— — — — — —
"Bring her in," Ryo said with a slight nod.
A moment later, the Crow Tengu escorted Valerie Tepes into the room.
Her eyes were still empty. She moved like a puppet.
She could still understand simple commands such as "walk" and "stop," but beyond that, there was no reaction at all. She seemed more like a machine following instructions than a living, thinking person.
Seeing her condition, Rias frowned. "These vampires really went too far."
She had read Valerie's reports before, but words on paper were one thing. Seeing her in person made it clear just how badly the vampires had treated her.
Valerie had practically lost her sense of self.
How many times had they forced her to use the Longinus for things to end up like this?
What made it worse was that all those uses of Sephiroth Graal hadn't even brought the vampires any meaningful military advantage. Azazel and Serafall had defeated them with a single army each. Azazel hadn't even needed to deploy his own subordinates; Serafall's Leviathan forces had done most of the siege work themselves.
According to information Ryo had received from Indra, Valerie had been forced to resurrect countless powerful dead warriors. Most of them had later been taken away by Rizevim.
Using the holder of their own Longinus as a disposable tool to strengthen Rizevim's forces...
Even Ryo found it ridiculous.
The vampires seemed exceptionally talented at hurting themselves and helping their enemies.
They were practically a textbook example of how to surrender a war before it even started.
"It was just another pureblood-versus-mixed-blood conflict," Ryo said, clearly not interested in discussing the matter further.
Rias immediately understood.
The devil race had gone through similar tensions. For years, conflicts between reincarnated devils and pureblood devils had continued to worsen. Only after Ryo took power had larger events shifted everyone's attention elsewhere.
"So what should Gasper do?" Rias asked, stepping aside so Ryo could get a better look at the cardboard box Gasper was hiding in.
After glancing at it, Ryo turned toward Valerie. "Say something."
"Ah..."
Valerie opened her mouth slightly.
Without any real consciousness behind it, the sound she produced resembled the meaningless babbling of an infant.
The instant Gasper heard her voice, he could no longer sit still.
"That voice... Is it really Valerie-neesan?!"
The cardboard box, sealed shut with tape, began shaking violently on the floor.
It was an almost perfect expression of Gasper's excitement.
Rias laughed helplessly, "So? Ready to come out now?"
"Uh..."
Gasper immediately froze.
Just moments ago, he had stubbornly insisted he would never come out. Now that he had heard Valerie's voice, he desperately wanted to see her.
Unfortunately, he had talked herself into a corner.
Akeno seized the opportunity to tease him. "If you stay in there, your precious Valerie-neesan might become the Governor's next lover."
"What?! No way!" The box shook even harder. "I won't let Valerie-neesan fall into a pit of misery!"
Ryo's face darkened instantly.
Lover? Pit of misery? Does everyone have some kind of problem with me?
While he was silently questioning his life choices, Gasper finally exploded out of the box.
Without waiting for anyone to remove the tape, he smashed his way through it and stuck his head out.
Gasper looked timid and delicate, with shoulder-length blonde hair, crimson vampire eyes, pointed ears that resembled an elf's, and a fragile beauty that invited protection.
"Valerie-neesan!"
The moment he emerged, Gasper looked at Valerie with pure joy.
Valerie didn't respond at all.
Gasper's smile faltered, "How could...?"
Now that the initial excitement had faded, the emptiness in Valerie's eyes became impossible to ignore.
Ryo had been observing Valerie the entire time.
"Gasper. Call her again."
Gasper hesitated and instinctively looked toward Rias.
Rias nodded.
Seeing that, Gasper obediently called out again despite his nervousness around Ryo.
Still no response.
"Again," Ryo ordered. "Keep calling until I tell you to stop."
Gasper gritted his teeth and continued.
"Valerie."
"Valerie."
"Valerie."
Again and again and again.
By the time everyone in the room felt they could recite Valerie's name in their sleep, Gasper had been calling nonstop for over ten minutes.
Then, finally, something changed.
A faint ripple appeared in Valerie's eyes.
"There it is," Ryo said.
Almost immediately, Valerie frowned.
Under Gasper's next shout, she finally reacted, "You're so noisy!"
Gasper's face lit up with joy. And then instantly became awkward.
"Valerie-neesan!" He shuffled forward inside her cardboard box, trying to get closer. But before he could reach them, Ryo casually kicked the box away.
"All right. Your job is done. Leave the rest to me."
"Huh?" Dizzy from the kick, Gasper stared blankly.
Wasn't this a little too fast for being tossed aside after serving his purpose?
"Gasper?" Valerie looked at the head sticking out of the box with confusion. "Why is only your head left? Did you die too?"
"I actually—"
Before Gasper could explain, Ryo grabbed Valerie's hand and started leading her toward a side chamber.
"That's enough. Rias, keep this idiot calm and make sure he stays here."
With that, Ryo disappeared into the inner room with Valerie.
Only after they were gone did Gasper finally protest.
"Why does he keep interrupting me?!"
"Idiot," Akeno said helplessly. "Because delaying treatment would be a bad idea."
"Treatment?"
Gasper blinked.
Rias explained, "Valerie's consciousness has only awakened temporarily. The next step is stabilizing her soul, removing the impurities affecting her mind, and sealing away excess memories."
Her expression grew serious. "It's dangerous. If anything goes wrong, conflicting consciousnesses could cause brain death. There isn't time for a reunion right now."
"We just have to wait here," Akeno added.
"I see." Gasper nodded. "If it's to save her, then there's no helping it."
Not long afterward, Valerie's cries of pain began echoing from the next room.
Gasper immediately grew anxious.
He stared at the closed door, unable to hide his worry.
The sounds continued. If anything, they became even more painful.
The girls' expressions gradually grew tense as well, all worried that Valerie might not make it through.
Then, roughly twenty minutes later, the sounds began to change.
The strained cries became quicker. Softer. Breathier.
Occasionally mixed with heavy breathing.
Kuroka's expression immediately turned strange.
Akeno's cheek twitched, though she wisely chose not to comment.
Rias looked toward the room several times, clearly tempted to go inside.
After hesitating for a while, she finally pulled out her phone, connected her wireless earbuds, and turned her music volume all the way up.
Gasper blinked, "...Is this still part of the treatment?"
Rias paused. "Uh... probably? Maybe? I think so?"
"If you don't believe me, ask Akeno."
Akeno shot Rias a glare before smoothly continuing the nonsense, "Making strange noises during treatment is perfectly normal. There's no anesthesia, after all."
Then she immediately shifted the burden elsewhere. "I'm not very familiar with this type of treatment, though. Kuroka should know better."
'You traitor.'
Kuroka stared at her in disbelief.
By the time she recovered, Gasper was already looking at her with wide, innocent eyes, waiting for an answer.
Gasper was one thing.
Kuroka could ignore him if she wanted.
The real problem was Koneko. Her little sister was also staring at her with pure curiosity.
Kuroka felt a headache coming on. The corner of her mouth twitched.
Then she put on a perfectly serious expression.
"That's right. Exactly like that." She nodded solemnly. "This is a type of treatment only adults can understand. When you get injured in the future, Koneko, you'll understand what's happening."
The moment Kuroka saw the look of sudden realization on her sister's face, she slowly raised her head toward the ceiling.
For a very long time, she said nothing.
In the end, she chose to keep the truth hidden.
.
.
.