The portal flashed red and the two of them found themselves in a bar. A high-class bar, really. There was a suffused, soft blue light, cushioned couches in red velvet, the architecture was extremely gothic, but also very tasteful and it was utterly empty.

"Oh? New blood? Welcome to the Gates of Hell." The low, rasping voice came from a hulking man that fit the definition of tall, dark and handsome. Also dangerous as Hell itself.

Rodin.

Alex shivered, his eyes raking his figure up and down without caring if he was seen behind the armful of materials that he had with him.

"Damn, I want myself a man like that." His whisper was low enough that only Sol should have been able to hear it, but Rodin chuckled all the same.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat, life is too short for bad wine." Sol whispered back, trying to get some brevity to counter the growing mass of nervousness inside him.

"Fucking shit, this is actually happening. Ohhhhh okay, yeah fallen angel who is probably the only being that can consistently be a threat to Bayonetta. Just breathe man, and you can get through this." Sol thought in a slight panic.

"Thanks uh… thanks for having us. You wouldn't be open for business now, would you? I'm not just talking about a drink either. My friend and I are looking to possibly buy some hardware." Sol asked, stumbling over his words.

Rodin looked at the two guys, before shaking his head mournfully. "These hunters get younger and younger each year. Sure kid, I'm open for business. I see you already have some basic things on hand?" He nodded his head towards the armful that Alex was bringing along. The long-haired guy nodded.

"Uh, yeah. It's a demon that attacked us, some sort of puppet in the shape of a woman. Had web attacks and metallic threads and… sorry, I'm rambling. Adrenaline crash, I guess." Alex almost bit his tongue, before taking a few steps forward. And stopping.

"Do I… just drop it here or…" Rodin shrugged and pointed at the far left of the counter.

"There's fine. I'm guessing you want a weapon from that?" His red eyes were peeking from above his glasses, making both guys gulp.

"Yes sir. Whatever you think it would be best for the materials, really. I don't know how to use anything beyond flailing around, so… I'm in your hands." Alex shrugged, gently putting down the loot: cloth, limbs, threads, anything that he could safely transport.

"No need to call me sir. I'll see what I can do… And if you trust me with the weapon, I'm even going to offer you a first time discount. For both you and your friend there." Rodin gestured with his hand towards Sol.

"Well to be honest, I'm looking for something that packs a little more punch than this axe. It's been serving me pretty well so far, but just didn't do it enough on the former owner of all those limbs." Sol pauses before continuing. "Whatever you do with those materials, give to him." Sol said, pointing at Alex before continuing.

"His staff was partially damaged by the demon we just killed, and well it kinda sort of blew up along with the demon. So, anything you have premade, I'd be more than willing to look at."

"You're a loyal one, uh?" Rodin asked, not really waiting for an answer. He just scooped up the materials and nodded. "Feel free to browse my wares. This will take me a few."

A red portal appeared behind him and he vanished into it. Silence fell onto the bar.

Alex cleared his throat. "So…." He started, only to stop and cough again.

Again, silence.

"That… happened, uh?" Again, he tried, without managing to say much more.

"Yes, yes it did… I can't believe I'm saying this, but outside of you, the only other being I'm willing to put my trust in is a fallen angel… Well, let's check his wares." Sol stated before looking at the wall of weapons that suddenly manifested. Most of them, Sol's eyes glazed over, thinking to look at them again later on. And then Sol went still, looking at one weapon in particular. It was… well a sword, a massive double-edged thing with a Damascus pattern and shovel head tip. Sol took a step back and pointed at the weapon.

"That's… that's Vendetta… how the hell did Rodin get Vendetta!?"

Sol looked back at some of the weapons he glossed over before. "Basic Devil arms, Angel Arms…Longinus? I don't recognize that one, but I thought that sword was only on Dumary Island. Oh I gotta think about this one, man. I have got to think about this one."

"Uh… I can't remember what Vendetta is? Something from one of the earlier DMC?" Alex raised his hand like he was in school, trying to see what Sol was seeing.

"One of the two swords Dante could find in DMC2, something about being made from a fragment of the grim reaper's scythe. I have no doubt in my mind that I'll need at least some straight up physical enhancement to even lift that thing. What else does he have here?" Sol asked, more to himself than to anyone else.

"Looks like he has… a lot. Is that an AK-47?" Alex pointed at the guns behind the counter, careful of not touching anything.

*****************************************************

It took Rodin an hour or so, but he was soon back with a wrapped bundle of black cloth.

"It has been a while since I worked on something so basic. But it's nice to return to basics every now and then. You look like the type to like this kind of thing, so here. For Five Thousand, it's yours."

The black bundle of cloth fell apart, to reveal…

An umbrella.

Alex looked at it for a moment, before looking up at Rodin, puzzled. "I'm assuming it's full of tricks?" His question was mostly rhetorical, thanks to the fact that he knew some from his games. Still, an explanation would be welcomed.

"Yeah. Can be used to channel magic, of course. The cloth is reinforced and can be used as a barrier. Finally, open it." At his gesture, Alex took the umbrella and opened it, only to see it had a smooth wooden handle.

"If you grab the end of the handle and twist counterclockwise…" A click echoed in the air, before a slim, almost delicate, sword slid off the sheat.

"Will never dull or chip. So, kid, you want it?" He was smirking at the duo.

A moment later, the weapon in Alex's hands thrummed with power, and something that felt a lot like someone brushing against his conscience. He gasped. "This is… a Devil Arm? A genuine one?" Eyes wide behind his glasses, he turned towards the fallen angel, not really believing it. Rodin just nodded, smirking.

Alex couldn't pay fast enough.

While he was twirling the umbrella in his hands, he decided it was worth a shot. "Just a question: does it have a name?"

The question was more than just what it looked like: where they were in, having a name meant… a lot.

"Yeah. Calcabrina." Rodin smiled at Alex, who blinked and looked at the weapon - Calcabrina - with awe…

"You know, I joked earlier about Madam Aranea being an evil clone of Mary Poppins, and I know, sacred name, but still, that's one hell of a weapon." Sol said while clapping Alex on the shoulder.

He then looked to Rodin. "Okay, three, no four questions sir. Can you do anything with this axe?" Sol began while laying the axe on the bar. "Can the statue of time and space be bribed, because we've been seeing a cheaper alternative to physical enhancements with a prefix of "L" next to it."

Sol lowered two of his finger's before continuing. "How much physical enhancement do I need to wield that," he said pointing to Vendetta "and how did you get Vendetta? I heard a few legends about the blade, but I thought it was on Dumary island."

"The Watcher of Time cannot be bribed. He does what he does because he wants to do it. There's no power anywhere near here that can alter his will." Rodin answered, suddenly serious, before calming down after a moment.

"The axe is a mundane axe, simply enchanted. I can do something with it, but it's not going to do much to it. The basic materials are just… meh." He shrugged, before continuing. "Vendetta got into my arms when a fat Italian man sold it to me to pay for the debt of another demon hunter. As for wielding it… At a basic level, you would need to be a bit stronger than what you are now."

After concluding, he took the sword down from its position. "Go on, try to lift it."

"Alright." Sol said before moving over to the wall. He gripped the handle of the large weapon and tried to lift it off the rack. The blade did lift somewhat, but Sol wound up dropping it back down and stumbling backward. Panting heavily, Sol stated, "Damn! you weren't kidding when you said I needed to get stronger… I think I'll go with something else… something below or at 5,000 Red Orbs."

"You mentioned Dumary Island earlier, didn't ya? Take a look at the basic arms. One might catch your eye." Rodin said with an amused chuckle.

Sol did so and noticed a series of simple weapons. He was familiar with Bloody Mari dagger, but the other three. "Scythe from the hell pride right? Not really my style."

There was an axe that looked like it had a misshapen wooden grip. "Scarecrow axe?" To which Rodin nodded.

"You've got good eyes."

"Thanks." Sol, responded before looking at the final one. It was a one handed sword, bloodstains were evident on it and before Sol could say anything, Rodin spoke.

"It's a finis sword. Rank and file demons made from prisoners use them alot. Heh, I had a bunch sold to me a few years ago by an old client. Some corporate bigwig raised a whole mess of 'em and the previous owner of the sword you tried to lift, destroyed most of them."

"How much?" Sol asked.

"1,000 Red Orbs." Rodin responded with a smile.

Sol took the blade off the rack and laid it on the table "And bought."

Alex bowed at Rodin, his new Devil Arm on his shoulder. "Thank you. I don't know how it would have gone without this." He was smiling.

Rodin nodded, before blinking. "Ah, right. Wait a mo'." Uncaring of how the two had reacted, he dug under the counter for a moment, before taking out a box. From the inside, he recovered two leather bands.

"Here. A portable inventory. You can keep your weapons inside when you aren't using them, which will come handy for later, if you survive. Consider it on the house."

So, he had just given them what amounted to a spatial bubble with free access as a freebie. One couldn't say that Rodin didn't know how to get repeated clients.

"You, sir, have just ensured yourself repeat customers, and I promise you, I'll come back to buy that sword… and maybe a drink or two." Sol said with a grin.

As the two left and reality returned to the hallway, Sol looked to Alex and stated "You use the statue first. I want to get a good idea of what swinging this sword is like. I want to know the differences, you know?"

"Comprehensible. Using a sword is… wait a moment. You can buy techniques from the statue. Weapon ones, too. I wonder if I can get a discount for this beauty here." Alex grinned as he took out Calcabrina in a shower of sparks, twirling it around, before storing it away again.

During all of that, he was smiling like a loon. "Let's be honest: we hit the jackpot."

Sol smiled, responding with "Damn straight we have," before moving back into the lobby. Kicking aside some broken furniture, he unsheathed the finis sword and began to swing. It was weighty but it didn't feel too heavy. Experimentally he stepped forward and thrust the blade before an invisible enemy, when an idea hit.

"Alex brought up buying techniques… that genius, Haha! I do have a sword… might as well try for Stinger."

After that, Alex moved towards the statue and tapped it.

"Default screen as always." He scowled, before waving them away and turning towards the Watcher of Time. He bowed, deeply.

"Thank you for your guidance and protection." Without saying anything more, he went straight to the enhancement page and bought the Basic Enhancement (Physical), staying well away from those marked with a (L).

After that, he got out of the statue. And he felt something strange.

Mostly a sudden flash of pain, as his sight became distorted, at least until he removed his glasses. "Damn, I guess I don't need these anymore…" Storing the eye wear in his inventory, he stopped, noticing another detail.

"...Why are my clothes hanging like a tent?" He looked down and saw that, if the belt wasn't there, he would currently be naked from the waist down. Luckily for him, that only lasted a moment, as the clothes resized themselves to be his size once more.

"Whoa. I'm fit." He patted his stomach, flat for the first time in his life. Then, he checked himself over: no more fat, a little skinny, but clearly with lean muscles instead of just skin and bone. "...I kinda like it."

There was some commotion in the hallway ahead before Sol's head leaned into view. Shortly after he began to walk down the hallway, a sheepish look on his face. "I can see now why Dante may or may not have to pay massive amounts in property damage. We uh, really trashed the lobby. Anyway, looking way better than before man, I'm guessing you bought the good version of physical enhancement?"

Alex nodded, before taking a short jump and seeing how different it was from before. A lot.

"Best thing I bought, after Magic. Are you going to buy it, too?" He asked his friend, while moving away from the statue and taking his place as guard.

"Yeah, figured it'd help start evening the playing field, you know?" Sol stated before touching the statue.

Looking at its representation Sol selected Personal Enhancement. The menu opened and he made a concerted point to avoid the L enhancements. Selecting the more expensive version, he watched the counter of red orbs drop from 9000 to 4000 and felt… better, much better. But he could look at the differences later.

He swapped menus and took a second Blue Orb for 1500 Red Orbs, that better feeling only increased. He swapped the menu again to abilities and saw…

"Stinger is here… okay, this is good. We can work with this." He said before purchasing the option. Something seemed to click in his mind.

"1,000 red orbs left… anything else?" He asked himself before remembering something.

"Alex did ask if I bought armor before… Might as well check the price."

The armor option, under Care Package D, was for 600 red orbs. Sol bought the option out right. He felt his clothes shift and change before a visor partially obscured his sight.

"Ah! Oh! Haha, yeah should have seen that one coming. Alright, that leaves me with 400 left over. Til next time!" Sol said before reality swapped back into place.

There is a clanking noise as Sol reappears wearing what is effectively a simple set of fluted steel armor. "Looks like I'll be taking a lot more hits in the future." He said while lifting up the visor.

Alex snorted, Calcabrina on his shoulder and all of his teeth showing. "You look good. You also look a bit taller than before, you know? Someone didn't eat his greens growing up?" He ribbed playfully, pointing out that Sol seemed to have gained an inch of height.

Right after that, however, he calmed down.

"Nothing happened in the big room. And no one appeared, either. The palace is dead empty, emphasis on dead." He gestured with his hand towards the half-open door. "The closed door is still closed and won't open. That way seems to be the only way forward… Unless we want to try and break a window or something."

"I mean, I tried to get a window open the normal way. So why not? They shouldn't be too difficult to break. Sol said before walking into the lobby and looking around until his eyes caught an innocent looking window that overlooked the front courtyard.

"Okay, I'm going to try something new so let's see how this works." Sol said before readying his sword and… zooming forward. He flew through the window and tumbled out onto the courtyard. From the ground, he spoke.

"Okay, I think I underestimated the range and speed of Stinger."

Alex's head popped out from the window, a sardonic look on his face. "Ya think?"

After that, he calmly passed through the broken window without jumping and without touching any of the broken glass. The situation was already dangerous enough without the risk of a cut.

"So, where do you think we are?" He looked around, but he couldn't really see anything of note. It was a courtyard with a tall, metal gate on the other side of the door that led into the building. A few trees, a few bushes, nothing more. "This place looks… dead. Of people."

But no bloodstains anywhere, so there had been no fight. "Wonder where the others have gone…"

"Probably deeper down..or up? Well, further in." Sol said, sitting up. "I figure that's our route too. Now we just need to find the next entrance."

"Well, there's a gate right there. Maybe we can go through the streets, instead of the sewers? Metaphorically speaking, I mean." Alex took a few steps forward, before stopping to listen.

"Hey, can you hear that?"

"Hmmm, what is it?" Sol, note a caution ringing his voice.

"Nothing. There's no sound in the air. Zilch. No demon, no animal, no person. It's completely silent." Alex pointed, before he stood there, silent, to let him notice it as well. The silence in the air was so encompassing that it was making them hear the sound of their own blood in their ears.

"Then we take it nice and slow, keep our eyes sharp, and maybe find a sewer or subway? Something that will go downwards." Sol said before continuing. "Considering this may or may not be stitched together memories of a physical place, I guess animals and other noises wouldn't really exist here."

"Well, if that theory is true, wouldn't the place still have sounds? How many memories do you have that are completely without sound?" Alex pointed out, before finally reaching the gate and pushing it. Closed.

"And the gate's closed, obviously. We'll have to blast it open." Calcabrina was in his hands a moment later, before he took a few steps back. Then, a sphere of energy started collecting on the metal tip of the umbrella, growing bigger than he had ever managed before.

"Let's see if you can take this." Showing his teeth in a mockery of a smile, Alex shot the charged bullet at the gate. The subsequent explosion raised a cloud of dust that obscured in front of them and also echoed in the still air like a bomb.

"Whoops."

"No kidding." Sol said, trying to fan away the dust. "Looks like Calcabrina can pack one hell of a punch. How are you feeling? Any strain on your end?" Sol asked as the dust settled.

"Nah, not really. Devil Arms are really something else, uh?" Alex still smiled at thinking that he had a Devil Arm all of his own. "You know, the next boss we meet, you MUST get something done for yourself. Beyond Vendetta, I mean."

The dust settled and they could see what had happened: the gate had bent and twisted, the explosion not enough to break it apart, but just enough to almost destroy it. Alex took a step to the side, leaving space to Sol.

"Want to do the honors?"

"All right." Sol said, before getting into stance, pausing, moving back several paces, and letting loose another stinger. The thrust sent him forward enough to smash the gate fully open and continue for a few more feet. This time Sol did not stumble or fall, merely getting out of the pose and looking around.

"Okay you're definitely right about something other than Vendetta. I'm really starting like this sword. Maybe it'd be good material for something else down the line?"

Past the gate was a small road which led to a series of interconnected streets. They weren't in the best condition as signs of battle were evident between bullet holes, slash marks, and what appeared to be burn damage, possibly from an electrical or flame based source.

"Okay, it seems we're getting more and more into civilization than before. How long til the demons make their grand re-entrance?" Sol asked quietly.

"Well, if I had to hazard a guess…. Now." From a series of portals, several Scarecrows jumped out, their weapons raised and strangely gleaming under the light of the… sun? Well, it was a source of light and was up above them, so it was the sun.

"Joy, we have passed from the Marionettes to the Scarecrows." Alex deadpanned, before giving his back to Sol. "I'll guard your back, you guard mine."

"Right!" Sol said as he drew his sword and pistol. As one scarecrow lumbered into view, Sol prepared himself. The moment he felt it get into range, he loosed a Stinger. Running the demon through, he pulled the sword out and swung it down, the demonic blade cutting far deeper than the hand-axe would have. There was a spray black writhing mist as the demon deflated, upon which Sol turned and fired at the horde of scarecrows.

"Alright guys, look this way. That's it, pay no attention to the sorcerer with the magic cannon." Sol said, trying to draw their attention.

He definitely had their attention. Of those in front of him, anyway. The ones that approached from behind him, however, were met with a smiling Alex.

"Hello and welcome to my pop-up restaurant. Let me serve you the entree." Calcabrina was pointed at him, his smile showing all of his teeth from above the closed umbrella. "We're now serving: boom." A sphere of magic started charging on top of the tip and shot before the scarecrow could amble near enough, sending them backwards.

"Let me serve you the next dish!" A series of bullets started raining on the monsters, only to stop a moment later, as Alex had to stop to breathe. Devil Arms were awesome, but they used far more magic than what he was used to. Still, it only lasted a moment to recover and focus again.

Sol saw the magical chaos briefly as he stabbed another scarecrow. Dragging the blade out as quickly as possible, he performed an air hike and plunged the blade down, impaling another scarecrow, before being forced to dodge as a scarecrow blade came at him. The blade slid off the rim of his helmet, but the force forced him to roll. Sol managed to fire from his downed position, stunning the scarecrow briefly before it was destroyed in a hail of bullets and slashes.

"Oh yeah, this armor is definitely working." Sol said while getting up.

"Don't get overconfident!" Alex's voice spiked at the end of the word, as he had to juke to the side and open Calcabrina at the last moment, the blades of the two scarecrows sliding over the reinforced cloth.

Still, they didn't stop their assault, which made Alex grit his teeth and take a step back, buying himself a moment of reprieve, more than enough to slide the sword out of the sheath and start charging a bullet at the tip of the sword.

"Eat this!" With a flourish that even he couldn't explain where it had come from, he swiped the open umbrella to the side, making the Scarecrows lose their balance for a moment, and shot the exploding bullet at them, sending them flying backwards in a shower of scraps.

"And that ends that. Either we're getting better, these guys were easier than we thought, or both." Sol said as he began to collect his orbs. "Nice move with that magic shot, got a feeling that might be good to keep crowds at bay."

"It almost wiped me out, sadly." Alex lamented, panting heavily, before straightening up once again and starting to recover the orbs that belonged to him. "I'm going to take the Mystical Enhancement next. Also, is it me or did these Scarecrows drop more Red Orbs?"

Between the two, they had gained something like two thousand Red Orbs, although Sol had gained a bit more than half.

"I just got seven hundred Orbs. From a single encounter. It seems… I dunno, we were struggling to fight a single Marionette less than…" He stopped mid sentence and turned towards Sol.

"How much time has passed since we woke up here?"

Sol is silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Can't be minutes… hours maybe." there's a tone of worry in his voice as he continues, looking around while he does. "It can't be a day yet, can it? Ah, this… I wish we had real light to see, maybe that could give us an idea?" He asks before spotting a clock in a broken window display. Approaching it, Sol leans forward and then backpedals. The hands of the clock are moving in opposite directions. Not fast, but against the understanding of time.
"They… the clock hands, they're moving opposite to each other. What the hell is this place?" Sol asked Alex, horror evident in his tone.

Alex simply stopped in front of the broken window, looking at the clock. Then, without a single hint of his intentions, he slammed the tip of Calcabrina against the glass, shattering it completely and starting to enter from it.

"I don't know. But I'm sure that it's the work of a demon. A smart one, really. To summon people and give them power, only to let them roam free to fight other demons? Doesn't make any sense. So, there must be something more in it." The inside of the shop was… dark. Empty. Dusty.

It looked like it had been abandoned as soon as it had been completed. "Something's not right with this city. Beyond the demonic whatever is happening."

It's not that Alex wasn't feeling horror, fear, and panic at whatever was happening there. It's just that he was pretty good at hiding it.

"It's almost like a scene from a memory… we just, just have to keep moving." Sol states before walking completely into the store. There isn't much he finds, save for a few brochures of sights around 'Redgrave City, United Kingdom'.

"Huh, so we're in Britain then? Well what is here?" Sol asks aloud before flipping through the pamphlet. Reading through, Sol begins to speak. "So, we're currently in or at Pawn Avenue, and we left the Il Chiaro Mondo Hotel, at least I think we did. The front courtyard is similar but I think the damage that we caused may have made it difficult to see the finer details. Now, some of the pages are gone, but one thing that crops up is a place called Burrow Market." Sol turns the pamphlet over to show Alex. "Maybe worth a shot?"

"Considering I have no idea where to go otherwise, I'm trusting you. It's not like I have another idea, really. Before we go, however…" Alex unsheathed the sword from his weapon and slashed the register in half.

It failed to explode in a shower of Red Orbs. "Darn. I hoped it would work."

Seeing a guy like Alex pout was a bit surreal. On the other hand, their current situation was as surreal as it could be, so that said very little about the situation.

"Well, it was worth a shot. If you want something from this… Oh, hey, it's a jeweler shop. I kinda want to rob it? I like jewels. Anyway, if you want anything, you're free to have the first pick. I'm going to go and check the rings."

"Go right ahead, I'm going to check the register for anything cash related. Might as well get something out of this… You think Rodin sells drinks based on red orbs or legal tender?" Sol asks before pulling a few bills from the busted machine.

"Because that could go very well towards a victory drink." He finishes before pocketing the bills, showing the register over the counter and unfolding the pamphlet to its map section. He shifts position occasionally, looking the square outside for map orientation reference before nodding to himself and planning a route.

"Dunno. Probably?" Alex shrugged, before finding a couple of rings he liked: one was shaped like a snake that was biting his own tail, the other was a full on claw ring that covered the entirety of his right middle finger, made of silver and with a gem at knuckles' height.

"Well, I'm mostly done. I'll just…" And he broke a few more glass cases, grabbing as many jewels as he could and sending them to the extra-dimensional space that he got from Rodin. "I'm going to sell them once we're back. We'll split the loot."

After that, he calmed down his trembling hand and wiped his eyes. The 'robbing the place' spectacle had gone on long enough that he had managed to swallow the painful bolo of air and hopelessness in his throat.

"Do we have any water? And did you find the path towards the Market?"

Sol is quiet for a moment before cursing to himself. He continued, "No on the water, I think I was enjoying the energy high too much to remember. As for a route, we go straight on Hoight Street up from Pawn Avenue for three blocks. Take a right into and through Pawn Street Mall, follow that to its other end and then it's a straight shot to Burrow. What do you think?"

Alex nodded, before pointing to the back of the store. "I'm gonna check if there is a bedroom or a storeroom. You never know, maybe there is a challenge room or something in here." He shrugged, before opening the door to the back - it wasn't closed - and strode in.

A moment of silence passed, before a winning shout came from the inside. "Called it! On both counts!"

"Ah well I hope there isn't a body this time!" Sol shouts back before walking in after Alex. He noted that there was a door called STOREROOM and another weird looking door. "Guess that's the challenge room. Alex?" He called out.

Alex got out from the strange room a moment later, face still dripping with water. "No, this is the bathroom. The challenge room is behind that shelf." He pointed at the one that rested at an angle against the corner. "There's the portal on the wall, you just can't see it from this position. Go and drink something, that armor must be sweltering. I'll wait for you here."

Alex gently pushed Sol towards the bathroom, leaning against the wall without saying much more.

"Yeah, okay. Kinda feel like an idiot for not seeing that earlier." Sol said before taking off his helmet and taking a drink.

"Ah… people can claim alcohol all they want, but nothing beats a cool draft of water. He looks at his reflection in the mirror, specifically the bandage around his brow before reaching up and removing. The wound is gone, without a mark to show it was there.

"Okay, so Blue Orbs are amazing. Good to know." He said to himself before putting on his helmet.

"Alright, let's see what's behind secret door number 2." He said to Alex as he came back.

Alex smirked at him, before following him behind the slightly askew shelf. And the scribbles on the wall changed to form a portal into… somewhere else.

The multi-color light whisked them away, only for them to find themselves atop an unstable platform. Beyond five more platforms, there was something that shed blue light all around.

"Ok, so. Not touching the ground, I'm assuming." Alex said, before looking at the platforms. "These look pretty unstable. You should go, I'll cover you from behind in case some demons start appearing around the place." He mimed cocking a shotgun with his umbrella. umbrella which, to be fair, was way more dangerous than a shotgun.

"Sure thing, Air Hike don't fail me now." Sol said before jumping to another platform.

When he landed, nothing happened. Looking back to Alex, he shouted, "Anything?"

"Not that I can see!" He shouted back, making Sol notice that he didn't have his glasses on anymore. "There is nothing coming from the ceiling, nothing from the walls and nothing from the floor. But be careful, it looks like the next platform is slightly more distant than the previous one!"

"Alright!" Sol responds before jumping to the next platform. Again, nothing happened.

"Okay, let's try the next one." Sol said before jumping over. However, this time the platform began to violently shake forcing him to jump a second time. The final platform started shaking even more violently.

"Shit, shit!" Sol shouted before jumping for the blue light. As he did, he realized he wouldn't make it. "Stinger!" he shouted, forcing himself forward and into the light. There was a moment of stillness before the back room reappeared around the two.
"What was… that was… ohhh… I did not like that. What is this anyway?" Sol asked between breaths.

"Puzzle room?" Alex 'answered', before pointing at where the portal once was. "All the same, you got a prize." In fact, another piece of a blue orb hovered there, just waiting for Sol to collect it.

"So that makes one half, huh. Makes you wonder right, what'd happen if the others tried this?" Sol left the question hanging before continuing. "No point in asking that question now. Off the Hoight Street." He said, pocketing the orb fragment and walking out of the store.

"Yeah, better shake a leg." Alex followed Sol out of the room - and out of the building itself - only to find out that things had… changed. A little.

Specifically, the street that had been pristine, mostly, was now covered in corpses.

"What…" Alex was speechless, his face rather green, as he beholden what was in front of him: corpses that had been gored or ripped apart, some had been crushed, reduced to a pulp, while one had the entire chest completely caved in.

"The fuck?" Sol finished before trying to look away. "Where'd all these bodies come from? We weren't gone all that long!" He shouted in terror before frantically looking around the street. But as he looked he noticed something about the bodies.

"Alex, look at the jackets. Look at their jackets! It's the third team!" Sol said.

"Wait, what?!" Alex's eyes moved from his position to the guy with a caved-in chest, only to see that… Sol was right. The clothes, some of the remaining faces…

"How… Who-What could have…" He couldn't even manage to compose a single sentence. Then, a voice was heard from the middle of the corpse mound. Someone was still alive.

"Hang on!" Without waiting, Alex threw himself in the middle of the carnage, moving towards the bigger group of corpses, already moving some.

Sol wasn't far behind, trying to move through the mound and reaching the moving figure just after Alex did.

It was the leader of the sports group. His ruined jacket barely covered a gaping hole in his chest, and it was by the grace of his enhancements that he was still alive at this point.

"What happened to you!?" Sol asked.

"S-ix… people… red eyes… They… killed. Laughing…" His eyes were already glassing over and his words were barely audible. He devolved into incoherent mumbling, the only word that could be recognized was 'sorry' and a series of names.

He died a moment later.

"You think it was the business crowd?" Sol asked quietly, while looking around the street.

Alex was frozen in place, before shaking his head. "He mentioned six people. With red eyes, I think he said. I don't remember anyone like this between the business people." He didn't take a deep breath because he didn't want to breathe in the smell of decaying meat, but he took a couple of steps back.

"Maybe demons that could be mistaken for humans? They did appear in the series a couple of times, didn't they?" He didn't notice this, but he was looking around the street without stopping.

"Yeah, yeah. Like Baal and Moedius, or Trish and Lucia… But why leave the bodies? Wouldn't they want that power? You gotta figure that a high degree of red orbs here right?" Sol asked, still scanning the street, gun now out, trembling in his grip.

"Maybe they have taken the Orbs from their bodies without touching them somewhat? I don't know." Alex didn't shout, but the way his voice was pitched, it was clear that he really wanted to.

"There's an easy way to find out, however." Calcabrina appeared in his hands and he tapped the tip against the corpse near him. At first, nothing happened.

Then, a moment later, it vanished into motes of light and a rather big amount of Red Orbs came out, before being absorbed from Alex.

He was both green and pale. "Five Hundred and fifty three orbs." His voice was trembling and he was trying to gulp down on nothing, the urge to puke rising.

"They didn't even bother taking the orbs." Sol said before tapping his pistol against another body. After they were absorbed, Sol stated, "450 red orbs. Oh god… we… can't… fuck we can't let this all go all to waste… dammit!"

The two began to touch the various bodies, breaking them down into their red orbs. In total each came out with a sickening 50,000 red orbs and more questions than answers.

"I… I guess we can spend all these when we next reach a statue or one of Rodin's gates. I… wish we got their names, they didn't seem like bad people." Sol said sadly.

"They… probably weren't. Probably they were just… kids. Damn, I'm sounding like I'm who knows how old and I'm just thirty-two." Alex shook his head, before turning towards the direction they would need to go.

"That way, right?" He was somber in his delivery.

"Yeah, three, no four blocks up, a right, a walk to the other side and then a straight shot." Sol said shakily.

"Let's… Let's go." Alex started walking, soon joined by Sol. The silence weighed heavily on them, the event that they had just faced incredibly heavy on their mind.

Still, they were powerless to change it.

************************************************

Sadly, the path to Burrow Marketplace was not a straight shot. As soon the two turned the corner from Hoight Street onto the outdoor mall, they ran into a problem. While they could easily enter the mall, the path further on was blocked by a series of deadened Qliphoth roots.

"Well shit, looks like it isn't the straight shot I thought it would have been. We may have to go around." Sol said pensively.

"It's… Yeah, it looks like that. Do you think that we can cut the roots or are they just… Impossible to destroy?" Alex asked, wondering about it. Before Sol could answer, he took out his sword and tried to slash at the 'wood' in front of him.

Without any result whatsoever.

"Yeah, ok. That tracks." Sheathing the sword back, he turned towards his companion and shrugged. "I cannot cut them. And I kinda don't want to try and shoot them, in case they start attacking us."

"Right, best we see if there is another way around. All we have to do is make sure that we keep the potential exit to our right and we should be good." Sol said contemplatively.

Sol looks around the section they're in before remarking. "Man, I would have spent so many days trying different cafes around here… ah dreams for a better day. You ready?" Sol asked.

"And now I'm hungry. Thank you." He falsely complained, before his face twisted into a sight of disgust. "Never mind, I'm not going to get hungry for… a while. After…" He waved his hand towards the road behind them. "You know."

He joined Sol and the two started walking down the street, trying to keep the right direction to their right.

"Do you think we will meet more demons? We only have met that single group of scarecrows."

As soon as he said, a gaggle of scarecrows burst the upper story windows to the street below.

"Goddamn you Murphy and your laws…" Sol groaned out before drawing his sword and gun. "I'll play distraction." Sol said before losing a stinger into the small group of demons.

"Sure." Considering that the impromptu Stinger had taken all four of the Scarecrows, they were all grouped up in front of Sol. Alex started charging the shot and, after a moment, he released it towards them, exploding them up.

It wasn't enough to kill them, but it was enough that several slashes and burns appeared on them.

"They're all yours!" Alex shouted, while charging another bullet, in case one of them managed to escape what Sol was going to do.

"Got it!" Sol shouted before stabbing a scarecrow and using his free hand to hold its blade arm aloft before lining it up with the other three demons.

"Alright, let's see if this works. Stinger!" And so he went rocketing forward catching one demon and sending the other two flying. The two impaled scarecrows dissolved into black mist while the other struggled to stand.

"Take their orbs Alex, we'll never know how much we'll need."

Alex shrugged, before shooting the remaining two. The explosion sent them flying in the air. Once they were there, he started juggling them with several shots, until they disappeared into black mist.

Red Orbs rained down.

Silence.

"Weren't those… a bit too easy to defeat?" Alex asked, looking down at Calcabrina with a puzzled look in his eyes.

"... Yeah, they were, weren't they. I mean they were the fodder enemy in 4, but even then Nero and Dante had to seriously hack them up. Maybe that was just a gameplay thing, and these physical boosts are really worth their weight in orbs. We should get moving, no telling when something legitimately stronger is going to come our way." Sol before looking at the next intersection before calling out, "Looks like we can take a right at this junction."

"I mean, maybe they're just… weaker? It could be that. The Qliphoth could have an effect on them. Or… something." Alex was muttering, not really believing what he was saying. Still, it was his theory.

"Also, another thing about the game: why aren't there any Empusa? I mean, we've seen enemies from the other games, but no demonic ants yet. Doesn't it make you wonder why?"

"Maybe they're all up topside or downside trying their best to get at easy prey? We should keep an eye out for them or really any other enemy from 5. Always got the vibe they were the hardest enemies bar none." Sol said before stopping at the next point.

"So close, yet so densely rooted..?" Sol said gesturing to the mass of roots that blocked the exit. "I can actually see the next street over through the roots. Ah gotta be an open point. Hell, I'm almost willing to just climb over them."

"Aren't those roots moving?" Alex pointed out, aiming his finger at certain spots of the roots that were actually moving and writhing a little, like they were made of flesh instead of plant matter.
"I'm not sure if it's a good idea to climb on them, really." He looked… pretty unsettled by the notion.

Which was fair, really. Considering the fact that it was a human blood drinking tree and the two of them were very much humans.

"You're probably right… Let's find another path." Sol said quickly before looking around, picking a direction and walking. A few moments later, he shouted out, "Found it!"

Alex blinked. "Well, that was fast." He looked at Sol, unsure of the situation. The way the roots were placed, as if the way forward was blocked on purpose was… suspicious.

"Do you think that we are being herded somewhere?"

Sol paused mid step, before sighing and drawing his sword. "I feel like an idiot for not seeing that earlier. Get ready, maybe they'll be some plant demon or something up ahead."

"Like Alraune from Bayonetta 2? Because if it's something like that, I'm not sure we are good enough to defeat her." Alex appeared worried, but he still walked forward with Sol. "Are there any other plant demons in the series?"

"Well there was Echidna, but she was more of a snake plant hybrid, uh… wasn't there that parasite demon from 5? The really, really stupid one? I'm going to kick myself if we get herded by that guy." Sol said with a grimace.

"Fuck off, bitchboy!" A voice came from behind them. When they turned, they noticed that they were in a small plaza surrounded by tall buildings, buildings which were perforated with the roots of the demonic tree. From one of them, a creature that resembled a humanoid only by chance came out, like a red, wriggling, giant worm.

Alex gulped and took a step back in disgust.

Nidhogg, Parasitic Fiend

"Oh, fuck me." Alex swore, paying attention at the place. The three heads of the roots that appeared in the game had appeared here, too, but they were positioned in a different way: one behind them, one to their left and one to their right, with the main body in front of them.

"No, fuck this guy. We got tricked by this!" Sol shouted angrily.

"What is, this!?" The demon questioned angrily.

"You! Here's what'll happen! First, we'll kick your ass, then I'll kick my own ass for not realizing your game sooner!" Sol shouted.

"What GAME!" Nidhogg roared.

Sol stopped before looking at Alex, "He really is an idiot isn't he?"

Alex looked at Sol, then at Nidhogg. Then at Sol again. "Look, could you… I don't know, NOT sink to his level? I mean, with him here the bar is already in Hell - pun intended - you don't need to start Limbo dancing with the devil." He delivered his own opinion with a deadpan tone of voice.

Nidhogg bristled at that. "Are you calling me STUPID?!" His shout made all the roots around tremble in reflected rage. Alex looked at him, genuinely surprised.

"I… thought it was obvious? Yes, we are."

"GRRRAAHHHH, I'm Going to Kill YOU!" Nidhogg roared before sending his three tendrils at the two.