AN: Sooo sorry for the wait! I don't like only having one chapter written out at a time. I prefer having a few future chapters with rough drafts before I update the story, if you know what I mean. I think it makes my storytelling better when I can intertwine things through close chapters so that things don't seem out of nowhere, and having 2-3 chapters written ahead of time is ideal. I already know where the story is gonna go and how i'm going to end it. I've had it mostly planned out since like chapter 4 to be honest, but it's just the matter of crafting it and making it as cohesive as possible. I hope you understand! That's why it took so long.
The chapter I was working on was originally going to be like 30 pages, but I split it up, and you'll be able to tell when you read it that it's more of a set up. Next chapter will be out very soon so you won't have to wait too long for the payoff!
Thanks for waiting and for following/favoriting/reviewing in the meantime! :D
31 January 4:14pm
All day, Dante and Vergil were sparring to test Vergil's strength. Vergil was convinced the Nidhogg parasite was removed from his body and he thought he would know best, but Dante suggested they spar until they were sure Vergil wouldn't lose control. Vergil agreed that it would be a decent way to figure it out, but they instead learned just how slowly his energy was taking to regenerate. It's already been about 16 hours since the cure, but he still felt just as weak as he did as his time as V all those months ago. Maybe he was exaggerating. He was still much stronger than the average human, but it wasn't enough for the half-demon.
Dante easily pushed back his attacks, only frustrating Vergil into making mistakes they both knew he wouldn't have made normally. How unlike him. Dante wasn't saying anything to tease or taunt Vergil, which somehow only frustrated him further. He recognized his weakness and he'd rather Dante act normally and speak his mind instead of holding back just for Vergil's sake. For once, Dante's silence was annoying him.
Vergil's frustration led him to devil trigger and actually hit Dante back, but it only expended whatever energy he had accrued, forcing him to revert to his human form moments later. Vergil could barely react fast enough to make sure he landed on his feet instead of falling flat on his face. He was down on one knee, holding himself up with his arm.
Dante straightened himself up, "You alright?"
"I don't understand why I haven't recovered!" Vergil growled through gritted teeth.
Dante tried not to show pity on his face to further upset his brother, "Well, it hasn't even been that long, and at least nothing's trying to control you," He said. With how weak Vergil was, if the parasite was still around, it'd have surely tried to take over by now.
"And I seemed to die with it," Vergil muttered angrily, stabbing the sheath of the Yamato into the ground to help steady himself.
"Hey, you don't have to put on a show for me. Just relax," Dante suggested, trying to sound casual to hide his concern.
"Shut it," Vergil said, preparing himself to muster the strength to stand up.
"I know you want to play big brother role, but don't forget you're only 2 and a half minutes older," Dante said.
"Best 2 and a half minutes of my life," Vergil struggled out as he pushed himself up and straightened himself out. He took a deep breath.
Dante let out a chuckle, but didn't say anything in response as to not accidentally anger Vergil further, even though it was rather tempting. That '2 and a half minute' comment was too easy to turn into a joke involving Vergil and Cyra, but maybe it was a bit too obvious, even for Dante. Changing the subject would be the best for the both of them, "Nico called."
"Who?" Vergil asked.
"Nero's friend. She drove that van… You met her," Dante said.
"Right," Vergil said, hiding his apprehension, "What did she want?"
"Well, Nero is onto us. They heard about the sudden demon activity and she called wondering if I had anything to do with it. I told her to stall Nero as long as she could, but we know how that's going to go," Dante answered.
Vergil nodded, knowing that Nero was too much of a hothead to sit still, "Then we must work quickly. Kill the sorceress and return to the demon world."
Dante raised a brow, "You actually want to go back?"
"Wasn't that the plan all along?" Vergil asked in return.
"What about…?" Dante was expecting him to think differently considering Cyra. Maybe he overestimated his brother's feeling towards her. Judging from Cyra's words from that morning, her feelings were certainly stronger. He hoped it wasn't one-sided. Poor girl, he thought, but that thought dropped moments later. He knew his brother well enough to know it wasn't one-sided. He was just stubborn and scared to really face his feelings now that everything was wrapping up, "Nevermind," Dante said.
"She cured me, so in return as a thank you, I'd like to eliminate her threat. Then we're even," Vergil said, not sure why he was explaining.
Dante wasn't expecting him to be so straightforward about it. There was something else.
He shook his head, "That's not how you really feel."
"I can assure you it is," Vergil confirmed.
"Nah, that's just how you wish you felt. You actually really like her and it scares you," Dante grinned, unable to stop his teasing.
Vergil frowned and glared at Dante, "When did you become a psychologist?" Vergil retorted, "I don't recall asking for your opinion."
Dante started to feel annoyed, "What's with the self sabotage? I've seen how you act around her. You can hide it all you want, but we both know you're full of shit."
Vergil kept his expression stern, "Stay out of my business and focus on finding the sorceress."
"Remember I told you that if you hurt her, I'll kill you, so it became my business" Dante said, referring to Cyra.
"I have no control over how someone feels," Vergil defended.
"Then you should tell her you plan on going back to the demon world, because I don't think she knows that," Dante said with a sigh. He didn't feel qualified enough to be their middleman, but there was a severe miscommunication that wouldn't get settled if not for him. But something triggered for him, "No… you know what? You can't keep solving everything by running away to the demon world. You did that once to me, and I stopped you from doing it again. I'm not letting you attempt it a third time! You can't do that to her!" Dante felt angry. Cyra basically admitted to him that she was willing to forgive and forget everything about Temen-ni-gru because she saw Vergil for who he was presently. He knew coming to terms with that caused a lot of inner turmoil, because he went through it as well, and he wasn't going to let her experiencing it be in vain.
Vergil broke eye contact and turned away from Dante to look back into the city, vaguely in the direction of Cyra's bookstore, where she most likely was. Although he couldn't confirm that, considering how she seemed to go out of her way to seek trouble for herself lately, "When did you last see her?" Vergil asked.
Dante blanked at the sudden question, "This morning. Lady said she went to visit her around noon. Have you seen her yet?"
Four hours was a long time to leave Cyra unattended, Vergil thought. She was so reckless… He couldn't stop the smile from creeping up on his face, doing his best to force it down. The demon world would always be important to him, but now there were things drawing him to leave it. No, he didn't want to stay there. With the Yamato, he could go back and forth between worlds. Since he was finally healed from the parasite, all he had to do was wait for his strength to come back and he'd be able to handle anything the demon world throws at him - Anything that would dare interfere with the human world.
He never stopped to think about if his feelings for Cyra were just temporary, and that if he was only experiencing them because she was always around. It may have been a comfort thing. If he were to spend time away from her, how long could he go before he stopped missing her and no longer cared to see her? Logically, he could test that for when he left, but he found himself feeling sick at the thought of being away from her long enough to find out.
"No," Vergil simply answered.
"Okay, well, don't get snappy, but my loving brotherly advice is that you should talk to her," Dante said.
Vergil attention remained towards the city. While Dante was speaking, Vergil was observing civilians. He remembered how Cyra had more of a threat than just Amelia and her manipulation. She had fans. He thought that facetiously considering they all just use her. Just another form of manipulation... He scowled at the thought. Vergil's recent journey as V helped him realize the true wonders and strength of humans, but he would be a fool not to realize how it's all more than likely used maliciously. Especially against kind hearted people like Cyra. How sad that she couldn't even be saved by her own kind. The desperate pursuit of power was not exclusive to demons. Humans fought for it, too, and they were just as barbaric.
Even after Vergil took care of the demon problem, there would still be other threats. Humans would always be around. There would always be other insects threatening to endanger her.
Being possessive was an unfortunate trait for a demon, depending on who you asked, but Vergil knew he had to remember she wasn't technically his. Although in his subconscious mind, she already belonged to him and only him, and he never liked people touching his things.
"You hear what I said?" Dante asked, knocking him out of his thoughts.
Vergil glanced over to Dante casually so that he wouldn't be suspicious with what he was thinking. He smirked, "I never said I would stay in the demon world indefinitely. But the more we are away, the less we'll know if anything plans on attacking the human world."
Dante eyed him cautiously, "Really?"
"Are you surprised I actually want to protect what I have here?" Vergil asked.
Dante shook his head lightly. He was relieved, mostly but he couldn't help but feel like Vergil had that plan all along and he just let Dante rant about Cyra for the entertainment, "Just wasn't expecting it is all… Dammit, you were just baiting me, weren't you?"
Vergil chuckled, "That's for meddling in my business."
"Yeah, yeah. You know, I thought I was done with your portal opening days. But going back and forth for the good of humankind? I like it. Kinda weird coming from you, but I like it," Dante said.
"I realize that my affiliation with the woman will make her a target," Vergil said, "I'll just have to make everyone know the consequences of daring to lay a finger on her."
Dante remembered how angry Vergil got last night when he grabbed her arm a bit too roughly. If Vergil got that violent over his own brother, Cyra's friend, touching her, he couldn't imagine any other demon just looking at her. In fact, he was more worried about the demons' wellbeing than Cyra's. However, demons had a powerful sense of smell. One moment around Cyra, and they'll smell a son of Sparda, so if they still felt like attacking her, then they were just asking for trouble, "Trust me, demons will know," Dante said.
"I don't just mean demons," Vergil corrected.
Dante figured he meant from everyone, but what could humans even do against him? He chuckled, "What, you plan on writing your name on her?"
"Hm," Vergil grimaced at the thought of a vile human touching her. He started walking forward, back towards the city, "In a manner of speaking," He said darkly.
31 January 6:00pm
Cyra's eyes snapped open at a noise she wasn't quite able to place. She lifted her head up, finding out she ended up falling asleep on her chair. The sun was already set, but what really caught her attention was a figure standing outside. He knocked on the door, making Cyra realize that's what woke her up. Then she looked at the time and remembered her appointment. The delivery boy pulled through and Victor actually showed up! She ran to the door, opening it, pulling Victor by the fabric over his chest and pulled him in, shutting the door behind him. Cyra noticed the large bag he was holding, "Is that for me?"
"Yeah, your little messenger gave me a list. Where's my reward?" Victor asked.
Cyra snatched the bag from his hands and pulled out the two curtains along with the hammer and nails, dropping the bag with a loud clang due to the metal bats. She tore open the box of nails, having them spill everywhere, but it only mattered as long as she grabbed a handful.
"Whoa, what's with the rush?" Victor asked uncomfortably.
"I don't have time to explain," Cyra said and without another word hammered the curtains to the wall to block the windows. She grabbed a metal baseball bat that was still in the bad and shoved it through the handle. She smiled at how much safer it felt compared to the book she was using. She turned back to Victor, "I need to know where Amelia is."
Victor shrugged, "How should I know?"
"Her cathedral is destroyed. Do you know any other place where she may hide out?" Cyra asked.
"For the last time, you crazy woman, I don't know anything!" Victor defended, almost laughing.
Cyra glared at him trying to make him crack. For once, she was angry about not being tethered. If he wasn't going to cooperate on his own, stealing a memory would save them both some trouble, "Amelia is a demon using people like me to absorb energy for her stupid magic barrier and I tried to kill her, but she disappeared, and I need to know where she is," Cyra said quickly.
Victor stared at her blankly, "I have no idea what any of that means."
Cyra loudly groaned and pushed him, "You're lying!"
"Fine, don't believe me!" Victor said.
"Victor," Cyra stared into his eyes, "You're the man who is re-selling my Unholy Waters and I've let you into my home. I don't know what else I can do to prove to you how desperate I am!"
"Be desperate all you like. There's nothing I can help you with!" Victor said.
Cyra sighed and walked back over to her work station, Victor eyed the place as she walked off, soon hearing her shuffling through her things. He took the opportunity to finally let his eyes scan the bookstore, "So you own this place or-" Victor started to mutter, but stopped talking when he heard a click next to his head. He only moved his head to see Cyra pointing a gun to him.
"You know where I live and now I'll have to kill you for it unless you tell me what you know," Cyra threatened.
Victor glared, but kept his body still, "You won't do it…"
"Wanna try me?" Cyra asked.
"You know I could give you a fake answer and you wouldn't know any better," Victor said casually.
"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?" Cyra asked.
"I lied about my name," Victor smirked.
"Good thing I don't care about your name," Cyra said.
"Ouch," Victor said with fake hurt. He turned his body facing her, "Alright, fine. I can tell you exactly two things about Amelia. One…" Victor started. He pulled off his hood once again to show half of his face was burned. The then pulled off the chest part of his cloak, revealing his body underneath, the hood coming off completely with it. An averagely built older man, a bit older than she originally thought. His beard was a mixed brown and white, but it hid his age well. She could finally see the wrinkles around his tired eyes. The burn mark on his face went up to his already receding hairline, and around his ear. His right arm was missing below his bicep. It was always so hidden because of his long cloak, but she recalled it making sense how he never used anything more than his left arm, "She told me she could use magic to grow my arm back. I jokingly agreed to the crazy woman's offer and the next thing I knew, I was stuck selling some water so I could ruin your reputation, or she'll kill me."
Cyra stared him in the face, eyebrows curled upwards out of sadness. She lightly lowered her gun, but still pointed it at him. He was blackmailed into this, "And the second thing?"
"That she's absolutely batshit," Victor said with a smile.
Cyra sighed, rolling her eyes, "What if you don't do what Amelia says?"
"Well, I said she'd kill me but I never thought to test that. No offense, but reselling your little waters is pretty easy," Victor said.
"You're such a bastard," Cyra said.
"I am. Can I go now?" Victor asked.
Cyra felt tears stinging in the back of her eyes, threatening to spill due to frustration. She thought going to Amelia for help was desperate, but here she was pointing a gun at a man for information. She wouldn't crack under the pressure and let her emotions show, "Victor… All I'm asking for is information. I can set you free."
Victor sighed, "I'll need a reward. Five times as much as you're giving for that shopping list - Which I still didn't get, by the way!"
"Saving your life isn't enough?" Cyra asked.
"Life without money is pretty empty, don't you think?" Victor asked with a smirk.
Cyra rolled her eyes, "Fine. Deal."
"Alright… Maybe I know a third thing. I already told you that she uses some guy to bring me the unholy waters. The one who doesn't say anything. I'm pretty sure he and that nurse woman you were looking for are the ones who tether civilians."
Cyra's eyes widened and she completely lowered the gun, "Tether! You said tether!"
"Yeahhh, that's what you called it," Victor said confused.
"No, I didn't!" Cyra lowered her gun, "I didn't say tether at all! You know!"
"Shit," Victor cursed.
"Why didn't you tell me!?" Cyra asked.
Victor sighed and shook his head, "Look, lady, I'm tired. I'm a disabled vendor who's being threatened to do something morally insulting. I want nothing more to do with this."
"Victor…." Cyra said softly. Of course, she understood, "This is bigger than the both of us right now. If you help me, I can help you back. I promise! All you have to do is relay information to me, and my friends and I can handle the rest! We just really need to know where she is!"
Victor examined her face, and appreciated the eagerness in her voice, "You're sure?"
Cyra nodded eagerly, "Yes! Whatever she has on you, I'll fix it."
Victor forced a smile and walked further in her bookstore, "Alright, so how do we do this without anyone finding out? I write you notes? I come to visit when I find something?"
"Whatever you want. You can just write me notes and slide them through the door when you have something. Don't stop, just keep moving," Cyra said.
Victor shrugged, "Inconspicuous. I'm used to that."
"Do you know anything that nurse?" Cyra asked.
"Not a thing. Honest. Like I told you before, she just comes to check my inventory," Victor said.
"Okay… This guy who brings you inventory to sell… Do you know where he comes from? Maybe there's a warehouse or something - a hideout!" Cyra said, following him, eyeing him as he was looking around her bookstore.
"Never thought to ask, but I can find out. I can hire myself a pizza boy as well. Smart, by the way," Victor said.
Cyra chuckled, "Thanks. Not exactly safe for me to be out on my own. Amelia wants me dead."
"Why?" Victor asked.
"Loooong story, but the short version is that she thinks I betrayed her. I don't know how much you know, but she hates demons. There's a particular one she wants dead and when I didn't kill him, well, she took that personally and now wants to kill me… I think," Cyra said.
"You lost me at 'demons', but I'll take your word for it that she's the bad guy," Victor said, "Even though you pointed a gun at me."
Cyra smirked, "Desperate times, right?"
Victor chuckled and nodded. He noticed the framed photo of her and Gabriel, "That your boyfriend? I'm not going to pretend I didn't see the condoms crossed off on your shopping list," He said, inspecting the photo. The man looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he saw him.
Cyra blushed and moved to stand in front of the photo, blocking his line of sight, "Late husband, actually, and don't you worry about my list," She crossed her arms defensively.
"Ahh, my condolences," Victor said.
Cyra nodded, relaxing when he didn't push the subject further. She was worried she'd have to defend herself, "Do you have family?"
"I did once… We had a bad fire. It's how I lost my arm, but what's worse is that I couldn't save my son. My wife was so depressed, she left me."
"Oh… That's terrible… I'm so sorry," Cyra said.
Victor waved her off, "Thank you, but it's all in the past. This was like 20 years ago. I wasn't a very good person, so I probably deserve every bad thing that happened to me."
Cyra scrunched her face at this, "No, don't say that. Everyone has a chance to atone."
Victor smirked, "Bless your good heart. But I screwed over a lot of women in my past, so be careful of who you put your faith into."
"Broke a few hearts?" Cyra teased.
"I'll say. Had the most wonderful woman back in the day… When she told me she was pregnant, I got scared. We were young. I didn't feel stable enough to be a father just yet, so I ran off. Worst mistake of my life," Victor explained.
"Mistakes shape who we are, for better or worse," Cyra said.
Victor chuckled, "In my case it's for worse."
Cyra smiled sadly, "My dad ran out on my mom, too. It made her the strongest person I knew. Even when she got sick and passed away, she was really brave. She was a doctor, and inspired me to be one, and I think I'm pretty good at it. Not sure if I'd be the person I am now with my dad in the picture. So, I don't know, maybe your mistakes at least helped someone else," She shrugged.
Victor threw a glance at Cyra, inspecting her face a bit closer after her words. She did start to look very familiar, "Doctor, huh… What was your mother's name?"
"Serena," Cyra simply answered.
Victor's world just shattered at the mention of the familiar name. He hadn't heard that name in over 30 years. He replayed Cyra mentioning the name over and over in his head until he finally let it sink in. The woman in front of him was a spitting image of her - his Serena. He was ashamed he didn't realize it before. Her eyes, her unyielding kindness… Hell, she was even a doctor! He remembered all those late nights of Serena staying up late to study for medical exams. Hearing she officially became a doctor made a wave of pride wash over him. Staring at Cyra was like staring at his love from a life that time forgot. If the years truly lined up, then the woman in front of him could be the child that he abandoned, but he couldn't tell her that. He would only be a disappointment to this beautiful, talented woman. Finding out his identity would be worse than knowing he was a deadbeat who just ran off. He couldn't even confirm the relation, so it didn't matter. Hearing Serena passed was just as hard. If only he stuck around… Maybe things would be different. Maybe it was even a different Serena... "I'm sure she would be very proud of you," Victor finally said.
Cyra looked up at him and smiled brightly, "I think so, too," Her smile faltered a bit when she noticed his face looking solemn, "Are you alright?"
Victor snapped out of it and sharply inhaled, trying to regain his composure as if nothing was wrong, "Oh, yeah, family stuff always just gets me. But… anyway, I will keep in touch."
Cyra nodded, "Alright. I'm really glad you're an ally, Victor. We'll get her."
Victor took another glance at her before he started walking out. He thought about correcting her to give his real name, but decided against it. It didn't matter, he thought. Cyra stopped him, "Oh wait!" She dug into her pocket to pull out the monetary reward she promised, "For the shopping list."
Victor looked at the money in her hand, but waved his hand, no longer feeling right about taking her money, "N-no, keep it… Consider it a deposit for when you kill Amelia," He smiled and pulled the baseball bat to remove the barricade from the door. He handed it to her, which she grabbed.
"Alright," Cyra agreed. Victor nodded and finally headed out the door. When the door closed behind him, he let out a long breath that he wasn't aware he was holding. He shook his head and walked away from the bookstore, thinking about everything that just transpired.
Cyra replaced the bat through the door once he left, finding the last part of their interaction strange. What a devastating life he led. Everyone deserved to atone for their mistakes and she hoped that after Amelia was dealt with, he'd be able to move on with his life or start over.
Victor walked slowly. He was trudging his feet along, almost like a zombie. Victor's hood was low on his face and he wasn't complaining at only being able to see the floor. It helped settle his thoughts since he didn't have many distractions. He realized he still didn't know Panacea's real name. Was he worthy? If she was truly his daughter. She didn't even know his real name, still referring to him as Victor. It was safer that way. He felt sick and wasn't sure if it was the new information making him emotional, or the disappointment in himself. He hadn't thought of Serena since he married his first wife, assuming that a new family would be a fresh start. In a way, it was, but he knew that it was a desperate attempt to hide from his past. Moving on with a new woman meant fully closing the chapter with Serena, closing the guilt with it. If Panacea truly was Serena's daughter, then what was she doing living in this city? What kind of trouble has she gotten herself into? Still, this relation wasn't confirmed. It'd be silly to think there's only one dark-haired Serena who also happens to be a doctor... He knew he was just going in circles, but the name Serena hit him like a ton of bricks and he couldn't shake off that guilt that he thought he discarded 30 years ago.
Soon, a pair of still black boots peaked into his vision and before he could stop himself from walking, he bumped into the man whose shoes they belonged to.
Victor straightened himself, looking up to see a man in a large hoodie standing there, "Must have had one too many," Victor lied with a chuckle and tried to walk around him, but was stopped when the stranger moved to cut him off.
"Should really watch where you're going," The new stranger sneered.
"My mistake," He muttered. Victor didn't like his vibe and turned around, only to get his hood pulled off as he became face to face with Frederick, "Oh, it's you…"
"Well, what'd you get?" Frederick asked.
Victor tried to display a straight face, "This warehouse you think she has? Doesn't exist. She's got nothing. It was a waste of time," Victor said, shaking his head, attempting to walk away.
"Where ya going now?" The first stranger asked, pulling him back to punch Victor across the face, causing him to fall back.
Victor's back hit the ground hard since he only had one arm to attempt to break his fall, but with the way he was falling, it was impossible. He sighed, laying across the ground, "Nowhere I guess," He chuckled. The stranger patted his pockets hoping to find a wallet. Victor's chuckle turned into a hearty laugh, "You're not gonna find anything on me!"
The stranger pulled everything from his pockets. Papers, garbage… no money. Victor was now glad that he didn't take that money from Cyra. It would have been a waste in the hands of these crooks. Frederick sighed in frustration, looking down at Victor on the ground, "I know she has something, you liar!" He yelled with a kick.
Victor would be damned if he gave up any information. It wasn't only because she was agreeing to help him - but because of her possible relation to him. He still couldn't believe it. What was he thinking, agreeing to work with these criminals? All for money? He was so ashamed at himself. Had he known who or what she was prior to speaking to Frederick, he wouldn't have accepted the offer to snoop on Cyra for money. The other stranger rustled through the papers he pulled from the pockets out of curiosity, and he was glad he did, "Hey, Boss? Look at this."
Victor noticed immediately what he was handing over to Frederick. Shit, he thought. He couldn't smooth talk his way out of this.
Frederick grabbed the piece of paper that his friend handed to him. It was a note, "Bookstore on Ennerdale, huh… Well guess we'll have to go find out what's in there for ourselves," Frederick said with a wide, devilish grin.
"No, wait!" Victor called out, but the two crooks were already gone.
31 January 6:35pm
Someone knocked on Cyra's door once again. The new curtains blocked the window so she couldn't see who it was. Thinking it may have been Victor with more information that he may have forgotten to share, she pulled the baseball bat from the door handle and gripped the bat as a defense. She slowly opened the door to peak through the crack first, but when she didn't see anyone, she widened the door. No one was there, so she carefully peaked her head out the door, once again, finding no one outside her door.
"V-Victor?" She whispered quietly. Cyra walked out of the bookstore to inspect the outside. Maybe there was a note he taped against the window, even though that wasn't their agreement. Before she could decide to walk back in, footsteps were heard behind her. She was only able to turn halfway before someone tackled her into the ground. The baseball bat flew out of her hands from the impact. She was pushed onto her stomach, a hand pressing against the side of her head, shoving her into the dirt. He was sitting on her back, one of her arms under his weight, unable to move it with the angle he was at. His other arm pressed down on her arm that was reaching for the discarded baseball bat, just barely out of reach.
"Hold still!" The man said and bent down to her ear. He pulled her extended arm behind her back, hoping to keep her still with his weight. He moved his now free hand up to snake up under her shirt, "I promise you'll enjoy it," The man sneered.
"Get off of me!" Cyra shouted angrily. She was scared, but would not let her voice show it. Cyra was able to pull back her arm and attempted to throw back her elbow to hit him. Unable to reach her elbow that far, she used her nails to dig into his hand that was keeping her head down, hard enough to draw blood. This made the man retract his hand, giving Cyra enough clearance to elbow him in the jaw and knock him off just enough for her to crawl out from under his body to grab the baseball bat that she dropped. The stranger reached for her once again, but Cyra turned and smashed the bat into the side of his head, knocking him out instantly. Cyra sat back and sighed in relief, but her attention went into the distance to see the man she recognized as Frederick pointing a gun at her. Her heart dropped. What could she do against a gun from a distance?
Frederick started to laugh when she recognized him, "Hey there. Ya know, if only ya just let me take ya out."
Not even a moment latter, a figure she immediately recognized as Vergil jumped down in front of Frederick, startling him backwards onto the ground, "And if only you heeded my warning," Vergil said dangerously over Frederick's body.
Cyra's eyes widened and she sat up and leaned forward. Frederick tried to scurry further away, "I'm sorr-!" but the Yamato silenced him. Cyra winced at the sharp sound of steel going through the body, even sharper when it pulled out, dropping the now corpse. He was dead. Cyra was so focused on what just happened that she didn't even notice Vergil as he approached her. He crouched down in front of her.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, voice soft.
Cyra didn't look at him. She could peak slightly under his arm to see Frederick's corpse, "I-I have to… call the police," She said quietly and stood up, ignoring Vergil's attempt to help her up. She made the few short steps to walk into her bookstore. It dawned on her that they knew where she lived.
Vergil couldn't believe she still had a sense of justice. She wanted to call the police and send an anonymous tip to clean the streets of a homicide. Before he followed her, Vergil glanced over to see the other body starting to sit up, blood was spilling down his temple. Vergil kicked him back to the ground and pressed on his chest, Yamato resting against his throat. He had to die or else he would go after Cyra again, Vergil was certain, but he waited to humor this scum. He was unashamedly playing with his prey.
The man spat at Vergil, "L-Let me go," He rasped out. Vergil wouldn't let him. He watched as the man below his boot struggled further, "Please, I won't… hurt… again," Vergil felt insulted at the blatant lie and moved his boot so that it was over the man's neck, instead of the Yamato. He used whatever strength he currently had to press down on his throat, glaring as he watched the criminal take his final breaths.
The stranger's hands were desperately clawing at Vergil's boot attempting to push it off, but he was utterly unaware of how much of a disadvantage he had, even against a demon who wasn't at full strength. When he stopped struggling, Vergil waited for his arms to fall back to the ground before he pulled his boot away. Vergil turned back to go into Cyra's bookstore with her, but he stopped when he looked at her. She was in the doorway, looking down at the second dead man. Her eyes were glued to the body that just died of asphyxiation. Cyra couldn't figure out exactly what she was feeling, and it was even worse for Vergil who couldn't read her expression. It seemed just as blank as it seemed sad and afraid, but it wasn't angry.
Vergil realized that it was the first time she's witnessed him kill anyone - or anything. Of all the stories she heard and memories she saw, she was now unable to deny seeing it happen with her own eyes. Surely, she'd understand he did it to protect her. After all, Cyra owned a gun. It meant she was willing to kill someone out of self defense. What difference did it make if he did it instead? He didn't regret killing the two. One tried to harm her not once, but three times, and it wouldn't have stopped there. Logically, they would keep trying, and he felt satisfied to know they were dead and no longer able to harm her. Though for a moment he wished that he could remain as innocent as she forced herself to believe he was.
Her staring was unsettling… Vergil just wished he knew what she was thinking. He wasn't sure if he should say something first. Should he apologize? For what? For saving her life? For the unfortunate timing of having her witness it?
Cyra pushed the door open a bit more and took a step to the side. She waited, suggesting she wanted Vergil to come in with her.