By Fang Wolfsbane

Two noble demons at his doorstep seeking to join him and his cause.

Dante would have laughed if the very thought weren't so ridiculous. Or so familiar.

Back when Patty still stayed in the building, there had been another set of twins that had thought to manipulate him, probably Vergil as well.

Baul and Modeus. Students of his father, the great Sparda.

Unlike earlier, the laugh that wanted to build in his throat faded. Back when he first met Modeus, he thought that the demon might have been capable of being a protector of human kind. Baul had been a completely different story.

The moment the struggle with the two had ended, Dante could have sworn he had seen something like regret flash in Modeus's eyes.

For the first time in years, he had genuinely felt true pain towards half of his bloodline. Granted being half human and half demon had left both him and Vergil torn between their heritages, it had also made it easier to live up to his father's legacy.

Protector of humankind.

Vergil had laughed at him for sinking so low as to try and help those that he himself wished to rule over. For someone that had wished to rule over the humans, Vergil had done one hell of a job when it came to a certain woman that had managed to temporarily ease the need inside of him.

A religious woman at that, hence the reason why Nero was a living copy of his father. No, not a copy. Physically, maybe, but they both knew that the young half breed was capable of so much more than both his father and uncle.

Ever since taking Nero under his wing, there had been times he regretted it, but the one thing he regretted more than anything was not knowing about him before he reached maturity, or as mature as Nero could get.

Thinking on it, Dante knew all too well that if Vergil had known about his son, there was a good chance that he would have tried to corrupt his son into the same, twisted beliefs he had. As much as he hated to admit it, Dante was glad that Kyrie's family had taken Nero in when they did.

E ven though he didn't approve of the church's beliefs, he knew that they had a lot to do with moulding Nero into the man he was today. Granted he still had his easy to anger moments, but with his fiancé at his side, Nero had grown into a man even Dante admired. Not that he'd ever admit it. Not to him at least.

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