The Witch Hunter System
chapter-845

Right after Summer snapped at the baby, the baby immediately went quiet, which surprised her.

"Oh? Could it be that you understand me?" Summer uttered before frowning, "You're not even one year old yet, but you understand me? It must be a coincidence..."

"However, on the off chance that you do understand me... What the hell took you so long to shut up? Are you purposely trying to make my life more miserable than it already is?"

"No... I shouldn't be talking like this... How could I vent my anger and frustration on a baby? I'm sorry, Young Master Varuna. I shouldn't have said such nasty things to you. None of this is your fault," Summer reflected on her mistake.

Alas, it was only a moment of clarity before her mind sunk into deeper darkness. The constant fear of anything brought out the worst in people.

"Wehhh..." the infant Varuna cried again as he felt hungry.

However, Summer did not accommodate his needs. The moment she heard his cry again, the nice side of her disappeared and was replaced by hostility again.

"And here I thought we could get along. Are you hungry? Well, guess what? I'm not going to feed you! Maybe if you shut up and give me peace of mind for some time, I might consider it."

"Otherwise, you can forget it. You might be a baby, but you are going to have to start learning the house rules today, you Little Demon," Summer spat.

However, baby Varuna did not become silent this time. Instead, he cried even louder.

In turn, Summer's despairing mood plummeted further. She responded to his cry by covering his mouth with a blanket.

Although she could still hear his cry, the volume had certainly died down a little.

"In times like this, I wish I had learned the sleeping spell," Summer thought but felt temporary relief and peace, nonetheless.

However, moments later, she suddenly regained her reason again and removed the blanket, fearing she had suffocated the baby to death.

She felt immediate relief upon seeing her Young Master Varuna's breathing, albeit very weak.

Although she believed her Lady was dead since she never received a single piece of news since her departure, she also feared if she was wrong.

What would her Lady do to her if she suddenly returned and saw how she treated her baby son?

Nevertheless, the supplies left behind by her Lady were dwindling. On the other hand, the mana stones remained untouched.

Although its value could support them for two dozen years, the condition was that she had to go out and buy more food supplies.

Unfortunately, the slums weren't a very peaceful place. The residents would do anything for money as long as there were rewards for their efforts.

What would happen to her if there was a price for news related to her Lady and her? Would she be taken away and tortured for information?

She was still a relatively young witch and still in the prime of her life. Yet, she was wasting it away by hiding in such a dilapidated and abandoned house.

Why did she have to live like this? What wrong has she done? Was it also wrong to wish for a better life? Why must she accept such a situation?

Who could she blame for her present situation? Her Lady? Or the people or forces hunting her? Or maybe even the world itself?

Summer suddenly started feeding her Young Master Varuna baby formula milk, hoping to nurse back his health and energy.

Although it would be easier if he died, she also realized she couldn't let him die so easily. Otherwise, she wouldn't have anyone to vent her anger and frustration on.

Moreover, how could she make up for the past six months of torment the baby had given her?

Day by day, Summer's thoughts became increasingly twisted and sinister.

In normal circumstances, she would have done a good job taking care of Young Master Varuna and raising him. However, her chaotic environment did not allow it.

The constant violence and gossip on the streets did not grant her any good sleep. More often than not, she would wake up a few dozen times a night due to various noises. As such, she was in a constant state of mental exhaustion.

Having to take care of a newborn baby who required care and attention every couple of hours only made it worse.

...

"Hey, have you heard? The genius young lady of the Great House of Caelestis went missing. I heard there are many influential and powerful people looking for her. They are even offering a reward for any piece of information that could help with pinpointing her whereabouts..."

"Oh? Is it the Great House of Caelestis looking for her or other people?"

"This... I'm not sure, but why does it matter? We don't need to care as long as we get paid for the information we provide, no?"

"That's true..."

Summer overheard the gossip outside the house, and her determination never to leave the house was strengthened.

However, if she never left to procure more food, they would eventually run out of food supplies. Even if she rationed everything and hibernated most of the day to conserve energy, she would only last two years at most.

"People know my face, but they don't know the Little Demon's face, do they?" Summer suddenly thought.

From then on, she decided to raise her Young Master Varuna, with the hope that he would grow up faster. At the same time, she also practiced her sleeping spells on him when he cried.

"No one should know your name. If they know, they will find out about your relationship with Lady Vivienne. So, there will be no more Young Master Varuna. From today on, you will be Valefor, Little Demon," Summer decided.

...

Vaan couldn't help but sigh as he recovered Valefor's memories.

From birth, e was blessed with superior learning capabilities. As such, by age of two, Valefor was already able to speak and walk like a four-year-old.

It was also at that age that he was sent out to buy food for the twisted maidservant with a bag of mana stones she gave. Unfortunately, the slum was an unforgiving place for a two-year- old child with a bag of mana stones.

Valefor had his bag of mana stones robbed and also suffered light injuries from falling. When he came home to the maidservant with nothing, he was further beaten and tortured for it.

"Where's the food? You lost the storage bag as well?! You had one job! Why couldn't you do it right?! Are you trying to infuriate me to death?! Don't beg me! Don't call me mother! I am not your mother! Your real mother is already dead!" - Vaan recalled the curses as if they were said

yesterday.

Valefor suffered constant physical and verbal abuse throughout his childhood. By the time he reached thirteen years of age, his body had already carried hundreds of scars from sharp cuts, lacerating whips, burns, and even stabbing.

That wasn't even including the countless thousands of other trauma-induced beatings he had suffered.

Compared to other children, what Valefor experienced in his childhood could be considered

hell.

Whenever he made a mistake, he would be beaten or tortured for it. Even when he didn't do anything wrong, he could still be beaten and tortured for it. Just looking or thinking a certain way would earn him a beating or torture session.

It was a miracle that he even survived as long as he did. Nevertheless, the maidservant disappeared one day after sending him out on an errand. Thus, by the age of thirteen, he had no one else to rely on and nothing to support his living moving

forward.

At the very least, when the maidservant was still around, he was given mana stones to buy food supplies for them.

Now, he could only scavenge like the rest of the slum people.

In Valefor's memories, Vaan encountered countless instances of Valefor getting robbed by

other scavengers.

However, Valefor's hatred toward them was nothing compared to his hatred toward the young witches who would occasionally visit the slums and make a sport out of practicing their magic on homeless scavengers.

At the very least, the other scavengers only hurt others to survive. On the other hand, the

spoiled young witches tormented them for fun.

The hatred towards witches was nurtured since infancy.

Although Vaan knew they were his own memories of the past, he only felt like he was

observing someone else's memories.

Nevertheless, it was quite shocking to see what Valefor experienced. It was no wonder that he

held endless hatred and malice toward everything and everyone, with witches being at the top

of the list.

That was how a demon was made.

Vaan couldn't help but realize how foolish his thoughts were regarding countless scars on his

body from the neck downward.

Originally, he thought they were all caused by the lifestyle of the slums when, in reality, it

was mostly caused by a single person.

In Valefor's timeline, he never had any relationship with Lord Manfred and the brothel. Valefor had awakened the system two years earlier than Vaan.

Moreover, it was due to a fatal wound he suffered when the spoiled young witches played one

of their favorite slum sports - Hobo Hunting.

Funnily enough, the leader of the spoiled young witches was the same daughter of the City

Lord who he had killed in the present timeline, Isabelle.

The only difference was that he had killed her two years later than Valefor did.

However, it was also another important turning point in their lives.

After all, the death of Isabelle in Valefor's timeline pushed him into a life of constant running and fighting against the authorities of the Black Rose Kingdom.