Chapter 100: The Sealed Grail
The sanctum beneath Castle Agares had not been opened in over a century.
Hidden beneath layers of enchantments and bloodline-restricted seals, the chamber was once designed to store relics from the Great War—items deemed too dangerous or volatile for even Maous to access freely.
Volundr stood at the heart of this forgotten vault, where ancient stone met the silence of magic itself. Cold mist curled around the obsidian altar at the center, untouched by time or light.
And there, resting inside a translucent sphere of crystalline stasis, hovered the fragmented Sacred Gear: Sephiroth Graal.
The process had been delicate. Removing a Sacred Gear from its host was rare—removing one like Sephiroth Graal, a sub-species Sacred Gear composed of three Grails twisted into one, bordered on the impossible.
But Volundr had studied for years in secret for this moment, practicing the scared gear transfer skill asked from god fo reincarnation.
And last night, in the heart of his personal sanctum, he had succeeded.
The room had glowed with golden light, Valerie hovering midair as Volundr performed the severing ritual, his voice chanting complex incantations in a language forgotten by all but the oldest dragons. The Grail fought back—not with force, but with temptation. Whispers of power, of immortality, of rebirth and ruin.
But Volundr did not flinch. His will was immovable.
And now, the Sacred Gear was sealed—encased in a triple-layered anti-divine stasis barrier, resting where only Volundr himself could reach it.
A ward etched in his own blood pulsed faintly at the chamber entrance, responding only to his aura.
No one else would know.
Not even Rias. Not even the Great Maou.
He turned and left the chamber without a word, sealing the entrance behind him with a thought.
Above, in the west wing of Castle Agares, Valerie lay resting beneath enchanted silk sheets. Her skin had regained some of its warmth, and her breathing was steady. Without the burden of the Grail's whispers, her body and mind had begun to heal at last.
Volundr stood at her bedside, watching as her aura began to stabilize. It still shimmered faintly with the remnants of divine energy, but it no longer lashed out unpredictably. Instead, it pulsed gently, as if rediscovering its rhythm.
Valerie stirred, eyes fluttering open. "Is it gone?" she asked, her voice hoarse but calm.
Volundr nodded.
"It's sealed. Deep beneath this castle. Only I know the location. Only I have access."
Relief washed over her expression like a tide. "I can't hear it anymore… the voices. The pressure. It's just… quiet."
"That silence is yours to keep, for as long as you need it," Volundr said.
"No one else knows what we've done. This secret is ours alone."
Valerie turned her head slightly to face him. "Why… go so far for me?"
Volundr's gaze remained steady.
"Because your future matters. You've suffered enough. And when the time comes, I want you to rise on your own terms—not as a vessel… but as a person."
Her lips curled into a faint, trembling smile. "You're strange, Volundr Agares."
He offered the smallest of smirks. "Takes one to know one."
She let out a soft laugh. It was weak, barely more than breath—but it was the first sound of hope she'd made since being rescued.
As Volundr left the room, a quiet understanding settled between them.
The Grail was sealed. The past was buried.
And Valerie Tepes had taken her first true step toward recovery—and toward the role Volundr quietly reserved for her: not as a weapon, but as his future Bishop.