Chapter 789: Kingdom of Sparda
In the main hall of the fortress, the tension had long since surpassed any reasonable limit. The entire atmosphere seemed to react to Kaguya’s mood, as if the walls themselves knew something dangerous was about to happen. Chandeliers trembled without any wind, goblets cracked on their own on distant tables, and shadows writhed in the corners like restless animals. Servants had disappeared hours ago. No one wanted to be around while she lost her temper.
And Kaguya was absolutely freaking out.
"HE’S GONE!"
Her voice echoed through entire corridors, followed by the sound of an old armchair being hurled against a wall and reduced to broken wood. The impact scattered shards throughout the hall. Kaguya paced back and forth in quick, furious steps, her hair swaying like a living storm, her eyes gleaming with growing irritation.
"He entered Sankaria alone, the portal closed in my face, and he never came back!"
She pointed dramatically to the center of the room, where circular marks on the floor still indicated where the dimensional passage had existed minutes before.
"MINUTES!" she corrected herself instantly. "HOURS! I don’t even know how much time has passed!"
Another table exploded without her touching it.
Viper, sitting elegantly on the intact arm of a nearly destroyed sofa, observed everything with the calm of someone watching a very entertaining play. She crossed her legs slowly and sighed.
"Kaguya, darling, breathe."
"I don’t want to breathe!"
"Excellent argument."
On the other side of the room, Raven remained leaning against a black column, arms crossed, her expression as neutral as ever. Unlike Viper, she seemed genuinely worried, though she didn’t show panic.
"Vergil would hardly die in Sankaria," Raven said in a controlled tone. "If he hasn’t returned yet, he’s probably taking care of something."
Kaguya turned to her as if she had been personally offended.
"Solving what? A civil war? Selective genocide? Urban reform?"
"Considering it’s Vergil..." Viper raised a finger. "All of the above are possible."
Kaguya put both hands to her head.
"I should have gone too."
"You tried," Raven reminded her.
"AND THE PORTAL CLOSED!"
She kicked a chair. The chair flew halfway across the hall.
"In my face!"
Viper began counting on her fingers.
"You tried to force your way in."
"Yes."
"Then you tried to tear space."
"Yes."
"Then you threatened the portal."
"He deserved it."
"Then you tried to bribe a dimensional mage."
Kaguya crossed her arms.
"He seemed approachable."
Raven massaged her temple.
"You’re spiraling."
"I’m in love and angry," Kaguya retorted. "Those are different states."
"They don’t seem like it today."
She was about to reply when something unexpected happened.
A cell phone ringtone echoed in the hall.
Not a threatening, elegant, or somber sound.
Cute.
An absurdly adorable melody, with soft bells and an almost childlike rhythm, completely incompatible with anyone present. The three froze for a moment.
Viper slowly turned her face.
Raven did too.
They both looked directly at Kaguya.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Kaguya blushed immediately.
"Don’t look at me like that."
The ringtone repeated.
Viper raised an eyebrow.
"Is that your ringtone?"
"No."
"Then why is it coming from your pocket?"
"Because the universe hates me."
She shoved her hand aggressively into her coat and pulled out her cell phone, trying to maintain some dignity that had clearly already evaporated. The screen lit up, reflecting in her eyes.
Kaguya blinked.
Then blinked again.
Viper leaned forward.
"Well?"
Kaguya cleared her throat and tried to sound too casual.
"It’s Vergil."
Raven immediately uncrossed her arms.
"What does he say?"
Kaguya read aloud, still with an expression somewhere between relief and irritation.
"I’m going to open a portal, go in."
The hall fell silent for two seconds.
Then Kaguya raised her cell phone in the air as material proof.
"HOW is he going to open a portal—" She stopped mid-sentence.
Because the space ahead of them emitted a thin, metallic, impossible sound.
Like a blade being pulled very slowly against the universe itself.
A black line appeared in the empty air, vertical, trembling slightly. Then it expanded into a perfect cut. The fabric of reality tore open on both sides like a ripped curtain, revealing a corridor of starry darkness and pulsing red reflections in the background.
A dimensional rift.
Stable.
Elegant.
Arrogant.
Viper whistled softly.
"Of course he cut through space."
Raven observed the opening with analytical attention.
"No runes. No ritual circle. No catalyst."
"Just pure rudeness," Viper finished.
Kaguya still stared at the rift with her cell phone in hand.
"I hate when he makes it look easy."
On the other side of the dimensional tear, warm winds blew along with the distant glow of a reddish city. Echoes of footsteps, metal, and distant voices crossed the opening.
Viper stood up in a graceful movement.
"Well. Our driver has arrived."
Raven was already approaching.
"We must go in before it closes."
Kaguya put her phone away and took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. She couldn’t. The relief of knowing Vergil was alright fought directly against the irritation of his unexplained disappearance and the curiosity about what was on the other side.
"If he’s hurt, I’ll kill him."
Viper passed by her.
"If he’s alright, you’ll go too."
"Yes."
Raven made a short gesture towards the rift.
"Let’s go."
The three approached the opening. The air around her vibrated slightly, and the floor reflected nonexistent stars. Kaguya was the last to stop before the portal. She glanced once at the destroyed hall behind her: broken furniture, cracks in the walls, smoke rising from a vase that had inexplicably caught fire.
Viper followed her gaze.
"Your outburst was productive."
"Shut up."
Kaguya then raised her chin and stepped through the rift first.
Viper followed soon after, smiling like someone going to a promising party.
Raven was the last, without hesitation.
As soon as the three crossed, the cut in space closed with a clean snap, leaving the destroyed hall in complete silence.
—
The great hall of the demonic palace breathed power in every detail. Black columns rose to an immeasurable ceiling, adorned with ancient sculptures of monsters kneeling before swords embedded in living stone. Red flames burned in suspended chandeliers, casting long shadows across the dark marble walls. Vergil’s throne rested at the far end, elevated by wide steps and surrounded by crimson stained glass that filtered the light of that world’s eternal sky.
Seated there, with his impeccable posture and usual cold serenity, Vergil seemed more like a regal statue than a living being. One leg crossed over the other, one hand resting on the arm of the throne, her gaze distant as if she were managing ten problems at once without showing any effort. Even so, the scene lost all formality because of the woman nestled in his lap.
Alexa was completely comfortable, as if that entire place belonged to her by newly acquired right. Sitting sideways on his legs, with an arm around his shoulders, she inclined her face to his neck and placed slow, lingering, and clearly provocative kisses on the demon’s pale skin. Between kisses, she breathed contentedly, like someone who had finally found where she wanted to be.
Vergil maintained a neutral expression for a few seconds, though his fingers resting on her waist revealed a tolerance far above normal. Alexa smiled against his neck and bit lightly.
"You know you do this on purpose," he commented dryly.
"Of course I know," she replied without even moving away. "And it’s working."
Beside the throne, standing like unwitting guardians of the scene, Vanny and Rize watched everything in absolute silence.
Outwardly, both maintained admirable composure. Erect posture, crossed arms, controlled expressions, and cold eyes. Inside, however, their minds were private fires of resentment.
Vany watched Alexa with a smile as discreet as it was dangerous, imagining how many elegant ways there were to make someone stumble from a very high tower. Rize, in turn, stared at the she-wolf turned demon with such intensity that she seemed to be trying to set her ablaze with concentrated resentment alone.
Alexa understood perfectly.
She looked up at the two of them, smiled with unbearable sweetness, and then kissed Vergil’s neck again, this time more slowly.
The vein in Vanny’s temple throbbed.
Rize took a single deep breath to avoid tearing half the room apart.
Vergil closed his eyes for a moment, already tired before the fight even began.
"If either of you is hostile to her," he said calmly, without raising his voice, "I’ll kill you both."
The silence fell so heavily that even the flames seemed to hesitate.
Vany blinked first.
"Hostile? Me?" she asked with the innocence of a professional assassin. "Never."
Rize tilted her head and smiled stiffly.
"I didn’t even think about it."
Alexa raised an eyebrow.
"Lies from both of you."
Vergil ignored the comment.
"Don’t make me repeat myself." The two nodded at the same time, exemplary as students caught by the principal. Internally, however, they began to hate Alexa with renewed vigor.
It was then that the great doors of the hall opened.
Selene entered as if the room had always been hers. Her black dress followed her soft steps, her silver hair falling over her shoulders contrasting with her luminous and attentive eyes. She assessed the entire room at a glance: Vergil on the throne, Alexa in his lap, Vanny and Rize seething in silence.
Then she laughed.
A genuine, amused laugh, impossible to contain.
"Ah, did I lose some internal battle?" she asked as she approached.
"Nothing important," said Vergil.
"Liar," replied Selene. "This is delicious."
She stopped before the steps of the throne and observed Alexa more closely. The she-wolf raised her chin with a certain childlike pride, as if showing off that she had won an invisible competition.
Selene smiled at her.
"So you’re the famous Alexa."
"Depends on who asked."
"I like her," Selene commented.
"Don’t encourage it," Vanny murmured.
"I heard that," Alexa retorted.
"Great."
Vergil massaged his temple.
"Continue and I’ll leave the room."
Selene climbed two steps, approaching the throne without any hesitation. Then she cast a long glance at the hall, the tall windows, the towers visible in the distance through the side opening, the expanding buildings of the demonic city.
"So," she said casually, "have you chosen the city’s name yet?"
Vergil blinked once.
A rare, almost historic moment of hesitation crossed his face.
"Ah..."
Selene smiled victoriously.
"You forgot."
"I didn’t forget."
"You forgot." "I’m prioritizing bigger issues."
"How do you let a she-wolf mark its territory on your lap?" she asked.
Alexa raised her hand.
"Present."
Rize closed her eyes for two seconds.
Vany seemed close to transcending to another dimension of irritation.
Vergil let out a low sigh.
"The city is still under construction."
"That’s precisely why it needs a name," Selene replied. "The trade routes already call it ’Vergil’s Territory.’ The merchants call it ’Black Capital.’ The soldiers call it ’Central Fortress.’ The civilians call it ’That Creepy Place With Strangely Organized Taxes.’"
Alexa laughed loudly.
"I liked the last one."
"I’m not going to name a city based on popular whim," Vergil said.
Selene crossed her arms.
"Then decide already."
She began to walk slowly around the hall as she spoke, like someone presenting business options.
"It could be something classic. Umbrafell. Nocturna Prime. New Temen-ni-gru. Crimson Vale. Sparda City."
Vergil sighed, "Sparda, that’s a nice name... Kingdom of Sparda? Well, I doubt that city will be small."
