Worms May Cry
Acceptance – Chapter 3.1: All Nine Levels and No Matter What It Takes
[Vergil]
"We're right here, Ibilisi." Dembe stated while pointing to a map laid upon the hood of their truck. The caravan had taken a short break for the refugees to stretch their legs and relieve themselves. As for Dakarai, Dembe, and Vergil; the trio was going over a simple map of the area that had markings on it from what Dakarai and his people had encountered since they began their migration, and from what Dembe knew from his time in Moord Nags army.
From where Dembe pointed, the group were on the northern half of Congo, on their way to reach Cameroon. To the left of where Dembe pointed was an entire area highlighted which marked off a territory of one of the warlords. To the north of that in Sudan, a circle with an arrow pointing left marked where Dakarai's people had last seen Ash Beast moving.
Vergil was surprised to note that a few other monsters like Ash Beast had been seen rooting around the continent. The only difference between them and Ash Beast is that the fire-spewing monster was more noticeable than the others and traveled. A few other areas on the map were dotted with minor groups of interest that acted as 'governments' in the same sense that a gang would consider extortion money as protection.
While dealing with any warlords, 'governments', and capes on their path would be simple enough to the Dark Slayer, he didn't wish to deal with the tedium of such a thing and preferred to get to their destination with little distraction.
After a bit more time, the trio finally came to a decision on their path through a trail in the approaching rainforest. With this decided, Dakarai gave the announcement and the refugees began loading back up into the vehicles with Vergil, Dembe, and Dakarai filling into the truck once more and driving off.
A little under an hour later, and the caravan approached the rainforest, with a path chopped through the trees, and the dirt matted down from the years of people and vehicles traversing through it. Yet, Vergil's eyes noticed suspicious movement between the trees. Putting his hand up, just at the outskirts of the rainforest, Vergil called, "Stop here."
Dembe didn't even need to translate for Dakarai to understand that the Dark Slayer saw something of issue. As he stopped the truck, and the vehicles followed suit, Vergil got out of the truck and walked towards the forest, with Dembe following as he unslung his rifle.
As this occurred, Vergil's senses were proven correct as armed men in dark jackets with rifles in hands stepped out from the trees. The men all looked at ease, despite how Vergil and Dembe were armed. Their confidence in the encounter just radiated off of them.
One of the men, the one that Vergil assumed to be the leader of the group, spoke up in a language that the Dark Slayer couldn't understand. Looking over to Dembe, the man replied, "He asks what it is that we are doing here?"
"Tell him to move out of our way." Vergil said to Dembe, yet the man didn't need to translate as armed figure ahead of them laughed along with his fellow companions.
"Says ta' move out of our way, huh?" The man said with another round of uproarious laughter. "What brings a white boy from America down ta' Africa?"
Vergil's eyes narrowed at the man, but he held back any annoyance he had with a mask of stoicism. "I didn't arrive by choice, but I stayed because of duty."
The man's eyebrow rose up as a grin filled his face. "Duty, white boy? You a mercenary cape that likes ta' act all big and mystery-like?" As the man said this, he pulled up the collar of his jacket until it covered his head like a hood, then made a few waggling fingers.
His friends burst out into another fit of laughter as the Dark Slayer gave off a quiet growl while his teeth grit together. "If you assume that I am a 'cape', then why, I ask you, are you intentionally attempting to annoy me in some elaborate method of suicide?"
Pulling his jacket back down, the soldier slung his rifle across the back of his neck and rested both his arms upon it, as if taunting Vergil on how little he considered the Dark Slayer a threat. "Cause, white boy, you try something and Pop'll kill you."
This earned a raised brow from Vergil. "Pop?"
"Cape named after what happens when she does her trick ta' people." As if to emphasize, one of the men next to the leader mimed his head exploding with his hands.
"And what is it that you want?" Vergil asked in a bored tone as his eyes seemed to lazily look around the area.
The soldier looked past Vergil and at the line of vehicles behind him. Then, he stood straight up again, "You look like you got enough things ta' spare. How about you give a car or two, and some of the stuff you have in there? Think of it like…a payment so that we keep you safe, yeah?"
Dembe then whispered to Vergil, "Ibilisi, something is wrong. Men like these, they don't leave some, they take all. Unless, it is all these men can handle."
The translator's opinion gave Vergil pause to consider this. A reason for this could be due to a lack of manpower. Yet, from the uniforms that these soldiers wore, it would appear that they were part of a greater group…
Taking a slow inhale through his nose, Vergil looked to Dembe. "Go inside the truck, I'll be finished soon."
"Okay, Ibilisi wa Bluu." Dembe answered before cautiously heading back to the truck.
"So, you gonna be handing over the tax, Ibilisi wa Bluu?" The man questioned in a mocking tone, "Blue Devil, huh? You don't look like a devil, what do you think, Chike?"
The would-be mime held his fingers out in a rectangle like he was taking a photo of Vergil, "Doesn't look like one, Adedayo. Looks more like a angry vulture!"
All the soldiers started laughing, and Vergil's icy eyes focus on the movement he was looking for, before Adedayo spoke once more, "There we go, Bluu boy. We call you Blue Vulture. Sounds more appropriate, yeah?"
Vergil flicked his thumb on the tsuba of Yamato, allowing an ominous click to be heard by all the soldiers in the area. Something about this display, along with the gleaming edge of Yamato's exposed blade, put all the men on edge.
"Understand, I have a very low tolerance for my time being wasted. You are going to answer a few questions of mine, then step aside, or I will cut all of you to pieces and have Dakarai and his people drive over what's left."
This warning was precipitated by a primal fear among the soldiers as they felt that something else now stood there, beyond the form of a man. And as the sun shined down upon the group, Vergil's shadow seemed to change until a creature with horns, wings, and tail took its place.
Any humor that had once filled Adedayo quickly faded away as his eyes focused on that shadow, and then back to the man. He knew that feeling, or at least, something similar to it. "W-What are you?" He asked while slowly unslinging his rifle from his shoulders.
Vergil, unbothered by this, walked forwards without concern. A moment later, the crack of a far-off gunshot was heard, yet Vergil stepped aside, blue afterimages being left behind, before the bullet impacted the ground, creating a small crater that was unnatural for the size of the bullet.
And yet, Vergil continued his stride, slowly walking towards the men, dodging another shot in afterimages. This time, five blue swords materialized around the Dark Slayer, each one aimed at one of the soldiers, and one aimed at the sniper.
"Dembe calls me Ibilisi wa Bluu because he knows what I am." Vergil could see the sweat drip from Adedayo's brow, and he internally smiled since he could see the recognition in the man's eyes. "Do you want to personally find out?" A barely perceptible growl could be heard from the Dark Slayer as he asked this.
Almost unconsciously, Adedayo shook his head. Then, his hand shakily reached to the radio on his side and put it to his mouth, saying a few words in what Vergil recognized as French just as another shot rang out. This time, one of the summoned blades shot out to meet the bullet in the air, causing a minor explosion of blue and red upon both objects making contact.
Vergil barely looked fazed as another blue blade was conjured once more, aiming at the sniper once again. The Dark Slayer heard a female voice hastily reply back in broken French over the radio before Adedayo silenced her with a few more sharp words. "Uh, w-we don't wish for more trouble, Ibilisi wa Bluu."
A smirk grew on the Dark Slayer's face at how well he managed to cow the group with his intimidation. "First, you'll tell me why your people have likely been abandoned here?"
"The… The monsters came with dark plants. Some think them devils. They are like goats shaped as men who fly. They appeared, and not even bullets could hurt them as they'd block the shots. Our camp, our army, our capes, was torn apart, and we only got away because the monsters were busy with the rest."
Crossing his arms, Vergil had an idea of just what he might be dealing with. "How many people were in your army?"
"332. One night, and the monsters tore through them all. Now, not sure how many are left? The monsters went after those running, joined by other creatures that came from portals with arms made of blades. Most didn't escape."
More types of demons. In addition, the number of humans being slaughtered would supply quite a few demons with blood that would enhance their power. Annoying, but easily dealt with. "Was there anything else that attacked you?" Vergil slightly expected that such a bloodbath might attract one of the stronger demons of the Underworld, but it also might not.
Adedayo shook his head. "No. Just the monsters we saw. Not certain on if anything else came since my friends and I got away early."
"How far from your old camp would you say we are?"
"15 kilometers or less."
Hearing such an answer pleased the Dark Slayer as he now knew that it wouldn't take long to arrive at this Qliphoth root site, especially with vehicles taking them the entire way. With this decided, Vergil gave the man a stern look. "That is all I need to know. Now, what shall I do with you?"
That caused the soldier to pale in worry. "We-We told you what y-you wanted, Ibilisi wa Bluu!" Chike spoke up.
"Yes, you did. That's what spared you from being slaughtered immediately. But trying to steal from these people, which also was to steal from me, is a parasitic act which I find much harder to forgive." Without a single motion, the five mirage blades moved slightly closer to each of their targets. "Give me a reason to not rid the world of a few more thieves."
Adedayo let his gun fall to the ground and raised his hands in surrender, an action copied by his fellow soldiers. "W-We know the land. We can show you spots ta' rest, eat, drink." The man offered.
The mirage blades moved slightly closer, "I already have Dembe, Dakarai, and his people for that. Anything else?"
"We are soldiers. Trained. Better than others you'd find." Adedayo looked over Vergil's shoulder to the caravan behind him. "They don't look like fighters. We are, we can protect them if you are…busy. Yes?"
The Dark Slayer followed the soldier's gaze and thought about it. He likely wouldn't be around the group forever, and they did lack much in the way of fighters besides Dembe and himself. There was also the one cape they called Pop to consider. Having another with beyond human ability watching the refugees would be a benefit.
"You agree to protect these people and follow the orders that I, Dembe, or Dakarai give?" Vergil said, receiving nods and affirmations from the soldiers before Adedayo spoke into the radio. A few moments later, the voice gave back an annoyed reply.
"Yes. Pop also agrees, Ibilisi wa Bluu." Adedayo stated, getting a small grunt from Vergil. "She'll be here in a few minutes."
With his arms folded, Vergil patiently waited until a woman dressed in clothes of mottled browns and greens approached the group after coming out of the nearby trees. Slung on her shoulder was a tall rifle, almost the size of her entire body. Unlike her comrades, she had a distinct eastern appearance, with dark eyes and short hair.
When she finally joined the group, standing next to Adedayo, Vergil asked, "And what are your abilities besides just making explosive bullets?" The woman looked over to Adedayo who had to translate for her before she gave a reply back.
"Pop knows little English. French is her second-best language ta' Mandarin." Adedayo explained first before translating, "Pop says that her ability allows her ta' touch a thing ta' make it explosive. The more it travels from where she first touched it, the stronger the boom is."
Vergil gave a hum of interest. That was quite a unique power, and it made the Dark Slayer ponder if there was a limit to the distance needed for the object to travel or not? He'd have to find out later. For now…
"All of you, split up among vehicles that have room to spare and protect the people within. If something happens to the people within, it will be your heads." With this order, Vergil headed back to the truck with Dembe and Dakarai sitting within and rejoined them after slamming the door shut. At the same time, the forcibly conscripted soldiers all made way to vehicles with room and took position within them.
Adedayo ended up sitting in the truck bed behind Vergil, Dembe, and Dakarai.
"What happened, Ibilisi?" Dembe asked.
"I recruited a few more guns to protect the refugees." Was the Dark Slayer's response before he motioned to Dakarai to drive.
Within half an hour, after having to pass through the trees, Adedayo knocked on the back of the truck and called out, "We get close, Ibilisi!" Though, the soldier's warning wasn't fully necessary as Vergil could sense the demonic power that drew near. It was after coming into a clearing that Vergil called for a halt.
In the distance, Vergil, Dembe, and Dakarai could see the ruins of a camp, now engulfed by the twisting dark roots of the Qliphoth. Nearby, the floating forms of 13 of the goat-like demons known as Baphomets seemed to surround a spot that they were channeling their magic into. While each of these demons were larger than a normal human, the size did little to hide how physically weak each of these demons were due to how skinny their bodies and limbs were. It was why they focused so deeply onto magic where other demons would physicality.
From the way the power that these Baphomets were manipulating felt to Vergil, he'd guess that these demons were trying to tear open a larger hole connecting the Underworld to the human world. That was something that the Dark Slayer couldn't allow. He'd have to kill them quickly before they could try to cause more damage to the barriers separating the worlds.
At the same time, Vergil noted the Hell Judeccas, tall and almost skeletal-like demons covered in black fabric-like material that covered them like a robe while twisting purple filament covered their torsos like worms and branched off into arms ending with scythe-like blades. He could count 15 of the creatures that looked to be feasting off of the human corpses strewn about.
It was time to deal with these worthless creatures.
Vergil quickly hopped out of the truck and looked to Dembe. "Stay here and stay back. I'll deal with these pests." He looked to Adedayo and said, "You, tell your soldiers to deal with any stragglers that may come your way. The woman, Pop, her ability should handle the shields of any Baphomets, the goat demons, that come your way. After that, utilize your weapons on them as they are relatively weak without their defenses. Hell Judeccas are slow, but tough. Aim for the head as their torsos are their toughest point."
With these words given, Vergil disappeared in a blur of blue afterimages before arriving just outside the ruined camp. A slight flare of his own demonic power, and the Hell Judeccas and Baphomets turned their attentions to the approaching white-haired man.
"Enraged & stifled with torment." Vergil tauntingly drew Yamato a quarter of the way from its scabbard upon approach before disappearing. A moment later, the Dark Slayer reappeared in the middle of a group of the Hell Judeccas and fully drew out his blade upwards, followed by a flare of demonic power that lifted the demons off the ground and into the air. "He threw his right Arm to the north."
Blue ethereal blade spiraled around Vergil's body as he followed his prey into the air, slashing Yamato's blade in a spin that allowed the demonic sword to bite into the hardened flesh of each demon. The spiraling mirage blades continued the assault, slicing further into their darkened hides, "His left Arm to the south."
Defying gravity, Vergil kept himself and the four Hell Judeccas in the air and gave a few more slashes until he quickly resheathed Yamato and quickly drew it out five times. Spheres of sliced reality covered the Hell Judeccas, ignoring the durability of their bodies as cuts appeared all across their forms and rained blood in all directions but Vergil's.
With a final spin in the air, the Dark Slayer teleported back down to the ground and gave one final slash of Yamato, cutting a vacuum into reality that began sucking in the falling demons to be crushed and ground into nothing. "Shooting out in anguish deep, and his Feet stampd the nether Abyss."
Vergil walked away from the dead demons towards the next group of Hell Judeccas with an amused smirk on his face. Yet, each Hell Judecca stepped backwards into portals of flame and darkness, disappearing from the battlefield for a few moments.
Swapping out Yamato for the gauntlets and greaves of Beowolf, Vergil concentrated a portion of demonic power into his left fist that he held up into the air. Around him, the ground cracked as chunks of earth were ripped loose and started to hover into the air. "Rest in peace."
Then, he slammed it to the ground as the five Hell Judeccas stepped out of portals surrounding him with their bladed arms swinging down in deadly arcs. The Hell Judeccas didn't even have time to comprehend what happened as a massive explosion of blue and white erupted outwards from the Dark Slayer in the shape of a dome. By the time the energy had finally subsided, all that stood remaining was Vergil, with Yamato once more at his side.
By now, the Baphomets had fully focused their attentions upon Vergil, chanting in demonic tongues as blue circles of magic spawned to life around them. These pathetic creatures required concentration for their craft, something that the Dark Slayer had no intention of allowing.
With a wave of his hand, hundreds of azure swords appeared above the chanting Baphomets and fell like rain, bouncing off of the protective shields that formed around the goat-like demons like a bubble. It was all these demons could do to maintain their shields against this relentless assault.
The remaining Hell Judeccas went to work, with four entering portals of flame and three stabbing their bladed arms into the ground and filling it with conjured hellfire. That hellfire took on a life of its own as the flames traveled through the ground towards Vergil, creating miniature geysers of flame that erupted from the ground for each second they grew closer.
Finally, the last three opened up new portals; except, unlike their brethren, instead of entering, new demons came out of the portals. They appeared smaller than they Hell Judecca, as skeletal figures wearing ragged, hooded robe with crowns of thorns. In their hands were wicked, serrated scythes made more to rip flesh than to cut it. These were Hell Caina.
The Hell Judeccas were trying to conjure a small army to overwhelm the Dark Slayer as more of them continued to spawn from these portals. This only received a smirk from Vergil. "If you wish for my death," An instinctual warning made Vergil flick up Yamato's sheathed form as the bladed arms of one of the teleporting Hell Judeccas tried to swing upon him.
Vergil's parry forced the Hell Judecca's arms into the air, leaving it open for Vergil to summon the ethereal form of Mirage Edge to hand and impale it into the demon's head. "You'll need a bigger army." The almost imperceptible sound of blades slicing through air echoed in Vergil's ears from behind.
Without even turning to look, the Dark Slayer moved the demon impaled upon his sword behind himself, hearing the wet noise of blade meeting flesh. At the same time, the geysers were almost upon the white-haired man. So, with a blur, Vergil arrived amid the growing army of Hell Caina with Lucius now in hand.
Not giving the demons time to react, Vergil whirled the whip around himself, catching a heavy swath of them off their feet and in its grip. Another pulse of demonic power through the devil arm, and vines and roots stabbed into the demons before Vergil let the creature fly free from the whip and towards the Hell Judeccas that had summoned them.
The Hell Judeccas were about to step through their own portals to escape the attack until a new rain of phantasmal sword fell upon them, impaling and delaying the creatures long enough for the Hell Caina flying at them to finally explode into a burst of trees and plants, stabbing through and killing the summoners in one fell swoop.
Just as the Hell Caina still remaining were to charge at Vergil, the geysers of hellfire that had been following him, unguided by any other will than to terminated the Dark Slayer, began taking out the summoned demons on their way towards Vergil.
Blinking to the conjurers of the hellfire, Vergil swapped to Beowolf and performed an overhead spinning kick upon the first Hell Judecca, smashing into its head, creating a burst of gore, as the rest of its body slammed into the ground from the momentum. Another blink, and Vergil appeared by the second Hell Judecca with an uppercut that lifted the demon from the ground, "Up you fly!"
Another blink, and the Dark Slayer arrived above the creature's flight path with Mirage Edge in hand and his arm pulled back, "Down you go!" He swung his sword down, splitting the creature in half as both he and the demon's pieces fell back to the earth. The final Hell Judecca was about to go into a portal until the Dark Slayer flew forwards to the demon with Mirage Edge outstretched and stabbing.
The first stab impaled the Hell Judecca, then Vergil's arm and blade became a blue blur as it began stabbing the demon so fast and repeatedly that the Hell Judecca's body was becoming more reminiscent of flesh in a blender than anything that was actually once living with form. With one final stab, Vergil finally sent the remains of the demon through its portal. He noted, with a small hint of amusement, that the Hell Judecca's portal opened next to a group of three remaining Hell Caina and spat out the remains upon them, killing the creatures through both the force that the remains were fired out and from the bladed arms that cut apart anything that hadn't been crushed.
Vergil's gaze quickly fixed upon the three remaining Hell Judeccas, and a simple wave of the man's hand, mirage blades orbited the bodies of each creature, bladed ends aimed at their victims. Like a macabre judgement of execution, Vergil closed his hand into a fist, signaling for the blades to stab forwards and bisect each demon by their torsos.
With those foes subjugated, the Dark Slayer looked to the Baphomets, their shields almost broken as they strained to keep them up against the continued rain of mirage blades. A quick tracing of Vergil's eyes to each of the goat-like demons, and he swapped to Yamato, breaking into a draw stance as he did so. A swift 13 draws, and spheres of cut reality subsumed the Baphomets, breaking their shields and bodies into pieces that rained upon the ground in bloody chunks.
With the demons defeated, Vergil looked to the pulsing, bloody core of the Qliphoth root and conjured an array of mirage blades that stacked onto either side of himself. With a simple command, the blades flew directly at the demonic plant, bursting the core in a shower of blood.
At the sight of his own completed handiwork, Vergil smirked as a word came unbidden from his lips, "Jackpot."
It took him a moment to realize what he said, and the man internally cringed a second later, burying his face in his hand from the sheer embarrassment. Vergil was thankful that Dante wasn't here to witness him say that…
[Establishing Connection: Video Call – PRT Director Meeting]
Chief Director Costa-Brown, a Hispanic woman with long, dark hair, brown eyes, with the right having a scar going over it from a prior injury that had amazingly not damaged her eye. Then again, she wasn't the only director of the PRT that had old battle scars. Quite a few of them had been field agents until being promoted to their position.
The director had a stern expression on her face as she read through the report on her desk. Her eyes skimmed over the document before she looked up to the screen. "How much of this report has been seen by anyone else, Director Ford?"
Director Arthur Ford, overseer of PRT activities in Kansas, had dark skin and shaved head. Like Costa-Brown, he also held a trio of scars going down the side of his chin. The man's eyes held a tiredness to them that was shared by most of the other directors in the video call.
"Currently, only the Protectorate agents, Hollow-Fist and Space Tunneler, along with a few other officers of the PRT and Protectorate, are aware of what was said by the cape designated as…" Arthur found himself verbally sighing at trying to say the name with any kind of seriousness, "…Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man, otherwise known as Dante, said to them about the creatures."
"Not that keeping a lid on what the cape said means much." Director Samuel Burn spoke up. The director of PRT activities in New Mexico, younger than the other two directors, had trimmed blond hair and the aura of one who hadn't been a combatant. "Doesn't help that the video of the fight with the creature called Judecca ended up on PHO."
"Claims aside," Director Rick MacGrath, overseer of Michigan's PRT activities, interrupted. The man had graying brunette hair and tan skin, with bags growing under his eyes. "While the man might be…excentric, I'm not above waving off the idea that Dante is from an alternate Earth where these creatures exist. They could even be natural instead of creations of a biotinker."
Chief Director Costa-Brown nodded in agreement. "Much of what Dante has said, from this business named…" Costa-Brown flipped through the papers she had, as if attempting to recall prior information from the report, "Devil May Cry, alongside any image, documentation, or any other type of footprint has come up empty. As it stands, Dante doesn't exist under any normal capacity that we have looked into."
"And abnormal?" Director Ford asked.
"That is where a unique problem comes in."
The other directors gained looks of worry or shock. "What problem?"
"I've had our thinkers and precogs looking into him. That was a mistake…"
"Mistake?!" Director MacGrath spoke up, joined by the mutterings of the others.
Chief Director Costa-Brown's expression turned dark as she answered, "Any that tried to look directly into the man's history, or even attempted to analyze him, are currently in the hospital. The lucky ones woke up after a day, with the only information gleamed being the word 'Sparda'. The unlucky ones are still catatonic or in comas."
"That was the name of the one both the creature Judecca and Dante claimed to be his father." Director Burns remarked. "Is there anything besides that name which we can find out? What about those creatures?"
A morbid quirk appeared on Chief Director Costa-Brown's lips. "While not as…violent a reaction like studying Dante was, our precogs experienced heavy migraines and could only gleam as much information as these creatures have been seen on our planet. Looking further, especially after the attempt with Dante, was concluded as being hazardous to their health."
"Not that I find this meeting to be of no import," Director Samantha Reily, head of the PRT in New Orleans, interrupted. The woman had Asian features, with sharp hazel eyes and her dark hair tied in a bun. "But why bring us directors into this meeting specifically? Why not the rest?"
"All of you were called to this meeting due to the Qliphoth entity that has been reported in your cities or states. From what we've seen and heard so far, the creatures follow with the entity." Director Costa-Brown answered.
"Speaking of these creatures. With what Dante has spoken about these 'devil arms' that he's been seen utilizing, there comes the massive issue with public safety." Director Ford questioned with a grave look of concern. "If they can actually transform back into the monsters he's been killing after an unknown period, he could be a walking bomb that will lead to civilian casualties and destruction!"
"There is also the issue that we lack any idea on how many of these devil arms he has on his person. Do we have any protocol being put in place for such a situation?" Director Reily asked.
Chief Director Costa-Brown shook her head. "Currently, while Dante has shown a benevolent nature in helping civilians and removing the Qliphoth entity and…demons without issue, he has shown a disdain for authority. Given that his full capabilities aren't known, it would be unwise to try and force compliance for any type of protocol we have until after we've gained a greater measure of his abilities or built any form of rapport with the man."
"Hmph, building rapport is easier said than done with how often the man is moving. We don't even have a method to contact him, aside from whenever he arrives to a city with capes or PRT officers." Director Ford pointed out.
That was when Director Burns spoke up, "That wouldn't fully be the case." All the directors seemed intrigued, aside from Chief Director Costa-Brown who maintained a neutral expression. "I have had the Protectorate agent, Orange Dawn, follow Dante since he left New Mexico. She's one of the capes in the area that can keep up and monitor him, even act as a liaison if need be."
"Can we have her hand off a cellphone or some communications device to Dante?" Chief Director Costa-Brown requested. Director Burns nodded.
"It's doable. I can inform her about the procedure. She might already have something on her suit, otherwise she can pick up a device when she approaches the next city with Dante."
"Good. Handle that immediately, along with informing Orange Dawn about her new role." With a nod of confirmation from the man, Chief Director Costa-Brown continued, "As for this devil arm business, we will have two procedures. The first; keep as much knowledge of this from the public as possible, both about how they're made, which we'll publicly just treat as a power specific to Dante, and their resurrecting status. We do not need the panic, or some would-be idiots getting the idea that they can get powerful tinkertech-level items by killing these monsters. Besides dealing with possessions, since Dante reported that these weapons would Master any who lack the mental fortitude for them, there would also come casualties from people trying to pick fights with these creatures on the off-chance of such a reward.
The second procedure is that any cape or PRT officer who encounters these weapons are to call it in, set up a perimeter around them, and wait for a containment team to arrive. Following this, they are to undergo Master protocols as a precaution."
"What about protocols for Dante?"
"At least one member of the Protectorate and a squad of PRT are to quietly follow Dante in any city that he stops by. Additionally, we keep round-the-clock surveillance on him, besides just Orange Dawn." Director MacGrath then decided to interrupt.
"May I make one addendum to the procedures, Chief Director?"
"Go ahead."
"We want to build up rapport with the man?" Chief Director Costa-Brown nodded, interested in seeing where the man was going with this, "He's shown to be easily bribed with pizza and sundaes. Have Orange Dawn or one of our other agents buy him food in each city he goes to. After all, he's been kept from leaving an area twice now by buying him food."
Chief Director Costa-Brown considered this for a moment, then she nodded. "We can spare a reimbursement budget for anyone, Protectorate or PRT, that buys Dante food. We'll put it as another step in what we will label the 'Dante Protocols'. In addition, we will also set aside a payment budget for Dante. The man has said that he was essentially a mercenary, and while he does have a fixation on handling the Qliphoth entity and demons, he can likely be persuaded to perform other work for the correct financial incentive."
None of the directors showed any disagreement with the idea. "And are we actually labeling these creatures as 'demons'? Don't you think that will cause potential issues with the public?" Director Reily asked.
"We put out a blanket statement that these creatures are not related to any biblical beliefs. It's just what they are being designated due to public consensus." Chief Director Costa-Brown then flipped to another piece of paper, "On the matter of the Qliphoth entity, any spotted are to be neutralized immediately in any capacity that is possible. If able, all agents need to target the red boils that grow in clusters of the entity's roots first before other targets."
An image appeared on the screen of the attendees that displayed a root cluster with glowing, red pustules that pulsed in a disturbing manner. "Since these animate the root entities and allow more demons to appear, it's better to remove them immediately to prevent other demons from arriving and overwhelming any teams sent in to take care of it. Now, for another matter-"
[End Connection]