My Covenant - The Vicious Vampire Queen: Chapter 17

Selene

‘Yes!!! It’s your mother, Selene. I’ve waited a long time for this moment.’ The emotion in her voice was intense.

“Where are you?” I asked as I looked all around.

‘I’m sorry; Selene, but I don’t have a physical body. From what I can tell, it will take an evolution of the covenant skill to get a body once again.’

“That’s great news; I’ve always wanted to meet you. I guess this is our second time?” I said curiously, wondering about the time when she showed up in front of me through the necklace.

‘This is the current me’s first time meeting you. What you saw was a recording that happened right before you were born. On the day I passed away, my soul was placed into that necklace. That’s why it was impossible to take it off. The one who spoke to me before guaranteed I would once again see you.’

“How come you never once tried to speak to me over all these years? You know, Mother, it’s been really tough for a while now. I still don’t even know how I was capable of making it out of the hell that was the cathedral.” I said with sadness. If I had been able to at least hear her voice during that time, it would have made it a lot easier.

‘My dear daughter, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you.’ My mother’s voice cracked greatly as she started to sniffle. ‘I wanted nothing more than to hug and support you, but I was trapped within that necklace until you got strong enough to release me.’

“So that was it.” My head lowered as I contemplated her words. Shuka got close to my side and wrapped her arms around me. “Will you be here from now on?” I asked.

‘Yes, I will never leave you again. In terms you would understand, my new role in this world is to be your protector. The more you upgrade this skill, the stronger the defense will become. I’m like Jervis to your Tony Stark.’

“What? How do you even know about that?” I asked dumbfounded how my mother of this world would know a comic book character from my last life.

‘With nothing to do inside your necklace, I was given the opportunity to take a look at your last life’s memories. I learned about that world’s culture and technology.’

I’m sure that was a very weird experience for her considering I was a man in my last life. On the other hand, having your mother go through your entire history makes me feel uneasy. What did she actually see? I can’t help but feel extremely guilty about the kinds of stuff I had on my computer. Did she see any of that?

“Hmm… so… Did you also view the memories of when I used my computer?” I asked, conflicted.

‘That’s correct… but don’t worry, I understand you were in a bad spot in the other world as well. Plus, I don’t consider your old life having anything to do with my daughter in this world, even if your soul is identical.’

I guess that’s good to know, and I get the feeling she would rather not talk about it. That’s much better for me anyway; I was a lonely man in my past life, and it's something I would rather forget.

‘Allow me to act like your mother Selene because there’s something that you really need to know.’

My ears perked up at my mother’s words, “Please tell me, and also, aren’t I your daughter? What do you mean by act?”

‘That’s true, but I feel like a failure because of everything you’ve been through. I witnessed the whole eight years after your initial awakening. It was by far the hardest experience of my soul life. Not being able to do anything caused me so much pain, more than I knew I could even handle. Even though you have that powerful regenerative skill, seeing your daughter being ruthlessly cut apart on a daily basis really affected me.’

“Ah, so you saw all of that.” I can only imagine how a mother would feel watching their child go through such an ordeal with no way of taking any action to help.

‘When I used to work in the Royal Palace, I was someone who went with the flow. I knew my life was over as soon as I got a job there. If you got fired, you were killed, and if you didn’t do your job properly, it was the same fate. So I just kept my head down and did my job, hoping for a chance to run away from that place after earning some money.’

“But before you had enough money to run away from the palace, the king took advantage of you,” I said with disgust.

‘That’s correct; I had no way of stopping him from ravaging my body with the threat of death if I didn’t obey him. He reassigned me as his personal maid, and he did things to me on a daily basis.’

“That bastard, I can’t wait for the day I kill him in the worst way possible.” My aura erupted out, surprising all the people on the other side of the barrier.

‘I’m looking forward to it. Once he found out I was pregnant, he threw me in the annex at the very back of the royal estate. The same place you grew up in for the first ten years of your life. At the time I had pretty much given up on living, and my body had become a mess. That was until I started having dreams about the one currently growing within my body.’

“About my future, you talked about it in that message?” I asked.

‘Yes, you will become someone who will bring great change to this world, but also chaos. I honestly don’t care what you want to do with the rest of your life as long as you’re happy. So either burn it all down or build something worth protecting.’

“Not words a mother would say to their daughter.” I chuckled.

‘True, but I want the revenge you crave just as much. If possible, I would love to have a physical body by the time you’re ready to kill that man. So I can see his end with my own eyes.’

“That can be arranged, and I also plan on leaving him till the very last. I want to tear down everything he’s built, and then once he has nothing left, torture his useless life for as long as I can until I cut his head off.”

‘That sounds wonderful.’ My mother said in affirmation of my plan. ‘Now for the most crucial topic I wish to discuss with you, Selene, my beautiful daughter.’

I couldn’t help but feel heightened anxiety at what she was about to say. Since I left the cathedral, I can’t say all of my moves have been the brightest. I’m just trying to do the best I can to work towards the life I want to live.

‘Don’t trust that Elf Lyra.’

“Lyra… Don’t trust her?” I said, not understanding.

‘I’m sure Shuka already picked up on it when you were in the guild master's office, but she’s too loyal to question your decisions.’

“Is her loyalty a problem?” I asked with a bit of annoyance at her words, even though she was my mother.

‘Of course not!’ She said in a panic. ‘I love you, Selene, with all my heart; please believe me. Also, I very much approve of your union with Shuka.’

“Well, that’s good to know.” Shuka and I both smiled at each other as our hands tangled together, gripping each other’s tightly.

‘Elves and humans relationship is a lot closer than you realize, and the reason why the barrier was breaking is because of Lyra’s spirit magic.’

What? I thought she couldn’t use it as an offensive attack? I looked over at Shuka, who had a complicated look on her face. “Did you feel something weird from her?”

“Yes… I’m sorry; I didn’t think it would be like this. I felt slight hostility towards the both of us. If I had brought it up at the time, it might have messed up your plan for taking over the adventurer’s guild.” Her tail and ears were both drooping as her whole demeanor faltered.

‘Blind devotion is a double-edged sword, as you can see in this particular scenario. Shuka is without a doubt your strongest connection in this world, even though it saddens me to say it. But that also comes with great responsibility because she will follow all your orders and never try to persuade you one way or another. She’s already put you upon a pedestal, and in her eyes, you might as well be her goddess.' My mother said as she gave me time to take in what she said.

“Shuka, is that true?” I asked with slight hesitation, a little worried by her response.

“I can’t deny it, but I just want to help make your dreams come true.” She said sheepishly.

Releasing my grip on her hand, I pull her into a deep hug. “Shuka, you can say anything to me no matter what. If you see something I should know, even if it messes up my plan, please let me know. It’s important that we both work together as a team. That’s how we survive in this cruel world.”

“Alright.” Shuka said softly.

I felt her head lay upon my shoulder as the warmth of her body continued to keep me calm and comfortable. It’s great and all that she was following me without question, but to not tell me something like this. We really need to fix that fast for the future.

“Even though you said it was alright, my heart still hurts at my obviously stupid mistake.” My cute and devoted vampiric wolf said in a light whisper.

“It’s alright, Shuka; I care deeply about you, and let’s just both learn from this. We can only get stronger from realizing our faults and fixing them for the future.”

‘That’s right, Shuka. I view you as the perfect partner for Selene because of how devoted you are. It’s not a negative; it’s just it can’t be blinded. I learned a lot of stuff as I went through Selene’s last life, and with my now practically photographic memory, I will be able to make this place into a fortress that will protect both of you.’

“So… This is what it’s like to have a mother.” I can’t say that I hate this feeling of someone trying their best to protect me. Even teaching me a lesson I probably needed, who knows how much longer Shuka would keep having blind faith in me?

‘Of course, I love you very much and Shuka as well. Considering your relationship, I would also like to view you as my daughter. Is that alright?’

Shuka’s eyes widened at my mother’s words, but it’s true that she is now part of our family.

“Alright.” Shuka said timidly.

‘You're such a cute girl, Shuka. I can understand what my daughter sees in you.’ She chuckled. ‘It will still take a little getting used to, but with what I learned in the other world, I’ve become more accepting of it.’

“I know, right! To think humans and beastkin have such a bad relationship. Are they crazy?” Picking up Shuka’s tail and brushing it against my face. “It’s just so nice to be able to cuddle with her tail or rub her fluffy ears.”

Seeing Shuka hide her face and get super embarrassed, I grabbed her arms, pulling them away from her face. Looking deep into her eyes, I feel so drawn to her. My lips touch hers as each of our warmth comforts the other.

‘The both of you can do that later; there's still a pressing matter you must take care of first.’ She said in an authoritative tone.

“Mom, can’t we just have a few more minutes?” I said with a bit of annoyance at not being able to enjoy our kiss any longer.

‘It’s not that you can’t, but do you really want all those people to stare at you?’

I looked over at the front gate where the mobs of silver and white knights were looking at us with disgusted faces. They were also shouting obscenities.

Without any hesitation, I put my two remaining points into chaos magic, which raised it to level six. Shuka’s skill of bestial wrath also reached the same level. It was now time to unveil to the world what it’s like to face off against a raging wolf with a chaotic woman who both wished for blood.