Back in black

"Back in black, I hit the sack, I've been too long, I'm glad to be back" 

Katharina sang along with the music playing on the car radio, clearly enjoying herself as they continued driving smoothly toward wherever Roxanne might be.

"Okay! Musical taste approved!" Katharina said, suddenly moving and touching Vergil, almost making him lose control of the car...

"H-Hey! Cut that crap!" Ada said, turning to her. "He's already clumsy enough, if you keep doing that, we're going to crash my car!" Ada scolded her, crossing her arms. "Can you two shut up for a bit? You're already getting on my nerves," Vergil said, and the two immediately went silent...

'Oh... hit a nerve? Well, this is better,' he thought to himself, but... "It seems like she's moving somewhere." Vergil felt as if Roxanne was walking, or rather, being moved somewhere... It was strange, but he clearly sensed something was wrong.

"I have a bad feeling..." he murmured. The two women, still quiet, broke the silence. "If she's captured, they're torturing her," they said in unison.

"T-Torturing?" Vergil stuttered, almost slamming the brakes at the thought of something like that...

"Well, those people hunting demons need to be cautious of the demonic clans, but apparently, this squad doesn't care much—if it is a squad, that is. Usually, there's a truce between the main clans, but it seems these guys are pretty active, maybe under direct orders to identify someone," Katharina commented.

"Just keep following your mental GPS; she should be fine... I hope," Ada murmured, uncrossing her arms and looking out the window with a hint of worry.

"As long as she's alive, I'm okay with it," Vergil replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

Katharina chuckled softly, leaning forward between the two front seats. "Come on, Ada. I know you'd prefer if he weren't here, but give him a break. If he weren't, you'd probably have gotten lost at the first turn."

Ada rolled her eyes but didn't respond.

Vergil felt an involuntary smile forming on his lips. Despite everything, he was beginning to enjoy the dynamic between the two, except for the useless bickering, but he'd deal with that later. It was almost like watching a live sitcom, with him stuck in the role of the reluctant protagonist, but he didn't want to stay that way for long.

"Let's keep going," he said, speeding up the car.

Some time passed. Of course, he had a lot to do, and time was against them, but... the car's fuel tank started to empty, and Vergil realized they needed to stop to refuel.

He spotted a gas station in the distance and signaled to the two women.

"We'll stop here. We're running low on gas," he said, maneuvering the car into the station.

Katharina sighed with relief. "Finally, a chance to stretch my legs. This car is cramped for someone like me."

"Cramped? Please, it's a classic. Be grateful you get to ride in it," Ada replied, getting out of the car as soon as Vergil parked. Katharina just shrugged and got out too, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

The gas station was modest, with a small convenience store next to the fuel pumps.

Vergil got out of the car and began filling the tank while Ada and Katharina walked toward the store.

He watched them for a moment, feeling a slight sense of peace.

Things were finally starting to feel normal... or as close to normal as his life could get.

But, of course, normalcy never lasted long.

Inside the store, Ada was picking out some energy drinks while Katharina grabbed a few snacks.

Everything seemed calm until two men walked into the store. They were burly, with smug smiles that exuded arrogance, and a certain vulgarity in their gazes.

Seeing Katharina and Ada, the two exchanged looks and began to approach.

"Hey, gorgeous, what's a woman like you doing in a place like this?" One of the men, dark-haired with tattoos on his arms, said to Katharina, giving her a smile he thought was seductive.

Katharina raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Buying food. What do you think I'm doing?"

The second man, blonde and taller, approached Ada, completely ignoring the cold expression on her face. "You're too pretty to be alone here. Want some company?"

Ada looked at him as if he were an insect and then, with a cold smile, replied, "No, thanks. I'd rather be alone than bothered by idiots."

The men laughed, taking Ada's response as a challenge. "I think we can change your mind," the blonde said, reaching out to touch her arm.

Before the situation could escalate, Vergil walked into the store.

He had just finished filling up the tank and was curious about what was taking so long.

Seeing the two men harassing Ada and Katharina, something snapped inside him.

'Kill.' The thought hit him instantly—it was instinctual... someone touching his wives... touching his most precious belongings... it all happened so fast...

He moved in quickly, grabbing the blonde by the collar and yanking him back with force. The man's surprised yelp was replaced by a groan of pain as Vergil threw him into a shelf full of snacks.

"What the hell are the worms doing?" Vergil growled, his voice low and dangerous.

The second man, seeing his friend tossed around like a ragdoll, tried to retreat, but Katharina, with a wicked smile, stuck her leg out, causing him to trip and fall flat on his back. Before he could get up, Vergil was over him, his eyes burning with fury.

'Let's see how much my husband loves me...' Katharina thought, eager to see how he would handle the situation.

"I said, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Vergil repeated, his hand squeezing the man's collar so tightly that he was starting to turn red.

"N-nothing, man! We were just joking, you know? No need to get like this..." the man stammered, his eyes darting around in desperation, searching for help that wouldn't come.

"Joking?" Vergil scoffed, pulling him closer. "Do you have a death wish, friend?"

Vergil slammed the man down hard, then walked slowly toward the blonde, who was struggling to get up from the broken shelf. He grabbed him by the collar again, lifting him off the ground with terrifying ease.

"If either of you dares to touch or even look at my wives again, I swear you'll be dead before you even realize what happened," Vergil declared, his voice cold as ice.

The two men were too terrified to respond—and they wet themselves out of fear. When Vergil finally let them go, they scrambled and ran out of the store without even looking back.

The silence that followed was thick, broken only by the sound of snacks falling off the broken shelves.

Katharina chuckled softly, while Ada just shook her head, picking up the drinks she had dropped during the commotion.

"Darling, you sure know how to say 'I love you,' don't you?" Katharina remarked, clearly impressed.

Vergil sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to calm down. "I can't help it," he muttered, 'What the hell was that?' he wondered.

Ada finally turned to him, her eyes softening slightly. "Thanks. But next time, maybe we could handle them without... destroying the store."

Vergil shrugged. "I know you can. But I'm not going to stand by while someone messes with you."

Katharina grinned from ear to ear, clearly pleased with Vergil's response. "Well, anyway, that was fun. Now, how about we continue our trip?"

The question remained... what had just happened? Well...

"Nothing happened here; those two idiots threatened you, and you beat them up," Katharina said in front of the cashier. "Nothing happened here, and I beat those two guys up for threatening me," the cashier repeated, "That's right, we were never here," she smiled and waved.

"You used that on my mother?" Vergil questioned Katharina. "Yes, fortunately, I can use it without those extravagant magic circles—one of the perks of being from Agares," she smiled as if it was a huge advantage.

"R-right," Vergil replied, following her gaze, but he stopped and bent down, spotting a lollipop. He felt a strange sensation and picked it up. "Well, stealing a lollipop is nothing... I guess."

"Hey, let's go!" Ada called from the car.

Back in the car, the mood was a bit lighter, with Katharina and Ada arguing about what music to play on the radio while Vergil tried to focus on the road.

With a full tank and energy drinks in the back seat, they hit the road again. As usual, Katharina was trying to convince Ada to let her choose the music, while Ada, her patience running thin, rolled her eyes repeatedly.

"Please, Ada, just one song! You chose the last one, so it's only fair!" Katharina insisted, pouting.

"If you pick something with more rock beats, I'm throwing the radio out the window," Ada responded, her tone dry.

Vergil, trying to focus on following Roxanne's trail, sighed deeply. "Can we just listen to something and shut up? We don't have time for this." Dealing with these two was becoming a real challenge.

"Fine, fine..." Katharina gave in, crossing her arms. "But next time, I get to choose!"

"She's moving... out of Los Angeles," Vergil commented as he tried to focus. "I think she's heading towards Sonora... They're heading into the desert," he murmured, and Ada and Katharina exchanged glances.

"Neutral Territory..." they said in unison. "Territory with no jurisdiction, Angel, Demon, or Fallen Angel... That means..." Ada muttered.

"They're likely planning to execute her without causing any diplomatic issues, considering she's 'out of her territory,'" Katharina added.

"Isn't she from a big Clan?" Vergil asked, piecing together what he'd learned so far. But...

"She probably hasn't revealed her name," Katharina explained. "We avoid sharing our names to prevent trouble. She's likely refusing to talk, even under torture. She's firm in her decisions... maybe even stubborn, to put it mildly."

"Stop telling him useless details!" Ada snapped, irritated. "That stubborn idiot probably overheard something important and would rather die than admit the truth!"

Ada turned to Vergil, her expression serious. "Vergil, forget the laws. Step on it."

"But—" Vergil started.

"Go! She's in serious danger!" Ada shouted, and Vergil pressed the pedal to the floor.

"We're going to get that stubborn girl," Ada muttered, her concern now undeniable.

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<Author's Note>

Hey, remember to use your Golden Tickets and Power Stones to help the work reach new heights!