HOLY HOTCAKES, BATMAN, HERE COMES ANOTHER ONE!
Ladies and Gents, you'll be happy to know after banishing one of the old one's from this plane of existence for stealing sandwhich out of the employee fridge, I have now finished yet another chapter of the story. Huge thanks to all you guys that have reviewed so far and offered your thoughts on things so far.
Hope you guys enjoy reading the newest chapter.
Warning: Having angered one of the Old Gods, this chapter may or may not result in readers being Isakai'd into Bloodborne with The Doll never wanting to be your friend. Supreme Gamer takes no responsibility any beasthood or loss of sanity that may follow. You have been warned.
Velka sat at her desk, her lamp the only source of light to drive away the dark of night in her large bed chambers. The lamplight light made the tumble of wine in her hand glow like illuminate blood, a color she knew and was all too familiar with. Her mind dwelt between frustration, planning and the human who's neck she imagined strangling, Kaylen.
She sighed, brushing her pitch-black hair out of her eyes and over the white fabric of her dress. Every time she thought of him, she could feel her blood begin to boil. She knew letting herself get so easily riled up was unbecoming of someone of her statues, but she could help but be angry. Call her petty, call her hot headed, but she craved revenge.
Lightly swirling the liquid around in her hand, the goddesses continued to rave internally about the man and what he'd done to her.
"That cocky little rat. I can't believe Lord Gwyn agreed to do this all for some two-faced man who wormed his way into the castle…..He should be lucky I don't walk to his room right now and tear him in half…..Not like he doesn't deserve it." Velka thought to herself with a furrowed brow as she took a sip from the glass she held to calm herself.
With her newest mental tirade done, the goddess sat in silence with herself for a time.
Soon enough, her mind journeyed back to the night she first met him. She could see it as clear as day, his endearing humor, his charming persistence, his boyish smile and appealing confidence that piqued her interest. She found herself frowning a bit at the unconscious wondering of her mind and took another sip from her glass, the strong grape wine doing its job of helping her ignore such pathetic daydreams regarding her foe.
Her thoughts then traveled the spar he'd had with Smough. Truly, it was a bit much to put him against someone like that oaf. Hardly a way for him to correct or improve on his technique. But she had to admit that it was somewhat thrilling to see him stand up and fight despite the beating he'd received.
Once again unconsciously thinking things over, she remembered seeing that there was a certain fire in his eyes. A fierceness that belayed the disparity in strength between them.
She leaned over and traced a finger across the surface of her desk, a small part of herself acknowledging his tenacity if nothing else. But of course, if he is to call himself a man of any sort of worth, that sort of attitude is bare minimum, even when facing someone bigger than. If anything, it should come as no surprise that she'd managed attract a sturdy human like him without even trying.
No spineless coward would have the guts to approach her for a dance after all. Especially with already knowing who she was beforehand.
She continued to ponder, offhandedly complimenting the traits that had left an impression on her. Pretending not to notice the figure standing outside her window, acting as if they were stealthy. She would pull them through the window in a moment and painfully interrogate them for disturbing her valued personal time.
Right after she finished off her last few sips of wine, of course.
Kaylen thought he was incredibly stealthy. He had scaled the castle's ramparts and climbed its balconies, reaching Velka's room window. It was scary being here, but he had an objective to complete.
Hours Earlier
Walking through the castle halls and making his way towards Andre, it would be an understatement to say that the young human was having an infuriating day.
First, he got roped into being a hostage for a Princess that probably thinks he's some kind of pet, then he got put through the ringer with a full body exercise before being beaten into a bloody paste and now he's got a pissed off Velka digging up his personal history.
"Oh, sure, man. Let's go talk to god that everyone is specifically going out of their way to avoid. It's just a little dance. The worst she could say is "no", right? No big whoop. Oh, and let's sneak into the big castle where all the gods live to apologize too. I'll just explain what happened and we'll have a big laugh about. Ha ha ha…This is bullshit!" Kaylen shouted internally as a scowl made its way onto his lips and a glare reach his eye's. "They all just watched me nearly get killed fighting that fat piece of shit and didn't step in to stop it? But I guess it doesn't matter to a bunch of gods if a "Lowly human" gets beat to death because he couldn't hack it. And of course, after they have fun watching the show, they get to look down for their perches and judge who I am? Well, screw every last one of them. ESPECIALLY Velka."
As he continued to walk on, Kaylen couldn't help but allow his pulse to rise as he grew further frustrated at the treatment he's been given. Even with Ornstein sticking up for him against Velka, he felt that almost being beaten to death with no intervention to help him was something that he couldn't look past. Not to mention being openly shamed and insulted by Velka when she doesn't know the first thing about him.
It only made things that much worse to know that he was completely at the mercy of their whims at any given moment.
So wrapped up in his own anger at his underserved circumstances, Kaylen didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to the servants he passed along the way. Each one taking note of the aggression that permeated his demeanor and giving him a wide berth.
Eventually though, he did reach the door to that lead to Andre's forge.
However, instead of knocking or simply opening the door as one might expect, Kaylen paused for a few moments before gritting his teeth and releasing a low guttural snarl of anger. He then proceeded to clench his fist and deliver a punch upon the sturdy wooden door holding all his frustration behind it.
As one might expect, he'd only managed to hurt his own knuckles by doing this. But the strike had worked wonders with helping him release at least a bit of stress as he held it in place and took a few moments to breath in and out.
It wasn't but a few seconds later that the large wooden door creaked open to reveal the burly form of Andre the Blacksmith.
"Well, hello again." Andre said in an unperturbed tone as he stared down at the younger man. "Ya know, a simple knock would have been enough to grab my attention if need be."
"…Sorry. Had a bit a rough day." Kaylen apologized to the large man, not meaning to disrespect him with his actions.
"Ah, don't worry about it. We all need to vent a bit every once in a while. Use the door as much as y' like. Heh, heh, heh." Andre said laughed heartily, seemingly taking things in stride. "You're here about your armor, right? Come on in. Won't take long to see the job done."
"Right…" Kaylen said with a sigh as he followed the blacksmiths further into his workplace.
Once inside, Andre wasted no time in grab a few instruments and scales from a shelf and began to take note of the young man's height, weight and build. Kaylen, for his part, remained stone faced and silent throughout the entire process; just wanting it to be over so he could move on to end this day and lose himself in the realm of sleep for as long as he could.
"I'm pretty sure that I've done nothing to get y' that riled up. Anything you'd like to get off your chest, cousin?" Andre asked plainly, noticing the weathered look in the boy's eyes.
"Thanks, but I think I've said enough for one day. I'll be fine." Kaylen said dryly, still clearly more than a bit annoyed.
"You don't seem all that fine to me. Come on, it'll do y' some good speak things out. I assure y', I am unsurpassed at keeping confidences." Andre said as he finished up measuring the newcomers' arms.
Kaylen paused for the longest time at hearing this, seemingly paying no heed to the blacksmith's advice. But just as Andre was about to concede and give the young man his space, Kaylen spoke up at last.
"This is pointless…"
"Eh? What's pointless?"
"This. Me being here, you getting ready to make armor for me and all the rest of this crap." Kaylen said, the frustration making it was loud and clear in his tone. "It's not like I'm actually even going to become a knight. This is just a punishment they cooked up to get payback. Nothing actually taken seriously"
"You might have to give me a bit of context, lad. You're being given armor and a place here as a punishment?"
"Yes!...Well, no, not those parts specifically…Look, it's a really long story that I'm probably better off not going into details on." Kaylen said, not wanting to say too much, but still wanting to vent a bit. "All I can say is that I made a few missteps and now I'm stuck here having to do what I'm told."
"So your knighthood isn't one taken by choice then, eh? Or one that's all that real?"
"Of course not. How many human knights have you seen in this city? All this "training" and prep is nothing but a means to get back at me. Once everything's done and they've had their laugh, I don't see this ending with being some celebrated warrior." Kaylen said with a sigh, already feeling defeated at the admittance. "I can't run away because I'd probably have the city's two best bloodhounds hot on my scent. So I'm just stuck here playing pretend as a big joke for some stuck up gods with no way out."
Hearing this, Andre stopped with his measurements and ran his hand through his beard for a moment after getting a decent picture of the young man's plight. It was only after a bit of contemplation did he speak up and offer up his words on the matter.
"Hm…I think you give them too little credit, lad. I've been here for quite some time and I can tell you that the gods here do not waste such time and effort on nothing more than a mere punishment. Personal tutelage from the Captain of the Four, your own personal armor and all the other benefits that come from being offered a place here. I'd say that these point to more than just a mere jest or pastime on their part" Andre advised assuredly. "But let's say it really is all just a means to punish you. This is a golden opportunity for you to make quite the difference. Not just for yourself, but for others like you and I."
"Ugh, and what exactly is there to make a difference for? There's literally no problem to fix here. Everyone's already happy, content and protected in this city."
"Heh, well, that's no reason to slouch or to not put in a little effort to climb even higher, right? Like you said, how many human knights have you seen in this city? You're the very first to be brought up." Andre said with a burly laugh. "You say you're stuck in a tight spot and forced to be here anyway, so why not use the situation to your advantage, lad? If they wanted you dead, they'd have already carried out the sentence. As it stands, all they've done now is provide you with an opportunity."
"An opportunity to do what? Be a punching bag?"
"No. To be an inspiration." Andre declared sagely with a nod "Who's to say that an act of circumstance can't lead to you opening a few doors and becoming something for others to look up too? If nothing else, I know for a fact Ornstein would not entertain wasting his time on someone he plans to get rid of in the end. Any sort of training you get from him will be the real deal without question and if you give him one hundred percent and keep your nose clean, he'll turn you into a warrior worth talking about."
At hearing this, despite the memory of his beating still firmly in his thoughts, Kaylen couldn't deny for a second that that Ornstein, of all the other gods, took every second of this training seriously and had every intention of bettering him as a knight of the castle.
"Now, I can tell you've taken a bit of a hit today. It certainly must have been rough. But you're not out of the fight just yet, right? Still got a bit left to give?"
"Yeah…" Kaylen responded with a halfheartedly, only for Andre to smack him on the should encouragingly.
"I said, do you still got a bit of fight left to give?!"
"Yeah, I do!" Kaylen said, with a furrowed brow and a bit more heat in his tone.
"That's right! You're not just gonna fall apart after one tough day, are ya?"
"No, I'm not!" Kaylen declared aggressively as if he was ready to throw down right then and there.
"That's the attitude, cousin! Now you're gonna brush off whatever troubles you might have and push forward. They want a knight? You'll give them the best knight they've ever seen. And if they want a joke? Then they'll have to turn things up to eleven to break you down, right?"
"You're damn straight, Andre!" Kaylen said as he hopped to his feet and held the fires of resolve in his eyes. "I'm can't just lay down and give up because the situation isn't easy to deal with. I didn't get this far surrendering. I need to keep going until I can't go anymore."
With that, Kaylen moved to leave the forge with idea's and plans already beginning to form within his mind. It was lucky for him that Andre had finished his measurement, so there was no need for the Blacksmith to stop him.
"I'll be seein ya then. Keep your head up out there." Andre said, offering his farewells.
"Yeah. That's for the talk, Andre. Helped me get my head back in the game." Kaylen said with a nod back to the man as he made to leave. "Now, first things first, I have to settle things Velka. And I think I have a good idea on just how to do that."
With that passing comment said aloud, Kaylen at last left the workshop with new purpose in his step. With a brief nod of his head at picking the young man up from his stupor, Andre picked up a hammer and proceeded to make his way to his anvil to finish up his own work for the night.
That is until his mind actually caught up to the fact that Kaylen had just said he was going to settle things with Velka, causing his eyebrows perked up as wide as they could go and a look of panic to come across his face.
"Hey, wait, hold on a minute, boy!" was all the Blacksmith said before releasing his hold on his hammer and rushed to the door to stop him from going anywhere near that goddess. Though unfortunately, it was far too late as Kaylen was long gone. "Oh…that's probably not good."
Present Time
He'd made his decision. And it was a fairly simple one considering it was the same exact plan that he'd chosen when he first got here. Only this time, he was in a far better standing to see it through.
He'd decided while she slept, he would sneak into her room and plant a note on her room telling her how to get rid of them smell on her body. If he did that and kept out of her way, she'd eventually calm down and let bygones be bygones.
With the slight he'd made corrected, someone like her would definitely have better things to do than bothering to ask questions about who some random guy was and it wasn't as if she could stay angry forever.
The plan was sound.
It wasn't hard figuring out where her room was exactly. He done so in no time at all after retrieving a spare shirt from his room to replace the torn one. After introducing himself to a few of the servants and helping them wipe down a few windows with them, he "suddenly remembered that he had to see her about some important business, but didn't know where to find her."
With that, the maids were more than willing to point him in the right direction after that and bid him to hurry away. Though he did somewhat wish to make himself a bit more known with people like them, he knew he had to get busy if he wanted to get this done tonight and take the first step to changing his situation for the better.
Once he had a general understanding of where her room, Kaylen had made his way toward the dining hall kitchen, of which was now empty, and found himself a window to climb out of in the back.
If his memory was correct, his destination was two floors up and four rooms to the right. But that was no problem.
Moving outside into the cool nighttime air, scaling the walls and ledges was a none issue for Kaylen. In fact, if he wasn't trying to be careful to not give himself away to whoever was in the passing rooms or hallways, he could have made it in almost half the time.
As he expected, Velka was already inside by the time he got there.
He grinned, slapping his fist and palm together, as he prepared himself to wait a bit. Velka was a big shot around here, so she probably needed to wake up bright and early, which means that she probably needed to head to bed sooner rather than later. Time was on his side here and soon he'd been practically in the clear.
However, his plan that he had believed as impossible to fail, shattered along with the window he stood against, as a strong grasping hand ripped him through the window with the brute strength of a ravenous bear. His head collided with the iron railing, sending stars and pain into his darkening mind. His life was in the hands of his attacker, as annoyed as she would be to see him.
She lunged across the room, slipping from desk to window in a mere second. The warriors of Anor Londo were the best of the best, but her speed was unrivaled, even by them. She tightened her fist, plunging it through the glass and locking it onto the shadowy figures collar, she sneered and ripped him through. She didn't take kindly to being spied on and intended to beat the intruder black and blue, before turning them over to one of the roaming sentinels who she assumed would be rushing to her room in a few moments. But as she pulled the man through the window, the moonlight lit his unconscious face, the young, unscared, familiar face of Kaylen. She froze, her eyes widening as Kaylen collapsed to the ground next to her, silent.
"What the hell? You?" Velka said in genuine surprise and confusion.
BANG-BANG-BANG
"Lady Velka, what was that noise?! Are you injured?!" the voice of a knight called out through the goddesses' door in record time.
At this, Velka sighed and shook her head with clear exasperation.
"I'm fine. It was a false alarm." she called back as she knelt down next to the human. She checked his vitals, she had not killed him, which was nice. She saw a small bump on his forehead and realized she had knocked him out.
"My Lady, we must confirm the situation. Please open the door or we will be forced to assume you are in danger and break it down."
Velka rolls her eyes at this. She understood that they were just doing their job and following proper procedure, but if there was someone in here who would be a danger to her, then they likely wouldn't stand a chance.
Standing up from her position, the goddess made her way to the door and opened it wide. The sight of four fully armed and mighty Silver Knight being all that was waiting on the other side. Each of which who quickly tensed up at the sight of clear vexation that was held within Velka's eyes, as well as the scene of the unmoving human on the floor and the broken window further within.
"There. No danger to be had, as you can see. Satisfied?" Velka said pointedly.
"Y…Yes…Everything looks in order, my lady." One of the Knight's said as they all looked stared at the scene for a moment and then back to Velka, before deciding that whatever was going on, they clearly weren't needed and would likely only anger her off by staying. "Uh…should we have a cleric sent by?"
"No need. I have everything under control here. Return to your post and speak nothing of this. Oh, and tell the other patrols to disregard any screaming or noises that may come from my chamber." Velka ordered before closing the door on a very concerned group of guards and returning to the matter of her new guest.
Seeing him laying helplessly upon the floor, the goddess smirked devilishly as she locked the door behind her. She then took unhurried steps towards him as she rolled her shoulders and flexed her wings in preparation for things.
"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise. He's gone and made things easy for me. Now…how to proceed? Hm~." Velka mused as she raised a hand and snapped her fingers.
SHWO-SHWO-SHWO-SHWO
On command, a dozen or so ethereal blades manifested all throughout the room, each one pointing directly towards Kaylen's body.
"No…too over the top." She said as she closed her hand into a fist and willed the blades to coalesce together into a single ball of blue light. Of which shaped itself into a menacingly large claymore that hovered just above Kaylen's heart. "Hm…no. Still too showy and not nearly personal enough for this cretin has done. What to do, what to do."
With that, she willed away the large blade and stood over her prey for few moments in thought. He trail of thought was leaning more towards the idea of forgoing magic and instead getting a bit hands on with him, before Ciaran's previous words suddenly echoed through her mind.
"Empathy can be a powerful tool…Let him interrogate himself…"
With these bits of counsel reverberating through her thoughts, Velka hesitated for a but a few moments before summarily giving a small huff and returning to the chair of her desk. Turning it around to face her peeping tom, she promptly took a seat, crossing her legs and waited patiently for him to wake up.
Soon enough, Kaylen groaned and struggled to sit up "Uuugh, my head. What hap-"
In the midst of trying to get his bearings, Kaylen scanned his surroundings in a daze and immediately locked eyes with the waiting Velka. Who, as one might expect, looked as if she was barely containing herself at hearing him speak.
Seeing that his was but a few feet from a very angry looking predator, Kaylen was left staring in a wide-eyed frozen panic for a full solid ten seconds, before squeaking out his words at last.
"H-…Hey there, Velka. Funny meeting you here." Kaylen said nervously.
"Were you expected to see someone else my room?" the goddess said as her eyes narrowed.
"Well, I was actually hoping to not be seen at all. But I guess you could say that plans "Out the window". Heh, heh, heh." Kaylen said with clearly fake laughter, trying to insert a bit of humor into the situation. Unfortunately, the only reaction he got was for Velka's eye to twitch with visible restraint as she clenched her fist across the desk. "Goddamn you, Andre. Why couldn't you just let me be depressed?"
"How did you get up here?" Velka asked plainly.
"Oh, that? I, uh, climbed." Kaylen said as he stood to his feet.
"You climbed…My room is several stories up and you casually say you climbed up here?" Velka questioned as she sat her glass down upon the table. "Quite peculiar that you have the skill to just do that. There's not much to grab onto that would let you scale the castle easily. You'd have to have experience."
"Well, I did start from the kitchen, so it's not all that far. Anyone can do that much without trouble." Kaylen said with a nervous smile.
"Is that right? The dining hall is still a few stories below and even still, if you slipped up at any point, it would likely mean death for a human at this height. You're telling me just anyone can do that much?"
"Heh, well, what can I say, Vel? I had to take care of a few things and they really couldn't-WAIT-WAIT-WAI-!"
That was all Kaylen could get out, before Velka's scowl turned murderous and she leapt forward. Darting across the room and delivering a devastating punch directly into the young human's solar plexus, easily knocking the wind right out of his lungs, forcibly sending him colliding into the frame of her bed, and finally collapse to his knees in pain.
Immediately after she had done, Velka felt a rush of guilt mix in with the anger. She had put a bit more strength in that punch than was probably warranted.
Not to mention that she didn't even last five minutes, before the whole goal of showing "empathy" fell apart.
"U-UGH…ACK…" Kaylen gagged as he placed a hand to his chest, trying to recapture his ability to breath.
"Sorry! I acted without thinking and that probably hurt more than I meant it too!" Velka apologized while still somehow sounding pissed off at him, grabbing hold of his arm and hefting him back up. "On your feet. Stop being so dramatic."
"U-UGH….*Cough* *Cough*why …are you so strong?" Kaylen said as he was forced to stand, only for the goddess to grab him the scuff of his collar and force him to remain in place and look her directly in the eye.
"Shut up! Let that be a lesson! My name is not "Vel". It's Velka! Disrespect me like that again and you'll get far worse that! Understand?!"
"Got it…Don't shorten the name." Kaylen exclaimed, still trying to recover, but knowing that there was no way his chest wasn't bruised from that punch.
"That right! And you've had that coming anyway." Velka exclaimed as she released her hold on her guest collar, but still holding him in place with her eye's. "Now what the hell were you doing sneaking outside my window in the middle of the night?"
"Well…I was trying to find a way to apologize for what happened between us. So I was going to sneak in and leave a note saying so, along with instructions on how to get that smell off you."
At this, Velka's expression immediately softened a bit in surprise, before shifting right back to anger once again.
"So instead of just knocking on the door and TELLING ME, you decided to risk your life scaling the castle to leave a note instead?" the goddess said as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you stupid on purpose or is that an accident?"
"Well, in my defense, the goal was mainly to avoid the very dangerous goddess that sleeps in this room above all else. She's kinda scary."
"I don't want to hear your excuses; I want to know how to get rid of this smell! Now!"
"Alright, alright…All you have to do is take a bath in hot vinegar." Kaylen said with clear exasperation.
"Vine-. How is vinegar going to help get rid of this?!"
"Just trust me. I wouldn't risk climbing up here just to lie, right? All you have to do is fill a tub with water and Vinegar, boil it and then just bath in it for a while. It'll get rid of the smell on your skin and your room with no issue?"
"Grrr…Fine…where's the vinegar then?"
At this, Kaylen blinked and froze for a moment.
"What?"
"You say I'll need Vinegar and that you came to apologize, didn't you? So where. Is. it?" Velka questioned pointedly, only to receive a blank look in response.
"Well, I don't really have-"
"So you showed up here empty handed with only your word, the word of a pathic liar, to give to me. I ask again, are you stupid on purpose or something? I could skin you alive for being this moronic! At least then you wouldn't be stealing air from people who could actually put it to good use." Velka said harshly to Kaylen's face, causing a bit of anger to enter in his eyes.
"Hey, at least I'm trying to-"
"I don't know what I expected. You sneak your way in here, befoul a sacred and respectable position among our ranks and now want to give halfhearted apologies you probably pulled from your-
"You know what, fuck you, Velka!" Kaylen interrupted with a show of anger of his own, causing the goddess to be taken aback for but a single moment, before she took a single step forward in a threatening manner.
"What did you just say to me?"
"I said, fuck you." Kaylen replied as he took a step forward as well in a clear defiance. "All I did was make the mistake of steal a bit of bread and cheese, and messing with the wrong woman in a panic. And for those mistakes, I was nearly beaten to death today for shits and giggles while all of you watched. Now I came up here to do what I can to try and make amends, but I am not going to be your whipping boy. So you know what? If your gonna kick the shit out of me, then just get it over with already."
At this, the very second his words finished leaving his lips, did the temperature within the room suddenly begin rising as a blistering heat began to emanate from Velka's person.
However, instead of the goddess holding the look of outrage or fury, Kaylen say that her gaze suddenly went disturbingly cold as embers of what looked to be black flames began to burn lowly across her skin and wings.
"You pathetic little insect…" Velka said in a bone chillingly low tone as she raised but a single hand to hover directly in front of his chest. With this simple act alone, Kaylen felt shiver run through his body. As if a part of him knew instinctively that the gesture meant certain death for him. "Do you think you're the first to try this little show and dance with me? Do you think I'm bluffing when I do this?"
As she said these words, the smallest ball of black flame Kaylen had ever laid eye's on swirled to life In front of Velka's palm. But the way he saw it, he might as well have been staring into the maw of a dragon right before it released its breath of fire.
"No. I don't think you're bluffing for a single second. I can only hope you'll change your mind. Because I'll be honest, I really don't think I can handle worrying about pissing you off alongside all the other bullshit piling on…and I actually liked getting to know you before things went bad. So if this is gonna be it for me…then I'll go down facing you instead of running away this time."
Hearing his words, Velka wanted to say that she knew this was simply a false act of bravado. Something that came about solely for the fact that he knew he had nowhere to run. But a part of her denied this assumption of for the simple fact that Kaylen appeared so unflinchingly calm.
She'd seen men who held in there fear many times over. But with him, she didn't see a sign that he was holding any in.
Was he really ready to die, here and now?
The two of them sat in a settling silence for a time, with neither averting their gaze from the other. Velka made no move to lower her hand or show any sign of relenting in her decision. It was only when Kaylen decided to speak up once again did anything truly change.
"I really am sorry, Velka. And I get that you've got no reason to believe that, but if you let me, I can work on trying to prove that I mean it."
At this, Velka tried to stay angry. She really did. But at hearing sincerity in his tone and the unflinching way he submitted himself to her mercy, her eye's softened and she could feel herself starting to calm down.
But of course, she wasn't going to let that happen without getting the last word in.
"You want your chance to get back in my good graces? Fine. I'm going to put in a requisition for a large amount of vinegar first thing in the morning. When it gets here, you will be the one boiling a tub of it to fix this smell. Not me." Velka said as she willed away all traces of her pyromancy, before placing a still smoking finger directly into Kaylen's chest. "And for the record, I found Smough's actions appalling. Not all of us are backwater savages that take amusement in the suffering of humans. So don't insult my character by lumping me into the same category as someone like him."
"Right. I'll try not to make that mistake in the future." Kaylen said with a sigh of relief that he unsuccessfully tried to hide from the goddess before him. "Thanks for giving me a second chance. Heh, I'll try and stay on your good side this time."
"Ever hear of the saying "Quit while your ahead"? I've said nothing of second chances, I said that you would be allowed to correct what you've done. You are by no means forgiven and we are not friends." Velka said sternly as she grabbed the human by his collar and dragged him towards her room door. Of which she was quick to open and push him outside of her chambers. "Now get out of my sight and stop wasting time that I could be using to get some sleep. And by the way, If I see you outside my window again, you won't be getting pulled inside next time."
"Right….I won't do that ag- -."
SLAM
The door was slammed in his face before he could finish. But from the heavy exhale of breath and the relived smile on his face, Kaylen didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
"That was a close one. Thought I was a goner for sure." Kaylen said lowly as he placed his hands on his hips and collected himself for a moment. Fully realizing that he just dodged what was likely to be a very painful death by incineration. "Man…It's crazy that she still looks hot even when she's about to kill me. Guess that's a goddess for-"
His words were cut off as Velka's door suddenly swung back open.
"Wait, I almost forgot to tell you something." Was all she said before she raised her hand and snapped her fingers at him.
"Wha-?"
BOOSH!
Without a single hint of warning, a small explosion of black flame suddenly erupted directly in front of Kaylen's person. Sending his body flying back and crashing into a nearby wall, before falling onto his side in a groaning daze of pain.
"The next time you say "Fuck you" to my face, I'll gut you and string you up by your entrails. Oh, and just because your out of sight, doesn't mean your out of earshot, idiot. Keep your thoughts to yourself next time."
SLAM
It would take Kaylen a few minutes to regain himself and make his way back to his room, but all and all, he'd still call tonight a success. A painful one, but a success none the less.
Royal Chambers
"Hm…poisoned weapons and unknown potions, eh? So, our young friend is more complicated him than we initially believed." Gwyn said as he ran his hands through his beard. "Do you think him a threat?"
"I cannot say for certain, my lord. He seems to have no intention to harm anyone, but with the information we have now as well, as certain observations I have personally made, I have assigned a guard of two Blades to watch over him at all times and report his actions to me." Ciaran said with complete honest.
"Two of them for a human? I'd imagine having single blade on rotating shifts would be more than enough to handle things. Do you have an explanation as to why he warrants such extra precautions?"
"Of course, my lord. As you already know, the practices of healing Miracles and other restorative practices are usually flawless and leave behind no trace of injury, unless one's body were to receive a great deal of severe wounds over a long course time." Ciaran stated calmly as she stood with her hands behind her back.
"Of course. What does that have to do with the human?"
"Well…after his spar with Smough, as young Kaylen was walking away, I happen to notice what appeared to be the faint evidence of scaring upon his back. If one were not actively looking for signs of blemishes and did not hold keen enough sight to spot the difference in skin pigment, then you would not notice in the slightest they were on him." Ciaran said with a small nod of her head, certain that she was no mistaken in her findings. "Though this is pure conjecture, to my eye's, the scars appeared to hold likeness similar to that of lashes, my lord. And since they are on his back, I'd assume it was likely from a whip of some sort."
"I see…so the boy has signs that his flesh has been flayed and then healed back. Do you believe him a former slave then?" Gwyn said in a reserved tone that would befit a king taking in information from his servant.
"No, my lord. With the evidence of his weaponry, signs of experience in hand-to-hand combat and apparent ability to survive in the outskirts of the city with the beast for extended periods of time, I would lean more towards the hypothesis that he was likely being trained, perhaps unwillingly, for some sort of task. But once again, I would like to restate that this is purely conjecture and that he appears to wish no harm upon anyone." the Porcelain masked assassin said, not holding back on her report and how she feels about the young human newcomer.
"I see. And who else knowns of your observations of his scars?"
"No one. And as long as it is not pointed out specifically, I believe only myself and Gough would be able to spot them with the naked eye."
"Good. Then let's keep this information between the two of us. No reason to have such things spoken out and about. If Gough discovers on his own, merely tell him to keep it to himself." Gwyn instructed plainly to his trusted servant. "Keep me informed should any other unprecedented discoveries be made about our young friend. Otherwise, proceed as you would in the coming days. I shall decide the humans fate depending on how he proceeds forward."
"And Velka, my lord? She seeks out answers by her own means."
"Then let her. No reason to deny her search. If the boy has done something unforgivable, then I'd rather know about it beforehand. But if he simply has a troubled past he wishes to forget, then there is no harm to be had in discovering it and then leaving it be. Dismissed."
With that simple declaration made, Ciaran left Lord Gwyn alone to his own devices. Her report was made and her instructions were perfectly clear.
Though to be frank, neither Gwyn nor Ciaran were overly concerned with things and would sleep quite soundly that night.
After all, even with all of his weapons and secrets, Kaylen was still only human and thus, they were confident they would always be able to handle him.
WAAAAAAIT A MINUTE, DEAR READER! I GOT THINGS TO SAY!
Firstly, I wanna say that I had a blast writing this chapter up and getting a bit in touch with the "Threatening" Velka that everyone else but Kaylen is familiar with. Since there's next to now information on Velka's abelite's and strengths, other than that she was widely feared and respected by gods and humans alike, there's not really anything holding me back from allowing her the power to actually make her so widely regarded as "The Goddess of Sin". So I decided to give her both Pyromancy and sorcery to be used as she pleases.
Secondly, I definitely had a lot of fun writing Kaylen somewhat pushing things and actually acting in this chapter. I like characters that actually have a bt of confidence to MAKE something happen, instead of being left to the whims of others sometimes. So I hope it didn't come off as too forceful with his character to you guys out there.
And I especially love teasing a bit more than there is more going on with Kaylen than one might think, meanwhile not having Ciaran or the rest of the gods not blind to that strangeness, but instead confident that they can deal with it if he becomes a problem. After all, their at the prime of their power, there's no reason they would be nervous about a single human.
And lastly, I know it's a little cheap to set myself up with it so easily and I'm definitly not planning to rush into it, but I'm getting myself really excited at the prospect of writing about the Occult Rebbelion, the fall of the gods and maybe even the appearance of Manus later in the story. I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but dang, there is just waaaay to much room for fun there.
But anyway, I hope this chapters been a fun little read for you guys.
As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys thought about this chapter of the story. Was Kaylen's pep talk with Andre a bit too cliche? Was Velka interaction with Kaylen believable or was she a bit too hot headed for a god? Did Kaylen come off too much as the "Strong protagonist" sort of character or was it fine enough this time around?
Honest opinions are always appreciated as I'm always looking to improve my style of writing to make this story a bit more interesting for you guys. so don't be shy in telling me your thoughts about how things are going so far. Outside opinions will have a huge effect on how this story will play out.
This is Supreme Gamer, Signing out.
P.S. God, I really want to get Gwyndolin and Havel introduced in the story, buuut I also gotta take things one step at a time. Uuuugh. Proper storytelling hold me back once again!
P.P.S. Okay guys, hear me out, "Kaylen befriends Gwyndolin and talks him into going out and getting drunk. Shenanigans ensue." Is this a Yay or a nay? I don't know why but a drunk illusion snake god just writes itself for me. XD