Hey there, everyone. Though it hasn't been too long since the last chapter's release, hope you're all doing well. With the end of 2021 right around the corner, I've just been looking back on this year… and man, talk about a crazy one. Not as much as last year, but I still feel like we're really reeling from the pandemic and all the other craziness that's been going on.

With this in mind, however, it does feel like things really are getting better. Obviously not in all respects, as more recent news has made clear, but at least things are sort of stabilizing a little bit. Hopefully 2022 will be the start of something a bit more positive, though the world in general is still a long way's away from being in a truly better state.

Ah well, not like being an idealist or a cynic is going to alter much of anything on my part at least – I still intend to do my part, however small, in not making things any worse. Of course, it's also up to others to do likewise in order to really see any long-term changes.

…

…Man, my bad, you guys. Didn't really mean to get all serious like that. It's just that in more recent years, I've been getting a lot more introspective towards the end of each year, just more so now than before and I don't actually get many chances to truly say stuff like this to others in person hence why I'm doing it here.

Anyways, here's to hoping that the new year will be a good one for all of us. If not on some grand scale, then maybe on a smaller/personal scale. To those of you going through a rough time, hope things get better.

Now then, actually getting onto topic – this fic.

Namely, that after all these chapters without much screentime for him, Karl fucking Heisenberg will finally be stepping into the limelight! And I'm definitely excited to get the chance to write him in this fic. In fact, he was yet another one of the reasons why I wanted to do this fic at all – he's just too entertaining to pass up a chance to write. He may be an absolute bastard, but he's a fun one, at least.

Much like the other lords, he'll also be getting a power up given the context of this merged setting… not to mention he'll be much more active as well. In what ways… you'll see pretty soon, heh.

Now then, onto the chapter.

P.S. As always, please consider purchasing any of my books! Links are available in my profile page, just remove the spaces.

P.P.S. Should be able to get one more chapter out before the end of this year, but on the off-chance I don't, have a Happy Holiday, everyone! And a Happy New Year as well!

Chapter 13

Karl glanced down fiercely at his own right hand, which he'd balled up into a fist. His signature sunglasses were at risk of falling right off his face due to how much he was leaning his head forward, but he paid it little mind. He simply focused on his open hand.

"Come on now…" he muttered through slightly gritted teeth, concentrating with all he had.

Thanks to all the surveillance he'd put the whole village under, he remained pretty well aware of all that's transpired since he and the others had decided to sic the lycans on the feeble villagers. And while he hadn't been able to fully set up cameras throughout the entirety of the reservoir, much less that gloomy fucking house that Donna shut herself away in, his efforts have allowed him to get more than enough of a glimpse as to what has happened very recently.

But more than that… he's felt what has gone down.

That moronic fucking Moreau and doll-bitch Donna… both of them had just been taken out of the picture, slain in pretty short order. Not quite as quickly as that giant vamp-bitch Alcina, but close enough for him to know that the two had ultimately posed some challenge to the two subjects of interest running around:

The stubborn Ethan Winters and the enigmatic yet snarky Nero.

"Come on…!" Karl grunted out, beginning to feel something now.

That mysterious power that's been coming and going… there was much more to it than it being 'just' power in and of itself. Much like how the Megamycete that Miranda oh so lauded as some kind of god operated by still undefined rules, so too did this still unnamed power. And much like with the Megamycete, this power afforded to him some measure of… well, he didn't really have a term for it, but the best way to describe it would be like some kind of psychic connection or maybe even something akin to an information network of sorts, for even when he'd been in the middle of doing some 'tests,' he'd suddenly have images pop into his mind, images of what was going on that he couldn't possibly obtain otherwise.

He'd 'seen' how Moreau had started to pop out those weird fucking lagoon creatures. He'd 'seen' how Nero had ultimately dispatched them all, Moreau included. Karl had 'witnessed' how Donna and her little friend Angie had manifested that baby monster to fuck with Ethan as well as how the man himself had suddenly awakened to this same unknown power, albeit being granted a far lesser quantity of it as opposed to everyone else. And of course, he'd 'seen' as well, if only for an instant, how Donna and her pathetic puppet had merged together… only to be killed just moments later by Ethan.

But more than that, with each activation of this mysterious power, namely when Moreau had transformed and when Donna had merged with her doll, Karl had felt that same power spike within him.

It was like a… like a resonance of some sort. Much like how certain types of machinery are made of individual parts that are empowered by one another, so too was he and all the others who'd been 'blessed' by the oh so great and powerful Megamycete as that bitch Miranda would like to put it.

Yeah, in some respects, it was much like how he went about making his Soldats. For all the modifications he's made to every corpse he could get his hands on, it ultimately required a Cadou to be inserted into each corpse to serve as a power source which would then work in tandem with the cybernetic changes he's made to truly bring his creations to life and function properly.

However, with that in mind… just what was the source of this mysterious power?

Karl paused in the midst of his little experiment to really think on that question.

If it'd only been him and his 'siblings' that had benefitted from this power, then he would've been at a true loss as to where it came from. At that point, he would've probably just chalked it up to Miranda having done something else to them in particular that he hadn't been aware of.

But the fact that this unknown power seemed to be something not just he and the other lords now had, but was something all the failures out there had obtained as well, as the lycans and other fucking creatures had demonstrated, then… well, he was really only left with one possible conclusion:

It was the Megamycete itself that was providing them all this power.

Of course, he supposed there was a slight chance of the truth being different, but he was absolutely certain it was the thing Miranda so fervently worshipped that had to be the cause behind this. In which case, how? And why now of all times? In all these decades, why only now that this unknown power, so different from what they all had grown used to, was welling up within them?

…

…Ah, who gives a shit?

"Plenty of time to tinker and fuck around with it later," he said to himself as he resumed concentrating.

His curiosity had always been strong, had always been one of his good traits, but for the time being he had more immediate things to focus on.

Namely, learning how to properly wield this power, unlike the other lords who'd simply been tapping into it blindly like the moronic shitbags that they were.

To this end, the images he'd been receiving had most helpful; he'd been allowed to get a glimpse at how exactly the power seemed to flow and ebb in the others with every action they'd taken. More than that, he'd gotten a feel for how 'deep' the power seemed to come from within them.

Alas, it was one thing to know something, another thing entirely to put it into practice. And Karl, for all his curiosity and patience, was having some trouble putting what he's gleamed from the images into practice.

He was a man of science, specifically science concerning physics and engineering of all kinds. More metaphysical aspects of life were things he'd never really bothered looking into, just wasn't his speed. Thus, this borderline zen bullshit was something he was naturally struggling with.

Still, he persevered. He hadn't gotten this far in life by quitting and he wasn't about to start now, not when this could well and truly give him a leg up over Miranda.

…

…

…

For minutes on end, he just sat there and concentrated, trying to tap into the power he knew dwelled within him, but to no avail.

"Come on, feel the current… use it…!" he mumbled to himself.

Muttering to himself now, his mind wandered slightly to the past. All the experiments he's performed on not just the corpses he's obtained but also himself… they were coming back to him now for some reason.

Out of the blue, he began to dwell on the source of his own powers, specifically that of his magnetism. The eel-like organs he'd developed… the electricity that pumped through him, a veritable life essence…

"…!" The more his mind wandered back to his own origins, the more something felt right to him. Then before he knew what was going on, he opened his eyes that he'd unknowing closed just now to look into his open palm, the muscles in his hand having clenched up tightly…

…And revealing just the slight manifestations of that same dark and great power that the others have wielded.

Karl grinned savagely. "Yes… yes! Now we're talking!"

Not losing focus out of fear of losing control of the power, he kept the feeling from just a moment ago in place. And in response to this feeling, the power began to pulse within him, diffusing itself out from the core of his very being and into the rest of his body.

The man closed his eyes again and took in a deep breath, letting it out just several seconds later as an intense feeling now threatened to overwhelm.

The amount of power that had just spilled out from within was relatively small, at least when compared to the likes of Moreau and Alcina, but it still far greater than anything else that's tapped into so far. What's more… it felt to him like there was still plenty more waiting to be tapped into.

Standing up, Karl opened and closed his hands most studiously, even hopped up and down just a few times. His body… it felt different from usual, warm yet light. It wasn't a bad feeling, not at all.

Slowly, he reached out for his hammer, which he always kept nearby… and as he gripped it, he put just a little extra strength into. The sturdy metal that comprised his hammer's hilt easily began to give way under his casual gesture. This was despite having been made by himself to be able to withstand his own strength without issue.

Lightening his grip immediately, Karl brought his hammer in close so that he may better observe the impact his newly increased strength had had on it.

A second later, he smirked darkly.

Now that Ethan and Nero have disposed of the other lords, they'd no doubt wind up heading his way pretty damn soon…

He was looking forward to being able to test out what else he could possibly do on them.

With just a bit of pep in his step, Nero made his way back through the village. Specifically, he was heading right for that weird area with the chalice in it, seeing as it was where he and Ethan had first split up. Incidentally, the reason why he was taking his time essentially strolling there instead of rushing was to hopefully give Ethan just a little extra time to finish up in that foggy ass valley up there.

"…Hmm?"

Nero narrowed his eyes as he eventually reached the little hill path that led up to the gate he'd smashed through earlier. He could hear some chatter up ahead, very animated chatter at that too.

"…And that's when I told Kyrie to-!"

Well damn, look who it was?

"Finally moved your asses, huh?" he called out, interrupting just as Nico had been about to continue.

There, near the corner to the right of the gate Ethan had gone through, was none other than the duke himself, the big man having somehow managed to maneuver his carriage from in front of the castle all the way over here. Said merchant had clearly made himself comfortable, what with sitting out the back of his carriage and with all his wares out in the open.

Meanwhile, the blabbermouth that is his friend was standing just a slight distance from the clearly amused duke, fully zipped up as to better deal with the winter weather. The van was parked haphazardly in the corner directly across the duke's carriage, Nero having to pass right by it in order to reach the two.

Nico huffed. "As if we were just gonna chat it up all day in front of that stupid ol' castle! Come on, Nero, you know us better than that!"

Nero just snorted. "Dunno. If you're lazy enough, you don't really care where you're at as long as you can just sit around."

"Bah, as if you're one to talk, ya ungrateful punk!" Nico retorted.

The duke chuckled, his loud and as usual lively voice interrupting their good-natured spat. "Ah, I don't believe I'll ever tire of your interactions! The two of you are truly close to be able to banter like this."

Nero grunted. "What can I say? She's like the big sister I've never had. Could probably tell by how much of a pain in the ass she is."

Nico pouted. "And you're the rowdy little bro that needs to be put into place every now and then."

Nero looked to the duke and quirked an eyebrow as if to say 'see what I mean?' The duke merely let out another laugh. The big man then glanced slightly downwards and towards Nero's side. He hummed. "I see your venture proved most successful, Nero. Excellent work."

"…Mhm." Once again, it was just a little off-putting how perceptive this guy was. It really just went beyond being especially intuitive and more outright unnatural awareness. But Nero was once more willing to look past the duke's obvious indicators of abnormality since, as the merchant himself had said, he was ultimately someone just doing what he could given the situation. Still didn't make it any less weird, but it is what it is.

For her part, Nico caught on immediately to what the duke's words meant and beamed. "So all that's left is just for Rosie's pops to get the last flask, eh? Well, why not just go over there and help him? Sooner the better, right?"

Nero stayed quiet for a few seconds before responding. "Nah. I think he's got it handled," he replied. He wasn't against giving Ethan a helping hand or anything, but he could tell Ethan was the sort of guy who would like to do things himself if at all possible, something that he could respect since he was sort of the same way. That, and frankly, he just couldn't always be there for the guy. With how ridiculously complex this situation was and how things continued to escalate, there was just no telling what could happen in the near future. But Nero knew for a fact that if shit kept on hitting the fan like this, there'd soon come a time where each of them would have to fend for themselves.

"An impressive amount of faith you've placed in Ethan," the duke commented. "Truly admirable. Does something about his character impress you that much?"

Nero once again remained silent for a moment before replying. "I guess him trying so hard to save his daughter is something pretty badass…" He murmured this rather quietly, almost embarrassed in a sense.

But more than that… he just found it admirable, even if he can only really admit that to himself.

In the time since the Red Grave city incident, he's done a lot of thinking about the revelations dropped on him at that time. V and Urizen – both halves of the man, Vergil, that is his father… Dante in turn being his uncle… for a long time, the only family he's ever really known was Credo and Kyrie. But to now know he had blood relatives out there… something about it just hit different.

And needless to say, having technically fought alongside his own father and then against him at the top of the Qliphoth has really put some things into perspective a bit.

He wasn't really one to dwell too much on what could have been, but… but every now and then, he's wondered how things would have turned out if Dante and Vergil weren't trapped in the Underworld. While he couldn't see the relationship between him and Dante changing all that much – the old bastard had always felt like an uncle to him, though he'd never said it aloud – the young devil hunter did question what sort of bond he and Vergil could've had.

One thing was for certain – the eldest son of Spard sure wasn't a typical guy, what with the rivalry he had going on with Dante, to say nothing of his eagerness to test his own might and whatnot; the single battle he'd had with his old man had been all he'd needed to get that much of a feel for him and a bit more. Plus, the brief periods of time he'd spent with V had also made it clear that Vergil by extension clearly enjoyed classical literature and did have a sense of humor deep down.

Speaking of which, he still had Vergil's book back at home…

…Well, that aside, Vergil had made a strong impression on Nero, his few words and actions having spoken volumes of his personality – as well as how very untypical he was as father-material… not that this was necessarily a bad thing.

But in comparison to that, Ethan seemed very much like a typical dad. But that being said, while many parents out there would always express a genuine desire to go through hell for their kids, just how many of them actually got put in a situation that forced them to do just that? How many people out there would even survive for more than a few minutes, much less actually actively fight back against threats that nearly anyone else would've screamed in terror instead?

Not a whole lot, Nero imagined.

And that Ethan was not only doing just that, but also going through all this shit to bring back his daughter when others probably would've given up… well, it was just admirable, for lack of a better way to put it.

The duke chuckled quietly, rousing Nero from his thoughts. "Indeed. Relative few possess the strength of will needed to endure such trials."

"That why you're helping him?" Nero then asked. "I know you're a merchant and all, so you just gotta take customers as they come, but still."

Now Nico chipped in as she folded her arms across her chest. "Mhm, Nero here's got a pointy, dukey boy. Not that I'm gonna complain or anythin' but it is interesting that you're helping Ethan out so much."

The duke merely smiled. "Not even I am immune to what feelings such situations can inspire. Perhaps you may think of it as Ethan rekindling a little spark in me. After all… it's been quite some time since I've ever seen anyone in these lands have the courage to confront such horrors head on, much less for a noble goal."

The duke's eyes then widened slightly and then his gaze flickered to the side. "Ah and speak of the devil!"

Nero blinked and then his eyes narrowed as he turned towards the gate near the carriage. It was extremely faint, but he could detect some level of demonic power.

And more confusingly, it somehow felt famili-.

-Hold on. No freakin' way.

The gate opened…

…And out walked Ethan, a solemn yet determined expression on his face.

The man noticed them right away and blinked, as if surprised to see them so suddenly. But surprise quickly gave way to relief. "You got the flask?"

"Yeah," Nero began, confusion tinting his voice. "You?"

Ethan reached for his briefcase and hefted it up. "You bet. Now let's just get this fucking over with-!"

"Before that," Nero interrupted. "Just why the hell-?"

"-Do you suddenly have demonic power?!" Nico interrupted, exclaiming it to the high heavens. Working for as long as she has in this demon business had allowed her to tune her senses just right to pick up demonic energy. Not to the same extent as Nero himself, but enough to get by as was now demonstrated.

"Yeah, what she said." Nero sighed. Nico once again went stealing his thunder a little bit. "Not that we're suddenly gonna kill you or anything," he continued in a tone full of dry sarcasm. "But I distinctly remember you not having such a power a while back."

Ethan just sighed tiredly. "Honestly… I'm not even sure myself. Trust me, it's really as much of a surprise to me as it is to you guys."

"I bet. But still, we're all willing to hear this little tale." Though spoken in a light tone, Nero could literally feel the seriousness in his own shifting expression.

This entire situation was once again experiencing a sudden twist and he was really starting to get sick of it.

"Ain't nothing wrong with some story time," Nico quipped as she plopped down on the slight spot available near the duke himself, who was eying Ethan with the same cheerily unreadable expression as usual. As if even this new turn of events was nothing new to him somehow.

Ethan rubbed the back of his head, his slight frustration on having to hold off whatever was the next part of the 'revive Rose' plan, but Nero could see the borderline microscopic nod of acknowledgement the father gave.

"It's a hell of a weird thing to tell, but I'll do my best, alright? Just don't be all pissed if it sounds like I'm not making sense," he said.

"Hey, I look after some orphans," Nero retorted jokingly. "You ever hear some of the crazy excuses kids try to use to get out of chores and shit?"

That got a crack of a smile out of Ethan before the man got serious.

And so, after a second or two to collect himself, Ethan began to regale them with what he's gone through.

Having finished her little trip down memory lane through the village, Miranda had returned to her lab below ground, to the presence of the great Megamycete.

But unlike the many times before, where'd she gaze reverently at the object of worship, she was sporting a deep frown.

As she'd intended, she'd tapped into the Megamycete to funnel some additional power to both Salvatore and Donna. Not a whole lot, but enough to make a difference in both of them. In the case of the former, it had triggered the birth and rapid growth of those… things, whatever they had been, from Salvatore's back. Meanwhile, in poor Donna's case, it had allowed her to merge with her doll Angie, a process that would've otherwise failed if not for Miranda's mild and indirect intervention.

Alas, her 'help' did very little good – both lords had been slain in a matter of several minutes upon being confronted.

In and of itself, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it'd been her intention to do away with the lords once it came time to properly revive Eva and to this end, both Ethan Winters and the cocky young man named Nero had done her a great service by getting rid of them for her.

That said, she'd expected both lords to be just a bit more successful in actually slowing both men, who'd no doubt be obstacles in her plans. Unfortunately, neither one had been really harmed or even all that slowed down, especially in Nero's case, the abnormal young man having dealt with Salvatore with only a little more difficulty than he had with Alcina.

And in the case of Ethan Winters…

"How could you have tapped into the great Megamycete's power?" She asked this of herself as she brought a few fingers up to her delicate lips.

She was aware of the truth behind Ethan Winters, or at least enough of it – the man was no ordinary man, having been infected by the offshoot of the mold developed by the Connections thanks to having bequeathed them just a small sample of the Megamycete to work with.

By her own estimations, the strain of the mold that the shadowy organization had developed bore roughly a ninety-seven to ninety-eight percent match to the mold that the Megamycete naturally generates, only some marginal changes having been made to the sample's structure. This had been somewhat at her request back then since if the changes had been too extreme then using them to revive Eva would've been impossible. Alas, despite such marginal changes, when the development of the E series had occurred, the Connections had still failed in providing her a proper vessel to revive Eva in. Thankfully such wasted vessels were no longer needed thanks to the change in her circumstances since then.

However, by that same token, this meant that those infected by that particular mold still had some sort of connection with the Megamycete, she supposed, though it must be to a far lesser extent than the connection the lords and the various failed lycans had, much less the bond she shared with it. Going by this logic… it wouldn't seem too far-fetched to assume that anyone infected by the E series mold could potentially call upon the Megamycete's divine power.

Even so, it was terribly odd.

"What other great secrets do you hold?" Miranda reached up towards the Megamycete, momentarily manifesting moldy wings in order to lift herself off the ground and up towards it. The Megamycete's pulsating form seemed to respond at her physical touch, something within it stirring but nothing more. No answers, as had become the norm, were particularly forthcoming.

"…" Miranda eventually let herself descend, sighing as she walked upon the cave's marginally wet surface again.

This mysterious but wondrous power that the Megamycete had granted her and the others… it had not once manifested prior to the sprouting of that unnatural tree in Red Grave city. Thus, it was obvious that there was a connection between that incident and the Megamycete's development and that in turn was linked to the recent going-ons within the village up to and including Ethan's own mysterious awakening.

A fluke, Miranda reasoned, had to be. Granted, Ethan was the only remainder of the E series mold left so there was no practical way for her to determine if he was just that much of an oddity or if the likes of Eveline and those pathetic thralls of hers – the Bakers, if she remembered correctly – would've also possessed a similar potential for awakening to this glorious power. In any case, however, the power Ethan now possessed was really quite feeble. Even the brief bits of power that some of the lycans and those poor ghoulish creatures Alcina had kept locked up in her castle dungeons had demonstrated a greater quantity and purity of such power.

Yes, by all rights, it shouldn't change too much in the end… but now seeing just how relatively well both new obstacles were doing, she could no longer leave things to chance as much as she has been.

The woman paced slightly, pondering her options now. The time to reveal herself was still not here, not so long as there was still a chance Ethan and Nero could interfere with her ritual.

However…

"Ha, perhaps young Karl may useful after all."

She was well aware of the man's utter hatred of her as well as his activities. While she admittedly didn't know the full extent of Karl's efforts, she was aware of his intended 'uprising' as he'd doubtlessly call it. And despite his inherently treacherous nature making him an unsuitable vessel for Eva's revival back then, Miranda could almost admire the man's insatiable curiosity and drive for improvement. He would certainly be a far more useful tool against Ethan and Nero than any of the other lords, or at least that was in accordance with her own estimations yet again.

Could the last of her 'children' stop the two in their tracks? There was no real way to say for sure. But at the very least she was confident Karl and the modified lycans he's been keeping hidden in his factory will be able to stall them long enough for her to swoop in and begin the ritual without interruption, well before they potentially try and stop her. All that was really needed was for them to leave the four flasks alone and defenseless within the chalice just long enough for her to arrive there and start to call forth enough of the mold to begin the revival process.

And on the off-chance Karl somehow succeeds in killing them? Well, she'd make sure to congratulate him… right before demonstrating to him why his actions against her had been pointless from the start. After all, just what could a complete upstart like him hope to accomplish against her when she has the Megamycete itself on her side?

"And I in turn shall always take such good care of you," she all but cooed to the Megamycete. As odd as everything had been, it was still her one and only benefactor, her 'god.' She'd never betray it.

Yes… and I shall receive your prayers with much glee.

"Huh. Well, that's… huh." After spending a solid ten minutes recounting what had happened leading up to the Beneviento estate as well as what had occurred within it, that had been the only reaction Nero had at the end of it.

Ethan couldn't blame him, really. Even he'd sounded a little unsure as he'd explained it. A brief flicker of a glance towards Nico and the duke showed that the former was scrunching up her face in obvious annoyance at how weird this whole situation was. As for the latter, well, the duke was just looking as annoyingly amused as always. At least one of them was getting a kick out of this, he supposed.

"You ever come across anything like this before?" Ethan couldn't help but ask of Nero. "I mean, demons gotta be up to all kinds of weird shit, right? So is my situation really out of the ordinary here?"

Nero scratched the back of his head and grumbled something indiscernible under his breath before speaking up. "I've seen a lot of things in my 'career' as a devil hunter, but that doesn't mean I know everything that demons can get up to…" His face scrunched up. "But… you're not the first one to suddenly find yourself having something demonic in you." At that, Nero's expression briefly changed to something almost amused, as if he'd just told a good inside joke before schooling his expression. "Though it's not exactly the same as…"

"…As what?" Ethan pressed.

Nero just sighed and waved him off. "It's nothing, man, just me mumbling." He eyed him critically, but not necessarily cautiously. "So… you're good, right? Nothing abnormal in a bad way or anything?"

"No, not that I can tell," Ethan responded, feeling a little off-put by how almost casually Nero was taking this turn of events. While the circumstances between him obtaining said power was clearly irking the young devil hunter, Ethan having this power in and of itself didn't seem to bother him all that much. "Are you seriously ok with this?"

Nero just shrugged. "Ethan, one of my… associates?... is a full-blown demon," he replied flatly. "And – while I'm not gonna spill all the beans here – I do have just a bit of demon blood in me too, believe it or not. Trust me, you having some demonic power in you in and of itself isn't that big a deal."

Ethan actually blinked and took a step back at that almost casual admittance. Nero was part demon? The fuck?! And he even knew an actual demon?!

"Seriously?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, seriously… look, whatever you're worried about, stop it," Nero said almost hastily. He almost seemed embarrassed to mention that just now. Not worked up or uncomfortable about it, simply embarrassed, as if he'd just admitted to Ethan that he still slept with a light on at night or something. It was just bizarre. "As long as it's not doing anything nasty to ya and you're not in any danger of suddenly becoming a psycho like the other crazy bastards we've fought, then it's all goo-."

"Like hell it is!" Nico suddenly cut in. "Nero, you have any idea what this could mean?!"

Ethan looked at the woman in surprise. Given her personality, he'd half-expected her to be completely okay with this. Was she maybe worried after a-?

"Just think of the potential! He could be my other work of art here!"

-Never mind, he was wrong.

Nero just shook his head. "I'm not even gonna ask how the hell you jumped to that conclusion. Look, we're burning daylight here. Can we please just do what we gotta do and move on?"

Nico huffed but didn't seem like she'd press the issue for now. "Fine, fine, ya spoilsport. You wanna change up your Devil Breaker lineup or what?"

"Yeah… let me room around in the van a bit… oh right," Nero said as he headed for the van, only to pause in mid-stride and look back their way. He started reaching for something inside his coat. "You, big guy! Have a look at this! Should be right up your alley."

He then picked out something fairly large and bulky and chucked it casually towards the duke. The duke reached out and caught it without issue. As soon as he did so, the big man let out a sound of amazement.

"Oh my… I suppose this is what is known as the beauty of the grotesque," he commented as he lowered the object.

Ethan squinted and stepped in close to get a good look at what it is, as did Nico. He was completely unperturbed by how Nico gasped loudly, finding himself getting used to her overly dramatic attitude all too quickly.

"Is that-?"

"Indeed." The duke smirked as he leaned towards him to give him a better look. "It would appear Nero has returned from the battle in the reservoir with quite an interesting souvenir. To think lord Moreau's essence would survive in such a state… a pity that the same couldn't be said for lady Dimitrescu's. But perhaps I am being just a little biased there." The duke chuckled.

The odd crystal-like formation, in the shape of multiple bulging eyes, pulsed lightly with power. It was enough to make Ethan feel a little sick. His sixth sense or whatever the fuck it's supposed to be called had gotten sharper since his little 'awakening' and so he could better sense the power within this thing. And with this sensing came a putrid sensation. He could practically envision the ugly fucker waddling about right in front of him, such was the intensity of the sensation.

Nico, for her part, seemed unbothered by this and was instead grinning like a loon. "Oooohhh… dukey, can ya imagine it? Can you imagine what I could probably make with that thing? God, I can already imagine the new Devil Breaker I can make with that shit!"

The duke laughed, eyes twinkling. "Why, I can scarcely bring myself to envision what grand designs you have for it. But I most certainly wish I could. No, more than that, I most certainly wish to see what the end product will turn out to be."

Ignoring those two for just a few seconds, Ethan suddenly found himself recalling the heart-shaped item that Donna's and Angie's merged form had left behind. Was that object similar in nature to this thing?

Reaching for the heart-shaped object, as soon as his fingers brushed against it, something pulsed within it. It wasn't necessarily painful but the sensation nonetheless made him wince as he pulled it out.

"Come to think of it, I got something similar too…" He showed both Nico and the duke the item in question.

However, just as soon as he did so, the object began to pulse in his hand. So too did the other object, the essence of Moreau, as the duke had said it was. Looks like the mere proximity of these two things, 'born' from the remains of two lords, were resonating somehow.

Ethan gasped, suddenly feeling something invasive. He involuntarily spasmed – and in that same instant, the heart-shaped object broke down into a fine powder that then seeped directly into his skin.

"Gah!" He let out a sharp cry as he could literally feel the essence of the object flow through his hand and into the very core of his body, seeping down into his very soul.

But that wasn't all.

The essence of Moreau underwent a similar shift and it broke down into a powder and then seemingly into particles that quickly shot through the air and into him as well.

Ethan spasmed yet again and nearly fell over. It was only thanks to Nico suddenly reaching out for him that he managed to stay relatively standing.

"Hey! Hey, you good, Ethan?" the normally lively young woman asked in a concerned tone.

"I-I'm fine now… I think," he answered unsurely. As quickly as this had happened, it had come to pass. He steadily regained his balance and took a deep breath as Nico let go of him. "In fact… I think I'm doing better than before."

He could tell – the reserve of demonic power he now wielded had increased. Not by an insane margin or anything, but enough that he inherently felt confident he could abuse it for twice as long as he had been able to during the battle at the Beneviento estate.

"Hey! The hell's going on out here?!" Nero exclaimed as he exited the van, apparently done doing whatever he went in there to do. "I sensed something go down just now… you all good?"

"Perfectly fine, Nero," the duke replied. He actually no longer seemed to be in his usual mood. Instead, he was looking intently at Ethan as he'd replied. But then the duke slightly nodded, more to himself than anything else and fully looked to the devil hunter. "It would appear that Ethan had inadvertently absorbed the remaining essences of both lord Moreau and lady Beneviento. Be at ease – he's perfectly fine now."

Nero looked from the duke to him, appeared ready to comment, but then just shook his head. "Ah, screw it – I should just give up trying to get answers any time super soon."

As for Nico, well, now that it appeared he was fine, she was huffing. "Damn it… and here I'd been hoping to get some new material to work with!"

"Better luck next time," Ethan mumbled as he patted himself down almost unconsciously.

…More than just his reserves increasing had happened right now, he could feel it. But he didn't know in what ways yet. He could only hope that these other changes were just as beneficial.

Nico snorted. "I'm holding you to that, asshole." She then looked to Nero and then back to him. "So what now? You gotta put those flasks in that thing over there?"

She motioned to the chalice which they've left untouched all this time.

"Seems like it. Guess it's part of… something. Hopefully part of the process to bring Rose back," Nero said as he looked at the object.

"Then let's just get to it," Ethan said as he proceeded to take out the flask he'd obtained. "Sooner we get this over with, the sooner I get my daughter back. Then we can bother to figure out what's really going on here. Last thing I want is to find out too late that all this demonic crap is going to fuck us over in the end."

"I hear you," Nero quipped as he also pulled out his own flask.

Together, the two men moved in on the chalice. Nero placed his flask in first with the corresponding slot for it. Then as yet another latch came loose, Ethan inserted his.

The shift in the very air was immediate and noteworthy. As the final latch came off, an unnatural breeze flitted through the area. As if in response to this borderline surreal phenomenon, the previously dead stone torches sprung to life. Flames sparked to life from seemingly nothing, lighting up in formation and leading directly up to the gate directly to the west.

None of the people present were particularly impressed by this display.

"Sheesh, you think the guys that made this shit could've been any more dramatic?" Nico asked as she pulled out a cigarette. When she tried to light it with a lighter that she also procured from one of her many pockets, however, it refused to light. Huffing, she simply walked towards the nearest flame and fearlessly leaned in, cigarette held firmly between her lips.

Ethan just shook his head in mild disbelief at Nico's actions, which probably said something about how used to this bullshit he was getting if that's what held his attention the most.

He was snapped back to the situation at hand as Nero casually grabbed the side of the now free chalice and hefted it up. "Knowing how this works, this probably goes somewhere dead ahead," he said. He looked Ethan's way. "You ready? I'm getting the feeling we're finally going to be in for the long haul once we take this thing to wherever it belongs."

Ethan couldn't help but feel the same way.

With the four flasks gathered, all that remained was reviving Rose. But there was still that asshole Heisenberg to look out for in addition to whatever Miranda might be up to as well. No way those two were just going to let them roam around like this for much longer. And that wasn't even getting into whatever other demonic forces might be lying in wait.

…Man, he can't believe it – he's actually missing all the crap that went down back at the Bakers estate. At least back then, he'd only had to worry about dealing with BOWs. Now here he had to worry about demonically enhanced BOWs, crazy lords, and who knows what else in this dreary region.

"Give me just a quick minute," he said to Nero. Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and faced the duke.

"What will it be, Ethan?" the duke asked cheerily, his usual mood now back in full swing.

The father took a moment to think about his options here. He was still doing pretty good on ammo, all things considered, though it sure wouldn't hurt to stock up on some more ammo for the WCX and SYG. He still had plenty of ammo for the M1911 and he had yet to find a reason to use the F2 rifle thanks to how cramped the Beneviento estate had been, which would have made the usage of the sniper rifle pointless.

But there were also other things to consider too.

Now with more demonic power at his disposal, he likely shouldn't have to worry too much about hoarding up on first aid bottles. But at the same time, there'd likely be times where he'd still need such aid, which was easily worth its weight in gold. However, it could perhaps be just as beneficial to stock up on some pipe bombs instead. After all, he won't have to worry too much about healing himself up if he can just blow whatever attacks him to kingdom come first…

Decisions, decisions…

"…" Ethan lowered his head as he continued to think for just a few seconds longer. Then… "Just how much ammo and pipe bombs can I get if I sold back about… two-thirds of the first aid bottles I got from you?"

The duke's smile simply grew in response to his inquiry.

Chris merely paused as he reached the outskirts of his destination, which he then took just a second or two to glare at.

"I can practically smell the bastard's sick experiments from here…" he grumbled as he eyed Karl Heisenberg's factory.

Following him and the several members of his team that had departed from the reservoir, plans had changed a fair bit. With so much time having passed without being able to locate the Megamycete's exact location, the anti-BOW veteran had found himself left with no choice but to tackle one of his self-imposed missions final objectives on his own.

All that he and his team had done so far – attempting to neutralize Miranda at Ethan's home, combing through the whole fucking village to confiscate or otherwise destroy anything of importance to the crazy bitch and her four lords – had ultimately been just a lead up to the main event.

From the start, it'd always been the plan to not just kill Miranda for good, but to destroy the Megamycete for good so that no one else could make use of it. But aside from that, none of the lords could be allowed to roam about either. Chris had no idea if any of them could survive if the Megamycete, the source of their mutations, got neutralized, but he wasn't about to chance it.

Much to his luck, three of the four lords had been taken out of the picture by Ethan or the mysterious Nero – he'd been able to tell due to the noticeable shifts in the small regions each lord occupied. It was much like how in the past, eliminating certain BOWs that had been blocking his path had caused new ways forward to appear and whatnot.

However, the final lord left was by far the most dangerous in his opinion. Karl Heisenberg, from what relative little he and his team had dug up on the grungy bastard, was a real whiz when it came to mechanical and electrical engineering in addition to some expertise in a variety of associated fields. Combined with an ego that could probably be detected from miles away and a clear treacherous bone in his body, the man was not to be fucked with so easily.

Which is why he was here right now. With the other lords dead and Miranda very likely on the cusp of beginning whatever insane plan she'd cooked up for all this time, now was as good a time as any for Heisenberg to start making some noise.

It was a true shame that he couldn't really bring his team along to help out with planting the explosives in the fucker's factory of horrors, but in order to find the Megamycete as quickly as possible now, he had no choice but to spread the squad all over the village and hope they find a tangible lead.

Not that he really needed the help per say. He may be getting on in years, but he still was more than capable of handling situations like this all on his lonesome, his decades spent battling BOWs and those who would weaponize them against the whole world having become his equivalent of a morning walk by this point.

Done with his glaring, Chris stealthily approached the factory from its back. Circling around the whole area to get to this point had been just a little awkward to do, but worth it – Heisenberg may have cameras in a lot of places, but not everywhere. Years of experience plus some basic recon had been enough to learn of the security measures the bastard had in place here. Finding the perfect gap to exploit was thus an easy thing to do.

With a whole pack full of carefully handled explosives that was trapped to his body, Chris picked up his pace and soon reached the factory. Finding a rusty backdoor, a firm shove had been all it took to force it open.

Now entering the factory, Chris pulled out his Dragoon and held it steady in case of attack. He even slowed his pace slightly as he now hunted for the nearest elevator shaft. Once he found it, he could use a rope to make his way all the way down into the heart of Heisenberg's factory and begin planting his explosives.

With any luck – which he doubted would be the case – Heisenberg will still be in this shithole when he blows it sky-high. But on the more than likely chance that he isn't, well, Chris will handle him just like he's handled every other psychopathic asshole in his career so far.

And once that's done…

"You'll be right up next, Miranda," Chris growled out. "And this time, you're going down for good."

And that's a wrap!

As has become the usual, this was more of a filler chapter in between story beats to set up some important stuff. There's a lot of minor and major things being set up here that will be popping up again in short order, so do keep that in mind.

But of course, I'm sure the main takeaway you guys will get from this chapter is that pretty much every relevant character is finally gathering at the factory! So make sure to buckle in guys and hold on tight – because it's going to be, let's call it, explosive!

Until next time, everyone. Take care!