> The Devils of Canterlot > by Zeroraid > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The rain had stepped in a few days ago, and from the news reports it seemed that it would be sticking around for a few more days before letting up. Knowing this some of Limbo’s residents had chosen to bide their time – waiting out the storm that was still going on. That being said, there were always a good number of those who were willing to step outside and brave the rain in order to reach their place of work. After all bills had to get paid somehow, right? Of course, with that being the case, there were very few who actually wanted to step out and embrace the rainfall, which of course wasn’t too surprising. Only time someone really liked getting wet was when they were either in the bathroom or the bedroom. For one young man in particular though, neither option seemed available at the moment. Staring out at the city from its tallest building, the Silver Sacks Towers, he couldn’t help sighing in annoyance as he watched the rain come down. “Hell of a view.” The figure muttered as he stared outward, attention focused on the rain that continued to fall across his city. Limbo, that was the name the world gave it. It was a strange name, truly, but it was no different from naming cities like Red Grave and Enamel. Still, why the founders chose to call this place ‘Limbo’ of all things was honestly beyond him. The city wasn’t situated in Limbo after all - ‘the Edge’ where the borders between realms was weakest. Regardless, the figure pushed such thoughts away as he continued staring out at his city. Disregard the rain, it didn’t look any different from any other city out there. It was a well developed metropolis with skyscrapers and boroughs. He couldn’t see the people from up here, but that was fine. He didn’t need to see them, not really; but if he wanted to, all he had to do was look through the CCTV cameras installed throughout the city. While he was busy looking outside his office phone went off, and it was with a bit of reluctance that he found himself stepping away from the window that he was next to headed over to his desk as he picked up the phone. “Yes?” “Artemis and Lohengrin have returned.” “Good.” The figure muttered as he circled around his desk and settled down. “Send them in.” He told his receptionist as he hung up the phone and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. Walking into his office, two young men - one with a head full of white hair and one with black - made themselves known. “Hey boss.” The black haired one, Lohengrin did this light wave and smiled as he walked over to one of the office chairs and settled down. “Sorry it took so long to get back, traffic was a nightmare.” “I bet it was.” Their boss muttered as he looked to Artemis who seemed to just be standing at attention and waiting for something. He just made a gesture, allowing the white haired youth to sit as he gave an appreciative nod. “So, what’s your report?” “It’s as you thought, Mr. Ryder.” Artemis stated. “The uproar in Red Grave was caused by the Qliphoth appearing in Red Grave.” He admitted. “And as you predicted, Dante got involved.” Lohengrin stated as he made a swinging motion with his arm. “Took him a month, but he finally chop the damn thing down.” “I’m not surprised.” Ryder muttered as he rested his cheek on his knuckle. “Still, who was it that planted the seeds of the Quiphoth?” “Some guy named Urizen.” Lohengrin stated with a shrug. “Never heard of him.” “Likewise.” Lohengrin grumbled. “Arte glanced through Lemegeton's Guidebook, and couldn’t find a damn thing about this Urizen guy, so he’s not from the Demon Realm.” “That means he was probably from this side.” Artemis stated. “I see…” Ryder muttered as he seemed to think. “If that’s the case, how were they able to reach the Demon Realm and the Qliphoth?” “Nero.” Ryder raised an eyebrow. “Dante’s heir?” “Think so.” Lohengrin stated as he raised his right arm and tapped it a few times. “Saw him sporting a prosthetic.” He admitted. “Seems Urizen ripped that demonic arm off and pulled the Yamato out of it. And given that Yamato can cut through dimensions~” “They used it to reach the demon realm and acquire the Qliphoth seeds.” Ryder rubbed his temples. “Makes sense… and what else is there for you to report?” “For one, Dante got his ass handed to him before settling things.” Lohengrin stated as Artemis reached for something he had carefully wrapped up and presented it on the table. Ryder’s eyebrows shot up slightly. “Rebellion?” Though they could have been mistaken for the shards or any random blade, he knew on an instinctive level that these shards belonged to the Demonic blade known as Rebellion. “Yes, it seems that the Rebellion was shattered during combat.” Artemis stated. “We’ve collected a few shards, but the remaining pieces as well as the handle are still missing.” “More than likely it’s still in Dante’s possession.” Ryder grumbled. “Regardless, even with the broken Rebellion, Dante managed to pull through in the end. That’s good at least.” He muttered as he seemed to stare at the fragments of rebellion for a moment. “Now for the bad news.” “Well, in order to seal off the Qliphoth, Dante would have needed to go to the Demon World and sever the roots himself.” Artemis stated. “Not to mention seal the portal it created with the Yamato.” Ryder didn’t say anything, letting the words echo into his head before taking a breath. “I see, a one-way trip.” “That’s right.” Lohengrin muttered. “But knowing his luck he’ll find a way out again.” “Till then the Legendary Devil Hunter is gone.” Artemis added. “And as such he’s out of our hair.” Ryder muttered as he made a face and started fiddling with a piece of Rebellion. “So.” Lohengrin spoke up again. “What’s the plan, boss?” Ryder didn’t say anything, just chose to continue fiddling with a fragment of Rebellion and made a noise. “To start, we ensure Dante can’t get back to this side.” “Oh?” Ryder just stopped messing with the fragments of Rebellion and seemed to look at his guests. “The Qliphoth opened a portal to the Demon Realm, but as you know it’s not the one.” He stated. “Two thousand years ago, Tenen-Ni-Gru was created by mortal hands to act as the true gateway, and countless other structures were created to act as portals as well.” Ryder stated. “If every last one of them is destroyed…” “Then we ensure that Dante can’t return.” Artemis whispered as Ryder gave him a nod. “I get it… but if we destroy all the Hellgates, then won’t more demons be unable to cross over?” Lohengrin asked. “No actually.” It was Artemis that answered him. “Even without the Hellgates, demons can still be brought over, mostly through some form of medium like sand.” He stated. “Dante however… can’t, or at the very least he’s never shown the capacity to do so.” “Ah~” Lohengrin leaned back in his seat as he put his hands behind his head. “I think I get it.” Was all he said as he seemed to think. “Well if that’s the case~.” He smiled. “When do we start, boss.” “You in particular?” Ryder began as he sighed to himself. Without a word he reached for something in his desk before pulling out a file for the two. “Ever heard of Canterlot?” Artemis nodded as Lohengrin raised an eyebrow. “Never heard of it.” Lohengrin admitted as Artemis reached for the file. “Must be somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” “Well, you aren’t wrong.” Ryder admitted with a smile. “There’s no airport, there’s no trains, just a single road leading to a beach and beyond.” “Wow that is in the middle of nowhere.” Lohengrin muttered as Artemis continued looking through the file. “Either way, we’re to destroy the hellgate there?” “Yes, though we aren’t entirely certain if it’s a Hellgate at all.” Ryder admitted. “Regardless, there is a portal there. “And if theres a portal that means that theres a possibility that Dante can come through it.” “So where is the portal?” Artemis showed Lohengrin the file as his eyes shot up and he started to laugh. “It’s in front of a school? Who puts a portal in front of a school?!” “I’d love that answer myself.” Ryder stated, shaking his head. “Regardless.” “Right.” Lohengrin returned the file to Artemis. “We’ll get right on it, boss.”