The rear district of the Holy City lay in ruin.

  Collapsed buildings, cracked streets, shattered walls—everything bore the scars of war. Smoke drifted lazily between broken structures, while distant screams and clashes echoed faintly from other parts of the city. Yet here, strangely, silence reigned.

  Atop the pointed edge of a broken rooftop stood a lone figure.

  Vergil.

  Archangel of the High Skies.

  The Storm King.

  His white mantle fluttered gently in the wind as six pristine wings rested behind him, neither spread in aggression nor folded in retreat. He did not advance. He did not withdraw. He simply stood there—an unspoken boundary made flesh, as though his very presence was meant to anchor Lilith and Camilia in place.

  Camilia tilted her head upward, crimson eyes narrowing.

  “So?” she called out sharply.

  “Are you going to fight us or not?”

  She crossed her arms, irritation dripping from her tone.

  “If not, then piss off, creephead!”

  Vergil looked down at her, expression unchanging. A faint smile curved his lips, calm and refined.

  “Quite provocative you are,” he replied evenly.

  “Though a beautiful lady like you should refrain from speaking so inelegantly. It tarnishes your grace.”

  Lilith exhaled slowly, clearly unimpressed.

  “This is a waste of time,” she said.

  “If he isn’t attacking us, let’s go and find father.”

  She closed her eyes briefly, focusing on the distant currents of mana beyond the city.

  “I can sense him… nearby. Outside the city walls.”

  Camilia nodded.

  “Yeah, I feel it too. However—”

  She glanced back toward Vergil, her expression sharpening.

  “He might prevent us from leaving.”

  Her gaze hardened.

  “Considering he’s remained idle this whole time, I’d say his goal is to stall us. Keep us separated from the others.”

  The wind shifted.

  Invisible currents curled upward, carrying their words effortlessly.

  Vergil’s ears twitched.

  “You are catching on quite quickly,” he said, his voice drifting down to them.

  “An excellent guess.”

  He regarded them as one might examine rare jewels.

  “Two ladies who are not only beautiful, but intelligent and strong.”

  There was praise in his words—but also distance, as if he stood above them, acknowledging their worth while remaining detached.

  “I must consider myself fortunate,” he continued,

  “To be accompanied by such remarkable company after so long.”

  Then his tone cooled.

  “But praise aside… I cannot permit you to leave.”

  Vergil raised one hand.

  The air screamed.

  Winds spiraled violently around them, accelerating until the pressure became overwhelming. In seconds, a massive tornado formed, encircling the battlefield completely. Debris, stone, and shattered metal were pulled upward, rotating endlessly within the vortex.

  The barrier stretched infinitely toward the sky.

  There was no escape above.

  Any attempt to fly would invite annihilation from below.

  Camilia’s lips curled upward.

  “Finally…”

  “I’ve been aching for some good fight for a long time.”

  Vergil’s brows lifted slightly.

  “Hmm? I thought you wished to escape.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  Camilia’s smile widened, feral and confident.

  “Nothing changed. I intended to crush you from the beginning.”

  She tilted her head mockingly.

  “It was just your creepy attitude that ruined the mood.”

  Her eyes gleamed.

  “Now that you’ve decided to make the first move… I’ll respond in kind.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Her expression shifted—playful amusement melting into predatory delight.

  For far too long she had restrained herself.

  From the Arcus Rebellion…

  To the awakening of the Maw…

  To the battle against the Vatican…

  She had endured it all.

  Now, standing before a being she did not need to hold back against—

  She unleashed herself.

  Crimson aura erupted from her body, flooding the surroundings in a violent surge of power. The air thickened with blood-red mana, staining the world itself. Buildings, streets, even the spinning tornado began to glow with a dark scarlet hue.

  The sky turned red.

  As though the heavens themselves had been drenched in blood.

  Lilith instinctively stepped back, recognizing the shift. This was no longer a skirmish.

  Camilia raised her arm.

  An enormous arcane sigil manifested above them, glowing with ancient symbols etched in blood-red light.

  The Blood Eclipse Array.

  This was no imitation.

  Unlike the crude version cast by Arcus and his traitorous followers, this array was refined, perfected, and ancient—its origin as old as their history.

  Camilia smirked.

  “Thanks to that traitor,” she said,

  “I finally got to try out the array he so proudly called ‘upgraded.’”

  Vergil’s gaze locked onto the sigil.

  Something felt wrong.

  His mana flow faltered.

  His limbs grew heavy.

  Without realizing it, he dropped to one knee.

  “What…?”

  His expression hardened.

  Is it the array?

  What did she do?

  Camilia began approaching him, her presence oppressive.

  “Don’t let this end too fast, Archangel,” she said softly.

  “At least entertain me with some blood.”

  In an instant—

  She vanished.

  Her fist slammed directly into his abdomen.

  Vergil did not even see it coming.

  Weakened by the array, his perception and reaction speed had dropped drastically. His senses—once sharp enough to perceive the slightest change in airflow—were dulled even for a short a moment.

  The impact sent him crashing downward.

  The building beneath him collapsed completely, exploding into rubble as he tore through it and the surrounding structures alike.

  It was a devastating display of power—amplified by the array.

  Lilith glanced at the destruction.

  “Going all out from the start?”

  Camilia laughed, exhilarated.

  “Can’t blame me, sister. I’ve been bottled up for far too long.”

  She smirked with unrestrained joy.

  Lilith sighed, though her gaze remained sharp as she studied the ruins.

  Going all out was the right call, she thought.

  We can’t afford to go easy against an opponent like this.

  Then—

  The debris exploded outward.

  Vergil emerged, wings unfurling as violent gusts blasted the rubble away. Blood stained his lips, yet his posture remained upright and composed.

  As the winds settled, he brushed dust from his clothing with deliberate elegance.

  “Impressive strength,” he admitted calmly.

  “And that array… it is unknown to me but it’s powerful enough to suppress even me.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “But this isn’t enough to take me down.”

  He released his mana.

  It poured outward like a suffocating pressure, a dense invisible atmosphere that crushed down upon the battlefield.

  Even for ancient beings like Lilith and Camilia, it was overwhelming.

  Lilith’s eyes widened slightly.

  This monster…

  How strong would he be without the array?

  She flew up beside Camilia.

  “Sorry to interrupt your fun,” she said quietly,

  “But we can’t let this drag on.”

  Her gaze flicked toward the sigil above.

  “There’s a limit to how long you can maintain the array while fighting him at full power.”

  Camilia nodded.

  “Then let’s end it fast.”

  They moved together.

  Camilia struck first, her claws engulfed in crimson energy.

  Lilith followed, manifesting a massive shadow spike crackling with dark mana.

  Vergil met them head-on.

  He caught both attacks—barehanded.

  One in each hand.

  The shockwave obliterated the surrounding structures.

  Camilia and Lilith stared in disbelief.

  Even weakened—he could hold them back...barehanded.

  They tried to pushed harder.

  Vergil crouched under the pressure, his palms blistering, blood seeping through torn skin.

  Damn that array, he cursed inwardly.

  Being pushed back by creatures of darkness… If my brothers saw this, I’d be mocked for eternity.

  He released their attacks and dashed away.

  Then—he vanished.

  A cyclone formed around him as he reappeared between them, expanding outward and forcing them apart.

  He then switch his target toward Lilith.

  His hand shot forward aiming to reach for her neck.

  Camilia reacted instantly, twisting her body against impossible momentum and intercepting him.

  His claw pierced her shoulder.

  But she didn’t cry out with pain nor move away.

  Instead, she grabbed his arm and formed a crimson blade beneath her foot, stabbing it straight through his leg and pinning him to the ground.

  “Now, sister!” she shouted.

  “He can’t move!”

  Lilith instantly appeared beside them, her form engulfed in writhing shadows. A massive spike of condensed darkness formed in her grasp.

  As Vergil struggled while Camilia restrict him with all her might.

  Damn it… Lumiel… I messed up…

  The spike pierced his abdomen.

  Dark energy blasted and detonated from within.

  The Shadows consumed his body as if disintegrating it.

  With the end of that attack, the tornado barrier dispersed and Camilia also deactivate the Blood Eclipse Array.

  Moonlight spilled over the battlefield as dust slowly settled.

  Camilia and Lilith were exhausted but remained standing. They approached the clearing dust to check on Vergil state.

  He lay there, breathing heavily. “Huff...Huff...Huff". His left arm and lower body were gone, blood pooling beneath him as he stared at the moon sky.

  “Any last words?” Camilia asked, preparing the finishing blow.

  Vergil coughed blood and smiled faintly.

  “I am content with what i got,” he said softly.

  “To be ended by two beautiful ladies.”

  He closed his eyes.

  “Do it...finish me”

  Lilith stopped Camilia’s arm.

  “No.”

  She lowered her stance.

  “He can’t stop us anymore. Leave him.”

  Camilia withdrew her power and turn away.

  Lilith looked down at Vergil and asked.

  “Why did you hold back?”

  Vergil opened his eyes slowly.

  “What are you talking about? I did no such thing.”

  She met his gaze.

  “You could have killed us before the array. With your speed… your strength…”

  “You would had easily caught us off guard”

  He laughed weakly, coughing blood.

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  He stared at the clear full moon.

  “Since the fall of my brothers and sister. I had lived my life fighting. Killing. Destroying.”

  “They called me the Storm King...”

  “hah so pathetic...it was all just a title to cover my own weakness...a means to an end”

  “But when there was no one left to challenge me… even battles with my brothers became dull.”

  He continue while struggling “So...i tried to find joy in whatever live had to offer.”

  “I sought for all kind of beautiful things.”

  Lilith listened silently.

  “When we sacrificed ourselves for heaven, I thought the last beautiful thing I’d see was our home.”

  He smiled.

  “But then… I met you two.”

  He exhaled.

  “It’s a pity we were enemies.”

  “How good would it have been....if we were friends of different kind”

  “How good the world would had been”

  As he draw his last breathe. His visual turned white and fade into an endless dream. A dream where he was talking happily with Lilith and Camilia hanging around with his brothers on the garden of heaven. A dream of impossibility yet wished upon.

  Lilith remained quiet and turned away.

  She understood his wish.

  A world without prejudice.

  Without hatred.

  The same world Kevlar sought to create.

  As Lilith and Camilia crossed beyond the wall to find their father, Vergil found peace at last—unknown, unfamiliar, yet content.