It must be said of Vergil that in that moment, he was absolutely prepared to leave forever. He had written Dante and Kat and the whole damn mortal plane off in the moment Rebellion had connected so solidly with his sternum. He was ready to leave. He wanted to leave. But hearing Dante speak those last words held him in place as effectively as a bear trap on his leg would have. If he left now, leaving those infernal words hanging in the air behind him, he knew without a doubt that they would haunt him for all eternity. Even if this wound made good on what it had started and stole his life, those words would never leave him, haunting him forever in whatever afterlife he arrived. If by some miracle he survived this, those words would swirl through his soul and his mind and his dreams forever until they wore grooves into his psyche and carved themselves behind his eyes. He closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. Very deliberately, he turned around and pinned Dante beneath a withering glare. Dante, the stupid idiot, had the nerve to look bewildered.

"How dare you?" Vergil spat. He turned further, even took a step towards the astonished pair. "How dare you say that? After all this, how dare you lie to me so blatantly?" Dante's eyebrows rose. Vergil had the sudden itching desire to straight up punch his brother in the mouth. He didn't, though. His willpower was a force to be reckoned with.

"Lie?" Dante finally said. "What lie?" Vergil scoffed.

"You tell me that you love me and expect me to believe you? That's rich, brother. Even from you." Dante folded his arms and narrowed his eyes.

"What, you're allowed to have had familial feelings for me, but not me for you? That's just rude."

"How can you claim—" Vergil started to shout back, but the wound in his chest quickly reminded himself of its existence with a hot, sharp wave of horrible pain. Vergil screwed one eye shut and staggered forward a step, grunting around clenched teeth, his hand straying to his chest again. Damn, that sword had made a dent in him. Dante and Kat had both instinctively moved forward when Vergil stumbled, but he halted them with a sharp glare. "How can you claim," he gasped out, a lot quieter and breathier this time, "How can you claim to still love me after proving so completely that you do nothing of the sort?" Dante's expression turned pained.

"I didn't want this," he said, real regret in his voice. "You forced my hand."

"You betrayed me!" Vergil shouted, ignoring the fresh stab of pain his outburst caused. He pressed his right hand over his chest. At least this wound was real, visible, and clear to understand. It was the other pain in his heart that was worrying him, the pain that had started the moment Dante had spoken against him. "You turned your back on me, your only remaining family, the only other one of your kind. For what? For her?" He waved Yamato at Kat. "For humans?" The thought burned bitter in his throat. "For those weak, pathetic sheep?" He wanted to keep shouting, but each word caused his wound to throb with fresh agony. It took all his strength to not collapse to his knees. Dante stepped forward slowly, calmly, with hands extended palms out, like one would approach an injured trapped animal. Behind him, Kat began to wring her hands nervously, though she didn't dare follow him.

"Vergil, I didn't betray you. You betrayed us." Vergil scowled and staggered backwards a step, closer towards the portal that was still glowing behind him. It deeply troubled him how difficult moving had become. Everything hurt, absolutely everything. Dante froze the moment Vergil moved. "Vergil," he repeated, his tone picking up an undertone of pleading. "It doesn't have to end this way. Please, listen to me." Vergil's eyes narrowed.

"Of course it has to end this way, brother. You've clearly shown me who the stronger one is. There is nothing left for me here. There is nothing left for me anywhere." Even breathing hurt, now. Vergil's fingers tightened on his coat. Dante started moving closer again, hands still outstretched, his entire expression—what, desperate? Hopeful? Despairing? It was hard to tell. The early rage and cockiness, however, were all gone. Vergil felt like he was being drawn into his brother's open, pleading gaze. It was a strange expression to see on Dante's face.

"There is nothing left here for a Demon King," Dante replied, his tone even and low. He had stopped moving again, only a couple yards from Vergil now. "You are not a Demon King, Vergil. You are nephilim. You are my brother. Look at me. I'm still here, Kat's still here." Vergil scowled.

"Humans…they're pathetic, Dante. They're chaotic and self-destructive. They need a ruler. They need someone to—" He winced sharply in pain. "—To take care of them." His voice sounded weak to his own ears. Behind Dante, Kat was slowly shaking her head. Vergil could feel himself getting faint. Blood loss was starting to get to him.

"Vergil." Dante said, slowly and deliberately, slowly moving forward again. "You're just spitting back the lies that Mundus has led you to believe. You and I grew up very differently after we were separated. You found our past; you found your identity. I grew up believing myself human for the majority of my life. Are humans chaotic and self-destructive? Heck yes. But they are much more than that. They can take care of themselves. They need to take care of themselves. Humans need their freedom as much as you or I." Most of Vergil's attention was focused on inhaling and exhaling at this point. Dante's words all seemed to run and blur together like ink on a wet sheet of paper. Only one thing was clear to him, glaring in his mind like a neon sign. He had failed. All those years of planning, and training, and fighting—it had all been for naught. Everything was empty. Nothing mattered. He didn't matter. He had never mattered.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Vergil murmured thickly. Words were hard. Everything was pain. Why was his vision swimming like that? "Why didn't you kill me? For her? Always for her?" He was leaning heavily on Yamato now, as one would on a cane. "It would have been so much easier for both of us if you hadn't stopped. Why can't you just let me go?" The pain was too much now. His knees gave out and he sagged forward, like a marionette with its strings cut. Dante, however, had finally managed to get close enough. Before Vergil hit the ground, Dante made it to his side and caught him. Dante wrapped his arms around his brother, hugging him close and supporting him completely.

"I didn't kill you because I love you," Dante said quietly. "I lost you once and I will not do so again, no matter how big of a douchebag you are." They were last words Vergil heard before the darkness of unconsciousness claimed him.