"Someone once told me that humans can be worse than demons."
A man was lying down under the shade of an elderly oak tree, with silver hair streaking to the back. He wears an elegant coat of indigo, under it a black vest, and long black pants of leather. He carries with him a katana, and hanging around his neck, a half amulet with a ruby cast in the middle of golden chains. Sitting beside him was a woman, her black hair contrasting the man's. She was wearing a white silk dress and a pendant.
"Not all are the same, you know. Some can be very kind; kind enough to even sacrifice themselves in sealing the demonic tower Temen-Ni-Gru."
The woman reached over for the man's hand with hers. She clutched it in her right hand. The man blushed at the sudden romance.
"Vergil, you know we can't keep this going on forever. It is no longer the time where the legendary dark knight Sparda reigned. In his place are men who do not tolerate demons. You are a demon, I am human; it is a forbidden union in their eyes. The townspeople would surely put me to death for coming into contact with a demon."
Vergil's expression darkened. He rose up, his left hand still in the woman's right hand: "Let them try. They do not know who they're dealing with."
"Please, Vergil. We cannot go on. You can't just kill people to keep this a secret," the woman rose up to her feet this time, "they will soon discover our affair, and word travels fast in this small town."
"And then what? Is there anything they can do to us? As long as we are together, we shall not fear anyone; not even the Prince of Darkness can break us apart."
The woman began to sob and her head went down. Vergil's expression softened and he started to coax her by holding both her hands together in front of him.
"Maria, if you are not happy, then I cannot be happy. If the only thing that could make you happy is for us to part, then I'll do it."
Maria stopped sobbing and immediately, with an exited tone, asked: "really? You'll do it for me?"
"You really should practice more on your crocodile tears…I'll do it, of course, but on one condition: if we cannot meet by day under the light, then we shall meet by night under the shadows."
Maria thought through it for a while, and then she replied: "I accept."
A few months pass, and everything went well, until…
Maria was held by two men on a platform in the middle of the town square; a simple countryside settlement. The crowds gathered below the platform, eagerly watching, observing the accused.
"Maria Geraldine Bane; you stand here accused of the crime of witchcraft. What have you to say to this sin?"
"I have committed no sin!"
"Is that so? Then I suppose you know this man – or shall I say, demon, quite well? Take him out here!"
The town chief ordered three men to bring Vergil, restrained, onto the platform. Maria was shocked.
"Now, do you know this person?"
"Yes."
"Have you close mutual ties with this person?"
"Yes."
"By town rules, associating oneself with a demon or demons is part of witchcraft. You do know well the town rules and the retribution that follows."
"But he is not a demon! He is a loving man who cares deeply for me!"
"We decide who is a demon and who is not! Release the grey orb!"
One of the men who were restraining Vergil took out something hidden underneath a blue velvet cloth. He took off the cloth, revealing a silvery grey sphere, with an unnatural dark glow about it; when Vergil saw it, his eyes opened wide in fear.
"Normally, the grey orb will not affect anyone. However, if it comes into contact with a demon, it will force the demon to reveal its true form while causing great agony to the demon. This will show if this person is a demon or otherwise!"
As the orb is being drawn nearer and nearer to Vergil, Maria suddenly broke free from the clutches of the two men holding her. She waved her hand in an odd motion aimed at Vergil, and then a flash of light consumed Vergil, making him nowhere to be found. However, she collapsed on the ground, having used up all her remaining energy teleporting Vergil a safe distance away; and also making an anti-demon barrier around the platform so that Vergil will no longer interfere.
"What need do we have of more evidence? She has performed the abomination right in front of our eyes! Take her now and tie her to the stake!"
Meanwhile, a flash of light appeared just outside of the crowd, followed by Vergil. Vergil immediately sensed his surroundings, and as soon as he discovered that Maria is about to be burned at the stake, rushed to help her but is instead withheld by an invisible barrier. He tried more times, but each time yields the same result; he still couldn't get through.
He saw an unconscious Maria hoisted up and tied to a wooden stake; some of the men who were there began to gather firewood and dry straw around the base of the stake.
Vergil shouted in horror at seeing a man with a flaming torch approaching Maria, but even his shout couldn't penetrate the barrier. He screamed in agony as the flames slowly started to consume the firewood and hay, creeping up to devour his beloved. He saw Maria open her eyes a little and she smiled while tears streamed down her face. In a moment the inferno had licked up everything.
Vergil ran as hard as he could in a forest, tears welling up in his azure eyes, losing themselves to the wind. As he ran, anger bit by bit took over the sorrow in his heart. His mind quickly filled with rage. Finally, as he reached an abandoned temple in a distant part of the forest, he stopped inside. He walked to the statue of the demon that the inhabitants of the temple once worshipped. The demon's name was Sparda.
"Look at them now, father! See how they persecute us over their fear of us! See how they mask their cowardice with so-called act of purification! This is what you get for saving those wretched humans!"
He drew out his katana, Yamato, and planted it firmly into the ground.
"I swear, from this day forward, to avenge you, Maria, by slaying every single one of them! They'd better run as far as possible, as fast as possible…"
He pulled out Yamato and stabbed himself in the heart, sending blood spurting out his back, covering the temple columns. He then pulled Yamato out, and he started to glow with a blue aura. He sensed power flowing into his veins, and he let out a deafening roar that reached the town.
At the town, the town chief heard the loud cry, as well as everyone else in the town. His knees began to give way to his overwhelming fear, and then he fell to the ground on his hands and knees.
"Vergil! It must be Vergil! Oh, Maria, what have you done?"
As he steadied himself and reached for the door, he heard screams and wailings of agony. He opened the door, only to find Vergil coming closer, leaving behind a trail of utter destruction. Fear gripped the town chief, and soon, Vergil's face was just inches away from his own.
"We meet again, for the last time."
Instinctively, the town chief jumped back and took out the grey orb.
"Stand back! You and I know what this can do to you!"
Vergil sneered, and then, in a swift motion, grabbed the grey orb from the town chief. He held it in his hands. It then forced Vergil to devil-trigger with his body now surrounded by electricity, but otherwise Vergil seemed unaffected. The chief couldn't believe his eyes.
"I know. I also know that it is an extremely powerful generator; all the excessive energy stored in my body is actually harming me, unless of course, I use them up. And I'll start wasting my energy on the likes of you; Judgement Cut!"
Vergil held back his katana, but orbs of Yamato's slashes battered the town chief and sliced him up beyond recognition, mutilating his body to a pile of flesh. Vergil noticed something vaguely familiar about the orb in his hands. He then remembered where he has read about it and seen sketches of it: in the forbidden tome of resurfacing the Temen-Ni-Gru.
"This would be useful…"
