Page 55 of Virgil's Demons

I wrapped Barythaya's arms around him, pressing close, and I could feel the tension in his body. This was no ordinary trip, but I let him lead, wondering just what he up to.

Time passed, I wasn't sure how long, but it was then I realized he was leading us somewhere old, somewhere sacred.

"Virgil," I whispered his name, feeling the shift in the air. The weight of something ancient crawled beneath the surface of the earth, calling out to us.

I could feel my anger coming to the surface, but I continued to let him lead, to let him think he was the one in control.

The bike stopped in front of the ruins of an old church, its skeleton bathed in moonlight. Barythaya's heart flutters, but I, Death, can feel the weight of this place bear down on me. We were on sacred ground. The energy here hummed with an ancient power that even I couldn't ignore.

"Virgil, what are we doing here?" I asked, my voice trembling now, suspicion creeping into the edges of my mind.

But Virgil has no idea of the turmoil that's going on inside me. I can feel Barythaya's soul shift, gaining back some resistance.

While I was struggling with Barythaya. he took our hand. "I need to show you something," he whispered as if he was telling me a secret, leading us toward the clearing. His touch was gentle, but beneath it, it felt like steel.

I stumbled and he held onto me. His hands on me feeling like a steel trap. "Are you okay?" He asked, fake concern etched in his brow and that look made me shiver.

The earth beneath us pulses with power, the energy rising, growing, feeding off something deeper than just the land. I stumbled again, suddenly feeling weak. Barythaya's soul shifted again, struggling with me.

"Maybe we should sit down," he said, leading us to a seat near a tree.

"Where are we?" I gasped for breath.

"I know what you are," Virgil's voice cuts through the air, quiet, but firm. He turns to face me, no, to face Death. Hiseyes meet mine, and for the first time, there's no pretense. No softness. He knows. He's known for longer than I thought.

"Isn't this place peaceful?" He asks, scanning the empty cemetary.

"What is this place?" I tried to breathe, but the power was overwhelming.

"Don't you recognize it? You should. It's binding ground, a place where sacrifices are made."

Barythaya's voice came through. "He won't let you take me," it whispered.

I gave him a cold smile. "You think you can stop me?" My voice was sharp, biting. "You think you can bind me, Virgil?"

He didn't flinch. Instead, he reached into his jacket, pulling out a vial of holy water. He began to pour it in a circle around us, the air crackling with the ancient energy of a ritual. The weight of it pressed down over me, thick and suffocating.

"I don't have to stop you," he says, his voice steady, but there's an ache, a raw pain behind his words. "I just have to save her."

Barythaya trembled, realization dawning in her mind, her love for him mixing with fear, confusion. She's too fragile, too mortal to understand what's truly happening.

"You can't bind Death," I growl, getting up and stumbling closer, my presence looming over him. "I am eternal. I am inevitable."

He smiled at me. A sad, tortured smile. "I know. But I can make sure you never touch her again."

And without another word it begins. The Raven's song of ravens fills the night, that mournful, haunting sound that's laced with dark magic. It's call lulls me, making it hard for me to fight and resist. I feel the pull of the earth at my feet, the roots sinking into me. The air thickens, and heavy chains of energy wrap around me, brutally tightening their hold on me.

No. I thrash against it, but I can feel the power of the ritual sinking its claws into me. Virgil's will is strong. He is determined to destroy me.

Hellsing steps from the shadows, his presence adding weight to the binding. His strength, his connection to both the living and the dead, amplifies the binding. I can feel it closing in around me, suffocating, cutting off my control over Barythaya's body.

"Virgil, stop this!" I scream, rage boiling inside me, but the ritual continues and there is no going back.

Virgil takes a step closer, his eyes filled with sorrow and sacrifice. "There's a price," he says softly, and I can hear the pain in his voice. "I have to give something up," he says, his look distant.

I suddenly realize what he's about to give up.Love.

He's giving up on the one thing that ties him to her, the one thing that could save them both. That's why the ritual has thepower it has. He's sacrificing their love, their connection. Whic means that when this is over, Barythaya will never remember him. They'll become strangers. She'll never acknowledge him, never know what he's done to save her.

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