My Wives are Beautiful Demons

Chapter 804: still in Japan

The hotel occupied the upper floors of a luxurious skyscraper in the center of Tokyo, far enough from the busiest streets that the city noise reached only as a muffled murmur through the enormous panoramic windows. The presidential suite was absurdly large, composed of integrated rooms, soft indirect lighting, modern furniture, and a comfortable silence typical of places too expensive to allow for ordinary human chaos. City light filtered through the tinted windows and scattered bluish reflections across the dark carpet as dawn slowly approached outside.

Katharina occupied the main sofa in the room completely, as if she owned the entire hotel. She was completely naked, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, stretched lazily between expensive cushions while watching television with utter disinterest in any concept of social decency. One leg rested on the arm of the sofa as she held the remote control with the same critical expression she usually used to assess dangerous enemies. The television’s glare partially illuminated her red hair as Japanese channels flashed past her eyes without truly capturing her attention.

She was clearly tired.

But satisfied.

The night in Tokyo had drained enough energy even from her, which honestly said a lot.

In the suite’s main bathroom, the continuous sound of the shower filled part of the silent atmosphere. Ada had been showering for several minutes, probably using the time to mentally reorganize everything that had happened in the last few days. Vergil had long since noticed that Ada thought better when isolated in absolute silence. It was almost an automatic mechanism. The more complex the situation, the more time she spent quietly organizing possibilities within her own head.

And considering that the last few days included cosmic entities, soul contracts, celestial libraries, dangerous conceptual revelations, and Lucy drawing crowns on golden dragons...

There was probably a lot going on in her mind at that moment.

Meanwhile, Roxanne had transformed one of the suite’s rooms into a sort of emotionally dangerous testing ground for the purchases she’d made in Tokyo. Shopping bags were scattered across the gigantic bed as she tried on different lingerie sets in front of the room’s enormous illuminated mirror, analyzing each set with a seriousness surprising for someone normally so chaotic.

"Does black look too elegant?" she asked aloud to no one in particular.

Katharina didn’t even look up from the television.

"You’ve been asking this emotionally naked since midnight."

"That doesn’t answer my question."

"Because your question doesn’t make sense."

Roxanne partially appeared in the doorway of the room wearing an absurdly expensive dark lace set while analyzing her own appearance with her hands on her hips.

"Ada would say it makes sense."

"Ada would analyze lingerie as if she were evaluating military weaponry."

"She’d probably classify it by efficiency."

"Exactly."

Roxanne seemed to consider this seriously for a few seconds before disappearing again to change clothes once more.

It was at that moment that the main door of the suite opened.

Vergil entered carrying several bags of Japanese food and boxes of sweets enough to feed an entire family. The smell of hot food immediately spread through the room as he closed the door behind him with his foot. There were packages of ramen, fancy bento boxes, skewers, sushi, traditional Japanese sweets, and a completely irrational amount of desserts chosen specifically because Roxanne had become emotionally unstable inside a confectionery twenty minutes earlier.

He observed the room for a moment.

Katharina naked watching television.

Roxanne changing lingerie in the next room.

Ada still in the bath.

Vergil let out a small, tired sigh through his nose.

This seemed strangely normal now.

Which was probably worrying.

He walked slowly to the suite’s central table and began carefully arranging the packages while the smell of sugar and warm food filled the luxurious room. Katharina finally looked up from the television when she noticed the absurd amount of sweets.

"Did you buy the whole store?"

Vergil placed one of the boxes on the table.

"Roxanne started pointing at random things."

"Fair enough."

"She called a cheesecake ’emotionally necessary’."

Katharina nodded immediately.

"That really sounds like something she would say."

From the bedroom, Roxanne shouted:

"AND I WAS RIGHT."

Vergil almost smiled.

Almost.

He finished placing the last packages on the table when his cell phone vibrated in his blue coat pocket.

The sound immediately caught his attention.

Because few people called directly at that hour.

Vergil picked up the phone slowly while Katharina casually watched from the television.

The name on the screen made him raise an eyebrow slightly.

Sapphire.

He answered without hesitation.

"Yes?"

On the other end of the line, her voice was calm, confident, and absurdly tranquil considering the time.

"So, before anyone gets dramatically worried later..." There was a small metallic noise in the background of the call. "...Lilith, Sephirothy, and I are going down into the Abyss."

Vergil stood still for a moment.

Her tone was too casual.

Which usually meant proportionally dangerous trouble.

He rested one hand on the table while gazing distractedly at the distant lights of Tokyo beyond the windows.

"Why?"

"We’re investigating something."

The answer came too quickly.

Too short.

Vergil knew Sapphire well enough to immediately realize she was deliberately omitting details.

Katharina also noticed it just from his expression.

She slowly lowered the television volume.

"What?" Vergil asked calmly.

On the other end of the line, there was a brief silence.

Then Sapphire replied:

"Strange movement."

"That doesn’t mean anything."

"Exactly."

Vergil narrowed his eyes slightly.

Because that answer meant quite a lot.

Sapphire didn’t usually treat truly serious situations with dramatization. When she downplayed information like that, it was usually because she didn’t yet have enough data for concrete conclusions.

That was precisely the problem.

Sapphire rarely made mistakes in her assessments.

"Who else knows?" he asked.

"Only a few people."

"Amon?"

"I suspected as much."

Vergil remained silent for a few seconds, mentally organizing possibilities.

Abyss.

Strange movement.

Sapphire going in person.

Lilith involved.

Sephirothy too.

This didn’t seem like a small mission.

From the bathroom, the sound of the shower finally stopped.

Ada was probably already listening to part of the conversation through the half-open door.

"How long?" Vergil asked.

"A few days."

"And you’re calling me as a precaution."

"Look at that." Her voice carried a slight amused tone now. "He learns fast."

Vergil leaned slightly against the table.

"Should I be worried?"

Short silence.

Then Sapphire laughed on the other end of the line.

Not nervous.

Not uncomfortable.

Just genuinely amused.

"Vergil." The pride in her voice was almost palpable. "Who exactly do you think I am?" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

That immediately brought a small smile to his face.

Because that particular arrogance only worked coming from her.

Sapphire had enough power to maintain that kind of confidence without seeming ridiculous.

Katharina discreetly watched the corner of a smile appear on his face as he spoke on the phone.

"Then everything’s fine," Vergil replied calmly.

"Of course it is."

"Just don’t do anything stupidly dangerous."

"You’ve literally lived with me for years." She sounded offended. "That describes half of my decisions."

"That’s exactly my point."

Sapphire laughed again.

In the background of the call, he could hear Lilith’s distant voice complaining about something related to dimensional equipment. Sephirothy seemed to be discussing some route or coordinates right after. The sound resembled quick preparations before a major operation.

That made his discomfort slightly worse.

But not enough to show it.

Because, honestly...

If Sapphire was involved, few things in the universe could truly stop her from returning alive.

Still, he knew that unpleasant feeling well. The silent realization that the world was slowly beginning to move in strange directions again.

First Lucy.

Then Samael.

Now the Abyss.

The pieces were starting to move too fast.

"Vergil?" Sapphire’s voice called again.

"Hmm?"

"Stay alert."

Her tone subtly changed in that instant.

Less playful.

More serious.

Not fear.

But caution.

Vergil understood immediately.

"Understood."

The brief silence between the two carried a comfortable familiarity built over too many years of sharing wars, crises, and dimensional chaos.

Then he sighed softly.

"I love you."

On the other end of the line there was a brief pause.

Very brief.

But real.

Then Sapphire replied in a strangely softer tone:

"I love you too, idiot."

And he hung up.

Vergil stood still for a few seconds, staring at the dead phone in his hand as the distant glow of Tokyo partially illuminated the silent room.

Katharina watched him from the sofa now.

More attentive.

"Problem?"

Vergil put his phone back in his pocket before answering.

"Maybe."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"The bad kind?"

"Abyss."

That was enough to partially change her expression.

Not fear.

But immediate caution.

Because few things associated with the Abyss ended simply.

At that moment, Ada finally emerged from the bathroom wearing light clothing and her hair still partially damp. Hot steam briefly escaped through the open door as she quickly surveyed the surroundings.

Food on the table.

Katharina serious.

Vergil silent.

Ada instantly understood that something had happened.

"Sapphire?" "What happened?" she asked.

Vergil nodded.

Ada slowly approached the table, picking up a small towel to dry her hair.

"What happened?"

"She, Lilith, and Sephirothy are going to investigate movements in the Abyss."

Roxanne reappeared from the room at that exact moment, wearing different lingerie, but stopped immediately when she realized the tone of the conversation.

"...That sounds worrying."

Vergil slowly pulled a chair from the table before sitting down.

"Perhaps it is."

Katharina finally turned off the television.

The silence of the suite became more evident immediately without the constant noise of the Japanese programming in the background.

Ada crossed her arms as she thought.

"Sapphire doesn’t usually ask for promptness without reason."

"I know."

"She seemed worried?"

Vergil reflected for a moment before answering.

"No."

And that was true.

Sapphire seemed cautious.

But not scared.

That was precisely the problem.

Because few things could truly frighten Sapphire.

Roxanne walked slowly to the table, observing the scattered sweets.

"So..." She hesitated a little before sitting down next to him. "...now we wait?"

Vergil leaned back slowly in his chair, observing the city beyond the enormous hotel windows.

Tokyo continued to shine outside.

Noisy.

Alive.

Completely oblivious to the fact that, somewhere far below human reality, monstrous entities were probably beginning to stir again.

"For now," he replied calmly.

Katharina finally rose from the sofa and walked to the table without showing the slightest interest in getting dressed yet. She pulled a chair beside him and unceremoniously picked up one of the food boxes.

"Then let’s eat before the universe decides to get worse again." Vergil let out a small, low laugh through his nose.

Because, honestly...

She was right.