Chapter theme: Vergil combat-https://youtu.be/_qc1scBcp0A
Terminology:
SDT: SUBTERRANEAN DEMON TRIBE, often used to describe sentient and non-aggressive demons.
USF: UNITED SUBTERRANEAN FRONT, the recognized sovereign citizens of the Ebott. Valley demon association.
NNH: New New Home, the town's name. The only city located in the USF.
Central: Central Government, central city, main human settlement where the Grand Senate is instated.
WG: World Government, The coalition of governments, cities and island states, headed the Grand Senate.
WM: World Military, the standing widespread military for the entire world bar a few states and countries.
OTS: Order Of The Sword, a religious faction mainly situated in the city of fortuna, radical Sparda worshippers.
Disclaimer: Certain aspects of this story are based on a loosely fictional and exaggerated version of reality, of what is possible, of what could be, of the relationships we see day to day, between people, nations, and anything in between, to understand this is to understand that there is no agenda... Make your own conclusions, what you think is right.
I own nothing.
Sin Trigger.
Andrei watched over his magnificent city with a resolute calm, the cool wind brushing over his nearly bronze skin. His influence was unmatched, his stature praised by those who wished to gain as he did... He was a promise to every living soul in this city, individual greatness!
And those who'd try to attack this? Andrei would crush them with his full might, be it man or devil. Standing tall with his cane in hand, the tycoon could not contain his excitement.
'They truly believe me to be their ally? Remarkably naive of the theologist to do so, but I won't complain.' Andrei grinned deeply as he stared into the night, the abyss... For he did not fear it nor the beyond, it was merely a challenge.
The unknown was not to be feared, but to be conquered...
"Just like this 'Vergil'"
Andrei sighed before turning away, entering his personal penthouse and taking in the scent of freshened fabric, the sight of all luxury. The sweat of his brow. After many hard years of building oneself up from nothing, was he not entitled to it? Of course he was.
Andrei opened his massive computer interface, "The good of man aligns with my desires, with my profit... You will see, usurper."
Snapping once, the door to his abode opened and a well dressed Splicer entered. Without a mask, there was a clearly visible purple welt glowing in his neck. He had long flowing dark hair and a rough, scarred face, his eyes glowed a deep yellow.
The splicer leaned against a wall, "You called?" He made a phone gesture with his fingers, even though Andrei was facing away from him.
Andrei crosses his fingers over his desk, casually. "Yes, prepare your men... I have a feeling that we will be paid a visit, through fire and war." He nods absently, staring off into the distance.
"Sir?"
He nods again, "Yes, through fire and war... He will come to us, and so you must arm your men... Deadly force, if you would."
"Are you sure? Permitting deadly force, and against a simple man? That doesn't sound like you, Boss." Roman always had a way to check him, to balance him, but not this time...
Andrei reared his limitless determination towards Roman, his eyes burning with something greater than mere desire. "He is something else... Something greater than a man, but I will humble him, I'll show him what it means to be a man... We are bred to innovate, to rise above our oppressor be it man or devil!"
Roman nodded at his declaration before clutching his communications device, if Andrei truly willed it... Then he would follow.
Always.
'I should have done this when the rat first contacted me...'
Stepping into a stride with purpose, Vergil morosely glided through the dim and darkened walkways of the tower's lowest quarter. A silent chill silencing any noise, the burning flesh and blood within his devil's soul, it could make a man mad. This was the first time he'd seen the inner workings of Babel, and now?
He was a devil of principal, a warrior with honor... And yet his controlled fury threatened to spill out once again, veins brimming with a call to inferno flame. Vergil knew this well, to cast aside his rationality and reserve for the sake of this mission... He would do so gladly, for he would never allow men like Andrei to prosper as the rats they be.
It was not long before his presence was alerted to, he had gone to no extent to hide it... This was no stealth mission, it was a warning, a message. He did not stop for a moment even as shadow after shadow formed upon the world so grin, each glaring at him with the same intensity.
Vergil watched as several splicers came into view with their handguns at the ready, stopping at the center of a courtyard as his eyes glazed back and forth. The son of Sparda crooked his head so he could see the faint hint of the assailants behind him, still not displaying a single hint of fear.
He closed his eyes and began to concentrate, a thin light blue aura coalescing around his body until eventually overflowing with electrical might, his aura exploded into motion and those piercing blue eyes of his burned a hotter red now, revealing themselves to the world once more.
The Splicers surrounded him from all sides now, each one carrying a weapon of some kind, be it a gun, a knife or a sword, lightning dancing between their palms. It was a sort of standoff between one and the many, Vergil versus them all.
"If you do not evacuate the premises, we will be forced to use force! Comply!" Barks one of the leaders, his command training dozens of rifles on the devil's position.
'Still not a fair fight... I would not even dare use my Sin Devil Trigger against such vermin.' Vergil thought to himself, clenching a fist as a splicer closed in on him. In his eyes reflected the Splicers approach, an inferno flame growing to overtake all of him.
"One more chance! Comply!" The commander spoke with even more aggression, promising to destroy him if he did not.
But none would have the strength.
"Alright! Light this son of a bitch up!" From his left a knife soars, from his right dozens of bullets escape from the barrel of a gun, to his behind another Splicer comes rushing with a sword in hand...
"Foolishness!"
The concrete ground below him cracks, power flowing through bis soles and into the ground below as he ducks underneath the knife soaring above his head, he grabs it by the hilt before tossing it into the foot of the thug charging ahead of him, the thug cries out in pain as the knife digs deep into his skin.
Blue eyes snap to the right and the devil spins on the ball of his foot with his hand flourishing through the air, precisely. Vergil then plucks the trail of bullets from their trajectories, crushing them into dust between his fingers.
Oxide fumes emanate from his grasp as the air heats up around his palm, his eyes landing squarely on the splicer behind him, without hesitation, Vergil's body twists along the trajectory of his inflamed palm, heating red, Vergil presses forward against the Splicer's assault, raising his inflamed hand to the sky as the thug brings a blade down on him.
Steam emits from his contact with the blade, crimson red blood flowing and turning to vapor. Vergil releases a grunt before tearing the sword into the sky in a blistering display of strength, cracking a fist against the mask of the Splicer and sending the thug careening into a fountain, flooding the surrounding area with water.
His eyes whirl to the next attacker, crimson red beheld in those blue oceans of his, the splicer caught in his gaze trips over himself and slips, falling into the water as another Splicer steps over, brandishing an assault rifle. And then another, and then another, and then another, all brandishing their rifles towards him. Vergil narrows his eyes as he glances between them all.
"I said, LIGHT HIM UP!"
Dozens of muzzles lit up, smoke rising into the air as countless bullets tore down range towards the half-devil, from every angle from every corner, dust and debris kicked up all around the target zone, hundreds upon hundreds of casings being emptied onto the ground as the sound barrier broke thirty times every second. Asphalt and concrete dust shot into the air and covered all sight, all for one...
Finally the magazines had all been emptied, the repeated sound of clicking could be heard before the Splicers realized it was all over... No man would have survived that, no matter how strong... Right?
A low thrumming noise began to echo throughout the silent courtyard, as if the air was charged with electricity... As if a lightning strike was about to catch life, burning through the air... A lone Splicer standing overhead on a balcony could only watch with bated breath, sweat coalescing beneath his mask as he breathed heavily.
How could a man have survived that?
Two flaming red pupils blaze through the dust and brimstone, cackling to life as winds kicked up all around. The charge in the air intensified more and more as the storm roared outside.
The dust parted at the flex of a muscle, revealing an undamaged man... Nay, a devil! His arms outstretched to the side as steam exhumed from his skin, Vergil crouched low to the floor and let out a warm breath. Slowly standing to his full height, he watched as the countless splicers trained on his ascent with their rifles, his fists were shut tight.
Letting the contents of his hold fall to the floor, Vergil calmly stared ahead as countless balls of crushed lead peppered onto the floor around him, the echo reverberating through the silence along the beating of all their hearts, fear etched deeply into their souls now.
Vergil lowered his arms, his teeth grinding as the lightning in his aura crackled to life. The fire in his veins burned brighter than any star, thrumming beneath his skin. Twin infernos narrowed into slits as they witnessed the cowardice of Andrei's men. His lips curled into a tiny, rare smirk.
"My turn."
He ducks under an electrified palm before cracking a fist made of solid devastation into the Splicer's gut, retracting his fist faster than the eye can see as his opponent falls down to his knees. Grabbing the Splicer by his neck, Vergil slams the human into another and tosses them both away in a violent pirouette.
Using his momentum to soar into the air, the devil cackles into motion before disappearing out of sight. His fist cackles across the temporal line of all possibility, landing, cracking, booming, exploding, destroying, slamming against every single target in his vision simultaneously. A cyclone born from his raw speed, Vergil appears at the center of the battleground and glides on his soles to a stop.
All have fallen at his feet, bodies crumpling.
"Damn! He's as fast as he is strong, those reactions... They aren't human!"
His fist slammed onto the desk, jostling the computer monitor and sending papers flying. Roman scratched at the purple welt on his neck, breathing heavily at the sight of his men being dispatched so casually... Even easier than that crying robotic SDT, far easier.
Vergil danced around his men like they weren't even threats, the lightest blow, the lightest touch... He slipped between their attacks faster than was humanly possible, faster than what was possible period! Almost like he was teleporting.
Andrei peered over his shoulder, a nonchalant expression, "Hm, it seems our friend here truly is infernal." Roman stopped scratching at the purple welt on his neck and turned to his boss.
His brow furrows, "Infernal? You don't mean-"
Andrei nods, "Yes, he is a demon... Just as Sanctus said. A strong one too, no man is capable of this..."
Interest in his eyes, Andrei strolled over to the kitchen counter. "This is the power of a demon... A good plan, a demon moving under the guise of a man, it is far easier to underestimate a man than to underestimate a devil after all." He finished before pouring a cup of wine for himself and Roman, "But he will soon learn not to underestimate us men."
He placed a shot of wine in Roman's shocked hand, clinking their glasses together before taking a heavy drink.
To Andrei, Vergil was almost a God amongst men... Who hid in plain sight to maintain the idea that he's just a man like any other before striking, just another person, but Andrei knew better... To underestimate someone like Vergil was to sign your death wish, a devil like him...
The ground shook suddenly, Andrei casually glanced towards the computer screen as the camera revealed Vergil shooting through the second layer of the tower, scaring a few residential citizens as he shot through like a bullet... His eyes burned a solid blue, and the camera feed died in a flicker of movement.
'He's coming closer and closer...'
Andrei placed his shot glass down on the table, reaching for another glass to fill it up again... This time with...? Water?
Their sights were trained on a single, infinitely exploitable choke point, there were no other entrances, no other escape. More and more of Andrei's men began to come around the perimeter, more and more rifles aimed on a single spot as they kited the civilians away from the line of fire.
All sights aimed on... The exit of an escalator.
The sound of ironhide knuckles slamming against walls, reinforced doors, other men like them...
Bang
Bang
Bang
Bang
And then all was silent.
The Splicer at the front of the perimeter scratched his neck, careening his mask out of the way slightly as his breaths began to pick up. The anxiety of aiming down the line of fire, being the first in line... He felt his heartbeat pick up, beating so harshly in his chest that he couldn't even aim straight...
Bang!
It was closer now.
"Hold fire!"
"Hold fire!!!"
He had a feeling that the commanding Splicer of their little squadron was only barking orders to settle his own nerves... The grip of his rifle felt sticky now, it was slipping...
The whirring of the escalator was the only sound now, its mechanisms blaring through the silence as they held their line of sight no matter what.
But when push came to shove, they all hesitated.
Blazing blue eyes chained them down souls and all, coiling over their bones was the cold chain of fear. The sight of this devil ascending into their vision, slowly, inch by inch, the escalator working to bring him into view.
He then disappeared. The oscillation above the frontline's position could only mean one thing.
Vergil reappeared above the frontline attackers, his fist cackling shadowed by fate, he brought his iron knuckles through the air like a hammering bolt of lightning; The Splicer felt his mask crack before losing consciousness, his body bouncing off the ground.
The son of Sparda tore his gaze from his former target, eying his next with laser focus. These Splicers were nothing more than average when it came to skill and tactics, which meant they could do nothing to impede his might. Andrei truly had underestimated him, typical human arrogance.
The fright of these callous rats would satisfy him, the humiliation he'd serve them tonight would either be their foundation for growth, or it would be the destruction of their world.
He disappeared again.
A Devil was fueled by his will, his emotion, his desires... The strength of his will correlated to the strength of his flame, the power of human feeling in the soul of a devil... It is what Sparda himself drew power from, what allowed him to defeat Mundus and his legions of hell... Devils used the blood of humanity to fuel them, but Sparda? He embraced humanity, embraced their ways.
His emotion? Sympathy, will, justice.
But Vergil... Vergil had awoken to these as well, however... At the moment, his heart dithered to release the rage he felt... Kept tightly checked by the iron will, his iron discipline. Something these thugs clearly lacked if they decided to kidnap a dear friend of his. The devil threatens to awaken.
It still took every last drop of his iron will to not blast down the door in front of him and massacre everyone in that room... Including Andrei. Vergil suspected the source of this rage had been building ever since he'd arrived here, seeing the state of Fortuna and Its people.
Purely survival of the fittest, much like his old mentality, his mentality before the kindness of a lonely King.
And so, he was able to control his anger, just for a moment.
BANG
The door rocketed off its hinges, sliding across the floor and kicking up sparks before crashing into a wall... The sound of glass hitting the floor and shattering into a dozen pieces reverberated through the room.
Andrei felt his breath quicken as the dust from the blow covered his sight, the iron sights of his fire arm shaking in place as he trembled before the power displayed from the devil.
Blazing red pupils pierce through the smoke, narrowed and glowing hotly. "There's always some fool trying to rule the world, stepping on the feet of men he deems as lesser." The figure encased in shadow bit out, dust coiling around his frame and cloaking him in a bouquet of darkness.
Andrei's heart was beating at a million beats a second, thumping so hard he thought it would jump out of his chest. For the first time in his long life, Andrei felt fear... Vergil smirked at his pathetic visage.
Crossing his arms, "Look at you, pathetic whelp, you underestimated me."
Andrei fired nine shots as soon as a visible line of sight was made, "S-stay back! You think I'd go down so easily?" The bullets were caught harmlessly, falling to the ground as Vergil pressed onwards in a casual flounce.
His smirk grew both night and day, "And now you face the consequences of your arrogance." This fool before him trembled like a coward at the sight of a mighty devil, at the sight of him... Vergil wondered how he'd ever acquired his stature to begin with.
Vergil could smell the well-groomed man's fear, he reveled in it.
Andrei's breath hitched as he heard the gun click empty, pointlessly pulling the trigger hoping it was just a bad joke. He growled and caught eyes with the devil, throwing the pistol at him with a resounding yell.
"Damn you!"
The pistol merely bounced off his face like it hadn't even hit him to begin with, falling to the floor uselessly.
Andrei grunted and nearly tripped trying to run away, bursting over a sofa and throwing a lamp at the half-devil. That too bounced off harmlessly, Vergil smirked at the businessman's desperation; Andrei ducked underneath the sofa.
'A coward at the end of it all... What a joke.'
Vergil plunged his hands deep into the cushioning of the couch and tore it into the air, tossing the frunerature against the wall and away from Andrei in a flurry of momentum. The terrified man stood to his full height and took a tentative step back, and then another... His moustache curled as his visage mutated into pure horror.
Blistering red eyes darted all over the room, looking for something, anything to combat his aggressor. But Vergil just keeps coming, his fury unmatched.
Andrei leaps over the coffee table at the center of the room, eying Vergil with fright as the son of Sparda merely continues forward. The entrepreneur glances desperately around for leverage, eyes stopping on a single glass of water.
Andrei lunges for the glass of water and takes a step back, almost clumsily. Vergil eyes him with almost pity, "You truly are desperate, have you decided to throw all common sense to the wind?"
Andrei yells in fear, tossing the glass of water towards him. Vergil feels time slow as he watches this glass soar towards him, Andrei had vastly overestimated himself if this was his only defense. Vergil pondered for a moment in his mind, wondering if he should leave the fool to Crono, he would surely get a kick out of beating the tycoon purple. It would be a testament to everything, that a single man was capable of changing everything... He was unstoppable.
'It would sure be iron-'
His skin burned.
Vergil snapped to attention from his musings as the water began soaking into his skin and shirt, what seemed like regular drinking water had begun to light his nerves on fire!
Falling to his knees, Vergil felt the pain dance over his body in random intervals. "Hruh ah auh, what the hell!" He clutched his eyes and screamed as the liquid burned away at his flesh, liquidizing anything and everything it touched belonging to his body.
'What happened! One second I was in control, the next... What-' His vision began to melt away, and he could no longer even process this pain. Vergil felt his eyes melt out of his sockets as the water seeped into the soft tissue. Silver hair falling off in clumps, he kneels to the ground, kneeling over in pain and shock.
It's burning.
It hurts so badly.
He recalls flamethrowers and cannibalistic fly traps, burning burning burning, the pain of a thousand resets in the temporal span of a second all coalescing towards his death.
He can't call upon his friends, nor can he wield his power, both elude him... He is alone.
A dark chuckle reverberates through the room as Vergil shakes through the pain, clumps of bubbling flesh melting away, crimson blood seeping into the floor. Andrei's guise falls away, and his posture straightens.
Andrei chuckles more and more as the half-devil shakes at his feet, he kicks him in the stomach for good measure even if it doesn't do anything. "Haha, you, you, you, you. All your talk about arrogance and underestimation." Andrei shook his head, tsking as Roman came up besides him.
Andrei flicked the air, "And here you are... Beaten."
He kneeled down and grabbed Vergil's melting body by the jacket, holding him up into the air with both arms. "You don't view people weaker than you as a threat, so I conditioned you from the moment you arrived here and you fell for it. It's almost divine." Andrei laughed to himself, proud at his handwork, the devil was incapable of moving or responding, his eyes and face had melted down.
Andrei brushed some of the liquid off of Vergil's melting flesh, "Holy water, harmless against humans, deadly against demons, it impairs the regenerative factors of devils and cripples their abilities. What? You think we've survived this long without having means to put down beasts like you?"
Roman watched the interaction with his arms crossed, looking out for any other invaders... The sight of the grotesquely melted half-devil wasn't one he wanted to see or have stuck in his own mind.
Andrei spat in Vergil's face, pulling him to eye level. "And now, I own you. You want to bring chaos to my city, to my people?" He scoffed In his face, punching him again, and again.
Andrei slams a knee against his deformed face, laughing. "You suffer now because of your hubris, and the people will only know you as the parasite you are." He raised a fist back and slammed his knuckles into the half-conscious devil's face sending him sprawling across the floor, a book falling out of his jacket.
Andrei scoffed and pulled out a cigar and a lighter, he lit his addiction and shook his head before noticing the object on the ground next to the shaking devil, his vocal cords struggling to make sounds. He was reaching for the book despite lacking eyes, Andrei smirked dangerously and strolled over.
'It must mean something to him.'
Andrei stepped on Vergil's outstretched hand, tearing the book from his fingers. He inspected it for a moment, taking a puff of his cigar and blowing it out onto the hard cover.
Andrei shook his head, "William Blake huh? What would you know about individualism? Peh." He held the book into the air and lit a flame underneath it, tossing it right in front of Vergil, just out of reach.
His compendium lit into flames, the very same that he'd been gifted as a child to mark his fascination with literature. The very same that Dante had stolen from him many times. The very same book that he trekked all the way back to Redgrave to retrieve.
It was burning, he could smell it, he could feel the faint flame against what was left of his bubbling skin. A component of his humanity burned right before him.
And then... It was black.
Andrei glared with a strange mix of pity and frustration, "You picked this fight Vergil, you could've walked away, you could've been somebody. But no." It felt good to utterly destroy someone who'd done great harm to his property, who'd challenged him, but at the same time...
It was a waste.
He puffed a large plume to quell his stress, releasing it into the air. "A devil with the heart of a man, now that had potential. But you threw it away, erroneously." Another tsk, Andrei sighed and gestured for Roman to pick him up.
Roman quickly responded, trying to quell his urge to throw up as the smell of Vergil's melting flesh entered his nostrils. "Throw him out, let him be a message to those who'd seek to uproot this city and everything it represents, I will not go down without a fight."
"... Yes sir."
Roman obeys without a second thought, like always, without doubt. What was the difference between a man and a slave anyways? The maxims of your faith would always dictate your action in the end... Roman knew this, embraced this.
Still, as he carried the devil on his shoulder, the once imposing form of Vergil was replaced with... A tattered being missing a decent portion of his face... He felt sick carrying him, blood pooling down onto his suit and staining his white dress shirt.
The rain instantly peppered against his skin as they exited onto the balcony outside, the winds of the storm crashing against both him and Vergil.
Lowering the devil into his arms, the masked Splicer released a sigh as he stared down at the now deformed young man in his arms.
With a mighty heave, he throws Vergil off the balcony and into the storm, his corpse disappearing into the clouds... Roman stands there for just a moment longer than he should, watching...
And then he turns, heading inside.
A puddle forms around his body as the rain peppers the ground, intermixing with blood in the ditch surrounding Babel, his deformed face half submerged in the puddle. Lightning cracks in the sky to reveal a figure standing right above him, slender and ghostly.
"What should we do with him? This was not in our prediction, was it?"
"The Emerald Witch? I see."
"However, I could take the amulet now-"
...
"Yes yes, of course."
The figure lowered down and placed a hand over Vergil's tattered jacket, and In another flash of lightning, they were both gone from the world. Leaving behind the book that fell down next to him. Vergil had reaped his sin, his hastiness... Despite all odds. The son of Sparda had been...
Defeated by man.