Chapter 440: Talking behind my back?

The laboratory door opened with a soft hiss, and the steady sound of footsteps echoed through the room. Seris entered with her usual posture—upright, calm, but with the sharp gaze of someone who senses that something is wrong.

Her gaze immediately fell on Pandora, sitting on the floor with her breath coming in gasps, her eyes still wide, and her hands trembling on her knees. Her lips were parted, and her skin was covered in cold sweat. The crystals around her trembled as if something in them was still trying to process what had happened.

“…What happened here?” Seris asked, her eyes moving from Pandora to Vergil, searching for answers.

Vergil, still sitting in the lotus position in the center of the circle, looked up with his natural cold serenity. The reforged Excalibur now leaned against the wall, its blade silent.

“Nothing much,” he replied calmly. “I just… gave her a scare.”

Pandora turned her head toward him with a look that almost screamed, ‘Nothing much?

Seris frowned but did not move. “Vergil…” Her tone was firmer. “That doesn’t sound like just a scare.”

Pandora opened her mouth to speak, but Vergil looked at her—just a glance, laden with meaning. There was no threat there, just a silent reminder of what they had agreed seconds ago: “No one can know.”

Pandora slowly closed her mouth. Still panting, she ran her hand over her sweaty forehead and tried to compose herself.

“I was… foolish,” she said, forcing a nervous smile. “I tried to read his soul directly, without protection. It was… too much at once. You know how he is.”

Seris crossed her arms, unconvinced. Her eyes shifted between the two, as if looking for cracks in that improvised facade.

“He’s not someone you understand at first glance,” Pandora added, her voice lower now.

Vergil stood up calmly, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. His presence filled the room in a way that seemed… different. Heavier. As if something was lurking behind his skin. As if the two empresses were still watching him from somewhere.

“She just needs to rest,” he said. “She pushed herself too hard. It’s over now.”

Seris slowly approached Pandora and offered her hand. The alchemist hesitated, then took it and stood up with difficulty.

“Are you really okay?” Seris asked quietly, just to Pandora.

Pandora just nodded, but her gaze betrayed what she really felt: an indescribable weight. Fear. Fascination. Confusion. Vergil had shown her something that no one should ever see.

And she knew that, despite everything, she still wanted to understand. She still wanted to know more.

But at that moment, she swallowed it.

“I’m fine. Just… exhausted.”

Seris let out a slight sigh and accompanied her to the exit of the room, but before crossing the door, she took one last look at Vergil.

“You know that one day, someone will see what you’re hiding.”

Vergil didn’t answer. He just lowered his eyes in silence, as if that truth were already written in stone inside him.

Seris and Pandora left, and the door closed.

Left alone, Vergil slowly turned to Excalibur. It still pulsed with that divine energy, as if it had been made to judge kings… or monsters.

He placed his hand on the blade’s hilt and then absorbed it back into himself.

Vergil remained silent for a brief moment, his hand on the hilt of the reforged Excalibur. His fingers wrapped around it as naturally as a warrior puts on his second skin. In a smooth flow of energy, the blade disappeared into golden particles, merging back into the center of his chest with a subtle glow.

He exhaled slowly, as if the weight of it all was no longer on his shoulders, but still present—dissolved, never forgotten.

Then he stood up.

The steps that took him to the laboratory exit were firm and silent. Each corridor he passed seemed to bow slightly to his presence — doors opening by themselves, the air adjusting to his pressure. His cloak billowed behind him with spectral grace, and his eyes, now darker than usual, sought only one focus: Alice.

Following the flow of familiar magical energy, Vergil crossed the levels of the fortress until he reached one of the large magic practice rooms. The floor was covered with freshly drawn runic markings, forming complex channeling seals. The walls flickered with unstable portals opening and closing in sequence.

In the center of the room, Alice stood with her hands raised and her eyes half-closed, focused. At her side, with the patience of an ancient teacher, Morgana watched. She made small gestures with her hand, guiding the girl through the process of shaping the high-scale portals.

“Focus on the destination,” Morgana said, her voice low but firm. “Don’t think about the path. Think about where you want to be. The rest… is just magic obeying your will.”

The air around Alice twisted, and a light blue portal began to open, trembling. She gritted her teeth, feeling the pressure in the center of her forehead, trying to maintain the flow. But at the last second, the seal collapsed, and sparks scattered across the room.

“Ugh…” Alice shook her hands, releasing the excess energy. “Almost.”

“Almost is a good start,” Morgana said, smiling slightly. “You have natural talent. But your focus still wanders when you think too much.”

At that moment, Vergil approached the entrance to the room. Morgana noticed him first, her expression changing slightly to something more analytical. Alice didn’t see him—she was still breathing deeply, trying to catch her breath.

Vergil crossed his arms, watching silently for a few seconds. He didn’t interrupt. There was something about that moment—the girl trying hard, stumbling, getting up, trying again—that brought him a strange calm. A memory of what he had not been allowed to do.

Alice then felt the presence. She turned instinctively, her eyes widening when she saw him there.

“Vergil!” She almost ran to him, but stopped herself halfway, remembering what she was doing. “I—I almost got a stable portal!”

He smiled slightly, his head tilted. “I saw. You’re doing well.”

Morgana approached with her arms crossed. “She’s promising. Even more so when she’s not trying to please you all the time.”

Alice grimaced. “I’m not trying…” But she didn’t finish the sentence. She knew she was.

Vergil walked over to her and bent down to meet the girl’s eyes. “Keep working with Morgana. Learn everything you can. High-scale teleportation is unstable, even for veterans. And you… you’re still small.”

Alice puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, but then nodded.

“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?” she asked.

Vergil hesitated for a second. Then he nodded. “I need to take care of some things. I won’t be long.”

Alice looked down, but tried to hide it. “Okay… But you promise you’ll come back?”

He held out his little finger to her. “I promise.”

Alice smiled and intertwined hers with his. “Then go. I’ll stay here and train until I can cross over to Japan whenever I want.”

Vergil stood up and rested his hand on her hair for a second, with rare affection. Then he turned to Morgana.

“Take care of her.”

Morgana nodded. “Always.”

Without another word, Vergil walked to the door. Behind him, Alice returned to the center of the rune circle, determined, and Morgana resumed her instructions.

As soon as Vergil left the room, the sound of a new portal began to form behind him—still unstable, but more solid than before.

The hall where Katharina, Ada, and Roxanne were discussing was plunged into a dense silence, broken only by sharp words and smiles veiled with sarcasm. They were gathered around a table adorned with magical maps and ancient records — speaking in tense whispers, as if plotting something, or at least speculating about the absent figure of Vergil.

Katharina, with her natural elegance and half-closed golden eyes, analyzed a line of power on the map. Ada, leaning back in a chair with a glass of wine in her hand, just listened, the sparkle in her eyes betraying how much she was enjoying the direction the conversation was taking. Roxanne, on the other hand, seemed more impatient, drumming her fingers on the back of the chair.

“He always disappears,” Roxanne muttered. “Out of nowhere. Like a ghost.”

“Or a god,” Ada added with a crooked smile. “The kind who likes to observe before acting.”

“He thinks he’s untouchable, just because he carries half of hell and a piece of heaven inside him,” Katharina teased, arching an eyebrow.

A sudden flash cut through the air. The sound of something tearing in space.

“I love it when you talk about me behind my back,” said a voice, laden with irony and provocative charm.

The three turned instantly.

Vergil was there—standing in the doorway of the hall, hands in his pockets, eyes half-closed, and a dangerous smile curving his lips. His cloak rippled slowly, as if obeying his presence rather than the wind.

“But if you want something…” he continued, taking a few steps into the room with that deliberate calmness, his voice firm as if he were in complete control of the situation, “…just ask.”

The provocative smile that accompanied his words was almost cynical.

Ada let out a low laugh, bringing the goblet to her lips. “Look, the spirit has appeared.”

“At least now we know you’re listening,” said Roxanne, crossing her arms.

Katharina just stared at him. Speechless at first. Just watching. Then she smiled slightly.

“You know we talk about you because we care.”

Vergil approached the table, resting one hand on it and leaning forward slightly, staring at the three of them as if issuing a silent challenge.

“If you’re going to plan behind my back, at least do it right. You are three of the most dangerous minds in this world, but you act like jealous teenagers at a dance.”

Ada raised an eyebrow. “And you love it.”

Vergil didn’t deny it. He just smiled deeper.

“Maybe.”

Roxanne sighed. “You could at least warn us when you’re going to disappear. Some of us have plans that depend on you.”

“Others just wanted a little of your attention,” added Ada, looking at Katharina mischievously.

Katharina rolled her eyes but didn’t respond.

Vergil walked around the table, passing between them with the lightness of a satisfied predator. His presence was suffocating, magnetic—even when he acted lightly, it was impossible to ignore him.

“I’m here now. And you have my attention,” he said. “Let’s see what you really wanted… or if you were just having fun.”