To celebrate the new DMC5, I will post my fanfic of the alternate DMC, hehe…
Okay, before you write a strongly-worded death threat, I have wanted to finish this for a long time already and, whatever it is Capcom pulls out, I'm finishing this out of enjoyment of writing a deep lore.
So big WARNING: This is the alternate Devil May Cry, with classic characters getting their 'reboot' versions here, as well as original characters.
03/2020: Hey, if you're starting at this chapter, we have a personal message for our readers posted at the Prologue. If you want to go ahead, you can, however.
Chapter One: A Dream To Remember
Dante's vivid dreams reveal more than hints of the nature of being a Nephilim.
Entering Wolfhaven, strange things manifest while a watchful eye plans her next move.
"Where am I?…Am I dreaming?"
He stood at the very center of a broken, brick-red crag, hovering fifty feet above the dark sapphire-colored ocean. All around him were the large chunks of broken pieces of architecture, floating serenely across the perpetually-sunrise-lit pink-blue skies. He can never quite see where the vast ocean ends and a landmass—if there is—starts. But he had never ventured anywhere too far before…
…he never dared to before.
"O BLESSED ONE…COME CLOSER…"
The visually-arresting giant statue smack at the middle of all these hovering pieces and arching rollercoaster of stone slabs stood at the unascertainable ocean, its long arms outstretched, its old face gazing serenely out beyond. At its stomach is a giant glowing mirror of sorts, with floating orbs dancing like fireflies.
"I'm here again…"
It was weird to hear his voice with such loud clarity, echoing throughout this place…this world…
"YES, CHILD. THIS WORLD…THIS WORLD INSIDE IS YOUR SOUL…"
"Who are you..?"
"IT MATTERS NOT, FOR NOW. WHEN YOU FIND THE ANSWERS, THE FULL TRUTH OF IT WILL BE REVEALED."
The Giant Statue's head turns, its stone neck creaking, literally sounding like a bunch of mountains are being scraped together by a god, until its empty gray eyes bore upon him.
Compelled and curious, Dante moves.
He runs across the brick-red pathway of the façade of the building, broken off like a giant puzzle piece. At the edge, Dante effortlessly leaps across to the next hovering puzzle-slab of concrete twenty-two feet away. When his feet land, no impact stops his momentum and continues his sprint. His gaze flicks from the gray 'eyes' of the Giant Statue and the path ahead of him.
"Who are you?! Why am I here again?!"
"BE NOT AFRAID, CHILD. YOUR SOUL IS THE KEY. YOUR SOUL IS ONE OF MANY SEALS. WITH IT, THE TRUTH WILL BE REVEALED!"
"You said that before, too…I know you did…but I can't remember…"
His breath hitches as he tries to recollect; tries to find the too-soothing voice in his memories that keep reverberating inside his skull and throughout this world. It's creepy and urgent…
…ominous.
When the path ahead is only littered by floating debris, he summons Ophion—a long silver coil capable of pulling him off any platform or a long ruby coil that pulls any objects—and wills it to grab onto a piece of it to pull him off to the next! Dante swings across five of these floating stones, taking him in a dizzying, zigzag airway, all to reach the next large pathway: this time a long arch of amalgamated buildings, half its circumference submerged into the ocean—
—creatures dart across his one o'clock vision, seven of them, flying towards the Giant Statue! There colors are all different, their wings glimmering against this eternal sunrise-lit sky. They surround it like eager birds, perching on its shoulders or banking around its edges.
"I've seen them before, too…perhaps…long ago…"
Dante almost missed his cue, grunting in vain as Ophion's clawed maw grapples on a solid chunk of floating debris, swinging Dante across the air; summoning a bit of power, he lets himself glide the rest of the way, his jet-black hair and coat rippling from the current of wind blowing against him.
Despite the velocity, he lands softly and smoothly across the top of the archway. His eyes glance all around him, making sure he didn't just imagine something passing by…
…but it happens!
His skin bristles and he whips out his gun, Ebony, at his left flank! He blanches at what—or who he's gazing at!
A woman, with the most crimson hair and dress blinding white against the glint of the sun; she has sharp features, strong in jawline and mouth, even with soft almond-shaped eyes flecked with her deep red lashes, her gaze is stern. On the left side of her chest, a deep scar is carved on her skin, dried veins formed and hidden by her modest, white dress. Her mouth opens and the words echo across the world, and inside his skull.
"COME…"
And just like that, fiery wings behind this beautiful being sprouts from her back—a pair behind her shoulder and another pair at her lower back—and takes her to the air, flying across the mile-long length of this archway where Dante stands, then upwards towards the sky!
The way she glows and the blinding fire of her wings that leaves a contrail has him at awe, ogling at this domineering and graceful being in its powerful appearance and flight. Just as he thought she was about to join her companions on the Giant Statue, she stops above where the end of the archway path is, patiently gazing back at him.
He sprints again, content in running the mile-long distance, not at all phased of his inability to fly and continues forward, his feet carrying him more than half already of the archway.
He can see the very rocky façade of where the Giant Statue stands on—or rather where its legs are trapped into! The rocky façade, at closer inspection, looked like a fat, crumbling tower, ancient in its style, with overgrown trees desperately hanging onto crumbling openings, its staircase outside of its dark grey walls coil around like an eternal serpent. Its dark caves of windows lay agape at this world out of boredom, while the rest of its ancient body of a tower is both trapped and trapping the legs of its captured giant, with most of its structure submerged into the unknown depths of the ocean.
Continuing down the mile-long pathway, he realizes the path is already going downwards to the ocean! Dante flicks his gaze towards the vastness of the area and finds no holding for his Ophion!
"COME!"
He looks above, craning his neck to see the red-haired creature, one arm outstretched for him—!
Smiling, he summons Ophion, its silvery and sharp maw soaring as the long coil extends! Before his eyes, her own forearm summons a solid mass, appearing as a dark stalactite attached to her limb! A giant shield, showcasing a sword symbol flanked by wings!
The insignia..!
Ophion's sharp maw bits onto it without issue, on this crested shield, as Dante jumps off the archway, holding onto his tool and momentum as she uses it effortlessly to swing him across the vast space!
"This is a dream…right?"
"YOU FIND IT STRANGE, MY CHILD."
Her voice is soothingly warm and yet teasing, like teasing a stubborn child.
"Well, maybe I'm the weird one, after all."
He hears a smirk, reverberating yet pleasant, calming. He smiles as the velocity of the swing picks up, adrenaline coursing through him like a dream! He feels like a spear being flung into an unknown target!
And a rightful analogy right there, as he sees more floating debris and broken giant slabs, but is nowhere near him or even for Ophion's reach!
Nevertheless, the excited scream that tore from his lips reveals his carefree fearlessness!
As his swing reaches its full height, Dante knows this is the end of it! His heart hammers! Is he going to be dropped into the ocean? Is he going to swim all the way—?
He needn't answer them; there was no solution!
He pulls Ophion off this creature's shield and summons his own angelic powers to glide futilely! He feels the blue gaseous trail behind his back, turning into smoke immediately after he wills it to help him glide through the air! He knows he's only falling…but he couldn't help but feel…at peace.
Dante's eyes widens as another creature materializes below him, catching him on its back! His body smacks on its hardy form and he grabs on to its shimmering blue-grey mane, thick and long around its head, prickly-soft against his skin! Holding on and tightening his legs around its majestic body, Dante feels the thunderous power of its two large wings, flapping slow on its sides as it transports Dante up towards a hovering platform, right before the Giant Statue.
"I really am dreaming…"
"IF YOU ARE, DOES IT MAKE IT LESS TRUE?"
He refuses to answer the echoing voice as he holds onto the powerful creature giving him a free ride. The creature, a shimmering dark blue-grey, is a huge wolf-like being! With wings twenty feet wide, it thunders across the area with a proud, mighty grace and strange, cozy warmth across its glossy fur and body! Out of gratefulness, Dante places his cheek against its soft tangled mane and caresses it.
He hears its whine and, likely out of playfulness, the strange wolf rolls into the air as they zoom across the open space! Dante whoops in excitement, his string of praises echoing like a mad man, bouncing against the hollow and broken pieces of infrastructures, his hair whipping along with the wolf's graceful, frenzied flight!
"Oh yeah! One more!"
Maneuvering for a moment away from the waypoint, the wolf goes towards the old, fat tower below the Giant Statue. Banking sharply, the wolf shows the decrepit status of it, but Dante ignores it, too distracted at being happy and feel like flying! The wolf arcs lower and Dante feels the sudden jolt of his insides, making him shriek gleefully, laying his back against the back of the wolf as the wind picks up and lifting his old tank top, laughing at the feel of the sharp breeze against his bared torso!
Reaching the surface of the ocean, its four muscular limbs touches the dark crystal ocean, leaving a long trail of graceful splashes across its surface! He feels the wolf decelerate, his flying becoming a smooth, gentle sailing. Looking down, he sees his reflection: jet-black hair, electric blue eyes, his fair face and old clothes, riding a very majestic, blue-grey wolf with strange features of its own…
He reaches down, out of curiosity to feel its waters…
…his fingers break the liquid surface and an ethereal glow comes forth, changing the dark waters' colors! Like insane swirls of watercolor pigments, the watery surface is now a disturbed neon of all the known colors Dante has seen in his life!
But joy is fleeting. As much as he enjoyed the flight, he understands that he's here because of a burdening reason…
As his thoughts wander, he sees movement below the water's surface. His brows furrow as he tries to make sense of what he just saw…
…a long, gigantic snake…?
His skin bristles the longer he stares at this being.
He retracts his fingers back to himself and ignores the creature slithering below the dark crystal waves to gaze upwards. Sure enough, along with the rest of the flying beings, the Giant Statue stares down at him.
The wolf creature accelerates again and moves upward, upward towards the misty area where these strange creatures are waiting. He feels the cold mist hit his face, especially against the radiating heat he and the flying wolf give off. Like a terrifying crescendo, Dante holds his breath at what he would see.
The pale mist seem to blind his eyes, making him squint and water yet he keeps his gaze ahead, anticipating, waiting…
…his skin has been bristling since he touched the water, but now it's almost unbearable—
"OH BLESSED ONE…COME CLOSER…"
—his skin is both ice cold and burning fire! Dante's heart hammers, yet he couldn't tell if it's from anxiety or excitement! But his ribcage feels like it's caging some overexcited bull, his lungs filled like a gallon of air pressure, about to burst at their organic, veined seams!
The blinding light surrounds him! He squints hard, trying to discern anything, anything! But he can't see his hands, the blue-grey fur…or anything at all! The large, warm body of the magical wolf underneath him disappeared suddenly, leaving him to be bombarded with all these strangeness, with all their voices!
Out of desperation, his fingers grab his hair, the sense of touch still real and grounded, and open his mouth to scream, scream with all his confused, painful heart, while the rest of his senses are flooded to the point of being numbed! Gritting his teeth, he succumbs to the voices; their echoes are more than just bouncing across inside his cranium!
"BE NOT AFRAID. YOUR SOUL IS THE KEY. YOUR SOUL IS ONE OF MANY SEALS. BUT IT IS FRACTURED, INCOMPLETE…"
"THIS WORLD…THIS WORLD INSIDE YOUR SOUL…YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO GIVE!"
"YOUR SOUL IS THE KEY…THE KEY TO A COMING WORLD!"
"A COMING WORLD! A COMING WORLD! A COMING WORLD!"
"THE TRUTH! THE FINAL TRUTH! IT WILL ALL BE REVEALED! REVEALED BY YOUR VERY SOUL!"
"O BLESSED ONE, O CURSED ONE…O FEARED CHILD, O LOVED CHILD…"
The voices keep talking to him, louder, yet the volume is so low, like whispers, murmuring, relentlessly! They repeat the words, chanting, singing, but never too loud, their words slithering like snakes, soft as feathers, unthreatening…yet the soundwaves are the aftermath of an explosion!
He closes his eyes and shakes his head and hopes, hopes, hopes...!
Their voices threaten to implode the very particles of his skull! Yet he does not feel pain! He does not feel the straining crawl of his veins as they keep whispering, over and over, over and over, over and over, over and over…
"THE COMING WORLD IS INEVITABLE!"
"LISTEN! O CHILD OF HEAVEN AND HELL, LISTEN TO US AND YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THE BURDEN OF YOUR BIRTH!"
"COMPLETION OF YOUR SOUL SHALL BRING YOU DEEPER! INTO THE DEPTHS OF THAT ONE TRUTH! AND THEN, SHALL YOU DECIDE!"
…over and over, over and over, over and over, over and over, over and over…
"DO YOU KNOW OF THE REASON…? OF THEIR FEAR OF US…? OF YOU…?"
"OF YOUR BROTHER…?"
"OF YOUR FATHER?"
"My father…what? He's not—!"
"FEARING THE POWER OF NEPHILIM IS ONE, BUT THAT IS TOO SIMPLE. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS ANOTHER?"
"…what? What other reason..?"
"EVERY CREATURE DREAMS TO HAVE POWER…BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT BECOMES REALITY?"
"HAVE YOU DREAMED OF POWER, CHILD?"
"N-no…I—I don't know…"
"WE WONDER AND WAIT FOR THE DAY IT WILL COME. IT IS INEVITABLE…"
"WE HAVE NOTHING BUT HOPE FOR YOU…HOPE YOU WILL PASS THE SECOND FEAR OF FACING POWER!"
He suddenly stood at the center of this strange whiteness of space, completely blank, save for the Giant Statue's face gazing down at him! His eyes bore at the empty sockets of the statue for a moment before becoming transfixed at the blinding light stinging his eyes, suddenly emanating five feet from where he stands! He shields his eyes, futile it may be, as the light penetrates through his eyelids!
…but he could swear someone was there…
"Please just tell me…"
"IT WOULD BE BETTER, MY SON…THAT YOU LEARN…I APOLOGIZE."
He shook his head, reeling from this pain, not because he denies his mother, he could never. How could Dante do that? No matter how vague his memories remain of her, his mother was the only proof he had of that feeling. What was it, then? That feeling of knowing that a deeper, warmer emotion makes your existence is as ordinary as a birth of a star? There is no word for that, but he didn't need it, only the feeling of it…
But with it, he is reeling from this painful realization…that there is something wrong with him. Or rather, something is too right about being him. And that he, excluding his twin, would be alone.
"Don't…don't be sorry, mom." He clutches the crimson pendant around his neck—the only proof of what once was—as she steps closer, her eyes—like his eyes—soften, apologetic. He sees how short his mother is, compared to the fragmented memories he will always have as a child…
"I AM. DEEPLY SO. I—I CAN DO NO OTHER EXCEPT BESTOW YOU WHAT FRAGMENTS I HAVE LEFT. WITH THEM, YOU WILL HAVE A WAY TO KNOW…AND YOU WILL KNOW HOW I WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU…"
"…even when I fail…"
Surprisingly, his mother chuckles at his self-deprecating words. She extends her hand and cups his chin. He sighs at this warmth and his heart aches.
"KNOWING YOU, FAILURE WON'T DEFINE YOU."
So concentrated he was with the woman before him that he barely registers the seven beings surrounding him. He pans his head all around him, trying his best to remember their faces, not wanting to feel so lost at his own broken memories. He understands now. His inability to remember is linked to his whole being.
"YOU ARE STILL INCOMPLETE, HENCE YOUR FALTERING NATURE." The creature in red drapes and armor spoke, her hair curly and short, her face round and stern, and her poise warrior-like. She looks the most familiar to him. He has seen her…where?
"YOUR DEMON POWERS HAVE NOT TRULY PEAKED. DO YOU FEAR IT?" Said a bearded creature, robed in deep purples and violets, sagacious in face and athletic in form.
"AND YOUR ANGELIC SIDE REMAINS DORMANT THE MOST. DO YOU SHUN IT?" Said the creature in an orange long gown trailing behind her, her voice soft-spoken and behind her the giant blue-wolf sits still.
"YOU WISH TO KNOW SO MUCH. ARE YOU SO EAGER TO KNOW MORE OF YOUR OWN FAILURES?" An older creature in crisp, dark yellow furs speaks, her face wrinkled and her long silvery hair tied in multiple braids.
"YOU ARE STILL ILL-PREPARED. BUT WE SENSE YOUR DETERMINATION, CHILD OF EVA, SON OF SPARDA." A creature of imposing height and physique speaks, with nothing but a deep blue loin cloth as modesty.
"FATE IS LAYING DOWN THE PATH AHEAD FOR YOU, AS WE SPEAK." Spoke the creature with her body covered in tattoos, dressed in a simple green tunic.
"AND SOON, WHEN YOUR VERY SOUL IS COMPLETED, YOU WILL BE READY AND THE TRUTH WILL BE REVEALED." Said the creature draped in black robes with his face hidden by his long hood.
They can't answer him directly, what with all these jargon about a revelation through his soul, yet he opened his mouth to ask them. "You said it's inevitable…did you plan this? Is everything going to what you want?"
His voice echoes as not one creature answered. His mother stared at him with pain brimming in her eyes. "WE MADE OUR CHOICES…I AM DEEPLY SORRY. YOU AND YOUR BROTHER…WE HAD YOU SO YOU CAN FIND A BETTER WORLD."
There was that pain again, that unshakeable pain that gnaws at him time and time again, even when he drowned himself in the many pleasures to escape, it haunted him. But he couldn't find himself to be angry at all.
The creature in red robes spoke again, more urgent than before. "UNDENIABLY, YOU ARE HERE OUT OF THEIR LOVE, BUT ALSO A BURDEN COMES WITH IT. TAKING IT, UNDERSTANDING IT, WILL YOU BECOME STRONGER, WILL YOU BE A STEP CLOSE TO ACHIEVING COMPLETION…"
His mother steps closer and embraces him tightly. Dante swallows, the stimulation of her touch making him anxious. But he circles his arms around her, pulling her close.
"YOU AND YOUR BROTHER…YOU ARE MORE THAN WHAT WE WANTED…YOU ARE YOUR OWN, AND YOU WILL SEE…IT WILL ALL BE FOR YOU."
"Thank you."
His mother tearfully pulls away from him as the whiteness of this strange space envelops him, blurs his sight of her sharp face, crimson hair and the same eyes he has…
"I LOVE YOU, DANTE. ALWAYS…"
And just like that, the nine figures before him drifted away into dark silhouettes as the blinding whiteness takes over. He looks up to see that the Giant Statue's eyes have become exactly blinding white, engulfing this space until he, too, is drifting into this white void!
His whole body feels like it's vibrating, yet he is completely still!
Too still!
Frozen!
Made to experience these tingling ripples all over his body as he stood very still!
To stand so still, in awe of it all!
The last thing he sees before the blinding brightness overtook everything and everything about him was the blurring visage of that statue, still boring its eyes upon him, warping into a figure of a man…
...but his features are indistinguishable from this blinding white blur! His eyes sting as Dante strains to see the male figure, whose eyes shine like the sun is now only meters away…
…a shock of white hair…
…his nude form, like his…?
He groans as the unbearable blurring white void finally takes him away.
"I—I have to…remember…I have to remember…"
Four days after Mundus' downfall
Four days earlier
He startles, groaning in his seat. His right cheek is pressed against the cool car window, with a bit of his drool sticking onto it and his skin. He remembers that he's taken a nap; that they have been driving for two hours from Central Limbo, all the way to the freeway going north.
North…almost back to his family's manor…
They all keep going back to that place…
The manor…it still is a distant memory…
"You've been mumbling in your sleep." Kat murmurs. Her eyes are still on the road, yet he can see that she's ready to drift off, what with her left arm propped against the side of the driver's door, supporting her head out of boredom. Despite it still being broken, the magical-braces Phineas provided for her lets some mobility and alleviated pain. "Same dream?"
Dante groans again as he shifts in his seat, having slept in an uncomfortable position, with the seatbelt's edge scratching at his exposed neck. He looks down at his clothes: the same worn-out tank top, old leather coat, slim dark-wash jeans and dirty work boots.
It must be…I can't remember…
He sighs with some relief, but the breath feels shaky and he can feel Kat's gaze turn to him. The dream he had…
It's…something about…completion of…fuck.
"How much farther?" He looks at the GPS map across the dashboard to note where they are. He doesn't dare look at Kat and make her more concerned, because she already does that well on her own.
"Just a few more kilometers." She says casually but he knows the question's coming. "Dante, you—?"
"I'm fine." The tone is too flippant, even for his liking. Might as well change the subject. "Can't wait to get to the service station. I need a pizza and a cold one…"
Kat smirks. "You always need a cold one." And with that, the concerned tension is gone, for now. Dante sighs with relief as he wipes the drool off the car window's surface. The one who provided this car won't like it if he left traces.
This car isn't a rent. It was a charity. Still, even though Commissioner Morrison seemed genuinely kind, Dante wasn't risking it, wasn't risking leaving behind his mark and get voo-dooed if by any chance, Morrison has any dirty magician hired under wraps. Kat shares the same suspicious sentiment, as she plans to wipe off any of their 'essences' off the second-hand leather texture of the seats after they're through with all this. But of course, agreeing to do this wasn't for Morrison's, it was for the people and the place that seemingly had been experiencing paranormal things lately…
That shouldn't be a surprise.
After the Limbo Collapse, the barrier holding them powerful and incognito has put the demons all out in the open. They would do something, they want to…
But the broken system has left a power vacuum that Phineas advises not to intervene for now. And with the Order decimated, all that's left of Kat's team's hard work are all the archival bytes of information they have of Mundus' rule in Limbo City, as well as the basic bestiaries of demons. Lastly, the Order is now just comprised of Kat and Dante, Phineas, too, but they haven't made anything 'official'.
And with their small number, they took Phineas' advice, as well as this investigation. He said, ominously of course, that the questions that still bother Dante's mind will be revealed and helping those unfortunate will not only gain them a favourable reputation, they will discover more things to collect for their new archives.
Or so Phineas had encouraged…
"You didn't answer my question, Dante." Kat points out, a concerned smile on her face. Dante knew she isn't dropping this anytime soon. "Are you okay?"
He sighs and flicks his tongue inside his mouth. It isn't that he didn't want to talk about it. He had tried to describe his dreams to Kat the first time he had it, but to no avail. He couldn't remember them! But he knew, or at some degree, he can tell they had been similar or had the same themes! But like water dripping, it falls between the crevices of his fingers. Maybe there's still something broken about his mind, something broken…
Like giant broken pieces…the dark-crystal waters on his fingertips…
He shakes his head in frustration and snorts.
"You know, I'm ready to read up about how you can recall dreams." He says humorlessly. "I know I've had it since…since Vergil left…"
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat and they fell into an awkward quietude. It's still fresh, this whole thing, being manipulated into this mess. But if it weren't for his twin, would they have even had a chance?
No, no, no…no more of those questions! What's done is done…
"Okay, look." He says after clearing his throat. "I'll try to recall the dream…I want to. It's important."
A smile returns to her pretty face. "Don't leave out any juicy stuff. Lay them all down on me once you're ready."
"Pffft, sure." He rolls his eyes as she chuckles. "You've been waiting to know about them, huh?"
Kat laughs. "Oh man, will we need a ton of beer? How about some Fallen Angels and Corpse Revivers?"
It was his turn to crinkle his face, his lips curled. "So you're a medium, a magician and a bartender, shit…"
Fallen angels…there was a group of them…
"Do you think they serve olive-less pizza on the service station?" Kat teases with a giggle and to Dante's chagrin.
"People can argue about pineapples being illegal on a pizza, but fucking olives?!"
Kat laughs as he continues his rant about the disgusting green aliens being on pizzas and on cocktails. And even through his frustrated sentences, Dante feels at ease. He knew this feeling is fleeting, but he takes it. These short moments of joy, they're rare.
And just like that, their mirthful conversation is cut short by this splash of impact! The hairs on the back of their necks stand as the stereo and GPS on the dashboard suddenly responds! A crackle of static light up the machine and erratic sounds and music blare from the speakers! The GPS itself is showing multi-colored pixels and alpha-numeric symbols, the map of their destination fizzing out of existence.
The mist that has been quite thin was nothing but gray wisps hanging over the grass plains and thick woods as they journeyed through. Now though, the greyness of the mist is now truly obstructing their path, the headlights barely penetrating.
"It looks like there's a Threshold…" Kat muses, her brows furrowed. Dante can feel it, that barrier between worlds. It was the kind of barrier that opened and closed when the evil sapience of Limbo comes to rapture him to its distinctly twisted landscape. "Is it…a fragment of Limbo's power?"
Dante shook his head. "No. It feels different. It's not…ensnaring us."
With a casual wave of her hand and a few of her magical words, Kat manages to clear the front view of mist, like pulling back a curtain to see. They continue to ride through, albeit slower, as Kat is both clearing the path and driving.
From a few meters, they can make out a large road sign, officially welcoming travelers to the entrance of this town. A knot forms inside Dante's stomach as he remembers the visage of a giant, wolf-like creature…
Kat reads it. "Welcome to Wolfhaven."
There! She thought with glee, following the movement of that vehicle making its way towards the first town of Wolfhaven. Following them was not difficult; the stench of a Nephilim is always indescribable!
She wants to bottle this stench up for Archiving purposes, after she is done skinning this abominable freak of nature! Even at this distance, the smell of his skin is hard to forget…it is quite delectable, she admits, and this one oozed of so many lustful nights he could potentially ensnare her and make her fall from the Grace bestowed upon her very skin. But aesthete delights are factors to become a Fallen! No, his very stench is a good reminder to her high rank, her true self and ethics! His stench is proof enough of his own lowly quotients and she is proud of this distance of class!
No wonder Mundus and his subordinates relied on olfactory tracking, although this stupid one's escapades around the city before are well-recorded, making his behavior a patchwork of patterns: a delinquent, a hedonist, reckless and volatile…a hopeless seed, sown in the gutter, reaped for endless misfortunes and a graceless path!
It's a curious thing he hasn't died yet! But, because of him and his few allies, the empire Mundus built is now a ruin and a ground rife for her Sphere to scrutinize!
She sniffed the air, and in the midst of all the tangling smells of humans, demons and creatures perfumed in magic (which is highly annoying and a nuisance!), she detects the Nephilim is accompanied by one human, the same woman. Her magic won't stop her this time, not like how it was a few hours ago. She will overpower them both and they will not get the best of her!
She could go after them now, do battle and be rid of them to get to her goals quickly! But the Nephilim and his witch companion aren't the only ones obstructing her Divine mission. Here in this Realm are a slew of creatures, beasts and beings that would offend even a demon when they are beholden by their presence! And it would appear a powerful creature is responsible for delaying her.
A Threshold barricades her and other demons from coming in, and from how she had scouted the area it is protecting, it is an estimated 14.334 square miles. It is not a large area, but it is accommodating enough to hold a small town and its natural geography. Not surprising…
Whoever, or whatever, has made this barricade is powerful enough to protect the leftover inhabitants of this pitiful human settlement. But soon enough, their attempts will be for naught; those demons are gearing up in the western end of this county and if that other Nephilim wills it, they will bombard through this Threshold until it breaks…
But it's a game of mental wits. Recklessly ordering them to do just that would incite the first phase of a long battle, a long battle that would incite a long war, another one in a long time…
And from the recent records, it shows how this other Nephilim is smarter, more cunning and definitely ambitious than this one that reeks of earthly sins. If this is the game he wishes to play, then she will play along.
A soft laugh escapes her lips.
Mundus' downfall has given rise to the war her Sphere has been looking forward to in the last nine millenniums! No more policing of possible demon monarchs rising from the depths of Hell! No more pussyfooting outside the boundaries of the Human Realm!
We have been waiting… she thought as the fire of her golden-red hair singes the softly-falling snowflakes, her beautiful wings of flames folded neatly behind her glimmering armor.
We can wait a little more. We can wait until they've decimated the others' numbers! I can wait until Dante clears the path for me to get to the infested western part! And from there, I will take them down. For now, I must scout the whole of the county…the secrets are slowly unveiling themselves. The hidden ones are finally crawling out of the holes they've dug for themselves for millenniums! And all of them shall bear witness to Our Judgment! They will be at Our Mercy.
She will not fail. She must not!