The Emperors Return
Chapter 3: Welcome to Crimson Island
Dante and Nero stepped off of the boat they had taken to Crimson Island. The teen had told Dante that someone was going to come and give them some of the files from the murder cases, so they had to wait at the dock. The elder devil hunter looked around at the scenery; the buildings were similar to the ones in Fortuna, but they looked a little more dark and gothic. There were also several Knights of the Order that were patrolling around, but they didn't seem like much of a threat to anyone.
"So" Dante began, "This is Crimson Island."
"Yep" Nero answered, "But some people in Fortuna also refer to it as Blood River Island and so do most on this Island in fact."
"Why?"
"Because when the demons first attacked the Islands of Fortuna, they took Crimson Island first... And left a river of blood in their wake" said a man in a white uniform, who was walking towards them. His uniform had a large white hood, which obscured the top half of his face from everyone.
"Who are you?" Dante asked.
"Dante this is Yutaka, he told me about the murders," Said Nero.
"Ah, the infamous son of Sparda... What a pleasure it is to meet you" said Yutaka.
"How do you know Sparda was my father?" Dante asked. He suspected something because not many people knew who his father was, and most that do are demons.
"Here on Crimson Island, we know the legends of Sparda better than anyone." Yutaka explained.
"Pfft, really" Dante asked disbelievingly.
"Yes" said Yutaka, "We even know about your brother."
Dante's expression darkened. Now he was deadly suspicious, because hardly anyone knew who he had a brother because he barely told anyone. The index finger on the red clad's right hand twitched slightly, as if he was readying himself to draw Ivory. Nero sensed that there was some friction between them and decided that it would be best if he and Dante got moving. "Do you have the files Yutaka?" Nero asked.
"Here they are," Yutaka handed a folder of paperwork to the teen. The red clad continued to look at him with a darkened expression.
Nero nodded a thank you and then turned to leave. Dante followed him, lost in thought. He looked at Yutaka one last time before he saw him walk away. Once they were out of earshot, the red clad asked the teen something.
"Nero, what's with that guy?" He asked.
"He's always been a bit creepy, but today was different from usual." The teen replied. He looked at Dante, who had a serious expression on his face that displayed some anger. "You think something's wrong don't you."
"Nope," The red clad hunter said.
The teen sighed "Yes you do."
"And what gives you that idea?" Dante asked.
Nero folded his arms, "You only use my name when you're being serious."
"Alright kid; you got me" said Dante, "I'll lighten up okay."
"Okay."
They continued walking until they reached a main street. Looking around, the hunters could see that at the far end of the street, there was a huge white cathedral that towered over the entire town. The demon slayers stopped and looked at it.
The red clad whistled, "That is one damn big cathedral" Dante said.
"Yeah..." said Nero. He had heard about this cathedral and had been told of its colossal size, but he had never imagined that it could be this big.
"So, what should we do now?" Dante asked.
"We should find somewhere to look at these files," said Nero. He held up the folder.
Dante looked confused, "What are those files about again?"
The teen sighed, "The murders." Isn't it obvious? Nero thought.
"Oh yeah..." said Dante, "Well if we need a place to look at them; why don't we go to a pizza bar?"
Nero rolled his eyes, "Why is it always pizza?" he muttered to himself.
Unfortunately, the red clad heard him, "Because it's the best food ever." He started walking down the street. Nero followed.
"One day, you'll drop dead from high cholesterol Dante," Said Nero.
Dante chuckled, "And on that day, Lady will be in debt to me. So basically, that will never happen. Besides, everyone has said that to me over the years and I'm still alive and kicking."
"Never say never." Said Nero.
"Shut up."
At Devil May Cry
Lady and Trish were sitting on one of the sofas in the office when the phone was ringing loudly. Trish got up from the sofa and went to answer it. Lady smirked and hoped that it was a decent job.
"Devil May Cry," Trish said politely. She listened for a few seconds and then decided that it wasn't worth it, "Sorry, no can do." She sighed and put the phone down.
"Who was it?" Lady asked.
"Someone who mistook us for a funeral director again," Trish answered.
Lady sighed, "Seriously?"
"Unfortunately, yes" said Trish.
She went and sat back down on the sofa. Both women sighed; they were bored because both of them had nothing to do. Because Dante was on a job that meant that one of their only sources of entertainment was gone. Trish decided that she'd had enough and stood up and made her way to the front door.
"Where are you going?" Lady asked.
"To visit Kyrie" the blonde demoness replied, "Wanna come?"
"Sure," Lady replied. She stood up and grabbed Kalina Ann.
The two female hunters then left the office to visit their friend.
Twenty minutes later
Dante was eating a pizza in a bar that he had managed to find on Crimson Island. He had a slice of pizza on one hand and a piece of paper in the other, which was presumably about one of the murders. Nero was also eating pizza and reading the files.
"That's interesting," Said Dante. He took a bite from his pizza.
"I know, right" said Nero, "All of the victims are different ages, yet demons like to kill equal numbers. It doesn't make sense."
"Well, there have been twenty three murders so far and like I said earlier, they're probably holding someone hostage" said Dante. "But still, why don't they just attack the whole town?" He put the bit of paper he was holding down on the table.
"Beats me," Said Nero, "But we should probably stake out the cathedral tonight, since that's where most people are going missing."
"I agree," Said Dante. He took another bite from his pizza. He then looked down at his plate to take another piece but then discovered that he had eaten all of it. "Dammit, why there is never enough?"
Nero rolled his eyes, stood up and started putting the sheets of paper away, "Come on, we should find a hotel before all of the rooms are taken."
Dante got up and they walked out of the pizza bar.
Two hours later
Dante and Nero were in their hotel room discussing about the time that they were going to head out to the cathedral. Dante was lying on his bed with his arms behind his head and his eyes were closed. Nero was looking out of the window at the streets below.
"So, what time should we go?" he asked.
"In an hour or so" said Dante. "The streets should be empty by then."
"The streets are quite empty at the moment," Said Nero.
"Really?" asked Dante. He got up from his bed and walked over to the window and looked out of it. He saw that there was hardly anyone walking around outside and those who were seemed to be hurrying home. "Well, if there's hardly anyone out then I guess we could go now."
The teen nodded, both Devil Hunters sheathed their swords, walked out of their room and then out of the hotel.
"Everyone's probably going home because of the murders" said Nero.
"Yeah, probably" Dante replied. Suddenly, he stopped walking and put his nose in the air; he could smell something familiar and it wasn't a pleasant smell.
Nero stopped and looked at him, "What's up?"
"Can you smell that?" the red clad asked.
"What?" Nero put his nose in the air and concentrated. Then the smell hit him; it made the teen feel sick. Nero knew what this smell was since he had been around it many times before, "Blood..." He looked at Dante.
"We need to hurry," The red clad said.
The pair tore off down the street; the smell seemed to be coming from the direction of the cathedral. As they got closer, the smell of blood got stronger. The two hunters wondered what had happened and if they had been too late to stop something from happening. They stopped outside the cathedral. Dante spotted a pool of blood on the ground in front of them. He crouched down and examined the blood with his index finger and thumb. He then smelt it and caught a familiar scent off it; one that matched his own. His eye's widened.
Dante stayed in his position for about a minute, it can't be... The red clad's heart rate slowed and he felt a familiar aura in the air.
"Dante?" Nero questioned.
The red clad snapped out of his thoughts, "I'm fine. You go check inside for anyone, I'll search out here," He walked off and left Nero standing there.
Nero sighed, "Well, guess I am going inside then." He had hoped that Dante would have told him what was on his mind since he knew something was bothering the older hunter, even though he would deny it.
He walked over to the entrance and opened one of the large wooden doors to the cathedral, then went inside.
Me: I'm sorry for taking so long, please forgive me!
Dante: We hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading
Nero: And now a riddle for all of you;
Me: Those who like Royal blue will enjoy the next chapter (Hopefully)
Dante: Thanks again
