The day of the graduation ceremony finally arrived. Olivia remembered that day she attended Shina’s ceremony. She had been looking forward to her own, but she didn’t expect it to feel less satisfying. She didn’t feel like a real graduate without a familiar, so she stayed away from the crowd out of embarrassment.

She slipped away and took refuge at the corner of the assembly hall where she sat alone and thought about the mysterious creature she summoned the other day.

My Lady.

That’s what it called her. What kind of creature was it? Whatever it was, it was strong enough to resist even the great Adrian Icarus. And that in itself was incredible.

What would’ve happened if I accepted?

Olivia shook her head. No. That would have been a terrible idea. Becoming an agent of chaos was worse than having no familiar.

“Congratulations, Olivia,” a familiar voice said.

“Shina!” Olivia was happy to see her friend. It was enough to brighten her day.

“You don’t look very happy about graduating. Are you going to miss your classmates?”

She shook her head. “It’s not that. I don’t know how I’m going to become a professional without a familiar.”

“I’m sure you can get one.” Shina smiled. “Don’t give up just yet.”

Olivia remembered the strange being that she managed to summon. She decided to tell him about it. Maybe he had a clue about what that creature was. “Shina, about the other day…”

Suddenly, the lights went out.

“A power outage?” Shina looked around.

The hall gradually filled with gas that made everyone fall unconscious. Students and guests dropped to the floor one by one. Eventually, even Olivia and Shina fell victim to it.

When Olivia came to, she found herself alone in a cell with her hands bound. It looked like some underground prison. Where is she? What is this place? The last thing she remembered was talking to Shina at the graduation ceremony. Then, everything went black. Now, she’s in this horrible place with no way out.

“No! Let go of me!” It was her friend Adalia who was being dragged off somewhere by two hooded figures.

“What’s happening? Where are they taking her?” Olivia asked a classmate inside a nearby cell.

“They said they’re going to sacrifice us for a ritual.”

Olivia felt powerless. She had no way out of the situation. She couldn’t do anything, but wait for help.

But will help really come?

“You will not catch me!” She saw another student being dragged off. He attempted to summon his familiar, but the hooded figures kicked him in the stomach. He crouched down in pain and was later dragged away.

It wasn’t long before it was her turn to be brought out of her cell. She knew she couldn’t resist the hooded people. If someone with a familiar is unable to, a frail girl with no familiar like her definitely had no chance.

Pathetic.

So this is where she would die? Olivia didn’t like dying in such a gloomy place, but she guessed it was better than staying alive and not having a familiar. She’d be considered a failure anyway.

She was led to another room with a stone sacrificial table that looked like it endured years of isolation in a damp cave and a large statue of a warrior with the head of a boar before it. Corpses of slaughtered students littered the floor. She met the eyes of her dead friend Adalia who met a cruel fate.

When she was made to lay on the altar, she closed her eyes and waited for everything to be over. She heard chanting and the sound of a blade being sharpened.

"My Lady, you seem to have found yourself in an unfortunate situation. If you will have me, I will have you freed in an instant."

A familiar voice.

Her eyes flicked open immediately to see one of the hooded figures raise a dagger over her. The nightmarish eye emerged once more right above her. It frightened the hooded person with a knife and made him fall backwards. The force the creature exerted kept all the other cult members away from Olivia.

"No, I will get myself out on my own," Olivia insisted, even though she knew she had no way out.

The eye knew that she was just pretending to be strong. It laughed. "Why must you resist me, My Lady? Do you fear darkness? The dark is already in you."

Olivia knew that if she doesn't do anything, the rest of them would be killed. She would hate to see them lose their lives here to some weird pig cult. One day, they would save other people through their work as summoners. She couldn’t bear to let them die.

There was no other way. She would have to make a contract with the being to have a fighting chance.

"What is your name?" she stood up and asked.

"Mezolas. The Eye of Nightmare," replied the strange being with a grand voice.

Olivia took a deep breath. "Mezolas, I will form a contract with you. What are your terms?"

"You and I share a common enemy. I seek your aid in destroying this particular enemy. In exchange, I will grant you power."

"I accept."

Suddenly, Olivia was covered by Mezolas' shadow. She felt the surge of power as her soul attuned with the unknown entity. For a moment, she thought her body was going to shatter into pieces from the force, but eventually she had control. The contract was completed.

"I am pleased to serve you, my Lady," Mezolas said. “Now, send these worthless creatures to their deaths with this axe of my blood and shadow.”

A dark executioner’s axe materialized in her hands. Holding it gave her a strange sensation. A strong urge. She knew what it was.

Blood lust.

With an expressionless gaze, she beheaded the nearby cultists and mercilessly maimed their bodies, coloring the floor red with flesh and blood. She felt no satisfaction until their bodies were completely disfigured.

“These creatures prey on the innocent, my Lady, show them no mercy.”

Mezolas’ words were like a sweet and seductive melody that made her body move to the tune. Light as air, her limbs lifted the axe with grace. Every cut, every slice was performed with ease. It brought such pleasure to her that made her unusually happy. Such was the power Mezolas bestowed upon her.

The rest of them tried to run, but it was futile. They had their heads split in half by the executioner’s axe. Olivia left not a single one of them alive.

“A beautiful execution, my Lady.”

Olivia walked out of the room and towards the cells where the rest of her classmates were kept. Seeing her drenched in blood drew shocked reactions from her classmates. She walked to Shina’s cell and freed him first without saying a word.

“Olivia, there’s blood all over you… Are you alright?” Shina was deeply concerned. “Did they hurt you?”

“Get everyone out of here,” she whispered.

More cultists stormed into the prison. They brought with them their summoned creatures.

“Mezolas,” Olivia called.

“As you wish, my Lady.”

The enemies were pulled to the ground with the strange force emitted by the eye of nightmare. They were at Olivia’s mercy. She showed them none but the full justice of their actions. Her classmates watched in both horror and awe as their captors were slaughtered without hesitation by a young girl with an executioner’s axe. Even when they were already dead, she went on attacking them in intoxicating madness.

Too good. It feels too good. I can’t stop!

Mangled body parts. The grotesque mess she made gradually covered the entire floor. She almost drowned in Mezolas’ overwhelming lust for destruction.

“Olivia, calm down!” It was Shina’s voice that brought her back to reality.

She turned around.

“It’s done now. You can rest easy.” Shina held her in place until the executioner axe disintegrated in her hands. “We’re all saved. You can stop now.”

“Shina?” She realized what had happened and looked with horror upon the bloody scene. “Did I…?”

Mezolas laughed in satisfaction. He was pleased with the results. “A wondrous display of skill! O my Lady, it is none but you who can wield the axe of retribution and so beautifully strike down the sinners! My being rejoices.”

Everyone looked upon Mezolas with fear in their eyes. A creature of nightmares like him couldn’t possibly be a familiar!

The eye of nightmare rose in the air and announced with a booming voice, “Hear ye, hear ye! My Lady has returned! By the darkness that pulls you to the grave shall you be saved from the light of falsehood.”

Ending with those grand words, Mezolas the Eye of Nightmare vanished from their sights, leaving only silence and stares of confusion. They had seen too much that day.

“Who was that?” Shina asked Olivia.

Olivia swallowed hard. “My familiar.”