My Wives are Beautiful Demons

During the late afternoon, the reddish light of hell passed through the dark leaves of the black trees, bathing the garden with a unique and demonic glow. The silence was broken only by the soft sound of water in one of the small fountains in the huge garden. It was a very beautiful late afternoon, despite being in hell... with an artificial sun.

But... despite the beauty, there was a small commotion, started by an overly concerned redhead...

Sapphire paced back and forth, her heels sinking slightly into the damp earth between the black marble tiles. Her expression was very impatient, her blue eyes sparkling as if they carried bottled storms.

"We can't keep feeding the illusion that this is under control," she said, turning on her heels. "They are dragons. Born of ruin and rebirth. You know what happens if just one of them wakes up. Now imagine two."

Sepphirothy sat in the shade of a pergola covered with burgundy vines, her arms crossed. Her gaze was serene but firm. The breeze ruffled her silver hair as she simply observed the landscape. But Sapphire replied.

"And that's exactly why we can't act on impulse, Sapphire. Destroying the orbs... could release what is still trapped inside. Or worse—scatter fragments of their essences across multiple layers of the multiverse. Do you want to repeat the Excalibur case, which we haven't even resolved yet? Don't be crazy. Control yourself."

"And keeping the orbs intact is... what? A containment plan until when?" Sapphire retorted, now stopping in front of the fountain. "Until someone stumbles upon them and becomes the new host of an ancient nightmare? Scarlet isn't enough, if someone becomes Platinum's 'little friend,' we're creating a war. One is sworn to kill the other. If both give power to their companions, what do you think will happen?"

"That will take a long time," Sepphirothy replied calmly, looking up at her friend. "And you know I'm not interested in destroying anything, especially now that I have my son. I left the orb in Cabernet's hands temporarily to see if the two orbs try to hatch again. If that happens, it means it's really time to do something."

Sapphire sighed, staring at the sky for a moment.

Sapphire snapped her fingers, and the reflection of the water in front of her trembled, distorting the clouds. Her voice, though calm, sounded like the blade of a dagger sliding out of its sheath.

"And what is your alternative, then? If this gets out of control?" She turned to Sepphirothy, her blue eyes colder than the moonlight. "Do you want to risk calling in outside reinforcements? A god? There is no one who can—or wants to—get involved in this mess. Let's throw these orbs into Limbo and end this."

Sepphirothy closed her notebook with a sharp snap and rose slowly, like a shadow taking shape. Her aura changed—it was no longer just calm, but precise, meticulous. Almost surgical.

"If we throw both orbs into Limbo," she said in a low voice, "we will be declaring war without meaning to. Not just with Amon and the Archons—who are already too aware of what's going on here—but with all the great thrones. The Heavenly Father, Zeus, Odin, Ra, Dagda, Brahma, Ahura Mazda... None of them will ignore two artifacts of cosmic scale being dumped into a neutral plane."

She paused.

"Not to mention the others we really don't want to attract... Shiva. Kali. Wukong. You know what happens when they decide to 'take a look' at something."

Sapphire remained silent, which was rare. She stared at the surface of the water as if expecting an answer to emerge from it. But all she saw was her own reflection — tired, but still indomitable.

Then she turned back to Sepphirothy and said seriously:

"Why don't you ask Buddha for advice?"

The suggestion hung in the air like an inappropriate idea in a divine hall. Sepphirothy didn't even blink. Then he snorted slightly through his nose and crossed his arms.

"That smug old man, trapped in the body of someone who thinks he's fifteen?" She shook her head. "All he cares about lately is Yama... he's always trying to impress her with speeches about compassion and organic coffee."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "Compassion and coffee?"

"Yes. The two Cs of modern Nirvana, apparently." Sepphirothy sighed. "It must be difficult to be a woman like Yama. CEO of the underworld, sober, serious, impeccable skirts and reading glasses... and having a pseudo-hipster Buddha appear out of nowhere with lotus flowers and a playlist of lo-fi mantras."

Both were silent for a moment.

...until the mental image inevitably popped up: a barefoot Buddha in a sweatshirt, listening to mantra beats while chasing after Yama, who tries to ignore him while answering hellish emails on her cell phone with a glass of wine in her other hand.

Sapphire let out a short, dry, but genuine laugh.

"You're right. He won't help. He just wants to marry the busiest woman in hell."

"Exactly." Sepphirothy smiled sidelong. "But don't worry. I have another idea. If that's not enough... I know someone who can 'convince' even a god to stay in his place."

Sapphire frowned.

"Are you talking about who I think you're talking about?"

"Yes." Sepphirothy replied, crossing her arms, almost amused.

"She's not reliable."

"That's exactly why she works." A crooked smile appeared on Sepphirothy's lips. "As long as we keep her well away from Vergil."

TRINNNK! TRIIINNNKK!!

The sharp sound of Sapphire's cell phone vibrating in her pocket broke the moment. She picked up the device, looked at the screen, and sighed before answering.

"Hello, Vergil—"

His voice came through, dry and impatient, like someone tapping their feet on the doormat:

"There's a woman named Morrigan looking for you here. Come quickly. She's bugging me."

Click.

He hung up before she could even respond.

Sapphire stood there, cell phone still to her ear, staring into space for a second. Then she slowly lowered the phone, letting out a sigh laden with exasperation, resignation... and perhaps a little amusement.

She turned her gaze to Sepphirothy, who was already waiting with a suspiciously curious look.

"It's not who we wanted," said Sapphire, putting her phone in her coat pocket, "but it looks like we have a goddess willing to help... if we beat her until she wants to..."