Chapter 189 – Pain Means Love

“I lost control of the Soul Gun, who seems to react to my emotions. I was simply afraid. I apologize,” lied Sergio because the truth was more pathetic. Valkyrie stared at him before gesturing toward the others to leave, including Yuxi.

“I understand that you have some unsolved issues with that man,” she said before placing her hand on his face, and it began to heal. “However, you need to understand that you must escape the trap he laid for you.”

“A trap…?”

“That is the forte of toxic people,” sighed Valkyrie before her hand reached out and held his. “I was never loved by my parents, who believed that such a thing made me weak. This made me crave the attention of everyone, enough for me to do anything…” her other hand raised his sleeve to reveal his scars. “…even harming myself.”

Sergio flinched and flung his arm away like a scared monster. His heart started beating as he felt stripped naked and seen by her, but he did not see any disgust in her eyes.

“I am afraid of dying, Sergio, but I keep fighting because I was taught that pain means love. We are the same, me and you,” she said while reaching her hand again to him. “No one else will understand our pain.”

Sergio stared at her hand and then at her blue and gentle eyes. Her hair was tied into a ponytail that flew in the wind as a sad expression was revealed on her face. Then, she retracted her hand.

“I understand that you are not ready for this yet,” smiled Valkyrie with sadness. “However, I will be here for you, waiting for you to take my hand.”

Then, Valkyrie walked away, leaving Sergio with his thoughts. His body was leaning on the railing, and his hand curled into a fist that he slammed into the hardwood.

Sergio could not find words to express how he felt. However, this was the only time someone saw his scars and did not look away but accepted him instead. However, he was still too scared to accept them.

***

Nikolai walked through the camp of vagabonds, wearing his purifier mask. A corpse was being dragged behind him of a giant monster that oozed darkness and an awful stench of rotten meat.

“Sir Executor!” shouted the captain before giving him a flimsy salute which Nikolai returned with a nod. Then, he threw the body in front of the captain, and the others shouted with fear.

“This is… a dark being!”

“I thought these things were immortal because no element worked against them…”

“Idiot, there is a single exception! The holy element!”

Nikolai almost corrected them that another element could destroy a dark being, stronger darkness. His Abyssal Art was enough to overtake the darkness any of these monsters had.

“It was wandering close to the camp, but there were more dark beings,” reported Nikolai with a gruff and hoarse voice. “I fear that some have infiltrated the ruins.”

“That cannot be!” shouted the captain with fear. “We must do something about this, Sir Executor!”

“I do not answer your commands, heathen,” spat Nikolai in a spot-on roleplay of an arrogant priest. “However, I am tasked with defeating the darkness from this land. I will need to enter the inner city.”

“Ah, that would be a bit…”

“I am not an almighty god who can kill a monster without being close to it,” Nikolai shook his head. “You either lead the way, or I will leave to my next mission. It is, quite literally, your funeral.”

“No, no! I understand, sir! However, we should use the rest of the vagabonds to find the monster as quickly as possible. Jeffery, gather the men!”

“I will pair with the man I saved earlier. I can tell that he is a believer in the holy trinity. Therefore, he will be more useful than any of you.”

“Ah,” the captain looked hesitant before he glanced at the giant corpse of the dark being. “I understand. May the light protect us.”

“The Light Protects All.”

Nikolai watched as the guildsmen hurried like headless chickens and gathered the vagabonds. The Vangir Guild was clearing the ruins, so there was no fear that any outsider would steal anything since the outermost areas had been emptied already.

Ash was brought to him a few minutes later, looking annoyed by everyone. However, his acting was also superb in that he looked like a hostage more than a partner.

“Are you ready?” asked Nikolai, and the fence nodded before glancing toward the inner city. “Then, let us catch that dark being.”

There was a full alarm among the camp after the news that a dark being had entered the ruins. This was the worst-case scenario and the thing Vangir Guild feared the most.

***

“Welcome to Abani Ruins, House of Helnes,” smiled the man who received Valkyrie and the son of the vice-guild master, Icarus Grigoras. “I am honored to be the one chosen for accompanying you.”

“I am the honored one since you became quite famous after finding a way through The Great Unseen,” smiled Valkyrie while shaking his hand. “I apologize for burdening your guild with our presence.”

“There is no such thing as a burden with you involved,” Icarus gave a wide smile. “I am more assured that if anything happens, you will be here to defend us.”

“I can only be of little use, Sir Icarus,” laughed Valkyrie. “However, I am also here to listen to your adventure across the no-man land.”

“I am but a simple man, but I will share my knowledge with House Helnes on any given day,” said Icarus before a knock came on the door. “Report,” he said with a cold expression.

The door was opened, and a knight hurried inside. The middle-aged man whispered something into Icarus’ ears before the handsome man snapped his eyes in surprise.

“A dark being left The Unseen and entered the ruins?” he asked aloud, and the guildsman glanced at Valkyrie before nodding. “What a troublesome matter,” sighed Icarus.

Valkyrie smiled because she knew that he only revealed the report for her to intervene. After all, Icarus knew that she was one of the few wielders of holy divinity.

“I may be of some assistance,” she said before standing. “I will patrol the area with my party. We will take care of the dark being for you since you have been so generous with us.”

“That would be very helpful indeed!” beamed Icarus as he clapped his hands. “Maybe we can share stories after that if you like.”

Valkyrie then excused herself and left the temporary post to reunite with the rest of her party, who looked quite bored. Yuxi was tending to the alchemist, acting quite close with him.

“We have a mission,” she revealed, and all of them jumped to their feet. “There is a dark being inside the ruins. Yuxi and I will lead two teams who will try to hunt it down.”

Then, they split into two teams. For balance and harmony, Sergio and Valkyrie were the only ones on their team. This will be an excellent chance to protect the alchemist against the dark being who terrified him, and it would make him trust her.

“I know that you wanted to go with Yuxi,” she said as they watched the rest of the party leaving. “You two are quite close. Are you a couple?”

“Huh? No!” denied the alchemist with panic. Valkyrie laughed lightly at his innocent reaction before she led the way into the ruins.

“This will be a chance to overcome your fears, Sergio,” she said while leading him into the main path. “I will judge whether you are worthy here.”

“What would I be worthy of, exactly?”

“I reached out a hand to you, and I don’t trust anyone else to do that. This will allow me to know if I did the right thing. Protect me, alchemist.”

Valkyrie watched the handsome young man gulp down in nervousness with a smile. She was not lying, but she also had another plan. Sergio would like her more if she managed to save him while he was in a pinch.

***

Nikolai watched the vagabonds covering every alley that the ruins had to offer in the search for the dark being. This may have escalated beyond his earlier expectation, but there was no fear because the dark being did not exist.

The plan was to use one of his undead monsters to attack the target that Ash had picked. Unfortunately, they were not in private, so he had to report briefly. Nikolai had to admit that there was no one better to save than a spoiled group of nobles.

“You need to be the savior,” said Nikolai to the fence. “You need to trust me enough, but you don’t need to endanger your life.. Use your bullets to strike where I tell you, and you will be the hero by the end of today.”