One of the recent reviews asked a few questions which I'll take a second to address here. Vergil will be getting more equipment, but guns are not on that list. Guns are about as much his thing as swords are Lady's thing. Nevan will most likely be altered, but I'd be lying if I said I'd worked out what form it'll take yet. As for the first clash between the brothers, sadly you'll have to wait until the next part for that. Hopefully you'll enjoy this part in the meantime. To those of you who are enjoying so far, I'm glad to hear it, and hope you continue to enjoy. I expect a longer delay before the next part, as the next scene will demand I take extra time to ensure it is done proper justice.
On a balcony, jutting out of the side of the tower, Dante sat, waiting. He heard the sound of a door opening, and looked up. As he saw a female step out, rather then two annoying demons, he started clapping, an action which instantly caused her to look at him and point a gun at his head.
"Not bad." He said. "Not bad at all. I was hoping you'd pull through. Be a shame for a pretty face like that to go to waste."
She hesitated a second, processing this as she gripped her pistol with both hands. "So…..you're the one who sent those two after me?"
"Nothing personal against you. Honestly, I was on the fence, but in the end, I decided that the "Screw you" to scarface and his instructions was something that needed to be done. I'm actually glad you're still alive, I'd much rather deal with a hot chick then two annoying demon swords.
"So you two are working with him." She said as she cocked back the hammer on her pistol. "You and your….. brother." She spat the word out, as if the very concept sickened her.
"Na. Vergil's got too many standards to work with a wackjob like scarface, and I'm more along for the ride then anything else. I'm just here for a fight with Vergil."
She scoffed. "What else would I expect of demons?"
Dante shrugged as he stood up. "Me and my bro, we are who we are. What can I say. But don't let me get in the way. You do you. I don't care if you kill scarface, in fact, I'd wish you luck planting a few bullets in that raisin looking face of his. I just wanted to meet you up close."
He turned around and took a few steps away, then jerked his head to the left as a bullet went flying through the space it had been occupying a mere second ago.
"I didn't say you could leave, demon."
Dante laughed as he turned back around. "Oh, I see how it is. You take out a pair of mid-tier demons, and suddenly you think you can play in the big leagues. Is that it?" She glared at him, unimpressed by his taunt. "Well, I guess I still have a bit of time to kill. So why not. I'll dance with you."
She fired another bullet, and Dante quickly drew his own pistols and shot the bullet out of the air. She fired a few more bullets, each of which were countered by one of his own. She dropped her pistol and ran at him, sliding on her knees to attempt to duck under his guns as she quick drew an SMG and a pistol and fired them at him. Dante responded to this by jumping up into the air and over her, continuing to shoot her bullets even as she attempted to readjust her aim and hit him in midair. Then he spun, and gave her a quick kick to the back, sending her skidding across the ground. As she slid to a stop, she tried to roll onto her back, dropped the pistol, and pulled the small crossbow from her leg, sending a few sudden bolts flying for his head, hoping the change in velocity speeds and type of projectile might throw him off. This, however, was not the case, and they too were show down without much effort.
"This isn't even fair." He said as he put his guns away. "Tell you what, I'll make it even. I won't use any weapons at all."
She gritted her teeth in rage as she grabbed the pistol from the ground and pulled herself to her feet, and ran at him again, closing the distance quickly as she attempted to get in close for a point blank shot to anything she could hit. Yet, she was still failing to score a decisive hit, as he dodged out of the way of every shot or grabbed her arms to throw off her aim.
"WOOOOOOOO!" He yelled as he ducked another shot, and her guns both clicked on an empty mag. Deciding she didn't have the time to reload, she dropped the weapons in their holsters quickly and started attempting melee strikes with her fists and kicks, figuring if she could pin him down on the ground, even he wouldn't be able to dodge a gun directly against his skull.
This plan, however was going as well as the others, only now, rather then dodge, Dante was now lifting his arms in front of him and parrying her every time she swung. After a while, he swept her leg as she raised one for a kick, sending her rolling across the ground and stopping next to her dropped pistol. She grabbed it, got into a crouch, and raised it, planning to catch him off guard. But he was already on the move, and as she turned, he made a simple motion, and extended his arm in what should have been a weak jab. But, unknown to her, he had been storing all of the energy from her parried blows, and unleashed all of it in one hit. This had the result of sending her flying out into the open. Before she fell, however, Dante suddenly slid forward with superhuman speed and caught her leg, causing her to dangle feet first over the edge of the tower.
"Woh, that was close. Don't want to make things too easy for him now, do I? So have you got all that out of your system now, or do I-"
She pointed her pistol, only inches away from his head, and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit him directly in the center of the head, and he recoiled backward, dropping her as he staggered. He grabbed at his head, wiping the blood off of it and looking at it on his finger.
"Ouch. Feisty girl, ain't ya?" He shrugged. "Whatever. Guess all that's left is to go and wait upstairs."
He turned and started making his way back up.
Vergil, meanwhile, paused on a lower balcony, directly underneath the first one, and raised his head up, as he was fairly sure he could hear the faint sounds of gunfire. Then he saw movement coming down, and reached his hand forward, grabbing the woman as she passed, causing her to jerk to a halt. It took her a split second to register what had happened before she pointed the same gun she had shot Dante with a second ago at Vergil's face.
"Let me go!"
Vergil resisted the heavy temptation to roll his eyes, and moved his arm 3 feet to the left before dropping her to the floor without a word. She pulled herself up, brushing herself off.
"Don't expect me to thank you, demon."
"I assure you, I'm not holding my breath." Vergil said as he turned away from her.
"Wait!"
Vergil sighed again. "I realize you promised to kill me, but I have an appointment."
"He's dead." Vergil turned his head to look back over his shoulder at her, an eyebrow raised. "Your…..brother? I killed him."
"Is that so? It did not appear you won the fight to me."
"I shot him in the forehead a second before falling.
Vergil chuckled, and she stiffened. "What's so funny?"
"I am afraid it takes far more then that to kill a son of Sparda. He's probably already walked it off." She looked naturally unhappy about this.
"Damn it." She sat down on a large piece of rubble. "You're telling me he was just toying with me?"
"Correct. This is no place for a human. If you were wise, you would leave while you still have a chance."
"I can't do that. Not while he's still alive."
Vergil shook his head, and turned away, prepared to leave the girl to her fate. But he paused for a moment, and considered. The man she was here to kill was likely the same one that had drawn him here in the first place. And he still knew nothing about him. He was a minor threat compared to Dante, so far as Vergil was concerned, but there was a decent chance that he might try to interfere at some point. And if that happened, having a picture of the type of man he was dealing with might be helpful.
And so he turned back around, and walked over to the rubble, sitting down next to her with his katana planted in front of him. She gave him a glare, but after the activity of the last half hour, she frankly didn't have the energy to fight him unless her hand was forced.
"Tell me about this man." She looked at Vergil, confused.
"What do you care?"
"He's interfering in my business. Do I need another reason?" She looked down at the ground, debating for a moment whenever or not she should share that information with him.
"He's obsessed with becoming the devil." She eventually said. "He's killed innocent people, butchered them, slaughtered them in horrific rituals. Even his own wife.
"And left a daughter behind?"
She clenched her fist. "He worships evil, the very concept of it. Like it's a religion. He's the most vile kind of creature. And...yes. He's my father. And I won't-can't rest, until he's dead." She paused for a moment, taking a breath."I've been tracking him, for years. Trying to hunt him down. But until tonight, he's always remained a step ahead of me. That's why I have to end this. Tonight."
Vergil slowly nodded, as one thought passed through his mind. Then why hasn't he killed you yet? If he was smart enough to stay ahead of someone as determined to kill him as this woman, then no doubt he could have found a way to dispose of her at some point, or even simply kill her at the same time as her mother. Why leave a job half finished? The woman spoke up.
"Can I ask?" He turned toward her, silently granting permission to speak. "You, and your….brother..." She hesitated, still not fully ready to buy into the concept of demons having family. "Why are you fighting?"
He mulled over what to say for a moment. "That is a long story, one I do not have the time nor inclination to get into the details of. Suffice it to say, woman, you are not the only one who has suffered tragedy in this world. And not everyone responds to it in the same way. Some grow bitter and angry. Others blame themselves, and wonder if things might have been different, had they been stronger. But some, some simply stop caring. Some decide that they can no longer be hurt if they discard their feelings, and ignore any suffering as an inevitability."
She looked down at the ground, clearly unsure of what to say. Vergil rose, and looked down at her. "Tell me. Do you know what this tower is?" She looked up at him, confused. "This tower, it is known as the Temen-ni-gru. It is a gate between the human world, and the demon world." She gasped, as suddenly his objective became clear to her. "Yes. I don't doubt his intentions. One such as him would only have one reason to be here. Unfortunately, the texts I read did not have the exact details of what ritual would be required to unlock the seal, but you can be sure he would have found out before progressing to this point."
"Damn it." She said, fist only clenching harder. "Then I have to find him. Fast."
"In the basement lies the control room. It is there he would need to go to break the seal on this place. Even if he is not there now, his path will take him there. If you can make it there, you could turn it into an ambush point." He started to walk away.
"Wait! Why help me? What's in it for you?"
"Me? Little. But clearly, you are not leaving. If I can ensure you deal with the distraction while I handle my personal business, all the better."
"And how do I know this isn't just some trick? How do I know you're not lying to me?"
"You don't. What you do is up to you. As are the consequences of your actions "
Vergil wasted no more time, and rounded the corner, vanishing from view. She hestated, unsure of what to do next, and whenever or not she should take the demon's words at face value. Then, she turned, and started walking back down.