So, I decided to come back to this story, but after so much time, I'm having a bit of a debate regarding which option or direction I should take the story. So, this is kinda like a possible rewrite announcement where I provide two options, where one option is a bit more complicated than the other, but they are both still very good ideas. That being said, I hope these two prologues are alright with everyone. I do intend to repost this story, so be on the lookout for a new story from me. In any case, hope you like the different story takes.

The Hunter's Familia

Chapter 2: Story Rewrite Options

Option #1

A thunderous roar echoed through the heavens as lightning flashed in the sky followed by the crash of thunder. A creature was suddenly slammed into a cliff face and fell down to the ground on its hands and feet. The creature was not something native to this world and anyone could be certain by just looking at it even once.

It had black and red scales that covered its entire body, rising into large spikes on its shoulders, forming into a sort of organic plate armor. On its knees and claws were white spikes, similar to bone, while the claws were more like three-clawed pincers. Its head was very intriguing; it had no eyes and one large white horn rose from the forehead while a maw of razor-sharp teeth added to the beast's intensity. To add to the intimidation, the creature's entire body crackled with yellow electricity, however, the electricity crackled most intensely at its back.

The beast let out an annoyed growl as its attacker stepped into the clearing where it had been slammed into.

Emerging from the forest was a young girl, appearing to be around twenty years old.

She had green eyes and long blue hair with two long bangs, two strands on each side, and a partially braided tail in the back. She was wearing a white and pale blue outfit, and long brown boots with some light brown designs etched into them. Around her waist was a belt, in which she kept a piece of white cloth and a dagger in. She also had golden bracelets around her wrists, and resting on top of her head was a golden hairpiece, too small to be a tiara. She was carrying a golden bow, the string partially drawn back with her left hand.

"You should know by now, demons," addressed the girl to the beast, the creature growling lowly at her, "You do not have the same advantage as you once did."

The now-identified demon snarled in fury, a buzzing noise filling the air as it suddenly vanished in a flash of yellow electricity, transforming into a bolt of electricity. The bolt jumped around rapidly, the girl drawing the bowstring back, taking aim. In the space where an arrow would normally reside, a glowing blue arrow appeared.

The demon then stopped flashing around the area and appeared right in front of the girl, taking her by surprise. Its massive claw raised to slice her in half. The massive appendage collided with the girl, knocking her off of her feet and to the ground. She let out a gasp of surprise as she tried to get up.

Suddenly, the demon appeared right above her, its left claw raised above its head while a blood-curdling roar erupted from its maw. Lightning flashed as it brought its claw down, however, before the creature could kill its foe, a loud bang echoed through the area.

The girl smiled, recognizing that noise and the noise of the demon roaring in pain as its claw now had a hole in it. Looking back, the creature was looking at its claw, the electrical flashes that crisscrossed its body gone, if only temporarily. The beast snarled and swung its head around looking for whoever did this. It was then a loud voice called out.

"LOOKING FOR ME, ASSHOLE?!"

The demon snapped towards the direction of the shout and only received a pair of boots right to the face, sending it flying back across the clearing where it had to dig its claws into the ground to slow it down.

The girl looked at her savior, and just rolled her eyes at who it was, but that didn't stop her from smiling.

The person who saved her was a young man, about twenty years old. He was wearing a long, dark blue coat with a red inner lining, on his shoulders were two silver symbols sewn into the coat that appeared to be a waxing crescent moon with a bow and arrow on top of it. The coat also had a brown harness over top while underneath it was a red zip-up hoodie/vest with two zippers and underneath that was a black shirt. On his left wrist, he had a red wristband held in place with a small brown belt. His legwear consists of a pair of blue pants held up by a belt with a rose buckle that was connected to a holster for a large, silver revolver. Over his pants, he wears brown thigh straps with small belts in them. For footwear, he wears two brown boots that go up to about half of his shins.

Along with this clothing, he wears two rings on his left hand: one on his index finger that bears the same symbol to the ones on his shoulders, and another on his ring finger that has a rose design etched into it, similar to his belt buckle, coat clasp, and coat buttons.

Some of the more notable features of this man were his platinum white hair, pale blue eyes, and pale skin tone. Clutched in his right hand was a massive sword with an ornate design, taking inspiration from the German Großes Messer (which translates to "Big Knife"). It had a larger handle, a motorcycle-like handguard that appeared to connect to a few vents on the blade of the sword. However, his hair color or weapon were hardly the biggest attention grabber. That would be the man's right arm.

In the place of a regular human arm was, instead, an arm that was entirely disfigured, and was demonic to the point of being nearly draconic. His claws, palm, and forehand had glowing blue skin, with a large blue crack in the middle of his forearm. The rest of his arm was covered in red organic flesh, with a spike protruding from his elbow. Blue strap-like flesh covered the top part of his arm.

"Didn't your mommy ever tell you it's rude to hit a lady?" taunted the man while the demon growled in annoyance.

"I had this under control," interjected the girl, causing her savior to look back at her and chuckle lightly.

"Right, because 'being knocked down by a demon' is a clear indicator for 'I have this under control,'" he joked as he sheathed his sword across his back in the harness and extended his right hand.

The girl didn't even hesitate as she gently grasped his hand as he helped her to her feet. She smiled at the boy.

"How did you find me?"

"I've been hunting these guys for years, Artemis," he snorted as he glanced back at the demon, the beast getting back to its feet and growling lowly.

From the demon's body, red electricity started to spark. The yellow glow was replaced with a dark blood-red as the creature's growl slowly became louder. The electricity started becoming more intense until it suddenly leaped into the air.

A massive roar erupted from the demon as thunder cracked and a red lightning bolt came down from the clouds. The bolt struck the demon's chest and a blast of electricity erupted from it, along with a massive red flash.

"Well, look who's throwing a tantrum," smirked the man as he drew his sword once more with his left hand, letting it rest on his left shoulder, and started towards the demon. The creature, now back on the ground, this time on all fours.

"Don't think I will allow you to have all the fun," interjected Artemis as she grabbed her bow and joined him.

"Why do you think I brought them?" prompted the hunter as he jerked his head over his shoulder. Artemis looked back and saw that several others had come, notably, they were all female and carried bows and arrows. The twenty or so huntresses emerged from the forest, weapons drawn and for good reason too.

The demon suddenly stood on its two legs and threw its head back into the air, letting out a titanic howl. Following the roar was a disturbing sight as various points on the ground started to bubble up with what appeared to be blood. From the scarlet liquid, emerged more creatures, some appeared to be reptilian in nature while others looked more mammalian.

"Figured sooner or later he'd call for help and it wouldn't be fair to the others to leave them hanging," explained the hunter as gestured to the group, "Besides, it'd be more fun if this was a party."

Artemis rolled her eyes, "You're such a boy."

"I know," he replied as he flipped his sword around and planted the tip in the ground, "I hope you had fun, buddy."

The electrical beast roared angrily as its claws and horns suddenly became wreathed with red electricity.

"Because we're about to put you outta everyone's misery."

The hunter then twisted the handle of his sword, causing the weapon to let out a powerful rev while flames burst out of the vents along the blade.

"LET'S ROCK!" shouted the hunter as he charged right towards the demon, the beast doing the same as it flashed towards him in a burst of electricity. Artemis and her hunters also charged, letting out their own battle cries as the other demons also began thundering toward them.

The hunter and the electrical demon met first, the man carrying the sword leaped into the air and grabbed his weapon with both hands. He twisted the throttle and flames erupted out of the sword while at the same time, the demon reappeared with its right claw drawn back and launched a powerful uppercut.

The opposing attacks met in a bright flash.

I'll be blunt, I never thought I'd be part of another family after what happened. Losing almost everyone I ever loved.

Don't get me wrong, my uncle is a good man, probably one of the best I know. Everyone else back home is my family, but, not quite at the same time. I don't know, maybe I just miss the family that took me in when I was just born. Losing them all was hard, but letting go of one was even harder. Even more to remind myself that she would want me to move on and pick myself up. For that time, I was afraid.

But now, I'm not afraid.

Afraid to lose anyone or say goodbye to else because that isn't me.

You can't be a Demon Hunter if you're afraid to take risks, let some people go.

Being a descendant of the demon knight Sparda and the only male member of the Artemis Familia, I have a lot going for me.

My name: Nero.

This is how I showed Orario just some of the nightmares I deal with on a daily basis.

End Option #1

Option #2

The sounds of combat were nothing new to the Dungeon, a complex labyrinth located under Babel, not the Tower of Babel from the Book of Genesis, but rather a massive feat of construction that has grown into impossible height and design in the city of Orario. Initially designed to contain the creatures spawned within the dungeon beneath the city, it now serves as the headquarters for a Guild focused on observing and managing the strange labyrinth and all the floors beneath it. However, even when the gods and goddesses themselves came down from heaven, accidentally destroying the tower and rebuilding it to its current glory, the Guild was far more surprised by someone specifically, and the creatures that followed.

On the 15th floor, several creatures were getting absolutely torn apart by one of Orario's newest Adventurers. Someone who had shaken the foundation of many familias; gaining the respect and admiration of many, as well as some suspicion and fear from a few others. The Adventurer was a young human man in his early twenties, whose attire appeared to be somewhat punkish. He wore a dark blue hooded jacket, a tattered dark crimson shirt over a white undershirt, a small necklace made of two folding feathered wings surrounding a red stone hung around his neck, and black pants with military-style combat boots. He has snow-white hair in a faux-hawk style, a caucasian skin tone, and blue eyes. He looked to be about 6'2 with a lean build, but looks could be deceiving, as was the case with his choice of weapon.

Several Hellhounds were getting sliced to pieces or swatted away like ants by the young man's weapon, a curved sword that had a single-blade edge. It wasn't the size of the sword that made it unique, or how fast the man swung it, despite the length and weight, but the tubes and six exhaust vents near the handle that blasted our flames each time the handle was twisted. The handguard was more like a throttle as well, similar to that of a motorcycle throttle. His signature sword was affectionately named Red Queen.

"Come on guys, you're putting me to sleep!" taunted the man, his tone carefree as he sheathed the sword across his back and reached to his belt with his left hand.

In his hand was a massive revolver that appeared to have been based on a traditional 6-shot Smith and Wesson 500 double-action revolver. Of course, the firearm had been heavily modified with an additional barrel beneath the original revolver barrel, the barrels themselves being octagonal in profile with six small compensator ports, a blue rose engraving made just above the trigger, a wooden grip that had been molded for better, well, grip, and a blue illumination on the front sight. Blue Rose was no doubt up for the job as the man took aim at three Bad Bats, the weapon letting out a thunderous crack, followed by two more shots, each blast ripping right through the bats. Holstering the firearm, the man drew Red Queen again as he spun around to block an attack from a Minotaur.

Shoving the cow-headed humanoid monster back, the man thrust out his right hand with a loud shout, which might have seemed foolish, but in place of a normal arm was a mechanical hand with silver, blue and gold coloring, the fingers themselves appeared to have been made from 50 caliber bullets and shells. As soon as the mechanical hand came into contact with the Minotaur's chest, the mechanical arm opened up, plates shifting as the fingers extended, the palm expanding, and the forearm opening up to reveal more intricate machinery. However, the opening of the mechanical arm was merely the beginning as a massive surge of electricity erupted from the mechanical arm, a buzz of electricity followed as a sort of larger hand composed of electricity appeared for a brief moment, frying the minotaur's entire body while blasting it away with enough strength to send it crashing into a wall.

"Is that all?" snorted his mechanical arm shifted back to normal, resting his sword on his shoulder, "Man, must be an off day."

"Or it might be you're just that skilled," said a voice from behind, causing the man to turn around and see who it was.

Approaching the newest Adventurer was a very beautiful woman and despite the dim light in the dungeon, the man could still see the woman's tan skin, purple eyes, and long black hair where a bit covered the right side of her face while the rest was tied up back by a gold ring into a ponytail that reached down to her waist. She had gold earrings, a black harness that was strapped around her neck which looped down and around her generous bust, black leather armlets, black, red, and gold gloves, a red outfit that left her cleavage open for many to see and reached down to her calves, a brown belt with a gold buckle, black short-shorts, and black and gold thigh-high high-heel boots. The woman carried a massive red and gold sword with a black handle and blade that was even larger than the man's own. It also looked to be similar to an Ikakalaka sword, but much larger than traditional ones.

The woman approached the man with a flirtatious smile, her hips swaying as she approached, "I see you've already gotten started without me," she noted with a grin as she looked around at the monsters, all of which were already breaking down.

"Never been one to stand around for too long," shrugged the man as he watched the woman approach, a knowing smirk on his face, "You know me."

"All too well, Nero," chuckled the woman as she stopped in front of the man, folding her arms under her bust, 'accidentally' pushing her breasts up.

"I also know you, Aisha," replied Nero as he sheathed his sword across his back, acting casually as he knew the Amazoness well enough to know that what she did wasn't an accident, "Which makes me wonder why you're still with Hermes, figured you would've switched to someone else."

"Not sure Hestia likes me around her little bunny," answered Aisha as the woman and Nero began heading further into the dungeon.

"Only if you go after him," snorted Nero as rounded a corner and started down a little pathway, heading for the next level beneath them, "Though I could put in a good word for you and if you promise not to try to 'devour' him as you Amazons like doing, maybe she'll let you join."

"Must be nice, being with such an incredible young man," said Aisha, stepping a bit closer to Nero to bump her shoulder against his.

"It is, plus with how much I'm chipping away at her debt, I'd say she owes me this," shrugged the man as he glanced over at the level Adventurer.

"Must be nice to be able to breeze through the dungeon with so much strength, having things go so easy for you," teased the Amazoness, stopping where she was, causing the hunter himself to stop as well and look back at Aisha.

"Must be nice, to have a second chance offered to you on a silver platter with a rising guild and an all-star captain who keeps getting stronger pretty much every day," replied the young man as he turned to face Aisha.

"Must be nice to have a friend give you such amazing tools to help you and your familia day in and day out," Aisha smirked as she took a step to the side to lean against the wall, her right foot resting against the dungeon wall. Her smirk grew a bit more as her friend approached.

"Must be nice to be so pretty, that guys would rather date you than fight you when you're in a tight spot," replied Nero, reaching out with his right hand to lean against the wall with the Amazoness in between the two.

"Must be nice to be able to shrug off wounds that would leave others dead on the ground," purred Aisha as her right hand reached out to trace circles across the hunter's chest before reaching up to the collar of his coat and pulling him a bit closer.

"Must be nice, being blessed by a god to get even stronger every time you fight and get new skills and tricks," countered the white-haired man, a wolfish grin appearing.

"Must be nice to have the blood of such a strong-," the Amazoness began, reaching out with her left hand, cupping Nero's cheek, bring him in closer, but before the playful banter could become something a bit more amorous, Nero's left hand flew to his belt and drew Blue Rose. A loud crack echoed through the dungeon as a Ligerfang emerged. The two rounds fired from the modified magnum pierced right through the skull, instantly killing the monster as other monsters began emerging.

"There goes the moment," sighed Nero as he turned to face the incoming threat, Aisha looked equally upset as she moved alongside him.

"Just when things were getting interesting," muttered Aisha as she drew her own sword with one hand, displaying a level of strength that didn't really match her frame. But, being a level 4 Adventurer and an Amazon meant that she was quite strong and more than capable of handling such a weapon.

However, things seemed to take a turn as from the cavern floor, a red liquid, almost like the dungeon itself was bleeding began to seep out before bubbling quite violently. From the froth, a large creature emerged, a sort of reptile that stood on two legs, hunched over forward as a long tail emerged from its back. It had four large claws on each hand, with grey scales covering the entire body. A blue-forked tongue flicked out as the red eyes locked onto the monsters in front of it. Letting out a shrieking roar as the lower jaw split in two, the creature lept towards the monsters, the claws on its hands glowing red for a moment as they grew even longer than before. The beast tore through the monsters with a bloodlust only reserved for very few other things.

"Well, that's just great," huffed Nero, familiar with this sort of creature as it feasted on the monsters in front of him and Aisha, "A Riot."

"There's never just one of them," recalled Aisha, having a few close encounters with such things as the Riot paused in its gorging of the monsters to glance back and see other demons emerge in similar bubbling masses. She then glanced at Nero with a somewhat annoyed look, "Why did your ancestor have to piss off so many demons?"

"Runs in the family," replied Nero as he holstered Blue Rose and drew Red Queen flipping the sword around to plant the tip into the ground, "But if it's any consolation, I'll help you relax after we're done here."

"Is that so?" Inquired Aisha with a smirk as she readied her sword, "I'm a very demanding woman."

"Among other things," the hunter returned the smirk, as he twisted the handle on his sword, flames shooting out of the vents near the handle while the tubes glowed red from the heat produced, "But it does help that I have a helping hand to make any tension go away."

"Well then," smiled Aisha as she faced the creatures before them, "Let's get to work."

"Oh yeah," grinned Nero savagely as the demons moved in, "LET'S ROCK!"

With that, both Nero and Aisha charged toward the demons, the creatures doing the same. As the hunter got closer he swung Red Queen, twisting the handle at the same time to add more momentum to his swing as the sword's edge was covered in flames.

End Option #2

So, those are the options I thought would make a good story. My original idea was to have Nero join Artemis's familia as the first male member and as a demon hunter, but given how little information there is in regards to that familia, I figured there could be an alternate take to the story where I have Nero join Hestia's familia, but is paired with Aisha Belka. I rather like Aisha and her older sister vibe she has with Haruhime, so I thought I could do an older brother take with Nero and Bell, they both look pretty alike, minus the eye color. And while some might prefer Nero not get the Devil Breakers, I think they are a little too important to ignore because of what losing his arm does to his character, like there was a whole meme about him being 'deadweight', plus, the Breakers can let me do some interesting things and try out possible stuff in the story. And also I love Nico's character and want to include her. Alright, that's all I wanted to cover, hope that was everything, and if anyone has any suggestions for the story, I'd love to hear them.

I do plan on taking designs for characters in DanMachi from varying sources, like the app game or wherever I find them and think they are interesting, like Aisha for example. I would add a link to the current page, but sadly, FanFiction doesn't let me do that, not without putting a tab space between each character in the link. However, I should also like to mention that personally, I kinda like Nero more with Aisha as she is an interesting character, to me anyway, and I feel like having Nero would Artemis and her familia would be overly complicated.

Plus, I should have mentioned this in the initial post of the update, that I personally, would like to have Nero and Aisha be a thing, but Nero won't join Hestia's familia completely, but more like he works 'with' her familia so much that he might as well be part of it. Also, at the start of the second story option, I do plan on having Nero keep Devil Bringer, but have him lose it later in the story. So, at the beginning, Nero will be just like he was at the end of DMC 4, just that he'll end up in Orario at some point.

Also, there's a poll if anyone wants to vote which option they want to do. Personally, I like the second option a bit more.