Chapter 811: Where is Guerra?
The pressure filling that deep layer of the Abyss remained overwhelming, but something began to change the instant Victoria realized that her influence was no longer producing the desired effect.
The purple energy spreading through the environment still tried to penetrate the emotions of the three, fueling impulses, desires, obsessions, and everything that normally served as fuel for her conceptual dominion. That was the nature of the Ruler of Lust. She didn’t need to attack directly. Simply existing was enough. Her presence transformed emotions into invisible currents, and these currents slowly weakened any resistance.
For a few seconds, it seemed that it would continue to work.
Then it stopped working.
Victoria was the first to notice.
Her smile gradually disappeared as she observed the three figures before her.
Sapphire slowly raised her head. The hand that had previously pressed against her chest was withdrawn without hesitation. Her breathing returned to normal, and the burning sensation that ran through her body began to disappear like smoke carried away by the wind.
Beside her, Lilith remained motionless. Red eyes watched Victoria without showing any emotion. The influence of lust still tried to reach her mind, but it was like throwing chains against a mountain.
Sephirothy was the last to fully stand.
Her expression remained cold.
Controlled.
Absolutely empty.
Victoria frowned.
This shouldn’t be happening.
The Regent of Lust could understand resistance.
She could understand mental training.
She could understand spiritual barriers.
But this was different.
The three of them were simply shutting down the emotions she was trying to use against them.
It was a display of willpower so absurd it seemed unnatural.
The purple energy around the throne oscillated violently.
Victoria stood slowly.
For the first time since she had appeared, she seemed genuinely uncomfortable.
"This doesn’t make sense."
Her voice no longer carried the same amused tone.
Sapphire stepped forward.
"You chose the wrong targets."
Lilith continued to observe silently.
Sephirothy merely adjusted her shoulders.
Victoria felt something she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Uncertainty.
She could feel their desires.
She could feel their buried emotions.
She could feel everything.
But none of the three were allowing it to control their actions.
It was as if they had consciously decided to ignore their own feelings just to confront her.
That was absurd.
And dangerous.
The Regent of Lust didn’t like that conclusion at all.
Reflexively, she decided to eliminate what she considered to be the weakest link.
Her body vanished in an explosion of purple energy.
The movement was instantaneous.
Fast enough to destroy mountains.
Fast enough to cut through entire armies.
The claws emerged directly before Sepphirothy.
Victoria chose her.
The youngest daughter.
The one who seemed least threatening.
The one she judged easiest to take down.
It was a mistake.
A grave mistake.
The claws lunged toward Sepphirothy’s face.
And stopped.
Completely.
Clamped against a single finger.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Victoria blinked once.
Then again.
Unable to immediately comprehend what she was seeing.
Sepphirothy had blocked the attack using only her index finger.
No apparent effort.
No difficulty.
No sign of tension.
Just one finger.
Victoria’s gaze began to change.
For the first time, there was genuine shock in her eyes.
"You..."
Before she could finish the sentence, Sephirothy’s free hand reached out.
Her fingers closed around the neck of the Regent of Lust.
The impact produced a shockwave that swept through the entire cave.
Victoria was instantly lifted off the ground.
The amused expression vanished completely.
Now there was only surprise.
And a growing sense of danger.
Sephirothy lifted her effortlessly.
Her voice remained calm.
Cold.
Controlled.
"What a pity."
Victoria tried to break free.
She couldn’t.
"Because it seems Lust is going to lose another host."
Then the magic began.
Golden light surged between Sephirothy’s fingers.
It wasn’t demonic energy.
It wasn’t infernal power.
It wasn’t corruption.
It was something completely different.
Something that shouldn’t exist there.
Chains of light began to emerge from her hand.
First one.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
They enveloped Victoria’s body at an absurd speed.
The reaction was immediate.
A scream escaped her lips.
Not of ordinary pain.
But of pure panic.
The chains continued advancing.
Climbing up her arms.
Up her legs.
Up her torso.
Up her neck.
Luminous symbols appeared on her skin.
Seals.
Restrictions.
Sacred marks.
The purple energy surrounding the area began to collapse.
Victoria’s eyes widened.
For the first time since appearing before them, she seemed terrified.
"No."
Her voice came out low.
Unsteady.
The chains continued to advance.
"No!"
The golden glow intensified even more.
Reality itself seemed to recoil before that force.
Because this wasn’t just magic.
It was sacred magic.
And for a high-level demon, this was something close to poison.
Victoria began to struggle.
Her skin burned.
Smoke rose where the chains touched.
Her pink eyes widened.
Confused.
Desperate.
"How?!"
The question came out almost as a scream.
"How are you using this?!"
The chains continued to close.
Her presence diminished rapidly.
The powers were being sealed.
Contained.
Imprisoned.
Victoria stared at Sepphirothy as if she were looking at an impossible abomination.
"You’re a demon!"
The answer came immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without emotion.
"I know."
"Then how—"
Lilith finally spoke.
Her voice cut through the room before Victoria finished.
"At least her father served some purpose."
Victoria slowly turned her head.
Lilith remained still.
Her arms crossed.
Her expression indifferent.
"Among all the flaws he possessed, he left a useful gift."
Sepphirothy nodded slightly.
Still holding Victoria by the neck.
"Lucifer’s genetics served some purpose."
The statement was as casual as it was brutal.
Victoria remained motionless.
Because she was finally beginning to understand.
That explained everything.
The resistance.
The strength.
The magic.
The control.
The celestial heritage.
The infernal heritage.
Mixed into a single existence.
She tried to react again.
The chains tightened.
Another scream escaped her lips.
The purple energy almost completely disappeared.
A few seconds later, Sephirothy released her.
Victoria fell to the ground.
The chains continued to encircle her body.
Golden smoke slowly rose around her.
Each attempt to use her powers only worsened the situation.
It was like trying to put out a fire with fuel.
Silence filled the deepest layer of the Abyss.
For a few moments, no one spoke.
Victoria remained kneeling.
Breathing with difficulty.
Her long hair was spread across the dark floor.
Her eyes were filled with rage.
And fear.
A lot of fear.
Then footsteps echoed through the room.
Slow.
Calm.
Confident.
Sapphire approached.
The spear remained in her hand.
But she didn’t seem interested in fighting.
At least not at that moment.
She stopped before the Regent of Lust.
Then she slowly lowered herself until she was at her level.
Victoria raised her eyes.
The two remained staring at each other for a few seconds.
The difference was that now Victoria was trapped.
And Sapphire knew it.
A small smile appeared on the demon’s face.
It wasn’t friendly.
Nor particularly pleasant.
It was the smile of someone who finally had the upper hand.
She rested one arm on her knee.
She tilted her head slightly.
And spoke in a calm tone.
Almost casual.
"Hey, little bitch."
Victoria didn’t answer.
The chains still burned her body.
Sapphire kept smiling.
Her golden eyes fixed on her.
"Where’s Guerra?"
...
The room remained immersed in silence.
The enormous curtains of the presidential suite blocked almost all the light of the dawn that was beginning to emerge over Tokyo, leaving the room illuminated only by a few bluish reflections coming from the cracks in the windows. The air conditioning kept the temperature pleasant, and the only constant sound was the distant noise of the city far below, muffled by the absurd height of the building.
For a few hours, everything had remained calm.
No phone calls.
No dimensional crises.
No cosmic entities.
No news from the Abyss.
Just rest.
Something that had become all too rare in their lives.
Vergil lay in the center of the suite’s enormous bed when he abruptly opened his eyes.
It wasn’t a slow awakening.
Nor a lazy one.
His body reacted even before his mind had fully organized its thoughts.
He took a deep breath as he stared at the dark ceiling above him.
The dream was already beginning to fade.
Like all dreams.
Disconnected fragments.
Shadows.
Distant voices.
An uncomfortable feeling that lingered even after the images disappeared.
He couldn’t remember exactly what he had seen.
But he could remember the feeling.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Vergil remained motionless for a few seconds, trying to understand the origin of that feeling.
Around him, the bed seemed to have been conquered during the early hours of the morning.
Ada slept partially resting on his chest, using him as a pillow without any ceremony. One of her arms remained on his abdomen while her dark hair spread across the sheets.
Roxanne was sprawled across the bed in a completely chaotic manner. At some point during the night she had ended up partially on him as well, with one leg resting on his waist as if she had decided to occupy territory during her sleep.
Katharina was leaning against him, using one of his shoulders for support. Her arm remained on his chest as she slept soundly.
It was an uncomfortable situation for any normal person.
But it had become strangely common.
Vergil would normally consider that a problem for later.
Not this time.
Because the feeling remained.
That same feeling.
Wrong.
Profoundly wrong.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Trying to pinpoint the source.
Trying to feel.
Trying to find something specific within the immense network of connections he maintained with people important to him.
Nothing.
This made his stomach sink immediately.
Vergil opened his eyes again.
Now fully awake.
Beside him, Katharina let out a small, sleepy groan before partially opening one eye.
She noticed the change in his breathing almost immediately.
"What time is it?"
Her voice was hoarse with sleep.
Vergil didn’t answer the question.
He continued staring at the ceiling.
Momentary.
Katharina observed this for a few seconds before frowning slightly.
She knew him well enough to notice when something was wrong.
And this definitely wasn’t just insomnia.
"What happened?"
Vergil remained silent for a few more seconds.
Then he answered. "Something’s wrong."
The answer was simple.
Direct.
But enough to dispel some of Katharina’s remaining sleepiness.
She opened her eyes completely.
Now paying attention.
"What do you mean by wrong?"
Vergil finally raised one hand and pressed it against his face for a few seconds.
Trying to organize his thoughts.
Trying to confirm what he was feeling.
Or, worse.
What he wasn’t feeling.
"I don’t know."
That was true.
And that was precisely the problem.
He rarely said "I don’t know."
Katharina sat up partially in bed while observing his face more closely.
Vergil’s expression was different.
More serious.
More focused.
More worried.
Then she understood that this wasn’t just a common hunch.
Something had truly caught his attention. "What’s happening?"
Vergil took a deep breath.
Then he began to carefully move Ada to the side, trying not to wake her.
She murmured something incomprehensible during the process, but continued sleeping.
Next, he slowly removed Roxanne’s leg that remained on his waist.
Roxanne reacted by hugging a pillow tightly and sinking even further into the mattress without even opening her eyes.
Neither of them woke up.
Vergil then sat on the edge of the bed.
The feeling worsened.
Because now he was paying full attention to her.
Katharina watched silently.
Waiting.
He rested his elbows on his knees.
His eyes fixed on the floor.
Then he finally spoke.
"Something is very wrong."
The tone of his voice was different now.
Heavier.
Deeper.
Katharina immediately felt a discomfort arise.
Because Vergil wasn’t someone who was easily swayed by paranoia.
If he was reacting that way...
There had to be a reason.
"What?"
The silence lasted for a few seconds.
Long seconds.
Then he answered.
"I can’t feel my mother."
