Chapter Five
With a slight swagger in his stride, Dante stepped in front of Kyrie and Lady, facing the demons that surrounded the group warily.
Dante released the hold on his pistols with a click. "You guys need a lift to hell?" He asked conversationally. "Come on- let me show you the way back."
On cue, a group of Hell Prides dashed forward, their reapers flashing blood red in the streetlight. Dante shot one clear in the forehead before performing a somersault that dashed another face down into the ground. His other hand shot out to jab the remaining demon in the mouth with the Ebony.
Can demons look surprised? If not, well this one did a very good imitation of it.
A sharp crack effectively concluded the brief tussle.
"Was that it? I was just getting warmed-up!" Dante pulled out an enormous broadsword that was sheathed on a scabbard at his back, swinging the blade in an arc over his head to point mockingly at the monsters.
There was an inhuman scream as another swarm descended upon the grinning demon-hunter.
Dante made short work of them, his sword carving through sand and bone with apparent ease. He never slowed his attack, not even to parry blows- opting to take hits in order to give back with interest. Kyrie couldn't help but stare in awe at the reckless skill of his movements, hardly breathing for all his daring acrobatic feats and at the brutality of each hack and slash.
With a whoop, Dante cleaved the last demon in dusty half, planting his sword firmly on the ground and looking back over his shoulder with a smug smile.
"…That was cool." Kyrie managed an awed whisper while Lady still managed to roll her eyes through the sting of her arm.
"Yeah, yeah, but don't tell him that. He gets awfully big-headed."
"Well, that sure looks painful." Dante cocked his head to the side, as the wounded woman limped to her feet with some help from Kyrie.
"Shut up." Gritting her teeth, Lady gripped her arm and tugged sharply.
There was a sickening pop as bone jerked back into place and Lady's face completely drained of all color. Kyrie choked back a sympathetic cry and quickly moved to support the swaying woman's weight when Lady's knees gave way.
"There's a hospital just a few blocks from here-" Kyrie began, but Lady shook her head.
"I've lived through worse." Her breath gradually eased and she took a few staggering steps down the road, still leaning heavily on Kyrie's shoulder. "Where did…" Lady let out a sharp expletive at the sight of the twisted scraps of metal that lay in the middle of the road. "My bike!"
Dante nudged the rasping engine whose protective metal casing had been torn off, with the toe of his boot. "'Bike'…?" He eyed the remains with a disbelieving air. He gave it a final prod and walked away, only to freeze in his tracks when it blew up behind his back in a fantastic burst of smoke and flame.
Lady threw him a murderous glare, and struggled to pull Kalina Ann in a shooting position with one hand. "Why I oughta--!"
"And the fun never stops." Dante's arm shot out as he rained bullets on another demon that was lurking just behind the two women. "What's up with today- is there a birthday I wasn't invited to?"
"Maybe you should ask them." Kyrie pointed at an approaching cluster of garishly colored beasts that cavorted about on both sides of the street, effectively boxing in the three.
"Scarecrows," He mused. "Well that's an old friend I haven't seen lately."
"Different demons in different regions- some more common than others depending on the area you're in." Lady explained to Kyrie, as she pulled out another gun from her belt. "Take out the left, I'll deal with those on the right."
"Ready? Now let's get reacquainted." Dante tugged his blade out of the ground and took a flying leap to meet the Scarecrows in mid-air.
Dante wove in and out of the melee, gunning and slashing like a man possessed while Lady was holding her side of the street with the skill of a professional gunner, every bullet finding its mark. Kyrie was aware that the fight had been going on for little more than five minutes, but her arm ached with the effort of mastering the recoil. 'Just shoot!' She berated her weakness, determined to hang in the fight for as long as the others needed her. They were holding back what seemed like a never ending flood of demons, a never ending line that pressed closer and closer.
"Woo-hoo!" Dante looked like he was having the time of his life, moving where the fighting was thickest. He dodged a blow that would have split his skull and responded with a firmly planted kick that threw the demon back unto the flaming hunk of metal that was Lady's motorbike. There was another explosion as if the expiring bike wanted to give a last violent protest.
Lady glanced back distractedly and the demons seized their chance.
They rushed in, blades swinging. Lady shot two into dust and ducked a third's swing, letting a puppet stream past her. "Behind you!"
Kyrie half-turned at Lady's shout, barely having enough time to throw herself to the side to avoid the slashing blade.
It spun on a clawed toe with uncanny grace, and leapt towards the girl. Kyrie desperately tried to shoot the creature that merely batted the gun away.
"Oi- eyes on me!" Dante dashed forward and skewered the Scarecrow with his blade. He flung the creature up as a shield against onrushing Hell Prides, slicing through a line of demons that had come fast at their broken formation.
Kyrie tried to back away to her fallen gun, but Dante's hand clamped on her arm and pulled her behind him in an effort to shield the girl from the horde of demons that seemed determined to cut her down.
"What's up with these things?" Dante glanced back at Kyrie looking amused. "You turn down a tall, dark and creepy dude lately? They're pretty one-tracked with trying to kill you--" He grunted, head butting a grotesquely grinning skull before throwing it back with a kick that sent its companions sprawling.
Kyrie watched anxiously as Dante faced the crowd of demons that had surrounded them. "I'm at a loss as to the reason of all of this—LOOK OUT!-- but I have to point out—MOVE!-- that I have been seeing a lot of them—DUCK!—ever since I started working at your house."
"Sheesh, you sure can reach those high-notes." Dante tugged at his ear wryly. "Just calm down babe- I've got you."
Kyrie flushed as he tossed a careless arm around her waist. She quickly ducked out of his reach, telling herself that he did it only to shoot at the demons on the other side of the road…
"Get away from her!"
A cab came hurtling from the darkness as if thrown, knocking demons to the ground like bowling pins and slamming into Dante with a violent crunch of metal. The cab was launched with such pinpoint accuracy and startling speed, that although Kyrie herself was untouched but for the whipping tailwind, it took her a second later to register the fact that Dante was no longer at her side. Momentum continued to send the car careening across the road, showering sparks and gravel everywhere before coming to a stop when it crashed into a wall.
"Dante!" Lady yelled, unable to untangle herself from the gaggle of demons that she was struggling to hold back.
Kyrie peered through the smoke and dark to catch sight of a familiar white-haired man, stalking through the fallen demons with a particularly grim expression on his face.
"Nero!"
Nero showed no signs of hearing as he marched forward, eyes firmly fixed on the smoking car in front of him. The driver's door suddenly popped from its hinges and a booted foot made an abrupt entrance, followed by the rest of the red-clad demon-hunter.
"Aren't we testy?" Dante tugged out the gear stick, which had embedded itself on his side, with a rather nasty squelch.
"So drop dead and cheer me up." Nero suggested.
Dante gestured carelessly at the skulking demons. "Came to join in the fun? Unfortunately, you've missed most of the welcoming committee… Or have you come for the prize?" His eyes flickered to Kyrie appreciatively and Nero's lips tightened. "Looks like I had the upper hand either way."
"Both of you stop it!" Lady yelled as all eyes were drawn to the two men. Kyrie moved forward to hold back Nero, her foot bumping against the forgotten gun. "Nero wait! Dante was just--"
"Really getting on my nerves." Nero's arm moved with lightening speed as he whipped out Blue Rose and pulled the trigger. A nanosecond later, Dante had replied with shots of his own, and bullet met bullet to a show of sparks.
Nero twisted Red Queen's handle around with a gunning roar and swung his blade a hair's breath away from Dante's torso.
Dante offered no resistance merely dancing away from the blade while smiling infuriatingly. "Come on big guy- show me what you got."
"Hand me another car and I will." Nero was so engrossed with trying to land a blow that he hardly noticed the puppet that was slowly making its way behind him….
"NO!" He glanced up and gave a startled yelp as Kyrie shot at him. As if in slow motion, he felt the tailwind of the bullets, saw a strand of his hair flutter to the ground, and heard a grunt as demon dust swirled around his feet.
Lady wasn't sure who looked more shocked between the wide-eyed Kyrie and the open-mouthed Nero.
But before anything more could be said, the shadows around them pulsed and more demons made themselves apparent through the darkness in an uncountable, suffocating mass. Nero instinctively moved towards Kyrie, acutely aware of the still groggy state of his body after the increased pill dosages, but grimly determined to kill every single one of these demons before he would let them so much as touch a strand of her hair.
"You know, as much as I'd like to kill you I think I'd like to kill those guys even more." Nero slid an earphone on with mocking indolence, Red Queen humming eagerly on his shoulder. "What do you say to postponing our fight for a bit and getting rid of these wastes of space?"
Dante smiled and unsheathed Rebellion so swiftly it sounded like it was singing. "Try to keep up."
AN: Ta-daaaah!! :D Nya- I love writing Dante and Nero conversations! They're so sarcastic and cool that I half-swoon just imagining them banter. I'm kinda worried that my fight scenes are starting to drag though, so I'll try to get to the other fun parts soon.
Unfortunately, I also had to cut this chapter a little shorter than usual because I have some bad news…
Exams are coming up O.O
It sucks but until exams finish, I'm either going to have to keep the chapters short or update slower- I'll let you wonderful reviewers decide. Thanks again to everyone who has read- especially those who have reviewed and been with me from the beginning.
You guys are the BEST!! (Dante, Vergil and Nero plushies to all!! XD)