Chapter 851: Freya and her Succubus state

The portal opened in a forest far from Sparda, in a region where demonic energy was lower, scattered among tall trees, dark moss, and narrow streams that cut through the earth like lines of silver. The place did not seem abandoned, but it did not seem completely inhabited either. There were signs of recent presence in small details: cut branches, stones marked with discreet runes, flowers planted in specific circles, and an almost invisible trail leading to an isolated house in the middle of the woods. Vergil crossed the portal first.

Sapphire came right behind him, holding the spear naturally, but looking around with a certain curiosity. The house ahead was simple, but elegant. Made of dark wood, pale stone, and small Norse details carved into the beams. There were talismans hanging near the door, feathers tied to red threads, ancient protection symbols, and a few pots with rare herbs. It did not look like the dwelling of a vain goddess. It looked like the refuge of someone who had stepped away from many things and was trying to reorganize her own existence far from familiar eyes.

Vergil observed the house in silence.

"Did she make this herself?" he asked.

Sapphire looked at the details of the construction. "Probably. Freya always had good taste when she was not trying to impress half a pantheon."

"Do you know where she is?"

"If she is still looking for Frey, perhaps she is not here. But this place has her energy."

Vergil took a few steps toward the door.

Then he stopped.

The energy inside the house changed.

It was not ordinary aggression. There was no murderous intent, no spell preparation, none of the type of presence that preceded an ambush. It was something else. A hot, dense, unstable wave, loaded with repressed desire and hunger. Sapphire noticed it at the same instant and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah," she said.

Vergil only turned his face. "Ah?"

The door of the house opened forcefully.

Freya appeared.

For one second, she stood still in the doorway, as if the world had reduced existence to a single thing. Her eyes fixed on Vergil, and her breath failed. Her transformation into a demon had changed her aura profoundly. The divine beauty was still there, but now there was something darker under her skin, a succubus energy that pulsed with a need she had clearly been holding back for far too long. It was not merely vanity, nor conscious seduction. It was uncontrolled instinct finding exactly the person who had marked her new nature.

"Vergil..."

Her voice came out far too low.

Sapphire narrowed her eyes. "This is going to be problematic."

Freya vanished from where she stood.

In the next instant, she was in front of Vergil.

She grabbed him by the collar and kissed him before any word could be spoken. It was not a calm kiss, nor a measured one, nor an elegant one. It was hungry, chaotic, almost desperate. Freya pressed her body against his, her hands rising over his shoulders, descending over his chest, trying to grasp every part of him as if she needed to confirm he was real. Her energy spread around them in hot waves, making nearby flowers bloom unnaturally.

Vergil remained still for one second.

Not because he could not react.

Because he was surprised.

Sapphire rested the spear on her shoulder and watched the scene with an expression that mixed irritation, evaluation, and a dangerous amount of patience. "Vergil."

He caught Freya’s wrists before her hands could descend too far and moved her away firmly, but without hurting her. Freya tried to advance again, her eyes shining, her breathing unstable, but Vergil kept the distance between them.

"Freya," he said, his voice cold enough to cut through her state. "Stop."

She trembled.

For an instant, she seemed not to hear. The succubus energy around her reacted to the order like a flame trying to grow against a wall. Freya bit her lip, her fingers closing in the air, still wanting to touch him. But Vergil did not retreat or give in. He only held her gaze.

"Now."

The second word worked.

Freya took a deep breath, as if she had emerged from underwater. The shine in her eyes gradually diminished, and the expression of uncontrolled desire was replaced by embarrassment, irritation with herself, and a hunger that was still visible, but contained.

She lowered her eyes.

"I..."

"You lost control," Vergil said.

Freya closed her hands tightly. "I know."

Sapphire walked toward them with far too much calm. The tip of her spear touched the ground, dragging lightly over the earth. She stopped beside Vergil and looked Freya up and down.

"You have been alone for too long," Sapphire said.

Freya let out a weak laugh, humorless. "Is that a polite way of saying I am miserable?"

"It is a polite way of saying you almost attacked my husband in the middle of the forest."

Freya raised her face.

For a moment, the two women stared at each other. The tension could have become a threat, but Freya looked away first. Not exactly because she feared Sapphire, but because she knew she was wrong. The succubus inside her still wanted to advance, but the goddess she had been, and the woman she still was, understood the boundary she had just crossed.

"I am sorry," Freya said, now looking at Vergil. "I should not have done that."

Vergil released her wrists only when he was certain she would not advance again. "No."

The short answer made Freya shiver a little, but she accepted it. She ran one hand through her hair, trying to recover her dignity. It was difficult. Her energy was still restless, moving beneath her skin like a trapped animal. The transformation into a succubus had not been merely aesthetic, nor a superficial change. There were new needs there, new impulses, a demonic nature she still seemed to be learning to control.

"I thought I would be able to handle this better," Freya admitted.

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "The hunger?"

Freya laughed softly, embarrassed and bitter at the same time. "Everything. The body, the energy, the instincts. I was a goddess of love, beauty, fertility. I thought I would understand desire better than any demon. Then I became a succubus and discovered that understanding a bonfire does not mean knowing how to live inside one."

Vergil was silent for a few seconds.

The sentence was honest enough not to be treated as an excuse.

Sapphire relaxed her posture slightly, though she remained attentive. "You have never fed?"

Freya clenched her jaw. "Not that way."

"By choice?"

"Out of pride at first. Then out of fear." She looked at Vergil again, and now there was vulnerability beneath the intense beauty. "I did not want to touch just anyone. I did not want my first loss of control to be with someone I might break, manipulate, or use without realizing it. And I also did not want to admit I needed it."

Sapphire let out a small sigh. "Norse pride. Always very useful until it makes someone an idiot."

Freya looked at her with weak irritation. "Thank you."

"You are welcome."

Vergil finally spoke. "Why did you come here?"

Freya went still for an instant, as if the question pulled her toward another weight. The hunger was still there, but the unspoken name of her brother seemed strong enough to cut through even the demonic impulse.

"Frey," she answered. "I was following old trails."

Sapphire folded her arms. "I told him."

Freya looked at Vergil. "You came because of that?"

"Also."

"Also?"

"I need blacksmiths."

Freya blinked, as if the answer were far too unexpected after the near disaster from seconds before. "Blacksmiths?"

"Sparda needs proper weapons for specific fighters. Vanny and Rize have evolved, but they need custom-made equipment. Sapphire said you have contacts with blacksmiths capable of working at a divine level."

Freya looked at Sapphire.

Sapphire smiled. "I said you knew better contacts than most kingdoms."

"I do." Freya took a deep breath, still trying to stabilize her own energy. "But if you are talking about blacksmiths connected to Mjolnir, it is not simple. They do not work for just anyone."

"I am not just anyone," Vergil said.

Freya looked at him for a few seconds.

Then she let out a low, more natural laugh. "No. Definitely not."

The tension eased only slightly.

Vergil continued watching her. "And Helheim?"

Her smile disappeared.

"You know?"

"I know it was attacked. Valkyries wounded or dead. The flow of the dead congested."

Freya closed her eyes for an instant. "Then it has already reached you."

"It has."

She turned toward the house, as if she needed to look at something else before answering. "Helheim is worse than Hela admits. The Norse hate seeming fragile, and Hela hates it more than all of them. The Valkyries are trying to maintain the routes, but there are regions where souls are accumulating, and that attracts things that should remain far away. I do not know whether Frey is connected to this, but some of his traces appeared near ancient passages."

Vergil and Sapphire exchanged a look.

"Passages to where?" Vergil asked.

Freya took a while before answering.

"To places older than the Norse routes."

The air in the forest seemed to become colder.

Sapphire adjusted the spear more firmly on her shoulder. "Outer Sepulcher?"

Freya quickly turned back. "You know that name?"

"Unfortunately," Vergil said.

Freya went pale for an instant, something strange for a succubus with such hot energy around her. "Then this is bigger than Helheim."

"Yes."

She brought a hand to her face and took a deep breath. This time, the demonic hunger seemed to withdraw before real concern. "Shit."

Sapphire smiled from the corner of her mouth. "That has been the general reaction."

Freya walked to the house’s porch and leaned against one of the wooden columns. The serpent of seductive energy that had previously circulated around her now seemed more contained, but not gone. Vergil realized she was struggling to keep herself centered, and that changed how he had to deal with her. Freya was not an enemy. But she was unstable.

"You need to learn control," he said.

Freya looked at him with an expression between wounded pride and bitter agreement. "I know."

"Before returning anywhere with allies."

"I know."

Sapphire added, "And before trying to kiss my husband as if you were dying of thirst."

Freya looked away. "I already apologized."

"And I heard it. That does not mean I will miss the chance to mention it."

Vergil looked at Sapphire.

She smiled. "What? I am being polite."

Freya sighed. "I truly did not think I would lose control just by seeing you."

Vergil answered dryly. "Now you know."

"Yes." She looked at him again, and this time did not advance. "Now I know."

For a few seconds, no one spoke.

Then Vergil took a step closer to the porch, keeping enough distance so Freya would not feel cornered or too tempted. "I need two things. First, the blacksmith contacts. Second, everything you know about Frey, Helheim, and these ancient passages."

Freya nodded slowly. "I can help."

"And in exchange?"

She looked almost offended. "You think I am going to charge?"

"Yes."

Sapphire laughed.

Freya opened her mouth, closed it, and then accepted it with a sigh. "Fair. I would charge almost anyone."

"Then?"

Freya looked at him for a while. Her energy stirred again, but now in a more conscious way, less uncontrolled. There was desire, yes, but also something more human underneath. A need for guidance. For not being left alone with a new nature she had not yet mastered.

"I want help controlling this," she said, touching her own chest. "Not erasing it. Not pretending I am still the same as before. But so I do not become a slave to what I have become."

Vergil held her gaze.

"Seris can help with seals. Aphrodite can help with desire. Sapphire can teach you discipline brutal enough to hurt."

Freya looked at Sapphire.

Sapphire smiled dangerously. "I can."

Freya swallowed dryly. "Maybe Seris first."

"Good choice," Vergil said.

Sapphire seemed slightly offended. "Coward."

"Alive," Freya replied.

Vergil looked toward the house. "Then let us talk."

Freya hesitated before opening the way to the door. "Come in. And..."

She stopped, clearly embarrassed.

Vergil waited.

Freya finished, lower: "If I start losing control again, stop me."

"I will stop you."

"Without killing me."

"Depends on how much you insist."

Freya laughed despite herself. "That answer is very you."

Sapphire passed her first, entering the house as if she were already inspecting the territory. "I can stop you too."

Freya looked at her spear. "I noticed."

Vergil entered soon after.

Inside, Freya’s house carried the same contrast as its owner. There were Norse symbols, delicate fabrics, maps on a table, tracking runes, notes about ancient blacksmiths, and, in one corner, a series of hand-drawn marks indicating routes to Helheim, ancient passages, and names crossed out many times. At the center of all of them, one name appeared circled.

Frey.

Vergil looked at the map.

The visit had begun with a problem of control.

Now, as always, it ended by revealing another hole in the world.