Sigma watched as one of his Captains mortally wounded Rayven. Hiro turned to see the scene. A tear escaped from him. "No...."
Sigma let out a maniacal laugh. "Well done, my servant." To Hiro, the entire world disappeared, there was nothing but him and a black void. He felt something that hadn't surfaced since his family had been slain. Anger, pure, untapped anger filled him. His eyes narrowed and became slits, his demonic aura expanding. The ground began to shake. Sigma looked upon his opponent with intrigue. "Thats the ticket," he said with an evil smile.
"No, not again. Sigma is to blame for everything. He killed my clan, my father. Even my little sister who was completely helpless. He mocked my ancestry. He hurt my family, and now he's going to take away the one person I have left to love. No, there is still time to fix this!" Hiro yelled. His aura expanded, the ground beneath him cracked, and the floor trembled.
"Incredible. He has long since surpassed his father," Sigma whispered to himself. Hiro turned and practically flew toward the two Captains. His aura went from a bright yellow to a multicolor, his ancestry showing, the power of his clan slowly taking over. He knelt by Rayven and took out special fruit, squashing it so that the juices entered her mouth. He turned, a blue glow manifesting itself as armor slowly covering his body. He drew his sword on his back and again formed it into a white orb, this time diverging it onto his arms. They reformed, creating a four-pronged claw on each arm. He leaped forward and slaughtered the smaller of the demons, hacking it into four pieces. This happened so quickly that the devil died without feeling pain. He then turned and impaled the other Captain through the eyes. He ran the blades down its body, leaving large, bloody claw marks down the entire front side of the body. The body slumped slowly to the floor.
He turned to Sigma, his entire body now encased in armor save for the head, which showed a stare that could kill. His aura surrounded him, a pulsing torrent of raw power. "Now I'm going to kill you, in the name of all those you have killed and infected!"
The paralysis smoke was still affecting Rayven, but it was beginning to fade. She slowly turned her head to see Hiro's anger explode. He had killed the other demons she was fighting against without even breaking a sweat. Her wounds slowly started to stop bleeding as badly. She slowly sat up and leaned against a wall. She hurt all over but it was starting to fade. She sat and waited as the last fight began to commence. "Thank you, Hiro. Be careful, please," she said quietly, almost in a whisper.
Mundus looked at Dante's sword, interest showing in his eyes. "I see you're still using your traitor of a father's sword. Don't think you'll be able to best me with such a ludicrous weapon, boy. The power that sword holds in unimaginable. There's no way to tap into it. Just give up and die."
Dante looked at the sword. "Dunno. My luck may be pretty shitty most of the time, but somehow, my old man comes through for me sometimes. Thanks for the warnin' though, pops. Now are we gonna fight, or just stand around and talk? I came here for blood. Now let's have some."
"Don't be so hasty to rush to your own death, child. Be careful what you ask for." Mundus disappeared, appearing behind Dante. "You just might get it." A fountain of blood filled the air as Mundus's sword exploded out of Dante's chest. Blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth as the blade was yanked free, and he staggered and fell to the floor. He lay there, eyes open in shock.
"I told you that playtime was over, boy. Perhaps you should have listened. Now die, Son of Sparda. Go meet your mother, father, and brother. And tell them that you have failed to prove your worth. Let them know that you failed to protect the world that they loved so much. Now die in your despair."
Mundus raised the blade over his head to deal the final blow, bringing it down with all of his might. A bright red flash went off in the chamber, the sword stopping, as if something was holding it back. A red aura radiated off of Dante, the wound from the sword completely gone. "You leave my family out of this." The ground cracked underneath his feet as he stood. He swung Sparda, leaving a sizable cut on Mundus's face. The Demon Emperor held his bloody cheek in shock.
"You will pay for the crimes you have committed against me, my family, and my friends. You will pay for all of the suffering you have caused. This is the end of everything, Mundus! Prepare to enter a world of suffering and pain. Prepare for your destruction." Dante's demonic aura was staggering. Mundus back away, the raw power of it almost creating a burning sensation on his flesh.
"How? How have you become this strong?" Mundus's eyes looked to Sparda, the blade itself glowing. His eyes became wide. "No...it can't be! The sword has given him power!"
Dante began walking forward, the ground crumbling underneath his feet. "I'll take back my world from you, as well as the souls of the people in it." He swung the sword, narrowly missing Mundus's neck. He spun, bringing the blade down vertically. Mundus blocked the blow, backing away and narrowly avoiding the next attack, which was Sparda's blade extending and aiming for his chest.
Dante looked at the Demon Emperor. "What's the matter, devil? Do I frighten you?" He unleashed a flurry of strikes, all of which Mundus was barely able to block. The two parted again, both breathing heavily. The power rush was just what Dante had needed to gain the upper hand. He stood ready now, ready to destroy the evil that barred his path.
Sigma scowled and looked upward toward the top of the tower where Mundus and Dante were battling. "This power... It's from that traitor two thousand years ago! No... It can't be!"
Hiro used this moment of distraction to charge straight ahead at Sigma. He let out the war cry of his clan as he practically flew across the ground, his aura growing larger and more intense by the second. Sigma's eyes grew wide with fear. "This can't be! I've been analyzing this man for fifteen years! He's never shown this kind of power before!"
Hiro thrust his right claw through Sigma's chest, letting out another cry. Blood began running over Sigma's lips, the internal damage apparent. Hiro kicked him, and sent him flying upward. He created several after images in the air and they flew past, slashing Sigma one at a time. After the copies faded, Hiro appeared next to his prey. He sank both sets of claws deep into Sigma's flesh, holding him in place. He used his energy to create a stepping stone, holding Sigma in front of him. The two fell rapidly, Sigma's face soon meeting the marble floor, leaving a crater. Hiro leaped away from the damaged body, and created a large ball of his own energy in the palm of his hand. He jumped and cast his arm outward, the energy scorching the area in which Sigma laid.
"Is that all you've got?" Sigma asked weakly. Hiro looked at his now-weakened foe. "You want more, eh?" Hiro asked, a smirk over his face. He leaped into the air and created a large black ball of lightning. "This is the end, Sigma. The power of my clan, their ultimate technique, it will destroy you! Abysmal Sphere!" He thrust his arm downward and the lightning became a black vortex that sucked everything up within a certain range. It covered the entire portion of Sigma's lower body and his entire left arm. When it faded, most of Sigma's body was gone. He laid almost still, bleeding and taking shallow breaths.
A moment passed and Sigma went silent. Hiro turned and walked toward Rayven, his aura dissipating and returning to normal. An inhuman howl sounded in the chamber. "Don't...turn your back on me, fool. Now die!" Sigma got on his remaining arm and opened his mouth, a pitch black spike of energy escaping his maw and heading straight for Hiro.
"Hiro!" Rayven saw the black lightning blast coming behind him. She pushed off of the wall and ran straight into Hiro, knocking him to the ground. She sat on top of him and looked straight into the blast. I could use this one last technique. I'm still bleeding enough, too. She began to make a few hand signs and made a triangle in front of her with her hands. A red shield that covered both of them appeared. Her hands began to drip with blood as the shield took the impact from the blast. She stared forward, trying not to break her concentration. The blast continued and her shield began to course with electricity and turn black. Suddenly, she stood up and black energy began to form in her hands. Electricity began to bounce from hand to hand,crackling loudly. Sigma stared at her in amazement, unable to fathom that she had caught the blast. Blood still dripped from her hands from using her technique, but all of her other wounds had healed. "Sigma...eat this!" she yelled as she pointed her hands at him and blasted the same attack back at him. The energy she used blasted her backward from the power. She had never had felt anything like it before. The blast hit Sigma directly. Rayven stood and waited for the dust to settle to see what had become of Sigma.
Dante walked forward, purpose in every step. Mundus stood opposite him, visibly on guard. "How can this be? A mere half-breed hindering the Lord of Hell? I won't let this happen!" He raised his sword above his head, uttering a string of phrases in an unintelligible language. The ethereal flame surrounding the sword deepened and grew, Mundus's aura growing with it. He bared his teeth, launching forward with a growl, swinging madly with the flaming blade.
Dante looked impassively at his assailant, blocking each strike easily with Sparda. He stopped Mundus's last strike completely, suspending the blade in the air. He smirked. "Don't you get it, asshole? You can't win. This half-breed is the end of you. The end of everything for you. Give up and die." He pushed, sending Mundus off guard, appearing next to him and slashing, wounding Mundus's sword arm deeply.
Mundus howled in a mixture of pain and rage. The sword fell from his hands, clattering to the floor, the aura around it fading. "Playtime's over. It's time to end this once and for all." Dante moved quickly, grabbing the sword from the floor, his own aura flooding into it and creating a bright red flame around the blade. Electricity crackled around the Devil Hunter's body now. Mundus looked on in terror as the Devil Hunter stepped back.
"Go on, boy! Kill me! All this talk and no action? Slay me!" Mundus said, looking at the white-haired man. Dante looked at the fallen Emperor, noticing that he was clutching his arm. "Be careful what you ask for, shithead. You might get it." Dante appeared behind Mundus again, the swords in his hands flashing in the light as he proceeded to inflict a series of wounds on Mundus's body. Mundus cried out in pain and slumped to his knees, the blood from his wounds running onto the floor and pooling there. His chestplate crumbled, and the pieces fell to the floor. "Son of Sparda, this will never be over...you will never truly kill me..."
Dante looked on at the pathetic excuse in front of him. "I'll kill you when I tire of watching you suffer." Dante's voice sounded dissimilar from his own, his demonic side echoing in it as his anger and conviction rose. Another cut formed itself across Mundus's cheek and he cried out in agony, clutching at it with his other arm.
Hiro got to his feet quickly, sensing a small shred of life force left in the chamber. "You are all fools.. Once both my master and I die, you shall all know true terror," Sigma said slowly through gasps of breath.
Hiro walked forward and leaned down so he could look Sigma in the face. Sigma let out a hoarse, pathetic laugh. Hiro stabbed him one more time in the chest to make sure the job was done. Sigma slumped to the floor completely, his blood draining rapidly from his body. "My master and I... were prepared in case you two defeated us... I will be reborn as an even greater terror than before!" he wheezed. His head fell limply to the floor, and Sigma was no more.
Hiro stood and his claws and boots became glowing fragments which reformed into a white orb, which flew and rested in his palm. The orb reshaped, turning back into his beloved weapon. He turned and walked toward Rayven. He passed her and leaned against the wall next to her. He slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting against it. He drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. "It's finally over," he said as he closed his eyes. A single tear escaped from his left eye, rolling slowly down his cheek and onto the floor. "That ending was almost anti-climactic, wasn't it?" he asked, waiting for a moment. Silence settled into the mostly destroyed chamber. He finally got up again and knelt in front of Rayven. "I have a feeling my clan can finally rest in peace now." He hugged her tightly.
Rayven wrapped her arms around Hiro's neck and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm glad," she said, looking around at the room they had destroyed. Then she began to think about Dante and how he was doing. She began to listen for Dante fighting, seeing as she hadn't really heard anything for a while. "Hiro, do you think Dante is okay?" she asked softly.
Hiro let go of her and turned to look upward. He scoffed. "If it's Dante we're talking about, then there's not too much to worry about. Let's go nonetheless," he said confidently. He began to walk at a brisk pace for a few steps, then stopped. He turned. "Shall we, my dear?" he asked, holding out his hand.
Rayven walked toward Hiro and took his hand. "Let's go," she said as she smiled at him. They held hands tightly and began to walk. Rayven looked back at the destroyed room, but continued walking. They left the room promptly, entering the lift that had arrived outside.
Dante looked at the Devil Emperor as he slumped in front of him. It seemed a pity to kill him in such a way, with him so helpless and pathetic. He looked down at the sword in his left hand, and tossed it to Mundus, the sword landing on the floor in front of him with a clang. "Pick it up," Dante said. "Make this interesting. I want to you to die fighting. I want you to make this fun for both of us."
Mundus looked up from the ground, an evil grin crossing his face. "Son of Sparda, this is a great folly. You'll regret the moment you became so arrogant!" A massive aura surrounded Mundus as he picked up his sword, and his wounds healed completely. He stood before Dante, lightning crackling where their auras met. The two were now on equal footing in power, and this would decide who was truly better. They both raised their swords and lunged.
Dante deflected Mundus's first strike adeptly, sending his blade to the side and coming in with a diagonal slash of his own. Mundus pivoted quickly, sending Sparda away from him. Dante grinned. "Not bad, pops. This is what I was waitin' for. It got old just trading punches with you. This is more like it." He unleashed another flurry of slashes, aiming them at Mundus's exposed chest. Mundus blocked them all, once again locking blades with the Devil Hunter.
Their blades rattled as both combatants tried to gain the upper hand in the struggle. Lightning surged between them, crackling loudly. Mundus gritted his pointed teeth, putting as much effort as he could into pushing Dante away and scoring another hit. Dante fought back, smirking as he put his best effort forward as well. The two finally separated, trading slashes that just bounced off of the other's blade as they hit. They ceased fire for a moment, panting heavily.
"Didn't think you could hold out this long, pops. Maybe I misjudged you. But I'm sure this will be over soon. You can't go on like this forever."
Mundus laughed. "Don't think you can outlast me, boy. Mind yourself. You're more arrogant than your father."
Dante laughed, surging forward with blindingly fast speed, catching Mundus off his guard, pounding away at him with Sparda. Each strike against the Demon Emperor's sword sent him back a few inches, and Dante knew what he had to do. He saw a faint glow on Mundus's chest, a small ball of black energy. He smirked. That was what tethered Mundus's spirit to the body and held the spirit itself together. Breaking that bond would destroy both Diabolus and Mundus for good. He just needed to find an opening now.
Hiro was running almost full speed down the long hallway that connected the chamber to the outside lift. He could feel Mundus's power restored. "What the hell? That can't be good," he said, coming to a stop as he saw Dante and Mundus facing off in the center of the chamber. He didn't know what Mundus was supposed to look like, but he knew the Demon Emperor's aura. He watched to see how the battle would end.
Dante continued pounding away at Mundus's defenses, driving the Demon Emperor back. Mundus gritted his teeth in frustration, fighting back when he could with wild swings and slashes that Dante easily evaded or blocked.
Mundus pointed his palm at Dante, firing another Dark Wave attack at his enemy. Dante flew backward, hitting the wall again, his breath leaving him for a moment. Mundus appeared in front of him, rage painting his face. "Die, you annoying worm!" Mundus thrust his sword with all his force, driving it through Dante's stomach and pinning him to the wall. Blood dribbled out of the side of Dante's mouth as the pain seeped into his mind. He clutched feebly at the blade, not able to move it.
Mundus let out a relieved sigh, relaxing his muscles. "You're done, boy. Nothing can save you now, not even your father's sword." Not a moment after Mundus had said those words, a faint glow began to manifest itself under Dante's vest and shirt. His mother's amulet shone brightly under his clothes, and an even more prominent aura surrounded him. He reached to his stomach, pulling the sword from his gut and standing awkwardly. He smirked, wiping the blood from his mouth. "I guess my mom and dad want me to win this time. Sucks for you, huh?"
Mundus gritted his teeth. "This can't be happening! You should be finished! Dead! Why do you still exist?" He made to punch at Dante with another Dark Wave and Dante quickly swung Mundus's sword, severing his right hand. Blood poured from the wound, running to the floor in a grotesque puddle. Mundus roared in agony, clutching the bloody stump.
Dante took the opportunity and paid Mundus back for his own pain, ramming Diabolus's sword through his gut, a spray of blood jetting from Mundus's back. Mundus dropped to his knees in front of Dante, looking up at him pathetically. Dante shook his head. "You realize it now, don't you? You never had a chance." With those final words, Dante drove Sparda's blade through Mundus's chest, severing the dark energy that kept Diabolus's body and spirit alive, as well as Mundus's attached soul. An ear-splitting scream sounded in the chamber as Mundus's soul and Diabolus burned away, leaving nothing behind.
Dante laughed weakly, clutching his stomach and finding the wall, slumping against it to a sitting position. He looked at Hiro, grinning pathetically. "Yo. When did you get here? Did you see me kick his ass?"
Rayven ran in behind Hiro after seeing the end of the bloody battle. She saw that Dante was bleeding badly from the wound in his stomach. She looked down at where her own wounds should be and saw nothing but holes in her clothes. She realized her clothes were rather bloody and the sleeves of her trench coat were ripped to shreds. She slowly walked over to Dante to check on him. "Dante, do you need any help? You look terrible."
Dante looked over at Rayven, still grinning. "Me? I'm fine, babe. Nothin' but a scratch. You have any idea how many times I've been shot, stabbed, and impaled? I feel great!" He laughed softly to himself, closing his eyes for a moment. He needed to rest for a moment before he used Sparda's power to heal himself. Even with his demon blood, it wouldn't knit fast enough without Sparda's added help.
He focused his energy into the blade, causing it to glow again. A stream of energy surged from the blade to his stomach, causing him to stiffen slightly as his wound closed. The energy faded, and there was just a hole in his vest and shirt. He looked down at it, his eyes betraying disappointment. "Dammit! Now this outfit's ruined. Guess I'll have to change my look again. I'm thinkin' wild west, maybe." He laughed, thinking of himself in spurs and boots.
Energy began gathering in the center of the chamber, a portal appearing. Dante looked at it briefly, his grin turning to a full-blown smile. He looked at Hiro, Rayven, Trish, and Lady, the latter two having silently joined the group a moment before, having made sure the last of the fallen demons that Mundus had summoned were dead. "You guys ready to head back to the shop and see what's become of the world?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
Hiro smirked at Dante's comment about changing his look. There was a sudden shaking that took over the tower. Hiro dropped to one knee and cast his senses to the base of the tower. He could sense it collapsing, the foundation crumbling rapidly. "The tower is collapsing! Through the portal, quickly!" Hiro began to move toward the portal. Everyone else joined them, and they disappeared, traveling through the portal's energy.
Copyright 2008 Kevin Sims