[Part 11]

Third Person P.O.V.

He walked in Hell, confusion raging in his heart. But there was urgency too, as well as pain. He knew everyone back in DMC would be worried about him, trying to look for him, but he couldn’t turn back now. He was so close to an answer; he had to get the answer before he returned. He was looking for someone, something –the key to ending Mundus, the aid of Mundus.

Demons were everywhere, but he wasn’t deterred by the wave of demons that tried to chase after him in every piece of land in Hell. He was strong; powerful. He was, after all, a son of Sparda. There was no problem for him in dealing with these demons at all, though he would admit that they were beginning to get on his nerves. He had known what he was plunging himself into when he first came down to Hell, but now that his power was slowly but steadily diminishing with every prolonged fight he engaged in, he was beginning to slow his attacks, beginning to feel a little sluggish.

He would have to return soon.

Damon would have a million choice words for him for leaving his wife alone, for leaving Marcy to worry about him, but he prayed that he would be forgiven. He had not planned to stay for so long, but he knew the answer was close.

He reached the portal where he had first arrived in Hell from, then turned down, running towards Lucifer’s crumbled castle. It was the last place that Damon had been to before the man escaped Hell; it was Lucifer’s resting place. The answer had to be there, waiting for him.

He hadn’t even reached the edge of Lucifer’s crumbled compound before a flying sword sang through the air towards him. His instincts flaring, he jumped out of its trajectory just in time to watch it bury tip-first into the ground. Spinning around to meet his attacker, he was mildly surprised to find that the hoard demons which had been chasing after him had backed off, leaving him and his sole attacker in a largely empty plain.

He recognized his attacker immediately, but the black wings that hung on her back made it clear that it wasn’t the same person he knew. The demon had her face –his future sister-in-law’s face –and physique, but the demoniac flash in her eyes was never Lady’s look. He lowered himself into a defensive crouch, clutching tight hold of Yamato in his hands as he brought it forward to show that he wasn’t messing around.

“Son of Sparda, I have only just thrown your brother out of Hell. Why are you here in his place? Has his disgraceful defeat not been enough?” She opened her mouth to address, a frown clearly written on her lips as if she could not comprehend his apparent stupidity. He mildly understood that Dante had previously been here, and somehow suffered a ‘disgraceful defeat’ at the hands of this woman.

He could not define if Dante’s defeat was his own folly at recognizing the demon for his wife, or the fact that this woman was skilled. There was no questioning that she held a place of respect within the demon army, for the demons were bowing before her presence, a phenomena he only witness before the princes of Hell and Mundus himself.

“State your identity.” He vocalized strongly, showing that he was unfazed. While he wasn’t as strong as Damon was, he figured he had to be able to hold his own. Ever since he returned from the capture of Mundus, he had made himself a force to be dealt with, even to Hell’s high levelled demons. Of course; how else could he ever promise to protect his wife?

“My name is Kalina. I heard that you have been asking about me, Vergil Sparda. What is it that you want from me?” She stood a comfortable distance away, but he had no doubt that she could close the distance in the blink of an eye.

 “I have asked about you?” It was his turn to question, as he looked at her from top to toe. How is it that he had been asking about her, when this was the first time he had heard of her name? Sure, he was familiar with her face, but it was no doubt simply just a disguise the demon held to throw him off-guard like how Dante had most probably been thrown off-guard by the same appearance.

“I heard you were beginning to ask about my mission, given by my Master. You think you want to protect Damon and his family. You must think otherwise, Vergil Sparda, because you cannot win me.”

It suddenly clicked. He had charged here looking for that one demon that had been chasing after Damon and his family. He hadn’t thought he would actually find the demon here, but he had. He had expected perhaps something to aid him in his quest to destroy Mundus could be found here, but the demon who had been sent after Damon’s family –she was here. She had found him, alone and defenseless.

Not defenseless, he reminded himself. He had Yamato. He had his powers as son of Sparda.

He had his promise to return to his wife.

“Mundus did not say anything concerning you. He told me to send Dante away, but I have not received orders concerning you.” Kalina admitted, still standing relaxed, though her wings were splayed out behind her, a menacing figure displayed before him. “But since I will eventually be the murderer of all in Damon’s family, let me start with you.”

It was all the warning he received before she disappeared and appeared, attacking him with a long sword that appeared out of nowhere. In the first attack, he was forced to go on the defensive as she relentlessly rained the attacks on him, disappearing and reappearing in speed that he could hardly keep track. He did his best to counter and parry, expanding his power to push back the onslaught from his attacker, but he could hardly hold his own as he was forced backtracking.

There was no doubting it; this demon was Mundus’s right-hand demon. Mundus’s second-in-line was this demon named Kalina.

The fear in his heart grew as he desperately did his best to block the blows made at him, countering strikes but meeting only mid-air as the demon disappeared away from his grasp. He tried caging her with his power, but she slipped away so fast that he was hardly aware at all. It was clear that he was overpowered, but the verdict had been clear; she intended to kill him.

And he couldn’t allow that. He had been down here for so long –he had to go back to his wife. He would not die here. Could not.

Determination amped up his strength anew as he devil triggered, a surge of power running beneath his skin. He knew he was still yet overpowered even in his more advantaged situation, but it was all that he needed for escape. Jumping over the demon army that had formed a circle around them, he took off towards the end of the plain from Lucifer’s crumbled castle, where the convergence with DMC was the closest. He could only pray that his pursuer would not follow him into DMC, for he would not know where to run to. Could he get Damon in time? Perhaps they could work together to even his skewed odds.

“Don’t run from me, Vergil Sparda! Are you not an upright half-devil, not one to shy from a fight?” He could hear Kalina’s taunt from behind him, but he much as he loathed running away from a fight, he had not been the one looking for it. He could not die here, not without seeing Marcy once more.

The demons must have received new orders from Kalina, for they all reacted instantly, closing in on him by their sheer volume. Dealing with these low-levelled demons was no problem for him, but it definitely delayed him as he watched with increasing trepidation while Kalina took off from the ground, her massive black wings flapping strongly in the red sky of Hell.

He slashed Yamato through a bunch of demons directly in front of him, aiming to lunge forward to escape the strike that he knew was sure to come from the flying demon.

“Don’t turn your face from me, Vergil Sparda. I want to watch your face when you die!” Kalina boomed, and he felt a whistle of wind. His heart skipped a beat.

The sound of metal clashing against metal was loud behind him, and he spun around in shock and realization.

“You lying bitch, you’re the one who’s going to die first!” Daniel screamed, pushing the demon back with a heavy swing from Rebellion. Kalina once again took back to the sky, but she hovered a safe distance away, watching the both of them with a smug smile on her face. Daniel’s rage could easily be felt, but for the moment he concentrated on obliterating the low-leveled demons struggling to hold him down in chains.

“Ah Daniel Kries. The very man I have been waiting for. Welcome to my real home, Danny Dear.” Sarcasm laced words came from the flying demon, and he was suddenly very aware that Kalina seemed to know Daniel.

“We have to go.” He turned towards his half-brother, grateful for the save, but the danger was still very real around them.

“No. I need to deal with this lying bitch.” The fire in Daniel’s eyes was full blown, and while he wasn’t sure what had transpired between the man and the demon, he knew that Daniel was no match for Kalina. The only one with hope of dealing with this demon was Damon, and Damon wasn’t around.

“We have to go. It’s not safe. She’s too powerful for the both of us.” He urged, releasing his devil trigger to conserve his energy now that Daniel was here. They could watch each other’s back for the moment.

“Damn it to Hell, Vergil!” Daniel spat, slamming Rebellion across the bodies of a row of demons, disintegrating a whole lot of them into dust. The anger was easy to see, but he couldn’t understand what the source of it was. “This fucking bitch was supposed to be my girlfriend!”

A million questions flashed in his mind, but he couldn’t entertain them. All he knew was that danger was prevalent, and no matter how angry Daniel was, it was still suicidal to chase after a demon who clearly overpowered them.

“Let it go!” He barked sternly, a firm hand grabbing Daniel’s arm and pulling the man back physically. “We are not dying simply because of this.”

“Let me go, Vergil! I need to sort shit out with this bitch.” Daniel shook his arm away with surprising strength, stupidly stepping forwards, flashing the middle finger as if it made any difference to anyone at all.

“Fuck you, Kalina! I can’t believe I really loved you! You bitch, you were the one who almost killed Trish!” Daniel screamed, obviously losing his head while the demon simply continued hovering, a soft expression of amusement on her face.

“I would have liked to continue the charade with you, Danny dear, but Mundus wanted me to start killing.” The sick sweetness disgusted him, and he watched as Daniel shivered too. “I can’t say no to my Master, can I?”

“I swear, Kalina, I’ll kill you!” Daniel screamed, waving his fists at her as if it could make any difference.

That was the last he could take –the danger was too real for Daniel to continue cursing.

He jumped forward, grabbing Daniel’s arm and pulling the man back. “You had your screaming fest; now get our ass out of here!”

Daniel, though still angry, seemed to finally understand the situation, nodding.

“The portal’s open. We still can go through if we hurry. Go, I’ll watch your back. Marcy’s waiting.” Daniel urged, pushing him forwards. He nodded, charging forth. He was running out of power, and for the moment, it was clear that Daniel was more suited to dealing with the demons than he.

Turning his back on Kalina, he hacked clear corridor of demons to the portal, heart lifting with hope with every inch he closed towards the portal. He was closer to DMC. Closer to home; closer to Marcy, who was still waiting for him.

“Daniel!” He called, standing before the portal. He couldn’t leave his brother-in-law behind, after all. Daniel had saved him; what kind of a man would he be if he just left Damon’s twin behind? Besides, Marcy’s brother was his brother, and he could not imagine how angry his wife would be if he left Daniel behind, knowing how prone Daniel was to injuries and trouble.

“Coming!” Daniel called back, and he turned around to watch Daniel deal with the last of the demons rounding up on them, then turn to run towards where he and the portal was.

The sole flying demon flapped her wings once more.

Daniel dashed forward.

He opened his mouth, screaming.

“LOOK OUT!”

Daniel was lifted off his feet, impaled like a rag doll on Rebellion that was somehow torn from his hand. The shock that ran through him turned into ultimate horror as Kalina laughed, hovering over where he was, and holding on to Rebellion’s grip easily. Above him, Daniel began to bleed badly.

“Fuc-” Daniel began to curse, but it was all the impaled man could say.

Kalina flicked her wrist, and her own long sword swung horizontally.

Daniel’s hand moved instinctively to his throat, but the blood was already pouring.

“I had a great time with you, Danny dear. Rest well, I’ll take care of your family for you.” Kalina mocked, and he watched with increasing horror as Kalina flicked Rebellion, Daniel’s body sliding easily out of the sword like a ragdoll, dropping downwards.

He jumped up, catching the falling body of blood, but Daniel’s eyes were already closing.

“Go, son of Sparda. Take his body, and show him to Damon Kries. Daniel is only the first of many to come.” Kalina’s voice echoed in his head as he landed, horrified at the amount of blood escaping from the hole in Daniel’s chest, seeping through fingers. Rebellion buried tip-first on the ground beside him, and he spared a quick look upwards to find Kalina already flapping her wings, disappearing into a small speck.

“Go… home…” Daniel’s sick gurgle made his stomach churn, and he nodded, picking up Rebellion. His heart sank at the amount of blood staining his hands, but he didn’t dare to think too much.

What if…

He kept his lips from voicing his thoughts. It couldn’t be.

This couldn’t happen. Not now… not ever…

He, trembling, stepped through the portal.