DEVIL MAY CRY

THE

BATTLEGROUND

CHAPTER VIII

She wouldn't stop crying.

No matter what he said, she just wouldn't stop crying.

"Come on, dear. If you tell me what is wrong it will help, I promise."

She was sitting on the bedroom carpet. She shifted her position slightly so that she was now leaning up against the bed.

He slowly walked over to the bed and sat down in front of her. He placed his legs on each side of her and sighed. He took his hands and placed them on her slender shoulders and began applying the skills he had in the art of massaging. She closed her eyes and did not open them. He continued to massage, then stopped for a moment.

"Please, Eva. Tell me what is wrong. Please."

Eva gazed up at her husband, her eyes glazed over with tears. She grasped his hands on her shoulders, pulled them down, and gently crossed them.

She closed her eyes once again.

"Sparda?"

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm pregnant."

A wave of emotions crashed over Sparda like something he had never felt before.

He smiled as he gently turned his wife around. He plopped himself onto the floor and embraced her. As she smiled and continued to cry, Sparda pried himself away from her. He wiped a tear that fell from her cheek and tilted his head to the side.

"Eva, why do you cry?"

Sparda was very puzzled. He thought that his wife would be more than happy to announce her news to him. But instead, it seemed as if she had been more crushed than anything about the situation.

Eva smiled the kind of smile that told him she knew why she was crying… and he wouldn't be able to figure it out.

She took her hand and caressed his cheek softly. "I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because I'm happy."

Sparda pretended to understand with a slow nod and an "Oh…", but she knew he still had no clue why she cried.

At this moment, he reminded her of a small child trying to pretend to understand Grade Nine Mathematics. She laughed and sighed.

"It's okay if you don't understand, Sparda. Crying is one of those characteristics only a human can possess. Besides, you look so cute when you're confused."

Sparda smiled and laughed a little himself. As he embraced his wife once again, he placed his large, charcoal hand on her stomach.

All of a sudden, a blurry image of three great red eyes smothered in a cloud of swirling black magic entered his mind.

Sparda's icy blue eyes shot open.

"They will be born as twins, Sparda. And once they are old enough to accept it, they will be taken from this world and into the Underworld. They will serve me, Sparda. And there's nothing you can do to prevent it."

The three eyes quit speaking and let out a stream of evil laughter as the vision dissipated from Sparda's mind. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Mundus."

Eva pried herself from Sparda and took his hand from her stomach.

"What is that, dear?"

Eva received no response.

"Sparda?"

Sparda shook the image from his mind. "Don't worry, Eva," Sparda began as an image of the Dark Angel of Hell entered his thoughts once again.

"No harm will ever come to our children."

"Ever."

As Sparda sighed once again from the impact of his wife's news, he put his hands on her shoulders and straightened his back.

"Eva."

"Yes, Sparda?"

"I love you."

Those last words resonated through Sparda's mind as he managed to open his eyes slightly.

He realized now that he had broken a promise to his wife.

The sun had almost risen over the dark forest, leaving the sky in a state of dark orange.

He had dropped to his knees from the pain of standing. His arms hung limp in the grip of the cold chains that were driven into the soil.

He figured it had to be at least three or four hours ago when he had slipped into unconsciousness…three or four hours ago when that bitch Nevan had betrayed him.

He knew there was absolutely nothing he could do now but wait, wait for the creature Nevan had mentioned before she left.

As his consciousness threatened to deplete him again, Sparda thought of his son.

He thought of Dante.

He knew that Dante would be alive as long as Kade managed to find him. Sparda had placed his trust into Kade many times before on certain missions, and Kade hadn't failed him once. So why this sudden feeling of guilt? Why this sudden feeling of uneasiness? Was Dante dead? Was Kade dead? Had Mundus won?

As all different types of thoughts and questions flooded Sparda's mind, he closed his eyes, and prepared to let unconsciousness take him again.

Then, it happened.

Two great Huskies came rushing and barking from behind Sparda and ran in front of him. They circled around each other and growled at the helpless Sparda.

A blue mist rose from behind the Huskies and began to swirl in a large circle. Before Sparda could realize what was happening, a giant warrior appeared from the mist before his eyes.

He was at least seven feet tall when he stood at full height. He wore giant spiked gauntlets on his forearms that covered his hands. The same giant spiked gauntlets covered his legs from the kneecap down. His armor was also massive and covered his broad shoulders and his chest. The armor stopped halfway down his body to reveal a bony ribcage. The same blue mist from which the creature came from now swirled around his exposed midsection and all around his body. To Sparda, his face was hard to make out through the blue mist, but he could see that the warrior's head was actually a half-skull with no teeth. It was small when compared to the rest of his stature. It had only one yellowish eye. The most amazing feature about the Demon Knight was his giant tribal-engraved Sword that he held with both hands at his chest.

The giant Knight spoke in a whisper. He was reciting some ancient saying that he uttered whenever he made his entrance.

This sparked Sparda's memory. He remembered who this magnificent Demon before him was.

He was the only Demon Knight Sparda battled against and could not defeat.

It was Bolverk.

If you'll think back to Devil May Cry II, you'll remember that Bolverk was the great Demon Knight who fought with Sparda, and from what I remember, was the only boss who gave me a little trouble. I'mnot sure if Sparda couldn't defeat Bolverk, and I'm pretty sure he did, but the Enemy File on Devil May Cry II only states that Bolverk battled Sparda, it doesn't state whether he won or not. So, for this story, and plot, he won. I actually intended for this chapter to be quite longer, but it didn't really fit into the next chapter, which I haven't written yet, but I have already planned the events that will take place in it. Read and enjoy! (And review please.)

-Chris