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Dante cut down the Alto Angelo blocking his path and arrived at the tower door, just as Lucia and Maverick came outside. Before Dante could react, he was blasted through the air by a ball of ice, as Lucia and Maverick made their escape

Shaking his head, Dante sheathed Alastor and headed back over to the tower. What he found inside was not what he expected. Lady, David and Kyrie were all lying dead in pools of blood, as Michael and Cameron sat nearby, sadden looks on their faces

"What happened here?" Dante asked, kneeling beside his nephews

"Some demon trapped us inside a block of ice," Michael replied, "And some red-haired woman killed them. She killed Mom. She killed them all"

"It's okay. Who am I kidding? It's not okay, but things will be fine"

"How are they going to be fine, Uncle Dante?" Cameron asked

"I'll find a way. Come on, we can't leave her like that"

Dante, Michael and Cameron got up, just as everyone else came downstairs. Vergil, Nero and Celeste instantly rushed to their respective spouses, but found that they were too late. Lili joined her father by her mother's side, falling beside him, as he tried to hold back his tears, but to no avail, as his daughter joined him

"Did Lucia do this?" Jenny asked with barely suppressed anger

"She did, but calm down, Jen," Dante said

"Calm down! Are you freaking kidding me, Dad? Look at what's she done!"

"Rage isn't going to get you anywhere," Trish said, resting a hand on her daughter's shoulder, trying to calm her down

James was silent as he watched the family mourn, before silently exiting the tower. Vergil picked Lady's body up and cradled her to his body, before heading for the door, as Nero picked up Kyrie's body and Celeste grabbed David's body, as they all left the tower and headed back to Devil May Cry. Trish entered the office first, getting her two young children and taking them upstairs, along with young Shaun, as Spencer stared down at his father's body, as his mother pulled him into a comforting hug

"What…happened…I mean…who did this?" he asked

"It doesn't matter," Celeste replied, kissing her son's forehead

"We're gonna have to bury them," Dante replied without any emotion

Vergil barely heard him, staring at his wife's body, but he numbly nodded

"Come on, bro," Dante said, placing a hand on his twin's shoulder

He walked away, removing his weapons and coat, before heading into the back and grabbing a shovel, then heading out to the car, where Vergil was waiting with Lady's body in his arms. Nero and Celeste were also there, as they got into the car with Dante and headed off to the cemetery

Dante selected a nice, secluded spot and started digging. He worked alone, but he didn't mind, as he quickly dug three graves. One by one, Vergil, Nero and Celeste said a silent goodbye to their spouses, before placing them in their graves, as Dante filled them in, heartache and sadness wearing down on his mind. Nero found a large rock and using one of his dark swords, carved it into a cross, before placing it at the head of the graves, as the Sparda siblings stood together in a moment of silence

"So, we're clear on Lucia then?" Dante asked, "We kill her, no holding back?"

"That's the idea," Vergil replied emotionlessly

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James followed the trail to the Order Headquarters, where Lucia and Maverick were busy digging a tunnel underground. He followed after them into the catacombs below, finding them in a large room with glyphs carved all over the walls and a large door set in stone with an image of a tower and a rising demon coming out of the tower

"Okay, so this is where we can get the power of Mephistopheles?" Maverick asked, "And then we run it through his power? Something tells me I'm confused"

"The tower belongs to Mephisto. It's where we channel his power through, because his power resonated through the walls. But we need the relics, which are buried right here," Lucia replied, "Fit in place, we can bring Mephisto back to life"

"Yeah, I must have missed demon resurrecting in school," Maverick muttered

A jet of flames washed over the doors, as Maverick sighed and turned around

"You're really starting to annoy me!" he growled

"Oh look, it's the Linkin demon," Lucia smiled, "His race were the ones who created the Sparda and Linkin swords millenniums ago"

"You lot were the ones who forged those swords?" Maverick asked, "Gives me an even better reason to kill you"

"I'd like to see you try," James said

"Hey, got a question for you, Lucia. What do you do when James throws a pin at you? Run, he's got a grenade! It's a blond joke," Maverick added when Lucia didn't laugh

"Say, what is Lilith's mating call?" James said, "Next!"

"Hey, no insulting my mother," Maverick said, "You obviously came from the shallow end of the gene pool"

"Do you ever have that terrible empty feeling – in your skull?" James shot back

"Just stop with the arguing and get to killing each other," Lucia demanded crankily

"With pleasure," Maverick said, creating a sword out of ice

James unsheathed Envy and placed the tip on the ground, as flames ran along the blade. Lucia turned to the door and started using her powers to open it. Maverick lunged at James and slashed, but he jumped back, unleashing a torrent of flames. Maverick quickly created a wall of ice to protect himself. James came smashing through the ice, kicking Maverick in the chest and throwing him against the wall

Lucia struggled against the power of the door, as it was blocking her out, but she had the power of the Goddess of Death behind her and was slowly making progress, as James and Maverick continue their battle. Ducking under Envy, Maverick swept James' legs out, but James was quick to recover, rolling back onto his feet and swinging Envy upwards to block Maverick's slash, then planting his boot into Maverick's stomach. He then kneed Maverick in the face and stabbed at his chest, but Maverick deflected Envy and spun around with a slash across James' chest

"Do you like that?" Maverick asked

Stabbing, James then slashed high, before whirling around with a kick to Maverick's chest. Stumbling back, Maverick dodged James' next swing and grabbed his arm on the follow through, stabbing an ice dagger into his chest. Breaking away, James slammed his head against Maverick's, then booted him in the stomach, before slashing him across the chest with Envy

"You little minx," Maverick growled

James struck with a Stinger, but Maverick deflected, before swinging upwards and throwing James into the air. Leaping after him, Maverick began pelting him with ice daggers, finishing off with a blast of subzero temperatures, encasing James in an ice statue. Landing, Maverick smiled at his handiwork and turned to Lucia

"So, how's it coming along?" he asked

There came the sound of something large smashing apart and flames suddenly surrounded him. Gritting his teeth, Maverick created a shield of ice around himself, as the flames died down and he turned to face James

"Alright, jerkweed, I'm gonna kill you this time"

At that moment, Lucia managed to open the doors, as James lunged forth and impaled Maverick, dousing him in the flames, then taking after Lucia as she entered the passageway. As he raised Envy and swung, Lucia whirled around, her cutlaseers drawn, slashing him across the stomach. James groaned, as Lucia kicked him in the chest, then the face, knocking him down, before heading into the small room where three large black orbs sat on a pedestal. One had an image of a beating heart on the outside, the other had an image of a spirit and the last orb had a pair of deep red eyes

"Maverick, get your ass in here," Lucia called

"Coming…in a minute"

Maverick created a pathway of ice and was sliding along it, but James stabbed Envy into the path, melting the ice, then shooting forth and slashing Maverick, before unleashing a blast of flames that propelled Maverick across the room. Meanwhile, Lucia had picked up the three orbs with a smile, before teleporting out of the room. James spun Envy around and slashed, but Maverick blocked, before shooting a barrage of ice shards into his body. Just then, the room began shaking

"What the hell is going on?" James asked

"Oh, Lucia's removed the orbs of Mephistopheles," Maverick replied casually, "She's returning to the tower where she'll use them to resurrect him"

"That's not gonna happen"

"That's what the good guys always say"

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