Worms May Cry
Arrival – Chapter 1.4: You Can't Change Me
[Vergil]
It had only been an hour since Vergil and his translator had left Moord Nag's war camp and went in the direction of what Vergil knew was the Qliphoth and the scavenging demons that huddled around it.
During this unexciting walk, the Dark Slayer contemplated what might be going on. The Qliphoth had obviously not been fully cut down, otherwise there wouldn't be a bundle of roots in the area that was attacking humans. At the same time, it bothered Vergil that roots of the demonic tree had appeared on an entirely different continent. How far has this rooted evil spread its reach?
That was a question to which he had no answer. One would assume that it meant the tree had remained stable and continued to grow so as to engulf the human world. But Vergil found himself disagreeing to the notion. Though it was still new for him to think about, Vergil found that he had utter faith that his son, Nero, would ensure the demise of the Qliphoth if Dante and he couldn't.
Besides, Nero was his progeny. Vergil would not allow the thought that Nero would fail such a task to cross his mind. Perhaps before, when he hadn't unlocked his devil trigger, he may have failed. But now, especially after the Dark Slayer had faced his own son in combat, there was no excuse.
As such, Vergil took this to mean that the Qliphoth that was originally in the human world had not been allowed to spread. Instead, the base of the tree, still rooted in the Underworld had taken the chance to reroot itself into other places of the human world to compensate.
Depending on the placement of the roots, it would take the Qliphoth some time to regenerate from the injuries that it had sustained, but that didn't mean it would stay down forever. As for Dante, idiotic tendencies aside, he should still be competent enough to realize that their job was not yet complete. Perhaps he might also be heading to this knot of roots to destroy it?
Vergil wasn't fully positive on that front, but what he was certain of is that Dante was doing the same as he. After all, it was doubtful that the Qliphoth threw out only one bundle of roots.
The human world was very much still in danger because of his actions, his mistake. Where once, he would have just moved on from the destruction that had been an aftermath of his pursuit of power, he did that no longer. Living life from the point of a human perspective; humans were naturally weak, their attempts to attain strength was piddling compared to the giant leaps that demons easily made.
And yet, they still endured. They would attempt to fight against those with insurmountable strength, even when the odds of winning were almost impossible.
He had been forced to endure such an existence when he split his body's human and demonic nature into two beings. Most of his demonic power stripped from his human half, with only the tiny amount available allowing others to fight in his stead as his body crumbled away. And as for his demonic half, even without what Vergil had once considered to be human shackles, he still lost. Brought low by his twin, one who fully accepted both his demonic and human natures instead of rejecting one for the other.
It had done much to humble his haughty belief that his own humanity was worthless.
Perhaps that was what his father, Sparda, saw so many years ago when he decided to betray his entire race to protect humanity.
This act of introspection was enough to make Vergil attempt something that he would have never bothered with were he younger: care.
"Translator. What is your name?" The Dark Slayer asked without bothering to look at the human walking besides him.
The man seemed slightly surprised at his stoic and uncaring traveling companion asking this. Then, he answered, "Dembe."
"Dembe, what languages can you translate and speak?" Vergil asked.
"English, Swahili, Afrikaans, Yoruba, and Igbo. Know only a little Oromo." Dembe answered. This slightly took Vergil by surprise, enough that he made a passing glance at the man.
"That's a diverse variety. Most find it hard enough to learn more than two." Vergil commented.
"Place I was born had many who spoke different languages. They would join a warlord, fight, then move on. When I became Moord Nag's commander, had men under me who also spoke many languages. Needed to learn." Dembe answered.
"Practical of you." The Dark Slayer said in his muted version of a compliment.
"Moord Nag only promotes those in her army that are competent. I was, until I wasn't." Dembe explained.
That did earn a side-eyed glance from Vergil. "If your competence was what elevated you to your position, then why did a single failure cause the woman to expel you? It's a waste." Vergil questioned as he considered the rashness of Moord Nag's decision.
"You slaughtered a good many soldiers of her soldiers under my command, Ibilisi wa Bluu. I led you to her instead of remaining silent, leading to you defeating her. Moord Nag gets enraged at every loss as it weakens her shadow spirit, Aasdier. Banishing me was her trying to lessen the loss." Dembe replied.
"Interesting…" Vergil said aloud. A demon who literally grew stronger from winning and weaker from losing was certainly unique. A creature like that was one that the Dark Slayer could say he hadn't encountered before. Though it did make him wonder how much Moord Nag had to win her battles to get the thing that large?
This seemed to be the end of Vergil's urge to converse as he went silent once more, something Dembe quickly realized and silently accepted. From the read he could get on the man's temperament within the past hour, he desired his requests and questions to be answered immediately, with little patience for delaying him.
That was in addition to the man's reserved nature, as most of what he'd asked Dembe had been direct and carefully chosen. The man lacked any desire for things of a superfluous nature, or at least he didn't desire them from those he didn't know. Dembe couldn't be sure which.
The one thing he could understand is that the man appeared to be as one who kept to his word and acted honorably. If he wasn't, then he would've killed Moord Nag after she gave him the information he wanted. There was little that Moord Nag, himself, or anyone else in the army could've done against this demon in the form of a man.
This man was powerful, but unlike most of the other warlords or capes, though Dembe thought them more like witches regardless of the title everyone else gave them, this man was calm and controlled. He wouldn't go off on a random killing spree unless he needed to or someone was to try his patience, a lesson Dembe learned with firsthand experience. Perhaps this demon in the form of a man would be willing to take him under his leadership. As it was right now, the former commander was nothing more than a banished soldier with a gun in hostile territory.
At least with the Ibilisi wa Bluu, he would have a higher chance to not have a bullet put into his brain by the first warband that spotted him.
As both men remained silent and deep in thought, it was a while longer until they finally arrived at the location that Moord Nag spoke of, one that Vergil instantly knew was demonic upon approach. Even without the multiple empusa milling about around the roots of the Qliphoth remnant, there was also the strong demonic presence that Vergil could feel being emitted by the area.
Oddly, for a place around a rocky desert region, there was a lot of plant life littering the area. Grasses, bushes, trees. But strangely enough, large green pods that were about six feet high.
As Vergil and Dembe approached, the empusa all turned to look at the pair before they began to half-skitter, half-hop over to duo with a ravenous hunger for blood. Yet, where Dembe was already firing upon the demons with his rifle, fear rife in his eyes, Vergil was calmly analyzing the area.
He could feel a greater demonic presence than just the empusa and Qliphoth roots. And it was moving towards them. Marking down where the presence was in his mind, he divested his attention from the greater threat for a moment to handle the minor annoyances.
With a wave of his hand, and to Dembe's utter shock and dismay, hundreds of mirage blades hovered over the heads of the charging demons like the Sword of Damocles. Then, they fell like rain upon the demonic insects, bisecting, impaling, and amputating their bodies until nothing but gore and body parts remained.
Having taken care of that, Vergil once more concentrated on the approaching demonic presence that he surmised was tunneling under the earth. The Dark Slayer grabbed Dembe's shoulder and the pair of them blinked twenty feet back as the earth, rock, and sand burst up, revealing a demonic being consisting of many dark root-like tendrils growing from its arms and back that were covered in razors.
Its head was similar to that of a Venus Flytrap, while its lower torso was that of a writhing mass of plant life. "Who would be the meat that has escaped from the jaws of Lucius?" The demon asked as his head turned to look at Vergil and Dembe.
"You aren't worthy of the effort to even tell you." Vergil replied as he let go of Dembe and walked towards the plant-like demon without hesitation.
"Arrogant, aren't you, meat?" Lucius replied as his writhing mass of a lower torso began to dig into the ground. "Not that it matters. Once I consume you, the snack behind you, and finish digesting the others humans, it won't matter." This made the Dark Slayer raise an eyebrow.
"Other humans?" He asked, still approaching Lucius at a steady pace, undeterred by any threats the demon made. At most, this was the equivalent to a demonic parasite that was likely siphoning off power from the Qliphoth's roots before attempting to feast on a larger portion of its power.
"You humans have kept arriving to my feeding grounds like clockwork. First it was some nearby wandering herd, then some others with weapons like the meat's standing behind you that came from the same direction you did. Some more that wanted to free the others. It's so convenient to gain sustenance when using the right bait." Lucius answered, making Vergil surmise that the human-sized pods scattered nearby the Qliphoth roots were likely the demon's captives and food.
"Nothing more than a lazing parasite." Vergil stated, earning a growl from the demon.
"I think that I'll tear you apart and lap up your blood instead of leaving you to be digested in my pods." Lucius threatened, yet Vergil's expression remained in its normal neutral state. One could even say that he looked bored.
"And I saw it was filled with graves, and tombstones where flowers should be." The Dark Slayer quoted as he slowly began to draw Yamato from its sheath. When it was about a fourth of the way out, the man blinked away before reappearing in the air near Lucius' head with the katana fully drawn and arcing downwards. Lucius had mere moments to throw a few bladed vines in the way to try and block the attack.
It only just worked, even if multiple vines were sliced through in an effort to block the strike. But in the blink of an eye, Vergil sheathed the blade at his side and made three quick draws of the blade, causing the distorted spheres of cut reality to cover the demon's head, earning a bestial howl of pain.
Most of Lucius' head had been shredded apart, yet at the cut sections, a green mixture of blood and chlorophyl bubbled up and his head reformed. In retaliation, numerous bladed vines and roots shot out to Vergil in an attempt to either grab ahold of the man or shred him apart.
Quickly, short and ethereal blue swords came to life spinning around the man, slicing apart any vines or roots that Vergil didn't cut down with Yamato. Then, with one final slice, the spiraling swords stopped orbiting the man and shot out in different directions, hitting a few more vines and roots along with Lucius' head.
Another blink and Vergil was back on the ground, with a few more Judgement Cuts to hit the demon, attaining further shouts of pain as they sliced apart the plant-like demon's head, raining blood, chlorophyl, and plant matter to the ground. "YOU ANNOYING PIECE OF MEAT! DIE!" Lucius screamed out in rage as his head reformed again.
A green aura covered the demon before larger roots shot out of the ground and stabbed straight for the Dark Slayer. This merely earned a scoff from the white-haired man as he disappeared in a blur of ethereal blue just as the demon's roots stabbed at where he had been. "Slow." He commented.
This merely angered Lucius even further as the roots and vines worked in tandem to stab, slice, and smash the man into a bloody corpse. And yet, each attack was dodged without much visible effort by Vergil, or it was returned with another Judgement Cut or a mirage blade hitting the demon's head again.
"It appears that you are more durable than first expected. Perhaps you are deserving of more of my attention." Vergil stated as Yamato was sheathed and a massive greatsword, the same ethereal blue as his smaller summoned blades, which crackled with blue arcs of energy, appeared in the man's right hand.
"I DO NOT NEED TO HAVE MY FOOD GIVE ME ATTENTION!" Lucius spat back while summoning even more vines, enough to completely surround Vergil. In one massive attack, the roots and vines all shot towards the man once again. It only managed to earn a smirk from Vergil as the sheath on Yamato disappeared from the shining blade which was held at the ready in his left hand.
A flare of demonic power coursed through Vergil, and Lucius felt a twinge of recognition from the dark-clad man before himself. He didn't get long to contemplated this as Vergil finally acted.
"There is no escape!" Vergil spoke out, his voice audible over everything else.
Following this announcement, Vergil's body impossibly spun forwards at speeds equivalent to a blender. His blades and body became a spear of spinning blue, silver, and black as any vines or roots that came near were first cut apart, then shredded, then reduced to atoms in the span of mere moments. The humanoid blender still continued forwards towards Lucius as the demon threw everything he could to try and slow down and stop the Dark Slayer. But it was all for naught as each attempt was cut apart and Vergil continued on.
Approaching Lucius' rooted lower torso, the humanoid blender cut around the demon in circles, slicing his roots from the ground before quickly shredding through Lucius as his body seemed to be sucked downwards. This only resulted in more of the demon's body getting torn apart as Vergil was now cutting around his upper torso, then his arms, Lucius' neck. Finally, Lucius' flytrap-like head gave out one last roar of defiance as it disappeared into the blender.
It was only after Lucius was nothing more than oozing plant scraps that Vergil finally slowed down and landed on his feet. Mirage's Edge disappeared as quickly as it had been summoned and Yamato was once more sheathed at Vergil's side.
Looking over his shoulder, Vergil examined his work as he felt a faint hint of demonic power remaining within those plant scraps. With a pulse, the scraps seemed to converge in a bright green glow before flying towards the Dark Slayer.
The ghost of a small smirk grew on his lips as he held out his right hand and caught an organic looking green and black whip edged with many tiny blades. A new devil arm formed of the remains of Lucius.
Allowing it to unfurl, Vergil swung it around himself, watching the blades along the whip shift size while the whip itself grew in length. A crack echoed from the devil arm as parts of the whip scraped across the ground, causing plants, vines, roots, and a sharpened tree to erupt from the ground. With one final crack, the grown tree was sliced in half and the whip wrapped around its trunk, the multiple blades along it preventing the tree from being released.
Effortlessly, Vergil spun the cut tree around himself before finally releasing it like a javelin at the mass of Qliphoth roots. Upon making contact, the tree stabbed into the Qliphoth roots, bursting the multiple sacks of blood contained within the mass before exploding into a growth of trees and flora. This was followed by all surround Qliphoth roots turning gray before falling to dust.
Satisfied with testing his new weapon, Vergil recalled it back to himself with a flick of his wrist before making it disappear in a short burst of blue flame.
Dembe soon ran over to the Dark Slayer, doing his best to avoid any of the plants in the area tripping him upon his approach. "Ibilisi wa Bluu, what magic was that?" The man asked in amazement.
Vergil was quiet for a moment, then he decided to humor the translator while walking towards a small grouping of the human-sized plant pods, "Upon defeat or death, demons have the possibility of transforming into a weapon known as a devil arm."
"Demons and devil arms? I know of demons, though these are not like the stories told to me or like the Endbringers." At Dembe's words, Vergil looked over to the man with a curious glance.
"'Endbringers'?" Vergil questioned as they neared the pods.
"Giant demons. There are three. The Leviathan, a demon of the oceans that sank Japan. The Behemoth, demon of the land that leaves a trail of fire and death. And the Simurgh, demon of the sky that drives men to insanity.
They travel the world and none know when they will attack. What is known is that they destroy, and that you should run when they come." Dembe answered for Vergil with a look of fear, as if expecting that they might be summoned through invoking their names. Now that was worrying to hear about.
What was Nero doing if these demons were wandering around causing this much havoc? He had to know, and a small hint of another emotion followed this inquisitive thought: worry.
"How long have these 'Endbringers' been roaming about?" Vergil questioned.
"1992 is when the Behemoth was first seen." Digesting what Dembe had just said made Vergil consider an altogether different, but no less annoying issue. If these 'Endbringers' have been creating a trail of devastation since 1992, then the Dark Slayer would have heard about it. Especially when he had been delving deep into his research on the occult and methods to attain power.
Vergil had little doubt that he'd have beelined for the creatures to try and test his power against them. That was a clear sign of this world not being the one he came from. Due to having traversed the Underworld before, Vergil knew about how little the laws of reality mattered in that realm. Its time and space were a twisted mess as its realms continually compiled on, absorbed, or dominated every other space with differing laws of reality.
But to try and confirm his thoughts about being in the wrong human world, Vergil asked, "When was the last 'Endbringer' attack?"
"It was Australia. Less than a month ago." Still not specific enough.
"Exact date and year."
"February 28th, 2011. Why do you ask this, Ibilisi wa Bluu?" Dembe questioned curiously, not exactly certain why the demonic man needed to know this information. Vergil's eyes narrowed as he found himself correct on his assumption.
Pulling out Yamato, Vergil gave a quick slice to the pods, releasing their captives in a gush of green liquid as tiny vines filled with their blood were pulled out of their bodies as they fell. Each person coughed out more of the liquid from their lungs after being exposed to the open air. Lucius probably prolonged his feasting on the humans to have a longer time of extracting their lives and blood for his consumption. Just like any other parasite.
Vergil went to the next set of pods with his sword cutting through them, releasing more captive humans. Dembe, despite having been a former commander of Moord Nag's army, it didn't mean he lacked empathy to try and help the released humans sit up and gain their bearings. Especially after they had suffered having their lives and blood slowly consumed.
Yet, while Dembe did this, and Vergil continued on freeing the captives, the Dark Slayer's mind was in a whir at contemplating this new situation that he, and possibly Dante, had landed in. This was definitely not their world. Nor was it the correct time, either. The massive creatures within the Qliphoth had pulled them through time and space to this different human world. For what exact reason?
The Dark Slayer could not answer that. Only guess that this random Earth was one of the many different possibilities that they could've forcibly been sent to.
It also meant that Nero wasn't here. Vergil could only hope that Dante had come to this Earth as well instead of having been sent to an entirely different Earth or realm in the Underworld. If that was the case, then Vergil was alone once again. This time, with the only tool possible that could aid him in searching for Dante. Strange to think that he was now looking for Dante once more. Though instead of the end goal being so that they could fight, now it was because Vergil wanted…his company, even if the Dark Slayer would never admit it to his idiot twin's face.
Even being separated for many years, Vergil knew that his twin would never cease with constantly teasing him and bringing such a revelation up. He already had heard enough incessant 'parenting' advice and taunts from the idiot to fill up a lifetime.
He would have to make a search of this world for the idiot once the Qliphoth remnants were taken care of. Vergil prayed that if Dante was in this same alternate world as he was, that the idiot wasn't making a fool of himself.