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Chapter 20
The journey home seemed to take twice as long when compared to how long it had taken them to be attacked. Kryder said nothing but grew silently more concerned for the well being of his son. Arson sagged against him, seemingly as though he didn't have enough strength to even stay on his own two feet. Kryder held him close, only breaking his silence to murmur words of encouragement when Arson stumbled. Arson himself was also quiet. His eyes were lowered, focused on the ground. Kryder constantly looked in his direction, but Arson never did. At last, Kryder spoke properly.
'Arson?' His son nodded once to acknowledge him, to show that he was listening. But this was not enough for Kryder. 'Please speak to me.' Arson slowly raised his head and turned to look at him, square in the eyes. Kryder blinked but the rest of his face remained impassive as he stared into Arson's eyes. They were clouded over and dim, and his face was one of a man in a trance. Kryder was about to say something when Arson opened his mouth and spoke.
'I'm not in any danger. There's no need to worry.' Kryder blinked again. Arson had read his mind. Kryder was just about to ask him whether he was feeling okay but Arson knew exactly what he meant. Kryder continued to look at him questioningly, willing Arson to know what his next question would be. 'I'm like this because of the angel blood inside my body. It is now available for me to use whenever I want.'
'You mean you couldn't before?' Arson shook his head.
'I have only undergone the transformation once, last year. I could only use it but only when I was infuriated beyond reasoning. Last year, Rayne and a friend of mine, a different one, were about to be murdered by Mundus. I couldn't let that happen. Before I knew what I was doing, I felt anger. Next thing I knew, I was standing in front of Rayne and Dawn, and I was an angel.' Kryder smiled, relief showing on his face.
'I'm just glad you're going to be alright.' Arson smiled back. 'I've met Rayne before,' said Kryder suddenly.
'We both thought you were dead,' said Arson flatly. 'It was always so hard to say "no" when he asked whether I'd heard from you.' Kryder realised that the conversation was taking a bitter turn. He was treading on thin ice.
'…How is the vampire anyway?'
'It's been three years,' continued Arson. His tone of voice was dull, lifeless. Kryder sighed. It appeared as though he wouldn't be able to avoid the topic.
'I told you. I was on a job. Hunting.'
'Couldn't you have taken at least five minutes to call me? Or even Val?'
'Val doesn't want to know me. But I really can't blame her. After I tried to phone her I figured that you might feel the same way. So why bother only to be told to go to Hell?' Arson's eyebrows raised slightly. 'I'm really not surprised by Val's reaction.' Arson said nothing for a few minutes. His thoughts were whirling. He suddenly felt as though he understood how his father must have felt. He had always been under the belief that even though Kryder had had to leave when he was still a child, he still loved his family. A small part of him still believed it. Now he found it was true. He looked at his father properly, his eyes clearing slightly.
'But…Mother lied about everything. You went on a job. You didn't leave her. Not really. You were always going to come back. Kryder nodded, his face serious.
'You must remember, Arson, that even though Val also became a victim, her and your mother were close at first. Some things would have stuck in her mind. Some of Ophelia's ideas would carry on living through her.' Arson thought about this, and then nodded.
'I suppose you're right.'
'I wish I wasn't.' The two were quiet. Arson stumbled again and this time fell to the ground. Kryder crouched down beside him and sighed. 'There's only a little more to go. You're doing great so far. Just a little further and we'll be there.' Arson made no move but simply lay on his side, his eyes closed, breathing in and out. Kryder took a hold of his arms and slowly stood up, helping him to his feet. Kryder slung Arson's arm over his shoulders and supported him that way, as Arson struggled to take his next step.
'What's wrong?' said Arson suddenly.
'Nothing. Just worried about you. If what you say is true about your angel blood, then how is it that you seem so weakened?' Arson shook his head slowly.
'I expect it's because the activation is a huge strain on your body. Also you have to get used to the new feelings that start playing on your body too.' Kryder looked at him sharply.
'Do you feel anything different then?' Arson nodded slowly.
'Sometimes I feel as though I know what you're going to say before you even open your mouth. I feel light, even though I know I can't walk properly just yet. When such a huge weight is taken from you in an instant, it feels horribly different. I expect I'll be okay in an hour or so.' Kryder nodded but then smiled as Devil May Cry came into view.
Xyphos paced around distractedly. Dante said nothing but sat down pensively, never moving, his eyes closed. At last, a single sound escaped from his lips. Trish heard him sigh and crossed her arms, looking at Lucia, who in turn looked at the floor. Thank God those two had finally shut up. It was hard to believe that they would have ever been quiet. However, with the situation at hand, Dante thought it would have been better had they kept talking. It seemed that they were only quiet when something had seriously gone wrong.
At last, the door opened and then slammed shut. Trish stood up immediately and practically ran to the hall. Kryder had Arson's arm over his shoulder supporting him. Xyphos blinked.
'Is he okay?' Kryder didn't answer. Arson looked up at Xyphos wearily. Dante calmly took Arson from Kryder and sat him down on the couch. Arson allowed his head to fall back and closed his eyes, breathing in and out deeply as Kryder told them what had happened.
'…It was almost as though he saw a vision or something. I swear, I couldn't sense anything.' Dante looked towards his grandson thoughtfully and then smiled and nodded at Kryder.
'I think he was right about the angel blood.' He bent down so then his face was level with Arson's. His voice remained calm and his face seemed to be carved of stone. 'Arson, how are you feeling?'
'…'
'Arson?'
'The same as what I told my father.' Kryder blinked. Arson had always been so formal with him. He made him feel as though the two weren't even related. Trish looked at him and frowned slightly. Kryder seemed to look shaken. Trish was about to say something to him when Kryder turned away and walked off.
'Mind if I make myself a coffee?' Trish shook her head but followed Kryder.
'Don't feel bad about Arson's behaviour.'
'I guess I should expect it.'
'He doesn't mean anything by it. Just give him a little time to warm up. It must be strange for you as well.' Kryder nodded. He had to admit, it was true. He sipped at the warm liquid, shuddering as he felt it warm him from head to toe.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully as Arson grew more and more accustomed to the new feelings that ran through him every so often. Xyphos and Dante continued to train. Kryder simply meditated while Trish and Lucia trained against each other. Kryder opened his eyes once when Lucia crashed into him by mistake. Had he not known that they were only training, he would have thought that the two were out for each other's blood. Kryder wisely moved out of the way and took his meditation somewhere else.
It was night when the group set off, Arson in the lead. He would constantly pause after every few minutes, listening. Dante strained his ears but could hear nothing but the wind. Arson suddenly crouched down into a fighter's stance, weapons at the ready.
A black fuzzy shape lunged out at them. Arson dodged quickly and then took out his single obsidian gun that Trish had given him. Dante had already beaten him to it, firing several rounds into the Shadow. The black cat seemed to dissolve away until only the glowing core was visible. Kryder rushed at it, spear thrown forwards. There was another shriek and then it seemed to disintegrate into a red mist. Xy relaxed.
'…That wasn't bad at all. In fact, that was easy.' Dante growled.
'Almost too easy.' Arson remained crouched down, muscles tense, swords ready. Light from a nearby lamp post glinted off the blades. Xyphos shuddered.
'He's close,' whispered Arson, his voice sounding like a knell. Xyphos blinked.
'What? How do you know?'
'Just trust me. He's here.' Kryder nodded and readied himself. Lucia and Xyphos continued to look confused. Xyphos frowned.
'This is silly. There's nobody he-' Xy was cut short as her scream reverberated through the surroundings. She was sent flying back. Her scream stopped abruptly as she hit the ground hard. Arson whirled around, his eyes wide.
'Xy!' He ran towards her, fearing for the worst. His way was barred when a figure came in his way. Craven. Arson's surprise was absolute as he appeared in front of him.
Calm hazel eyes looked into his own. Craven raised his hand, a smile on his face. The weapons suddenly seemed to weigh a ton in Arson's hands. They fell to the ground with a clatter.
'So…this must be the welcoming committee,' said Craven, his voice like velvet. 'I'm surprised more didn't turn up.' Dante growled, drawing attention to himself. Craven's eyes flickered lazily across his features. 'I see Sparda left behind some waste after I finished with him.' Dante's eyes blazed with hate for the one who had killed his father. Arson had frozen in one spot. Kryder was tense, he looked around nervously. Craven laughed with amusement at the expression on Dante's face.
'Don't worry, Son of Sparda, you'll be following in your Daddy's footprints soon enough! You'll traverse the same path as he, on his way to death!' Dante gave vent to a war-cry as he charged forwards, his rage blotting out any fear that he may have held.
The first blow had already been struck. Arson seemed to vault into action as steel clashed against steel. He ran towards his fallen friend, tears stinging his eyes as he saw that Xyphos was well and truly dead. Her eyes were wide with fear, her mouth was slack, a grimace of terror. Arson looked upon her face, which was rapidly losing colour.
'No…oh God, no…'
Dante was flung to the ground. Kryder rejoined the fight with Craven, using his spear to keep his distance from the demon, which was armed with a katana and a whip. Craven cracked this at him, and it coiled around Kryder's ankle, tripping him up. Kryder quickly raised his weapon, in order to parry the blow from the heavy blade. Trish ran up on Craven from behind, Sparda in her hands. Lucia aimed and threw a dagger, severing the whip that still hadn't relinquished its grip on Kryder's ankle. Kryder quickly kicked upwards, knocking the katana back into Craven's face, causing him to stagger back and impale himself on Sparda. Trish smiled in triumph; for the story behind Craven, he sure wasn't that tough. Craven suddenly laughed, the ground shuddering at the sound, causing all to lose their footing. Dante was the first to get to his feet, having already been knocked to the ground. He rushed at Craven again, raising Alastor. Steel clashed against steel again, singing the wild song of death.
Arson swallowed hard, gazing upon the body of Xyphos. A sudden hot rage swept over him. Without realizing, he stood up and turned to face Craven. Craven and Dante both paused, looking at Arson with awe as white hot flames surrounded him. Kryder blinked and looked on with wide eyes. Lucia and Trish had also frozen in place. Hot tears trickled down Arson's face as he glared at Craven.
'You coward,' he grated out. 'She hadn't done anything. Compared to us, she was harmless.' The white flames swirled around faster about his body. Arson hadn't even seemed to notice that two slits had appeared in his back. Kryder gasped as he saw two slim white things forming out of his back. These slowly unfolded to reveal themselves as wings. Arson's voice was choked.
'Bastard. I'll make you pay for this! I'll make you wish you had never been born!' The white flames were now spinning so fast that they were blurred into one. The tornado formed itself around him in front of everyone's eyes. The light grew in intensity, causing Lucia to shield her eyes. The tornado suddenly scattered, all directed at Craven, knocking him backwards.
Kryder's eyes were filled with a mixture of pride and awe as he looked upon his son. The golden white aura shone about Arson brightly, his eyes burning with gold light, his hair streaked a slightly lighter brown. The wings unfolded again, flapped once or twice before folding up neatly on Arson's back. A thin smile played over the boy's face. Dante blinked, seeing that Craven was distracted completely from them. He started to gather energy into a red ball after turning into a demon. Kryder saw what he was up to and followed his lead, as did the others. Meanwhile, Arson was still smiling.
'Come on…let's do this!' Two battle-cries mingled in the air as Arson and Craven charged at each other joining in a fight to the death.