Author's note: Couldn't decide if I was going to leave the story the way it was, or continue it, but I am and I will. I'd like to give a HUGE thanks to those of you who were kind enough to review, and of course, a super thanks to people who actually read this. I'm quite aware that DMC stories don't get read that much, but nevertheless I'm a writing freak and I'll keep on writing. So alas, here is the second chapter!
A Devil's Instinct
Enter the darkness
'The world was born of darkness.
Unending darkness, a crumble of chaos. But to that primordial existence there came a ray of light. The universe was eventually split in two.
The darkness became the realm of demons... and the light became the domain of mortals. These two worlds existed together for what seemed like an eternity. But one day the Lord of the Dark World said:
"These realms were once untied, so why not rule them as one?"
From that era forward, the dark fought to control the light, and the light struggled to defy the dark...'
-Source unknown.
The night was calm.
Several clouds, all of which were wisped in the air to form almost see through sheets of illuminated pearly white, moved as if in caution towards the brightly displayed moon. For those under its cooling eerie rays, it felt like being shrouded in crisp mountain water; pure and cold. But the moon was also a pleasant thing to see. It wasn't very often that it got the chance to seep through the smog many buildings and vehicles created. The pollution was absurd.
Nobody wandered the streets, out of fear than anything else. The occasional hum of passing traffic would fill the air momentarily, only to fade into the ear-splitting silence that had wrapped itself around anything and everyone that inhabited the city.
However, there was someone walking the deserted streets. Nobody would ever question his motives, they saw no reason for it. This man was different from the rest. Not only was he single handedly out at this time of night, but he had one trait that separated him from the mortals of this place.
He carried demon blood.
A gentle wind formed as thick walls of fog began to arise. Not only was it his time to be about, but other worldly creatures as well. And what perfect timing it was too. The fog was an excellent weapon to use against the weak humans for it cloaked their appearance, yet it could not mask the iridescent glow of crimson which were the only indication that they possessed eyes.
The ends of his jacket flapped in the wind as it began to pick up, now swaying his hair involuntarily from side to side, thick locks of hair getting in his line of vision. Strapped firmly to his back, the deadly weapons he carried around, Ebony and Ivory, remained holstered as of now. But he did have another weapon, oh yes. It was a deadly blade, from his father that he had used quite often, but he had never managed to release its true power.
Dante stood in a rather small and secluded back alley, looking up at an old and probably abandoned apartment complex. The windows were intact, not a chip or hole in any of them. It was painted black, graffiti noticeable at every spot that was within reach of the ground. Several flights of stairs snaked along the side of it, as if they were about to collapse at any given moment.
He had to check twice, glancing down at a crumpled piece of paper he had torn out of a magazine, noting that his hand writing wasn't as good as he thought it to be. But then again, he hadn't exactly been in the best of condition.
The address was right. There was no denying it. Dante was surprised that the grump had even given him the damn thing. Whoever this guy was, he sure had a big crib. If he owned the entire thing of course.
Tossing the now useless paper behind his shoulder, Dante took a step forward so that he was now flesh against the wall, mere centimeters between him and the cold stone surface. Looking upwards with a lop sided grin edging at the corners of his mouth, Dante jumped, farther than any mortal could, and clung to the bottom of two metal rungs on the stairs, one gloved hand applied to each.
Then, using as little effort as possible, Dante swung forwards slightly and then back, letting go and flipping up more. He landed at the base of a new set of stairs, grinning widely. He didn't waste any time looking around and headed up the old rusty scrap metal stairs, picking up his pace so that it felt like he was going against gale force winds.
By the time he reached the top, having cheated and skipped several flights, Dante stopped to look around briefly.
He had made it to a small ledge, lined with five huge glass windows, all of which were bordered with well carved wooden frames. The glass looked ancient, dust grouping together in a preferred corner on each one. There was absolutely no door to be seen, so that left only one other solution.
He was going to make quite the grand entrance. Through the windows that is.
The sound of glass being smashed into hundreds of thousands of crystals filled the night air. Whatever ones hadn't landed inside the old apartment complex were now plummeting towards the ground below, shimmering in the crisp moonlight.
Dante shifted his head uneasily to the side as a dangerously sharp shard of glass grazed his ear, drawing blood almost immediately. He had no time to pay attention to any injuries, but concentrate on his landing.
No worry, he thought, a white tiled floor appearing as the moonlight pooled in from the broken windows. Dante landed within seconds, his boots clashing with the floor underneath and his sword, Rebellion, managing to scrape the tiled surface, creating a noise that caused Dante to cringe.
"The owner better think about changing his crappy flooring," he muttered, brushing himself clean of any bothersome glass shards.
He stopped however, as deep laughter echoed all around, bouncing off the walls and already giving him a headache. Dante looked into the direction that it was coming from, spotting a ledge that was guarded by old and bent railings.
"Ah ha, looks like we've got ourself a new guest."
A shadowed figure emerged from the dark depths behind it, revealing it's horrid appearance when the moonlight pooled onto it's body. The creature, whatever it was, became surrounded by two other demons, each picking a side to stand by, wielding massive hook-like weapons.
"Sorry to ruin your party, but the fun's over." Dante straightened himself out, grasping tightly onto his dangerous sword.
The creature appeared to possess nothing but a shadow with livid eyes, one red and the other an extremely deep blue. There was, however, an awful aura that circulated around it and a smell just as bad.
"Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my. Looks like this one is very different from the rest." It make a sniffling noise then brought a shadow like hand towards what should have been a completely revealed face. "Could this be... the traitor's son?"
From below Dante remained quiet, bored already of the demon and wanting nothing better than to end it's useless life. But, before he could do anything, the creature continued to speak.
"The child born of Sparda and that disgraceful human wench?"
The creature didn't have any time to react as Dante quickly withdrew one of his guns, Ebony, and fired multiple rounds at the annoying abomination. Much to the disappointment of Dante, the creature faded into the darkness behind it and the two demons jumped downwards, striking at him but missing their target as well.
Dante holstered Ebony, clutching onto his sword and moving it quickly up, just as one of the hook-like weapons tried to connect with his skull. Not wanting to waste any time, Dante spun to the side and slashed outwards, striking the demon in the head, making it completely incapable of living to see another day.
The other charged forwards, trying to hit Dante in the back, but the demon slayer quickly placed his sword behind him, blocking the attack. He then moved it back in front of him, forcefully pulling the weapon away from the demon and spun around, landing it a kick to the head. Finishing it off, Dante thrust his sword into it's damaged body, then withdrew it once he was sure that he had successfully struck it's heart.
With the demons gone, Dante got his first good look at the place.
"Whoever this guy is, he sure has one sick sense of style."
Every wall was decorated with grotesque pictures, many of which featured blood bathed monsters as they battled it out to the death. There were statues as well, most owning no head. A large bookshelf stood off to the side and as Dante neared it, he found that each title contained either the word "death" or "evil".
Now that he could actually look around without being attacked, Dante studied the white titled floor. In some parts it was colored red and black, but once he thought of it, the whole mass underneath him was nothing but one bloody picture.
The sound of broken glass being crunched caught his attention immediately. Dante spun around, smirking as a person he hadn't seen in the longest time made their own grand appearance.