Valerie Tepes' POV
She didn't know how long she had been confined in this room, where light was a rarity and darkness had become her only friend. Sometimes, a high-ranking devil would come in, subject her to countless 'inspections', and then leave after nodding in approval before tossing her something that could barely be called food. Yet, it was that miserable meal that kept her alive until now.
The choker around her neck sealed her movement completely. She could only move for specific reasons, such as eating or relieving herself. Otherwise, her body refused to obey her commands. She was nothing more than a puppet, a piece of livestock being fattened before slaughter.
Valerie knew that sooner or later, these inspections would end. And when that day came, she would probably never see the light of day ever again. She no longer held any hope that someone would come to rescue her.
She remembered the day it all began, the day her life turned into this nightmare.
Back then, she had a childhood friend. He was also a dhampir, just like her. Perhaps because of that, the two grew close and often played together in secret. After all, if the adults ever found out, they would both be punished, regardless of how young and innocent they were.
That day, however, their secret came to light. Valerie had grown tired of watching Gasper being bullied by the much older vampires. So they made a plan to escape during a grand banquet. While the adults were busy drinking human blood like its wine and partying amongst themselves, they quietly slipped out of the mansion and ran into the forest.
But they didn't get far. When the vampires discovered their absence, they gave chase. In a panic, the two fled until they reached the edge of a cliff. Trembling, Gasper stood in front of her, trying to protect her. But he was no match for the older vampires. They easily overpowered him. Valerie remembered every second of that moment—the way Gasper glared at them despite his fear, the way his defiance only enraged them further.
One of the vampires conjured a dagger made from his own blood. It was then that she realized they weren't just going to punish him, they meant to kill him.
And when that realization struck, something within her snapped. She heard voices. Countless of them whispering in her mind without a stop.
It was too much, her head felt some sort of suffocating pressure that turned her vision crimson.
The next moment, she saw the dagger stab into Gasper's arm. Valerie charged at them without hesitation. She could hear them shouting, but she didn't care. All that mattered was saving Gasper. When she reached him, she ripped the dagger out and pressed her hand against his wound almost instinctively.
Before her eyes, his injury began to heal, time itself seemed to rewind until not even a scar remained.
A brief smile crossed her face… but then agony struck her head like a hammer. It felt as though her skull was being drilled open from the inside. Those discordant voices screamed louder and louder, yet she forced herself to stay conscious.
There was no time. The other vampires would soon arrive. There was nowhere to run, except down. A desperate idea surfaced in her mind. She placed her hands on Gasper's shoulders and made him look at her.
"I'm sorry, Gasper… but this is where we part."
"What?"
Without explaining, she clenched her teeth and pushed him off the cliff. His eyes widened with shock and betrayal, but she smiled softly at him one last time. In his pupils, she saw the reflection of other vampires closing in behind her. Then came the sharp pain as something pierced her back.
Blood sprayed toward him as he fell, calling her name. Despite her mortal wound, Valerie felt… relieved. At least Gasper would be safe. That was all that mattered. Then darkness took her. That should've been the end of her life.
Yet when she opened her eyes again, she found herself tied to a bed—her limbs bound to each corner. She thought it couldn't get any worse. She was wrong.
Her father, King Tepes, who had always been cold to her, now visited with an unsettling warmth in his tone. He told her she had awakened a rare Sacred Gear, Sephiroth Graal. It explained everything: the sudden surge of strength, the healing power she used on Gasper, and the strange voices she heard. They weren't hallucinations, they were the whispers of the dead, or so the explanation goes.
Her father promised her that he could make her stronger, that she only needed to sign a contract as a condition. If she had been more cautious, perhaps she wouldn't have agreed so easily. That contract turned out to be the shackle for the next few years.
First, he used the Grail to remove the vampires' weakness to sunlight, starting with himself. From then on, Valerie was nothing more than a tool. Her Sacred Gear, her very soul, belonged to him. He made sure she could never escape, erasing any possible loophole she might exploit.
She often wondered if Gasper had survived. She had sensed a faint presence below the cliff before she threw him off, and that was why she did it without hesitation. Since she had never heard the vampires mention him again, she believed he must have escaped safely. Perhaps he was living freely somewhere now, far from the mansion where nightmares were born.
One day, her monotonous life changed. A panicked vampire, her father's subordinate, burst into her room and ordered her to follow. She could hear chaos echoing from beyond the walls—explosions, shouting, the tremors, and the clash of powers.
It didn't take long for her to realize what was happening. The Carmilla Faction had invaded, and with them, a powerful devil. They slaughtered the guards and stormed her room. At first, she thought it could be salvation. Carmilla herself was there, and since her faction consisted mostly of women, Valerie thought she might finally live a better life among them.
But she was wrong, terribly wrong.
Once Carmilla and her followers gained immunity to sunlight just like her father, they sold her to the devils as part of a political bargain. Those devils belonged to the Old Satan Faction, fanatics who dreamed of ruling the world as its rightful owners. Her Sacred Gear became their key weapon. Once again, she was nothing but tools to these greedy people.
Their goal? To resurrect Lilith, the Mother of Devils. With her power, they believed they could rapidly increase the devil population and wage war on all other factions. Valerie thought they have lost their minds. After all, insane monsters were far more terrifying than a sane one.
So when the giant door to her cell opened, her body froze. She expected to see her tormentors again. But instead, three powerful figures entered the room. Two of them radiated immense demonic energy, energies she recognized instantly.
Crimson Satan. Leviathan Satan.
And the third...was surprisingly a human. Yet his presence felt deeper, more overwhelming than either of the Satans beside him. Thanks to her Sacred Gear, Valerie was more sensitive to presence than normal.
"Uwah... you weren't kidding," Serafall muttered as she stepped forward. The dim light revealed a frail girl chained within a dark room. She and Sirzechs immediately recognized her presence and smell, a dhampir. The latter's eyes softened slightly as he thought of a certain bishop within his sister's peerage.
"W…who are you?" Valerie asked weakly. Her voice was hollow, drained of emotion and energy. She was like a husk, barely living with borrowed time.
The human stepped closer. There was a faint, familiar scent about him, something that stirred a long-buried memory. His expression softened, and he gently placed a hand over hers, brushing her hair with comforting care. But in her vision, she could see countless spirits behind him. They were all smiling and cheering on him. Suddenly, tears swelled up in the corner of her eyes.
"You can rest easy now, Valerie Tepes," he said softly. "We're here to save you."