Valerian, The Legendary

275 Putting The Hound Of Death To Sleep.

Fortuna heard the question and replied, ‘This curse allows the dark wolf to take possession of the corpses in a certain range. The despairing characteristic of this curse is that it spreads. Do not get wounded, or you are done for.’

Valerian asked, ‘How to defeat these guys?’

Fortuna pondered the question and said, ‘Chop the heads off or smack it to a pulp.’

The young man nodded while attacking the dark wolf under him. Then, he said, “Are you getting smug by spreading this sham of a toxin around those I have already defeated? I do not understand what sort of validation you will achieve by this act of yours. Probably get to be known as the desperate mutt that you are.”

These words were akin to a clap of thunder in the skies of the dark wolf. Valerian was not here to make the wolf feel good. That much was sure. In his mind, the young man said, ‘Fortuna, can you pass down this knowledge to the other three as well? They need to rally the old experts and contain this thing.’

Fortuna thought about it, and then she replied, ‘Fine.’

…

Valkyrian warriors watched the battle and saw that the god they had worshipped for so many generations had fallen and was helpless. They were scared of Valerian, and just when they were about to despair, they found that their people’s corpses were being taken over.

The elders rejoiced and cheered, “Look, our god has revived all those who fell. He blessed them with life.”

.....

The charm on their beings was something they could not avoid, and they praised the dark wolf. However, the cheering did not last for too long, the corpses of the fallen stood up from the ground, and then they charged at the humans closest to them.

The speed and the strength of these corpses were somewhat slow, but the lethality of the attack was to be addressed. A few hundred Valkyrians were infected with the dark energy inside the bodies in just a few minutes. The scene was as if hell was unleashed. The corpses did not use any battle technique. Instead, they would grab at you and then try to eat you.

This made the elders wary and shocked. They thought the revived corpses were killing their people and shook their worldviews. The great elder knelt and said, “Lord forgive us. What mistake have we made?”

The dark wolf ignored all the cries, and Valerian said, “You fools. This mutt will not help you because he is behind your misery. He fooled your ancestors and his magic.”

The elder of the Valkyrians could not believe it and replied, “You liar. How can our lord do such a thing to us, his loyal followers.”

Valerian chuckled while his sword decapitated the leg of the dark wolf once more, saying, “Fools, you never bothered to ask him the truth. The original magical creatures, the first of their kind, cannot lie. On top of that, this guy was sealed by Her Excellency Vita herself. Do you know why? Because he can betray even the prime goddess to get more strength. He is not as heroic as you all see him be.”

The Valkyrian elders were rendered speechless. After all, over the ages, they have also found a few legends that mentioned such events. However, the belief deep within their souls denied it just when the elders questioned themselves.

A relatively young warrior, not older than Valerian, stepped forward and yelled, “Lord dark wolf, is what this guy says true?”

The Valkyrians were shocked that a youngster dared to mention such a question. However, while trying to hold back the fallen comrades, they all found that the dark wolf had not replied.

The things they witnessed today were shocking enough, and Valerian successfully turned the table of belief on the creature himself using the momentum of it all.

On the other hand, Valerian was slowly reaching his limit. Fortuna had told him that this creature would not be killed but only defeated or held down for a specific time.

…

Boo-too said, “You have five more minutes to act. Otherwise, I will be dissolving your magical bond with him.”

Fortuna glared at the bloom kin, who did not bother with it. The latter continued, “This trial has already exceeded the rules set by your clan. As his guardian, I will not allow you to move forward and risk his life. His limit has been reached, and it is enough for you to acknowledge him. However, if you seek a more physically capable companion, then go to the eastern continent and establish the bond with that Tyrant who killed your parents.”

Fortuna could not hold it in anymore and snapped, “You mind your mouth, flower bud. I will…”

Before she could finish, Boo-too had appeared in front of her, and an almost invisible finger was pointed at the brows of the dragon queen. The bloom kin said, “Mind yourself, dragon queen. Otherwise, I might take your scales into a silver carpet.”

Fortuna gulped in a mouthful of saliva and a heartful of rage. She was naturally arrogant and did not like to do what others told her, but Boo-too was not somebody she could offend.

The bloom kin was an even older species of magical creatures than the dragons. It was said that if Primus created Vita. Vita’s thoughts made the rest of them. So, when Vita found the world to be a barren ball of mud, she thought of flowers and greenery. That was how she gave birth to the bloom kin.

This superiority still stood tall in the face of the queen of dragons. Of course, the beasts were entitled to the job of protecting the world, but that was because of their appearance. Boo-too might not be as physically strong as a dragon, but in terms of magic, she can kill a dragon as long as she can cast a spell.

Fortuna said, “I will tell him the trial has finished.”

Boo-too cast her tiny eyes at the dragon queen and said, “Do not give me one more chance. You will not survive it.”

Fortuna took a deep breath and nodded. She did not want to tolerate such treatment, but Boo-too was not an enemy; thus, keeping her temper in check was the right option.

…

Valerian was slashing against the body of the dark wolf when his mind echoed with Fortuna’s voice, ‘The trial is complete. You can stop now.’

Valerian replied, ‘Have you gone mad? This guy will not allow me to get away from this bind.’

Fortuna waited to reply to him. Valerian was thinking about how to get away from this mess when he sensed a gust of wind behind him. He knew that Fortuna had appeared.

The dark wolf revealed a shocked expression because he could see that Fortuna was not alone. He said, “Are you here to mess with my business?”

An ethereal voice sounded, “You think too highly of yourself, dark wolf. I am here to perform my duties as the guardian of this child. If you take back your curse and return to your realm, I will not take any action. However, if you tried to play smart, then do not blame me for not being polite to you.”

The dark wolf replied, “As if you will let me go. You all intend to break my ties with the Valkyrians. I will not let that happen. Do you understand? Never.”

Boo-too floated in the void and said, “You cannot defy the rules set by the primus. Your forceful action of controlling the Valkyrians violated the balance of the planes and destroyed the native realm of the driads. Ever since then, the continent has been in a constant state of war and political tension.

The magicals do not trust the humans and vice versa. This was not what Vita would have wanted, and thus, you need to be removed from the equation.”

The dark wolf chuckled and said, “You, remove me from the equation? Do you not know I am still the creature you all need to maintain the balance of life and death in this world? Dare you to kill me.”

Boo-too shook her head and said, “I did not mean to kill you. The balance between life and death will remain stable as long as you exist. What I meant by removing you from the equation was to put you to sleep and lock you away in a cage.”

Dark wolf was surprised, and his hoarse voice sounded, “You cannot do that to me.”

Boo-too shook her head and said, “You have your greed and war-hungry soul to blame for this. The magicals all have a duty, and to fulfill that duty. I will not back off. Have a good sleep, hound of death.”

Then she raised her tiny hand, and with a wave, she put Dark wolf to sleep and said, “Child, you can stop attacking him.”

Valerian stopped, and when he turned around to look at the personage, who overwhelmed the dark wolf, he was shocked and asked, “A lily?”