Virion Leywin
I opened my eyes and looked around the room, there was only one person inside. "Ellie?" I sat up, my core feeling burned from using my ring too much.
"Veer, you're awake." She exclaimed, getting off the couch in the corner, and running over to my bedside. "Why do you keep on doing things like this?"
I rolled out of the bed, grabbed a shirt, and slid it on. "Yeah, yeah, I tried my best not to end up in here." I grabbed a pair of shorts and slid them on as well.
"You should stay in bed; you've been asleep for five hours now." Ellie came around the bed and stood in front of me. "Who did you fight?"
I placed my hand on her shoulder and pushed her to the side. "I can't say." Where was my cloak? "Ellie, where's my cloak, do you know where they put it?"
"On the couch, and you can tell me, I won't say anything, I'll find out sooner or later." I turned my head to the couch and saw my cloak laying there. I started to walk over to it. "Where's mom and dad?"
"Getting food, Veer, come on, tell me." Ellie insisted, I grabbed my cloak, and swung it on. "I promise, I won't say anything."
I thought back to the events that went on, Samantha and I traveling the tunnels, my fight with Uto, Avier showing up, Olfred showing his true colors.
I looked to the ground in sorrow, thinking about Samantha, and how she wanted me to be a better person, how she cared for me. I let her die.
Avier said the same thing, I was losing myself in the heat of the battles. I didn't have to go back to my old ways, but I needed to control myself while I was out there in the field.
I snapped my head too Ellie. "I took down a Retainer." I said simply, not caring if she knew.
No more enjoying the thrill of killing, no more laughing in battle, I couldn't do things like that in front of Arthur. If I did, he would yell at me for sure, there is no doubt in my mind. I couldn't become like Uto, everyone hates him.
"What?!" Ellie exclaimed loudly. "You fought a Retainer!" I also exposed Lance Olfred, which then exposed all of Darv, or most of it. I knew Bairon could do it, if I sent Aya, she would have killed him for giving me over and betraying Dicathen. "Veer!"
"Sorry, I zoned out, what did you say?" I sat down on the bed and began to slip my socks and shoes on.
"Did you truly take down a Retainer?" I nodded my head, not looking at her, but at my feet. "You should really stay in here for a little, Veer, I'm sure you're going to be in the council room for a while when you go." Ellie sat down on the other side of the bed behind me. "Mom and dad are going to want to talk to you."
I finished putting my shoes on and sat there. "I know, but that's not the only thing that went on."
"What else happened?" She asked nicely.
"I let Samantha die." I told her, and the mood in the room shifted. "Just before I fought the Retainer, I didn't sense him, and he killed Samantha right in front of me."
"It's not your fault." Ellie spoke calmly to me.
"I know it's not my fault, but I could have done more. Honestly, I should have forced her to leave with Callias, I didn't need her help. I could have hidden Darvus, and then fought the Retainer." I stood up as the doors to my room opened.
"Veer, what are you doing out of bed?!" My mother exclaimed, walking up to me with a fast pace, and then hugged me. "Are you in any pain?"
"No, mom." I embraced her hug and continued to hug her. In that moment, I felt safe, like nothing could touch me. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean for any of this to happen." I actually did, I had zero faith in my abilities when I saw Uto approaching me.
My mother let go, and then grabbed my cheeks. "Stop getting hurt!"
"Alice, let him go, you don't won't to hurt him more." My dad said, and Ellie laughed on the bed.
My mother released my cheeks and smiled at me. "I heard you did a good job out there."
"Yep, almost perfect." I said as my dad came up and hugged me. "Hey, dad."
"So, are you going to tell us what happened?" He asked as we stopped hugging. "I'm dying to know what put you in this state, and from what I heard, you put whoever it was in a worse state."
I sat back down on the bed; my mother joined me. "Umm, I can't tell you guys, but it's true, the person I fought is going to need a lot of medical treatment."
"What did you do to them?" Ellie asked curiously, changing the sad mood that was in here from before.
"Nothing too serious." I didn't want them to know what I did to Uto, taking his eyes, a leg, and an arm. "I'm happy to be back though." My mother wrapped her arm around me and pulled me into her.
I thought back to our time in the Helstea Mansion, how simple it was, but I knew that the war was coming. I mean, that's why I always trained, I created a new element, there was no going back now.
"I'm happy you came back." My mother said. "Are you hungry?"
I shook my head. "Not really, how's everyone doing out there?" I was referring to my team and Tessia's.
"Tessia feels guilty about what happened to you." Ellie answered me.
"Callias was in here a couple of times, Victoria dealt with your teammate Samantha, I'm sorry that you had to deal with that." My mother held me tighter. "I heard she died in front of you."
"I'm fine, mom." I looked at my dad.
"Besides Tessia, who has been in here most of the time, they all were with Darvus in another medical room. The doctor said, that if you didn't do, what you did, he would have died." My dad gave me a smile.
"Yeah, that's good." I thought back to the Alacryans I killed in the tunnel; they told me that they came for me basically. How much did I change by taking down Uto myself, and stopping Olfred? I don't even know what to do next, go to Darv, stay here, go back into the Dungeons? Let's hope that the Alacryan ships arrive at the same time they should be.
"Are you okay? You look lost in thought?" My mother said as she looked down on me.
"Yeah." It answers another question, Agrona wants me. I don't know to what scale, if he wants me because I am a legacy, which we don't know for sure, or because of my powers. This war could be about Tessia and me now. "Shit." I said out loud by accident.
"What?" My mother and father both said.
I stood up, out of my mother's arm. "Nothing." I waved them off.
I knew it was a possibility, but it makes sense, how fast I broke down and became a monster, killing making me happy, me losing my mind, it was the Serpent's Will. I have a goddamn corrupted Beast Will, don't I, just like Tessia does.
Why didn't I see this coming?
I closed my eyes, and searched my core, I had no clue what I was looking for, or if I could fix it. This would mean that Agrona has already pretty much won, the only thing is, my Serpent wasn't making any advances on my mana core, it's almost, like it bonded with me.
Unlike Tessia's Elderwood Guardian trying to take over her core, mine was only messing with my head. So, if I could fight it, Agrona didn't win technically, because I wouldn't need the cure. He couldn't use me against Arthur then either.
"You're scaring me, Veer." My mother stood up alongside me and placed a hand on my arm. I opened my eyes, and it looked like everyone was looking at me with a concerned gaze. "What's going on?"
I sighed. "My bad, I was only thinking." Could Aldir and Windsom help? There Asuras, they should be able to make a cure. "It's nothing to worry about, mom." I assured her, at least not for now.
I had Uto's horns in my ring, I had every intention of giving one to Arthur, for him to use. I was going to use the other one for my Acclorite, hoping to create a weapon or bond to help me. When I absorb mana using the ring, nothing goes to the Acclorite, it moves too fast for it to control, so I was thinking about aiming the mana into the Acclorite, instead of my core.
"Alright." My mother said. "You can tell us anything, you know that, right?"
"Of course, I do." The doors to the room opened, and Tessia came in. "Tess." I sent her a smile, and when she saw that I was awake, she came rushing over to hug me.
"Veer, it's good to see you up and about." She said as she kept on hugging me. "I knew you would be fine, but it was hard to see you like that."
"I know, Tess, and don't blame yourself, which I know you are." I said, pushing away from her. "I wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt in the dungeon, I know it's war, but I knew a Retainer was coming." At the time, I thought they were coming for the both of us, it made sense.
"Don't do it again!" She sort of shouted, not super loudly though. "I could have helped you."
"Not against this guy." I told you.
"Retainer?" My dad said, and I instantly realized I let that slip out of my mouth. "You-you fought a Retainer?"
My mom and dad were both staring at me, perplexed by this. "Yes."
"And you won?" My dad was taking in what I said.
"Yes." Tessia gave me a, you were in trouble look, but I ignored it. "You guys can't say anything to anyone yet, but yes, I took down a Retainer."
My mother was looking at me, still completely in shock from what I had done. "My son defeated a Retainer..." My dad said softly. "Where is he?"
"In the ---" Tessia covered my mouth before I could finish, it wasn't like it was hard to guess where he was.
"He's in a secure area, Mr. Leywin." She spoke for me. "Speaking about that, you should go see Commander Virion."
"It can wait." My mother stepped up. "You fought a Retainer and won." She placed a hand on my cheek again. "My baby boy is doing more than he should have too."
"Mom, I'm going to have to do a lot more." There was still a lot to be done, they didn't know everything I did, but they knew what I meant.
Another thought came to mind, I was going to have to create another clone. I needed to give it more power, so if I ever needed it to fight against someone strong, it could. I can give the clone the strength of a silver core mage, and then replenish my own mana.
"It's good to see you up, Devil." Callias laughed, and walked into the room, giving me a smile. "Can't believe someone was able to almost out power you."
"Ha." I shook my head at him. "That's the first thing you say to me, typical, and they didn't almost out power me, they did out power." Uto clearly was stronger, I was smarter in that moment at least.