The Crystal Sarcophagus

PART 7

Jim frowned when he was called 'boy' again, but he decided not to react to it. He wanted to tell Vergil what he knew of the end Sparda's Army.

ooOOoo

"When Issa, Ixihra, Caim, Azza, and Madar dispersed it was like the end of Sparda's Army. They would meet one more time and then never again. They would never fight together again. Madar first took the swords Yamato and Rebellion to Sparda's wife, Eva. He found her home alone. He gave her the swords and she knew what had happened. He didn't have to tell her. He stayed with her for a while until he thought she would be okay, and left before Sparda's sons came home from school. He was a devil, sure, but Madar did not want to tell two children that their father would never come home again."

Vergil realised that Eva had been far from okay. She had taken Sparda's death so badly that she had gone in denial. She had never told either him or Dante that Sparda could not come back. Just like her sons she had gone quiet at every noise that might be the sign of his return. Just like them she had felt disappointed. With a shock Vergil realised how far she had gone in her denial. She had believed he would come back. Eva had actually forgotten that Sparda was no more.

On the first day of the holidays Eva had given Rebellion and Yamato to her sons.

He had asked, "Didn't father take these with him into battle?"

"No," Eva had answered. "I hid them until the holidays so you would not be distracted at school."

Eva had not lied. This had been her truth that she had clung to so as not to drown in sorrow. Dante and he had never known that their father's last thought had been his family. He had not abandoned his family as Dante seemed to think.

"You're not listening, are you?"

The voice of the boy cut through Vergil's reflections.

"Continue."

"Those were not pleasant thoughts, were they?"

"No, they were not. Continue with your story."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I don't. Tell me about Sparda's Army."

"It might help."

"No, it won't help. Are you going to continue or shall I go?"

"Okay, have it your way."

"Quite."

"Where was I? "

"Issa, Ixihra, Caim, Azza, and Madar, the remnant of Sparda's Army had dispersed."

"Yes, I know now."

ooOOoo

Just once did the five come together again. Rumour had reached them that Sparda's family had been killed. They wanted to know whether this was true or not. Somehow they had all found the way to the park with Sparda's statue. From there Madar led them to the mansion. What they found there confirmed that the rumour was the unfortunate truth. Madar remembered the swords and all five searched the mansion for them but all they found was destruction. The family was gone, no doubt killed judging by the smell of blood that still hung about the place, and Sparda's swords were lost, presumably taken by the horde that had attacked Sparda's family.

"We should have been here to protect them," Azza growled.

"Sparda didn't want it. He gave me clear instructions," Madar responded.

"We couldn't have saved them anyway, Azza. Didn't you see the tracks? The place must have been overrun with demons and devils."

"I realise that Ixihra, but we should have been here. We could have tried to get them away from here."

Madar sighed. "I agree with you Azza. I'm not sure why Sparda didn't want us to protect them."

"Because he saw our presence as a threat to them," Issa suggested. "The five of us together will attract demons like flies. Sparda had kept his family hidden, and our attempt to protect them would have attracted the enemy in no time. I think they were found by accident. I think the blood of Sparda was strong in his children and some demon just happened upon them and recognised Sparda's scent."

"I think Issa is right," Caim said. "It is regrettable that Sparda's sons are lost, but we could not have prevented it."

"You're a cold customer, Caim. Regrettable? It's a bloody disaster, that's what it is. Sparda's bloodline is lost. His strength is lost. Who can stand up to Mundus should he manage to free himself? And what if another like Mundus arises?"

"Don't lose your head, Azza. Should that happen then we'll have to find a way to defeat the enemy. I'm not going to worry about it until then. I think we should return to our homes and continue as Sparda intended. What say you, Madar?"

"I agree, Caim. That's exactly what we should do. If we need to come together again, we'll meet up at Sparda's statue. Does that meet with your approval, Azza?"

"Yes, it does. If trouble arises we'll be here."

They didn't know they would never meet again.

ooOOoo

"Where were they when Temen-ni-gru was raised about twenty-five years ago? "

"Temmenywhat?"

"Temen-ni-gru, the tower where Sparda had left his sword Force Edge with his power, and where the priestess did not die, according to you. Somebody raised the tower to get to Sparda's power. Sparda's Army didn't try to prevent it, did they? Too comfortably hidden among the humans, were they?"

"I don't know, do I? I wasn't told what the tower was called. Why are you so angry anyway?"

"I'm not a-"

He was angry. Why was he angry? It's not as if he had needed extra opposition. Arkham and Dante had been more than enough to deal with. The whole venture had turned into a gigantic disaster which he had felt the need to improve upon by jumping into the Demon World and challenging Mundus.

What was wrong with him? He had always been so sure of his goal, power, more power, Sparda's power. Now he had been thinking about Sparda's soul. He'd been told that's where Sparda's power lay; but Sparda's soul was more than his power. His soul was his protection of humans, his love for his human wife and his half-breed children. If Dante had been right and they had not just Sparda's blood but his soul as well, what had happened to his part of Sparda's soul? He had become cold, callous, uncaring, a psychopath who wanted to kill his brother. And yet he had said to Dante, "Without strength, you cannot protect anything."

There was that word 'protect' again. He hadn't confronted Mundus to protect but to rule. He had wanted what he thought Sparda should have taken. But Sparda had chosen differently. Leaving his demon power locked in the world it belonged to, finding new strength within himself, he had continued the task he had begun long ago: to protect humankind from those that wanted to harm them. He was Sparda's firstborn, but Dante was his true heir. He, Vergil, had failed Sparda.

He didn't think a spirit could shiver, but he did. The boy had noticed something.

"Are you okay? You don't look well. You turned all pale."

"I am a spirit or a ghost. They are pale by nature."

"You seemed pale even for a ghost. You're sure you're okay."

"I'm sure. Continue your story, boy."

"Okay. By the way, my name is still 'Jim'."

"Of course. Please continue, Jim."

ooOOoo

The small remnant of Sparda's Army lived as humans, rarely if ever taking their devil form. In the beginning they moved regularly because they were still being hunted. Eventually the hunt for Sparda's followers seemed to have been called off. They had settled, took jobs, and eventually they found human partners.

Surprisingly Azza, the most demonic looking among them even in human form, was the first to find a partner. His marriage to Carmelita had rather explosive moments. Even though she knew Azza was not human Carmelita was not afraid of him. When their boy Damian was born, he became the centre of their lives and the fighting ceased, though the passion remained.

Issa lived in a big city, and worked in a boutique where her shocking-pink hair and golden eyes were an asset instead of a hindrance. After a while she had an affair with the house designer. When Issa found she was pregnant the designer ended the relationship, claiming that family life would destroy his creativity. Issa moved to a different city where she opened a shop, successfully selling her own designs.

Caim the always calm found a wife who resembled a bumblebee in her girth and busyness. He was the calm centre around which she whirled. He calmed her down and she made him smile.

Ixihra had a steady relationship though she never married. Her partner was a sailor who could be away from home for long periods. Whenever he was home they had a wild time together. Twice she presented him with a baby. He was proud of his children, especially the boy.

Madar was the last to find a woman. She was ill and had been warned not to have children. She ignored the warning. She thought that surely the doctors were wrong because she felt fine. Shortly after the birth of Nicholas her illness flared up worse than before. Because she had tried to hide it Madar could not help her anymore when he found out. He was left with his baby boy.

Madar took his son to day-care every morning and collected him punctually every evening. That saved the boy's life. When the hordes found Madar his son was safe. He fought valiantly but he couldn't take on so many on his own. When he didn't come to collect his son the police was warned. The amount of blood they found in the house made them fear the worst. Nicholas, just one year old at the time, was sent to an orphanage.

Azza and Carmelita were murdered in the same brutal way. Damian found his dead parents. He too was taken to the local orphanage, but because of his troubled dreams and violent behaviour he was sent to a special orphanage, a place for 'difficult' children.

A year later Issa was murdered in her shop, together with four customers who were present at the time. An assistant managed to escape via the backdoor, but nobody believed her story of devils attacking the shop. It was believed the gang who had attacked the shop had been wearing Halloween masks. At the orphanage Carrie was a target for the bullies because of the pink shine to her hair. She already knew how to throw a punch and make it count. Two years later she was called 'disruptive' and sent to the orphanage where Damian lived.

Meanwhile the two remaining followers of Sparda had been found and murdered as well.

Caim and his wife had been working in the garden. He had smelled the approaching horde and had told his wife to take Tyler and leave the house as quickly as possible. The look on her husband's face told Mimi she shouldn't argue. She told her son to leave his homework and had to wait impatiently until he had put his books away. They left the house just in time to save their lives. The fear and stress of the day exacerbated a heart problem Mimi hadn't known about. She didn't survive the shock of her husband's death.

Ixihra's children were on an outing with their neighbour and her children. Ixihra's partner was expected and this way they would have some time to themselves before the children came home. When Ixihra heard the doorbell she ran to open it. Her sailor fell dead in her arms, pierced by a sword. Before she realised what had happened the demons had killed her as well.

The following year the orphanage for 'difficult cases' received four more inmates. Nicholas, Tyler, Tessie and Cody had already met on the train that took them there. Damian and Carrie had become friends by default. They recognised the four newcomers as being half-devils like themselves. Together the six children became a kind of family in the bleak place.

Two years later another little boy was brought to the orphanage, partly because it was the nearest, but also because his teachers and some neighbours said he was 'strange'. He had no demonic blood, so the six half-devils ignored him, but he recognised them for what they were and kept following them.

One day he heard Damian say, "We are all that's left. We are Sparda's Army now."

That was Jim's entry in the group. He knew about Sparda. When they realised one of his gifts was to detect demons and devils they accepted him as part of their strange family, their mascot.

ooOOoo

"When Damian was eighteen he was more or less chucked out on the street because he was a grownup. I could talk to him, like I did to you, with thoughts. He got rope ladders and stuff to get us out. I told the others about it, and we escaped. We had to hide of course until we came here. The humans from the orphanage won't find us here, but now demons have. And you say there are worse than the ones we've seen."

"Do you think that your friends' parents could not have defended themselves against the sort of demons you have seen so far? If they were part of Sparda's Army and trained by him, they could have taken on those demons single handed."

"Why don't you teach them? I'm sure you could."

"I need to find Mundus' temple. I'm looking for my body, and it could be there."

"I think there might have been a temple not so far from here, but it was all burned down to the ground. There was only one wall where it was cut into the rock, but the rest was just blackened wood and stones, and plants that had started to grow."

"No body? No grave or box that could hold one? No underground level that had remained intact?"

Jim shook his head and said 'no' to every question. This too was a dead end in the search for his body. Vergil realised he had run out of options. How and where could he look for his body?

Jim had been watching Vergil intently, trying to read on his face what he was thinking.

"Why don't you help us until you've worked out what to do next?" he suggested.

"All right, I will," Vergil answered to his own surprise.

Was he really going to help these youngsters? It seemed he was. Why did he want to do it? Did he want Sparda to be proud of his firstborn? Why? Sparda was dead. He would never know. He didn't even know that Dante had followed in his footsteps.

Logic said he should leave these children, find his body, and get his amulet and Yamato back from Dante. These youngsters meant nothing to him beyond being vaguely connected to Sparda, offspring of his father's followers. He had never even known his father had followers.

"You do a lot of thinking, don't you? Why?"

"Because I do. If you have finished your chores we can go to your friends. We will try to make them the best they can be."

"Okay, let's go."

Jim opened the door and waited until Vergil had floated out before following him. From the porch they looked at the sparring duos.

"Hey, I still don't know your name," Jim said as if he had suddenly remembered.

"No, you don't," Vergil answered. "Come on, we will sort out your friends."

ooOOoo


Author's Note: No reviews last week. I hope you all still like this story.