Chapter 862: The Ancient Bifröst

Vergil and Freya walked side by side along an ancient stone path that wound between mountains covered in dark pine trees. The place belonged neither to the Demon World nor properly to the Norse realms. It was a territory of passage, a region forgotten by modern civilizations, where ancient pacts still allowed certain routes to exist between different dimensions. The air was cold.

A clean cold, unlike the Abyss, where even the wind seemed burdened with death.

There was only the sound of the forest, the rustling of leaves, and the distant noise of water running between the rocks.

Vergil walked with his hands in the pockets of his coat, discreetly observing the surroundings. Ever since they had left Salem, Freya had insisted on guiding him along that terrestrial path instead of simply opening some kind of portal.

He had not yet asked why.

He trusted that she had a reason.

Freya walked a few steps ahead.

Her golden hair swayed gently as the wind passed through the forest, while her white dress, simple compared to the luxurious clothing she had once worn as a goddess, moved naturally between the trees.

She seemed restless.

Not frightened.

Not nervous about the path.

It was something else.

After several minutes of silence, she finally sighed.

"Vergil..."

"Hm?"

She continued walking without looking at him.

"Now that I am a demon... things have become a little complicated."

Vergil waited for her to continue.

Freya placed one hand against her chest.

"Even after Seris helped me... after the seals... and everything we did..."

She released another heavy breath.

"...my impulses still appear."

Vergil remained calm.

"I imagined they would."

"It is not that simple."

She finally turned her face partly toward him.

"Sometimes I simply want to..."

She closed her eyes for an instant.

"...forget it."

Vergil smiled faintly.

"You want to attack me."

Freya partially covered her face with one hand.

"You say that so naturally..."

"Because that is exactly what happened last time."

She let out an embarrassed laugh.

"Yes..."

Then she looked forward again.

"So..."

She took a deep breath.

"...have a little patience with me."

Vergil raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Patience?"

"Yes."

She smiled awkwardly.

"There is a good chance I will lose control again."

Vergil answered with complete tranquility.

"I will stop you."

Freya laughed.

"I had already assumed that part."

"Then I do not see the problem."

She shook her head.

"You really do not understand."

Vergil looked at her.

"What?"

Freya spent several seconds searching for the words.

"A succubus does not feel only desire."

She pointed toward herself.

"My entire body responds."

"My energy."

"My mind."

"My perception."

"It is like being hungry all the time."

Vergil remained silent and listened.

"And when the person who awakened that nature appears..."

She looked away once again.

"...it becomes much worse."

Silence returned between them.

Vergil eventually gave a small smile.

"So you are saying I need to be careful."

"Yes."

She answered immediately.

"Because at some point I will probably try to grab you again."

Vergil appeared to seriously consider that for several seconds.

Then he answered with the greatest naturalness in the world.

"I do not mind sleeping with someone who used to be the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility."

Freya stopped walking.

She slowly turned her head.

"..."

Vergil continued walking as though he had said the most ordinary thing in the world.

"I simply do not want children right now."

She continued staring at him.

"I already have Lily."

"I have Alice."

"They already cause enough trouble."

Freya blinked several times.

Then her entire face turned red.

"Y-you..."

She tried to answer.

Failed.

Vergil finally noticed her reaction.

"What?"

"Did you just..."

She took a deep breath.

"...flirt with me?"

Vergil shrugged.

"Perhaps."

Freya brought both hands to her face.

"You say things like that without changing your expression..."

"It is more efficient."

She laughed nervously.

"You are impossible."

"I have heard that before."

"I can imagine."

For several seconds, Freya remained completely silent.

She was still trying to process the sentence.

It had not been vulgar.

Nor exaggerated.

It was precisely the simplicity with which Vergil spoke that completely dismantled her defenses.

She eventually released a quiet laugh.

"You truly have no idea what that does to a succubus."

Vergil answered honestly.

"No."

"Better to keep it that way."

She murmured.

The two continued walking.

Little by little, the forest began to change.

The trees became more widely spaced.

The terrain turned completely flat.

The vegetation almost entirely disappeared.

In its place stood enormous white stones covered in ancient golden inscriptions.

Vergil began observing the environment more carefully.

The energy had changed as well.

It was not mana.

Nor divine energy.

It was something extremely ancient.

Almost conceptual.

Several minutes later, they reached their destination.

Vergil stopped.

Before them was a gigantic magical circle carved directly into the mountain.

It was hundreds of meters in diameter.

Golden runes ran across its entire surface, forming designs that resembled the branches of an infinite tree.

Every line seemed to have been carved into reality itself.

There was not a single mistake.

Not a single crack.

It was perfect.

Vergil remained watching it for several seconds.

"..."

Freya stopped as well.

"We have arrived."

Vergil slowly approached.

He ran a hand over one of the inscriptions.

He felt it immediately.

It was still active.

Even after countless ages.

"What is this place?"

He asked.

Freya looked toward the sky.

"It is one of the ancient Bifröst platforms."

Vergil raised his eyes.

She continued.

"Before the gods created smaller routes between the realms, almost every crossing happened through places like this."

She ran her fingers over one of the runes.

"Almost no one uses them anymore."

"Why?"

"Because only one person can authorize passage."

Vergil understood immediately.

"Heimdall."

Freya nodded.

"The guardian of the bridge."

She took a deep breath.

Then walked several steps toward the exact center of the circle.

Her entire posture changed.

She no longer looked like the shy woman from a few minutes earlier.

The ancient goddess returned.

She raised her head.

Her voice echoed across the entire mountain.

"HEIMDALL!"

The name traveled for kilometers.

No answer came.

Freya slowly closed her eyes.

Then she spoke again.

More firmly.

"OPEN THE BIFRÖST!"

The silence remained.

For several seconds...

Nothing happened.

Then...

The runes began to shine.

One.

Then another.

Then another.

Within moments, the entire gigantic magical circle was illuminated by an intense golden light.

Vergil felt the whole space vibrate.

It was not an ordinary dimensional opening.

It was as though the very fabric of reality were being aligned.

Above them, the clouds began to rotate.

Very slowly.

Then faster and faster.

An enormous circle opened among them.

Light.

Colors.

Energy.

The sky seemed to crack.

A gigantic beam of multicolored light began slowly descending toward the platform.

The famous Rainbow Bridge.

The Bifröst.

But before it fully touched the magical circle, a deep voice crossed the entire mountain.

"Identify yourselves."

The voice was not loud.

Even so, it seemed to come from everywhere at once.

Freya answered immediately.

"Freya."

She paused briefly.

"Former Vanir Goddess."

Silence returned.

Then the voice asked again.

"And the man beside you?"

Vergil stepped forward.

"Vergil."

The voice remained silent for several seconds.

As though analyzing something.

Then...

"The Demon King."

Vergil did not answer.

The voice continued.

"You do not belong to the Nine Realms."

"No."

"Nor to the cycle of Yggdrasil."

"Neither."

Several more seconds of silence passed.

Then Heimdall asked the question that truly mattered.

"For what reason do you wish to cross the Bifröst?"

Vergil answered without hesitation.

"To find Frey."