Chapter 495: Reunion… I WANT SWEETS!

The forest seemed endless.

Each step felt like a return to the same place, as if the world had decided to play with them, bending space and distorting time. Vergil walked ahead, his expression thick with irritation, his eyes scanning every shadow and every movement, searching for something that, until now, had not appeared.

The trees were too tall, ancient trunks intertwined, forming a natural wall. Their dense canopies hid almost all sunlight, leaving the ground damp and covered in moss. This place was not made for mortals to walk, and even for them, demons with power beyond human, there was a suffocating discomfort.

Vany followed close behind, silent, her posture erect and her eyes alert. It was as if she missed nothing, every fallen leaf, every breath of wind, every scent that mingled in the air. Zuri walked with lighter steps, but her gaze moved too nervously, as if she sensed the forest watching her. Titania, her arms crossed and her expression hardened, seemed even more impatient than Vergil, huffing from time to time. Rize was the quietest, her face serene, but her eyes were downcast, as if reflecting something she didn’t want to share.

And in the midst of it all, was Vergil.

His mind kept returning to the tigress.

The previous fight, that feeling of being provoked, of being watched like a child taking its first steps. That creature, who had revealed itself to be a woman, had vanished. Like smoke, like a dream that left no trace.

Vergil clenched his fists.

“This is tiring me,” he said, his voice thick with disdain. “Walking aimlessly among dead trees. Where is the core of this place? Where is the heart of the forest?”

Titania rolled her eyes. “Maybe if you had patience, we would find it. Not everything bends to your will, Vergil.” He glanced at her over his shoulder, his blue eyes flashing. “I don’t need lectures. I need results.”

A heavy silence fell between them. Zuri looked away, trying to focus on the path. Vanny, however, didn’t take her eyes off the leader. She watched him as if studying his flaws, his cracks.

Rize sighed softly, almost like a prayer.

But Vergil heard none of it. His mind was elsewhere.

He didn’t even know if he wanted to dominate this forest anymore. At first, it had seemed like a logical plan: expand territory, consolidate power. But now… now it seemed like a maze with no exit, a pointless ordeal. And he couldn’t stand being used as a pawn in a game he didn’t understand.

Then he stopped.

Before him, the forest opened up. An immense space, too silent, as if even the animals had given up on existing there. The air was colder, and mist rose from the ground, creeping like fingers trying to grab his legs.

And, in the center of this space, was the ravine.

A colossal crevice, wide enough to swallow an entire city. Its edges were jagged, black rocks cracked like scars in the earth. And the bottom… there was no bottom. Vergil’s gaze tried to reach it, but it was like staring into an eternal void. Pure, dense darkness that seemed to have weight, as if it were something alive.

He stood still, watching.

For a moment, no one spoke. The silence was absolute, broken only by the rushing wind, carrying a deep sound, as if the ravine itself were breathing.

“I can’t see the end…” Zuri murmured, approaching cautiously, her eyes wide. “It’s like… infinity.”

“A crevice like that doesn’t form naturally,” Vanny said, crouching near the edge, her fingers touching the dark earth. “The ground was ripped open by force. Maybe by magic. Maybe by something worse.”

Titania snorted, but even she looked uncomfortable.

“Wonderful. Another useless obstacle.”

Vergil didn’t answer right away. He approached the edge and stood still, just staring down. His blue reflection sparkled in the darkness, but illuminated nothing. It was as if the light were swallowed by the void.

And, for the first time in a long time, he felt something close to… doubt.

There was something down there. He didn’t know what, but he felt it. A presence that called, that whispered in a language not heard with the ears, but only with the bones.

“This… isn’t just a ravine,” he murmured.

Rize, who had been silent until then, looked up.

“You feel it too… don’t you?”

Vergil turned to her, surprised.

“What do you mean?”

“This darkness…” she replied quietly but firmly. “It’s not absence. It’s presence. Something watches us from there.”

The silence returned, even heavier.

Zuri took two steps back. “So, let’s not go in, right? Because that seems like the stupidest idea possible.”

Vergil ignored her. He was still looking down. Something in that darkness stirred him in a way he hated to admit. It wasn’t fear. He didn’t know fear. But it was… uncomfortable. As if the void was mocking him, as if saying: you can’t dominate me.

His heart raced.

For a moment, the memory of the tigress returned. The same look, the same silent provocation.

“I’ll find out what this is,” he said, his voice firm but filled with suppressed anger. “And if it’s the forest’s core… I’ll destroy it.”

Vany narrowed her eyes. “Are you willing to jump into an abyss without knowing what lies at the end?”

He stared at her defiantly. “Always.”

Titania crossed her arms, irritated. “You’re insane.”

Vergil smiled coldly. “No. I’m inevitable.”

Suddenly, the silence of the ravine was shattered.

A sound echoed from below, so unexpected that everyone jumped. It wasn’t a roar, it wasn’t a ritual chant, it wasn’t an ancient lament. It was a scream.

“AAAHHHH!!! I WANT SWEETS!!! DID YOU HEAR ME?! I WANT SWEETS!!!”

The voice was feminine, shrill, and it spread through the crevice as if multiplied by a thousand echoes. Soon after, another scream came, more drawn-out, more dramatic:

“AND I WANT MY HUSBAND!!! WHERE IS MY HUSBAND?!”

Vergil froze.

His eyes widened for a moment in disbelief. That voice… he knew it. He knew it too well.

“No…” he murmured, his jaw clenched. “It can’t be…”

Zuri blinked several times, confused. “Wait… what’s happening? Is this… serious?”

Vany straightened, her eyes narrowing, trying to gauge if it was a trap.

Titania snorted, crossing her arms tightly.

“This has got to be a joke.”

But Vergil suddenly took a deep breath, as if he’d just recognized an old scar. His chest heaved, and he screamed into the abyss, his voice piercing through the darkness:

“ROXANNE?! IS THAT YOU?!”

For a moment, the void seemed to hold its breath. And then the answer came, thunderous, charged with emotion, so unmistakable that no one could deny it:

“HUBBY!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!”