Chapter 205: [Bonus chapter] Love, Past and Present 2 (1/2)

Chapter 205: [Bonus chapter] Love, Past and Present 2

Aldrich watched Valera take a moment to collect herself Her lips twisted into a faint frown, baring a sliver of her sharp fangs She clutched at her arerously hard, just shy of breaking the skin

Valera did not like re her past

This, Aldrich knew

In Elden World, there was a surprisingly extensive amount of interaction with

NPCs that allowed one to develop strong relationshi+ps with the one's relationshi+p ith a NPC allowed not only for s like ros like access to specic

NPC questlines that usually had unique locations, items, bosses, and the like

When Aldrich played, he had h no paths actually led to a direct romance because of how much eort it took her to open up

Valera was a cold, stoic, and prickly character when rst summoned that just did her job to protect her summoner She replied with one word answers toquestioned about her past

Actually getting her to open up and forame because of how troubled her past was

This left too little ti the Howling Dark - the nal boss - she did promise to stay with the player character forever That was essentially a declaration of love

The idea was that after the game, there was an implied happily ever after where the player reunited with Valera

This hy Valera was so attached to Aldrich upon being suhest level of relationshi+p built with Aldrich - the player - already

But that was just the ga to deal with it in real life It felt alenuineest reason why Aldrich could not give her a good answer Her feelings for hienuine, but hoould she react when she realized that to him, it had never truly been 'real?"

That, and Aldrich already had no idea what to do in situations like this He hovered his ar if this would comfort her

Valera noticed Aldrich's aard eort She looked at his hand with a quizzical expression "If you're uncoan Aldrich as he withdrew his hand "No" Valera grabbed Aldrich's hand tightly and held it like a precious jewel

She sely warm in spite of how cold she should have been as an undead He felt prickles of warh his body: the warotten and then buried further under his undead transfor loved "This helps Holding your hand like this - it truly does More than anything," said Valera She closed her eyes again, reht Order, I was to be the sworn shi+eld of a lady

Nalia A daughter of a matriarch in one of the Nokol clans"

Aldrich nodded The Nokol were a race of demihumans that had bat-like traits

Because they were nocturnal, they were part of the Midnight Alliance ofvampires "She was spoiled Dicult to ith She co, and there were many times when I wanted to smack some sense into her" Valera shook her head and then sirl, she was

When her mother was assassinated by rivals, she was cast out, forced to run as an exile Everybody abandoned her aside from myself, perhaps because I saw some of myself in her Another princess exiled due to a world that rejected them, how could I not pity her?

And also because I wanted to keep my vow to protect my chosen

Always, I have wanted to protect someone worthy to me Ever since my father's death, when I could not protect him - that was my drea and dicult She had to learn how to survive without the pa touch of attendants that would dress her in warm neries and make sure food was upon her plate every day

But I taught her, and together, we survived She grew so very attached to me I was her mentor Her shi+eld to support herself on when tih Her shoulder to lean on when she needed to cry

And in spite ofher She was like a dear little sister to

But that night, that awful, awful night-," Valera tre darkly "We can stop here, if you want," said Aldrich He knew this part of her past, and he kneould be painful for her "I just wanted to hear why you have these feelings for h your past-" "Not at all" Valera shook her head and took in a deep breath "This is is burn so bright for you" She nodded to herself, calht, when I ay from camp to nd a cure for a sickness she had contracted on the road, she was slaughtered by rival clans that still sought her out, wanting to eliminate any trace of her royal blood to hter is too light a word She had been tortured to within an inch of her life, healed, then tortured again Nails torn back, wings ripped apart, eyes gouged out, body deled, skin ayed - over and over again

I cannot iine the amount of pain she must have felt How much she th

And that-seeing her corpse-that made me understand: I was a failure My shi+eld had never once protected anyone it was vowed to

The world around me had cast me out because I was an abomination A monster

My entire life, I had dedicated , for deep down, I did not wish to be called a monster

But if it was a ive the responsible for my lady's death I started with the assassins they hired and any aliated with the or old, it did not matter I killed them

Then I attacked the Nokol royal clans I killed countless of their winged soldiers I snapped the necks of dozens of their royalty I was feared I was reviled I becaraced princess turned wandering ain the power to destroy the royal clans, I sacriced e for this power, upon my death, I would enter into the Nether for all eternity I would no longer enter the cycle of reincarnation Instead, my soul would be chained to serve summoners of the dark for all eternity

The path of vengeance eet I reveled in it, in the bloody carnage that I wrought with eance It must always end

Either you reach the end of that path with noits brutal roads

For me, it was the latter Despite the power and levels I received froh

Eventually, the entire Midnight Alliance, not just the Nokols, saw me as a force of nature - a ot in my way, after all, and that included vampires as well

The Alliance enlisted the aid of a hty hero, and he slew me

Since then, my soul rested in the Nether

Whenever a dark summoner wished for my shi+eld, I had to serve them That went on for centuries

I did not care It wasto protect everyone I wanted to protect - that hat I thought

I gave up on ever protecting someone close to me To serve someone worthy

Because I was a failure"

Valera squeezed Aldrich's hand gently "Then you ca You called e of the dark arts desiring a shi+eld to protect his frail body until the corrupting inuence of the dark arts eventually rotted your brain and rendered you insane Just another victim to the