Count Valentine, a practitioner of alchemy, was driven insane by his pursuit for Soul Edge - also known as the "Key to Eternal Youth".
By the time of his death, his efforts to search for Soul Edge drained his family's fortunes and left one of London's most distinguished families in ruins.

As if to pursue her husband into death, the Countess fell ill and passed away soon after Count Valentine's death.
This left Ivy as the sole surviving member of the Valentine family.
In reality, Ivy was not a true Valentine by birth.
The Count and Countess found her abandoned in front of their mansion when she was an infant, and she was taken into the family as an adopted child.
Ivy discovered this secret only after reading a will left behind by the Countess in her death. But this did not matter to her, for the Valentines were the only parents she knew.

Obeying the last wishes of her adoptive father, Ivy continued the search for Soul Edge and studied alchemy.
During this investigation, she uncovered the true nature of the sword - it was an evil blade that feasted on souls.
In order to avenge the death her father, who was driven insane by the allure of Soul Edge, Ivy vowed to use all of her knowledge to destroy it. She invoked strange powers through occult rituals to summon a mysterious individual who gave life to the whip-like, mechanical sword she dubbed "Ivy Blade."

The sword, which had a will of its own, accompanied and protected Ivy on her journey to vanquish Soul Edge.

When she crossed paths with Nightmare, the one who breathed life into her sword, she agreed to assist him in the "summoning of souls".
Little did she know that it was all part of the evil sword's plans.

Massacre after massacre ...... devoted souls seeking the truth brought down ...... in the hands of its host Nightmare, the evil blade's monstrous eye smiled in satisfaction.

It used Astaroth and Lizardman as its hands to recover its strength with no risk to itself or its host.
Soon it would regain the power it once had. The time had come here in Ostrheinsburg Castle with so many plots racing through each mind.
Nightmare's plan was to have the evil blade eat the souls of Astaroth and Lizardman as the final touch since the monsters themselves sought to deprive the sword of its power.

Despite the evil air, Ivy walked down the isle to the back gate alone.
She wanted to repay Nightmare for helping her create the Ivy Blade and so she helped him in his quest for resurrection, but she has finally reached her limit.
These endless massacres left too many victims just for the art of resurrection.
What was the true purpose of these tragedies?

This was the question that raced in her mind that bore no answer.
Moreover she loathed the vile beast that carried out the massacres like cold executioners.
The bloodthirsty giant must enjoy the slaughter and Lizardman was clearly not a creature from the earth.
The eyes of Lizardman bore no emotion despite its heartless acts.
Moreover, everyone, including Nightmare, seemed to be plotting something terrible.

" I can't help anymore. "

A  monster stood watch at the back gate of the castle.
Looking for a way out of the castle while avoiding detection Ivy choose a secret underground passage.
In the dark narrow isle she felt uneasy as if the eye of Nightmare's sword was gazing upon her.
Her steps quicken as she saw the light of the exit in the distance.
However as she emerged from the passage on to the ramparts she saw Astaroth and his clay golem subordinates waiting for her.

  " It's strange that you are using an underground passage. Where are you going in such a hurry ? " Astaroth smirked.

  " I will no longer hold company with brutal creatures like you. I'm leaving this castle to complete my own quest. " Ivy replied.

Hearing her words Astaroth said,
" You stupid bitch, the object of your quest Soul Edge has sat in front of you all this time.
Why didn't you feel anything when you gazed upon the eye ? Well not that I care and the time is coming so devote your soul to the blade. "

Dodging a sudden attack from the giant's axe Ivy drew her ever-morphing Ivy Blade.

What did he say ? That Nightmare's sword was none other than Soul Edge?

  " I felt the evil aura of the blade but that is not proof enough to call it Soul Edge.
Above all if it were the Soul Edge he would have never let me who wants to destroy the blade, near him.
Or maybe he thought because I am a mere woman ......
Ivy's thoughts raced on.

  " You are a spare host I've heard " Astaroth smirked and answered with such confidence that it seemed as if he knew everything.

A  spare host ? What could that mean ?

Ivy was stunned for a moment with this thought and with out hesitation Astaroth seized the moment.
The giant's blade was coming down on her head as she regained her mental focus.
Narrowly she dodged the axe's blade but the hilt slammed her against the wall.
Astaroth stood in front of a beaten Ivy and smiled.
But suddenly the clay golems behind him became noisy.

  " What's happening? Three ...... three strong souls ? Good. "
Upon his subordinates' report Astaroth turned his back to Ivy and began to leave.

  " Are you running away ?! Take back the words you said ! "

  " I'm leaving for a more efficient hunt. Worry not, these golems will finish my work and take your soul for the blade. " Astaroth replied.

The giant left and the clay golems attacked Ivy obeying his orders.
A long and hard fight left a breathless Ivy standing is a pool of melted clay.
Her beautiful face and body were cover in mud, and strength gone and her consciousness fading.
Desperately she made her way back to the passage.
She refused to believe Astaroth's words and needed to talk with Nightmare directly.

  " Stop, child of the evil sword !!! " The voice of a young woman rang out from behind Ivy.

As Ivy looked back she saw an Asian woman in strange clothing standing there.
Ivy wasn't aware of the woman's presence before.
Ivy brandished her sword with her last bit of strength but the woman stopped her attack with a short sword drawn from her waist.
The moment the blades clashed Ivy Blade wreathed on the short sword as it began to shed a dark and evil aura.
Affected by the dark aura the trees surrounding them groaned in pain.

  " What is happening !? "

  " This sword bears a crack of Soul Edge," said the woman. " And your sword which resonates with mine is the child of the sword. "

  " The child of the evil sword ...... it may be. So your words and Astaroth's are true, this sword was completed with the power of Soul Edge.
How stupid I am, me who in order to destroy Soul Edge entrusted the very power of the evil sword itself. "
Ivy replied as she was hit with her own uneasy suspicion.

  " One more fact, the blood of the evil blade runs in your veins. "

  " Wha ...... ! "

The woman had now called not only her blade the child of the evil sword but Ivy as well.
With her last remaining power Ivy attacked the woman.
But the woman parried her blade easily and jumped onto the ramparts.

  " Once I fought with a man who bore an aura similar to yours. That man was the previous owner of the evil sword. Now, farewell. "

  "Wai ...... wait! What do you mean? You mean that my true father is ...... ?! "

Captain Cervantes, the immortal pirate ?

She never said the name but she stared at the rampart where the woman once stood.
Ivy then heard a heavy noise from inside the castle.
The three trespassers must have been more than Astaroth expected.
Ivy drew her exhausted body toward the dark castle with a new will.

" If it's true, I will cut him to pieces. "

Knowing she was deceived is the only power that moves her now.

Ivy realized it was Nightmare who possessed Soul Edge.
She came to this revelation only after he was defeated and the evil blade was shattered.
That meant that the beloved blade she had forged to destroy Soul Edge had life thanks to the power of the evil blade.

Ivy also learned the secrets of her true lineage.
Ivy's birth father had once wielded Soul Edge and was manipulated by its wicked powers !
Shaken by the horrifying truth, Ivy returned home and locked herself away in a dark laboratory.

She tried countless times to destroy Ivy Blade, which was now a symbol of her self-hatred and regret.
She could not, however, bring herself to actually break the sword.
" I am the same as this sword … Yes, the blood of the evil blade flows through me. The same blood … "

Ivy Blade waited for its master's orders silently.

After months of soul searching, Ivy emerged with renewed resolve.
Her goal was no longer to destroy the evil sword, but to completely wipe it out of existence.
As a vow to her commitment, she renamed her sword "Valentine".
And when she acquired information about fragments of Soul Edge being scattered throughout the world, she immediately departed on her new journey.

Ivy intended to destroy every fragment of Soul Edge, anyone who carried its tainted bloodline, and anyone contaminated by its evil.
Nothing would stop her from destroying the root of the evil, even if it meant killing the innocent-there would be no exceptions.
The only thing that mattered was obliterating the evil sword's existence completely.
" Call me a monster, a demon if you must. I'll be happy to be called those names if it is the price I must pay to eliminate the existence of the evil blade !! "

This was the beginning of her long, arduous journey. A journey where she would ultimately have to destroy herself and all that was related to her.

Ivy's adoptive family name "Valentine" became a symbol of her will to live as a "human" even though the cursed blood of the demonic blade ran strong within her.