Chapter 2:

"Sister Rose, you came back."

Nero raised his brow lightly when he saw a child about ten years old greeted them. He had traveled with Rose for quite a while before they reached this small hill where a small castle was built. The kid was just standing at gate doing nothing but looked around like a guard before she spotted them, but Nero pondered what kind of people let a kid guard at the castle gate.

Rose on the other hand didn't faze at this when she smiled and bent down to the kid level:

"Yes, Sister Olivia and I also bring the new comer."

"It's a man." Sister Olivia exclaimed when she run to Nero and started to looked around him. "But we never have a man before."

"Well, it could be a nice change." Rose said when she nodded her head. "And he haven't dead yet."

"Eh, he didn't meet the Repusa flock when he got to the Field."

"No, he did. But he slayed them all down."

"Woah, you are strong." Olivia said with her eyes wide opened. "Maybe you could be the one get out."

"Now now, don't let get he got even more confused. I haven't had time to explain everything to him yet." Rose said. "Could you ask Sister Anya for more people to watch out? You know those demons get like when there is a fresh comer."

"I will tell her immediately." Olivia nodded her head before turned to him. "Please, just stay here and don't go anywhere. If you go out now, you could die."

Nero stared after the kid who quickly disappeared into the dark, like literally. She was here, and then she was just gone.

"Is that..."

"Teleportation." Rose said. "Sister Olivia is a smart one; it took her only two decades to master it perfectly."

"She is only like ten."

"She looked like she was ten." Rose said. "Sister Oliver is already one hundred and eight year old."

"This is not the time for joke."

"I am not joking, Nero." Rose said. "Just wait for a little bit, Nero and I promised you, all your question will have answers. Just give me a little bit of patience from you, that's all I asked."

Nero looked at Rose, whose big black eyes were staring at him right back. Before at the field he was too confused and lost that he didn't looked at her closely. Now as he needed something to distract from the mess of question in his head, he started to study her feature. She was really beautiful, Nero thought, as an image came to his head.

"Skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. She was the fairest of them all."

All though Nero thought Rose was not the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, The Snow White princess description suited her enough. Her hair was in such deep black tone that it contrasted her smooth pale skin so much, it gave an illusion of her skin almost had fairy glow. Her lips was small but plum and as red as blood showed a beauty of vitality and life; not to mention her baby face and pink cheek make her looked even more innocent and youthful.

Nero looked at her clothes, white button up shirt with black blazer and a red rose on the pocket, short black pants and black knee high boots. She did look like a magician on a stage, only probably the most beautiful one he saw. And then, something dawn on him as he narrowed his eyes on her:

"How did you know my name? I haven't said it to you."

"How come I not?" Rose said when she smiled at him again; her eyes slightly shine more than usual. "I gave you that name."

Nero froze again when he heard that, before he could ask again, the girl whose name was Olivia appeared again.

"Sister Rose, you two can come now. Sister Anya already has somebody to guard on the barrier."

"Thank you, Sister Olivia." Rose said when she turned to Nero. "Come on, just a little bit patience and all your questions will be answered."

Nero felt the nerve to shot back but swallowed down when he looked at Rose with her faded smile, he had grown up a little bit ever since everything happened at the Quilphoth. He supposed he could he gave her a little bit more time.

As Nero followed Rose into the castle gate, he saw a lot of young women who was staring at him intensely. Now he could understand why Olivia so surprise to see him, there was only female at this place. As Rose gone into a big room looked a throne room, he saw a group about of dozen young women sitting at a round table, all looking at him strangely.

"Sister Rose, I see you came back with a new comer." A blonde woman who looked like the leader said when she rose from her seat. "So he is a man."

"Yes, Sister Anya." Rose said. "He is very powerful, enough to slay down a flock of Empusa and its Queen without much effort."

"Very interesting." The woman said. "Looked at his hair and his aura, I see he was not human. At least, not fully."

"Could be a good thing."

The other women murmured something inaudible with each other, Nero felt like he was exploding inside when he technically scream out:

"Stop acting like I was not here and tell me, where the hell am I?"

All of the women was suddenly silent as they stared at Nero, Anya blinked a little bit before she gave him smile:

"I am truly sorry for having such a wrong manner when we have just met. Allow me to try again, my name is Anya Blackwood, please to meet you."

"Nero." Nero replied. "So what is the deal with all of this?"

"Perhaps, it was the best to show you."

Anya said when she took out of dagger, but suddenly a woman with dark brown hair stood up, her voice tired and laze when she said:

"Let me, Sister Anya. I was going into the Chamber anyway."

"Thank you, Sister Moanna."

Anya said when she handled her dagger. Nero slightly took a defend stand when the woman took the knife and looked at him, her eyes looked tired when she said:

"Watch this carefully."

To his utter horror, the woman stabbed the dagger right into her chest before she went limb fall on her chair.

"What the...?" Nero stammered when everybody just watch as the other women staring calmly at him. "Somebody help her. Got up and do something"

"Watch Nero, just watch." Rose said when she stood closer to him. "Then you will understand why."

Nero looked at the blood flow out from the woman chest slowly decrease until it gone out, he could not hear her breath or heartbeat. She was dead.

Or at least he thought so before a blind strong white light emitted from her body. The next thing Nero knew, the woman who was bloody and dead at one moment now was breathing and clean like there was nothing. The blood that was smearing everywhere disappeared completely, as the overpowering of scents blood completely gone. Like what he just saw was just a hallucination of his mind.

"Am I insane?" Nero asked when he looked at woman face, her eyes as tired as it was; there was still a hint of life.

"No, not more than us." Anya answered when she draw out the text book and began to read. "I once thought of many name to call this place; Limbo, Prison or even Hell but none of them are true to this one place's horrid nature. For all of the name before, one who get in inside could be escape from it. But as this place, there was none. As even in death, I was dragged back to life and force to continue this cursed existence that was spitting at the Nature Circle itself. I called this place The Trap because it trapped it prey inside it very own body at the exact time the poor soul walked in it, ripped us all from any mean to escape, not even Time and Death itself. And if you are reading these lines, I prayed and wept for your soul and mine to have suffered such a cruel fate. May Hope will always be with you."

Anya closed the book as she sighed when she looked at Nero:

"That was what the first person who ever came here describe this place, her name was Agatha Xenon. That was a thousand year ago in your world before she gave her successor this book and go to the Chamber."

"So, it trapped people here and what? Making you all is immortal and forever young."

"Short version, yes." Anya said when she slightly crooked her head. "I guessed before when you came here, you felt an earthquake and when you opened the door to run out, you saw a blinding white light and next thing you know, you were at the Field with Empusas surrounding you right?"

"Yeah." Nero said. "That's pretty much it."

"We all are like you, the earthquake, blinding lights and the Fields with the Empusas. I was sitting in room study when I felt the earthquake, at that time I just wanted to find my parents and next thing I know, I was surrounding by those horrid demon." Anya said. "Sister Abigail and sister Emmilia tried to save me but those things were too much, and I got sliced to pieces."

"So you all just suddenly got coincidently dragged here by an earthquake and a blinding light. That doesn't make any sense at all."

"We know, but we all tried to find out why we were selected. But we have no common, not living the same region, race or look. Our jobs differ from doctor, architect to teacher, farmer. Few of us have connected bloodline but only a few. The only common were we all are young and female since none of us past twenty five. And after exactly one year out there, there will be a new comer. But since you came, I think there was only first common left. Speaking of which, how old are you?"

"Twenty five." Nero said. "So you don't know how to get out of here? Any means at all."

"There was a myth, and I felt like you could try it. Wait for me a few second."

Anya said when she went to a bookshelf to take out a big scroll before unrolled it on the large table. Nero looked closely at the scroll; it was a map that was draw carefully. He recognized the small field at near him as the field when he first got here, near it was the castle they were staying where they called it The Camp. He looked at the end of the scroll where Anya is, there was a black massive tree that looked like the Quilphoth a lot standing there. As he read the writing on it, it was one simple line:

The Gate?

"Why all the question mark?"

"We don't know if it was really a gate but it was the only place where no one of us could ever get into and investigate thoroughly." Anya said. "We hoped it was a gate to go out, because what else we were supposed to think? Just a tree and we have no way out here."

"Why can't you go there? Was it dangerous?"

"Dangerous was not in our dictionary since we couldn't die. But it was a strange place." Anya said. "Rose, you were the one get closest to it the most often, how did you describe it."

"Unlike any other place in The Trap, the scenery of the Border surrounded the Gate changes and so does its creature. You could see time flow in there and creatures grow up and withered, like it should be. But there come the prize when there was an enormous amount of high ranking demon with humanoid form. The strange things was if you died within the Border, instead of being alive in right there, you will be transferred back right to the Field again. I may even said, it was like somebody wanted to you stay back from that place."

Nero nodded his head, but then he felt like it was something out of place when he asked:

"So why was it so important that I was still alive and not dead yet for me to go to the Border?"

"Because you need to be with someone who is still alive and never touched by death to go into the Gate." Rose said. "I went into the Border many times and manage to sneak in a lot of place, but there was once place I could not go into, The Gate." Rose said when she pointed at it. "No matter whom I traveled with and what we do, there was like an invisible barrier keeping us from that tree. And each time we tried to break its, flock after flock of demon attacking us and chased us down to death. But there was once, just once time I manage to get inside The Gate and that was when I went with Sister Olivia."

"Sister Olivia was very lucky when Sister Rose come in time to save her from those demons." Anya said. "She managed to keep Sister Olivia alive to go to the camp and it wasn't until they were attacked at The Gate, Sister Olivia had been touched by death."

"So if you were good enough to slayed and duck down those demons, what was in The Gate that cut you down?" Nero asked.

"I only have good look of it once, and I can tell it were not the demon." Rose said when she reminisced. "It felt different, very different."

"And this was what we able to get a look like inside of The Gate according to what Sister Rose and Sister Olivia said."

Nero stared at the painting that Anya laid at the table, what it looked like to him was an enormous black hole with a circular stair curving around it.

"You think that this was your way out?" Nero said, to him it looked more like a gateway to Hell.

"It's was our only hope now. And so do you, Nero." Anya said.

Nero felt the room silent as the women around him looked at him expectantly, they all looked young and yet their eyes looked so old and sad. He looked at the brown hair woman who just looked blankly at him, her eyes tired and almost like it was disappearing but was force to stay. Nero nodded when he said:

"So when do we begin?"

"I think we should discuss about who will be the one accompany him first." Rose said. "I thought may be Sister Amanda or Sister Nadia who is a fighter will be suitable for this one important job."

"I think the otherwise." Anya said. "You were the one who reached there the most, the one who traveled outside the Camp every day to explore out. Nero already a decent fighter from what I can see, I think an Amazing Magician will be good to support him. Did anyone else think otherwise?"

All the women at the table shake their head lightly; Anya nodded her head when she said to Rose:

"Then you two should spend sometimes together to get to know each other strength a little bit, then form some plan to get in there." Anya said when she looked at Rose. "Your room and his will be next to each other for easier to discuss, is that okay?"

"Of course, Sister Anya."

Rose answered before she walked silently to her room with Nero, seemed to be deep thought as she opened her room before she looked at Nero who was looking at her.

"Sorry, I was just trying to arrange my thoughts and find a way to form it to word. Vergil said I talked too much and always out of topic, which annoyed him greatly, hence the scowl he always had on face when he around me. But then again, I always thought the scowl was a change from his usual stone face. I think he should smile, but..." Rose stopped when she looked at Nero again. "Sorry, I talked too much again. Please come in."

Nero walked inside; he saw a room that was similar to what inside the trailer. Feminine and a lot of flower decoration, from the bed sheet to the pillow. She really was the owner of the trailer.

"Please, take a seat." Rose said when she pointed at a floral chair when she put her top hat down on the table.

"And probably my mom."

Nero thought when he took out the picture deep in his pocket. He saw a baby, still small and barely opened his eyes. The only thing he could found resemble to them was that those small strands of white hair on his head.

"So this was me?"

"Yeah, I took it two weeks after you were born." Rose said when she hold the picture in her hands. "You were a loud kid, unlike your father. Dad said you looked nothing like me, but you definitely have my mouth."

"I have a grandpa?"

"Yeah, he was the best." Rose returned the picture to him. "I was driving to meet with him at Fortuna but unfortunately, things went rail road with The Trap."

"So you did not abandon me at some random house because some supernatural thing took you away." Nero said. "That was convenience."

"True, but I am glad that you were left at someone house." Rose said when she looked away. "It was better than you were left to death in a van in a middle of a road."

"How did I get out there?" Nero asked.

"I don't know, I can only guess that someone walked by the trailer and hear your cry. I cannot thank them enough for bring you to safety." Rose looked down sadly. "Although, I cringed at the fact trapped in here was a fate worse than dead."

"What was so bad about it?" Nero asked. "Was there something threatened and hurt you?"

"Well, there were some demons come around here once a while but we got that handled." Rose said. "It was our mind that destroying our self. You see Nero, human was not supposed to came back to life after being killed. Actually, nothing should be. But we are, Nero, we just keep coming back to life despite everything. It felt awful, like you are so tired after a day of work and all you want was a good sleep. But each time you about to fall into oblivion, you being dragged back to you tired and ache body again and could not able find peace but only pain and hurt. And the fact that we remembered our death vividly won't help; our mind thought we were dead but our body didn't. It just so..."

"So torn..." Nero finished her line. "I once felt like it, not on your level and only for short while but I knew what it felt like. Being torn between things that I could not apprehend of my body and my mind."

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"When I first discovered my Devil Bringer."

"Like a Devil Trigger of Vergil?"

"Like that one, but a little different." Nero said, contemplated about whether he should talk to her when Vergil ripped his out of his body. But then he changed his mind, he wanted to focus more on Rose tonight. "So how do you two meet?"

"Well, I was traveling around cities to sightseeing before I get in to college. And since Fortuna was a great place with historical value tight to a legend of Sparda and wonderful cake shops, I thought it would make a good stop to tour and find more about Sparda since I was really curious about him. And of course, eating cake too." Rose said. "I met Vergil at a library, and I just thought he was a handsome guy with an interesting about historical figure. I am a simple girl, I saw a hot guy with same interest of mine, I went to talk to him."

"That's it?" Nero asked, he always thought Vergil did not seem like the kind person who would just get along with someone he just met at the library.

"Oh, I haven't finished. So when I went talked to him, or more like doing a monologue as he was reading in annoy, I mentioned that my grandma used to meet Sparda."

"She did?" Nero asked.

"Yeah, she did. She told me that he was an incompetent moron who could not do one job right."

"And...you said that to Vergil?"

"Yeah, and he blow up at me, big time and got kicked out of the library." Rose said when she tilted her head. "Don't know why he got so mad."

Nero: "..."

"Umm, you do know that Vergil was Sparda's son, right?" Nero asked reluctantly.

"Oh that's why." Rose said with enlightenment in her eyes. "But I didn't really know that fact until now, he was still so mean."

"Maybe when somebody was looking for a hero in the history like Sparda in the library, it means they really like him and did not want to hear some stranger saying that their hero was an incompetent moron."

"But that was my grandma said, not me. I just quoted."

Nero: "..." Was she pretending or this was the real question in her mind.

"Anyway, after that I met him again doing some research at a book store. I felt bad that he got kicked out before he got what he wanted so I asked to share some note that Sparda used to write."

"Wasn't that kind of things should be kept in private and secretly in your house."

"Nah, my grandma throwing it away all over her house, my dad had to pick it up and collect it. The only reason he did not throw it into a trash bin because he thought Sparda have wonderful hand writing and his line was perfect. Vergil still angry but he took the note, nonetheless."

"You did not happen to say its condition at your house, right?"

"Of course I must, I mean he was asking where I got it." Rose said. "What if thought I stole it or something like that, he would be even angrier."

Nero: ...Doubt it.

"And after that, we met at my van to talk about my Grandma and Sparda. I mean, when most of the people heard that my family knew Sparda, they always said I make it up. But Vergil believed me, even though he was still scowling when we talked."

Nero: ... More like curiosity since it was the first time he heard somebody called his father a moron.

"I told him that I did not know much about the affair between my grandma and Sparda since she hated to talk to about it. But I heard that they used to did some magic and spell at my house, just no one know what it was."

"So that's how you two met." Nero looked at Rose's pouted lips. "So how exactly does your grandma know Sparda?"

"I don't know, she did not like to talk about it. I just know she disliked him, a lot."

"So you are a magician? Like real magic?"

"Yeah, hence the costume." Rose said. "A lot of times, there was random stuff and not just people get in here so we took it in here to turned it into our item. Sister Olivia got me this to outfit from the clothes and fabric tossed in here, but the wand was what with me when I got in here. It's a family heirloom."

Nero looked at a wooden stick out from her knee high boots, did not looked like something that much treasure when she shove it there casually. But again, after a few minute talking to her, he had feeling like Rose was the kind of girl took everything casually. Maybe too casually.

"Yeah." Nero said when he looked at Rose again, like fully looking. There were still many questions he wanted to ask about her but he did not know where to start. Finally, he still chose one that was plagued my mind for so many years.

"Did you ever regret having me?"

Rose looked like she was slightly taken back as her doll eyes got even bigger when she stared at him. After a few moment of silent of what looked like she was thinking really hard to think, Rose opened her mouth to say:

"Having you was never my intention, and I admit, it brought me fear and pain that I had never experienced before. But I have never once regretted it."

Nero let out a sigh when he slightly dropped his back again the soft chair. He did not what this feeling was currently flowing around his mind, but he did not hate it.

Maybe it was happiness, or contempt, or both. But either way, he felt like a weight had been lifted out of his shoulder.

"Thank you, Rose, for answering my question."

"Of course." Rose smiled when she said back.