"You did a good job, my love." The sound came along with a caress over her hair, leaving her comfortable. She lifted her face and saw the man she loved.
"Praise me more!" She said immediately, with a serious look that made Dante start to feel afraid. "Okay, okay, my Velryna is the best," Dante said as he put Vex down.
"Looks like we have work to do," Dante said, seeing the thousands of dead bodies. "Return to me," he said, and they began to be sucked into the black flame, while the demonic energy was absorbed.
"Hm... the same taste. Were they the same?" Dante questioned. He didn't know, as all of them had their skulls exploded with Velryna's magnetic field.
"Yes, same voices," she replied, and Dante nodded. "It seems to be indeed so. Ethan is on the side of demons. I thought it might just be a partial collaboration, but now really, this palace is full of lesser demons," Dante said. Of course, now he could feel completely all demonic energy gathering in the palace.
As he assessed the situation, the sound of armor was heard, and he turned back.
"Oh, I forgot about you," Dante said, scratching his head as he saw Mercedes panting from exhaustion after running more than half of the entire city after Dante.
"Hey..." she tried to say as she looked at the ground rising. "You! A terrible boss!" she said and fell face down on the ground.
BONK!
The ground slightly trembled, and Velryna and Dante stared at her. "Who is she?" Velryna questioned, and Dante replied, "Orphan I rescued around. I'm a very responsible guy."
Velryna stared at Dante, who seemed convinced of what he was saying. However, Velryna, of course, already began to narrow her eyes, looking at him slightly furious.
"Are you going to treat her well, seduce her, and turn her into a maid like you did with Vex? You greedy bastard, why do you have so many women around you?" she questioned with a completely serious look, and Dante looked at her with a 'Who do you think I am? I'm Pure!' look. They stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Master, you need to heal her," Vex appeared flying by his side, completely interrupting them. Dante, on the other hand, thought 'Phew, you saved me.' He gave a smile, and she responded with another one that said 'Do I deserve a reward?'
Dante looked at her but ignored and took Aaralyn's loose arm and placed it as if fitting and started to manipulate the demonic energy of her body slowly.
He began to mend the broken cells and reconnect them back to the girl's arm. He couldn't do much, actually, he barely knew if he could do anything, but his main focus was to put back the connected nerves and veins.
The flesh can regenerate later, with the help of saints and healing mages from the castle, and the pain is already being managed. What he did is just a protective measure to avoid future problems.
She was unconscious, and he could clearly tell 'She's having a nightmare.'
Could it be a side effect of demonic energy? Yes, of course. But it's not always just that; she was now having some flashes of her oldest memories.
While Dante healed her, Aaralyn was teleported to one of her oldest memories, even before becoming a vampire.
She walked through the outskirts of an ancient civilization that no longer exists today. Her feet hurt as if she were walking on hot coals, and her days were terrible every day.
A simple fifteen-year-old girl subjected to extreme poverty, forced to beg for food in nearby houses, as she didn't even have parents.
The cold consumed her during the nights, and the hot mornings of the arid climate left her in grave exposure. Her skin was stained, and her body was thin and slender. Anemia was an understatement to describe the girl's physical condition.
She walked firmly. Despite the hardships, she got up every day. It was tough times; a civil war had broken out.
Aaralyn then begged for food on the streets and in the houses around the city where she lived.
"Please, any crumb, an old bread!" she pleaded with an old man who looked at her with empty eyes, as if only a worm were staring back at him.
"I have nothing to give you. Try elsewhere," he replied coldly and shut the door in Aaralyn's face without even a chance to question or plead.
'That was the last house... I have nothing else to do here.' She thought as she started walking again.
Her stomach growled with hunger, her mouth peeled from dehydration, her cracked lips hurt and bled.
Still, the girl continued to walk through the arid territory, alone... with her only company being her own mentality that wouldn't let her falter.
This lasted for a few more days, and finally, her body began to completely give in to maximum exhaustion.
'I can't take it anymore... Is it time to meet this god they pray to so much?' She thought, but heard footsteps coming from behind her.
She tried to have some reflex to turn around, but could do nothing but fall to her knees; her body failed her completely.
"Boss." It was a slightly rough female voice, without hesitation and fatigue, just a strong voice of an imposing woman.
"What now, Kaalindra?" The fierce voice of an even more imposing woman passed through the ears of little Aaralyn.
"It seems we have another one here." She said and picked up some kind of stuffed bread and called Aaralyn. "Hey, girl, if you don't want to die, eat this quickly." Aaralyn turned to see the woman named Kaalindra.
She was simply stunning, wearing a black and red adventurer's outfit with armored pauldrons and a leather belt, with a slight neckline in the region of her ample breasts. Additionally, Kaalindra had beautiful black and red hair, with a black spot coming out of her bangs and some loose stray strands.
The woman's red eyes approached Aaralyn's face, staring deeply at her while offering the snack, which Aaralyn promptly took.