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Chapter Four – Marchosias
"Ah," said the demon, "The Son of Sparda. This should be fun!"
"What am I, chopped liver?" Nero muttered.
The demon pointed his sparking blade at Dante.
"Prepare yourself!"
He charged his mount forward, the wolf demon letting out a vicious roar and baring its long fangs as it lunged.
"What, no speech?" Dante asked.
Nero whipped out Blue Rose and fired at the wolf demon as it charged them; the bullets bounced off the wolf demon's hide, leaving small chips and grooves in its thick armor. He rolled out the way when the demon was an inch from snapping his nose off. Dante sighed and leapt up to plant a hard kick to the side of the devil's head, sending him tumbling over the back of his mount. The devil landing gracefully on his talons to face Dante with a soft chuckle; his red eyes were dancing with excitement.
"Kid," shouted Dante. "Take care of Fido."
"Sure thing pops."
The wolf demon snarled at Nero; a piece of its armored brow was missing. Nero drew Red Queen as the demon circled him slowly and cautiously, its broad claws clacking faintly against the concrete.
"What's the matter? Ya scared?"
It growled lowly in response. Nero rushed at the demon; it leapt out of the way, barely dodging his swinging blade and retaliated with a swipe of its claws. He dove away from its claws and brought his blade down heavily against the demon's shoulder. It roared in anger and lashed out him with its claws again, this time catching Nero in the side and sending him tumbling across the ground. The demon leapt at him with its mouth agape and claws reaching out to grab him. Nero rolled out of the way and quickly jumped to his feet. It ran past him, ignoring Nero as he slashed at its side, and began to circle him again, this time keeping a safe distance and not slowing. Nero switched to Blue Rose and shot a few rounds before he had to reload (sometimes he wondered if it was such a good idea to have a revolver with a 6-shot cylinder that fired two rounds at once). The demon took this chance to strike; a deadly glow formed in its open mouth as it inhaled deeply.
"Are you kidding me?"
Nero dove away from the sudden torrent of flame that shot from its mouth. The demon surged forward through the fire and smoke, the flames billowing around its armor like a cloak. Nero turned his body as the demon rushed toward him so that it barely grazed the front of his coat and reached out his Devil Bringer in an attempt to grab it; his claws easily caught in the demon's articulated armor and he was dragged a few feet before he swung onto its back. It roared and began barreling around the construction site at insane speeds, taking sharp turns, jumping, and stopping suddenly in a desperate attempt to shake him off. Nero managed to stay on, but that was all he could do.
As Nero was fighting the wolf demon, Dante was having his own fun with its master. They spent a few moments sizing each other up, circling like two predators and searching for any weakness. The devil's lips were curled up in a silent snarl of joy.
"You should just surrender," he said. "It would make this battle much easier for the both of us."
"Eh, you know," replied Dante, "I've always enjoyed the hard road; it's just boring when things get too easy."
The devil grinned.
"I'd hoped you would say that," he said. "I've always dreamed of dueling you. And now I, Marchosias, will finally have the honor of taking your head!"
Marchosias slashed one of his blades through the air, sending a wave of crackling energy arcing toward Dante. Dante stepped back and watched the lightning shoot past him; he let out a low whistle and grinned. He could tell this was going to be fun. In a moment, Marchosias was on him, his blades singing and sparking through the air. Dante swung Rebellion at the devil and clashed his blade hard enough to knock him back; he was blinded briefly by the sudden surge of energy that was released. He did not give Marchosias the chance to recover, lunging forward with his blade to bring it down in a short arch on the devil as he flew through the air. A resounding crack as loud as thunder echoed through the construction site as Rebellion crashed against the twin blades of Marchosias. The devil's spiny tail shot around, barely scratching the tip of Dante's nose as the devil hunter twisted out of the way; he used the momentum of his evasion to plant a heavy kick to Marchosias's ribs. The devil growled with fury and bounced off the ground once before landing on his feet.
He spat out a globule of blood as he glared at Dante; it looked like pitch.
"You're as good as I've heard," said Marchosias.
"I try." Dante replied with a grin.
Marchosias rose one of his clawed feet high in the air before stomping against the concrete. Lightning surged forward from his talon, tearing up the concrete and sending chunks of the hard stone launching across the battlefield. Dante dashed out of the way and switched to his guns; he fired swiftly at Marchosias. The bullets tore through the devil's flesh with surprising ease. Marchosias cried out in agony as his black blood splattered across the ground; he brought his blades up to shield against the bullets a second later. The swords sparked and sputtered when the bullets ricocheted off them. Dante charged forward with a Stinger, busting through Marchosias's defenses and snapping one of the devil's blades; it spiraled through the air and stuck in the concrete with a final burst of energy. Rebellion stuck in the devil's chest, effectively pinning him to that spot; the scent of the blood pooling from the wound stung Dante's nostrils. Marchosias coughed harshly as he raised his remaining weapon in desperation, but he froze when Dante pressed Ivory against his forehead.
"Wait," choked Marchosias. "Do not finish me yet. I can help you."
"Well, hurry it up, Marchy-ass, I ain't got all day."
The devil let loose a sputtering, choking laugh and continued.
"I know who you're looking for…Samael, the Angel of Death. He's making his home in…in the sewers under that apartment building." He motioned with his stubby arm to a building south-east of them. "The fastest way would be to go there directly…" He stopped to take a shaky breath. "But there is a beast guarding it a-and you will not see her until it is too late."
Dante grinned.
"Her?"
"Hhh…yes…she calls herself Nelapsi." Marchosias paused as he tried to breathe through blood filled lungs. "I say good luck fighting her. She flies."
The wolf demon charged past them, Nero clinging to its mane with his human hand as he punched it around the neck and shoulders with his Bringer.
"Anything else before I blow your brains out?" Dante asked as he pressed the muzzle of his gun harder against Marchosias's forehead.
"Samael," he sputtered. "He knows you're looking for him…and…he knows about your friends. He knows…that they would come with…that you would have brought him." He motioned toward Nero, who had torn away a piece of the wolf demon's armor and was now bashing it over the head with it. "Do not underestimate Samael, he will find a way to kill you."
Dante nodded.
"Thanks for the information."
"No problem. I never liked him anyway."
Marchosias grinned just before Dante pulled the trigger. His head snapped back with a crack and his body slumped against Rebellion. The devil's corpse dissolved into a dripping, black mass that closely resembled tar and immediately began to evaporate. He left his other sword behind, some of the sticky tar still clinging to its hilt. Another trophy! Dante put away his weapons and, with a delightful grin, lifted the swords; they were surprising light and coursed with internal warmth. Definitely a fine addition to his collection.
"Aw, man…"
Dante turned and immediately burst into laughter. Nero was standing in a puddle of black tar much larger than the mess Marchosias's body had made; it was covering his forearms, thighs, and boots. A handful of the stuff was dripping from his claws. Nero glared at him.
"It's not funny, old man."
"C'mon, kid," he said, motioning with hand for Nero to follow. "We still got work to do."
Nero shook his hands free of the pitch as he followed Dante, his lips curled back in disgust and annoyance. The mummified dog demons had cleared out; they had no reason to stay now that their leader was dead. Lady huffed as Dante and Nero approached them.
"This is your friend?" She asked. "How old is he? Twelve?"
Nero scowled. Dante laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. Nero swiped at the older man with his claws, completely missing as Dante danced skillfully out of reach.
"This is Lady," he said from a safe distance. "Lady, this is Nero."
"Ah, you must be the 'kid with the glow stick'."
He growled.
"Been talking about me behind my back, old man?"
Lady burst into laughter.
"Old man?" She laughed. "Oh, that's perfect!"
"Shut up," snapped Dante with a scowl. "If I'm an old man then what does that make you? An old lady."
Lady instantly stopped laughing and glared at him.
"You better watch it," she said. "Remember who's paying you."
Dante wrinkled his nose at her and was about to retort when Trish cleared her throat.
"I don't mean to interrupt," she said. "But…" She pointed to flashing blue and red lights in the distance.
"Uh-oh, time to go!"
Dante trotted over to his car and, after tossing the newly acquired swords in the back seat, hopped in. Nero was right behind him.
"What about all this?" Nero asked, motioning vaguely to the twitching body parts of mummified wolves.
"I'll handle it," said Trish. "You go on ahead."
They sped off with Lady following them on her motorcycle. Once they were on the streets and well away from the construction site and the police, Lady pulled up beside them.
"Where to?" She shouted.
"That apartment building," responded Dante, indicating with his head. "Marchy-ass says the devil we're looking for is in the sewers underneath."
"Do you really think he was telling the truth? He was a demon after all."
Dante shrugged.
"We might as well check it out. The kid's glow stick has been shining like a freakin' beacon since we got close to the construction site. This place is crawling with devils."
She nodded once and dropped back a bit to follow them.
