A young kitten sat all by its lonesome self, huddled up in the corner, whining in hunger. It lightly yelped and jumped as a bowl was placed right in front of it. The kitten warily watched milk be poured in to it, licking its lips, tempted to slurp up the delicious cream. Its ears twitched, hearing something open. A can of cat food was then placed besides the bowl.
The kitten couldn't hold back its hunger any longer and started devouring the cat food. A hand reached out and started stroking the poor thing's head, feeling it relax under his touch. Bacchus smiled, enjoying this moment. A favorite past time of his, feeding stray cats whenever he would encounter one.
"Eat it all up, little one. If you come back next time, I'll be sure to give you more."
With one last scratch behind the ear, Bacchus left the kitten on its own as he walked back into this bar. The moment he closed the door, a beam of ice and snow slammed into him, pelting him with the cold.
"W-what the hell? This... This is Andrius's ice! But how is it possible? Sparda sealed him up!"
Bacchus decided not to delve into it any further as he reluctantly called out to his flames and melted it away, warming him up in the process. Clenching his fist, he roared and let loose a pillar of flames, melting the shards of ice that came his way.
The demon grunted, spotting his attacker and saw a man he didn't expect. "You? But, I heard you died... Wait, that's not important. Why are you attacking me?"
The man didn't respond. Instead, he flicked his hand to the side and sent a wave of icicles at Bacchus. The bartender swerved around the ice constructs, only to be blasted with another beam of ice. But this time, he wasn't as affected. He completely enveloped himself with his flames, and rushed towards his enemy.
Bacchus and his mysterious assailant engaged in close combat, exchanging blows with a fervent tempo, neither showing any signs of stopping as they continuously struck each other fiercely. The demon switched tactics, baring his claws. He snarled and swung ferociously aiming to cut up their face.
The man evaded every strike, then parried the next one, swiftly countering the attack with a rapid flurry of kicks that sent him barreling over to his counter. Bacchus shook off the oncoming dizziness and jumped back on to his feet, going on all fours, hissing as his human form slowly faded, scales starting to replace his skin.
"Losing control already, Surtur?"
"That demon is long dead!" Bacchus roared, pouncing his assailant like a predator would to its prey.
The mysterious man simply chuckled and phased through the bartender to avoid the attack. Coating his hand in a wreath of golden energy, the assailant swiveled and pierced Bacchus' back. The reformed demon howled in pain, feeling himself lose even more control as a familiar and sickening energy go through his body.
"H-How...? The power of Abigail... How do you... possess it?!"
The man said nothing and blasted another beam of ice, encasing Bacchus in a frozen solid tomb, apart from his head. He stepped up to him, rumbling in mirth at seeing the pieces of his plans fall into place.
"That's not something you should worry about, Surtur. Andrius is dead, and I've already collected the rest of the components needed to free Abigail."
"Then why don't you save us both the trouble and kill me already?!" Bacchus growled out, unable to free himself from his imprisonment thanks to the energy messing with his powers.
His assailant shook his head. "No no, not yet. I need you to do me a favor first~ And if you do so, I'll make sure you die quick and painless."
Teeth clenched, and anger brewing inside, Bacchus could only glare scathingly at the man. "Like hell. What makes you think I'll do your bidding willingly?"
Without warning, pain flared in every part of the his body, feeling himself lose his human skin as Abigail's energy continued to do its desired effect and twisted his nature, trying to return him back to his demon form. For the moment, it ceased, letting him breathe as the man chuckled.
"That. So, what's it going to be, Surtur? Are you going to be negotiable or not?"
Bacchus panted, keeping his glare trained right at his assailant. "What do you want from me exactly?"
"Ah, finally, you're being negotiable. I just want one simple thing from you: kill the Grandson of Sparda. I want you to murder Jaune Arc."
Surprise was etched in his face at the request, not at all expecting for that to be the favor. "Why him?" he asked, trying to see if he could reason with him so he didn't have to kill a friend. "Why Nero?"
"Neither him nor his family realize the potential he has." said the man, circling around Bacchus. "His sisters show no signs of ever activating their demonic blood, while he, on the other hand, still has the possibility of being able to accessing his angelic blood."
The assailant stopped, his eyes narrowed with worry and slight fear.
"That, combined with his relation with Sparda, along with his humanity... I dread to think of what he can become. That's why, I want you to terminate him. He'll become a threat to me if I let the boy live. So, you're going to be killing him, or you'll regret crossing me."
Unable to free himself nor offer any counterarguments, Bacchus lowered his head and was forced to accept his offer, no matter how much he hated it. "Fine... I'll do it. I'll kill Nero for you." he said through gritted teeth.
With a wide grin through his hood, the mysterious man laughed while the demon could only clench his eyes shut, asking for forgiveness for what he planned to do to his own friend.
Pyrrha kept herself silent, standing tall and firm as she held her weapons closely to her. Her eyes were trained on Jaune, tightly gripping Red Queen with his left hand. The two slowly circled around each other, waiting for an opening to be taken advantage of.
The devil hunter broke off into a sprint, his blade immediately coated with the blaze of Exceed. Pyrrha raised her shield to block his 360 degree sweeping strikes, the last one pushing her back by a considerable amount. Looking up, she saw Jaune leap towards her for an overhead slash.
The redheaded Hoplite jumped out of the way and went in for a retaliatory strike. Jaune leaned back to avoid it, before blocking her xiphos with his own sword. The couple went into a lock, grinding their blades against each other with sparks flying off from the contact as they tried to push back the other.
A smirk crossed on both of their lips as they pulled back at the same time and traded blows. On and on, their strikes kept on canceling each other. The two of them were light on their feet, moving about as both of them tried to gain an upper hand at their respective opponent.
And it would be Pyrrha. Her hand glowed a dim black, signifying the use of her Semblance. With her Polarity, she manipulated Red Queen and threw the blond off balance. She was quick to capitalize on the opportunity and delivered a quick succession of slashes, ending it with an upper strike that caused Jaune to stumble a few steps back.
On instinct, he raised his Devil Bringer and materialized his Aegis Shield, just in time to defend himself against a thrown Milo. The Arc Devil drew out Blue Rose and fired off all rounds at his girlfriend. The Invincible Girl broke off into a cartwheel, dodging the shot bullets at her.
Landing and spinning into a kneeling position, she flung Akuou right at Jaune's hand, disarming him of his revolver. Pyrrha then pulled her weapons back to her, tripping the blond in the process.
Jaune caught himself, however, flipping himself into the air and pulled Red Queen to him with a quick Snatch. Managing a Max-Act, the Son of Vergil drilled down diagonally, his blade wreathed in flames.
Pyrrha knew better than to try and block it, and chose to roll out of the way instead. She didn't get to react in time as Jaune instantly moved to attack her with a High Roller, dragging her with him. He struck her with three heavy swings, the last one crashing her back down.
With a loud roar, Jaune crashed down and slammed Red Queen onto the Hoplite for a violent Slash. He didn't let up, following up with a Shuffle attack, juggling her into the air. Summoned Swords blinked into existence and consecutively launched themselves at Pyrrha one by one.
Luckily for the Tournament Champion, she was able to defend herself and managed to defend or block against the spectral blades as she fell back down. Landing on her feet, Pyrrha glared at the blond and threw her shield at him.
On instinct, Jaune deflected it, striking the thing in the air. His eyes widened as Pyrrha had managed to close the gap between them and buried her boots into face with a dropkick. As he was sent flying, she planted down her foot and turned Milo into its rifle form. She took aim and fired.
Jaune corrected himself mid-air and shot down the oncoming round with his own. Stomping back down, the two stared at each other. The Son of Vergil holstered back Blue Rose and charged at Pyrrha, firing off a Summoned Sword every second.
The red-haired kept on batting aside the projectiles, fully aware that Jaune was getting closer. After deflecting another one, she spun around and flung Akuo once again, and he responded by flipping over the shield and kicking it away. Before she could react, Jaune grabbed her with a Buster and pinned her to the ground. Pyrrha closed her eyes, bracing herself for the attack...only to feel a pair of lips on her forehead.
Jaune pulled away with a smirk, releasing her from his grip. "Looks like I win."
Pyrrha sighed and pushed herself up. She crossed her arms and huffed, a slightly pouty look on her face. "Guess we're going to Pompeii's then..."
The blond snaked his arm around his girlfriend's waist and pulled her in for a proper kiss. She didn't even hesitate and immediately got into it, cupping his cheek to press her lips even further. Before it could get too intense, Jaune wisely broke away, rubbing their noses together.
"Hey, I don't see you complaining when you step on to the karaoke platform." he teased her.
The redhead buried her face in his chest, trying to hide her blush. "Not my fault your cheering gets me fired up." she mumbled, making him laugh softly at her adorable reaction.
"Are you two lovebirds done, or do I have to force you apart?" Out came Achroma's voice from the intercom, standing at an observation booth, looking down on the duo.
The looked back sheepishly at the scientist as they wisely exited out of the Dawn's Cross' training room and headed out for the theaters to start their date.
Jaune and Pyrrha walked out of the theater, their hands interlocked as they both wiped the stains of tears from their eyes. The latter sniffled and couldn't help but choke out her sentiments regarding the movie.
"That was so beautiful!"
"It's such a tragedy that they'll never get their happy ending together..." lamented Jaune, regarding the fate of the characters in the movie.
The couple walked towards Jaune's choice of food establishment, with no one the wiser due to their current outfits, with hats to hide their hair and glasses in Pyrrha's case, that helped them blend in with the crowd. It was also great that they were placed at the very far back of the cinema with no one to recognize them.
A thoughtful expression grew on Pyrrha's face, her mind racing around the plot of the movie. And it slightly worried her. Jaune seemed to pick up on this and lightly tapped her hand.
"You okay? You look like you're thinking hard over something."
"Just a thought if...that ever happened to us. If I'm not strong enough to share your burden. To stand by your side and help you..."
Jaune dismissed the thought, chuckling slightly. "Like that's ever gonna happen. Don't think so much about it, Pyr. Dante's got the world-saving thing under his belt, so we don't have to worry about that. And besides, you're already plenty strong, you know."
He gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her chastely on the forehead. Pyrrha blushed and was convinced by his words, mentally scolding herself for such a silly thought. The pair walked hand-in-hand, heading for Bacchus' bar, excited for the next part of their date.
Only to be met with burning ruin. Jaune and Pyrrha felt their jaws drop, staring at the remains of the snack and karaoke bar being doused by the local firemen. Bystanders couldn't help but approach the sight, murmuring to themselves as they took pictures with their Scrolls.
"What the hell happened..." the cambion murmured to himself. He could tell, those flames weren't from any other fire, or Dust malfunction. It came from Bacchus himself.
Unfortunately, they didn't have the necessary clearance to ask around, and so the pair coolly withdrew. Pyrrha clasped Jaune's shoulder, looking at him with concern as she noticed his disappointed disposition.
"I know you were looking forward to hearing me sing again, but-"
"Yeah, I know. The others are gonna be upset, that's for sure. It's just... Nevermind. It's a discussion for another day. Let's go find somewhere else to eat at."
Jaune was beyond confused. Why did Bacchus burn down his own bar, his own home? Was he attacked, and had been forced to go all out, or something? Was it to send a message? He didn't know, and couldn't figure out a reason why. Jaune resolved to figure it out some other time, his date was of higher priority.
Luckily, the pair had another place they'd frequent at, which was a retro diner, complete with the black and white checkered flooring, a jukebox in the corner playing music that added to the atmosphere and pretty much all the seats were covered in shiny, red leather. Honest to God, it looked like they walked in a greeting card.
They sat down on one of the booths by the window that was a bit isolated from the rest, but still had a great view of the interior. A waitress came up and rolled in, wearing a pair of skates, handing them their menu. The couple browsed through the menu, though they already knew what they wanted.
"What would you like to order?"
"I'll have the Guido burger, a side of fries, a caramel malt milkshake, and a lava cake for dessert." Jaune said, handing back the menu.
The waitress nodded at the blond as she jotted down his order. "What about you, honey?" she asked Pyrrha.
The redhead smiled embarrassingly as she muttered her order. "Chili Fries, BBQ burger and a chocolate-strawberry smoothie."
The woman just giggled in amusement, taking back the menus and rolled away to give their orders to the cook. Pyrrha slumped back in relief at not being judged.
"You're kinda overreacting, Pyr. Your order is nothing compared to mine."
"Yes, but I still have to burn off those calories, even with Aura helping in breaking it down. Some of us wants to keep up our form, you know." she pouted, crossing her arms.
Jaune just chuckled at her expression, finding it absolutely adorable. The two engaged in more idle chatter as they waited for their food. It didn't take that long as the waitress rolled back in with their food in tow, placing it on their table.
"Enjoy your meal." She bowed at the two and went off to attend to other customers.
"Mmm. That hit the spot."
Jaune dropped his spoon on to the plate, having thoroughly enjoyed his meal, with Pyrrha letting out a short and an unlady-like burp in complete agreement. He was really glad Dante pointed him over to this diner years ago. The food was really good. Atmosphere was great. The staff was friendly. Overall, a fantastic place to hang out at. Although, he still preferred Pompeii's.
At the reminder of the now burnt-down bar, Jaune couldn't help but frown in curiosity once again, his mind trying to rack up an explanation as to why it had burnt down. His thoughts were broken when he heard Pyrrha say,
"Isn't that Patty?"
Looking up, he peered through the window and he indeed saw his little sister standing by the crosswalk. Concern flashed in his eyes, ready to get out and go to her. "What's she doing all by herself?"
Before he could think of making a move, Kyrie ran up and seemed to be scolding the young child. Jaune sighed in relief, watching as the two crossed the roads.
"Should we go up to them?" he asked.
Pyrrha nodded, wiping her mouth with the napkin. Their date was nearly over anyway, and they planned to spend the rest of it at the park. The two of them then called for the waitress to pay for the bill.
"Patty, I know you're excited for ice cream, but you shouldn't run off like that without me." Kyrie scolded the young girl, making sure to hold her hand so she wouldn't do so again.
The young girl looked apologetic, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry, Ms. Kyrie. I just got excited when you told me you'd take me out for ice cream! I-"
"Hey!"
The two looked up and saw Jaune and Pyrrha walking up to them. They smiled, running up to their respective siblings. Patty beamed, launching herself at her big brother. The devil hunter laughed and caught her.
"So, what are you guys doing here? Are you and Ms. Pyrrha on a date?"
At the mention of the word 'date', Kyrie unconsciously clenched her fist and tensed up her body. Pyrrha took note of this and resolved to ask her sister later about the reaction.
Jaune smiled, nodding. "We're just about done, actually. Pyrr and I were planning on taking a stroll through the park." He set back down his sister and threw back her question. "What about you guys? What are you and Kyrie doing here?"
The Fortunite smiled and answered for the young girl. "Mrs. Arc had to leave in a hurry because of an emergency, and I volunteered to babysit Patty. She and I were just about to head to the ice cream parlor for some ice cream."
"I could go for some ice cream..." Pyrrha mumbled to herself, suddenly getting a craving for the delicious frozen treat.
Jaune chuckled, agreeing with her sentiments. "I guess I still have some room for dessert. I think we'll join you."
Kyrie smiled as Patty cheered in excitement. The four of them headed off to the parlor, unaware of the figure watching them from across the street. Bacchus lowered his head, regret ever present in his face. The demon blended amongst the crowd and made himself scarce.
Patty had her face pressed up against the glass counter of the ice cream parlor, trying to decide what flavor she wanted. Pyrrha and Kyrie stood behind her, trying not break down into a fit of giggles at the little girl struggling to choose between the variety of frozen treats.
Meanwhile, Jaune was outside, helping an old man with directions to where he needed to go. The blond traced his finger over the map he held, directing the stranger what path he should take. The old man smiled and bid his goodbye, leaving to go to his destination.
Jaune walked back in the parlor, approaching his little sister. "So, you decide what you wanna get yet, squirt?"
"I just can't choose!" Patty exclaimed, not looking up, eyes still laser-focused on the ice cream. "There's just so many flavors, and I can only get ten of them!"
Jaune raised a single brow at that, lips curling into an amused smirk. He patted her head and shook his head. "No can do, Patty-cakes. That'll upset your stomach. You can have one per day, how about that?"
The young child pouted, before sighing and reluctantly agreeing. Jaune smiled and turned to the woman behind the counter. "We'll have one strawberry with sprinkles, a mint chocolate chip with extra chocolate chip, a double chocolate chunk with a cherry on top and, uh, do you guys have banana caramel?"
The server smiled, nodding. "That we do, sir!"
"Great! One of that, then, with cone bits please."
The four of them walked out of the parlor, with Patty sitting on her brother's shoulders, and headed for the park, enjoying their frozen dessert.
"You didn't have to pay for the ice cream, Nero." Kyrie spoke up, a slightly guilty look on her face. "I was planning to pay for them."
"Don't worry about it, Kyrie." He assured, waving off her guilt. "It's not like it was that expensive. And besides, it was for a friend. I don't mind at all paying for my friends." He finished, giving her a smile.
And yet, to his confusion, it seemed to bring the opposite reaction he intended as a frown slipped on the young woman's face.
"Right, friend..." she muttered under her breath before covering it with her ice cream.
Pyrrha raised a brow at her sister's behavior, starting to have a sneaking suspicion at what was going on, but resolved to confront her about it on a later date, not wanting to ruin the day.
It didn't take them long to reach the park and grab a seat to enjoy just the view of dozens of people taking a stroll or enjoying the outdoors by playing, or having a picnic.
"They all look so happy, and so peaceful." Patty commented.
And they were. It was just an overall peaceful view of the birds chirping, the flowers and trees dancing with the wind, pets running around, a large ball of flame right in the middle of the park, people screaming in terror, and- wait, what?!
Jaune and Pyrrha stood in attention as everyone fled in panic as the flames spread across the premises. How was there a fire in the middle of the park?!
The answer soon revealed itself, as Bacchus walked out of the flame, his hand wreathed in the purple blaze. Shock overcame the three teens at the sight of the bartender of their favorite hangout spot being the cause of all this.
"Bacchus, what the hell are you doing?!" demanded the cambion, trying to make sense of the situation.
The bartender simply stared at the blond with a somber expression before dispersing into wisps of flames. Before anyone could make any movements, Bacchus reappeared right in front of Patty.
Everyone could only stare in horror as the young girl was clawed right in the chest, her face etched into that of complete terror as she was sent flying a few feet away, completely unresponsive.
Bacchus grunted as the Devil Bringer wrapped around his neck and was pushed back by a livid Jaune, eyes burning red as his hair turned snow white. Kyrie and Pyrrha ran up to Patty's unmoving body, deeply worried for her.
"Kyrie, you're Semblance!" Pyrrha directed to her younger sister.
Kyrie nodded and attempted to use her Semblance. It worked ever so slightly, dimming the flames on her body, but it didn't bring her back to consciousness.
"Get Patty out of here, and run!" Nero roared out.
A part of Pyrrha wanted to stay and help, but a large portion screamed that Patty needed it more. She carried the young girl as gently as she could and broke off into a sprint with Kyrie following suit. No longer having to worry about getting his friends caught up, Nero reared back his fist and swung at the bartender.
Bacchus grunted and parried the strike, countering the attack with quick jabs to his side, pushing back the cambion with a roundhouse kick. Nero glared at the demon, trying to make sense of what he was doing.
"The hell are you doing, Bacchus?! Why did you try to kill my sister?!" he demanded.
The bartender said nothing as a pillar of flame engulfed his entire being, swirling around before it dispersed and revealed his demonic form. His entire body was physically bare, covered head to toe in red and black scales. Spikes protrude from the glowing streaks on his legs, arms and back. And his chest glowed with power. His hair hardened, forming into a tusk-like crest that framed his face. Sighing with regret, he gave the teen with a melancholic look.
"Farewell, Nero."
Surtur grunted and rushed at the devil hunter, swiping his claws at him, cutting at the air. Nero backed away, kicking up the bench they were sitting at earlier and right into the attacking demon. Surtur batted it aside and didn't miss a beat in continuing his assault.
The two engaged in close combat, seeming to be evenly matched. Nero grabbed Surtur by the wrist and tried to twist and pin him down, but the latter had used this to his advantage, throwing himself up into the air for a better angle, stretching out his claws to strike.
SURTUR
Nero managed to react accordingly, calling upon his Buster Arm to deflect Surtur's strike, pushing him back down. The demon corrected himself, landing down gracefully as the both of them adjusted their stances.
"Why?!" That one word constantly rang in Nero's mind, trying to reason with this sudden betrayal.
He pushed it down and focused on the battle, making the first move. He rushed forward and threw a right hook. Surtur jumped over his attack, kicking him in the back of the head to disorient him. Nero winced in pain as Surtur immediately went on the offensive, swinging his claws at the cambion, drawing blood. The demon roared, grabbing him by the head and slamming down onto the grass, blowing up the teen.
Nero skidded across the ground, groaning lightly. He pushed himself and summoned the Yamato by his side, eyes glowing brighter as he growled and charged back in. Surtur rushed forward before leaping into the air for a deadly slash attack.
Nero jumped and parried the attacked, following it up by kicking him back down. Landing safely, the Lone Son dashed forward and swiftly struck at the bartender, sheathing back the Yamato and sent out numerous slashes at him. Surtur arched back, evading a strike before sending out a wave of flames at the devil hunter.
Nero drew out his blade and released an arc of energy right at it, causing the flame to dissipate. The demon dashed forward with astonishing speed and sucker punched the teen, causing him to stumble. Nero growled and retaliated. Surtur reared back his head and exchanged strikes with the hybrid. Sparks flew across their faces with every blow, neither deterring from their fight. The two locked in place, trying to dominate the clash.
The Arc Devil smirked and used the opportunity to initiate a Buster. Nero roared and traded blows with Surtur, blocking or parrying each other's moves. He managed to kick him right in the head, but this didn't even disorient the demon as he evaded around his next punches and slugged him right in the face, knocking him back, following it up with a barrage of uppercuts, ending it by flinging him into the air.
Surtur clenched his fist and allowed his flames to engulf his hand as he leaped forward and clawed at the falling blond, knocking him right into the park's statue. Biting down a curse, Nero pushed himself up as his injuries healed.
"Is that all you've got?" Surtur taunted, standing straight as he scowled at the cambion.
He jumped away, evading Nero's spectral limb. Arching his back, Surtur let out a loud shriek that grated against the devil hunter's ears. The redhead with unbridled savagery attacked without mercy, not giving Nero any room to breathe, moving with such speed and ferocity.
Then, all of a sudden, he stopped and struck a pose, completely catching him off-guard. Surtur delivered eight blows to different vitals points in his body. "Scream, cry, now die!" he declared as he performed every blow. Stabbing him in the chest, the demon gripped him tightly with both hands and barraged him with his purple flames.
However, he still wasn't done and tried to barrage Nero again. Luckily, however, he managed to evade this time, taking off his coat as Surtur tore it to shreds.
"Saph is gonna kill me for that..." he muttered to himself, before focusing back on the battle.
Nero roared, his pseudo-Trigger springing to life, hovering above him. Zipping forward with greater speed, he lifted Surtur and himself into the air with a twirling strike. He spun and slashed at him twice, his phantom mirroring his moves, before bringing him back down with a descending spiral slash.
Landing down, Nero hopped back and slipped into an Iado stance. He tugged at Yamato, unleashing a vortex of slashes at Surtur, creating lacerations all over his body. He dashed forward, slicing his former friend multiple times in one strike. Getting a little confident, Nero continued to attack Surtur, who could only take his rage and fury.
Raising his blade, he prepared to end it. He fell right into Surtur's trap. The redheaded demon caught the blade in between the palm of his hands, catching Nero by surprise. He twisted the katana, forcing the cambion to do the same, kicking it out of his hands before delivering a devasting back kick. Fortunately for the cambion, his phantom caught Surtur's leg.
Nero smirked and hoisted him up, right before slamming him around like a ragdoll. He leaped into the sky and wound up his arm as he fell. He harshly hammered Surtur into the ground, before giving him a fierce kick to the chin.
Surtur caught himself, burying his claws into the ground and skidded to a stop, looking winded. He wiped the blood off his lips and stood. Nero cocked his head and approached. Before the redhead could make a move, he initiated his next attack and dealt him three blows to the face, following it up with a punch to the gut, before ending it with left hook.
Surtur took a step back, reeling from the attack. But it was a feint. Nero didn't see it coming, as a spinning hook kick struck the back of his head, sending him crashing through a bird bath. The cambion winced, feeling his ears ring as he struggled to stand. There was only one thought going through his mind at that moment.
"Not again..."
Even with how disoriented he was, he could vividly remember this exact thing happening on their first encounter. Surtur stared at Nero, regret dominating his expression as he panted.
"Close... But not quite enough. This is the end of-"
The demon was cut off, suddenly falling to his knees. Surtur looked confused, before falling further down, face smacking right into the ground. He could feel his body grow heavier by the second.
Nero recovered ever so slowly, and saw a man by their left. He was crouching down, hand on the ground. The devil hunter recognized who it was; Pyrrha's father, Astalon.
The brown-haired Huntsman focused more of his Aura into his Semblance, increasing the gravity around Surtur.
"Ms. Trish, strike now!"
The blonde devil jumped in at her cue, enshrouded in lightning. She cried out and crashed down on Surtur with a vicious dive kick. Trish swiftly followed it up with rapid-fire kicks, dazing and dizzying him. Rearing back her arm and clenching her fist, the Bewitching Devil performed a rising uppercut, taking Surtur up to the skies.
"Night, night!"
She started rolling, striking him with a multitude of pinwheel kicks, before punting him back down with a heel stomp, lightning following after, crashing down. on his body.
Trish landed down and smirked, taking off her sunglasses as the aura around her fizzled out. Astalon deactivated his Semblance, standing straight as his daughter ran in.
Kyrie knelt down right next to Nero, immediately getting to work. her Semblance covered his body and helped speed up the process of his recovery. The blond lightly groaned, looking at the Fortunite as his vision realigned. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'll be fine... But what about Patty?" his expression shifting to concern for his little sister.
Pyrrha joined Kyrie and helped him stand, answering his question. "We ran into your mother while we went to go get help. Last we saw, Patty will live."
Relief washed all over his face, glad that he wasn't about to lose another sister. He looked over to the blonde and the brunette, watching diligently over the unconscious demon.
"Thank you, Mr. Nikos, and to you too, Trish."
The Nikos patriarch shook his head with amused exasperation "Jaune, please. Just call me Astalon. You've done more than enough to earn that right. And, it's nothing to mention. I was actually on my way to my wife's bakery."
"And I was just coming back from a job." Trish added in. "But, Astalon and I crossed paths, and I was getting famished too, so I decided to join him, right before Kyrie and Pyrrha bumped into us, thankfully."
Nero smiled, bowing in gratitude at the two. He looked over to the unconscious form of Surtur, lightning sparks flying off his body. The blonde devil walked over to Nero, twirling a pair of metal bracers with her finger.
"Here, these should come in handy."
"Power inhibitors?" Nero asked, recognizing it from Achroma's lab.
Trish nodded, and moved to hand it over. Only for her to be completely frozen. Nero and Astalon moved to react, only to meet the same fate as the blonde devil. Kyrie and Pyrrha were struck as well. The five of them were encased in ice, almost like statues, unmoving and trapped.
Surtur arose from the ground, groaning. He cradled his head while he struggled slightly to stand, unaware of what just happened.
"It seems you've failed your end of the bargain, Surtur. I'll be taking what's mine now."
An arm shrouded in ghastly energy pierced into the demon's stomach. A gasp of air left Surtur's body as he felt the hand tightly clench inside. The man pulled out his hand without mercy, clutching a beautiful jewel, letting Surtur slump back in agony. He looked down at it with absolute glee.
The cloaked man swiveled around, hearing something crack. He raised his hand and erected a barrier to defend himself, only for it be shattered by the Yamato, the force shoving him back. Nero roared and charged forward, swinging the blade upwards.
"?" narrowly evaded it by an inch and put some distance between him and the cambion. He didn't account, however, for Milo to come sailing through and tore off his cloak, almost hitting his head. Pyrrha and the others looked shock, revealing the identity of the individual that froze them.
"Mr. Bernstein?!" Pyrrha shouted out, surprised at seeing her supposedly dead manager. "B-But, they said you were killed by that cave in!"
It didn't take Nero long to connect the dots in his head, realizing something. "Wait, you were the one that stole the mask and the Devil Arm!"
Displeasure spread across Rouge's face. before it was quickly wiped away, a smirk replacing it, giving both the cambion and the champion a round of applause. "That I was, but fortunately for me, I lived. And as I've said before, thank you for the assistance, Grandson of Sparda. I couldn't have done it all without you. As much I'd like to explain myself, I must bid you all farewell. The finale is just in the horizon. Look forward to it!"
No one was able to stop him as he slammed down the Devil Arm, creating a cloud of mist to mask his escape. Nero could only curse in frustration, marking this the third time he let him get away. Before he could wallow at his failure, a weak groan grabbed their attention.
Surtur struggled to push himself up, continually losing what strength he had left. Nero approached the demon and knelt down, giving him a glare.
"I think it's about time you talked. What the hell was your endgame, Bacchus?"
"Rouge intends... to summon a powerful demon... and take its power... He already has... everything he needs... and it won't be long... until he obtains power absolute..."
Surtur's voice slowly grew weaker and weaker as he continued to talk, skin turning pale and body becoming cold. Nero's featured softened, losing his glare as his hair turned back to blond, taking note of the demon's condition.
"You alright? Maybe we should probably get you patched first, then talk."
The demon weakly shook his head, rejecting the offer. "It won't work... The jewel that Rouge... ripped out my body... was the very thing keeping me alive... my soul..."
He lurched forward, hacking and coughing. His body turned paler and colder before collapsing. Jaune caught him before he could land on the ground, turning him over. The others approached from behind, Trish looking afraid at what he had said earlier.
"You don't mean who I think you mean, do you?"
Surtur couldn't move any longer and simply spoke. "No... There is another... Seek out Lowell... She will tell you everything..."
Jaune's face scrunched up. The name rung bells in his head, but he couldn't quite place where he heard it before. Surtur went through another coughing fit, barely clinging on to his last breath.
"For... what it's worth... I did what I did... so you would kill me... and prevent Rouge... from succeeding... In hindsight... that was stupid... I'm sorry..."
His head rolled to the side as he breathed his last, his body scattering into the wind like ash. Surtur-no, Bacchus was now dead. Jaune closed his eyes and hung his head, his face being shadowed by his hair.
"I wish you could've just told us, Bacchus. I wish we didn't have to fight... We only knew each other for a short while, but you were a good friend. So long, Bacchus..."
Holy shit, it's been almost a year since I last updated?! I'm so sorry, but last year had been just such a downer for me, and I couldn't will any motivation to write. Not to mention suffering from online classes, and deciding it was a good idea to juggle three gacha games that also ate up my time.
This chapter might not be up to standard compared to previous chapters, but I'm rearing to knock the rust off and get back into writing.
Anyways, so, Bacchus is now dead. There's a reason why I gave him his backstory in the Chronicles story. He was always planned to die. This chapter was supposed to be a mirror to episode 10 of the TAS, which had Dante fighting Baul and Modeus. Only for their deaths to help Sid with his goal.
By the way, if you noticed, I started using Nero again in place of Jaune. What are your thoughts on that? Whenever he's not using his demonic powers, I'll refer to him as Jaune. But when hes actively using them, white hair and all, I'll use Nero instead. I'll change the past chapters to reflect that if you guys like this.
I'm already in the process of writing Chapter 17. Dunno when I'll get it up, since the 2nd half of my semester has started as well. But rest assured, I am back. Thank you everyone, who is still here and writing this dumb fic of mine. Your support is appreciated. Stay safe and sanitized!