Spectre: Well, that took nearly seven months. Alright, let's do this.
rama alif: Well, here it is!
shpeederman: Yep. Given everything that happened in his life, he deserves a break once in a while. Don't think he ever had since the end of DMC3 where he became a slave to Mundus and so forth. Yep, Dante will come here soon. Though I'm wondering wether or not I should do it in a separate fic or have it here.
Hypnoyoukai: I'd say Vergil would be from Fontaine since Sparda 'woke up to justice', but would spend a lot of his time in Inazuma where he learned to improve his skills with a katana that is the Yamato.
Midnight Ruins: Want to give him a spotlight this time!
Mr. Haziq: Afraid not, since V and the other familiars killed Phantom when he refused to make a contract back at the Visions of V novel.
Guest: Yep, it's Lumine. She fits the whole Abyss Leader aesthetic honestly.
XtraDepress: There's a lot in store for Vergil. And I'm still pondering of the possibilities between him and Arlechinno since there's a lot in common between them, though Vergil's case was far worse than her in every angle. Apparently yes, Vergil would eventually learn to open up to a few people, with a bit of help from his friends/associates. And I am certainly planning on Dante to appear soon.
Hellsink Bathhall: I was thinking of giving V an alias, maybe Blake? After his favorite poet?
SGT. URU: Vergil is highly perceptive of his surroundings due to his experiences back at childhood. But he was also pragmatic, as he did not see the need to fully unleash his power to people of whom he would see as unworthy.
kerrowe: I'd say they could kill now. Since Vergil and V had become one, the full potential of the Familiars have also been increased, no longer dream-like beings at their stage and are essentially part of Vergil too.
Awarboah: We'll see! They did have an idea since they would be certain that Vergil's abilities are of an otherworldly origin.
Chapter 14: Into the Deep, Part II
The inhuman snarling of the masked creatures were all that his ears could digest, and the stampede that echoed through the entire chamber and onto him.
Yet his mind remained untouched, allowing the stillness within to direct his focus on what lies before him. His eyes have closed, allowing his trust to be placed on those who were once nothing been more than a burden to him on one side, and barriers to another.
The electrifying flow within the ever-so rowdy Familiar intensifed, the signal to move forward becoming clear to Griffon upon seeing his keeper's cane gestured at the nuisances before them. He did not need a verbal command to know what needs to be done, and the Hilichurls watched in muted perplexity as the bird flew forward at them.
No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.
Those within the chamber thought the flash of light felt as if a thunderbolt zipped past them. But as the thunder have passed first, only then did they feel the excruciating suffering that came with it, overwhelmed by the powerful jolts of a lightning strike that the bird had left in its trail. From the other side, another group composed of Hilichurls wielding crossbow-like weapons did not have the time to sufficienly load their weapons when three pillars manifested by the Familiar's energies had slammed against them, with their screams of agony hounding the entire chamber before it faded into a deep echo.
His masked visage made it impossible for most to see the expression from the results shown before him. But the Herald's signal for the larger Mitachurls wiedling maces and shields alike, was evidence of his annoyance and frustration directed at the lowly human before him. Grasping the captive slimes from their hands, they grasped the captives with their bare hands, heaving them at the human who remained composed at the impending danger before him.
Only for the man to wave his cane from the front and to the side.
The feline next to him growled in defense of its master, dashing forward where its front legs have stomped the ground below him accompanied by an inhuman roar. To the Herald's interest, the ground erupted where a dozen spiked pillars manifested from the shadows never before seen by those living in the Abyss, suddenly rose to intercept the incoming Slimes, breaking them apart and caused the energies of Pyro and Electro to overload and explode in front of them, that hindered their vision when a smokescreen formed out of them.
The Mitachurls watched in complete uncertainy at what comes next once the Poet was no longer at their line of sight.
Until one of them witnessed a charging beast from total darkness lunging at him with its axe-shaped tail that served as the last memory of the world he stood at. And the rest watched as its head was seperated from its body.
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears:And I sunned it with smiles
And soft deceitful wiles.
Enraged of this act, one of the Mitachurls brought down its mace at the feline in an attempt to crush the otherworldly creature. But it merely skipped out of the way where its tail had grown to inhuman proportions, turning them into spikes that impaled the unfortunate victim into skewers. One of the shield-wielding Mitachurls came rushing at the feline, using its weapon like a battering ram onto the creature.
It responded by changing its form into a flat, circular object. Covered with sharp edges to form into a spinning blade of death when it charged at the incoming Mitachurl. Its defensive weapon, as sturdy as it was, was sliced through like blades of grass, and along with its owner when it spun through him. One of the last Mitachurls did not have the time to react when the blade reverted back to its feline form, its tail shifting into an axe-like shape where it heaved the Mitachurl into the air. As it did, the feline jumped where its back had erupted to reveal eight tentacles that impaled the creature all over its body, releasing it from its grasp when its body had become limp.
The Herald watched in muted curiousity of the being before him. His companions have decimated Her Majesty's minions just as easily as he were to call them, and any other creature would have retreated upon the first sight of a losing battle.
But he was not one of those creatures. And he raised his hand to call upon the last of the minions that were still with him.
Three rifts have formed from above the Herald, and from it, three huge figures landed onto the ground behind him. All three of them were identical in physical shape, but their colors have indicated differences of the power they wield. Easily dwarfing all other Hilichurls, any other human would have dreaded the sight of these creatures and flee.
And yet the young man made no such atttempt, and this only infuriated the Herald. He serves Her Majesty's will. And he will not be made a mockery at the hands of a weakling!
"Shame is a pride's cloak", the young man spoke, his voice showing no concern nor fear. But a hint of satisfaction, as if he was already enjoying himself. "Wouldn't you agree?"
With a command with his spectral blade pointed at the man, the three behemoths charged right ahead at the poet.
A single thud of his cane hounded the entire chamber for a moment.
As it did, a burst of energy erupted the domain when the stone-like creature with a single eye came out of the air, swinging both its arms where its boulder-like fists have slammed onto the ground, forcing the three Lawachurls back as they glared at the new creature behind their masks.
The Stonehide Lawachurl was the first to charge right ahead, swinging its arms to slam the golem. But the latter only stood its ground, catching its right arm where he used its free hand to break its elbow, causing it to howl in pain before a fist struck its face head on, sending him flying onto the wall. The Frostarm Lawachurl came next, hurling a bundle of cryo Slimes at him, but the effects were minimal; it only inconvinienced the golem as it wiped away the frost the covered him. Charging at the Lawachurl, the latter's torso being struck by its boulder-like fist that sent him flying.
Its ordeal did not end there, and the golem grabbed the Lawachurl's leg, slamming him onto the ground where it stared at the golem with its fists locked onto him. Before it could react, a powerful punch struck its face. Followed by another. And another. And another until it devolved into a powerful flurry of punches, leaving nothing more than a smear onto the ground below them.
The golem's eye rolled slightly to the left, grabbing by the wrists of the Thunderhelm Lawachurl as it stood in defense of its master when it tried to jump over the poet to crush him. Its masked face stared at the golem, unable to release himself from its grasp. All it could do, was stare helplessly as its 'eye' began to glow in a hue never before seen.
The Herald felt a tremor as the a thick beam had fired from creature's 'eye', enveloping the opposing Lawachurl with its power. It was so intense that he had to look away from the flashing light, not caring what has happened to him one bit.
So intense. Fascinating even. When it came to the point he had to make an immediate conclusion regarding this human, and of his summons.
That, he was certain this man hailed from an otherworldly realm that is never before seen by anyone serving Her Majesty. And so did the mysterious swordsman that walked among those from the surface.
Whatever place the human had come from, he had to be dealt with immediately. Before he could become a constant thorn to the Queen's plans.
When the light finally dissipated, the Herald watched to find the Thunderhelm Lawachurl was nothing more than a pair of arms still held by the golem, and a lower torso that fell backward with three burning stumps at each end of the limb.
The poet's eyes have opened, watching as the Herald stood his ground for the final stand. Even with his mask, he is capable of reading the movements, and of the inner thoughts of his opponent.
It read of fear. Uncertainty. And malice. Not out of his pride, but out of the possibility of shame of the leader he served.
"Such power...", the Herald finally spoke, sounding as if it were fascinated of the display shown before him. "Whose master do you serve, boy?"
V merely placed both his hands onto the cane's handle. "I am the master of my fate", he replied, but it was later clear that he was reciting once more. "I am the captain of my soul. He who is the cause of someone else becoming powerful, is the agent of his own destruction,"
"Her Majesty would have had use of you", the larger being professed, but then a pair of spectral blades came to life from his wrists. "Of a cause greater than our own existence. But alas, you have proven your liability to become a threat to her designs"
The poet only smiled at the attempt of display of intimidation. "Then prove your worth to her. Let the world know of the folly you would foolishly throw your life to", he said to the being.
As he said those words, the Herald vanished in a torrent of water. However, the poet remained as he stood, his calm demeanor not wavering for a moment when the Herald's spectral wristblades were raised up in an attempt to skew him alive once he was at behind. His attack abruptly stopped however, when he realized that his weapon had made contact with the poet's silver cane.
Perplexed as how a mere cane stopped him, the Herald felt his body being forced away by a slight swat from the man's cane, skidding away from the man as he twirled the object in a carefree manner.
This only enraged the Herald further, not when the man didn't even bother calling upon his summons to protect him.
He charged once more, bringing his blade to bear over to the poet who simply used his cane to parry the attack gracefully, and to the second attempt that happened a moment later. As if he were tiptoeing, the poet only pointed the cane's end at the Herald, smiling at him to carry on.
The Wicked Torrents charged once more, sending a flurry of slashes that the poet parried with graceful precision. Bringing both blades to combine into one powerful weapon, he brought it down to cut down the human with such powerful force.
Only for the poet to twirl like a dancer, then responding with a quick jab from the butt of his cane onto the Herald's torso that sent him flying away from him.
Regaining his focus, elemental energy began to accumulate onto his blades before an an arc made from Hydro was launched at V through an arched slash, who turned his torso out of the arc's way. A second arc had followed, but instead of evading as expected, the poet merely held his cane and sliced it apart, harmlessly going through him.
The Herald could only watch in astonishment.
This cannot be happening.
A member of Her Majesty's guard will not be insulted like this!
Crossing both his arms, a cross-like formation made of Hydro darted forward at the poet, who merely jumped out of the way as it destroyed one of the pillars behind him. And as he did, his eyes caught a glint of a droplet of water sprayed at him.
As it turned out, the Herald had turned himself into a spinning wheel of death, charging at V with the outmost intent to end his existence here and now. But even then, the poet remained composed of the impending danger that would have caused others to perish with fear alone. And he merely sidestepped out of the way, and onto the next.
Even when he found this to be amusing, he knew it had to end. Here and now.
"The fox condemns the trap, not himself", he recited. And as the Herald moved to land another strike, he dashed onto the young man, who remained still.
That is where he realized his arms had been caught a pair of tentacles, looking down to find a glaring feline wrapping them up and render him unable to move.
The Herald did not have time to react when the avian familiar dashed over him like a lightning bolt, causing him to lose his balance and be sent flying. And as he did, he felt his right leg being grabbed by a boulder-like hand, staring at the glowing eye of a golem. Before he could react, he felt an insurmountable amount of force that made him lose control of his body, where the golem slammed him onto the ground below him. If that had not been enough, he heaved him again for another slam that was repeated for the next three times.
Writhing in pain, the Herald was helpless when he the golem hoisted him up and threw him into the air, with the black feline dashing onto him where, from his back, twelve tentacles erupted from it and pierced through every part of his body, and onto his neck. Rendered immobile, he watched as the avian flew behind him, where four pillars of lightning closed in on him.
All that was heard was the inhuman screams of the Abyss Lector, who became the subject of excruciating pain at the hands of the poet's pets, without even landing as much of a scratch at him.
V watched in contentment as Shadow's tentacles began to retract from the being's damaged body, crashing down onto the surface ingloriously before the feline went beside his master, alongside Griffon and Nightmare. Laying down in agony, the Herald looked up to find the raven-haired man slowly walking towards him, tapping the palm of his hand with the cane's handle.
There was no point of resistance.
All that he hoped now, was a quick end of his suffering.
But he was confident Her Majesty and his ilk would avenge him.
The poet silently stood by and brought up his cane, grasping both hands onto its handle once it was already at the center of the being's torso. The Herald only looked at the poet, defiant to the end as he spoke once more.
"We are many...", he croaked out painfully at the young man. "You are but one"
His opponent said nothing in reply. With a single motion, the cane's edge pierced through the Herald's chest, whose head found itself staring at the man's dark green ones that show soothness and calm compelling the being of accepting the fate that is bestowed upon him.
He moved closer, enough for him to whisper a few words that the Herald would hear from whatever hearing source he had. "As the leaves of a withering tree, may you fall one by one", he whispered to him, lunging his cane further to the Herald's chest and through his back. With a weakened, convulsed movement from his arm in a feeble attempt to stave off his demise, the Herald's eyes behind his helmet flickered before his body went limp, dissipating into a shroud of darkness.
It was all over.
His little game with what considered to be this world's equivalent of the Underworld had come to an end. At least for now.
What remained is the shrine-like structure before him. And the vine-like roots that swelled with energies only native from the surface. Upon further analysis, it was a storage for siphoning energies. And the vines all that were connected to the structure, before they were to be disconnected and the shrine be transported to somewhere else, likely a puzzle for whatever scemes they have in mind.
And V only did what was natural.
A blast from Nightmare's eye had it destroyed to make sure no one gets any use of it. Although the act itself, would act as a message to the so-called Abyss Order.
"Are you sure you won't mind having another group putting you in the hit list again?, Griffon spoke, flying above the poet. We could tell those guys back there won't leave your little trip here go unanswered"
"Then let them come, so that they would never leave again", he stoically replied to the familiar, before Shadow and Nightmare returned to him. "Now we must find a way out of this place"
"V? Are you there?", Bennett called out in relief, rushing over to find the poet walking in front of him in another chamber. "Man, I thought I lost you!"
The man only smirked in response, having traversed the domain. "The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. What is now proved was once only imagin'd.", he felt the boy's grip be released from him.
"Where were you? When we got separated, I have to go and make sure you're okay", the Adventurer haphazardly told him, scratching the back of his head. "But other than that, did you find anything out here?"
V cupped his chin momentarily. "Nothing. No one", it was a better explanation than risk having him run into the Abyss. "Other than emptiness within"
"Bummer, I thought we could at least find some treasure here", Bennett groaned. "Sorry if I couldn't give out something in return for this"
"It is to no concern", V replied, preparing to continue their trek. "Now, all we have to do is to find our way out of this place"
Before he could reply, the door suddenly opened beside them, causing them to be prepared at what lies ahead. Griffon had materialized above V, ready to face whatever threat his master would encounter at this time.
But rather than an enemy, it was another human being. A girl to be exact.
She was fairly young her age, likely at the same age as Bennett. Her outfit was peculiar at best. Two sections of her hair are tied into side twin tails with black ribbons, the left of which is decorated with a bat wing pattern. The rest of the girl's hair is left loose and she wears a black eyepatch. She wears a sleeveless black lace dress-like leotard with a black lace collar and purple bow tie, crosses stitched in, and black and violet tailcoats.
Stragely enough, she had been set into a pose that involved covering her eyepatch with her left hand a her right holding her waist. Upon seeing the two boys, she smiled. And with her, a bird flew above her after she accessed the door using his elemental power.
"Fischl!", Bennett cried out. "Am I glad to see you!"
"Indeed, it is I! The Prinzessing der Verurteiung have descended onto this land to liberate you from your unfortunate predicament! Oz and I have heeded the people's cries to make sure your safe return is all but guaranteed!, the girl proclaimed with outrageous valor.
"She means that she is here to help you out of this place at the request of the Adventurer's Guild", the familiar beside her spoke on her behalf, acting as if he were her translator.
As the bird had said those words, he had descended onto the ground to rest. Floating above V, Griffon have descended down as well, feeling something so familiar about the girl's familiar. "Wait a minute...", the demonic familiar uttered, looking closely at the bird while Oz appeared perplexed at the sight of Griffon.
The two familiars stared at one another, slowly tilting their heads at the opposite direction, then raising their wings up in complete silence, looking as if they were looking at a mirror. Until Griffon broke the silence between them. "Who the hell is this?!", the familiar demanded an explanation from the poet.
The girl's familiar appeared offended at the reaction. "I am Oz. I serve as my retainer's loyal companion and her confidante of her ventures", the bird, now named Oz, explained to his demonic counterpart. "I certainly do not remember any siblings sharing my appearance"
"Took the words right of my mouth, Shakespeare!", Griffon exclaimed. "And I sure as hell know that you didn't come out of V!"
"Are you perhaps suggesting I am but a copy of you?"
"The hell you are! You're not as good looking as I am!"
"That would explain why I am staring at a cracked reflection"
The three watched as the two familiars bickered with one another, watching Griffon began to peck onto Oz, and the latter doing the same for this transgressions. "Perhaps, we should be properly acquiainted once we have returned to our headquarters", Fischl turned to Bennett's companion, grateful. "What do you say, mr...?"
"V", the poet replied, as they pulled away their respective familiars from another another. "You may call me V"
"Bennett! Fischl! You two have returned!", Cyrus approached and embraced the both of them. "You got us worried out there!"
The young Adventurer chuckled as rubbed the bridge of his nose, while Fischl held a hand onto his shoulder. "Looks like it wasn't my day when that happened!"
"Bad enough to make sure that word got around the Guild to ask others for help!", Cyrus replied, relieved to see him safe and sound. "Who managed to get to you, by the way?"
Bennett's mood brightened at that. "Ah! He's outside right now! He says that Katheryne had sent him there and I wanna introduce him to the whole guild!", he scurried outside the building, having been told by the poet that he had to rest on one of the nearby chairs outside.
Only for him to discover that the chairs were now empty. "V?", he called out to the young man, trying to find him. "V, are you still there?"
He noticed an unfamiliar silver-haired man wearing black with a sword strapped onto his waist heading over to Good Hunter. Bennett approached the man and tugged him by the sleeve of his coat. "Excuse' me, but have you seen a young man holding a cape with tattoos? He's someone I'd like for the Guild to know a little better"
The older man looked at him blankly, and Bennett couldn't help but look away at his stern but cool demeanor. "I have, but he has to leave immediately to attend important matters", Vergil replied to the boy.
Bennett appeared disheartened at that. "That's a bummer", he groaned but then turned to the swordsman. "If you ever see him, tell him that me and my dads say thanks for his help. And that he's free to stop by in the guild if he needed any help"
His words were returned with an assuring nod from the man, appearing to pledge his request. "I'll keep that in mind"
Spectre: I have to apologize that I have to somewhat end the little arc a bit abruptly because I want to focus on a new one. Natlan's in full swing and I am eagerly awaiting some lore drops. As for the next arc, Vergil will have to deal with someone obsessed with vengeance, or rather her drunkenness at that matter.
I am also considering of putting a demon subplot in the fic. But not enough to change the lore of Genshin in any way. Mostly on Vergil hunting down 'stragglers'