DEVIL MAY CRY

THE

BATTLEGROUND

CHAPTER IX

Author's Note: Just before you go on to read this Chapter, I thought you all should know that it has come to my attention that Bolverk's companions are actually Wolves, not Huskies (which, strangely enough I already knew but made a mistake on it). From this point forward, I will refer to them as Wolves, not Huskies. Bare with me folks, I've only made two major mistakes with this story so far...

Kade looked around at what remained of the small Sanctuary.

"Gather your belongings, Dante. We're leaving this place."

Dante looked around for his trenchcoat. Kade motioned over to a large stone statue near the back of the room. The statue's hands were gripping a staff where Dante's coat hung. He grabbed it and put it on. He shrugged his shoulders allowing the coat to take shape to his body.

He walked over to the small bed and grabbed his leaning sword from the bedpost. Kade looked around slowly at his home. He closed his green eyes and shook his head.

Dante frowned. "What's wrong?"

Kade opened his eyes. 'Nothing. It's just…" he held out his hands. "This was the place that your Father brought me to after he defeated me in battle in Mundus's Throneroom. Now it's destroyed."

Dante put his hand on Kade's shoulder. "I know what it's like to lose things that mean a lot to you, Kade. Trust me when I say that small sacrifices must be made in order to fulfill a greater purpose. Think how great you will feel when we defeat Mundus. You won't think twice of this place."

Kade nodded. "I suppose you're right, young Dante. After all, Sparda did defeat Mundus once long ago."

Dante nodded. "Yeah, but with the power he has now…I don't know if my Father alone can take him down. I fought him, Kade. I fought him with everything I had, and he toyed with me like I was an ant."

Kade turned around and slowly started walking toward the blown up entrance doors.

"That is why me must now find your father, Dante. We must help him in his quest."

Dante frowned a little as he followed Kade to the entrance. "But he said he would come for me in the Underworld. Doesn't that mean he'll end up in this place eventually?"

Kade nodded. "Yes Dante. You are right. But there is a way we can enter the Human World before Sparda has a chance to enter this world."

Kade let Dante exit ahead of him and took one last look at the place he would never lay eyes upon again.

As Dante and Kade reached the outer area outside the Sanctuary, they realized that the water that once occupied the surrounding area was now converted into two giant walls of water that crashed against the cliffside of the Amphitheater.

Dante glanced around him as a tiny amount of the water shot out from the stream and hit him in the face. He wiped it off with his hand and continued to look around.

Kade started walking along the narrow gray bridge that broke off from the Sanctuary's entrance, which was now revealed under the waters.

"It would've taken quite a bit of force to part these waters."

Kade nodded. "It must have been Arkham." Kade looked at Dante, who was a couple of feet behind him.

"He has the power to do almost anything now that Mundus controls his soul."

Dante, angered by the mere mention of Arkham, decided to change the subject.

"Where do we go now, Kade?"

Kade stopped walking. He pointed his finger to the distance ahead of them. There was a small, blurry swirling gray image at the end of the bridge that seemed to float in the air. It was barely visible to their eyes.

"Do you see that swirling image down there?" Kade asked.

Dante squinted to see the small image. "Yes. Is that where we have to go?"

Kade nodded. "Yes." He began to walk toward it. "Long ago, after Sparda defeated Mundus in this Realm and confined his soul to a statue, Mundus was considered powerless. He knew that one day he would break free of the statue, but he created a secret Gateway just in case something ever prevented him from it."

As Dante and Kade approached the swirling gray image, it became much larger to their eyes. Kade continued to talk.

"We would have had no way of finding this Gateway because it was underneath the Sea. Since Arkham parted these waters…"

He found no need to continue on with his sentence.

Finally, he and Dante came to the swirling image, which Dante could now tell was a massive portal. On the other side of the portal was a set of stone steps that led up to a tribal-framed mirror. He and Kade stepped through the portal slowly.

On the other side, everything appeared as normal. Kade and Dante slowly began to climb the steps as Kade continued his story.

"Only certain Demon Knights and Generals know about this secret. Since I was once Mundus's top General, I was given the honor of knowing its location."

They reached the top of the stairs. The mirror showed them each a larger, more distorted image of themselves. Kade looked over to Dante. "I must warn you, young Dante, that this Gateway has a keeper that isn't very pleasant. If we do exactly as I say I am sure we can…Dante?"

Kade was forced to stop. Dante smiled at the image before him.

"Man. I've been stabbed, tortured, nearly axed to death," he looked at Kade with a jackass grin. "And I still look damn good."

Kade tried to say something in response, but just ended up looking at him and sighing.

Dante apologized and Kade continued. "I have met this keeper once in my time, and our meeting did not go that well. You have to remember, Dante, that this Gatekeeper was appointed by Mundus to guard this Gateway."

Dante nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?"

As they entered the mirrored portal, they immediately found themselves in a small dark tomb-like room. The small candles and torches that clung to the rocky walls provided the little light.

In the center of the small room stood a great Demon Statue carved out of stone. The bottom resembled an altar-type base that led into half a body and two massive arms that were holding a dark red orb in each hand.

The statue was bald, except for one small spike that protruded from the middle of its forehead. Written across the altar were the ancient words that no Demon had recited in ages:

"Survive the two tests

to ignite the two orbs

And the Gatekeeper shall

Grant you passage to the

Human Realm"

As Kade read the scripture aloud, Dante scaled his hand across the Statue's base.

He took a couple of steps back and stared at the massive Gatekeeper.

"Doesn't look so tough to me."

As soon as those words escaped Dante's mouth, the giant Statue roared as the small room crumbled and shook violently.

Both Dante and Kade grasped onto the rocky sides of the room as the Gatekeeper awoke.

It let out a low growl before speaking. "Who dares to disturb me from my slumber?"

Kade stepped forward, his ashen-black cloak fluttering slightly as he did.

"Royal Demon Gatekeeper, it is I, Kade. One of Lord Mundus's…"

"I know who you are, Kade. Too long has it been since our last encounter."

The eyes of the Statue fixated onto Dante, who was only a few feet away from Kade.

"And who are you, stranger?"

Dante took one step forward. "I am Dante Sparda."

Right after Dante spoke, the Gatekeeper replied.

"You are a Sparda?"

Dante answered.

"Yes. I am trying to locate my Father before he enters this Realm. And I think it would benefit you to cooperate with us."

Bolverk would have been an amazing Knight who most likely would have helped Sparda greatly in his quest to take down Mundus if he weren't corrupted by evil long ago.

Sparda remembered their last battle and how fiercely the two fought. It ended somewhere in Hell's outer regions on top of a great tower. There had been a great storm raging as the two dueled. Sparda had fought with every ounce of skill and strength that he could, but the much larger Bolverk was just too powerful.

Bolverk managed to impale Sparda through his chest and kick him off the top of the tower. Sparda fell to what Bolverk thought was certain death.

Obviously, he was wrong.

As Bolverk and Sparda stared back and forth at each other, the two wolves in front of Bolverk started to growl again.

"It seems they remember your scent, Legendary Dark Knight." Bolverk spoke words, but it seemed as if they were only low whispers that echoed everywhere around Sparda.

"Greetings, Bolverk. It has been a while, has it not?" Sparda replied to the great Demon Knight that stood before him.

"Yes, it has," Bolverk began as he took one hand away from his amazing sword and gripped it tightly with the other. He swung it down from his chest and put the tip into the soil.

"And I have a strange feeling that in this very forest, history is doomed to repeat itself."

Bolverk moved his small skull head slightly toward the exhausted Sparda.

"Don't you agree?"

Sparda closed his eyes and concentrated. He stood up from his knees and grunted. The chains around his wrists had made small grooved wounds into his charcoal flesh. He grabbed the two chains with his hands and tightened his grip as large veins began to sprout out everywhere on his muscled body.

Sparda growled once more. A red mist covered his entire body and he arched his back as he grew larger. The wings on his back also enlarged and flapped wildly. He grew at least twice his normal size.

The two wooden poles that held his chains in place cracked down the middle and broke into two. He roared once again as he gripped the small chains around his wrists and shattered them.

In his Devil Trigger State, Sparda was almost as large as Bolverk.

As Sparda came closer to him, Bolverk remained where he was. He was, without a doubt, the only Demon in Hell that was not intimidated by Sparda.

Since Sparda had been in his chains, he was not at his full strength and could not remain in Devil Trigger for much longer. Knowing fully of this fact, he decided to conserve what little energy he had and morphed back into his normal Demon Sate. He knew he would need as much energy as he could muster to face Bolverk.

Sparda reached around to his back and yanked his sword from its holster. It sung with a light hum as he brought it across his chest and then to the tip of the soil.

Bolverk cracked his skull neck slowly from side to side and shrugged his massive shoulders. He was ready.

The two wolves that accompanied him sat patiently on either side of him.

Sparda looked him in his one yellow eye. "I have waited a very long time for this, Bolverk."

Bolverk laughed in a whisper. "I shall not disappoint."

Sparda held his sword behind him and let out a loud cry as he charged at his enemy. He swung his sword down. Bolverk quickly raised his sword from the soil and held it in front of him.

The two swords clashed together and created a small spark as Sparda pushed forward. Bolverk used only the one hand that was gripping the sword to push him away.

Sparda planted his feet in the soil, which stopped him from sliding any further away. Bolverk moved forward and slashed downward at him. Sparda leapt into the air and pushed off of Bolverk's massive shoulders.

He landed on the side of a tree and sprung off of it. He managed to catch Bolverk off guard and side-kicked him with both feet across his face.

Bolverk staggered a little before shaking his skull and regaining his balance.

The second Sparda landed, he kicked Bolverk in his exposed ribcage causing him to hunch forward, allowing Sparda plant a perfect punch to the side of his small skull.

Sparda gripped the handle of his sword with both hands and slashed in an upward motion at Bolverk's huge chest.

As Bolverk staggered into the nearest tree that would support his weight, Sparda planned on moving in for another attack.

No matter what, he knew he would have to keep his attacks fast if he planned on taking down the Demon Knight. That was, of course, if he was at his highest energy level.

Exhausted from using so much energy, Sparda let his sword drop slightly. He began to breathe heavily and blink more often.

Bolverk could tell that he was exhausted. He pushed off of the tree and walked toward his opponent. Sparda attempted a sloppy punch with his left hand.

Bolverk caught it and twisted his arm back. Sparda grunted in pain. Bolverk landed a massive punch to his gut that winded Sparda. Still holding his left hand, Bolverk punched Sparda across his face. He let go of his hand as Sparda fell to the soil.

Bolverk drove his foot across Sparda's chest, pushing him deeper into the soil. He pointed the tip of his giant tribal sword at Sparda's throat.

"You are not at your best, Demon Warrior."

Sparda hesitated for a moment, then hit Bolverk's sword away. He sprung to his feet and again began to breathe large breaths.

Bolverk walked toward him. Sparda swung his sword a couple of times as Bolverk blocked each attempt. The two clashed swords for a while until Bolverk hit Sparda's sword up and off to the side and drove his tribal sword through his chest. Sparda yelled in pain.

"It seems history was doomed to repeat itself, Legendary Dark Knight."

Sparda closed his eyes and grunted. Bolverk did not wish to inflict any more pain on his arch rival.

"You are not at your full skill, Sparda. You are weak and exhausted."

As much as Sparda wanted to continue fighting, he knew that the words Bolverk was speaking were true.

"I do wish to fight you, but it would be dishonorable to battle an opponent when they are not at their full strength."

Bolverk pulled his sword from Sparda's chest. Sparda fell to his knees.

Before disappearing into the blue mist from which he came, Bolverk turned to Sparda.

"When you have regained your strength, you will know where to find me."

And just like that, Bolverk and his two wolves became engulfed with the blue mist and were gone.

Sparda stood up and held his wound with his left hand. His sword lay limp in his right. He figured his wound would soon heal up.

He took in a deep breath and walked forward on the trail. He remembered seeing Nevan take a certain pathway when she left him behind.

He walked through the forest, which seemed much larger because was now flooded with daylight. Sparda stood out like a diamond in the rough due to his charcoal skin compared to the bright brown trees and green plant life.

He walked the entire length of the winding pathway until he came to a small, golden-colored shrine. Four small pillars held up the low-hanging roof. Sparda had to duck to fit inside. Once inside, he descended the few steps and was able to stand at full height because the small shrine was underground.

There was a large altar near the back of the shrine. There was a large, swirling crystal tablet hovering in the center of the altar that emitted some sort of purple energy.

Sparda noticed an old and torn piece of paper lying on the altar. He walked up to the altar and glanced at the crystal tablet before picking up the paper.

He held the piece of paper in one hand and his sword in the other. He read the paper:

"Just in case you somehow defeated Bolverk, I placed this crystal here in the shrine as a means of transportation, sugar. I told you I'd help you. Oh, one more thing, I wouldn't make it that easy for you, darling. You must first figure out how to regenerate its power before it will work. Look inside your soul."

The note was not signed, but Sparda knew who had written it. He hated how she had to toy with him before actually ever helping him.

Look insideyour soul…What the Hell does that mean?" Sparda thought to himself.

Sighing a deep sigh, Sparda put his sword down across the altar and thought of how to decode the crystal tablet. He figured he had some time before any demons were sent after him to confirm his defeat.

What he did not realize, though, was the spy outside of the shrine that hid behind one of the trees. The spy placed one hand on the tree and leaned out from behind it, glancing at the shrine.

He was of average height and wore a ninja garb with a black silk mask that covered his face, except for half of his nose and his bright, blue eyes. He seemed to be composed entirely of lightning, as small jolts of it continuously ran up and down his body. Tied to his green sash belt was a holster that held his katana sword and daggers.

Confirming that his target had not been killed by Bolverk, the mysterious spy teleported out of the bright forest. He had news for his master.

The Prison Cell in which Mundus stood was very large. There was dark orange light from the outside seeping in through the bars of the roof. Surrounding Mundus were four cells placed equally apart from each other. Within each cell lie a great beast, which only features shown were their glowing blue eyes, large tails, and chained paws due to the misty air. Whenever one of them exhaled, it let out a cloud of breath.

In front of Mundus, the spy that was in the forest appeared. The electricity surrounding his form created a little more light in the dense prison fog.

The spy bowed. "Greetings, Lord Mundus. I have discovered that Bolverk did not defeat the Legendary Dark Knight. Bolverk had the chance, to finish him, but did not." The spy's voice resembled a snake's.

Mundus placed a hand on his chin and stroked his stone-carved beard.

"Interesting."

"Also, my Lord, Nevan has left the crystal orb within the shrine so that Sparda could escape the forest."

Mundus squinted. "Is that so?"

The spy nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes, my Lord."

Mundus looked away in disbelief and motioned his servant to exit. The spy bowed and vanished once again.

The smell of rotten flesh and thick dust immediately entered Nevan's nostrils as she appeared before Mundus in the Prison.

Mundus frowned. "Have you completed your mission, Nevan?" he asked.

Nevan bowed. "Yes, my Lord. Bolverk has taken care of Sparda. I have done what you have asked."

Before Nevan had a chance to look up at her master, she was struck to the ground with a slap across her face.

She flipped her hair back and stared up at her master with a flare in her eyes.

"I do not understand, my Lord."

Mundus walked up to her and kicked her in the stomach. Nevan let out a gasp for air and crawled a few feet away.

"My spy has informed me of your betrayal, Nevan. You let Sparda go."

Nevan quickly responded. "No, no my Lord. I chained him up…I let Bolverk kill him…I" Before Nevan could finish her explanation, she was again struck across the face, but with more force.

"You left the crystal within the shrine so he could come here!" Mundus was infuriated. No one has ever betrayed him since General Kade many ages ago.

Nevan wiped a trickle of blood away from her face as she looked up in fear at her master.

"All I've ever done is serve you, my Lord." Nevan tried desperately to save her own soul.

Mundus glanced at Nevan. His blows had caused her bat garb to ride up slightly, exposing much of her legs and her waist. He looked at her curves, then knelt down beside her. He picked up a strand of her curly red hair and caressed it.

"If you had completed you mission, you would have been rewarded greatly, Nevan. I might have even let you have the honor ofspending a night in my sleeping quarters…"

As Mundus revealed his true intentions, Nevan made a sickened expression and crawled further away.

Mundus grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled it harshly. She screamed and grabbed his hand. Mundus released her hair and stood to his full height.

"Consider yourself released from my services."

Nevan gritted her teeth and frowned at her former master.

"I must go now and confront Bolverk and Arkham."

Mundus glanced at the four cells around him. The beasts inside were growing restless. One of them clamped onto the cell bars with its large, chained hands and bent them slightly.

Mundus looked down on Nevan. "They can smell your blood."

Mundus looked back to the beasts in their prison cells.

"I am the Ruler of the Underworld, and even I do not possess the power to control these Demon Beasts."

As Mundus moved toward the large Chamber door, he took one last look at Nevan.

"Pray that your Dark Knight shows up in time to save you."

Mundus pulled the lever beside the Chamber door. The cell bars lifted up as the four giant Demon Beasts began closing in on Nevan. She backed all the way up to a far wall and clutched her knees. She put her head down as a small tear rolled down her cheek and mixed in with the blood from her mouth.

As the Demon Beasts came closer to devouring her, Nevan, for the first time, prayed that Sparda would save her.

Author's Note: Well, I think it's safe to say it took way too long for this chapter to come out. I promise the next one willbe done much quicker. I don't know why but I felt it necessary to make Mundus kind of a creep toward Nevan. Sorry if there's any mistakes. I didn't really check it overthat well becauseI wanted to post it as soon as I was done writing it. Please keep reviewing!

-Chris