Chapter 950: The Return of Genesis Castle

The insistent sound of a cellphone began ringing on the bedside table, interrupting the comfortable silence of the suite. Vergil frowned before even opening his eyes, annoyed by the noise that seemed to become more irritating with every second. The morning light partially passed through the curtains, illuminating the enormous bed where he and Stella had spent the night.

“What the fuck… What does someone want from me at this hour?” Vergil grumbled while lazily stretching one hand toward the device. “No one ever calls me. Why did they decide to start now?”

Stella, who was sleeping comfortably in his arms, let out a small groan of dissatisfaction and hid her face against his chest. Her dark hair was completely disheveled, and she seemed determined to keep sleeping regardless of what was happening around her.

“Turn that crap off, darling…” Stella murmured, tightening her arms around his waist. “I want to sleep…”

Vergil looked at the screen for a moment, but did not even bother checking who was calling. He simply declined the call and placed the cellphone back on the table.

“Done.” Vergil replied while wrapping his arms around her again, closing his eyes with the intention of enjoying a few more hours of rest.

The silence lasted approximately five seconds.

The cellphone started ringing again.

Stella opened her eyes.

For a few moments, she remained completely still, staring at Vergil’s chest with a blank expression. Then she let out such a deep sigh that he could feel her irritation before she even said anything.

“Son of a bitch…” Stella cursed quietly while pulling the blanket up to her shoulders. “Answer that shit already before I throw that phone out the window.”

“Calm down, calm down…” Vergil grumbled while retrieving the device. He was so lazy that he did not even consider bringing it to his ear. He simply accepted the call, turned on speaker mode and left the cellphone on his chest. “Hello? What happened?”

“Hey, kid! Can you come to my temple?” A very familiar female voice immediately answered, displaying an enthusiasm completely incompatible with the hour.

Vergil opened his eyes.

Then looked at the screen.

Susanoo.

He spent a few seconds trying to understand why the Goddess of Storms was calling his personal cellphone.

“How did you get my number?” Vergil asked, genuinely confused, while Stella slightly raised her head to look at the device.

“I’m a goddess. I do what I want.” Susanoo replied without any concern for offering a better explanation. “Now come here quickly. Musashi and Shuten-dōji are going to fight!”

Vergil blinked slowly.

“Musashi and Shuten-dōji?” Vergil repeated while rubbing his face with his free hand. He remembered perfectly well that the two were preparing to dispute the title of strongest Oni, but he had not expected to receive a personal phone call announcing the confrontation.

“Exactly! They finally decided to settle it today!” Susanoo replied, clearly excited. “You came to the Oni Gate looking for Musashi, didn’t you? Then you’d better show up before you miss the chance to watch!”

Vergil let out a long sigh.

“All right, all right…” Vergil grumbled while partially sitting up in bed, careful not to move Stella too abruptly. “I’ll go.”

“Great! Then hurry, because—”

Vergil hung up.

He simply ended the call before Susanoo could finish.

Silence returned to the room.

Stella kept staring at the cellphone for a few seconds, her hair partially covering her face and wearing the expression of someone who had just lost all desire to exist that morning.

“My sleep is gone…” Stella murmured while rubbing her eyes. “What an annoying woman. Who the hell calls someone this early just to tell them two idiots are going to beat the shit out of each other?”

“Susanoo, apparently.” Vergil replied while setting the cellphone aside and slowly stroking her head. “At least it sounds interesting. Musashi is exactly the swordsman Scathach wanted me to find.”

“Then she can wait.” Stella replied while resting her head back on his chest. “You promised we’d stay together for a few days.”

“And we will.” Vergil replied, running his fingers through her hair. “But I think you’ll also like seeing the Oni Gate. There are several interesting shops there.”

Stella remained quiet.

Vergil knew that expression.

“Sweets.” He added, caressing her cheek. “Lots of sweets.”

One of Stella’s eyes opened.

“What kind of sweets?”

“Japanese. Some probably don’t even exist in the human world.” Vergil replied while leaning down to kiss her forehead. “Actually, you’d better start getting ready. I’m going out to buy you something to eat while you do.”

Stella considered the proposal for a few seconds.

“I want those strawberry pastries from yesterday.” Stella replied while finally releasing his waist. “And something with chocolate.”

“Leave it to me.” Vergil smiled and got out of bed, retrieving the clothes he had left on a chair the night before.

Stella remained lying down for a few more moments, staring at the ceiling as if gathering the courage to face the terrible responsibility of getting up. Finally, she pushed away the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing her sleep-heavy eyes.

When she tried to stand, however, she made a small grimace.

“What the hell…” Stella murmured while bringing one hand to her hip and moving carefully. “We fucked too hard last night… even my pussy is sore.”

Vergil, who was finishing putting on his shirt, slowly turned his face toward her.

“Good morning to you too.” Vergil commented while watching Stella stand with a displeased expression.

“Don’t laugh.” Stella replied, pointing a finger at him while fixing her hair. “It’s your fault.”

“Mine?”

“Completely yours.” Stella confirmed with impressive conviction, although a small smile was beginning to appear on her face. “Now I’m going to have to take another shower before we leave. And I might need a massage.”

Vergil raised his hands, surrendering to the accusation.

“Understood. I’ll buy your sweets and, when I get back, I’ll take care of that.” Vergil replied while approaching her and placing a kiss on her forehead.

Stella grabbed his shirt before he could move away.

“And don’t take too long.” Stella asked while pulling him into another kiss. “If that goddess shows up here to drag you away before I finish getting ready, I’m going to be very irritated.”

“I doubt she can drag me anywhere.” Vergil replied with a smile, although he knew Susanoo would certainly try if she became impatient.

“You understood.” Stella released his shirt and started walking toward the bathroom, still showing some discomfort. “And buy something savory too. I don’t want breakfast to be only sugar.”

Vergil watched his wife disappear through the bathroom door.

“You just asked me for three kinds of sweets.”

“And I still want all three!” Stella replied from inside the bathroom while turning on the sink faucet.

Vergil shook his head, amused.

After grabbing his cellphone and checking his wallet, he opened a small portal toward the street near the hotel. Before crossing it, however, he heard Stella’s voice once again.

“Vergil!”

“What?” He replied, turning toward the bathroom.

“I love you!” Stella shouted while beginning to brush her teeth, apparently much more animated now that she was fully awake.

Vergil smiled.

“I love you too.” He replied before stepping through the portal.

On the other side of the door, Stella looked at her own reflection in the mirror and let out a small laugh. She was still tired, her hair needed attention and her body complained about the previous night, but, for the first time in a long time, the idea of leaving the house did not feel like an obligation.

Maybe that day would be interesting.

Especially if Vergil actually found those sweets he had promised.

…

Selene was calmly walking around the surroundings of the Bifröst when a gigantic shadow began to cover the region. At first, she thought some enormous creature was crossing the skies of the Upper Underworld, but the spatial pressure that appeared immediately afterward made her raise her head.

An enormous magic circle had appeared directly above the Bifröst.

“What is that…?” Selene murmured, narrowing her eyes while watching the luminous structure expand for several kilometers.

In the next instant, something began to emerge from inside the circle.

First came the towers.

Then black walls, ancient buildings and an enormous central structure that seemed to have been ripped from some abandoned fortress. As the object continued passing through the dimensional opening, Selene realized she was not looking at an ordinary building.

It was an entire castle.

A fucking floating castle, large enough to cover a considerable portion of the Bifröst with its shadow.

“What the fuck is that?!” Selene exclaimed, widening her eyes while the gigantic structure finished emerging from the portal.

The magic circle disappeared shortly afterward, leaving the castle suspended in the air directly above her. Small fragments of stone broke away from the deteriorated walls, and a considerable amount of dust began falling from the ancient structures.

Selene watched it for several seconds, trying to understand how a building of that size had simply appeared in Vergil’s territory without any warning.

She knew practically every important structure in that region.

That castle definitely was not one of them.

“Who the hell put this thing here?!” Selene grumbled before manifesting her demonic wings and shooting toward the sky.

As she ascended, she began noticing even stranger details. The architecture was completely different from the modern constructions of the Upper Underworld. The walls possessed ancient demonic inscriptions, several towers bore battle scars and enormous black chains hung from the edges of the floating structure.

There was also residual demonic pressure embedded in the stones.

It was not particularly threatening to someone of Selene’s level, but its age was obvious.

She had no idea where that castle had come from.

And that bothered her.

“This is definitely not normal.” Selene murmured while circling one of the towers, searching for some identification or sign of whoever was controlling the structure.

It did not take long for other people to notice what had happened.

The Valkyries responsible for the region’s public defense were the first to react. Several patrols stopped their activities when the surveillance systems detected the enormous spatial distortion, and dozens of female warriors began ascending into the skies.

Some used wings of energy, while others flew through their own supernatural abilities. All of them carried weapons and defensive equipment, prepared to face whatever threat had just invaded the territory.

“Lady Selene!” A silver-haired Valkyrie quickly approached, accompanied by five other warriors. “We detected an unknown structure above the Bifröst. Do you know what happened?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be here trying to figure it out!” Selene replied while pointing toward the castle. “This thing literally appeared out of nowhere. Did you receive any notification of dimensional transport?”

“Negative.” The Valkyrie replied, quickly consulting a small magical device attached to her wrist. “No authorization was registered. The systems detected the opening of a large-scale portal, but the energy signature doesn’t match any registered structure.”

Selene frowned.

“Great. So someone decided to park an entire castle in our territory without telling anyone.” She crossed her arms while watching more patrols approach. “Establish a perimeter and keep civilians away until we figure out what’s happening.”

“Understood!” The Valkyrie immediately nodded and transmitted the orders to the other patrols, which began spreading out around the structure.

Within minutes, dozens of Valkyries surrounded the castle.

Some remained near the towers, searching for possible occupants, while others checked the stability of the floating structure. After all, no one wanted to discover what would happen if a fortress of that size fell directly onto the Bifröst.

Selene continued observing the walls when she felt another powerful presence approaching.

This time, she immediately recognized the demonic signature.

Sapphire.

The former Demon Queen appeared flying from Sparda’s direction, accompanied by an energetic pressure that made some Valkyries instinctively move away. She had noticed the gigantic structure shortly after its arrival and abandoned what she was doing to investigate.

However, unlike Selene, Sapphire recognized the castle as soon as she could see its structure in full.

Her eyes widened.

“It can’t be…” Sapphire murmured while slowing down, observing the black towers and enormous walls she had known since childhood.

She had not seen that place in countless years.

In fact, she had never even imagined anyone would use it again.

Selene immediately noticed her reaction.

“Sapphire! Do you know this thing?” Selene asked while approaching, pointing toward the fortress suspended above them. “Because no one here has the slightest idea where it came from.”

Sapphire did not answer immediately.

Her gaze traveled across the towers, the ancient inscriptions and the central structure of the castle. Despite the passage of time and the accumulated damage, there was no possibility of mistaking it for another building.

It was Genesis Castle.

The first residence of her family.

The place where Lucifer had lived with Lilith and their daughters before everything ended in one of the most devastating wars in demonic history.

Sapphire brought one hand to her face.

“What the fuck did my sister and mother do now…?” Sapphire murmured, letting out a sigh while imagining the number of problems that could arise from that decision.

Selene raised an eyebrow.

“Your mother and your sister?” Selene repeated, looking back at the castle. “Wait. You’re telling me they brought this thing here?”

“I know this castle.” Sapphire replied while crossing her arms, clearly displeased. “And if it appeared here, I can only think of two people crazy enough to transport the whole thing.”

Before Selene could ask another question, an enormous door in the upper walls began to open.

The Valkyries immediately assumed defensive positions.

Some pointed their spears toward the entrance, while others prepared magical barriers around the patrols. Selene also turned her attention toward the opening, ready to act if any threat emerged.

However, the first person to come out was Lilith.

The progenitor of the demons calmly appeared on one of the outer platforms, observing the number of Valkyries that had gathered around the castle.

She blinked a few times.

Then looked toward Sapphire and Selene.

“Ah, you already noticed.” Lilith commented while approaching the edge of the platform, apparently satisfied with the result of the transport. “No need to worry! The castle is ours. We just brought it from the depths of the Demon Realm.”

Selene kept staring at her.

Then at the castle.

Then back at Lilith.

“You brought an entire castle?!” Selene asked, unable to hide her disbelief. “And you decided to put it directly above the Bifröst without warning anyone?!”

“It was the most convenient point for the transfer.” Lilith replied with absolute naturalness, shrugging while observing the floating structure. “We can move it somewhere else later. There’s no need to make such a fuss.”

“A fuss?!” Selene repeated, pointing toward the dozens of Valkyries still surrounding the structure. “You just caused an entire defensive mobilization!”

Lilith looked at the warriors.

Then smiled.

“Well, at least we know security is working.”

Sapphire closed her eyes.

“I knew it…” She murmured while massaging her forehead, already beginning to feel a headache.

It was at that moment that Sepphirothy appeared behind Lilith.

The demoness calmly walked toward the edge of the platform, carrying Longinus in her right hand. The spear looked so different from its former holy form that Sapphire had to observe it for several seconds before recognizing it.

Sepphirothy immediately noticed her sister’s gaze.

“Ah, Sapphire. Good thing you showed up.” Sepphirothy commented while approaching, apparently ignoring all the confusion caused by the castle’s arrival. “We need to talk about a few things.”

Sapphire looked at the spear.

Then at the castle.

Finally, she stared at her sister.

“Sepphirothy…” Sapphire began, displaying increasingly less patience. “What exactly did you two go do in that place?”

Sepphirothy let out a sigh and subtly raised Longinus.

“Looks like our idiot father left a few things unfinished when he died.” Sepphirothy replied, looking directly at Sapphire while her expression became more serious.