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"I hear Tristan is back," Vergil said
He raised his sword and slowly cut down, before slicing diagonally upwards to his right, then slicing out wide to his left at waist height
"Yeah and he seems reformed," Lili confirmed
She followed her father's pattern, as they did a small turn, slicing upwards, then straight down, finishing off with a small lunging thrust and withdrawing
"Which means Dante is back. Therefore, they're all done in Tibet"
"Took them long enough. I mean, three years, come on"
"Well, Tristan did grow up with Jester, who doesn't like us a lot"
"You mean really hates us?"
"Anyhow, so he would have a lot of dark matter inside him from wherever it was he grew up and the anger he bore because of Jester telling him little white lies"
"Yeah, okay and did you have anything like that?"
"I did, actually, a long time ago, which is why I know so much about it"
They moved their sword arms out to their right, before cocking them up to their heads, swinging the katana over their heads and down, before slowly sheathing the blade and taking a couple of steps back
"So, do you want to do the same pattern again or a different one?" Vergil asked
"I think I'll go with a different set actually. That's basic stuff," Lili replied
"I know, but there's nothing wrong with going over the basic stuff. Keeps it inside your mind, so you can fall back on it when you need to"
"Alright, I'll remember that then"
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"You're doing good, you're doing good, keep it coming"
Nero deflected Michael's strike, before swiftly blocking Cameron's Streaker, as Michael attempted a Snatch with his Devil Bringer, but Nero caught his arm with his right hand and grinned at his son
"Nice try"
Michael groaned as Nero let his arm go. Cameron took the opportunity to strike with his sword, but Nero was expecting it and blocked him, whirling around and using Cameron's momentum to make him fall flat on his face. He groaned as he got to his feet and turned around, as Nero dodged Michael's attack
"You're getting better, the both of you"
"How's it going in here?"
Nero turned around as Kyrie came into the room, their daughter Evelyn following after her. Nero put his sword down, as Michael and Cameron faced each other
"It's going good," he said, "They're getting a lot better"
"Well obviously, because you're teaching them"
"And how are you doing with your spells?" Nero asked his daughter
"Doing pretty good, Dad," Evelyn answered, "Mum reckons I'm ready for the advanced stuff, which is really good, as its takes others usually a few more years before they reach the advanced stuff"
"That's my girl. You keep practising and you'll be as good as your mother"
"Stop, you're making me blush, Dad"
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Celeste dodged Spencer's stab, as he whirled around and slashed wide. She blocked the blade and took his knees out, before stepping back as he got up. He took in a few deep breaths, before attacking again. Celeste blocked or dodged his moves, before stepping around him, as he followed and slashed wide. She blocked and pushed his sword to the ground, before elbowing him in the chest
"Okay, I get the hint," Spencer said, half-smiling
"Don't worry, you're getting there," Celeste said
"But I won't be in the same league as Jenny or Lili. Have you seen them fight?"
"Actually no, I haven't, but I imagine it would be a younger, female version of Dante and Vergil fighting. Now those two are bad. In a good kinda way"
"Yeah, Jen reckons they actually spill blood from each other"
"Only if it gets too intense and Trish or Lady aren't there to stop them"
"Oh, okay then"
"Ready to go again?"
"Yeah"
Just then, David came into the room, carrying their three-year-old son, Shaun
"How you doing, Spence?"
"Oh, he's doing just fine," Celeste answered
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Dante ducked under Jenny's roundhouse kick, before blocking Tristan's left hook, as Jenny came in with a straight jab. Dante broke away from Tristan, avoiding the blow, before pushing Jenny aside and blocking Tristan's front snap kick. Jenny whirled around with a kick, which Dante ducked, as Tristan leaned in with a punch. Dante rose up and blocked, pushing Tristan back, before throwing Jenny aside when she came in with a side snap kick. Dante grinned, as Trish came into the room with a plate of sandwiches and drinks
"Having fun?"
"As always," Jenny grumbled from her position on the floor
Dante helped her up, before heading over to Trish and ruffling up Ash's hair. He instantly brushed his hair back down, as Dante grinned and grabbed a drink. Tristan and Jenny decided to have a spar, as Dante sat down next to his wife
"I never got to ask, but how did his training go?" Trish said
"Oh it went quite well, actually," Dante replied, "We got rid of all the Jester-induced magic and abilities, getting him in touch with his natural abilities"
Trish winced as a lightning bolt struck the wall, courtesy of Jenny
"Don't do that again, alright," Dante called out
"Sorry, Dad"
Tristan snickered, but had to duck and step back from one of Jenny's punch quickly
"This is how it should be," Dante said
"What, them two fighting? It's bad enough with you and Vergil"
"You know what I mean"
"I know what you mean"
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Dante stood still, training his ears for any sounds. There were none, but he knew he wasn't alone. The hunted was silent. He couldn't quite pinpoint its location and that made him more wary of it. He had been asked to take care of this demon, which had been causing more than a few problems for a small village
"Come out, come out, come out wherever you are," Dante said into the darkness, "No need to be afraid. Okay, so there is a need to be afraid. I'm here"
There was a slight movement to his right. His hand moved slowly towards Ivory. The movement was getting closer, faster now. Dante turned and whipped out Ivory, aiming it, just as the large Chaos demon came flying out of the darkness, mouth open and fangs bared, saliva flying from its raspy tongue. Dante fired a few rounds, but the demon took the hits without slowing down, slamming into Dante and sending him flying. He landed on his feet, drawing Alastor, as the demon fell upon him
Dante went flying through the air, feeling his ribs bruise from the blow. It felt like a speeding road train had struck him. He hit the ground hard and instantly flipped up onto his feet, as the Chaos demon lashed out at him, slashing him across the face. Dante swung Alastor, the blade flashing bright blue from the electricity, but the demon caught the blade, ripping it away, and smacked Dante down. He kicked it in the stomach, swiftly getting up and leaping over its large paw, avoiding the claws, punching the demon in the face as he landed behind it. The demon whirled around, slashing wide. Dante ducked and delivered a punch to the stomach, as the demon uppercutted him
"Damn, what the hell is going on here?" Dante muttered, "Normally I can kick a Chaos demon's ass with ease. But this thing is stronger than normal"
The demon roared and charged at Dante, as a couple of gunshots rang out. He looked up to see Tristan walking into the fray, shooting the demon in the chest. It roared and lunged at him, the bullets seemingly ineffective as it slammed Tristan into the ground. Dante lunged forth and grabbed Alastor, before driving the blade through the demon's back. It roared and backhanded Dante away, as Tristan rammed his handgun into the demon's mouth and fired several times. The demon slumped over, as Dante removed Alastor and helped his son to his feet
"How'd you know I was out here?" Dante asked
"Mum told me about it. I thought I come along and help out"
"Well, I appreciate it. That demon was a lot stronger than usual"
"I wonder why. Someone must have summoned it and made it stronger"
"Yeah, we'll leave it at that. Come on, I've got a box of cash with my name on it"
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