Chapter 4: Hey, Demons has feelings too
(((Narrator)))
BANG
With this first shot, Soren began the capture of Blitz calfling.
The bullet shoot right between the gap between the armor pieces around its neck, however the shot had failed to killed it. The calfling was jolted awake by the searing pain of the holy bullet blessed by Diana's Priestesses lodged within its neck.
The calfling roars as if it is lightning itself. Golden lightning crackles from its back, enveloping it like a mantle. It roars again, furious over the persistent searing pain by the holy bullet. Typical of it's demonic species, it is blind, relying only on hearing to find prey and threat.
"Well look at that, Soren! It glows in the dark.", Nero walks toward the calfling opening the battle with witty remark.
"Its broad daylight, dumbass.", Soren replied back. Okay. Maybe that is not a very witty remark.
Nero looked back in annoyance. "Dude.", the calfling leaped with a swiping claw, aiming for the source of the noise but Nero just ducked under it without even looking. Revving a Max-Act in between the maneuver, he ok pulled the lever and release the pressurized flame in a vertical slash upward.
GOONNNGGGGGG
His blade hit dead center of the Blitz's chest armor, sending it up in the air. However the demon flickers away in sparks of lightning, jumping over all over the place before settling on top of a ruined hut.
It waits as it listens. The intruders are quite. Terrifyingly so. It's almost as if they barely has a heartbeat. The calfling was used to preys where their heart beats with the sound of drums, using the sound to locate the fleeing prey. However the intruders are different. Their heartbeats are so faint, dampened even further by the noise of crackling lightning on its back. It was as if they don't fear it at all.
BANG BANG
Another shots were fired and it lodged another holy bullet right between its kneecaps. The Blitz roars in pain, the searing bullet had taken away its mobility, its most dangerous asset. The Blitz falls down with limp knees.
"Sweet! Crazy shots as usual!"
"I don't want to hear that from the guy that reload a revolver mid-air."
The Blitz in a last ditch effort began to overcharge its lightning. The Lightning turns from gold to red, ready to expl-
CLING CLING CLING
PSSSSSSS
A can of aerosolized Holy Water Grenade rolls under the Blitz and began to spray out a thick blanket of Holy Water Mist. The Blitz screams in agony as the Holy Water blanket its form as thick mist, its essence blessed by a group of Priestess from Lympha Shrine, a supposed Roman freshwater goddess. The Holy Water burns through its demonic energy, dampening and eventually fizzle out its lightning. Once it fizzled out, the Blitz falls unconscious.
Nero and Soren looked over each other over the anticlimatic result of their demon hunt.
"Well, that was easier than I thought.", Nero commented.
Soren just shrugs. "Well its better to be overprepped than underprepped."
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(((Soren)))
Okay, this is seriously throwing me off.
I remember that Blitz was really strong in the game. Sure, it's a calfling, but still the fact that I took it down with just three bullets and a Holy Water Mist grenade really just end this all anticlimactically. I was expecting, I dunno, a full on action packed fight.
Anyway, we tied the damn thing with the holy iron chains and cage it into the holy cage. I stayed on the truck bed floor so that I can keep spraying holy water on the demon to keep it down. Don't want the fucker to just summon lightning on the damn truck whole driving afterall. Nero takes the keys and drive us back to the docks. It'll be a few hours for us to arrive there.
While on the way, I think of how Devil Arms is made. As far as I recall from the game, when you kill a boss demon they can be turned into one. I wonder if lesser demons can be turned into one too.
I pulled out Luminance from my subspace. It is a second hand Holy Spear I bought for cheap from a retired Holy Knight. It's nothing much really, just a simple spear blessed by a Diana's Priestess. Back then the Order's knights use Holy equipment to hunt demons before somewhere after 1991, the Order began to move to use weapons made from demonic parts instead.
Since ya know, we are technically a satanic cult. Being demonic should be on brand for our cult.
Anyway, Luminance had lost most of the intensity of its Holy properties. Holding it just tingles me at best, but if I really use it to fight then the holy aura will slowly start to burn me on the inside. Its pretty much a last ditch effort that I got just in case I somehow ran out of ammos and Ryuuka isn't viable to beat the threat
I store it back into the subspace and spray the demon with Holy Water again. If there's anything I am annoyed with this mission it would be the cost. Those dem Priestesses doesn't give out blessings for free, okay. The iron chains and cage cost me about 800 Euro to bless. And a D grade Holy Water cost 1000 Euro a can (300ml). Demon hunting ain't cheap, yo. Why did you think that the Red Devil Hunter is constantly in the red?
Urghh, at least I can refund my expenses. Wait.
I knocked over the window of the driver side and asked.
"Nero! Did you remember to get the receipts from the priestesses?!"
Nero did not respond.
"Fuck!!"
That's over 3000 Euros that the Order ain't gonna refund! Damn it Nero!
You have one job! One!
)))))))))))))))))))))
We stopped by the docks and now waiting for our boatman to arrive.
"Oh relax, Soren. Its just 3000. We still got plenty of money left."
"Dude, we have like 200 Euro left in our account. We spent all of our money getting you all that fancy working machines."
"Oh."
Now to start with, our salary as rookie Holy Knights is 1000 Euro a month. We are provided over 500 Euro for travel and food expense. Generally, the Order doesn't provide us with weaponry fund but instead will just refund our expenses for equipment we bought with our own money. Even then, as rookies, we have a 5000 Euro cap a month for refunds.
"I guess I'll open another round of commissions to recover some money.", I concluded.
Before Nero can comment further, a random karen looking lady stood in front of us with our caged Blitz imperiously.
"What is this?", she pointed to the cage dramatically.
"A demon.", Nero answered.
"A demon! A demon he says!", she exclaimed dramatically. "What you caged is a poor animal! You Demon Hunters are savages! Going around killing innocent creatures to satisfy you sick pleasure for violence and money! Release it!"
We are starting to get surrounded by the crowds curious about the ongoing ruckus. Before Nero can sass her up, I stood and stop him.
"Look here Karenio. This is a demon. D E M O N. Demon. This is not some wildcat. It's a fucking demon."
"Karenio?! I'll have you know that my name is blaaa blaaaa blaaaa blaaa blaaa blaaa laa laaa!"
"Sure thing, Karenio."
"You-!"
In her fury, she went and try to open the cage door, which is stupid coz I locked it with a thick padlock. I look over to Nero and sighed. Man, these days there's this stupid trend about demon rights activists that tries to claim that demons deserve to be treated as our equal too.
Which is fucking dumb becoz demons are specifically born to hunt humans. Sure, they can eat other animals but it is through consuming human that they gain power. We are prey and they are the predator. Basic zoology.
Because of how the union of modern combat equipment and divine blessing had made demon hunting so much safer and easier now, the general public had lose their fear of demons over the past decades. Demon attacks are now considered to be not much different than common mugging. The world is so much safer now with demons being less threatening, which lead to idiot hippies like Karenio starts popping out like cancer.
They legitimately think most demons are just misunderstood wild animals and intelligent demons has actual humanity and feelings.
Dude. They are demons. All they have is demonity.
"You! Give me the key!", realizing the futility of her efforts, Karenio demands me to release the Blitz. I'm half-tempted to just do it and let her get mauled by her so innocent creature.
"Hey, we ain't gonna release that demon so just back off!", frustrated, Nero began to start pushing her away from the cage.
"Akk! You pushed me! This is violence! Help! Help!"
The crowd murmurs began to get louder as Karenio began to make more fuss. I facepalmed over the stupid situation. As annoying as she is, Karenio is just a harmless human. We can't just slap her around and call it a day.
"You know what, maybe you're right, Karenio."
"What?", Nero looks at me like I suddenly grow another head. I roll my eyes. Just roll with it, dude.
"Really?", Karenio eyes glimmers with hope. "Have you finally see reason?".
"Maybe, just a little bit.", I then pull out the key from my subspace and hand it over to her. "Here, take the key. Release it."
Karenio.exe stopped working right then and there.
"Right here?", she asked me while suddenly sweating madly.
"Well, my hands are tied. You know how it is with bosses right? So, you'll have to do it on your own. Go on, its yours. Free Willy."
"Oh. Err. Errrrr. Ah, I'm going to need to take a truck! Just wait here!"
Karenio then leave the scene so fast that I thought maybe she is a demon herself. Unless she is that stupid, she isn't going to come back.
"Really? That easy?", Nero just look at me as if I have performed a miracle. Seeing the drama is over, the crowd disperse.
"People like that are usually just attention whores looking to stir up drama. She doesn't want to actually release the demon, she just wants to appear heroic by arguing about it. Its easier to just agree with her and dump all the responsibility to her. And just like that, she run away."
"But, what if she is dumb enough to actually open that cage?", Nero asked me.
"Then the world has one less dumb people in the gene pool. Ain't my fault if she's dead trying to free a hungry lion."
"That's cold, man."
I just shrugs.
))))))))))))))))
After half an hour, the boatman arrive and we load the Blitz on the boat. I spray another coating of Holy Water just for safe measure.
On the way, Nero asked me this.
"What is a demon, Soren?"
I quirked an eyebrow and pointed to the demon on the boat.
"I know that. I mean, what exactly is a demon?"
"Philosophical today, aren't we?"
Nero just shrugs. "Just think about it. We worship Sparda, a demon. Sure, maybe he's a cool one but he's still a demon. Just think about it. We worship a demon by hunting demons. Sure, we're both not that religious, but still..."
"Our religion is kinda dumb, right?"
"Heh."
I think about it a bit. I'm still not so used with this more relaxed and in peace Nero. The thing about Nero and Dante is that most of their character growth was about coming in terms with their demonic heritage. In DMC4, Nero was extra grumpy over his arm turning into the limb of a demon and his fears over people discovering it. By the end of DMC4, he comes in terms that while his arm is that of a demon, he can use it for good.
Something like that. My memory over DMC4 cutscenes is rather hazy. And its not like DMC4 is that detailed of a story since most of the game was just you whacking demons and Nero crying over Kyrie.
Still.
What is a demon?
"I think of demon as a title. A state of being. Rather than just strictly classify it as a species, I think the concept of demon itself is more abstract than that."
"Demon as a title?", Nero quirked an eyebrow.
"Just think about it. How many horror stories you had heard committed by human? Serial killers. Rapist. Child abusers. Organ harvesting. With demons, they're pretty simple. They just want to eat you as that is their nature. If you ask me, they're not exactly evil. The non-sentient ones, I mean."
"Wow, can't believe you agreed with the hippies."
"will you call flies evil for breeding maggots on a corpse? Or a bear killing a random guy that happen to stumble into its territory? No, you don't. Most demons are that sort of being. They're just wild animals that's specifically evolved to eat human. That's just nature."
"But how about the sentient ones?"
"Then they really deserve to be called as demons. That's why I think demon should be used as a title instead. To be able to think right and wrong and still choose to do evil, that is what being demonic should really means."
"But even human can do evil too."
"some people does not deserve to be called as human. Their flesh may be human."
I grinned and pointed to my own chest.
"But their soul is a demon."
Nero ponders a bit.
"Make sense, I supposed. But I doubt there's any sentient demons with the soul of a human. Heck, I doubt Sparda was even real."
"That's blasphemy, Nero."
"Says the guy keep porns under the statue of a god.", he retorts back.
The island of Fortuna came into view at the horizon and I decide to take a bit of nap as I throw the spray bottle with Holy Water to Nero.
"Keep our buddy here hydrated, would you?"
Nero just reply with a middle finger as he sprays Holy Water on the Blitz.
Psss psss psss
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(((AN)))
Welp that settles the mini arc. I will be stopping here for a bit to focus on other fic.
Now, when will I start get into the canon DMC4? It should be in around Chapter 7 or 8, longer if I decide to prolong the pre-game storyline. Now, I never read any other DMC novels and manga. My knowledge of DMC solely comes from the games and whatever random loredrop I read in YouTube comments. I'm pretty much just filling in the gaps between the game plotline.
I think the Order of the Sword to be pretty cool in concept, so I plan to expand their involvement in the world as more than just a group of satanist cult hiding away on an island. Any of my old readers would know I generally don't bother to stick to canon and do my own thing, but DMC game storyline has a lot of gaps in it that I don't think I need to go wham writing it.
Though I wonder if I should go the crackfic route and adopt the Vergil's Tax Evasion plotline from Maxor's video lol. Well, with this fic I'd like the take a more casual approach instead of the acid trip that is my flagship fic. This fic is perhaps the least unhinged title I'm writing.