Catching the silverrette’s hidden message, Igor frowned. As much as he wanted to fight, he knew Shuri loved this forest and if they fought any further, there was a chance of making restoration impossible, or damn-near impossible.

Letting his aura retreat inside his body, he sighed.

“Fine. We’ll fight another day…I guess.”

Aurelia quietly nodded.

“Yes…”

Then immediately, she rushed towards him.

Su!

Igor widened his eyes and was prepared to take a defensive stance when she suddenly…

“Heh?”

…hugged him.

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|DxD|

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Quick Note: In the previous chapter, it is said that Aryans were annihilated over sixty years ago. That is poor math on my part. It was over fifty years ago. The mistake has been corrected.

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Igor did not expect for the person he just fought a moment ago to suddenly hug him. It…confused him, for lack of better words since this was something totally outside his expectations. A punch or a kick was more in line with his estimations as opposed to a warm hug.

He looked down at the silverrette that had buried her head in his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his back. She didn’t move nor did she show any signs of moving. Igor could feel her distinct mammaries pressed against his stomach, a sensation he didn’t give much priority to given just how odd this situation was.

He wasn’t sure exactly how to react since even though she was holding him tightly, it wasn’t a bear hug by any means so she wasn’t attacking him. This sent his brain for a whirl since if she was an enemy, it would be all the more easy to kick her away and if she was a friend, it would be easier to accept her hug.

But to him, Aurelia was in essence, still a stranger. Despite everything that had happened, he hadn’t even known the woman for more than an hour. He definitely liked her after having an awesome battle with her, but random hugs were going too far. If it wasn’t because he had a good impression of her, he would’ve pushed her away, especially since being restrained like this was uncomfortable. *

With his hands awkwardly spread, he frowned.

“Uh…sister? What are you…?”

Igor was not unused to contact with the other sex. If Akeno, Asia, or even Shuri were to hug him out of the blue, he would hug them right back because he had known them for years. Aurelia? That was a different story and he couldn’t figure out why she would suddenly grab him like this.

Hearing his question, Aurelia realised what she was doing was untoward (too forward/too much), but she made no effort to let go.

Rather, her arms seemed to tighten around his torso.

“Thank you…Igor.”

She looked up at him, her eyes displaying her gratitude.

“Thank you for…avenging my family. Thank you for meeting me. And…thank you for showing me what it means to be one of us.”

“...”

His expression was relatively blank, but his mind was a chaotic mess of ignorance.

[What is she saying?]

Her words made no sense to him at all. Avenging? Meeting? One of us? It took his all for him not to look at her like how a child looked at a complicated puzzle. He could somewhat understand the last part.

Aurelia had changed greatly from when they first met. She no longer spoke in her previous servile way, which was a big bonus in his opinion. Speaking like a weak servant with her power-level was something he couldn’t understand. But after they fought, it turned into something he could not stand.

As for “avenging” and “meeting”? He was pulling blanks in his head. He could vaguely guess the first maybe had something to do with the Himejima. But the second? He was completely lost to the point that he had no hope of figuring it out. Luckily, Aurelia noticed his confusion.

Stepping back to give him space, she clarified.

“Apologies for confusing you, Igor. Allow me to tell you everything properly. My name is Aurelia von Drachenberg, Princess of the Principality of Aria. Fifty-three years ago, the portal entrance to our realm in Italy was invaded. At the time, our forces were concentrated on the Antarctic entrance so we were rendered completely unprepared for an attack from behind.”

Her fists clenched in budding anger.

“One of those forces were the Himejima and…they killed my family.”

Her eyes grew watery with that last revelation. It seemed that even after decades, the pain still existed. Whether she knew it or not, her expression was not fragile, but fierce. Gone was the kind, yet cold woman and was replaced by a fury that threatened to burst uncontrollably at any moment.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Igor frowned when he heard the name of that clan again but was quickly pulled out of his daze when he felt the cold pressure emanating from the silverrette. Looking at her, he could see the menacing blue aura that surrounded her like a dense, oily mist.

Knowing there would be untold consequences if she failed to control her power, he tried to comfort the woman.

“Aure-”

“Please…let me finish.”

Her eyes were watery, yet filled with the piercing desire to get everything off her chest. She wanted him to know and understand everything that led her here and why she appreciated meeting him so much. She looked into his eyes, silently pleading for him to acknowledge her request, and Igor found himself unable to refuse under such a gaze.

Silently nodding for her to continue, the silverrette spoke.

“When…when my family and kin were killed, our dimension collapsed. Anyone who was not alive would’ve remained in the emptiness of space while any survivors would be randomly teleported to one of the seven continents. As a survivor, I was thrown out into Kyoto where Lady Yasaka eventually found and took me in.”

Her gaze lowered, her aura threatening to spiral out of control as her anger took hold.

“For years I had been plotting the downfall of the Himejima all while I assumed the alias of ‘Kurohime’. I trained for years for the moment I could finally wipe them out with my own hands. I-I could not get it out my mind that Suou grew older while my family, my people…”

It was too much for her to maintain her composure. She thought she would be strong, but she underestimated the hatred she had buried deep in her heart. Despite the culprits having died, her pain still existed. Even after having seen their corpses and how painfully they departed from this world, she couldn’t let go of the raw hatred she held for them. She couldn’t. She despised them to the core.

She hated them with every single fibre of her being. It was one thing to kill everyone she loved. It was another thing entirely to torture them to death and end their lives as warriors by strangulation…and she had to watch. She had to watch the single event that haunted her dreams for decades. She could never forgive them even if they were brought back to life and killed repeatedly a hundred times.*

Feeling her pain, Igor was now the one to envelop her in a warm hug. He cradled her head into his chest, his chin gently nuzzling the top of her head.

“It’s okay, Aurelia. Let it out.”

Aurelia didn’t know how to respond.

“I…I-”

“It’s just the two of us here. So don’t hold it in.”

“...”

Aurelia didn’t want to appear weak, but…

“I’m here for you.”

…his words broke the last wall of resistance. She clung onto him like a lifeline, a source of comfort that she desperately needed.

For fifty-three years, she had never grieved for her father, her mother, her brothers, and her friends. She never grieved for the servants and the guards that so valiantly tried to defend them, nor her kin that died under the blades of the aggressors. She had been so consumed by revenge that she never had the chance to accept their loss and move on.

She did not hold back. Clutching his clothes tightly, she silently wept into his chest, her tears soaking the fabric. But Igor didn’t care. He could understand the loss of family since he had been through a familiar circumstance. Though he never personally saw their demise, the first few months in the time chamber without them set in stone that he would never see them again. So he could understand her pain and he knew the best thing he could do was silently console her.

Gradually, Aurelia’s choked sobs stopped and her grip on his shirt slackened. But Igor still didn’t let her go. Until she made a conscious effort to, he was fine holding her like this and gently stroking her hair. On a normal day, he would find it a bit funny that he was comforting someone who was old enough to be his grandmother like a little child. But with how long their lives were and his mental age of over sixty years, it was semantics.

Finally, Aurelia let go of him and took a step back, her head lowered in embarrassment.

“Thank…you.”

Igor dropped his hand on her shoulder.

“No sweat, Sister Aurelia. We are kin, after all.”

Wiping her tears, Aurelia couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes…we are kin.”

The moment she said those words, there was a brief lull of silence before a white light covered the both of them. Aurelia widened her eyes in alert at the sudden phenomenon. But Igor was more lost than afraid…because he recognised this light.

This was the light of the time chamber.

“What-”

He barely had time to finish his word before the both of them vanished along with the light.

Shuu!

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AN

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1. But to him, Aurelia was in essence, still a stranger. Despite everything that had happened, he hasn’t even known the woman for more than an hour. He definitely liked her after having an awesome battle with her, but hugs were moving too far. If it wasn’t because he had a good impression of her, he would’ve pushed her away, especially since being restrained like this was uncomfortable. *

Explanation: “No matter how many buttons are pressed, the cannon won’t work if there is no ammunition”. It was stated that he does in fact produce ‘soldiers’ but…he’s a battle maniac. You’re more likely to get a reaction out of the blonde by showing him ten thousand men than a naked woman.

Chronologically, Igor was ‘possibly’ born in 1987 so his age is roughly between eleven and twelve. We aren’t told when his birthday is. We get this date because in 1991 when he appeared, he was four.

Knowing that the time chamber halts his lifespan and presumably, his bone age, he is either nine or nearing nine years of age. Again, we aren’t given his birthday.

Biologically, he is around eleven because the awakening of the divine strand of god ki aged him up. A biological age means nothing in the grand scheme of things otherwise, people like Serafall and Cleria would be rated around 14 years old biologically.

Mentally, he is in his sixties but at this point, it’s better to say he has decades of training experience rather than life experience.

2. She hated them with every single fibre of her being. It was one thing to kill everyone she loved. It was another thing entirely to torture them to death and end their lives as warriors by strangulation…and she had to watch. She had to watch the single event that haunted her dreams for decades. She could never forgive them even if they were brought back to life and killed repeatedly a hundred times.*

Explanation: We know that multiple races formed an alliance together and plotted to kill all the Aryans out of greed for the time chamber. As for why Aurelia specifally hates the Himejima? Because before killing everyone she loved, they tortured them first.

(Warning: Mature Theme from here)

Aryans are a warrior race and dying from pulley-hanging isn’t a very honourable way to die. Furthermore, being strung up by your neck is a slow process so I imagine she had to watch for one or two hours, especially if we factor in that the people being hung are superhumans. So we can be sure that atleast fifteen minutes passed before they eventually died from asphyxiation. Furthermore, two people were hung at a time so I imagine she had to watch both her father and mother die in front of her at the same time. Then we have a gloating Suou on the side who bragged about his achievements and really rubbing salt into the wound. So we can imagine why she really, REALLY hates the Himejima.

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AN

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Because people asked, the cover picture of this story has been updated to that of Aurelia. A picture is also available on Webnovel at the end of the chapter in the paragraph comments.

If you’re interested in reading ahead, here’s the link: patreon.com/HolyGambler