Valerian, The Legendary

207 Agonized.

Valerian looked around him in a daze, he had never seen such a gory sight. As far as the eye could see, there were mutilated corpses and puddles of blood. He shivered, and the scene made his guts wrench as he turned his head and puked. The air was filled with a stench that he could not tolerate.

Ignis saw his condition and took him back to the entourage. He said to the captain on the side, “Find some fire mages and have them clean this place up. It will cause the plague to develop if left alone.”

The captain bowed his head as Ignis supported Valerian back to the city and took him to the bunker. The young man was looking somehow better than he was in the clearing, but his face was still pale. Ignis sat on a chair on the side and asked, “Is this the reason you asked me to pull out the mage last night?”

Valerian nodded in a daze as he stared at the ceiling. He did not know what happened after he lost consciousness, but the blood over his body was his, and he was not in that place when he lost consciousness. Some of the facts in his mind were as clear as the mirror.

Ignis was surprised when he saw the boy nod and asked, “Did you see what she did this?”

Valerian shivered and shook his head in reply. He did not see what happened, so he did not lie. The child was stuck in a state of mind where he was overwhelmed with guilt and regret. So many lives sacrificed for what? A piece of land, he was not this cruel or cold deep down. This was not what he learned from Diligentia.

He was taught that harming a life was a sin, and sinners were the true curse of the world. That was why he refrained from killing people, he did not wish to become a curse. This was a knot in his heart that made him uneasy.

Ignis mumbled while clasping his chin between his fingers, “What could have done such a slaughter? I wonder if there is a high-level magical beast lurking in the woods. The Valkyrians must have disturbed it to go on a rampage like this. Could it be a dragon?”

Valerian looked at him and said, “Can you shut up with all the speculations? It was not a beast.”

.....

Ignis was surprised by this outburst, and he did not know what to say for a few seconds. He understood that Valerian was in a tender state of mind at the moment. He took a deep breath and asked, “Did you not say that you did not see what did this? Then what is wrong with my speculation?”

Valerian was getting annoyed by this guy, he did not wish to talk about this topic, as it felt like someone was poking his wounds with a hot, fiery blade. Ignis did not understand the cause of his annoyance and poked him even more.

After a few minutes of being questioned, Valerian jumped from the bed and grabbed the neck of the First Prince, and with a cold stare, he said, “You want to know what caused this massacre really badly, don’t you? Then let me tell you. I did not see what caused it because I cannot look at myself from a third-person perspective. Are you happy now? I caused this massacre, and I killed all those people. Are you happy about solving this mystery now? Go and tell everyone what you found.”

Then, coldly, he threw Ignis away and walked out of the bunker with big strides. Ignis was shocked at this display. However, the bigger shock came from the information that Valerian killed all those people. He was sure that there had been no mana traps triggered in the vicinity. However, Valerian’s claim that he killed all those people meant that he used his physical strength for this.

This made Ignis even more confused, Valerian was not this strong just yet to go head-to-head with at least a thousand enemies. Not to mention the fact that the enemy had grandmasters in their forces. Ignis did not know what to say. He caught his breath and stood up to take out the soul communication bead and directly contact his mother.

Fragrantia told him not to bother Valerian, she said that she would contact the child to see what was going on in his mind.

...

Leaving the bunker, Valerian came to a place designated for him and began to clean himself up in the bathroom. He was shivering when he tried to scrub the dried blood off his hands and torso. The process was very time-consuming, but Valerian acted patiently. After bathing, he came out, changed into a clean set of black clothes, and laid down on his bed. He did not wish to interact with anyone.

However, what he did not know was that when he told the truth to Ignis, a soldier heard it. The news leaked and spread through the troops like wildfire. Every soldier that walked past his bunker would cast a glance at the window to see if the Prince was there watching them.

To the soldiers, the prince was a hero who came to their rescue and someone who avenged their brothers and sisters. They sought him out to pay their respects, but they did not know that Valerian was going through the agony of causing harm to so many lives and saw himself as a monster.

Valerian spent the entire day inside his room and did not even go out for a meal. His mind was filled with a death field. It would make his stomach churn and make him feel nauseous. It was late at night when he finally calmed down a bit and went out.

He wanted to take a stroll to distract himself, but on the way he found a lot of patrolling soldiers who would look at him with shining eyes and bow in respect. This happened a few times before he asked a guard captain, “Why do you all bow to me?”

The guard captain replied in a soft tone, “Your highness, you are the hero who slayed a thousand enemies to avenge our brothers. We all respect you.”

Valerian was shocked, he could not believe that the people did not think about how those lives he claimed were also humans. To him, it seemed to be cold-hearted behavior. However, he did not have the energy to correct these guys. He felt more depressed by this. He left the place without replying to the man and subconsciously arrived at the command bunker.

He went inside and found Ignis looking at the map with a few generals. Everyone saw Valerian enter the bunker, and they fell silent. The people had the same expression as the soldiers outside. They did not bother with what method the prince used; everyone had their secrets, and they all understood that.

They cared about the result that was in their favor. Ignis saw Valerian’s expression and said, “Give us a moment.”

The generals nodded, and then, after bowing to the two princes, they left the room. Valerian waited for a bit and said, “The battle here has come to an end, you know how to deal with invasions. I want to leave, I miss my mother.”

Ignis was surprised to hear this, but he had somewhat expected it as well after all, Valerian was too young and his mind was not used to the aftermath of wars and battles.

He nodded and said, “Fine, you may leave. Take care along the way. If you can, visit Adele.”

Valerian nodded and turned around to leave the place. He was missing his mother, all the things that happened around him made him feel too desolate. He did not want to feel like this. The entire world seemed to be uncaring about the deaths of those people.

Valerian rode on the back of Linea and left the city in the middle of the night. He did not go to visit Adele but headed straight to the Lumen Empire.

...

After the trial, Fortuna was still hurt, so she went to the top of a mountain that was set aside for the leader of the race. This was the Throne Mountain. The queen of dragons raised her head all of a sudden and cast a gaze toward the west, then mumbled, “He is anxious.”

An ethereal voice sounded behind her, “He has inherited something more than just the power of decay from your mother’s carcass.”

Fortuna looked in the direction of the sound and said, “Bloomkin, do you not know that barging into someone’s house is often seen as a bad display of etiquette?”

The creature behind her was akin to a small flower, it was Boo-too. She has come here to talk to Fortuna about something. “Valerian inherited a part of the dragon’s soul, unfortunately, that thing is incomplete and bloodthirsty,” she said, disregarding the dragon’s arrogance and taunt. You must do something to cure him or his life will be cut short.”

Fortuna revealed a look of shock and asked, “What do you mean?”