DEVIL MAY CRY

THE

BATTLEGROUND

CHAPTER V

Dante struggled to see the fading green light in the water emanating from the cloaked figure's eyes. For a brief moment, Dante glanced over to a weapon that fell beside him in the water.

It was a mistake he would soon regret.

In the time it took Dante to gaze away from the cloaked figure, a giant sword pierced the water and ripped through his chest. Blood soon colored the water red as Dante screamed. He clutched the massive sword and attempted to pull it out.

The black figure in the water turned around and quickly swam to where Dante was.

He noticed the sword protruding from Dante's chest and how he was struggling so hard to get it out. The cloaked figure held out his hand and created a small stream of misty blue magic that seemed to have a life of its own.

The magic snaked into Dante's chest and slowly pulled the sword from his body. As strange as it seemed, Dante didn't feel a thing.

The figure motioned for Date to continue following, but he began to cough up massive amounts of blood. Dante's body became lifeless as he slipped into unconsciousness.

His body began to float to the surface. The cloaked figure quickly grabbed Dante around the waist and began to swim down. The weapons were ceaseless in their attack, still piercing the water's surface as the endless amount of demons peered over the cliff's edge.

The cloaked figure had no trouble controlling Dante's body weight under the water. He swam further and further down until the water started to get dark.

He swam until he reached a small, watery image in the water. With ease, the black warrior traveled through it and he and Dante appeared on the other side.

Surprisingly, on the other side of the blurry image, there was no water. There was only a large hallway, which was held up by giant stone pillars on each side.

At the end of the hallway there was a set of giant double doors. There was a carving of two swords criss-crossed on them, which uncrossed when the cloaked figure walked up to them.

He re-arranged Dante's body in his hands and entered the large doors….

The sky above the Battleground had darkened to its full potential. All the fires had burned themselves out. Small, curving trails of smoke remained.

The only reason Sparda didn't blend in with the night was due to his icy blue eyes that seemed to shine in even the darkest light.

He gazed up at the moon and took a moment to think as its blue hue shone down on him.

He didn't want to be in this place any longer. He didn't want to be in the place where he witnessed the death of his son. He didn't want to be in the place where he let Lord Mundus escape into the Underworld.

Sparda knew what he had to do in order to save his son. He knew the only way back into Hell was to take his life away from the Human World.

Sparda slowly walked back to the center of the Battleground and kneeled down on his knees. He removed his sword holstered on his back and held it in the air directed at the ground.

He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. With all of his strength, Sparda impaled himself with his own sword through his armor and into his chest. He felt the pain, but continued to keep his eyes closed.

Soon enough, a large, swirling portal rose from the cracked surface around him and took his body into the depths of the Underworld.

He would save Dante, he would save his son, if it was the last thing he did.

Dante awoke to the sound of footsteps. His vision wasn't exact, but he was sure that he saw a black image move past him. He felt incredibly warm, and soon discovered that he was covered with several fur blankets.

He rose up into a sitting position off of the bed he was laying in and looked around the room.

There were small and large candles grouped together just about everywhere he could see. Small statues of warriors and goddesses circled the back wall of the room. Above them hung giant animal furs of all different shades of brown and sand colors.

Dante surveyed the room back and forth until his gaze met the green eyes of the cloaked figure. He was sitting on a small chair crafted out of stone. There was a long table behind him that stretched all the way to the end of the small room.

A large candle on the table close to the cloaked figure revealed his dark grey skin and green veins, though Dante could still not fully see his face.

He was leaning over in his chair, resting his forearms on his thighs. He held a small wooden bowl in one hand, and a knife-like tool in the other. He was grinding something together in the bowl.

Dante wiped the sweat from his face. It was extremely hot in Hell, especially when you're covered in fur blankets. He wiped his eyes slowly, then cleared his voice.

"Where am I?" he asked, speaking very quietly. The cloaked figure didn't respond. He just kept on mashing the knife into the bowl.

He rose from his chair, walked over to where Dante lay, and scooped out the contents of the bowl. He rubbed them around in his charcoal hands and placed them on the large wound on Dante's chest.

At first, the strange medicine burned, then it cooled down. Dante grimaced a little at the pain, then looked up at the Demon.

"Better?" the demon asked.

Dante nodded in approval. Slowly, the cloaked figure walked back to his chair and gently sat down.

"I know that you had the capabilities to heal that wound yourself, since you are half-demon, but the medicine will help."

Dante was dumbfounded. That voice was so familiar to him. He knew he hadn't heard it in ages, but that voice was etched into his mind. It reminded him of his Father.

"You are in the Sanctuary Shrine. My Sanctuary Shrine. The Demons don't know its location, but after the incident at the Amphitheater, they might figure it out. They are afraid of the water. That is why we were able to escape."

Dante frowned and tilted his head to the side.

"Who are you?"

The cloaked figure took his two charcoal hands and placed them at each side of his head.

"You do not remember me, Dante?"

He took the hood off of his head and let it fall onto his shoulders. His head was bald and charcoal, like the rest of his body. The same fleshy green veins that covered the rest of his body also covered certain parts of his face in a symmetrical pattern but stopped underneath his green eyes. His orange pupils added to his eerie appearance.

"Your Father wasn't the only Demon to rebel against the Tyranny of Mundus."

Dante squinted. "Kade?"

Kade nodded. "Yes, Dante. I'm still alive."

Author's Note: Well, sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. I've been busy with a lot of different things lately. Also, I'm currently on Mission 17 of DMC 3 and words cannot describe this game. It's simply amazing. It easily compares to the first one and kicks the second one's ass. Dante's attitude is right on the money in number 3. The backgrounds and scenery are Gothic too, which is kick-ass. Next Chapter will be out soon. Please keep reviewing!

-Chris