Chapter 530: Let’s destroy a little.
The embrace, intense and unexpected, still vibrated in the air when Naberius let out a heavy sigh, burying her face against Sepphirothy’s shoulder. Her aura wavered like unstable fire, but her voice was low, almost a whisper.
"I missed you so much..." she murmured, as if a confession had been wrung from within her flames.
Sepphirothy closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. For a moment, the rigidity of her posture softened, but not out of tenderness, but rather out of exhaustion. She lifted one hand, gently pushing her face away from the other, forcing Naberius to look at her.
"Stop acting like a child." Her voice was firm, cold, cutting through the moment with the precision of a blade. "The world didn’t stop because you were sealed."
Naberius blinked, and for a moment her eyes, red as embers, seemed to glow with indignation... until she laughed, a short, husky, almost satisfied laugh.
"You still know how to talk that way, Snow White," she said, the nickname escaping with a mixture of affection and teasing. "As if I were always your responsibility."
When they finally pulled away, the air in the clearing vibrated again. A new weight surged, as intense as it was unexpected.
Vergil jerked his head up, instinct on alert. Roxanne clenched her fist reflexively. Even Titania, still shaken, felt the change and flinched, startled.
And then came the realization: it wasn’t one aura, but two. Two colossal, demonic presences, advancing at absurd speed, like flaming meteors.
The sound of air being ripped apart was heard before their forms were even visible. And when the impact of their arrival nearly burst everyone’s eardrums, Naberius smiled.
A wide, cruel, vibrant smile.
She turned slowly to Sepphirothy, as if announcing a play she’d been holding in her heart for centuries.
"Santa..." she whispered, almost amused. "I’m sorry for what I’m about to do."
And then she laughed loudly, letting the flames around her expand like incandescent waves.
It was at that moment that two figures appeared, streaking through the forest and clearing like arrows.
The first, with long red hair that burned like wildfire, landed violently, cracking the ground beneath her feet. The impact shook the roots of the forest. Her eyes, two fierce rubies, swept the scene in seconds.
Sapphire.
Her gaze found Katharina first, and a sigh of relief escaped her lips.
"Thank God..." she muttered, seeing her daughter standing, sweaty and trembling. "I would have been too late..."
The second figure landed next, with an almost contrasting elegance. Silver hair, an aura as sharp as a blade of ice. Her gaze found Roxanne immediately, and the rigidity in her face relaxed with a barely perceptible sigh.
Stella.
"It’s okay..." she whispered, almost to herself. "My daughter is okay."
For a moment, the chaos of the destroyed prison seemed to quiet. The reunion of mothers and daughters filled the air with a tense silence, but one that carried relief.
Until Sapphire finally looked away and fixed her gaze on Naberius.
Her expression hardened instantly.
The red eyes narrowed, recognizing the enemy before her.
"You..." she murmured, her voice deep, her entire body pulsing with flame. "You haven’t changed at all, bitch."
The impact of the words resounded like thunder.
Naberius merely laughed, tossing her hair back with a sweeping gesture. Her aura grew even stronger, as if purposefully provoking the redhead.
"Ah, Red..." she said, her tone melodic and provocative. "How I’ve missed hearing your voice filled with rage."
Sapphire narrowed her eyes and raised her arm, pointing behind her, to where Vanny and Rize were still struggling to breathe under the weight of their combined auras.
"Lower that aura right now!" she growled. "You’re going to kill those two!"
Naberius’s gaze slid to Vanny and Rize. They were both staggering, their knees nearly giving way. Their auras weren’t strong enough to withstand the crushing pressure of the upperclassmen.
For a moment, it seemed Naberius might actually consider lightening the load.
But then she shrugged, giving a lazy, cruel smile.
"Demonic creatures brought to life by borrowed energy... are weak by nature." His voice was calm, almost didactic. "There’s no need to worry."
Vanny gasped, swallowing hard, while Rize forced herself to remain standing, her eyes watering with pain.
Sapphire gritted her teeth, about to lunge forward.
But Naberius cut her off, laughing loudly.
"Hey, Red..." he said, spinning the flaming sword in the air as if it were an extension of his will. "How about... we destroy everything a little?"
The clearing seemed to hold its breath.
Vergil’s eyes widened and he huffed in exasperation.
"No... it’s not possible," he muttered, gripping the katana tighter. "They’re going to turn this place into a living hell..."
Katharina took an involuntary step, looking from Sapphire to Naberius, unsure of what to expect. Roxanne just sighed deeply, wearily, staring at Stella beside her.
"Think you can stop them?" she asked dryly.
Stella didn’t answer immediately. Her cold eyes were fixed on Naberius, and though she said nothing, the tension in her body showed she was ready to intervene at any moment.
Sepphirothy, for her part, closed her eyes for a moment. Her colossal aura expanded subtly, not in attack, but like a wall, trying to prevent the sheer weight of Sapphire and Naberius’s rivalry from crushing everyone else.
"Naberius..." she said, her voice like suppressed thunder. "Don’t do that."
But Naberius only laughed, his eyes shining with excitement, as if he had just awakened from a long slumber and couldn’t wait to play with the world again.
"You know me, Snow..." he said, his tone thick with delight. "You know I can’t resist a good bit of destruction."
Sapphire snapped her fingers, and flames exploded around her body, rising into the sky like infernal columns.
"Very well." "Oh," she said, staring at Naberius with fire in her eyes. "If you want to play... then let’s play."
The ground shook. The forest groaned.
And for the first time in ages, two ancient forces—sealed, feared, and legendary—were about to collide before everyone’s eyes.
Vergil laughed in disbelief, spitting blood onto the ground.
"Wonderful..." she murmured. "Now I’m sure I’m going to die today."