Chapter 525: Vault of Naberius
Vergil spat blood onto the ground, his chest heaving as he stared at Naberius with that savage blue glow in his eyes.
“Power of ice…?” he repeated, almost laughing, his voice hoarse. “Hah… you’re delusional, woman. I’ve never even seen my mother use ice. Not a fucking crystal, not a cold breeze, nothing.”
Naberius narrowed his eyes. His divine, imposing expression almost faltered at the rawness of the words.
Vergil continued, slamming the tip of his katana into the ground, the steel sparking against the molten stones.
“I am what I am. Blood, wind, fire, flesh, and hatred. I don’t stand here carrying a family banner, nor anyone’s frozen inheritance. I’m not a fucking copy of my grandfather, nor my mother. I am me. Vergil. Understand?”
The golden flames around Naberius flickered for a moment, as if his concentration had wavered. It wasn’t the force of the blow that affected her now, but the brutal, almost vulgar sincerity of the man before her.
“You…” she murmured, genuine surprise etching her face. “You dare speak to me that way?”
Vergil laughed, spitting blood again, his fierce gaze fixed on her.
“I dare because I don’t give a damn. You wanted my mother’s ice? What a shame. Maybe she died with it inside. I’m not her. I’m not what you expect. I’m a demon. And we, Naberius…” He spread his arms, his blood wings pulsing behind him, his entire body burning with raw energy. “We weren’t born to live up to anyone’s expectations. We were born to fuck everything up and survive.”
The words echoed in the ruined hall.
The silence lasted a few seconds. Then, unexpectedly, Naberius… laughed.
First low, hoarse, then loud, like a soft thunderclap but full of irony. The sound echoed off the destroyed walls, laden with something no one expected to hear from her.
“Hahahahaha…” Naberius delicately raised her hand to her lips, almost hiding her laughter. “You really are insufferable.”
Vergil arched an eyebrow, a mocking smile appearing on his bloodied mouth.
“I’ve been told that before.”
Naberius’s eyes shone, amused, but also dangerous. There was something about that answer that disconcerted and attracted her at the same time. She was used to subjects kneeling, warriors trying to impress her, enemies silently hating her. But for someone to spit in her face and say, “Fuck you, I’m just me”? That, at the very least, reminded her of an earlier, truer time.
“You are a demon, yes,” Naberius admitted, lowering the aura that burned around his body. The flaming crown still burned, but now with less intensity. “But a demon who doesn’t lie about what he is.”
Vergil swung the katana, plunging it into the cracked ground. The blood from his wings slowly dripped and returned to his body, as if being absorbed.
“I don’t have time for masks. Masks are for cowards.”
Naberius narrowed his eyes, but the smile on his lips remained.
“Insolent… but genuine. I haven’t heard anything like that in ages.”
Roxanne, from a distance, was still panting, trying to understand what the hell was going on.
“They… stopped fighting?”
“I don’t know…” Katharina murmured, fascinated, her eyes still shining with the excitement of battle. “But I think he just earned her respect… in a very… Vergil way.”
Naberius took a deep breath, gathering her golden flames until they became nothing more than a soft aura around her body. Her shimmering robe reformed, and the cracks in the surrounding stone ceased to release heat.
She walked a few steps, crossing her arms, assessing the man before her.
“You’re not what I expected,” she admitted, still smiling almost maternally, almost cruelly. “And perhaps that’s exactly why you intrigue me.”
Vergil chuckled, wiping his face with his torn sleeve.
“Good. Because I’m not here to fit into your little box.”
Naberius snorted, laughing again, but this time there was a note of weariness in her voice.
“Insolent, arrogant, bloody, and honest. Hm… perhaps that’s a dangerous combination.” She looked up at the crumbling walls of the prison. “But before you leave… there’s something that belongs to me here.
Vergil narrowed his eyes, still panting.
“Something that… belongs?”
“Yes.” Naberius raised his hand and closed his fingers, as if grasping something invisible. The ground shook, and from the cracks emerged an ancient, dark energy that writhed like solid smoke. “This place isn’t just a prison. It’s a vault.”
Rize recoiled, her eyes wide.
“A… vault?”
Naberius nodded, her scarlet hair swaying gently.
“During the rebellion… when the world split into heaven and abyss… some of our relics were hidden. Kept in chains and bones, forgotten by time. I was one of those who paid the price, sealed among them.” Her voice echoed gravely, but without rancor. “Now, with the chains broken, nothing stands in the way of me reclaiming what is mine.”
Vergil crossed his arms, a sneer still on his face.
“Hmph. So you’ve been trapped here all this time just to serve as guardian of your own shit?”
Naberius narrowed her eyes, but instead of becoming irritated, she laughed again.
“Your way of speaking is truly a living insult…” She raised her hand, and the dark energy began to condense into a solid form. “But yes, something like that.”
The hall shook again as Naberius slowly turned, facing a wall covered in broken runes and twisted chains.
Her eyes glowed gold.
“It’s time,” she murmured, raising her palm.
The air shifted in weight. A dense, oppressive energy surged from her aura, spreading through the room like a wave. Then she clenched her fist and hurled the power against the wall.
The impact was devastating.
A golden flash exploded, cracking the stone and disintegrating the ancient runes into incandescent shards. The wall collapsed inward, as if swallowed by a greater force, revealing behind it an ancient vault, made of black iron and intertwined bones. The chains binding it crumbled, burned away by her energy.
From within, something gleamed.
A beam of red light cut through the darkness as a shape began to move on its own. The air hissed, and the metallic sound filled the hall.
A sword.
The blade flew toward Naberius, piercing the space as if it had a life of its own, as if it recognized its owner after centuries of separation. Its edge glowed scarlet red, the hilt crafted of ancient gold and carved bones. The power emanating from it was so intense that even Vergil, still wounded, narrowed his eyes.
Naberius opened his arms, like a mother welcoming a lost child.
When the sword landed in her hands, she hugged it to her chest, closing her eyes for a moment. The golden aura and the bloody energy of the blade blended in a harmony that seemed impossible.
“Ah…” Her sigh echoed in the hall, soft, charged with emotion. “My baby… you are beautiful as always.”
She slid her fingers along the blade, as if caressing a beloved face. The sword’s edge reacted, igniting in red and gold flames that danced around the room, as if vibrating with happiness at being back in her hands.
Katharina bit her lip, fascinated.
“What intimacy is this…? She… is treating a sword as if it were…”
“A son,” Roxanne finished, almost in a whisper, trying to hide the tension in her voice.
Vergil, however, chuckled softly, spitting blood onto the floor again.
“Hah… now I’ve seen it all.”
Naberius opened his eyes, staring at him over the gleam of the sword. His lips curved in a mischievous smile, but there was also tenderness in the gesture.
“You can laugh all you want, heir. But this blade is more alive than many a demon you’ve ever met.” She raised the sword above her head, and the entire hall trembled with the vibration of power. “And together… we were destruction incarnate.
The title seemed to hang heavy in the air.
Vergil raised an eyebrow, but the provocation in his eyes didn’t fade.
“So you’re complete now, huh?” He tapped the tip of his katana against the ground again, forcing himself to stand firm. “Good. I want to see if this sword makes you more interesting… or just more insufferable.”
Naberius’s laughter echoed loudly, this time uncontrollable.
“Hahahaha! Insolent to the core. I’m beginning to understand why you amuse me so much.”