Chapter 18: Don’t interfere
The speed of the car was insane, and the music playing in the background had been completely ignored. Vergil pressed the gas pedal with all his strength, eyes locked on the road ahead as the engine roared like a wild beast. They had been driving for over two hours, but time seemed to slip by unnoticed.
With every passing second, Vergil felt a strange pulse in his chest—a deep, instinctive fear. It was the fear of death.
Although he could feel the strong emotions of the girls, only he was connected to all of them. They could not feel the overwhelming fear he was experiencing… It was Roxanne.
The Sonoran Desert stretched out before them, a vast expanse of sand and rocks, harsh and unforgiving. The air was hot and dry, almost suffocating, and the landscape around them was desolate, lifeless, except for the occasional cactus or bush, hardened by the relentless sun.
The weather seemed strange, but Vergil had no time to worry about changes in the climate. He could sense her presence—weak, distant, but unmistakable. It was as if a thin thread connected them, and that thread was pulling him in the right direction.
Ada and Katharina sat in silence, aware of the gravity of the situation. Katharina stared out the window, her usually carefree face now serious.
Ada, on the other hand, was focused, her body tense as if ready for anything.
Both of them could feel the tension in the air, neither willing to distract Vergil from what he needed to do.
The car zigzagged through the curves and hills of the desert, ignoring any concept of speed limits.
At over 200 km/h, every bump or dip in the road made the car shake violently, but Vergil kept his hands steady on the wheel.
He was fully tuned into the connection he felt with Roxanne, ignoring the oppressive heat and the wind that was starting to blow harder.
As Vergil's car sped toward its destination, the scene shifted to a distant, isolated place, deep within the heart of the Sonoran Desert.
There, buried under tons of sand and rock, lay a bunker.
The structure was sturdy, built to withstand the extreme heat and sandstorms of the desert.
From the outside, it was almost invisible, just a small entrance camouflaged among a cluster of rocks that stood out against the monotonous landscape. Anyone passing by could easily mistake it for a regular pile of stones, completely oblivious to what was hidden below.
Inside the bunker, the air was thick and heavy with a dark energy.
The concrete walls were cold and gray, illuminated only by flickering fluorescent lights that gave off the impression of an unstable power supply.
The atmosphere reeked of oil, blood, and iron—a mix that made anyone feel uncomfortable, as if they were standing in a place of profane darkness.
The sound of water dripping echoed through the corridors, though no source was visible.
In one of the deepest chambers of the bunker, Roxanne was chained to a rusty metal chair.
Her hands were bound by heavy shackles, the rough metal biting into her skin with every slight movement. Worse, sacred runes held her powers in check, making the pain nearly unbearable.
She was exhausted, her head hanging forward, hair falling messily around her face.
Blood dripped from deep cuts on her arms and legs, and her body was covered in bruises of various shades—evidence of hours of relentless torture.
A man, with a grotesque appearance, circled around her, humming a sinister melody.
He held a long, thin knife in one hand, the steel gleaming under the dim light. His eyes were cold, devoid of emotion, as he observed Roxanne with a perverse curiosity.
"La, la, la... I love killing demons..." he repeated several times, his voice dripping with venom. "It's truly surprising how resilient you are."
"I like your spirit. It's a shame I'll have to break it," he commented, before turning to retrieve a syringe from a nearby tray. The liquid inside was a yellowish hue, and seeing it made Roxanne shiver with dread.
Without a word, he injected the liquid into her arm, watching with morbid interest as the substance took effect. Roxanne felt a burning sensation spreading through her veins, each second bringing a new wave of pain. She bit her lip until it bled, trying not to scream, but the agony was overwhelming.
An involuntary moan escaped her lips, and the man smiled even more.
"That's right, my dear. Let it all out, tell me your Name." He murmured. "Enough of this, Jason, she's not going to talk," Leon said, looking at Roxanne, whose veins were almost exposed, her body tainted with divine energy.
'C-come quickly... to the bunker,' she thought, almost pleading... She felt someone, someone coming toward her at a speed beyond normal, beyond anything she had ever sensed... 'Help me...' she whispered to herself as a tear fell from her eye...
She couldn't endure any more...
Back in the car, Vergil felt a chill run down his spine. He heard a whisper... "Bunker." He said.
The connection with Roxanne was stronger now, but along with it came a sense of pain, fear, and desperation.
He knew she was suffering, and it only fueled his determination.
The Sonora desert was becoming increasingly hostile, with the wind blowing sand against the car and the sky growing darker. But Vergil didn't slow down. If anything, he increased his speed.
"We're close, aren't we?" Ada asked, her voice tense.
"Yes." Vergil answered briefly, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "She's there, and she's in danger. I can feel she's suffering."
They were approaching the location indicated by the connection, and finally, Vergil spotted a rock formation that seemed out of place.
It was there.
He knew it was there.
Without hesitation, he sharply turned the wheel, driving the car toward the rocks. The car jostled violently across the sand, but Vergil maintained control.
When they reached the rock formation, Vergil stopped the car abruptly. Without wasting any time, he got out, followed by Ada and Katharina.
The two were ready for anything, their senses sharp for any threats. But the place was quiet, almost too quiet.
Vergil started searching for something... an entrance, desperately running his hand over the stones, feeling a faint vibration. He found the entrance, camouflaged by a set of false rocks. With a firm push, the entrance was revealed: a metal door with a rudimentary security system.
"Keep an eye out," he murmured to Ada and Katharina as he began working on the lock. "Let me handle this," Ada said, stepping in front of Vergil.
Ada was at his side in an instant, using her skills to work on the electronic mechanism that kept the door locked.
With a click, the lock gave way, and Vergil pushed the door open with force.
The screeching metal echoed through the desert as the heavy door opened, revealing a tunnel that descended into the depths of the bunker.
They faced something... A narrow tunnel.
"She's below... Whatever they've done..." Vergil murmured. His eyes adjusted to the darkness instantly, glowing with an eerie red light.
"Calm down," Katharina said, holding his arm. "She's strong." She added, "So don't worry too much."
"Strong people don't fear death," Vergil countered, stepping ahead, leaving the two women watching him.
"Is this what you wanted?" Ada questioned, somewhat fearful of what might unfold. "Just follow him. He thinks he can handle exorcists," Katharina said.
Vergil led the way through the narrow tunnel, his senses on high alert.
The air inside the bunker was cold and dense, filled with an impending sense of death.
He could feel Roxanne's presence more strongly now, her presence almost painfully clear in his mind.
With each step, he moved closer to her, and with each step, the rage in his chest grew. He knew he was racing against time.
The tunnel opened into a larger corridor, with several metal doors lining the walls. Vergil felt a wave of relief when he finally found the correct door. Without hesitation, he kicked it open, the force of the impact echoing through the bunker. The sight that awaited him on the other side made his heart stop for a moment.
Vergil was immediately greeted by a vision straight out of a nightmare.
The smell of blood and metal was almost unbearable, and the scene before him only fueled his fury.
In the center of the room, Roxanne was strapped to a metal chair, her hands bound by thick chains that were dripping blood from her wounded wrists. Her eyes were half-closed, dull from pain and exhaustion. Her body was covered in bruises and deep cuts, fresh blood mixing with the dry, forming dark stains on her skin. She was in a pitiable state, but even so, Vergil could feel the weak pulse of life within her. She was conscious, but barely.
Next to her, two men completed the horror scene. He clearly recognized one of them, and to hell with the other... He focused specifically on the fucking Executor in front of him.
"Hey... Katy," Vergil called, his voice dripping with anger. "Y-Yes?" She questioned, trembling with fear... A woman, from the Agares clan... Trembling with fear?
Leon saw the scene and fell silent, feeling a wave of power unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life...
"I'm sure she was quite merciful with you... letting you go... But you know what? You're going to die," Vergil said, and his eyes turned completely black.
"Whatever happens... Don't interfere," Vergil commented, and before she could respond, he vanished and reappeared in front of Leon, gripping him by the neck.
"You and I... are going to have a little chat," Vergil said, before Leon could even process the situation. Vergil threw him upwards with enough force to break bones, slamming him into the bunker's ceiling with a deafening crash.
The impact was so violent that the concrete gave way, cracking and fragmenting into pieces as Leon was pushed through it, creating a hole that exposed the sky above.
His body became limp from the impact, on the verge of falling back down.
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<Author's Note>
Hey, remember to use your Golden Tickets and Power Stones to help the work reach new heights!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone