Author's note: 1)Readers: Talking about how cool it is that Dante gets his electric guitar back. 2)People having trouble with the Cavaliere boss fight, here's a tip: the first swing of his combo is hard to parry. Don't waste time trying to do it. Just dodge it by jumping up. He'll miss and start the second swing, which is waaaaaay easier to parry.
Me: But did you consider that maybe Nevan's going to be in her true form for the rest of the story? ;)
3)To readers enjoying this story: thank you. DMC means a lot to me, so this fic is a joy and a privilege to write. 4)Here's a little teaser: "That day, if our positions were switched… would our fates be different? Would I have your life, and you mine?" 5) People wondering how I update so quick: I work as a freelance artist. When I'm not drawing, I do other things I like, such as writing. I drew the cover art for this fic myself. What characters do you want to see on the cover? I've been thinking of updating it for a while. Chapter 10: This Is (Not) What It Looks Like
In stark contrast to that, a day at Beacon began by waking up early, and working out. Heavy lifting, seven days a week, taking full advantage of a muscular and nervous system that far surpassed human limitations, and recovered completely within hours. After the exercise, there was a healthy breakfast, high on protein, and accompanied by water rather than alcohol. This was followed up by a day of training hunters to fight, which meant he was always training himself too. And every now and then, he would go out to hunt demons or Grimm. The combined fact that he had to present himself in front of students every day, and in front of a certain blonde witch as well, meant he shaved regularly, and put more effort into his appearance.
The result?
Instead of a badass devil hunter, he was a badass devil hunter who looked at the top of his game every day. His already fit physique had leaned out even further, to the point where he was almost as defined as he was in his Devil Trigger state. He was bigger too, and felt stronger, faster, sharper. His silver hair was cut neatly and combed with the bangs covering one side of his face, similar to the style he had had when he was younger, and his face was stubble-free.
As if all this wasn't enough, it even felt as though his Devil Arms respected him more now.
Balrog was consistently ranking him higher on the Style Meter, and even King Cerberus had gotten rid of most of the attitude.
Going down to the training facilities, Dante got in his workout for the day before returning to his room and taking a shower. Today was the weekly off at Beacon, meaning there would be no classes. Putting on his classic trousers, shirt and jacket, Dante headed downstairs for breakfast, feeling amazing.
Nothing can go wrong today. Absolutely nothing.
As he took the last few steps down and reached the ground floor, he sensed something.
He frowned slightly. He must be imagining it. There was no way he was feeling what he thought he was feeling.
Ignoring it, he walked towards the dining hall, and heard the voice emanating from it.
"... shouldn't be so difficult. Just show me where he is."Dante kept walking. Entering the dining hall, he ignored the scene happening in the middle of it. In his peripheral vision, he saw lightning and bats, but he paid them no mind. Making his way over to the table, he grabbed a plate, then loaded it up with food. Protein was important. For someone who worked out as much as Dante, it was a good idea to take his bodyweight in kilograms, multiply it by two, and get that many grams of protein. To that end, he took grilled fish and meat, along with eggs. As for calorific requirements, Dante wasn't specifically trying to gain or lose weight, but he needed plenty of energy for all the fighting, so he consumed plenty of clean fats and carbs. Right now, for instance, he got good old fashioned bread and butter. Eating maintenance calories while doing weight training and a lot of demanding activity, he was actually staying at the same weight by getting leaner and gaining muscle.
Yes, this was the disciplined, good life.
He had absolutely nothing to do with the pale green lady who was somehow creating bats and lightning, and controlling both.
He walked to a vacant table right at the end of the hall, took a seat, and began breakfast.
As he tasted the lean grilled fish, he took a moment to close his eyes.
All is good in the world. Nevan definitely isn't in front of me.
Nevan was absolutely in front of him.
And her patience was running out.
The Lightning Witch had already been in a bad mood from the moment she had approached Beacon. Being a demon, and one who embraced the pleasures of the flesh, she preferred being au naturale. This was fine. Very few humans ever found their way to the demon world, or the Temen ni Gru. Those who did were either brave warriors or power-hungry people. Both fun to feed on.
But Nevan was not simply a succubus.
She was also a woman.
An adult woman, of fine and discerning tastes.
And thus, the prospect of being drooled over by a school full of teenagers was abhorrent to her. She liked her men mature and stylish, thank you very much.
So, she had manipulated the living darkness that was her clothing, and modified, so that instead of a topless gown, it was a now a full body gown that covered most of her, though it left her shoulders and arms bare. To complete the look, she had also used it to form high-heeled shoes.
Overall, she looked a noble, extremely beautiful (and rather bloodthirsty) lady.
It was equal parts mesmerizing and terrifying.
"Come now. It's no point pretending. I can sense his presence, clear as day. I know he's closeby. Just hand him over, and none of you need to get hurt."All around her, the students had gathered, keeping a cautious distance, both curious and afraid of this woman, who was unlike anyone they had seen before.
The boys were seized with an instinctive desire to move closer, while the girls (especially those who had partners of the opposite sex present), felt the urge to hit them.
Unsurprisingly, the four students who found themselves involved in anything remotely resembling trouble in Remnant, were the ones who responded to her.
"Umm…" said Ruby. "We'd like to help, witch lady, but we don't know who you're talking about."
"Wait, Ruby," said Yang. "Something's not right about this one. She's strange. I'm not even sure she's human. I don't think she can be."
"You're jealous of her boobs, right?" deadpanned the three other members of the team.
"... That information is besides the point. Look at her. Have you ever seen a human with pale green skin skin like that?"
"Well," began Blake. "There are certain Faunuses who…"
"I really don't think she's a Faunus," cut in Weiss.
"We don't know that for sure," said Ruby.
Nevan, whose patience was rapidly dwindling, tapped her foot, a vein twitching in her temple.
Finally, when she'd had enough, she burst out.
"Enough. Cut the chatter. You will lead me to him, now! The most worthy man in all the realms, who I know is here."It was at this point that one of the four students who also occasionally got involved in Remnant's various shenanigans spoke up.
"Who exactly are we supposed to be leading you to?" asked Pyrrha Nikos. While her stance was relaxed, she was ready to move.
She had a strong suspicion that this woman in front of them was the very thing Dante was training them to fight.
A demon.
She couldn't say for sure, but that was what her instincts said.
Nevan turned around and faced the redhead.
She raised an eyebrow, appraising the warrior. Nevan sensed a strong energy from her, and also noticed she had the bearing of a skilled fighter.
She's not the same as the rest of these brats.
Her eyes wandered to the others standing beside Pyrrha, gaze landing on Ren, Nora, and finally Jaune.
That one… wait a moment.
As has been mentioned earlier, Jaune was being personally trained by Dante. Meaning, earlier in the morning, they had worked out together.
Now, while soap and water do a great job of cleaning up most germs and getting rid of most scents, they cannot entirely remove the latter.
Demons, of course, had sense several times sharper than Faunuses, who in turn had senses several times sharper than humans.
Long story short, Nevan looked at Jaune, and saw a boy who smelled slightly of Dante.
"You…", she said. "You've met him."
And of course, being a succubus, and the jealous type (though she would never admit this), her mind immediately wandered to the worst possible scenario she could think of.
"You… impure brat. What have you been doing with the Master?"
In Jaune's defence, working out with Dante and getting, for the first time in his life, positive feedback from an adult he looked up to, had done wonders for his confidence. No longer was he someone the likes of Cardin Winchester could push around.
That being said, he was still a long way from being able to stand up to an extremely powerful demon who was the most angry she had possibly ever been.
And so, his response was fear.
Which, of course, changes the hormonal balance of the body, changing one's scent.
Nevan, who literally smelled the fear coming off him, took it as an admission of guilt.
"... Oh, so you have done something with him. Very well. Consider your life over."As she launched herself forward, Pyrrha acted immediately. Without any of her weapons on hand, she went bare-handed, taking a single step and driving her right fist forward with all of her weight and Aura behind it.
While Pyrrha's fighting style was not as brute-force dependant as Yang, nor was she famous for that particular attribute, the fact remained.
She was not a four-time champion for nothing, and as Yang saw that right cross delivered, she made a mental note to never piss off the redhead.
Pyrrha's punch connected square on with Nevan's own incoming hand.
While the demon was able to block the fist, she did feel the force of it jar her arm all the way to her shoulder.
"Not bad. But not quite good enough either."
Pyrrha frowned. With her hand still in Nevan's grip, she stepped forward, and swept the demon's legs, throwing her off balance.
She had seen Dante perform variations of this move several times, and while it was basic, it was quite effective.
As Nevan fell, Pyrrha pulled back her free hand, and thrust it, palm first, at the Lightning Witch's face.
The result was the faceplant from hell, cracking the stone floor for metres around and all but embedding Nevan's head into the ground.
Straightening up, Pyrrha dusted off her hands and turned to Jaune with a bright smile on her face.
"Hello again."
"I am so scared and aroused at the same time," muttered Jaune.
"What's that? I couldn't quite hear you," said Pyrrha.
"Nothing," said Jaune, mentally making a note to never try her patience.
Just as he was about to suggest they move on to breakfast, a muffled voice was heard from the floor.
"That's it. I've had it."
Before Pyrrha could react, Nevan pulled herself out of the ground easily, as though it was water she was coming out, and not stone.
The Lightning Witch had had enough.
Just as she was about to launch herself at Pyrrha, however, she heard a voice from behind her.
"Come on, Nevan. You can't just come into the school where I teach and start making a mess."
The demon recognized that voice instantly. She would recognize it anywhere.
Turning around, she smiled wide with joy, an expression of ecstasy on her face.
In later days, the students present at that moment in the hall would tell their descendants that seeing that expression on her face was the moment they went from being boys to men.
But that isn't the subject of this story.
Nevan rushed right towards the devil hunter, arms spread wide.
"Dante!"
Immediately, she latched on to him, grabbing hold of one arm.
"It's been far too long, sugar."
It is worth mentioning, that this was also the precise moment when Dante went, in the eyes of the boys, from being a legend, to being a god.
"Wait," said Jaune. "Is that…"
"No, she isn't!" said Dante immediately.
"Yes, I am!", said Nevan at the same time.
A collective sweatdrop rolled down everyone's faces.
"It's complicated, huh?" said Jaune awkwardly. "We'll, uh… give you two some space."
"Noooo", said Dante.
"That will be best," said Nevan.
"Give you some time to figure things out," added Jaune helpfully.
"We don't need time or space, and you're really not helping here, kid!" grunted Dante. He tried to shake Nevan off, but unfortunately, the rules of the world were simple. His superhuman strength could not work against the actual affections of a woman.
It sounds made up, but it is one hundred percent true.
Nevan's grip was firm, and it wasn't coming off any time soon.
"Hey, teach, you mind if I take a photo of this?" shouted someone. "Pictures of you sell for quite a bit, you know. And now that we know your long term lover is back-"
"She's not my long term lover!" shouted Dante.
No one listened.
Like an indie band's first EP, his words fell on deaf ears.
"We'll give you some privacy, teach," shouted some third year from the distance.
"Yeah, he's been working hard. Good luck, teach!"
And so, when he needed them the most, the students of Beacon abandoned him.
Dante watched them all trail out of the hall, with their food packed for takeaway so they could eat in their dorms.
What kind of school dining hall has takeaway?! Beacon was proving to have top-grade facilities in all sorts of ways that were inconvenient right now.
And so, within moments, the only people remaining in the hall were Nevan and Dante, and the members of RWBY and JNPR, as well as Velvet, who were, by now, all but certain that the woman was a demon.
"Some defenders of peace you guys are," grumbled Dante. "All of you combined couldn't save me."
Once more, everyone ignored him.
"So… you going to introduce us to witch lady here?" said Yang.
Dante sighed.
It seemed there was no getting out of this.
Just as he was about to resign himself to answering, and suggesting they all go to his room, the one remaining element added itself to this mix.
"Dante?"
"No."
Groaning, Dante closed his eyes as he turned to face the voice coming from across the hall. He already knew who it was, but he was hoping by some miracle it would turn out to be someone else.
He opened his eyes and saw a black, white and purple dress.
"Noooo."
Further up, he saw blonde hair and glasses."
"No, damn it!"
Glynda Goodwitch looked at the scene in front of her.
The students' demon hunting team appeared to have formed a circle around Dante, who was currently in extremely close proximity to a… rather unusual woman, who seemed quite happy to be in that position.
"... No matter what this looks like," said Dante. "I can explain."
All across that universe, and indeed, all across every universe, all the men groaned.
The greatest of them had uttered the forbidden words, and triggered a certain flag.
All lamented, though no one knew why exactly they were sad.
Except for Vergil. He laughed, suddenly feeling much better for some reason.
"No need," replied Glynda. "Enjoy yourself. Do remember to confine whatever activities you are planning to your private quarters."
"Time out!" yelled Dante. "TIME OUT!"
A few minutes later:
"... and so that's what's actually going on," finished Dante.
They were all sitting in his room, including Goodwitch, who had agreed to come along, though she was still giving Dante the cold shoulder.
"So let me get this straight," said Yang. "This chick-"
She pointed at Nevan.
"- is a demon?"
"Correct."
"Yes."
"And, you once defeated her, so she turned into a Devil Arm like the other ones you have."
"Pretty much."
"So… why is she a hot, creepy, demon lady again, and not a pointy, stabby thing of some sort?"
"Hey!" objected Nevan, mildly offended by the flippance in Yang's tone, but willing to overlook it, since she was still where she wanted to be, right next to Dante.
"I have no idea," said the half demon warrior.
"I could always have turned back, you know," said Nevan.
Dante blinked.
"Wait, really?"
"You weren't aware of this, Master? Devils who willingly ally themselves can shift back into their true forms, as long as their bodies were not destroyed. In truth, sometimes even that isn't necessary. Many of us can regenerate from energy. Come to think of it, even y- mmmph!"
"Okay, all right, no need to say anything extra," said Dante, clamping a hand on Nevan's mouth to stop her from revealing his secret.
However, as he drew hs hand back, he realized he had made a mistake, as Nevan's expression was now clouded over with a mixture of pleasure and lust.
"Ah, Master is so forward with me. If you wanted to touch me, all you had to do was say so."
The expert devil hunter, the half demon legend, the man of unshakeable composure and style, looked, for the first time since his arrival in Remnant, like he was not in complete control.
Yang casually pulled out her Scroll and took a photo.
"Did you just take a photo of blushing Dante, because it is a rare natural phenomenon on the same level as a reversal of gravity or Remnant's moon coming back together?" asked Ruby.
"Yep," said Yang. "I sell this, we're set for life. Heck, we might not even need to be huntresses. We'll probably end up richer than miss heiress over here."
"I… am forced to admit that you might be right," said Weiss.
Elsewhere, just a few feet away, both Ren and Jaune were on the floor, clutching their eyes.
"Why?" groaned Jaune. "Why did you poke me in the eyes, Pyrrha?"
"Why this betrayal, Nora?" asked Ren, voice still calm, even when he was in pain.
"You were about to see something you shouldn't," said Pyrrha.
"Yeah, what she said," added Nora. "I can't have Ren's innocence corrupted by strange demon ladies."
"This," said Dante, raising his voice, in a desperate attempt to control the situation and salvage his cool guy image, though Balrog's voice in his mind was telling him his style rank was dropping, "Is all a misunderstanding."
He turned to Glynda, hoping the reliable disciplinarian would back him up.
It was, of course, hopeless.
But Dante dealt in the realms where the impossible was routinely made possible.
Could one parry a furious older brother's deadly katana slashes with a motorcycle, yes. Stylishly, even.
Could one allow a demon with near-teleportation like speed to sneak up on him, just to scare it away with a finger charged with demonic energy at the last moment? Of course. Easy.
But could one reasonably expect the woman he's been hitting on to back him up when another woman is leaning on him?
Nope.
That just doesn't happen.
"Dante?," said Goodwitch, smiling sweetly.
"Y-yeah?" said Dante. The man who had not flinched when faced with universal beings and embodiments of despair, found himself now slightly nervous.
"Please stab yourself at your earliest convenience," said Goodwitch, smile still on her face.