’This should work.’
He pulled up the card again, watching as crimson energy pulsed more intensely now that he was committed to the summoning.
The image depicted on the card showed a woman who could only be described as terrifyingly impressive.
Wild crimson hair that cascaded past her shoulders in untad waves.
A muscular, battle-scarred body that spoke of countless fights survived.
Work armor that covered the bare minimum while showcasing abs that could probably deflect bullets and arms that looked capable of bending steel.
A massive warhamr rested casually over one shoulder, the weapon so enormous it should have required both hands just to lift.
But what really stood out were her eyes.
Reptilian ember irises that burned with barely-contained violence and a manic grin that revealed razor-sharp teeth.
Everything about the image scread "battle maniac."
The kind of person who solved problems by hitting them until they stopped being problems.
’Velraeth, the Blacksmith of Chaos.’
(PICTURE)
Nero studied the card with a mixture of anticipation and wariness.
His otaku blood imdiately recognized the archetype.
The wild, combat-obsessed character who lived for the thrill of battle.
The type who’d probably punch you in greeting and consider it friendly.
[Master...]
Aria’s usually cheerful voice carried unusual hesitation, her tone uncharacteristically serious.
[Aria has been thinking about this summon, and... well... Master should be a bit more careful with this one.]
’What’s wrong? You sound worried.’
[Because Aria is a BIT worried... Velraeth is... she’s known for her crazy temperant and chaotic nature. She’s violent to people she likes and people she doesn’t like. Her affectionate expression is a bit rough to say the least.]
The system assistant’s concern was a bit palpable even through their ntal connection.
[The system and soul binding guarantee that summons can’t kill their master, but it doesn’t restrict them from causing "unconscious" harm... And Velraeth’s idea of "harmless rough housing" could easily break bones.]
’So you’re saying she might accidentally hospitalize while trying to be friendly?’
[Not accidentally... As a master of her strength she knows exactly how hard she’s hitting... She just thinks it’s normal. Like how so people pat their shoulders and make friends, she figured that people who couldn’t even handle her normal strength aren’t worth making connections with...]
"..."
The ntal image of getting face-punched as a greeting made Nero do a double take.
But only for a mont.
Then he chuckled, his expression shifting to sothing between amusent and determination.
"Well, that just ans I’ll need to be tougher, won’t it?"
His voice carried confidence that surprised even himself.
"If a waifu expresses affection through violence, then I better be able to handle it. What kind of master would I be if I couldn’t take what my own summons dish out?"
Nero’s grin then widened as he looked at the pulsing golden card.l,
"Besides, if she’s really that strong and chaotic as you say she is... I might have a way on how to handle her."
[???]
Although Aria felt confused at what he ant by that and how he’s getting that confidence and how he would handle her, that thought was imdiately cut by Nero’s words,
"Aria, you said the system guarantees she can’t kill , right?"
[...Yes?]
"Great. This could serve as my training then in the worst case scenario."
In the case she ever goes rogue and rough, this would be a good ti to enhance his fighting and survival skills... by making himself a punching bag at the sa ti earning a great sparring partner.
"..."
With that in mind, he then held up the card, feeling the oppressive energy radiating from it like heat from a forge.
"Risk versus reward. I’ll take those odds."
[I admire Master’s daring courage! I’ll make sure to help Master more in the future!]
"Hehe, thanks."
Feeling the excited admiration from the Aria’s voice, Nero couldn’t help but look forward to it.
*Buzzzz...*
The golden card buzzed more intensely in response to his determination, as if Velraeth herself could sense his resolve even before summoning.
The crimson undertones in the energy grew more pronounced, creating an aura that made the air feel heavy.
"Yes, yes, I’ll summon you now."
Nero’s casual words belied the tension coiling in his muscles as he prepared himself.
Whatever happens next, happens.
Without further ado, he then said the magic word,
"Summon."
*FLAAASH!!!*
Golden light exploded outward, but unlike Luna’s ethereal glow or Celis’s gentle radiance, this brilliance carried a hint of violent crimson undertones.
And the energy didn’t just blindingly illuminate.
It erupted.
The pressure spiked so dramatically that the ground cracked beneath his feet.
The very air seed to compress and expand simultaneously.
And then...
"Wait–"
*BOOOOOMMM!!!*
A catastrophic explosion detonated where the summoning circle had ford, the shockwave so powerful it sent Nero skidding backward several ters, his arms raised to shield his face from the debris.
The ground buckled and collapsed inward, creating a massive crater easily 10 ters wide.
Dust and smoke billowed outward like a volcanic eruption, obscuring everything in a thick haze.
A massive formation of crimson energy was heavily radiating from the center of the dust.
The sheer force of the summoning rattled the very foundations of Waifuria despite the distance.
***
Several minutes earlier, in Aurelia’s room on the second floor...
The First Star Valkyrie lay on her bed, golden eyes fixed on the ceiling with an expression that could only be described as contemplatively mortified.
"..."
Her body still ached pleasantly from last night’s activities, muscles protesting in ways that had nothing to do with combat training.
Her mind wandered through recent events, cataloging experiences that still felt surreal despite their reality.
She’d regained her mories.
Not all of them – so details about her death in the ancient war remained frustratingly vague – but enough to understand who and what she was.
One of the first creations of the Heavenly Father.
A divine weapon given form and purpose.
Her earliest mories were simple, clear, without complication or doubt.
Fulfill the mission.
Serve without question.
Exist as a sword for righteousness.
For eons, that had been enough.
She didn’t need personality beyond competence.
Didn’t require desires beyond duty.
Her identity was her purpose, and her purpose was absolute.
Even after being summoned into this world with fragnted mories... and even after her mysterious death that she still couldn’t fully recall, none of that had mattered compared to serving her Lord Nero.
The one who’d miraculously revived her.
Who then gave her a new purpose when she’s supposedly been erased from existence.
Before, in the Celestial Cradle and the other worlds she visited, she has heard other beings discuss concepts like "love" and "romance" throughout her whole life.
She had observed relationships form and dissolve across countless battles and peaceti interludes.
But those things had always felt... distant to her.
After all, it’s a concept that is irrelevant to a weapon’s existence and not that it mattered to her nor does she know what it feels like.
In short, everything else felt foreign to her, and was out of her necessity and interest.
Until the day that she died during the great war, she didn’t have any thoughts or regrets of any sort.
And then... there ca the ti she’d been summoned by Nero Walker.
All those experiences and little things she had now co to appreciate.
All of that and the growing developnt of her "own ego" as a person in this short ti that they had spent.
Everything had changed so dramatically it still made her head spin.
And now,
"..."
She was now her Lord... Nero’s lover.
Her face imdiately flushed red as recent mories assaulted her with vivid clarity.
And they’d done the "deed."
Multiple tis.
In countless positions.
With multiple...
"Hnnngh..."
Aurelia buried her burning face into her pillow, wings wrapping around herself defensively.
The shaless sounds she’d made.
The embarrassing expressions that had probably looked completely undignified.
Those positions that had left her unable to think coherently, reduced to pure sensation and emotion.
The way she’d called his na without any honorific, just pure desperate need.
’What would my fellow Valkyries think if they knew?’
The thought made her want to disappear.
Her reputation as the prestigious and proud first captain of the Celestial Cradle.
The legend who’d never shown weakness or impropriety.
Now reduced to... to...
’A woman who moans his na and begs for more, like so common...!’
She couldn’t even finish the thought without her face heating to temperatures that probably violated safety regulations.
And that nickna.
"... Aury."
Just thinking about how casually he called her that, how naturally it rolled off his tongue, made sothing warm and mortifying flutter in her chest.
So much for her pride and honor.
So much for divine dignity.
She’d beco exactly the kind of person she’d once privately looked down on – beings who let romantic feelings compromise their purpose and mission.
"..."
But as she lay there, face buried in her pillow, trying to will away the embarrassnt...
*BOOOOOMMM!!!*
"!!!"
The explosion rattled the entire villa, strong enough to shake the foundations despite Luna’s magical reinforcent.
Aurelia’s combat instincts activated instantly, her embarrassnt forgotten as she shot to her feet.
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