Chapter 11: The Burning Hero- part 1

Unknown Location, Fiore, 2 years later

The sky was seemingly set Ablaze as it became a mixture of reds, oranges and yellows. Vergil and Akula traveled through the land of Fiore for what seemed like weeks or months and to their misfortune they were running out of food. While Vergil was able to last for at least two weeks or more without food by converting portions of his magic into nutritional energy, Akula wasn't capable of such a feat. The young water mage had proven to be a bottomless pit and it had been exactly a week since she had had a decent meal.

"*groan* How long until we get to the next town, I'm starving!" said the young water mage just as her stomach growl to emphasize her point.

"Perhaps if you were such a glutton we might have still had some food" Vergil said with a bit of annoyance but with no true anger in his voice.

"How many time do I have to say I'm sorry? It's not my fault I have a high metabolism!" Shouted the dark haired girl as Vergil simply ignored her. At that moment Vergil gained a look of interest as he sensed something nearby.

"Hmm?" Vergil said as he used his wind and flew up towards the skies receiving a confused from his companion.

"There's a town up ahead!" The dark slayer informed as Akula grew an exited smile on her face.

"How far?" She asked as Vergil focused his vision

"About five or six miles in the direction we're heading! It should take us an hour in our current pace" Vergil told her as he flew back down and landed next to the water mage as they continued towards the town.

"About time we found a town. Alright so here the plan, we'll stop in the town and take a break, maybe take a week or two off what do you think" Akula said as she continued to suggest things to do in what she proclaimed their mini vacation. But at that moment Akula stopped talking and let a small smile decorate her face as she saw Vergil close his eyes which told her he was considering her words and after a minute of suspense.

"Very well. It's been a while since we've had a proper rest." Vergil stated in his usual neutral tone. As for the for the water mage she raised fists in the in victory with spring in her step. After a few minutes a deafening silence filled the air as they continued to walk.

Haven Town

As Vergil and Akula entered the village the dark slayer noticed that the place was quite big for a normal village, if he had to guess he'd say it was about half the size of Hope Town. The place itself seemed to be composed of many old looking buildings along with a large clock tower which stood out amongst the throng of buildings. As both mages continued to make their way through the town, Vergil noticed that the streets were practically empty with only a few people out of their homes.

'Something's not right. Even if this is an isolated village there should still be people out and about at this hour' thought the silver haired mage. But his thoughts were interrupted as he noticed his companion talking to him.

"Well this seems like a rather nice place. We could rest here for a while." Akula said only to receive an 'hmm' from her companion. But just as she was about to yell at him for not giving her a proper response, she noticed that Vergil had completely stopped as he stood as still as a statue. That's when she noticed that he was looking of into the distance and once she followed his line of sight the young girl's eyes narrowed as she saw a squadron of Rune Knights.

"What are they doing here?" She asked more to herself than her companion. As the dark slayer took his gaze off the Magic Councils soldiers and set them on Akula he noticed the hatred in her tone when referring to the Knights.

Over the past two years both mages had gotten to know each other quite well and during this time Vergil had learned that Akula held a great hatred for both the Rune Knights and the Magic Council. Her hate for the knights was due to the fact that when her home was attacked the cultist, the Rune Knights that were stationed in her hometown had decided to save themselves rather than protect the people. As for the council she hated how they showed themselves as all powerful and all knowing when they weren't even able to locate powerful concentration of magic like the Tower.

Over the time they had traveled together Vergil had tried to help Akula overcome her hatred and thankfully he had succeeded to a degree. And while she would never trust neither the Council nor the Knights she could at the very least stand to be near them.

"I don't know, but something is definitely going on in this village. This isn't the type of place where Rune Knights would need to be stationed." Vergil stated as he looked around and as soon as he found what he was looking for he made way toward said location.

"Huh? Hey wait were you going?" asked the water mage as she followed the silver haired mage.

"The one place in ever town and village that's always full of information." Vergil told her as he headed towards a two storied building with a sign above the door which said 'Hanged Man Tavern'.

As soon as the young water mage saw this she grew a large grin as she quickened her pace. As they made their way towards the tavern Vergil noticed as the few people out in the street began to talk amongst one another as they observed the pair walk into the pub. Once the dark slayer and his companion entered the pub all went quiet as the occupants stared at the mages as they walked up to the bar before returning to their own conversations.

Noticing the two new tenants the bar tender walked up to the two mages. Said bar tender was an attractive, red haired woman with emerald green eyes. She wore a black dress with a slit along the length revealing much of her leg and a neckline that revealed a good amount of her cleavage .

"So, handsome, what can I get cha?" Asked the bar tender as Vergil looked through the menu.

"If you'd be so kind get my friend whatever she wants" Vergil told her making Akula's grin grow even larger "As for me I'll have the stake medium rare" Ordered Vergil. Once he was done, the bartender headed over to the kitchen as she told the cook their order. After twenty minutes the red head returned with a large silver tray which held three of Akula's orders plus Vergil's stake and when their food had been placed in front of them both mages began to eat their meals.

"So handsome, care to tell me what a pair of mages like you two doing in a small town like this?" The bar tender asked as she wiped a glass clean.

"We go were the wind takes us and seems said it's taken us here" Vergil simply said as he took a bight from his stake.

"Well aren't you the mysterious one. So you got a name?" asked the bartender.

"…Vergil and my gluttonous friend over here is Akula" Vergil told her ignoring Akulas muffled complaints at being called a glutton.

"*giggle* a pleasure to meet you both, names Anna McMillian" Anna introduced herself as she continued to wash the beer mug.

"Like wise, doe now that I've answered your question I'd like to ask my own if you wouldn't mind" Said the dark slayer.

"Ask away" she told him

"When my friend and I entered the town I noticed that the few people outside looked rather...uneasy with our presence. Why is that?" Asked the silver haired mage. Anna pursed her lips as she stared into Vergil's steel blue eyes and even if they revealed nothing to her, she could tell that the silver haired mage wouldn't leave the matter be and so as she looked towards the second floor and saw that her 'special clients' weren't paying attention and so she leaned in close to both mages as she began to speak in a hushed tone.

"The thing is that a various kidnappings have been occurring, Men, women, children, it doesn't matter. Their being taken by the Franchetti crime family who act as foot soldiers for the dark guild Black Sun" Said Anna

"Black Sun? Why does that sound familiar?" asked Akula as she finished her third plate.

"That would be because we've dealt with them before" stated Vergil nonchalantly catching the bartender by surprised

"You-you've actually faced Black Sun's and won?" She asked as Vergil answered her with a nod.

"Yes, about two months ago we were hired as bodyguards for a well-known businessman, a Mr. Heartfilia I believe it was. Anyways, it seemed that his competition had hired the Black Suns to take him out and so when they came for him, we dealt with them" Vergil told her noticing the god smacked.

"Oh yeah does guys! Man they were a pain in the ass" said the water mage as she swallowed another piece of meat.

"If what your saying is true could you help us. Please, they've been doing this for over a year now and most of the mages that were in town have either been killed or taken with the rest." Portia told them getting a confused look from Vergil.

"Have you tried contacting a magic guild? What about the Rune knights? We saw a squad of them in when we arrived. Aren't they doing something?" asked the dark slayer.

"The Rune knights are part of the problem. Those bastards are in the Black Buns pocket and they'll kill anyone who tries to leave. Please, I know I have no right ask this of you but please we need your help" Anna told them with a pleading look in her eyes. Vergil turned to his partner and saw that the young girl had a look he had seem a few time when her mind was already made. The water mage turned to her companion and gave him a look that told him that she was already set on helping. Releasing a small sigh Vergil sent her a nod of his own as he turned towards Anna once more.

"Very well, will help you. But we need time to rest and prepare" Vergil informed her.

"Of course but there is one more thing" said the red head as Vergil raised an eye brow.

"As I said most of the mages that live here have been captured or killed but does who have been lucky enough to escape have formed a sort of militia" said the bartender

"How exactly do we find this 'militia'?" asked the dark slayer

" they have eyes and ears everywhere. They're probably listening in on us right now. so trust me they'll find you. " said Anna as Vergil gave her a nod and a silent thanks.

After they were done talking the bartender went to the kitchen to fetch the rest of Akulas food. After finishing their meals the two mages informed the bar maid that they'll be in touch and began to make their way towards the exit

"How troublesome, it seems that everywhere we go people need our help" the dark slayer thought out loud.

"Yeah, it does get a bit annoying sometime but you have to admit, it does feel good to save some lives" Akula responded but instead of getting a answered, Vergil simply stayed quite as they exited the tavern.

Unknowns to them that their conversation wasn't as privet as they assumed as one of the patrons of the bar stood up as he made his towards the second floor. Once there the man walked to ward a table that was occupied by a group of shady looking men. The man then walk towards a large gruff looking man whose face was covered by shadows and began to whisper in his ear.

"I think we have a problem" stated the man

"What is it Moe" said the larger man with a raspy voice

"I heard the bar bitch talking about our 'business'" Moe informed the large man

"Is that so? Who was she talking to?"

"yeah she was talking to two mages" Moe said. But before he could say anything else the 'boss' had taken a hold of his neck as he lifted him into the air.

"Are you telling me you waited my time because of the two snot nosed brats that came in here" the large man said with a very sharp edge to his voice as the lackey struggled to talk.

"No no listen! *choking* those two aren't normal kids and *choking*I think I know who they are!" and just as does words left him the large man had released enough pressure in his hold for the lackey breath.

"I'm listening" the large man said

"A-as soon as they came in I knew something was up with them, so I used my magic to get a read on them and what I got was insane. One of them is close to S-class and the other is close to lower B-class." The man said as does around him looked intrigued and curious.

"And who are they?" as a skinny man smoking a cigar from the other side of the table.

"I've heard rumor from a few traders that a pair of mages have been taking down a lot of dark guilds. Once a boy with silver hair and a katana and the other is a girl with dark hair and those two fit the bill"

"Are you sure?" asked the large man

"A hundred percent" answered the man

"Well then, let's get em" said one of the men in the table as he and the other patrons stood up from their chairs

"Not so fast" said the large man as everyone stopped in there tracks not wanting to anger their boss.

"If what Moe says is true, the Black Suns would pay a hefty sum for them. Whoever bring them to me first will get forty percent of what the Suns give us for them" the Boss told them as every person in ear shot had a glean in their eye as they rushed out of the bar, determent to catch the two mages.

(10 minutes later)

The night had finally fallen upon the town of Haven as Vergil and Akula made their way towards the local inn. But as they walked through the streets of the once solemn town, Vergil saw that they were catching the eyes of some unsavory character. From the way they locked the dark slayer assumed that they belong to the crime family the bar maid informed them about and as they continued their trek Vergil noticed that some of them had begun to follow them.

"Akula" Vergil said in a whispering tone

"Yeah, I noticed. What do we do?" Asked the water mage

"We try to lose them, if that doesn't work then we fight" Vergil told her

"Alright, just say the word" She told her companion. Vergil began to look around to and saw on upcoming alley way. (Not a small one mind you)

"Follow me" he said as Akula nodded in response.

At that moment Vergil quickened his pace as they entered the ally way, but before they could even get half way through both mages were brought to a halt as they saw another group of thugs had blocked their exit ass they began to draw out their weapons. Hearing footsteps coming from behind them Vergil and Akula went back to back as the thugs completely surrounded them. But before they could even do anything a cage of purple energy had been cast trapping them both.

"Damn it! Runes" said Vergil as gritted his teeth annoyed for getting caught in such a situation. But he was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a sudden spike of magical energy coming from above him and once he looked up and saw what was coming he eyes widened in mild surprise as he quickly conjured his oblivion barrier. Confused because of the silver haired boy's action one of the thugs decided to look upward and once he had raised his head his eyes widened in horror as he saw large fire balls raining upon them.

"LOOK OUT!" yelled the thug, but it was too late as the fire balls began to crash down on the criminals. Screams of panic and agony began to fill the air as some of the thugs were either burning to death or crushed by the debri caused by the explosions. In the end the thugs that survive decided to do the smart thing and run.

Once the remaining thugs had left the ally and the fires had ceased Vergil drop the barrier as he examined the aftermath of the devastation attack.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" shouted Akula with stars in her eyes.

"Quite impressive " stated Vergil.

'Who do you think did this?" asked the water.

"Let's ask them" said the dark slayer.

"Show yourself, I know you're still here so there is no point in hiding!" said the young Sparda as he looked around. For a few minutes there was nothing but slice. Akula was about to say something until she saw her companion looking up at one of the rooftops and as she focused her eyes she saw what looked like a person but couldn't make out anything else.

At the moment that mysterious stranger jumped from the roof as he landed on the stone floor leaving a small web pattern crack. As the man rose to his feet, both mages were now able to finally get a good look at their savior. They were both a bit surprised to see that it was a tall muscular boy. He was a head taller than Vergil and he wore a sleeveless navy blue hoodie along with black cargo pants and black combat boots and for some reason he also wore a black and white wrestling mask which covered most of his face except for his mouth and chin.

"So I take it you're the one who saved us" said the silver haired mage.

"That right, my name is Biamask and I am a member of the Haven militia"

END

(A/N: Lady's and Gentlemen, the prodigal son returns! (Cue applause and cheers)

That's right boys and girls I'm back and as I've promised I have not given up on this story. Before we get to business let me tell you guys that ii m sincerely sorry for such a delay on this I'm not going to make any excuses for you guys, I lost my mojo for this story I couldn't think of anything to write and it was so bad I ended with migraines every time I tried to force something out and so i decided to go on a small break until I got my mojo back and eventually I did so for dose of you who didn't give up on me and this story I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now first of I want to apologies for any grammar error or misspelling that you may find, i a bit rusty so it'll take me a while to get back in the game.

Secondly a few people have asked me if Vergil will ever meet up with the fairy tail group in percent time and the answer is yes. Vergil will indeed meet up with fairy tail in percent time but as you can see I'm making Vergil his own little group. Another reason for why I haven't gotten to the cannon yet is because i don't want to do this huge time skip were Vergil goes from a novice to a full-blown bad ass, I want show you guys how he became said badass, how he gained the reputation he will have and how he gained the friends and enemies he will have. So please be patient in two three chapter tops Vergil will meet fairy tail.

Third the paring, now as you all may know I've decided to switch from a harem to a single paring and I'm still going to stick with it. Now the question is who will it be and after a lot of thinking its come down to two options. Number 1) Erza Scarlet and number 2) Minerva Orlando.

Now for the why's

I know I said that I wouldn't pick Erza but I really like her character. Another reason that some also pointed out that Erza could bring Vergil's protective side out and she could look at Vergil as her goal to get stronger and once I began to think about it, it made total sense to me. As for the whole thing about Erza being against killing, I've stated that Vergil will only kill eth seriously dangerous dark mages so i think that with a bit of convincing Vergil could make her see things from his point of view.

As for Minerva while yes I do admit she is a full blown bitch in the magical games arc, it was shown that the reason behind her cold and sadistic demeanor wasn't necessarily her fault but in the way her father raised her. Now if Vergil found her in the woods were her father would normally leaver if she began to cry and saved her from that life and instead grew up with Vergil and his group she could turn out a completely different person.

And on a small side note I never intended for Akula to be a paring option when I turned this into a single paring. Some on pointed out that she was more of a less cocky Dante and that's exactly what I was going for.

Well guys that pretty much all I've got to say. Again, because I won't be able to update and early as i want put I'll try not be delayed for so long next time.

Also if anyone can help me find a way to read New X-men Academy X online that would be awesome. I'm trying to do a crossover between Harry Potter and X-men and that would be the story line I'd like to follow so if anyone can help that would be awesome.

Well guys don't forget to follow and favorite and leave a review. Also no flamer allowed!

Until next time Adios)