Chapter 914: New Teacher

Sixteen hours later, Vergil came to the conclusion that facing Odin might have been less exhausting.

He was lying on his back across the enormous bed, staring at the ceiling with an empty expression while trying to convince his legs to respond normally. They were not exactly injured, and his regeneration had already erased any real damage a long time ago, but there was a significant difference between being wounded and simply having pushed his own body to a level of exhaustion even he considered unreasonable.

Katharina lay beside him, partially covered by the sheets and looking far too pleased with herself, while Ada remained face-down on the other side, her face practically buried in the pillow.

Vergil moved one leg a few centimeters and immediately gave up.

"Where the hell did you three get that much energy?"

Katharina opened one eye and let out a lazy sigh.

"Training."

Vergil turned his head toward her.

"Training?"

"Endurance," Katharina explained, as if that were a perfectly normal answer. "You disappear for days, sometimes weeks, keep getting involved in wars, different dimensions, and who knows where else. We had plenty of free time."

Vergil stared at her for a few seconds, trying to decide how deeply he wanted to investigate that sentence.

"You trained specifically for this?"

Katharina gave him a satisfied smile.

"Maybe."

Ada let out a muffled sound into the pillow.

"Even so, we couldn’t get much past seventy."

Vergil slowly turned his head toward her.

Katharina tried to hold back her laughter.

Ada did not even lift her face.

"Are you complaining?" Vergil asked.

"I’m stating a fact," Ada muttered, still with half her face hidden.

Vergil reached out and lightly slapped the side of her hip purely to provoke her.

Ada immediately curled up and let out a complaining sound, turning her face toward him with her hair completely disheveled.

"Don’t do that. I’m sensitive."

"Then maybe stop talking like we failed some Olympic competition."

"I’m competitive."

"I noticed."

Vergil tried to sit up.

The first movement went well.

The second required far more effort than he would have liked to admit.

Katharina watched him with an increasingly arrogant smile, which made Vergil point at her before she could even say anything.

"Don’t even think about it."

"I didn’t say anything."

"Your face did."

"My face is innocent."

"Your face has never been innocent."

Katharina laughed and settled back among the pillows.

Vergil then noticed there were only two women in the bed and looked around the room.

"Where’s Roxanne?"

Katharina raised one hand and lazily pointed toward one of the corners.

Vergil followed the direction.

Roxanne was sitting in an enormous armchair near the windows, wrapped in a robe and completely focused on a generous slice of chocolate cake.

A small plate rested on her legs, and from the calm way she was eating, she seemed completely disconnected from the conversation happening on the bed.

Vergil watched her for a few seconds.

"Of course she’s eating sweets."

Roxanne raised her eyes.

"I’m recovering energy."

"You said that yesterday with the ice cream."

"It worked yesterday."

"You have a concerning relationship with sugar."

She took another bite.

"And you have a concerning relationship with disappearing for a week."

Vergil went silent.

Roxanne smiled in satisfaction and returned to her cake.

"Point for her," Katharina commented.

"You three have been very united against me lately."

"Consequences," Ada replied.

Vergil sighed and finally managed to stand.

He remained beside the bed for a few seconds, testing his legs before starting to walk.

The first step was a little less dignified than he would have preferred.

Katharina immediately let out a small laugh.

Vergil looked at her.

"No."

"You’re walking like an old man."

"Katharina."

"A very handsome old man."

"That doesn’t make it better."

Ada started laughing into the pillow while Roxanne simply raised her fork as though toasting the observation.

Vergil decided that staying in that room any longer would only invite more attacks on his dignity and headed toward the bathroom.

"I’m taking a shower."

"Take your time," Katharina requested.

Vergil stopped at the door.

"Why?"

"We’re enjoying the peace."

He closed the door without answering.

Nearly forty minutes later, Vergil finally emerged from the shower looking far more presentable.

The hot water had worked miracles on the stiffness in his muscles, and his demonic energy was already finishing what remained of his physical recovery.

He dressed simply, fastened Yamato at his waist again, and placed Mjölnir on the other side before leaving the room, deliberately ignoring Roxanne asking if he wanted a piece of cake.

As he began descending the mansion’s main staircase, he immediately noticed something was happening.

Employees crossed the corridors carrying boxes, towels, trays, and decorative objects.

Several tables were being rearranged in the main hall, and demonic servants were cleaning areas that were already perfectly clean.

Vergil slowed down, watching the activity with growing confusion until he identified three women coordinating everything.

Iridia was checking a list while pointing at two employees carrying pieces of furniture.

Zex was arguing with another group about the organization of the side rooms.

And Viviane stood at the center of it all, distributing orders with a natural authority that made it very clear who was truly commanding the operation.

Vergil descended the final steps.

"What are you three doing?"

All three looked at him.

Viviane reacted first.

She handed the list she was holding to Iridia and walked directly toward Vergil, stopping in front of him only long enough to grab his clothes and pull him into a kiss.

Vergil blinked but responded on reflex.

When Viviane pulled away, she looked satisfied.

"That’s for spending too much time giving attention to those three ill-tempered heiresses."

Vergil raised an eyebrow.

"You know they can hear things said in this mansion whenever they want, right?"

"Good."

Iridia coughed to hide a laugh.

Zex did not even try.

Vergil crossed his arms.

"Now can you explain why it looks like we’re preparing the mansion to receive a royal delegation?"

Viviane adjusted his collar before answering.

"Because Sapphire is bringing someone here later."

"Sapphire?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

Viviane shrugged.

"No idea."

Vergil looked at Iridia.

She shook her head.

Then at Zex.

"Me neither," she replied.

Viviane had already lost interest in the matter and took her list back.

"It’s not as though I care much. Sapphire asked us to prepare the mansion properly, so we’re preparing it. When the person arrives, we’ll find out."

Vergil narrowed his eyes.

"She didn’t say anything at all?"

"She said it’s an important guest."

"That usually means trouble."

Viviane pointed at him with the list.

"For you, breathing normally means trouble."

"That’s unfair."

"You brought twelve thousand Valkyries home without warning anyone."

Vergil opened his mouth.

Stopped.

"Fine."

Viviane gave him a victorious smile and returned to work.

Vergil remained in the center of the hall for several seconds, watching the employees move past while trying to imagine who Sapphire might consider important enough to justify reorganizing a large portion of the mansion.

He could not reach any conclusion.

---

Several hours away, Sapphire was sitting across from a woman few people in the modern world would recognize by appearance alone, despite the fact that her name had survived for countless generations.

Scáthach.

She had long red hair that fell down her back in disordered waves and a face too beautiful to match the number of faint scars covering her arms.

Her body made it clear that beauty had never been her only defining trait.

She had generous curves, but also well-defined muscles along her arms, abdomen, and legs, a physique built over centuries of combat and training.

Even while sitting in a relaxed posture, she gave the impression of someone capable of crossing the room and killing everyone present before the first person even understood that a fight had started.

Sapphire observed her in silence for several seconds.

The resemblance between them was strange.

Not exactly in their faces.

In their presence.

Two strikingly beautiful women, bodies shaped for war, and the same confidence of people who had spent far too much time holding weapons to be easily impressed by titles or reputations.

If not for their racial differences and distinct traits, they could easily have been mistaken for distant relatives.

Scáthach rested one elbow on the table.

"So you crossed an absurd amount of territory just to ask me a favor."

"Yes."

"And this favor involves training."

"Yes."

"Someone very strong."

Sapphire nodded.

Scáthach spent several seconds studying the woman across from her.

"You know people usually seek my guidance because they themselves want to learn."

"Vergil needs to learn."

"Does he know that?"

Sapphire paused briefly.

"...He will."

Scáthach began to smile.

"So he doesn’t know."

"I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him before you agreed."

"You plan to simply bring me to him and tell him I’m his teacher now?"

"Basically."

The red-haired warrior let out a low laugh and leaned back in her chair.

"I like you."

"I know."

"Confident."

"I know that too."

Scáthach crossed her legs.

"Why don’t you train him yourself?"

Sapphire sighed as though she had expected that question from the beginning.

"Because I don’t have the patience."

Scáthach raised an eyebrow.

"And because my primary style is spear," Sapphire continued. "I can fight swordsmen. I can teach combat principles, distance reading, posture, anticipation, rhythm, and hundreds of other things. But Vergil needs someone willing to correct bad habits he developed from using a sword for too long."

"Bad habits?"

"Many."

"Is he bad?"

Sapphire immediately shook her head.

"No. That’s the problem."

Scáthach became interested.

Sapphire continued.

"Vergil is extremely good. Good enough to solve almost any fight using talent, speed, strength, regeneration, or simply some absurd ability no one expects. That made him develop bad habits because he is almost never punished for them."

"Now this is getting interesting."

"He trusts his reflexes too much. Uses regeneration as a margin for error. Sometimes he prefers trading damage because he knows he’ll survive. And Yamato lets him correct poor positioning by cutting through space."

Scáthach’s smile grew wider.

"You’re describing an irritating student."

"Exactly."

"And you want to hand that to me."

"Exactly."

Scáthach rested her chin on her fingers.

"How powerful?"

Sapphire went silent.

"That was a simple question."

"It’s complicated."

"How complicated?"

"He fought Odin recently."

Scáthach’s smile faded slightly.

"Which Odin?"

"Odin."

"Ah."

"He also defeated Thor."

Scáthach tilted her head.

"With a sword?"

"No. After taking Mjölnir from him, he basically decided to beat him physically."

The red-haired warrior remained silent.

Sapphire continued with complete naturalness.

"He also possesses demonic authorities, divine powers, a Death Knight form, six wings, Yamato, Mjölnir, and currently three dragons linked to his soul."

Scáthach blinked.

"Three?"

"One of them temporarily."

"That improves the situation considerably."

"I know."

Scáthach laughed.

"You want me to teach swordsmanship to that?"

"Yes."

"And if he doesn’t want to learn?"

Sapphire finally smiled.

"Then hit him until he does."

Scáthach stared at her.

Then she started laughing for real.

"You are definitely my kind of person."

Sapphire stood.

"So you accept?"

Scáthach also rose.

Even completely relaxed, her presence seemed to change the moment she stood upright, as though the simple act of rising awakened some part of the warrior that had remained dormant throughout the conversation.

"I trained Cú Chulainn."

"I know."

"I trained kings, warriors, assassins, and people who believed they were invincible."

"Good."

"Some of them hated me."

"Vergil will probably like you."

Scáthach raised an eyebrow.

"That’s too much confidence."

"You haven’t met him yet."

The redhead smiled.

"Then let’s correct that."

Sapphire turned toward the exit.

"Perfect. Tonight."

Scáthach followed her, carrying her weapon without showing the slightest concern over the fact that she was about to meet a Demon King who had fought Odin.

In fact, she seemed increasingly interested.

"One last question."

Sapphire looked over her shoulder.

Scáthach smiled.

"Does he at least know he’s going to train?"

Sapphire remained silent for two seconds.

"No."

Scáthach’s laughter followed them both down the corridor.

That night, Vergil would discover why the entire mansion was being prepared.

And he probably would not be happy.