DVYL May Cry
Dante stared across to the two demon possessed Faunus. His cold smoky blue eyes staring into the glowing red from under their masks. The bigger of the two had his massive chainsaw at the ready while the other had her rapier looking weapon at her side. Dante's hand tightened around the handle of Rebellion for all of a second. That's when he shot off at his top speed towards the two for a horizontal slash.
To his surprise, the big guy blocked the hit and was holding even with him, the ground cracking underneath them. 'Damn, this guy is as strong as Yang and Nora. Is this natural or because of the demon?' Dante couldn't think about it for long, the other Faunus was running to his right and was starting to fire at him with her weapon. Dante quickly jumped back from the power struggle before drawing Ebony and returning fire at her. She effortlessly was weaving and flipping through his bullets while Dante was deflecting the demonic shots with his blade.
He was interrupted when the big guy brought his weapon down onto the Demon Hunter. Dante blocked the overhead attack as sparks flew from the blades as the chainsaw was revving up. He was either trying to cut through Rebellion or trying to use the chain to move the blade out of his way. Dante was not about to let either happen though. He was about to fire at him point blank, but he felt something penetrate his back and electricity flowing through his system. He screamed in pain while looking over his shoulder, the chameleon Faunus had her blade extended and in his back as electricity was flowing through it. Dante was then punched in the face by the bigger Faunus and was sent into another container. He dented it before he fell to the ground.
Dante slowly pushed himself back to his feet, the wound on his back already closing as his tattoo was glowing and he popped his neck as he stood. "Great, these two are stronger than I thought." He was under the assumption that they were possessed by low level demons but now he realized that they were mid-tier demons at the very least. "If I try to match the big guy's strength with Arbiter, the girl will out maneuver me and take advantage of my openings. But if I try to match her speed with Osiris, the big guy will over power me easily. Better off sticking to Rebellion."
Along with that, Dante still wasn't at his best. All the alcohol he had drank since he left Beacon was slowing down his reflexes and dulling his instincts. Not severely but enough for these two to match him. Plus, the nonstop hunting and limited sleep wasn't helping him. He sighed in annoyance, "Vergil was right, I'm at my limit. But, its not like I can just back out now."
He quickly attached his sword to his back before drawing Ivory to join its twin. He started to charge energy into his guns. He aimed at both Faunus before he fired the red energy shots. Both tried to deflect the shots with their weapons but as they did, they ricocheted off and started to bounce between the two of them. The projectiles eventually faded away, but they had no reprieve as they were bombarded with bullets from above. Dante used the opportunity to jump into the air and directly above them. He flipped himself upside-down with his guns pointed at them before he started spinning like a top, raining bullets down upon them. The two took numerous shots before they both jumped away.
Dante landed on his feet and holstered his guns before shooting after the bigger target. He drew Rebellion and assaulted him with a flurry of stabs with it, if anyone was watching then they'd only see a series of flashes. The Faunus quickly recovered and brought his chainsaw down, but Dante managed to jump back. The chainsaw met the ground and shattered it. Before the big man could think of anything else, a metal snake like hook attached to his upper arm. He looked up in time to see Dante's boot connecting with the side of his head and sending him into a container for a change.
Dante landed back on his feet as Ophion unhooked from his target and was reeling itself back in. It quickly flashed red and was now its Demon Pull variant. Dante spun a full one-eighty before he shot it off towards the other Faunus. She tried to jump away but it still managed to grab onto her shin before pulling her towards him. Dante punched down and connected his fist to her chin, sending the back of her head into the ground and bouncing her off of it. She landed a few feet away from Dante as Ophion let her go and with another flash, he was holding his sword once again.
Dante walked the few feet to her and looked down at her. He placed his foot on her chest to stop her from moving. She turned her head to face him and showed that her mask was heavily cracked from his attacks. Half of it broke off and fell revealing some of her face. She was young, maybe his age if not younger. He noticed she had spots on her forehead and cheek, maybe related to her Faunus heritage. But he wasn't focused on that, but the sad sight of her eyes. Her grey eyes looked empty and the sclera were glowing red. More proof that she was too far gone.
He raised his sword above his head to end her suffering. That was when he saw something flash red in his peripheral. He turned quickly to see a wave of demonic energy surging across the ground and tearing it up, coming directly towards him. He quickly jumped away as the chameleon Faunus did the same. That's when he saw the other Faunus crouched after slamming his weapon into the ground. It was still glowing red, so it was obvious that was where the attack came from. The wave of energy continued to travel until it hit the container that Dante was smashed into, twice. As soon as that happened, the Dust was triggered and caused an explosion. That caused a chain reaction that set off the rest of the Dust. A series of explosions later and the docks was literal inferno.
Most of the White Fang were caught up in it while Torchwick was on a bullhead, watching the explosions with interests. He smirked slightly, "Who would've guessed that the kid I ran into at Junior's was the infamous Demon Hunter?" He chuckled as he turned away from the sight. The doors closed as he walked further into the bullhead, his eyes glowing red for a few seconds as he spoke, "Things just got more interesting." With that the bullhead flew off and away from the burning docks.
Back on the ground, Dante grunted in exertion as he lifted a piece of debris, probably from one of the containers, off of him. Once the piece of metal was off him, he stood up and instantly hissed in pain. He gripped his right side. It started aching more and he was having trouble breathing. "Fuck, that explosion broke a few ribs." It wasn't as big a deal for him compared to others. Broken bones stilled healed quickly for him, not as fast as cuts or open wounds though. He'd be good in a few minutes, so for now, he'd have to deal with it.
He started to look around the burning docks. The flames were still raging and there was debris everywhere. He saw numerous charred bodies of the White Fang members but not the bodies of the two Faunus he had been fighting prior. He instantly opened his senses to try and sense their demonic presence. And no sooner did he do that was when he had to roll out of the way. A particular piece of jagged metal was impaled in the ground where he was standing only a few seconds before. If he was standing there, he'd have been impaled through his chest and out his lower back.
Dante grunted in pain before turning to the two Faunus. Both were injured. The big guy was practically dragging his broken right leg and using his chainsaw as a walking stick. While the girl was stumbling slightly, and her left arm was clearly dislocated and dangling. Both were covered in cuts, bruises and burns. The girl's hair was also burned, and the man's mask was broken enough to see his one eye. But he couldn't tell what color they used to be since both Faunus' eyes were glowing red.
'They're at their limit.' Dante thought. 'The only reason they are still moving is because the demons are pushing their broken bodies to keep going. Although, I'm not much better.' He slowly started to reach back for his sword, grimacing in pain as he did. 'It's gonna hurt like hell to swing my sword but I'm going to have to take it.'
Dante's hand just wrapped around the hilt of his sword when he heard something that made him freeze and his eyes go wide. "Dante!" he heard an all too familiar voice shout behind him.
Time seemed to freeze for him. He slowly turned and what he saw made his eyes grow wider. On a rooftop, not far away was Yang and Ruby, their weapons ready as they looked down at him in concern. 'What are they doing here?' He asked himself in shock.
He was pulled from his thoughts as every instinct he had was shouting at him to turn around. He did, just in time to stop the chainsaw from cleaving him in half. But as his blade met the chainsaw, the impact caused his ribs to erupt in pain, causing him to falter and drive him to his knees as he tried to stop the blade from hitting him. Dante was trying with all his might to hold it back, but his ribs were stopping him from doing so. He then saw the other Faunus run around the other, going for a thrust to his throat.
She quickly had to disengage when a series of sniper bullets were aimed for where she just was. She then used her weapons whip function to knock away a few of Yang's own ammo away from herself and her ally. She then ran past them and Dante quickly saw her running towards an angry Yang. His eyes widened as his blood became ice cold. A flash of his nightmare flashed across his eyes. 'No! No!' he shouted in his head, but he still couldn't overpower the Faunus he was engaged with.
His fear was slowly growing. 'I'm going to lose her. I'm going to lose someone I love. Again.' Images of his dead family flashed through is mind with that and his fear soon gave way to unbridled fury. He glared at the demon possessed Faunus in front of him until his eyes flashed red and he shouted, "Not again!"
With that, red energy erupted from his body. The Faunus was thrown from Dante but landed in a crouch. He tried to stand up, but he couldn't, like an enormous force was keeping him there. He looked up to see Dante but changed. His hair was now completely white, his coat was now a bright red and almost glowing. While his eyes were now red, and the irises were white. Along with that, he had small vein-like cracks running across his body and glowing a faint red. Along with that, the surrounding area was cloaked in mix of white, grey and black with an oppressive force that seemed to slow everything down.
Dante looked down at his hands as he felt a new power flowing through his body. It was like the flood gates were opened. He could feel his body being pushed to its limit as well as his ribs healing quicker than any injury he had ever had. He clenched his fists as he looked over his shoulder. The other Faunus was stopped in her stride from his aura. Yang was perfectly fine, his aura not affecting her, but she was looking at him in shock. He looked past her to where Ruby was and saw a similar expression on the young reaper's face.
He turned from them back to the Faunus directly in front of him. He cleared the distance between them faster than he would've thought he could, shocking the kneeling enemy. Dante connected a kick to his chest, sending him flying into the air. Dante followed him with no hesitation. When he was even with him, he drew Rebellion and slashed into multiple times, faster and stronger than he would've believed. The Faunus unable to fight back, both from the oppressing aura and the sheer speed of Dante's attacks. With one last downward slash, the Faunus was driven back to the ground and shattered it. Dante landed on the edge of the deep crater he had formed. He looked to see the broken body as it turned to face him. The red eyes were glowing with hatred before they were extinguished like flames, leaving only an empty black in their place.
He turned from the slayed demon, to the only remaining one in the area. Dante walked over to the still frozen Faunus. She was glaring at him with hatred and fury but still couldn't move. Maybe if she was possessed by a more powerful demon she could break free but for now, she was trapped. His glowing white eyes stared into hers before he raised his blade and stabbed it into her heart. Ending her life and her suffering. Dante watched as her eyes became the same lifeless black as the other and only then did he remove his sword.
When he did, the power he was using faded back into the deepest recesses of his soul. The oppressive aura was lifted as color bled back into the area. Dante returned to his usual appearance besides a small clump of hair on the back of his head was now white. Dante gasped with that. Feeling that new power fade, was the equivalent of going from a hundred to zero in a second. Kind of like a form of whiplash. He stood there for a few seconds breathing deeply, 'Was that...?' Dante thought for a second.
"Dante?" he turned to see Yang staring at him in shock with Ruby running over to them. He looked into her lilac eyes and he felt his heart clench. Her eyes were filled with so much emotions; sorrow, pain, anger. But just below that he could see joy from seeing him. She started to slowly reach out to him but that was when a piece of burning debris crashed beside them. Making them remember that they were still in the middle of a burning inferno.
"We need to go." Dante spoke up before he scooped her up in a bridal carry, earning a blush from her. "Ruby, come on." He told the reaper as the two started to run out of the docks as fast as they could. With sirens of police cars and fire trucks filling the night air.
Dante was now seated in Ozpin's office. He was currently looking out the window and over the horizon as Ozpin was on a video call with the police commissioner. As soon as the three of them got out of the docks, they were greeted with seeing Ozpin waiting for them. Before they could speak, he had told them they had a lot to discuss. He then escorted them back to Beacon, much to the chagrin of Dante. The headmaster told Ruby and Yang to contact their teams, so they would know what was going on while he 'debriefed' Dante.
That was about twenty minutes ago but Dante didn't care. He had a lot on his mind at the moment. 'So, that was my Devil Trigger, huh. It's a lot different compared to Vergil's. Although, if he gets the same rush that I do when I use it, I can see what he meant by the risks that come with it. I wonder why it finally manifested?' Images of Yang and the Faunus running at her came to mind. He shook his head and sighed, 'Dumbass. You know why.'
"It seems you've had a busy night, Mr. Arc." Dante was pulled form his thoughts and turned back to Ozpin just calmly looking at him.
He sighed, "Can you drop that? We're alone, so just call me Dante."
He nodded, "Fair enough. So, would you tell me what happened at the docks, Dante?"
He shrugged, "I got word that the White Fang would be there tonight. And there has been trace amounts of demonic energy wherever they were rumored to attack. I investigated just to be sure." He relaxed more in his seat as he looked up at the ceiling. "When they finally showed up, Roman Torchwick was with them and he was radiating that same energy. When I tried to get some information, two possessed White Fang attacked me. One thing lead to another."
"So, you caused a massive explosion that lead to the docks catching fire." Ozpin raised an eyebrow.
"No, that was the demons. I take no responsibility to that." He shrugged.
Ozpin nodded as he took a sip from his coffee mug, "That would make more sense. So, tell me, why did you leave Beacon?"
Dante was expecting this question and sighed, "We're hitting too many walls lately. Yeah, you're helping me find a few demons that I've missed but it's still not enough." Dante clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking from it. "Mundus is either getting too good at hiding his soldiers or he doesn't need as many running around. Either way, something is coming right around the corner and we aren't anywhere close to knowing what it is." He shook his head, "I needed to get back out there and do more."
"Even if that meant leaving behind the people you care about?" Ozpin asked.
Dante flinched and stared Ozpin in his eyes. He stood up and turned to the elevator, "I'm not doing this."
"Just going to run again? I thought the Demon Hunter was more than that." Ozpin said.
Dante didn't bother to turn around, "Call it what you want, Ozpin. We both knew this was a temporary thing, that time just came sooner than you thought."
"And what of your team? And RNBW? You're just going to abandon them, without a word."
Dante pushed the button for the elevator and stayed silent. That lasted until the doors opened, "Never said that. I'll tell them the truth. They deserve that. But this is the end of me being here." He walked into the elevator and leant against the wall as he stared across to Ozpin. "I've lost two families already. I'm not willing to lose a third." The doors closed before Ozpin could say anything in return.
Dante sat in the elevator in silence. When the doors finally opened, he slowly made his way from the tower to the dorms. Even though he was going at a slow speed, he arrived there way before he thought he would. He entered and made his way to where his team's and RNBW's dorms were located. He stood in front of his dorm with his arm raised to knock on it. But stopped when he heard the sound of several voices coming from inside. He stood there for a few minutes, not able to move an inch.
Eventually, he dropped his fist and gave a sigh. He turned from the door and slowly walked away. He made his way to the roof of the dorms. He opened the door before he closed it behind him, giving him a breathtaking view. He slowly walked over to the edge and sat down on the right side. He leant his back against the wall as his right leg dangled off the edge and right hand was placed near the edge to help him lean. Dante drew his left leg up, so it nearly touched his chest and rested his left forearm on his knee. That was the position he chose to sit in as he looked over the horizon. He took a deep breath and released it, "How is this tougher than every battle I've been in?"
Dante just sat there. For how long, he couldn't say. But not nearly long enough. He heard the door open from his left, but he didn't bother to look. He had a good idea on who the people were. "Guess Ozpin told you I was coming, huh."
There was a silence before Ruby spoke up, "Yeah. He sent us a message when you left his office. When you didn't show up, we guessed this is where you'd be."
Dante nodded, "Well, you were right." He turned to them all and their reactions were varied. Ruby looked nervous and unsure. She kept looking between him and her sister. Weiss looked uncomfortable and nervous but considering what happened last time they saw each other, that made sense. Blake seemed calm, but he could see some anger and betrayal in her eyes. But was that for him leaving or the White Fang that he killed? Pyrrha was also conflicted, like she wasn't sure to hug or punch him now.
His eyes then took in his team. Ren had a calm exterior, but he could tell he was bubbling with frustration from him leaving and curiosity as to why he did. Nora was a mix between scowling at him or crying her eyes out. That was a heart breaking thing to see. And Yang, she had all the emotions he saw earlier in the night. But so much stronger. He turned from them to look out over the horizon again. "Well, don't get used to this. I'll be gone after tonight."
"You're going to leave us? Again?" Nora asked brokenly.
Dante nodded, "Yeah. Beacon was always just a temporary thing for me."
"But, don't you want to be a Huntsman?" Pyrrha asked confused.
Dante just shook his head, "No. I was here to help with my real mission. That's why I came here. And now its time to get back to what I do best."
That's when Blake spoke up, venom slipping into her voice. "And what's that? Killing more Faunus?"
"Don't even try that, Blake." His voice was cold, and everyone was silent. "You don't know what happened and you don't get to make assumptions on something you know nothing about. I didn't kill any Faunus. I killed two monsters tonight and I don't regret it. If that makes me a monster in your eyes…" he shrugged. "So be it."
There was another silence and Dante was willing to let it linger. This time Ren calmly broke it. "So, why did you come back? Why bother if you were just going to leave again?"
He sighed, "To tell you all the truth. So, you can understand why I do what I must. You all deserve that."
"What truth?" Ruby asked.
"What would you think if I told you that demons, devils and angels actually existed?" He paused. "That those legends and myths are true but were just hidden from the world as a whole?"
"You're not serious, right?" Weiss asked in disbelief.
Dante turned to her and he just gave her a look so serious she couldn't question it. "Completely."
They were all stunned by that. He turned back to look over the horizon as he continued, "Remnant was created by two gods, brothers actually. One older and one younger. They filled this world with both life and destruction. The older brother of life created water, plants and wildlife during the day. While at night, the younger brother of destruction would discover his sibling's creations and become disgusted. He created drought, fire and famine in response." He smirked, "But life had the strong ability to endure." His smirk fell. "This went on for a while, until the brother of darkness decided to create something nearly as dark and destructive as him. Grimm."
"The brother of light finally had enough, and he proposed that the two of them create one last thing, together. A masterpiece they could both be proud of. The younger brother agreed and together they created a creature that was gifted with knowledge, the power to destroy and create and moreover, the ability of choice. That was how humanity was created."
Dante looked up at the fractured moon, "That is where most believe the story to end, but that is only half of it. The brothers didn't just create humanity. They had a few 'failed' versions before. The first two were demons and angels. They had knowledge, but they lacked choice. Demons were more attuned to the power of destruction. While angels had an affinity for creation."
"Their next work was better. They did have the ability to choose and the knowledge to harness their power. But they were too powerful. They could effectively break any kind of balance that the brothers wanted, which resulted in their failure. They were known as the Nephilim."
"After all that trial and error, was when they finally created humanity. But that just left their other three creations. They couldn't destroy them, so they left them with a task: to help guide humanity. To let them reach their potential. The three creations agreed, and the brothers left Remnant."
He turned to look at them and they were all just digesting what he had told them. When he was sure they were ready, he continued. "That's when the problems started. Each had their own idea on how to guide humanity. Demons wanted to lure them with power and control them. Angels wanted to let them do as they pleased and intervene when they needed to. While the Nephilim wanted a more hands on approach, to teach them and try to stop any altercation before it got too big."
"The demons and angels didn't like that the Nephilim were interfering with their plans, but they could do little about it. The Nephilim were stronger than both of them. That's when they made a deal out of their shared fear. To work together and exterminate the Nephilim. And they succeeded. With the Nephilim gone, the angels and demons could carry on with their plans. But that caused friction between them and that started war. A war that has been raging on for millennia."
"So, what does that have to do with now? Or you?" Pyrrha asked.
"I was getting to that." He said calmly. "You see, a few millennia ago, a demon was able to unite all the others under him. He became the Demon King. Mundus." Venom slipped into his words and no one missed that. "With him in charge, the demons have been making significant gains in controlling humanity. It appeared that he'd have all of Remnant under his control. That was until a wrench was thrown into his plans. His second-in-command, Sparda, fell in love with someone he should never have. Her name was Eva. And she was an angel."
That earned a few shocked looks from the seven. "It was supposed to be a forbidden union. But those two didn't care. They loved and lived in happiness. And eventually had two sons." He sighed. "And that brought the Nephilim back into the world." He closed his eyes and lean this head against the wall behind him. "The family of four lived in peace for the longest time. Until Mundus found out about Sparda's betrayal. The Nephilim were the only thing that could stop him and his second was the reason for their creation." He paused for a few seconds, "He attacked their home and tried to kill them all. Sparda managed to get his sons and escape but at a cost. Eva was attacked by Mundus himself. He ripped out her heart and devoured it, while his sons could do nothing but watch." He gave on last shaky breath before looking at his friends in the eyes. "The older of the two sons was me. My original name was Dante, Son of Sparda. And I am a Nephilim."