The black mist did not give up.
Instead, it merged with Eren's innate power—expanding his perception until it covered the entire island.
And then, suddenly, the voices of the villagers flowed directly into Eren's mind.
"W-what do we do? The Ill-Omened Moon is coming… are we all going to die?"
"Don't worry. The High Priestess said she'll sacrifice that demon kid to appease the Gods' anger."
"You mean that monster who sees straight into people's hearts? Good riddance! A creature like that should never have been born!"
"But… Eren has helped us so much with his powers…"
"Easy for you to say! Would you want to live next to a monster who can read your mind?"
"Ahem. By the way… does that sacrifice thing even work? I've never heard of it."
"Who knows? But surely the High Priest wouldn't lie to us…"
Eren's face did not change.
Even though no one ever said it to him directly, he had always known how the villagers saw him.
His perception stretched further—until the conversations inside the upper level of the shrine projected clearly into his mind.
"Eren… what a pity. With his talent, I originally planned to raise him into the tribe's strongest warrior."
"Chief, you know as well as I do—the tribe no longer has the strength to fend off pirates. We won't survive long enough for him to grow. Even if he was born with what outsiders call Kenbunshoku Haki, what good is talent we can't use?"
"What a waste… Such potential. In all my years sailing the seas, I've never encountered someone like him. And despite being shunned for reading hearts, he never stopped helping the others…"
"Hmph! Blame fate. Why is it that our tribe, who has guarded this world for millennia, is now destined for extinction? Instead of letting pirates claim the Seven-Star Sword, offering Eren as a sacrifice might let us control the sword—and finally rise to power!"
"High Priest, I reconsidered… perhaps we shouldn't do this. That sword is a demonic artifact. Humans cannot wield darkness without inviting disaster."
"Chief, do you think there's any turning back? Besides—if Eren finds out we SOLD his little sister to a slave ship, do you think he'll forgive us? He'd tear us apart!"
"S-slave ship…?"
At that moment, Eren's soul flickered like a candle in a storm—flaring brightly, then nearly extinguishing.
And the voices continued—
"I… I was blinded by greed! I shouldn't have agreed to that. Maybe if we apologize, Eren—such a good kid—might forgive us…"
"Heh. Chief, you're a hypocrite.
As for me, I'll never face that monster again. I had to hypnotize myself just to hide the slave ship incident. That terror… I can't stand it twice."
"Slave ship… slave ship…"
Eren collapsed to his knees, fingers digging into the stone floor hard enough to leave deep gouges.
"Hahaha… what a joke!
I hate it… I hate my own stupidity… my own weakness…"
Blood tears dripped from his eyes.
Then the whispering voice stirred again.
"Go… open the coffin.
Take the sword.
It will grant you the power of vengeance."
Eren rose like a corpse animated by instinct and walked to the stone coffin.
He drew the Seven-Star Sword.
A violent storm of spiritual force instantly shredded his soul—but the unshakable will inside him stopped the sword from devouring him completely.
Then—
A foreign soul, from somewhere beyond this world, crossed time and space…
and merged with Eren's broken soul, fighting for control.
Hatred and the instinct to survive—these were the strongest powers in existence.
The two souls clashed, tore at each other… and finally fused into something new.
The shrine doors exploded outward.
The Chief and High Priest stared dumbly as Eren emerged from the lower chamber, sword in hand—eyes filled with murderous and destructive desire so intense their very souls shivered.
"T-that's the Seven-Star Sword!
Eren, you actually pulled it out! Good! Give it to me! Hand the sword to me!"
Greed overwhelmed the Chief's fear.
His eyes gleamed green as he stepped forward.
A shudder ran through the High Priest, cold sweat drenching her back as she finally sensed something was terribly wrong.
"I heard it."
Eren's voice was low, each step heavy, the sword tip dragging across the floor—effortlessly slicing the stone open.
"…The slave ship."
The Chief's eyes widened.
The High Priest's warning echoed in his mind.
Cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
"M-misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! Eren, trust me—I planned to train you to be our strongest—AH!"
A severed arm fell.
The Chief clutched his head with his remaining hand, screaming in agony—shrieking like something was devouring him from within.
The High Priest paled.
Why hold his head instead of his wounded arm?
She understood only when the pain hit her—
a torment that didn't just tear flesh, but the soul itself.
As if countless insects gnawed at every corner of her being.
Eren wasn't letting them die quickly.
He wanted them to feel everything.
"What's happening!? Was that the Chief's voice?"
"Something's wrong with the shrine—quick, get inside!"
Eren lifted the Seven-Star Sword, lips curling into a cruel smile.
Moments later—
Blood surged out of the shrine.
It flowed through the village…
and eventually stained the entire island red.
The slaughter continued.
The night was very, very long.
Three days later, more than a dozen pirate ships anchored at the coast.
"Boss, that legend about the cursed sword… is it true?"
"Hahahaha! Idiot! Of course not! If something like that really existed, the pirates who came here before us would've gotten it already. Why would it still be here waiting for us?"
"Huh? Then why are we here?"
"To pick up any leftover valuables, obviously. Old villages like this always hide treasure. And the people here fight pirates all year—they're tough. Maybe we can recruit some muscle."
"Haha, boss really is sma—urrgh! W-what's that smell?"
"Gulp… smells like blood. But at this concentration—don't tell me everything on this island is dead?"
"C-captain… maybe we shouldn't go in…"
"Idiot! We're pirates! How can we back down now?"
Half an hour later—
All the pirates fled screaming, vomiting, some collapsing into madness.
Most developed lifelong fear of blood.
Many abandoned piracy forever.
Soon after, word spread across the seas—
Aska Island: Total Biological Extinction.
The World Government declared it a "pirate massacre of extreme severity," sparking outrage across the oceans and igniting widespread anti-pirate sentiment.