Chapter Two: House of Sparda
The devil struggled momentarily to sit upright then sinks back down with a dejected hiss. Sarah moved to his side and gently held him down. "Easy there …You're in no condition to be jumping around."
The devil nodded slightly, then looked up at Dante. "Leave us," Barthalanus hissed to Sarah softly. Sarah looked surprised and turned to Dante, who just shrugged a "beats me" look. "Please," the devil said.
Sarah looked dubious about it, but agreed. "Just take it easy," she said pulling the door closed.
Dante crossed his arms and looked at Barthalanus. "Well? I don't have all day."
Barthalanus laughed. "Ahh. Both in style and character you are your father's son." Dante's eyes narrow and he steps closer to the bed and squats to get right in Barthalanus's face. "Alright buddy. You know me, but I don't know you. Why don't you fill me in before I fill you with lead."
Barthalanus gives him a flat look. "I hope you have threats and comebacks than that."
Dante colors slightly, remembering 'Flock off feather face!' So he rejoinders aren't always as snazzy as his sword work. "I think you're missing the po--" Dante is cut off by a wave from Barthalanus's hand as the devil grasps the blanket and coughs blood raggedly.
"Enough. I know I'm low on time, and so are you for that matter. Thus," he continues weakly before Dante can interrupt, "it is imperative that you listen to my story."
"I was a servant of your father's before he betrayed Mundus. I served the House of Sparda for many years and was very fond and indebted to your father, an honorable….man. However, when he left the services of the Dark Emperor and rose against him, all his lands and powers were considered forfeit and to be destroyed as punishment. This unfortunately included his servants."
"Wait a sec," Dante broke in. "You're saying you were my old man's butler, and he….what? Owned a house in hell?"
Barthalanus hesitated, then nodded. "Not how I would have put it, but that is the general idea, yes. To Continue," he said sharply, "All of us servants were also named traitors and were hunted down after the property was destroyed by Mundus's hordes. I managed to escape and hide for many years until I was forgotten. I searched for news of my lord Sparda though, and heard of his move to the human realm after his victory. Ecstatic at his survival, I would have sought him out had I been strong enough to travel to this realm. Instead I was forced merely to gather information and listen and bide my time. I heard of his marriage to a mortal woman, of the twin sons she bore….and of the tragedy that occurred." At this last statement, Barthalanus looked at Dante with apparently genuine sympathy.
Dante squirmed uncomfortably for a second, then shrugged. "It was a long time ago. 'Sides, I got my revenge."
Barthalanus nodded, with a considering look in his eyes that Dante didn't like. "I heard of that too, though upon of hearing of your travel to Mallet Island I was afraid you'd never return and Sparda's line would be lost…"
Dante smirked. "It takes more than some marionettes, cats, and some lizards to get rid of me. Not that fighting Griffon was a total picnic…" Dante trailed off trying to remember fighting Mundus himself. After Trish threw herself in front of Dante, things just went kinda…red. He had some hazy memories of flying through nothingness then dancing in some lava…but nothing was clear until he was back in Mundus's temple in the Underworld.
Dante zoned back in suddenly, aware that Barthalanus had started talking again. Dante also didn't like the way the devil was looking. His voice was still strong enough, but his eyes were half-lidded and he seemed to lie limp.
"--of your victory and return. It was not long after this however," Barthalanus was saying, "that I picked up wind of a new plot. One of the First Lieutenants, called Occasus, had been planning such an event for years. After Mundus's fall, he could rise in the ensuing uproar."
Dante blinked. "First lieutenant?"
Barthalanus nodded again, momentarily wracked by coughing. "Yes. He is ambitious, and has in secret been gathering an army behind him for some time now. By himself he would not be a match even for one of The Ten, yet he has allied himself with other Lieutenants and has gained support in recent years. He plans first to attack the Hunter's Cities, destroying any human interference."
Dante blinked again, feeling, and not liking it, that he was missing something important. "The Ten? What Cities?" he asked. You could practically hear the caps on that thing. Whatever it were. They were?
Barthalanus rolled past the questions, staring up at the ceiling, unhearing. "I too was too ambitious. I wanted to know more. Sneaking into Occasus's den, I overheard much of his plans…but I discovered. I fled…escaped…but not easily…" At this Barthalanus's eyes misted over and a hand clenched momentarily, as if in remembered pain. "I didn't know where to go…the higher devils that would destroy such an insurrection would remember me as a supporter of Sparda and destroy me as well. Then…you….I remembered…Sparda's son…surely he would fight!" Barthalanus's eyes blazed suddenly, and he reached forward and grabbed Dante's jacket with a strength born of desperation. Dante, startled, didn't have time to react. "So I came," Barthalanus whispered fiercely, "through one of the portals. I had to clever…and quick. I sought you…was pursued…found you…but there is so little time…" Fear crept into his voice, and more than a little madness in his eye. "You must use his Staff, it will serve you. It is the only way…"
Dante pulled himself free of his grasp, and Barthalanus fell weakly back upon the bed, apparently drained. "Hang on there for a second gramps. I haven't understood half of what the heck your saying. What's a Ten, and whose staff am I suppose to get?"
Barthalanus seemed to open his eyes with extreme effort and looked at Dante incredulously. "The staff? The Staff of Power…Sparda's…surely you must have it?…"
"Um, sorry don't think so. The only thing my dad left me was a sword."
"No…then the human realm and Underworld are both doomed." Barthalanus shut his eyes tightly and took a rasping breath. "There is no other way…"
"Whoa there don't die on me now, I still need some questions answered," Dante said, placing a hand on the devil's shoulder.
Barthalanus turned and looked at him with a gentle look in his eyes, at odds with his scarred and inhuman face. "So much like the father," he mused softly. "Find it. Find the staff." With that he took one last deep breath and sank into peaceful darkness.
Dante stared unmoving at the body for a few seconds, his hand still on Barthalanus's shoulder. Then, leaning back slowly, he let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "Well shit," he said after a second. "That just kinda blows off my day." Nothing makes a day like having a devil spill a bunch of world shaking news in your lap, dropping you a few enigmatic phrases, then dying without really explaining any of it. Dante winced suddenly, remembering Sarah waiting outside. "Double shit."
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"Sarah!" Dante called opening the door. "Got a problem in here."
Sarah, who had been talking to a group of people down the hall, quickly came over. "What's up? Is he ok?" she asked, concerned.
Dante grimaced. "'Fraid not. Think he got a little too excited and…" Damn. Killing devils was easy, but having to tell Sarah this was not fun. She had a habit of forming doctor/patient relationships with them and in that way did not like to see them die.
Sarah brushed past him and ran into the room, rapidly checking the array of equipment around Barthalanus's bed. After a moment she stopped and let out a long breath. "Well I'm surprised he made it this far. He seemed to have something so important to say that death would have to wait." At this she turned to Dante and quirked an eyebrow at him. Not demanding answers, though she must be teeming with them, but almost asking if he'd like to volunteer some information.
Dante shrugged. "Usual stuff. Evil demon overlord. Fate of Humanity hanging in balance. Nothing you couldn't find in a grade B scifi."
Sarah snorted and shook her head. "One day…." She looked back at Barthalanus. "I'll have someone take care of the body. I don't suppose you need anything else?"
Dante paused. He needed some info on the Ten and a Staff of Power, but Sarah wasn't first on his list for such. Plus if this shit was really as deep as the devil had said it was, he didn't want Sarah getting too involved. "I'm good. I've got some stuff I've got to take care of though, but maybe I'll head back another day for that tour. Oh, and thanks for calling me in."
Sarah smiled, though it faded when she glanced at the body on the bed. "Sure thing. I'll set it up so you can just walk in. That is of course unless you want another dose of our lovely telephone trivia."
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Many, many feet above, Dante left the shop and walked across the street to the lot where he had parked his motorcycle. If there was one thing he didn't like about Save the World schemes, it was that they usually made your life hell for a few weeks and it didn't pay a cent in return.
Dante's mental grumbling was interrupted by a chill prickling in the back of his mind, the type that usually meant trouble. Looking up at the building next to him, he found three devils watching him unblinkingly. They looked vaguely like red panthers. Large, winged red panthers. With antennae and spikes. [http://www.geocities.com/zellychan/scan0001.jpg for my sketching of this]
"Hi," Dante said cheerfully pulling out Ebony and Ivory. "You folks from outta town?"
One of the creatures cocked its head and waved its antennae slightly. Old one? No. Human? Smells of devil blood too though. Dante shook his head to clear the buzzing of voices in it. "What the hell?" he muttered. The devil cat cocked its head at him again. Where is the old one? asked the voice.
"That's really not your main concern right now is it Spikey?" said Dante gesturing with the handguns. Well this was new. Studying the devils head, Dante couldn't see any type of mouth. Apparently these things were telepathic or something.
Spikey?… Dante heard, then a second later suddenly had the unpleasant sensation of having something poking around in his head. Shit, could this thing read minds? Dante quickly sent off a shot at it and the crawling feeling stopped. The devil had nimbly dodged the bullet, and now turned to its companions.
Old dead. Nothing more to be done. Dante 'heard' it say to another. Apparently telepathic waves carried like sound. Also apparent was that it had been able to read his mind.
Kill this one. Knows something? The other devil asked. The first looked back at Dante, who meanwhile was thinking of the best way to attack. They weren't fast enough to dodge all his bullets, but the few that missed might cost him time he didn't have. Kill, the first devil agreed. Blood sport.
Suddenly three large panthers were pouncing for him. Dante rolled out of the way and opened fire while trying to dodge. It was sort of like fighting Blades that could fly. Dante rolled over to his motorcycle and triggered a latch that opened a compartment on the side where he could store Alastor while in public. Grabbing the sword, he turned and blocked a panther that was swooping in towards him. It forced him to the ground on his back, where gritting his teeth he held off some nasty looking claws that pressed on the sword. Shit…The panther whipped one of its antennae at his head and he twitched aside to have the antennae blast a hole in the ground where his head had been. "Go to hell!" Dante yelled and Devil Triggered.
A surge of power ran through him, burning through his blood like whiskey, and making his skin feel taunt across his bones. Inside there was power bursting to be released, as the air around him crackled with its intensity. With a show of strength he slashed upwards, gashing into the paws and threw the devil off him. Shit he hoped there were no onlookers around. Spinning and ducking with demon speed, he uppercutted across the panther's chest then turned and reversed the sword and jammed Alastor behind him through its chest. The panther devil gave a mental scream that nearly jolted Dante out of Devil Trigger, then it collapsed heavily.
The other two devils now swept in with fury, and Dante responded in kind. Flipping over their heads into the air, he concentrated briefly and let himself twist his power just so, submitting to the flows of energy…and let his wings emerge. It was a sharp ripping pain, yet at the same time almost a type of ecstasy…then he turned, now in flight, and released Alastor's lightening on the panthers. They howled in pain as the purple electric bolts tore into them, searing wings and flesh.
Flee! One called out, and suddenly threw itself sideways and vanished to a ripple of darkness, the other following.
Dante hovered for a second, then cut off the Devil Trigger and crouched to the ground trembling. That always took a lot out of him, leaving him exhausted and shaky for awhile. It was like coming off cold from the ultimate adrenaline rush.
"Dante!" a voice called out suddenly. Jerking his head up, he saw Sarah running over from the store. "Jesus, are you alright? Wendy said she heard something awful and saw a bunch of devils dancing in the street. Oh hell," she added as she looked at the body of the single dead panther
"I'm alive," he said, getting to his feet and cracking his back. "Better than him. 'Parently our friend Barthalanus wasn't too well liked in the Underworld. These guys decided if he was already dead they might as well play with something." He gave her a cocky lopsided grin. "Looks like they played with fire."
"We've got to get rid of this body before someone notices it," she said ignoring him. "Luckily this is fairly deserted quarter of town. For now we can throw a tarp over it and get one of the shamans to put a misdirection key on it, and I'll get some of the boys to ditch it somewhere tonight." She looked at him. "Sure you're alright?"
"Yeah. I've still got some stuff I need to do too." Now more than before. "Sorry about the mess," he added, feeling Han Solo-ish. Strapping Alastor back to its place, he started up the motorcycle and sped off with a wave.
Sarah waved back and sighed, looking dubiously at the already reeking corpus in the lot.
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Next chapter: Hierarchy. In which some demon lore is learned, Dante discusses Harry Potter, and interesting light is shone upon devil's food cake. (Slight more underlying silliness, but for the most part still serious ^_^ ).
The devil struggled momentarily to sit upright then sinks back down with a dejected hiss. Sarah moved to his side and gently held him down. "Easy there …You're in no condition to be jumping around."
The devil nodded slightly, then looked up at Dante. "Leave us," Barthalanus hissed to Sarah softly. Sarah looked surprised and turned to Dante, who just shrugged a "beats me" look. "Please," the devil said.
Sarah looked dubious about it, but agreed. "Just take it easy," she said pulling the door closed.
Dante crossed his arms and looked at Barthalanus. "Well? I don't have all day."
Barthalanus laughed. "Ahh. Both in style and character you are your father's son." Dante's eyes narrow and he steps closer to the bed and squats to get right in Barthalanus's face. "Alright buddy. You know me, but I don't know you. Why don't you fill me in before I fill you with lead."
Barthalanus gives him a flat look. "I hope you have threats and comebacks than that."
Dante colors slightly, remembering 'Flock off feather face!' So he rejoinders aren't always as snazzy as his sword work. "I think you're missing the po--" Dante is cut off by a wave from Barthalanus's hand as the devil grasps the blanket and coughs blood raggedly.
"Enough. I know I'm low on time, and so are you for that matter. Thus," he continues weakly before Dante can interrupt, "it is imperative that you listen to my story."
"I was a servant of your father's before he betrayed Mundus. I served the House of Sparda for many years and was very fond and indebted to your father, an honorable….man. However, when he left the services of the Dark Emperor and rose against him, all his lands and powers were considered forfeit and to be destroyed as punishment. This unfortunately included his servants."
"Wait a sec," Dante broke in. "You're saying you were my old man's butler, and he….what? Owned a house in hell?"
Barthalanus hesitated, then nodded. "Not how I would have put it, but that is the general idea, yes. To Continue," he said sharply, "All of us servants were also named traitors and were hunted down after the property was destroyed by Mundus's hordes. I managed to escape and hide for many years until I was forgotten. I searched for news of my lord Sparda though, and heard of his move to the human realm after his victory. Ecstatic at his survival, I would have sought him out had I been strong enough to travel to this realm. Instead I was forced merely to gather information and listen and bide my time. I heard of his marriage to a mortal woman, of the twin sons she bore….and of the tragedy that occurred." At this last statement, Barthalanus looked at Dante with apparently genuine sympathy.
Dante squirmed uncomfortably for a second, then shrugged. "It was a long time ago. 'Sides, I got my revenge."
Barthalanus nodded, with a considering look in his eyes that Dante didn't like. "I heard of that too, though upon of hearing of your travel to Mallet Island I was afraid you'd never return and Sparda's line would be lost…"
Dante smirked. "It takes more than some marionettes, cats, and some lizards to get rid of me. Not that fighting Griffon was a total picnic…" Dante trailed off trying to remember fighting Mundus himself. After Trish threw herself in front of Dante, things just went kinda…red. He had some hazy memories of flying through nothingness then dancing in some lava…but nothing was clear until he was back in Mundus's temple in the Underworld.
Dante zoned back in suddenly, aware that Barthalanus had started talking again. Dante also didn't like the way the devil was looking. His voice was still strong enough, but his eyes were half-lidded and he seemed to lie limp.
"--of your victory and return. It was not long after this however," Barthalanus was saying, "that I picked up wind of a new plot. One of the First Lieutenants, called Occasus, had been planning such an event for years. After Mundus's fall, he could rise in the ensuing uproar."
Dante blinked. "First lieutenant?"
Barthalanus nodded again, momentarily wracked by coughing. "Yes. He is ambitious, and has in secret been gathering an army behind him for some time now. By himself he would not be a match even for one of The Ten, yet he has allied himself with other Lieutenants and has gained support in recent years. He plans first to attack the Hunter's Cities, destroying any human interference."
Dante blinked again, feeling, and not liking it, that he was missing something important. "The Ten? What Cities?" he asked. You could practically hear the caps on that thing. Whatever it were. They were?
Barthalanus rolled past the questions, staring up at the ceiling, unhearing. "I too was too ambitious. I wanted to know more. Sneaking into Occasus's den, I overheard much of his plans…but I discovered. I fled…escaped…but not easily…" At this Barthalanus's eyes misted over and a hand clenched momentarily, as if in remembered pain. "I didn't know where to go…the higher devils that would destroy such an insurrection would remember me as a supporter of Sparda and destroy me as well. Then…you….I remembered…Sparda's son…surely he would fight!" Barthalanus's eyes blazed suddenly, and he reached forward and grabbed Dante's jacket with a strength born of desperation. Dante, startled, didn't have time to react. "So I came," Barthalanus whispered fiercely, "through one of the portals. I had to clever…and quick. I sought you…was pursued…found you…but there is so little time…" Fear crept into his voice, and more than a little madness in his eye. "You must use his Staff, it will serve you. It is the only way…"
Dante pulled himself free of his grasp, and Barthalanus fell weakly back upon the bed, apparently drained. "Hang on there for a second gramps. I haven't understood half of what the heck your saying. What's a Ten, and whose staff am I suppose to get?"
Barthalanus seemed to open his eyes with extreme effort and looked at Dante incredulously. "The staff? The Staff of Power…Sparda's…surely you must have it?…"
"Um, sorry don't think so. The only thing my dad left me was a sword."
"No…then the human realm and Underworld are both doomed." Barthalanus shut his eyes tightly and took a rasping breath. "There is no other way…"
"Whoa there don't die on me now, I still need some questions answered," Dante said, placing a hand on the devil's shoulder.
Barthalanus turned and looked at him with a gentle look in his eyes, at odds with his scarred and inhuman face. "So much like the father," he mused softly. "Find it. Find the staff." With that he took one last deep breath and sank into peaceful darkness.
Dante stared unmoving at the body for a few seconds, his hand still on Barthalanus's shoulder. Then, leaning back slowly, he let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "Well shit," he said after a second. "That just kinda blows off my day." Nothing makes a day like having a devil spill a bunch of world shaking news in your lap, dropping you a few enigmatic phrases, then dying without really explaining any of it. Dante winced suddenly, remembering Sarah waiting outside. "Double shit."
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"Sarah!" Dante called opening the door. "Got a problem in here."
Sarah, who had been talking to a group of people down the hall, quickly came over. "What's up? Is he ok?" she asked, concerned.
Dante grimaced. "'Fraid not. Think he got a little too excited and…" Damn. Killing devils was easy, but having to tell Sarah this was not fun. She had a habit of forming doctor/patient relationships with them and in that way did not like to see them die.
Sarah brushed past him and ran into the room, rapidly checking the array of equipment around Barthalanus's bed. After a moment she stopped and let out a long breath. "Well I'm surprised he made it this far. He seemed to have something so important to say that death would have to wait." At this she turned to Dante and quirked an eyebrow at him. Not demanding answers, though she must be teeming with them, but almost asking if he'd like to volunteer some information.
Dante shrugged. "Usual stuff. Evil demon overlord. Fate of Humanity hanging in balance. Nothing you couldn't find in a grade B scifi."
Sarah snorted and shook her head. "One day…." She looked back at Barthalanus. "I'll have someone take care of the body. I don't suppose you need anything else?"
Dante paused. He needed some info on the Ten and a Staff of Power, but Sarah wasn't first on his list for such. Plus if this shit was really as deep as the devil had said it was, he didn't want Sarah getting too involved. "I'm good. I've got some stuff I've got to take care of though, but maybe I'll head back another day for that tour. Oh, and thanks for calling me in."
Sarah smiled, though it faded when she glanced at the body on the bed. "Sure thing. I'll set it up so you can just walk in. That is of course unless you want another dose of our lovely telephone trivia."
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Many, many feet above, Dante left the shop and walked across the street to the lot where he had parked his motorcycle. If there was one thing he didn't like about Save the World schemes, it was that they usually made your life hell for a few weeks and it didn't pay a cent in return.
Dante's mental grumbling was interrupted by a chill prickling in the back of his mind, the type that usually meant trouble. Looking up at the building next to him, he found three devils watching him unblinkingly. They looked vaguely like red panthers. Large, winged red panthers. With antennae and spikes. [http://www.geocities.com/zellychan/scan0001.jpg for my sketching of this]
"Hi," Dante said cheerfully pulling out Ebony and Ivory. "You folks from outta town?"
One of the creatures cocked its head and waved its antennae slightly. Old one? No. Human? Smells of devil blood too though. Dante shook his head to clear the buzzing of voices in it. "What the hell?" he muttered. The devil cat cocked its head at him again. Where is the old one? asked the voice.
"That's really not your main concern right now is it Spikey?" said Dante gesturing with the handguns. Well this was new. Studying the devils head, Dante couldn't see any type of mouth. Apparently these things were telepathic or something.
Spikey?… Dante heard, then a second later suddenly had the unpleasant sensation of having something poking around in his head. Shit, could this thing read minds? Dante quickly sent off a shot at it and the crawling feeling stopped. The devil had nimbly dodged the bullet, and now turned to its companions.
Old dead. Nothing more to be done. Dante 'heard' it say to another. Apparently telepathic waves carried like sound. Also apparent was that it had been able to read his mind.
Kill this one. Knows something? The other devil asked. The first looked back at Dante, who meanwhile was thinking of the best way to attack. They weren't fast enough to dodge all his bullets, but the few that missed might cost him time he didn't have. Kill, the first devil agreed. Blood sport.
Suddenly three large panthers were pouncing for him. Dante rolled out of the way and opened fire while trying to dodge. It was sort of like fighting Blades that could fly. Dante rolled over to his motorcycle and triggered a latch that opened a compartment on the side where he could store Alastor while in public. Grabbing the sword, he turned and blocked a panther that was swooping in towards him. It forced him to the ground on his back, where gritting his teeth he held off some nasty looking claws that pressed on the sword. Shit…The panther whipped one of its antennae at his head and he twitched aside to have the antennae blast a hole in the ground where his head had been. "Go to hell!" Dante yelled and Devil Triggered.
A surge of power ran through him, burning through his blood like whiskey, and making his skin feel taunt across his bones. Inside there was power bursting to be released, as the air around him crackled with its intensity. With a show of strength he slashed upwards, gashing into the paws and threw the devil off him. Shit he hoped there were no onlookers around. Spinning and ducking with demon speed, he uppercutted across the panther's chest then turned and reversed the sword and jammed Alastor behind him through its chest. The panther devil gave a mental scream that nearly jolted Dante out of Devil Trigger, then it collapsed heavily.
The other two devils now swept in with fury, and Dante responded in kind. Flipping over their heads into the air, he concentrated briefly and let himself twist his power just so, submitting to the flows of energy…and let his wings emerge. It was a sharp ripping pain, yet at the same time almost a type of ecstasy…then he turned, now in flight, and released Alastor's lightening on the panthers. They howled in pain as the purple electric bolts tore into them, searing wings and flesh.
Flee! One called out, and suddenly threw itself sideways and vanished to a ripple of darkness, the other following.
Dante hovered for a second, then cut off the Devil Trigger and crouched to the ground trembling. That always took a lot out of him, leaving him exhausted and shaky for awhile. It was like coming off cold from the ultimate adrenaline rush.
"Dante!" a voice called out suddenly. Jerking his head up, he saw Sarah running over from the store. "Jesus, are you alright? Wendy said she heard something awful and saw a bunch of devils dancing in the street. Oh hell," she added as she looked at the body of the single dead panther
"I'm alive," he said, getting to his feet and cracking his back. "Better than him. 'Parently our friend Barthalanus wasn't too well liked in the Underworld. These guys decided if he was already dead they might as well play with something." He gave her a cocky lopsided grin. "Looks like they played with fire."
"We've got to get rid of this body before someone notices it," she said ignoring him. "Luckily this is fairly deserted quarter of town. For now we can throw a tarp over it and get one of the shamans to put a misdirection key on it, and I'll get some of the boys to ditch it somewhere tonight." She looked at him. "Sure you're alright?"
"Yeah. I've still got some stuff I need to do too." Now more than before. "Sorry about the mess," he added, feeling Han Solo-ish. Strapping Alastor back to its place, he started up the motorcycle and sped off with a wave.
Sarah waved back and sighed, looking dubiously at the already reeking corpus in the lot.
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Next chapter: Hierarchy. In which some demon lore is learned, Dante discusses Harry Potter, and interesting light is shone upon devil's food cake. (Slight more underlying silliness, but for the most part still serious ^_^ ).