Chapter 56: Tainted
A hat? She never wore hats!
She tossed it aside, her gaze sweeping across the room. Judging by the decor, this was Qin Chu’s room.
Why was she here? And why was she lying on the floor?
Her mind was too foggy to process the situation. She needed to wash her face, to clear her head.
She got up, a sharp pain shooting through her body.
Her legs felt weak, her muscles aching. She stumbled towards the bathroom, her bare feet slapping against the cold floor.
She splashed cold water on her face, rinsing her mouth. It helped, but not enough.
Her stomach churned, her throat constricted. She vomited, the bathroom filling with a foul stench.
After a prolonged bout of dry heaving, she finally felt better.
Her mind, slowly clearing, began to piece together the fragments of her memories.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face pale, but her skin, beaded with water droplets, seemed clearer, smoother than before.
Then, she noticed something strange. She tilted her head, exposing her neck. There were marks, faint but undeniable, on her delicate skin…
She touched them, her expression turning puzzled. What were those marks? They looked like…
Hickeys?
Which bastard had taken advantage of her while she was drunk?
Fury surged through her. She would kill whoever had dared to touch her without her consent!
This was Qin Chu’s room. Could it be…?
That damn fool! She had dismissed him as a spineless coward, but it seemed she had underestimated his audacity.
She couldn’t kill him, not yet. They still needed him to resurrect Jie Luo. But a good beating… that was acceptable.
She stormed out of the bathroom, intending to confront him, but her legs buckled, the pain almost sending her crashing to the floor. She examined her body, her heart sinking.
She was naked, her skin covered in marks.
Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her, her face pale with shock.
Her body trembled as fragmented memories surfaced, images that filled her with terror. She rushed towards the bed, her movements frantic.
Her armor lay discarded on the floor.
Her strong, athletic body seemed to lose all its strength. She collapsed onto the floor, her body shaking uncontrollably.
More memories flooded her mind, each image intensifying her despair.
She remembered embracing Qin Chu, her body pressed against his.
She remembered…
She remembered…
He had taken everything from her, her most precious treasure.
She only remembered his touch, his violation, not her own actions, her own desire.
She loved Jie Luo. He was the only man who held a place in her heart. Even the other members of the Hero Squad were just comrades, their bond purely platonic.
She had intended to offer her heart, her body, her everything to Jie Luo. Now, she was broken, defiled.
Even if they resurrected him, how could she face him? How could she stand by his side?
She was tainted!
Her mind shattered, her spirit broken.
Her eyes, once vibrant and fiery, were now dull and lifeless, reflecting the emptiness within her.
The world had lost its color.
All that remained was a suffocating darkness.
Her body trembled, her stomach churning, her heart aching. But the physical pain paled in comparison to the emotional agony. Tears streamed down her face.
She felt like a hollow shell, her soul extinguished.
She hated herself.
She hated that she hadn’t confessed her feelings to Jie Luo when he was alive.
She hated her weakness, her fondness for alcohol. If she hadn’t been drunk, Qin Chu wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of her.
She sat motionless, a lifeless doll. Time lost all meaning. Then, she grabbed her hair, her fingers digging into her scalp, pulling with all her might.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”
Her scream, raw and primal, echoed through the room.
Strands of her red hair, ripped from her scalp, littered the floor.
She was punishing herself, seeking to drown out the memories with physical pain.
But it wasn’t enough.
Her usual boldness, her fiery spirit, was gone. The Valkyrie was now a broken woman, her hair a tangled mess. She scrambled to her feet, bracing herself against the wall, her forehead slamming against the hard surface.
Bang… Bang… Bang…
The room shook, cracks spreading across the wall, plaster raining down. The entire building seemed to groan under her assault, threatening to collapse.
Anyone witnessing this scene would doubt that this crazed woman was the legendary Valkyrie.
She stopped, her forehead bruised and bloodied. She had hoped to knock herself unconscious, to wake up and find that it had all been a nightmare.
But she couldn’t escape. Each impact only sharpened her awareness, her shame, her self-loathing.
It hurt. Why did it hurt so much?
She sobbed, her body trembling, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, seeking comfort, but finding only a bone-chilling coldness.
After a while, she stumbled into the bathroom, scrubbing her body with frantic movements, trying to wash away the feeling of defilement.
She retrieved her armor and undergarments, dressing slowly, each piece a reminder of her lost innocence.
She grabbed her greatsword, Flame Extinction, the symbol of her glory as the Crimson Valkyrie. The tip dragged across the floor, its metal scraping against the stone, sparks showering down.
The floor split cleanly in two.
Her eyes, once fiery red, were now dull and lifeless.
She was tainted.
She could wash away the physical evidence, but the stain on her soul would remain forever.
No matter how hard she scrubbed, she couldn’t undo what had been done.
Her dream of marrying Jie Luo, of becoming his bride, was shattered. To offer him this broken body, to allow him to touch her… it would be a desecration.
She felt like a disgrace, her very existence a burden. Every breath, every heartbeat, was a reminder of her shame.
She thought about death.
She wanted to plunge Flame Extinction into her stomach, to end her suffering.
But first, she had one task to complete:
Kill Qin Chu!
That bastard had taken advantage of her, pushing her into this abyss of despair. He would pay with his life.
Consumed by pain and hatred, she forgot that he was a crucial part of their plan, that they needed his power to defeat the Demons. Without him, even a resurrected Jie Luo wouldn’t be a match for the Eternal Monarch, Nagath. He would be slaughtered again.
She forgot about her own role in the plan, her own willingness to use him and then discard him, to drain his blood for their own selfish desires.
Hatred consumed her, eclipsing all reason.
The door to Qin Chu’s bedroom exploded inwards.
The walls, already cracked and damaged from her earlier rampage, crumbled further. The floor, scored by her greatsword, threatened to collapse.
She searched for him, her eyes blazing with fury, but he was gone.
Even the guards who had been assigned to protect him had vanished.
Had he fled, anticipating her wrath?
He couldn’t hide forever.
She would find him, even if it meant scouring the ends of the earth.
…
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