My Wives are Beautiful Demons-Chapter 716: Battles Meet.

The silence that followed the impact was unnatural. It wasn’t the silence of soundlessness, but rather that moment when everything seems suspended, as if the world itself hesitated before deciding which direction to take. The dust still fell slowly, filling the air with fine particles that reflected the little light escaping through the cracks in the labyrinth, while the three remained there, separated by only a few meters, but connected by something much denser than simple proximity.

Alice was the first to fully stabilize her posture, her feet firmly on the destroyed ground, her body erect, her eyes moving between the two men in front of her with a calmness bordering on disinterest, but which, in reality, concealed constant calculation. Every breath, every micro-movement, every variation in their energy was being recorded, analyzed, cataloged. She wasn’t just observing. She was learning.

Shiva, on the other hand, hid absolutely nothing. His posture was open, his body leaning slightly forward, as if any second would be enough to unleash a new attack. His muscles were relaxed, but there was tension there—a controlled tension, like a compressed spring ready to release everything at once. His eyes gleamed, not with hatred, nor with arrogance, but with something much simpler and more dangerous.

Excitement.

For him, this wasn’t a problem. It was a gift.

Vergil... was different.

He didn’t immediately assume a fighting stance. He didn’t move aggressively. He didn’t show any urgency. On the contrary, he simply remained there, erect, his expression almost bored as his eyes scanned the scene, absorbing the situation with an almost irritating coldness. His gaze passed over Shiva first, lingering long enough to acknowledge him as a relevant variable... but not long enough to treat him as a priority.

Then, slowly, his eyes met Alice.

And, for the first time since entering that point in the labyrinth... he stopped.

Not out of threat.

Out of recognition.

His gaze narrowed slightly, not in hostility, but in something deeper, more analytical, as if trying to reconcile two images that shouldn’t coexist. His mind, accustomed to patterns, immediately rejected what it saw, but at the same time, it couldn’t ignore it.

He knew her.

But... not like that.

The silence lingered for another second, and then he spoke, his voice low, controlled, laden with a strange mixture of neutrality and something that dangerously bordered on curiosity.

"You..."

A brief pause.

His eyes scanned her body again, this time more attentively, analyzing not only her appearance, but her energy, the density of her mana, the demonic presence that was now much more evident than before.

"...grew."

There was no judgment in the sentence. No exaggerated surprise. It was simply... an observation.

But, within his mind, it wasn’t so simple.

Because the image before him didn’t correspond to the memory he possessed.

Until recently, Alice was just a girl. Young. Unfinished. Powerful, yes... but still developing. There were natural limitations, even if she ignored them. There was time between who she was... and who she could become.

But now...

That interval was gone.

The body before him was not that of a teenager.

It was that of a woman.

Complete.

Mature.

Dangerous.

And, for an extremely brief instant, something crossed Vergil’s mind. A memory that wasn’t exactly a recollection, but also wasn’t an imagination. A glimpse. An echo.

That woman.

The figure he had seen... at another time, in another context, where time didn’t obey the same rules. The presence that carried a similar power, but much more refined, much denser.

Much more... inevitable.

His eyes narrowed a little more.

Not out of confusion.

But out of partial understanding.

"So... that’s it. He forced his body through time..."

He didn’t finish the sentence.

Because he didn’t need to.

Alice tilted her head slightly, her eyes meeting his with a serenity that contrasted violently with the destruction around them. There was no shame, no hesitation. Only acceptance.

"Growth is inevitable," she replied, her voice calm, almost too soft for the environment they were in. "Some just take longer to realize it, Dad."

Shiva watched the two, his smile widening even more, clearly amused by this interaction which, to him, seemed completely out of place.

"Is he really your father?" he asked Alice, his voice laden with genuine interest, as if this were just another interesting layer in a struggle that was already perfect.

Vergil didn’t answer. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

His eyes were still on Alice.

But his mind... had already shifted focus.

Because he felt it.

Even before it happened.

The change in the air.

The almost imperceptible distortion.

The approach.

And, this time, he didn’t wait.

His body moved the instant the presence came within range.

The impact came from the side.

Quick.

Precise.

Violent.

But not enough.

The blow that should have struck his head found only emptiness, because Vergil was no longer there. His body had shifted a few centimeters, enough to avoid direct impact, while his hand was already moving in response.

He caught it.

Not with effort.

But with absolute precision.

His arm intercepted the attack mid-movement, his fingers closing around the attacker’s fist firmly enough to completely halt the advance, as if he had captured something far slower than it actually was.

And then... he looked.

Angelo.

The figure was there again, its strange, hybrid body pulsing with that fragmented existence that didn’t belong to a single organism. Its eyes showed no emotion. Only function.

"Eliminate... Lucifer."

The voice came out distorted, as if several layers were speaking at once.

Vergil sighed.

Again.

But this time, there was something different.

It wasn’t just boredom.

It was... slight irritation.

"You insist."

His hand tightened slightly.

And the sound was dry.

Angelo’s arm snapped with a brutal crack, but before the limb even fell completely off, it was already beginning to reorganize itself, fibers moving, structures rebuilding, as if the damage had never existed.

Vergil let go.

Not out of necessity.

But by choice.

He took a step back.

His cold eyes now completely focused.

Not on Alice.

Nor on Shiva.

But on that... persistent problem.

"I understand."

His posture shifted.

Subtly.

But enough.

His shoulders relaxed, his center of gravity adjusted, and, for the first time since entering that labyrinth, he didn’t seem bored.

He seemed... interested.

Not in the outcome.

But in the process.

"Then let’s test this... properly."

Shiva laughed loudly at the sight, his body immediately responding to the change in atmosphere, his energy rising even higher.

Alice... simply observed.

Her eyes attentive.

Registering.

Learning.

Because, at that moment...

She had two monsters before her.

And one of them... wouldn’t stop evolving.

The labyrinth, already on the verge of collapse, trembled again.

And, this time... There was no way to predict what would remain standing when it was over.

The change in perspective didn’t lessen the intensity of the battle.

If anything, it made everything... heavier.

The VIP room remained suspended above the labyrinth, isolated from the physical chaos, but completely connected to what was happening below. The translucent walls allowed a wide view of the battlefield, and, at that moment, multiple points of destruction could be seen simultaneously—like open wounds in a structure that insisted on continuing to exist.

But no point attracted more attention than that one. Where three forces had met.

And a fourth... kept returning.

The atmosphere in the VIP room was silent.

Not for lack of interest.

But because no one there needed to speak to understand the weight of what they were witnessing.

Seris sat further forward, her body slightly inclined, one leg crossed over the other, while her fingers rested against the arm of the chair in a gesture that seemed casual... but wasn’t. Her eyes were fixed on a single point in the projection.

Alice.

And, for the first time since the tournament had begun...

There was something there.

Concern.

Not explicit. Not dramatically demonstrated.

But present.

Subtle.

Constant.

Alice wasn’t just fighting.

She was being exposed.

Pressed by multiple factors, surrounded by entities that didn’t follow common patterns, facing variables that even she couldn’t fully predict. And, although Seris knew what Alice was capable of...

This wasn’t an ordinary fight.

It was a point of convergence.

And points like that... broke even the strongest.

Behind her, in a more relaxed position, Sapphire kept her arms crossed, her body leaning back in the chair, as if she were watching something far less chaotic than it actually was. Her eyes, however, didn’t blink frequently—they were attentive, analyzing, absorbing every detail of the movement below.

Unlike Seris, her attention wasn’t on Alice.

But on Vergil.

And she didn’t seem... worried.

Katharina didn’t share the same calm.

She sat in front, leaning forward, her fingers intertwined tightly enough to whiten the knuckles, her eyes fixed on the image of Vergil as Angelo once again reconstructed himself before him.

Her breathing was slightly quickened.

And her patience... was beginning to wear thin.

"I don’t like this," she finally said, her voice lower than usual, but laden with a tension difficult to ignore. "He’s taking too long."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Vergil doesn’t mess around when he wants to finish something."

There was a short pause.

"And he still hasn’t finished."

The silence that followed was short.

Because Sapphire answered.

Without even shifting her position.

"You’re worrying too soon."

Her voice was calm. Steady. Almost bored.

But there was conviction in it.

Her eyes were still fixed on the projection, following Vergil’s movements with almost surgical attention. "He hasn’t even really started yet."

Katharina turned her face slightly toward her, a trace of irritation creeping into her expression.

"This isn’t training, Sapphire."

"I know," Sapphire replied, finally uncrossing her arms, leaning forward slightly, her eyes now more focused, more attentive. "And that’s exactly why you should relax."

She made a small gesture with her chin toward the projection.

"You’re looking at the surface."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"But he... is testing."

On the screen, Vergil dodged yet another attack from Angelo, his movements minimal, almost too economical, as he observed each of his opponent’s reactions. He wasn’t pushing. He wasn’t trying to win.

He was... learning.

Sapphire continued.

"This kind of skill isn’t something you destroy with brute force. If you do it without understanding... you only feed the cycle." She rested her elbow on the arm of the chair, supporting her face with her hand.

"And Vergil hates repeating mistakes."

Katharina remained silent for a few seconds.

But she didn’t seem convinced.

"Even so..."

Her voice trailed off.

"...he’s exposing himself."

It was then that Sapphire smiled.

A small smile.

Almost imperceptible.

"No."

Her eyes gleamed slightly.

"He’s keeping it."

A brief pause.

And then she continued, this time in a more direct tone.

"He still has two cards he hasn’t used."

Katharina frowned slightly.

Sapphire raised two fingers.

"He still has the scythe I gave him, Nidhogg." Her gaze intensified. "And Freya’s pendant."

The silence that followed was no longer tense.

It was... heavy.

Because everyone there knew.

These weren’t ordinary weapons.

Nidhogg wasn’t just a weapon, it was a weapon created from a Dragon’s tooth. And the pendant...

It wasn’t something that activated without consequence.

It was an... extreme resource.

"If he uses that..." Katharina murmured, more to herself than to anyone else.

"He won’t need to use both," Sapphire interrupted, her voice firm. "One would be enough."

She tilted her head slightly.

"But he doesn’t just want to win."

Her eyes returned to the projection.

Where Angelo was rebuilding himself again.

Where Shiva advanced, laughing.

Where Alice watched.

"He wants to understand."