The sound came before the fall. A damp, deep crack, followed by a dry tear that echoed through the room as something too commonplace for that kind of confrontation. Kaguya didn’t slow down for a moment. Her arm pierced the older vampire’s chest without encountering any real resistance, as if the difference in power between them made flesh, bone, and energy mere symbolic obstacles. Her fingers reached his heart with brutal precision, crushing any attempt at belated defense. The vampire’s body still tried to react, an instinctive reflex more than a conscious one, but there was no longer time for strategy, pride, or recovery.

She pulled.

His heart came with it, still beating for a second too brief to be meaningful. Blood trickled down her arm, hot, thick, falling to the ground with small impacts that echoed in the growing silence. The vampire’s eyes widened, not only from pain, but from the belated understanding of what had happened. He tried to speak, to form a sentence, perhaps an accusation, perhaps a name, but the air failed him before he could even escape. Her body lost strength and collapsed to the ground, heavy, useless, devoid of any functional value.

Kaguya looked at the heart in her hand, slightly rotating her wrist as if analyzing the object without any emotional attachment. There was no exaggerated satisfaction, nor visible anger. It was simply... execution. When she squeezed, the sound was low, almost discreet, but definitive. The heart stopped beating immediately, reduced to something irrelevant.

"So?" said the vampire, his voice faltering, but still carrying enough hatred to maintain the intention. "Are you really going to betray your race?"

Kaguya tilted her head, a smile slowly appearing, but not lightly or charmingly. It was something more distorted, like someone who found humor in something that shouldn’t be funny. She let out a small laugh through her nose before answering, still holding what remained of the heart.

"Betray?" she repeated, as if the word were too absurd to be taken seriously. The vampire tried to hold her gaze, even knowing that there was no possible victory in that exchange. "You betrayed the King—" he tried to continue, but was interrupted.

Kaguya laughed.

This time, openly.

Loud enough to shatter any remaining trace of dramatic tension. "King my ass!" she retorted, raising her blood-stained hand without ceremony. "Alucard is just a spoiled brat!" Her voice carried genuine contempt, not theatrical, not exaggerated. It was a conclusion, not a provocation. She clenched her heart completely, destroying what little remained. "What a joke."

The body on the ground finally stopped moving, and the silence that followed wasn’t heavy, just... empty. There was no longer any threat there, only a remnant.

Behind her, two figures had been observing for some time. Viper stood with her arms crossed, her weight relaxed, like someone accustomed to watching scenes like this without needing to intervene. Raven, on the other hand, took a few steps forward, examining the body with a more attentive gaze, evaluating not only the result but the process.

"With this," Raven said, her voice calm, direct, without any unnecessary emotion, "we killed the last of Alucard’s generals."

Kaguya dropped the rest of the heart to the ground without looking, wiping her hand on her clothes as if it were irrelevant. "Great," she replied, without changing her tone, "one less useless problem."

Viper raised an eyebrow, slowly uncrossing her arms while leaning slightly to one side. "So it’s over?" she asked, though the answer was already implied.

Kaguya turned her face, her eyes meeting hers with a calmness that didn’t match what she had done seconds before. "No," she said simply, without dramatic weight. "Now all that’s left is that disgusting Alucard."

Raven nodded slightly, as if she had already reached the same conclusion before even hearing the confirmation. Viper, however, didn’t seem entirely convinced. She uncrossed her arms completely, her gaze becoming a little more critical.

"...is all this really necessary?" she asked.

The silence that followed wasn’t long, but it was enough to change the atmosphere. Kaguya turned her body completely towards her, and Raven did the same, both staring at Viper at the same time. There was no explicit aggression, but there was also no patience in that look.

Viper noticed immediately.

"Hey, calm down," she said, raising her hands in a slight gesture of surrender, taking a half step back. "I’m just questioning whether this is logical."

Kaguya narrowed her eyes slightly, as if deciding if it was provocation or just stupidity. Raven didn’t look away, completely neutral, but equally firm. For a moment, it seemed the situation was going to escalate for a completely unnecessary reason.

But then—

A voice.

Calm.

Soft.

"I found you."

It didn’t come from a specific direction. There was no sound of footsteps, no sign of approach. It simply... happened.

Kaguya froze.

For less than a second.

And then it disappeared.

The ground where she stood cracked with the force of the impact, the air shifting with enough force to raise dust and fragments. The next instant, she was already in another place, another position, another focus.

Directly above him. Vergil didn’t have time to react before she fell into his lap, her arms tightly wrapping around his neck, her body pressing against his as if that were necessary to confirm that he was truly there. There was no calculation in that movement, just pure impulse.

"You took your time!" she said, her voice coming out quickly, uncontrolled, completely different from the cold tone she used before.

And then she began to kiss him.

Without pause.

Without a defined rhythm.

Without asking.

It was disorganized, insistent, like someone who didn’t want to give any room for the possibility of separation.

Viper blinked once.

"...okay," she murmured, not knowing exactly what to comment.

Raven remained silent, observing. Because this was too direct a contrast to what they had just seen. The same person who ripped out hearts without hesitation was now clinging to someone as if she depended on it.

Vergil placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to create space. But Kaguya wouldn’t let go. She remained close, insistent, as if stopping was an unacceptable option.

"You disappeared," she continued, her breathing uneven, her gaze completely different now, less aggressive, more exposed. "You simply disappeared."

He managed to pull her face away enough to look directly into her eyes. "Kaguya," he said firmly.

She tried to approach again.

He held back.

Not forcefully, but with absolute control.

"You need to control yourself," he continued.

She stopped.

Not completely.

But enough.

Her breathing still heavy, her body still close, but the movement ceased.

Vergil observed her for a second before speaking again. "...I missed you."

The sentence was spoken without exaggerated emotion, without dramatic weight, simply as a fact.

Kaguya froze.

Again.

But this time it wasn’t tension.

It was... impact.

Her gaze shifted, her shoulders relaxing slightly, though there was still a stiffness there.

"...it took a while," she murmured, more quietly.

Vergil let out a small sigh. "I was busy."

She grimaced slightly, but didn’t answer. Still holding him, still too close for someone who should have backed away.

Viper glanced sideways at Raven. "...is this normal?" she asked.

Raven hesitated for a second. "...no."

Kaguya finally lessened the intensity of the contact, but didn’t move away completely. Still sitting on his lap, still close, just less... chaotic.

"I killed them all," she said, as if reporting something simple. "The generals. None survived."

Vergil nodded slightly. "I saw." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

She blinked. "...you saw?"

"Yes."

The silence that followed was short. "...so you already knew," she said.

"Yes."

She looked away for a moment. "...idiot," she murmured, without real strength.

Vergil then looked at Viper and Raven. "You helped."

Viper shrugged. "Someone had to make sure she didn’t destroy everything herself."

Raven didn’t comment.

Kaguya lightly squeezed his clothes. "I was going to handle it."

Vergil didn’t argue. "I know."

Silence returned, but this time it wasn’t heavy. It was... steady.

Kaguya rested her forehead on his shoulder for a moment, breathing more slowly, as if returning to normal. Or at least close to it.

Viper crossed his arms again. "...so this is kind of standard?"

Raven answered first. "No."

Kaguya immediately raised her face. "Do you want to die?" she asked.

Viper raised his hands. "Okay, no questions."

Vergil let out a small sigh, a slight laugh escaping soon after. "You’re still covered in blood," he commented.

Kaguya looked at her own hands and shrugged. "I’ll clean it up later."

And she leaned against him again.

As if that were a higher priority.

Vergil didn’t move away this time. He simply adjusted his position to better accommodate her weight, keeping her there steadily.

Meanwhile, Viper and Raven exchanged a quick, silent glance.

Because this might not be normal.

But clearly—

It was important.

Kaguya was still clinging to him when Vergil finally managed to pull her away enough for her to breathe properly, but not enough for her to truly let go. Her fingers remained gripping his clothes, as if there was a real risk of him simply disappearing again if she relaxed for a second. Her breathing was uneven, not from the exertion of the previous fight, but from something more instinctive, more raw, that she clearly wasn’t yet trying to control.

Vergil kept one hand firmly on her shoulder, not forcefully, but with enough stability to anchor the excess energy emanating from her. He looked directly at her, unhurriedly, waiting for the right moment when her eyes would truly focus on him, and not just react to his presence.

"You need to calm down a little," he said, in a simple, weightless tone, as if pointing out something obvious.

Kaguya frowned slightly, still very close, her gaze oscillating between irritation and something almost childlike.

"I’ve been without you for too long," she murmured, her voice lower now, but still heavy. "And that trash is still breathing..."

Vergil didn’t answer immediately. He had expected this. Her priorities hadn’t changed one bit.

"Alucard has nothing left," he said finally, with his usual calm. "What he built is gone. What remains... is only time."

Kaguya pressed her lips together, clearly dissatisfied with the idea of ​​waiting. Her fingers tightened slightly on his fabric.

"I wanted to get this over with..." she muttered, almost like a disgruntled child, but there was something heavier behind the phrase. It wasn’t just revenge. It was necessity.

Vergil let out a small sigh through his nose, and then brought his free hand to her white hair.

And tousled it.

Without ceremony.

Without warning. He buried his hand there, running his fingers through her hair and fidgeting in a way that clearly didn’t match the scene from just seconds before.

Kaguya froze for a moment.

"...hey—"

But she didn’t move away.

In fact, her body relaxed slightly without her realizing it.

"Be patient," he said, still fiddling with her hair as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "You’ve already come this far. There’s no point in rushing now."

She looked away for a second, clearly bothered... but not by him. By her own impulse.

"I don’t like waiting," she replied, more quietly.

"I know."

The answer came simply, without discussion, without correction.

That made her stop.

Because he wasn’t trying to change that in her. He was just setting a limit.

There was a brief silence, and then Vergil moved his arm under her legs without warning.

And lifted her up.

Straight up.

As if it were the most natural thing possible.

Kaguya blinked.

"...huh?"

But she was already in his lap, automatically holding onto his neck for balance.

"Now it’s time to rest a little," he said, already starting to walk as if there was absolutely nothing strange about the situation.

Kaguya remained silent for a few seconds.

Then—

"...you’re carrying me."

"Yes."

"...like a princess."

"Yes."

She remained silent for a few more seconds.

And then rested her face on his shoulder.

"...okay."

There was no more resistance.

Behind them, Viper and Raven stood completely still, still processing everything that had just happened. The battlefield still smelled of blood, the body of the last general was still on the ground... and, in the midst of it all, Kaguya—the same Kaguya who had ripped out a heart seconds before—was being carried as if it were... normal. Viper was the first to break the silence, slowly crossing her arms.

"...I don’t know if I’m relieved or more worried."

Raven let out a small sigh, looking from Kaguya to Vergil.

"I’ve never seen her like this," she said sincerely. "Not even close."

Vergil paused for a moment and turned his face slightly toward them, still with Kaguya leaning against him, completely calm now.

"You two can come too," he said, as if inviting them to something simple, not leaving a massacre zone.

Viper raised an eyebrow.

"...really?"

"Yes."

Raven exchanged a quick glance with Viper, then shrugged.

"Well... considering the alternative is staying here with corpses..."

"I vote to go," Viper finished, already starting to walk.