The first thing to greet Vergil the moment he walked into the Fairy Tail guild hall was a flying stool. He was able to avoid it with ease by simply moving his head to the side, but it still angered him to the point where he wanted to cut down whoever had thrown it at him.

"Oh, Vergil! You actually showed up!" Natsu exclaimed from the side. "Wanna join in on this fight?"

The eldest son of Sparda chose to say nothing as he ignored the energetic dragon slayer and made his way over to the request board. Like usual, Nabe was standing in front of the board without actually choosing a job. Vergil shoved him to the side and began to study the various requests.

"How dull. None of these seem like a challenge." Vergil spat. All of the requests were full of meaningless jobs in his eyes. Find a lost cat? Get real. Defeat a pack of monsters terrorizing a village? Child's play. Teach some rich noble's son how to use a sword? A waste of time.

"Hoh? Does think he's too good for this guild?" Mirajane taunted with glee from her usual spot on top of a stack of beer barrels. "Don't even think about going for the S-rank jobs on the second floor! A weakling like you has no business getting ahead of himself!"

A vein visibly popped out of Vergil's forehead as Mirajane continued to insult him, but he managed to calm himself down by taking a deep breath. Getting provoked by a child's taunts was not something someone like him would easily fall victim to. Though, what this brash child did say somewhat intrigued him.

"S-rank jobs?" Vergil questioned. He could see a flight of stairs leading to a second floor, and he saw a request board up there too. But no one else was going up there to take those jobs.

"Please don't mind Mirajane. This is how she normally is," Lisanna apologized. "I'm sure her intentions are good. Many people like Natsu are so gung-ho about becoming an S-Class wizard, so they end up biting off more than they can chew."

"So this S-Rank is a separate classification?" Vergil asked.

"Yup. Wizards like you and me are your typical standard mages. We can take normal jobs as long as they're within our capabilities. S-class jobs are specifically restricted to S-Rank wizards only."

"And how does one become an S-Class wizard? By defeating current S-Class wizards in battle and taking their position?" Vergil continued.

Lisanna nervously laughed, brushing off Vergil's guess as a mere joke. "Not through battle. We hold S-Class trials once a year, and those who can pass them are granted the appropriate title by the Master."

"How interesting. So it is through a contest of strength and wits," Vergil mumbled. "When do these trials start?"

"In a couple of months. But remember, you have to be chosen by the Master himself. And it's a lot harder than you think. I'm sure you're strong, but don't get too ahead of yourself." Lisanna replied.

"My safety is the least of your concerns." Vergil responded coldly.

"Geez! I'm just worried for a fellow guildmate!" Lisanna pouted.

"That aside, I need to gather more information about this strange world. Would you happen to know of a library that is available in this town?" Vergil asked.

Lisanna blinked in surprise. "A library? There is, but we have our own right in this building. Just go through that green door over there and that'll be it."

"I see." Vergil turned away from Lisanna and was about to head towards the door Lisanna mentioned, but the sight of a flying table forced him to punch it into several pieces as it sailed towards him and Lisanna.

"Ah, sorry about that!" Natsu apologized from across the room.

Everyone in the guild hall suddenly felt a crushing weight fall on top of their bodies. The air turned frigid and unforgiving. They felt the sensation of a knife being pressed against their necks, but they couldn't help but be confused as to where such potent killing intent was coming from.

"V-Vergil?" Lisanna gasped beside him. "W-what is this!?"

The crushing pressure suddenly disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Several members around Vergil collapsed onto their knees, panting for breath while others were knocked unconscious. Natsu was off somewhere throwing up into a corner. All eyes were on him now as the source of the pressure that had overwhelmed them.

"...My apologies." Vergil muttered as he straightened out his collar.

Vergil continued to march on towards the door leading to the library as if nothing had happened. As the door shut behind him, everyone let out a sigh of relief, though one person in particular wasn't thrilled about what she had just witnessed.

"The hell…was that!?" Mirajane demanded angrily. "You all felt that, right? That wasn't magical energy! What the hell was Master thinking, letting in a guy like that!?"

"Now now. There's no need to be so riled up," Makarov chided from his usual spot at the bar. "I'm sure it will take some time getting used to this guild."

"But you felt that! How the hell can you be so composed!?" Mirajane exclaimed.

"Mirajane. I'm sure you know more than anyone else in this guild that we all carry something from the past that we'd rather forget. I'm sure for young Vergil he is still carrying the scars from his past."

"But-" Mirajane opened her mouth to say more, but chose to hold her tongue. What Makarov was saying did ring true. She knew how hard it was to let go of old habits. It was only because of Elfman and Lisanna that she was where she was at now.

"...He'd better stay away from Lisanna and Elfman." Mirajane growled under her breath.


Levy didn't know what to expect the moment she walked into Fairy Tail for the day. She was expecting for the place to have its usual cheer and energy, but for whatever reason, it was dialed back significantly. Even some of its rowdiest members like Natsu and Gray were simply sitting at their respective tables, staring aimlessly or absent-mindedly chewing on their food.

"Huh. It seems…quiet." Levy noted.

"Oh, Levy!" Lisanna greeted with a wave.

"Lisanna. What's gotten into everyone?" Levy asked.

"Ah, right. You weren't here yesterday. We got a new guild member, and he saved Natsu from some sort of monster." Lisanna started.

"Hey! He didn't save me! He just lent a helping hand!" Natsu angrily corrected.

"Oh, a new member! What's he like?" Levy asked, now curious.

"His name is Vergil. Kinda tall, wears a black coat, has white hair, and carries a sword." Lisanna answered.

"Yeah, that jackass. And stay away from him, Levy. It's for your own good." Mirajane called out.

"Why?" Now Levy was left even more confused.

"Tch. Just don't get too chummy with him." Mirajane finished.

"Where's the rest of Team Shadowgear?" Lisanna asked when she realized Jet and Droy were nowhere in sight.

"Ah, we decided to get some rest after our job yesterday." Levy said.

"After you bailed them out?" Lisanna asked with a giggle.

"After I bailed them out." Levy confirmed. "Well, I'm off to the library. Gotta return some books I borrowed after all."

"Ah, wait! The person that's already there is-" But before Lisanna could say anything else, Levy was already heading towards the guild's library.

"I'm sure she'll be fine…right?" Lisanna mumbled to herself.


"Whoa! It's chilly!" Levy noted as she walked into the guild's library. Or rather, it felt very cold which didn't make any sense at all considering it was very warm outside. Did Gray accidentally create a bunch of ice in the library for some reason? No, that didn't make any sense. Levy couldn't remember the last time the ice mage held a book in his hands.

That was when she noticed the man leaning against a bookshelf, holding a book with a red cover in his right hand. His silver white hair reminded Levy of the Strauss siblings, and it was slicked back to reveal his forehead. The black coat he wore was faded, along with the fingerless gloves that covered his hands. On his waist hung what appeared to be some kind of sword.

"Hm?"

The man seemed to notice Levy's presence. He closed the book he was reading shut and glanced up to look at her. And when he did, she froze.

The moment she locked eyes with him, she felt her body shudder and her blood turned cold. His blue eyes seemed to peer right into her soul, and his stoic expression terrified her even more.

"Are you the librarian for this guild?" the man suddenly asked.

"Eh?" Levy whispered, afraid of raising her voice so that she wouldn't offend the terrifying man.

Vergil stared at the pile of books Levy was currently carrying. "I've been reading this story, but can't seem to find the next book in the series," Vergil explained. He approached Levy, and she cowered under his towering height.

"O-oh, you've been reading the Enchantment Poem series?" Levy asked quietly. "I-I have the next book in the series right here…"

Levy's arms shook as she held the book out to Vergil. He took it and let out a grunt of satisfaction.

"You have my thanks." Vergil said. He returned to the spot he was reading before and opened the book.

While Vergil continued to read, Levy made sure to navigate through Fairy Tail's already messy library and began to return the books she was once carrying. Once she was done returning the books to their rightful spots in the shelves, she glanced towards the white-haired swordsman and saw the towers of books beside him.

"Did you…read all of that?" Levy asked, pointing to the books next to Vergil.

He looked up, and Levy quickly scurried away from Vergil.

"I-I'm sorry for disturbing you!" Levy frantically yelled. In her panic, her hip bumped into a table and caused even more books to fall onto the ground. She whimpered in pain and comically staggered away.

"I did indeed read the works next to me. This world's literature is…intriguing. I don't remember anything like it from my world." Vergil commented. "I guess that is only natural in a world where fairy tales and magic are as natural as the air. Tell me, librarian. What other works would you recommend?"

"Recommend?" Levy pondered Vergil's question for a bit. It felt extremely odd that a member of Fairy Tail, and a new one at that, was so interested in literature. It was something she found hard to connect with the other members, who were all about fighting. It felt somewhat refreshing being able to connect with someone else about literature.

"Well, since you seem to like poems, I think you'll like the stories written by Kemu Zaleon. He's fairly well regarded by many critics and he's one of my personal favorite authors."

"Kemu Zaleon. Interesting." Vergil muttered. "I'll keep that in mind."

As Vergil quietly got back into the book he was reading, Levy quietly inched towards the exit and left the library. As she did, she was instantly greeted by several of Fairy Tail's members.

"Did he do anything to you?" Mirajane asked worriedly as she patted down the confused Levy. "That bastard…if he did anything to our precious Levy, then I'm gonna-"

"Mira, what're you talking about?" Levy asked. "I'm fine. Vergil, was it? Why would he do anything to me?"

"You mean, he didn't scare you?" Gray asked.

"H-he did seem a bit cold, but nice otherwise. He even asked me for some book recommendations."

The entire guild went slack-jawed at Levy's explanation.

"HE WHAT!?"

"G-guys?" Levy nervously stammered.

"He didn't glare at you like he was going to kill you?" Natsu nervously asked.

"And he's a bookworm, like you?" Cana added.

"Rude," Levy pouted. "We had a simple conversation about books. I recommended some of my personal favorites, and he thanked me. Is that so hard to believe?"

The sound of a door slamming open startled everyone. What scared some even more was the fact that Vergil was the one who left the library. He glared at everyone around him before handing the book he was holding to Levy.

"This collection of poems…I can tolerate it." Vergil said.

"O-oh! You already finished it. No problem…" Levy mumbled.

As he walked towards the requests board, the guild members all parted away from him to make room. He took one last look before something seemed to catch his eye. He ripped off a request and began to walk towards the guild's exit.

"Guild Master. I take this request to eliminate a dark guild." Vergil proclaimed before he finally exited the guild.

"Apprehend the members of the dark guild Laughing Coffin. This is much more tolerable than finding a lost cat."


The scenery around him was perfect for a B-list horror movie. Dark and gloomy sky, dead trees all around, and a castle so old that it looked like it would collapse by itself at any moment. Vergil stood in front of the decrepit castle, reading the sign above it.

"They couldn't even bother to hide themselves. How foolish." Vergil muttered as he read the sign that had the words 'Laughing Coffin' written in crude white paint.

With just a kick, Vergil knocked the guild's front doors off its hinges. Already, several of its members shot up from their seats and glared at Vergil.

"What the-intruder!" one henchman shouted.

"There is no use yelling. You're only wasting what little life you all have left." Vergil declared.

Just from one quick glance, Vergil counted over twenty members all of various shapes and sizes. Some held weapons while others held staves. All looked like typical goons Vergil was all too familiar with.

"Well lookie here! It looks like a hero of justice has come to save the day!" one of the men cackled. He got up from his seat and drew what appeared to be a broadsword from his back. "You must be real confident if you think you can roll up here and do what you want. A wizard from a legitimate guild like you is-"

The man suddenly heard the metallic click of a sword being sheathed. And the members of Laughing Coffin that had slowly surrounded Vergil all dropped dead. The man remaining standing froze in place and his body shook like it was the dead of winter. All around him men were left in various states. Some were cut in half by their waist while others were reduced to mere red pastes on the walls and floors. Regardless, the entire interior of the guildhall was painted red with blood.

"W-what?" the sole member whispered. Vergil began to walk forward, and the man quickly turned around and ran towards the back exit. As he ran for his life, he heard the same sound of a katana being sheathed and he felt a strong gust of wind around his right leg. He raised his right leg to continue running, but instead fell onto his stomach because his foot didn't touch the ground for some reason. That was when he realized that his right leg had been cleanly cut off by an unknown force.

"GYAAAAAAAA!"

Vergil calmly approached his prey and grabbed onto his throat with his right arm, lifting him up so that he could finally look him in his eyes.

The man squirmed and fought for a moment, but slowly lost his energy when the blood loss from having a limb cut off got to him. As he lost his strength, he managed to utter three words.

"What…are…you?" the man croaked.

"...Death."

A snapping noise echoed in the empty and bloodied building as Vergil broke the man's neck. He dropped the corpse like a sack of potatoes and continued to walk further in until he reached his destination. He yanked a wooden door off its hinges and was immediately hit with the stench of filth and death. He grimaced for a moment, but he had smelled worse and walked down the stairs into the guild's basement.

Once he reached the bottom, he could see rows and rows of cages. The ones he could see so far were empty, but there were remains of humans inside some of them. Some were skeletons, while others were noticeably fresher.

"H-hello?"

Once Vergil heard the small and desperate voice all the way down the hallways of cages, he approached it until he reached the last cage. In it were three young girls, no older than fifteen. They wore filthy white dresses and looked malnourished. They were huddled together in a corner and their bodies shook violently when they saw Vergil standing before them.

Besides being known for taking assassination requests, Laughing Coffin were also known to engage in human trafficking, targeting isolated villages around the continent and forcefully stealing young girls or by coercing them with fake promises of work in exchange for a better life.

With a quick swipe with the Yamato, the lock of the cage flew off and the door swung open.

"T-thank you, sir…" one of the girls said.

Vergil didn't bother to look back at the girls he just saved as he drew the Yamato and created a portal out of thin air.

"Continue wasting your last few breaths of life in this basement unless you want to live to see another day. I've wasted enough of my time here, so my patience is running thin. The next time you are imprisoned due to your lack of power, then you're better off taking your own life here and now."

As he finished his sentence, Vergil gave one last look at the girls he had saved before his portal closed. The other two who didn't speak up still had the eyes of a cornered animal. But the remaining one, who had thanked him, was different. Although she was weakened and battered, he saw the briefest glimmer beneath her hollow eyes.

Hmph. At least someone in this dull world understands.


Hey guys. Here's another chapter for you all. This one's gonna be a bit shorter than the first chapter because I don't want the pacing of the story to feel too rushed, especially after reading the reviews left after the first chapter. Some of you might say that this chapter seems to be a bit slow and boring, but I didn't to include too much action and killing because I still wanted to explore Vergil's character now that he's in Fairy Tail and learned what being human is like after the events of DMC5. Don't worry too much though, we're gonna get back to the action in the later chapters because Vergil is the motivated man after all. All right, take care and peace out for now.