The streets of Mistral City was dead. Practically devoid of any life with how late it was. But not late enough to stop from a couple of people to go out drinking. At a rather niche bar, a young woman sat all by herself, drinking whiskey on the rocks, idly listening to the soothing tone being played in the background.
She nodded at the bartender and asked for another glass. The man nodded and slid over a fresh one to her. The blonde smiled gratefully and took her time drinking it, sighing at the burning sensation in her throat. She slammed down the necessary Lien to pay for her drinks and exited the bar.
The young woman walked across the streets, wearing a somber expression as she headed towards her destination. Without a word, she stopped in place. She looked over her shoulder and stared back at the demon hanging from under the streetlight.
It growled, before pouncing with a shrill cry, intent on turning the young woman into its dinner. She simply stood in place, watching as the demon grew closer. That's when her locket reacted and radiated with a bright light.
The demon hissed in pain as the light knocked it back and engulfed its body in flames, burning it to a crisp. The woman turned her back on the now charred corpse and resumed walking without a word.
Ren focused, the winds howling heavily around him, tearing apart the room he stood in as the young man in front of him snarled like a rabid animal, eyes glowing an unnatural red. While he refused to fight, he was still an asset to Devil May Cry, and this was the moment why.
His eyes snapped open, and caught the possesed man's hand, stopping his attack. Ren twisted around his arm and slammed his palm on to his stomach. The young man screamed as a torrent of mist escaped from his body. The mist took shape, into what looked like the twisted fusion of an ostrich and a goat, glaring down on Ren.
"D-Damn you! Insolent brat, you will-"
The demon was cut off as Jaune jumped from behind his cousin, Red Queen drawn out and Exceed revved all the way. He streaked towards the demon, and swung his blade, releasing a burst of flames that gravely injured it. Jaune landed down and didn't waste any time, finishing off the demon with a well placed shot in the head, causing it to dissolve and finally release its victim from its grip.
The young man fell on to the ruined pentagram, unconscious. His friends ran towards him, relief on their faces. The young woman of the group approached the duo, expression filled with nothing but gratitude.
"T-Thank you so much! This was such an overwhelming experience, we didn't think it would get this far."
Ren waved it off and decided to give them some word of advice. "Next time you want to mess with demons or the supernatural; don't. You'll live longer."
The group looked incredibly ashamed of their actions, only finding it in themselves to nod.
"W-We'll send over the payment later. Again, thank you so much."
Jaune and Ren nodded and made their exit. The blond looked over to his cousin, a smile on his face. "I think that might have been a new record. A little underwhelming sure, but that was the fastest exorcism you've done."
The pseudo-demon rolled his eyes good-naturedly, watching Jaune get on his motorcycle and start it up. "You're underwhelmed, those people were overwhelmed. I don't think I've ever heard anyone be just whelmed." he mumbled under his breath.
Shaking his head, he shrugged and responded to the question. "To be fair, it was a pretty weak demon. You killed it in two hits. Now, I'm up for an early lunch. Noodles sound good?"
"Sure. Hop on, it'll even be my treat." the blond offered.
Ren smiled and got on the back. Jaune revved up the engine and sped off to Chop Styx, which had a rather hilarious tagline; Noodles so good, it'll send you to the underworld. They arrived in record time, about twenty minutes to be exact. The duo seated themselves by the window and placed their order.
The Grandsons of Sparda sat there in silence, Jaune strumming his fingers on the table as they awaited for their food. To pass the time, Ren decided to strike up a conversation.
"So, I just thought of something. If 'dislike' is the opposite of 'like', then is 'disaster' the opposite of 'aster'?"
Jaune looked up, bewilderment written all over his face. "Excuse me? What brought this on?"
"It's like, instead of things going wrong, everything goes right." Ren explained further.
The Lone Son looked befuddled, before just shrugging. "I...guess? But isn't aster used more for flowers or something?"
"We've got a bat that's an animal and a bat for sporting equipment." Ren pointed out. "Pretty sure aster can still be applied for this purpose."
Jaune conceded, but still looking unsure of it. "I guess? What made you decide to just butcher Remlish?"
Ren grinned, chuckling under his breath. "As if most people aren't butchering it already. Besides, new words constantly get added into the language. It's not like I'm doing any harm to it."
The blond shook his head, amusement flashing on his expression. "Fair enough. Let's move on to something else now. You sure you still don't wanna fight?"
The grin was swiftly wiped away with a frown. Ren shook his head negatively, looking down on his arm, at the scar that never faded away, even with his healing. "No, I... Sorry, but I still just can't get over it. What Agnus did to me, and Nora. I know he's dead, that Dante dealt with him, it's just..."
Jaune reached out to him and gently clasped his shoulder, looking at him worriedly. "It's fine. You don't have to push yourself, Ren. Didn't mean for you to delve into those painful memories. Sorry. Let's switch to a-"
"Your orders, sir." A middle-aged man strode on over to their table, carrying a tray with their noodles. He smiled at the two, placing their bowls right in front of them. With a bow, he walked back and left them to their own devices.
The cousins glanced at each other with a smile, as if speaking with one another mentally. They snatched their chopstick off the table and started devouring their noodles at a rapid pace, trying to see who could eat theirs the fastest.
"I swear, you cheated." Jaune grumbled, pressing the breaks on his motorcycle, bringing it to a halt.
"I didn't cheat. You shouldn't have just choked on your pork." Ren cheekily bantered back, enjoying how salty his cousin was being. "Anyway, it was your own fault for making that bet."
Jaune didn't bother to acknowledge it with a response as he disembarked and went to the DMC office's entrance. The duo pushed open the doors and saw Dante at his desk, while Morrison sat on the couch along with a blonde woman.
"Oh, sorry. Did we come at a bad time?" Jaune apologized, looking rather embarrassed at the thought of interrupting an important meeting.
Morrison waved it off, motioning for the two to come in. "Nothing to worry about. Just hashing out the details for a new job. You're both more than welcome to take it up."
They nodded and sat over at the other couch, signalling to Morrison to get back to talking. The dapper man cleared his throat and brought their attention to the locket on the coffee table.
"As Ms. Nina Lowell was saying here, she wants you fellas to guard over this historical heirloom of hers. Its been in her possession for ten years at least, ever since her father died. It's been passed down from generations, and is considered pretty priceless."
"Why have it be guarded now? You've had it for ten years. Why break the streak?" Jaune posed, finding it odd.
"It's priceless." Ren connected, eyes narrowing as his lips curled in disgust. "She's probably had attempts on her life, trying to get it off her body."
Morrison nodded in confirmation. "Exactly. For these past years, the attacks on her weren't as frequent, so she could more or. less live normally. But lately, she's been getting attacked left and right, so it's time for someone to step in."
Nina looked over at Dante, pleading in her eyes as she spoke. "Please. Would you take this job for me?"
Much to everyone's dismay, he shook his head. "Sorry, but I already have something planned for the week. An old friend of mine is asking for help, and it's somewhere pretty far off. But, these two can handle it."
Nina's face scrunched up, looking in the direction of Jaune and Ren, hesitation and concern written all over her face. "But, they're so young. I don't think-"
Morrison spoke up, cutting her off. "Sorry to interrupt you, Ms. Nina, but I can personally vouch for these two. Nero and Ren are more than capable of guarding your locket. They may look young, but don't let that fool you. Trust me on this."
"We won't let you down, ma'am." Jaune said, offering a confident smile.
Nina sighed in resignation, still looking unsure. "Well, I don't really have a choice, do I? Alright, I'm leaving my locket in your hands."
She tenderly picked it up and handed it over to the blond. Jaune accepted the locket and gave her a firm nod. "You have my word, Ms. Nina. We'll take good care of this."
"That's all I ask for." Standing up, she bowed to the devil hunters and was escorted out of the office by Morrison.
The three cambions silently waited, until the car drove off out of ear shot. Ren turned to his father, an inquisitive look on his face. "She was lying, wasn't she?"
"She was hiding something." Dante clarified, pushing himself up from his desk. "She's not giving us the full story. And I'm willing to bet that that locket's connected to demons. So, keep a look out."
The two looked at him in surprise, watching as he made his way to the door. "Wait, you're actually going somewhere? You didn't lie to Ms. Nina?"
Dante nodded. "Yep. Like I said, it's gonna be pretty far off. I'll be gone for a few days. Don't do anything stupid." Before leaving, he extended his arm and the Devil Arm Cerberus came sailing to his hand. With one last nod, Dante was off.
The Grandsons of Sparda were left alone in the office as they stared at the locket with much scrutiny and wonder at what it could possibly do.
Patty hummed a tune to herself, standing right next to Selene, who was buying them a pretzel each. Ever since the incident with Bacchus, Jeanne didn't want Patty alone by herself whenever she went off to town, and required her to have a chaperone at all times.
She understood her adoptive mother's fears, and went along with her decision. What happened terrified her, and she didn't want to experience similar situation ever again...
The young girl gasped, seeing Nina walk across the street. She hurriedly fished out her locket, opening up and compared her to the image of her mother. They looked identical.
"Mommy...?" she muttered.
Without even thinking, Patty started running and followed after Nina, intent on getting confirmation. Selene nodded st the vendor, thanking him for the pretzels. Turning around, she went to kneel to give one to Patty, before finally noticing she wasn't around.
"Patty! Where did you go!" she called out, looking around for her little sister. Biting down a curse, she went off to to look for her.
Patty scoured the streets, trying to locate Nina amongst the sea of people. To no avail, it seemed she lost him. Selene approached from behind and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"There you are!" she shouted in relief, before her face morphed into a worried glare. "What were you thinking, running off by yourself? Mom told you stay close with us."
Her features softened, seeing the tears swelling up in Patty's eyes as she looked down in regret.
"I-I'm sorry, it's just that, I thought I saw my mom..."
Selene sighed and wrapped her arm around her little sister. Her birth mother was still a sensitive topic for her. Even if she had accepted them as her new family, she still wanted to find her. Patty hugged her sister back, tears drying.
"It's fine, Patty-cakes. Just, don't go running off again, alright? Now come on, let's get back home before our pretzels get cold."
Patty broke away and nodded in agreement. Selene smiled, handing her the pretzel. The young girl nibbled on the delicious baked good as she was lead back home. Unbeknownst to them, Nina was just around the corner, having heard every word. She tightly clutched her chest, sorrow and regret wrapping around her features, desperately wanting to be with Patty.
But not yet... With a sigh, she made herself scarce and dispersed into the crowd.
Jaune and Ren had decided to take up shifts on who got to watch over the locket, with the former being the first one. He kept the thing on his person while he took Fenrir out for a late night walk.
The park was a no go, still under repairs from his fight with Bacchus, so he and Fenrir were just walking from street to street, stopping every so often to let a few curious children to give the docile wolf some pets.
Jaune felt the hairs on his neck stand up, making him look from the corner of his eyes, seeing four shady looking people following him. He felt his arm pulse underneath his sleeve, as if to confirm to him what they were. Even Fenrir seemed to pick up on it.
The blond and the wolf took a turn, leading them right into an isolated alleyway. To his correct suspicion, the group of four followed after him. As he made enough distance, he came to a halt and called out to them, channeling his demonic powers.
"Drop the disguises. I could smell you guys were demons a mile away."
The group growled, no doubt in irritation. Their skins fell off like shedding, revealing their true, grotesque forms.
"Where is the woman?! Do you possess the magic stone!?" the demon demanded as it and its brethren climbed on to the walls to encircle Nero.
"Magic stone? You mean this?" he fished out the locket from his pocket, showing it to the demons.
Their eyes glinted at the sight of it, glowing brightly in the dark. The leader of the bunch growled, before pouncing with a shrill cry. Nero didn't move from his position. Instead, Fenrir reacted.
The dire wolf tackled the demon by its side, right before sinking his fangs on its nape. The demon howled in pain, trying to get the animal off it. The other three moved in to attack Fenrir, only to be blindsided by Nero.
Drawing Blue Rose, he pulled the trigger and blasted them back with ease. Deciding not to waste time, he suffused his gun with demonic energy and fired off a Charge Shot that obliterated the three.
Looking up, he saw Fenrir skid against the pavement, having bitten off one of the demon's hands. This enraged it, bellowing loudly and swung its other usable arm. Nero hopped back and summoned Yamato, quickly drawing her out and attacked.
The dark-forged blade cleanly sliced the arm in two, and before it could react, the Arc Scion moved in and decapitated its head with one swing. With a flick of his wrist, he cleaned the blade and secured her back into her scabbard.
"Looks like Dante was right. What do demons want with this locket?" he pondered to himself, looking at it with curiosity.
Shaking his head, he decided to think about in the morning and exited the alleyway. Nero blinked at the sight of Nina standing right at the end, staring at him with shock.
"Ms. Nina? What are you doing out all the way here?"
She didn't answer him, more focused on the corpses that lay behind him. "You...managed to kill the demons?"
"It's in the job description." he shrugged, willing away his father's blade. "Like Morrison said, you can trust us. I've been hunting demons since a little over three years ago."
He felt his hair stand up, seeing someone approach them. Fenrir started to growl, getting ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Nina took notice of their reaction and hurriedly ran up in front of the man to explain.
"Please, don't be alarmed. This is a friend of mine, Ross. Actually, he was the one that introduced me to Devil May Cry. An odd jobs agency that can even protect a demon attracting pendant."
Ross looked at Nero and nodded in greeting. The Lone Son hummed to himself, feeling a sense of familiarity wash over him at the sight of the white-haired man in the suit. With the air cleared up, Nina turned back to Nero finally tell him what she had been meaning to say.
"Please, give me back the pendant." she requested, surprising the cambion. "The thought of putting strangers in danger, especially someone as young as you, is something that's been plaguing my mind since I put it under your care. So please..."
For a moment, Nero remained silent. He simply stared at Nina unblinkingly. It wasn't long before it was broken. The devil hunter sighed, nodding his assent.
"You're the client, it is your call." He took the pendant off his neck and went to hand it over to its original owner. To his confusion, she refused it and shook her head.
"No, I'll take it tomorrow. Although brief, I still intend to pay you for the service rendered. I'll have the money ready by then."
Not one to refuse a paycheck, he nodded again and pocketed the pendant. "Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Nina."
With a wave goodbye, he bid farewell to the blond and made his way back home. Fenrir sat still in his position, staring unblinkingly at the pair, making Nina nervous while Ross simply stared back. Nero grabbed his attention with a sharp whistle, calling for him to come along. Fenrir gave them one last glance before running up to join his master.
They watched them fade into obscurity. Ross then finally took the time to speak. "You go on ahead. I just need to a quick little errand before heading back."
"Alright. But be careful, it is getting late."
Ross watched Nina's back before it eventually fell out of sight. With no one around, he went to work. Approaching the still present corpse of the demons. He grunted and reached out for the leader.
The Next Day
"She's asking for it back?" Ren questioned while he struck the cue ball.
Jaune nodded, moving into position for his turn. "Yeah. She felt really guilty for putting it in our hands. Morrison's bringing her around in an hour to get back the pendant. Honestly, I'm kinda glad she's taking it back. Today's my turn to watch over Patty, and I'd rather not have to worry about demons popping out while I take her to the mall."
Ren nodded absentmindedly, paying half attention to his cousin, more focused on analyzing the pool table for the most optimal course of action.
Their game went uninterrupted for the most part, going either way. Just as Jaune went to take his turn, the doors swung open. Nina stepped inside, holding a rather thick envelope. Her eyes met with Jaune's. He nodded and grabbed the locket off the desk, offering it back to its rightful owner.
Nina accepted back the pendant and nodded in gratitude at the young teen, handing over the envelope. "Here. Your pay. I'm... really sorry for the inconvenience I've caused."
The blond smiled gently at her, shaking his head in assurance. "It's fine, Ms. Nina. You've caused no trouble at all. If you need our services again in the future, you know where to find us."
She sighed in relief. A smile gracing her face. Nina bowed to Jaune and thanked him once again. "I'll take that offer in consideration. Take care to you both."
With her business done, Nina made her leave. As she took a step forward, Patty came barrelling right towards her from out of nowhere, unable to stop herself from the colliding against the older woman, causing her to fall on her butt.
Jaune ran up to his sister, picking her up from the ground, giving her a once over in case she has any scrapes or bruises. "You alright, Pats?"
"I'm fine. Sorry about that, m-"
She cut herself off as she caught a glimpse of Nina's face, shock overcoming her expression. Unfortunately, before she could utter another word, Nina took off and started speed walking out of the building. Patty wordlessly watched, almost tempted to run after her but she didn't.
Jaune noticed this, kneeling down to Patty's level with concern swimming over his face. "Patty, what's wrong?"
Patty didn't respond, tears swelling in her eyes. She got a hold of herself and wiped away the tears, looking up to her big brother. "I-I'm fine! Now, come on, we're burning daylight, you promised me we'd go hang out at the mall today."
"That I did." He confirmed, ruffling her hair. The concern never left his face. He wondered why Patty held such a reaction to Nina. "I'll go grab my bike around the back. It won't take long."
The young girl nodded, sitting at the steps as Jaune went to go retrieve his ride. She saw something glint to her side and looked down, seeing the locket laying on the floor.
"What's this doing here?" she murmured to herself, picking it up in curiosity.
Patty stared at the pendant before hearing the roar of Jaune's bike get closer. She stashed it away in her bag and stood up from the steps, running up to her big brother as he came with a helmet in hand.
Ren dropped down on to his father's chair, having retrieved a book from the shelf to read. Before he could even start, the phone started ringing. Sighing in slight irritation, he put down the book and answered the call, putting the receiver to his ear. "Devil May Cry. How can I help?"
"Ren. Perfect timing. Do you know where Jaune is?"
Ren raised a brow at who was on the other end. "Trish? Sorry, but you just missed him. He left for the mall with Patty."
"Damn. There's something I needed to tell him."
"What did you need to tell him? I'm not doing anything right now, so I could probably catch up and relay what you need."
"Dante told me about your job before he left yesterday. I have something you need to know about that pendant."
Every ounce of confusion was wiped away from his face, morphing into a serious expression. "What do you got?"
Nina sighed heavily as she pushed open the door to her hotel room. Even now, it still greatly ached her heart to see Patty and not say anything. Why did it have to be her ancestor that sealed away a powerful demon? Why couldn't it have been anyone else.
Closing the door behind her, she looked up in confusion to see it was completely pitch black. Before she could even utter a word, an arm with a cloth stuck out from the dark and covered the lower half of her face.
Nina struggled against her assailant, but to no avail. Her eyes rolled over her head as she slumped back against her assailant, now unconscious.
Patty wordlessly sipped her milkshake, staring down her lap as the woman's face constantly replayed in her mind. There really wasn't any doubt left, that was her mother, the same person she saw yesterday. She finally found her, but...
"Are you alright, Patty?"Jaune called out, his face stricken with worry. "You're just sipping air right now."
The young girl blinked, looking at the glass to see nothing in it, aside from leftover foam. Patty sighed deeply. She sat up and look straight at her brother. "That woman from earlier... I'm pretty sure she's my mom."
Jaune lifted a brow in curiosity and confusion. "Huh? You mean Ms. Nina?"
Patty slammed her hands on the table, eyes wide as she nodded vigorously. "That's her name! That's my mom's name! What about her surname? Did you catch what it was?"
Jaune hummed, uncertain. Before his own eyes slowly widened, recalling a certain that Bacchus had told him with his dying breath. "Lowell... Her name's Nina Lowell. That was your surname before mom adopted you." He slouched back, looking at Patty with an inquisitive look. "Do you want to meet her?"
He was given a nod as a response. "Yes... I'm perfectly happy with you guys. I love being with you all. I just... I just want answers. Why she did what she did, so I can finally move on."
For a moment, the blond stayed silent and contemplative. Closing his eyes, he nodded at his little sister and took one last sip from his milkshake. "Come on, let's go and meet here before the sundown, then."
Patty smiled gratefully at her brother. She hopped off her seat and followed after him towards the mall's parking lot.
Nina stirred, groaning as she tried to recall what happened to her. Panic began to course through her upon the realization that she was bound to a chair, unable to even budge her limbs. She looked below her, gasping in fear at the pentagram at her feet, with various demonic artifacts and limbs situated at each point.
"Finally awake..."
Nina's head snapped to the direction of the voice. There, she saw Ross standing by the window, staring outside. The white-haired man, craned his head to look at the blonde.
"R-Ross, what is the meaning of this? Let me go!"
"Let you go?" he repeated, lifting a brow in amusement. "That would defeat the purpose of me binding you to that chair, Descendant of Allen."
Her eyes lowered, realization settling in them. "You're after the pendant. But why? It only means anything to demons... Y-You're a demon? But then why didn't it-"
Ross chuckled lowly, shaking his head as he approached Nina. "Make no mistake, I'm no demon. I'm just as human as you are."
"Then why?!" Nina shouted in confusion. "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to unseal Abigail?!"
"Because I want his power." Ross revealed, shrugging uncaringly. "The Power of Sparda is out of my reach, nor can I obtain the necessary means to plant the seed of the Qliphoth. I'm no woman, so that also leaves the Maidens out of the picture as well. Once I get the last piece of the puzzle, I will obtain power absolute!"
Nina looked at the madman with confusion amidst her tears. "Ross... How could you...?"
"Ah right. That's anothet thing; Ross has been dead for months." He callously confessed. He took his shades, revealing glinting red eyes, his hair turning from snow white to golden yellow as a grin settled on his lips. "I am Rouge Bernstein."
Shock crept up the blonde's face, not knowing how to react. Rouge chuckled, crossing his arms, leaning against the wall.
"Now, we wait. Until the final piece of the puzzle is right here."
"What?" Nina felt neither fear nor shock, but confusion. "What do you mean? Why are you waiting? You took the pendant from me, didn't you?"
Rouge shook his head, irritated, but still brimming with confidence. "No, you don't have it. Which means it's still over at the devil hunters, but I'm not worried. They'll surely give it back."
Jaune pressed the breaks on his motorcycle, coming to a halt right in front of the hotel. As he was about to step out, Patty stopped him.
"Big brother, would it be okay... If I talked to her all by myself?"
"Are you sure?" he asked worriedly.
The young child nodded resolutely. "I am. I'm sure I can face her on my own. I need to hear it from her, one-on-one."
Patty was met with silence, making her worried for a moment, but Jaune swept it away with a smile, ruffling her hair. "Alright. I'll wait by the reception area. Just call me if you need me, okay?"
She smiled back, hugging her brother in gratitude as she hopped off his motorcycle and ran into the hotel. As Jaune went to go park his bike, someone called out to him.
"Jaune!"
He looked up, seeing Ren run up to him. The blond went to go greet him, but swiftly noticed the perturbed and serious expression written across his face. Something was wrong.
"You look disturbed. What's up?"
"It's about the pendant. It's about Nina." Ren tone was grave, gaining Jaune's full attention.
Patty hid behind the pillar, waiting until the receptionist weren't facing her direction. She quickly rushed over to the cart being pushed by a janitor, hiding by its side before going off towards the elevators.
An unoccupied one came down and she entered it as soon as it opened up, going towards the top floor, where Nina was located. Patty felt her heart thump loudly against her chest. Nervousness and fear began to cloud her mind. This was it... She was about to confront her mother.
Patty took out her old locket, clicking it open to look at the last memory of her and her mother together. The ding of elevator brought her back to attention, the doors sliding open for when to exit through.
The little girl looked both ways, trying to recall where Jaune said Nina's room was, before remembering it was to the far left. Patty took her time as she tried to calm her still beating heart, going crazy at the anticipation. Until finally, she was right in front of the door.
She reached out to the knob, before pulling back, hesitating for a moment. Steeling herself, she took in a deep breath and twisted the knob, pushing open the door.
"After all, that's why you had to part ways with your precious daughter, didn't you?"
Patty could feel her jaw drop, staring directly at the bound Nina. It really was her. It was mostly definitely her mother. She forgot to say anything at all, too enraptured by the confirmation.
"Patty, nevermind me, please just run!" Nina cried out, not wanting her daughter to be involved in any of this.
But Rouge wouldn't allow it. He blasted a beam of ice at the doorway, sealing off Patty's only exit. The power-hungry madman chuckled, using Andrius to craft a dagger of ice, hovering it dangerously over Nina's throat. This snapped Patty out of her reverie, fear now completely overtaking her mind.
"Now then, Patty. Have you ever seen a special pendant? It has a rather beautiful blue stone at the center of it."
The little girl's breath hitched, unconsciously gripping her bag wherein said pendant was. Rouge grinned dangerously, having noticed this all.
"Ah, good. Would you kindly place it right at the center of this altar here?"
Despite the dagger right at her throat, Nina still found the strength to defy him. "Patty, no! Please don't listen to him, he'll-"
Rouge cut her off and jabbed the ice dagger right into her leg. Nina bellowed out in pain, terrifying Patty as she took a step back in fear. The blond crafted yet another dagger, looking unamused.
"Do it. Or else this one goes right through her heart." And by the look on his face, he would go through with it.
Gulping down her fear, Patty approached the altar as she grabbed the pendant from her bag. Nina could only watch in despair, unable to even try and stop her daughter due to the pain constantly flaring around her leg. Patty gently placed it down right at the center.
"T-There. I did it like you asked. Now, l-let me and mom go!"
Rouge couldn't help but smirk at her attempt at bravado, amused. "Thank you." He simply said, before kicking down Nina, much to the young girl's horror.
Before any of them could even react, all of the demonic artifacts began glowing. The pendant shone brightly, resonating with them as the pentagram did its work, breaking the seal that kept Abigail in place, creating a portal that led to its domain. Rouge laughed with glee, jumping right into the portal to obtain his power.
Patty ran up to Nina, checking to see if she was alright. The mother could only wince, reminding the young girl of the dagger still embedded in her leg. As she was about to pull it out, the ice that sealed off the entrance was shattered with one punch.
"Patty!" Jaune shouted in worry, running into the room with Ren following suit.
The cambions stopped in their tracks, staring at the swirling portal. Ren scowled, cursing under his breath. "Dammit, we're too late."
Jaune flared his demonic powers, immediately accessing his Devil Trigger and called the Yamato to his side. "Get them out of here, I'll follow after the bastard that did this!"
Without waiting for a response, Nero rushed into the portal and jumped right in. Patty looked over in fear and worry, reaching out to him but the words died in her mouth. Ren ran up to Nina, cutting her free from her bindings. He saw the dagger in her leg and pulled it out, applying a piece of a Devil Star on the wound to heal it, before sweeping her off her feet to carry her.
"Come on, let's go!"
Patty wordlessly nodded and followed after her cousin as the rook began to shake violently.
Nero landed down on his knees, looking around to familiarize himself with his surrounding. Standing, he couldn't help but take note of how incredibly vibrant yet twisted the world was. It felt off...
Shaking off the feeling, he pressed forward and hastened his speed. He shouldn't waste time standing around. It didn't take long to reach the end of the patch, leading him right to a throne room. And there sat Rouge, smug and victorious.
"Welcome, Grandson of Sparda. Unfortunately, you're already too late."
Nero's eyes narrowed, unsheathing the Yamato. "That's a difference of opinion. But mind humoring me for just a minute? Why do all of this? You had fame, fortune, literally the entire world's adoration. Why throw it all away?"
Rouge shrugged, a flippant smile on his lips. "I'm a greedy man, simple as that. But as much as I'd like to explain further, I have a schedule to keep."
Without warning, he disappeared from his position like a blur. Rouge blinked right to the cambion's side and began his assault. Nero grunted, fending him off with his sword, parrying his strikes before countering with his own. Channeling energy into Yamato, he roared and swung out a blade of energy.
"Dark Barrier!" Rouge thrust his arm forward and surged out a dark green energy, deflecting the attack right back to sender.
Nero clenched his Devil Bringer and brought forth his Aegis Shield, blocking the attack. He glared at the blond, who simply grinned back, curling around his fingers. The both of them rushed forward at the same time and clashed.
"Please, you don't understand! You have to evacuate this entire hotel, or else a lot of people will die!" Ren pleaded to the receptionist, who simply met him with a skeptical expression.
"Sir, if this is a joke, it's not a funny one. Stop at this instance or we'll call the police." he coldly replied, pushing up his spectacles.
As Ren prepared to make an argument for himself, the entire hotel began to shake violently, destroying every glass there was and dropping the chandelier to shatter. The receptionist, now cowed sufficiently, slammed down his fist onto an emergency button, informing every guest to evacuate immediately.
Everyone screamed in a panic, it was a total cacophony as they all stampeded out of the hotel, trying to save themselves from this mess. Fortunately, everyone managed to get out relatively unharmed. Just in time for them all to witness the top of the building to glow an ominous white light. Practically everyone in Mistral could see it.
Nina fell to her knees, horror dominating her face at what it all meant. "It's all over... The world we know it is coming to an end."
Ren tightly clenched his fist, heart pounding as he thought of his cousin. What happened to him?
Rouge grunted, dusting off his coat as the wounds he sustained closed up with a loud sizzle. He adjusted his suit and his tie, making sure nothing was out of place. He turned behind him, looking unfathomably smug as he took his time walking back to the portal that led to Remnant.
He stepped on to a pool of blood, earning him a look of annoyance as he clicked his tongue.
"How annoying. Can you not make a mess?"
The trail of blood continued to flow, leading towards to the throne where Rouge once sat. There sat Nero, slumped against the seat, face marred by wounds and shadowed by his hair. It looked like he had been thrown through the wringer, body covered in slashes and burns. The Yamato was embedded deep into his stomach, the light of his arm slowly fading as blood continued to pool out.
Rouge shook his head and continued walking, leaving behind Nero to continue on with his goal.
Woo! Finally got this done after a month. Thousand apologies for that. Between midterms taking up my time, and the Fake Ascension patch from PGR drawing me in with its story, I simply didn't have any time left to write this chapter. But I finally got some this week, so enjoy!
And this is it. The climax for this arc draws nearer, and I hope I can end it with much justice. I considered writing in a section to show Rouge and Abigail speaking with each other before the former took the latter's power, but I decided not to, because I feel like the chapter's plenty long enough.
I'll start writing the next chapter whenever I can, and I hope I can get it done within two weeks or so. Hopefully. As always, thanks everyone for reading through! Review below your thoughts and stay safe and sanitized!