Man, it's been a while. Spent my time playing the last days of the GAA. Even though I wasn't able to get C1 Fischl, at least I managed to get the skin (Kazuha's puzzles can go screw themselves though)

Now that Sumeru's up, I'm hoping that I would be lucky to get Zhongli in his banner (sad that I ended up getting Qiqi in the Yoimiya banner as my first 5 Star but I managed to progress further in the Spiral Abyss because of her than expected), if not at least get some constellations for Fischl and save my soft pity on Eula or Shenhe should they have a re-run of their banners. So best of luck of anyone pulling for those characters!

I'm actually surprised that more than a few liked to have Vergil get another chapter with Klee. Fret not, I'm planning on a future Klee and Vergil chapter.

This is mostly a self-reflect on Vergil's thoughts, but we'll get to the 8th Chapter soon enough.

Yoroyuza Forever: Nice to see that it is! Some people say thay Vergil didn't care for Nero at all, but that wasn't true. He does care for Nero even when he was V, and one of the things I imagine that Vergil would be proud off, are the show of strength, motivation and sheer will. Things that he saw in Nero.

Ryuundying Soul: Oh you'll find out soon enough. But I'm not gonna spoil it.

FGOrider23: Vergil in his normal form is damn strong in the Genshin-verse. Him going on DT would be overkill. But as for your question, he wouldn't be going all SDT unless he needed to. But he would use his standard DT based on concept art from DMC5 or that od DMC4.

Grocamol: Glad you saw that. Having Vergil in character is a challenge, but there are moments where he could be a boomer/dork in certain instances.

Kenji Shimura: Took the suggestion to heart, and I watched the whole thing unravel. Proved great as research material.

Qsofyoos: The time period doesn't add up unfortunately. Collei by this time has already returned to Sumeru.

Chapter 7: A Familiar Reflection

Within the Grand Master's office, Vergil properly adjusted himself onto his seat as the blonde woman finished up a few documents that she was handling before he had arrived. Beside him, sat the girl in red, where Klee was visibly nervous and afraid of not only to her 'caretaker', but to the man in black as well. Despite Vergil's promise earlier, the swordsman couldn't really keep it at this point. Not when the stunt she pulled had already displayed its results.

He observed the blond for a moment ans immediately recognized that she was different from the others he had interacted with. Her bearing and posture were too disciplined, bespeaking balanced muscles and mobility, signs of athleticism.

Observing the room before him, the swordsman eyed his surroundings with admiration. The room was almost like a library of sorts, have intricate and well-designed ornaments to compliment its status as the room of the highest authority in Mondstadt, along with a few unfamiliar decorations such as a coat of arms that detailed the official symbol of the Knights of Favonius.

Despite his interactions with other people, Vergil had to admit that he had almost forgotten how monotonous is the everyday lifestyle of humanity. Having spent almost his entire life for the pursuit of power and around demons, he had very little time for such activities nor he minded about them too much.

But was willing to follow whatever due process they, until it would go and reek its ugly heads anyway. Which meant that he would have to see this through until the end.

In front of him, stood the nominal leader of thr Knights of Favonius. She was different from the people he had met. Tall and blonde, she was both a warrior and a hardworking leader based on the sword she had with her, and of the stacks of documents on her desk. Her uniform was crafted to fit her prowess as a Grand Master and of her pristine figure.

The woman in front of him composed herself, giving Klee a firm stare as she opened her mouth to speak. "Klee, what happened at Starfell was reckless", she began in a firm and strict tone. "Will you explain yourself as how it had come to this and how you managed to drag anyone unfamiliar in your schemes?"

The child sniffled slightly. "Klee's treasure was stolen by bad men...", she began before turning to the swordsman beside her. "And I asked Mr. Vergil to help find my treasure..."

Jean looked at her momentarily, and then to the swordsman. "Would that explain as to why Mr. Vergil has singes all over him and have managed to bring you back here in the HQ?"

Vergil sighed, wanting to get to the point of all of this and he decided to intervene. "An unfortunate accident, Grand Master", the swordsman spoke in a polite tone that caused the woman to be taken back, a bit surprised at him not taking the entire ordeal he had gone through personally. "We ran across a group of Treasure Hoarders that had stolen her belongings, and I came to aid her at my own accord"

Klee looked at him, hopeful that she would at least get a lesser sentence from whatever Mr. Vergil would say to her. "Although the latter part of our endeavor was uncalled for, I took it as my responsibility to bring the child back unharmed."

The acting Grand Master took her time to register the new information in her head, and a nod from the Spark Knight confirmed this. "I suppose that I shall take your word for it, Mr. Vergil", Jean replied, giving him a curt nod before shifting her attention to Mondstadt's Spark Knight. "As for you Klee, what you did at Starfell will not go unnoticed. And you can make up a part of it if you apologize to him right now"

Klee turned, unable to face the man eye-to-eye as she looked down. "I'm sorry, Mr. Vergil", she uttered, her tone indicating both remorse and sadness. Normally, Vergil would merely brush off these apologies as unneeded or that he would be annoyed for the trouble she caused him.

But of course, Klee is merely a child who had yet to outgrow her naivite around her and learn how the world really worked. Thus, he wouldn't exactly afford to have a grudge with her because of it. That would be too petty, even for him.

The swordsman turned to her, his face having been softened. "Apology accepted, child", he said in reply, to which he heard the acting Grand Master sighing of relief at this lenient gesture. "Practice restraint if you may"

The child looked down, visibly trying to hold her tears from the two adults in the room. "I'll see myself in solitary confinement..", she uttered amidst the light sobs that came from her before making her way out of the office.

Jean could only breath out a sigh just as the girl in red had left, pinching her forehead as the man simply sat down, waiting for a signal that he is also free to go.

Vergil looked as the leader of the Knights forcefully composing herself, maintaining a polite and formal demeanor at him as she grasped her hands. "I sincerely hope that this incident did not cause any harm to your goodwill towards Mondstadt", she professed to him, her tone being apologetic and of understanding. "The Knights of Favonius will see to it that you will be properly compensated for any damage caused"

Vergil merely shrugged. "That will not be necessary, Grand Master", he assured Jean, addressing her by her title as a sign of respect.

Even though he would normally disregard titles as meaningless additions to their names unless they had anything to back it up, he was respectful enough to call her as such, not when she had her hands full at her work. "Though I simply suggest that firm supervision of the child would be needed. Not when she is quite the energetic"

Jean could not help but lightly smile at the man's description of the Spark Knight. "She really is. Though it had the tendency of charming trouble along the way, especially with her place as the Spark Knight"

Vergil shrugged in response. "It appeared she does, but she will learn eventually", he said, to which the woman gave him a wordless nod in return.

She looked into him a bit closely, and his apperance and mannerisms sparkes a thought of intrigue for him. He was civil, collected and polite despite the earlier incident with Klee before glancing at the sheathed weapon he held in his left hand. "If you wouldn't mind...", Jean trailed off mid-sentence, to which he shifted his attention to her.

"Hm?"

"I haven't seen you anywhere here in Mondstadt", she began, hesitating for a moment upon hearing the informality of her sentence, not when the way he spoke to her. "May I know as to where you had come from, Mr. Vergil?"

The swordsman merely glanced at her, maintaining the collected and stoic image she began to grow familiar with. "Answering that may complicate matters further, Grand Master", Vergil spoke with a montone voice, crossing his arms after settling the Yamato beside him. "What you need to know from that, is that I merely experience what the city could offer"

"A tourist then?"

"Perhaps", the swordsman answered, deciding that it would be the more acceptable to them. "The City had a lot to offer than expected, not when it is called the City of Freedom by its citizens"

She appeared to brighten up of his response, appreciating the feedback that the man had for Mondstadt. "May I know what made it interesting for you during your stay?"

Vergil hummed for a moment. To his experiences, lengthy conversations with other people, other than Dante or a few chosen in his lifetime. He could simply say a few words that would be able to satisfy the other's curiosity and excuse himself out of the office as soon as possible.

But he was savy enough to continue, and he was not foolish enough to leave a rude impression to someone who has not done anything that draw his ire. "The city's architecture is fascinating, the cuisine is commendable and the library so far has sate my curiousity around my surroundings", he recalled. There hasn't been anything that proved unpleasant so far, and he simply enjoyed his stay despite initially finding it to be dull at first.

Maybe that is a feature by having his humanity restored. Appreciating what other humans do as well.

"I am glad that Mondstadt has met your expectations", Jean spoke in a more upbeat, if not happy, tone that was in contrast to her formal and professional dialogue from earlier. Is she new to her profession?, Vergil thought for a moment, before quickly going back to their conversation. "If there is anything that you need for assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Knights of Favonius if need be"

Vergil merely passed her a nod. "If that is all, then I will take my leave", the swordsman stood up, giving the acting Grand Master a slight bow as a courtesy and respect to a higher authority. "It was a pleasure speaking with you, Grand Master"

Jean placed a hand onto her chest, a sign of both solemnity and of thanks and gave him a nod. "May the Anemo Archon protect you, Vergil"

With that, he made his way to the office door, giving off a strange aura that the blonde could say to herself. But as he did, the door cracked open, revealing a bunny-like bandana and a figure of a young woman.

"Master Jean, I would like to report that-", Amber spoke, but not before her breath was taken away at the next second.

The swordsman raised an eyebrow as the Outrider became frozen stiff in an instant the moment she laid her eyes upon him. He had recognized her somewhere, and his memory clicked in of the same girl that watched him from afar days ago. When he leveled an entire camp of bootleg demons that were mere bugs to him. "Excuse me", he simply said, not minding the visible fear displayed to him.

"Jeez, you didn't have to act like a total ass at that one", a voice spoke up in his head, this time being more sarcastic and foolhardy but Vergil simply ignored it.

On the other side, Jean watched in complete bafflement as the Outrider crumpled like a leaf in front of the man, struggling to give him space until he simply walked passed through her when he could without a word and left the office completely.

As he did, Amber fell against the wall and struggled to catch her breath and allowing herself to drop to the floor whilst clutching her chest. Jean immediately noticed her peril and quickly left her workstation to attend to the Outrider.

"Amber!", she called out, rushing forward to helo her fellow knight in regaining her bearings. "What happened?"

It was the similar dilemma that she had brought on the day she had returned from her scouting mission. But even worse, when she came face to face with the black swordsman.

Does Vergil have anything to do with this?, she thought, rubbing the girl's back with her free hand as she helped settle her down in a nearby sofa. "Amber. What is going on?", she inquired, her tone indicating both worry and of authority towards her.

"Master Jean...", Amber trembled, clutching her chest of her encounter of the man in black. "T-that's him!"

The Dandelion Knight's eyes widened at that. Is she referring to Vergil? "The swordsman at Windrise?", Jean asked as a means to confirm it, to which Amber did by furiously nodding in response.

Her memory began to play its part as she recalled Amber's description of the man; a tall silver-haired man wearing mostly black and carried foreign-styled sword. All of which began to perfectly match the traits that Vergil had.

Could it be him? The man they were looking for? The one who had a hand in the unknown occurences that happened around the area outside Mondstadt?

Settling down the Outrider, Jean made her way out of the office, expecting that he could still be around and catch up to him. Noticing one of the Knights standing in guard, she approached him, causing the guard to salute in response.

"Have you seen anyone with silver hair carrying a sheathed weapon with him?", she inquired, almost haphazardly which put him on edge of her mannerisms."I have to speak to him"

"No, Master Jean", he replied to his apparent confusion. "I haven't seen anyone exit the building, nor we ever noticed anyone other than Outrider Amber"

She made her way at the front door of the Headquarters, looking around to find any sign of the man in black, especially he could not have gotten far.

But to her shock and confusion, he seemingly vanished into thin air. Nowhere to be seen.

Vergil wandered around the city for a while, only for him to make his way outside its walls overlooking the streams of the lake surrounding it. He felt he needed to rest, after the entire fiasco involving a child who is an aspiring pyromaniac, or an agent of chaos. The swordsman hasn't felt this much stress in his life when it comes to something trivial as that, and he needed some breathing room.

For a while now, he had spent most of his time in the city, and it was only a matter of time until he would move onto his next destination; that he decided to be Liyue. Mondstadt had been a convenience to his curiosity and of his needs, but he knew that Liyue could have something to offer, perhaps something greater as well.

Not when their so-called god was the most powerful of the Seven Archons that won the Archon Wars that created the order that Teyvat had grown accustomed to.

Still, there is still much that the Anemo country offered, and that he was in not in a hurry to see it all for himself. He had grown accustomed to the people there, who embraced the creed that Barbatos had laid upon them.

Vergil had personally never had much interest in such matters. As a young man, he never truly had any mind to humanity's core beliefs. To him, freewill is a myth and that religion is nothing short of a joke.

All beings, by proxy and not just demons, are bound by something greater; power.

Power to gain. Power to lose. Power to create. Power to destroy and so on. And humanity had went to greater lengths to achieve this, even dealing with something beyond their natural beliefs, such as Arkham, Sanctus and Arius.

In his belief, might controlled everything. This meant by gaining as much power as he could and he had never had any qualms in whatever methods necessary in achieving this, which determined the motivation of an individual or a group.

Which is why he had always thought that humanity was a weakness. Partially because of the restraints their morals have imposed onto them.

But he was proven wrong time and time again.

Humanity could become powerful, not in strength nor in power. But of their ability to evolve and to have empathy for those around them, which they would band together to become form an ever greater bond that allowed them to ride the storm of hardships around them. And of their ability to persist until they could succeed.

A display of sheer motivation.

Something that his brother had went through over and over. As did his son.

Vergil could look back on how the people of Mondstadt would help one another like comrades. They were all motivated to ensure a brighter future to the next generation to come, and overcome whatever challenge that awaited them.

It was something that Vergil could not deny. It impressed him even.

How things have changed. Even for him.

After all that he had went through, even during his seperation into two entities, Vergil learned to empathize and relate to them.

Because no matter how much he tried to deny it, there is always a part of him that made him human.

And he learned to accept it despite what he had always thought of them.

It had helped him move forward and overcome the nightmares that he almost grown accustomed to as Nelo Angelo. And it was already good enough for him to keep it with him.

Events from recently had made Vergil reflect every now and then, especially not when he is fighting nor he was seeking power.

Would embracing humanity be worth it in the very end?

He tried to reason out the answer in his mind. The logical side of him pointed out that there was nothing wrong with that and that it could make him stronger. Dante and Nero were examples of it, and he could very well best them the next time they meet.

But it was more than that. It was convenient. Enjoyable even. Knowing that you didn't necessarily have to fight nor kill in order to feel it like unlike the other half of him.

He couldn't really bring a concrete answer to that. Not yet.

"From experience, you simply learned to accept and appreciate anything around you. Beyond of the typical ambitions you often had", a voice spoke up to him, but this time, it belonged to a certain slender, poetry-loving man, who just happened to be himself, his human half to be precise.

The swordsman frowned. He would silence that voice if he needed to. But he couldn't seem to do so. And ignoring it had a mimimal effect as far as he was concerned.

I've learned to be more careful and precise if that is what you assumed, Vergil mentally spoke to his other half, who merely chuckled in response.

"Or is that what you merely thought? By acting as one of them, you make yourself a part of them", V spoke, almost in the gesture of assurance and of friendly advice. "After all, no man is truly an island in his lifetime"

That does not explain your presence in my head when you shouldn't have in the first place, Vergil interjected in an attempt to change the subject.

V sighed but continued. "By severing the Qlipoth and embracing your humanity, you determined that it was something worth to be accepted. By becoming one, you have overcome your fears and weaknesses of the past and this is the end result. I cannot exist without you, but without me, your power would not as well"

Vergil then raised an eyebrow. Are you supposed to be my moral compass then?

V smirked at himself. "Perhaps. You may even refer to me as a self-reflecting guide if you may"

I am you, the swordsman reiterated.

"Exactly. By embracing your humanity, you have embraced my presence in the heart." V paused, then continued. "In accepting me, you learned to open your heart to my voice, just as you are doing now. Hence, we are one in the same conscience"

Vergil snarled slightly in annoyance of the overly-dramatic gesture, but even more so at how V was right about everything he claimed.

If it had to involve me listening to your sermons every now and then, then I'd rather pass.

"I only speak when needed, that I could promise", V assured him but chuckled, and Vergil felt like digging his head into the soil when he felt the presence of three familiar individuals from the past. "Him on the other hand..."

"Hey! You're saying like it's a bad thing that we're still here, V!" the loud-mouthed Avian Familiar that he called Griffon, snarked out loud. Behind him were a black, red-eyed Jaguar and a very tall golem who gave an impression of a Cyclops of the huge eye it had in its torso. "Even if he couldn't show it, Nightmare got a good laugh at the kid nearly blowing you up to smithereens!"

Vergil pinched his forehead in annoyance. Why the hell are you still here after Dante took care of all of you?

V allowed the familiar to step forward into explaining their presence. "Well, Chief. By forming a contract with V, turns out that we can't really die unless V does, which he didn't", the Avian carefully explained, something that certainly raised an eyebrow from Vergil. "When we got offed by Dante, we got back to your body where V is, rather than fading away completely. Took a while for us to wake up though"

Vergil was skeptical of their presence. Of course, they meant to represent both his trauma and his nightmares. But V's assurance gave him a slight benefit of a doubt. "Speaking of which, what has Dante been doing lately?"

"I'm telling you! He saved my life when I was a kid! He's a little moody but he's a banger to hang out with!", a blond teenager grinned to her friends and she moved out to fetch a certain red-clad Demon Hunter from one of the chairs that were set up for her birthday party.

Dante was slouched in his seat, holding a half-eaten pizza slice in his hand and a nearly empty glass of soda in the other. He was dazed, tired, and looked at the ceiling almost absent-mindedly. He felt a a hand gripping his arm as he was pulled away from his seat.

"Come on, Dante!" Patty enthusiastically called out as she continued to pull his arm to the point that his legs gave way and he was forced to come with her. "I want you to meet some of my friends!"

Morrison, Nero, Lady, Trish... get me out of here..., Dante grimaced at his rotten luck at deciding to go to the birthday party before he was dragged away by Patty, using his willpower not to wail in both boredom and anguish.

"But don't worry. We're not just freeloading on your head for nothing!", Griffon keenly continued, which certainly didn't help Vergil in improving his mood.

V stepped in to give their final remarks."Which means, if you need our help, you know what to do", he said, before Vergil felt their presence slowly retreating back into his mind. "And you don't need to worry about Urizen. We already took care of it"

Their presence had vanished, and Vergil had to contend to the fact that he had four companions freeloading in his head. But there was no use into crying over spilled milk. He had to concentrate, and that would mean he had to make up with their presence as well.

With that, he simply stood up and went back to the city to go and make up a schedule for the day. His first instinct was to return the book he had borrowed from the library, and he checked over the pockets underneath his coat.

And he resisted to curse in frustration.

Because of that little incident with Klee, the book he had was caught in the fire when he quickly teleported the child and himself out of the blast zone.

Which meant, he would have to explain this to the librarian as to why it was lost in the first place. But he decided that he would deal with it later on, and he stood up.

So much for a day of peace and quiet as he initially perceived it.

"Both of you seemed tense", a voice belonging to the Head Librarian of the Knights of Favonius piped in as she entered the office of the acting Grand Master. Amber looked worried, whereas Jean stood in front of an open window, dwelling in her thoughts. "Did little Klee caused more damage than usual?"

Jean didn't even turn to face her. "No, that's not really it. Klee was fortunately returned safe and sound, but it was something else rather"

The Librarian raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Hmm? Do tell"

"If you could recall Amber's previous scouting mission at Windrise, we may already have a clue as to who had been clearing out Hilichurl camps and of the Treasure Hoarders that were found dead along the way", Jean said to her, still deep within her thoughts. "It turns out, I may have unintentionally met him in person when he was the one who returned Klee to the city after her little escapade at Starfell, but I wasn't able to catch up to him on time"

Lisa took a seat in the opposite of Jean, curious about this mystery man they were talking about. "Mind telling me what does he look like, then?"

"Silver hair, height by approximately 6'5, wears all black and carried a sheathed sword with him"

Lisa's face brightened in realization, knowing only one person fitting that description "Oh? So you've met Mr. Vergil already?"

Jean's eyes snapped in attention and gave the Librarian a gobsmacked look. "You know him, Lisa?"

"I had, and he is quite the gentleman with proper manners based on my experience with him", Lisa recalled with a smile. "And he is quite the looker as well. I wasn't able to tell you about him because Albedo had asked for my help for a few of his experiments in alchemy"

Jean fell silent, resting her fist onto her cheek. "You seem apprehensible towards him. Is there something wrong?", Lisa then asked her, seeing the Dandelion Knight's worries.

"I wasn't", Jean insisted in reply. "Given on how precise he was on his work, and of Amber's own testimony about him at Windrise, we have to know whether or not he's a friend or an adversary"

The Librarian sighed. "That would only depend on how you act towards him, Jean", Lisa crossed her arms. "I'm certain he meant no harm in any way. So why not hear him out first? Trade routes are safer from Hilichurl activity and he did return Klee here after all"

Jean sighed, rubbing her temples, seeing the Librarian's point. "You're right. Maybe I shouldn't worry too much"

Still, she couldn't help but wonder if there was anything else hiding within the man in question. As the leader of Mondstadt, even if unofficially, her burden to keep everyone safe was her responsibility. A creed, she held in her entire life.

But for Lisa couldn't help but smirk in anticipation at simply knowing more about their visitor.

After all, what could go wrong at being acquainted?

Spectre: You might be thinking; Vergil seemed to accept his humanity too quickly. I spent my time reading Visions of V and watched the complete timeline of DMC, which gave me a better understanding of Vergil's character even more. He had embraced it partially at this point, but he still had his reservations or he was skeptical about it, and how his experiences clashed with his old beliefs. But we'll get to that part later on.

Also, I would like to ask, what do you guys think of Vergil having reflections on specific chapters?

As for V and the familiars, I never actually consider then gone for good. According to Visions of V, the Familiars made a contract with V that bounded them altogether. So I decided to make a loophole explaining their survival altogether while also attempting to answer the Urizen question.

And no, to anyone wondering, Lisa isn't into him. Have no plans for that.