Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the Devil May Cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game, very brutally and with lots of blood, Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.
Rated Mature for Blood, Language, Future Hot Man Sex, Hurting Nero, and more that I am still thinking of.
I'm sorry for the late update. Long story short, I'm never letting my sister cook for me again. I still wasn't feeling too well when I wrote this so it may not be as good as my normal writing.
Chapter Seven: Breaking Ties
The doors behind Nero slammed open, the wood banging loudly on the walls and temporarily distracting Nero from the pain building in his lungs. He tried to peer around the marble column through the corner of his eye, not seeing Kyrie among the Order members that were entering the room. The alchemist with hazel eyes was the last through the door, passing Nero slowly with a knowing smile that parodied kindness.
Kyrie's words still rang heavy in his heart, both infuriating and disheartening him. The backs of his eyes burned, but he could not just stay and let his body be used in a demonic ritual despite how he felt. His chains clinked together loudly, echoing around the cathedral as Nero pulled at the metal cuffs locked around his wrists. He tried to yank out the metal deeply embedded into the marble column, only managing to nearly rip his left arm out of the socket.
Nero glared at the men walking towards the center of the large cathedral as he struggled, two of them nearing him with the same demonic sword he had touched before. One of the men unlocked the chains, pulling the chain connected to the metal cuffs away from the column. The hooded men practically dragged the young demon slayer across the floor towards the group of Order members, making his wrists protest the treatment.
Nero felt extremely lightheaded from the loss of blood, his determination the only thing keeping him awake as his wet shirt and hoodie clung to his rapidly rising chest. He clenched his teeth and pulled on the cuffs in another vain attempt to escape, dragging his heels across the blue marble and ignoring the fresh blood that pooled in his mouth when he twisted his torso in an odd direction. He felt hands on his shoulders grab him tightly, forcing a hiss from Nero's vocal cords as they carelessly tossed him into the center of the circle of men.
Nero caught himself with his devil bringer before his body could smack into the marble, the chains rattling as they dragged across the flooring. He immediately pushed himself onto his feet and ran for the door to the opera house, punching one of the men in the face and breaking his nose before leaping over him. Nero sprinted for the exit, his legs feeling usually numb as his remaining lung burned in need of oxygen. He slid to a stop at the door and grabbed the handle, about to throw it open when he felt something stab through his back and effective pin him to the double doors.
"Fuck!" Nero shut his eyes tightly, the talons of his devil bringer sinking deeply into the wood in pain. The demonic sword felt like it was searing his insides, draining his energy at a faster rate than when he had simply touched it. "When did the Order get such a jacked up notion of fair play?" He said through clenched teeth, his panting increasing to the point were it felt like an asthma attack.
"Why run? You will be used to better the world and create a paradise for all of humanity. Everyone will live peacefully once we complete the Ascension Ceremony and strike down the demons that taint the world." The voice of the alchemist echoed across the room, slowly nearing him. "We need you in order to save the world."
"The last Order tried that and look where they ended up." Nero huffed, tasting more blood on his lips as he spoke. He let out a small wet laugh, the blood in his lungs preventing it from sounding like anything but a cough.
"I remember someone else demanding something from me. I'll tell you the same thing I told him." He turned his head so he could see the Order behind him, smirking and curling all of the fingers of his demonic arm but his middle to promptly flip them off. "Come and get it."
The alchemist sneered at the comment and gesture, drawing the sword strapped to his waist and charging at Nero. The other members of the Order of the Sword were about to join when a large crash rang out above them, glass shards falling to the floor and shattering. A blur of red quickly followed the glass, slamming its feet onto the alchemist's head before flipping backwards and landing in front of Nero. The alchemist fell forward, knocked unconscious from the impact.
"That was a longer fall than last time. Luckily, something broke my fall." Dante chuckled and brushed a few shards of glass off his red coat, placing his hands on his hips before hearing a groan at his feet. He glanced down and grinned at the unconscious man.
"Oops. Sorry, man, I didn't see you there." Dante crouched down and picked up the motionless man by the back of his shirt, humming playfully in thought. "Well, there goes my only way of finding the kid."
"Dante..."
"Yeah?"
"I'm right behind you, asshole." Nero glared at the older man's back, wondering why the hell he was messing with him at a time like this. Dante laughed again, dropping the alchemist to the floor and turning around to face the younger hunter. His smile dropped when he finally saw the state the other man was in. Multiple bullet holes in his clothes and the denim of Nero's coat turning a dark purple as the blood soaked through the fabric. Blood was dripping from the younger man's lips, a smear of blood on the tips of his devil bringer showing that he had been trying to fight his way out.
"They did a real number on you." Dante walked over to the pinned man, about to grab the sword before hesitating. He looked over the scripture over the blade, reading it quickly before glancing over his shoulder at the hooded men. "Think you can hold on a bit longer, Nero? We still have company." The elder asked as he pulled Rebellion off his back, tapping the blade lightly on his shoulders as he waited for a reply.
"Yeah." Nero lied, digging his talons deeper into the door and biting his lower lip. The pain flared in his chest again as he shifted slightly to let go of the door's handle, letting his human arm go limp beside him. He ignored the pain, not wanting the older man to know it was effecting him more than it should have. "Kick their asses for me, old man."
"Will do, kid." Dante smirked, glancing around the room at the hooded men closing in on the two of them. "So, who's first?"
One of the Order members charged at him from the side, sword raised high above his head. Dante quickly swung Rebellion as the other man's sword slashed down, effectively knocking the sword from his hand. The devil hunter grinned before kicking the hooded man in the chest, launching him backwards into one of the marble columns. The man groaned and fell to the floor, a second guard running up behind Dante. The older hunter chuckled as he blocked the attack without turning around, pulling Ebony out of its holster and aiming behind his back to shoot the Order member in the hand. The man yelped and dropped his sword, stumbling backwards while clutching at his bleeding wrist. Another man rushed at Dante, the elder simply stepping aside and letting the man crash into the other behind him.
"You know, sometimes I wonder how you were in the same Order as these guys, kid, you're a way better fighter." Dante said as he used Rebellion to strike the blade out of the hand of another Order member, grabbing the man's arm and throwing him into the fifth guard.
"Heh, shut up and stop making kicking ass look so easy, old man." Nero grunted, pushing himself onto the sword more so he could get a good grip on the metal stuck in the dark green doorway. He pulled sharply on it, hissing as he managed to move it an inch out of the gold embroidered wood.
Dante's eyes snapped to the younger slayer at the sound of pain, distracting him shortly from his battle as he worried that one of the members of the Order had slipped past him. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Nero was alone. He turned back to his fight, nearly losing a lock of his hair as he barely dodged one of the hooded men's swords. He clashed blades during next swing and used his superior strength to push the guard's sword backwards, slamming his elbow into the man's jaw when he left himself open.
The last man yelled and ran towards Dante, in a final attempt to bring the half demon down. The older hunter sidestepped the attack casually before ramming the handle of Rebellion into the back of the Order member's skull, forcing him to black out and fall heavily to the marble floor. Dante glanced around the group of unconscious men and shrugged, not even breaking a sweat through the entire ordeal.
"Well, that was a nice warm up." Dante muttered, strolling over to the alchemist still lying on the cool marble floor. He bent down and ripped the hood from his head, standing back up and hesitating when he heard a groan from the man at his feet. The elder slammed his boot into the side of the alchemist's head, quieting him again. "How you holding up, kid?"
"Been better." Nero grunted, looking over his shoulder to see Dante grab the blade's handle with the white hood. The older man placed a hand between his shoulder blades to steady him, pulling the sword out of his torso in a fluid motion without warning. Nero bit his lip hard enough for it to bleed, suppressing the scream that nearly left his lips.
Dante dropped the sword to the ground and caught Nero as he fell backwards, wrapping his arms around him. He let out a sigh, embracing the younger man while keeping him on his feet. Relief washed over him now that he knew Nero was at least alive. He was glad that the younger hunter was always loud, the sound of the other's voice leading him to the cathedral. Nero grunted lowly and the elder realized he was holding onto the injured man too tightly while he was lost in his thoughts.
"We better get you back to the office. You look pretty beat up, kid." Dante smiled as Nero pushed himself off of leaning on the older hunter and standing shakily on his own feet.
"Let's just get out of here." The younger man reached for the handle of the wooden door, pulling it open when he heard a voice call out from across the room.
"Nero, wait..."
Nero paused and stared out the door at the wreckage of the opera house, not wanting to turn around at the softly spoken words. He closed his eyes, letting out a breath before looking over his shoulder to glare at the marble cathedral.
Kyrie walked out from behind one of the marble columns, her hands clasped in front of her in her normal stance. She looked at him with pleading eyes, what she was asking for a mystery to the elder hunter.
Nero let go of the door's handle, aware that he was practically crushing it within the grasp of his devil bringer. Silence filled the air as the young demon slayer turned around, walking up to the redheaded woman. He pulled off his torn and wet denim coat, soundlessly letting it drop to the floor while staring emotionlessly at the songstress. Carefully, he removed the ring on his index finger with his demonic hand, tossing the metal engraved with the Order's symbol onto the coat.
"I'm done, Kyrie. I don't want anything to do with this town anymore." Nero turned away, ignoring the tears in the woman's eyes. "Try to hunt me down again and I won't just let you go next time." He said coldly, walking back to the other hunter with a hand clutching at the wounds on the left side of his chest. "Let's go, Dante."
"Nero…" Kyrie called out, the tears in her eyes pouring down her face as the two hunters disappeared out of the cathedral. Dante shut the door behind them, wrapping an arm protectively around the younger slayer as they left the city for the last time.
