Tales of Berseria The X: Beyond Calamity

Chapter XXXII My Precious Velvet Part II

It felt surreal, dreamlike. Avernus planned it all out, or he thought he had it under control.

Ready to fight the exorcists? Check.

Watching out for unpredictable traps and ambushes? Check.

Facing off against hordes of daemons? Check.

Marrying Velvet Crowe? Not so much.

The coughing stopped. Avernus's watery eyes reverted to normal. He quickly collected his scrambled mind back into reality and looked behind him; at a girl who was known to the world as the Lord of Calamity, cunning, ruthless, and malicious.

He blinked faster; there was no vengeful and scary girl anymore. Aside from her torn outfit, nothing was relatable to the preying wolf that hunted the Midgand.

There was just a plain girl with beautiful round eyes, burning with passion. Velvet was running towards him with haste.

"What happened?! Are you okay?!" Velvet asked worryingly as she was giving him some back blows.

Avernus cleared his throat several times, "Yeah, I'm okay... The drink went the "wrong way." He casually replied and attempted to look her in the eye, but her innocent staring prevented him from protesting. Avernus didn't want to ruin the moment. After all, he wanted her back to what she was before all this started. Avernus just had it unexpectedly.

"Why, Velvet?" Words barely came out of Avernus's mouth.

Velvet placed her hands on her hip. Taking a severe but charming posture, looking confident, like Velvet was sure of what she was doing, "Because you promised, do you remember?"

Velvet's sudden change of heart and her tone of voice were alien to him. Avernus didn't know where to start or remind her of their mission. "Yeah, I remember, but...."

"Laphi is alive. Niko is alive. Everyone's alive. Can't you see? We don't need to run. We can stay here together." Velvet moved closer to the inches of his chest. "I can take care of Laphi, and you can find a job here. I'm sure the village needs a teacher." Velvet softly spoke.

Velvet's eyes, her voice, her smile, and her body language were reassuring and cheerful. For Avernus, for Laphicet, and even for their friends, those were precious. Ruining them by reminding her that it was probably a trap would be a cruel and unforgivable move.

Avernus glanced at Magilou and Eleanor for a brief second. He wanted their opinions. He read the same things in their eyes: "No."

"What do you want to do now?" Avernus calmly said to her.

Velvet smiled, moving her hands behind her back, grabbing and holding them together. Her eyes glimmered with an idea, "Let's go back to the village. I want to make something special for Laphi and you for tonight, and I need to buy something."

Avernus nodded. Velvet took off first, and the rest followed her.

Eleanor looked at Avernus as he tried to keep up a straight face and hide his conflicted emotions.

"Do you think they've located the therion?" Eleanor telepathically asked him.

"I doubt it, but let's focus on Velvet. I'm more worried about her than finding that therion." Avernus responded. His concerned feeling sent negative vibes all over their mental connections.

Laphicet lowered his head, "Yeah, for now, I want to stay close to Velvet. I've got a bad feeling about this too. My stomach is twisted, and I've got a chill up my spine."

"Eleanor looked at both of them, "Something more important than our mission? But when you're both put it this way... I trust your feelings...."