"You did well, but it's still too early to celebrate. What did you learn?" Sapphire asked, crossing her legs as she sat on a tree trunk that seed to have been torn from reality, cut with such precision that there wasn't a single ripple in the cut.
A simple, flat cut, like a sheet of paper on a smooth table. A perfect cut.
"Nothing much. Just what was already inside," he murmured, looking at his hand, which felt heavier...
"I still don't fully understand the essence of negativity, but... sothing this simple is enough for now, don't you think?" Vergil asked as he sat on the ground, surrounded by a perfectly smooth field, just like the tree stump where Sapphire was sitting.
"You tell . How strong do you think you've beco?" she questioned again, continuing to push him. After all, she didn't have to explain. A good master guides their disciple based on what they understand about themselves.
"I don't know. It's hard to asure when... I don't have to worry about the amount of internal energy I have. My heart keeps generating more and more energy... even though I don't need any of it." He explained while placing his hand on his heart, feeling the pulse of energy.
"It seems you still don't fully understand... You're not just a demon anymore, boy. You're not simply generating energy; you're fortifying your soul. Absolute Demonic Energy—your body is your soul, and your soul is your body. The more energy you have, the stronger you beco. The stronger you get, the more your soul will develop. You're on a path that exists for no one but you," she said, smiling as she looked at the shirtless man, his body completely sweaty, fatigue clear on his face...
"All this, just to beat up a ridiculous guy..." he murmured. "At least I'm getting a little less bored now," he muttered to himself, clenching his fist.
"You're funny, you know that?" she teased. "You're not even that strong yet, and you already find everything completely boring. You remind a bit of that woman," Sapphire said into the wind as a mory flashed through her mind, one she cherished.
"Huh? You rember soone? I thought you were just a complete demon who lived only to satisfy your desires, not caring about people." Vergil joked as he buttoned up a black collared shirt.
"Hmm, few people actually live in my thoughts... she's one of the few," she murmured while gazing at the sky.
"And who was this woman? Don't tell you're into won? That doesn't seem to suit you," Vergil said as he watched the distracted woman.
"I don't think it's like that... Many people have tried to teach about love, but I never cared about things like that, and the sa goes for her..." Sapphire murmured, but Vergil heard her perfectly.
"And who was she?" he asked, genuinely curious now. Soone tried to teach love to this demon?
"Branca," she said with a smile, rembering an old story.
"I was summoned by a human, one with an extrely weak will, in my eyes. Powerful demons or those with superior bloodlines like ours can't easily invade the human world to fulfill contracts; we need sothing in return, and she offered her entire existence, not to destroy her enemy... but to save him." Sapphire laughed as she put a hand over her mouth, hiding her smile, as if embarrassed.
"Hmm, so soone could summon ?" he wondered aloud. "If you want to get stronger, you'll have to fulfill so contracts to absorb soul essences, so, at so point, yes. Though nowadays, soul-selling is more complicated," Sapphire responded. "It was my last contract. Despite her will and kindness, I found her interesting and accepted. I took her soul and turned her into a demon. Her na beca Branca, white, for her purity and honor," she said, laughing. "Today, I see how foolish I was," she added.
"What happened to Branca?" Vergil asked. "She turned against , and I killed her," Sapphire suddenly cut in, making Vergil frown.
"Just like that?" he asked incredulously. "Yes, just like that. Who could betray , right? I'm a cruel demon, I had plenty of reasons, hahaha," Sapphire laughed, hiding her face behind her red hair.
"Sapphire... You..." Vergil began to murmur, but Sapphire's hand stopped him. "No," she replied.
"She was mine... When you get stronger, I'll tell you. Unless you want to use your wish to know now," Sapphire smiled, teasing him, as her erald eyes glead.
"If you didn't want to talk about it, you could've just said so," Vergil said, turning away. "Thanks for the lesson, Master." He walked off without looking back, not hesitating for a mont.
"So, that's how it's going to be? What a cheeky boy," she said, smiling. "Where are you going?!" she shouted, and Vergil just waved behind him. "Unlike you, who has ti to think about the past, I have to go prepare for my future, idiot master," Vergil smiled as he looked back slightly.
"Have fun reliving your best monts with your dear friend, and next ti, learn to lie better, Sapphire Agares," Vergil said, disappearing in a blur.
"That boy..." she murmured after watching him vanish with a comfortable smile. "Being bold and sarcastic with his own master, I'll have to punish him!" she thought strongly as she began counting how many tis he had uniquely challenged her existence, again and again.
The irreverent tone and the direct way he confronted her revealed sothing beyond re disdain. He wasn't afraid of her, and that made him intriguing.
Everyone around her feared her, walking on eggshells, careful not to anger her and unleash her fury. But him? He was reckless. Nothing mattered, not even the existence of a formidable being like her.
Sapphire remained there for a few minutes, contemplating the emptiness around her. The perfect and controlled landscape, sculpted by a divine technique she hadn't seen in thousands of years. Such a technique... it made her heart warm, knowing it was only the beginning. She was so excited inside that even her brutal and manic side had completely vanished.
She just felt that she should live this mont with that boy because perhaps... it might be her last chance to create what she had always wanted.
At the sa ti...
"Branca... In the end, I really grew tired of this... Just as you predicted, My Sister," she murmured, gazing at the horizon. The cynical laugh that followed revealed a mix of pain and regret, sothing rare for soone like her.
"I should have said that I was waiting to et him again... It would have been funny for you to et this boy; he reminds so much of you," she said, standing up.
She closed her eyes for a mont, twisted her body, stretching and yawning afterward. Her toned body was almost exposed for anyone to see, but she wouldn't mind killing whoever dared to look at her now. She was feeling a little sentintal.
"Hey Branca... I think you would love to see his potential in person, just like I do," she whispered, her voice lost in the wind. "Maybe you'd even appreciate him. Who knows, in another ti, he might have been your heir. After all, a clan without an heir is quite unfortunate." Sapphire smiled again, an enigmatic smile that blended pain and pride.
"What am I even saying, fufufu," Sapphire smiled to herself, feeling the gentle breeze caress her skin as she walked away from the training grounds.
There was sothing familiar about the way she thought of Vergil, as if she were reliving old feelings she believed she had buried with the past. His presence awakened sothing different, sothing conflicting, that she had long avoided.
"You were always stubborn, but you could never take him from ," she murmured to herself, almost as if speaking directly to her old friend. The image of Branca, with all her determination and purity, still lingered in her mind.
Sapphire felt a mix of pride and possessiveness when she thought about Vergil. He had a potential that few had ever shown—a raw, untamable power that she knew she could shape, like a rare piece of art.
But beyond the power, it was his audacity and sarcasm that captivated her.
He didn't bow to her.
He challenged her, pushed her limits, and provoked her deepest emotions. Sapphire was used to being feared, but Vergil treated her existence with a unique irreverence, sothing she rarely encountered.
"What am I saying?" she laughed softly, shaking her head. "As if anyone could take him from ."
With one last glance at the training grounds, she turned toward the direction of her mansion. The enigmatic smile still lingered on her lips, a mixture of desire, pride, and a shadow of sothing deeper.
A feeling she might never admit out loud, at least, not the Sapphire of now.
"That boy... still has much to learn. But he'll get there," she whispered, almost like a promise to herself.
And with that, Sapphire disappeared.
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