Author's Note: Happy Tuesday! I'm super excited for these upcoming chapters. (Well, I'm always excited to post). I can't wait for everyone to get to the chapters I'm working on right now (a week or two on that one). There will likely not be a Thursday post this week depending on how much I can get done between now and then. But Saturday is as good as always. Thanks for the Reviews/Favs/Follows!

So welcome to Chapter Ten, where Vergil takes Corrin to the best library and an old demon is not happy to see him.

Chapter Ten

Pythagoras

They walked for almost half and hour before Vergil tried talking to Corrin.

Casual conversation was a foreign concept. He had attempted it with Nero, but hadn't missed the uncomfortable look that overtook his son's face on both occasions. He didn't know what to talk to Nero about, whereas he had a lot of questions for Corrin. But his mind was too fragmented. His questions too scattered. Even with Calcifer silencing Griffin, Vergil struggled piecing everything together. He felt like he should have more answers, but he had none. It was as curious as it was infuriating, and the only reason he hadn't portaled them to the library entrance right away.

To Corrin's credit, she hadn't bothered him during the walk. With Calcifer asleep in Vergil's pocket, he too was silent. He found it ironic that Dante, who had known Vergil longer than anybody, never let him walk in peace. But Corrin, who had known him all of two weeks, understood his need for silence. Though, Vergil recognized that the respect she gave to him was beneficial to her as well. When she did speak, he actually listened. Even her teasing didn't bother him as much as Dante's did. Another conundrum Vergil didn't understand. Was it because she seemed unbothered by him? That was an easy way to earn his respect, he supposed, though Dante hadn't managed the same thing.

Maybe that was less Dante's fault and more attributed to Vergil's stubbornness.

They were on the other side of Fortuna now, as Vergil was doing what he could to avoid the city. It was a risk going to the library. He assumed by Dante's comment that the same demon was in charge, but Vergil had been a very different man last time he visited. Aggressive. Less willing to compromise. He could pretend to be the same, though Corrin's existence would likely give him away. Leaving her outside wasn't an option. His only other choice was to knock and hope for the best.

He stopped suddenly. Corrin phased to the side to avoid him. "Is everything alright?" She said.

"I know what I saw in your memory." He said. "But who is Gaius, really?"

She looked uncomfortable, but seemed to understand. "He is the son of a demon named Helios. Celeste's brother. I'm not certain how much you know of demon affairs but..."

"I know enough."

She nodded. "Helios hoped to marry Celeste, but she turned him down when she met my father. He was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it. Her ability to control souls was stronger than his, so it was never a fair fight. But he always felt entitled to something. So, when I turned thirteen, he told Celeste that Gaius was to marry me."

Vergil felt his demon side bristle. He ignored it. "And you turned him down?"

"I was too young to do so at the time." She said. "But eventually yes. Celeste did what she could. I was supposed to get my blessing and leave." She summoned a flicker of fire on her fingertips. He felt a brief wave of sadness through the tether, but she kept her composure. Vergil continued forward. She followed. "He should be dead." She said. "Reavers who give into their madness rarely survive this long."

"Why not?"

"There comes a point where distinguishing between the living and the dead becomes an impossible challenge. Most would choose to take their own life."

"Are there other reavers?"

"Besides myself?" She said. "There used to be more. But the ability to control souls is as dangerous as it is powerful. Mundus made a great effort to wipe out whomever he could, as he believed it was in his best interest to remove the threat entirely."

There was a long pause before Vergil asked, "And are you going mad?"

She hesitated. "Not yet, no."

He glanced back at her. "Why not?"

"I'm well anchored, for the moment."

Her cryptic answer didn't satisfy him, but he let it go. "What happened to the souls you burned?"

"They were removed from this world." She said. "Sent off to whatever afterlife they are meant to be in." She paused. "That was the first time I've actually been… that close to the tragedy."

Vergil had felt it too, though he assumed not as strongly as she did. He wasn't certain if he could say anything to help her. Deaths of others had never bothered him before he reunited with V. Even then, he did his best to tune the guilt out rather than acknowledge it. He was the last person capable of helping someone through their own emotions.

"Don't worry." She said.

"Are you certain you are not reading my thoughts?" He said.

"Only if you wanted me to." She said.

"No." He'd only recently silenced Griffin . (Thanks to her, he could imagine the bird saying.) Another person poking around in his head was the last thing he wanted.

"There are some things, though." She said. "That I need to teach you." He glanced back at her. She looked almost embarrassed to be asking him. Maybe nervous. Vergil struggled often to tell the difference. "It isn't much." She continued. "But it's important."

He didn't want to admit that the idea enticed him. While he no longer felt the obsessive desire for power, the ability to see souls alone would offer many advantages. But Vergil had a feeling that the more he learned, the more painful everything would be. Dealing with his own infuriating emotions was difficult enough. He couldn't imagine trying to handle the dead too. "We'll talk about it later." He said as they turned into an alleyway.

"Library first." She said with a smile. "I've never been to a real one."

"You may not today either." Vergil said. He tapped Yamato against the wall. To his surprise, a door appeared immediately. It opened, and a puppet looking woman in a maid outfit bowed to him. "Lady Corrin." She said. "My master is expecting you." Vergil glanced back at Corrin. She stared at the woman, dumbstruck.

"Who are you?"

"Your companion is welcome as well." The puppet said as she took a step back.

Clearly, the librarian was not happy to see him. "No use standing out here." Vergil said.

A ripple of thunder echoed in the distance. Corrin flinched and pushed him toward the door. He stopped himself and glared at her. She threw her hands up almost immediately. "Force of habit." She said.

"Shoving people into buildings?"

"Getting out of the storm."

He frowned. "Learn to control your fear."

"I'm still with you, aren't I?"

Vergil blinked, but she walked past him without another word. The language swap had almost fooled him, and he wondered if she had meant to say it at all.

The Kaleidoscope, as the demon librarian lovingly called it, was the largest and most inaccessible library in the world. It lay at the center of everything, with easy access to every part of human society and a single door into the Underworld. Almost everything could be found here if one knew where to look. But Vergil had heard stories of visitors dying on their pursuit of knowledge, lost in the endless rows of bookcases. Very few knew how to find it, and those that did rarely made repeat trips. Vergil was an exception, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. The librarian did not like visitors, especially those that never seemed to go away.

So he didn't know what to expect when he and Corrin walked alone into the Grand Hall.

She, however, was clearly entranced. Vergil didn't blame her. This library was a curious mind's paradise. Not only did it hold more information than every human facility combined, but it was an impressive work of art. Almost gaudily so. The five sets of stairs leading off in every direction were made of pure gold, with carvings of various demons and animals on each. The ceiling was impossibly tall, and it was easy to think it opened directly into a perfect starry sky. That too was a magic-laced piece, capable of showing any sky in the world in the blink of an eye. In the very middle of the room, raised off the marbled flooring, was the librarian's chair. A golden throne decorated with gemstones; human-made or otherwise. Behind that was a small couch area in front of a fireplace. It was a false sense of welcoming at best, but lit the room in a soft, orange glow.

"This feels like a trap." Corrin said.

"It very well could be, my dear." Came the reply from a disembodied voice.

A demon appeared in the chair in a puff of black smoke. He was a grotesque thing, his head reaching only to Vergil's waist. His body was much larger than Vergil remembered with a belly twice the size of everything else. The demon's green tinted skin was covered in brown marks and misshapen fur. Yet, he still carried himself with an air of superiority, wearing a purple fur robe that was four sizes too big and a golden crown that hung limply off one of his very large, pointy ears. He looked between Vergil and Corrin, his expression a mix of distaste and interest. His beady, yellow eyes finally landed on her. "Vergil is a very lucky man." The demon said, wagging his finger at her. "I should never have opened that door, but he has brought me something far more interesting than he himself could ever be."

Vergil forced down his annoyance. A four thousand year old demon could say whatever it wanted if it had the answers he was in search of. "I need…"

"I am not talking to you." The demon snapped. "You should be grateful that I let you come inside with her at all."

"I wouldn't have come in without him." Corrin said. Though her eyes betrayed her shock, her voice was poised and professional.

The demon grunted. "I am Pythagoras." He said. "And I have everything you could possibly wish to know, moon-child." He said the title with a hint of sarcasm. "But only for a price."

This is where aggressive Vergil would have come in handy. But Corrin took to the negotiating role well. "What kind of price?" She said.

"Depends on the information."

She looked to Vergil. The demon grunted. "What do you want, Spawn of Sparda?"

"Information on the Phoenix." He said.

Pythagoras looked surprised. "The Phoenix has been dead for over a century."

"We have reason to believe it's not."

The demon grunted. "That stubborn bastard may have found a way." He paused for a long moment before returning his attention to Corrin. "I have a mission for you, then." He snapped his fingers and the puppet woman from before dropped from the ceiling and appeared by his side with a piece of paper. "Do you recognize this?" He held it out to Corrin. It was an intricately drawn circle with slithering snakes on the outside. Inside was a raven with many of its feathers at its feet and the bones of its wings exposed.

"It's a ritual symbol." She said.

"For what, exactly?"

"It's a mix of things." She said. "The circle is a soul. The raven is death, but the snakes…" she trailed off. "It's an adaptation of a demon summoning ritual."

"Your mother taught you well." He said with a nod of approval.

"Where did you find this?"

"A few weeks ago, a mansion in Redgrave started receiving many visitors. Curious, as it's been abandoned for three years. My servant returned with this, and others. All similar, but adapted. It seems whoever is using that house is trying to perfect a new ritual, but I cannot be certain for what."

"The snakes could represent a barrier." She said thoughtfully.

"The animal on the outside was the most frequent change." He said. "But without the ability to see the souls, I cannot say for certain."

"Where do we need to go?"

Pythagoras frowned. "He does not need to be involved."

"I go where he does." Corrin said, calmly.

The demon narrowed his eyes. "He is your tether." Then, he sighed. "Fine, but I demand collateral to ensure you will return."

"Why would we not? We need the information."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe what you find in that building will be more than enough."

Corrin smiled. "I see." She said "You're worried I'd keep it from you." She was smart. Vergil was grateful for that at least. Pythagoras could easily manipulate people if they weren't aware of it. That may have been why he insisted on speaking to Corrin in the first place. "Then here is my deal." She said. "I will give you the collateral you want, and everything I find. In return, you will provide Vergil with any information he asks for. Agreed?"

The demon twitched. "Lucky for you." He said, glancing at Vergil. "You found a clever one." The demon grunted as he hopped down the steps. His robe trailed behind him, hanging on the stairs even as he stood in front of her. "What is your collateral?"

She summoned her katana. His eyes widened instantly as he reached for it. She pulled it away. "Do we have a deal?"

He muttered various words in an old demon language before he spoke again. "A reaver formed weapon…" he purred. "One created by memories and not a blessing. This is a true gift."

Vergil glanced at Corrin, but she kept her eyes on the demon. "You will return it, unharmed and untainted. I will know."

"Deal." He said. "You will have the best luck if you visit after midnight on friday. That is when these rituals seem to take place." He snapped again and his servant handed Vergil a small book. Then, the demon delicately took Corrin's sword. "I will learn much from you." He said with a grin before vanishing in another cloud.

"You will be weaker without it." Vergil said.

When she looked at him, he realized her white eye had turned the same color as the darker one. "But I have you." She said with a teasing smirk. "Much better alternative, if I do say so myself."

He scowled. His demon, however, was more than pleased with the compliment. If she knew how to get to that side of him so easily, his flimsy human half didn't stand a chance. "We won't get anything else here" He said.

"I don't think I can go back to their home." She said.

Although Vergil guessed what she would say, he humored her. "Why not?"

"The longer people are around each other, the more their souls start to connect. Not like a tether, but obvious enough." She said. "A trained reaver can see these connections, especially if they're familiar with the souls involved." She looked away. "I'm already putting one person at risk."

My own choices have put me at risk. He thought. "I'll speak to Dante." He said.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"For what?"

"You just got home and…"

"My family has been fine without me." He said. "And they will continue to do so even if I'm gone."

She sighed. "I'll fix this." She said. "I promise."

He watched her for a long moment. He didn't know how she could honestly promise that. It was clear she felt lost. Likely terrified. But she looked at him with sincerity. She certainly knew how to put on a brave face; one almost as convincing as his constant stoicism. He realized then that he didn't really know what Corrin had been through. She had been young when her brother died. No older than he had been when he jumped into the Underworld. Her powers had been weaker. Calcifer didn't exist. Yet, here she was now. At least fifteen years later - maybe more - alive and strong enough to tether to him of all people. How had she gone from one to the other? Would she be willing to tell him if he asked?

If she did, would he be willing to tell her about himself?

He looked away. "We have a few days." He said, reaching for Kyrie's phone. "It's best we do not waste it."