"Vali…"
Jay's voice was soft, but something shifted in his expression. He looked at the boy with a complicated gaze. And without realizing it, a rare faint smile surfaced.
He had never blamed Vali for what happened that night. Not once. In Jay's eyes, Vali was no less a victim than Sister Andrea or the children. That night had been beyond his control. No matter that he bore one of the thirteen original Longinus, he was still powerless before Berjequel. Still just a child, no different from the others. No different from himself.
Vali had even been willing to throw his life away so that him and everyone else could live. To condemn him after that would have been unfair. Half-devil, half-human, but more than anything else he was a victim of this cruel world.
Lavinia who rarely see those expression in Jay's eyes pointed out.
"Illya-kun?" Lavinia asked, tilted her head. "Is there something that caught your eyes?"
"Ah, so Zayyn-kun haven't told you, Princess?" Azazel said with a smirk. Jay throw a glance to him, asking him to shut his mouth. But trying to get his lick on Jay, Azazel opened his mouth.
"Zayyn-kun actually knew Vali, they are both a very, very good friends. Right?"
A jagged tear in the space opened up on Azazel head, but he can dodge it with a smile on his face. Azazel though, a cold sweat appeared on his forehead despite the smile, 'I know he didn't actually intended to kill me, but isn't it overboard for a friendly banter.' Azazel thought.
"Woah, my bad. I didn't know that it's supposed to be a secret that only i and him should've known." Azazel said.
"You are friends, with Vaa-kun?" Lavinia asked. In which Jay just silence before he shook his head.
"It's a long story... And also, don't take any of his words seriously." Jay said. Staring at Azazel, in which the latter just smiled at him. While Penemue shook her head.
And then they are looking at Tobio going at it with Vali, in which the latter seems like he taking it easy.
Tobio charged first, shadows surging around him as Jin lunged forward in a snapping arc. Jin moved fast in a flash of black but Vali met the assault with almost casual precision. With just a single step and a slight tilt of his body, and the shadow claws tore through empty air.
"Come on, Tobio! Is that all the 'Slash Dog' can do?" Vali taunted with a grin, his silver hair barely fluttering as he stood with his hands in his pockets.
Tobio gritted his teeth. "That's not all, Vali!"
In a flash of black, Tobio and Jin moved in perfect synchronization. Tobio lunged forward, a scythe of shadow manifesting in his hands, while Jin circled around to Vali's blind spot. The shadow scythe whistled through the air, aimed at Vali's shoulder, while the wolf's claws tore upward from the ground.
Vali didn't move until the blades were inches from his skin. With a predatory grace that looked almost like teleportation, he stepped into the gap between the two attacks. He caught Tobio's wrist with his left hand and used the momentum to swing the teenager directly into the path of his own shadow wolf.
BOOM
Tobio barely managed to disperse Jin back into his shadow to avoid a collision. He tumbled across the cratered floor but recovered instantly. He then launched a burst of black and red flame from the sword in Jin's mouth.
Vali simply swiped his hand through the air. A shockwave of blue mana sweep the fire like dust.
"Too slow.."
"Not yet!" Tobio roared. He slammed his palms onto the floor.
The arena floor turned into a sea of ink. Dozens of black blades erupted simultaneously in a cage of thorns, converging on the silver-haired boy from every angle. It was an upgraded version of his Haken. That he had been trained since he felt the powerlessness of fighting against god.
'Never again, i would let someone protecting me and everyone that i love.' Tobio thought about the figure of Jay fighting against Susanoo, before his mind drifted towards Vali.
"Now, that's better," Vali murmured.
Suddenly, two ethereal, translucent blue wings made of light erupted from Vali's back. A voice, deep and resonant like a tolling bell, echoed through the chamber:
DIVIDE!
The massive pressure of the dozens of blades made of darkness didn't just stop, it withered. The mana powering the shadows was halved, then halved again in a heartbeat, until the blade became nothing more than harmless wisps of smoke.
Vali moved like a streak of blue light, appearing directly in front of Tobio. Before Tobio could even raise his guard, Vali's palm was resting against his chest.
"Game over," Vali said.
A gentle pulse of energy sent Tobio sliding back across the floor, his shadows retreating into his feet. He was gasping for air, his mana reserves drained to the dregs. While Jin also barked, feeling exhausted.
"You've got the power, Tobio," Vali said, the wings of light vanishing as he dropped back to a casual stance. "But your body is the bottleneck. In the base form of your Sacred Gear, you're too prone to direct attacks. If I were a real enemy, your head would have been off before you finished your first incantation. Train your physical form as much as your shadows."
Tobio took a deep breath, wiping sweat from his brow. He bowed slightly, a look of genuine respect on his face. "I see... I still have a long way to go. Thank you, Vali."
Vali just nodded, his expression bored, as he turned to walk out of the training ground. But as he moved, he suddenly froze.
He tilted his head back, his sharp eyes narrowing as they flicked toward the observation glass. And there he see Azazel, Penemue and Lavinia which finally come back.
"Something wrong, Vali?" Tobio asked, noticing the subtle shift in the silver-haired boy's posture.
He followed Vali's line of sight and spotted Lavinia beyond the observation glass, waving cheerfully at them.
'Lavinia's back already… then Zayyn too,' Tobio thought.
He glanced back at Vali, a faint chill running down his spine. If battle maniac like Vali knew about Zayyn fight with Susanoo, Tobio couldn't even imagine the noise Vali would make trying to challenge him. He thought with a tired smile.
Vali didn't respond.
His eyes remained fixed on the glass, expression unreadable. For a brief moment, it was as if something deep within him stirred, a sense of familiarity he couldn't quite grasp.
Then he finally spoke, his voice measured but hesitant.
"No. It's nothing."
Meanwhile, Azazel cast a brief glance at Jay, who had already stepped back. He had completely masked his magical imprint, something he was exceptionally good at.
Lavinia then turned her head toward Azazel.
"Governor-General, actually there is another reason I came here," Lavinia said, meeting his gaze.
"I'm planning to take a holiday from both my duties in Grauzauberer and Grigori. So i just wanted to inform you, in case the Chief Leader hasn't told you yet."
Azazel looked at Jay, then back at Lavinia, a smirk forming on his face.
"Oh? What's this, a honeymoon?"
"Yes!" Lavinia answered brightly, smiling without hesitation. Jay remained silent, offering no comment.
"Well then," Azazel said, chuckling, "as a wise leader, I grant both of you a pass." He raised his thumb in approval.
"Let's meet everyone and say our goodbyes," Lavinia said.
"I'll wait here, Lavi. You three go ahead," Jay replied.
Lavinia fell silent for a moment. She didn't know the full nature of Jay's relationship with Vali, but it was clearly something complicated. Something that she decided not to pry unless Jay is willing to tell her.
"Okay," she said softly.
Lavinia and Penemue walked away together, with Azazel following shortly after. Before leaving, however, Azazel stopped and looked back at Jay.
"You sure you don't want to see him? If he finds out you knew he was alive and still chose to avoid him, he's going to be furious," Azazel warned.
"No," Jay answered quietly. "I am going to kill his father and every single one that share the blood of the Devils."
""I won't drag him into that path of blood, he deserved to live a long fulfilling life. This is my path and mine alone."
Azazel paused, contemplating Jay's words. He want to say, What about you? But stopped as he thought that questions weren't his to press. When he had first heard Jay speak of his goal, he had dismissed it as bravado, even a bad joke. After watching him face a god head-on, that's doesn't seems like it.
"You know that path is like walking barefoot through hell," Azazel said, his voice heavy with genuine sympathy. "Annihilating an entire race is genocide. It leads only to more suffering and pointless sorrow. Trust me. I know that better than most."
Jay did not waver.
"I see," Azazel sighed. "Then who am I to stop you? But a wise leader i am, I actually do believe that if there is a devil who truly deserves to die, it's going to be that man."
Jay looked up.
"It's the same man Vali blames for your family's slaughter. His name is Rizevim Livan Lucifer, the son of the Original Lucifer."
Jay silently carved the name into his memory.
Rizevim Livan Lucifer.
"Good luck with that, brat," Azazel said, patting Jay on the shoulder before walking off to follow Lavinia and Penemue.
Jay was left alone, standing in the quiet hallway.
***
After bidding their farewells to the group, Jay and Lavinia returned to the mansion. The air between them was light, yet filled with a quiet anticipation. Lavinia moved through the rooms with a humming energy, packing a small leather satchel with essentials. For her, this "honeymoon" as Azazel so crudely put it was a journey of closure.
"I'm ready, Illya-kun." She said, reaching for his hand.
Jay nodded. He focused his mind, reaching out to the specific spatial coordinates he had etched into his mind. With a flicker of purple flame, the air around them folded.
When the world settled, the natural, woody, Kyoto breeze was replaced by the overwhelming, nostalgic aroma of old parchment, dried herbs, and bitter ink. They were standing in the center of a vast, circular library. Towering shelves carved from dark, enchanted wood spiraled upward into a ceiling as if it never ends.
Jay exhaled, a tension he hadn't realized he was carrying finally snapping. It had only been a month, but coming back to the Emerald City felt like returning to the only home he had left. He could feel the familiar weight of the air which is Glenda's unique spatial magic imprint that used to make this library in the first place.
Beside him, Lavinia stood frozen. Her hand trembled as she reached out to touch the spine of a nearby shelves. A single tear traced a path down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away.
"This place..." she whispered, her voice cracking. "It's full of her. I can feel her everywhere."
This was the sanctuary of the woman who had raised her, the mentor who had taught her the intricacies of magic. Her mother figure.
"She's here, isn't she?" Lavinia asked, her eyes searching the shadows of the stacks.
Jay frowned, his brow furrowing as he expanded his Domain. He searched for that specific, sharp spark of the Witch of the South. He searched the battle chambers, the personal quarters, and even the kitchen where the smell of tea usually lingered.
"I... I can't feel her presence," Jay said.
A frantic search followed. They hurried through the winding halls of the basement house, their footsteps echoing through the silence. The library was empty. The training rooms were cold. Her personal room was perfectly made, the bedsheets smooth, as if she had simply stepped out for a moment.
"Maybe she's in the lab?" Lavinia suggested, her hope beginning to fray at the edges.
They reached the laboratory. It was a room filled with bubbling retorts, some parchments full of magic circle design, and stacks of disorganized notes. Jay scanned the workspace. Everything was laid out with Glenda's characteristic, obsessive perfection.
"She must be working on something elsewhere," Jay muttered, trying to reassure Lavinia. "Everything here is prepped for a long project."
Lavinia slumped into a chair, her shoulders drooping with a heavy, sudden disappointment. She had prepared herself for a confrontation, for a hug, for a lecture. Anything but this echoing silence.
She looked around the cluttered desk, her fingers mindlessly brushing over a bunch of stacked books before stopped at a thick, leather-bound volume of book.
"Soul Magic?" she murmured, noticing the title.
She pulled the book closer. It was a dense treatise on the manipulation of the human essence and the stabilization of Independent Avatar-type Sacred Gears. As she flipped through the pages, her mind drifted to the words of Augusta.
But as she moved the book, a small piece of parchment fluttered out from between the pages.
"Jay, look," Lavinia said, her voice turning sharp.
Jay walked over, taking the paper from her. It was a letter. The ink was fresh, the handwriting hurried and jagged. It contained only a single sentence.
To, Verona.
The Sephiroth Graal has manifested in the Land of Vampires,
War is coming.
Seeing the word Vampire, Jay's gaze went cold. He had already planned to visit them, and it seemed it would come sooner than he had expected.