Vergil's gaze hardened.
Suspicion gnawed at the back of his mind.
He couldn't tell if this woman — Luminare — was being genuine, or if she was some elaborate trap.
Still, he calmed his breathing, allowing his instincts to sharpen.
'Analysis,' he thought, silently invoking the ability.
A cold system window flickered to life behind his left eye.
[User's strength is insufficient to see full stats and skills. Only partial data available.]
Name: Luminare Aurelia
Title: Princess of Light, ???
Race: Angel
Vergil's brow furrowed slightly.
Princess of Light...
The very one who had vanished ten years ago without a trace.
He leaned forward slightly, his sharp left eye narrowing, studying her every movement.
"Why are you here?" Vergil asked, tilting his head, his tone neutral but firm. His left eyes gaze pierced into her, ready to catch the slightest hint of a lie.
But Luminare only smiled faintly, her violin resting quietly on her lap.
"Then why are you here?" she asked, tossing the question back to him like a feather in the breeze.
She added, voice softer, but no less direct:
"We should both share our stories. It's only fair... my son."
That word again.
'Son.'
Vergil's chest tightened faintly, but his left eye showed no ripple, no distortion.
No lie.
Grinding his teeth slightly, he decided to answer.
"My name is Vergil," he said flatly.
"I was on my way to the capital when a demonic beast ambushed us. I had to use every method I could think of to survive."
"What methods?" she asked, her voice curious, but not judging.
Vergil's eyes cooled, becoming as merciless as ice.
"We were traveling with some merchants. I waited until my friends got far enough away... then I was planning on using the merchants as bait to draw the monster off in order to make my escape."
There was no apology in his voice. No shame.
Only cold, efficient survival.
"Are you going to question my methods?" he asked, a faint edge in his tone.
But Luminare only shook her head slowly.
"No," she said, a hint of sadness in her smile.
"If anything... I envy you. Being free enough to do what must be done without hesitation."
Vergil raised an eyebrow.
"Why?" he asked bluntly.
Luminare only chuckled lightly.
"Finish your story first, my son," she said, settling herself more comfortably on the rough stone floor across from him, ignoring how it pressed into her legs.
Vergil snorted faintly.
"After that," he continued, "some bastards showed up using divine energy. I don't think they saw me transform... but they didn't care. They released killing intent the second they got close."
"That's because of your demonic energy," Luminare said quietly, a knowing look in her eyes.
"Your energy... reeks to those who are sensitive to it — especially those guys."
Vergil smirked humorlessly.
"Yeah, well. One of them burned my face three times — while I regenerated. Guess he got frustrated, because I kept struggling ."
He let out a dry laugh.
"So I blew my own damn arm off. Right on his face and cursed him ."
'I cant say i cussed at his wife'
His smirk twisted into something darker.
"I think he took it personally. He jammed one more light spear into my chest before I fell. And well... you know the rest."
He shrugged his left shoulder slightly, as if recounting someone else's story.
Luminare listened quietly, her expression unreadable.
Finally, she set the violin aside carefully and folded her hands in her lap.
"Let me introduce myself properly," she said, voice soft but steady.
"I am Luminare Aurelia. Once, I bore the full name proudly. Now... I've cast aside Aurelia. It means nothing to me anymore."
Vergil raised an eyebrow slightly but remained silent.
"I was once known as the Princess of Light," she continued. "First daughter of the Goddess Aurelia. Made to be her successor."
Vergil let out a low whistle.
"So what are you then?" he asked. "A demigod?"
Luminare smiled faintly, but it was brittle — a smile cracked by time and pain.
"I was, I would suceed my mother, Aurelia ," she said simply.
"But now, I am less than a shadow of what I once was."
The fire between them hissed as a log shifted, sparks flying up briefly.
Luminare's eyes reflected the tiny flares as she spoke again.
"The first demon war broke out fifteen years ago. I was sent down to the mortal world with the other angels to help.
She laughed bitterly.
"Instead, I was betrayed — by those I fought beside. Humans. Angels. All of them. Seems they had other intentions. "
Vergil frowned.
"Aren't you supposed to be stronger than them? Even if you're restricted down here?"
Luminare nodded slowly.
"We are... but when divine beings descend to the human world, the restrictions binds us. An angels power restriction wouldnt be too much, but it would be for beings on my level..."
"Since we never fit permission in the first place to intervene from... those people."
Vergil asked "who's 'them'?"
"Don't worry about that." she said with a smile
Vergil watched her carefully,
"They did not ambush me. " she said, voice hollow now.
"When my stamina was drained after battling their king. We had won the war. But my sister stabbed me."
"Then I escaped here." she said
Vergil said nothing.
There wasn't much to say.
He understood betrayal better than most.
After all he was the betrayer in most situations.
The silence between them stretched thin, broken only by the crackling fire and the faint hum of the dying violin strings.
Then suddenly, Vergil's stomach rumbled loudly.
He stiffened slightly, irritated.
Luminare chuckled under her breath, the sound light and melodic.
"And we'll stop there for now," she said, a small smile pulling at her lips.
"It seems you're starving, my son."
Vergil scowled at the word again but didn't bother correcting her.
"Your blood pet," she added, gesturing towards his heart protectively around Vergil's broken form,
"has sacrificed most of its own nutrients to keep you alive. You owe it your life."
Vergil blinked.
He hadn't even noticed.
The blood baby did not say anything.
But for a moment, Vergil felt something twist deep inside him.
He shoved the feeling away.
"Tch. Stupid thing," he muttered under his breath.
Luminare only smiled wider.
"Come, my son. Let's feed you. You'll need your strength."
She rose to her feet with surprising grace, offering him her hand without hesitation.
Vergil stared at it for a long, cold moment.
Trust?
Maybe
But survival...
was another matter.
With a grunt, he reached out with his left hand — and let her pull him up.
They continued walking
They continued their slow march forward, the cave stretching endlessly ahead, lit only by the dim, eerie glow of faintly luminescent moss clinging to the jagged stone walls.
[What's good]
The familiar mechanical chime of the system echoed in Vergil's mind.
'It's been a while,' Vergil thought, half in irritation, half in relief.
[You've got some notifications]
Vergil grimaced internally. 'Does it even matter right now?' he asked himself. Still, habit won out.
'Show me.'
The translucent blue screens flashed into existence before his vision.
[User has gained 'Blood Baby']
[New Section has been created: 'Bonds']
[You can now view the Blood Baby's skills and evolution paths]
[User has entered a Space-Time Array]
[Time Flow: 1:1 ratio detected]
Vergil's brow furrowed. 'Space-Time array? 1:1 ratio?'
[Hold it. Let me explain.]
The system paused for dramatic effect.
[One year inside this pocket dimension equals one day outside.]
Vergil almost stumbled. His mind spun in disbelief. 'I ain't gonna math out what that exactly means right now, but that's insane...' he muttered internally, a feral grin threatening the corner of his lips.
Then they saw it.
The creature loomed ahead like a living piece of the cavern itself. About the size of a small cow — stretching nearly four meters from end to end — it crawled sluggishly over the rocky floor.
Its body was long, low to the ground, and broad, built like an enormous armored centipede mixed with the brutish bulk of a crab. Thick, segmented plates of weathered grey-green chitin covered its entire frame, with cracks and grooves etched into the armor from years of battling the cave's unforgiving environment.
From its rugged joints and along its arched back, soft carpets of moss had taken root, pale blue and vibrant green, blending the creature almost perfectly into the cavern surroundings. In some patches, small bioluminescent mushrooms pulsed gently with light, and delicate vines snaked between plates like nature's jewelry.
Its dozens of short, powerful legs ended in razor-sharp claws, clinking softly against the stone as it moved. Despite its bulk, each step was deliberate and sure, radiating the impression of an unstoppable force — a tank of living stone.
Its rounded head bore small, glossy black eyes, adapted for the deep, starless dark of the subterranean world. Beneath, rugged mandibles twitched, capable of scraping rock itself clean of fungus and mineral deposits.
Luminare's gaze hardened.
"Lumi," she whispered — and in an instant, the slender white spear of light materialized in her hand. With a smooth, almost casual motion, she hurled it at the Mosscrawler.
The spear flew like a beam of divine judgment, piercing the thick chitin as if it were paper, slamming the creature bodily into the cavern wall. Dust and moss exploded from the impact point.
The Mosscrawler twitched once... then stilled.
Vergil stumbled slightly, exhaustion gnawing at him, but Luminare was at his side, steadying him with a careful hand. She gently helped him settle down against a cool stone outcropping.
With smooth efficiency, she stepped toward the downed creature. Planting her spear in the ground beside her, she crouched low and began inspecting the armored plates.
Without hesitation, she jammed the spear-tip into the seams of the plates, working with precise, forceful movements. Small cracking sounds echoed through the cave as she leveraged the plates apart with brute strength and expert technique.
"Use this instead," Vergil said hoarsely, pulling a broad, wickedly sharp sword from his inventory.
Luminare blinked, surprised, as she accepted the weapon.
"Where did you get this from?" she asked, her voice softer — not prying, just curious.
Vergil shrugged, the corners of his mouth tilting upward. "Let's call it... my ability."
She offered a rare smile of her own, then turned back to her work.
Gripping the sword firmly, Luminare drove its keen edge into the exposed flesh beneath the broken shell. She began carving deftly, slicing through the dense muscle and sinew with practiced strokes.
The sword's sharpness made the work cleaner — thick, heavy slabs of meat peeled away under her hands. She tossed the unusable bits aside, working methodically to extract the best cuts: firm, dark flesh marbled with rich veins of fat and nutrients.
As she worked, small streams of pale blue blood oozed from the wounds, hissing faintly when it touched the stone — the blood reacting to the lingering magic in the environment.
The scent of fresh meat quickly filled the cavern — earthy, mineral-rich, and somehow... clean.
With a satisfied grunt, Luminare wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and glanced back at Vergil.
"We'll cook some of this now. You need strength to recover properly," she said, her tone not brooking argument.
Vergil didn't protest. His stomach growled again, even louder this time, making Luminare chuckle softly as she piled the good cuts onto a flat piece of chitin she had peeled from the Mosscrawler's shell — using it as a makeshift tray.
For the first time since entering this cavern of endless stone and death, a thin thread of warmth touched the cold air between them.