Their footsteps echoed as Vergil and Arkham approached the last of the sealed door. The journey had been littered by Devils, but Vergil made quick work of each one. Such weak beings were no match for a son of Sparda. No doubt, Dante was back on his feet. Vergil suspected he had something to do with the little "quake" they felt earlier. If he was smart, he'd walk away, but of course Dante was anything but smart.
What he did to cause such a ruckus was a mystery to Vergil, but it didn't matter. Dante, like himself, can walk away from just about anything without a scratch. He survived their battle at the top of Temen-ni-gru, so he'd survive whatever he just did. It wasn't his younger twin he needed to worry about.
He left her, alone.
Even now, the weight of his words ate at the back of his mind like an unwanted parasite. He said harsh, cruel things to her. Things Vergil knew he couldn't take back with a simple apology. Hotaru reacted to the truth just as he thought she would. She wanted to protect the rest of the world, as if she were able. Power determines all things, and she had none. Well, none that she could reliably use, anyways. She may wish to stop him, but she couldn't. Vergil's words, while cruel, held truth.
Their fight repeated in his mind. When was the last time he and Hotaru disagreed? The two didn't see eye to eye on many things. She was far too kind for her own good. Most of the time she kept quiet to keep the peace. Even when they disagreed, things between them never went south. Until now.
Will she forgive him?
Vergil sincerely doubted it. She refused to even look at him.
"Soon we will reach the layer of judgement." Arkham's voice snapped Vergil's train of thought, and brought him back to his current situation. He'd deal with Hotaru later. Right now, he had other things to worry about. "Temen-ni-gru will finally regain it's full function, and lead us into the Demon world."
Vergil stood back as Arkham referenced his book, preparing to unlock the door. Again, the Devil wannabe droned on with an almost sick sort of reverence. "The world where Sparda's power has been sealed," He paused, and chuckled. "And the one who will lift the incantation is you, his own son."
The irony wasn't lost on Vergil. Sparda spent his life protecting humanity, defending them from the wrath of the Demon world. Now it will all be undone by his own kin. Humanity was just a casualty on his path to power.
"It must be fate."
The seal on the door creaked and groaned. The locks shifted, and moved. Unlocked, the door openned. Arkham stood aside as Vergil approached the door, allowing him to pass first. He walked into the threshold, but paused. As Vergil understood, this was the last door in their way. There was something else on his mind. Something he needed to talk care of.
"Does that woman really bother you?"
"What are you talking about?" Tension leaked into Arkham's voice. Vergil struck a nerve, just as he suspected he would.
Vergil answered with a demanding question. "Why didn't you kill her?" He continued on. "Perhaps because she's your daughter? Did some pesky fatherly love get in the way?"
Indignation filled Arkham's voice as he dared to approach the half Devil. "That's none of your—!"
In one swift, fluid motion Vergil grabbed the hilt of the Yamato, and plunged the blade into Arkham's stomach. The metal of the blade met no resistance, cutting through skin, muscle, and organs. The man gasped, dropping his prized book. Blood splattered onto the worn leather tome.
"To further your study of the black arts, you sacrificed your loving wife. To become a Devil as well."
Arkham gasped, struggling to pull the blade out of his stomach. A futile attempt to save his worthless life.
"Knowing this I thought you'd be more useful to me, but I was wrong." Adding insult to injury, Vergil twisted Yamato, and thrusted it deeper into his stomach. Arkham doubled over in pain, gasping. Vergil looked at the man with disdain. "No wonder your attainment of power is incomplete."
"What about you?" Blood spilled from Arkham's lips as he spoke, nearly spitting on Vergil. Mismatched eyes glared right back at him. "You're an incomplete being as well." His vision blurred, and he began to feel weak. Still, he continued on. "You're human blood… it makes you sentimental. Caring for that girl…"
Vergil's eye twitched.
"That girl… will be your undoing."
"Shut up." Vergil ripped Yamato out of his stomach, sheathing the blade. Arkham collapsed behind him, a halo of blood growing around his crumpled body. "Now that the final door is open, I have no use for you."
The half Devil walked away from the dying man, leaving him to continue on with his quest. Once he had Sparda's power, no one would stand against him, and nothing would break him.
Hotaru's heart thundered in her chest as she ran. She glanced behind her. Sure enough, they were still following her. Large, white, demonic spiders pursued her. The Arachne caught her scent before she knew they were even there. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face as Hotaru threw the door in front of her open. Not bothering to close the door behind her, Hotaru ran onwards. The three Arachne behind her hissed, and pounded at the door. She slowed, allowing herself another glance, and a chance to catch her breath. The slim door frame wasn't exactly friendly to large, Devil spiders. For a brief moment, Hotaru hoped the door frame may stop them, but those hopes were quickly dashed as they kept ramming into the door. Stone cracked and wood splintered. It wouldn't be long before they demolished the door frame entirely. She flinched as a pebble landed at her feet, and broke out into another sprint in the opposite direction.
She pushed open the opposite door just she the Arachne burst through the doorway behind her. Just as before, Hotaru left the door wide open, and again the Arachne struggled to fight their way through the door frame.
"How many?" Lady stood in the middle of the room, waiting.
"Three creepy spider things." Hotaru said as she moved off to the side, pointedly standing a good distance away from the door. "They can't get through the door, not right away at least. They're too big."
"So, they're clustered together?"
Hotaru nodded.
"Perfect." Lady swung Kalina Ann off her back, and fired a missile. Hotaru instinctively closed her eyes, and clapped her hands over her ears. The missile hit its target, and an explosion consumed the three Arachne. They all let out a blood curdling scream. When Hotaru opened her eyes, all she saw was rubble, and bits of Demon spiders everywhere. Lady smirked, and turned her attention to the younger girl. "Nice job luring them here."
"Sure thing." Hotaru smiled a little. It was scary, but it seemed like a good idea. She was small, and quick enough for the job. Why not act as a lure? Lady at first hesitated to let her go off on her own, but the results spoke for themselves.
"Was that all of them?"
"I think so. I didn't see any others."
"Alright." Lady set Kalina Ann on her back. "Let's keep mo…" She stopped. Both girls froze as they heard hissing from above. Hotaru looked up, and with wide eyes watched a much larger, green spider descend from the ceiling. She jumped back as the Arachne landed, reaching for the daggers hidden in her backpack.
The sound of gunfire filled the small room as Lady fired with her pistols. "Take cover!" She shouted over to her. The green Arachne lunged for Lady, and the young woman jumped out of the way, landing near Hotaru.
"Where did that thing come from?!"
"No idea, but it's about to be dead!"
The Arachne spat, shooting sticky webbing at them. The two lunged in opposite directions, escaping the webbing. Lady landed on her feet, months of rigorous training to kill Devils paying off. Hotaru, on the other hand, caught herself using the palms of her hands, scratching her dirty skin further. She scrambled to recollect her daggers, and her head spun around to see Lady shooting at the Demon with her guns.
The way Lady fought in battle fascinated the younger girl. She wasn't a half Devil like her brothers, but still managed to hold her own against every Demon that crossed her. Lady was what Hotaru wished she was. If she were more like the older woman, then maybe her brothers wouldn't doubt her so.
The spider prepared to rush her again, but Lady side stepped. She held out the bladed end of Kalina Ann, and let the knife cut through the exoskeleton of the Arachne. The Devil hissed in pain, and scampered up the walls. Lady reached for her guns as the Arachne spat webbing at her again. Hotaru narrowed her eyes on the spider. It missed, but not just because Lady kept dodging it's attacks. Too many of its webs appeared to miss on purpose. Then, Hotaru's eyes widened a fraction as she realized what the Devil was up to. Her eyes snapped back to Lady just as the woman prepared to jump again.
"Wait, don't!"
But it was too late. Lady's cherry red boots landed in a sticky pile of webbing. Heterochromatic eyes looked down at the Demonic webbing, widened with shock. "Shit!" She yanked, but the webbing refused to let her go. The Arachne cackled, and descended on its prey. The Devil hunter's gaze snapped back to the spider. "I'm not dying here!" She shouted, and fired away with her guns.
Hotaru bit her lip. Lady was a formidable fighter, but she lost her mobility. Against an agile opponent like the Arachne it will be deadly. The spider was counting on it, in fact. It jumped around her, and Lady struggled to keep up. She could only turn her body oh so far. The spider finished toying with her, and landed behind her. Lady struggled to turn and aim her guns at the Demon. It laughed at her attempt, and stalked towards her.
Hotaru's grip on her daggers tightened as she sprinted forward, jumping over piles of webbing as they crossed her path. She had to do something, anything, or Lady was going to die. She wasn't the same caliber as Lady in terms of fighting, but she could try. With a cry, she plunged both daggers into the exoskeleton of the Devil. It shrieked, and turned its attention on the younger of the two. A pair of angry, bright red eyes met her own, and the Devil smacked her hard with a leg.
She hit the floor hard, though thankfully not on her gunshot wound. Her body ached, and was going to be covered in bruises, but she was still alive. Hotaru pushed herself up, lifting her head to see the Arachne turn it's attention on her fully. To her horror, her daggers were still lodged in the Devil. Without a weapon, there was really only one option available to her. Run.
So she did. Hotaru turned her head, and saw the Arachne rush at her. She jumped out of the way, sliding along the floor as she did so. She barely had time to stand back up as the Arachne spat up more webbing. She ducked, escaping the nasty web.
"Just keep it busy a little while longer!" Lady shouted at her, and Hotaru nodded.
The Arachne took advantage of the brief distraction, and lunged at the younger girl. This time, Hotaru didn't have enough time to react. The Devil slammed into much smaller frame, and Hotaru's body smacked the wall behind her. She cried out, sinking down onto her bottom. Her vision blurred as the Devil approached her.
"Hotaru! Shit." Lady franticly tried to pull her feet free, but the sticky webbing held her fast to the floor. She cursed under her breath, and pulled out her guns. When it doubt, add bullets. She fired at the webbing, cutting through the sticky fibers, and freeing herself. She jumped away from the nasty mess, glad to be free. She quickly switched out her pistols for her submachine gun, and aimed it square at the Demon. "Hey!" She shouted.
The Arachne turned it's head, and hissed at her.
"I'm so done with you." And with that, she fired. The Arachne cried out, and tried to turn towards her to attack, but its previous injuries finally caught up with the Demon. Soon, it crumpled to the floor, foreign blood spilling to the floor below. Lady set aside her gun, walked over to the Devil, and kicked it. Dead. Good. To her, the only good Devil was a dead one. Her gaze went over to the girl slumped against the wall, and dashed over to her.
"Hotaru?" She put her hand on her shoulder, and lightly shook.
"Hrmmm." She mumbled, and slowly looked over to Lady. "Is it dead..?"
"Yeah."
"Good." She let out a sigh of relief, and relaxed against the wall.
"Let me take a look at your head. You hit it pretty hard." Carefully, Lady extended her hand, and rested it gently on her head, feeling for any bumps or lumps. Her lips tugged into a frowned. "You got a nasty bump on the back of your head."
"I'll be ok." Hotaru insisted. "I can keep going."
"You sure about that?" Hotaru answered her with a nod. "Alright, fine, but we're taking a break." A moment of silence passed between them, and Lady settled down next to her, sitting on the floor. Strong as she may be, Lady was human, and had limits. Hotaru wasn't the only one who needed a break.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Slowing you down."
"Don't worry about that. We're both human. As much as I want to keep going, I need rest too."
"Hmm." Hotaru closed her eyes. Her vision slowly steadied, but she still felt rather disoriented. She heard a zipper, and felt something cool being pushed into her hands. She opened her eyes, and saw Lady handing her a water bottle. She blinked.
"We're human. We have to stay hydrated." Lady shrugged, and Hotaru accepted the offer with a smile. She nearly forgot how thirsty she really was. Her throat burned from running and screaming. Hotaru popped open the water bottle, and drank half of it in one big gulp. The water soothed her aching throat. Lady took a swig from her own water bottle. "I hate spiders, but Demon spiders take the cake." The woman shook her head, eyes on the dead Arachne. Hotaru offered a small smile in solidarity.
They were quiet again, both drinking their water, but there was a question on Hotaru's mind. It was something she wanted to ask for a while. An opportunity presented itself in the brief moment of peace they had, so she asked. "Why are you here?"
Lady took in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "It's a long story."
"We have time."
She didn't look at Hotaru. Instead, Lady's gaze stayed on the dead Devil, eyes hard with barely contained wrath. "I'm here to avenge my mother." Her grip on her water bottle tightened. Lady's voice strained with anger. "The Demon who killed her is here, and I'm not leaving until I kill him. So," She took a calming breath. "Guess I'm here the same reason you are—family."
Hotaru paused, wondering if she should've just stayed quiet instead of asking. "I'm sorry about your mother." She replied quietly.
"Yeah, me too." Lady murmured, and looked away from the dead Devil, and shook her head.
"I lost my mother, too. I was really young when she died. I really don't remember much about her, but I still miss her."
"How did she die?"
"...Demons killed her, too."
"I thought Demons adopted you, or something?"
"She was human, like me." Hotaru took another drink from her bottle of water, finishing it off. "I think losing her is why Vergil is the way he is." Now she was just thinking out loud, staring off into nothingness. "I thought I was being there for him, but I wasn't. I couldn't help him with anything. I wonder if I even can… we used to be close, but now he's like a stranger to me." She sighed.
"He's a Devil, right?"
She nodded.
"Then he can't understand. They're not like us. Devils don't have hearts."
"I can't believe that." Hotaru shook her head. "I think what he's trying to do is a mistake, but I don't want to turn my back on him. He's still my brother, and I want to help him see that this is wrong. I want—"
"To save him from himself?" Lady finished for her.
"Yes."
"You really think you can?"
"I have to." Dante could fight him, and physically stop him from opening a portal to the Demon world. Hotaru wasn't a fighter, but she hoped to convince him to stop through less violent means. Talk to him again. Try to make him understand. The human world may of been cruel to them at times during their childhood, but did it deserve to be destroyed? No.
"No offense, but I think that's nuts. He's a Demon, you'd be better off cutting off your ties with him and moving on." Lady shook her head. "You're a good kid. This guy isn't worth potentially getting yourself killed over."
"It's family. I can't just walk away." Hotaru turned her head, and looked Lady in the eye. "You understand that. You wouldn't walk away from what you have to do here."
Lady's eyebrows narrowed. "That's different."
"How?"
"Because I know better than trying to talk to the bastard!" Lady glowered with frustration. "They're Demons, they don't listen to talk! The only thing they listen to is this." She held up one of her guns. "You can talk to him till you're blue in the face, but trust me it won't make a difference."
Hotaru sat there, staring at the woman, shocked into silence. Words came to her slowly, and quietly. "...What would you do in my place?"
Lady pushed herself off the floor, and walked over to the fallen Devil. She bent down, and reached for the daggers still lodged in its body. She gripped them, and ripped them out with one strong pull. "If I were you," She turned back to the younger girl, walking back over to her. She held out the two daggers, and Hotaru slowly accepted them back. "I'd get good with those. You're going to need them. Get up, breaks over."