The Crystal Sarcophagus

PART 12

Over the next weeks training continued and all seven youngsters improved their skills day by day. Vergil was satisfied with their progress, but pushed them to become better and better. He knew the kind of devils and demons that might come to destroy the young half-devils. He felt he had to teach them as much as he could, as quickly as he could to give them half a chance against their enemies.

There hadn't been any attacks for quite a while but Vergil knew they couldn't relax. Of course it was difficult to remain focused and vigilant for such a long time when nothing happened. Add to that the approach of summer and all the flowers growing everywhere around the house, and the idea of demons coming to kill them seemed just ludicrous, especially on a warm day that felt like a holiday.

Vergil was training Tessie. Tyler, conscientious as always, was busy with some shadow fighting, while the rest was hanging around rather than doing some sparring of their own.. They just wanted to relax in the sunshine. All of them had had a session with Vergil, and none had escaped without a few cuts.

Tessie was not as focused as normal, and Vergil noticed it.

"Tessie, pay attention to what you are doing. You gave me enough space to cut you in half," he admonished the girl.

"Can't we have a day off? It's so hot and we're working like idiots. I'd rather stop and sit with the rest," Tessie answered.

"You cannot afford to take a day off. Not until I think you are ready."

"When will I be ready?"

"Never, unless you are willing to put the effort in. And that goes for all of you," he said to the group. "At the moment you are not Sparda's Army. You are barely Sparda's Cadets. Get up and start training."

Slowly, with a lot of grumbling Damian, Carrie, Nicholas, and Cody got up and picked up their swords. Cody needed a bit longer to find his weapon that he had thrown down in the long grass. As he took it he looked towards the forest on the other side of the clearing. He thought he had seen something move. Moments later he knew he had been right.

"Guys, I think there's something out there," he said.

Instantly they were ready to take on whatever was coming for them. The lazy holiday feeling had disappeared.

"Yep, you're right Cody. We've got uninvited guests," Damian said. "We'll have to show them the exit."

"Jim! Inside!" Carrie ordered as the six young half-devils started walking across the clearing.

Jim, used to obeying such a command immediately, ran towards the house. Vergil, who had completely lost control over Jim's body, was dragged along.

On the veranda Vergil finally managed to get his own command through just as the boy opened the door.

"Jim, stop. I need to see what threat they are facing."

Jim stopped and Vergil left the boy's body. He looked out towards the field where the six half-devils were walking swords ready. He could feel the demons that were hiding in the long grass near the edge of the forest. He needed to know what they were. Then, realising they had been spotted, the first demons rose up out of the grass.

"Edimmu," Vergil mumbled reassured that the children were already good enough to take on these minor demons.

"Edimmu? Is that the name of one of those skeletons?" Jim asked. "How do you know which one is Edimmu? They all look the same to me."

"They are all Edimmu. That is the species."

"I see. It's like cows and pigs and horses."

Vergil didn't answer. He felt there were more demons still hiding. Then among the skeletal Edimmu in their ragged robes more demons rose up from the grass. Half of them were females with tusks like wild boars; the other half were very human looking red demons with red skin, red hair and beard, and red tunics.

"Danglathas and Yush. That means there is a boss as well," Vergil said to himself.

To prove him right a final demon stood up. Vergil recognised the huge devil with the red and golden scales and the double-horned reptilian head. Adramelech, the King of Fire. How often had he been stabbed with the demon commander's flaming sword? Not in a fight of course. At the time he'd been hanging in chains, and Mundus' minions had tortured him non-stop. Adramelech had only been one of many. Vergil wasn't surprised that the demon had not gone down with his master. That slippery reptile could slither out of the tightest spots.

The six youngsters had stopped, looking at the demons that were advancing towards them. For the first time Vergil realised how young they still were to take on the force that the Demon Realm had sent to destroy them. He doubted that his pupils could hold out against the fiends. These were stronger than the previous attackers, a lot stronger. But perhaps not smarter, otherwise they would have bunched up and attacked the small group. Of course Danglathas and Yush generally couldn't stand the sight of each other and both species looked down on the Edimmu. A small advantage but probably not enough.

"Jim, if we do not help them, they will lose. Are you willing to take the risk?"

"Okay, Vergil, take my body. Let's give them hell."

"I will," Vergil answered as he merged with the boy's body again.

Sword in hand he walked down from the veranda, just as the attack began. Straight away Nicholas was stabbed through the chest. While his devil was awakening the red Yush looked down smirking at the child's body, ready to give the fatal blow. Vergil tricked, landed near the demon, and sliced it in half. Sure that he had killed the Yush, he turned away from it, standing guard over the boy who was triggering for the first time. He saw Carrie fighting another Yush. She stood her ground and Vergil was sure she would eventually kill it. Damian had triggered and was taking on two Danglathas. The sparks that came from the eyes of the female demons didn't hinder the devil-triggered teen. Damian didn't try any flash moves which pleased Vergil. The youngster had definitely learned a lot since he had started training the group.

On the other side of the field Tessie was facing the hulking form of Adramelech. Instead of trying to fight the creature that towered above her she dived under its flaming sword and through its legs.

She started running and carried on by her speed she rotated and slashed through two Edimmu that were ganging up on her brother. The two siblings then stood back to back as more of the same demons went for them. The skeletal creatures tried to cut the flesh off the children with a kind of grappling hook at the end of the chains they held in their thin, long claws. Cody alternated between blocking the hooks with his sword and hitting the demons with his returning knives. The demonic runes of the binding and returning spells on the blades bathed the boy's face in an eerie green light. In Tessie's hand a second sword had materialised. She used one sword to block the chain while cutting the hand of the demon with the other.

Adramelech meanwhile stood face to face with Tyler who had jumped in before the demon boss had been able to follow Tessie. As always the boy was cool and methodical, but he was facing a dangerous foe. Then a smile flitted across his face. He used the tactics Vergil had used on him the first time, and feigned tiredness. As expected the demon tried to take advantage of this but instead was met with an attack that gashed its arm. It roared in anger. A matching roar came from the silver devil Tyler had turned into. He struck at the hulking demon time and time again, controlling the fight, dictating the speed of it. It was a blistering attack that the demon could barely follow. Even with his flaming sword he broke through the silver devil's defence only twice. Tyler's injuries were only minor. He increased his speed further, and injured the left arm and leg of the demon. It staggered backwards and in that moment Tyler cut off the hand with the blazing sword. He caught the hand and before the sword fell down he had pushed it through the demons body. Adramelech burst in flames and seconds later the sword fell down among the ashes of its owner.

Vergil hadn't just been observing the battle. As soon as Nicholas had triggered he pulled the new devil to his feet, just in time to face three formidable Yush demons that came rushing towards them. Nicholas was, except for Jim, the weakest fighter of the group. His newly activated devil gave him the extra strength and speed that he normally lacked. With newfound confidence he took on one of the demons while Vergil in Jim's body faced the other two. They laughed at the sight of the small human, but not for long. As promised Vergil gave them hell, turning so fast that he had sliced them through twice before they realised it. They fell to pieces while Vergil was already running towards another group of Danglathas and Edimmu.

He ran past Damian who just finished off the second of the female demons he'd been fighting. The teen grinned at Vergil.

"I thought I was the flash bastard, but I'm nothing compared to you," he said.

"Keep practicing and you will achieve it, boy," Vergil answered.

Together they met the group of demons head-on, blocking attacks but hitting home more often. One by one the fiends fell to their swords. Damian decapitated the last Edimmu and Vergil took stock of what was happening around him.

After killing Adramelech Tyler had been charged from opposite sides by a Danglathas and a Yush. Carrie had rushed to his aid blocking the attack of the female demon while Tyler was crossing swords with the red male. Vergil saw that Carrie and Tyler, like Damian were dealing the last blows to the demons they were facing.

Tessie and Cody were joined by Nicholas who high-fived his friend for disposing of the group that had surrounded them. The three youngest half-devils were near the edge of the forest, away from the others. Suddenly out from among the trees came two dozen devils.

"Werewolves," Cody shouted.

But these Demonolupi were not werewolves. They had no human form; they did not become wolves because of the full moon. These wolves walked on human legs and had human hands. They had learned to fight with swords, but would tear their victim to pieces with their sharp teeth, even if this victim was still alive. Vergil realised that the children were in danger. Without thinking that he was actually in the body of an even younger child he rushed towards them. Only one thought filled his mind. Defend them. Protect the innocent.

The three older teens having dealt with their opponents followed Vergil as fast as they could. Soon they formed a circle around the youngsters, though not for long. Tessie wanted to be involved in the fight, and Cody did everything his sister did. Of course Nicholas couldn't stay behind then.

Together the six young half-devils and Vergil in Jim's body took on the demons. Vergil found he was standing next to Nicholas and Cody. Despite all the fighting that had gone before, they were still brimming with energy, working together, grinning at each other when the devil they had been attacking retreated to catch its breath.

When three demons took the place of the one, Vergil was ready to enter the fray. With a speed and accuracy he had thought impossible in the borrowed body of Jim, he hacked and slashed at the demons. Twirling faster than a whirling dervish he decapitated two of them, and sliced at another one that had intended to attack Tessie. She had been forced to drop her weapon when she had received a cut across her arm and hand. The time she gained by Vergil's attack on the demon allowed her to trigger, and with her spade-ended tail she hit the arm of the demon that dropped its weapon. With the creature's own sword the girl finished Vergil's job.

They were controlling the fight when one of the demons picked up the sword of a fallen comrade and threw it towards Carrie. As if it was a heat-seeking missile the weapon dodged two devils and stabbed the girl through the back. She staggered looking down at the sword poking out of her body. The demon she'd been fighting thought to take advantage of her confusion but Damian had seen what had happened.

He shouted, "Carrie!" and rushed to the girl's aid.

The demon had no chance to finish its friend's job. Damian was upon it in a flash and destroyed it utterly. The sword thrower perished under Vergil's attack. By now nearly half the attackers had been killed. The rest didn't stand a chance, especially when Carrie triggered. In her devil form she had a lust for the battle she normally never showed. Two of the remaining demons ran for the woods, but Vergil tricked and blocked their path. The smirk when they saw the small figure that was trying to stop them changed to fear when Vergil attacked. Soon nothing was left but two piles of dust. Even their weapons had been cut to pieces.

The black-haired leader of the wolf-demons fell to the combined attack of Tessie, Codie, and Nicholas. Damian and Tyler dispatched their opponents simultaneously, and with a shout of victory Carrie killed the last of the Demonolupi. Vergil left Jim's body and looked as the boy ran to join his friends in their celebration. They had a right to be proud. They had done something that should have been impossible. They had stood together, fought together, defended each other where necessary, found strength in the friendship that joined them together and made them a family.

Looking at the youngsters, Vergil finally understood. Might was not everything. Might was nothing, could never be enough without a soul and feelings to sustain it. Sparda's soul and Dante's soul increased their power, made it more than mere strength. That had allowed his little brother to beat him in Temen-ni-gru and later when he was Nelo Angelo. That's why Dante had beaten Mundus while he, Vergil, had failed.

Yes, Sparda had died and Eva too, but Sparda's strength lived on in Dante, as did Eva's love for her children. They had not failed; he had failed them. By denying his soul and his humanity he had betrayed his parents' memory. Dante was Sparda's heir, Eva's son. He, Vergil, the firstborn, should have been, but he had despised what had made his parents great, and so had become a mere demon; he was Nelo Angelo. The difference had been merely cosmetic, a different body with the same soulless being inside.

If he had had a body he would have cried for what he had … not lost but thrown away. Tears and regret were useless though, not because they were a show of feelings, but because they stopped him from acting. He was not dead, not really. As a spirit, ghost, entity, whatever he was, he could still act. He could still be Sparda's heir. Sparda's Army would rise again, and do what it had always done: defend the innocent, all of them.

Jim had turned towards Vergil and beckoned him to join the group. He was grinning as usual. Vergil moved towards the youngsters when he suddenly felt a searing pain in his head, worse than what he had felt on Mallet Island at the sight of Dante's amulet. The boy came running. A bright light preceded him and entered Vergil. The turmoil in his brain became worse. He sank away in darkness, blessed, silent, soothing darkness.

He never heard the boy cry out, "No! Don't go! No!"

Jim reached the spot where Vergil had been. The light was still there and disappeared back into the boy. The rest of the group who hadn't seen anything joined the boy who was crying.

Carrie put her arm around Jim.

"Jim, what's the matter? What happened?"

"He's gone, Carrie. Vergil is gone," he said while sobbing.

"He came back before, Jim."

"Not this time. The thing inside him attacked him."

"The thing inside him? What are you talking about?"

"There was something inside him – like a bug – that made him do bad things. We had knocked it out, but something woke it up again. It attacked Vergil. It is gone now, destroyed, and Vergil is gone as well. He won't come back, Carrie. He is dead for good."

Jim started crying again. Damian picked him up and carried him to the house, followed by the rest of the group. They didn't feel like partying anymore. One of their group was gone.

ooOOoo

Author's Note: Let me know what you think of the fight. I'm always nervous about writing those, and I prefer to avoid them. That was not possible in this story though. I hope I did okay.

revolverwild: I'm sure you've noticed that I put the answer to your question in the story. The demonic runes are spells. One spell makes the knives return to the hand that threw them, and the other spell binds the knives to Ixihra and her bloodline (Codie and Tessie and any future descendants they may have) so only they can use them.

Jimli: No need to thank me. Vergil is perfect as The Beast. :) As for the meeting between the two brothers ... wait and see.