YM778.TV Chapter 40: A fire too hot
What happened? Well, they were training the demonic fire energy of the Agares Clan, but... They realized something quite serious...
"Your body hasn\'t adapted to the fire yet... It\'s self-destructing while rejecting the healing effects as it consumes your energy." Katharina said. At this moment, they were in a battle dimension while she was trying to guide him to improve his energy control, but...
"This is a big problem..." she murmured, even though he was trying to use demonic energy to strengthen his body. Thanks to the burning fire\'s properties, nothing was working...
"I hate to admit it, but... I don\'t know what to do." She commented as she looked at Vergil, not really understanding what she could do. For her, this wasn\'t new, but the problem here was the unpredictability of Vergil\'s power, which made no sense...
Vergil looked at her, a bit worried; she seemed to be blaming herself too much...
"Damn shitty reality! Why does my husband have to be a freak?!" She shouted, stomping her foot and creating a spiderweb-like crater on the ground...
Vergil continued trying to control the Burning Fire, but it seemed that every time he started, something blocked his progress.
The flames extinguished and reignited with the same destructive intensity. He was tired, but he wouldn\'t give up so easily.
"Calm down, Katharina," Vergil said, trying not to let his frustration show. "I can handle this. I just need a little more time."
Katharina, still red-faced with anger, looked at him with a mix of worry and desperation.
"Time? Time is something we don\'t have! Look at yourself!" She pointed to the wounds that were still slowly healing, his hands having burned more than twenty times!
"This is turning into a disaster! And my monstrosity of a mother is coming! We\'re dead!"
"There\'s no point in crying... I\'ll keep testing new ways." He concluded while returning to use his demonic energy channels in every possible way.
Vergil tried a new technique, attempting to adjust the way he channeled energy. "Maybe if I try it differently..."
"I don\'t know if this will work," Katharina grumbled. "You\'ve already tried all the methods I know, and still the fire is destroying your body."
He closed his eyes, concentrating, and tried to imagine a barrier that could channel the fire\'s energy without allowing it to destroy his body. "There might be something we\'re overlooking... maybe a different approach?"
Katharina sighed, kneeling beside him. "I really want to help, but... I need to think of something new. This power is so... unknown, it\'s not really like my fire... not like this."
As she spoke, Vergil felt a lightness in his mind.
It was as if a solution was about to appear. "Maybe it\'s not just the fire, but the way I\'m trying to control it. What if I..."
Katharina raised an eyebrow, curious. "What are you thinking?"
"What if I try to use the fire in a more integrated way with my body, instead of forcing its energy through it? Like I\'m just... accepting and adapting, rather than fighting against it?" Vergil suggested, trying to stay calm.
Katharina blinked, still unconvinced. "I don\'t know if that will help, but... it\'s worth a try."
Vergil began adjusting his technique, focusing on accepting the fire as part of himself rather than treating it as an external element. The heat began to dissipate in a more controlled manner, and the destructive effects lessened.
"That\'s... different," Katharina said, watching the change. "Maybe you\'ve found a way to integrate the fire with your body. It\'s a start."
"Seems like I might be headed in the right direction," Vergil said with a small smile. "There\'s still a lot to do, but if this helps me control it, it\'s a step forward, even though I can still feel the pain. It\'s consuming me less, but it\'s still there."
Katharina crossed her arms, still somewhat skeptical, though now with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "You always do this, don\'t you? Take one step and think you\'re on the right path," she said with a half-smile, though it was more a relieved tease.
Vergil let out a short laugh. "Look, it\'s not like I have many options. Either I make this work or I end up as charcoal." He rubbed his shoulder, feeling the lingering pain from the fire that stubbornly kept consuming his energy.
"I know," Katharina murmured, her tone now softer. "But you have to remember, even if the fire is adapting, it\'s still... well, demonic fire. It\'s going to keep devouring you unless you find a way to fully control it. Just reducing the damage isn\'t enough."
Vergil nodded, his expression more serious. "I get that. It\'s just that there\'s this wall in my mind. I can feel the power, but it\'s out of reach. Every time I try to force the connection, it recoils."
Katharina sighed and stepped closer. "Maybe that\'s it. Maybe you\'re trying too hard, like you need to tame the fire by force. But... what if the trick is not to dominate it, but to work with it?"
"Work with fire? You know how that sounds?" Vergil raised an eyebrow.
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but you just said that when you stopped fighting it, it became more controllable, right?" Katharina insisted. "Maybe you need to learn how to coexist with it. Let the Burning Fire\'s power flow with yours instead of trying to force its submission."
Vergil fell silent, processing her words.
It was hard to accept the idea of letting something so chaotic and destructive coexist without trying to control it entirely. But at the same time... it made sense. Maybe this was the key.
Vergil was finally beginning to feel that he was gaining control over the fire within him.
The heat was still oppressive, but there was a sense that he was slowly finding the balance needed to coexist with the demonic energy of the Agares clan.
Katharina watched him closely, her expression softening as she saw his progress. "You\'re getting the hang of it," she commented, crossing her arms with an air of someone who could finally relax a little. "Looks like the idea of \'coexisting\' with the fire wasn\'t so stupid after all."
Vergil chuckled, still focused on the process. "Don\'t give me too much credit yet, I still need to see if I can keep this control for more than five minutes."
They were so immersed in their training that they didn\'t notice the first signs of disturbance in the environment around them.
The battle dimension Katharina had created to protect them from the outside world began to tremble slightly.
Small cracks appeared in the ethereal walls, but neither seemed concerned.
They were used to their energy sometimes overwhelming the surroundings.
Suddenly, a loud crash shook the dimension as if thunder had struck right on top of them.
A deafening scream tore through the air...
"WHO DESTROYED MY TELEVISION?!"
Before they could process what was happening, the battle dimension barrier shattered like glass, and from the vortex that formed, Novah, the blonde maid, emerged with eyes blazing with pure fury.
With a punch that seemed like a giant\'s blow, she completely broke the space they were in, throwing them back to reality.
Katharina and Vergil were thrown back onto the living room floor of the mansion, rolling in an almost nonchalant posture.
Vergil was still processing the broken barrier when he looked up and saw Novah standing over them, hands on her hips, with an aura of destruction radiating around her.
"WHO. DESTROYED. MY. TV?" she repeated, each word carrying enough weight to crack the ground beneath them. Her blonde hair trembled with anger, and her eyes, usually friendly, were filled with the rage only a maid robbed of her peace could express.
Vergil glanced at Katharina, who simply shrugged. "It wasn\'t me," she muttered, focusing back on the demonic fire energy, as if nothing else mattered at the moment.
Novah, however, wasn\'t interested in who didn\'t destroy the TV. She wanted culprits, and she wanted them now. "You guys are destroying everything with these crazy training sessions! Every time I step out to clean something, you break something else! Now, who\'s going to buy me a new TV? Do you think I have time for this?"
Vergil, still a bit dazed from the abrupt transition back to the mansion, rubbed his neck, trying not to laugh at the situation. "TV? What TV?"
Novah huffed so hard it looked like she might explode. "The living room TV! The one I left on with my favorite show! I HAD A RECORDING, AND NOW…" She clenched her fists, and for a moment, it seemed like the floor beneath her might give way from the pressure.
Katharina, now casually floating while manipulating small sparks of fire between her fingers, raised an eyebrow without even looking at Novah. "Novah, darling, we\'re training here. The TV can be replaced. Your show, well… there are reruns."
Novah stomped her foot, creating yet another small crack in the floor. "There are no reruns when the show is live! You guys don\'t respect anything, do you? I work here, clean this mansion from top to bottom, and you blow things up like it\'s a theme park!"
Vergil sighed and looked at Katharina. "I think this is your fault. You\'re the one who created the battle dimension near the main hall."
Katharina glanced at him with disdain. "Oh, please. If your control was better, maybe you wouldn\'t have exploded the barrier and destroyed half the house. I merely created the space. The destruction is always your responsibility." They continued bantering playfully, while the maid glared furiously.
Novah, still glaring at both of them, was clearly waiting for a more substantial answer. "You think this is funny? Who\'s going to buy a new TV?"
Vergil looked at her with a tired smile. "Well, technically, Katharina is the one funding this place. So…"
"Then you\'ll handle it, Novah," Katharina interrupted, pointing at the maid. "Buy a new TV. Charge it to my account. In fact, get a bigger one—something worthy of this mansion."
Novah, unsure whether to scream or thank them for the solution, shook her head in frustration and began to leave the room, muttering something about "crappy job" and "stupid demons."
As soon as the door closed, Katharina let out a sigh of relief. "There, problem solved."
Vergil, still lying on the floor, looked up at the ceiling and laughed. "She\'s going to kill us one day."
"She couldn\'t if she tried," Katharina chuckled.
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<Author\'s Note>
Hey, remember to use your Golden Tickets and Power Stones to help the work reach new heights!