Vergil found it easier to enter than most people. When inside, his cell phone began to go off. He was in an awkward position just going through the front door when it rang. The ship was a bit sideways so when he entered, he had to concentrate to keep his footing.
Barely having time to survey his surroundings, Vergil answered his cell. It was Morrison. "I think I have some apologizing to do."
Vergil stood in the wreck of a ship as he spied dining tables made out of old, wooden ship wheels. They were just replications however and hadn't come off of real ships. "Yes you do."
"Not just for sticking you with a bunch of kids either. I should have reviewed Gallery Lake's history. I had no idea."
In the back was the counter with a few out-of-date registers that Vergil began to approach. Jumping over the counter he entered the back kitchen saying to Morrison, "Spill it old man."
"Gallery Lake has had history ever since the 17th century! Probably longer than that. The first child abductions happen in the late 1600's."
"So, this hag's been busy for awhile. It doesn't make sense. How could she be awake back then if there was no demons around?" Vergil asked, spying a wooden cellar door near the freezer.
"It doesn't have to be demons to wake these things up Vergil. It can be any kind of evil. Man or demon, it doesn't matter to them. Evil is evil and evil leaves a presence on whatever it touches. This is how they are awakened. When they're awake, they're on the hunt for virgin blood."
Vergil had entered a small cellar surrounded by wooden walls with another big freezer in the back. Both freezers, above and below, seemed to be from the 1940's. "About this restaurant I'm in?"
Hearing Morrison hit some keys on his laptop, "Yeah, the - uh - Gallery Lake Resort. First established in 1927, shutdown in 1946."
Opening the freezer, Vergil looked in and saw a few large, meat hooks hanging off the ceiling. He could sense evil in the freezer. He could sense it throughout the entire restaurant but here especially. In the back was a wall but there was something strange about it. Vergil began to feel around the wall and found a lever. "Why was it shut down?"
"Because the owners were members of the Nazi socialist party and were cannibals to boot. They decided that the best way to help the 'movement' was to put capitalist American pigs on the menu.
That's not the only thing either, their was the serial killer that loomed around the lake in early 1906, the arsonist in 1880, the union-jack butchers in 1864, and on and on. Each date corresponding with children and a few teens going missing in the area!"
The back wall of the freeze opened up reveling rock walls with a glair of river water to them. Vergil took a couple steps inside the cave, past the freezer, and said to Morrison, "Probably going to loose your signal very fast."
"Vergil, I should've studied better. Watch yourself in the nest. If that brood mother's been around as long I think she has, she's probably very powerful and taken down a few devil hunters before."
Looking at the rock walls as he traveled down the dark corridor, Vergil shrugged off Morrison's warning, "She's never faced down a devil hunter like me."
"That…watch out for….she's venerable….don't…" He was breaking off as Vergil hung up his cell.
Hearing river water pouring through the cave, Vergil walked slowly progressing down into the depths of the black abyss. There was some light but that was only from a few ancient torches that were still lit by some miraculous fire. It was a blue fire and gave the cave a very alchemic feel. Vergil couldn't help but comment to himself, as the cave walls began to expand on him and that blue light increased, "Looks like cannibalism isn't the only thing those Nazis were into." Referring to the oddly lit torches.
His boots were soon lightly submerged in water and he took a few steps seeing spots of black, dried-up blood on the rock walls. It was stained into the rock surface and there was no telling how many children had been dragged down here throughout the decades. Maybe some by those evil humans Morrison had mentioned earlier.
He was getting close to the lair. The walls were expanding even more with more blue light illuminating the cave. The water was now up to his ankles as he trudged on.
Stopping just short of an exit from the pathway into a huge rock chamber. It seemed to be a subterranean pond inside the cave concealed by the large rock chamber. The ceiling was high above Vergil's head with a small island in the middle and a large entranceway to another tunnel beyond.
What attracted Vergil's attention the most was what was on the island surround by the ankle deep water. The brood mother in all her ugliness. At almost forty feet tall, she had these small arms just above her waist that writhed about as if she was constantly straining for balance. It was no wonder because the rest of her body was this long, fat, slug-like tail. Plump and covered in back with greenish-blue scales while her front was a pearl white skin. Her head was the nastiest part. It protruded like a dog's snout with these huge, dark red lips that looked like they were smeared on with gallons of lipstick. Her eye were on the side of her head like her brood's but they were slit like crocodile eyes and moved separately of each other. Two thin feelers waved and bobbed around on the sides of her head like the feeler on an Angler Fish. Her teeth were like her children's but bigger and even more jagged. Like twisted stalactites hanging in her mouth. She let out this loud warble sound from her mouth sounding like a giant frog's dying croak.
Vergil entered the inner sanctum of the brood mother, not being noticed by her. He noticed that two razpoles came out of the water left to him bring a girl from the lake up to the back tail of the brood mother. The large mother struggled to turn herself as she faced her two children with the small child in hand. She bent down and opened her large lipped mouth seemingly wanting to engulf the child. Maybe this was the process she used to incubate her eggs.
Bring Yamato close to him, Vergil said to himself, "Oh no you don't! You don't get one more. This nursery's closed."
Swing around, Vergil grabbed Yamato by the hilt sending his sheath flying towards the two, nailing them both right in the temples. They both dropped the girl right before shoving her down the giant brood mother's throat. The mother swung her head towards Vergil and made a bass roar with a green slime bubbling from the corners of her mouth.
The small girl got up and ran towards the blue-coated warrior. She grabbed onto Vergil but he gently pushed her away saying, "Go out the way I came in." Pointing to the corridor of rock behind him, "Get to Gallery Lake Camp, you'll be safe there."
She rushed out as Vergil walked towards the brood mother with Yamato at his side, wanting to shove the sword deep into the heart of the large mother. His boots slamming into the water like a mad beast's feet. His eyes glimmering with want of death and destruction. Three razpoles tried to stop him but he cut them to humanoid ribbons as easy as a blender on puree.
The large mother writhing in front of him as he swung his sword, pointing it at her, "Don't worry, you'll see all of your children very shortly."
She hissed at him and swung her tail right for Vergil. Jumping in the air to avoid it he spun thrusting his sword straight at the mother's chest. She rolled out of the way and then came flying at him with her tail knocking him into one of the rock walls. Slipping off the island, she went through the low water level like a giant torpedo, charging for him with her mouth wide open. Rolling out of the way, Vergil landed on his feet and sent three air slashes for the massive beast. The three slices hit the monster cutting into her hard scales but all it did was make her more enraged as black blood oozed from the wounds.
Swinger her head around with a belting croak, she flew up into the air sending her entire mac-truck-sized body into the air nearly landing on Vergil.
He dodged out of the way as the mother came down like a meteorite crashing into the water, sending up a wave that splashed over Vergil but didn't shake him from his tall stance with Yamato still at his side.
Spinning her body around she slithered her tail around a rock in the wall and pulled it from the cave. Flinging it at the devil hunter, Vergil sliced it in two as the two pieces flew by him crashing into the wall behind him. He ran at the mother beast as she sent three more his way, Vergil chopping away all of them. He spun his sword like a clock's hand and jumped in the air with the blade pointed right for the mother's brain base. She opened her mouth wide and chomped his whole body engulfing the demon slayer.
She swallowed but nothing went down. Vergil pried her mouth apart saying to himself, "Now I know why you things stay underground. Your breath alone would kill people." Jumping from her mouth she bit at him three times while Vergil sent a long slash right at her head, cutting open a piece of her face above her mouth.
Landing on his feet he sent another air slash at her, cutting her chest wide open with a black gash ripping open across her chest. She nearly tumbled over as her little arms tried to keep her upright. She stayed up, bending backwards with a belching roar. With it came a long stream of gelatinous, dark green sludge.
It splashed over Vergil and burned him with incredible pain. He was sent down to one knee holding onto his ground with the help of his sword. He planted the blade deep in the rock floor and tried to wipe the stuff off with water but all it did was burn more. Vergil let out a muffled grumble as the brood mother spit out more of the stuff onto Vergil's body. He tried desperately not to scream out in utter pain as he was close to falling on his face.
More of the ooze was unleashed on him as he struggled to stand. He was covered in the stuff and columns of steam rolled off his body. His skin began to detach from his body bubbling with blood from his arms and face as he let out a small cry of pain. Another wave of sludge was vomited on him as now he couldn't even see out past it, covering him in a liquid cocoon of the stuff. His flesh melting off of him.
The pain was unbearable with his strength fading, he dropped Yamato and it barely was visible from the outside as he was encased in the crud. The brood mother grabbed him with her tiny arms while he struggled a bit. She licked her lips in delight of swallowing the demon hunter whole.
Suddenly, bright blue lightning blasted out of the ooze and struck the brood mother in the face. She dropped Vergil rubbing her eyes. He didn't land on the ground, hovering in midair, the sludge exploding off his body leaving nothing left but Vergil in his Devil Triggered state.
He stretched his silver claws with Yamato flying up to meet them. He grabbed a hold of it as his clothes had infused with his body making his skin a blue and black scaled armor. Dragon scales flowed down his body with his coat becoming like bat wings and his chest pulsating with a blue light. Yamato changed as well inside he clawed clutches looking more like a blue, black, and silver Sparda with serrations on the blade that of a giant chainsaw. His hair turning into white, curled horns on his head with his eyes glowing a brilliant, ruby red.
Vergil roared out like an enraged titan at the brood mother in his Devil Triggered form with his teeth long and sharp looking like they could take a chunk out the brood mother with the greatest of ease. A black-forked tongue slithered out of Vergil's mouth as he hovered in the air. Winding back with his transformed Yamato, he swung the sword for the neck striking faster than light.
Her head was cut right from her body. It went flying, hitting the water with a wet smack as her body crumpled to the ground with black blood spurting from the neck wound.
Hovering down to the ground on outstretched, blue wings he landed softly in the water and came out of his devil form. He was back to normal tiredly walking over to where he left his sheath. He ran his sword down along the blade case and then inside. He looked at the dead brood mother saying, "You're lucky I stopped at your head." He pulled on his coat and walked away. Walking out of the cave and away from Gallery Lake itself.
By the time he made it to the camp, the sun was just coming up over the horizon and he saw all the kids there. The police were also there and he sneered. He was not answering any of their questions. Vergil despised the police and successfully avoided them until the bus got there to take all the kids home.
Jocelyn eased her way out of one of the cabins and got on the bus leaving the camp behind. She looked over at Vergil approaching him like a scared rabbit. She was rubbing her arm shyly asking, "Umm, you getting on the bus?"
Looking at the large vehicle, Vergil looked back at Jocelyn answering, "I don't think you would feel comfortable with me on that bus. Besides…" A fancy car looking like a Ferrari pulled up with Vergil smiling at it. "I think I'm covered."
Jocelyn turned away quickly and got on the bus. The bus made that familiar whine and began to head out of sight.
Slowly walking to the car, Vergil was in no rush. He turned for a minute looking back at the camp making sure there were no kids left. The camp had been evacuated. The only ones left were a few police walking around. Vergil got in the car and looked over at the driver. It was the same driver that drove the limousine.
As the driver pulled out onto the road, speeding off from the camp, Vergil heard his cell go off. Answering, it was Morrison, "Vergil? Have you left yet?"
Looking at the interior of the fancy car, Vergil said to Morrison, "Well, it doesn't make up for all of it but a small fraction."
"Oh the car? That's part of the driver's stash."
"So who is this guy anyway?" Vergil asked looking over at the shaded man. Vergil couldn't see his face nor any part of him. Just an outline and two hands on the steering wheel covererd in large gloves that seemed too big for his hands.
"Never you mind that. Did you find the lair?"
"Yes, she won't be pulling down anymore children."
"At least that's something. There's something I forgot to mention earlier, Vergil."
Slightly sighing, Vergil asked, "Seems that you're doing that more often than not. What?"
"Well, its probably nothing, I'll see you back at…"
"No! You brought it up, old man. Now its time for you to articulate."
"Did you see another big razpole besides the brood mother?"
"What? No."
"One that was shaped like a centaur with a scorpion-like tail and metal for hair?"
"I wasn't aware such a thing even existed."
"Yeah, that would've been the brood sire."
"You mean there's a brood father?"
"Don't worry, I'm sure he's still not around. He only impregnates the mother then leaves. She was probably impregnated 400 years ago. But…" Morrison cut himself off.
"But what?"
"He doesn't need evil to be awakened. He's awake constantly searching for other brood mothers regardless whether their asleep or awake to impregnate. I'm sure he's gone looking for another by now. I don't think he'd return to check-up or hear a siren call for help or anything."
Vergil disconnected Morrison contemplating what had just been said. Figuring that no matter if it was gone or not, it was still on the loose, still causing havoc. He thought about telling the driver to turn around but there were no more kids so the lake was clear. Not remembering the cops still investigating.
Two young cops flashed their lights around the cave looking for clues to something. Their supervisor came over the radio asking, "Found anything yet?"
The one replied, "Nothing yet."
"Keep looking."
The two cops stumbled around in the brood mother's chamber when they came upon her body. They looked at it in disgust when suddenly this large splash came from behind them. Both of them turned around frightened with one of them being backhanded right into a rock wall, dying from impact.
The other shuddered with his flashlight staring at the large, hideous creature. Standing on four legs like a horse with a scorpion-like tail as the cop drew his pistol. He didn't get a shot off as the tail went through him piercing to a wall like a spear with his limp, dead body suspended from the tail. The tail pulling out of the wall with the cop's dead body splashing down from the tail into the murky water.
The brood sire turned its head and sniffed the air with its rat-like nose. Its head being shaped like a rodent's with two, slime-covered, insect pincers protruding from its mouth. Long hair made out of a mesh, grey steel in a mullet flowing down the back of its nasty head and neck. It hissed with anger as its eyes burned a bright red with fury. Hissing out one word with clenched fist that bore the singed sign of Mundus, "Dante!"