Hey guys, Alito Here! I'm sorry I haven't been on fanfiction for a while. I've been trying to focus on finding a job as of now, so my time here was limited. Luckily I found a job and am waiting for a reply on when to work. By that time, I can prioritize myself better. Until then, I'll see if I can somehow be on here a little bit more.
Another update on this chapter, another DOA5 costumes. recently we got Zack Island costumes, and that's more so something new for the guys rather then the girl characters sense we got about 100 other swimsuits for the girls. And to think we got October and December costumes coming out too. DOA6, never.
And once again: Nothing on Devil May Cry's end. We got Dante appearing in MvC: Infinite which is really just Marvel Cinematic Universe vs Capcom: Infinity War commercial, and he, in that game, looks butt ass ugly as fuck and I'm pissed about it! I hope they update those graphics like crazy to make up for...whatever THAT was in the demo.
Unrelated: Transformers: The Last Knight was hot shit in a dumpster of fleas...and yet I'm still probably gonna get the DVD. I hate me sometimes.
But enough ranting on about nothing. Let's get on to the story.
DISCLAIMER I OWN NOTHING. DmC: Devil May Cry and Dead or Alive 5 belong to their respected owners.
Chapter 37
Escape from Paradise
PARADISE (LIMBOFIED)
LIMBO CITY
9:07 am, Monday
The halls were quiet. Not a sound besides the light breeze of Limbo's air billowing through the hallow walls of the old home. The silence was unbearable to the Konoichi. She was always use to being in creepy places that were filled with the unexpected—something one whose trained in the ways of the Mugen Tenshin must be prepared for, but this was Limbo, and Limbo was beyond any preparations. So it was no surprise that Kasumi would be on the constant ready with her hand hovering over her sword.
Meanwhile, Vergil was ever so calm and patient, as he strolled through the halls with his sword held defenseless on his side. Kasumi stared at the white-haired Nephilim as if he were wearing peculiar clothes.
"So...are you sure we're heading the right direction?" Kasumi asked.
"Yes." Vergil answered without even looking over his shoulder. "This is my home after all. What I worry for more is if Dante knows his way around this place."
"He's been slowly regaining his past memories. Hopefully they'll be enough to guide him through this safely." Kasumi hoped.
"I hope so as well." Vergil replied.
Though Kasumi had little interest in small talk with Vergil, she still had something else that was swimming in her mind that desperately needed to be answered. She was hesitant to bring it up, but she found now to be the best time since she was in the presence of someone whose had more experience with Limbo.
"Vergil-san..."
"No need for the 'san'." Vergil said.
"Right...Tell me; about the world of Limbo...is it possible to become lost in it?"
"You're referring to Ryu, correct?"
Kasumi's chest tightened as she struggled to say a word from her quivering lips. "Y-Yes..."
"I'm afraid I don't know the current location, nor the status of Ryu." Vergil said. "Though that doesn't mean he's dead. He's a resourceful ninja. I'm sure he's somewhere out there."
Kasumi took small comfort in Vergil's words. It made her confident that Ryu is still out there in Limbo somewhere; trying his hardest to find his way back to Earth. All she had to do was hope and be patient for him to come back. Ryu has been through worse, after all. There was no way Limbo had truly taken his life so easily.
Vergil looked over his shoulder to see a hint of hope spark in Kasumi's eyes as a small smile appeared on her face. It almost made Vergil share her sentiments of a fallen ally's possible survival instilling hope. It reminded Vergil of how he felt when found out that he had a twin brother, and how he desperately tried to find him in hopes that the trail didn't lead him to a tombstone or a meatless corpse.
However, that sympathy of relief had slowly sunk into concern—not for Kasumi and Ryu, but or himself. At this point, there was no need to try and put up anymore walls between him and Kasumi. He had the assumptions that all equated to her knowing the truth. She was with Helena, which was what Helena herself told him while he was still on the microscope.
Vergil took an immediate halt, which instinctively made Kasumi stop as well. She looked up at him in confusion, before he himself turned with a stern expression on his face that put her a bit on edge.
"Now that we're alone, I think it's time we clear the air between us." Vergil said.
"W-what?"
"You know, don't you?" Vergil confessed. "Helena told me you were with her throughout the entire invasion of The Order's base. Which means you knew about...what happened."
Kasumi swallowed hard; almost breathless. She had to take a deep breath and speak for herself; "Yes...I do."
"I see." Vergil replied calmly. "So...have you told him?"
"No...not yet, at least." Kasumi said honestly. "I would hope you would be the one to speak to him about it..."
Vergil cast his head down, while averting his gaze from even the very space Kasumi stood in.
"I will...in time..." Vergil replied.
Kasumi eyes widened in disbelief, before turning into a look of anger for the white-haired Nephilim. She had already made a pact with Dante to always be honest with him, and yet she had already broken it by not telling him of what his brother had done. It wasn't fair for Dante to have to go through all this strain and fighting all because of his own brother's unusual decisions to release the Knights of Hell.
"Time is not something we have anymore." Kasumi said sternly. "The world will soon be plunged into darkness, and you want to sit by and keep secrets! Dante deserves to know what happened!"
"I know! I...I know..." Vergil tried to scramble the right words to say. "I just...need to focus on one thing at a time right now...like getting us out of here."
Kasumi spoke on it no more. He was right; they had to focus on their escape from Limbo at the moment.
The two continued on in silence through the destroyed home as the floors gave out to lower levels to navigate through, and climbable structures blocked they way; forcing them to climb. The more deeper they walked on, the further they felt they were getting towards the stairway room that they all started from. In fact, as the two trudged on, they ended up finding themselves even deeper into the mansion. The ambiance grew darker as they continued on forward into the almost unfamiliar domain. The two were beginning to become tired of seeing nothing but red halls everywhere around them. And then that stench—that awful smell of Limbo's cancerous miasma lingering about began to get on their nerves.
There was not even a trace of demons wandering around, or trying to sneak attack them. As far as Kasumi was concerned, the decrepit mansion was next to empty of any sign of life besides her own, Vergil's, Dante's, and Honoka's. Nevertheless, her blade was still at the ready to be drawn just in case. Once again she eyed Vergil to find that he strolled through these halls without much of a care in the world. She began to wonder if it was confidence or arrogance that allowed him to tread so lightly through these halls without so much as a hand hovering over his katana.
Finally, Vergil once again came to a halt. It confused Kasumi as she stopped right behind him.
"It appears we've been led in a circle." Vergil said.
"Yes, I've noticed too." Kasumi looked around and began to notice that the hall they stood in did begin to look familiar. "It's a strange sense of deja vu..."
"Exactly." Vergil went to the side of the hall and placed his gloved hand onto the wall. He closely examined it as if to find a small clue. "As I thought; an illusion."
"Illusion?" Kasumi questioned. "Impossible, I would've sensed it the moment we entered into it!"
"So would I." Vergil replied. "It appears ancient magic is at use. Something even beyond my own knowledge."
"Then leave that to me." Kasumi said.
Vergil raised a questionable brow towards the ginger-haired konoichi. She stood there in complete silence—eyes closed and hands together to form a ninjutsu sign. He recognized it as the "ram". He could see an intense aura begin to form around Kasumi's body, while creating a distortion. Vergil could feel the ground below him tremble, while the surrounding hallway had eased into a liquid-like filter to his eyes.
Kasumi took in a deep breath through her nose that took in the aura around her body. Vergil braced himself for what was to come next.
She let out a loud and powerful "Ha!" that released an energy pulse from the core of her body and stretched out across the halls. In an instant, the halls around them shattered like glass to reveal where they really were the whole time; The stairway room that lead them right towards the hall that had Kat and the others waiting for them.
"We're back..." Kasumi said with a relieved sigh.
"Impressive." Vergil acknowledged.
"O-Oh, it was nothing special...!" Kasumi said bashfully, "It was a simple genjutsu spell break that even the most novice of Mugen Tenshin konoichi have been taught."
"What? Oh, no, I was referring to the illusion itself." Vergil admitted.
"Excuse me?"
"For me to not be able to notice it right away was unorthodox but the method was absolutely cunning."
Kasumi could not be anymore annoyed. A small compliment wouldn't have hurt. She could bet that if it were Dante who figured out how to break the illusion, Vergil would shower him with nothing but praise. In a lot of ways, it reminded her of her own relationship with her brother in praising him for the smallest of things back then.
She put those feelings to the side and looked around for any trace of Dante or Honoka; there wasn't a trace of them to be seen.
"Where could Dante and Honoka-chan have gone?" Kasumi wondered. "Do you think they were caught in the same illusion?"
"Most likely." Vergil said, "We'll wait here for them."
"Are you sure we shouldn't go in and find them?"
"Don't worry." Vergil assured Kasumi. "If I know my brother, he's already devising a means to escape the illusion as we speak."
"WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE?-!"
Dante's outcry echoed through the all too familiar halls of Limbo's unbeknownst illusion that both he, and his new found companion, were stuck in. Dante was on the edge of having a complete meltdown, while Honoka was only a bystander to that rage with hands behind her back.
"I swear to god, if I gotta see that same glass window ONE more goddamn time...!"
"Hmmm..." Honoka pondered, "maybe you just have a reeeally long hallway?"
Dante looked at Honoka as if she had said something so wrong, that he began to wonder if she had some sort of mental issues.
"No, I don't think I got a long hallway, Honkers!" Dante exclaimed.
"I told you to stop calling me 'Honkers'!" Honoka yelled with rose-like cheeks and her arms covering her large chest. "I have a name, y'know! It's Honoka! Ho-No-Ka!"
"Well Ho-No-Ka, any suggestions on how the hell we get ourselves outta this one?" Dante said in a defeated tone as he leaned against the wall, "Because after my tenth lap around this place, I'm barely thinkin' anymore..."
Honoka thought on it for a moment; she herself couldn't come up with many ideas that could be of help to them. Heck, before today, she had no idea what the heck was going on here. She just accidentally fell into some circle with Vergil and ended up appearing in an old, abandoned mansion. Now she was split up with Vergil's twin brother as they were stuck in an endless loop.
Suddenly, an idea popped in her head that she made physically clear by putting her fist into her palm, and having that dopey expression of realization. Dante had a bad feeling about this...
Honoka slowly lifted her arms into the air and reached high into the sky; even going so far as to standing on her tip-toes. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in silence. Dante was confused as to what she was attempting to do, but didn't complain much since all that stretching did was given him a better peek at just how large her breast really were. They were definitely bigger then Kasumi's or even Tina's. Hell, they were definitely larger then any of the girls he's seen yet.
Finally Honoka opened her eyes and with all the confidence in the world, she...clapped her hands twice and prayed.
"Dear, mr. or ms. ghost thing; please let us out of here. We humbly ask that you let us through. Thank you."
She seemed proud of herself by the prayer and was expecting these 'ghost' to act on her request...as expected, there was no change in the situation.
"Huh?" Honoka reacted. "That's strange..."
"Honoka," Dante asked, "as a friend I feel I should ask...are you an idiot?"
"That's rude!" Honoka exclaimed. "I thought since we were in a haunted house, maybe praying to the ghost would let us out!"
"Ghost? You think we're dealin' with Ghost?" Dante shook his head. "Oh, hon...you're really outta the loop here, aren't cha?"
"Out of...Dante! Behind—"
Before another word escaped her mouth, Honoka watched Dante practically pluck the approching creature that crept up behind him off of its feet and into a head lock underneath his arm. The creature looked more like a doll with the face, but its body was practically clockwork mixed with black muck to hold the pieces together. On its arm was a long, rusty blade that looked as though it had been used to hack away at something. Honoka naively hoped it was for show.
"Does this look like a ghost to you?" Dante said, pointing at the screeching demon.
With the way it struggled to try and break free from the Nephilim's tight grip, Honoka almost felt bad for the poor thing.
"H-Hey! I don't think it likes what you're doing to it...!" Honoka said sympathetically. "Maybe you should let it go...or something...maybe it doesn't want to hurt us!"
"Really? Tell that to them."
Honka was confused by that statement. However she immediately felt a cold chill down her spine, as if someone were standing right behind her. She quickly turned her head to see the horrid sight of at least four other demons—similar to the one in Dante's grasp—standing right behind her with blade-arms raised high into the air.
"Stand still!" Dante called as he was reaching for his new sword. "I—"
"SEIYAAA~!"
Dante froze in his tracks at what he saw next.
Honoka; the seemingly dizzy, big-breasted high-school-dressed-but-thicker-then-a-bowl-of-oatmeal girl, just slammed her gloved fist right into the demon's rib cage. Her punch practically broke right through its protective armor without much effort. The demon itself ended up flying across the ground and tumbled to the floor.
The other demons took one look at their fallen comrade who had struggled to get up, then back at the pink-haired girl.
"Um...I'm sorry!" She said with a flustered bow. "He just really scared me..."
The other three demons came at her with blades at the ready to strike. At that moment, Honoka's instincts seemed to have kicked into overdrive.
She grabbed the first demon's arm to hold it down, while she used a keysi side swing on the second one in its stomach. From there, she turned back to the first demon to karate chop it on the side of its neck. Then finishing her combo by double-punching the third and fourth demons in their faces as they came from the both sides of her.
The first demon had recovered to attack her on her blind side, but was rudely mistaken as Honoka swiped its bladed-hand down, and was dealt with a heavy blow to the head from her elbow.
the third and second demon returned for a fight with the third behind her and the second in plain sight. Honoka dodged the attack to her stomach by turning to deliver an attack towards the third demon that resembled a double palm strike from a Chinese movie. The second one had received a Muy Thai back elbow to the cheek, before being mulled down by a boxing right hook.
The fourth and final demon attempted to stab her from the side. Honoka simply blocked its thrust using Wing Chun before delivering a barrage of heavy duty punches that were beginning to weaken the demon and have him falling the floor, while the punches just kept on coming.
Finally Honoka finished the poor creature off with a final punch to the chest, before it could no longer stand.
All around Honoka's feet were aching demons who were groaning unholy growls of pain while trying not to fall unconscious; something that were thought to be impossible for demons like this.
Dante was at a loss for words. It would've been an understatement for him to say he certainly didn't see any of that coming. Not only did this seemingly normal high school girl not only take out the demons that surrounded her, but she also used a smorgasbord of styles that were all fused into this...this...Honoka-fu, as Dante could only describe it as.
The demon under Dante's arm made screeches that were low and cohesive enough to be considered words that seemed to be equally shocked.
"Eeeugh eegehh eheaghhh..."
"You said it." Dante replied, before snapping its neck and letting it disappear into Limbo's muck.
Suddenly, another demon had appeared behind her with the intent to hack her in two. Like the others, Honoka blocked its attack by grabbing its arm, then slamming her elbow into its stomach, before judo flipping it onto its back. She had it pinned down with a fist raised to slam into its skull. The demon struggled to break free but was at the mercy of her hold.
Dante stood there in waiting for Honoka to finish the demon off...but she froze.
She just took a knee there without moving at all. Even though she had the struggling demon right under her and just itching to be killed off then and there, she, for some reason, couldn't find it in her to deliver the final blow. Her fist began to tremble as her eyes were filled with doubt.
Dante noticed her grip on the demon was had begun to loosen and her fist falling to her side, as she had a look of defeat plastered on her face. The demon easily escaped her clutches and stood before her; growling ever so viciously towards her for what she did to it. Soon after, the rest of the demons she had beaten slowly rose off the ground. Though withered in pain, they still dragged their blades across the ground towards disdain girl.
The demon in front of her raised its blade, as Honoka was still unresponsive. Her head was still cast down in defeat as she closed her eyes and braced herself.
However, what startled her was the sound of a loud pop that almost made her ears ring. She looked up to see the demon before her had been shot clean through its marble doll-like skull. Its body had slowly dissolved into black muck and slithered through the cracks of the floor.
Ahead of her stood none other then the black-haired Nephilim with his smoking gun pointed right towards the demons behind her. The demons themselves stopped dead in their tracks the moment they saw one of their brethren easily killed right before own black eyes.
"Alright, you had your fun, Honkers..." Dante said with that wicked grin. "...my turn."
Without warning, Dante's body almost seemed to vanish from Honoka's sight. All she could feel was the strong wind of something blowing right past her. She instinctively looked behind her to find Dante had slammed his new sword right into the stomach of one of the demons.
Just then, the other demons let out hellish battlecries that echoed through the halls. The hall itself suddenly began to rumble all around them, and transform itself into a wider area that could house a crowd of people. The roof had elevated at least a few feet into the air, while the paths of the halls were closed off by black ink that hardened into walls. It almost resembled the room where Dante's father's painting resided.
With the room now wider, from the depths of the black floor muck appeared even more demons—two dozen of them, all similar to the ones Honoka had already fought. They all shrieked their ungodly roars while running at Dante and dragging their rusted blades across the ground.
"I do love a good housewarmin' party!" Dante quipped. "Let's give it a good cleansing."
Dante kicked the stabbed demon away from him, before hacking and slashing away at every demon that that dared to approach him.
Honoka sat there, mouth agape, at how seamlessly he cut his way through the creatures without mercy. In fact, the closer she looked, she could catch a glance of the look on his face. He was...grinning; almost as if he were deriving some sort of twisted pleasure from just cutting the demons down. It was almost...scary to her. He was like some sort of Spartan warrior who was born in the wrong century; swinging that sword into the demon's faces.
Dante, on the other hand, was having a ball. He felt as though he could take on the world with the new sword he was swinging. The sword itself felt about the same weight as an baseball bat, but he felt as if he were cutting through construction paper. The familiar sounds of sharp metal hacking through hard flesh, the aroma of demon blood filling the air, the thrill of good ol' fashioned Hack n' Slashathon was just the thing he needed.
But that was nothing compared to what happened next.
five of the demons that were left had all ran after Dante behind him. Dante turned on the heel of his foot and was about to simply wack them out of the way. However, the sword had other plans, as it began to glow an eerie red hue mid swing, before letting out a massive release of a fiery, sonic wave of pure energy that immediately seared through each of the demons like a hot knife through butter. The wave had even made a deep gash in the wall on the other side of the room. All five of the demons fell in an instant with their blood and body parts flying about.
Dante was speechless in those moments at what he had just did. He staggered a bit once the blade had come completely around.
"Holy shit...!" Dante uttered.
He took one look at his new sword as the red hue slowly vanished off of the stainless blade; leaving the inscribed ancient text on it to slowly dim out of its red glow.
"The hell kinda sword are you...?" Dante questioned.
Dante looked around himself to see the havoc he had caused; the remains of the multiple demon scum had finally dissolved with the rest of the massive black muck that painted the floor in demon's blood. He looked at the blade itself to see it had not a single scratch on it, or even a small pint of blood. Whatever was up with the sword Dante was holding, he couldn't deny the upgrade it offered him compared to Rebellion.
"Honkers! You alright?" Dante called towards the sitting pink-haired girl afar.
"Y-Yes...!" Honoka answered meekly. "And stop calling me that...!"
Dante let his sword rest lazily over his shoulder, while eyeing the last remaining demon left. Dante was lucky to have let it live, as it was the only one who seemed to have had a makeshift crown on its head.
"Hey, you!" Dante called towards the startled demon. "I'mma take a literal stab in the dark and guess you're the boss of these deadmons here, right?"
The creature tried to turn around and escape, but was yanked off its feet and lifted into the air by its neck. It began to struggle to break free from Dante's iron grip, but its efforts were useless. It began screeching in pain as Dante's grip grew tighter.
"Whoa whoa there, skippy..." Dante said with a wicked grin. "I haven't even asked my question yet. Now talk; why were the hallways loopin' like that?"
The demon complied using the walls to speak for it in a distorted, demon-like voice, that displayed words in big, bold letters.
ILLUSION
"Is that so?" Dante said, "Then break it already, or I break you. Understand?"
The grip got tighter around the demons neck until it began to wail harshly. Finally the demon did as Dante command, and slammed its hand and blade-arm together to sound off an echoing clap. Within seconds the area they stood in had completely shattered like glass all around them. As the pieces fell into nonexistence, in the original room's place was an old, ransacked room that had already lost most of its splendor with age. There also sat a dirty old bedroom, and a battered wardrobe. The windows had been broken into, while other parts of the room were destroyed with rubble cluttered about. The only thing that was worth the beauty was a dirty old rug below Dante's feet.
Honoka was as confused as could be. She found herself switching from a hallway, to a room, and finally to a bedroom. If this were some kind of dream, she wished she'd wake up now...or at least imagine ice cream or her favorite JPop singer.
Dante, on the other hand, looked around the room, and recognized it immediately.
"This is...my parent's room..." Dante uttered.
Though it should have registered as an emotional moment for Dante to once again end up somewhere that held deep-seeded memories for him, he was just glad to be out of that mind-numbing illusion.
He looked back up to the demon he was holding, while feeling a tad bit generous. "Thanks a bunch. Now get outta here."
Dante dropped the demon as it scrambled to get back to its feet. It was almost confused as it turned to face Dante with it's shivering head.
"You got 20 seconds." Dante warned as he put his sword on his back again.
The demon understood the fortunate chance it had, and immediately ran out the doorway and into the hall. It was just glad to have been able to—
"20."
A single shot went off that startled Honoka much like the first one he shot. It went off in the direction of the demon and down it went; into its own muck before dissolving into nothing.
"C-Can you please stop shooting so much?-!" Honoka asked while rising to her feet.
"Can't help it, Honkers; it's what I do." Dante replied, putting his gun away.
"I told you to stop calling me that!" Honoka yelled. "And you...! You just killed him in cold blood! You didn't even let him go even though you said you would!"
"Yeah, so?"
"So...why?-!"
Dante could see what she was getting at and couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl. She had no grasp of the order of Limbo is, and has probably lived a minor sheltered life of being a highschool girl who happened to be able to fight good, and has a killer 'thicc' body.
"Listen, Honk—Honoka..." Dante explained. "These things are—"
"Dante! Honoka-chan! Are you two up there?-!"
Both Dante and Honoka followed the sound of a voice calling for them from afar. Dante looked towards Honoka, who was just as confused as he was. It almost sounded like Kasumi. Then again it could've been another illusion to fall into. Nevertheless, it was better then staying in that room for a moment longer. The two ran down the halls and turned towards a wide entryway. Once through, they found themselves standing on the second story level of the stairway room that they started from.
"We're back!" Honoka said graciously.
"Dante! Honoka-chan!"
The two followed the voices and looked over near the entrance to the stairway room and saw none other then Vergil and Kasumi waiting there for them. Kasumi waved them over while calling out to them, while Vergil stood there with a smile of relief that they were alright—more so Dante then Honoka though.
"Where the hell have you two been?" Dante called as he simply leaped over the beam of the second floor, and onto the first. "I was worried sick!"
"Us?" Kasumi called back as she jogged over to Dante. "We're the one's who've been waiting here!"
"Well, the gangs all together now." Dante said graciously. "So how's about we get outta here before I start remembering my most embarrassing moments as a kid."
"If it's you, I can imagine it being a lot..." Kasumi smirked.
"Tons, actually." Vergil called from the distance with a similar grin.
"Wait...what did you tell her?" Dante called angrily as he ran at Vergil and grabbed him by the collar. "Vergil, what the hell did you tell her?-!"
"I didn't say a thing!" Vergil said defensively yet tried to hold in a grin. He cleared his throat and returned to his stoic demeanor. "Anyway, we should leave. I have base located not too far from here. It's The Order's main headquarters."
"Good, I could go for an actual nap right now." Dante sighed as he let go of his twin.
"You and me both...by the way," Vergil took a glance towards the sword on Dante's back. "I've been meaning to ask when I found you, but...where did you acquire that sword?"
"Huh? Oh, I...um..."
Dante struggled to think about what happened. Being thrown into a cave through a painting wasn't anything out of the ordinary for someone like him and his brother, but he had a hard time trying to grasp exactly how to explain it to him. And the memories it showed him were something he did not feel like revisiting anyway. And then there was the sonic wave it shot out against those demons back there—he still couldn't make sense of that either. Perhaps it was best to go in full detail with Vergil after he'd gotten a good night's rest. But for now...
"I just...found it." Dante said. "Along with my old memories..."
"Strange...I've searched every nook and cranny of this place, and have never come across such a sword." Vergil admitted. "Can I see it?"
"Sure thing." Dante said as he reached over his head for the sword.
As Kasumi approached the twins, she noticed that the ancient glyphs on Dante's new sword glowed an eerie red the moment his hand touched its handle. It was only for a split second, but it left Kasumi perplexed.
Vergil took the blade in his hand, and examined it in full detail; The sword looked as though it was only forged yesterday. There was considerable weight to it, despite it looking as though it weighed a ton. The blade was made of pure iron that's been folded over many times, however, its edges were made of magic ruins that have been tempered onto the iron blade to give it an extra sharpness. Vergil finally read the text on the tang of the blade.
"Hmmm...Seems to be a mix of characters from English, the dimoori sheol or language of the damned and...Enochian?"
"What?"
"Language of the Angels..." Vergil explained to Dante. "I can sort of read some of it...it says...F...or...c...e...g...Force Edge."
"Force Edge, huh?" Dante uttered.
Vergil gave the sword back to Dante, who got a good look at it one last time in all its shimmering glory. It wasn't his trusty Rebellion, but Force Edge had a lot to offer him based on what he saw of it back in that fight.
"Come on, you two." Kasumi said as she strolled towards the entrance hall. "We should leave. Staying here in Limbo is beginning to make my eyes strain."
"Of course." Vergil agreed.
Vergil took the lead past Dante and Kasumi. Dante was just about to follow them, until he noticed they were short one girl. He looked over his shoulder to find Honoka still standing near the stairs with her head cast down. She seemed disappointed in something by the way she stood with her fist clutching at her skirt. Dante could tell something was on her mind, and it would stay in her mind until someone talked to her.
"Hey, you two go on ahead." Dante said to Kasumi and Vergil. "Me and her'll be there in a second."
Kasumi also eyed Honoka in her state of distress. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't sweat it." Dante assured them.
Vergil took a moment to think on it before saying; "Alright. We'll wait for you two outside Limbo."
"Got it." Dante nodded.
Vergil turned on the heel and walked into the hall. However, as he walked down it, a thought had entered his mind; burning within his skull and begging for release. He calculated the risk and thought what the result would come out to be if he had carried out what was on his mind. It was a decision that could break the tight relationship he already had with his brother, but keeping it from Dante would be even worse given his terrible trust issues. Vergil wanted to make sure there were no more secrets between him and Dante—that the two of them could one day fulfill their destinies. That was more important once Mundus was destroyed.
Vergil stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder towards his twin brother. "Dante..."
"Yeah?" Dante replied.
Vergil had to think it over one last second, before coming to the swift and inevitable conclusion.
"Once we've reached the lair, there's...something we need to discuss...just you and me."
Dante could tell Vergil was serious about something by the way his brows furrowed, and his eyes were filled with uncertainty. It was easy to see considering they had the same face and all. But when Vergil was worried about something, Dante usually took it as a major understatement.
"Got it." Dante nodded.
Vergil nodded back before continuing on down the hall.
Kasumi could see the worry in his eyes the moment he asked Dante to talk to him later on. There was no doubt in her mind that once Dante heard the truth, he'd develop a shaky trust with Vergil, but it was at least better then keeping secrets all the time. She followed Vergil towards the exiting portal, while leaving Dante with Honoka.
Dante looked back at Honoka, who still stood there with her head cast down. Whatever was on her mind was really eating away at her bit by bit. Dante strolled on over towards her and took a seat on one of the steps to the stairs next to her. He slammed Force Edge into one of the steps, and slouched forward with a deep sigh.
He eyed Honoka, who seemed to have just noticed that Dante was sitting right next to her. The poor girl looked as though she was on the verge of tears.
Dante tapped the the empty space next to him. "Come on. Tell ol' Dante what's the matter..."
Honoka was hesitant at first—believing that he would rather leave Limbo immediately with Vergil and Kasumi—but he didn't look like he was in any mood to go just yet; at least not until he tried speaking to her. Honoka wasn't in the mood to talk, but apparently that wasn't an option for her anymore. Rather then fight it any longer, she respected Dante's request and took a seat next to him with her knees hiked up to her chest, and her arms wrapped around them.
"Alright..." Dante started as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket. "So what's eatin' ya?"
Honoka said nothing. She simply continued to wear that troubled look on her face.
"Oookay, then I'll ask..." Dante said as he lit his cigarette and blew out the smoke. "You froze back there. You could've killed that demon along with those other ones, but you didn't. You went easy on 'em...why?"
Honoka was still unresponsive.
"I mean you got the skills to take 'em down, you're fast enough to block...you got the body to match—"
"Stop."
Dante was caught off guard by her sudden response, despite her face buried in her knees.. "Touch a nerve?"
"No...stop smoking...It's bad for you."
"Excuse me—"
"I mean it! Stop smoking!" Honoka yelled with her big reddish eyes filled with welled-up tears and anger finally meeting Dante's. "My grandpa died from smoking so much, y'know!"
"Well excuse the hell outta me." Dante spat. "Sorry 'bout your old man's passin', but that ain't got nothin' to do with me."
Honoka kept her pouty cheeks out until she finally buried her face back into her knees. "Fine!"
An annoyed look appeared on Dante's face for a moment, before an idea had appeared in his black (and white-patched) head of his put a sneaky grin on his face.
"Okay, how about this?" Dante suggested. "I'll put the cigarettes down once and for all if you tell me why you choked back there. Deal?"
Honoka peeked over towards Dante who waved the lit cigarette between his fingers, while threatening to drop it. Honoka didn't believe for a second that he would just quit cold turkey like that. She believed that same lie with her late grandfather, only to be lied to just like he lied about going to the hospital for a routine check up back when she was a child. Since his death, she's detested smoking, and knew that a smoker never says they'll quit that easily...still she sighed deeply, before raising her head up to gather her thoughts.
"Back when I was a first year in high school...I was considered super popular among the boys..."
"That's some ego." Dante chuckled.
"I-I didn't want to be...!" Honoka scrambled to answer before curling up again. "I just...ended up being called as such...It was because I had...these..."
She made emphasis to her large breast by holding them up; a gesture Dante certainly didn't miss burning into his head. She also noticed his leering eyes and quickly curled back up with rosy cheeks.
"Sorry..." Dante muttered while looking forward again.
"I'm use to it sadly..." Honoka continued. "Anyway...I was really popular back then. I was top of the class academically, sports were a breeze, I was always above average when it came to School health check-ups...Soon I ended up being known as 'Honohime'."
"So I'm still waitin' for the 'but' here." Dante interrupted.
Honoka gave a small chuckle. "Well...I was happy to have been able to make so many friends, have many admirers, I would always be picked first to answer questions. There was even this one time during the school festival that I was picked to run an entire maid cafe. It was a disaster; the pastries were burnt, the guest were rude, and some of the costumes had tea spilled on it...yet I didn't care, because I was having so much fun...the class said they were able to manage because I was there...I felt proud to be the model student for my class..."
"Buuut..." Dante leered.
The small smile on Honoka's face slowly fell into one of growing pain and horror at the memories she was forced to bring back up. Dante could recognize the negativity practically radiating off of her from personal experience. She curled herself in tighter as she clutched at the side of her white thigh high socks.
"But...I realized that it was all a lie..." Honoka said solemnly. "As soon as I started my second year, I had become too popular...and the girls...my friends...they started being really...cruel. Suddenly they treated me like I had done something wrong. They'd put nails in my shoes, write all over my desk, call me a cow...and the boys...the boys were worse..."
Honoka smothered her face back into her knees while trembling.
"They...they started off harmless..." She said shakily. "Just some leering eyes...looking up my skirt...but then...the male teachers began doing the same...I felt so dirty everytime I walked down the halls or when I was in gym. My homeroom teacher locked me into his classroom alone with him and...h-he tried to make me do things...I was so scared for the rest of my second year, that I could barely stay at that school for too long...! I didn't want to make my grandmother worried, so I beared with it..."
She sniffed and whipped her eyes before continuing.
"But none of that was as bad as what happened one late afternoon into my third year...I had finished after school club activities, and was walking home alone...and a bunch of boys were following me from another school...they cornered me into an alley...trying to get me to 'hang out' with them...then one of them reached for my breast...another kept trying to slide his hand up my skirt...I-I was just...so scared...so so scared, that I...I...I couldn't control myself..."
Dante didn't need to wait for what she was trying to spit out;"You killed them."
Honoka clenched at her stockings as she buried her head deeper into her knees.
"I didn't...I didn't...mean to, I just...I was so scared of what they'd do to me...So much blood...just...just so much...and then my body...it felt like it was on fire...and my hand...it glowed so red...I was so scared that I couldn't go home...I didn't wanna hurt my grandmother...so I ran...I ran away from home, and didn't look back anymore..."
Dante could see her body trembling as she began to tear up. She sniffed and hiccuped until she was practically red in the face. She did her best to wipe the tears from her eyes but they only continued to fall down her scarlet cheeks. It was almost too hard to see her go on like that. Dante felt he had to do something. He reached out his hand to try and pat her on the back or even embrace her...but hesitated; not sure if that was the right thing to do considering he was still a stranger to her. Instead he put his arm down again, and continued to let her have a good cry until she was done.
While she had her tearful moment, Dante couldn't help but remember the times where he first killed someone. Not a demon or some otherworldly creature, but an actual human. Since that time, he always had a bad taste in his mouth when it came to killing humans who were beyond bad. They deserved it, but that didn't take away from the feeling of queasiness he would come down with everytime he had to do it for money.
Honoka seemed to have finally calm down a bit and continue from where she left off.
"I-I'm sorry..." Honoka said in a shaky voice.
"Don't be..." Dante said.
Honoka nodded as she continued. "After I left...found my friend, Marie-chan again, and she took me in...I may have been working as an assistant, and of course the leering eyes didn't stop...but at least I felt a lot safer where I was compared to that school..."
"Marie-chan?" Dante questioned.
"Oh, she's a close friend of mine...she looked after DOATEC in Helena-san's absence." Honoka made clear.
"Huh. Sounds like you got a good friend lookin' out for ya."
"Yes...I do..." She began to grow a small smile on her lips. she eyed Dante, and grew bashful for the display she caused. "I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean for you to see me like that...! Oh, I feel so embarrassed! I've never cried in front of a boy before! You must think I'm being such a baby, don't you...?"
"Naw..." Dante said as he rose back to his feet. "Trust me, I know what you went through...I was the same."
"Y-You were?"
"'Course..." Dante pulled the sword from the ground and placed it on his back again. "It was August, a few years back in Hollendine blvd, of Limbo City. I was a brat of about ten years old; walkin' with other kids to sneak into a movie theater, when suddenly I was attacked by a dude with a gun. He demanded the money in our pockets and we gave it to 'em as quick as we could. I tried to convince myself that we would all live, and we would all make it another day. But something in my body told me that I was going to die right then and there and I was in immediate danger...I heard the sound of the gun going off and I had lost myself...as if I was gonna fade away..."
Dante began strolling down the stairs while spinning the sizzled out cigarette between his fingers.
"...Before I knew it, I found myself in a hospital bed. They told me that the three kids with me had been killed by the gunman. The gunman himself...multiple bite marks to the throat...a hole in his chest that looked as if someone's fist went into it...and the last expression on his face being wide-eyed and his mouth stretched in horror...They told me that I did it. I didn't believe it, but...they showed me a security feed...I saw myself leap onto the guy and rip him apart...It was then that I realized that there was somethin'...off about me..."
Honoka noticed Dante reach the bottom of the stairs and was about to turn back up to face her. She quickly noticed that her knees were hiked up to her chest and her panties were showing, and quickly put them down before he had glanced up at her.
"I didn't know what to do after that; was it jail time for me, would the cops be after me, what if the demons get me in there—so many questions went through my head that I felt like my skull was gonna bust open...so I ran...just like you."
"R-Really...? What about...your..." Honoka's words faded once she remembered the moment him and Vergil shared and recalled him speaking about his parent's death. "I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..."
"Don't sweat it." Dante assured her. "I now understand that what happened that day was my fault...It pisses me off...that I couldn't do somethin' about it then. If only I had that power I had to kill that gunner...maybe I could've saved her..."
Dante grew silent as he looked down on himself for a moment. Even though he told himself all this...it didn't erase the pain that lingered within him for years without him even realizing it was there until now. He was starting to feel anxiety build up inside him again and fall into his own despair. He knew he could recover from it quickly, but it was going to be hard...just like the other times.
"But...it wasn't your fault!"
Dante looked up at the pink-haired girl, whose tearful expression was replaced with one of furrowed brows and burning red eyes sent right at the red Nephilim. She stormed down those stairs as quickly as she could and walked right up to Dante to give him a piece of her mind.
"You were a little boy! You didn't know what you did! Vergil-san doesn't blame you, and neither would your parents! I know they wouldn't!"
She tried to keep her tough exterior in check, but only began to tear up again.
"And you're right...you did run, just like me...but I believe it was necessary! It brought us both here to realize that we can still have a second chance to make up for our past! Its to prove that we both can do better!"
She took hold of Dante's hand and held it tightly in her own.
"So please, Dante-san!" She said with watery eyes. "Please help me to fight the demons with you and the others! I don't ever want to be scared of my powers again! And in return, you have to promise...! Promise you'll never blame yourself like that again! I know you'll never quit smoking but at least promise me this!"
"Honoka—"
"Say it!"
It didn't seem Honoka was going to give him any options by the way she starred desperately at him. Rather then admiring the cute, teary-eyed face she had, he was a little more disgusted with the snot coming down her nose while she cried her eyes out.
Dante sighed. "Alright, alright I promise, there! Now could'ya cool it with the waterworks and corny speech?"
Honoka sniffed and backed off of Dante as she whipped her eyes with her sleeve. She really was like a child with that pouty face of hers. It almost made Dante want to bust out laughing if not for how serious she was trying to be. Still, her words pulled him out of a dark place he was about to enter. He had to be grateful for that. He knew the past would come eating away at him at some point. He was just glad Honoka was there to pull him out in time.
"So...that's what you're gonna have to work on." Dante agreed.
"Eh?" Honoka uttered in confusion.
"You heard me; you're gonna have to work on bein' a lil more aggressive if you wanna make it another day out here in Limbo." Dante warned. "The demons couldn't give two shits about your feelings. They'll drag you into this hell, and then rip you to shreds if you don't grow a back bone soon."
the pink-haired highschool girl understood what he was trying to say, but taking a life of any kind was going to be tough for her to get use to. Even as a child she couldn't find it in her to kill a fly. As much as she loved to fight, she didn't like the idea of killing anyone or even any thing with her own hands. However he just kept starring at her—almost like he was expecting her to say yes right off the bat.
"I...Okay." Honoka nodded. "I'll do my best."
Dante paused for a moment. He dropped his cigarette and stepped on it.
"And hey..." Dante said as he walked up to her and placed a hand on her head. "If you ever need someone to talk to, just say the word." He then smiled with a wink. "I'll look out for you, if you'll have me."
And just like that, Honoka's cheeks took on a new shade of scarlet that they had never taken before. It was the first time a boy had said such words to her and almost seemed to mean it. It took her off guard at how genuine it sounded, compared to the boys in school who only complimented her while starring at her body. She felt like she could actually believe what Dante had said, which filled her with enough confidence to take him up on his earlier advice.
"Thank you, Dante-san..." Honoka said with a bright smile on her face that quickly turned into a sigh. "And I take it you won't keep that promise to stop smoking, will you?"
"Atta girl." Dante remarked. "Now let's get outta here already. We got a world to save."
"Hai!" Honoka nodded cheerfully.
Dante took the lead on towards the hallway, as Honoka hurried right behind him. As the two walked on, Honoka took slow strides behind him so as to not stand beside him. She couldn't quite make what she was feeling at that moment, but she knew that she couldn't keep her eyes off of Dante's back as he lead the way forward. The sheer aura about him was far beyond anything she'd seen before in a boy. It wasn't safety or a sense of protection, but rather a feeling that he would watch over her while she went on ahead. As she figured, she couldn't make sense of why that was what she had felt, but one thing was certain that she herself probably wasn't aware of; her heart began to beat faster then its ever been, and her cheeks felt warm. It wasn't like that late afternoon with those boys...this was a whole new feeling for her all together. One that smile the biggest smile she could muster.
"Hmm?" Dante looked over his shoulder and saw Honoka with a great big dopey smile on her face that left him confused. "What's with that dumb smile?"
"Hee hee~ Nothing...Dante-kun~"
?-?-?
?-?-?
?-?-?
He watched the two finally leave the old, decrepit home from the confines of a space between Limbo and the real world; a void of pure darkness that lingers within the crevices of both realms that houses the unknown.
It is there where the Knight known as Agnolo resided. A knight of black armor, a ripped cape, a mask, and a fedora to add to his strange choice of attire, He stood out the most is such a dark realm; playing the observer and overseer of the Nephilim's movements. Though Mundus had proven himself superior to the Nephilim, it did not quench his desire to one day destroy him. Though he indulged in letting the boy believe he has anything of a chance to defeat him. Which was why he sent Agnolo to keep a keen eye on him.
And so, Agnolo sits in wait for a chance to strike from his Lord.
"It appears the Nephilim has acquired a new sword." He said, "Good. He will need it for the battles to come...Would you not agree, Mr. Hayabusa?"
Agnolo turned his attention towards what had been put onto display behind him. An, almost, ritualistic monument of a pentagram, made from the grounded bones of fallen demons, and gold. But its splendor was soiled by a weak human body stuck to it by his hands and feet with sharp spikes. The man himself was battered and bruised with his suit riddled with cuts, while his mask was forcefully removed to reveal his brown, unkempt hair out of its ponytail.
Despite the wounds and harsh treatment, the man did not waver. He simply starred his piercing green eyes towards Agnolo with great disdain.
"You believe you have me kept here..." Ryu said with a raspy voice. "But I will escape from this...soon enough..."
"Of course you will. That is the point of me keeping you here until the time is right."
"What time?" Ryu spat.
"One that I'm sure you are familiar with." Agnolo warned as he stood before the defenseless ninja. "Tell me, Mr. Hayabusa; do you recall the curse known as...The Grip of Murder?"
As he stood in the dimly lit room, overlooking the city below, The bald-headed demon overlord contemplated his next move. There was not much to be done anymore, considering he had already achieved his goal to rule both the human and demon world many centuries ago. At this point, it was just the fun of trying to find new ways to rule it. It use to be slavery, then war, now debt seems to be the next best pasture. And after his recent victory to the Nepihlim, he was certain there was nothing standing in his way. He felt almost foolish for treating the Nepihlim as if he were a legitimate threat to him. Based on that pathetic display he was shown in their bout back in Japan, Mundus was all the more confident in his ruling continuing on for many eons to come.
But until then, he had other plans he wanted to put into play.
He reached into his suit pocket, and dialed a number on it. He held the phone to his ear and waited for someone to answer. Once he heard the click and a voice of hello, he relied:
"Yes, am I speaking to a secretary for the organization known as DOATEC...?" Mundus asked in his most humble voice. "...Good, I would like to speak with the head of the company; Ms. Helena Douglas...Yes, this is Kyle Ryder; CEO of Silver Sacks Tower...I would like to privately request a meeting with Ms. Douglas. I hear tell that there is an event known as the "Dead or Alive" Tournament..."