Kalaratri prowled the top of the solitary confinement building, its high height giving her a good vantage point over the rest of the prison. As her eyes scanned the surrounding grounds, she cursed under her breath at the source of all her current woes: Sparda. Bad enough that the former Devil Knight had destroyed her father's reputation, but now he continued to harass her from afar, throwing mercenaries at her to hinder her progress and giving his filthy son far more power than any half-blood should realistically have. Killing this Dante would satisfy her thirst for revenge, but how she desired to take the father's head instead…
Speaking of which, she spotted her prey in the distance; his red coat stood out against the gloomy grey of the prison's execution house and graveyard. Kalaratri approached slowly, scanning the surrounding area. Neither the two renegade Demons nor the annoying human with the rocket launcher were anywhere to be seen; hopefully, the Son of Sparda had finally managed to shake them off his tail.
The cloaked woman landed at the edge of the graveyard and could now see that Dante sat hunched over on one of the graves with his back to her, whistling to himself. After having failed twice now, Kalaratri could not take any more chances; she hopped silently a few feet into the air and then launched herself towards the red-coated man, the Pier Donia in her hands and ready to strike. Her approach was perfect; she made no sound, there were no reflective surfaces that would give her away, and she hadn't been there long enough for the half-blood to sense her. Yet when she was mere inches away, her target rolled off the grave and out of her reach.
Expecting, though at the same time hoping against, this outcome, Kalaratri immediately reached inside her cloak and hurled a secondary scythe at the target as he moved out of the way. He turned to face her and used a blue zweihander to deflect it…and when she saw who her opponent was, she stopped in confusion. He was slightly shorter than Dante, with brown hair even shorter than Dante's own white. She was about to say he was an ordinary human…until she got a good look at his face and the blade he carried and recognized both. "Well, Fenrir Lupus. I should've known this was merely a trick." She said, growling in irritation.
"Aw man, you figured out it was me that quick?" Blue lightning crackled around him as he dropped his human disguise and morphed back into his demonic form. "Here I thought I'd get a chance to lead you on a bit."
"You shame yourself, Sergeant." Kalaratri reprimanded, glancing behind her as Hantu appeared a few feet away. "You both do."
Fenrir's eyebrows rose. "You know us?"
"I didn't initially. It wasn't until I recognized your little friend as being a Hantu that I made the connection between you and Sparda, Sergeant Fenrir Lupus and Corporal Kubor Hantu of the Demon Emperor's Army. You two are listed among the casualties of Emperor Mundus' invasion of the Human World two thousand years ago, and were presumed killed during Sparda's rebellion…until recently."
"And now?" Fenrir asked curiously.
"Now you're considered Missing in Action…but they'll have to change it back once I'm through with the two of you." Guessing what was coming next, Fenrir readied himself for action. "Between your interference and that infernal Son of Sparda, my patience is at its end. I'll resume my hunt for the half-blood once I've carried out the executions of a pair of traitorous scum."
Rather than cower in fear, as most of her opponents tended to do, Fenrir instead laughed and said in a tauntingly sarcastic voice "God, I'm glad I'm not one of THOSE poor saps, it sounds like they're SCREWED!"
Suddenly whirling around, Kalaratri threw several scythe blades at Hantu, forcing him to disappear to avoid them, before leaping at Fenrir with the Pier Donia raised above her head. Gripping his own Ymir with both hands, he swung the zweihander to block the incoming scythe; succeeding, but just barely, as the sharp blade came within inches of his face. Using the scythe's curved shape, Kalaratri tried to pull the sword out of Fenrir's hands, but the force of his grip beat her pull; instead of just the weapon being thrown aside, the wolf demon went with it. He hit the ground rolling and regained his footing, which was fortunate as his opponent refused to let up her offensive. Moving her hands quickly along the scythe's long shaft and its handles, Kalaratri shifted between angles of attack at a rate far faster than a weapon of that size was normally capable of, the steel blade of the scythe dancing through the air like a leaf in the wind. Fenrir barely had time to block each strike, but he didn't seem too concerned; it was all going according to plan.
***
High above them, on the roof of the execution building, Lady poked her head over the side of the roof and glanced down at the battle below. "Hurry it up, they've already gotten started."
"Boy, that was fast." Dante commented as he carried a sniper rifle to the roof's edge. "Woulda been nice if I could've gotten set up before they decided to throw down." He peered through the rifle's scope and centered on Kalaratri's mask. "There you are. Let's see what you look like under that mask…" Before he could pull the trigger, however, the cloaked woman moved out of the way as Fenrir attempted a counter-attack. "Hey!"
Lady sat watching him try to draw a bead on his mobile target with amusement. "Don't have much experience with this sort of thing, do you?"
"I'll have you know I've got a rifle just like this at home…"
"I meant this, the whole idea of stealth and sniping."
"Well…" Dante started, not entirely sure what he was going to say after that. Given his particular brand of fighting style, the only time he really needed to shoot an enemy in the head was when his pistol was pressing up against their forehead.
His companion put a hand on his rifle to stop him from moving it around so much. "Then let me suggest something to you: patience. You need to wait for the perfect moment to fire, cause if you miss, the whole plan's a bust. So relax, otherwise there's a good chance you'll screw this up."
"Gee, thanks for the show of confidence." He replied with a sly smile.
"You're welcome." Lady said, returning the smirk.
***
Down below, Hantu lurked in the shadows of the graves surrounding Kalaratri and Fenrir's duel, waiting for his own moment to strike. He found it as Fenrir took a quick step back, forcing Kalaratri to move forward to keep him in reach. The assassin sped out from his hiding place and stabbed one of his swords into Kalaratri's foot, stopping her in mid-step. She glanced down and slashed at him to ward Hantu off, distracting her long enough for Fenrir to draw one of his hands over his zweihander; energy began to crackle around the large blade as a cold fog drifted off the ice-covered metal. Kalaratri noticed it at the last moment, as his Ymir streaked through the air towards her. She managed to block the blow in time, but felt a strange chilling sensation around her as she did. Hopping a few feet back, Kalaratri pulled her fog cloak aside to reveal the black robes she wore underneath; patches of frost had begun to form in the areas near where she had blocked Fenrir's zweihander.
"Freezing the air around your sword when you attack…" The cloaked woman growled at him. "You've learned a few new tricks since leaving the Army, haven't you?" Replacing her shroud, she tossed the Pier Donia into the air and reached both hands into her cloak. "It still won't be enough to keep me from the Son of Sparda! Nothing either of you can do will keep me from my hunt!" When she pulled her hands back out, they were suddenly followed by an entire swarm of scythe blades that came flying out of her shroud. The two Renegades took cover behind nearby gravestones, which became consumed by the dozens of whirling blades.
"You're busy with us and yet you're STILL going on about that guy?" Fenrir shouted, eyeing the sharp metal that now impaled his hiding place. "You've got some issues, you know that? Why do you want to kill him so badly, anyway?"
"WHY?!" Kalaratri's voice came from directly above him, laden with fury. Fenrir rolled out of the way as Kalaratri used her handle scythe to slash the gravestone he had been using in half. "DO YOU EVEN NEED TO ASK?! Do you even KNOW what his family has done to mine??"
"No, actually, we don't!" Fenrir replied, taking shelter behind another grave. "Side-effect of living in self-imposed exile from the Demon World, right?"
The cloaked woman came to a stop standing atop one of the gravestones. "You want to know, then?"
"Can't deny that I'm atleast a little curious." Dante, hidden atop the nearby building, had to admit that he felt the same, despite Lady's insistence that he had the perfect opportunity to end this whole business.
"SPARDA" Kalaratri continued "despite his infamy and crimes against our people, is still considered to be one of the greatest Devil Knights the Underworld has ever known. Even when compared to other Devil Knights, he is seen as without equal, a preposterous notion that is only reinforced by the fact that my father, Koshchei, refused to face him during Sparda's historical rebellion."
"Ok, so Sparda gets more acclaim then you think he deserves." Fenrir commented, not seeing her point. "So what?"
"Because that is the kind of acclaim MY father deserves!" She screamed as years of pent up outrage came flooding out. "He has been a Devil Knight for far longer than any other member, especially Sparda, and has won countless battles for our Emperor and the Council that carries out his will! Yet STILL Sparda and the other Devil Knights are considered his superiors! And because of my father's actions during the rebellion, he is even considered to be too cowardly to face a foe of Sparda's level! MY FATHER called a COWARD by even the lowest of the Underworld's scum!"
"Alright, alright, chill out already!" The wolf demon shouted back, the fact suddenly occurring to him that Kalaratri might have some anger management problems. "What does Dante have to do with this, then?"
"I had originally thought to track down the traitor and kill HIM to reclaim my father's glory, but SPARDA, the TRUE coward here, is nowhere to be found! The bastard's son should be enough to satisfy my goals, however; even if Sparda himself refuses to face me, then atleast I can prove to our people that my father's powers themselves are superior to his!"
Fenrir glanced over at Hantu, who was hidden a few feet away, with a slightly pained look on his face. "Think I should?"
His companion shrugged "Not like we have much to lose."
The wolf demon nodded, then stuck his head out from behind the grave and shouted "You know, that's got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard!"
Kalaratri's eyes widened behind her mask, a mixture of anger and surprise at the audacity of these peasants. "Excuse me?!"
"Alright, first off" Fenrir continued as he stood up from behind the gravestone "how exactly does it make sense to take out your frustration with Sparda…by beating up on his son? Second, how stupid- Woah!" He was cut off, almost literally, by Kalaratri's scythe nearly taking away his head.
"Were you even listening to me?!" The cloaked woman roared.
"Sure was!" Fenrir replied as he quickly brought his zweihander up to block another blow. "I still think it's pretty idiotic! But that's not even the best part about your delusional little rant you had going! The best part is that you somehow seem to think people don't like Koshchei because he's outshined by the other Devil Knights! You know what? The people who don't like him probably JUST DON'T LIKE HIM. Our fellow Demons can be pretty childish like that sometimes, so what better reason would they need?"
"Does that somehow mean I'm not allowed to seek justice for my father?"Kalaratri shouted.
"Not if he doesn't want you to." Hantu's voice came from behind her. Shoving Fenrir away, Kalaratri glanced around for the assassin, but he had hidden himself out of sight.
"My father suffers in his disgrace! Why wouldn't he want me to bring him the pride he deserves?!"
"Because he doesn't care, perhaps?" Hantu said, his words echoing out from his hiding place to cover the entire graveyard. "I have never had the honor of meeting Lord Koshchei personally, but I have seen and learned much about him. He is powerful, imposing…and humble. It is likely the humility that has caused him to lose favor with the populace, who are well-known for having a love of ruthlessness, and that same humility keeps him from giving such negative opinions about him a second thought. If he did, don't you think he'd be here himself?"
"So with that said," Fenrir added "what's the real reason you're so obsessed with your father's reputation?" Kalaratri didn't answer, and she visibly seemed to hesitate, as if considering what to say next. "What, that's it? You've got nothin' else? Damn, and you were calling US pathe-"
"SHUT UP!" Kalaratri interrupted him by whirling around and delivering a glancing blow across the chest. The wolf demon winced and stepped backward, but Kalaratri wasn't finished just yet. She reached inside her cloak and hurled a dozen scythes into the air; grabbing each one as they came back down, she unleashed a whirlwind of successive attacks. Fenrir tried to block or dodge the incoming storm of blades, but her assault was faster than anything she'd utilized before, and a scythe that caught him in the leg pulled his footing out from under him. Impaling one weapon in the ground so that its blade pressed against his neck, Kalaratri turned next to Hantu, who had so far remained hidden to wait for an opportunity to strike. Rather than try and find him, the cloaked woman simply sliced apart all the nearby gravestones, forcing the assassin out into the open. Evading another barrage of scythes, Hantu had almost made it to his companion when Kalaratri grabbed the back of his hood and used it to lift him into the air, exposing the messy brown hair that he usually kept hidden.
"Do you have any idea how it felt to grow up with your father's failures hanging around your neck?! To live every day knowing that you yourself would be remembered for what your father did and not what you have?! To know that, once he died, you would be stuck with that unchanging legacy for all eternity?! DO YOU?!"
Being careful not to cut himself against the sharp metal hanging above his throat, Fenrir laughed. "Yeah, actually, I do."
"LIAR." Kalaratri scoffed. "And an obvious lie at that!"
"Think I'm lying, huh? You seemed to be pretty familiar with me earlier, so let's see if you recognize this name: Immortalis Niveus Lupus."
The cloaked woman stopped and glared at him for a moment. "You…"
"Am the son of the one and only Lycaon Lupus, yup. Anybody ever tell you what happened to HIM?"
"Only that he earned such a title for supposedly being 'unkillable'…and he lost it when he died."
"Don't suppose anyone ever told you that title was all he ever had going for him? No lands, no servants, barely got any money working as a freelance soldier…the only thing that kept him, and by extension the rest of his family, from starving to death was his fame as a warrior and the job offers that came as a result."
"And what does that have to do with me?" Kalaratri demanded, though silently dreading the point she assumed he was trying to make.
"Well, when MY father died, you think I let his legacy stop me? You think I went around murdering all of his rivals so he'd look better by comparison? Let me answer that for you: no, I didn't. Know what I DID? Joined the army, because I knew that the best way to restore HIS honor was to gather a bit of fame for myself. That's what my father would've done in my situation and it's likely what your father would've done." He glanced his eyes over to Hantu, who still hung from Kalaratri's hand. "What do you think buddy, you think Koshchei would approve of his daughter cutting everyone else's legs out from under them just so she'd look taller?"
"Not likely, no."
Fenrir noticed their opponent trembling under her cloak, and decided to punctuate their point with a bit of a sneer. "Yeah, didn't think so, cause that'd just be SELFISH."
That last insult was the straw that broke the camel's back; Kalaratri let out an ear-piercing scream of anger and frustration that echoed across the entire prison grounds. But instead of lashing out at the two Renegades before her, she threw Hantu aside and ran shrieking like a banshee from the graveyard, vanishing into the darkness. Pushing the scythe away from his neck, Fenrir sat up slowly. "Huh. Wasn't quite expecting THAT." He turned to look for his companion. "Hantu, you alright man?"
The assassin reappeared, unharmed and repositioning his hood back onto his head. "I'll live. You?"
"Eh, just a bit scratched up." Fenrir noticed Dante and Lady sliding down the side of the nearby execution house. "Hey, what happened to the whole 'shoot her in the face while she's distracted' plan? I thought for a minute you guys had abandoned us."
The red-coated half-demon tossed his sniper rifle back to Lady, who seemed slightly agitated. "Sorry, got too interested in the conversation. Good thing too" he added with a hint of playful sarcasm "it looks like maybe you talked her to death, the way she ran off like that."
"Yeah, if only." Fenrir replied, standing up. "It's a lot more likely she just went and found a corner to pout in for awhile, and then she'll be back."
"In which case, we should go and track her down" Lady said, adding with an annoyed glance at Dante "and maybe NOT screw the plan up this time."
Fenrir nodded and brushed himself off "Works for us. But I think it's YOUR turn to be the bait."
***
They had searched the entire prison complex twice over by the time dawn brought the sun to illuminate the area, and still they hadn't found even a sign of Kalaratri. They were about to finish a third sweep when Dante yawned and suggested. "You know, I'm thinking maybe she's gone for good this time. Might as well go home and get some shut-eye."
Lady glared at him. "YOU'RE just being lazy." He grinned at her and said with a shrug "So what if I am?"
"Guess we'll go find a hotel for ourselves, then." Fenrir said. "No offense, but we'd rather not sleep on the floor of your shop."
"No need to bother." The red-coated devil hunter replied, shooing them away with one hand. "You can go ahead and head on home."
Fenrir sighed, exasperated. "Oh, not this again."
"Look, you guys have been fun, but I really don't think there's any need for you two to stick around. If Kalaratri was just biding her time, don't you think we'd have found her already?"
"That doesn't mean-" Dante cut him off, shaking his head lightly. "Come on, you two weren't planning on chasing me around forever, were you?" A hesitant glance exchanged by the two Renegades answered his question. "But, tell you what: I'll give you guys a call if I ever need a hand, k?" He punctuated his point by jokingly pantomiming a telephone with his hand.
Fenrir sighed. "Fine, whatever. I'm too tired to argue with you about this anymore." He gestured to Hantu and the two turned to leave. "See you 'round, Lady."
As they disappeared down the street, Lady cast Dante a skeptical glance, who grinned at her innocently. "What?"
"You just like having a one-man show better, don't you?" The Son of Sparda didn't answer, instead only looking away and whistling in a continued show of mock innocence.
***
As they walked back to their car, Fenrir rubbed his temples. "You know, if I hadn't gotten a chance to see him fight, I'd have never pegged that jerk for being the noble and honorable Sparda's son."
"Supposedly, Sparda himself wasn't all that different in his younger years." Hantu reminded him. "Perhaps many of the qualities that we're familiar with come with age?"
"Guess we'll see."
They had just reached their vehicle when a familiar voice called out to them from above. "Wait one moment." The two spun around to see Kalaratri perched atop a nearby balcony. She had removed her mask however, and the features normally hidden by the mask and the Smoke Shroud it generated were visible. Kalaratri wore black form-fitting robes, she had the appearance of a human woman in her thirties and her pale and rigid face was framed by long black hair. She still held the Pier Donia in her hand, however, so their own weapons were already out and ready by the time she had leapt down to face them. "Stay your hand, Renegades, I haven't come looking for a fight." Though Kalaratri attempted to appear humble, there was still an indignation in her demeanor.
"Alright" Fenrir said, relaxing a bit even as he eyed her cautiously "so what's all this, then? Come to see us off or something?"
"I came…to thank you." She said with some difficulty. "I'm not happy to admit it, but your words…struck more nerves than perhaps you intended. You were right: I WAS being selfish and ignoring my father's wishes. Having it put out in the open like that has forced me to…rethink some of my priorities."
Fenrir gave her a sly grin, finding the irony of the situation very amusing. "Glad to hear it. Now, about that thanks you were talking about…"
Kalaratri narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll be showing my gratitude by refraining from taking your heads back with me to Tartarus!" Fenrir's face fell in disappointment and she continued. "However, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that I'm postponing my hunt for the Son of Sparda until I can decide what direction I want my life to take from now on."
"'Postponing?'"
Kalaratri smiled a bit smugly. "He IS, after all, an enemy of Hell. While I won't go out of my way to track him down, I assure you, if I'm ORDERED to kill him, I will do so without hesitation."
The wolf demon sighed and shrugged. "Guess that'll have to do."
"The same applies for you two." She added. "While I will refrain from exercising my frustration with you Renegades or disclosing your location to the Council, they need only order me to and I will do both."
"Oh? Why so generous?"
Kalaratri began to turn away from them and leave. "Partially because, yes, I do have you two to thank for giving me some perspective. But also because it won't be necessary." Fenrir frowned in confusion for a brief moment, but his eyes widened when he realized the reason why. "There are already others out there looking for the Son of Sparda…and for you."
With that, she leapt away and out of sight. Fenrir and Hantu stood silently for a moment as they cast each other a nervous glance. Fenrir was the first to put words to their thoughts "Well…shit."