Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Chapter 1144 A Stark Contrast

Reva Rain deeply affected Eren's personality as a ranker.

She was his mentor in the art of inflicting pain and misery on others. She also showed him with her actions that staying low was paramount when it came to conducting operations like these.

Reva taught him many things and made him realize even more. The lessons she imparted to him were bone-deep– something he wouldn't be able to forget even in the current timeline.

Experiences can be classified as good or bad. However, the knowledge gained from those experiences will always hold some value. It depends upon the individual how they apply the knowledge gained.

Eren couldn't use what Reva Rain taught him to its fullest potential in the last timeline. However, the skills he had developed back then had become his assets in the current timeline.

The mocking tag of the Benign Butcher could not be used to describe Eren's actions in the current timeline anymore. And due to his deeds in the current timeline, it was changed into something entirely different– the Osan Woods' Butcher.

It was as if Eren had shed skin to become the same type of monster he was in his past. However, the way he applied the knowledge and experiences he gained from the previous timeline was a class apart.

This was the reason Eren strongly objected to Nina joining the Escalon guild. The guild had two faces– one for public consumption and the other for performing shady activities like these.

Nina might not have been made to do the same things as him if she had joined. However, the butcher didn't want her to venture anywhere near the darkness the guild was used to nurturing in its backyard. The kind of darkness that once surrounded him.

Escalon guild and its most successful guild member Reva Rain had more or less walked on the same path they had in Eren's previous timeline. As a result, Sara Stark was blind in this timeline as well. However, the Paladin of Pain was yet to harvest the emotions of pain she had influenced Sara to nurture.

***

With the baggage of his bitter experiences weighing on his mind, Eren saw the world around him in lifeless shades. His vices had become his only true companion in his past timeline.

The butcher had entered the city meant for mortals by disguising himself as a mortal as well. After all, Reva Rain was very particular about covering her tracks.

The butcher had forgotten what the words kindness and compassion meant when he was working for the Escalon guild. That's why he wasn't mentally ready to meet someone like Sara Stark.

And by sparing Sara, he became what Reva mocked him to be– a benign butcher.

***

Eren saw something very lively within Sara, which shocked and fascinated him at the same time. She was the other side of the feminine he thought had ceased to exist in the land of Anfang– gentle and nurturing. A stark contrast to Sienna.

Despite the constant episodes of pain, the girl was optimistic about life. She was cheerful despite the blindness that prevented her from seeing the world around her.

Sara's heart was full of something Eren didn't have– hope.

When Eren saw the world in lifeless shades, Sara managed to fill in the colors that she could not see with her own eyes. There was a part of Eren that wanted to finish Reva Rain's assignment because Sara's existence bothered him. However, there was also a part of him that wanted to gain something from the blind girl– the same hope she seemed to have in abundance.

It could be said that the butcher was trying to make sense of his existence. Or that he was just selfish to have what Sara had. Either way, Eren's meeting with Sara was a turning point for him.

Eren decided to spend some time with Sara to see how she was able to stay so positive. He stayed in her city and met with her several times. By the time a month had passed, the two had gotten to know each other in more detail.

Eren started liking spending time with Sara because it represented a life away from all the bloodshed and carnage he was forced to unleash by his employer. His subconscious mind started associating her with calm and peace he had never experienced in the past timeline.

Sara was easy to talk to. It was as if she had her own form of magic that made her effortless around people. She would speak less and listen more when she needed to. And she would lead the conversation in the right direction when she had to.

The blind girl didn't have to fill the silence with empty words and pleasantries. She would just get up and ask Eren to change the venue of their meetings on a whim. "Walks are free therapy," she believed.

Sara would be able to smile for the most mundane of reasons. Or it was just that she didn't need a reason to smile. The girl was happy because she could breathe. A rare form of optimism that isn't found in everybody.

Eren had a feeling that the blind girl could see through him just fine. Because she never asked him questions he would find difficult to answer.

It seemed to Eren that Sara was okay with Eren being suspicious. She took joy in the fact that she had company.

Eren teased Sara for being so trusting of random strangers. However, he couldn't help but be influenced by her positivity.

The two would talk for hours on end before scheduling their next meeting. Eren found it strange that he would be able to maintain a healthy, back-and-forth conversation with a mortal despite the different lives they lived. It was as if the common grounds to talk about would appear on their own when he was in Sara's company– a phenomenon he had never experienced.

The talks led to Sara Stark teaching Eren how to dance. She also taught him how to cook, making a fine chef out of him. She would often marvel at how he was so agile when it came to handling knives.