Chapter 1 – Sons of Sparda, Bound by Blood
The sky split in two with a roar of thunder as rain poured over the shattered ruins of an ancient cathedral. Fire danced across the battlefield, licking broken stones and charred statues that once honored the divine—now the stage for something far from holy. Two silhouettes faced one another amid the wreckage, their blades drawn, their hearts long fractured.
"Still running that mouth, Dante?" Vergil's voice cut through the storm like the blade at his hip. Yamato shimmered faintly in the dim light, humming with restrained fury.
Dante chuckled, resting Rebellion over his shoulder, crimson coat soaked but unmoved by the downpour. "What can I say? Some of us got the charm, others got… well, just the ego."
"You always were more fool than fighter."
"And you're still trying to fix a broken world with a sharper sword," Dante fired back, stepping forward. "But this time, I'm not letting you take another soul with you."
Without warning, Yamato flashed through the air—Judgment Cut. A blade of space itself. Dante barely twisted away, the edge slicing clean across his coat, a thin line of blood tracing his cheek.
"I warned you," Vergil said coldly.
And then it began.
Rebellion met Yamato with a deafening crash. The cathedral trembled as two legends collided—not as brothers, but as enemies chained by fate. Their blades danced through the storm, sparks casting their grim faces in bursts of light and shadow.
Dante caught a glimmer of hesitation in Vergil's eyes just as their swords locked again.
"You don't have to do this," he said, voice low.
Vergil snarled. "You never understood."
Another Judgment Cut. This one caught Dante in full—slicing across his side. Blood sprayed. He staggered, only to lunge back in, his blade catching Vergil across the lip.
Both stepped back. Breathing heavy. Lightning cracked.
With a roar, they both ignited their Devil Triggers. Wings of infernal power burst from Dante's back, while Vergil's form shimmered with spectral elegance and violent grace.
They charged.
Clashes rang like war drums. The ground crumbled beneath them. Blades whistled through the air. Punches shattered stone. A thousand strikes in mere seconds. Dante drove Rebellion forward—Vergil twisted aside, but was too late. The blade pierced his side.
But then—
Reality folded.
It was a trap.
Judgment Cut End exploded around Dante. His right hand flew from his body, spinning through the air in a mist of blood. He dropped to a knee, growling in pain.
"How do you cheat death time after time?!" Vergil's voice was raw, shaking with rage. He charged, Yamato raised.
Dante dodged—barely. Steel sang. Rebellion scraped across Vergil's shoulder.
Vergil countered with blinding speed, but Dante feinted—and pulled Ebony.
Bang!
The shot struck Vergil in the head. He staggered, dazed but alive. Blood trickled over his eye.
"You'll have to try harder," Dante said, panting, forcing himself to his feet.
The brothers surged again.
Clash after clash—missed cuts, parried strikes, counter after counter. They were no longer men. They were storms.
Dante's chest opened under Yamato's kiss. Vergil's leg buckled from a brutal slash.
"You should've stayed down," Vergil hissed, launching a series of rapid slashes that pushed Dante back.
Just as Vergil went for the killing blow—
A rocket screamed through the rain. Smoke. Fire. An explosion knocked Vergil aside.
"Lady?" Dante turned.
She stepped through the smoke, launcher in hand. "Miss me?"
But Vergil had enough.
Judgment Cut tore through the air—Lady never stood a chance.
Her body shredded mid-step.
Dante screamed, eyes blazing with fury. The storm inside him now erupted.
"No more."
He launched. Rebellion roared. He tore through Vergil's hand—finger gone.
Vergil retaliated in a flash, slicing Dante's ear clean off.
They were blood and rage, fury and regret.
Dante punched Vergil with full Devil strength—Vergil flew across the cathedral, crashing into a marble pillar.
But he rose.
He slashed Dante's stomach wide open. Guts spilled onto stone.
Trish arrived just as Dante collapsed to his knees.
"DANTE!"
But Vergil didn't hesitate.
Yamato sang once more.
Her head fell into his hand.
"This," Vergil said coldly, throwing it at Dante's feet, "is what happens when you get in my way."
He turned, vanishing into the encroaching storm. Lightning flashed behind him as the rain washed away blood and sin alike.