Hey you guys. Sorry I've been so long with this update. I was actually working on a movie project I'm doing here in college so I didn't have much free time. And after this update I can't say when I'll update again, so in case you were wondering why this took so long along with updates with my other work.

Also with Devil May Cry as a series being in a state of "limbo" (lol) I don't know if I could even continue with this story or not. I mean I'll still work on it either way, but I just hope something Devil May Cry related comes around.

So about the story, I recently got a review saying that the story seems a bit confusing to follow. I think most of that has to do with the hell chapter since there's so much I want to cover with it that it might confuse some readers along the way.

So for this and the next chapter, I plan to finish the hell verse arc with the ideas I've had with me for a while now. I feel like the hell arc. has in fact, run its course. At least for this story anyway.

Now we go forward.

Also, to remind some, Bayonetta's add in is NOT part of this story. She's just a cameo and will only be part of the hell arc and no other arc after this one.

Anyway, let's begin the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 25:
Red

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Vergil slowly tread through the reminiscent dark halls of his old home. He couldn't directly perceive whether or not his time in hell had played tricks on him, but every now and then it felt as though the walls whispered. Nothing ever direct or easy to make out; just a tidal wave a light whispers and murmuring piled up into an insufferable ringing in his ears. After a year of hearing it over and over and over and-

"No...no don't...don't let it in..." Vergil muttered to himself. He struggled with keeping his own sanity in check, but everyday seemed to become harder then the last. Hell was as twisted ad vile as the lore said it was. But what truly cripples you the most is your own loss of sanity. The miasma-filled air of rotting flesh slowly tears away at your mind, and drags you deeper into inferno. Vergil could feel it happening to him relentlessly. Even a wink of sleep gives way to complete loss of self-control.

He only continued his stroll through the whispering walls. They spoke to him of simpler times of days long since past. The once joyous days of family and happiness were now a distant memory. He could barely remember what it was like as a child in those aged halls he once ran through along with his brother.

Ah, his brother. Just the thought of him finally reuniting with his long lost brother after so many years of separation still left a chill down his spine. If only it were under better circumstances instead of the pits of hell within a memory-made home. There was so much to tell him of; his true origins, about his parents, about everything. He had already assumed Ryu only told Dante the bare minimums of who he was.

In the mist of his own thoughts, Vergil failed to realize where he had ended up. For what stood before him was a sight that always left a shivering chill down his spine.

An empty room of ruin that had only broken chandeliers above and ripped apart curtains. However it was what laid in the middle of the tiled floor that put dread in his heart; it was a throbbing cocoon of flesh that beat like a heart, pumping blood through veins that spread across the ground and stretched onto all sides of the walls like an infestation.

Vergil could barely find the strength in him step any closer into the room. Regardless, he swallowed hard and continued into the odd room of flesh. Every step felt like a heavy creak amidst the sound of blood-pumping.

Finally his eyes gazed down at what had laid in the cocoon's interior; a single woman of unkempt blond long hair, and bruises all over her beautiful pale skin. Her clothes were ripped beyond repair while her body was marked with deep gashes and harsh cuts. Her body seemed to have become skinnier from how she was when she was alive. It was no surprise though. With so much rumor and lore on how Hell truly is, famine was in no way a shock to him. If not for the terrible condition she was in, one would think this woman was only sleeping.

Vergil took a knee. His legs could no longer give support to the guilt that weighed so heavy on his chest the longer his eyes stared into the deep cuts that lined her slow breathing chest. The terrible cuts stretched down to her flat stomach, stretching towards her pelvic region, and making a split right within her...It was far too horrid to even think about.

"Helena..." Vergil shakily whispered, "I'm...I'm so sorry..."

A silence filled the room before...

"Humph. Is this how you wish to save that woman?"

The burning anger he felt within him had burned a fire of blinding rage the moment he heard that voice once again.

"Shut up..." Vergil growled, "You're not really there..."

"Don't be a fool." The brown cloaked man said, brushing his white hair back. Vergil could feel his ominous presence standing right behind. "You know as well as I do that my existence here is a result of your blind desire to rescue this damsel."

"Of course...I understand the risk I've made..." Vergil said calmly with a sigh. "I only need him in order to restore what's been lost of Helena's own memory. You're just a consolation to the prize. Once my brother returns-"

"If he returns-"

"WHEN he returns..." Vergil over-shadowed, "...Keep that up, and you'll go back to being nothing but a memory; forced to wander in this wasteland for all eternity once again, got that?"

The man scoffed. Vergil ignored it to bestow another glance into the cocoon to watch the French woman sleep deeply. "Please...just a little longer, Helena..." He muttered in French, "I swear I will bring you back..."

Vergil used the support of his katana to stand back onto his feet. Though the guilt still physically weighed on him, he pulled forth all the strength he had to stand with the noble stature that honored his mother and father.

"We wait for my brother. Until then, let's continue where we left off." Vergil told the cloaked man, "That was our agreement, may I remind you; You train me to be a better swordsman, and I allow you a way to resurface and defy death itself."

"Don't threaten me." The white haired man said bitterly. he turned on the heel and walked out of the room as he said; "I've taught you my basic techniques. Now I will offer you a final lesson. Finish whatever grieving you have here, and join me in the courtroom. I'd prefer my valuable time to not be wasted."

With that, the cloaked man disappeared into the dark halls.

"Just a little longer..." Vergil sighed

Spending an extended time with the cloaked man was insufferable enough with the training he has given him on the ink of a deal, but having him breath down his neck upon his decisions was what truly tested Vergil's nerve. No matter though. There was more pressing matters to attend to.

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In the only forest of the circle of hell they had no choice but to roam through, the Umbran Witch and Nephlim had reached the center of the strange realm before them. Dante and Bayonetta gazed ahead at the towering stature of demonic power that hoarded all red essence into its core above. Its entire formation stood in thorns and roses with red lighting shooting about to scorch the ground below.

"That's the place." Bayonetta confirmed. "Jeanne should be right up ahead."

"Of course it'd be some foreboding castle of darkness and lightning." Dante joked, "The design's pretty lousy though."

"We can critique its decor later. For now, there's a party I still must attend to..." Bayonetta stared at her Umbran sister's compact anxiously before looking ahead towards the towering lair of red lighting ahead.

"Hang on, Jeanne. I'm coming..." Bayonetta thought.

Both took a running start towards the edge of the spit of land they stood on, but were stopped suddenly by the appearance of a red portal appearing on the ground before them. It resembled a puddle of blood and aura that began to form a physical shape. In the red puddle's wake appeared a brown/green humanoid of a creature with six arms with two of them as its feet, and its head shaped like a curved sword. It carried a golden armament of six swords in its back.

It made no sound nor a warning to strike. It only leaped in the air and Unsheathed four of its swords with two in both his feet/hands to strike down from above.

Dante and Bayonetta quickly dodged out of its wake, however Dante was not as lucky in his dodge with a deep cut across his back. Luckily the coat prevented actual damage thanks to whatever Ayane's village did to it. The same couldn't be said for Dante's newly acquired shotguns he had gotten from first arriving into Hell as they were shattered into pieces.

"Aw, I liked those! The fuck is that thing?-!" Dante shouted.

"A demon, obviously." Bayonetta sassed.

"Oh yeah, 'cause I never would've guessed!" Dante shot back.

The six-sword demon had once again landed on its own two feet and sheathed his swords for another strike. The strange part was that it seemed to only be focusing on Dante as its diamond-like eyes were only set onto him.

"It seems to have an attraction to you." Bayonetta quipped.

"No offense, but I don't do anything with more then two arms." Dante mocked as he grabbed Rebellion from his back.

The demon flew across the ground in a single leap with blades aimed at the black haired Nephilim. Dante took its red blades head on as their blades clashed with enough force to break a single barrier of sound.

Dante almost lost footing to its impact, and was struggling with the demon weighing down on him. Each blade felt like a car trying to press forward on full gas. The swordsman's shimmering eyed stared right into the straining eyes of the Nephilim; his reflection showing his own teeth gritted and sweat dripping down his brow.

"Gah! Bayonetta!" Dante bellowed.

"About time." The witch adjusted her glasses as she waved her arms and gyrated her hips with the call of a inhumane name in summoning another destructive force of inferno demon to aid her. This time it appeared as a gaggle of black carnivorous vines from the ground with sharp edges.

Dante used a large portion of his strength to push the sword using demon off of him and make it loose its own standing. He transformed his sword into his newly acquired fiery gauntlets.

The demon sent one last strike of desperation, but it was easily blocked and pushed out of Dante's way to make room for a furry of fiery punches barraging into the towering demon's gut. Dante's flying fist only flew faster and harder into the dazed and battered swordsdemon with the Nephlim even mocking it with a battle-cry from anime he once saw.

"Atatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatata! Atatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatata!-!AAATAAA!-!"

With a final punch he had sent the swordsdemon right into the infested vines of Bayonetta's demonic weaves. The demon hit the vicious vines hard and was immediately unsnarled into its deadly embrace. The pressure around its body grew tighter and its whimpers of agony screeched from its face. Blood spewed from every orifice as it grew tighter and tighter, before finally clutching the demon into flying pieces of body parts across the sky along with a hale of blood chunks and shattered katana handles descending to the ground.

A sigh escaped Bayonetta's lips as she called off her wicked vines and her black leather outfit returned to its complete form. "What on earth was that display?"

"Just havin' a lil fun..." Dante smiled. However the smile slowly fell at the sight of what remained of the demon's weapon. He reached for the broken handle to examine it thoroughly. Dante didn't call himself some master detective, but some of the moves of the demon swordsman seemed early...familiar. Especially that attack he tried to pull while soaring across the ground. Such speed and strength may have been too quick for the normal eyes to catch up with, but not for his. That technique was one he had seen before.

"It was just like Vergil's..." Dante went silent in his own thoughts. "That's way too coincidental...Somethin's not right here..."

His thoughts had returned to the back of his head as reality hit him with another surprise. Both he and the Umbran Witch felt the tremor that had originated from above; the great tower of vines and red aura had shook violently, even within all its glory.

From the sky, the sight of a dot had been sent flying from atop the head of the tower and seemed to have been hurtling towards them in atmospheric flames. It grew closer as the echoing of a howling scream could be heard from the burning anomaly headed towards them.

"Shit! Heads up!" Dante yelled.

He and Bayonetta leaped out of the path the fiery object was aiming towards. It landed in a ferocious crash of fire that left a crater of molten rock in its wake. Smoke and dust hid the unknown object from sight, but what could be made out from the dust was the figure of a strange dragon-like demon with a humanoid upper body.

Once the dust had finally cleared from his vision, Dante raised a brow at the sight of a giant female humanoid with the lower body resembling that of a metallic-scaled dragon with sharp red claws and a long pointed tail. The upper body was dressed in, what looked like, a pink dress, while its head wore a large oval-shaped cowl that left her mouth region exposed to red lips and pale grey skin.

It looked both injured and in pain as it struggled to its feet again. However one major distracting feature was the strange casing that was bellow the upper human body; it resembled that of a prison, and glowed a bright purple aura.

"Wait..." Dante looked closer into the prison despite the light hurting his eyes. "Is that...a person in there?"

"Jeanne!" Gasped Bayonetta towards the imprisoned woman inside the casing of the demon dragon.

Suddenly, both Dante and Bayonetta felt the ground shake behind them. They turned to find that it originated from the harsh landing of something-or in this case someone.

"Well, well. If it ain't Bayonetta." Said a deep voice that was obviously accented with an Ebonics tongue.

Physical appearance wise, he was an imposing African American man with black shades and a black tattoo design on his bald head. He was dressed in a black gi top and damascus sash, accented with a black haori jacket and a golden medallion with a golden ring hanging no his chest. His slacks were gold with laced up boots.

He had blown smoke from his cigar and looked directly towards Dante. "And you're the famous one 'round here, I take it? Fancy findin' a person like you in a place like this."

Dante may not have been particularly good at feeling the energy flow of demons, however he always learned to trust his gut about people and situations. And at that moment, his gut was doing boxing punches to his conscious to tell him that this strange man was nothing to be messed with.

Nevertheless he stood his ground with great anxiety all over his face and a hand ready to reach for his sword if he needed it. Suddenly, Dante felt that strange surge that he had felt during the fight of that gigantic fiery arachnid, and looked behind him to find that his sword had once again transformed into the dragon headed claymore again.

"Again...?" Dante said to himself.

"Alastor." Dante quickly turned back towards the strange man who stood right before him, staring at the Nephilim. Dante could swear he could see the red piercing eyes of this man through his black sunglasses.

Despite his hand instinctively already on this mysterious sword's handle, it didn't settle Dante's nerves in the slightest. It was the first time Dante had truly felt a sense of dread in anyone he had ever fought in his life. For the first time in a long time...he felt weak.

That same glare had turned from Dante and was now focused on the sounds of hard and loud punches being thrown, followed by the howling screeches of a woman in pain.

Dante turned his gaze as well to the sight of Bayonetta, who had summoned another one of those giant hands to reach right into the body prison of the giant dragon-like demon monstrosity and pulled from it, the purple-glowing woman named Jeanne inside of it.

Suddenly, the once large dragon body bellow her had vanished in dark aura and distortion and in their absence, her long legs encased in red long heels returned. She fell to her knees and breathed hard out of exhaustion.

She was weak. And Dante knew just what to do with weak demons. And by the looks of it, Bayonetta was gonna finish her off.

Once again, Bayonetta cocked another demonic fist back and sent it flying right at the weakened demon woman. However the punch was immediately stopped by only a single hand from the towering man in shades with little strength. Dante didn't even see the man move from where he, himself was.

"Rodin!" Bayonetta said bitterly.

"Damn, woman. I thought I told you to chill." Rodin said calmly, blowing the smoke from his cigar, "Besides, don't you got more important shit to be doin' than dealin' with this...monstrosity?"

Bayonetta wasted no time in thinking about it and dissipated her summoned giant fist to return to the aid of her Umbran sister.

Rodin sighed. "Women..."

He quickly turned his attention back to Dante, who was still impressed at how easily this Rodin guy was able to stop one of Bayonetta's giant fist with little to no trouble at all. Dante could already figure he was a demon himself, which only tightened the nephilim's own guard against him.

"Put the electric toothpick down, boy." Rodin said to Dante, "As suprisin' as it sounds, I ain't here to pick a fight with you."

"Really? So I take it you're the Man with Knowledge Bayo was lookin' for. And If I could guess, you aren't here to help us. At least, not exactly." Dante assumed, "No, I know your type. See them all the time in shady street corners and the back of bars. Guy like you don't go helpin' people for cheap. Gotta make that money by any means necessary. Even if it means misery for others. That sound about right?"

Rodin gave a small chuckle. "'Least someone here knows how this game works. I shouldn't expect anything less from a Nephilim without a home. Especially one that's seen the type of shit you have, Dante."

"You know me?" Dante said at first, but quickly remembered, "Wait, don't tell me; another one of my dad's fans? Look buddy, I get whatever raging boner you might have for my old man, but I'm not cleanin' up his mess for him. But if you wanna start some shit..."

"You sure you wanna do that? A lil fuck boy like you won't last five seconds." Rodin belittled.

"Says you and every demon I put in a coffin." Dante smirked. He may have been talking a big game, but he wasn't knew this demon of a man could easily kill him if he wanted to. But what was life without a little risk.

"Pfft, cockiness is only gonna get you killed, kiddo." Rodin replied, "You should thank whatever god's lookin' out for you that I'm only a delivery boy this time."

"And what might the big bad delivery boy have to give me?" Dante questioned, slipping his hands in his pockets.

Rodin didn't answer. Instead he began to chuckle deeply under his breath. He reached into the inner pocket of his coat and from it pulled out a strange item of gold; it looked like the head of a branding iron with a round insignia of curved lines and an eye in the middle of it. "A gift to your annoying brother for havin' the balls to do what he did."

Dante arched an eyebrow more towards that comment about his brother and what he apparently did. "How did you know I-wait a second..." It didn't take long for Dante to quickly come to an obvious conclusion. "Ooooh, I get it now. Vergil knew this would happen, didn't he? He and Bayonetta had this all planned from the beginning...Damnit, why didn't I see that shit coming? He could've just told me from the start..."

"Be lucky you at least know it all now." Rodin commented.

Dante sighed. He just wanted to do what he had to quick so he could go back to Vergil and give him a swift kick in the ass for trying to pull a fast one on him. But why keep such a secret? Dante would've helped regardless if it meant getting out of this hellish nightmare. All he had to say was Hey Dante, go with Bayonetta to rescue her friend and find this Rodin guy to get something. Was it really that difficult? But again, that was going to have to be pushed to the side until he could talk to Vergil himself. As of now, what Rodin had in his hand just screamed for questioning. "So...what's that?"

"A nifty lil item I whipped up just for you and your brother's problem. Let's just say it's gonna help get that woman who Vergil's lookin' after get back on her feet. So long as nothin' is tampered with."

Dante knew he was talking about Helena and accepted the strange circular item of gold instantly. He stared at it for a moment to see it in all its splendor. Dante had never known gold could be so heavy. It wasn't a challenge to hold it in one hand, but for a normal human being, this would probably be difficult. But what still paraded his mind was how this tall man knew of Vergil, and why was he helping him, and even what he meant when he said that Vergil did something. But first thing's first.

"So this'll fix Helena?" Dante asked to make sure.

"I didn't say fix. I said help." Rodin made clear. "Last thing I need is word goin' around that my items are defective." Before he could be questioned by Dante anymore, he quickly called; "Bayonetta! You done over there?"

Rodin and Dante turned towards the sight of Bayonetta saying farewell to the transparent ghost of her Umbran sister, Jeanne as she descended into the red sky and vanished in a small spark of light. Dante looked towards the black haired Umbran witch. She seemed...tranquil. As if all her worries and anxiety had left her system and was now at peace with herself. The urgency had left and now she was free to feel her own emotions once more. She let out a hefty sigh, and walked towards the boys with that swaggering confidence she's always had inside her; hips moving side to side with one foot in front of the other. Bayonetta was back to her sexy, flawless self again.

"Jeanne's safe. She should be heading back to her own body as we speak." Bayonetta confirmed.

"Great. So now about what you said about Vergil doing som-hey!" The black haired Nephilim was interrupted by the towering black man standing right before him and extending a fat fingers that pressed hard onto Dante's amulet. He could feel the hard stone push into his chest and hurt something fierce. "The hell're you doing?"

"Sendin' you off." Rodin answered.

"Sendin' me off?-!" Dante questioned with alarm. "To where?-!"

"Calm yourself. I don't think he'd kill you. " Bayonetta said, "Right, Rodin?"

"Oh, come on now. I may be a cold-hearted motherfucker, but I'm not that ruthless...most of the time." Rodin smirked, "I'm just fulfilling my end of a bargain. Think of it as one last favor I owe an old friend of mine. The least he could do is see you for one last goodbye before you leave this place."

"Oh, you mean that old friend..." Bayonetta remarked with a wit of annoyance, "Vergil won't be too thrilled to find out about this. Though it is fitting. I rather not deal with his mouth, so better Dante go alone this time."

Dante still didn't buy into any of this, and couldn't help but be skeptical of what she was saying. "Wait. You said Vergil doesn't know? What's really going on here? why should I stand here and let you both send me off to whoever you're talkin' about?"

His questioning was quickly challenged by the intrusion of Bayonetta's presence. Her smile dropped and she looked deeply into the Nephlim's eyes with the utmost honesty she bared in her heart. "I bet you've noticed it, right? Your body going through strange changes, or your sword becoming that." She pointed towards Alastor, "I sure you've noticed you've felt quite at home here. As if it was a simple stroll through the park..."

"So...you knew." Dante figured out, "You knew all this time that somethin' was up with me." Dante scoffed, "Some trust we had..."

"More or less. But as I've said, there's no time for small chats." The Umbran witch pleaded, "I only ask you this once to trust my words as I've trusted yours. You've helped me reunite with my sister...Now it's time I make up for lying to you. If you can't trust Rodin, then trust me."

Dante couldn't help but be almost convinced by the look in her eyes staring into his so intensely. He couldn't detect any trace of lying or setting him up. Even though he still didn't feel right about what was going on with her and Vergil lying to him, something deep down told him that she was telling whatever truth she wanted him to believe. He always hated that gut feeling. It's what's developed his own trust issues in the past. However with the way she's been so far, it's hard to know if she's lying or not. But he did help save someone she cared about, so it wouldn't be too surprising that she offers her own help to him. Either way, he knew he would regret this somehow.

"Okay..." Dante nodded, placing the golden crest in his pocket, "...Just this once...I trust you. What do I gotta do?"

Bayonetta said nothing. She only gave one last smile to him before eyeing Rodin.

"Just close your eyes." Rodin explained, "When you hear only silence, you'll know you're there."

"Oookay..." Dante said as he shut his eyes. He didn't enjoy having his eyes shut in front of people he didn't 100% trust. But something told him to not even peek at what was going on. All he could hear was the sounds of the Umbran witch's voice.

"Goodbye Dante. Till we meet in another life...Oh, and when you are within complete silence, be a dear and tell a certain idiot to stop trying to date me. I don't bother with men who talk too much, and he is most certainly not my cup of tea."

"Then I guess I'm just as much of a hard swallow?" Dante quipped with slight uneasiness.

"Heh heh, I like this kid." Rodin chuckled in the background.

Bayonetta did not respond. He instead felt her presence draw close. Close enough to feel the warmness of her skin radiate across his face. Something soft pressed against his cheek-warm with something wet licking in between...lips. Dante's eyebrows raised with a small smirk across his lips. "No peeking." She whispered. Her presence seemed to have disappeared from him as he heard the chanting of Rodin;

"Ligabis ad animam separari egisse caeteros alterius ... ... ... Nam sicut tonitruum Dantes conscendunt et exivit obviam erga quem vos formidatis gradu ... ... porrigunt. ..towards rubrum diabolus ....

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silence serenaded his senses.

All had become quite and still. He felt nothing around him:no presence of another, no feeling of air brush across, and as his eyes opened, he saw an empty white void of nothingness that surrounded him. Like a blank canvas that a painter has yet to lay a single brush stroke on. He felt solid ground bellow his feet, but even there, it was a blanket of white nothing.

"Where am I?" He muttered with a small echo. "Hello?-!"

He called, but not a single soul answered him. He seemed to be alone, yet...he didn't truly feel alone. It was faint and easy enough to ignore, but...he still felt something that radiated a potent enough flow of energy that was pulling at his senses. He tugged harder as the presence grew stronger. So strong, it made Dante look over his shoulder to whatever it came from.

And there...there was where it resided.

He turned around to face the origin of such pervasive energy that practically begged for the Nephilim's attention. What shocked Dante was not the very nature of his clothing being of strange origins with its long coat tails, nor even the long razor sharp sword that he wore on his back similar to Dante's own; no, none of those features could even make a mark in contrast to what really made Dante's own eyes widen in disbelief.

But that didn't make sense to him...it definitely wasn't Vergil, so why was his hair as pure white?

"Hey, you!" Dante called out to, despite being only a few steps away. "Look, man, I don't know what the hell's goin' on, but can you tell me where I am?"

The "man" also looked over his own shoulder. His piercing blue eyes stared into Dante's own matching blue eyes. A sigh escaped the man's lips as he turned to face the black haired Nephilim; his crimson red coat flapping as he did so.

"If I tried explainin' that, you'd probably get as big of a headache as I did." His voice was slightly deep, yet a tad raspy.

"Uhh, okay...so someone I know, Bayonetta, told me-"

"Yeah yeah, I know." The white haired man sighed, "Sheesh, the least she could do is give me a friggin' chance..."

"I take it you're the guy who wanted to see me before I go." Dante figured. "And I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say you're the one who gave me this." Dante tilted the pommel of the Alastor. "Now my question is who are you really, and why're you fuckin' with me like you have?"

The man dressed in red said nothing. He only looked at Dante with his blue eyes somberly. By the looks of him, this mysterious man hasn't had a good laugh or smile in a long time. His furrowed brows seemed natural to fit his rugged, yet handsome mug. But what couldn't be missed with the ambiance of a powerful aura surrounding him in red. An aura that, while threatening, was also...familiar. Dante didn't make snap judgement, but it was as if the aura was similar to his own.

"Kid..." The white haired man said suddenly, "There's more goin' on then you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Somethin's gone wrong with Hell...and not just the hell you know, but the versions of Hell that exist in different dimensions."

"Dimensions?" Dante repeated with confusion.

"Oh yeah. Told ya you'd get a headache trying to figure this all out." The red coated man explained, "Basically think of different pizza toppings all put into one box. And ALL of them had olives in them."

"Bleh." Dante gagged, before saying, "So you're sayin' there's more than one form of Hell, right?"

"What, you thought the different iterations of it where all based on people's own imagination? Phew, boy you got a lot to learn." The red coated man explained, "Long story short; the name "Hell" may have been a universal concept for alternate versions of Earth, however there was never a single place that everyone enters. Depending on their dimension, Hell will look, feel, and even sound different from what even you and I know about our individual hells. Same with Bayonetta. Her version of Hell is very different from yours and mine. All have been cut off from one another."

"So, let me see if I got this." Dante tried to make sense of, "There are a number of Hells...from different universes, I got that. Then if that's the case, why was Bayonetta and the tall guy in my Hell if they were all cut off from one another?"

"They weren't, you were."

Dante was still a bit lost. "Wait a minute, when did-"

"-you travel into her realm? For a while now, boy." The white haired man explained again, "Hell is literally going to hell at an alarming rate. Her version of Hell and many other versions have all been smacked and stitched together. The walls that separated them have all been shattered, and now they're beginning to form into one big mess. You've been walking through a giant melting pot of Hells from different dimensions. Bayonetta's Hell, your Hell, even my Hell's been slammed in the mix along with maybe hundreds or even thousands of them...all within the Astral Plane."

"Astral...Plane?"

The red coated man sighed, "Seriously, read a book, kid." He took a deep breath before explaining, "The Astral plane: multi-dimensions of existence. Some say it's where the human soul goes during an out-of-body experience or after they die. Think of it like-"

"Like Limbo..." Dante finished. "Except there's no fightin' your way out, right?"

"More or less."

"Okaaay, so why tell me all this?" Dante questioned, "Why give me this Alastor sword, and ask Rodin to bring me directly to you? And don't say its to be charitable or somethin'."

He said nothing directly. The red coated man simply strolled forward towards Dante, who was on the defensive by the look of his body language. He came within a few steps to Dante and stared him down with those intense blue eyes that rivaled Dante's own furrowed brows.

"Dante...I'm telling you all this so you can prevent anymore damage here."

"Prevent? What do you mean prevent? Hell's already fucked up as is. Are you really tellin' me it could get worse?"

"Much worse, man." The white haired man said dismally, "If nothin's done to stop Hell from continuous fusion with other realms of the same name, it'll expand too far for the Astral plane's boundaries to hold it, and tear a hole into all the dimensions they were originally from and create hell on their Earths...including the Hell from your world. Think of it; Limbo will fall apart, the demons will become strong enough to rule over humanity, blood will rain over the streets...Your world will end."

Dante was at a loss for words. It took a moment for him to even fathom the chaos and deaths that will befall all of humanity. Everyone he's come to know will be slaughtered mercilessly right before his eyes. He knew that he could fight them all, but that wouldn't matter when humans all around him would be killed not only where he lived, but also all around the world. Worldwide Armageddon. Thousands dead in the streets, the smell of rotting flesh everywhere, the sun blocked out by dark clouds, and the city reduced to rubble as the echoing screeches of the damned fill the barren Earth.

It made Dante tremble in fear to even think of such a world; it truly was hell on earth.

"O-Okay, I get your point, jeez..." Dante nodded anxiously, "So, how do I stop all this, huh? I don't suppose you got a manual in those tight pants of yours?"

"There is one way: The Universal Knights of Hell."

"What are they, some kind of King Arthur brigade?" Dante questioned.

"I wish. The Universal Knights of Hell are the ones who broke the walls that separated the realms of Hell in the first place. Four of them in total. Kill them, and you should be able to restore the walls."

"Okay...y'know where they are?"

"Not here, I can tell you that." He said, "They all left Hell. Now they reside in the strongest realm that can hold them...your realm."

"Limbo..." Dante said gravely.

"Yep. Do now what're you gonna do, huh? For years you've been fighting the world. Think you can handle saving it this time?" The white haired man said coyly, "I mean, I can get if you're too scared or whatever. I can't enter your human realm anyway, only the hell that resides under it. This is all up to you. Think you can handle that?"

Dante knew teasing when he heard it. This mysterious man believed Dante to be riddled with fear, and for the most part, he was. Dante excepted the unwanted truth that he was scared that the fate of the world now depended on him, and him alone. He had never dreamed that the fate of all humanity rested on his shoulders. And then there was the fear that he'd only end up getting people killed. Plus, he also had to fight four elite Demon Knights who, for all he knew, could wipe the floor with him in seconds. That in itself, was a heavy burden for Dante to bear. However, at the same time, he had a strange sinking feeling inside of him that wanted to at least attempt to do something about it. Like a slow building furnace that begged to be set ablaze. This was finally his chance to do something with his life. A purpose that drove him to an objective for the good of humanity. He didn't care about the consequences he'd face in fighting the Knights, all that mattered was getting it done.

"No...No, I got it...In fact, I'm glad I can do this...This was just what I've been waitin' for." Dante said with a smirk, "Dante vs. Armageddon. Has a nice ring to it, don'tcha think? It'll sell millions at the box office."

"Huh. There should be a bomb in there somewhere..." The red man snarked.

"Fuck you." Dante sassed. "Anyway, now that you got your lil sneak diss in, are we done here? My world isn't gonna save itself."

The red coated man sighed. "Yeah, I can see you wanna get outta here as soon as possible." He let out a small chuckle with a smirk as well. "Truth be told, I'm not super thrilled to be here myself. No food, no drinks, and not a babe in sight."

"Heh, I hear that." Dante agreed. "But really, thank you for what you told me. I know what I gotta do."

"Sure thing." The red coated man said. His smile slowly dropped into a natural look of somberness. He took one last deep breath as he strolled towards Dante, close enough to stand right before him. Dante had to slightly nod his head up to stare him in the eyes. "So...this is it. This'll probably be the last time we see each other for a long, long time."

"Or, y'know, if I die early enough..."

"You won't." The red coated man assured Dante as he placed his hand on his chest. "You're a lot like me when I was younger; A loud-mouth...but a loud-mouth with a heart to save those close to you." He held Dante's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "It's up to you now, Dante. You must save the world. Save all our worlds."

Dante nodded without hesitation, "Count on it."

"Good...and for God's sake, do something about this...garbage look you got going on here."

"Sorry I didn't search in the matrix department, but bein' a fashionista isn't my thing." Dante quipped with a grin as he pushed the red man's hand off. "And neither is glossin' over my hair for hours a day like you."

"Brat...by the way, there's one more thing I need to say..." The red coated man leaned in towards Dante with a stern expression on his face that was almost intimidating to a normal human being. Dante was confused as to what he could want now that he's said what he appears to have needed to say. He looked down at the black haired Nephilim like a bear staring down at a wolf.

"Keep an eye on your brother...I didn't...And I regretted that mistake."

"Um...okay."

"Good." The red coated man smirked. "Then this is where we go our separate ways. What you do from this point on is your call."

The mysterious man walked off from Dante and further into the blank abyss before them. He didn't seem to want to look back nor did he have any intention of stopping. There he went without a care in the world. Like nothing could touch him or even faze him. He didn't want to admit it, but Dante couldn't help but admire that sheer confidence the man in red had for himself.

Suddenly Dante noticed the blank space around him suddenly beginning to glow brightly. He felt the slow building tremor of the ground below his feet, along with the strange sensation one would get before taking off into flight. He looked back at the white haired man in red one last time was he strolled away.

"Hey! You never did tell me your name!" Dante called.

"Don't need to!" The man in red called back, "You already know!"

He gave one last wave to Dante before all had suddenly grown to bright for Dante to see with the naked eye. The wind was hurled out of him as he was thrown into blind nothingness with the wind bellowing harshly.

Then as quick as a flash, Dante felt him self hit warm, hard ground with a small tumble, before landing on his stomach. He groaned with aching pain as his eyes slowly set back from distortion to clear vision once more. The blinding white had been replaced with fiery red walls. The gagging scent of human flesh had returned. The feeling of warmth paraded around him like a sauna. Yep, he was definitely back in Hell. But where he was, exactly, was unfamiliar to him.

He stood to his feet with a slight stumble to see four red walls and a roof that had poor conditions put to it. Paint was running off the walls and the beautiful floors were partially pulled up from the ground. Slashes were found on most of the walls with black muck dripping from the cracks. The room itself was relatively empty without a single piece of furniture in sight.

"Oh great...where am I now?" Dante wondered.

Suddenly he could hear the sounds of swords clanging against one another at rapid fire in the distance; almost like a barrage of Gatling gun shots.

"The hell's that?" He looked towards the entrance to the hallway where the echoing of the clashing blades originated from. "So from there, huh?"

Dante shook his head to wipe away any more dizziness from the little trip he took, and ran into the hallway towards the sound.

However unbeknownst to Dante, he had already descended into a new path of his own abilities as a patch of his hair had already turned as white as snow.