Chapter 472: Tests

The silence was broken only by the deep sound of the demonic cow’s breathing, each snort sending black vapor into the cold air.

Vergil stepped forward, approaching her with the calm of one who feared nothing. His golden eyes scrutinized her as if reading an open page of a book only he understood.

Rize moved to the side, already tearing the flesh from one of the fallen oxen. Her claws sliced through the muscle tissue with surgical precision, separating the densest, most pulsating fibers. Each piece she removed seemed to glow with an internal heat, the demonic energy escaping in tiny red sparks.

“It’s still alive and pulsing… perfect,” she murmured, almost as if speaking to herself.

Titania grimaced and flew back, covering her nose. “You’re disgusting. That stinks like a corpse cooking in hell.”

“That’s because it is exactly that,” Rize retorted, without even looking at the fairy. She gathered the pieces into a pile and began compressing each one, expelling some of the unstable mana, leaving a core of denser energy at the center. A thick, almost viscous vapor escaped with each pressure, slowly dissipating into the air.

Vergil stopped two meters from the cow. “If you attack me now, it will be your only chance to end this before it starts.”

The creature raised its head, its flaming eyes fixed on him. It snorted louder, its paws scratching the ground. The tension in the air was almost physical.

“Yeah…” Vergil said, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, “…I thought you’d choose this way.”

The cow charged. Fast. Deadly. The ground erupted beneath its hooves.

But before it could reach it, Rize stepped in its path. She spun and drove her blade into the ground, erupting a line of scarlet energy that rose like a translucent wall. The beast’s impact with the barrier caused a roar, and black sparks exploded in the air.

“Easy there, big one…” Rize said, her voice low, almost seductive. “You’ll want to hear what he has to offer you.”

The cow took a step back, suspicious. Vergil didn’t move a muscle.

Rize picked up one of the prepared pieces and held it in front of the animal. “This… will give you more strength than any battle you’ve ever fought. But it might kill you in the process.”

The cow’s gaze flickered between the piece and her eyes. An instinctive tension took over—predator assessing predator.

“Vergil…” Rize tossed the piece to the ground, right between them, “…the rest is up to you.”

He walked over to the food and, with the tip of the Yamato, pushed it toward the creature. “If you’re worthy… you’ll survive.”

The cow stared at the piece for a few seconds, snorted, and with a swift movement, swallowed it whole.

The effect was immediate. The veins in her neck and shoulders began to glow red, like incandescent lines beneath her skin. The lowing that emanated from her made the ground vibrate. The air around her distorted, as if heat emanated from her in waves.

Titania flew higher. “This doesn’t look safe! This doesn’t look safe at all!”

The cow’s body trembled. Her muscles throbbed as if they were about to explode. Her hooves scraped the ground, opening cracks. The sound of bones cracking echoed, and the flames in her eyes grew.

Rize took a step back, but with a satisfied smile. “She’s resisting…”

Vergil, on the other hand, didn’t move an inch. He simply watched, his eyes narrowed, taking in every detail of the transformation.

Her black fur began to change hue, taking on a metallic sheen. The horns grew a few inches, taking on a more curved, menacing shape. Its back arched, as if the energy were trying to forcibly reshape its body.

But then came the roar.

Not a moo—a roar.

A sound so deep and distorted that it sent leaves tumbling from the nearby trees.

The cow advanced, but now each step left a burning footprint in the ground. Its speed had increased, but the force of its impact against Vergil was what truly stood out.

He blocked with the Yamato’s scabbard, and for the first time, his feet slid back a little on the earth. “Hm… impressive.”

The creature reared back and attacked again, but Vergil moved before it could complete its strike. With a quick slash, he made a shallow line on the side of its neck. No ordinary blood flowed—just a thick, dark vapor that dissipated into the air like smoke.

This only infuriated it further.

It spun and tried to land a kick. Vergil ducked, and the hoof passed so close it displaced the air in a dull rumble.

Rize stood back, watching with predatory attention, ready to intervene if any outside predators appeared.

Titania circled high, clearly torn between fleeing and staying.

Zuri, on Vergil’s shoulder, watched with an air of “I’ve seen this before, and it won’t end well.”

The cow attacked again, but this time with a series of quick lunges. Vergil dodged them all, each time with tiny movements, as if measuring each blow.

And then, suddenly, she stopped.

Her muscles quivered violently, and a bright glow coursed through her veins. A suffocating heat spread across the field.

Rize narrowed her eyes. “She’ll break the limit… or she’ll shatter from within.”

The roar that followed didn’t sound like a single animal, but like something much larger echoing alongside. Energy exploded out of her body like a shockwave, ripping up chunks of earth and knocking down nearby trees.

Vergil stood his ground, his hair swaying with the pressure. “Yes… show me everything.”

The cow lunged one last time, but this time the force was multiplied. The impact against the Yamato generated a wave of air that spread like a gale, snapping branches and sweeping leaves for meters.

When it recoiled, its eyes were no longer just flames—they were incandescent orbs, almost human in their intensity.

Vergil smiled. “I think we can work with that.”

The black vapor rising from the cow’s body condensed in the air, falling like a shower of soot around them. It panted heavily, the ground beneath its hooves beginning to crack, as if the earth itself were trying to pull away from the pressure emanating from it.

Vergil stood still, the Yamato still sheathed, his gaze fixed on the creature like a craftsman examining an unfinished masterpiece.

Rize, discreetly wiping the blood from her fingers, spoke softly, almost to herself: “If she can hold out for another five minutes like this… she’ll stop being just a beast.”

Vergil took a step forward. “No one interferes,” he said firmly, without looking at her. “This strength… I want to test it.”

Rize smiled slightly and inclined her head in agreement, sliding back and pulling the remnants of demonic energy from the surrounding bodies to form small floating spheres. “Understood, master.”