Chapter 384 - The Truth
Chapter 384 – The Truth
When Ren heard Valdel asked him the same question, the implications of the question had changed. If it was before Valdel simply sounded like he had a hunch, but now after explaining all that it was obvious that he pretty much knows the whole truth.
If he simply said that he thinks Ren was a descendant of Demon Lord Kretos, then Ren would’ve gone with that. Yet now he actually knew about the term the strongest mortal soul. That was something that not even some deities know of.
Ren looked into Valdel’s eyes, it would seem that only a little bit of malice remained. Ren’s answer would now determine what would happen to Valdel. If he lied at this point Valdel would hide his emotions deep inside and might become the same as the old Shadow Clan that Ren was a part of when he was still Kretos.
Ren was certain that if he lied at this point Valdel would change and be consumed by the Primordial Demon’s malice.
‘Still telling the truth might shatter his perception of me, and he would see me in a different light which might make it difficult to predict what he would do next. Well, even if he did something out of the norm I can still deal with it as it happens. Also as long as he doesn’t tell my mom who might break if she learned the truth, I guess telling him won’t be a problem. Still, I should test the waters first.’
“Val why does it matter if you know the truth or not?”
“I want to be your true friend, someone who can stand by your side as an equal. So for that to happen I first need to start with our secrets, I want us to be open with each other. If you tell me your secret then I will tell you mine.”
“… Why should I tell mine first, shouldn’t you be the one to tell me your secret first since you’re the one who offered?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Fine then I’ll tell you a secret of mine, but first I want to show you something.” Valdel stood up and spoke to Zwei and Nika via their mental link.
‘Zwei, Nika you two can turn into your human forms now. I want you two to head back to the inn. This next part should only be heard by me and Ren.’
Zwei who could finally feel that Valdel was going back to his normal state felt relieved. She and Nika quickly turned into their human forms. Zwei bowed her head to Ren and Nika followed after. Once the two of them were done doing that they left.
…
Zwei was listening to the entire conversation and now that she knows Ren was the incarnation of the strongest mortal soul, she finally saw Ren in a different light. At first, she always saw Ren as a bad influence on Valdel, but now she knew that he was the strongest mortal soul it changed everything.
Those that were powerful enough would learn sooner or later about the strongest mortal soul, the one who defied the creator himself. He was one who fought for the destiny of mortal beings, which includes humans, those created by humans, or those that evolved away from humanity. He wanted everyone to break free from the shackles of destiny as he did. He wanted them to live the way they wanted to and not be guided by the invisible hand of destiny. Now that she knew the truth about Ren, Zwei felt ashamed of herself and the way she acted around him.
‘Next time I better apologize properly.’
…
When Valdel sensed that Zwei and Nika were no longer near the arena, he took a stance. It was a very familiar stance as this was the same stance Lara took before she unleashed her most powerful move.
When Ren saw the stance Valdel took he was astonished, he only taught this move to Lara and no one else. The only person who has seen this technique and was able to copy it at a glance was Ren. Even though Valdel was pretty good, Ren was sure that he wasn’t at that level yet. Still, there was no denying what he was seeing right now.
Unlike Lara’s imperfect stance, Valdel’s stance was vastly different, his stance was the definition of perfection. Not only was his breathing in sync with the flow of his mana but it felt like everything around him was breathing the same breath as him. The mana started flowing through Valdel’s fist perfectly, it was not much, since Valdel’s mana supply was near empty but even so it was an amazing sight for Ren.
Even Ren who was the one who got this technique from Kir wasn’t as good at using this technique as Valdel, it was as if he was Kir himself.
“This was the thing I wanted you to see.” Valdel stopped his mana from gathering into his fist and withheld the technique. He looked at Ren and spoke in a very solemn tone.
“The real reason I started getting interested in Demon Lord Kretos when I first heard his name was because ever since I was a child I would sometimes hear his name in my dreams. Now ever since Natasha and Rachel spoke his name, I’ve been having more frequent dreams about him.” As Valdel’s was talking his eyes seem to be looking somewhere distant.
“In those dreams, I was fighting Kretos with my fist. It was as if I was Kir himself as I felt his emotions during that time. I felt happy that someone came to relieve my boredom alongside my responsibility. In the end, when Kretos killed Kir, there was one wish Kir had at the bottom of his heart, that if there was ever a chance that he could reincarnate in the same world as Kretos, then in his next life, he wanted to do good, and become friends with Kretos. He wanted to have wonderful adventures alongside Kretos.”
As Valdel said those words he looked at Ren and smiled gently. It was like Valdel turned into a different person entirely.
“For the past few days, the dreams got even more vivid. When I was corrupted by Nyarlom’s malice, my emotions went all over the place, but something hidden deep within me was taken out. As we fought the memory of Kir’s fight against Kretos briefly came to my mind. When I woke up and as I told you my story the memory of another life was getting clearer and clearer. For the longest time now there was like another person inside of me. He was different but the same, I always thought he would go away, but now he’s out in the open. So Ren are you willing to tell me your secret?”
As Ren listened to everything Valdel said he was once again stunned into silence. The technique, the story, everything was pointing to one thing, Kir was Valdel, but that was impossible. Unlike Ren’s soul who was using a different way to reincarnate, Kir was placed in the normal cycle of reincarnation. Where one’s soul will be cleansed so it can be once again be brought forth onto the world. Seeing Ren being unable to say anything, Valdel shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
“Seeing you hesitate so much, makes me feel like your a different person from the one I know. But of course, talking with words was never your strong suit, so how about we talk with our fists instead?”
Valdel took a fighting stance and waited for Ren to do the same. Seeing what Valdel was doing, Ren couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. Ren then took a fighting stance as well, the moment Valdel saw this he charged forward and kicked aiming at Ren’s neck.
Ren blocked the kick with his left forearm and was about to grab Valdel’s leg, but before he could do so Valdel had kicked the ground and spun. Valdel’s foot was nearing Ren’s face but before it could reach Ren ducked.
Ren was about to counter using an uppercut but then Valdel used a beam of mana coming out of his leg to force it downward meeting Ren’s fist midway. The two hit each other and were blown a few feet away from each other.
The two then looked at each other and smiled. They then dashed forward to meet each other’s fist against fist, leg against leg. This movement, this fighting style, was something Ren would never forget. It was a very nostalgic fighting style, of an old man who wanted to have his end at the hands of one more powerful than he. It was the fighting style of an old man who sat at the top waiting for another.
…
Ren and Valdel continued to punch at each other using the bare minimum amount of mana. After a while, the two stopped and the malice that Nyarlom spread in Valdel’s heart was no longer there. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦
“I’m already sure of the answer now, but I still want to hear it from your mouth.” Valdel was panting as he spoke. Ren who was sweating a bit chuckled as he gave his answer.
“It would seem that we did get to meet in the next life, and we even became friends. As for the grand battle I promised you, we better do that next time… So to answer an already obvious question, yeah I was once Demon Lord Kretos… It has been a long time Mighty Lord Kir.”