Hi everyone, welcome back to Fairy May Cry. Before we begin, there is one thing I want to address…
Yes, I saw the recently released Devil May Cry series on Netflix, and I personally found it very enjoyable. I know that a lot of die-hard Devil May Cry fans don't like the series, and that's fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I'm not here to start an argument between fans. I already had to deal with that nonsense on one of my other stories. My point is, you're all probably wondering if I plan to include any elements from the series into my story, but I can neither confirm nor deny any of it. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself.
And I'm sure that there are some people on here who seemed uninterested in my choice to do an arc based on Vergil's past, and again that's fine if they're not interested. I'm still going to write it, but do not worry, this arc is very small, and we'll get back to the main story soon. But this arc is still very important to my overall story, and there's more to it than just being Vergil's past. So, bear with me, even if you can already guess how it's going to end.
With all that said, let's get started!
Cold as Ice
"So… you're here to pick up Nayla?" The elder of Kale said in his personal office, sitting at a table across from Son and Kikya.
"For her own protection, yes." Kikya confirmed. "A clan of dangerous demons have been targeting her, so Master Wu had sent us to bring her back to the monastery."
"Yes, I was the one who requested his help." The elder confirmed. "Ordinarily, I'd ask a guild, but they're all too far away, and your master is one of the strongest people I've met. I'm certain he can help protect her."
"Yeah, about that…" Son spoke up. "We heard that Nayla is somehow capable of increasing the power of demons, how exactly does that work?"
"It's her magic." The elder explained. "To put simply, she can amplify dark energy." That got both of their attention. "Be it dark forms of magic, such as shadow manipulation, dark runes, whatever is reliant on darkness… she can increase that power."
"And since demonic power is considered a form of darkness as well…" Kikya realized.
"It is possible she can make demons stronger, yes." The elder confirmed.
"That's… certainly an interesting ability." Son commented. "Not sure how it can be used in a fight though…"
"Nayla is no fighter." The elder told him firmly. "She's such a gentle soul that she wouldn't even hurt a fly. That's one of the reasons why I called for your aid in picking her up."
"Ow!" Son felt a flick on his head by a partially annoyed Kikya.
"Forgive my friend, he's one of those punch-happy types." She said. "But, I promise we'll take good care of her."
"I'm sure you will. Everyone will miss her dearly." The elder said with a sad smile.
"What about her family?" Son asked. "She got parents or anything?"
The elder's smile faded as he looked down. "Her parents passed away when she was very little. She was more-or-less raised by everyone in the village, everyone here thinks of her as their child, or sibling depending on how old they are."
"Another orphan…" Kikya and Son both looked to each other in sympathy. It seemed like that they and everyone else staying with them at the monastery was an orphan. But before their discussion could continue… there was a slight chill in the air.
"Hey… does it feel a little cold?" Son asked as he rubbed his bare arm.
Kikya breathed and looked in surprise to see her breath being visible, a trait that was common in cold environments. That was odd, it was nice and warm a few minutes ago. Both she and Son felt a shadow stretch over them from the window next to them and acted immediately.
The girl drew her war fans while the young man drew his staff and lunged it forward, a flame at the tip of the staff to strike a creature that broke through the window, one that resembled a frozen humanoid skeleton. At the same time, Kikya had spun her war fans around her to generate a series of cherry blossom petals to protect and shield the surprised elder. The force of Son's fiery thrust was enough to obliterate the skeleton with one strike. That's when they and the elder looked out the window in shock to see what was happening outside.
Aside from a blanket of snow that appeared out of nowhere and fell to the ground from the unnatural clouds that had just formed in the sky, multiple frozen skeletal monsters had begun swarming the village, tearing apart every structure they saw. The villagers all screamed and panicked as they tried to find some form of shelter. Though there appeared to be no casualties at the moment, that could change in a heartbeat.
"Son…!" Kikya alerted.
"I know!" Getting serious, the orange-clad young warrior leapt through the broken window and straight for a trio of frozen skeletons, spinning his staff around as both ends light on fire. With a powerful swing, Son obliterated all three skeletal monsters in one strike.
This drew the attention of about a dozen surrounding skeletons, all of whom drew their weapons and surrounded Son to attack him from all sides…
"Whirling Blossom!" Multiple streams of cherry blossom petals shot out to surround Son before combing and expanding to take the form of a pink tornado-like attack, which not only shielded Son from the enemies, but also sliced through them all like a series of microscopic blades that cut so fast that the skeletons were reduced to splinters of bone and ice before they even realized what had happened.
Kikya appeared at Son Goku's side, both back-to-back with each other as they accessed the situation, noticing several more frozen skeletal monsters scattered throughout the village. "Seems like the Ghelgath Clan's making their move." Son said seriously. "But I'm guessing that these guys are just a distraction to keep us away from Nayla."
"Good guess. But I think Vergil might have already found her, knowing him." Kikya replied. "You go and find him, help him and protect Nayla, I'll take care of the minions."
"You got it." Son then leapt like a monkey for the nearest rooftop and used that same sort of agility to bounce from rooftop to rooftop, looking for his friend and their charge, leaving Kikya alone as she soon faced off against the remaining skeleton monsters.
Yet despite the numbers being against her, the brunette fan-wielding warrior didn't so much as bat an eye as a small whirlwind of pink flower petals picked up around her. "Attacking this village will be your final mistake."
Nayla hid behind a large rock as she saw Vergil dash straight for Coola, the enormous iguana-like demon lifted his fist up with the intent on smashing him. Fortunately, Vergil dashed past him just as the punch hit the ground where he was previously at, freezing it on contact and causing it to smash into a small crater. Vergil appeared behind Coola and performed a powerful quick draw of the Yamato, slicing at Coola's side and creating a large bleeding cut. And while it wasn't fatal, it was still enough to spill a great deal of blood and cause Coola some pain.
In retaliation, Coola quickly slapped his tail at Vergil, who pulled up the sheath of the Yamato to block it, but the force of the tail strike was enough to send Vergil crashing through several trees. Though the young Son of Sparda did flip while in the air and recovered to land on his feet, he was momentarily surprised to see Coola suddenly upon him ready to throw a punch at him, which Vergil dodged before using the sheath of the Yamato to bat away the other arm and leave Coola open for Vergil to lunge the Yamato forward with the intent to stab him. Only for Coola to quickly grab the sword with the hand he previously punched, much to Vergil's shock, which left him open for a spit second to allow Coola to bite into Vergil's shoulder, causing him to yell in pain before he rapidly spun and sliced his katana, shredding up Coola's hand and forcing to let go, giving Vergil a chance to kick himself off the large demon and gain some distance while the iguana-like demon tended to his lost arm.
Leaping a good ten feet away, Vergil however fell to his right knee as he felt a sudden shot of cold in his right shoulder where he previously had been bit. Using his free hand, Vergil took off part of his shirt, glancing in surprise to see the skin around the bite mark turn purple as all the feeling and sensation he had in that area was now gone. He could just barely feel his own right arm as it was. In fact, he only just now realized that he was starting to slow down and not from any kind of exhaustion, but the fact that the temperature in the area had dropped even more since the fight started.
"This is your power…" Vergil narrowed his eyes at the recovering Coola. "It's not a form of ice magic or anything, you remove the heat from whatever is around you!"
"Ah, smart boy." Coola observed. "Yes, that is my ability, to draw out the heat from all around me. Be it the air itself or even living beings, such as yourself who are dependent on your own body heat for survival."
"And those minions of yours… victims of your own power… drained of their body temperature…!" Vergil glared as he hoped he would buy himself enough time for his body to heal due to his father's blood running through his veins, but it was taking far longer than normal.
"Many of them are indeed those I've drained of their heat, but I did not animate them. That is the work of my father." Coola answered. "And you're hoping that your own father's blood will allow you to heal from my bite and recover your own body heat, right?"
Vergil narrowed his eyes even further. This demon was clearly smarter than he'd let on.
"Honestly, I'm offended that you'd think I wouldn't figure out an obvious diversionary tactic." Coola commented as he marched his way to Vergil, who stood up to meet him. "Even if Sparda's blood runs through your veins, you are still half-human. It'll take some time before your body can recover, not that I'll let you of course. I'm going to kill you and take that girl home with me. And with her power, my family will finally have the right to claim what has been denied to us for so long!"
Vergil glanced back towards the hiding Nayla, who looked at him in fear and worry, not fear for her own safety, but his own. The minute he saw her frightened look, he saw his own scared expression when he was a child and the demons attacked his family's home. When he saw that, he clenched the Yamato tighter into his fully functioning hand and glared up at the demon in front of him.
"You will not lay a finger on that child! I said before that you would die here, and I intend to keep that promise!"
Nayla looked at him with even more worry, but also amazement. This man was willing to risk everything to protect her, even though he had literally just met her. One look and she knew that he meant every word. He was a brave and kind man.
"Make all the proclamations you want, it won't change anything!" Coola roared as he lifted both his fists up with the intent on smashing Vergil as he readied to swing the Yamato forward…
Only for a large fireball to fall down from the sky and strike Coola up front with explosive results, sending the large demon skidding back several feet, who could only look in growling surprise to see Son landing on the ground in front of Vergil, flaming staff at the ready.
"Dang, you look a little rough, Vergil. This guy giving you a hard time?" Son said somewhat jokingly, while Vergil himself was a bit surprised to see him. "How about I tag in then?"
"Do not let him touch you!" Vergil warned immediately. "He can drain your body heat upon contact! He's also draining all the heat from the air around the whole area!"
"Huh, so that's why it's so cold." Son said as he bounced up on his feet, as if he were warming himself up for a big event. "And I got just the cure for that! Blaze Skin!" An aura of flames covered Son's skin, which took the form of something akin to a monkey before Son spun his staff, generating a large wheel of flame before attacking. "Scorching Sun!" He threw the fire wheel at Coola, who actually stood to catch the fire wheel with his only hand, and just before it could explode, all the flames were absorbed into his palm as a trail of heat could be seen from within the demon's body, and suddenly, all of the injuries he sustained from Vergil healed, including his shredded hand.
"Thanks for the help. I do appreciate it." Coola sneered.
Son Goku was somewhat surprised before looking frustrated. "Welp, nobody said this was gonna be easy." Despite that, he rushed forward just as Coola did himself. Coola swiped his tail at Son, who leapt up high above him to dodge before hoisting his staff up and gathered a great deal of fire from the furthest end of it, generating a great deal of force that added more to the swing as Son brought it down on Coola's head, creating an impact crater underneath the demon as well as a large crack on the ground. The flaming Son then landed in front of Coola as he recovered to try and bite at him, only for Son to lunge his staff up into Coola's throat and before he had the chance to bite down…
"Blaze Thrust Times Three!" A concentrated thrust of fire shot out from the end of the staff in Coola's throat, one that glowed a bright blue, and even pierced through the back of his neck, causing the demon a great deal of pain as he backed away before throwing a punch at the blazing Son, who caught his fist with his staff before jamming one end into the ground, pulling Coola down with him. "Blaze Pillar!" A long stream of fire shot out from the end of the staff and into the ground, which ended up causing both to be launched high into the sky, almost like a line of fire from the pole itself caused it to extend to great lengths. When they were well above the tree line, Son spun around with both hands on his staff, gaining much momentum, before delivering a double kick into Coola's face to send him crashing into the forest that was away from the village, tearing up several trees and creating a large impact crater.
The blazing Son kicked a fireball from his feet to propel him towards Coola's direction, only to look in surprise to see all the surrounding trees becoming frosted over, as well as all the surrounding plants. And in the middle of it all, was Coola, whose previous injuries were healed up rather nicely and even grew some added muscles, all from the internal heat all the surrounding plants had that he had now absorbed into himself.
"You're an energetic one! But that fire aura you have can only keep you warm for so long before the flames die out!" Coola leapt high into the air to meet Son before he could counter and brought both his hands down onto him to send him crashing into the forest as well before falling after him. "Absorbing the heat does not just heal my injuries! It increases my own strength as well! And I'm going to drain you dry before I do the same to the Son of Sparda and claim that girl for me and my family!"
Thankfully, Son rolled out of the way to avoid the crushing impact that all but obliterated the ground he was previously on. Though he was quick to get back up, he noticed the fire aura around himself was starting to dim.
'He's not wrong…' A smile fell on his face though. 'But for someone who knows who his target is and who Vergil is, it hasn't quite clicked just yet what those two being together means.'
Vergil groaned in pain as he held his still injured and discolored shoulder, as well as frustration at himself. How could he have let himself get incapacitated loke this?! He let himself get too emotional! He should have taken Nayla and ran away from the village, somehow sent a message to Son and Kikya for them to find him and all three of them together could have slain him! Son Goku was strong, but given Coola's abilities, he may not be able to hold his own for long! As much as he loved his mother, he cursed his human blood from her… in that it was slowing his healing and preventing him from rejoin the fight.
"Don't move! I'll help you!" Nayla had ran out to him.
"No! Nayla, get back!" Vergil tried to stop her, only for Nayla to already be at him as she pressed her hands to his injury.
Suddenly, to Vergil's surprise, a dark purple aura had enveloped him. And the minute it did, he felt a surge of energy rush through his veins. The discolored skin around his injured shoulder began to return to its natural color, and the nasty bite mark he sustained had also healed up. In a matter of seconds, Vergil was completely healed. Not only that, but he also felt his own strength had gotten a serious boost. He felt almost twice as strong as before.
Vergil looked down to Nayla as she crouched on the ground in exhaustion, taking a moment to collect her breath before she looked up to him with a smile. "How…? How did you...? Are you… a healer…?"
"Not exactly…" She said tiredly. "I can amplify dark energy, that includes demonic power…. That monster said… you were Sparda's son… so you're a demon, right…?"
"Half." Vergil confirmed as it all clicked for him. Nayla had enhanced his own demon power to accelerate his healing as well as probably amplify his strength. Now he understood Master Wu's claims on how her power could make the Ghelgath Clan stronger. But he could also tell that using this power was also draining for her… If these ruthless demons were able to get a hold of her, her well-being would be the least of her concerns. They would drain her dry!
"Go on… Help your friend…" Nayla encouraged.
"I can't leave you…" Vergil refused to leave her alone.
"Go!" Kikya suddenly ran onto the scene, to Vergil's surprise. "I've already cleared out the village, so there's no more enemies around! But I'll keep watch over her!" She put her hands on Nayla's shoulders. "You go and do what you do best." She encouraged with a smile.
Vergil knew he could trust Kikya with Nayla's safety. Out of all his fellow students at the monastery, she was the most dependable. "Alright. Thank you." He dashed into the forest, leaving the two girls alone.
Kikya watched with a smile as she saw him dash away and happened to catch a knowing grim from Nayla down below. "Is he your boyfriend?" She asked, which only caused Kikya's face to turn red.
With the speed and agility of a monkey, Son leapt and spun around from tree-to-tree, only for each tree behind him to be uprooted as Coola charged and smashed his way through every obstacle to get to his quarry.
"Stand and face me, human!" Coola slammed his fists hard on the ground, sending a tremor that tore up much of the trees in front of him, including the one that Son had just leapt to, but this caused him to lose his grip and fall to the ground. But as he fell, Son threw his staff to the ground, which imbedded itself into it, allowing to land on it with his hands as Coola charged at him and Son spun to try and deliver a double kick…
Only for Coola to bite down on his legs, causing Son to cry out as the fire aura began to drain and any Coola's body grew even more, his strength further increasing.
"You are merely a monkey! And like all primates, you are beneath me!" Coola boosted as he continued to drain the heat. "Not even fit to serve as prey…!"
*SLICE!*
Vergil suddenly appeared in-between them, his katana sliced outward to slice at Coola's throat, forcing him to let go of Son, who looked with a smile to see his comrade arrive as he fell to the ground behind him.
But Vergil wasn't done yet. He sheathed the Yamato and took a stance before concentrating a great deal of demonic power, which had been enhanced thanks to Nayla, and performed a quick-draw into Coola's body, which delivered with the force of twenty Yamato slices, slicing away much of his outer skin and armor, with the force alone being enough to send Coola flying through several trees.
"About time you showed up." Son joked as he picked himself up.
"You were bit in the legs." Vergil said. "Should you even stand?"
"Don't worry, my Blaze Skin took most of the damage, so I'm good." Son assured as the most he had were a few tiny cuts on his legs. "And it looks like your shoulder's good as new." Son congratulated as he patted Vergil on the aforementioned shoulder. "Nayla's power really is something, isn't?"
"You knew of her ability?" Vergil asked in minor surprise.
"Yep. The elder told us." Son confirmed. "And I figured you'd needed a breather anyway so…"
"You lured our enemy away and allowed Nayla the chance to heal me." Vergil realized as a small smile appeared on his face. "It seems you really do have a brain."
"Course I do. Just because I'm not book-smart doesn't mean I'm stupid. What do you take me for?" Son replied.
"You don't want to know the answer to that." Vergil commented, only for Son to playfully punch him in the arm.
"Jerk."
A roar broke off their banter, causing the two to turn to see Coola emerge from the pile of broken trees. The pair immediately noticed the air in that area becoming so cold that it would be difficult for anyone to breathe, with even the surrounding trees frosting over and drying. All the heat in the area was being forcibly drawn by Coola to heal the injuries he's sustained, albeit slowly.
"I will say this! He is not a quitter!" Son commented. "Too bad he's got serious tunnel vision though!"
"Is that so?" Vergil inquired, an idea forming in his head.
"Yep. Guy completely forgot about you and Nayla. He was too focused on me." Son said before noticing a glint in Vergil's eyes. "Oh-ho, I know that look! Vergil's got a scheme going!"
"Form a Ring of Fire around him." Vergil instructed. "Replenish the air so that we can sustain ourselves. You hit him from the right, I'll strike him from the left. Break his focus so he can't counter or heal himself and try not to use your fire. Do not stop until he's dead."
"Oh yeah! I can get behind that!" Son grinned as he rushed to the recovering Coola.
"Damn Son of Sparda…!" Coola cursed as he tried to heal his injuries. "How could he have healed so quickly…!?" His eyes widened as the answer dawned on him. "That damn child! Half-breed or not, he still has demon blood! She used her powers to enhance his healing! How could I not have thought of that?!"
"Yeah, might wanna work on that tunnel vision of yours!" Son called out from above as he flipped in the air and lunged his staff onto the top of Coola's head and used a bust of fire from the other end to generate enough force to push the staff and Coola hard onto the ground before Son landed in front of him.
"Ring of Fire!" Spinning his staff high above him like a helicopter blade, a ring of fire with a radius of fifteen feet, encircled Coola and the surrounding area. All the cold and frost quickly melted as Son took a moment to breathe the unfrozen air. "Ah, ain't that nice and warm?"
"Idiot!" Coola bellowed as he stood up. "Did you forget I can absorb your heat to replenish myself?!"
"Yeah, I know." Son flashed him a confident grin.
"Too bad you won't get the chance to do so!" Vergil appeared at Coola's side and performed another quick-draw attack, aiming for the wound he already inflicted, spilling a great deal of demon blood across the ground. Vergil then jumped and spun in the air, the Yamato pointed outward as his whole body was like a spinning bladed top as he sliced Coola all across his side, causing him to yell in agony.
The iguana-like demon turned to see Vergil land on his feet and was prepared to attack him, only for Son to come up on his other side and spin his staff rapidly, making sure not to generate any fire, as he rushed his face and struck him repeatedly with his spinning weapon before jumping to deliver an knee strike to Coola's jaw followed by a mighty staff slam to the side of his face, sending him careening towards Vergil…
Who sliced the Yamato straight upwards to send Coola careening up, exposing his open chest wound again as Vergil performed a series of rapid slashes at that very same spot, cutting deeper and deeper. Coola tried to bring his fists down on Vergil while he was in front of him, only for Son to catch both his fists with his staff and deliver a series of rapid kicks to Coola's face while Vergil aimed for that spot, slicing faster and faster, using all the extra energy Nayla gave him, as well as his own adrenaline, all while Son kept Coola's arms hooked and kicked him rapidly in the face to keep his focus broken.
'No! I will not lose to a filthy half-breed and a monkey!' Coola tried to swing his tail towards Vergil, which Son noticed.
"Incoming tail!"
Vergil ducked instantly and sliced upwards to completely sever Coola's tail, who continued to roar in agony before throwing his hooked fists out towards Vergil, who saw in slow motion that Son was about to hit him, and yet despite how deep he cut, he wasn't close to any vital organs yet. If they were to pile on top of each other, that would give Coola an opening to grab and drain them both. Unless…
He had to time this perfectly!
"Son!" Vergil yelled as he sliced the Yamato hard into the already carved wound in Cooler's body, cutting deeper and embedding his blade deep within, blood spraying everywhere as Coola roared in agony, all while Son continued to fall and Vergil pushed himself closer into Coola. "Staff to sword! Boost it!"
Immediately picking up what he was trying to do, Son lunged his staff forward, the end of his staff striking the back of the katana. "Reverse Blaze Thrust Times Five!" The back of his staff ignited with such fire and force that it almost looked like a rocket, propelling the Yamato in further.
Vergil and Son both yelled as they pressed all their strength to push the Yamato deep enough to completely slice through.
*SLICE!*
Coola's entire body was cleaved in half as Vergil and Son both slid past him, his upper severed half falling over on the other side as the demon's own eyes were widened in shock.
'I don't believe this…! Me…! Coola… Eldest son of the Ghelgath Clan… bested by a monkey… and Sparda's spawn...!' He thought as he watched in slow motion, the backs of the enemies who had slain him. 'Why didn't I focus on that half-breed trash…?! I let him go…! I let… him… go…!'
His last thoughts would be of regret before his severed front half landed with a thud on the wrecked ground, with his lower half falling backwards just as Vergil and Son fell to their knees, taking a moment to catch their breath as they used their respective weapons to prop themselves up.
"Smart thinking… my pole…and your sword…" Son said in-between breaths.
"Good execution…" Vergil commented. "Thank you… for your aid…"
"Anytime buddy…" Son patted Vergil on the back with a smile and a chuckle, to which Vergil gave a small smile himself. "Hey… look at that… your smiling…" Son noticed, which only caused Vergil to look away, feeling rather embarrassed. "Aw… such a shy boy…" Son teased with a laugh, only to get cut off as Vergil jabbed the sheath of his sword into Son's gut. Son nearly buckled over as he gave a comic pout. "Cheap shot…!"
"You had it coming…" Vergil remarked, but a ghost of a half-grin did appear on his face as he was turned away from his companion.
Kikya continued to stand, ready for a fight as she remained close to Nayla, who seemed to have recovered her own strength as she sat on the ground. Though the two girls were quick to notice the temperature returning to normal. The clouds in the area parting ways to reveal the bright and shinning sun.
Not long after that, they saw Vergil and Son emerge from the woods, causing Nayla to smile widely as she got up to run to them while the smiling Kikya walked. "You made it back!" The younger girl exclaimed in joy.
"I can assume the demon is no longer a threat then?" Kikya asked.
"Yep. He won't be bothering us again." Son confirmed as he gave a thumbs up, to which Nayla jumped up in joy with a cheer. Kikya then looked to Vergil with a smile and a nod, to which Vergil nodded back. "So, how's the village?"
"A little wrecked, but nobody died, thankfully." Kikya answered. "But we should leave."
"Agreed." Vergil nodded. "Although, I imagine Nayla would wish to at least let the villagers know that she's alright."
"Hmm, mmm." The younger girl nodded in confirmation. "Guess I'll be saying my goodbyes after all."
"And on that note, it may be best for us not to take the train back to the monastery." Vergil said, much to Nayla and Son's surprise.
"Why not? Shouldn't we get this girl back quickly?" Son asked.
"There is a strong possibility we could be attacked on that train and endanger more innocent civilians." Vergil explained. "Coola said he was the Ghelgath Clan's eldest son, meaning there will be more attacks. But if we walk the rest of the way, do our best to avoid any settlements, there is less risk of anybody else getting caught in the middle of this."
"Vergil's right." Kikya understood. "It may take a while this way, but it does leave our options open if we were to be attacked." She looked to the younger girl again. "Is that alright with you, Nayla?"
"Sounds good to me." Nayla nodded. "I don't want anybody else being caught up in this either."
"Okay, when you put it all like that, I guess walking the way back does make sense." Son granted as they made their way back towards the village. "So, got any idea what the other members of this demon clan are like?"
"Not sure, but we'll probably find out soon." Kikya answered.
"That Coola was plenty tough. And his ability to steal heat was certainly something." Son said. "I wonder if the other guys got similar powers if they're all part of the same family."
"That would make sense." Kikya seemed to get it. "But I doubt that it's all exactly the same."
As the two talked, Vergil noticed Nayla sticking to his side as she looked up to him with a smile. "Thank you." He told her. "For your assistance in healing me."
Nayla gave an even bigger and toothy smile. "I'm happy to help! Mr. Son of Sparda!"
The half-demon gave a slightly annoyed groan, having a feeling that this girl is gonna be pestering him with questions about his father and family throughout their journey.
However, some distance away from the village, within the woods, in an area that was not the sight of Vergil and Son's battle against Coola, was the same hooded figure that had watched Vergil and his group enter the village, and make contact with Nayla. This figure had witnessed their battle and victory against Coola as well. Without a word, they then sunk back into the forest, disappearing into the shadows, and leaving no trace of their presence.
After saying her goodbyes to the rest of the village as they began to rebuild, Nayla met with Vergil, Son, and Kikya as they began their long trek back to the monastery. Thankfully, they had a map of the region, showing all the nearby towns and cities that they could avoid as to not drag any innocent people into the inevitable fight they would soon have with the rest of the Ghelgath Clan.
For the first few hours, it was a reasonably peaceful, no demons or even bandits attacked the group. And during this time, Nayla made some interesting conversations with Son and Kikya…
"So… you guys don't use magic?" She asked in confusion.
"Oh, we do. It just has a different name to it." Kikya explained. "Where we're from, our techniques, what you call spells, are called jutsu; while magic and magic energy is referred to as maho."
"And what do you call wizards where you're from?" Nayla asked, looking ever fascinated.
"Sages." Son answered. "Kikya and I here are sages. It's all more-or-less the same thing, just named differently like Kikya said."
"Oh, and where are you guys from? You're clearly not from Fiore or even Ishgar." Nayla noted.
"The Kingdom of the Sun from the Eastern continent of Guang." Kikya answered. "And our country's pretty much the biggest one on that continent. Though there are several smaller ones scattered throughout the continent, the Kingdom of the Sun does more-or-less rule the land."
"What about guilds? You guys got those too?" Nayla asked.
"No, our kingdom doesn't have guilds." Kikya said. "You could say we have something of a military-police who help to keep the peace as well defend our land from any foreign invaders. Though they are separated into four different groups who oversee a specific region in our land: the Teal Dragons group oversees the east, the Vermillion Birds protects the south, the White Tigers look after the west, and the Black Turtles guard the north."
"Hey, fun fact about those guys. You heard of Celestial Spirits?" Son brought up to Kikya, catching Vergil's attention as well.
"Oh, yeah! I've heard about them!" Nayla perked up. "Wizards from our land summon them using keys! We got silver keys mostly, but there's also the twelve Zodiac who are summoned by gold keys! I read about them! They look so cool!"
"Well, we got four keys of our own called the Jade Keys." Son revealed, much to Nayla's surprise and awe. "We call those guys the Four Symbols. And each of those four groups Kikya mentioned are named after them."
"Wow! That all sounds so cool!" Nayla's eyes lit up with stars.
Kikya giggled. "Aren't you cute and curious?" She ruffled Nayla's head, while the younger girl giggled.
"This is all really cool… but what's even more cool… is that guy!" She pointed to the young man who had trailed behind him. "The Son of Sparda! I've read stories about him, but I've never actually seen him myself! I had no idea he had a son!"
"Yep, that's right." Son threw a friendly arm around Vergil's shoulder. "Cold and stoic Vergil here is the tried-and-true son of the Dark Knight, Sparda! Oh, and Sparda's a huge figure in our land too!"
"That's really amazing!" Nayla sped up to Vergil with stars in her eyes shinning brighter. "So, what was he like in person?! Like I said, I've read the stories, but I never actually met him! What kind of powers did he have?! And if you're his son, who was your mom?! Did she have any cool magic powers to?!"
"I'd rather not discuss this." Vergil said with finality as he brushed off Son's arm and picked up the pace to walk past Nayla and even Kikya. "I'll scout ahead, make sure the path is clear." He said to her before making his way deeper into the forest, causing Kikya to look with sympathy.
"Oh… did I say something…?" Nayla asked with worry. "I didn't mean to upset him."
"Don't take it personally, but his family is a very sensitive subject for him." Kikya said to her. "Only our master knows the details, and we chose not to pry."
"But, underneath all that brooding cold warrior stuff, he's a good guy." Son assured with a smile as he patted Nayla's back. "You'll learn more about him soon enough."
Nayla nodded in understanding but still couldn't help but look with worry towards Vergil. Just one look at him, and she could tell that he was the type who tries to carry the heaviest burden on his own shoulders. And while he seemed strong enough to hold it, one can only hold that kind of burden so long before it ultimately crushes them.
After spending the whole day traveling, the group of four came to a stop in the woods when night had fallen. A campfire had been set up, with little issue thanks to Son's fire jutsu. Nayla was already fast asleep, exhausted from the whole day of walking while the other three sat on a series of logs that surrounded the fire.
"Well, someone's sleepy." Son observed the slumbering girl.
"She's probably not used to long treks like this." Kikya assumed. "And we should get some sleep ourselves."
"We should also have someone up to watch for any enemies." Vergil said seriously. "We may be away from any civilization at the moment, but this is still an ideal time to strike."
"You're right." Kikya agreed.
"I'll keep watch tonight." Vergil volunteered.
"No." Kikya said bluntly.
"No?" He raised an eyebrow.
"No. You are going to get some sleep." She told him, even pointing in his direction.
"I'm fine." Vergil replied. "All my injuries from that fight have long since healed…"
"But you're tired. Like I said before, you may be half-demon, but you're not immortal." Kikya said. "And before you even talk about how Nayla gave you all that extra power before, we both know that power is long spent. You just finished a rather exhaustive fight, in which Son had to help you. You are getting some sleep mister, and that's final."
Vergil narrowed his eyes and looked ready to deliver a counterargument, only for Son to step in-between them and raise his hands up.
"Okay, okay, how about this? How about, we all take shifts?" Son offered. "Kikya will stay up for a few hours, keep watch; then she goes to sleep, and I take watch, and then it's Vergil who takes the last shift till morning. This way we all get sleep and rest. How's that?"
"Hmmm, I think I can go along with that. Good idea, Son." Kikya said to him, causing the orange-clad young man to smile brightly. "Vergil?"
Realizing that this was probably the best he could get with them, the half-demon gave a single nod. "Fine."
"Good, now you get some sleep, mister." Kikya told him, to which Vergil rolled his eyes as he set down off the log he sat on, propping his back against it as his front faced the dark forest behind him before he closed his eyes. "Thanks for the help." She said to Son.
"Yeah, figured the guy would try to avoid sleep altogether this time of year since he gets all those nightmares." Son said, surprising Kikya. "Like I said, I'm not book smart, but I'm more observant than you think. He always has trouble around this time. Still, everyone's gotta sleep. Even him."
Kikya smiled. "Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels that way. Now you hit the hay too. I'll let you guys know if something happens."
"You got it." Son stretched his arms back before letting himself fall backwards off the log he sat on, lying flat on the ground as he immediately began to saw logs, causing Kikya to chuckle before she got up.
Taking a brief look around the area, Kikya walked around the fire to look down over the log where Vergil was at to make sure that he wasn't faking it. She could see that his eyes were closed and judging by how relaxed, or how close it could be with him anyway, he was at least trying to sleep. It was still progress at least. And while she was glad that he was indeed trying, she also pitied him in how she expected him to start having these nightmares again and can only wonder just what kind of dreams he had in order for him to try and avoid sleeping altogether.
An eight-year-old Vergil sat on the wooden horse outside in his family's garden, some distance away from the house that he, his brother, and mother called his home. He and Dante had just gotten into another one of their scuffles, which incurred the wrath of their mother who threatened to punish them by wedding the garden for the rest of the day, despite it being their birthday. And in a fit, the young boy ran out to the garden, wanting to be alone and read the book of poems that his aunt and uncle let him keep…
Only to realize that he had just forgotten said book at the house as he sat on the bench alone.
"The book… Ugh! He's so annoying! I didn't promise him anything in the first place!" The young Vergil complained.
"What's wrong, Vergil?"
Looking down in surprise, the young boy looked in shock to see his younger cousin appearing out of nowhere, holding something in her arms, as she looked up to him with curiosity and sympathy.
"L-Lucy…?" Vergil blinked.
"Did you and Dante get into a fight?" She asked.
Vergil looked away with a pout. "It was his fault! He was the one who started it!"
"Family shouldn't fight each other! They're supposed to love and hug each other!" Little Lucy protested, to which Vergil looked further away. "You look mad… you need a hug!"
"Wha…?" Before he could protest, Little Lucy jumped onto him, tackling him off the horse as she tried to wrap her arms around him and he tried to push her back. "Lucy! Stop! I don't need a hug!"
"Stop fighting it! It'll make you feel better!" She reached for him with her tiny arms despite him pushing her away. Realizing how she wasn't going to stop, Vergil let go and allowed her to wrap her arms around his body, burying her face into his chest. "Feel better?"
"No." He groaned.
"Then it hasn't kicked in yet!" She tightened her grip around him.
Rolling his eyes, the young Vergil looked to see what Little Lucy had brought out with her. It was the book that her family had let him keep, the one he forgot at his house. "You… brought my book…?" He said in surprise.
"Yeah! You love that book, silly!" She looked up to him with a smile. "But not as much as I love you!" She resumed her hug, smiling brightly.
Vergil smiled as he patted her back. "I love you too." He then leaned back, lying flat on the ground with his younger cousin still on his chest and clinging to him like a monkey, he decided to allow himself a chance to rest and relax, enjoying the peace with someone that he loved.
But the second he looked up, he saw a series of spears coming straight down to him!
Acting on instinct, Vergil grabbed his cousin and rolled out of the way to avoid the spear slashes that tore up the ground and wooden horse they were at. With Little Lucy screaming in terror, Vergil held her close as he looked up in shock to find who it was that was suddenly attacking them.
It was a trio of demons! All of them looked like humanoid skeletons with all the flesh appearing inside their skeletal frames, along with several horns poking out of the sides of their skull heads, almost like crowns. And each of them the same type of a weapon, spears that appeared to be made out of bones.
"Vergil!" Little Lucy screamed as she clung to him.
"D-Demons…?!" Vergil gasped, still holding his cousin tightly, even as he rolled to the ground to dodge the swings of their spears, keeping his cousin held tightly with one hand, while still holding his book of poetry in the other. "Why are they here?!" He wondered aloud in a panic. "I have to warn them! Mama and Dante are home!"
"Vergil…?" Little Lucy looked up to him with desperate pleading, prompting him to run as fast as he could, carrying his cousin with him.
"I got you…! Your big cousin's got you…!" He tried to give what comfort he could, speaking in the same kind of manner his mom would whenever he was scared. "We'll go home and…!" Vergil stopped dead in his tracks when he saw something that made his heart stop, his eyes widening like circles, and his blood run cold.
His house… was on fire…!
Suddenly, the book of poems that he held in his right arm was burst into flames, causing him to scream as he dropped it, while still holding his cousin in the other…
*PIERCE!*
A bone-spear had stabbed him in the back, running through not only him… but his cousin as well!
Blood spilled everywhere as Vergil's pupils shrunk as he looked down towards Little Lucy, who looked up to him in fear and despair, despite the blood oozing out of her mouth.
"Vergil…" She was then yanked from his grip by one of the skeletal demons before the other two kicked him to the ground and began to pierce him repeatedly with their spears. "VERGIL!" He could only watch helplessly and in pain as he saw Little Lucy being swallowed whole by the skeleton who held her.
"NO! LUCY! MAMA! DANTE!" Vergil cried out as he found himself sinking into a puddle of his own blood, crying and screaming, but his voice rendered mute as he tried desperately to swim back to the surface… only for more skeleton-hands to reach out and grab him, pulling him deeper and deeper into the dark abyss.
"Vergil…!"
He heard a voice ring through his head. It sounded familiar… a woman's voice… but it wasn't his mother's… or even his cousins….
"Vergil! Wake up!"
Wake up…?! Wake up from what?! This nightmare that was his childhood?!
"VERGIL!"
*SLAP!*
A slap across his face had awaken Vergil from his nightmare, causing him to instinctively grab the Yamato and was ready to draw it in an instant, only for Kikya to hold his arm firm, having been the one to slap him awake.
"Vergil! Nayla's gone!"
His eyes widening, the Son of Sparda looked to his side, to where the campfire had been previously set up. Only for said campfire to be extinguished completely, and the only source of light being a fireball in Son's hands as he too was now wide awake.
And true to Kikya's words, Nayla was gone.
"What happened?" Vergil demanded.
"I don't know…!" Kikya said. "The fire just suddenly went out… and then I heard Kikya scream! Son woke up and used his fire to get some light… and then she was gone!"
Vergil broke out of Kikya's grip as he grasped the handle of the sheathed Yamato. "We are not alone."
All three circled together as they readied their respective weapons, with the ends of Son's staff lighting on fire to provide more illumination.
"Hey, Mr. Demon! We know you're here!" Son called out. "Probably someone from the Ghelgath Clan, right?! Come on out! Let Nayla go, and we'll at least make your death painless!"
"I have a better idea." Kikya crossed her arms like an x and opened her war fans before performing a dance, moving around her two male comrades, who shared eye-contact with each other as they recognized this dance, and knew what jutsu that she was about to use. "Sakura Field!" As she danced, and waved her fans, countless pink cherry blossom petals scattered across the area. A pink ring then formed around all three of them, which quickly spread as a field of cherry blossom petals emerged, the whole ground and surrounding trees being covered with them as this whole section of the forest was covered in the bright pink flowers.
A growl drew all their attention as they looked to the top of one tree directly in front of Son, to see the flower petals cover something, something that resembled a skinny humanoid creature, which leapt down from the tree, landing on the ground in front of the trio to reveal itself.
It was a tall, humanoid chameleon with a skinny frame, almost like the complete opposite of Coola. Its lower body was dark grey, including its tail, which led up to its waist. Its arms were a pale blue along with its back, with an almost white chest that went up to its neck as the pale blue stretched to the back of its head, where four curved horns appeared, pointing backwards. It had a chameleon-like face to it with red eyes and a bright pale blue gemstone embedded in its head.
"Those wretched flowers…! I hoped I could leave here without a fight, but I suppose that this was inevitable."
"I'm guessing you're with the Ghelgath Clan?" Kikya assumed.
"Indeed. I am Furosuto, youngest son of the Ghlegath Clan." He introduced himself.
"Tell us where the girl is, and we will see to it that your death is painless." Vergil warned.
"Careful…" Furosuto warned as his chest appeared to turn to snow as Nayla herself partially emerged from it, much to the trio's surprise. The girl's whole body was ensnared by restraints that appeared to be made out of solid and tough snow, with even her mouth being covered to prevent her from screaming. She looked to all of them with tears of fear in her eyes and gave muffled cries to them. "Unless you wish for her to die as well."
"Coward…" Vergil cursed.
"This girl belongs to us, now." Furosuto said as he pushed Nayla back into his body, causing her to vanish completely. "And you won't do anything but die by my hands!" He gave a sinister cackle as he leapt up into the trees and appeared to flee.
"After him!" Kikya exclaimed as the trio ran in pursuit.
Son acted first as he jumped to the side of one tree and leapt from that to a nearby tree branch and leapt to continue his pursuit of Furosuto, the pair looking like a monkey leaping to chase after a leaping reptile with their speed and agility appearing to be equal as the chameleon-like demon leapt from one spot with Son jumping after him. Getting tired of this chase, Son swung his staff to send a fire ball at the tree that Furosuto was about to reach, causing it to blow up and cut off the demon's escape route.
"Gotcha!" Son leapt towards him, his blazing staff being pulled back as he prepared to strike his enemy.
Only for Furosuto to reveal Nayla again, still bound and gagged within his snowy body. Her muffled screams caused Son to halt his attack but was still heading toward them, to which Furosuto threw out his left arm, which stretched out even further to form a long lance made of ice to slice at Son, cutting across his body and causing him to fall to the hard and unforgiving ground below.
The chameleon-like demon chuckled sinisterly. "Humans. So predictable." Suddenly, the tree he was standing on was cut down and split clean in half, causing it to break apart and sending the demon and his captive falling towards Vergil who prepared a quick draw as he positioned himself to where Furosuto would land.
'I'll cut his head off swiftly and avoid Nayla!' He thought to himself, only to look in shock to see plums of snow shoot out from Furosuto's back which took the form of dragon-like wings made entirely out of snow, which he used to glide over Vergil and land behind him. Acting quickly, the snow wings melded and molded together to take the form of ice spikes, which Furosuto shot out at Vergil. Acting quickly, the Son of Sparda used the Yamato and his sheath to bat and slice the projectiles away.
However, as he did, he failed to notice a trail of snow quickly coming his way across the ground and appear behind him just as Vergil finished deflecting the attack. The snow reformed into Furosuto's body as his right arm took the form of an ice-blade, which he lunged at Vergil… Who saw the glint of light from the reflection of the Yamato and acted on instinct to use his sword's sheath to block the attack before getting ready to thrust the Yamato forward…
Only to stop instantly as Nayla's face was revealed again, the tip of his katana less than an inch from her eye. This left Vergil open for him to be impaled in the stomach by Furosuto's left arm, which was now in the form of an ice-blade.
"I saw your battle against my brother, Coola." Furosuto leaned in close to speak into Vergil's ear while he also shifted his right hand in the form of a snake made of snow, which he used to bind and ensnare the arm that held the Yamato, making sure that Vergil's hand was stuck on the grip of the katana, and he was unable to move. "You're Sparda's spawn. And just like him, you're too affectionate for these weak humans as they are for themselves. That makes you as weak as them, and so achingly predictable."
A vertical wave of flower petals was sent out to sever Furosuto's arms from his body, pushing him away from Vergil and free his limbs, who quickly used this to slice his Yamato and try to decapitate Furosuto, whose head melted into snow and into his body, which then collapsed into snow, taking Nayla with him before slithering away as Kikya came to Vergil's side.
"You good?" She asked.
"Get Nayla…!" He told her as he held his stomach wound. "It's not as bad as it was against Coola… I'll be fine…!"
"Son's after her! He'll keep that demon busy before we come in!" Kikya said.
"No, he can't! His power is no match for that demon's." Vergil stated as he picked himself up. "It's not like how it was with his brother. Coola could absorb heat and use it to heal himself and increase his strength. Furosuto can alter the appearance and structure his body, changing it from snow to ice to his natural form. That's how he's keeping Nayla close to him."
"But if he has such a complex shapeshifting ability, it means his body has to be weak." Kikya realized. "He even said that he wanted to avoid a fight. The right amount of hits should do him in. But as long as he still has Nayla…"
"I have a plan, but I need your help." Vergil told her. "Kikya, will you lend me your aid?"
The girl was somewhat surprised by this, but she then Vergil an assuring grin. "Look at you. Asking for help. Maybe there's hope for you after all."
The cluster of snow moved with such grace and speed across the ground that it seemed like a snake or even akin to an eel swimming through water. This did not go unnoticed by Son as he leapt after it from tree branch to tree branch before appearing over and leapt down to intercept the demon in question.
"You're mine!" His staff lit on fire and it seemed like he was about to strike Furosuto when he seemed vulnerable. But then, Nayla was revealed again, her mouth still covered as she gave a muffled scream, but Son just gave an assuring grin as he lunged his staff upward slightly. "Blaze Thrust!" He shot a stream of fire just ahead of where Furosuto would be, creating a wall of fire upon contact with the ground that forced Furosuto to stop as he appeared to reform his body and pulled Nayla back in.
"So, the monkey thinks he's outsmarted me." The demon mused with his back turned to his enemy who ducked to the ground and swung his blazing staff towards Furosuto's legs to turn into snowy-dust and allow Son's attack to pass through like mist, much to Son's shock. Even more so as Furosuto's tail wrapped around Son's neck, tightening around it and pulled him up as Furosuto's body shifted so that he now faced his enemy directly. "But I'm afraid that even the smartest monkeys pale in comparison to my intellect."
"Oh really…?" Son grinned. "If you're so smart… then how would you handle this? Blaze Skin!" An aura of flames enveloped around Son's body, which did seem to burn and evaporate his tail, causing Furosuto to growl somewhat as he backed away, but his growl turned into a sinister smile.
"Cute, but you seem to forget who I've got with me." His chest partially turned to snow to reveal half of Nayla's face, mostly her eyes, while her mouth was still covered. "I imagine your fire power would be rather fatal to this poor girl, and you wouldn't dare harm this child."
"Neither would you." Son pointed out, causing Furosuto to raise an eyebrow. "You and your family need her alive, right? Otherwise, you would have killed her the moment you showed up. Same for your brother. The fact you're even using her as a hostage is dead giveaway."
Furosuto glared but maintained his composure. "Hmm, there is brain in there it seems."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Son smiled.
"While it's true that we need this girl alive, she doesn't necessarily have to be in perfect condition." Furosuto said as he allowed one of Nayla's arms to emerge from his chest, which he promptly grabbed, much to Son's shock. "How about I snap off her limb? Or you burn it off?"
"Don't you dare…!" Son protested in anger, only for Furosuto to shoot his foot forward, which stretched out with a snowy-plum and the tip of his foot hardened with extra-hard ice, as well as spikes, which he used to strike Son in the gut and push him back, cutting at him too.
"You left yourself open with that." Furosuto sung as he quickly appeared behind Son and smacked the back of his hand, which took the form of an ice-mace. Though Son did duck at that and tried to retaliate by thrusting a fireball from his staff towards Furosuto's head, Nayla's leg was stuck out at an angle that he would strike her instead, forcing Son to pull away at the last second and leave him open for an upward slash from Furosoto's right foot that became a long ice blade, causing a bleeding gash to appear as he fell to the ground.
"It must truly hurt? And I don't mean the wound I just inflicted, but knowing your enemy is directly in front of you, and you can't do anything about it." Furosuto marched to Son, who got up and spun his staff to generate a wheel of fire, yet made no move to launch it. "Trying to produce enough heat to melt my snow body? A clever idea, except that when I'm like this, my body can sustain any temperature." He gestured to his normal form without any ice or snow appendages. "And there's still nothing to stop me from harming the girl before it even came to that point."
Son growled, but still kept his spinning staff going, ready to defend himself at any point he could. Though he dared not attack, still if he kept him busy…
"But really, all you're doing is just stalling for time for Sparda's spawn and that female monkey to come up with a strategy to defeat me, yes?" Furosuto assumed, causing Son to gasp and that moment of shock left him open for the chameleon-like demon to lunge his right arm forward, which stretched out with snow as a long ice-lance emerged from his arm to try and pierce Son. Though he did angle himself out of the way in time to avoid being stabbed, he did get slashed along the side, causing even more blood to spill before he fell to the ground and held his wound.
"I'm not a brute like my brother. While it's true that I'm not as physically strong as him, I'd say I'm the cleverest of our family. Though I do owe you thanks for killing him, and making my chance of succeeding our father all the more possible. So allow me to thank you by making your death as painful as possible!"
Furosuto's body began to shift and changed as his arms and legs stretched out like columns of fluent snow, making him seem much taller with his arms growing disturbingly long. Ice spikes appeared on his feet while a long blades appeared at the tips of his fingers, all looked more than sharp enough to skewer anything they came into contact with.
"Welcome to the world of trickery, deception, and murder, monkey! This is my domain and soon it will be adorned with your blood!" He lunged for the downed Son…
Only for a flurry of pink flower petals to block his path, those same flower petals enveloping him and appearing to trap and isolate him in some kind of space of pink energy.
"Wha…!? What is this…?!" He tried to use his ice claws to slash his way out of whatever space he was trapped in. "Some sort of illusion!? That damned woman from before! You think this trickery of yours can stop me?! Come and face me yourself!"
"Do you think you have any room to say that?"
Looking upward, it seemed as though Vergil had appeared, falling straight down as he prepared a quick draw of the Yamato. Acting quickly, Furosuto shot his arm out to pierce Vergil with his ice-claws…
Only for Vergil's form to burst in a flurry of pink flower petals, much to Furosuto's shock. And that shock grew even more as he looked up to see about a dozen more Vergils appear before they all came down at him, to which Furosuto responded by further stretching himself upward as well as his arms to slash at all the doubles, but each on he slashed turned out to be a fake as they exploded in a flurry of flower petals like before.
The demon himself however seemed unaware that he appeared trapped in a cyclone of glowing pink rose petals, with Kikya standing in between not only the cyclone but also the downed Son Goku. Her war fans pointed directly at the cyclone as they glowed pink too.
'This demon's not the only one who can trick people!' Kikya thought to herself. 'And my sakura petals do more than just act as weapons. They can be used to create illusions that can fool even demons! This my illusionary jutsu! Sakura Bloom!'
Inside the cyclone, Furosuto sliced illusion after illusion, so many that he honestly lost count. And he was growing more annoyed by the second. "ENOUGH!" He stretched his snow arms out as far as he could, his finger ice blades extending as far as they could, and his legs merged into a snow flurry that acted like a tornado, his form spinning around as he appeared to slice his way out of the illusion, cutting up the rose petals that made up the tornado. "You think you can fool me with such trickery?!"
"Yes." Turning in a certain direction, the demon saw something that made his eyes shrink.
It was Vergil, the real one, holding Nayla bridal-style in his arms as she clung to him tightly, while the Son of Sparda glared hard at him.
"What?! How…?!" He looked inside his own body, his show chest opening up to reveal that the girl he had taken was no longer there. "When did you…?!" He gasped as it all came to him.
'Kikya's illusions did more than just overwhelm his senses with copies of myself.' Vergil thought. 'It also rendered me invisible and gave me the opportunity to move in close to grab Nayla and escape.'
'Her Sakura Bloom doesn't just create visual illusions…! It can fool the other senses too.' Son thought with a smirk. 'He couldn't even feel Vergil grabbing inside to pull him out!'
"You… Trick me…?!" Furosuto growled as his whole body shook in rage. "A master deceiver…?!" He gave a roar that echoed through the whole forest. "HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ME THIS WAY?!" His lower body bursting in a flurry of snow to rocket himself straight for Vergil as he readied his ice claws. "I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU ALL…!"
However, the snow flurry that made his lower body got mixed in with a flurry of cherry blossom petals, courtesy of Kikya as she sent them all in with waves of her fans.
"Orchid Hanagoromo!" The flower petals all glowed a bright pink before they exploded in a flash of pink light, destroying the snow flurry that made up Furosuto's lower body, causing him to scream in agony as his upper half landed hard on the ground. He tried to push himself up, only to gasp as he saw the glaring Kikya standing directly over him wordlessly.
"You…! Who are you…!? A mere monkey to trick me!?" He tried to lash out with an extended right snow arm and ice claws at his hands.
"Sakura Blade!" She dodged the attack and brought her petal-coated warfan down at the right joint to completely sever the arm, much to Furosuto's further agony. He would have attacked with his left arm, only for Kikya to sever that as well.
"You really think just because you were a little smart, that you were invincible?" Kikya glared. "That makes you the biggest fool of all."
"What?!" Furosuto glared hatefully. "A monkey dares insult me?! Me?! A fool?! How dare you!? Treat me like I'm some sort of pathetic neophyte, will you?! I'll show…!" He didn't even get a chance to finish as Kikya brought another Sakura blade attack down the middle of his head, slicing his face apart, killing him right then and there.
The girl then stood up straight and turned to all her friends with a friendly smile. "Well, that's done. Is everyone alright?" She said in a tone that was a complete one-eighty from how ruthless she was a few seconds ago.
"Eh… yeah! We're good!" Son stood up straight before wincing at the pain of his injuries.
"I'd say you're far from good." Kikya said as she went up to Son. "We better tend to those wounds of yours before they get infected."
Vergil breathed in relief knowing the danger was past. "Are you alright?" He asked Nayla as he sat her down.
"Y-yeah." She said shakily as she clung to him. "That… that was scary…"
"I know, but it's alright." He put an assuring hand on her head. "The demon is dead. You're safe now."
"No… I mean, yes. That demon was scary. But… I was talking about your friend, right there." Nayla pointed to Kikya. "She was so sweet before but… back there… I'd say she was even scarier than that demon. No offense…"
"None taken." Vergil replied. He had known Kikya a long time and she did have a sweet disposition. However, if pushed too far… like seeing someone smaller and more innocent endangered at the hands of someone malevolent … she will become very ruthless and won't rest until the enemy in question is stopped or put down. "We should find some better shelter." Vergil told the girl next to him. However, as he looked down, he was surprised to see her looking up to him with sparkles in her eyes and a wide smile.
"Thank you for saving me. My own knight in shining armor." She hugged him gratefully.
The half-demon and oldest Son of Sparda gasped. The way this girl embraced him… as well as what she called him… his mind flashed back to when he first met the young Lucy Heartfilia at her family's home. It was a memory that caused him to smile as he patted her head again.
"You're welcome, Nayla."
At the same time, many miles away from the location Vergil and the others were currently at, an old and abandoned castle sat atop a cliffside. The castle looked to be over a couple centuries old and looked barely kept together. No single human being could possibly live there.
And yet, deep underground, underneath the castle itself, in a cave that had been recently carved out, there was a dwelling of various inhuman creatures. Several hundred more frozen skeletal creatures just wondered around aimlessly, no direction or guide for them to follow. At least not at the moment, for their master and controller had no order to give them at the moment.
Said master sat on a large throne that appeared made of stone at the very back of the underground cavern. The master was an enormous reptilian demon that could only be described as something of a mix of a Komodo dragon and a tyrannosaurus rex. He was hulking and muscular to say the least with dark purple, almost black, skin; while also decorated with bright shinny scales that looked almost like armor which covered his chest, legs, arms and talons, including spines that emerged from his back and descended own his long and massive tail. His face was similar to that of an alligator with a large jaw with razor sharp teeth, glowing red eyes, and an armored forehead which connected to a pair of large, curved horns at the top of his head. He also had a long black cape at his back.
This demon looked up towards the ceiling to where he spotted four gemstones embedded into it. One glowed a dark purple, which had three lines spreading out to connect to three other gemstones below it. The one on the left was black and lifeless, with a large crack spread across it. The one in the middle shined a bright purple-like color, while the one on the right was a pale blue color… only for that color to fade to black as a crack appeared there.
The massive demon growled in anger. "Furosuto has fallen, and not too soon after Coola." He gave a roar in anger as he stood up from his throne, a roar so powerful that it shook the whole cavern. "Almost all my kin have been eliminated! Well… except for one." Calming down slightly, the demon looked to the side, to a smaller chamber attached to the main one, one that had an eerie purple glow inside.
If one got a closer look, one could see that the source of the purple glow was a chrysalis, with something inside it.
"My middle son has been hibernating these past few decades… Believing that he can accumulate more power as he slumbers. But he shows no signs of awakening. And yet, the chance for our clan's ascendance is at hand! With this child, I can gain the power I need to take my rightful place as one of the Demon Kings! For that is my destiny… The destiny of Lord Cold! And if my sons are incapable of accomplishing this task… then I will do it myself!"
He let loose yet another roar, one that echoed throughout not only the underground cavern, but even outside the old castle as well.
A roar that did not go unnoticed by the same hooded figure that had been spying on Vergil and his group since their arrival in Kale.
Done.
Yeah, I know, this chapter seems short, but I'd say it served its purpose well. We got to see what Vergil was capable of when he was still training, as well as his fellow students. Each of them got a chance to shine and show what they were capable of. We also got a bit more expansion into the Kingdom of the Sun, which I enjoyed writing.
It seems things are going smoothly for Vergil and his team as they managed to slay the oldest and youngest sons of the Ghelgath Clan; Coola and Furosuto. Now only their father, Lord Cold, and the middle son remain, and I'm sure you can all take a guess as to who these demons are based off of, and who the middle son is supposed to be.
Expect some pics of them up on my DeviantArt account in the next couple of days.
We also got a glimpse of what happened to Vergil when his family was attacked as a child. For those of you who read the manga "Visions of V", you're probably already familiar with that gruesome scene. But just to clarify something… No. Lucy was not there when the Sparda family was attacked, that was just part of Vergil's nightmare.
One more chapter remains for this mini-arc… and while I'm sure many of you can take a guess or two as to how it'll end, I encourage you to read it. It's gonna be a big one and you do not want to miss it!
Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.