Chapter Eleven: Ruiner
How odd.
Usually, in the Demon Realm, there are- as one might expect from the name- demons. But much to Vergil's confusion, there were virtually none to be seen, and all that he came across offered virtually no resistance. Anger welled up within him...
Dante had been here.
At length, Vergil came to a great door, brimming with demonic energy. His goal was in sight.
He put his hand against it, but just as he was about to push it open, something slammed into it on the other side, with an oddly familiar grunt. He could hear gunshots, roars, and all variety of grisly cacophony from beyond the gate. For this reason, Vergil elected to take another route. He propped himself against the nearby Divinity statue, in thought, and looked around.
Vergil glanced upward and saw that, over the doorway, was a large pile of rubble; however, it only rose up a short distance, and could be easily scaled. As he clambered upon the chalk-white stone, he saw below his brother Dante, locked in combat with a pulsating violet mass, a gelatinous aberration of shifting limbs, with faces that seemed to swim to the surface and disappear into the creature's bulk just as quickly. But the demonic energy behind it seemed somehow familiar, and the beast's cries likewise.
There's no mistaking it, Vergil thought- that slug is Arkham... a much more fitting form for him than before.
He jumped down onto one of the rocky crags that punctuated the battlefield and put his hand on the Yamato. Just as he was about to make his move, though, Arkham howled, "No use! Regardless of how strong you are, you're nothing but a half-breed!" Vergil stopped in his tracks. Arkham's voice seemed very far off now- that last remark had hit close to him for the cerulean devil.
Regardless of how strong I am... he contemplated, I'm nothing but a half-breed. A half devil... the human blood in my veins... it's making me weak... I must become—
"...a pure demon, the real Sparda!" Arkham's voice interrupted his train of thought. The putrid mass shot forth a hand at Dante, who began to raise his sword; but Vergil, maddened, struck first. His sword seemed to flash through the air- in reality, it was sheer demonic power erupting from Yamato with Vergil's aid; he had named this technique the "Judgment Cut". It solidified on target, and Arkham's hand was cut from his body, writhing on the ground. In surprise, Dante and his opponent alike turned their gaze from each other, upward. "What's this?" demanded Arkham.
Vergil returned the stare, grinning wickedly. "Damn you!" shouted the aspiring demon whom he had struck. Vergil stood up upon the peak he was perched upon and pointed his katana at Arkham.
"I've come to retrieve my power," he said, twirling the sword for dramatic effect. "You can't handle it."
With that, he leapt, somersaulting in the air, and landed before his red-coated twin. Defensively, he now pointed Yamato at Dante's throat. "Look at you," Dante mocked, "making a big dramatic entrance and stealing my spotlight."
"Well- you don't possibly believe that he--" Vergil hit the severed hand with the flat of his blade, sending it back to its former owner. "...deserves to be our main event, now, do you?"
Arkham reattached the appendage, and Dante walked forward casually. "Now that you mention it... you're right." The two brothers, in agreement, marched forward for battle. Arkham, though, ever confident, growled, "Do you feel you can defeat me? Defeat the power of your father, the great Sparda!?"
Vergil scowled. "You should come to realize you cannot control the power of Sparda."
"You're wasting your time, buddy," Dante chimed in, pointing Rebellion at the sluggish blob. "I think he needs to learn the hard way."
Vergil stole a glance sideways at Dante, then back at Arkham. He struck Rebellion out of the way, and began to charge, with his brother following suit. Vergil struck first, bounding high into the air over Arkham, and cut into him with Yamato as he had against Beowulf. Dante finished up the attack by charging straight forward and driving Rebellion deep into the pulpy mass of flesh that was their foe. The attacks were only marginally effective; Arkham growled in pain, flailing and attacking wantonly, but the wounds began to seal themselves almost immediately.
Regrouping, the brothers struck again; Dante unleashed a savage three-hit maneuver, and Vergil vivisected the monster with another volley of Judgment Cut attacks. They were no more useful than last time, though, only causing minimal damage to Arkham. The two fell back, on opposite sides of the writhing demon. Vergil leapt over a passing tentacle that Arkham had sent out, cleaving it as he went, and shouted to his brother, "Dante! This isn't working... we need a stronger tactic!"
"Way ahead of ya, bro!" Dante returned. Vergil saw a burst of red energy from behind Arkham, and understood. He transformed into his own Devil Trigger form in a flash of blue and, at super speed, rejoined Dante on the other side. Dante, as usual, delighted in taunting the enemy: "I told you before, dude... the show's over!"
The next simultaneous assault was, by far, more successful. Though the brothers could only hold their respective full-powered forms for a short while, they had managed to wear down Arkham before either of them reverted. "It's time to finish this," said Vergil. Dante nodded his assent. Arkham growled madly and thrashed about, almost begging euthanasia.
Both devils thrust their swords, in perfect synchronicity, into Arkham's sides. Arkham, seemingly unaffected, seized both of them, and feebly threw them back. Vergil scoffed and forced Yamato deep into the monster's body, with Dante doing the same on the other side. The blades clashed against one another, and emerged on opposite sides; Vergil seized the Rebellion in flight, and Dante took hold of Yamato. The brothers, unified, gave a few practice swings of each other's weapons, and stood side by side as Arkham stepped back in horror.
They leapt at the same time, each devil's precise attacks cutting deep into Arkham; they landed on the other side of the man-slug, who gushed forth torrents of blood and foul substances, and casually switched weapons. As Vergil sheathed Yamato, Dante removed his pistols, and spun them stylishly, preparing to deal a final shot. Just before he could fire, though, Arkham knocked the gun out of his hand, where it was caught by... Vergil.
"I'll try it your way for once," he said, and they both pointed their firearms at the would-be demon.
"Remember what we used to say?" asked Dante.
"Don't do it!" pleaded Arkham piteously.
Dante and Vergil grinned, and stood back-to-back. Brothers again, they said only one word:
"Jackpot!"
As they pulled the triggers, two devil power-infused bullets burst forth, dealing the final blow. As Arkham's newfound form began to dissipate, ejecting him from the Demon World, he wailed, "I have the true power of Sparda...!"
"Not very classy for someone's dying words." Vergil tossed Dante the pistol over his shoulder, and began to walk away- but something caught his eye. As Arkham wasted away, three shapes appeared behind him... one with a steely shimmer, and the others in silver and gold. It was the Perfect Amulet, separated into its halves... and their father's sword, Force Edge.
When Arkham was killed, it rent a hole in the arena, in the very fabric of the Demon World. It was through this gap that the artifacts began to fall. Vergil started, and made a mad run for them, leaping directly into the fissure without any regard for his own safety, and Dante, realizing what had happened, followed fast on his heels.
Vergil caught his amulet in free fall, and Dante his...
And the only other sound to accompany their descent into the inky void was the ringing of the Force Edge as it fell through the Demon World.