Chapter Seventeen: Vengeful Fears

He tightened his grip and he looked at her. "Val—"

"I was asked to listen to you, regardless or how stupid you may sound, I am not particularly a fan of waiting and you seem to be taking your time making me wait."

Ares' eyes widened. Her voice was cold and it sounded like bloodbath. "No, I—"

Valerie immediately starts walking. It was as if she's avoiding him to talk. Only a coward could let it slide and say nothing but Ares was confident enough to build his first step to father hood. 

He grabbed her on the hand, and stopped her from walking. "Listen while I'm talking, Valerie! This wasn't easy either, I know I made the biggest mistake in my life but at least give this old fool a chance to make up with you, my dear daughter!"

Valerie looked at him startled. She then stared at her hand against his—it was somehow warm. For some unknown reason, she didn't seem to dislike it—like something she longed for. 

What is this? 

She gulped as she tried to take her hands back but she didn't win against Ares, the God of War. She looked at him annoyed. 

"I won't listen to anymore of your nonsense, so just leave me alone!"

"No!" Ares yelled. "I won't abandon you again, I won't leave you again, I won't sacrifice you again so give me a chance to repent."

She looked him in the eye, every emotion she kept confined bursted from the action that Ares made. She couldn't help but to yell, and yell every pain she has or pain she gets from the process of her life ever since being born. 

Those buildup emotions had finally gotten inside of her like a blade ready to attack. She held Ares hand and she tried forcing her hands off but with her efforts, that didn't do anything, her strength is different and weaker than him. 

"Please Val—"

She lifted her free hand across him and suddenly a bulb light like an electricity made a shocking lightning on her palm. She then carefully pulled a thin yet sharp weapon, a blade, and she tried striking a God but Ares was quick enough to see and he dodge while his hand was still on Valerie's hand. 

"Valerie! What are you doing!?" He asked but Valerie was far too angry to stop. Her blade slid in rotation and this time the target was Ares head, but as quickly as he saw—Ares immediately backwards to avoid the attack. 

Her face turned pallid—darker than her previous, Valerie couldn't help but to look at him and gulped.

"I—I always thought I was a misfortune, because you left me! I've spent my life thinking I was unwanted nor the fact that I was the reason that my own mother died, it was hard to understand! I can't understand anything, I just wanted to know something, to feel something nor receive something without something I'll give it back! So, why?"

Her timid cold voice started to scream, it's like she couldn't hold it back but as soon as she told him how she felt, her voice was fading and what came was a normal child's tantrum, and her crying. She always thought she's made to be a puppet, no emotions, nor will in life. 

To her, she lost her childhood, one that forces her to be more mature, nor more like a woman in a white vail waiting for death to appear. Those memories she had weren't the nicest, and the coolest, it wasn't something she wanted from the very first start. 

She wanted to feel alive and needed but that didn't happen. Now it's just a memory of someone who barely survived hell. 

Ares always knew, he did. However, being reminded of it makes him more guilty. It's like he made his daughter's life a living hell. If there is a second time for him to repent, he will try his best to do so. 

Valerie's falling down to the ground and her losing her grip of her sword made Ares let her hands go. She's trying to surpass her emotions and not to cry, but thinking what he said made her tears fall from her eyes. 

All of her past frustration burns into one, and all of her hidden tears become a pool of incoming ones. She couldn't control her tears anymore, and looked down. 

Ares kneeled to match his daughter who kneeled on the floor and breathed out. "I was a God, Valerie, when Athena needed to be stopped, I asked Apollo if there was a way to regain and break my curse. When I did, and successfully had taken Athena back to the underworld, she sent an assassin to kill your mother," he held her shoulders. "She died protecting you, but she did it happily. I tried asking Hades to take her soul back but it was too late for that. Hades wouldn't even grant my wish after sacrificing one of Athena's treasure, I was fooled twice! I went back and took you, she hide you underneath the bed, and I tried not to leave you but things weren't going the same, everyone turned their spear on me, so I had no choice but to ask your mother's sister, Rebecca to take you in the Human Realm and raise you there until I can get you back."

He wasn't aware, Rebecca died in the process, so no one was able to contact him until he decided to send Caleb on a mission of learning that world's technology. And to carefully watch his daughter, but when Caleb couldn't find Rebecca they tried everything to see her. 

Almost a year before Caleb got an information that Rebecca died, and a child from her was taken by a human scientist. Caleb thought she was in a good hand, but he was mistaken.

Years later, he discovered the dark truth that was happening inside the facility, it was also that time when he created his own first few 10 Valkyries. His prototype mechanical operating machines. 

Before they infiltrated the facility, they waited two mounts to draft a plan and successfully overthrow that facility. Soon it was found by local police that those human scientists were doing illegal human trafficking and using them as human experimental puppets. 

When they found Valerie, she was nowhere to be recognized, she was so thin like a skeleton, and pale like a vampire, her hair was messy and her eyes were dull. It's like she hasn't been eating the maximum amount of three meals a day. 

Her body was covered in red circles—from her fresh and old wounds. It was horrible, more horrible than those of human children. Her lips were as dry as desert, dressed in a see through outfit. Her hands have all the bruises and cuts, even those with frail ones, other scars were fresh. 

And it's filled with fresh blood. 

To think a demigod would be abused to this instinct. Even though Hera had tried killing her husband's bastard children, it wasn't worse like how Valerie had gone through. No matter how you look at it, humans are daring to touch a child of a God. 

Caleb soon rescued her, bathed her, took care of her needs and gave her food. So that she'll recover and become healthy. 

Ares look down and he breathed out. "My father wouldn't let me leave, I couldn't leave this world—no Gods did, only mortals was able to cross both world but us Gods will be thrown back if we were to force our way in, but I tried Valerie, I tried to go, to see you," he mumbles, it was true, he did try his best but his best didn't paid off. This world and his father won't allow him to go. "I—I'm sorry, dear child, this Godly father of yours couldn't even do anything at all."

Valerie's eyes widened, she only heard from Caleb but never did she think it was true. Even though she refuses to believe it, she knows that there is a reason. She was blinded by her anger to even see that, to her even without her father, she could survive. 

She bit her lips and her tears continued to fall. 'Having a mortal heart is no different from a human heart after all, it's a hindrance,' she thought and doubtfully gave in to the temptation of affection in front of her. 

What's the chances that a God himself would have such a personality? Even Zeus hadn't done anything to protect his child—when Hebes died, only Hera couldn't even lift a finger after she lost her daughter.

It became her karma during the past few years she killed her husband's lover, and their childrens. This time, Hebes, her beautiful daughter, died from the hand of Hercules a demigod. 

A demigod? That's right, few of them existed—at least known by ancient times. Just like Valerie, a half Goddess and a Mortal, a demigod, she was the first born child of Ares. Unlike other God's who had many childrens, and offspring, Ares remain loyal to his wife Rosalyn. 

This might be the reason why Hera was envious of Rosalyn, because she didn't have a husband like Ares who's blood runs from him was Hera's loyal heritage. He got more from his mother than his father, which explains the similarity of loyalty. 

Ares is different amongst the Gods, he knows how to show more emotions than a construct ideal, although they have indifferent sides, all of them are born from Zeus himself. 

His indifferent side was one of his charm as a God, of course many thought of him as the God of War, a God who loves violence and war or would often start them.