The Sons of Sparda were given a job to do together but were separated before it began. Now, Vergil ventures alone to complete the task at hand whilst Dante wagers war against the leader of the Demons. Will they succeed?
Four months have passed since the Sons of Sparda were successful in severing the roots of the Qlipoth in the underworld and turned their attention towards each other to see who is superior.
However, a moments rest turns into a new opportunity for the pair of them. A chance to lay waste to an army of demons that have invaded a world separate from the human world.
Before they can seal the deal, the brothers are torn away from each other. One is trapped in a duel and the other is sent to Equestria.
Now, wandering alone, Vergil chooses to honour his summoners wishes and put a stop to the demon horde that infests Equestria.
All the while, Dante stands alone against the General of the Army.
Will they succeed? Will Dante survive? Will Equestria be free?
Extra Information ~ Set four months after end of Devil May Cry 5 ~ Set after the Season 3 Premiere ~ Entry for the Devil May Cry Writing Contest
The underworld has always been a place where any living creature, that wanted to live a peaceful and prosperous life, dreaded to go to once their time had come.
It is vast plane of reality filled with many locations that no denizen from outside of hell would dare to tread. From trenches of blood filled with the remains of fallen legions, to caverns that live and pulsate beneath ones feet and more.
However, there are two individuals here, in a pocket of the demon world, that have come here willingly and have stayed here from the day they dived into hell.
In that pocket of the underworld, there’s a vast field of white lifeless grass that stretches far and wide and in the centre of the field; lies the remains of what was once a unique tree.
The tree was known to all of demon kind as the Qliphoth and four months ago, it held root from the demon world as it grew into the human world and caused havoc across the earth.
But, ever since the two showed up, they decimated the tree and sealed its connection the human world, preventing it or any demon from ever going back.
Laying in the centre, of a large red arena surrounded by the remains of the Qliphoth, the two individuals lay on their backs, opposite of each other, slowly taking in their breaths.
One was dressed in a black long coat that had a unique neon blue serpentine pattern that covered round the collar, with the head over one shoulder and the tail slinking down the right side all the way to the bottom. Under the coat, he wore midnight blue formal vest that had a black zippered turtleneck underneath. He wore black trousers and black boots and had a pair of charcoal grey fingerless gloves covering his hands but in his right was something special to him.
A katana, with a black scabbard that had a blue cloth wrapped around it, that the owner holds dearly to him as he held in his grip and the weapon was known as the Yamato. His skin was fair, but pale and had a few cuts and bruises on him. His eyes were blue and his white hair was slicked back. This individuals name was Vergil.
The other individuals name was Dante. Like Vergil, he had blue eyes and white hair but, other than being the same height as each other, as well as the cuts and bruises, is where the similarities end. Dante’s hair was almost shoulder length and had a light white beard. He wears a red jacket that is folded up by his elbows, a black triple buttoned t-shirt that hung over his waist, a black pair of trousers and brown boots. His wrists are covered in white bandages that have a pair of black riding gloves and in his right hand, was his own unique weapon that he held the hilt of.
It was a large two handed sword that was covered in a unique shell of solid lava that seemed to form claws running up the centre of it, with talons for a hand-guard and a red jewel in the centre. The weapon was named after Dante himself.
As the two laid their, taking in the air, collecting themselves as they stared up at the bleak grey clouds that covered the underworlds sky, Dante pondered for a moment before he spoke.
“So, Vergil,” he spoke between intakes, “how many does that make it now?”
Vergil smirked at the thought and responded, “Forty Nine to Forty Nine, since I won the last one.”
Dante merely replied with a small chuckle, for that was indeed the case.
From the moment the two of them completed their task of cutting off the Qliphoth completely from the human world, the two of have been battling over and over.
Again and again, they would strike the other with their full strength until the other was knocked down, or what strength they had gotten back before going at each other again.
Dante would get the upper hand in some battles, Vergil would retaliate with more ferocity in others, they didn’t seek to kill the other, only to prove who was the superior.
However, several rounds of their combat had to be put on hold. All because of where they were; deep in the underworld where demonic entities roam free.
Those moments were the only time you would see these two set aside their differences and combine their strength to slice, maim and eliminate any demon that dared attempt to take their heads for their own.
Reflecting on every skirmish they had since they started, Dante had another thought cross his mind as he said, “Hey, Vergil, quick question;” he took in another breath before asking, “How long have we been here now? I’ve lost track.”
Vergil was about to answer with a verbal jab before he stopped and realised that he had the same problem. The thought of which made him sigh, slightly annoyed, as he answered, “Honestly, brother, I haven’t any clue myself.”
To that, Dante couldn’t help but chuckle a bit louder before catching his breath.
This time though, Vergil was the one who had a question that was bothering him. So, he asked, “Have you noticed, Dante?”
“What?” Dante replied, genuinely wondering what it was that got his brother curious.
“We haven’t been interrupted by the demons for some time now.”
Dante’s brow furrowed as he realised what Vergil pointed out was the truth. He tilted his head to the side and scanned the remains of the tree before he replied with a little bit of apprehension, “Yeah…” Before long though he turned his gaze back to the sky with a light laugh, “Maybe they finally decided to give up on going after us?”
Vergil considered Dante’s question but wasn’t convinced that was the case. However, he decided it wasn’t worth the effort worrying about. Even if a whole horde of demons stormed at them right now, he knew the result would be the same.
“Maybe you’re right for once.” Vergil replied, nonchalantly.
“You make that sound like an insult.” Dante retorted with smile.
Vergil smiled at that as he lightly shook his head.
“Five more minutes?” Dante asked as he began to close his eyes to recuperate, comfortable with the idea that they wouldn’t be bothered before having another round.
“Agreed.” Vergil replied as he too began to close his eyes to rest, ready to gather his strength to prove himself once again.
Unbeknownst to the two brothers, a small white ball drifted down to the pair of them like a feather.
When it touched the red ground between them, the ball expanded, in a blink of an eye, swallowing the resting brothers and before either of them realised it, they vanished with the white ball.
The moment they felt the sensation, the two brothers opened their eyes to a sight that was an immediate cause of concern; the sky was blue with a few white clouds, a gentle breeze was flowing against their skin and the sound of ruffling grass was the only thing, after the wind, that they heard.
Almost simultaneously, the two of them used what energy they had to sit upright to take in the scenery. When they both saw each sitting in the grass, they skeptically looked around them to see the field of green stretch as far as the eye could see.
Eventually, they turned away from each other as they stood up, both of them holding their weapons in hand, to verify where they were.
Each passing second left both of them more and more confused before Dante spoke out, dumbfounded, “What the hell…?”
“There’s…” Vergil started, gazing upon the horizon, slowly to and fro, before stating; “Nothing here.”
“No demons. No humans.” Dante added.
“Absolutely nothing…” Vergil finished, equally as flabbergasted.
The seconds seemed to become longer as they both look onward to whatever there was of this plain they stood in.
They then turned to each other, neither of them truly understanding the situation.
And, again, Dante broke the ice, “So… now what?”
“I can help you with that.” A third voice answered, calling out to them from the distance.
Immediately, the two of tightened their grip on their weapons at the sound of the voice.
It was feminine and held a gentle motherly tone to it.
“Please, don’t be alarmed.” The voice spoke again, gently, “I haven’t brought you here to hurt you.”
Dante and Vergil shared an apprehensive glance between each other for a moment, before Dante stood up straight to reply, “Okay, then.” He held his free hand out, offering it to wherever he thought the voice was coming from. “If you really aren’t going to hurt us; then, please, come on out. Let’s talk.”
Vergil remained defensive as he could see what his brother was doing but wanted to be ready in case whatever came was going to attack them.
The voice gave a soft giggle before replying, “Then I shall do that. And, I can promise you I will not harm you.”
Before either of them could respond a blinding white light appeared before them. The two of them squinted and tried to not look directly at it as the feminine being was beginning to appear.
When the light faded, the two of them adjusted their eyes to take in the appearance of their host and what they saw, once again, left them lost for words.
The being that appeared them was like nothing they had seen before. She was a horse that stood at eye level with them. Her legs, body and neck were long and thin and covered head to hoof in a light colour coat that was akin to gold and grey. Her darkened red mane and tail were equal in length. The mane in question also seemed to cover her left eye which showed off her right arctic blue eye. The most distinctive feature about the horse that they were staring at in confusion that it also had a thin, long horn and a pair of large wings. Both that were the same colour as her coat.
“Hello there, you two.” The horse said gently, “I am Faust.”
Seeing and hearing Faust speak left them even more stunned. Eventually, Dante shook off the confusion and spoke up. “Well then, Faust,” Dante began, still trying to get over the fact the horse was talking back to them. “My name’s Dante.”
“A pleasure.” Faust greeted with small nod before turning her attention to Vergil who was still on edge about the whole situation.
He gave Dante a quick glance and saw that he was shrugging his shoulders and had a small smile. Eventually, Vergil slightly loosened his grip on the Yamato and stood straight, giving Faust a small nod and simply said, “Vergil.”
To which Faust replied with a curt nod. She looked between the two brothers, giving them equal attention before continuing; “I apologise for summoning you to this plane with any notice whatsoever, I couldn’t think any other way to bring you two here.”
The brothers shared a curious glance before Dante when with a question that was bugging him, “So, what does that make you then? Some kind of super horse or god?”
Faust gave a light giggle to that as she replied, “In this situation, Mr. Dante, I wish I was. I’d have the power to stop what’s happening in my world right now. But,” Faust looked down in slight distress as a thought ran through her mind, “I don’t and that’s why I went out of my way to bring you two here.”
“And what is you want from us?” Vergil asked, cutting straight to the point.
Faust saw the conversation was veering to a direction where Vergil would be getting more and more upset. So, she decided to appease them by bowing her head whilst clearly speaking her wishes; “I humbly ask the two of you to help my world.” Dante and Vergil said nothing and listened intently to her plea.
“Two weeks ago, my world was suddenly flooded from an army demons that rained down from above. Many have lost their lives because of this and my world is on the brink of ruin. They’re using the power that my kind has gained over the years and forcing them to siphon their demonic portals, all of them screaming their intentions for their lord.”
Faust raised her head to look them in the eyes as she spoke the name out of fear and anger. “A demon named Mundus.”
The brothers eyes widened in surprise. Neither of them had heard that name in so long and to hear it from a being from another realm they had just met, neither of them knew what to say next.
Faust, however, saw their reaction to the name and went on that to find out more. “You two know of Mundus already?”
Vergil and Dante looked between each other and Faust for a moment, the silence became deafening as the question lingered in the air.
Again, Dante broke the silence, “Years ago, Mundus, who might I add was a former king of hell, tried to use his demon goons to try and break free out of a sealed portal to our world.” Dante gestured to him and Vergil.
Faust shifted all of her attention to Dante as he continued, “Fortunately,” Dante continued with a proud smirk, “I gladly ripped him a new one and sent him packing, sealing him away in the process.”
Vergil put his hand to his chin in contemplation, adding Dante’s words with Faust’s with an audible ‘hmmm.’
Faust then looked to Vergil curious to what he was thinking, she asked him politely, “Mr. Vergil? What is it?”
Vergil took in the concern on her face and, to him, he felt as though she genuinely cared about her world. He lowered his hand and firmly spoke what was on his mind, “If the demons are truly using your worlds powers to charge the portals to the underworld, they could be using that energy to power something.”
Dante caught on to his train of thought and finished the sentence for him, “And use whatever that ‘something’ is to break the seal and free Mundus.”
Faust looked down in horror, “If that were to happen… my world…”
“Would be obliterated and or used for Mundus’ own gain.” Vergil stated, darkly.
The air around the three of them grew heavy on the thought of that alone.
Dante, who dissipated his sword away, clapped his hands to snap everyone out of this grim mood, “So, to run it down;” Dante started with some confidence, “you want us to go to your world and put a wrench in the demons plans by handing their asses to them.”
Faust smiled at the confidence Dante was exuding and felt the same feeling flow through her, “Yes, exactly.”
Vergil remained silent but was calmer than earlier.
“I have a way to help my world heal once you’ve sealed the portals. When you’ve done that we can find the General of the army and stop him for good.” Faust explained with certainty.
“A General, huh?” Dante inquired, “This ‘General’ got a name?”
Vergil, too, was interested to hear the name.
“SPARDA!!”
A thunderous yell that came from a deep booming voice shook the foundation’s of the realm. Dante, Vergil and Faust felt the earth shake beneath them as they all lost their balance for a moment.
The sky quickly darkened and the wind began to howl, Dante quickly summoned his weapon once more as he look around to find out where this fourth voice came from. Vergil primed himself in a fighting stance, his free hand on the hilt of his weapon as he felt the demonic presence closing in on them.
Faust, try as she might not to, began to panic. “He’s found us! I don’t know how but he did!”
“Who did?!” Vergil asked sharply over all the noise.
Only for the wind to come to a screeching halt as the sky above shattered like a broken mirror, breaking into smaller pieces around a massive black centre. And from the darkness, a pair of large feral, malicious eyes with golden irises bore down on the three of them.
Faust saw the eyes and spurted out the name of the entity balefully looking down at them as clear as day; “Astaroth!”
Dante and Vergil were locked into a stare down with Astaroth as his eyes intently surveyed the two of them. After a moment, he chuckled derisively.
“Would you look at this?” He began rhetorically, “That explains why I sensed Sparda’s presence, both of his sons are standing right before me. This is perfect!”
“I agree, big guy!” Dante quickly called back, ready to take action. “This is perfect!”
“The perfect opportunity to end you here and now!” Vergil added with spirit as he firmly gripped his Yamato, ready to strike.
Only for Astaroth to respond with another mocking laugh.
And then, without warning, his eyes glinted with black energy and before either the brothers realised it; a pair of dark fur, with silver scaled, hands, the size of the two of them had swiftly crushed the pair of them in Astaroths grip.
Only their head remained exposed as everything below was being squeezed in his tightening grip. The two of groaned in pain through gritted teeth as they were being brought closer to Astaroth, methodically.
“The two of you are wounded and weak! And ripe for the taking! When I’m done with the both of you, no one will be able to stop Lord Mundus’ return!” Astaroth proclaimed loudly and proudly. The brothers gritted their teeth harder, knowing that he was right but refused to go down so easily.
“Not yet!” Vergil hollered with pride as tried to use his power to summon a blue sword, imbued with demonic energy, to strike at the wrist of the hand that was holding him.
Only for Astaroth to respond by sending a deadly voltage of purple electricity through his hands to punish the sons of Sparda even further for attempting such a means of defiance.
Dante tried his best to endure the pain only to hang onto his consciousness by a thread but he was shocked to see Vergil receive more of a punishment than him, which rendered Dante’s brother nearer to unconscious, barely having enough strength to defiantly keep one eye open.
“Pathetic.” Astaroth jabbed harshly.
“Astaroth!” Faust called out to him as she shot a beam of white energy directly at his eyes, only for it to dissipate when it collided with an invisible shield that was placed before him.
Astaroth looked down at the defiant one and was actually surprised at what he saw. “I see,” he began, mockingly, “I must have missed one amongst the rest of the vermin.”
Faust placed her hooves firmly in the ground and readied another beam to fire when she was ready.
“Don’t worry, little wretch.” Astaroth said, condescendingly, “I will make sure to make you watch the world cave in on itself when my lord finally returns to rule these worlds. As he rightfully shall!” He sadistically chuckled at the thought of it all.
The moment of distraction was all Dante needed. Using a bit of what strength he had left, he summoned four red swords that quickly began to spin together like a drill and aimed at the wrist of the hand that held his brother.
Astaroth wailed as he felt the pain of swords impaling his wrist course through his entire being, something Dante noticed.
But first, “Faust! Get Vergil!” Dante commanded quickly.
Faust, not needing a reminder launched from her spot and caught the falling son of Sparda on her back and even caught his weapon in her magic.
Before she could get another word in Dante ordered her again, “Get Vergil outta here! I’ve got this!” No response was allowed to be heard as Astaroth roared ferociously and began to turn his focus to Dante.
“One last thing!” Faust listened intently to his words, “Tell my brother not to be late to the party, alright?” He called out with the confident smile he had before.
That same confidence once again flowed through her as she smiled with a firm nod. Without another word, she encased herself, Vergil and his weapon in a white ball of energy and vanished from this plane of reality.
When they left, Dante merely chuckled quietly to himself before focusing all of his attention on the giant eyes, fuelled with primal rage, aiming directly at him.
“YOU SHALL PAY! SON OF SPARDA!” Astaroth bellowed furiously.
“Then come get some!” Dante roared back as he was swiftly dragged into the darkness, ready to take on the general with everything he’s got.
The ball of white light appeared once more in a new location, a cave that, given the roots hanging from the ceiling, was underground.
The entrance of the cave had been sealed off and the only other thing to find in the cave, before the ball of light appeared, was a great tree. The tree was unlike any other, it’s whole form was made of a light blue crystal. It held a glow that illuminated all things in the cave, such as the gems rooted into the walls and the rocks surrounding it.
When the ball of light faded, only Vergil was there, slumped down on all fours gasping for air. The Yamato resting on the ground next to him.
After several moments of regaining what little strength he had left, Vergil tried to get to one knee, grasping his weapon with his right and using the Yamato scabbard as a means of raising himself up. That at the moment was enough as he used the time to take in the new surroundings.
When he looked in the direction opposite of the tree, he could immediately tell what was beyond the wall. Demonic energy, it was faint but it was certainly there, outside of the cave.
Vergil then turned his head to look at the tree itself, the sight left him perplexed and in awe. He was used to seeing all kind of things human and demonic but never had he come across that radiated such energy that he could best describe as ‘pure.’ The more he observed its crystal structure, the more certain he felt that he couldn’t identity even a scrap of demonic power.
But, he did sense another presence coming from the tree. Given what he had just went through, he knew who it was and called out to the tree, “Faust…” Vergil spoke out, with heavy breaths in-between, “What happened?”
“Please, try not to force yourself.” Faust’s voice called out from the tree, worried for the brother she could save. “I’ll explain what happened.”
Vergil said nothing and merely waited for her to continue.
“After Astaroth used his magic to electrocute you, I tried to strike him with my own magic. Your brother,” Faust paused for a moment before she recalled solemnly, “He used his powers to severely wound Asaroths hold on you.”
Vergil’s grip on his scabbard tightened slightly at the news.
“He then told me to take you and escape.”
Vergil looked down, frustrated by it all. The idea of him being taken advantage in a weakened state in such a cowardly manner and rendered incapable to retaliate was something that angered him deeply.
“Your brother, Dante, did have a message for you though.” Faust spoke up after a moment of silence.
Vergil didn’t look at the tree but replied, “And what would that be?”
“He said, ‘Not to be late to the party.’”
Taking in those words, Vergil couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. And, though no one could see it, Faust was to surprised to hear him laugh.
Eventually, Vergil strenuously got to his feet and exhaled a heavy breath. “Of course he did.” Vergil commented.
As he stood, closed his eyes and began to contemplate all the information he knew of what had transpired. The idea of a demon gaining the means of free the being that his father fought all those years ago was something he knew he and Dante would not allow.
‘Dante…’ Vergil quietly said in his mind. The message that he was given by Faust was something that he knew Dante would say to him. Taking that into account, he knew what he had to do.
He then took a couple of steps closer to the tree and looked at it with conviction as he firmly said, “Faust, I hereby accept your request.”
If Vergil could see her now, her smile was bright and her eyes shone with newfound hope at the sound of his words.
“Thank you, Vergil. I am truly grateful.” Faust replied contently. “Please, let me help you before I explain in detail of what must be done.”
Before Vergil could even blink a golden magic circle appeared around his feet, which then covered him head to toe in a golden light.
In that one moment, Vergil was surprised to feel completely refreshed. The cuts and bruises he had received were healed, and found he had the strength to stand fully without any effort.
He brought up his free hand up to before his face and observed that his limb movement had no pain to them whatsoever, even being able to make a fist.
To make certain of this, he calmly closed his and then he effortlessly switched hands that held the Yamato, with a light toss. Then, when the scabbard was in his left, he grabbed the hilt of the sword with his right, turned away from the tree and swiftly drew the blade to point at the ground ahead of him. The action was faster than any normal being could register, which Vergil was from at all and sword was just over half as long as Vergil was tall.
He then quickly turned back around, brining the blade to his side before deftly twirling the sword in his fingers and methodically sheathing it into the scabbard.
Taking in that familiar sensation once again, Vergil took a slow deep breath before opening his eyes to turn his attention to the tree once more.
“So, can you tell me what you know?” Vergil inquired.
“Of course,” Faust began, “As I mentioned early, the demons that have infested my world have attained a great power to open up portals to demon realm around my world. The power in question used to belong to this tree.”
“This tree is that powerful?” Vergil inquired as he looked upon the outline of the tree once more.
“Indeed. See the markings upon the tree?” Faust asked rhetorically as Vergil saw what she was pointing out. Above the trunk were two symbols and five were donned on the end of five separate branches that were connected to a large star like symbol in the centre. “These are symbols of the Elements of Harmony and the symbols of my two daughters…” Faust stated solemnly.
Vergil looked beneath the star once more and saw the two symbols in question. A sun and a crescent moon with a star.
“In times of crisis, the Elements of Harmony are used by its bearers to put a stop to any evil that intends to do harm to my world. And my daughters are like myself, a unique race of pony known as an Alicorn that holds tremendous power.”
“And the demons are using their power in a twisted way to charge the portals to hell.” Vergil added, his right hand resting against his chin in thought.
“Correct,” Faust continued, “I can faintly sense all of them and I fear that have also taken captive of another alicorn and are using their power for the same purpose as well.” Faust commented with dread.
“If they have that many portals opened are using to fuel the means to free Mundus, then they’re accelerating the process.” Vergil said, detesting the notion.
“Once you step out of this cave, you should be able to see where the portals are coming from. I can’t pinpoint exactly where they are, due to demonic energy swallowing the air but there are denser areas. I surmise that’s where they’ll be.”
“What about your ken when I have retrieved them?” Vergil asked.
“I already have something in mind for that.” Faust replied with an assured tone.
The ground in front of the tree began to move slightly as crystal root began to grow quickly out of the ground that bloomed into a pink flower. In the centre of the flower, was a amulet held by a crystal chain. The amulet in question was shape of a sun that formed around a crescent moon with a star in the centre.
“This amulet is the symbol of Equestria, my world. It is connected to the Tree and with it when you have freed my little ponies from their confines, the amulet will respond to their presence and warp them to a small realm that belongs in the tree. They will be safe here with me.” Faust explained, calmly and firmly. “When you have retrieved all of them, I will be able to help them charge the tree and allow it to create a powerful wave of harmonious energy, wiping out the demons and undoing the damage they have done in one fell swoop.”
“And will you be able to communicate with me through the amulet?” Asked Vergil.
“Certainly.” Faust replied softly before adding, “I wish I could help you more, but I am no longer of this world and can merely watch from the realm of the Tree of Harmony.”
“So, you are a spirit.” Vergil said, acknowledging what he had thought she meant from when she spoke to him and Dante before.
“Yes…” Faust confirmed. “I am sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Vergil said, slightly reassuring her. “I will see to it that the mission is done, that you have my word.” He proclaimed proudly as he took the amulet, put the chain over his head and placed the symbol under his turtleneck.
“The wall opposite the tree is an illusion, made to keep the demons from ever entering this cave. You will be able to step through it.” Faust stated.
“Then, let us make haste.” Vergil replied as he walked toward entrance with purpose.
In the past, Vergil would have been hesitant to take upon such a task with ease, he would’ve relented stubbornly, not caring of what would’ve become of this world.
Now, Vergil knows he has the means and the power to complete the task asked of him, more importantly he knew at the end of it all he would come face to face with Astaroth once more. With or without Dante, Vergil would aim his blade and drive it through Astaroths’ to make him pay for what he did.
With the goals of the mission set in his mind, Vergil stepped through the wall to the outside.
From the moment Vergil’s feet touched the earth outside the cave, the air became thicker and heavier all around him.
The demonic presence was just like it was in the underworld; everywhere. If he came here without the prior knowledge of this world, Vergil would have surmised that this was another aspect of hell.
He gazed up and saw that even the sky was similar to the underworld’s. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, preventing any shred of light from seeping through.
Turning his gaze toward the cliff edges surrounding him, he took note that there was a suspended bridge above him and connected to one of the ends was long staircase.
Vergil marched toward the stairway and began climbing it. As he rose the steps, he spoke outward to the world but was addressing the amulet, “If I may, I have a question for you, Faust.”
“What is it?” Faust’s voice spoke through the amulet.
“How did you find me and my brother? We were deep in the underworld for so long, we were certain with the idea we couldn’t leave.” Vergil said as he continued to climb.
“That’s only fair you should know.” Faust replied calmly as he began to explain, “When the demons first began to swarm Equestria, Astaroth boasted on how when they were successful that not even the Sons of Sparda could stop them.”
“He’s a fool for believing that.” Vergil sharply replied.
Faust kept quiet for a moment, surprised by Vergil’s sudden retort, then continued, “With the knowledge that the demons had an enemy, I gathered what power I had to spare and used the tree to scour all of creation to find you and your brother. The rest, you know.”
Vergil merely hummed silently at the answer as he reached the top of the stairs, stopping before the bridge.
From where he was he could see in the distance a red beam of energy streaming into the clouds above. Turning his gaze clockwise he saw more of the same red beams further away from where he was.
When he turned to look in the direction of the bridge across the way from him, shooting into the sky, from what he could tell were ruins of an old castle, was the same red beam.
Even from that distance, he could feel the demonic energy funnelling into this world. There was no mistaking it; the red beams were the locations of the gates to hell.
“Faust, are you able to sense which one of your ken is being used to power the portal in the ruins?” Vergil asked aloud, as he observed the beam again.
Faust took the time to focus her power to Vergil’s question, however, “No, not from here.” Faust answered, slightly frustrated. “I should be able to get a clearer picture when you come closer to their position.”
Vergil nodded silently as he took a mental note of what Faust had said.
Looking upon the bridge before him, seeing how dilapidated it was, he decided against walking across it and chose a swifter method. Vergil focused upon the ground on the other side and without even taking a single step he vanished from where he was and instantly appeared on the other side, touching the ground with ease.
But, Vergil barely took more than five steps toward the ruins when he saw that several holes appeared in the middle air before him. Each hole expanded in size, blood pouring out of them and after a couple of seconds all of them spat out the same demonic creature.
The demon in question was a bipedal skeletal like monstrosity that wore what remains of a torn black cloak and a thorny crown of their long ragged black hair. In its boney hands it held a massive scythe that looked like, given their hunched posture, was too heavy to carry. They were known as a Hell Caina.
One of which was charging right at him, with a ghastly howl, it’s scythe dragging through the soil. The Caina attempted to strike Vergil with an upward slash, aiming to cleave him in two. Only for the Caina to find itself stumbling back after Vergil effortlessly parried the attack with a backhanded swipe of his scabbard.
And before the Caina could realise that it’s target was gone, it’s body was frozen as Vergil was already behind him, rising to his feet and deftly sheathing the Yamato but not before venomously calling the Caina; “Scum.”
At the sound of the blade being fully redacted; the Caina split into three pieces instantly and was reduced to ash.
Vergil turned to the remaining six to see that they were beginning to circle him. He chose to take the initiative and appeared behind the farthest one on the left.
The Caina didn’t even realise it until the back was struck twice by the scabbard. After the second strike the Caina, as well as the closet one next to it, attempted to strike back with a wide swipe of their scythes.
Neither of them realised that their opponents that Vergil was primed to strike. The moment he saw scythes aiming for him, Vergil grabbed the Yamato by the hilt and swung the blade in an upward angular arc, severely injuring the Caina as well as sending the pair of hurtling back into the rest of the group.
All members of the group tumbled backward and fell onto to the ground clumsily. One, however rolled backward from the collision and charged toward Vergil with a vengeful roar as it attempted the same tactic as the first one that fell.
Vergil sneered at the pathetic attempt and wasn’t waiting around this time. In a blue flash, Vergil appeared before the charging Caina and began to slash at the demon. The first slash rose the Caina off the ground, with a forceful push of momentum but it wasn’t over. Vergil rose with the demon into the air as he spun around clockwise with the blade, slicing the demon across its chest, at the same time harshly yelling the word, “Fool!”
The airborne Caina was sent fumbling onto the top of the pile of toppled demons. Not long after it landed, it attempted to try and stand once more but stopped short at the sight above the group.
A plethora of royal blue swords appeared in a flash of blue light above the entire group, each and everyone of the blades tip was pointed directly down at them.
The Caina didn’t get a chance to lift a finger as every single sword shot down toward the group almost immediately in rapid succession. Every single sword impaled every single Caina that was in the pile of demons, shattering through their skeletal bones with greatest of ease.
With that step completed, Vergil readied himself in a striking stance. His sword hand resting on the hilt as took aim of his unfortunate target.
“You’re mine.” Vergil quietly but confidently claimed as he grabbed the blade, drew it and searched it within a fraction of a second. In that second, a purple orb appeared around the entirety of the Caina horde and before any living thing could even blink, several slashes ripped the space apart in the orb.
That one attack rendered the entire group lifeless and scattered into pieces before they faded into nothing.
Standing tall as the victor, Vergil scoffed as he began to march toward the destination of the first portal; the Ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters.
As Vergil barged the doors open, he took in the state of the ruins entrance that, from what he could gather, led into a main hall. The walls and ceiling were either gone, on the brink of collapsing, still stable after what seemed like a long time. Even the windows were in a similar state; broken, gone or fully intact. The moss, plant roots and patches of grass in certain spots were something that caught his eye for one simple detail, they were white
That one thing was a clear sign to Vergil that the underworld activity hear has warped the ecosystem, just like it was back in hell.
Heading forward into the castle, he looked up to see where the beams general direction came from and ascertained it came from the northwest side of the castle.
Stepping into the main hall, it was the same as the entrance aesthetically even down to the blades of grass, but now the question remained. Which way to go?
Vergil had eight choices, to left and right of him were three sets of stairs and at the far end of the hall were a pair of corridors connected to a balcony by some stairs.
Taking into account the location of the beam, he decided to head to left corridor at the end of the hall.
Before he could even reach it however, a trio of screeches aimed toward Vergil echoed from the stairs around him.
He didn’t have to wait long as his callers came flying out for the stairways and hovered in a large circle several feet above his head.
They were a species of demon known as Pyrobat. Larger than normal bats, their proportions were monstrous sizes along with a long tail that had scorpion like pincer on the end of it. The Pyro part of their titles came from their means of spewing pools of lava at their victims.
Vergil could see that each of them was ready to do just that and waited for the right moment.
The second he saw the bats reel their heads back to launch their attack, Vergil vanished from his spot and reappeared several feet back.
Seeing the bats fire at the spot he was at a moment ago he began to focus his power to summon a barrage of swords to strike them whilst they wide open.
However, the sound of the window, at the far of the hall, being smashed distracted him. Two rolling, saw like, demons came flying through the shattered glass and landed either side of the hall.
Both of the demons were spinning great velocity, the barbs on their body shredding the earth with every roll until simultaneously they launched themselves at Vergil.
When they came close to ripping Vergil apart they found he already was in the air, leaping over them in a cartwheel motion with ease.
The pair of rolling demons slowed themselves and turned toward Vergil again when they went flying past him. Stopping short of their target, they both jumped up and landed on their feet.
The demons were bipedal had a reptilian like body, they hissed at Vergil, showing off their claws. They were even attempting to intimidate Vergil as they were hunched over and glared at him as they leaned forward to show off their main features; from the back of their neck to the tip of their tail were the same angular razor like blades that they used moments ago to try and cut Vergil apart. These were known as Chaos.
He was unimpressed and returned the glare with a scoff. His attention was taken from for a split second as he looked the entrances to the stairs, a familiar sound ringing through the air.
Around him, wherever there was a means of him leaving this hall, a crimson web spawn from the ether and covered the entirety of each and every exit.
“Vergil?” Faust called out from the amulet. “I sensed a demonic spell spawn all around you. What’s happening?” She asked, concerned.
“Don’t fret, Faust.” Vergil responded, calmly, as he explained. “This is a common tactic that demons use to keep their victims from escaping. The seal will break when there is one being left alive and standing.”
“That’s barbaric...” Faust commented, disgusted with the idea.
“Perhaps,” Vergil nonchalantly replied, “But,” He readied himself to strike as the Chaos demons leaped up, tucked their bodies into prepare their rolling attack as they began to tear the ground apart, picking up speed.
“These demons will soon learn that they were foolish enough to put the means of their own defeat in a trap.” His stance set and his method already planned out, he waited for the right time.
“And that is?” Faust asked, trying to remain calm.
The pair of Chaos demons, now at full speed, launched their attack once more but Vergil used this to moment to strike.
When they came closer, he stopped before their line of attack, grabbed the Yamato and began slashing at way the demons with rapid swings of his blade, performing more than several swings with each passing second.
The Chaos’s kept pushing the offensive despite their attacks clashing with Vergil’s weapon over and over.
The sounds of steel crashing against each other over and over rang through the hall again and again.
Vergil soon gain the edge in the skirmish as he could see that the demons were losing momentum in their speed and soon enough they were coming close to a stop and when they did, Vergil gave the pair of them one last swing of the Yamato.
On contact; the Yamato sent the pair flying back and shattered their blades, leaving nothing but blunt ends on their spines. The demons unravelled from their rolling form and land on the sides at the far end of the hall.
When Vergil performed his last attack, he turned his back to his opponents to see where the others were.
And, when he saw that hadn’t moved from their spot in the air and were preparing to spit another dose of lava, Vergil launched himself to their position, spun in the air and cleaved all three Pyrobats in one swing of his sword.
The force of the strike cut the first two in half like paper but sent the third one crashing into the wall, as Vergil sheathed his weapon.
Not wasting another second, Vergil summoned a group of four blue swords with his will, all of them hovering around him, aimed them at the remaining Pyrobat and fired them at blistering speeds straight at the demon.
Each one driving through the demons body, piercing it into the wall, from which the Pyrobat did not survive.
As he gracefully landed on the ruin floor with ease, a malicious roar got his attention from the corner of his eye as one of the Chaos’s was leaping toward him, attempting to slash Vergil with its claws.
“Pointless!” Vergil called out to its attacker before retaliating by sending the demon upward with a rising slash of the Yamato.
Vergil followed up his assault by jumping up into the air, joining the suspending demon and slashing away at its body with a trio of precise sword strikes then finished off with an overhead slash that drove the blade into the demons head which brought and Vergil down at the same.
On the way down and on impact with the ground, the demon shrieked in agony and dissolved into the soil.
Rising up to his feet, Vergil swung the blade out, tossing the blood of the dead demon to the ground. He saw ahead the remaining Chaos demon, snarling at it from afar.
The demon blinked, Vergil was gone and then found itself frozen in place as the feeling of a blade being driven through its body, from top to bottom, happened before it could even register it.
Vergil rose up to look the Chaos in the eye, held his scabbard before his chest, twirled the Yamato in his fingers and fiercely glared as he slowly sheathed his weapon, watching the demon see the means of its defeat.
At the moment the guard of the katana connected with the scabbard, with an echoing clink, the Chaos slowly began to separate into two until its body fell to the floor in two halves.
The moment of its defeat, Vergil looked to up the seal and saw the web turn white and shatter into pieces like broken glass.
“You did it.” Faust praised, impressed by how quickly Vergil dispatched his enemies.
“Now I can proceed.” Vergil stated, as he turned and quickly marched down the hall.
Even though he easily defeated the demons, Vergil kept his head cool. He could sense that there was a stronger presence in the same direction of the Hell Gate. He knew was there would be the first of many trails to come.
