Red Dusk 369: Hi, thanks for leaving me your message. Im partially replying before starting the chapter, just to tell you that the following paragraph (Character Clarification) was not placed because I was mad at you or anything like that. In fact I thank you for your review, it helped me to improve something that I will tell you about in the review section. Best regards.

Character Clarification: The next 'Dante' you will meet throughout this interlude, has a personality that is obviously different from his human side. 'Red' is a mix of Dante from DMC2 with Kratos (GOW1~3) or Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, so to speak; He's quite serious, still retains a love for humanity, and a bit of sarcasm, but can also become explosive/wild in many ways, by example when he shows his 'primordial' emotions: more or less in some times his behavior will be like a 'beast' (both in war and love), as he's a "Newborn Pure Devil" born of a "weird mixed-blood being"

Also keep in mind that this shouldn't be the case, because if I followed the DMC rules to the letter, the character I'll introduce to you should be an anti-infernal destruction machine, something like the 'Doom-Guy/Slayer' of the Doom franchise: A bloodthirsty battle maniac against everything born from hell and/or endangering the earth :V

But I'm not a professional Capcom writer, and if I did that "pure perfect devil Dante", that character would barely interact with the environment around him, so I'll take creative liberties (cough, cough, script power) to bring you a "Dante" who can interact with other characters of DXD and campione, and make with that the plot fun, in a somewhat different way than 'Toni'.

So hardcore DMC fans, please don't kill me :V

Note: In this chapter there will be some 'names' that belong to the video game 'Dragon's Dogma', however that doesn't mean that this chapter will be another crossover with that game, so those 'names', are just some references that I put just for fun, And because there are 'coincidences' in that game with the 'Shiniky no campione' volume that I will adapt for this story.

Note2: you will surely realize 'where' the facts in this plot are by themselves, but to fully understand that 'where' and 'how it was possible', you will have to wait for the conclusion of this interlude.

Interlude: 'Red', The Dark Knight Forgotten By History And Myth (1)

—"The world is full of gods."

The tip of the pen writing on the leaves of the manuscript on top of the old table began to resonate. At that moment, someone was writing a draft about an inquiry

— "They're able to manipulate this earthly plane; they manipulate reality, destroying or, in other cases, rebuilding societies and the world itself, believing themselves to be the supreme rulers. They understand very well that mere mortals don´t possess the power to oppose them. With their abilities, in other words, with the power that makes a god, a god, their "Authority", they have the potential to destroy or rebuild everything. However, even if they have that potential, they aren´t longer the kings of this world. I have seen how their authorities came into the hands of mortals, into the hands of exceptionally talented people, people whose power is equal or greater than that of a god. In time, these people were called 'Devil Kings'. The overlords of the Earth..."—For a moment, the pen paused, and then a sigh full of melancholy was heard—"... And if there is one overlord that should be named above any other I have known in my 600 years of life, That is 'Red', the 'Devil King' that I, The 'Lord of Magic, and master of the Artisans' [ᾰ̓μβρόσiος Ἀρχιμήδης], had the great honor and good fortune to know"

The decrepit hand holding that pen began to tremble, even writing seemed to be too much effort for that hand

—"I have stretched my life as long as I could with my magical knowledge, and with my 'Sacred-Gear' just for the purpose of glimpsing his 'sacrifice', for the purpose of 'seeing' the world he help to restore. On my deathbed in this last memoir, I will tell you, the 'heiress ' of my 'Masterpiece' and my 'Sacred-Gear', a story that was hidden for the sake of the human world. Hidden just like most history on earth where the supernatural influences, in order to prevent more gods from being created, or gaining more powers. As well as to prevent more mythological beings from forming"—The person writing stopped at that point. He/She shook his/Her head several times before continuing —"So I write this with the intention that his 'Sacrifice' will never be forgotten"—He/She sighed wistfully on another occasion, and then wrote in greater detail, almost marking the paper with the tip of the pen—"May it never be forgotten how the one who managed to fight into the myth along with me, 'Red', my friend, changed destiny completely!"

—"This food is horrible, even for a demon"—Sitting in front of a rather old and primitive table, a middle-aged, white-haired man said those words to himself in a 'bitter' tone, after a waitress brought him a plate full of food plus a drink in a jar. The food didn't seem to be that bad; it was a dish that had a loaf of bread plus what appeared to be a piece of slightly burnt chicken plus an apple, and in the wooden jar was a frothy yellow liquid, which didn't seem to be that unpleasant, but...—"It tastes even worse than Cockatrice's fresh meat. I don't understand how humans of this age can eat this garbage"—Saying that more seriously than 'usual', the white-haired man sighed in great agony as he held his head in frustration for a moment. Then, he bit into the piece of chicken while an expression full of a bit of disgust was drawn on his face.

That done, he looked around and sighed again in great weariness: The bards dancing and singing in a 'Nordic' looking Tavern that looked like something out of a time much older than the Middle Ages plus the barbarians fighting in the back of the place in a circle where they were placing bets to see who would be the 'champion' of the 'bare-knuckle' showdown failed to cheer him up at all, despite the scene being as curious as any 'decent tavern' scene in 'The Witcher'.

As he ate his "forced" dinner, he forced himself to meditate on his current situation.

-o-o-o-o-o-o

It had been a month since "He" had "woken up" in a forest in the middle of "nowhere". Completely confused would be a close feeling, but still far from what he felt when he regained consciousness about himself in that forest: He soon remembered that he had been killed by his brother, or at least his "physical" body was the one that ended up dying.

After that, he remembered something vague but still tangible, and knew that somehow he had already fulfilled the wish that a part of him had had.

After "dying", The images were vague and hazy, but he remembered being some kind of ghost or "spirit body" that was "wandering" adrift in a "sea" whose "water" had the colors that would be found in a kaleidoscope. He didn´t know why he was there and he didn´t know how long he was in that "Dimensional Sea", but what he does know is that by "instinct" (when he felt the "presence" of human beings beyond that "Sea") he took the more human parts of "Dante" and then split in two just after he had found with his "Senses, and demonic desires" a family in which "Dante" could fulfill his final desire without inconvenience. "The devil side", With his absurd supernatural senses "Felt and Reached" thousands of those human presences, and extended his consciousness to those minds on "His Earth", until he found a couple who seemed to be about to have a child and who were quite in love.

He didn't "scan" all the inhabitants of "Earth" of course, after all, it was the first time he did something like that, but only '"Scanned" those he felt "closer"; He probably "scanned" the inhabitants of a village, small town or a district.

He didn´t blame his former self, "Dante", for having had that desire. It was a pure desire, and well deserved after having had too hard, and cruel a life. "Dante" had come to an end, so it was natural to want to wish to have what he never had the chance to have. And even in that final wish, Dante's intention was never to be separated from "Him".

"Dante" wanted a second chance, he wanted to experience what it was like to have a loving family again and try to be truly happy for the first time, but he never hated himself in that desire. He never wished to separate his "demon side", after all. He never wished to separate a part from himself.

If there is a culprit for that separation, it was not "Dante" or his human side, but "He".

For "He", "The Devil", realized that such a "Wish" could never be fulfilled if they "carried" a blood that was sought after by every "Demon" at all times. "The devil" knew it would only endanger them all. So despite having developed a hole in his "heart" after realizing that; with all the pain of his "Being", "The devil" decided that at least one of "them" would live and experience the "peaceful and loving" life of a family that Dante always wished to have.

So "The Devil" separated Dante's soul and Dante's core into two: "The Devil" separated the "Sword" they "were" into "Two", and kept the "demon remains" of the "Sword" plus a somewhat "human" portion, psychologically speaking; "The devil" kept those "remains" of "Dante" for himself. After all, "The devil" didn't want to die, and "he" doubted 100% that Dante would want "him" to die for the sake of fulfilling that wish, or that "The devil" would become a monster after they parted.

Now that "The devil" had done that, He wished that "The human side" wouldn´t hate him for this situation, that "The human" would not blame him for it if he came to "sense" what had happened, or even worse, that "The human" think that he was to blame for "Devil Death"

And "The devil" also wish that "The human" could overcome the anguish of separation. "The devil" could only hope that despite the pain of whatever assumptions "The human" might have, and despite the pain and crisis of separation that he was surely feeling as well as "Him"; The devil wish who "The Human" would try to move forward and be happy with his new family. That at least one part of "Dante" could be truly happy on at least one occasion.

That was the wishes that "The Devil" had for his human side, shortly after regaining consciousness about himself, in that forest.

Forest? That's right. After having "Divided Dante", everything was even more confusing. The devil felt that he "traveled" through that dimensional sea for another long time, until he lost his "consciousness".

And then, the next thing he remembers, he "woke up" in this place.

Just where was he?

Oh, the answer to that question only ended up confusing him even more.

As a fully Demonic being, he could understand himself more easily, in this "state". He could now "feel" that "essence" of himself that was difficult and abstract to comprehend when he was "Dante" because whether he wanted to or not, "Dante" had a half human mind, which could not fully "comprehend" his demonic self. So after "The devil" realizing that was walking in the form of a huge demon in that wooded place, "Wish" quickly to adopt a form more suitable for the potential encounter with any human being that could give him information: he didn't want to give them a heart attack and/or cause them to chase him with guns and torches...Not like they could hurt him of course, but it would be annoying.

His "Wish" soon came true, so it didn't take long for him to take on an appearance he was used to. He took the form of a 'Dante' of about 35 years of age. Not so old, not so young, it seemed appropriate. Then, he created with his demonic power a suitable outfit, something that Trish taught to "Dante", but that his old self had ignored; Dante liked to be very human, so he avoided doing that, he preferred to buy his clothes and put them on like a human being.

And now "The devil" had to admit that that posture...

...began to seem ridiculous to him. Why ignore a Power of you possessed? Why refuse to use something you have? Something that belongs to you? Obviously as a full "Demon" now there were things he saw differently than "Dante"; how many things? He didn't know yet, he was just getting to know himself at all. His personality felt a bit different to that of "Dante"; it had changed, definitely several "things" had changed. The love for humanity was still there of course, that was something that as a human and as a demon had always characterized "Dante", but now "The devil" felt himself more serious...more focused, with less doubts, and...angry?... No, that was incorrect: he is a demon, a beast born to "hunt", a "predator"...Instinct. He felt himself more instinctive. More uninhibited. Like a lion, which may have a noble heart and be very calm and lively, but which inside sleeps a beast ready to hunt, or let out other feelings explosively, and also have "hunger" for fight.

Wild: "Wild" aslo was a perfect word for that feeling.

Naturally the "hunting instinct" was still directed at the other members of his "species" who decided to try to get their hands on humans or their "employers".

—"Heh"—When he thought about that last thing as he kept walking (towards the nearest human presences that caught his senses) he couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle. He had to admit that mercenary work still seemed somewhat amusing, and appropriate: One could bring out the rage within, and be violent without needing to worry too much about how others saw you, something that proved to be very useful for "Dante"; very useful to channel in the demons that rage inside him that Dante always felt for the death of his loved ones, very "useful" to avoid being called "hero" because that concept always bothered him in one way or another for obvious reasons, but paradoxically, very useful to become a "hero" when required, because not everyone could pay him but still did his job as a "mercenary", and still paid the bills of the daughters of "Grue".

And besides that, pay was pretty well, so in theory one could live very well off such work

—"Sure, as long as, Trish, Patty, and Lady didn't loot the credit card"—It's not like now as a demon he needed money, work, or things like oxygen, water, drinks, or food; He knew he could feel hungry, yes, but it was an instinctive hunger more than anything else, food nor any of those other things were necessary for subsistence, so money or work, were not at all necessary. Of course, as a demon born from a being balanced between his two halves, "the devil" definitely knew he still had a kind of "taste" for those things—"I wonder, what should I do now? Hunt a few little bastards?"

Shortly before arriving at the first "city" he would see after his rebirth, all of the above was "The Sparda's" analysis of himself. The feeling of "Emptiness" and "existential crisis" throughout was strong, but he forced himself to ignore it for the sake of his "Psyche"...A "psyche" that would definitely in theory have to be stronger, being literally a "Newborn Pure Devil".

He didn't know for sure what he would do from now on: He didn't feel it was right to go visit his nephew, or the rest of "his friends" being the "being" he was now, not because he didn't appreciate them even being the demon he was now, but he felt it would be an "offense" towards "Dante".

After all they were "Dante's" loved ones, and he wasn't quite "Dante": "The Devil" also felt it would be an "offense" towards that new "future" of his human side was going to build. "Dante" had come to an end, and his human side was going to "move on", or at least he should, so maybe "The devil", "He", should also take a different path, and avoid the people of his former "self". Avoid them the "pain" of seeing an "incomplete" being. Maybe the best thing to do was to take a "fighting vacations" in "hell" for a while, or open a new "shop" in another city, and...

—"Uh?"—...Whatever other thoughts he had, they were brutally cut off when he observed the scene in the distance in that town that seemed to be taken from a primitive age: There were what looked like Roman soldiers running here and there, carrying spears and swords full of blood and/or carrying other soldiers who looked like they had just arrived from the war.

In another area of that town, an angry mob in the distance were shouting (in some kind of ancient language) with great joy and fury; they saw how a body tied to a "wooden pole" or rather as the charred corpse was finishing incinerating thanks to what appeared to be a bonfire created with simple sticks and branches; next to that corpse, there was the figure of a woman who was hanging from her neck to a rope on what appeared to be a gallows. All the villagers were dressed in simple clothes that looked like rags; some villagers were throwing their excrement here and there; others were relieving themselves in the open air; others looked too sick; others were begging for alms; in the old market people were selling everything, including other human beings, and so on. It was definitely a scene you wouldn't come across in the 21st century.

Thanks to his supernatural hearing and his demon-like "Language" ability, "The Sparda" was able to understand the next moment the primitive language of those villagers who were shouting at those two corpses. They were continuously shouting the following:—"Yes, kill them! Kill the witches! May the gods judge them without mercy!"

—"What is grong with this place?"—Those were the only words that came to The Sparda's mind after he saw the small and worn "table-sign" at the entrance of the village, which read the following in that language he was only able to understand thanks to his supernatural abilities: "Welcome to Tarwanna" *1

-o-o-o-o-o-o

And three months later, here he was. Somewhere in the ancient north of Europe, in this tavern that surpassed anything that can be conceptualized as 'sleazy', eating a insipid dinner that only to a worm would wish for, in a time that was not his own, and in a world that was definitely not his own.

Or at least he doubted very much that it was his Earth.

After all, he had no recollection whatsoever that in his home world there were Werewolves, Trolls, Goblins, cockatrices, and Basilisks. The other day he had even taken out a Fairy. Sure, demons could take forms similar to those mythological beings; he had seen it before in his world although they were rare situations; but he definitely never sensed a demonic aura in the supernatural beings he had hunted so far.

Their auras, were something "The Sparda" had never "felt". The fairy's aura even "felt" completely opposite of a demon's aura, it felt like something "holy", even if that little "thing" was completely insane.

He had spent all this time trying to "survive" and understand this world.

First he obviously tried to go unnoticed, so he had to modify the design of his clothes to match the "age" he was in. Which he hated, as he now looked like he was wearing light armor mainly in black, and touches of red plus a primitive red-opaque trench coat, plus brown-colored leather boots. *2

And then he try to determine the Epoch. He could have read the minds of the villagers if he had wanted to, having again strongly desired to do such a thing, but the thought of hearing the voices of such primitive human minds in his head, very successfully prevented him from doing so.

So he inquired about the period the old-fashioned way. He was no expert in history, of course, but he still managed to find the right information and questions to ask others to give him an idea. After all "Dante" had also been a '"private investigator" with pretty decent deductive skills.

He discovered that the city "Tarwanna", was a "capital" newly "attached" to the Roman Empire; it was part of the "Nation" of "Gaul", a nation that was losing the war with the Roman Empire, who were in the final process of taking over their territories. Soon he hear names of "actual" and even living or recently dead historical characters that he manage to recognize, with difficulty: Julius Caesar and Spartacus. And the fact that no one knew who Christ was, confirmed to him that he was more than 2000 thousand years back in time, in the past of some world similar to his land of origin, but still different, because besides having encountered the mythological beasts mentioned, he had not encountered at any time with another demon, and everyone around here didn´t even know that term / concept, let alone the word "Sparda"

[Autor´s Note: Forgive me if there are historical errors in the plot; and for any future historical errors there may be. I'm not an expert in history, so I apologize for that.]

And from what he remembered about the history lessons "his" mother had once given him (despite "his" complaints) and/or that "he" read in some random British magazine he used as distractions when he went to clog the toilet; Gaul had been the name that France and a part of Belgium, Germany, and maybe Holland had been called at the time of the old Roman Empire. Though he obviously didn't know exactly the precise date he was in. Perhaps 100 or more years before "Christ was born".

When he came to that conclusion he was definitely quite surprised. And if his eyes didn't pop out of their sockets, it was because he was a Demon with a strong personality, and because "he" had visited another earth previously, so he knew that an 'Alternative Earth' was something that was possible.

—Hey girl, how much do I owe you?

—That would be 10 denarii, sir.

—10 Denarii for so little?! Last week it was only 4!

—The empire has raised taxes again sir, we can no longer charge the usual prices.

—Hmmmm. Roman Taxes and Policies, eh?. I guess they were destroyed for that reason.

—?...Excuse me?

—Nothing, nothing, forget that!. I guess the price of the "hotel rooms" in this place, they went up too, didn't they?

—Yes, sir. The night now costs 15 Denarii. I'm sorry.

—Ah!. You're lucky that at least the beer is good! Take Here!

Finished with those complaints, (which carried a bit of savagery as the white-haired man banged the table as he raised his voice and stood up, like a angry viking who scared the waitress to "death" with it) The white-haired man reluctantly gave some silver coins that he took out of a classic cloth bag and then climbed the archaic stairs that led to the second floor of this tavern, which also functioned as a primitive "Motel" for travelers.

You're probably wondering, why didn't he just turn into a Demon and fly somewhere less uncivilized? Well, he had already tried, but for obvious reasons other places on planet Earth were even more uncivilized. Europe, was the most advanced land at this time, and more importantly for him, not all other areas of planet earth seemed to have supernatural beasts to 'hunt'. For some reason, only certain parts of the human world had beasts roaming here and there; he realized this after spending several days exploring different parts of the world.

And more importantly, for some reason in this area of northern Europe, was where many of the beings of the Galician mythology appeared, and as he was an "Ex-British", he was very used to the northern climate, and to that kind of "tales", which now seemed to have a life of their own. So, both the little psychological "remnant" of his human side, and the "beast" that he was on his own, felt very much at home in this area of planet earth.

So he ended up returning to Gaul: he wandered for a while here and there through its territory, until he settled temporarily in another "city" of Gaul, called "Gran Soren", which was not far from the northern sea. Since it was the largest "city" he had encountered so far, he decided to stay there temporarily, thinking that he could find more "fun hunting missions" compared to other places.

Not to mention that the beer marketed in the city was good: or at least its taste was minutely "decent" to his palate. But the food turned out to be lousy, so lousy and tasteless that he sometimes preferred to eat the fresh meat of the mythical chicken-like beasts, rather than the food prepared by humans; however, eating the food of humans served as a method of "defense" to placate that feeling of existential separation that he still felt, and that still had him in a certain way, "Uncomfortable".

When he got to bed, or rather to the arcaic "cot", he forced himself to sleep and to dream: A demon like him could easily do that if he wished, but it did not mean that he needed it to subsist. But if he forced himself to sleep, it was also because this was another method of defense to avoid thinking about the "separation".

In any case, He was stuck in the past of an alternate world, and had no idea what to do to go to another 'world' more fun; definitely as the "Beast" he was he preferred a world full of powerful prey, or at least one, where Pizza existed...Oh, how much he missed Pizza; He didn't know why, but even if he was a demon now, he felt that the taste of that food would surpass anything he could put in his mouth. If there was anything that could take away his 'instinctive' hunger completely, it would definitely be something like Pizza.

But since that wasn't possible, he had resigned himself to living an archaic life for the time being.

So with nothing else to do on this day, he finally closed his eyes, and let "Morpheus" take him to a place where there were more battles, or Pizza.

—Sir Titus, do you know why folklore creatures are appearing more frequently in the world?

Sitting across from what appeared to be a middle-aged man, wearing generic Roman armor, a "25 years old" young man, quite attractive and with long black hair (dressed in mostly jet-colored Roman attire, which might well be worn by nobility) began to speak.

—Aaah?, isn't that supposed to be the fault of the Heretic-Gods?. By "descending" from their myths, on our earthly plane they can "bring into existence" those beasts. The Evil Gods create them with their powers. Or am I wrong Artisan?

—"Yes, and no. *Sigh* Certainly a Heretic God can create those kinds of creatures with their "Authorities", but it would be unheard of to think that all the increase in the number of those things is due to multiple Heretic Gods "Descending" at the same time, around the world. The Empire's Godslayer, sent you here without revealing anything to you?"—It was a calm way of speaking, and his appearance was appropriate for it as well, however, his tone carried an implied complaint—"Sir Titus, don't you know anything about the [Sanctuaries]?"

—Sanctuaries? I had never heard that term before. The Great Julius Caesar didn't have much time to explain the situation to me, currently still recovering from the wounds inflicted on him by the God-Slayer of the Gauls. "Vercingetorix" proved to be a difficult "Arisen" to kill. *Sigh* In any case, why don't you go straight to the point?, Arquimedes. What's going on?

That's right, the person who was speaking in front of the Roman Empire's politician and military man, Titus Labienus, was Archimedes: A Greek physicist, engineer, inventor, astronomer and mathematician who was supposed to have died a little over 200 years ago by that point in history, but was somehow still alive.

Archimides possessed an exceptional mental acuity and intellect, which made the Roman "general" uncomfortable. Or maybe what made him that way, were all the mysteries and powers that he heard Arquimides possessed from the mouth of "Julius Caesar", and that he saw on his own on a few occasions.

—And Artisan...Spare me a story that is long or that I can't understand. Right now the only thing I'm interested in knowing is what is endangering the "newly" conquered Roman territories.

—"No, I won't"—Archimides rejected the military man's words without a second thought and let out a smirk—"knowledge, and information are indispensable to know the enemy, and to know how to eliminate him. And I'm surprised that a military man of your grade, rejects my knowledge, it's very disrespectful of you."

A rather arrogant "young man" said this to an incredibly respected military man in the empire. But even so, Titus Labienus only frowned. No effective countermeasures had been taken for the major disaster that plagued Cassardis and the western shores of "Romanized" Gaul, and that right now was what was weighing him down.

This was the Roman outpost in the great coastal city of "Cassardis", found at a certain location in northwestern Gaul, in a region called Gransys. And Cassardis was the main seaport the empire counted on in these lands so far away from Rome; it was indispensable as a strategic point, so Titus Labienus was in no mood to listen to a long story. And in front of a large wooden table, he was being scolded by a "boy" who should have died long ago. If he did not place a severe punishment on him for his attitude, it was because he would most likely be eliminated by that person's sacro-apparatus. And also because since decades ago, Under the name of "Marcus Vitruvius", Archimides had become a sort of advisor to his king, and a architect of the empire, after Julius Caesar somehow made some sort of "Deal" with this "living legend" for some reason.

—"But don't worry, I'll speak in a language that even a brute like you can understand. And I'll omit what I know you won't understand—"Archimides, seated in an armchair that seemed to be too advanced for the time (for besides its futuristic appearance full of lights here and there, it was floating just like DC comics "Mobius" chair), got into the main topic of the conversation, despite the noticeable displeasure on the Roman leader's face—"A month ago, the oracles at 'Delphi' predicted the appearance of another [Sanctuary] which it´s what I call a kind of dimensional distortion that connects the earth, with the world of mythologies. And a few days ago, my 'technology' detected the 'initial phase' of the opening of this dimensional distortion 40 km offshore from the shores of Cassardis, toward deep waters. The scale of the distortion has advanced, and is currently about 5 km in diameter and there' s no sign of it going away any time soon...As far as I am concerned, this is a situation that can only be resolved by a God-Slayer, an "Arisen" as they call them in these lands. But in view of the fact that Julius Caesar is still in a sorry state, you will have to gather the most powerful soldiers the empire has as soon as possible, if you wish to have a "sliver" of hope that the territory of Gaul and Germania, will not be completely destroyed. Or perhaps even more territories will be destroyed."

—"What do you mean?"—Titus blinked continuously in great bewilderment after hearing all that speech, and then said the first thing that came to his mind. In truth, he hadn't understood many of the words that "young man" was spewing out. And who could blame him?

Archimides sighed a little wearily after seeing those eyes devoid of understanding. He tried his best to make the "roman boy" understand, but it wasn't enough. He felt both frustrated, and disappointed. Then he spoke again:

—I refer to the cause of the appearance of the flying monsters in this port city plus the cause of the strong winds that have not stopped whipping this coast. I sent my "spy artifacts" into the center of the distortion and they followed the beasts into it; There's no doubt that the harpies and the "storm winds" managed to get here from the other side.

—Ha-Har what? Besides, what's this about the winds coming from "the other side"?

—"Hárpyia in Greek, it's about some kind of bird-like beast. I'm surprised you don't know that, given that your empire annexed my beloved Greece 100 years ago, and then just lazily renamed the gods "born" in my land to make them your gods. Anyway, regarding the other side..."—Archimides, in his position of 'official advisor', addressed him directly on this occasion, in a serious manner—"Titus Labienus, the place beyond the dimensional distortion, is another world."

—Another WORLD?!

—I imagine you must have heard a similar term in some children's fairy tales~. And taking into account that what appeared was the half-woman half-bird monster, the harpies, I imagine that on this occasion, my team "Rift-Breakers" and the members of your empire; we will deal with the mythology of my home. Greek Mythology. Or with the variant that your empire created, stupidly. And without a god-Slayer at the vanguard, I'm afraid, this is one of the worst scenarios we could have run into.

—This... Can you speak with word more clears?! I'm not understanding your nonsensical babbling!

—No need to raise your voice, by the cosmos *sigh*. Then you'd better see for yourself.

At that moment, the "greek young man" extended one of his hands towards the table and opened his palm, revealing a small golden metallic sphere, very similar to Harry-Potter's Snitch, which in the next instant grew to the size of a basketball ball (made of golden steel) with a kind of lens in the middle.

—[O.O]—In the next instant, Titus Labienus' face was as bewildered as when he first saw Archimides' chair, for that lens began to project extremely clear images of a specific scene as if it were a perfect hologram.

—"It's impossible"—There were no other words that could express what was "inside" Titus at that moment.

Leaving aside all the capabilities that surprised Titus about the SG of this "Greek Young Man", and how much it bothered him that this person for some reason refused to grant this technology to the Empire to make their conquests easier; what had Titus almost speechless were the images that were appearing in that hologram, because from a third person perspective, as if someone was recording the event from some helicopter and/or aircraft with a chamera linked to a television, Titus was observing the image of a huge "Vortex", which looked like a huge hole in space that was "eating" the clouds, which were spinning in a spiral towards the depth of that "black hole". *3

—"Sir. Titus, that's a pretty poor answer, did you forget our talk a moment ago? That thing you are observing that looks like a 'Vortex', is the dimensional distortion"—A large amount of light began to gather at a single point in the center of that distortion. Its diameter was enormous, and it was much like a nebula being consumed by a black hole, relatively speaking. However, the place where it was forming was not space, which Titus and the rest of the inhabitants of this Earth were still unaware of, except most probably Archimides, and a few other people.

—I have not forgotten his strange words but... something like that cannot be explained with simple words. Th-Those things, Th-Those things are coming out of there!

*Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!*—Suddenly, the hologram was somehow able to re-transmit the sound of that scene, so that a high-pitched deafening scream was heard. Like that of a woman screaming, but at the same time like the moaning of a monster. In that projected image, gigantic monsters in the shape of birds were flying thousands of meters high from the center of that distortion, their number could not be counted; there were too many of them. They were all screaming and flying as they flapped their wings. They were the harpies Archimides had mentioned. Each one of them was just as he described them: half human, half bird. Their heads and torso were those of a woman, however, instead of arms they had bird wings. From the torso down it was basically a twisted figure of a bird, and its wings were black like those of a crow.

The image also showed how a large number of "big floating metallic orbs" were eliminating a severe number of these beasts by spewing out from their central "lenses" what appeared to be some kind of energy laser. Although not all the beasts were eliminated, as many escaped taking different directions in the sky, but still a great part of them were vaporized by those devices. Titus knew, they were some kind of "artifact" built by the SG of the "Young Man"; if the Roman had any notion of the concept of a "Drone" he would definitely relate those artifacts to that technology. Archimides' "Drones" were very similar to those in the movie "Oblivion", but had propellers in their side areas, and a steam-punk apereance

Incidentally, at this time, the origin of the SGs was not yet known. They were thought of as a gift from some benevolent god. Gifts that sometimes confused people with awakened magical abilities, as some thought that a SG user is a "Arisen". However, there were key differences, which will be revealed later.

*Buum buum buum buum!*—Without mercy, Archimides's "Drones" continued to destroy all harpies that stood in their path. The body of the half-bird monsters became a rain of blood, flesh, bones and feathers that began to fill the sky along with the heart-rending screams of those beasts that could not speak human language.

*Khaaaaaaaa! Khaaaaaaaaaaaa! Khaaaaaa!*—Numerous harpies turned into pieces of bloody flesh and collapsed into the air; their body parts fell into the ocean below.

—"Is This your power?!"—Titus then vaguely remembered what the Gods-Slayer Julius Caesar told him about the SG of that 'Greek Young Man': Archimides had been born with a 'Sacro-Aparatus' that allowed him to manipulate and control any kind of Metal, as they most basic function. It´s second ability was to restructure metal, to create various objects with different abilities, or something like that. *4

—Anything I have understood and imagined, will become a magical machine capable of working miracles thanks to my Divine-Artifact. I first understand the knowledge of the "construct" to then "Bring into existence", machines and "technology" that will function with magical power. In short, My [Imperial Child of Machine World], turns knowledge into power, sir. Titus. A knowledge-hungry person like me could not have been born with a more ideal sacro-apparatus.

—"I see..."—At those final words filled with a bit of arrogance, Titus thought that he partly deserved that attitude. Titus´s short sentence was due to the fact that he saw Archimides for a moment as a being that came from another age: He couldn´t understand how that person's knowledge had advanced so much, that he almost seemed to be a human being born in a much more advanced world. So advanced, that Titus could barely comprehend it.

*Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!*—However, at that moment their conversation was interrupted by the attack of several Harpies that had survived: in the hologram, they approached some of the machines from an Angle in which they avoided their 'lasers'. Then, they tore with their sharp claws all over those drones, until they managed to destroy them. The harpies were gigantic. They were almost three times the average height of a person. With their large mouths shaped not so different from that of a normal person, some of them chewed through the metal of other drones, destroying them in the process. And as if the harpies were amused by that fact, they began to flap their wings harder.

*Buum buum buum!*—After that, the fight between the incredible amount of drones and Harpies continued epically, but Archimides didn't seem to be interested in watching that anymore, so...

—Well, Sir Titus. It' s time to continue with the exploration; it' s time for understanding to come to your mind. Please observe very well, what lies beyond that Vortex. My spy machine will cross over "to the other side"

—W-What do you say?!

—Normally, dimensional distortions on this scale are usually reduced in two or three days. However, on very, very rare occasions, those that are larger or of this size, or those that possess "Myths" that are too strong, will only be reduced if a special "intervention" is performed within the [Sanctuary]. Interventions that my team and Julius Caesar, we have secretly performed in the world on at least 5 occasions after almost a century of knowing each other. And since the distortion in Gransys, still shows no signs of abating, it's obvious that it is this second case. So watch with your own eyes, the fate that awaits us.

That said, the images in the hologram advanced towards that vortex. The drone that was projecting those images to the golden sphere on the wooden table followed its course to the distortion in space.

After entering the vortex of light, a radiant light of varied colors penetrated the view projected by the hologram. Light, light, light, light, and more light. It was as if it were the inside of a kaleidoscope. However, the drone continued to move forward, and then the images became clear again.

At that moment, the image from that "camera" passed through a space where sunlight was filtering through.

—"It Is the ocean!?"—Titus' puzzled question was not answered by the Greek legend, for the image projected on the hologram was quite clear. A large ocean was expanding into view, with several migratory birds also flying around. However, it was not the northern sea that bordered Gransys and Cassardis. That ocean was blue, it had a great bright blue and seemed quite warm. One could tell at a glance that this was not a landscape found in the northern sea.

—"Is that a Greek ship...?"—Several ships floating appeared as that spy drone projected its images into the ocean. The ships were streamlined in design and about ten meters in size. They were of a type of sailing ships, those that were built when mankind was even more technologically backward.

—Yes, this world "revolves" around Greek mythology. But make no mistake, the design and architecture of those ships ceased to be used by Greece a little over 1000 years ago. They are even more archaic ships than those used by your empire or my home nation today.

—?—Soon, a singular image appeared in the hologram. The sky in the opposite direction of those ships was totally dark. Turbulent storm clouds gathered from one moment to the next as a strong wind was thrown up. The drone beyond the holographic image, headed in the direction where the storm was forming, advancing hundreds of kilometers in a very short time.

—What is a person doing in that place?!

—Sir, Titus. That there is many things, but not something that can be called a "simple person".

—!—What left the Roman soldier even more shocked than he already was was due to the following image: Below the storm clouds, where several rocks jutted into view, there was a person in the center of a mountain raising voices of exaltation. At the top of that mountain, a middle-aged man was standing. He was dressed in a white robe-like garment, had a full beard and curly hair, but more than anything else, a magnificent aura. His body was enveloped in a glowing aura, so dignified that it seemed anyone should kneel before him.

—He's definitely not a human! Is that person a...?!

—Oh, he definitely is.

The light surrounding the bearded man suddenly spread out and began to rise until it connected the top of the mountain with the turbulent clouds. Suddenly, the bearded man shouted loudly in unison in a language Titus didn´t understand.

—"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!"—Even his voice was close to divine, surrounded by great solemnity.

Somehow, the hologram began to project little words to the side of that image. Archimides' drones synchronized the language of that "person" so that it was understandable to the Roman military. Thanks to that, Titus Labienus understood the words thanks to the holographic "subtitles".

The man with the beard was saying:

—"Know the wrath of Eos, and of the titan Uranus. For I, the son of Cronus who resounds among the thunderbolts, he who calls the storm, I'm who will pass over you. Go forth, mighty Boreas, fly with fury from the northern winds! Oh, Noto, violent god who draws the winds, dance upon the sky unrestrainedly! You, Zephyrs, Eros, present yourselves at once!"—Suddenly, a heavy rain lashed the area. Lightning began to strike and the winds began to whip more violently —"For this moment, I, the king of the gods, request your presence to have fun in this storm!"—There was no doubt that the man with the beard was responsible for the storm.

A "man" that Titus, with some hesitation, identified by another name.

—The King of the Gods, Jupiter...!

—On the contrary, Sir Titus. That is the previous "version" of "'Jupiter". Zeus, the greatest existence of Greek mythology. I didn't expect I was going to meet him on this second exploration *Sigh* Definitely, this is a [Sanctuary] belonging to the myths of my homeland.

That said, not long after, the image of the hologram disappeared, after a lightning bolt hit the spy drone on the other side head-on. It is unknown if it was a coincidence, or if "Zeus" knew that someone or something was spying on him.

—Artisan...Just...W-W-What did I just...?

—"Don't worry. I will explain everything about the [Sanctuaries] in more detail, and with concepts that your uncivilized head can understand later, so for the moment you should just know and do the following. Follow me please"—As Archimides said that, he "uninvoked " his flying chair, and then walked towards the exit of the Roman building he was in while inviting Titus to follow him. When Archimides opened the main door of that building, both Titus and he observed the following scene as they continued talking: the clouds in the sky were clear but they were beginning to accumulate; strong winds were whipping the coasts of that city called Cassardis; a severe number of Roman soldiers were fighting against Harpies that had managed to reach that beach. The inhabitants were running terrified towards any place they could consider a refuge, others were or had been brutally killed by the bird-women, and others were escaping from the city as best they could. Having observed that scene which drew a sour expression from the Roman Leader, Archimides spoke again—"Call the most powerful soldiers of the Empire as soon as possible. Whether they are capable of using magic or not. I will take those soldiers along with my team to that other world with a 'ship' born of my SG. And together, we will try to change the history of the [Myth]. That is the only way in which that 'Rift' can be closed. And keep in mind this: those Soldiers you choose will almost certainly die trying to accomplish this absurd mission."

—Cha-Change the history of the [Myth]? What do you mean by that?!

—To something that without an 'Arisen', will be almost impossible to accomplish.

After those words, which left Titus quite uneasy...—!—...A "sinister" presence was captured by the supernatural senses possessed by those two historical figures.

They almost immediately focused their gaze on a coconut palm tree, where an owl was perched. No matter how dark the sky might be getting because of the storm, it was not yet past three o'clock in the afternoon, so the presence of that animal was unnatural.

— "To enter our [Sanctuary] without the permission of a god is highly disrespectful, mortal. Even if you are blessed by a Semitic god."—And besides the fact that that was not an hour for that animal to prowl around, that owl apparently could talk. Its voice sounded like a woman's voice. A voice in an ancient language, which the Greek history figure seemed to know well.

A certain premonition began to surround Archimides, and Titus. For that owl gave off a feeling both dark and divine. In other words, it, too was a god.

—"In that case..."— Archimides took a breath and answered firmly—"...To save me from further trouble in the future. would it be possible if I get your permission?"

—"It's a waste of time. Anyway, the sword of Damocles hangs over that mythological realm, so I suggest you let it go... You need not return to the eye of the storm."—The Owl's way of speaking seemed quite ancient—"The calamity that will befall that realm... will soon come to your lands, and that itself will be the key that welcomes the greatest calamity ever seen. Just like this, watch."

Raindrops began to fall like stones, and at that moment the clouds in the sky turned black and expanded; the historical figures watched as a storm quickly appeared out of nowhere, lashing the land like a category 1 hurricane. The wind blew more violently as the crackle and pop of thunder echoed across the sky as the lightning flashed and the heavy storm followed. The storm had begun, and the bay of Cassardis in front of their eyes began to be destroyed by the sea that was rising little by little, being swallowed by great waves.

—"This storm... is the same that Jupiter provoked on the other side... Am I right?!"—At that moment, Titus realized what Archimides tried to explain to him. It was the same thing that was happening on the other side, in the world of Myth.

—"Right, mortal man."—The owl nodded, speaking this time in the language [Latin]. It seemed that now the divine animal wanted that man also to understand "his" warning—"Exactly. They are the authors of the storm that the king of the heavens has called...They are capable of piercing any wind, and even the time, and have finally come to hit these lands. However, rejoice, for this is not the wrath of the gods, it is merely a whim. I don't think it will last that long...at least for now."—The owl speaking in ancient words stared. That alone made Titus's body freeze. No, actually the more correct thing to say would be to say that his body from the neck down had turned to stone. But not only his body, but also his clothes and even his shoes. On the other hand, Archimides adopted a defensive posture.

—W-what are you doing...?!

—"Oh? Sorry, mortal man. I seem to have inadvertently started petrifying your body. In this form, the power of my eyes becomes stronger, and it's a bit tricky to control it."—Saying that, just when the Roman leader and Archimides had already prepared for the worst, the petrification of Titus' body began to disappear. And then, without caring much about the storm, the owl took flight into the sea, but not before leaving a last warning—"Try to live your last days as best you can, mortals. For the whim of the gods will soon scourge this world."

—Ah, you've finally opened your eyes. I was wondering if you weren't going to wake up.

—"Uh?"—The Sparda finally opened his blue eyes, a little before he heard that voice next to his ear. The first scene that 'greeted' him was a crowd of angry people, who were giving him looks full of disgust—"How did I get here?"—He uttered aloud the first thoughts that went through his head—"What's going on here?"—The last thing he remembered, he had fallen asleep on his usual 'cot' in that tavern.

And now he was tied to a log. With a bonfire of sticks surrounding him from all directions. And with the smell of oil or something similar coming into his nostrils from that wood.

—"No evil can survive the purifying fire! The fire will cleanse the darkness from your soul!"—A semi bald man, dressed like a primitive priest spoke with madness in his voice as he held a torch in one of his hands.

—"May the fire illuminate, burn and cleanse the soul of the beast!"—The crowd 'chanted' right after they heard the 'priest'. They seemed to be people quite damaged in their heads—"May the werewolf disappear, to make way only for the soul of man!"—They seemed to be more like monsters than people.

Seeing all this, the Sparda guessed that he was about to be executed by these people for reasons he still did not know. For a moment he wondered how they had managed to bring him here, for after all he was a demon who would notice even if he was asleep something that put him in danger; And then he then deduced, that most likely his instincts did not consider the people (who tied him up while he was fast asleep and then brought him here) as a danger, for...There was literally nothing ordinary humans could do to hurt him.

—"So sacrifice by fire, uh?. A classic"—The sparda muttered as he looked around. The crowd was enjoying it, and very much so. The tavern keeper who had always served him his beer and food in that 'Bar' was in the crowd, just as furious as the others, which caused our hero to smile wryly. It was most likely thanks to her or her boss that he had made it this far. He thought for a moment about quickly freeing himself, and then giving them all their comeuppance with a few punches, but then he thought he could teach them a lesson that would amuse him more. He would fill them with terror; that would leave his 'devilish instincts' more satiated.

So the demon in human form played along for a moment; he spoke to them in a rather serious tone of voice—" What's going on? I have not committed any crime that deserves the death penalty. I demand to be released right now!"

—"This is a bonfire specially made to purify you beast! Your white hair has given you away! And your ferocity confirms our suspicions! You will not continue to deceive this city any longer, Filthy werewolf!"—Said the man dressed as a "priest" and with partial baldness before lighting the wood surrounding the Sparda.

—"(ㆆ-ㆆ)?"—At the words, one eyebrow of the white-haired man rose widely. He was being sacrificed for the color of his hair, and for his personality! At no time had he transformed into a demon and/or raised his demonic aura to a rank that could be perceptible by "magically aware" people, at least not in public places as he always hunted his prey in wild territories. So he thought they would have a good reason to "sacrifice" him... But he never thought that such archaic beliefs would be the reason behind this spectacle—"What could I expect from such primitive humans? *sigh*. Go ahead, set me on fire. I don't have time for this!"

Puzzled by the sudden bored and somewhat rebellious attitude of the 'sacrifice', the 'priest' did not take long to get angry, so the next instant he undoubtedly lit the bonfire, which burst into burning flames that seemed to consume for an instant the body of that man, who having been engulfed in flames, to everyone's surprise, did not release cries of suffering, and rather placed a savage smile.

—Let the werewolf burn!

—"May he turn to ashes!"—Nevertheless, the audience and that 'priest' still cheered and chanted repeatedly with strong bloodlust; sadism that was also expressed by their smiles.

—!—However, after more than a minute had passed, everyone was silent and their jaws almost dropped to the floor in surprise, since the white-haired man plus the clothes he was wearing did not seem to have been affected by the flames; flames that in turn incinerated his bonds, freeing him in the process.

After that, the white-haired man extinguished some of the flames that still covered his body with a few slaps; if he were still as sarcastic as his previous self, he probably would have made a joke like: "Would anyone have a glass of water? It's too hot around here". But instead of that, he "wished" to eat the remaining flames, so the fire that still covered him, went to his mouth, where it was absorbed just like Natzu from Fairy Tail; and done that, the sparda showed a wild smile to those villagers; a smile that at that moment, was revealing fangs that should not belong to any human being. Then he said with a distorsioned voice—"Since I survived your 'holy fire', I guess that means I'm not evil, right?"

Immediately after seeing that, the half-calv priest pointed at the white-haired man and said in a trembling voice (full of terrible fear) the following—"He isn't a werewolf! H-H-He is an A-A-A-A-Arisen! He's an Ariseeeeeeeeeeeeen!"

—And we just offended him!

—Run!

—Run for your lives!

—Run as fast as you can!

—Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

—"Uh?!"—The speed with which they scattered was even faster than he would have thought. He had to admit that causing terror and madness to humans who behaved like animals/villains/demons was quite amusing to him now that he was completely a Demon, but he never expected, that they would run towards all possible directions like chickens being hunted with something as simple as that; he thought that some would run yes, but that at least others would try to hurt him with their spears and/or sticks, which he would have liked to happen so that way he could hit some of those idiots. Unfortunately the situation didn't turn out as he would have expected—"And what is an Arisen, and why does it provoke more fear than me?"—He didn't understand the term, so he couldn't help but shrug his shoulders when he didn't know the answer.

Afterwards, he headed towards that Tavern in which he had been staying, hoping to find his bag of silver coins. As he passed by, people ran as far away from him as they could and/or hid in their homes. All that provoked a bit of amusement in sparda's heart: it's not like he wasn't used to the fear and contempt that humans had for "him" or rather, when he was part of "Dante". However, now as a demon, such contempt for his person, was absolutely irrelevant to him.

—"Of course! *sigh*, as expected, they had to be Rats as well!"—As he arrived at the tavern that soon emptied after he showed up, his hopes died when he couldn't find his coin-purse anywhere.

So once he lost the money accumulated in almost 4 months in this world, with resignation and annoyance, he walked towards the outskirts of this city, because obviously he could no longer go unnoticed in this place, so he had to look for another "center of operations". Of course he could change his appearance to that of another person, but he was not going to give them that pleasure. He liked that "form", and that hair color, so he thought: "Screw them!"

However, before leaving "Gran Soren" didn't forget to take a look at one of the old bulletin boards where the people and/or the Roman military of the city would post/anchor on the wood 'scrolls' with requests/tasks aimed at both mercenaries and other types of workers with varying skills. He looked there for a job that was interesting, and that could provide him with a decent income, and decent fights. That wooden board and its "scrolls" were a rather old-fashioned way of offering work: as if it were the section of a newspaper offering jobs.

Incidentally, the sparda realized that not all people in this age seemed to be able to see supernatural creatures. Those who didn´t possess "magical perception" thought that situations such as glasses/plates/tables/chairs falling over unexpectedly and/or people dying randomly/suddenly were due to atmospheric phenomena and/or ghosts. It also seemed that just like the demons of Sparda´s world, the "crazy" mythological creatures in this place could decide who or what saw/perceived them to a certain extent; So job offers directed to "Monster Hunters" were generally considered tasks that a crazy person had left and/or jobs that would only be taken by charlatans who wanted to take advantage of the "crazy employer"; of course, all that from the perspective of the common folk.

—"Oh. what do we have here?"—After taking a glance neither too fast nor too slow at those ads, the Sparda murmured with some interest after noticing a job that seemed to stand out from the rest. It was written on a fairly well-preserved "parchment", and in one corner of the writing was the seal of Emperor Julius Caesar in red ink, so it was definitely no ordinary advertisement.

The message in that ad, read as follows:"An unexpected crisis for his majesty's kingdom has recently arisen on the shores of Cassardis. So if you are a Warrior or a villager whose strength surpasses that of a mere human being; If you are someone who can trample 10 or more men at the same time with a your "singular" abilities, you are summoned to do your duty to the Empire. If you are one of those people, then you are needed to defend his majesty's kingdom, and you will be rewarded with a countless amount of gold and glory for your services. We will be waiting for you in the city of Cassardis at the outpost of the Military Elite; We will depart by ship toward the 'Crisis' on the morning of Wednesday, June 10, year 754 of Quirinus's Age"

—"Hmmmm, yes, definitely. This is a job with an excellent reward. Hopefully, there will be a prey worth hunting!"—The Sparda smiled confidently after reading that message. He also knew that this job would undoubtedly be his most interesting to date: The Roman military had a "subtle" way of asking for help from those humans who possessed magical abilities; abilities that the white-haired man still didn't quite know why they possessed them; some of the "monster hunters" he encountered seemed to be simple sorcerers like those of his home world, but a very few other humans seemed to have strange powers that he didn't quite understand. At the same time, the Roman military for some reason, always tried to hide that which was "supernatural" so they wrote hints in their messages like the ones he had just read.

Because of the above, the Sparda quickly took out a crumpled map he had in his pants bags, and began to look for the location where this city of "Cassardis" was located. It didn't take him long to infer the direction to which he had to go, it was only about 50 km north of "Gran Soren". So after putting the map away, he didn't consider it necessary to leave his "contained form" so a pair of dragon-like demonic wings sprouted from his back as he decided to fly as fast as he could towards that direction. The day and time on the message, were already today, so he had to get there as fast as possible or he would miss out on the fun.

Those stormy clouds that had appeared 10 days ago accompanied his flight, and it seemed that today the storm that had already lasted too long, was getting worse. The strange thing about it was that he felt some kind of "Magic" coming from those stormy clouds, but so far he had ignored it out of laziness. He supposed it was some kind of "special" atmospheric phenomenon in this world that was already strange to him.

—"(ㆆoㆆ)?"—Whoever was once a "part" of Dante was rarely surprised. Nevertheless, even if now is a complete devil, his face couldn't help but remain with a big "O" formed on his lips and his eyes wide open, after he arrived in that city. The entire city was almost entirely filled with water and the things that were blown away by the high winds were scattered everywhere. Leaves, branches, papers, signs, even the wild trees and the mutilated bodies of strange beasts and soldiers had been lifted up by the wind: And that obviously couldn´t surprise him, but...but...but after he had secretly descended on the outskirts of that ruined port city, and had once again acquired a completely human appearance, his face couldn´t help but show great bewilderment when, after the soldiers of that wall that separated the exterior of Cassardis from its interior had opened the enormous gates of the city for him, he observed how, not far from there, a large army of soldiers was boarding what looked very much like a huge aircraft carrier ship floating on the sea next to the beach, like the ones used by the armies of the most powerful human nations in his world. Although there were notable differences, for that "Ship" seemed to have two huge propellers at the front, and two huge propellers at the back; it also seemed to be made of some kind of silver metal that looked very old. Also, there were channels of white lights furrowing the metal of the infrastructure, as if they were some kind of huge circuits.

And ironically, even though it looked quite advanced even for the age the Sparda came from, its design ironically looked ancient: It was as if I was looking at the design of a ship born in a futuristic "Steam-Punk" world: retained the archaic design of locomotives from the old west and/or infrastructure that would be found in the industrial revolution age. If the Sparda knew the "Bioshock" video game, if he had seen the "Avengers" movie, and if he was as sarcastic as he was in his "complete" state, upon first seeing that, he would have definitely said something like: "That's some kind of Steam-Punk Helicarrier, or what the hell?!"

—"(• Δ •)"—As he reached the crowd of soldiers/villagers and other assorted people who were in a circle in disarray, creating chaos without order as they saw the line of people further in front, who would be heading for the access "stairs" of that "Ship" as if they were insects searching the light, the sparda noticed that almost 100% of all the other "recruits" had the same expression as he did. No, rather, they looked even more bewildered than he already was.

Soon, generic-looking Roman soldiers approached the group of people who were closest to the white-haired man, and then "explained" to the tumultuous people the situation with these brief words as they passed them sheets that seemed to have strange characters written on their surface, as well as what appeared to be some sort of magic circle:

—Whether you are warriors who heard the call of "Rome", or common people who have only come for the money and the glory; you are all welcome. Now, you will receive further instructions once you get on the "Argo", if you want the gold and glory of course. I must say that not everyone who boards that "Ship" will survive; the crisis you will face isn´t a simple battle that can be won with swords and brute force alone, so if you wish to avoid a very likely death, leave now. Otherwise, place a drop of your blood on the scroll we have just given you, and then get on the "Argo". Brave Warriors!, An Odyssey plus eternal glory and wealth awaits the one who manages to avoid death!

Hearing the above, there were obviously many complaints, doubts, and tumults that the crowd exposed from their bewildered mouths, but the Roman military didn´t say much more than what they had already said. After a short time, those who were brave enough, or crazy enough, pricked one of their fingers, and showed and gave the parchment filled with their blood to those soldiers, whereupon the soldiers let them into the line leading to the "huge boat". On the other hand, those who were cowards, threw the papers and ran away from there...

...Or at least they tried to, because the Roman soldiers who were in charge of opening the huge "castle" type gates that allowed access to the city, prevented them from passing, and then ended the lives of those people. They impaled them with spears, swords, or used basic magic spells such as flames, spikes of ice, swords/arrows wreathed in flames on those who also seemed to possess supernatural abilities. For some reason, they were not going to let the information of what those "civilians" had witnessed spread beyond those gates.

—"I was wrong. This isn't a job with a great reward. This is a Job with a Jackpot!"— With an excited smile in between due to the demonic blood in his veins that craved for battle and adventure, the white-haired man whispered the above, after having shown his scroll to one of those soldiers. When he placed his blood on the object, he felt some kind of spell try to "anchor" itself to his soul. But his demonic power of absurd level, rejected without any problem that magic that surely was meant to prevent any survivor from talking about what he/she would see and/or experience in this "adventure".

Once the small scroll was handed over, The sparda followed that line of people, and then arrived at the main platform of the "sea ship".

—\ (• Δ •) /—"Sea Ship" that not long after the white-haired man got on, would take off its "anchors" and begin to sail. Through the skies. With those side turbine-propellers, whose size was abysmal, it propelled itself skyward, and flew through the heights towards some determined direction, directly into what seemed to be the eye of the storm, leaving 99% of the "recruits" on that platform even more bewildered than they already were.

The chatter, tumult, and nervousness among the thousands of "recruits" was not long in coming once that happened. The "recruits" continued to create quite a mess on the "deck", until they saw that huge vortex in the space from where strange winged beasts were emerging, and then approaching the ship from all directions: Many of the new "crew" of the airship were placed in defensive poses, ready to avoid the attack of those creatures, but in the end it was not necessary, because ...

*Boom boom boom boom!*—An incredible amount of "Flying Orbs" emerged from somewhere in the ship, surrounded it like bees surrounding a honeycomb, subsequently destroying the creatures with their waves of magic; And if that wasn't enough, what seemed to be "Turrets" of some kind, were born from multiple areas of the airship, when the metal was restructured into those forms; And from the cannons of the turrets, waves of magical power continued destroying the harpies that dared to approach the "Argo".

To say that the Sparda was confused as well as excited would be an understatement, for never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that such a thing was possible and/or that he would be participating in a mission as crazy as the ones he had had in his homeland, much less did he expect such a thing in an archaic world like the one he found himself in: The demonic bio-weapon "Gilgamesh" would feel too much embarrassment at the sight of the power and characteristics of the thing he was climbing on. And his bewilderment and excitement had not been enough up to that point, the levels of those feelings would soon grow when (from what appeared to be the command area of the airship atop a platform at the front of the ship) a black-haired young man dressed in noble Roman garb, and seated in what appeared to be a luminescent flying chair, invited everyone to calm down, after some form, made his voice echo throughout.

—*Honorable warriors, please be calm. I will now explain to you what is going on, and what kind of task you have been given. You will help save the kingdom of his majesty, and other lands, have no doubt about that...Now, I know that not all of you will understand my next words, but know well that beyond that vortex is another world. A world born from the collective imagination and faith of our ancestors. And that world is where we are about to cross to!*—Saying that, "The Argo" without any hesitation finally crossed that distortion in space.

—Ooooh?!

—AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH!

—Get me out of here!

—Let me go!

—What just happened?!

—We're going to die!

—"Where is this place?!"—The reactions of the "recruits" when they saw the world behind that singularity were very diverse: bewilderment, excitement, fear, madness, etc. The tumult on the main platform of the "Argo" became even more chaotic in just an instant.

Light, light, and more light with the colors of a kaleidoscope had enveloped the field of vision of all crew members, until they finally reached what appeared to be the Mediterranean Sea, with crystal clear blue sea water, and a sky full of stormy clouds of course.

—"This is what I call a first class trip"—The Sparda stood in the corner of the ship, extended his head beyond the bow, and with his head looking down at the scene, said the above with some jubilation as his demonic blood 'bubbled' with excitement at the anticipation of the impending adventure. He understood absolutely nothing of what was going on, but that didn't matter to him in the slightest, as this looked like it was going to be one of the most "epic" missions he had ever had. But more importantly, he expected that powerfuls preys and rivals show up in this place: like a complete demon, his love for war and fight was too big; even more that in his "previus life"

And immediately afterwards something inside him told him that this was not Earth, that this was the sky and ocean of another world. It was a feeling similar to when he saw the 'sky' and lava 'seas' of hell, by first time. Also, he felt more powerful since he entered this world; just as he would feel if he entered in hell.

And those feelings were confirmed not long after, when the "Argo" "increased its speed" to a ridiculous degree, that it almost looked like a "warp motion" seen in space science fiction series ships. And most likely it was a "motion" that bent space to a point, since the white-haired man didn't feel the aircraft increase speed at any time.

In just an instant, the airship overcame the stormy clouds, and reached an area with a clear sky, and a little further on, land could be seen. There seemed to be many ships anchored near that beach, on one side of what appeared to be a port city. At a distance of 3 km from that beach, the "Argo" descended into the sea, and finally "behaved" like a "Sea Ship", however, at only 1 km from the port area of that city, it stopped.

At that distance, the thousands of houses lined up one after the other, built with basic materials, could be clearly seen. There were dozens of planted trees and boats. From the size, it was not something that in the original Sparda world could be called a "port". However, only one sailboat, a hideously huge ship, had been anchored near the city.

—It looks like a harbor!

—Where are we going?!

—What's going on here?!

—Why did we stop just now?!

—Th-Those beasts...!

—The creatures looks like humans with heads of Bulls!

The voices of the countless groups of people on top of the "Argo" expressed their insecurities, again, until they were silenced and (partially) reassured by Archimides's resonant voice

—*From this moment on, I will divide the 10027 "magic" or non-"magic" warriors of the "Argo" into 10 groups composed of aprox. 1000 "soldiers". Each of these groups, in turn, will be led by one of my "generals", who will be in command. They have a lot of experience in this kind of "disasters", so if you want to survive, you must follow their orders. These groups will be in charge of attrition missions, espionage, and will defend the rear. Finally, the strongest of you will join me in a small vanguard team that will have the mission of defending the "ancient" Troy at any cost; We will protect Troy from the Greek forces led by Agamemnon and the olimpian Gods! You will have to put your lives on the line to make Troy victorious! *

—?

—?

—?

—Agamemnon?!

—Troy?!

—But Troy is already extinct!

—Isn't that Greek king supposed to have died over 1000 years ago?!

—Yes, and he died in the legendary Trojan War!

—By the gods, what's going on here?!

—Explain to us at once!

Almost as if he knew they would say things like that, Archimides smiled wryly, held up one of his hands, and with his "resonant" voice quieted the confused group of "recruits".

—*I just told to all of you that this is another world. And this other world, is a mythological universe that is "reproducing" the "fantasy" events of the Trojan War that "Homer" placed in his stories so that his epic would be more easily accepted among the Greeks, so to speak* —Archimedes smiled wryly on another occasion, and continued—*In any case, The Gods exist. Accept that fact, and listen carefully to the following: The world of Greek myth, has connected at this point in its "mythical history" with our Earth, our world. And the global disasters that occur here will also be reflected in our world. You could already see that: You saw how the bird-women came out of that vortex, and how they attacked the innocents on the ground. And the reason why the storm on that side was not letting up and was even getting worse, also comes from here. These are all consequences born of this world, "consequences" that will only get worse if the course of the "history" of this mythological world continues without interruptions*.

Archimides forced himself to take a breath, during which time there was a stony silence: Many of the "recruits" seemed to have partly understood his message, although there were also others who didn't seem to understand or even some who thought they were dreaming. But despite their confusion, the Greek historical figure continued speaking as he regained his breath:

—*The earthquakes related in the Trojan War, and the semi-global flood that came at the end of that story, sooner or later will also be reflected on our Earth if we don't change the history of this myth. We must prevent Troy from losing to the Greeks! That is the only way to make that vortex collapse! *—After noticing how many of them were still very confused, Archimides sighed before opening his mouth again—*You don't have to understand everything I'm saying; just follow the orders of your superiors and imagine that you have come to an 'unexpected' war. And know that the only thing you have to do, is to fight against the "Creatures" and the "Mythological Greeks" with every fiber of your being, if you don't want your world, my world, to suffer an unprecedented catastrophe. If we survive, eternal glory awaits us, and in addition, you will receive immeasurable riches, so prepare to face the greatest Odyssey you have ever imagined!*

—...

—...

—...

—...

—...

—...

After finishing that speech, the silence was sepulchral. The emotions of 99.9% of the "recruits" were "sailing" in a spiral that went from terror, to the maximum of nervousness.

—"Damn it, yes!"—That was until the sepulchral silence was removed by the one "recruit" who seemed to be ecstatic about everything he had heard. —"What are we waiting for? Let's go there at once!"—He still didn't understand what the hell was going on, or how it was happening, or why it was happening, but that didn't matter to him; his blood boiled with "more power" after having heard that "Young" black-haired man.

Then countless pairs of eyes focused on him and looked at him as if he were a freak. But that didn't matter to him either, for ...

—"Hahahahah!"—... He didn't even take them into account, because a second later, with a maniacal laugh in between, that weirdo had already jumped without any consideration towards that beach; he jumped a whole kilometer in just an instant. His feet propelled himself so hard that they caused a small crater in the metal of the "Argo" where he had been standing.

—"Hey, hey! Warrior! You have to wait for my orders! What are you doing...?!...By the stars and the cosmos!"—Archimides' complaints were not long in coming when he saw the impulsive action of that "recruit", who obviously didn't pay attention to him and/or listened to him. Then Arquimides tried to bring him back by flying as fast as he could with that flying chair, which propelled him towards the direction of the white-haired man at a ridiculous speed, however the flying chair stopped halfway, because the next thing that Arquimides´eyes and senses caught left him widely surprised. After the white haired man landing on that beach (where only a few seconds before there were more than 30 giant beasts of approx. 5 meters long resembling anthropomorphic Bulls, which were mercilessly slaughtering the villagers with their large physiques, and with the swinging of their sticks and axes), began a carnage of mythical beasts so brutal, that not only left the Greek Artisan speechless, but also the rest of the crew of the 'Argo'. At that moment, Archimides could only utter a few words with difficulty, as if he did not believe at first in his senses, which were picking up a peculiar aura coming from that man now bathed in blood—"I-I-Is that an A-A-Arisen?"—Said that, his brain went back to work at the same speed as always. However, disbelief still preponderated in his person—"How did an unknown Arisen get to the "Argo"? No, forget that ... Why did he decide to help the roman empire?! And how come I couldn't identify him?!"— Those questions went unanswered for a long time, in which only maniacal laughter could be heard from the white-haired man in the distance, who was about to tear off one of the gigantic arms of a minotaur with his "little" bare hands.

—"You can do better than that! Hahahaha!"—At the end of that sentence, the arm of a minotaur was brutally torn off by the hands of who seemed to be a warrior created only for war. With his demonic blood boiling because finally he encounter "powerful preys" (or at least more powerful preys than he had previously encountered), the sparda could no longer contain the bestial nature within him. The Hunt was going to be magnificent in this work; no doubt he thought about that as he continued to destroy "powerful" minotaurs, who slowly began to fill with a fear, they didn't know they could ever have.

...

In that way, "The Demon" would soon discover that Gods exist.

He would also discover that he had been the son of a God of Hell, and that he had fought against Heretic Gods in his "first life", as would also discover the meaning of the "Conjunction of Spheres".

And the Gods of Olympus would soon encounter a creature out of the worst of their nightmares.

To be continued...

Next chapter: Mission 07: Dealing with the consequences of the 'Rebirth'.

Author's Messages: I don't have much to say, I just hope you liked the prologue of this interlude. The story you will read later in the subsequent interludes of 'Red', you're going to love it, I assure you. And if you get a chance to read the sequel to [Campione] that I'm basing this story on, the sequel called , "Shiniki no Campioness", read it if you can; it's a pretty cool shonen type novel, it's only less than 7 volumes so far, and you don't need to know much about the original series to understand it.

Anyway, in the next chapter, I will restart the story of the DXD plot

best regards!

Chapter Clarifications:

*1 Well, in every 'Crossover' with Campione, a little bit of history must be learned. And this one wasn't going to be the exception, so in case you didn't manage to fully grasp 'the age' in which this 'fictional past' is set, I'll tell you. In the time of the Gauls, "Tarwanna" or "Tervanna" was the capital of the Belgic tribe of the Morini. After the Romans conquered Gaul, they also made the city the capital of the district 'De Civitas Morinorum'. That plus the defeat of the Gallic leader by Julius Caesar, Vercingetorix, happened approx. in the middle of the 1st century BC.

*2 Choose the design you like the most for a "Dante-Witcher": Put in google images: "PLaying with some designs for a new Dante :) nico lee lazarus, twitter"

*3 Imagine that 'vortex' like the one that appears at the beginning of the game 'Dragons Dogma' (if you haven't played it, look for the gameplay on youtube), but without the red dragon obviously.

*4 If you want more information about the SG of the "Tony-Stark/Mr. Fantastic" of this story, take a look at the library below. It's a canon SG from DXD, in case you were wondering. But you'd be spoiling yourself a bit if you do as in the following chapters of this interlude Archimides will explain a bit more about his SG, so if you don't like small spoilers, don't read it.

Library:

Note: (Grigori/Whiteganemot/Julius Caesar/Archimides)=This is the name that character and/or organization has given to the power.

Archimides' Sacred Gear:

Unknown Dictator (Julius Caesar)/Imperial Child of Machine World (Archimides)-[Rank B~¿?].

This is a 'Longinus' Level SG who has the ability to manipulate metal, and who also possesses the ability to manipulate and create 'technological' devices and mechanical/electronic equipment with metal that his user disposes of and/or 'extracts' from nature, much like Magneto. It can also manipulate those devices/machines that can be considered as 'technological advances'.

Their ability to construct 'objects' will be possible as long as his user understands the 'origin' and structure, of the construct he wishes to bring to life; that he has sufficient knowledge about the technology he wishes to 'bring into existence'. This limitation is almost identical to that of Momo Yaoyorozu from the Anime "BKNA" and/or Shirou's UBW in Fate Stay Night.

Once such an 'artifact' is created, its source of energy will not be something like 'electricity' , but will be the user's magical power and/or the magical power possessed by the SG itself, so the power that the 'constructs' can achieve, can become absurd, as long as its user trains his body, improves his SG's understanding, and awakens the BxB.

Some examples of these constructs are:

Drones with Aura-cannons: transform metal into advanced Drone-like devices that can fire magic aura lasers from their 'cannons'.

Iron Chair/Leviting Throne: Creates a metal chair/throne that allows the user to fly by releasing aura from its lower turbines. Also, it's quite comfortable :V...And may have other functions.

Aquatic Airship: Transforms the metal into a ship, similar to a 'helicarrier' with certain reminiscences both ancient and Steam-Punk that can propel itself through the sea and the sky, thanks to its aura-turbines.

As a final comment, it is obvious that this SG contains the copied 'Authority' of a god of Steel/Metallurgy-Smithing that is highly associated with the concept of technology; probably the power in this SG is about an authority copied from Hephaestus or Vulcan, as these gods in their myths, are described as blacksmiths that could create living machines, such as Sentinels of 'Gold', and/or mechanical Bulls, among other things.

Reviews:

saitama1155: hey, thanks for leaving your message again :). Hahahaha, you're right, I've seen all the anime and manga of record of ragnarok, so I couldn't help putting those eyes on "Alter-Eva", which was a good justification to explain why the SG and authorities system is so OP XD

I hope, you like it this chapter too

have a nice day!

Jorge Javier Guido: Hi, thanks for leaving your review :)

Yeah, at first I wasn't going to include her, but I tried the idea, and I think it will be on the right track, I hope.

Thanks for your words of support. I'm glad to hear you like the story :D

Best regards!

Rankin de Merthyr:

Hi, thanks for leaving your review again :)

Ok man, I understand what you mean with the complicated "lore". I think I've gone a bit overboard with it, and also I've exposed it in a more complex way than I would have expected; I think this to you, it´s Just what happens to me with the nasuverse lore, which is so complex, that in the end I just enjoy the heroes' plot, the protagonists' drama, and the fights :V. ...I think I have already exposed almost everything relevant about the "lore" of this crossover, so I will follow your advice and try to expose this "lore" with more tranquility, and less depth.

Answering your question about the demons/devils; that is something that I was going to expose later in the "lore" that I still have to expose, but in summary a demon is a creature that once created is not "subject" (so to speak) to the thought and/or faith of humanity, because they don´t possess the attribute of "divinity" (I still have to explain what is the demonic power itself, and divinity) so once created by some authority or by the [Mythological world] itself , they can exist even if the god who created them disappears and/or dies; just as they aren´t "trapped" by the "myths" of mankind.

Answering your other question in that paragraph (about the shrodinger's cat thing): The timeline in history is not a "fickle thing": when I talked about mythological characters and/or supernatural powers altering history, I meant that myths can be created because of those beings interacting with the human world and/or human beings with SG or Campiones, can create myths, for example: Imagine that in the celtic lands at some point in the past, a human being named Cú Chulainn was born, and he had an SG that granted him a powerful spear; that human then performed many heroic feats, and subsequently, when that human died, the stories of his feats were 'altered' or told with exaggerations, causing a 'myth' of that hero to be created; and thus, the real Cú Chulainn died (and perhaps later reincarnated), but a mythological copy of him was created in the [Celtic Myth], a copy that could become a god, if humanity venerates that 'myth' with great faith and/or, grants a new authority to the god Lugh, for it is said that Cú Chulainn was an incarnation of Lugh; With this, the god Lugh could become a mythological version of Cú Chulainn, which would have little to do with the original human being. Or there could have been a different case, in which the god Lugh, truly incarnated in a human being to experience a mortal life, and that indeed Cú Chulainn was his incarnation. And having done so, some time after that "mortal avatar" died (and the spirit of Lugh returned to his mythological world), the Celtic god would have bestowed a new authority on himself when the thoughts of human beings 'attached' that story to their own myth.

In that way, myths and the supernatural alter history, but it is not that it modifies the past: but the history of humanity was altered by the influence of the supernatural, where the legendary heroes most likely existed, but were very different from how they are told; and that altered history is only relevant to the gods or mythological worlds, where the 'stories' can crystallize and come to life.

By the way, my native tongue is spanish.

I hope I didn't confuse you any more than the story had already left you, heh.

Have a nice day!

Naruto-DXD6996:

Hey, thanks for leaving a message :)

I hope you keep liking the story :D

Dante, yes, he will have a harem, although it probably won't be as you expect hehe

Best regards!

Red Dusk 369:

Hello again :)

First of all, thanks for leaving those trivia; I was unaware of that information from argosax, although I did imagine what a completely demonized version of Dante would be like. As you may have read, I already stated my reasons for not making him a "Doom-Guy", so I don't have much more to say regarding that.

However, I must say that your review made me modify more the personality of 'red'; in the Spanish version I left him with almost the same personality as his human side, and when I read your review I realized that it was a big mistake, so I tried to make him more wild, which gave him a little more sense.

I hope that even if he is not a character faithful to the logic of the dmc canon, you will still like him, and if not, nothing can be done.

Have a nice weekend!

Best regards!