The Devil of Zero

Disclaimer: Neither The Familiar of Zero nor Devil May Cry belong to me.

The Contract

– The Zero –

Tristain Academy of Magic, Tristain
Noon

Louise was dazzled. And so were the rest of her classmates.

The man, the one she had summoned, was handsome, there was no denying that. He bled raw sex appeal almost like that cursed von Zerbst, just standing there and gazing at her and her fellows. His stance, unconsciously disciplined and straight-backed, and his stoic expression gave him a regal bearing. And with all that, there was a barely noticeable undercurrent of threat. Distantly, Louise heard some of the weaker girls faint, and she could hear a sort of purring coming from the general direction of von Zerbst.

"Ahem. Ms. Vallière."

Louise started, Professor Colbert coughing behind her. "Ms. Vallière, the contract?"

Colbert's reminder seemed to free the class from some kind of spell, as they relaxed and started commenting.

"H-hey, Guiche….Louise….."

"Yeah…she summoned a human….."

"Look at that outfit! Do you think he's a noble?"

Louise ignored them, walking up to the man she had apparently summoned. As she approached, his gaze focused on her, with intensity that made her shrivel up inside, and made her halt, unsure.

"E-excuse me, but…who are you?"

The man didn't answer, instead continuing to stare at her. His only reaction was a very, very slight furrowing of his brow.

"D-do you understand me?"

"Hoy, Louise summoned an idiot!"

"Ha! You never fail to meet our expectations, Louise the Zero!"

"Shut Up!" Louse shouted at them, fuming at their taunts, before turning to Professor Colbert. "Mr. Colbert, can I try the ritual again?"

"Absolutely not." The bald teacher replied with a shake of his head.

"Why not!"

"This is a sacred rite, one that determines the course of a mages life from here on out. To try again is a desecration! Despite your like or dislike, he is your chosen familiar. Now, complete the contract."

– The Devil –

Vergil observed the proceedings with interest. Having performed several summoning rituals in the course of his quest for power, he was keenly aware of the proceedings, albeit he had never been on this side of the spell. Things seemed….wrong, for an infernal rite. For one, there were no obvious circles, glyphs, or runes of protection to cage in the summoned demon or devil, and there were far too many witches and warlocks for a typical coven, who typically kept their numbers low to avoid detection by both secular and religious organizations, not to mention their rival covens.

And then there were the animals. Cats, dogs, frogs, and other such small animals typical of the creatures used as blood sacrifices to lure in a demon or two were present, what threw this off were the strange red reptile with a flaming tail, the bizarre floating eyeball and the dragon. Those drew Vergil's attention, for some lesser demons took such forms. However, there was no hint of infernal presence, no hellish scent in the air.

Jeers from the crowd drew his attention back to the humans. The language here was strange to his ears, the closest comparison he could find was a French dialect spoken with a thick German accent. The words were off though, and he simply couldn't make sense of the grammar.
The crowd seemed to be directing its attention at the pink-haired girl now walking towards him, growing redder and more obviously furious with every word from the mob. When the girl, no more than fourteen given her appearance, stood in front of him, she rose to her toes, reaching her hand around his neck, causing Vergil to tense and his left hand to reflexively tense and clench in absence of Yamato's sheath. When she tried to pull him down, he resisted, until she growled at him, more of the incomprehensible words spilling out tinged with anger. Vergil briefly contemplating killing her and slaughtering the humans before setting off to pick up where he had left off. It would be easy to snap this child's neck, and he doubted the rest of them would have any challenging hand-to-hand skills to hold him off. The more exotic creatures were a minor concern, but even should they prove more formidable than expected, he could always call upon his Summoned Swords.

The girl tugged on him again, shouting now.

To Hell with it. Vergil tensed, started to bring his hand up the girl's neck….

"Hey, Verge." The image of Dante flashed in Vergil's mind, as he last saw his snarky twin before his final demise, with Force Edge in hand, half of their mother's amulet around his neck. A second passed before Vergil dropped his hands again, the girl having no notice of them as he finally acquiesced to her demand, bending down towards her. She began to chant, obviously the spell to complete whatever rite this fiasco was.

She kissed him.

The kiss was light, short, and chaste before she pulled back. For a second Vergil just stood there, slightly bemused.

Then the pain started. His body heated up, the closest sensation Vergil could come up with was being attacked by Dante with the Devil Arms of Agni and Rudra, but much more mild than that heated attack. The burning intensified itself into 'moderate annoyance' on the back of his left hand. Lifting it to his sight, the Son of Sparda saw runes of some sort glowing on it through the opening in the back of his glove. His flesh sizzled and popped, much like a steak on a grill. Then a pair of hands reached out and grasped his, strong and with a firm grip, pulling it to the inspection of the elder, bald man apparently overseeing the ritual. Normally, such behavior would have gotten the man sliced in half by Yamato and his life's blood spilling out onto the grass, but considering the absence of Vergil's inheritance, and the fact that it seemed to be little more than scholarly interest judging by the man's demeanor stayed the half-devil's hand.

Now though, the question of the animals was answered. Apparently, judging by the similar runic script Vergil could see on various parts of their bodies, the animals themselves were the purpose of the summoning ritual. And it seemed Vergil was an anomaly here, which explained the interest the man had in him. Said man said something to him, still utter gibberish. Vergil tilted his head slightly and locked his gaze onto the man, who frowned before incanting and waving the stave in his hand. A surge of energy made Vergil's spine tingle, and suddenly he could understand the gibbering of the mob around him, which he immediately tuned out again.

"A translation spell I presume."

"Ah, indeed. There was supposed to be a similar spell incorporated into the ritual you see, so that the familiars could understand and obey their masters, but it seems that failed to activate in this case….hmmm I asked earlier, but could you remove your glove, please? These runes are unusual…." The man asked, barely looking up from his inspection of Vergil's hand. The request was polite and respectful, so Vergil removed his hand from the man's grasp and unbuckled his glove, slipping the article off and returning it to study. "Hmm, yes, very strange…." Pulling what looked like vellum and a quill from somewhere within his robes, the man copied the runes and stowed away the roll before straightening. "May I ask your name?"

"Vergil, Son of Sparda." Vergil replied coolly, broadening his attention as he replaced his glove. Depending on the reaction, this could very well tell him the knowledge and capability of this unusual cabal.

"Pfah! With a name like that, he must be a commoner, from the sounds of it, some Romalian and a street performer judging by his dress!" Chortled some foppish blond boy with his shirt open to present his chest as a very tempting target for a Summoned Sword.

– The Zero –

No small amount of pleasure arose in Louise to see how quickly Guiche shut up when her 'commoner' familiar turned his glare onto the flirt, freezing him and his giant mole in place. Louise had some doubt as to whether this man she summoned was a commoner or not. By the feel of his coat collar, it was real, quality dyed leather, and she had felt the silk of his clothes when she'd kissed him, all of which were quite expensive, ruinously so for a minor noble family, and most definitely beyond the reach of mere commoners.

Of course, this cast shadows over her situation….what could the repercussions be for summoning and contracting a noble as a familiar? What in Brimir's name could that mean?

Worrying over this caused her to miss Professor Colbert introducing himself, only to be brought back to the present by Vergil's voice.

"Just what was the purpose of this summoning?" His voice was cool, like a snowmelt river.

"Why, to summon familiars of course." Colbert replied.

"Familiars?"

"Ah…magical servants, essentially. Beasts, bound by contract to serve their masters as errand runners, messengers, and in some cases, defenders and spies." Vergil's expression shifted slightly, in a way that Louise thought gave him a contemplative air. "Don't they have summoning rituals where you're from, ah….Mister Vergil?"

"Just Vergil will do fine, Professor. And yes, they do, but the aims of such rituals tend towards much more….deadly creatures, and with a much shorter contract time in most cases." More deadly? What could be more deadly than a dragon! "I assume this young lady is my contractor then?"

"Yes, Louise Vallière. Her situation is….special." Louise bristled at that, something she was sure Vergil picked up on, what with his studious gaze.

"I guessed as much, seeing as how I'm the only human familiar here." Vergil commented, with no arch or dry tone, no dead-pan whatsoever in his voice.

"Yeah! A Zero-Use Familiar for Louise the Zero!" Both Vergil and Louise fixed the boy, a chubby student named Malicorne, with deathly glares. His cat familiar, caught between its master and the two, shrieked and leaped out of his arms to run and hide, leaving its master to wilt under the full force of the duo's gaze. By the time Louise was sure Malicorne was suitably chastened and turned back to her familiar, Vergil was studying her again. His made her shudder, and a thrilling chill crept down her spine.

– The Devil –

Louise's Room, Student Dormitory
Evening

Vergil followed his so-called 'master' through what he learned was the halls of an academy for magic in the country of Tristain, on the world of Halkeginia. That would have had Vergil dismiss this cabal as another crazed warlock cabal that drew way too much from those ridiculous 'Harry Potter' books where it not for him witnessing the rise of two moons in the evening sky. That had proven to be an illuminating discovery, as it had changed the situation quite a bit. He could feel the compulsion of the contract pressing on his soul, but comparing it to Mundus' domination was like comparing a goldfish to a shark. With such a non-existent control, he could easily kill his 'Master', leave this place and these 'mages' and do what he wished in this new world.

And yet, he hesitated to perform this course of action. He couldn't say why, although he suspected the knowledge of his kindly twin's success and power, or the long time in the void were to blame for his sudden indecision. After all, decades of slaughtering humans in pursuit of his goals had led him to an untimely end, while Dante's choice in defending the weak masses from their half-kin resulted in him gaining power and acclaim in the supernatural circles.

I suppose I could give Dante's path a try. But any human that threatens me will suffer a quick death.

Now he just had to explain to Louise the details of their 'relationship'.

Thus, as soon as the door to her room clanged shut, he spoke.

"Let me make this clear:" The girl spun about, blood draining from her face at the steel in his tone. "I am no weak-willed animal to be cowed by your magical contract. I am not a slave, to do menial chores or base errands." Vergil advanced on Louise, driving her past her bed until she bumped into her dresser. "However, I am indebted to you for removing me from my previous predicament." He almost smirked at the hopeful expression on the mage's face. "Therefore, I give my word of honor to protect you from those that would harm you, and to slay your enemies, whoever and wherever they are, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, until the expiration of this contract. And yes, I am aware it lasts until one of us dies." He added as she opened her mouth.

"That….is acceptable….Sir Vergil…" Louise not-quite gasped. Vergil did smirk then. Sir, is it?

"I am glad to see we are in agreement, Lady Vallière. Now, I understand this is a school. Is there a free day anytime soon?"

"Y-y-yes, the Day of the Void. The last day of the week, the day after tomorrow."

"Is there a town nearby, with a weapons shop?" Louise nodded, Vergil having drawn closer until she was pressed flat against the dresser to avoid touching and possibly angering him.

"Very well then. If it is agreeable with you, I would like us to go to this town and acquire a suitable weapon for my use."

"T-t-t-that's fine." Vergil nodded, satisfied, and backed off. Looking around for a place to sleep, he noticed the pile of hay in the corner. Equal amounts of disgust and amusement bubbled within, before he decided to forgo rest and instead headed out the door.

"If it is quite alright with you, I shall go and memorize the layout of this academy." Vergil didn't bother waiting for Louise' acknowledgement before slipping out into the hallway.

– The Zero –

Vergil gone, Louise slid down her dresser until she sat on the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees.

She was a failure. Instead of a loyal, powerful dragon, griffon or manticore, she had summoned a maybe-noble, maybe-commoner white-haired man who had dictated the terms of their relationship to her without so much as a squeak of dissent. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she did not cry. Part of it due to the noble pride in her that refused to let her weep, part of it due to the stark similarity between her mother's past discussions with her and Vergil's uncompromising statements.

– The Author –

Alright, that's the summoning and contract finished. And hey, what do you know, two updates in one day!

Don't get used to it.

Review Replies:

Takeshi Yamato: Congratulations first reviewer!
I certainly hope I don't disappoint.

gfs: Thanks.

Nivek Beldo: Nice to hear from you again man, where you been?
Good thing you didn't bet then, eh?
Cool.

Pyromania101: I like your name. Stay away from my house.
He's certainly got the heart throb going for him (The Kirche encounter should be interesting to write) However, I think Rebellion is more Dante's thing (it's his sword). Vergil just sweeps in with charisma and enough force of personality to make ancient redwoods bend over to accommodate him. At least, that's my interpretation.

Red Close: Neither can I.