Devil May Cry The Traitor's Bloodline, Nero Arc.
Chapter four: Trouble in Fortuna.
It was a cold night in Holt Village and Nero was fast asleep in the guest room of Adell's house, there, he was confronted with yet another dream of his sealed memories, this time, he and Rozalin were holding hands while watching the sunset.
"I love these moments with you." Rozalin gave Nero a loving smile, she felt very warm and happy around him and a welcome change from the loneliness she had felt in the mansion.
"Wouldn't trade them for anything." Nero returned Rozalin's smile, despite all the trouble it took to sneak out of Fortuna Castle and hike all the way to the Mitis Forest Hellgate, seeing her loving smile made all the effort worthwhile.
"N-Nero?" Rozalin blushed nervously as she started to play with her fingers; she wanted to tell him about the feelings she's been harboring for him since he had befriended her. "Wh-what do you think about love?"
"That's a tricky question…" Nero scratched his cheek as a blush of his own appeared; he tried his hardest to think of a response that would satisfy Rozalin. "I think that love is a good thing…I guess."
"Would you love a demon?" Rozalin blushed a deeper shade of red, she was very nervous about the question she had just asked Nero, hoping that he would say yes.
"Yeah, I think so; I did say I loved you, right?" Nero, who was still blushing, smiling nervously at Rozalin and acting on his own feelings for her. "I mean…you're a demon and you and I kissed…"
"Nero…" Rozalin smiled, beaming with joy from what she had just heard from him, the blush on her cheeks still present, she then hugged him tightly, not wanting their loving moment to end. "I love you so much!"
"I love you, too." Nero returned Rozalin's hug, he felt warmth in his heart as he held the girl he loved, and feeling like he was holding his whole world was in his arms. "I'll do anything to protect you."
The scenery of Nero's dream then changed into a demonic wasteland with a hill overlooking a clear blue lake, there, he saw the blue coated man standing next to a small red haired girl with a tail wearing a revealing black leather two-piece.
"What the hell?" Nero said as he spotted the two figures, he recognized the blue-coated man, but he had no idea who the red haired girl was, but he knew that he had a connection with these two figures, since they were in his dream.
"Even Hell has beautiful places like this…" The blue-coated man stared at the lake with a small smile on his face; he did not expect to find such a tranquil spot in the Netherworld, a place that was said to be a horrible prison for sinners. "This is probably a spot my father loved. What do you think, Etna?"
"Yeah, it's not so bad, I didn't think you liked this kind of thing, Vergil, since you're always so serious." Etna smiled playfully at the blue-coated man, she was glad that she made him smile, a change from his regular stoic attitude. "You look much better when you smile."
"I do appreciate beauty when it appears before me." Vergil continued to stare at the lake; he then turned his attention to Etna, looking into her eyes. "But right now…the beauty before me isn't this lake…it's you."
"Wh-what the hell are you saying!?" Etna's cheeks turned as red as her hair, Vergil's unexpected compliment made her feel a mix of both shock and happiness. "What's wrong with you?! Did you hit your head?!" She still couldn't believe that someone like him would say something romantic.
"I'm fine…in fact, I feel better than I ever have." Vergil approached Etna, seeing her all flustered by his compliment amused him. "Thanks to you…I feel more alive than ever." He took her hand in his and he gave her a sincere smile, the smile of someone genuinely happy to be in her presence.
"What about all the things you said about love being pointless?" Etna looked away from Vergil, her blush still present on her face. "You said you hated love and it was a weakness." She looked down sadly as some tears rolled down her cheeks, she still remembered his hurtful speech where he denounced love and made her feel like he'll never return her feelings for him.
"I thought that, yes." Vergil placed his hand on Etna's cheek and made her face him, seeing her blush and wiping away her tears. "But I know now that I was wrong…because if love was a weakness, I wouldn't be feeling this strong around you."
"What are you saying?" Etna was getting impatient, she wanted Vergil to say the three special words she wanted to hear from him for some time now. "Spit it out or I'll kill you right now!" She forcefully grabbed the collar of his coat.
"Etna…I love you." Vergil gazed into Etna's eyes; he felt that he was slowly regaining the heart that he thought he had discarded when his family was attacked by demons. "You've retrieved this devil's heart from the depths of Hell and made it yours."
"Took you long enough, you cold hearted jerk!" Etna pulled Vergil into a tight embrace, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks, despite her annoyed tone, she felt her heart racing as she heard him confess to her. "I love you, too!"
"This must be how my father felt…" Vergil gazed into Etna's eyes; he felt loving warmth in his heart as he pulled her into a hug.
"How long are you gonna keep me waiting!?" Etna gave Vergil an impatient glare; still wearing a red blush on her face, she was already expecting something to happen after his confession. "Just kiss me already!"
"As you wish, my Beauty Queen." Vergil cupped Etna's chin in his right and before planting a soft kiss on her lips.
"That's disturbing…" Nero sighed, found the romantic exchange between Vergil and Etna quite unnerving. "I feel like I just walked in on my parents…" Suddenly, he remembered the words of the Prinnies and he recognized the names of the couple in his dream. "Well, who would've thought a nightmare could give you nightmares?"
The next morning, Nero, Rozalin and Adell were standing in front of the house; the trio was getting ready for yet another search for Overlord Zenon. Nero, however looked red-eyed and exhausted, he had spent most of his night trying to come to make sense his dream and the appearance of Vergil and Etna.
"These dreams are getting crazier…" Nero let out a yawn; he hardly slept at all the previous night and was tired and drowsy as a result. "Let's get this over with so I can get a good night's sleep."
"Man, what happened to you?" Adell noticed how tired Nero looked, He felt sorry for him and wondered if he, in his current state, could handle the hard work the day had in store. "You look like you could drop any minute now."
"Nero, you really should rest properly." Rozalin glanced at Nero; she was very concerned at his fatigued state and his general health. "Irregular sleeping schedules could get you sick."
"Thanks for the concern, but I can rest up after we're done." Nero smiled at Rozalin and Adell, truly thankful for their sentiments towards him; he then turned his attention to Rozalin, remembering her involvement in his dream. "Anything to protect her, huh? That's the second time I say that in my dreams…" He blushed slightly and mumbled, finding it hard to look at her for more than a few seconds without being reminded of the affection he had felt in his dreams.
"Nero, did you say something?" Rozalin heard his mumbling and she quickly noticed the flustered state he was in and she remembered that he had similar fatigued signs after his previous dream. "D-did you have another dream!?" Her face beamed with joy, the thought of him recovering yet another one of their childhood memories made her very happy.
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" Nero looked away nervously; he didn't expect Rozalin to find out about his dream so quickly. "Dammit…she's sharp…" He sighed wanting to keep it a secret from her, but chances of that happening were impossible now. "Just my regular body clock issues!" He laughed a little, trying to pass off his current situation as a joke.
"Nero…" Rozalin glared daggers at him as her killer aura from the previous day returned, this time, her forehead was shadowed by her bangs and her eyes appeared to be glowing red. "Don't lie to me…you had another dream…didn't you?" She pulled out Noble Rose, enraged that he was trying to lie to her.
"Nero, you should fix this!" Adell urged Nero to calm the enraged Rozalin down, still remembering Rozalin's rampage from the previous day, not wanting to see something that terrifying again.
"You don't have to tell me twice…" Nero sighed in resignation; he didn't want to make things with Rozalin any more awkward than they were now, but the alternative as seen during the previous day, would have been far worse. "Fine, I had another dream about you…" He admitted to her, hoping that she would calm down. "We were watching the sunset and you asked me if I would love a demon…or something."
"Nero…" Rozalin could barely contain herself as she felt a sense of overwhelming joy, a warm blush made its way across her cheeks, she then ran up to Nero and hugged him tightly. "That's one of my most precious memories with you." She looked up at him with tears of joy in her eyes. "I'm so glad you remember!"
"Good grief…" Nero hugged Rozalin back, feeling the same warmth and happiness he had felt with her in his dream, though he didn't want to admit it, he was glad that he had told her. "You're acting like an emotional girlfriend…"
"G-g-girlfriend?!" Rozalin blushed as she heard Nero say that word; her cheeks were so red that she had to cover them with her hands and she felt her heart race. "W-what are you saying!?"
"Take it easy." Nero sighed, regretting his choice of words, but he was glad to see that Rozalin was feeling better, even finding her blush really cute.
"Hey newlyweds, can you stop cuddling for just a second?" Adell saw the obvious romantic exchange between Nero and Rozalin, seeing both a Holy Knight and a stuck up princess like that was embarrassing to watch. "We have to find Overlord Zenon!"
"You're getting the wrong idea!" Nero quickly let go of Rozalin, realizing the implications of the position they were in. "We're not like that!"
"Th-that's right!" Rozalin blushed even redder, though she enjoyed the tender moment she and Nero were having but she still had her pride as a princess on her mind. "I'm simply rewarding my knight for remembering me!"
"Yeah, keep telling yourselves that." Adell rolled his eyes at Nero and Rozalin, seeing their attempts at hiding their obvious affections for one another was hard to watch.
Nero, Rozalin and Adell approached Friday, who was looking very frantic and nervous, like she had an important piece of news she was waiting to share with the trio.
"So, what do you have in store for us today, Friday?" Nero walked over to her, looking forward to finding a lead on both Overlord Zenon and the red-coated man.
"Mr. Nero, it's horrible!" Friday was teary eyed and worried, she tried her best to remain calm so that she can convey the news to him without shocking him too much. "A Demon Lord is headed to Fortuna!"
"Are you serious?!" Nero was shocked to hear the news from Friday, he was worried about the people of Fortuna, particularly Sapphire and Credo. "Can you take us to where the Demon Lord was last sighted?"
"I-I'll do my best!" Friday opened up a portal that led to the abandoned mining district of Fortuna. "He should be there…"
"Thanks!" Nero picked up Friday and hugged her tightly in his excitement, earning him a blush from her and a jealous glare from Rozalin. "I owe you one!" He smiled and before putting her down, glad that he could protect Fortuna from the Demon Lord.
"J-just come back to me safely, ok?" Friday continued to blush, unable to look Nero in the eyes, she played with her fingers as she remembered the hug she had received moments earlier.
"Umm…ok?" Nero was surprised by Friday's sudden mood change and her choice of words, but he decided to let that slide for the moment. "I'll come back in one piece."
"Nero!" Rozalin hugged his arm, wearing an angry and jealous expression on her face, seeing how affectionate he was being with Friday really upset her. "I won't let my knight be reduced to a common lecher!"
"You really have terrible luck with women." Adell sighed, upon remembering a past incident involving a demon woman and seeing the similarities between his previous situation and Nero's. "Not that I'm one to talk…"
"Guess we're friends for a reason." Nero patted Adell on the back; he could tell that he's been through some rough times and that he could relate.
"Got that right, let's go save Fortuna!" Adell smiled and raised his fist in excitement, he was eager to fight the Demon Lord alongside Nero. "I'm so pumped up for this fight!"
Within the walls of Fortuna Castle, Credo and his battalion of Holy Knights were searching everywhere for Princess Sapphire, who had escaped the castle grounds recently.
"Damn! I can't find the princess anywhere!" Credo cursed as he continued the search for Sapphire, dreading the consequences of his negligence or worse, anything happening to her.
On the outskirts of Fortuna City, Sapphire, holding the gun that Nero had given her, was on her way to the abandoned mining district.
"I can't just sit here and watch as a Demon Lord threatens Fortuna!' Sapphire was determined to protect her people; she didn't want a repeat of the tragedies that tool the lives of many of her most trusted Holy Knights. "I'll stop him myself."
Nero, Rozalin and Adell exited the portal and they found themselves at the abandoned mining district of Fortuna, there they saw several rundown buildings and a Hellgate that looked identical to the one in Mitis Forest.
"Looks like we're the welcoming committee, we better show this guy a good time." Nero joked as he saw the Hellgate, anticipating the appearance of the Demon Lord and getting ready to fight him.
"I'm all fired up!" Adell cracked his knuckles, he saw fighting a Demon Lord as the perfect test for his strength as well as a good workout. "This guy won't know what hit him!"
"I have nothing to worry about; I have my knight here to protect me." Rozalin smiled, confident that Nero would keep her safe. "But I'll fight him if I must." She took out Noble Rose, preparing to cover Nero from afar.
Just as the trio concluded their conversation the middle of the Hellgate burned and a torrent of flames erupted from it followed by a horned, flaming centaur like Demon Lord with lion-like features, charcoal colored skin, his body was engulfed in flames and they formed wings on his back and he wielded a large magma sword, he let out a loud roar before burning all the buildings around him.
"You three look human…yet…" The Demon Lord turned his attention to Nero, Rozalin and Adell, though outwardly, they appeared human and he sensed something very strange about all three of them.
"You had to say fire…" Nero rolled his eyes at Adell, remembering his remark about being "fired up" He then took out Red Queen and swung it, generating a wind to blow away the fires caused by the Demon Lord as a challenging gesture.
"How curious…" Berial was surprised by Nero's sudden action, he expected someone so human-like in appearance to cower in fear instead of calling attention to him.
"Fire's bad for the complexion. I burn easily, never tan." Nero joked, trying to amuse himself during his encounter with the Demon Lord.
"When I came to this world 2,000 years ago, there was no one who challenged me as you do." The Demon Lord approached Nero, wielding his magma broadsword and preparing for a fight.
"Wanna make it another 2,000?" Nero mocked the Demon Lord with the intention of breaking his concentration during the upcoming fight. "You know, the whole fire and brimstone look is exactly what I'd expect from a Demon Lord, come on, can you be any more typical?"
"Silence!" The Demon Lord was enraged at Nero's disrespectful attitude; he then ran his magma sword straight at him, only to have it blocked by Red Queen, tip to tip before being pushed back. "Futile pest, you will suffer the wrath of Berial! I, the conqueror of the Fire Hell!" The Demon Lord pointed his magma sword at Nero before letting out a menacing roar.
"Alright, Rozalin? Adell?" Nero smirked, getting ready for his battle against Berial. "Ready to put out a huge demon shaped fire?" He pointed Red Queen at the Demon Lord.
"You bet!" Adell gave Berial a battle crazed smile before cracking his knuckles, he was excited to fight such a powerful opponent after his relatively easy fight with the Prinnies the other day.
"I usually don't engage in such brutal activities." Rozalin pointed Noble Rose at Berial, she didn't want to show it, due to her noble image, but she wanted to impress Nero. "But I'm willing to make an exception this time."
Berial jumped into the air with his Magma sword in hand and prepared to crush the trio, only to have his sword caught by the ghostly extension of Nero's Devil Bringer, Nero then threw the sword up into the air Berial still holding it.
"Now Adell!" Nero urged him to attack Berial while the Demon Lord was still falling from where he was thrown.
"I got your back!" Adell ran up to Berial and jumped right in front of him before assaulting him with a barrage of strong kicks and punches. "Eat this!" He sent the Demon Lord plummeting into the ground with one last brutal punch.
"You insects, how dare you!?" Berial recovered from the attack and roared in anger before summoning several flaming pillars, attempting to incinerate the trio.
"I won't let you lay a finger on my knight!" Rozalin glared at Berial, she was enraged at the Demon Lord for threatening Nero and she then fired several magically charged bullets from Noble Rose at the Demon Lord.
"Nice save!" Nero smiled at Rozalin before running up to Berial and delivering a strong kick to the Demon Lord's chest before firing several rounds from Blue Rose at the Demon Lord.
"I'll burn you all to ashes!" Berial roared out and released his demonic energy out in the form of an infernal explosion that destroyed the buildings around him.
"Get Back!" Nero stood between the explosion and Rozalin and Adell, shielding them with the Devil Bringer's ghostly extension. "Are you ok?"
"Nero…" Rozalin blushed, being protected by him again was really a good feeling for her, but she still held on to her noble pride. "As expected of my knight!"
"Thanks, I owe you one!" Adell smiled, thankful for Nero's help, he then raised his fist up in the air and prepared to fight once more.
"Now to take care of you!" Nero ran up to Berial and jumped up near the Demon Lord's head performing "Buster" grabbing him by the head with the Devil Bringer's ghostly extension and slamming him to the ground.
"That arm…" An injured Berial recovered and noticed Nero's Devil Bringer, he sensed a powerful demonic aura coming from it. "What are you?!"
"Don't ask…" Nero looked at the Devil Bringer before turning his attention to Berial. "Damn thing drives me crazy though."
"You have lost, leave now!" Rozalin pointed Noble Rose at Berial, still infuriated at his attempts at harming Nero.
"I expected more from a Demon Lord…" Adell crossed his arms, slightly disappointed at how short the fight was. "But, then again, three versus one wasn't exactly fair."
"You…" Berial saw the images of a white haired man wearing a purple coat and a monocle in Nero and a pale blond woman with piercing red eyes in Rozalin. "Sparda and Zenon…you are just as they were… I must restore my powers!" The Demon Lord disappeared into the Hellgate in a torrent of flames.
"Well, that was weird…" Nero placed Red Queen on his back, thinking that Berial comparing him to Sparda was very strange.
"He fled once he sensed my blood, naturally, since my father is the God of all Overlords." Rozalin smiled proudly at her heritage, thinking that Berial acknowledged her nobility.
Just as the Trio was getting ready to return to Holt Village, they were spotted by Sapphire, who had just arrived in the abandoned mining district.
"N-Nero?!" Sapphire was shocked to see him back in Fortuna and even more shocked to see that he was with Rozalin and Adell, remembering Nero as the loner type.
"Princess Sapphire? What are you doing here?" Nero was shocked as well, he thought that she was safe in Fortuna Castle; he never thought that she would be out here in such a dangerous place. "Does Credo know you're here?"
"I came here to kill the Demon Lord." Sapphire still couldn't believe that she was seeing Nero back in Fortuna but she was very happy to see him again. "I'm so glad you're here…" She smiled at him as she walked closer.
"Nero…" Rozalin was enraged and jealous; she knew immediately that Sapphire was the other princess that Nero had mentioned the other day. "You're my knight…I won't let you cheat on me with another princess!"
"Nero?" Sapphire saw how jealous Rozalin was, which made her suspect that she and Nero were quite close, this made her jealous as well. "Who is this woman?"
"W-well… Rozalin is…" Nero struggled to find the right answer, sensing both Rozalin and Sapphire's jealous auras instilled a great sense of fear in him.
"I'm his childhood friend and his princess!" Rozalin grabbed Nero's Devil Bringer and glared at Sapphire with killer intent in her eyes. "Nero is my knight!"
"You shouldn't be seeing strange girls behind my back…" Sapphire wore a jealous and angry expression and she clung onto Nero's left arm tightly, almost breaking it. "I'm your princess, remember? We were raised together!" She glared angrily at Rozalin. "I'm coming with you! I won't let her take you away from me!"
"Nero, you have my deepest sympathies." Adell sensed the jealous and angry auras from both Rozalin and Sapphire; even he was frightened by what he had seen.
"Great…this mission just got harder…" Nero sighed as both Rozalin and Sapphire clung tightly onto his arms, he felt that his situation had gotten far more chaotic and complicated than before. "Am I gonna make it outta this alive?"
At the entrance of the Evil Academy, Dante was preparing to start his new temporary job as a teacher there, he was feeling confident, yet he didn't exactly enjoy the thought of meeting his old classmates.
"Well, I'm going to a school that you ace by skipping class and playing pranks." Dante smirked, remembering all the hijinks he had pulled in the Evil Academy. "Let's rock!" He then kicked open the door with his trademark grin on his face.
Author's note: Sorry for the wait! I got so caught up in my activities and my computer crashed and I had to write this again from the ground up! Holt Village will serve as the hub and Friday will take Nero and his party to locations found in both Devil May Cry 4 and Disgaea 2, the second half of Nero's dream sequence is a scene from later on in the Vergil arc, which is next on my update priority list. Sapphire joins the party and Nero is up for some stressful times! Next chapter, we meet Tink at Zenon's palace and we see Dante's first day in the Evil Academy! Soon I will be introducing Adell's new love interest, I'll give you guys a clue, she's a character from GrimGrimoire. I hope you guys don't mind, but Dante's focus chapter in the Evil Academy will come later on and by popular demand, Beryl will have a huge crush on him!
Now to answer my reviewers
Demons Parade
I hope you liked this chapter! Look forward to a new Vergil Arc chapter soon!
Zero-Nightmare
Glad you enjoyed it!