[Epilogue -4]

Much later

Third Person P.O.V

Once again, Vergil and Damon sat on the couch side by side, watching the entire family flood the living area. The ladies were all playing with the baby girls in the corner, their maternal instincts plainly all on display as they cajoled the babies into walking. Damien and Kieran were at the side, whispering secret whatnots to each other with mischievous looks on their face that Damon wasn’t sure if he liked, and Dante was arguing –as always –with Daniel about whose wife was hotter.

“How are Marlene and Madeline?” Damon asked when it was clear to him that his conversation companion had been limited to the quiet man sitting beside him. Besides being doppelgangers, the both of them were so alike in character that neither of them could deny it.

“Well. Madeline’s started attempting to talk. Marlene’s is a little slower on the talking, but she’s a crawler.” Vergil updated, watching as Wynter slowly let go of Marlene’s hands while the girl’s mother made encouraging noises, clapping her hands to get the attention of the little toddler wobbling on her feet.

Trish, on the other hand, was taking turns with Kalina and Lady to coddle Madeline, trying to encourage the baby to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama’. Damon smiled at the sight his wife becoming a mother all over again, but it faded away quickly at the memory of the first ten years of his children’s lives.

“You don’t have to be disheartened.” Vergil put in, observing the silence of his companion, and understanding immediately the dimmed smile on the Demon King’s face. “You might have lost ten years. You might have missed it when they first talked or walked. You might have had a rocky start with them. But look at the both of them now. Fathers all around the world would be envious of all that you have achieved with those two.”

Damon let his eyes rake over the women, focusing on his beautiful daughter. Wynter, after carving her road out alone, had faired exceptionally well as a demon huntress. Damien was a little slower on the uptake to working alone, but Damon’s son hadn’t lagged behind either. Damien Kries was pummeling his name into the demon hunting world, the same way his Uncle Dante used to carve his name on the list of fame. Damien had no shame, had no restraints. The crazy son of the Demon King took on jobs after jobs, women after women.

But they were still successful, and were doing far better than many others.

“Thanks, Vergil, for reminding me what matters.”

“We all need a little reminder between days.” Vergil replied, watching the smile grow back again on Damon’s face, a certain sense of serenity in his half-brother’s eyes.

“I would like a reminder of what I want in the future, though.” Damon sighed again, eyes turning over to his son and the young Kieran hiding in the corner, whispering and laughing at things only the both of them found funny. “Now that Damien and Wynter are all grown up, Trish and I are controlling Hell, I don’t know what to look forward to. Retirement isn’t exactly planned for Demon Kings.”

“Take things bit by bit. We still have a long lifetime ahead of us. Things will occur naturally, whether we want it to happen or not. Perhaps you could look forward to Wynter and Damien’s marriage. You could look forward to seeing Trish carry your grandchildren, the same smile on her face. Anything.”

Damon scoffed at the suggestion although he knew better. “I’m afraid I’ll be buried ten feet underground before I even see Damien married. That boy’s ten times worse than his Uncle Daniel and Dante when it comes to women and relationship.”

“Things will happen in due time.” Vergil forewarned, though he understood where the disbelieving father came from. Damien had truly shown a side of him that more or less confirmed his relationship status in the long run –flirting but never married. When there was still hope when Damien was young, when Damien still offered bits and pieces of genuine niceness towards the opposite gender, it was all flushed down the drain now.

Damon was a little put off to declare that he had created the world’s greatest destroyer of women within his son.

“I never got around asking.” Vergil started after a long pause in the conversation, eyes still lovingly on his wife. Marcy was rewarding their baby girl for having completed the ten-step walk towards her mother, affectionately plastering a kiss on the forehead of the little toddler. “What was so urgent that you had to call Kalina down to Hell on the day of her wedding?”

Damon smiled in remembrance of the day. He had known of how crazy Daniel would get if Kalina went missing, but that wasn’t the main reason why he summoned his demon servant down to Hell. Kalina had been confused and a little annoyed to be pulled away from fretting about her own reception, but when he and Trish explained their intention, the annoyance was instantly gone.

“Daniel’s gone through a lot in his life. Moving to France when he was born… thinking he was the only child, then finding out about me and Marcy all the way here in USA. Then realizing the existence of DMC, meeting Kalina, dying and coming back to life… Daniel’s bounced up faster than a ping pong ball back into life. I just wanted to make sure that Kalina could stand my brother’s crazed lifestyle.” Damon explained, eyes turning over to look at the said man in topic. Daniel and Dante had their argument escalated, and were beginning to compare arm muscles as if it could be evidence of who was doing better with their lives.

“She dated him for four years before she said ‘yes’ to his proposal, Damon.” Vergil reminded, but Damon only watched with increasing amusement as Daniel –the more obviously losing side of the competition –declared that size of arm muscles weren’t the way to go, challenging Dante to a dick-measuring contest.

“Kalina is great with Daniel, but she is still demon. Nothing changed the fact that she once killed Daniel, and the fact that the demonic side of her still existed –it never let me off my guard for a single moment.” Damon confessed, eyes travelling to the said woman. Any third person onlooker would find no flaw with this woman. No one would suspect that such a fine, gentle and shy woman would ever be a demon, but the family knew better.

The entire family knew of how Daniel had once died at the demon’s sword.

“We were assured that Kalina’s demon was gone.” Vergil replied in short surprise. Ever since the death of Mundus, Kalina had never shown a single inkling of intending to harm her lover in any single way –only purely devoted love.

“Suppressed by Kalina’s strong human soul and love for Daniel, yes. But never gone. Kalina is by default a demon. She was pledged to me, in the case that if she ever lost to her demonic self again –I could control her. But if she was going to marry Daniel, this type of contract would never work.” Damon explained, eyes searching quietly for the new ‘tattoo’ Kalina had on her wrist.

The standing lie made to Daniel was that she had gotten a wild tattoo in her crazy mind while getting ready for the wedding. The blame pinned on wedding jitters had been perfectly accepted by the to-be-groom, and so no questions had been raised as to why the tattoo had looked so ‘demonic’ in nature.

“What did you do?” Vergil questioned, sensing that the man was letting up on something that had been shared a secret.

“I released her demon. Mundus created Kalina by taking the soul of a human named Kalina and infused her with a demon body and the seven sins. I removed the demon part of her, and took back the seven sins.” Damon confessed. No one had raised any questions at the moment, though Damon, Trish and Kalina knew that the question as to why Kalina no longer used anymore of her demonic powers would be raised in the future. The truth would breakout eventually, but it had to be done.

Even Kalina agreed that she would never allow herself to ever go demon. It was a sacrifice to make to love Daniel, and it was a sacrifice she would willingly, shamelessly, take.

“But you cannot destroy all seven sins.” Vergil stated the fact, ignoring the surprised look from Damon. Vergil had researched about the lengths of a Demon King’s powers, and even while Mundus looked like the ultimate ruling force in Hell while he was still alive, Vergil knew otherwise. Demon Kings could infuse demons with the seven sins to make them powerful, but the sins was not something that could be created or destroyed. It could only be passed from one form to another, and if Damon took the sins from Kalina, it had to be passed to someone else.

“Trish. She’s the only one who can kill me if I go crazy like Mundus.” Damon confessed.

“But would she be able to?” Vergil questioned. It was a risky choice, but one Vergil understood about. The strength of love shared between Damon and Trish ensured that Trish would always know what to do for the best of the both of them. No matter if Damon hurt, or if she hurt very much.

“She will, for us all.” Damon agreed.

The ringing of doorbell surprises almost everyone in the room, for no one was supposed to come to the house at all. It was apparent that the newcomer had been expected by one special individual of the family as she jumped to her feet and dashed for the door while everyone exchanged confused look. No one was supposed to be here without invitation.

Then again, if she had given an invitation…

Wynter walked back into the living room with Lorenzo at her side, a bright smile on her face. The son of Nero looked a little put out and unsure, but with the strength he gained from the intertwined fingers with Wynter, he smiled confidently at the shocked family.

“Dad, I invited Lorenzo here to Hell. I hope you don’t mind.” Wynter informed happily, standing the both of them in front of the two men who made up the brains of the family. Vergil offered a soft smile, knowing immediately the intention clear in Wynter’s eyes, but Damon refused to accept it as he glared up at the young man standing before him.

“I don’t mind the son of Nero being here with us, but I would like for him to let go of your hand, Wynter.” Damon said coolly, but eyes shooting sparks at the young man.

“Sir,” Lorenzo Sparda spoke with humble politeness, holding up their intertwined hands up to for emphasis, “I’m really serious about your daughter. I really love Wynter for who she is, and it really would mean a lot to us if you were to give us your blessings.”

Damon looked between the held hands and the eager faces of the young couple looking at him. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked away.

“No.”

“But Dad,” Wynter protested immediately, the smile turning into an outright frown. “I really like him, and I won’t have anyone else!”

“You’re committing too early and too fast, Wynter. He’s just your first love. You’ll get bored of him soon, and you’ll ditch him. Nero wasn’t the best of lovers anyway, and I don’t expect his son to be the same. He will hurt you in the future, and I don’t want my daughter to ever hurt.” Damon explained, but the love-struck girl was past listening as she stomped her feet angrily. Suddenly, Wynter wasn’t the twenty year old she was, but the ten year old from when he first landed his eyes on her.

“Dad, this isn’t fair! I haven’t had a boyfriend before, and you were so desperate for me to find someone I can love! Now that I have Lorenzo, you’re rejecting him? That’s not fair!”

“Nothing’s fair in life. I said ‘no’, Wynter. You have to learn to accept that.”

“I won’t!” Wynter crossed her arms in the same fashion as her father, glaring down at the Demon King with an equally hard gaze. “I love Lorenzo, and he’s going to be my boyfriend even if you say no.”

“Wynter, it’s fine…” Lorenzo began to say, trying to smooth the rapidly declining relationship between father and daughter.

“It’s not fine, young man. I don’t particularly have anything against you or Nero, but you must know that Wynter is my darling daughter, and all fathers in the world will never leave their daughters in the hands of men they cannot trust.” Damon stood up, towering over the young man. “Until you have something to prove to me, Lorenzo, I will not give you and Wynter my blessings.”

“I understand what you are trying to say, sir.” Lorenzo nodded humbly. “But can you spare me a moment to prove myself worthy of your daughter?”

Damon looked down skeptically at the humble man, ignoring the glares from his daughter. Vergil silently tugged at his shirt hem to indicate support of the suggestion, and Damon guessed it couldn’t hurt.

“Alright. What do you have to prove?” Damon relented finally.

It happened all too fast. One moment the son of Nero had his head hung in humility. The next moment, a dagger appeared in his hand, and was stabbed right in the chest. Wynter gave a shocked scream, eyes going wide at the sudden movement as blood immediately began to spread through white shirt.

“Mr. Kries, I honestly cannot prove much of anything at all…” Lorenzo spoke, his voice betraying the pain he was feeling. Damon refused to let anything show on his face, though the women in the room were getting more and more worried at the waning strength of the young man. Lady and Marcy wisely turned the baby girls away from the scene while Damien held on tightly to the young Kieran, a hand over the boy’s mouth to stop any inappropriate exclamations.

“I grew up listening to the stories of how your family risked everything to kill Mundus. I grew up listening to how you sacrificed everything you had for your family. I know exactly how much Wynter means to you, and I know you won’t give her up so easily. I know it’s hard to let her go to someone as useless as me, but I really, really love your daughter. I am willing to die for her. I am willing to go through all sorts of crazy pain. I can even be forced to be your servant for ten years; twenty years. Anything. I just want to love Wynter with the whole of my heart for the rest of my life.” The tight voice still leaked a little pain, but Damon’s face was still an emotionless slate of ice as he looked at the steadily weakening young man, watching as his daughter cried and begged for the young man to lie down and take out the dagger to stop further bleeding.

Blood was beginning to drip down Lorenzo’s hand to the floor.

“I cannot prove much of anything right now, but I hope you know that I am willing to sacrifice myself for your daughter. I am willing to sacrifice all that I am for your daughter and everyone she cares about. If you ask me to die to ensure that Wynter stays safe, I will do it willingly, without a flicker of an eyelid. I just need to be given permission to do so, Mr. Kries.” Lorenzo continued, lips getting paler by the second. The wound must be deep.

“Dad, can’t you just say ‘yes’? Lorenzo’s going to bleed to death if you don’t say something!” Wynter yelled in frustration at her unbudging father, trying her best to staunch her lover’s bleeding as he swayed on his feet, obviously dizzy from the lack of blood.

“You are an exceptionally stellar piece of stupidity.” Damon announced coldly, turning away from the scene before him. The loving father was suddenly gone, and back in his place was Demon King Damon Kries. “You, Lorenzo, have reached another level of idiocy, so much higher than even Wynter’s brother can reach.”

Wynter gave a cry of grief and distraught at her father’s coldness, the tears of rage running down her cheeks as she tried her best to prop her lover up in his arms while Lorenzo struggled to stay on his feet. Cheeks were now white as paper as blood dripped steadily from Lorenzo’s hands.

“Dad, aren’t you being a little too harsh?” Damien winced at the amount of blood dripping. Even though he never really did like Lorenzo for stealing Wynter away, Damien knew that if Wynter was sad or unhappy, he was naturally sad and unhappy. Such was their strong twin connection, and Damien had made it his personal goal to achieve his sister’s happiness. If it meant accepting Lorenzo and standing up for the man, Damien was ready to face their father’s wrath.

“He’s an idiot if he thinks stabbing himself will prove anything to me.” Damon replied coldly, refusing to turn around even as he heard his daughter cry her lover’s name. He didn’t need to turn around to know that the young man had fallen to his knees.

“Please, Mr. Kries… I love your daughter with the whole of my heart…”

“If you die now, your father will come after me for revenge. He will tear apart my entire family –considering how he has Sparda’s blood. Do you think stabbing yourself and dying here will do a difference? All you have proven is that you are as dumb as Daniel on his worst days.”

The comment earned an indignant protest from the man in topic, but the seriousness of the situation drowned everything away.

“Damon…” Trish began to say, her motherly instincts swaying to work at the sight of their distraught daughter.

“Don’t try to sway me, Trish. It’s harsh, but it’s the truth.”

“Can’t you just see that I love him with all my heart, Dad?” Wynter screamed, glaring up with tear-stained eyes at the cold back of the Demon King. “Can’t you just accept Lorenzo? I just want to be happy, and you can’t even grant that for me? You’re the world’s worst father!”

Damon smiled, shaking his head morosely. “The world’s worst father would accept that stupid young man as his daughter’s lover.”

“I hate you!”

“No, you don’t. You love your father.” Damon replied, turning away. He could feel some demon trouble stirring in a corner of Hell, and it was only rightful as a Demon King that he attended to his job. Striding in long, confident strides towards the door, Damon stopped with a hand on the door knob. Lorenzo was already collapsed on the floor, struggling to breathe.

Damon Kries flexed his power and formed a light around the stupid young man. Wynter screamed angrily, trying to fight his power to get to her lover, but Damon refused to relent, engulfing the man struggling to breathe in black mist that descended over Lorenzo’s figure. Being a Demon King definitely had uses, Damon thought quietly.

Wynter continued crying, but Damon kept his back to the family, one hand on the front door.

None of them were aware, but Vergil was smirking knowingly to himself. Damon had never had a single evil intention in his mind at all, merely just giving a lesson to his daughter and his future son-in-law. Damon had never opposed to Lorenzo at all, and Vergil knew it. All that scare; it had only been an act to teach them; to teach the family.

The black mist parted, and Damon smiled to himself. He turned the knob and walked out of the house, closing the door behind him firmly.

Lorenzo jerked awake, eyes blinking furiously, touching his chest to make sure he was still alive, still in one piece. Wynter cried her joy, wrapping her arms around him with tear-streaked cheeks while everyone in the family breathed a sigh of relief.

Lorenzo was doubly happy to be back alive.

“He said yes, Wynter!” Lorenzo laughed, hugging his now-official girlfriend back extra tightly. “He said yes!”

“My father? He didn’t… he…” Wynter began to say, but Lorenzo only laughed, wiping the tears away.

“You father was just teaching us a lesson! I heard him when he engulfed me in the mist, when he saved me. He told me that sacrifice isn’t something we can just talk about. He said he regrets every single sacrifice he made, but he still pressed on in life. He gave up everything to be with your mother, to make her happy, so much that he gave up his humanity. He wanted to make sure that I dared to do the same.” Lorenzo grinned, holding on to Wynter as if the entire world only mattered whenever he was holding on to her.

“But… he…” Wynter lost words for protest, unable to comprehend.

“What Damon is trying to say,” Vergil interrupted, obviously amused by how Wynter –the one who had inherited Damon’s intellect –had completely missed the point, “is that he will approve any man who loves you as long as he is willing to forgo every single thing in his life –even humanity –to protect you and your family. He approves of Lorenzo.”

The teary celebration was instantly broken by the loud yawns and stretching of a single man who had missed the entire occurrence. Dante rubbed his eyes tiredly and then blinked a few times at the scene before him.

“Ay, who invited Nero’s kid here? Why the hell are they crying? Where’s Damon?”

Vergil sighed, shaking his head. Damon, outside, only smirked at his half-brother as he walked away, the sound of his daughter's cries now sweet in his ears.

The family changed so much over the years.

But some things just never changed.

A/N: With this, I conclude an amazing year of DMC Fanfiction! Look out for the last part in 2015 for the ending of the End of All Things!