Chapter 97: Velra’s Gift

Swoosh—!

“Ha… Ha… Ha…”

I gasped for breath, my body trembling as I emerged from the abandoned mine. My vision was still hazy, the world around me blurred as the effects of Ghoststep began to fade.

“Any more techniques or magic… and I’d be dead.”

The words slipped out in a hoarse whisper as I steadied myself, planting one knee into the frost-covered dirt. My body ached all over, drained from mana exhaustion and physical strain.

I looked up at the northern sky.

Clouds cloaked the moon, casting a somber gray glow over the land. It was cold, but that wasn’t what made me shiver.

I had started this mission around 2 a.m. Judging by the sky—and how the chill had deepened—it must be close to 4 now.

My disguise had faded. The illusion spell had hit its time limit.

Eren no longer existed.

And just like that, Julies Evans returned.

I pulled the torn remnants of my cloak tighter around my shoulders and glanced back at the mine—once a secret hideout for Bjron and his cult. Now, it was nothing more than rubble and smoke.

The monster in human skin… was finally dead.

And Lila—

Her face flashed in my mind. Her voice, trembling yet sharp, still lingered in my ears.

Her words had caught me off guard—more than I cared to admit.

But I didn’t dwell on them. I couldn’t.

She had nearly been butchered by Bjron. Fear does strange things to people. They say things they don’t mean, lash out, or grasp desperately at anything that feels safe.

She was scared. Shaken. Clinging to the person who saved her. That was all.

That had to be all.

I straightened slowly, biting down the pain as my knees protested with every movement. My body felt like it had been through a grinder—every bone and muscle screaming in silent rebellion.

But I was alive.

And the quest was done.

I let out a long breath, watching the fog of it drift into the cold night air.

“…I had to say, Parasite. You really are an interesting demon, despite being the lowest of the low.”

At that moment, a familiar voice sounded behind me.

Turning my head, I saw Velra appear before me. Her body was covered in a long, tattered cloak of night-colored leather.

I could feel her demonic presence even from a distance.

She’s gotten stronger. That means she absorbed Bjron’s blood.

“I see… so you absorbed his blood,” I said.

“Yes, hahaha… That was our deal, wasn’t it?”

Yeah. It was.

“…And not only that—I collected a few more human blood samples from the ones you killed in there.”

She was talking about the bandits.

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Hah! They were already dead. At least their blood will be of some use to me. And I’ve told you many times… watch your tongue when you talk to me, Parasite.”

It seems she’s taken the ’parasite’ act of mine seriously.

I’ve deceived her completely.

Velra floated down gracefully, her boots barely making a sound as they touched the ground. The air around her felt heavier, soaked in the iron scent of blood and shadow. Her eyes gleamed red beneath her hood, sharp and amused.

I stayed still.

Even now, drained and exhausted, I couldn’t let her see weakness.

“Parasite,” she said again, almost playfully. “You were sloppy in there.”

“That Bjron… he nearly gutted you before you finished him off. What would I have done if you died, hmm?”

She tilted her head, her voice laced with mock concern.

“I wouldn’t want to go back to digging up corpses myself.”

The chill that passed through me had nothing to do with the night air.

“You didn’t have to do anything,” I muttered. “And it’s not like you helped me.”

“Of course,” she replied, brushing invisible dust off her cloak. “But I prefer when my little parasite lives long enough to carry out our deals.”

I shifted my weight subtly. My legs still felt like stone. Every breath was labor.

“Also, I brought you a gift.”

Saying that, Velra flicked her right hand. Something appeared on her palm, and she tossed it toward me.

Thud—!

It was something I recognized immediately.

A severed head.

Bjron’s head.

It landed at my feet.

I stared at the head, his face twisted in death—eyes frozen wide, mouth gaping in a silent scream. His skin was pale, drained of blood, and his matted hair was still sticky with it. A dark stain had already begun spreading across the snow beneath.

I didn’t flinch.

Didn’t look away.

I just… stared.

He was dead. Really dead.

But seeing his head like this—it felt different. Final. More real than any victory message or crumbling ruin.

“Hahahah!!!”

Velra’s laughter broke the silence. It was soft at first, like the flick of a candle, but quickly grew louder—cruel, cold, and echoing.

“Consider it a trophy,” she said, grinning. “You earned it after all, Parasite.”

I didn’t answer.

Instead, I crouched down, reached out, and touched Bjron’s forehead. It was cold.

Not long ago, this monster had stood inches from me, his blade nearly buried in my stomach. And now…

Now he was nothing but a dismembered corpse.

“…I don’t need trophies,” I muttered, brushing snow from my fingers. “This isn’t a celebration.”

Velra clicked her tongue. “Still so dreary. You’re alive, aren’t you? That alone is worth celebrating.”

“I’m alive because I killed him,” I replied. “And because I didn’t trust anyone but myself.”

Her smile tightened—still amused, but there was something else behind it. A shadow. A slight narrowing of her eyes.

But she didn’t say anything.

To her, I was just an interesting parasite that made things fun.

Really, if I were in better condition—with full mana—I would’ve threatened her again like I did a few days ago.

But I wasn’t.

I couldn’t use any skills or blood magic. One wrong word and I’d be dead in seconds.

“Well… I know you’ll make good use of my gift. I’m heading back to my hideout. And I’m sure you also have somewhere to be.”

Saying that, she flapped her large vampire wings and flew into the night.

By “somewhere,” she meant back to Draken Duchy—as my three-day holiday would end in a few hours.

But before that… I had to do something about the head.

Velra was right. I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

And it would shake the North.

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