac could shout in urgency, Sharen, who was nearby, was already swinging her greatsword.
Her reflexes, honed as a Helmut knight, kicked in the moment she spotted Nortemus, and she charged at him.
The blade glowed red-hot as she unleashed a wave of crimson flames, like water spilling from a tipped bucket.
"Grrrgh!"
Nortemus sacrificed his remaining left hand to block the attack.
His left hand was shredded, left as nothing more than a mangled piece of flesh.
And finally-
Now with both hands lost, the greatsword still lodged in his heart, Nortemus continued to spew black smoke.
"My kin-!"
Sharen swung her greatsword once more.
"I apologize for not being able to stay with you until the end!"
To ensure Nortemus's neck, which Isaac had failed to sever earlier, was fully dealt with, her blade traced the same arc again-
"Farewell!"
Slash!
She decapitated Nortemus.
His severed head spun through the air before crashing into the pile of corpses.
The black smoke spewing from his heart scattered in all directions under the force of Sharen's blade.
"We did it!"
"We did it!"
Sharen exclaimed with a bright smile.
But at that very moment, the black smoke began to converge toward the pile of corpses where Nortemus's remains lay.