Disclaimer: I don't own DMC or Witcher franchise
Warning: Might contain strong language
Chapter 7: An Untold Story
It had been more than half a day since Dante came to this world, now that he and his helper, Cirilla were in skellige, on their way to the queen's fort above the cliff. Dante hopes to get answers soon.
At Skellige in the town of Kaer trolde, Dante was stunned to see the statue of a warrior who was worshiped here in this world. It was none other than his demonic father, Sparda in his human form. Ciri explained his connection to the people here though vague. Even amidst the statue's monotonous texture, Dante could see his father's youthful face. For his own reason, he decided not to divulge.
Both were walking along the boulevard that had houses and shops on both sides, where people never stopped to glance at him.
This is when Ciri wanted to ask him a question.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you something" said Ciri. Dante turned his face to look at her and shrugged his shoulder to proceed.
"Where did you learn to fight? I mean...I've spent 40 years swinging my blade. I have my own share of tricks, I have seen others in combat for decades. But, yours is way too different. Even with my abilities, It's difficult to track your movements" said Ciri, her face expressing veil.
Dante let an asymmetrical smile.
"Well, I too trained as a kid, and been fighting for 50 years. But my powers give me an even more edge, that's it" said Dante. He saw her looking at him, "Yes, I can leap and fall a great distance like I did back at the city. But you can do almost anything, don't you?" said Dante.
"Like what you think?" asked Ciri.
"Like even if you fall from a cliff, you can teleport easily to safety" said Dante.
"If I do that while falling, I can get somewhere safe but again end up falling. That kind of surprise landing really hurts" said Ciri to which he nodded.
This is when Dante and Ciri reached the fort entrance to their right. It was just a rock hill, but Dante recognized a big boxed platform in front within a wrapped up rectangular steel structure having truss like support and went all the way up to bridge that connect the fort side and the other cliff. The entrance has a grated gate. Dante assumed it to be their version of elevator.
They reached the respective place where there were no one but guards. Others were allowed pass through and must take the passage on the other cliff. But Ciri being considered by the An craite as their own and well known in all of Skellige isles, she went through unquestioned.
Near they both walked near the elevator.
"I hope your queen is here?" asked Ciri to the guard who was warily glancing at the white haired man next to her. Then he snapped out of his thought and answered her question.
"Yes, princess Cirilla" replied the guard.
"This man is a far off traveler across the seas. Here to visit the Isles for the first time and I am his guide. Now I would like to introduce him to the queen" said Ciri giving a cunning expression. Dante was surprised to see the level of influence she had in this place.
"Aye! I hope your guest will like this place" said the guard.
"Sure I will" replied Dante with shrug and slight smile.
Both proceeded to walk in the elevator. Then the lever was pulled down. The platform slowly moved upward towards the bridge in the hill. After a couple of minutes, the elevator reached the bridge. Both walked out and climbed a small staircase and then turned the opposite way around in the bridge where they managed to see the fort's main gate.
"This is it" said Ciri waving her hand towards the fort. Dante nodded and then both walked their way inside. While walking, Dante heard guards, both men and women glancing at him and comment.
"When was the last time we saw a white haired man?" murmured one guard
"You are talking about that witcher, Geralt aren't you?" said another guard
Well, women were staring at him because he was attractive to them. But Dante never minded them and simply let out an unnoticeable smirk.
Finally they entered the fort. Dante saw a large bell hanging from the ceiling and some large gears and pulley from the walls and a series of flame sticks placed on a stand in the walls for lighting. There were lot of people belonging to the fort.
They walked inside and reached a staircase in the left and right, both leading to the large entrance. The walked the stairs and entered the narrow hall where the guards were standing. Seeing Ciri, they never questioned her and let her through and surprisingly, they did stare at Dante like others did.
Finally, they reached the main hall. Dante raised his eyebrows in surprise to see what was happening in the hall.
"Hah! A party? I never missed them in my place!" exclaimed Dante, reacting instantly at the sight.
Of course, people were having a feast in the hall, with pork and other meat along with vegan foods and beer. People were enjoying. There were these viking clad people who held to wolves like pets standing in their hall conversing with one another...And Dante has a craze for parties.
"Sure these people are having the time of their lives" said Dante folding his hands.
"I don't know what's the occasion. Let's go and meet the queen" said Ciri. Then both walked in. They had move around the tables to the left as other places are occupied. Then at the end of the hall, they turned right only for Ciri to see Cerys talking with an elder near by a door.
"Dante, that woman in red attire? Cerys an craite, Queen of the Isles" said Ciri.
"You don't have to say. I can see that myself" replied Dante. That's when Cerys already saw Ciri and called her name out loud in enthusiasm. Dante saw the queen who was quite an old looking but still retaining the certain youth in her face.
"Ciri!" exclaimed Cerys.
"Good to see you queen An craite" said Ciri with smile and both shared a hug.
"Ah Ciri, It's just Cerys, We are same age" replied Cerys. That's when she noticed the stranger near by Ciri. For a moment she glanced at him warily and then spoke,
"Uh Ciri!? Is he your guest?" asked Cerys pointing him.
"Yes" replied Ciri looking at him with a smile.
"My name's Dante and I -..." said Dante immediately cutoff by Ciri.
"He is a guest and we both need to talk to you privately. It's urgent" said Ciri, her face turning serious. She paused for a moment,
"Right, we'll go to my private room" said Cerys to which Ciri nodded and she and Dante followed Cerys to her room.
45 minutes later...
Dante got to see many paintings hanging in the wall, with taxidermy and swords hung in the wall rack. There was pictures of many elders hanging in the wall. But what really caught his eye was the large painting to the left wall from the room's entrance. There was this warrior in a horse exactly same as the statue he saw back at the boulevard. Dante face expressed an inscrutable epigram. The painting was the same Sparda, which made him wonder how far his cult had spread in this world.
Ciri and Dante took 45 minutes to explain themselves, especially about him. They explained all the incidents ever since Dante stepped into this world. Cerys was resting her head with the left palm along the temples. Her head was spinning like a pot wheel unable to grasp what she learned. This was more confusing than what Ciri had experienced in her childhood days fleeing from the phantom riders called the 'Wild hunt' from one world to another.
Cerys slowly looked at them both, who were standing, leaning against a storage cabinet with their hands folded.
"So, Dante huh?...You are from another world, a monster hunter like the witchers of this world " asked Cerys to confirm.
"Yup...I've heard about these witchers. If you are asking me whether I am some crazy mutant, then no" said Dante calmly to which Ciri and Cerys raised their eyebrow. She was told only what was necessary, not everything about him. But was told of his powers he carry with him which made her be wary of him.
"But Ciri said, you knew most of the people's customs even though you are new to this place" said Cerys shrinking her eyebrows.
"Yes, I do. There are a lot of similarities between the people of my world and this. But trying to find an answer was just like hitting your head against a wall. So, now I'm purely focused on getting the hell outta here" said Dante without a break. Cerys though suspected him a lot, still decided to get along as he was with Ciri and she gave her word for him. She sighed and got up from her bed and spoke,
"So, how can I help you with this?" asked Cerys.
"I learned that you helped an elf, an alder folk more precisely to set up a laboratory here on skellige" said Ciri. Cerys instantly caught who she was talking about.
"Yes, Avallac'h, an Aen Elle elf" said Cerys widening her eyes. Ciri was relieved to hear that as they don't have to do a lot of catching.
"Yes. He's the only one who could help this man. Do you know where he resides?" asked Ciri seriously. Cerys took a moment to reply.
"Yes. He's in Undvik" said Cerys. Ciri's face shrunk.
"Undvik!? What is he doing there?" asked Ciri confused.
"Remember the ice giant's lair, the beast which was once slain by my brother?" asked Cerys. Ciri remembered what Geralt told her years ago about Hjalmar and Geralt taking down an ice giant.
"Yes, what of that?" asked Ciri warily.
"That lair was re purposed by that elf. I suggested that place as it would be empty all the time. He too felt good at that, so he took the offer" replied Cerys.
"Huh, surely a cozy place for a lab" said Dante with a jest.
"And that's the place we're gonna go. Thank you Cerys" said Ciri, smiling in relaxation. She nodded back with a smile. This is when a guard came to her room and they turned to look at him.
"Queen An craite! You have a guest. It's lady Yennefer" said the guard. That got everyone's attention.
"Yen's here?" asked Ciri in confusion.
"Wait, Is that...that woman in black?" asked Dante to which Ciri nodded 'Yes'.
"Let us greet our guest with a warm welcome" said Cerys. Then everyone proceeded to walk out of the room to the main hall where the feast was still going on. There at the entrance to the hall, they saw Yennefer.
"Yennefer! What a surprise!" greeted Cerys.
"It's good to be here. But Ciri already told that they both were gonna come here...And I have an urgent business with them" said Yennefer who had a slight tense in her face.
"Ciri told me everything" said Cerys glancing at Dante and then turning to Yennefer again, "They are headed to meet with the Elf-..."
"Avallac'h, I know" interrupted Yennefer and then continued, "But like I said, we need to go and I apologize for this urgency" said Yennefer. Dante and Ciri found her behavior odd.
"Yen, Is anything wrong?" asked Ciri who was concerned.
"No. But we need to meet Avallac'h soon" said Yennefer.
"I understand Yennefer. If it's urgent, I've told Ciri where he is" replied Cerys.
"Thank you... and it is good to see you after a long time" said Yennefer with a hasty smile and then turned to Ciri and Dante, "Let's go. There's a lot I need to you" said Yennefer. There was a pause and then Ciri shrugged her shoulders and then turned to Cerys.
"Ok Cerys. Then I think it's time to leave" said Ciri to which she nodded.
"You are always welcome here. Fare thee well!" said Cerys and then left the hall. Then It was the three.
"What that fuss was all about?" asked Dante folding his hands and standing casually.
"I will tell you on our way" replied Yennefer.
"Avallac'h is in Undvik, in an abandoned ice giant's lair" said Ciri.
"Then we'll move now. But let's take a boat. We don't have to teleport" said Yennefer.
"Huh, That's a great idea. Anyway, One more portal and I'm gonna puke" replied Dante with relief and sarcasm. Yennefer smiled at that and then signaled them to move.
They then trailed the same way back, through the elevator. Then walked their way but just before reaching the circle where the warrior statue was present, they turned right to enter the harbor. Dante got to see the large to small ships anchored and some moving on the far side of the sea. Then everyone walked over the narrow wooden platform where a boat was floating still. Dante recognized the boat being powered by sails.
They entered the boat with Dante and Ciri sitting side by side on end and Yennefer taking the helm. Dante took the sword and placed it down. The sails were then flocked and the air pushed boat away from the harbor. One sail was used to move at medium speed.
They then paced at medium speed in the middle of sea where breeze blew on everyone's faces. Dante for a moment felt so calm and was soaking at the pleasure sight of the distant small islands around them. Even they got to see a whale coming to the surface and spouting water.
"Yen, you said you wanted to say something. What is it? And did you meet with the others at Aretuza?" asked Ciri. Yennefer looked down frowned and then took few seconds to speak.
"I did...and learned something" said Yennefer keeping a serious face, who then proceeded to tell them everything she did and learned since she got to Aretuza and it went for 15 minutes.
Ciri felt dubious and couldn't make any valid conclusions from that. Dante only partially understood what it was about, especially about the fountain part. He was suspicious and wary about what it did to the sorceresses and the more unyielding information was those visions it projected. He wanted to dismiss it as some hallucinations, but he too know how nasty as magics go. But at the mention of the fountain and the what it did, he felt an innate familiarity that he couldn't explain.
"*SIGH*...So you used the fountain despite no one knew it's true nature" said Ciri now her face turning slightly angry, "What if it had killed you all!?" asked Ciri. Yennefer gave a comforting smile at her.
"Ciri, The fountain's unique effects of projecting visions are at times helpful. Besides, no harm will come more than that" said Yennefer. Then is when Dante got curious.
"What can you tell me about that fountain?" asked Dante.
"No one knew it's origins except that it had been here for many millennia. Ancient sorcerers discovered the fountain and its inexplicable design and the effects. The water flow is there indefinitely, but the source is not from any water body in this world" replied Yennefer. That got Dante's attention.
"You mean, the water simply appears just like that?" asked Dante.
"Yes. Others theorized it could be coming through a portal to another world. Perhaps to many, this wasn't strange. So those who found it raised the foundations of the Aretuza which would become the academy to train young sorcerers" said Yennefer. But Dante felt this strange. His instincts urged him to investigate this fountain thoroughly...may be his demon instincts. But his urge to get off this world overshadowed everything.
"Great! In my world, especially in my time, you can't see much of magical objects often like here" said Dante.
"After meeting Avallac'h, it's will easy to get of this world. Anyhow, it's been a pleasure to have met a magical warrior from another world" said Yennefer with a warm smile to which Ciri too nodded. Dante took his time to respond after dropping his head down slightly, he spoke.
"Well, This is the first time I experienced traveling between worlds, seeing a whole bunch of people I never imagined. Anyway, it was great" said Dante who immediately spoke in his mind.
"What a lie! I faced Mundus in a different universe, been to hell a couple of times. Only thing that tickles me here is seeing humans and other fairy tale beasts...hah!"
"What's this chaos and destruction you saw in those visions" asked Ciri with seriousness in her tone. Yennefer frowned, almost hesitant to talk about it.
"I...don't know. I have no idea why it showed or to what it exactly referred. Either way, at least in the corner of conscience, I feel something's heading our way...at least in the future. Something...Bad" said Yennefer struggling to put it into words. Dante wanted add something but curbed that thought. Ciri was confused, slightly scared and intrigued.
"Hm!" chuckled Ciri, "When was this world ever been safe? Always trouble and end up do something about it" said Ciri. By then they reached Undvik after an hour ride. Yennefer docked the boat near the wooden platform.
Skellige was in due for snowfall. As of then, it had been enjoying the Autumn, though the atmosphere is still chiller than the other places, because of the sea breeze that surrounds the isles. The noon time was nearing.
At undvik...
The three after getting off boat, started walking towards the shore of Undvik. Ciri and Yennefer can never forget the place. This is where they both, the othr sorceresses, Avallac'h and the Nilfgaardians made a last stand against the wild hunt 28 years back. Memories flooded their mind after seeing the village. But it had been improved a lot in the 28 years span. Traces of fight and mishaps have been eliminated. Dante saw the village and found attractive for a typical place like this.
"We've to climb the hill through the rock stairs" said Ciri pointing to the rocky pathway to the left few meters away. They saw normal people activity in the village. There was a blacksmith shop to the right quite far away from them near by a house. The smith was hammering a hot steel repeatedly.
"Then let's keep moving" said Dante and then the three proceeded to walk. They moved along the rocky staircase pathway and reached the upper hill where they saw more trees and wild herbivores and another village in the distance and there was a water stream to continues until becoming a small fall. They crossed the village and proceeded to climb up another rocky hill that was quite dangerous to travel as a slight slip could cost one's life. From there, they reached another village. That village was once abandoned, but after eliminating the ice giant, it was filled up. After the village was a lake and open space. The lake formed a small fall to the left and it stretched somewhere far from them.
They took the right passage which further went up.
"Huh, While I enjoy walking, this is taking too much. We had been walking for what 30-40 minutes?" said Dante feeling irate from prolonged walking.
"Me too. I could have used my powers and you could have used portal to get here directly" said Ciri to Yennefer. Yennefer didn't respond but looked the way as if she understood the discomfort they had.
This was when a man in a cloak came walking and suddenly running towards them. The three recognized that man running towards them, so they stopped.
"Why is he running towards us?" muttered Ciri
"Don't know. But I think he looks like he knows us" replied Yennefer. The man in cloak came near them and stopped gasping for breath.
"Who are you?" asked Dante raising his eyebrows. The man first glanced at Ciri and Yennefer and then finally staring at Dante in surprise and shock and slowly removed his cloak. The three identified him as an elf and shared a look of surprise among the three.
"You are an elf, aren't you?" asked Dante with a quirk. But he didn't respond.
"Are you with the sage, Avallac'h?" asked Yennefer on a hunch. The elf then snapped out of his thoughts and replied.
"Yes", Once again turning to see Dante like he was enthusiastic to see him. Dante couldn't understand his expression.
"Avallac'h...was right!" said the elf calm. Yennefer and Ciri were confused at what he said.
Dante immediately drew his ebony and pointed at him, "Start making some sense, pal!" said Dante, his face stoic. Others were stunned, "Dante, what are you doing?" hissed Ciri.
"Please, no need for violence. Avallac'h is waiting for you" said the elf with a smile to which Ciri and Yennefer's face shrunk.
"He knew we were coming!?" startled Ciri. Dante then holstered his gun. They started to feel something wasn't right.
"Yes and we need to move. Let us teleport near the cave or you will have to walk another 30 minutes" said the elf.
"Hm, no more walk. Let's take the shortcut" said Dante. "Fine" replied Yennefer. Then the elf opened a big black portal with golden accretion. Then all the four proceeded to walk in and they vanished.
At Argosax's realm...
Samael and his fallen general Waiboch arrived at Argosax's realm. Samael took his time in scanning his realm in silence only to feel his energy even after his demise. He let a smirk.
"That's it. Give me the ledger, Waiboch" said Samael. Waiboch then handed him the book, 'Warped Ledger'.
"I'm going to connect both Argosax's and Abigail's realm into one" said Samael and then turned a particular page in the book. He then recited an incantation written in the celestial language.
Then suddenly there was a huge energy surge and the barrier between the 2 realms were broken. Samael smartly concealed everything's happening around him from others with his powerful magic.
He then handed over the book to Waiboch, "Waiboch, stand away from me. The next thing I'm gonna do is dangerous" said Samael. Waiboch didn't understand but did as he said, moving far from him.
Then Samael raised his hands and flocked his upside down wings to full length and chanted a spell in a deep tone and while doing, his voice started to echo through the realm. Suddenly, Samael was surrounded with hellish energy and his body started to glow in red and golden. Waiboch was looking at him fearful for what he was doing.
Then after a few seconds, the glow vanished and Samael appeared intact. But his body had gained a new type of deep red armor and ornaments. His eyes now glowing deep orange, with no change in his face or any other body features. Waiboch was stunned to see his master's renovated form.
"You look magnificent!" exclaimed Waiboch in deep growl tone. Samael grinned at that.
"What really happened?" asked Waiboch in confusion. Samael slowly walked towards him.
"Argosax and Abigail are now mine. I absorbed their essence" said Samael which scared the hell outta Waiboch. He never expected...this, being his plan.
"Did you really need their powers? You alone can take over all the realms of hell and overthrow others including Mundus" said Waiboch warily.
"I can. But if only just the Hell were my target" Said Samael to which he stood blinking.
"I plan to forcibly rip open the chaos dimension and unite it with our universe. With that...I will rule all planes of existence. No one...Including the 'Son of Sparda' will be able to stop me" Samael sounded sinistrical.
"You plan to bring the conjunction of spheres, only for it to be permanent this time. No one can reverse its effects nor will it come and pass like before" said Waiboch like he realized the truth.
"To do that, I need more power. Still 4 more hell lords remain" said Samael.
"You are going to kill them, aren't you?" asked Waiboch.
"Dante will do it. So I don't have to worry about that" said Samael turning to Waiboch, "I already foresaw their future and Dante's. They will die by his hands. But Dante? His fate will end by my hands" said Samael.
"Mephisto will have no problem, thanks to the mages of the Aen seidhe. They foolishly used the fountain and in turn caused a tear between the hell and Aen seidhe" said Samael with a smirk.
"You already said that before and forgive me for insisting, but why do you dwell on that fountain?" asked Waiboch. There was silence.
"That fountain...is a 'Hell gate'. Sparda sealed it during the previous conjunction after bringing some humans from earth to safety" said Samael. Waiboch now understood the situation.
"So where to now?" asked Waiboch. Samael smirked and spoke,
"Let us go and meet our 'blue' friend at the limbo"
Undvik, Skellige isles...
Dante, Ciri, Yennefer and the Elf exited the portal over a rock stairs just a few steps away from the entrance. They saw huge rock hill in the right which had an entrance in the front.
"Let's move in" said the elf and he walked forward. Then the three warily looked at each other and followed him.
"Why did he stare at you like that?" asked Ciri in a whispering tone.
"Who knows. Maybe I was an odd one to him just like the others" said Dante. Ciri slightly nodded dismissively quirking in suspicion.
Then everyone entered the cave and turned right. They saw several wooden structures to the left tied with ropes and there were several fire lanterns on the rock walls, lighting the place. The elf took them through the descending stairs and then turned left to reveal a large open area, 30m across. The ceiling was uneven but stable.
They saw around 10 elves in the area each working over a table with equipment.
"Crevan, Rwif wedy dod eyn gwesteion" said the elf in the elder speech to the elf standing in far front and then went to his place. Ciri knew Crevan referred to Avallac'h.
There was an elf with long ashened hair wearing a grayish dress with hood, brown belts and pouch, armored gloves, some ornaments and a sword. He was working with his equipment in his table. He then stopped his work and slowly turned to reveal himself to the three. Dante got to see the elf's face. He had green eyes like Ciri and was fair looking.
The elf smiled at them and walked slowly towards them.
"Caedmil, Yennefer aep Vengerberg" greeted the elf and then his face turned enthusiastic to see Ciri, "Zireael" said the elf bowing his head slightly. Yennefer and Ciri acknowledged him.
"He is the elf I told you about...Avallac'h" said Ciri. Dante looked at her nodded. Avallach was already staring at Dante.
"Avallach, This is Dante. He is a human from another world he calls 'Earth'" said Ciri, introducing him.
"Nice meeting you. Well, she said you could solve my problem" said Dante bluntly, folding his hands and tilting his head.
"We need your help at finding this new navigator. Only he can get Dante to his world. He came here by an accident" said Yennefer. Avallac'h let an asymmetric smile.
"Navigator? Well, you are looking at him" replied Avallac'h which stupefied all the three. Avallac'h had always been full of surprises. He never revealed anything and even if he did, do it cryptically and leave a lot of doubts and questions behind. Ciri and Yenenfer couldn't believe that Avallac'h was the elven navigator they had been looking for
"You!? You are the navigator we had been searching all the time?" asked Ciri in disbelief.
"Lately, I have turned my focus on exploring new worlds for the record" replied Avallac'h. Ciri nodded dismissively. But her face turned dead panned coz she knew that Avallac'h was always full of surprises.
Avallac'h turned to look at Dante straight into his sapphire blue eyes and let out a short laugh.
"You!...I have been waiting for you" said Avallac'h bluntly to Dante.
The other elves stopped their work and got to see Dante and were staring like sunshine. The other elves started to murmur among themselves. Ciri and Yennefer couldn't scrutinize the buzz as to why they were so focused on Dante.
"Why do you all stare at him?" asked Yennefer.
"I thought this was typical only with the people living here. Wait! Did you say you've been waiting for me?" asked Dante in confusion. There was silence for a moment.
"It's been a long time since we last met, Dante" said Avallach which stunned both Ciri and Yennefer. Their eyes widened in response to what Avallac'h said. They just couldn't believe what they heard. Dante's face turned confused but was serious in his expression.
"What do you mean you have met?" asked Ciri slightly in a raised tone.
"I don't know this guy. I told you elves are fairy tales in our world!" rebuffed Dante, turning to Avallac'h
"Listen Mr. Pointy ears, I'm not from this world. How could you have seen me?" asked Dante in a commanding tone.
Avallach started walking around the three, letting a calm smug. He then slowly transformed into a man wearing a casual dress totally unknown to Ciri and Yennefer. His face turned from his original into a human face with shaved mustache and a french beard. He wore a white inner shirt with brown military type shirt and pants which only Dante recognized. His face became unsettled and stood alarmed. Ciri and Yennefer were exchanging looks before looking at Avallach's transformed human form.
"Uh, Avallac'h? When did you turn into a doppler? And what is this human form?" asked Yennefer, giving an odd look at to what he had transformed into. He didn't say anything. Dante was speechless, as there was a growing agitation.
"I know you...We've met before, back in my world" finally Dante spoke, dead panned, that caught both Ciri and Yennefer's attention. Ciri lost her cool,
"What- the- hell -is going on here? You better explain, Dante!" asked Ciri folding her hands and clenching her jaw. Avallac'h was wondering why Ciri and Yennefer reacted that way. He then understood that Dante didn't say everything about himself to them.
"We barely met 18 hours ago and you say you knew him!? What kind of ruse is this?" asked Yennefer shrinking her eyebrows.
Dante looked at them both, unable to answer and turned to glare at Avallac'h.
...
(Flashback)...20 years back
Dante was in his shop, 'Devil may cry' seated in his chair with his legs resting upon the table and his face covered with a magazine. There was his traditional pizza-box with a quadrant left uneaten. It was mid-day, with the sun at the zenith.
It had been 5 years since he completed the job at fortuna and learned about his nephew Nero. Trish had gone to the New Orleans, Louisiana's south most city. Lady had gone to take care of a job somewhere in Arizona. After several complications during the fortuna mission, Dante had the opportunity to pay all the debts to lady for which he's so grateful, but that quite annoyed her. She always liked to make fun of Dante and mocked him often and loved to have him in her debt even if there's no need. Like it is as said before...for fun.
This is when a man came in. Dante even without seeing him, felt his presence.
"Now...Who do we got here!?" thought Dante.
"Are you the paranormal investigator and demon hunter, Dante?" asked the man at the entrance. Dante moved his head to get a look at him. The man appeared dark due to bright light on the back ground. The man then walked in and was revealed to Dante. A man in his thirties with mustache and french beard. He wore a dress more suited for those working in archaeology.
"Yeah...You are lookin at him" replied Dante, again went napping.
"I am Andrew collins, from the Penn museum and I need your help" replied the man. Dante smirked and then talked,
"What? You want me to dig up bones with you? Sorry pal, Not my thing" said Dante.
"No. Actually, I want you to accompany me to a cave" said the man. Dante then put down his legs from the table and get to see that man clearly by leaning front.
"What cave?" asked Dante, raising his eyebrow. The man took his time to answer. He then took an old yellowed paper and rolled it in the table. Dante identified it as a map, but...very old. The names of the places were written in pretty old scriptures. He was wondering how did he get his hands on such a thing.
"It's here" the man pointed his finger in the map over the south pacific ocean.
"Pacific ocean?" asked Dante confused. "Look close" replied the man. Then Dante took a closer look and identified a small irregular shaped sketch, an Island. It was located perpendicular to the panama canal, far away from the continent.
"An Island, I get it. But no way we're gonna get there. No airways, not even seaways" said Dante.
"That place is called 'The Devil's Archipelago'. I own a yacht powerboat with enough fuel at the Houston port for the trip. We can get there in 5 days" said the man. Dante's eyes widened at the travel time.
"5 days!? That's it, Go find someone else" said Dante turning down.
"I know why you say that. This is an odd job and I will pay with these" said the man giving him a small box. Dante warily took that and opened to find an year of surprise. There were gold coins. Dante looked puzzled.
"Gold coins? People stopped using this for trade a long time ago" said Dante.
"Still, it's worth. Am I right? I am giving this to you now" asked the man.
"But that doesn't mean I have to take this job. If I wanna help, I must know if it's worth the toil" said Dante straight away. The man acknowledged what he said and decided to give a short briefing. He let out a sigh and then proceeded to explain.
"I will be brief on our way. Now I'll tell you what its about. That cave had been an age old mystery. Several ships had vanished without a trace near by the archipelago" said the man.
"I think that rings a bell. The latest cruiser suffered the same fate in the south pacific region. But what does that have to do with the cave?" said Dante now getting interested.
"Simple. I don't believe it's a natural phenomenon but some malevolent being that resides the cave. More precisely, a demon" said the man which piqued his interest.
"How do you say it's a demon? Besides, how do guys like you even believe in demons?" asked Dante quizzically.
"Trust me. Believing is just a small part of what I know. That cave possess something. It would be a valuable find for our department" said the man keeping his face quite grim.
Dante nodded dismissively but glanced at the gold coins. He was amused that he had hit a jackpot. Indeed, it's worth a lot of money and can use it to modify his office. Not only that, he assumed this job to be quite interesting, an adventure which is something he values more than money. He turned to look at the man and smirked.
"Right. When do we set off, Mr. Collins?" asked Dante. The man smiled, "Now, if you are ready" said the man.
Dante nodded and he immediately loaded his sword in the guitar case and holstered his ebony and ivory and then both set to leave the place. Before leaving, Dante wrote a notice in a paper for Trish, Lady or Morrison whoever gets there.
5 days later...
It's been 5 days and they finally made it near the Archipelago. On the way, Andrew explained about the cave and the incidents regarding it. Dante was still skeptical about him. He had a feeling that this man seemed to know a lot more than he should. The information he gave were too much for a normal human like him and he became suspicious but never showed in his face.
All of a sudden, black clouds began to form with lightning and the weather became violent in an instant and the boat started to jerk.
"What the hell? You were right. Something's here. I think it's gonna topple us" said Dante. Andrew got out of the cockpit and went to look outside along with Dante.
"The weather's getting normal" said Andrew to which Dante looked puzzled. But to his amazement, In a few seconds the weather was getting normal. The sky cleared and the breeze became gentle with sunshine. They then brought the boat to one of the island surface and docked there. They both got out of the boat and set their feet on the ground.
There was nothing but water surrounding them and the isles in the middle.
"Look at that cave below the small rocky hill? That's where we need go. A few hundred meters far from us is the place where other can travel safely. But we managed to get this close. Now a 100 more meters" said Andrew to which Dante didn't respond, but acknowledged.
They walked along the small floating surfaces and reached the cave entrance. Dante and Andrew stop there.
"That's it. Are you prepared to face whatever's inside?" asked Andrew
"Isn't that what you hired me for? Let's get in" said Dante. He nodded and then both entered the cave.
The cave walls were lit with fire lanterns. They both slowly walked along the passage. Both heard echoed laughs and screams of inhuman entities.
"Surely there's something here" thought Dante. The cave walls were huge inside and the roof was at great height. In the front, there was door like rock and had strange symbols on it. When they went near it, It suddenly covered it self with a red energy field.
"Shit! Looks like that's a door and is locked by a barrier...Strange! Something here, doesn't want us here" cursed Dante.
"What do we do now?" asked Andrew quite tensed. This is when suddenly armored, stocky built, demonic horned skeleton soldiers surfaced from the ground through a seal. the skeletons had a cyan colored soul like energy surrounding them. They all carried a big sword and then roared at the two.
"Alright...Collins? Better stay down here. I'll take care of these assholes" said Dante and walked forward with the ebony and ivory in his hands. There were more than a dozen.
The soldiers sprinted towards him. Dante air dodged to get behind them and started shooting the soldiers. The bullets managed to do some damage. Suddenly a soldier swung it's sword from his left aimed at his head. Dante maneuvered and simultaneously another soldier attacked from right. He connected the movement, then kicked the left soldier and gave an elbow shot to the right soldier and shot his face multiple times until it turned to nothing.
Now the soldiers started to swarm around him roaring at him. He let out a smirk and holstered his guns. When they closed the gap, Dante did a back flip to get out of the swarm and instantly drew his sword and slashed the first soldier followed by a round body trip that further hit three more soldiers. In the mean time, five soldiers managed to sneak up and tried to hit him. Dante blocked their swords with his own and repelled them back. He maneuvered the incoming blades and connected with two quick combo that killed 3 soldiers.
Then 2 soldiers tried to hit him in the back, he repelled their attacks with greater force and killed one with a stinger move and the other by cutting it's body in an angle instantly. There were 8 more. Dante decided to finish it instead of dragging as he started to feel bored. He used his signature move, 'Dance macabre'. After the series of combos, the final death blow with charged demonic energy killed all the eight and all turned to dust.
Andrew Collins was flabbergasted, watching the whole fight hiding behind a rock pillar. But in fact, he was watching the fight with curiosity, rather odd for the situation. He didn't even panic or freak out at the sight of monsters. it was like he already knew this would happen...again strange.
Dante sheathed his sword back, knocked the dust out of his body and then turned to face Andrew who came out of hiding. He then walked to him.
"That was a nice fight. Glad I brought an expert" said Andrew.
"Hooh! That was unfortunately a boring fight. I expected even more" said Dante accusingly and then looked at the door. "Indeed, there are demons here. I'm wondering where this will lead us" said Dante perplexed. This was when the rock door slid open, after the barrier went down.
"Let's go" said Dante. Then both entered the next passage which too was lit. But at the end, they saw something, a light from another chamber present there.
"Looks like there's another chamber there" said Andrew. They both walked along the path to the end and finally reached the 2nd chamber.
This place was absolutely wonderful in Dante's perspective. There were green flames lit on wall, and some twinkling strange symbols over the roof walls that very much reminded him of a place in mallet island. In the front, there was a pedestal above which a tome was present. But the pedestal was protected by a powerful magic. Dante wanted to see what it was.
"A book? No, more precisely a tome" said Andrew who was staring at the pedestal, amazed.
"Be careful. This must be well protected" said Dante who slowly unsheathed his sword.
"Leave!...Leave this place! or DIIIEEE!" came an echo which alerted both of them. Andrew didn't understand but recognized it said something. But Dante understood the language having a good knowledge in the demon lore. It was the celestial speech, a language used by angels and demons. Dante immediately turned to look at Andrew,
"Like I knew. Just like before" said Dante to which he nodded and went to hide behind a pillar.
Suddenly a flash came in front of Dante and then a female entity appeared. It had a face and other bodily features of a demon like Lilith. It wore a green demonic armor and ornaments with some protruded spikes and had carried a double edged spear.
"You shouldn't have come here, Son of Sparda! But fortunately, I will kill you and feast upon your soul!" said the demon in her menacing voice.
"Nice talkin bitch! Who the hell are you?" asked Dante.
"Eternal guardian, charged with protecting the 'Warped Ledger', by your father. All who trespass the isles will die, like you are about to now, handsome boy!" said the demon and readied its weapon.
"My father?...That tome must the ledger she said about" thought Dante and prepared to fight.
She suddenly teleported in front of him and slashed her spear. Dante with his lightning reflex blocked the attack. Dante gave her credit for the strength she possessed despite her slender build. Then both repelled back. Then both charged and stroked their weapons, but Dante slid the sword over her spear and maneuvered himself to her side tried to connect it by slashing her abdomen, but she used the spear's other edge to block the attack. Then there was a series of combo attacks from her to which he responded by blocking each and every move. Dante was fascinated with the fight. She proved to be a tough opponent.
The demon tried to attack him with her version of stinger. Dante jumped and used the sky star ability to get behind her by propelling through a red magical platform. After he landed, he instantly used the stinger, but she teleported behind him. He instantly learned she was facing his back and swung a charged spear. Dante countered by blocking it with his charged sword though he grunted in response to the force she created. He came to his senses that this fight would take long, if he keeps doing this.
She once again teleported away from and charged the spear tip with green energy. Dante took this chance and predicted her move. He fully charged his left arm with red energy while holding the sword in his right hand. When she dashed at him pointing the charged spear towards his chest, Dante with precise timing released a powerful force field, 'The royal release", which overloaded her spear and the combined energy knocked her back out of balance. She flew back with great force and hit a rock boulder which shattered upon impact.
She slowly got to her knees from the pain inflicted. She learned that she underestimated his counter-attack. Even the most powerful demons will fail when they miscalculate.
"*HEAVY BREATHING*...You are pp-... powerful than I expected! I need to gather my strength!" said the demon and vanished from that place.
Dante sheathed his sword, "Damn! She's powerful. No wonder my father put her to guard that and kill trespassers" thought Dante.
Andrew who was hiding behind a pillar witnessed the whole fight in awe. He then came out of his cover and came near Dante.
"That was the most fabulous fight I ever saw!" exclaimed Andrew. Dante turned to face him.
"Good thing you brought me here. This was worth my pay. That demon was powerful" said Dante.
"Who's that demon? It sure talked but I didn't understand a thing" said Andrew showing eagerness.
"That tome is called the 'Warped Ledger'. That demon was supposed to guard it and it was the one that killed many who traveled near the Archipelago. Before I could kill it, it escaped, so it may return" said Dante. Andrew nodded and then turned to look at the tome. He then slowly walked near it and the barrier protecting the pedestal dropped down. Dante wanted to warn him, but he's an archaeologist and was doing his thing. So he decided to let him do his work.
Andrew opened the tome, it had ancient scriptures. texts written in language older than anything else. The pages were made of thin malleable metal sheets and there were 100 such pages. "What was it? Pages 4 to 25?...Yes 4 to 25" thought Andrew and glanced at the pages 4 to 25 and closed his eyes for a moment. After 5 seconds, he opened his eyes and closed the tome.
Andrew Collins walked near Dante and spoke,
"This is a dangerous place and as long as things stay where they are, It's safe for everyone" said Andrew with a smile. Dante returned the smile and replied.
"Then I hope you are satisfied with what you sought. If it's all done and done, let's move out. We have to spend another 5 days at sea" said Dante knocking the dust of his palms.
"Yes, this was a valuable archaeological find, one for the records. Let's move" said Andrew. Dante nodded and then both proceeded to move out of the cave, crossed the floating lands and finally boarded the boat. Dante put his sword back on the guitar case and seated himself to rest. Andrew rode the yacht and left the Archipelago. Overall, it took only 2 hours to explore the isle.
Another 5 days later...
The boat finally reached the Houston port after a 10 days long trip. Dante and Andrew got out of the boat. It was midnight time, so the port was in minimum activity.
"I thank you for your assistance, Mr. Dante. My colleagues will be enthusiastic when they learn about this" said Andrew.
"No problem. It was truly a change for me" replied Dante.
"*SIGH*...It's time. I hope we'll meet again someday" said Andrew.
"Sure and thanks for the gold. Take care" said Dante and he set off.
After Dante walked off the road, Andrew Collins let a grim smile and then he walked into the empty street and then to the alleyway, he turned to look if anyone's watching him. Then he suddenly opened a portal using magic and immediately vanished form that place.
At Devil May Cry...
Dante after 1 1/2 hours, reached his office. He found the door open and the neon light was on. He assumed that his acquaintances have returned. He then opened the door and entered to find Trish and Morrison.
"Well well! Look who's here?" said Morrison standing besides Dante's table.
"Looks like someone's been out on a lengthy job" Said Trish with a jest.
"Yeah. A fossil digger wanted a devil hunter to assist him to an island in the south pacific" said Dante.
"You mean the place where ships and people mysteriously vanish nearby?" asked Morrison smoking his cigar.
"Yes. It turned out to be a demon's den" said Dante. "Did you bring the man who offered you gold for this job? Seriously, he's damn generous" said Trish amused looking at the box of gold.
Dante then proceeded to explain what happened in the ten days and everything regarding the job. Then they had the respective conversations.
Somewhere in a forest...
Andrew came out of the portal in the middle of a forest,
"Looks like I won't be needing this human form ever again" said Andrew to himself. He then turned into a medieval guy but not a human, An elf. He had long ashed hair and green eyes. He then let out a sigh taking a look at his arms.
He then reminded himself of the mission events, How he managed to use magic to ride the boat without letting Dante know, how he manipulated the weather secretly in the sea during his ride, how he let Dante fight the demons there, so he could get there safely, how he secretly used a spell to memorize the pages 4 to 25 in the ledger.
"It was wise to take Dante with me. I wouldn't have stood a chance against the eternal guardian" thought the elf.
"My mission is over" said the elf. He then looked down at an angle.
"The astronomer was right. The son of the legendary dark knight Sparda had grown powerful than expected. He already saved all the worlds from doom even when he was young and barely understood his powers. Now?...He could have even surpassed his father" thought the elf, then chuckled.
"If he ever come to our world in the future, it would be an honor in the name of his father" said the elf. Then he summoned the portal, exact coordinates to his world of Aen elle and vanished into it.
(End of flashback)
...
At present...
Dante and Avallac'h explained the events that took place 20 years ago in his world except information about Dante. Ciri and Yennefer were leaning against the rock wall listening to their story, they felt overwhelmed. The fact that Avallac'h had visited Dante's world was astounding.
But Dante on the other hand, couldn't believe that Avallac'h came to his world in the disguise of a human. But he already noticed that he was acting strange in the mission. Dante nodded dismissively.
"Andrew Collins huh? How did you manage to pull that out?" asked Dante keeping his face puzzled.
"Our astronomers had been studying your world for several millennia. Let's say...I acted upon my instincts. It weren't easy. I had to analyze how to approach you" said Avallach.
"So you went to his world 8 years after we took care of the wild hunt?" asked Yennefer.
"8? This happened a 160 years back, even before your parents were born" said Avallach calm and collected.
"What?" asked Ciri, her eyes widened and changed her stance.
"Wait a minute, you came when I was 45 years old" said Dante.
"Pardon me for the confusion. One year in your world is 8 years here. Not only that, the calendar we follow is different from yours" said Avallach. Ciri and Yenenfer understood the flow of time between worlds. They had already witnessed it before.
"Dante, how old are you in your world?" asked Yennefer
"65, why?" asked Dante. Her face turned quite dumbfounded.
"My goodness! You are 520 years old for us" exclaimed Yennefer. Ciri was awestruck. She thought the time difference between his and this world could be in a matter of few years. But this was totally unexpected. Dante is older than many with respect to the Aen seidhe and Aen elle.
"The beginning of our officially recorded history began 16 millennia ago that began with the migration" said Avallach.
"That's the recorded timeline of the previous conjunction, which followed by the great war between the forces of pure evil and the races from all the worlds" said Yennefer. Dante was intrigued with this conjunction.
"Exactly. Dante's world was the most important focal point of the great war, Earth. It was 2000 years before according to the time in your world" said Avallach turning to Dante.
"What the Hell!? How did he know that history?" wondered Dante.
"Yes, I know of that. Forces of the underworld and humans fought a war of domination 2000 years back" replied Dante.
"Avallach, tell me why am I seeing a coincidence?" said Ciri.
"Not just coincidental, Zireael. Ever since you saw Dante, You both must have wondered, how humans existed in two worlds, am I right?" asked Avallach.
"Ye...ye-yes" staggered Yennefer and Ciri responded with a nod.
"Not just them. Me too" said Dante. While Dante knew of the war his father fought, he truly don't know anything about this. So he decided to learn the truth.
"Then it's time you all learned the forgotten history. Let's go to my private study hall. I'll explain there" said Avallach who then pointed Ciri and Yennefer to his room. When Dante followed them, Avallach stopped him. Dante was glancing at his hand then turned to face him with is eyebrow raised.
"I take it you lied to them about who you truly are?" asked Avallach with a calm face. Dante's eyebrows shrunk.
"What are you talkin about?" asked Dante.
"I know who you are...Son of Sparda" said Avallach. Dante tensed at the mention and slowly turned is head to see if others were listening.
"How did you know that?" asked Dante in a low voice
"There are a lot many things I know, which you don't know" said Avallach in a grim tone.
"Listen, you are the navigator. Just help me get off this world and forget my face" said Dante, pressed his tone. Avallach let a smirk, but then frowned.
"Listen, I know why you lied to them. But you don't have to worry. They won't treat you like an animal" said Avallach, trying to console him.
"If you know much, then tell me how telling them that I'm a half demon will work out?" asked Dante.
"In your world, it might be. But here, we have seen a lot. And telling the people who helped you won't get you into any trouble" said Avallach. Dante had the same thought. Even he didn't liked lying, but he had the right reasons to. But also felt Avallach was right in this regard, Telling Ciri and Yennefer is not gonna hurt...or think so.
"Just help me out and also tell me why you sought the ledger in my world 20 years back" said Dante. Avallach's face once again frowned.
"I will tell you. But remember, you are here for a reason. You must learn a great deal about your father and how he helped us all in every world" said Avallach who kept his face serious. Dante was silent and then spoke.
"Let's see how much you know" said Dante raising his left eyebrow.
...
A/N: That's it. Finally, Dante's cover gonna blow up. Next chapter will feature Vergil. After next chapter, Dante will learn that his arrival wasn't coincidental and that he had to spend a long time in this world before getting back to his own.
