Rebirth-Transcending All Beings-Chapter 76: Journey to the Academy
Vergil moved at a leisurely pace, each step he took was precise, casting shadows beneath his boots.
He began a low hum, a melody that had no name and was only meant to fill the void in his chest. A reminder that he still remained.
Alive to say the least.
Through the branches that swayed slightly from the breeze, the melody took flight. Slipping between the tree branches, yet no birds answered.
His new arm moved stiffly at his right side, humming with a strange energy. It was still strange to him, he had only come to understand through endless repetition. Six months of agony and pain.
Half a year of sleepless nights just to become one.
His arm wasn’t merely an extension of his physical body anymore. It was a part of him. A cruel yet beautiful creation, forged from his mother’s love and body.
His boots crunched against the gravel as he travelled. The air carried the bitter scent of burnt wood and scorched flesh that clung to his throat before settling in his lungs as if the forest was engaged in death and refused to exhale.
Memory was cruel like that. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
His mind wandered back, unbidden. The creature he had faced was a towering abomination–horned, with the face of a human grotesquely embedded in its forehead.
Their battle wasn’t one of art but one of desperation. He remembered each crushing blow, the moments where death had nearly claimed his soul.
Now only bones remained.
Jutting from the earth like the ruins of a grand cathedral that wanted praise. Blackened by fire, its spine twisted and cracked from a final struggle.
Vergil stopped beside it, lowering his gaze.
"Seems you got the short end of the stick," he muttered under his breath as a smile formed. "That’s what you get, fucker."
His fingers flexed, the new arm whirring quietly despite the pain. He felt something close to satisfaction. The creature had taken much from him.
But he was here and it was dust.
He turned away as the cold wind tugged at his brown hair. The path led him to the clearing where the carriage had been. A supply cart, built to withstand bandits and beasts.
And the place where he had left them. The driver, merchants, passengers, and guards.
But what remained made him burn with disgust. Not at them, but at the people who had done this.
There was no cart–only the blackened skeleton. Shattered. The horses were gone–yet no remains were left, only black smears on the earth.
No wind reached here. Even the ash suspended mid-flight, unsure of whether to settle.
A storm of fire had passed through here. Not desperate but deliberate.
Stopping at the edge of destruction, the stench before him was thick–burnt and suffocating. His stomach twisted. He had seen death and delivered it.
Vergil only killed if it benefited him.
But this. It was pointless.
He moved deeper into the ruination that had been caused. He could see the tracks, the untouched crates. A blood handprint spread across half burned bark.
A guard had made a last stand, his sword now melted into slag. Another had likely died protecting the driver. And the driver? Gone. No remains. Just gone.
Vergil crouched. His fingers began to brush across the charred ground as his right arm began to adjust.
"They didn’t deserve this." His voice carried by the passing wind, uncaring.
He stood in silence, before bowing his head.
"I thank you for your assistance," he said, voice steady.
No reply had come, but he never expected gratitude. They did him a service, and they deserved to be remembered–even if no one else would.
He turned away from the ruin and in the direction he was previously heading.
The hum returned to his lips, sharper this time. Less a song. More of a warning.
Vergil kept walking, as the forest thinned. The air had shifted from burnt ash to lush flora. Each step–now steady. His arm began to move more naturally with each motion.
Each motion was like a second heartbeat.
The forest had become quiet. Too quiet for Vergil’s liking.
Then, a familiar chime echoed.
[Welcome back to the party.] The system finally spoke
He blinked as a smirk formed on his face.
’It feels good to be back, you know.’
The forest had mostly thinned, as the morning sunlight filtered through, touching Vergil’s skin in gentle strokes.
[By the way, I know it’s late but, happy birthday.]
Vergil froze.
No one had ever wished him that before.
Not really. Birthdays in his old world had been nothing but silent notches in time.
Nobody was there to celebrate it, and nobody ever would.
Here, the very calendar was different. 400 days to a year, months with alien names. Birthdays meant nothing.
And yet... hearing it now, from a voice bound to him, sparked warmth beneath his scarred shell.
’Do you even know when my birthday is?’ he asked.
[Na, not really. But since it’s been exactly a year since you arrived here, I figured it counts. A year here is 400 days, remember?]
Vergil chuckled. ’You’re terrible at guessing.’
[I’m also the only one trying.]
That shut him up.
[So... how about we make you a new birthday?]
Vergil raised a brow. ’Go on.’
[Okay. V is the Roman numeral for five. So, fifth month. Next, take the letters of your name: V (22), E (5), R (18), G (7), I (9), L (12). That adds up to 73. Seven plus three is ten. So, the 10th day.]
Vergil blinked. ’You really did all that math?’
[Of course. You get special treatment.]
’Alright. Continue.’
[Since you’re seventeen, and it’s the year 2004 here, subtract your age. That gives 1987. So: the 10th of Emberwyn, 1987. Emberwyn’s the fifth month.]
Vergil smirked. ’Emberwyn, huh.’
[Way better than boring old "May."]
He found himself liking the sound of it. Emberwyn. A name that carried weight.
’You’re actually kind of brilliant.’
[I know.]
’So where’s the cake?’
[Do a quest and I’ll send you one.]
A translucent notification appeared:
[Mission 002 – Birthday Boy]
Objective: Celebrate your birthday at the academy.
Reward: One cake of your choosing and a good time.
Time limit: 3 weeks
Failure: No cake, and no admission to the academy.]
Vergil snorted. ’You really made a mission for this?’
[Of course. Nothing’s more important than cake.]
He laughed, the heaviness in his chest lightened.
---
[Status Window]
Strength – 47 (+0.3)
Constitution – 67 (+0.1)
Dexterity – 48 (+0.2)
Intuition – 17
Magic Power – 30
Mana Capacity – 40
Demonic Energy – 10 (P2)
Divine Energy – 10 (P2)
---
Vergil frowned. "I lost stats?"
[What did you expect? You sat on your ass for months.]
He grumbled, rubbing his neck. "Whatever." His hand drifted to the new arm. It felt natural. Unnatural. Both. Maybe because it had come from his mother.
[Equipment Detected – Divine Arm Status]
Divine Right Arm (SSS) – Sealed
Forged from the body and soul of the Angel of Death. Current output limited to 2%.
Projection (S) – Manifest a spectral arm to extend reach, pull enemies, or move through terrain.
Regeneration Factor (SS) – Regenerates all wounds while divine energy remains. Absorbs other regeneration abilities to enhance speed. Current efficiency: 1.25x.
Pale blue veins lit his right arm as he clenched his fist.
"This thing’s monstrous..."
[Don’t kid yourself. You’re still just an imitation of her.]
The word.
Mother.
It sat heavy in his chest, as his eyes flickered to his right arm. The system’s words almost pulling something out of him.
But he swallowed it whole. "I get it." He exhaled sharply.
He summoned mana first. Blue energy flooded his limbs, circuits glowing under his skin. +5 to all stats.
Then divine energy.
Unlike mana, it didn’t lay in his heart, but rather in his right eye.
He knew it was reckless, and he did it anyway.
+10 to all stats.
The world didn’t just slow. It tightened.
Sound compressed into a distant hum, the wind froze mid-breath.
Even the leaves seemed suspended, waiting. His heartbeat thundered. His nerves crackled. He could hear everything.
Then it surged.
Something else had answered.
Instead of flowing evenly, it veered–hungry, violent, straight toward his demonic eye.
"Ah, shit–"
The pressure in his skull ballooned. Vision warped. Balance slipped.
BOOM.
Blood sprayed like mist as his face detonated. His body staggered, twitching violently as blue light pulsed from the ruined socket.
The forest fell silent, carrying only the scent of blood.
