Devil May Cry: The Traitor's Bloodline Nero Arc

Extra chapter: Memories

Cover image: Sparda, Vergil and Nero standing across Seraphina, Etna and Rozalin

First Memory: Sparda and Seraphina

The Dark Knight Sparda, Devil Emperor Mundus' right hand and the most powerful swordsman in all of the netherworlds was tasked with defeating his lord's rivals, Argosax, Abigail and Void Dark, all of whom wished to consume the fruit of the Qliphoth and gain sovereignty over all the netherworlds. In order to fight Void Dark's army, The Lost, Sparda allied himself with a demonic rebellion. Little did he know that his childhood friend Seraphina would be among them and she loved and missed him dearly. He also met his old friend Killia, who trained alongside him under Goldion before he left to become Mundus' knight. Now Sparda was faced with the past he thought forgotten, having to face everything he had abandoned in the name of creating a united netherworld.

Sparda stood within the pocket netherworld created by Seraphina, both his hands over the Force Edge's pommel as he gazed into what seemed to be endless space. He was deep in contemplation; he had no idea how to face the Gorgeous Overlord since he left her when they were only children.

Sparda's silent contemplation would in interrupted, however, by the sound of Seraphina's voice and footsteps, she was looking everywhere for the Dark Knight since their sudden and unpredicted reunion on the battlefield.

"There you are!" Seraphina pouted, placing her hands on her hips as a show of annoyance at Sparda, who seemed to be avoiding her. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Seraphina…" Sparda turned to face the Gorgeous Overlord. This was the first time he got a truly close look at her and he noticed that she had grown up to be quite the beauty, not that it mattered to the emotionally detached Dark Knight.

"That's all you have to say?" Seraphina was uncharacteristically serious, a far cry from her usually haughty and flamboyant attitude. "After leaving me without a word for a thousand years?"

"I didn't want to involve you in my future battles…" Sparda replies to Seraphina, still trying to remain cold and distant so as not to show his true emotions. "I acted in your best interests…"

"My best interests!?" Seraphina clenched her fists in anger, she was angry at the fact that Sparda left her because of something she never wanted. "What about my feelings? I loved you and still do!"

Sparda was at a loss for words, he didn't expect Seraphina to suddenly confess to him. He was unfamiliar with these kinds of situations, though not as unfamiliar as he thought since his close comrade, Zenon harboured the exact same feelings the Gorgeous Overlord had for the Dark Knight.

"You have no idea how many nights I've cried myself to sleep…" Seraphina recalled how lonely the years were after Sparda left her, the pain of losing the one she loved, not even knowing if he was alive or not. "You owe me for all those tears…"

"I suppose I do…" Sparda gave her a nigh unnoticeable smile, there was the Seraphina he recognised, the greedy succubus who demanded compensation for everything. "But I'm here now… in a battlefield I've chosen for myself." The Dark Knight reflected on his choices, he didn't have to join Killia's rebellion, but he did, and it led him straight to the Gorgeous Overlord.

"Pay me with a kiss." Seraphina demanded, now back to the proud and haughty demeanour she was so well known for.

"You're impossible…" Sparda sighed before smiling, placing his hands on Seraphina's shoulders. By his honour as a knight, he couldn't deny her request, though he had his reservations.

Before Seraphina could get the kiss, she so desired, Krichevskoy walked in on them, looking for Sparda so he could relay Mundus' latest orders, behind the Demon Knight was Zenon, who looked more than upset to see the Dark Knight so close to the Gorgeous Overlord.

Second Memory: Vergil and Etna

Vergil's bloody journey was only beginning, but he had already broken the Seal of Lust placed by his father, Sparda to seal the Temen-ni-gru tower. He was one step closer to unleashing hell and claiming his father's power for his own, but he never expected to learn so much from King Krichevskoy, Sparda's right-hand man and best friend, as well as Dante and Vergil's own godfather.

All that mattered to Vergil was absolute power, power so great that he would never lose anything or be cast aside ever again, which is why his own actions confused him. He put himself in harm's way to protect Etna during their battle against Tyrant Overlord Baal, who appeared before them as Vergil tried to break the seal. It was a sudden impulse, something Vergil took no time to think about, the only thing present in his mind was his fear of losing Etna, which was both confusing and vexing to him since he convinced himself that she was only a temporary alliance to be used and discarded in his quest for power.

Vergil found his resolve wavering and he despised that feeling above all else. Seeing Etna in danger, the fear he felt when he thought he would lose her, unlocked his dormant powers and allowed him to use his Devil Trigger for the first time in his life, giving him the power to push back Baal. This went against everything he believed, he couldn't have awakened his powers because of something he fundamentally viewed as weak and useless, love.

Vergil was alone in his room, holding Yamato as he stared up at the night sky through the window. He was deep in thought about his journey and how it would ultimately end and the feelings that would get in the way of his attainment of absolute power.

"Impossible…" Vergil thought to himself as he tried his hardest to justify his actions, he didn't want to accept the conclusion that's been clawing at the back of his mind. "I'm better than this."

Vergil's inner conflict was coming to the surface, he had felt two emotions he swore he cast aside the moment he lost everything, love and fear. He was motivated only by his quest for power so that he could surpass those emotions and for the longest time, it's the only way he knew how to survive. He lost his entire family, he had little reason to care for anyone else, yet here he was, contemplating his split-second decision to risk his own life for Etna's. For the first time since his mother's death, Vergil felt powerless, despite having unlocked his demonic form.

While Vergil was left alone with his thoughts, Etna was just as confused as he was by his actions, but with her confusion came not conflict, but an unexpected happiness. Without a shadow of a doubt, despite Vergil's attitude of detachment and cold dismissiveness, he cared about Etna, and that thought warmed her somewhat twisted heart.

Etna sat on top of one of her many Prinny subordinates, letting out a longing sigh as she remembered the very moment Vergil risked his own life to protect her. She was surprised that someone like him would even consider her safety, given his coldness and single-minded obsession with power. She wouldn't be alone for much longer, because King Krichevskoy approached her from behind, intent on asking her about the latest quest.

"You're being unusually quiet." Krichevskoy smiled as he sat beside Etna, wearing an amused yet concerned expression. "Usually you're yelling at the Prinnies."

"It's just… something happened while me and Vergil were out." Etna sighed at the thought, it made her happy, it really did, but she was just as confused as Vergil was.

"Tell me…" Krichevskoy smiled at Etna, through his fatherly instincts that something was bothering her, but also that she was happier than usual.

"When we were fighting Tyrant Overlord Baal… Vergil risked his life to save me." Etna spoke up about their latest adventure together, she was still shaken, but in a way, relieved. "He's usually a huge jerk, so I don't get it…"

"His father, Sparda, always had a strong sense of justice." Krichevskoy spoke highly of his best friend and comrade, seeing much of him in Vergil. "He always protected his comrades. Vergil probably inherited that, whether he knows it or not."

"Just a comrade, huh?" Etna muttered as she spoke under her breath, she was always attracted to Vergil, she was since they first met, but she was more attracted by his power and what he could do for her, but it was different now.

"Did you perhaps want to be more?" Krichevskoy's lips curved into a playful smirk, his hearing was good, so he understood Etna's muttering.

"I-I-" Etna suddenly blushed, she didn't expect Krichevskoy to hear her absentminded muttering and now she was embarrassed that he figured out about her growing feelings for Vergil, feelings she always thought were simply utilitarian.

"I always got the feeling that you loved Vergil." Krichevskoy chuckled at Etna's reaction, he had always seen her attempts at getting closer to the Dark Slayer, but he merely attributed that to her devious and seductive nature, until now, that is. "Tell me what else happened…"

"When Baal attacked, I thought I we were both done for, but Vergil suddenly changed into another form…" Etna remembered when the Dark Slayer unlocked his Devil Trigger, changing into a more powerful and more terrifying demonic form. "He was strong… it was kinda scary, but… knowing he changed because of me made me happy…"

"Let me tell you what Sparda once told me…" Krichevskoy smiled as he recalled his old comrade and best friend's advice, advice that would shape his worldview for millennia to come. "He told me that a demon that shows selflessness, becomes capable of love, or at least chooses to fight for something other than themselves and their own ambition, can achieve even greater power than they could ever imagine…"

"Seriously?" Etna let out a slight laugh, hearing about demons becoming stronger by going against their very nature was almost too much for her to handle. "I never thought the Dark Knight Sparda had a sense of humour."

"He was always serious…" Krichevskoy chuckled at Etna's reaction, he understood her reaction, most demons would react that way, but he saw firsthand how powerful Sparda has become once he embraced humanity. "And once he accepted love, he had the power to take down a god."

Etna was about to argue her point, but she remembered how powerful Vergil has become once he protected her, but then, she blushed as another thought rushed into her mind, if Krichevskoy was right about Sparda's words, does that mean the Dark Slayer loved her? The Demon King's words made more sense to the vassal, since he was the most powerful demon she knew and even he fell in love with a human, not unlike the Dark Knight.

"You may not know it, he may not know it or ever admit it…" Krichevskoy placed a hand on Etna's shoulder in affectionate and fatherly gesture as he told her what he, without a shadow of a doubt, knew about the Dark Slayer. "But he cares about you…"

"He could be less of a jerk about it… what's his problem anyway?" Etna understood that Vergil, in his own extremely subtle way, cared about her, but she wished he would express it like a normal person instead if remaining cold and dismissive towards her like he always was. "I thought he didn't like me at all…"

"Something must've hurt him before…" Krichevskoy noted Vergil's cold attitude, as if he were protecting his heart from a past trauma, not unlike his own son, Laharl. "For him to forsake love and other emotions like that, or maybe he just thinks he'll be a stronger demon if he denies those feelings."

"Well, that has nothing to do with me." Etna frowned, even though she was in love, she was still a demon, so feelings like empathy weren't second nature to her, especially when it involved something she wanted. "All I want is for him to look at me…"

"Then maybe you can thaw the ice encasing his heart." Krichevskoy pet Etna's hair affectionately, he had known her for over a thousand years and only now was he seeing her experience her first love.

"Before another girl beats me to it…" Etna frowned as she remembered the impression Vergil left on Pram the Oracle when they met and now, she knows why it made her as angry as it did.

Vergil stepped out of his room and into the halls, it was then he noticed a portrait of his father, Sparda. He touched his amulet, memories of his family brought him pain, but the legacy of the Dark Knight motivated him to chase power, but another thing that drove the Dark Slayer was the feeling of powerlessness he had as a child, and he never wanted to feel that ever again.

"I've been here far too long…" Vergil kept his goal in mind, absolute power, Sparda's power was all that mattered to him, whatever feelings he had for Etna were a nuisance to him, a weakness he had to crush. "Foolishness…" He muttered to himself, the feeling he hated had returned, the feeling of powerlessness, despite having unlocked more of his demonic powers.

Vergil wanted nothing more than to strengthen his resolve, to live true to the only aspiration he held since the tragic day that he lost his family, he wouldn't let new feelings get in his way, he would quell his perceived inner weakness and surpass it, only then could he live with himself.

Third Memory: Nero and Rozalin

Nero had been traveling with Rozalin for a few weeks now and he even made some new companions along the way, his childhood friend, Princess Sapphire and the ninja, Yukimaru, but most surprising of all, coming from a botched summoning ritual, was Beauty Queen Etna, a deceptively young girl who claimed to be his mother. He was a lone wolf, preferring to fight by himself, but now he had a party, whether he liked it or not.

What started out as a simple mission, find and capture the man who killed His Holiness Sanctus, turned into a quest to bring Rozalin to her father, Overlord Zenon and then defeat him to break the Veldime's demonic curse, however, as soon as they met the Overlord as their prize for winning the tournament, he attacked them and tried to take the Demon Princess back by force.

After a hectic day of fighting monsters and continuing his search for Dante, all Nero wanted was a moment of peace, so he stepped out of Adell's home to get some fresh air. The stars were bright that night and as he walked, further away from the house, he found himself thinking more clearly. The Holy Knight barely had any time to himself nowadays between Rozalin and Sapphire's constant bickering and Etna's out of character and bizarre attempts at being a doting "mother" to him.

"Finally, I can breathe again…" Nero said to himself as he sighed deeply in relief, he was finally free of the constant noise and smothering. "Just what the hell am I doing with my life?' The Holy Knight started to question every decision that led up to the current state of his journey.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Rozalin suddenly spoke up, having followed Nero outside. Having been raised as a sheltered noble, she was quite sensitive and the Holy Knight's question to himself didn't sit well with her.

"Rozalin?" Nero turned to face the Demon Princess, surprised to see her up so late and more surprised that she had followed him this far away from the house. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted some time alone with you." Rozalin crossed her arms and huffed, clearly annoyed that Nero even had to ask why she'd want to spend time with her so-called "fiancé". "Sapphire's asleep, so now's the perfect time."

"Okay…" Nero still couldn't for the life of him, understand Rozalin's attitude towards him. She always mentions their past and his promise to her, but it didn't occur to him that the Demon Princess was madly in love with him. "You have me all to yourself… what's on your mind?"

"You've been around a lot of other girls lately…" Rozalin pouted, her arms crossed as she glared at Nero. She made no effort to hide her jealousy, after all, she always wanted to be his most important person.

"I can't help it… we're all stuck under the same roof." Nero shrugged nonchalantly, missing the point of what Rozalin was saying.

"Don't forget, you made a promise to me…" Rozalin's glare intensified, however, there was a tinge of vulnerability and sadness in her tone, she was worried that she'd lose Nero to one of the other girls, especially Sapphire, who knew him for longer than she did. "I won't let you break it… I won't."

"I've been meaning to ask…" Nero remembered all of Rozalin's past claims, claims she'd made since the day they first met. "Can you tell me about our childhood… not that I believe you yet, but I'm curious."

"You're the worst… but fine, I'll tell you." Rozalin sighed as she recalled her most precious childhood memories, memories of the only time she truly felt warmth and love, her time with Nero. "I found you asleep in the mansion's garden… I don't know how you ended up there."

"Must've been the Hell Gate…" Nero remembered when he woke up in front of the Mitis Forest Hell Gate, seemingly having lost a year's worth of memories due to the awakening of his Devil Bringer. "I woke up in front of it… dazed and banged up."

"You were my only real friend…" Rozalin spoke softly and fondly, remembering the year she and Nero were together. "I was always lonely, I never even met Father… but suddenly, you were there for me."

Nero didn't know what to say or how to react, this was a rare moment, where Rozalin mentioned their past without any form of belligerence or anger.

"We promised to get married when we were older…" Rozalin held back tears as she thought of all the years she spent without Nero, the lonely nights and the gloomy days where she felt both lost and abandoned.

"Rozalin…" Nero could both see and feel that the Demon Princess was hurting inside, and he couldn't help but feel responsible for it, since losing him was the reason she was so sad.

"And when we finally meet again… you don't remember a thing!" Rozalin's sadness was now mixed with anger and she was unable to hold back her tears. There he was, the person she wanted to see more than anyone and he forgot all about her and the important promise they made. "You're… you're heartless!" She yelled as he balled her fists.

Nero could see how hurt and angry Rozalin was, though he had his doubts, those memories seemed very real to her and more than real, they were more precious than anything. He felt responsible for her tears so he did the only thing he could at the moment and hugged the Demon Princess.

Rozalin blushed at the sudden hug, though she was still crying she hugged Nero tightly, burying her face into her chest as tears stained her cheeks.

"You know… I don't think you're lying about all this." Nero continued to hold Rozalin, trying in his own awkward way to comfort her. "And you've always been kind of important to me… maybe what you said explains why."

"Are you saying… you believe me?" Rozalin gazed up at Nero, the pain and sadness in her eyes slowly being replaced by hope.

"Yeah… I guess I am." Nero smiled awkwardly as he wiped Rozalin's tears, it was still very odd to him, having a childhood friend and fiancé that he forgot all about, but he couldn't doubt her sincerity, not anymore at least. "And I'm not going anywhere this time…"

"Don't you dare leave me again…" Rozalin tried her best to sound authoritative and demanding, but she was happy that Nero acknowledged her precious memories of their time together, even if he didn't remember yet. A warm smile made its way across the Demon Princess' lips as she felt closer to the Holy Knight than ever.

Nero saw Rozalin's smile and at that moment, it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. The Demon Princess was genuinely happy for the first time since they met and it was then he resolved to find a way to regain his lost memories, not just for his sake, but for hers.

Author's notes: It's a little late, but to celebrate Devil May Cry 5's first anniversary, I wrote this three-part extra chapter. I've been playing a lot of Disgaea and Devil May Cry lately, so I've been more motivated to write lately. Knowing what I know now about DMC, consider the chapter titled "Demonic Fates" to be non-canon to the story.

The first part of this chapter takes place during the Sparda Arc, which will cover the events before Devil May Cry 3 and during Disgaea 5. Seraphina won the poll, so she'll be Sparda's main love interest. Their relationship mirrors Nero and Rozalin's, even though Zenon is Rozalin. Zenon, naturally, is jealous of Seraphina since she's in love with Sparda.

The second part of this chapter takes place during the Vergil Arc and it forces Vergil into a tight spot since he acted against his better judgement and risked himself to save Etna, unlocking his Devil Trigger for the first time. Gaining power from something Vergil perceives as weak, love is something that goes against the fundamentals of his core beliefs, so he struggles with that. Sparda, however, embraced love for humanity and unlocked enough power to topple a god like Mundus, something Krichevskoy eventually understands when he marries Laharl's human mother. Etna's originally devious motivation for getting close to Vergil slowly but surely turns into real love and she's determined to make him look at her, which he will since they end up conceiving Nero together.

The third part is about Nero and Rozalin's relationship and how he's slowly beginning to care about her more than he thought possible. He was always sceptical of Rozalin's claims regarding their childhood memories and engagement promise, but upon seeing her sadness and sincerity, he started to believe her. Rozalin is already in love with Nero, but he'll fall in love with her as well as the story progresses, however, Yukimaru, Hanako, Sapphire and Friday also love him.

There's a project for Castlevania and Disgaea 4 in the works and it's set in the same universe as The Traitor's Bloodline. It's set two years after the Nero Arc and it's about Soma Cruz and Vulcanus/Artina. It takes place during the events of Aria of Sorrow and Disgaea 4 and expands upon them and changes the world. Dracula and Artina are lovers before her death and it mirrors his relationship with Lisa, Alucard's mother. I wrote a sort of two-shot about it before, but I'll write an expanded version soon.

Now to answer my reviewers

InfernOverlord

Thanks, I hope to be more active soon.

AnimeGoji91

Another writer might be better suited for that.

That's the plan for the Sparda Arc.

Argonian Dovakiin

Thanks, I'm glad you like it.