Chapter 8: Inquisition

The walk wasn't easy; deep in the low-class territory, he knew this location well. It was the same burrow, yet north of where he ran into Gemma and Braith. He didn't come to this particular place because of her though. Dante had arrived in a dusty alley, where he stood before a giant brick wall.

The wall was covered in graffiti; the mural was of a woman, eyes closed and her hair flowing elegantly in the colored wind. Her hands entangled each other as though she was praying. She had pale skin and she had black tears streaming down her cheeks. The sudden realization that this woman looked a lot like a certain woman he knew agitated him. He then put his hand on the mural's right eye and the bricks slide to the side. The eye revealed a numeral control panel, glowing with blue LCD lights. He entered a four-digit code into the panel and the ground began to rumble. The wall unraveled before him a long corridor to another wall. Thinking Kat had a lot of time on her hands to create this, Dante grinned and shook his head.

He entered the corridor and approached the wall. This time, there was no mural, but a few bricks that stacked oddly against the wall. He flipped the first stone off of the others, showing another familiar control panel and entered another code in. The wall revealed a short passage to a door, where Dante watched it unlock and approached it. He opened the door, which revealed a bright light. Dante shielded his face with his arm.

"Ugh, I need to talk to Kat about this entrance again. Goddamn, it's fucking bright!" He said before closing the door behind him.


Somewhere on the opposite side of town...

The noise was still soft as Gemma walked up the apartment stairs. She left Braith by the front door, knowing if she were to take her along, she'd only cause more trouble. Slowly, she listened carefully to sound this woman was making. It had a rhythm to it as though she was singing. The tune, Gemma didn't know, but she was sure this woman was alone. It was her chance to attack this human and take her flesh. Gemma's blood ran quickly as her heart pumped. She was anticipating this since she took notice of her dying skin at the subway train last night. She wanted to rejuvenate herself again; she wanted to look human. Her decomposed flesh was gradually shedding off her body; although, she wasn't completely skinned from her human flesh, she still contained the appearance of a demon ripping itself out of a human.

She reached the third floor where the voice was prominent and loud. The apartment door, number 323, was cracked open. There was no chain or lock visible between the crack from Gemma's view. She slowly slid against the wall towards the door. She didn't want to frighten this woman. She was the hunter and her prey was just behind that door. She glanced down at the doorknob and reached for it.


Kat looked at Dante in surprise. Her eyes were wide and she couldn't fathom words for a reply. The two stood across from each other in one of the discussion rooms Kat furnished for blueprinting. Dante looked at her with a serious disposition and leaned against the table where blueprints lied. Kat crossed her arm and frowned at him. She just came back from a journey around the state and to be greeted by her distant partner who was asking such a strange question.

"So, let me get this straight." Kat began, "You just met this demon who uses human skin two days ago and she asked you to kill someone?" Dante nodded.

"Yeah."

"And," She continued, "And you...Dante... Dante the Demon Slayer... is asking me if there's a spell or whatever that can make demons...become humans?!"

"Yeah." He repeated with his tone unchanged. Kat's frown deepened. She was certain she was hearing things, but he didn't necessarily applied his reason for mentioning this demon and why he asked such a question afterwards. Kat stayed silent for a moment and paced back and forth; Dante watched her awaiting for an answer. Kat then stopped with her back facing him. She looked over her shoulder at him and still viewed his serious expression.

"I don't understand, Dante." She muttered, "Are you trying to help this demon? Are you trying to save him?"

"Her." He said quickly.

"What?" Kat looked back at him again, a bit taken back by his correction.

"This demon is a woman." Dante stated, "She's a mother of a halfing."

"A halfing?! Like a Nephilim?" Kat asked. The statement caught Kat's interest even more. Dante rubbed his forehead and looked back up at Kat.

"No, she's half-human, half-demon." Dante continued, "Look, I'm just asking if you know a spell that turns a demon, maybe even hybrids, into a human." Kat put her hands up as though she was telling him to slow down.

"Wait, let's back it up here." Kat looked at Dante in the eye, "Dante, do you have feelings for this demon? This doesn't sound like you; you've been slaying demons for a long time now without any mercy and yet, this demon and her bastard child comes in and you're suddenly asking to change them into humans?!"

"SHE'S NOT A BASTARD CHILD, KAT!" Dante yelled; Kat stepped back. His tone made Kat realize the truth he wasn't holding back. Dante huffed and exhaled heavily, "Sorry... the kid's not a bad kid. Even if she's half-demon. She can be a pain in the ass, but..." His uttered words stroke Kat; she could see in his eyes that he wasn't being selfish and maybe, just maybe, cared about this child and her mother. Yet with his short and sudden outburst of his particular answers made it clear to her.

"Dante," Kat said calmly, "tell me the truth. You're not telling me everything. I can't help you if I don't know." Dante stared at her, a bit annoyed. he was trying to get to the point with her, but it seemed it wasn't going to pass until he told Kat what was going on.

"You want to know?" Dante asked. He sighed and looked up at Kat. He felt a heavy heart on this subject and exhaled again, "This demon and her child... they're not like any demon I ever met. They actually have feelings and personalities that I never seen demons express. I feel I could have helped them because Gemma-...I mean, the mother asked me to help her kill a human, so she could have her skin. But I can't; that'd be against everything I've been fighting for... so... I figured after they left... I could, at least, help them avoid innocent bloodshed... and become... human."

Kat stared in his eyes with a sympathetic heart. His gaze avoided hers, but she sensed Dante's expression. As cocky, selfish, and stubborn he was, he was showing his way of feelings for another. This was interesting in her perspective.

He slayed countless demons without question and now he hesitated acting out on his duty as a demon slayer. He hesitated and let a demon mother and her child stay with him. The couple of days they spent together must have been something special, Kat thought. Kat wanted to hear Dante say the words; she just had to get it out of him. She turned to him, lifted his chin, and smiled. Dante stared back at her confused.

"Gemma, huh? ...You know, Dante?" Kat started, "...You must have fallen in love with these two demons, huh?"

"What?!" He yelped, "No!" He slapped her hand away. Kat, feeling her hand sting from the abuse, ignored it and continued to smile. She could see Dante was still avoiding her gaze.

"You're denying it, Dante." Kat smiled, "I know how it was to fall for someone you couldn't be with...: Kat's thoughts drifted off to her memories with Vergil.

He was the one who brought her out of her nightmares and showed her a new light in life. He formed this freedom fight before he claimed royalty over humanity. She felt her heart tear like it did the moment Vergil revealed his true intentions months ago. She should have stopped him, but instead, found humanity's fate to be more faithful than her feelings. She then shook off the nostalgic feelings and looked at Dante with a determined face. She didn't want Dante to lose his chance like she did.

"So, tell me you love them, Dante..." Her smile grew genuine, "...and I'll help you find an inquisition to save these two." Dante was taken back. Her offer was grand, but he didn't know exactly how he felt about Gemma and Braith. He didn't want to admit to Kat; she was a medium, someone who understood, at least on some level, of what he's talking about. Maybe it was their company the past couple days that made him feel... special. Maybe it was the fact the little girl showed affection to him and her mother... her mother was something different.

Dante lowered his head and smirked for a second. He started thinking about Gemma. Her smiling face from last night came to mind. She looked so happy. Her cheeks were red from the alcohol and her long hair was held back, allowing viewers to see her high cheekbones and slender neck. He suddenly remembered though. They just had a fight before he came here. She said she needed to kill a woman. She said if she doesn't, she'd be sent somewhere worse than Hell. She even said she broke her contract. What did she mean by that? Suddenly, another thought hit him.

"Kat, do you know anything about demons having contracts?" He asked, shooting his gaze up at her. Kat was quiet for a second; just a moment ago,Dante was silent to himself and his head drooped down. Kat thought for a moment and she smiled.

"I think I do, actually." She said, "We'll need to go into the database to find out more though. Luckily, my followers have been researching and collecting information like that for us to help fight off the rest of the demons...physically and spiritually."

Dante smiled in relief. Kat knew he never was really going to say the words, but his smile said it all. She guided him out of the room they discussed in and headed down to another room down the hall. Suddenly, Dante cleared his throat. The reason Kat left Limbo City was for two objectives.

"Hey Kat," Dante muttered, "Did you run into... Vergil on your travel?" Once the question finished, Kat turned to look at him.


Gemma's hand gripped the knob tightly and slowly she pushed the door in. There wasn't a creak or a sound echoing from the door, but the voice from inside didn't stop singing. Gemma disregarded the fact and opened the door wide. Inside, the place was unfurnished and stale with musty condition. Across the room sat a record player playing. The voice Gemma heard wasn't from an actual woman; it was the record player. Gemma frowned and walked towards the object. She felt betrayed and annoyed by this disception. Suddenly, the door behind her slammed shut and she heard Braith cry out loudly.

"MOMMA!"

"Braith!" Gemma hollered, but only to be greeted by her daughter's scared face enveloped in a stranger's arms and chest, "W-who are you?! Let go of my daughter!"

The stranger examined Gemma from head to toe. His smirk didn't scare Gemma; it terrified her.

"You have his scent on you." The stranger in black murmured.