CHAPTER-12: THE RAVEN AND THE WOLF

OCTOBER 31st

VENICE- ITALY

9:12PM

The sun had set long ago and the bright stars shined over the many canals and rivers that ran through the city of Venice. The Venetian Art gallery was the height of activity, even at this late hour. Inside Dante stood with one leg perched against one of the white marble pillars and his arms crossed against his chest. He was dressed in his usual hunters get up, the only difference was the grey, wolf style mask adorning his face. An unamused sneer plastered his featured under the mask as he watched the crowd of brightly dressed people, who all also wore masks, admiring the painting and sculpture.

Dante personally wasn't a fan of art. But then again he wasn't exactly here for the free booze either. The demon hunter was here for one reason and one reason only, the Raven. Morgana had arranged for Dante to attend this Masquerade Ball as another guest. His weapons where locked away safe nearby as to not attract to much attention to himself until the right time presented its self. So for now all the experienced slayer could do was sit and wait for his personal guest of honour to arrive.


10:22PM

Nero had been watching all the guest arrive at the Art Gallery from the roof tops for quite some time. Deciding it was time to make his move, the silverette used his gazed Devil Bringer to trail down one of the old building walls and land gracefully in an alleyway just around the corner from the Gallery. He was dressed in his all black get up with Yamato strapped to his back, Bonnie and Clyde holstered securely at his hips and his Reaper Scythe in his left hand. Doing a final check that his domino mask was secure, Nero threw the scythe across his shoulders and draped both his arms over its hilt.

Walking confidently out of the alleyway, the Raven headed towards the grand entrance of the Art Gallery, intent of getting past the security in the way that they would be least expecting, by walking through the front door.


10:26PM

Getting through the front guards had been a piece of cake. They had hardly even taken any notice of him due to all the other people dressed in black and wearing masks. Now all he had to do was walk in and find Morgana, kill her and get out alive, simple.

"And who exactly are you supposed to be?" A posh man dressed in a tux and wearing a monocle over one eye asked in a snobbish voice and sounding amused. "The Grim Reaper?" The posh man continued. Nero looked him up and down before easily deducing that this guy was a vampire demon in human form, probably one of Morgana's associates.

"Not exactly. But I can guaranty that things are about to get very grim for you." The silverette replied as a grin crawled onto his pale face.

"What do you mean by tha-" The demon began to inquire, but before he could even get his question out, Nero had slipped the Scythe from his shoulders and had swung it round and impaled the vampire demon through the stomach. The demons eyes widened in horror for a moment before his body went limp and his last breath left him. Kicking the corpse off from his scythe's blade as it began to turn to dust, the Raven turned back to see that most of the shocked crowd was staring at him with horror and disbelief. "Well at leased I got their attention." Nero through to himself as he saw some of the first guards emerging from the crowd and demanding that he surrender.

"Yeah! Like that's ever gonna happen." Nero smirked silently, before charging towards the guards who had just opened fire on him, while rapidly spinning his Reaper Scythe round in his left hand and using it as a shield to repel the oncoming bullets, while using Bonnie in his right hand to retaliate as he ran forwards.

It didn't take long for Nero to take down the first wave of guards. He's already shot most of them dead by the time he even got close enough to use the scythe to dispatch them, like he did on the few remaining guards, leaving each of them in several pieces on the marble floor.

Turning around, Nero saw that the next hoard of guards had gathered by the door, blocking his exit. Sheathing the demonic scythe onto his back, he pulled out his twin pistols. Running towards one of the white marble pillars, the silverette ran up it and using his altitude did a back flip into the air and opened fire on the guards from above. Before landing perfectly on his feet behind the deceased guards.

A third group of guards barged through one of the side doors and where about to charge for the intruding Raven and vice versa, when the sound of someone clapping echoed around the marble filled room.

"Bravo, bravo, bravissimo." A mans strong voice cut through the silence in the gallery, his tone sounding amused and equally menacing. " Really, very entertaining." The man continued and Nero turned to see him stepping out from the crowd. The currently nameless man was dressed in a red leather coat with a grey mask covering his face and his familiar silver hair almost matching Nero's own. Under closer inspection, the teen saw the weapons the man was sporting and immediately knew that he was not just any old guest.

Nero raised an eyebrow in a silent question to the man who had interrupted his party crashing. Waiting for some sort of explanation as to why this strange man was here, but the older silvered just continued to smile at him in an unpleasant way, that reminded Nero of a predator stalking its pray.


10:49PM

Dante stood smugly, assessing all he could about the young assassin he had been hired to kill. He'd very much enjoyed watching the Raven in action and didn't feel any sympathy for the demon guards that the kid had executed. "I've gotta admit this Punks got some moves." Dante reluctantly admitted to himself, his dark blue eye meeting with the white slits in the other man's black mask, the assassin obviously waiting for an expiation as to why Dante had halted his assault.

"I'm gonna cut the crap with you, Punk. I'm being paid an awful lot of money to kill you and that's exactly what I'm here to do." Dante explained with a shrug. The Raven's expression didn't falter one bit, he'd clearly been expecting something along those lines and much to Dante's amusement the kid didn't look the least bit concerned.


"Here to kill me, huh? Well this is going to be interesting." Nero thought calmly as he watched the other silverette upholster his own two guns.

"Ready for this, Punk?" The man in the red coat called over to the younger assassin.

"Yeah. Let's dance." Nero replied as a smirk edged at his lips. Without anything more being said, both silverettes charged at one another, bullets being fired from either party as they went.

Quickly jumping left and right to avoid the oncoming rain of metal coming his way, Nero elegantly dodged the other man's attacks until he was close enough that he could holstered Clyde and pull Yamato from his back, before dropping to his knee's to miss the bullets being fired towards his head, and slid along the marble floor until he reached the older silverette's feet and slashed his Katana upwards in a powerful attack as he returned to his feet.

The loud clash of metal meeting metal rang around all of the rooms occupants ears painfully. Nero gritted his teeth and let out a low growl of determination as he tried to force his blade upwards against the huge silver blade of his opponent's sword. The older man had whipped out his own sword moments before the Raven was about to impale him, and used the blade to block his attack. Finding he could no longer hold up against the other silverette's strength in the blade lock, Nero jumped backwards and landed a safe distance away, readying himself for the next attack.


"Damn, this guy can move. But its gonna take one hell of a lot more than some fancy footwork to get the ups on me." The red clad devil hunter thought to himself as the Raven continued to try a range of fast acrobatic moves to try and get a successful hit on the older man. Dodging to the left as the younger assassin jumped down and lashed out with a heavy blade attack that cracked into the marble where Dante's feet had been moments before. The elder was defiantly impressed, but the longer they fought the more the feeling that he knew the other man increase. Until something happened that confirmed his suspicion that he had thought the kid before.

Dante had been so caught up in his thoughts that he had given the Raven just the opportunity to strike him. The other silverette was sent flying backwards when a pair of black boots made contact with the left side of his face, and he was only just in time to swing Rebellion in front of himself to block the bullets that the Raven was now sending straight towards his face from his twin guns. Landing elegantly on his feet atop one of the marble pillars, Dante was just about to swing Rebellion out at the younger male when the Raven jumped up and his foot made contact with the war sword's hilt, forcefully imbedding it into the marble pillar before back flipping and landing on the pillar across from Dante and mirroring the elder's move of pulling out his twin guns and pointing them at his opponent.

The devil hunter chuckled slightly at their Mexican stand off. Neither assassin moved for several seconds, just waiting for the other man to make their move. But apparently Dante was a lot more patient that his younger prey, as the Raven decided enough was enough and fired both his guns, aiming towards the red clad hunter's head. The demon hunter was prepared though and duck to easily dodge the attack, before jumping up higher into the air to get more distance and avoid getting shot in the crutch, which was where the younger man was aiming next.

Flying backwards the elder silverette through that he had gained the advantage, but the last this he expected the other assassin to do was to jump up after him and get close enough to him that he could rap his legs around Dante's torso to stop the elder getting away from him. Deciding to use his guns, the experienced hunter used Ebony to fire towards the Raven's head, but the kid used his left arm to hit him in the fold of his elbow and push his black gun off target. Using Ivory Dante tried again and this time the younger man grabbed hold of the pistol with his teeth, sending the bullet Dante had fired whirling passed his ear instead of imbedding it's self into his forehead.


"Shit, that was close!" Nero cursed himself as he felt the silver bullet rushing passed his right ear. Deciding he needed distance, the teen unwrapped one of his legs and used it to kick the man, who had been hired to kill him, in the chin forcing him away. Unfortunately for Nero he hadn't anticipated for the older man to grab hold of his leg and swing him around as they both fell, and sending the younger silverette crashing into another of the marble pillars decorating the room. Dazed slightly from the impact, Nero fell down the gap between the pillar and the art sculptor, a very tall thin piece of gold metal that was formed in a spiral shape, that stood in front of it pillar.

Pressing both his feet against each side of the gap he fell down, Nero was able to slow his momentum and come to a stop before crashing into the cold, hard floor. Looking up he saw his attacker standing on top of the pillar and retrieving his war sword, before he aimed Clyde towards the red clad man before pulling the trigger. The older silverette jumped out of the way of the shot and instead landed atop the spiral art sculptor, just as Nero began to push his feet against it and dislodge the sculptors supports, sending it tumbling to the grown. Looking up once more, Nero was displeased to see the other assassin standing smugly and perfectly on balance on top of the spiral as t fell. Angrily the teen holstered his guns and charged up the falling spiral with Yamato in hand swung the Katana with all the force he had only for it to once again be met by his older opponents blade. Both assassins jumped free of the spiral seconds before it made contact with the floor.


Dante landed smoothly on the ground with Rebellion hilted over his right shoulders as he watched the Raven skid to a stop at the other end of the room. His sense of déjà vu was screaming out to him. He knew that he had been through a very similar sequence before, but he couldn't for the life of him remember where. Deciding there was no other option and with his curiosity eating away at him, he called out to the other man.

"Hey, Punk! I was just wondering, have we met before?" The red clad demon hunter inquired trying to sound as impartial as he could.

"Would it stop you trying to kill me if we had?" The Raven called back sounding slightly hopeful.

"Not a chance." Dante replied and the look on the younger assassin's face showed he'd expected as much.

"Didn't think so." The black clad young man muttered under his breath and Dante couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.


Nero was a little shocked to hear his attacker ask such a strange question, however he himself had to admit that the other man reminded him of someone that he just couldn't put his finger on. Looking around the room the young assassin found that most of the guests had fled, Morgana included. Sighing in defeat, Nero figured that his best chance of survival was to flee, he had no quarrel with the red clad man before him, except for the one the man had with him. Either way, Nero couldn't see the sense in staying and fighting. With that decided he eyed the older man wearily, while trying to decide his best escape rout.

Looking up at the night sky through the ornate glass roof of the art gallery, the Raven figured that it wound be his quickest was out and least likely to be intercepted by any more guards. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Nero raced forwards and ran straight for the other assassin, using him as a walk way to get more height and then using Yamato to deal a forceful blow against the other mans war sword, sending the elder flying backwards and crashing into several small pieces of glass artwork.

With the other man momentarily down, Nero took his chance to escape running towards two pillars and jumped between them to get the height he needed to reach the top before jumping into the rafters and shooting the glass in one of the roof window panels before jumping through it and landing on the old terracotta tiles on the outer roof as he fled the scene.


Dante groaned as he got to his feet just in time to see the ends of a jet black coat leave out one of the window panels high up in the alcoves of the gallery. "Well that was unexpected." Dante through while mentally cursing himself for losing himself in thought. Dusting himself of, the red clad demon hunter followed the younger man's rout as he headed for the roof and gave chases. Determined not to let the Raven escape him again.

Climbing out the broken window, Dante saw the younger man's figure getting smaller and smaller as the Raven used his acrobatic skills to jump and lead across the gaps between the building rooftops high above the many canals. Starting to run after him, the experienced hunter pulled out his pistols and began firing at his fleeing opponent.


"Ahh!" Nero cried out as he was it with a sharp wave of pain as several bullets pierced his left shoulder and upper torso. Turning around the silverette was met with the sight of the other assassin following his path across the rooftops while firing off multiple shots from his mismatching guns. Ignoring the pain sheering through his left arm, Nero continued to run, not wanting to have to fight the older man, especially now he was injured. Pushing forwards and dodging as well as he could without loosing his balance and falling into one of the canals below, the Raven pulled out Bonnie and retaliated some shots of his own as he tried to lose the man chasing him.

Nero winced more as he felt more bullets bite into his skin, but he continued to run, refusing to stop at all costs. That was until an excoriating pain tour through the upper part of his right leg and sent him plummeting face first onto the hard tiles of the old roof top he was standing on. Forcing himself to his feet, Nero turned around to find the red clad man standing right behind him with his arms crossed over his chest and a pleased grin plastered across his face. Stumbling slightly on his injured leg, Nero pulled out his Katana from its place against his back while he watched the elder do the same with his own war sword.

Both parties charged forwards, swords clashing over and over as both opponents tried to get the upper hand against the other. Nero ducked low to dodge the elder mans huge blade as it made a sweep towards his head, then used his right leg to try and steel the ground out from the older silverette, but his attempt was unsuccessful and the other man easily moved out of the way.


As Dante continued to fight the younger man, he could start to see the first signs of fatigue setting in, most likely from the blood the kid was losing from the bullet wounds and the occasional hit Dante managed to land with Rebellion, where as the red clad hunter's own wounds would heal almost instantly the younger man's didn't. However the punk just wouldn't give in and it was beginning to try Dante's patience. The demon slayer was hoping that the younger silverette would have given up and then Dante could have dispatched him and collected his money and returned home. The elder assassin once again landed a hit and managed to slice into the Raven's side with the razor sharp edge of Rebellion as he glided past, the younger of the two fell to his knee's and grasped onto the bloody wound in pain. Looking down Dante thought that the punk had finally given up, until the Raven did something unexpected.

"You've got a jacked up notion of fare play pal, and it's beginning to piss me off!" The Raven stated as he once again forced himself off the ground.

Dante stared on in shock, the Raven's words echoing around his head like a mantra. "Where the hell have I heard that before?" the experienced hunter asked himself angrily. He didn't know why the words ignited his temper, but it really struck a nerve that he couldn't place them. He was even having trouble keeping hold of his Devil Trigger and the Raven's next move was all it took to release it.


Nero knew this was it. He was going to die by the other assassin's hand. He was bleeding badly from all the different wounds littering his battered body and he felt exhausted, yet he wouldn't go down without a fight, something in his pride wouldn't let him. Tightening his grip on Yamato, the Raven made one last attempted at retaliation as he charged forward, all his straight and will power tunnelled into one final blow, and true to its purpose he managed to strike the elder assassin right through the man's stomach.

The teen stood shocked for am moment at the realization that he had managed to injure the other man sunk in. That was until he looked up to see the sadistic grin on the man he'd impaled's face, and Nero's expression turned to horror as the elder man began to laugh, his shoulders shaking from the action. Nero even to shocked to do anything about the strong hand that punched him, hard on the left side of his face, the impact breaking the skin by his eyebrow and sending a small stream of blood running down his face, as he tumbled to the floor.

Nero could only look as the older man glared at his menacingly, his one blue eyes had turned red under the grey mask. Hus fingers curled into claws at the end of his hands and an almost electric power seemed to fill the atmosphere around him dangerously. Before he knew it Nero was no longer looking at a man who looked human, instead he was looking up at a creature that seamed to be stuck halfway between the man he was fighting moments ago, and a demon that had been sent to posses the older man's body.


Dante was furious, his temper was at fever pitch, but he's somehow managed to hold back part of his Devil Trigger, leaving him somewhere between human and demon. The younger man's sword was still sticking out of his stomach, so he wrapped both his clawed hands around its hilt and yanked it free. Glaring at the younger man who lying in front of him, he reached out and grabbed the kid by the collar with his free hand, that wasn't holing the Katana, and pulled the young assassin off the floor only to punch him again in the face and send falling back down. Quickly dropping to his knees and straddling the Raven, Dante's demon side started to take its anger out on the younger man's already abused body, until he was black and blue and bleeding. Dissatisfied when the kid tried to crawl away from him, the elder slayer grabbed the hilt of his own sword and impaled Rebellion deep into the other man's mid section.

"Ah!"The Raven cried out in pain and he closed his blurry eyes against the agony. When Dante saw the black masked punk try to punch him with his right, gaze covered hand, the experienced hunter grabbed the Raven's oven Katana and imbed edit into the younger man's right palm, before standing up and stepping back to admire his work. Looking very pleased with himself, Dante reached up and pulled off his grey mask, deciding that he wanted the kid to get a good look at who had killed him, before he died.


"No way!" Nero gasped as he looked upon the face of the elder devil hunter. The same hunter who had come to his home and helped him take down the evil Saviour. The same hunter who had given him the Katana what he was now using. The same devil hunter who had showed him that just because he was a half devil, didn't mean that he was evil. And know the same devil hunter was going to be the same man who would take his life. "Dante!"


Dante was pleased with the shocked look the Raven gave him upon his self unmasking. Walking closer to the younger man, the slayer pulled out his war sword from the kids body and sheathed it back in place on his back, before bending down on one knee and grabbing the punks collar in one hand and lifting him up and holding him slightly over the edge of the building so that he could get a better look at the younger man's face in the moonlight, while he pulled the Katana out of the kid's hand and held it tightly with the other.

Holding his breath as he reached out and grabbed the corner of the black domino mask the kid wore, Dante slowly pulled the material from the other man's blood covered face, and unmasked the Raven.

Dante's previously smug expression fell to one of pure horror and shock. He looked deeply into the pale blue eyes of the younger man in complete disbelief of all the people he had expected to see he could hardly believe that he was looking at the face of the young order member he had met in Fortuna. "Nero!"

TBC…..


Well wasn't that exciting? I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. XD.

Please review and make me happy.

-Princess Loveless