The Greatest Foe

Koromos waved his fingers over the candle flame. Kerlak, a friend of Narek's brother, sat in a chair in front of him. They were physically alone in the room, but they were not the only ones there. They heard Mundus's voice echo in the emptiness.

"You lost Mallet Island," it accused Koromos. "That completely separates us from our home turf and any possible reenforcement. What are you going to do about it?"

Kerlak slouched in her chair. "There is nothing he can do. He lost it. He should not be relied upon to get it back. He's just lucky enough to have not been killed in the process, and that's only because Lilith let him go to humiliate him."

Koromos did not hide his disgust with her. "I suppose you would have said the same to Narek?"

"I didn't have to. If I'd been out there, we wouldn't have to worry about the princess even making it to her ninth birthday, let alone her sixteenth."

"Well, Kerlak," Mundus insisted, "since you obviously have all the answers, how do you believe we should take back Mallet Island?"

"Maybe Mallet Island should not be the focal point. Right now, you and Dante are just butting heads over territory until one of you figures out how to destroy the other once and for all. Perhaps the best way to destroy an enemy is to trick him into putting the knife to his own throat."

"Meaning?" Koromos asked.

"It is evident we cannot get to Dante, and he's too suspicious to let anyone get to Lilith. On the other hand, someone that he's not too concerned about would be an easy target. Someone he trusts to be self- reliant. Someone we can easily get to and influence without arousing suspicion."

"Such as some minor servant? What difference would someone like that make? His own military doesn't even get that close to him."

Kerlak rolled her eyes. "I'm not referring to some nameless extra. I mean someone who can actually get close to him on a regular basis. He may keep an iron hand over his daughter, but his brother is a different story."

"Vergil?" Koromos laughed. "His own brother? What makes you think that Vergil would turn against him? The twin sons of Sparda are incapable of treachery, especially towards each other, and definitely towards Lilith. They protect their own."

"Then we'll have to convince him to do otherwise."

"How?"

"A mole. Someone who can take control of him. If we infect him with some sort of mental parasite, we can gain control of his mind. We just need someone who's willing to do it, even at the risk of death."

"And that would be?"

Kerlak smiled. "I'm glad you asked. That's where your father comes in."

(X)

Lilith was in a hurry to be on her way. She ran into the final temple of her monthly errand with a leather pouch in her hand. "At last," she huffed. "I've reached the last one." As she did in every temple in the city the day of each full moon, she strewed a mixture of yarrow and vervain across the stone floor. Then she approached the altar with three censers. In the first she placed frankincense, myrrh in the second, and sandalwood in the third. She ignited them with miniature fireballs from her fingertips.

"I'm out of here."

The doors opened behind her. She spun on her heel in preparation for some serious action. Someone had committed a blasphemy by entering the temple while she was in it. She saw a single woman standing at the doors. Lilith pointed at her as if to throw a curse.

"Get out!" The woman stared at her. She appeared to be unaccustomed to the religious protocol of the sovereign state. That meant she came from the other one. Lilith stopped in her tracks when the thought crossed her mind. "Who are you?"

"Are you Lilith?" the woman asked.

"I said get out. Your presence is taboo here."

When the woman still didn't move, Lilith seized her arm and pulled her outside. She pushed the woman towards the sidewalk. It finally registered to the woman what was happening. "What are you doing?"

"No one is allowed in a temple in my presence."

"Why not?"

"Do you know whom I am?"

"I'm assuming you're Lilith, princess and goddess of this empire."
Lilith clasped her hands behind her back. "You know of me, yet you are not a citizen, are you?"
The woman lifted her head. "I must speak with your father. I have come in search of asylum."

(X)

"Uncle Vergil!"

Vergil sat up at attention. The screen projection in front of him was covered with blurry words and images. He rubbed his eyes to make them clear up. The screen slowly came into focus. At first he couldn't remember where he was. Then he saw the late afternoon sunlight flowing through one of the walls. The entire wall was made of glass. He was in the Mithras Tower in the middle of the city, the literal heart of the empire.

Vergil heard his niece call out to him again, except this time her voice indicated she was closer. He pressed a button on the screen and ordered the system to shut down. The door opened at the same time.

"You scream?" he asked.

"Apparently," Lilith answered sarcastically. "We have a problem."

"When don't we have a problem?" Vergil pushed his chair from the table and leaned back.

"What's up?"

"We have a visitor from the other side. She claims to be in search of sanctuary."

"Have you spoken to your father about this?"

"No. She caught me in a temple, and you were closer."

"Fine. Show her in."

"If you say so." Lilith stepped aside and signaled to someone in the hallway. A woman followed her into the room. "She's all yours." Lilith saluted and left the room.

Vergil stared at the woman in utter disbelief. She was pale skinned with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in dingy clothes designed for difficult travel. Her shirt was still damp from sweat as if she'd walked the distance. Vergil, however, didn't pay attention to any of that. He was more concerned with the fact that she reminded him of someone long dead.

"Are you all right?" the woman asked.

Vergil shook his head to wake himself up. "Yeah, I'm fine. You are?"

"My name is Trish." Vergil continued staring until she asked, "may I sit down?"

Vergil finally became completely aware of what was going on. He stood and offered her his chair. He resorted to sitting on the edge of the desk. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Trish."

"Lilith said you were in search of sanctuary."

"That's right. There were five of us, but the others were killed while we were running from one of those infamous extermination squads."

"Why were they after you?"

"Koromos sends them after everyone who attempts to leave his principality. I'm the only one who's ever actually escaped. It's quite effective in keeping people under control."

"I won't ask why anyone would want to leave, but why try if failure is guaranteed?"

Trish's eyes widened as if it were a stupid question. "We have to get out of there. We don't want to wait for war. Most of us wouldn't survive the crossfire. Every person I know has, as of today, died in your bids for power."

Vergil moved his eyes up and to the right. "Would you rather we leave you there?"

"No, but I do have something important to tell you that may make it easier on everyone else you're trying to save."

Vergil returned his gaze to her. "Which is?"

"I know for a fact that the stipulations of the war are changing right under your nose, and you can't even see it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I used to be a slave in one of Mundus's principalities, specifically the one run by Koromos. We have an underground network trying to smuggle out important tactical information to this side. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked because of the hitmen. That's what my group was doing when we left."

"What were you trying to smuggle?"

"The war that you are fighting now is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Koromos is going to try to regain control of Mallet Island."

"What makes that so special from anything else he's doing?"

Trish shook her head. "You really do not comprehend the importance of your victory there. Koromos lost a lot of favor with his father because he lost that island."

"And you think the majority of their future effort will be focused on the island."

"I know it is. You would never have known if I hadn't shown up. I came here specifically to tell you this."

Vergil tugged on his own ear. "How do I know you weren't let go specifically to tell me this?"

Trish rolled her eyes. "Are you suggesting that I'm trying to set you up?"

"No, I'm suggesting that Koromos is using you to set me up."

"I'm insulted."

"I don't care."

Trish threw her hands up. "I don't care how you take it. Either way, there's a price on my head, dead or alive, preferably dead. If you send me back, they will kill me."

"I don't doubt that."

"So you're just going to get rid of me?"

"Of couse not. That will be my brother's decision." The conversation was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering. "That would be him now." Vergil slid from the desk and turned to face Dante. Dante had smashed through the glass wall in devil form. "Hello," Vergil said while dragging out the last syllable.

Dante returned to human form and stood. "Hey." His jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw Trish. Vergil didn't want him distracted, so he jumped in front of Dante and snapped his fingers. "What?"

"Why did you fly through my window?" Dante simply pointed to what used to be the glass wall. Vergil was abruptly aware of gunfire. "Already?" He stepped to the window and peered downwards. "Since when did they start attacking during daylight?" Vergil didn't wait for an answer. He leapt from the window feet first. Dante allowed himself one more look at the woman before throwing himself after Vergil.

Trish shook her head. "This is going to get ugly."

(X)

"They are becoming dangerously brave." Lilith typed a code into the computer. "Since when did they think it was safe to come out in daylight, even if it is around dusk?"

Dante listened to the sound of the Mithras Tower engaged its defense system. "It means something."

"Like what?"

"Anything. They might be trying to scare us, or it could mean a change in tactics."

"It could be a change in tactics, but there are two problems with that. It's too slow, and it puts us on guard even more than before. I wonder what that woman has to do with it." She heard her father release a slow growl from his throat. "What is it about her that's upsetting everyone?"

"Who's upset?"

"You and Vergil. I saw how he reacted to her. It was as if he recognized someone."

"He did."

Lilith stretched her neck until something popped. "I'll assume you wouldn't have said that without elaborating." Dante remained silent. "You'll have to say it sooner or later. Sooner would be healthier."

"Either way," Dante said, "we have to consider what she said."

"What's so special about Mallet Island?"

Dante deliberately wrinkled his forehead. "I never told you?"

"If you did, I would already know the answer to my own question."

"It's a portal."

"Es weh?" Lilith asked in totally confused gibberish.

"A portal, a gateway, a bridge between worlds."

"What's on the other side?"

"Hell. It was through Mallet Island that my family came to Earth. It was through the same place that Mundus and his family came to Earth. When we took the island in battle, it cut Mundus and his gang from the homeland."

"That definitely explains it. Does this mean the woman's words are truth?"

"Maybe. Don't think I trust her, though."

"Why? Is she potentially the greatest foe of all?"

"Impossible. The greatest foe lies within. The only thing another can do is bring it to the surface."

Lilith rolled her eyes. "You're not going to take her to the manor, are you?"

"Absolutely not, even if she is trustworthy. No one who doesn't live in the manor will ever go inside it. She'll just have to stay the night in the tower."

"And we have to rough it on the streets."

Dante shrugged. "We're the only ones who can."

"We're racing home by foot, then?"

"Do you know a better way to not get caught? Come on. We have less than an hour before sunset."

(X)

Trish sat in the lobby on the first floor of the tower. She was preparing to make herself comfortable for a long night alone in the building. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a black stone. Though it was the first time she held it, it was hot in her palm. She felt it throb as if it had a heartbeat.

"This is my only chance." She closed her hand around the stone at the sound of the door opening. She stood to greet Vergil halfway. "You're leaving now?"

"Yeah. We have to be out of here before sunset."

"What did Dante say? Will he return to the island?"

"I don't know."

"He has to."

Vergil shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "That's for him to decide."

"This is a war. He has to go, regardless of his reticence."

Vergil's spidey sense began ringing. His intuition insisted he keep his distance. "You've done your part. You have no control over anything else."

"You're wrong," Trish said with a bit of temerity. "There is one other thing I must do."

"Which is?"

Trish held up her hand and opened her palm to reveal the stone. Vergil instantly recognized its purpose. Before he could strike at her, the stone erupted.