Sepphirothy didn't seem the least bit bothered by the contrast between the setting and the subject. She walked to the table naturally, her black swimsuit standing out less than it should in that particular group, and picked up a glass as if it were just another irrelevant detail. Her eyes quickly scanned everyone, making sure no one important was missing, before finally focusing on Vergil.
"Because if I said 'we're going to have a serious eting,' half of us would disappear," she replied directly, taking a small sip of her drink. "This way, everyone shows up. And no one can pretend they didn't hear."
Katharina let out a short laugh, resting her elbow on the table.
"Fair enough. I hardly ever ca myself."
"You never co when it's serious," Ada retorted without looking at her.
"Exactly my point."
Roxanne raised her hand slightly, still eating.
"So this is… a eting in disguise?"
"This is a eting," Sepphirothy corrected. "The disguise is so you won't complain."
Viviane sighed softly, crossing her arms.
"And it worked."
Sapphire swirled her glass once more before speaking, now without her previous light tone.
"I've already said the main point," she said, looking around. "But I'll repeat it for those who didn't hear properly. The Abyss is no longer… quiet."
The ambient noise naturally decreased.
It wasn't forced.
But it happened.
"I found the Knight of War," Sapphire continued. "And he confird that the Knight of Hunger descended. Along with the Seven Deadly Sins."
Stella stopped stirring her glass.
"…all of them?"
"I don't know if all of them," Sapphire replied. "But enough."
Rize leaned back in her chair, looking at the sky for a second.
"This is already a big enough problem." Iridia finally spoke, without changing her expression.
"Simultaneous movent implies coordination."
"Or sothing pulling them," dusa added, her voice low.
Sepphirothy nodded slightly.
"Famine doesn't lead without reason. And War doesn't descend to observe idly. This is preparation."
Ada crossed her arms.
"Preparation for what exactly?"
Sapphire answered without hesitation.
"Conflict."
The silence that followed wasn't dramatic.
It was acceptance.
Katharina ran a hand through her hair, looking at Vergil.
"So… basically, war is coming."
"Basically," Sepphirothy confird.
Roxanne let out a long sigh.
"Great. I trained for this today and didn't even know it."
"You train every day," Vanny comnted.
"But today I'm more tired." Alice raised her hand again, seated beside Vergil.
"Does this an there's going to be a big fight?"
No one answered imdiately.
Vergil spoke up.
"Probably."
She seed excited.
"Cool."
Viviane brought her hand to her face.
"It's not encouraging."
Lucy tilted her head.
"But it's inevitable."
Morgana rested her chin on her hand, observing.
"So the problem isn't 'if.' It's 'when.'"
"And 'where,'" added Seris.
Sepphirothy looked from one to the other, organizing the conversation.
"Where we don't know yet. But if they're in the Abyss, it ans they're still positioning themselves."
Sapphire nodded.
"Guerra said to warn us. That says enough."
Vergil finally shifted slightly in his chair, adjusting his posture. "Then we have ti."
Sepphirothy looked at him.
"Not much."
He nodded.
"It's enough."
Ada looked directly at him.
"Do you intend to test your strength in this?"
"Yes."
Direct answer.
Without hesitation.
Katharina smiled slightly.
"Of course you do."
Rize crossed her arms.
"Just don't destroy the place before we get there."
"I'll try," Vergil replied.
Sapphire chuckled softly.
"'Try' doesn't reassure ."
Sepphirothy placed his glass on the table with a slightly dry sound.
"That's why we're here. To get everything in order before we start breaking things."
Roxanne raised her finger.
"Important question."
Everyone looked.
"After the war… can we have another party?"
A short silence.
Then—
Katharina laughed.
Sapphire smiled.
Even Sepphirothy let out a small sigh through her nose.
"If there's a mansion left," she replied.
Roxanne nodded, satisfied.
"Fair enough."
And, strangely enough—
The eting continued like this.
Direct.
No unnecessary drama.
As if everyone there already understood that the problem was big—
But not big enough to break their rhythm.
The conversation didn't end—it just lost its rigid tone and dissolved into the atmosphere, as if everyone there had already absorbed enough for now. The subject was still present, of course, but it no longer dominated every second. The pool, right next to it, reflected the sunlight almost hypnotically, and it wasn't long before soone simply… decided that standing still and thinking wouldn't help at all.
Katharina was the first.
Without warning.
Without ceremony.
She stood up from her chair, walked to the edge of the pool and jumped in at once, diving without even taking off her workout clothes. The water splashed forcefully, completely breaking the more restrained atmosphere that still remained.
"Ah, much better!" she shouted as she erged, running a hand over her face and tossing her hair back.
Ada looked at her for two seconds.
"…you didn't even change your clothes."
"So?" Katharina replied, already swimming on her back. "Are you going to complain or are you going to get in too?"
Ada was silent for another second.
Then she stood up.
"…idiot."
But she got in.
With much more control, of course, going down the edge, but still giving in to the idea without much argunt. Roxanne watched the two for a mont, sighed, finished what she was eating, and got up too.
"If I stay here, I'll end up getting thrown in," she murmured.
And she did.
Stella and Raphaeline exchanged a quick glance before getting up together, walking to the pool more calmly, while Vanny and Rize were already arguing about who could get across first without using their powers.
"Without powers," said Rize.
"You asked for it," replied Vanny.
dusa remained seated, observing everything in silence, but there was a slight relaxation in her posture that hadn't been there before. Iridia, on the other hand, simply shifted her position in the chair, still watching, still distant, but clearly following every detail.
On the other side, Alice was already at the edge of the pool, looking at the water with interest.
"Can I jump in?" she asked, looking at Vergil.
He didn't answer imdiately.
But he nodded.
That was enough.
She jumped in without thinking twice, with a smile too wide for her size, disappearing into the water and returning soon after, laughing.
Lucy watched for a second.
Then she followed.
Viviane crossed her arms, looking at the scene with a neutral expression.
"…I cleaned this area today."
No one answered.
She sighed.
"Of course."
But she didn't leave.
Sapphire stood up calmly, setting her glass aside and walking to the pool without haste. He paused at the edge, observing the movent in the water for a mont, before simply… entering as well, without diving, without impact, just descending as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You make too much noise," he comnted.
"And you talk too much," Katharina replied.
Sapphire smiled.
Vergil remained seated for a few more seconds, observing everything with the sa analytical gaze as before, but now there was sothing different there. It wasn't distraction, nor disinterest. It was… registration. As if he were absorbing that kind of interaction in the sa way he analyzed anything else.
Freyja remained glued to him.
Still.
Even with all the movent.
"Master… aren't you going to co in?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
He looked at the pool.
Then at her.
"…eventually."
That seed enough for her.
Even so, she didn't let go of his arm.
Not at all. Sepphirothy watched everything from where she was, still seated, but with a less rigid expression than before. She rested her chin on her hand, following the movent without interfering.
"It's good," she comnted, almost to herself.
Vergil glanced slightly in her direction.
"…what?"
"They're not tense," she replied. "Even knowing what's coming."
He turned his gaze back to the pool.
Katharina splashing water on Ada.
Roxanne trying not to get pulled in.
Alice laughing.
Sapphire clearly about to do sothing.
"…it doesn't make a difference," he said.
Sepphirothy smiled slightly.
"It does."
Before he could answer, a larger splash hit the nearby area, coming directly from the pool.
Katharina.
Obviously.
"Vergil!" she called. "Are you going to stand there analyzing or are you going to co and fight?"
He was silent for a second.
Then—
He stood up.
Freyja imdiately perked up.
"Let's go!" she said, pulling him with more force than necessary.
He didn't resist.
He just walked.
And, for the first ti since it all began—
He entered the pool.
Without haste.
Without impact.
But present.
The chaos continued.
Controlled.
Noisy.
And, sohow—
Normal.
...
Floor 99 of the Abyss wasn't chaotic like the previous ones. It was more… empty. Strangely silent, as if everything there had been consud long ago and what remained was only structure and pressure. The floor was uneven, dark, with fissures that led nowhere visible. The air was heavy, not from active energy, but from its absence.
The Knight of War stood near the descent.
His demonic horse breathed steadily, releasing small dark clouds from its nostrils, while impatiently stamping one hoof on the ground. War's armor remained motionless, but his presence directly pressed upon the environnt, as if that place lacked the authority to contain him.
He was about to descend.
The 100th floor.
The bottom.
But then—
Sothing changed.
It wasn't an explosion.
It wasn't an attack.
It was… an interruption.
The space ahead of him simply ceased to be empty.
A presence erged.
Direct.
Unannounced.
Another knight.
The armor was different, but equally imposing. Cleaner in so places, more marked in others. The energy wasn't the sa as War's, but it carried the sa kind of absolute weight.
Conquest.
The two stood still for a few seconds.
No attack.
No imdiate tension.
Just… recognition.
War tilted his head slightly.
Conquest did the sa.
That was enough.
"You took your ti," said War, his voice muffled by the armor, but clear enough.
Conquest didn't respond imdiately. He took a few steps forward, stopping a short distance away, enough to talk, but still keeping so space.
"You ca down quickly," he replied, emotionlessly.
War turned his face slightly towards the descent again.
"I don't co to observe."
Conquest let out a small sound through his nose, sothing close to a humorless laugh.
"I know."
A short silence ford between the two.
Not uncomfortable.
Just… direct.
War spoke first.
"What are you doing here?"
The question wasn't curious.
It was confirmation.
Conquest answered bluntly.
"The sa as you."
War didn't move.
But he waited.
Conquest continued.
"Famine is moving without alignnt," he said. "Without consensus. Without command."
War turned slightly now, facing him more directly.
"She's always been like this."
"Not to this extent," Conquest retorted. "Going down to the bottom isn't impulse. It's decision."
War was silent for a second.
Processing.
"She wants to start," he said.
"She already has," Conquest corrected.
Another silence.
Shorter.
Heavier.
War's horse let out a low sound, as if reacting to its surroundings.
"Are the Sins with her?" War asked.
Conquest nodded once.
"Those who answered the call."
"Then it's coordinated." "Partially."
War tilted his head slightly.
"Partial isn't enough."
"For her, it is," Conquest replied. "She doesn't need all of it. Just enough to generate a reaction."
War remained motionless again.
"A reaction from whom?" he asked.
Conquest didn't answer imdiately.
He looked down the slope.
Then back at War.
"From everything."
The answer was simple.
Direct.
And sufficient.
War adjusted his posture slightly on the horse.
"So you ca down to stop it."
"Yes."
"And how do you intend to do that?"
Conquest answered without changing his tone.
"By killing her."
Without a pause.
Without dramatization.
Just… fact.
War didn't react visibly.
But he didn't disagree.
"Direct," he comnted.
"It works," Conquest replied.
War looked at the slope again.
"If she made it to 100, she's not alone."
"I know."
"So this isn't just execution."
Conquest stepped forward.
"I know that too."
Another silence.
They both understood what it ant.
It wasn't simple.
It wasn't quick.
But it was necessary.
War spoke again.
"You didn't co to stop ."
"No."
"You ca along."
"Yes."
War nodded once.
"Then we go down."
Conquest inclined his head slightly.
"We go down."
War's horse moved first, advancing towards the slope without hesitation.
Conquest followed.
Without haste.
Without a doubt.
The two knights walked side by side to the edge of the floor.
No more words.
No need.
And then—
They went down.
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