Valkries — Release That Witch

Valkries, the Nightmare Lord, is an ancient demon commander whose search through the Realm of Mind leads her into Roland's Dream World. She begins as an enemy investigating humanity's unexplained advance, but the humanlike world, her teacher's apparent reappearance, and her encounter with Roland turn that reconnaissance into a crisis of identity and history. Her continuing pursuit of Roland makes her both an adversary and an identity mirror: each recognizes the other across incompatible realities while concealing what they know.

Biography

Student of two civilizations

Roughly a thousand years before her appearance at the demon council, Valkries studied at the Cloud School shortly after an early upgrade. The school brought together human founders and the demon scholar Heathtalese, called the Transformer, at a time when the two races were already anticipating conflict. Heathtalese taught Valkries human language, knowledge of humanity, and the methods needed to connect with the Realm of Mind. Valkries valued her teacher's curiosity and insight even though other demons despised Heathtalese for having little fighting power. (Chapters 1171 and 1235)

Heathtalese attempted to merge with a fourth magic stone and was consumed by the resulting magic-power backlash while Valkries watched. Before dying, she warned that victory in the Battle of Divine Will would not grant the promised Divine Domain, and she spoke of an unknown “apostle” whose face she had perceived as a distant strand of mind. Valkries could not understand either claim at the time. She nevertheless preserved her teacher's intellectual legacy and returned to the abandoned Cloud School ruins every hundred years, suggesting that the interspecies experiment remained personally important long after open war replaced it. (Chapter 1235)

Valkries eventually became the first of the demon lords and guided many later lords through their upgrades. She conducted Ursrook's ceremony, taught him about humans, and is remembered by Roland teaching fighting techniques to two upgraded demons. During the first Battle of Divine Will she maintained unusually close contact with humanity, and rumors even credited her with human believers. These experiences made her neither a human ally nor a dissident from the demon clan, but they gave her a basis for questioning easy assumptions about an enemy she had studied from within. (Chapters 1171 and 1237)

Following the human mark

After Ursrook's death, the demon council debated how humans had changed so quickly and whether Graycastle posed a threat to the Western Front. Valkries took the warning seriously because she had overseen Ursrook's development and believed his judgment was not delirium. She supported sending more forces and proposed a second line of inquiry: if a human man had produced an effect resembling witch magic, the phenomenon might have left a mark in the Realm of Mind. The demon king authorized her to trace the connection between legacy shards, despite her warning that the search might take too long to prevent a human “upgrade.” (Chapter 1171)

The proposal went beyond what Hackzord, another experienced user of the Realm, believed he could do. Its currents made faint connections difficult to follow, and entering an unfamiliar mind directly could cause madness and disorder. Valkries nevertheless spent extended periods immersed in the Red Mist Pond and pursued Roland's trace. When Roland absorbed another Erosion core in the Dream World, she sensed a rhythmic beat unlike the surrounding chaos. For the first time, the otherwise faint trail felt near enough to follow. (Chapters 1171 and 1185)

Valkries descended beyond the part of the Realm she knew, feeling resistance increase as something pulled her downward. She understood that losing direction could trap her forever and would ordinarily have withdrawn, but the closeness of the signal and the possibility that humanity had accessed a legacy shard pushed her onward. A violent quake then turned the medium beneath her into a current and swept her away. The risk she had identified became the consequence of her decision: instead of observing Roland from a safe connection, she awoke inside the world his mind sustained. (Chapters 1233–1234)

A demon martialist in the Dream World

Valkries entered the Dream World amid the destruction of Prism City. Rescuers found her badly injured beneath rubble and assumed she was a martialist from the Cargarde Peninsula. In the hospital she discovered that her carrier looked like her but was not her original demon body: its magic stone was absent, the Realm of Mind could no longer be heard, and neither her Magic Barrier nor her usual self-repair worked. An unfamiliar current of magic still moved through her, however, and the body had endured an impact that would have shattered an ordinary person's legs. The Martialist Association therefore accepted the identity she gave them rather than recognizing an enemy species. (Chapters 1227 and 1233–1234)

Her first impulse was to kill the humans who entered her room, but she recognized that they had saved her and that violence would expose her before she understood the world. She remained quiet, imitated ordinary speech, and used television to learn about technology and the Association. A report on the Prism City attack showed Lan with the face Heathtalese had most often worn. The resemblance revived the Transformer's talk of an apostle and changed Valkries's goal: escaping remained important, but discovering why her dead mentor's image existed here and why she had doubted the Divine Domain became equally urgent. (Chapters 1234–1235)

Roland then visited the hospital with the Association. He recognized Valkries's face and blue skin from a demon memory fragment, while she recognized him from the Silent Disaster's experience at a legacy shard. Both tested the resemblance without revealing their conclusions. Valkries denied knowing a three-eyed counterpart and showed no response when Roland spoke an ancient demon word; Roland left uncertain whether she was truly the Senior Demon. Valkries, meanwhile, inferred that Roland was the human mark she had followed and the creator of the territory, but feared that any direct attack or exposed memory could endanger her entire clan. (Chapters 1236–1237)

Their meeting turns the search into reciprocal surveillance. Valkries now wants to learn why Roland created the Dream World, what the Erosion and Fallen Evils represent, and how a male human acquired access to legacy power. Fei Yuhan subsequently chooses her for a Martialist Association patrol team, giving Valkries a route into the Dream World's conflict while she is still presenting herself as an injured human-aligned martialist. At the end of the supplied corpus, she remains inside Roland's territory, unable to contact Hackzord or demonstrate a way back to her original body; her investigation has begun, but its effect on her loyalty and on Roland's war is unresolved. (Chapters 1237–1238)

Appearance and personality

In her demon body, Valkries has blue skin, a horn, and a third eye in her forehead, the last of which is the magic stone obtained during her third upgrade. She favors the upgraded appearance even though her power allows her to alter it. A delicate white robe or white muslin clothing, humanlike manners, and fluent human speech create an aloof elegance that contrasts with her visibly nonhuman body and the Red Mist around her. The demon-focused narration initially calls Valkries “it”; once her consciousness enters the Dream World, the narration consistently uses feminine pronouns. The corpus does not explain demon sex or establish whether the change reflects biology, translation, or the carrier's presentation. (Chapters 1171, 1236, and 1237)

Her Dream World carrier preserves the recognizable face and pale-blue skin but lacks the forehead eye. Roland describes thin brows, cold eyes, a tall nose, and delicate features, while the hospital dresses her in an ordinary patient shirt. Valkries herself says the body looks exactly like hers despite the missing magic stone and different internal flow of power. The supplied chapters do not explain how the carrier was created, whether it existed before her arrival, or whether her original body continues independently. (Chapters 1233–1237)

Valkries is composed, cautious, curious, and proud without being intellectually rigid. She respects a physically weak teacher, warns the council against dismissing Ursrook, and admits uncertainty about a method she has not yet tested. Curiosity can overcome her caution, as it does when she follows Roland's mark beyond a safe depth, but after becoming trapped she adapts quickly: she suppresses hostility, studies unfamiliar devices, and fools Roland despite intense fear. Her loyalty remains with the demon clan at the corpus endpoint, yet her attachment to Heathtalese and willingness to investigate forbidden implications leave room for beliefs that the war has not settled. (Chapters 1171 and 1234–1237)

Magic and abilities

Valkries's original power comes from successive demon upgrades and merged magic stones. In the Dream World, she has access only to the carrier's Force-of-Nature-like energy and no demonstrated way to reactivate all of her Senior Lord abilities. The distinction is essential: knowledge and identity cross into Roland's territory, but the corpus does not establish that her original body, magic stones, or full combat power do. (Chapters 1171 and 1233–1237)

Demon upgrades and the third magic stone

Valkries is the earliest demon identified as a lord and has completed at least three upgrades. Each upgrade requires merging with a magic stone; failure can trigger a destructive backlash, as Heathtalese's attempted fourth merger demonstrates. Valkries's third stone forms the eye in her forehead. The supplied corpus does not name that stone, isolate its individual function, or state whether “Nightmare” refers to the stone itself, so the eye should not be treated as proof of a specific beam, illusion, or mind-control technique. (Chapters 1171, 1235, and 1237)

Her expertise is also procedural. Valkries leads other lords through upgrades, presides over Ursrook's ceremony, and passes knowledge of humanity to him. Roland's remembered scene of her teaching upgraded demons shows that she couples magical advancement with combat instruction rather than assuming a new stone automatically produces mastery. Heathtalese's death remains the method's clearest limit: even an expert who had succeeded three times could be consumed by an additional merger. (Chapters 1171, 1235, and 1237)

Heathtalese taught Valkries to connect to the Realm of Mind, and centuries of practice give her unusually deep control. She can enter the chaotic medium, remain oriented beyond the depth Hackzord normally attempts, perceive memories or experiences transmitted through legacy shards, and search for a person's mark by tracing the relationship among shards. Roland's absorption of an Erosion core produces a distinct beat that finally lets her localize his influence. (Chapters 1171, 1185, 1234, and 1237)

This is tracking and traversal, not demonstrated omniscience. Connections are faint, currents distort direction, and finding a specific mind requires long investigation with no guarantee of success. Forcing entry can damage the intruder's mind, while descending too far risks permanent disorientation. Valkries's own search ends in loss of control when the Realm quakes and sweeps her into the Dream World. Once embodied there, she can no longer hear the Realm's murmur or communicate with the demon lords, making her most specialized ability inaccessible at the latest point in the corpus. (Chapters 1171 and 1233–1234)

Physical power, defense, and appearance

Valkries says most upgraded demons have extraordinary fighting ability, and she believes her real body could challenge Roland directly. She is shown as a combat instructor and is powerful enough to alter her outward form. She also expects her original body to possess a Magic Barrier and rapid self-repair. These claims establish broad Senior Lord competence, but the supplied chapters do not show her fighting in that body, measure her strength or speed, or demonstrate the barrier against an attack. (Chapters 1171, 1234, and 1237)

Her Dream World carrier has much narrower demonstrated capabilities. It survives falling rubble without broken leg bones and retains a flow of magic similar to the Force of Nature used by martialists, but it remains badly injured, heals slowly, and cannot raise the Magic Barrier. Fei Yuhan's invitation implies that the Association considers Valkries fit for future patrol duty; it does not prove that she has recovered or mastered Dream World combat. Her latest practical strengths are endurance, discipline, and concealed knowledge rather than verified Senior Lord force. (Chapters 1227, 1233–1234, and 1238)

Human language and covert adaptation

Valkries is the first demon lord known to learn human language and acquires much of that knowledge through the Cloud School. She understands human manners well enough to address the demon council in a humanlike style, then uses observation and restrained speech to pass as an unfamiliar foreign martialist. In the hospital, she infers the purpose of television and its remote without sensing magic, learns public information from broadcasts, and copies the responses expected by her doctors. (Chapters 1171 and 1234–1235)

This is learned cultural competence rather than supernatural disguise. Dream World technology, medicine, and institutions remain unfamiliar, and silence sometimes protects her only because other people interpret it as injury or reserve. Roland's recognition nearly breaks the performance, while his incomplete knowledge allows her denial to succeed. By Chapter 1238, she has gained access to the Association's circle but still lacks identity papers, a known history in the world, and a secure explanation for her appearance. (Chapters 1234 and 1236–1238)

Relationships

Roland Wimbledon

Roland Wimbledon shapes Valkries's story before either knows the other's name. The Silent Disaster's memory shows her a human who can confront a legacy shard, and the mark produced by Roland's Dream World gives her a target to trace. His absorption of Erosion power clarifies the signal, while his territory becomes both the destination of her investigation and the prison that cuts her off from the demon clan. (Chapters 1171, 1185, and 1233–1234)

Roland has separately seen Valkries in a demon memory fragment, producing a symmetrical encounter when he reaches her hospital room. Each recognizes evidence that the other crosses the boundary between worlds; each also mistakes the other's level of control. Valkries fears Roland may be omnipotent and able to inspect memories, whereas Roland cannot yet determine whether she is his remembered Senior Demon. Their guarded handshake establishes a consequential enemy dialogue based on observation rather than open combat, and leaves each carrying information the other cannot safely ignore. (Chapters 1236–1237)

Heathtalese

Heathtalese is Valkries's first teacher, the demon who joined the human Cloud School and introduced her to the Realm of Mind. Valkries refuses to measure the Transformer by combat strength, witnesses her fatal fourth upgrade, preserves her writings, and repeatedly visits the school's ruins. Seeing Heathtalese's familiar “Lan” face in Roland's world gives Valkries a personal reason to remain and investigate rather than treating the Dream World solely as enemy territory. (Chapter 1235)

Hackzord

Hackzord is a fellow demon lord and the guardian whose legacy shards make Valkries's search possible. He respects her understanding of the Realm of Mind but cannot read her motives and privately criticizes the time she appears to spend resting in the Red Mist Pond. Valkries's disappearance therefore grows out of a division in expertise: Hackzord manages the physical Western Front while she explores a threat whose location and rules he cannot follow. (Chapters 1171, 1206, and 1234)

Ursrook

Valkries performs Ursrook's upgrade ceremony and teaches him about humanity. After his death, she treats his warning as the judgment of a gifted student and supports reinforcing the Fertile Plains rather than dismissing his final assessment. The bond helps explain why she investigates Roland personally: the search is not abstract curiosity alone, but an attempt to understand the force that defeated someone she trained. (Chapter 1171)

The demon king and the Silent Disaster

The demon king tolerates Valkries's informal manner and authorizes her Realm of Mind search, suggesting unusual trust in her expertise. The Silent Disaster supplies the memory through which Valkries first recognizes Roland and supports her caution about humanity at the council. Valkries remains loyal to their civilization, but her knowledge of Heathtalese's warning means her investigation may test assumptions even the king has not resolved. (Chapters 1171, 1235, and 1237)

Fei Yuhan and the Martialist Association

Fei Yuhan selects Valkries for a patrol team after the Prism City disaster. The invitation legitimizes the identity of “demon martialist” that rescuers and doctors have constructed around her and offers direct access to the fight against the Erosion. The supplied corpus ends before Valkries accepts, refuses, or serves beside Fei Yuhan, so their relationship remains an opening rather than an established alliance. (Chapters 1236 and 1238)

Items

The finalized notable-item inventory assigns Valkries no separate signature item. The magic stone that appears as her third eye is integrated into her upgraded demon body, while her white robe and the Dream World hospital equipment are contextual possessions rather than independent catalog items. Her carrier awakens without the stone, an absence that marks the limit between her original power and her current Dream World state. (Chapters 1171 and 1233–1237)