OK guys, here's one more chapter for you all. Sorry it took so long. Anyways, here I'll give you one of the best parts that is often seen in the DMC series as well as R+V. Read to find out what happens. PLEASE REVIEW! It motivates me to write the chapters faster and better. If you have any questions as to the enemies, the wikias of the series will answer them. Other than that, READ ON! (P.S. This is a partial chapter. I'm still writing the very last part. Believe me, it's worth the short wait it'll take ^^)

Demon Chronicles

Chapter 9

"Calamity"

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby becomes a monster." Friedrich Nietzsche

When the giant's assault took place, all parents and students immediately ran to the safe point indicated on the school walls, which was the cafeteria. There, through the loudspeaker, the chairman told them about the fiend invasion and how he recruited guardians to take care of the beasts and protect the students, as well as telling them that just a moment ago, a giant fiend ad appeared but was quickly dispatched. An hour later, all parents left.

Just as that happened, Ageha and Tsurara were taken to the school's private hospital and transferred to the ICU due to their life-threatening injuries. Thanks to many potions made by Ruby and Yukari, they recovered overnight. However, Zenaku caused severe damage to Tsurara's arms and body that she wouldn't be able to use her powers for a while. Similar things happened with Ageha as her wings would take at least two months to recover. The following morning, both women got ready to depart at the gates of the living complex with some bandages on their heads and arms.

"So I'll be hearing more from you? Ageha asked.

"Sure! I'll keep you posted on everything that happens here." Kurumu said.

"Ok then, goodbye. Tsukune, I'll be expecting children from you and Mizore soon." Tsurara said as both women made their way to the bus stop. Tsukune laughed nervously as Mizore gave him a look that to her was sexy but to him it was bone-chilling scary.

The two women were about to enter the forest path towards the bus when…

"Huh? Mother, what's wrong?" Mizore asked as the group neared them to see what was stopping them.

"I trust that you whores know what the moral to your punishment was." Zenaku said as he stood before the women, inciting horror in their hearts once again. The children behind them saw and heard this as well. Both women nodded frantically.

"And what is it?"

"To never ever insult you or your mother's name!" Tsurara stuttered in fear.

"Y-yes, we're very sorry for saying such disrespectful things to you and your friends. We hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us." Ageha added as she bowed on the floor apologetically, followed almost immediately by the cerulean succubus.

"Pray we never meet again." Zenaku said coldly as he walked past them, then the news club. He walked close to Kairi, but not before glancing at her with the same eyes he looked at the victims of his wrath: despise. She couldn't hide the regret she felt for what she said to him back on the roof, and judging by what he said just now, she was more than sure he wouldn't absolve her for her transgression.

"I…" Kairi uttered softly after Zenaku passed her.

He heard her but didn't stop to hear the rest she had to say. He already knew, but wasn't going to accept it. Not yet, anyways…

I'm so sorry… she couldn't find the right way to say it—or even the courage to say it. The words were right at the tip of her tongue ready to be spoken but they just wouldn't come out.

"What's got you so down in the dumps?" Yukari asked as she approached Kairi.

"Oh nothing, I'm fine." She chugged down her sentiments for another time; right now she needed to have a clear mind because they were having a math test today. Surely enough Ririko wouldn't hold anything back so as to get some students of her choice to have private lessons with her. "Come on, we have to get to school on time or we won't be allowed to take the test!" Kairi said and everyone nodded with her as they left.

Back at the school, Dante was walking the halls eyeing all the pretty girls he could find. He had a hard time believing how the students here were as attractive as the hottest women back in the human world, and the short skirts and tight shirts did little to nothing to prevent that thought.

On another place, Momiji was walking on the hall where Kairi's homeroom was, getting eyes and comments on her beauty. There, she came across her leaning on a window, and because of intuition she was able to tell from her saddened expression that something was wrong. "Kairi, what troubles you?"

"I think I just made things worse than they already were." She said in a low tone.

"Why is that?" Momiji asked.

"Yesterday after Zenaku hurt those two women I said horrible things to him, and because of that he nullified our agreement." Kairi confessed. Momiji quickly grasped the gravity of the situation at hand, but kept her mind calm and clear to analyze the next step.

"I see. Worry not, Ryu should be able to handle him for the time being." Momiji stated as the bell rang. "Go to your class. We will handle the rest." Kairi did, then a minute after, Zenaku appeared. He seemed very indifferent in his expression as well as the way he walked. When Kairi saw him enter the room and sit next to her, she couldn't help but replay those words in her mind over and over. They were stuck on her head and couldn't get them out. Immediately, Momiji left to find Ryu and tell him of what had happened.

Meanwhile, Dante was on the school roof lying down and enjoying the partly cloudy skies and the breeze with a magazine he brought covering his face. Then Trish appeared followed by Nero. "Working hard or hardly working?"

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping guard in case demons show up?" Trish asked as she laughed at Nero's sarcasm to Dante then picked up the magazine from his face.

"Can't you tell a hard-working man when you see one?" Dante replied.

"If that's hard work, I'd hate to see your laziness." Trish said when she dropped the magazine back on his face. Dante chuckled a little before getting up. Even with all the sarcasm in the world, Trish knew that Dante was always aware of his surroundings, just like her, Nero and the others.

They made some small talk about the recent events and other things when Ryu, Momiji and Ayane appeared. "We have a problem." Ryu said.

"What is it?" Nero asked. He expected the ninja to say something about demons, after which he would immediately look for Kyrie to protect her. It wasn't like that.

"There's a higher risk that everyone here will be killed. Zenaku broke the agreement he had with Kairi." Momiji explained.

"Oh really. To what do we owe that?" Trish asked as she crossed her arms. A slight breeze blew, waving her golden hair and fluttering the coats on the roof.

"Yesterday's conflict," Ayane said, "We must keep a stricter eye on that boy. Otherwise we'll be walking among corpses."

After Momiji told them what Kairi said to her in the hall, Dante put his two cents. "Well, I don't think we should worry so much about him."

"Why do you say that?" Nero asked bewildered at his remark.

"I could tell much of his heart when I fought him, even more when I looked in his eyes," Dante said as he sauntered around a little, "When you cross blades, you can tell a little of what your opponent's thinking. I'm not saying you can read their mind or anything like that, but you can tell what kind of resolve lies in their blade; whether they respect you, look down on you, things like that."

The ninjas as well as Trish and Nero were often amazed at how much they underestimated Dante sometimes, especially his insight. Dante continued his speech. "That kind of thing you can tell. When I'm actually fighting, there's no time to think about it, so I don't usually realize until afterwards, but in general, the stronger the opponent is, the more of that 'heart' seems to come across. So that being said, I can tell Zenaku will not bother to kill anyone else because he sees them as too insignificant to kill—unless they give him a reason."

Ryu clearly understood what he meant. As a ninja, he understood that the blade is the warrior's heart and his strength as well as the embodiment of his resolve. Anything that's in the wielder's mind will reflect on the sword. As he thought of this, he realized that when he fought Zenaku, he could sense his intensions, his goals, and his purpose.

"I see." Ryu went to the roof edge and got on the guard rail. Ayane and Momiji followed. "Keep track of anything Zenaku does. We'll keep watch on everything else." They then went down. Nero quickly ran to see if they had fell all the way down but when he got to the edge where, he saw nothing on the ground bellow or anywhere around; like they were never there.

"What are you so worked up about? They're ninjas, remember? Come on, let's go find my brother." Dante said as he headed for the door out of the roof.

Back with Kairi and the news club, they headed to a small bench outside as they discussed the exams and how they noticed Ririko's tricks in the difficulty of the problems.

"She sure went all out to get some slaves with those hard problems." Tsukune said as he sat down. He hoped he managed to do well enough so as to not get caught alone with her again. The memories of those days still made his spine chill, even after so much time.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Remembering the time she had you all subjugated still creeps me." Moka said as she too remembered. She herself was mostly sure she did well enough to pass, though the memories of that time lingered still.

"Well, I at least don't have to worry, unlike Kurumu here." Yukari bragged as she mocked the succubus next to her, which made her fume as she barely skidded through classes last year to pass. Yukari, however, never had any trouble with any class, being a child prodigy and always ranking first in the scoreboard.

They laughed a little at this, especially after agreeing that it was just past memories. They heard a loud rumbling coming from within the school and all of a sudden the wall near them exploded. When the dust cleared a little they saw Ririko sensei lying on the ground, "Dear goodness, you don't have to be so aggressive towards your loving teacher!" Kagome shouted.

"Who says I give a damn about you or anything you want?" Zenaku said as he walked out of the blast hole. All of this was happening because a few moments ago back in the halls, Ririko had been all over him, insisting that he went to her 'private courses'. Despite his indifference and many rejections she never backed down and kept up her provocative invites. Finally he grew tired of her and, grabbing her by the neck, he lunged her through the walls until she reached the outside.

"I just wanted to create a deep bond between teacher and student with you, but if you're going to treat me like this I'm going to force you to it!" Ririko shouted as she transformed into a Lamia, her true form.

"Please stop, sensei. He'll kill you!" Tsukune shouted but it proved futile when she didn't stop. Ririko swung her tail at Zenaku but he dodged it and ran up to her and delivered a powerful uppercut to her stomach, lifting her in mid-air. In that moment he jumped and drove three kicks at her, raising her higher. When she got higher no more, Zenaku grabbed her arms, locking then in a powerful grip and came down in a swift spinning descent, crashing violently on the ground. Kamikaze, that's what he called that technique.

Zenaku managed to get away at the last second and stood a few meters away from her body. "Pathetic." Zenaku said as he walked into the woods, heading for the lake. When Tsukune and the girls went to check on the body, they saw she was dead.

"Dammit." Tsukune cursed as he saw her body, "We couldn't stop him. Again." He clenched his fist.

"You shouldn't blame yourself; this wasn't your fault. It was his." Moka said as he patted his shoulder. The girls gathered behind him.

"She's right! He's the one to blame in all of this. I would even blame him for all the demons that are appearing lately." Yukari said and Mizore and Kurumu agreed with her.

Kairi didn't. "You're wrong." Everyone turned their eyes and attention to her. They could tell that some emotion was overwhelming her. "The demons' appearing is not his fault. I'm sure of it."

"Why do you say that?" Kurumu asked.

"Because Zenaku is after them; more precisely, four great demons and they are trying to kill him as well. They are the ones responsible for the demons, not him." Kairi said as her hands rose to her chest. She didn't feel good divulging this information with them, but she wanted them to understand that he was not pure evil as they believed.

When she saw their eyes, it was clear they were wondering what made her say such things. Now that she had opened that particular can of worms, she chose to tell them the truth. She tried to summarize it as much as she could and took a deep breath. "Zenaku wasn't born an evil being. In fact, he trained hard since he was a child to protect his family and everyone else from evil demons. Those great demons I'm telling you of killed his family in front of him many years ago. Zenaku wasn't able to stop them and they almost killed him, so he vowed to become stronger no matter what the cost to hunt them down and kill them. But as he traveled, his heart darkened progressively to the point we see now. It appears that everything brought him to this place, indicated by clues he found that those demons might be here."

Tsukune and the others, after hearing this, somehow tried to make sense of everything that had happened at the academy. Then Mizore asked, "How did you learn all this?"

"The chairman told me and the other guardians last night." Kairi replied. The second they heard this they understood why she arrived to her apartment unconscious.

'That would explain his hostility and malice. It could surely turn someone for the worse, as well as explaining why he wants that power.' The inner Moka thought inside the cross.

"That is why ultimate power is his goal, and I've no doubt he'll succeed in what he strives for." Kairi said as her hands grasped her amulet and looked to the sky. "But I fear for him."

"Why?" Moka asked.

"He once told me that he doesn't know what he'll do once those demons are destroyed. I once felt like that, and I know from experience what it's like to live without purpose." Kairi's eyes kept to the blue sky and the clouds adorning it. She then dwelled back for a moment as her mind took a trip back in time, then came back to the present.

The inner Moka then spoke to the outer one through the Rosario bond and asked her to say what she wanted to ask Kairi. After agreeing, she spoke. "I see. But once he obtains the power he seeks, what guarantee do you have that he won't turn his blade against every human and monster he comes across?"

For a moment Kairi was silent, and then she answered back. "Because I have in him what you have for each other, even if no one else does." She began to make her way to the forest to find Zenaku.

"And what is that?" Yukari asked.

"Faith." Kairi then disappeared in the woods.

They just stood in thought at what she just said to them. Faith. They hadn't given this much thought ever since they started competing for Tsukune's love. They hardly realized that one of the main things that bonded them as friends was just that: Faith. This small train of thought made them look at each other and smile, each recovering memories of what meant most to them.

"Come on, let's go back inside." Tsukune proposed and everyone did, carrying a smile on their faces, then Ruby appeared.

"Excuse me, everyone. The Chairman wants every student to follow him to the underground control room."

"What, why would he want everyone down there all of a sudden?" Kurumu asked.

"I don't know, he only told me to spread the word. You are the last ones left." Ruby said. Everyone started their way towards the location until Tsukune remembered someone.

"Wait, Kairi doesn't know of this. I better go tell her, you go on ahead."

"No, you all must go there now. I'll go fetch her myself." Ruby spread out her wings and went to the forest while the boy and girls headed off.

Dante and the other devil hunters were walking in the rear grounds of the school when they found Vergil. "Hey bro, what's cracking?" Dante exclaimed as he patted Vergil on the back.

"I'll tell you what's cracking, my patience to your stupid slang." Vergil said as he shook of Dante's hand off him.

"Hey, don't be such a hard-ass. Come on let's go get ourselves a beer." Dante proposed loosely and almost cynically.

"Stupid and ignorant; even I know by common sense that a school sells no alcohol." Vergil retorted. Nero and the girls couldn't help but snicker at the devil twins' banter. Vergil then walked away and turned around to a corner. Dante quickly followed to keep messing with him.

Nero and the women with him also followed, for they didn't want to miss out on the fun. They turned the corner and saw both of them staring in the woods with serious expressions.

"What is it?" Nero asked. After a few moments, he didn't get his answer and chose to go to them and see what was halting them. He saw their faces and they were fixed on whatever may be in the near distance in front of them. He too looked to that direction and saw a black samurai engulfed in purple flames, a tall long haired blonde man in a black suit and about three dozen other individuals dressed just like him coming out of the woods.

"Hmm, this is new. I've never seen these men before in my campus." Kuyou pointed out as he saw the Devil Hunters. "Perhaps we can use them as appetizers before moving on to the students."

"It matters little who we destroy first." The samurai unsheathed his sword.

Nero's arm shone as if warning him of the strength of the samurai and the blonde man.

"Now you see." Trish said as she pulled out her guns just as the others readied their weapons. Nero told Kyrie to go into the school and alert everyone of what was going on. Once she left, he revved the Red Queen and took aim with the Blue Rose.

The Devil Bringer still shone, giving Nero another message. "They're not the only ones here, are they? I can tell there's a legion of them nearby." He said

"Yes. Took you long enough to figure it out." Vergil stated.

Nero blew off his words as he revved the Red Queen. "Let's rock."

Meanwhile, Kyrie ran as fast as she could through the halls, but it drew her attention that everywhere she looked, no one was there. When she got to the Chairman, he saw him staring out the window. Panting, she told him about what was happening outside.

"I know of them, and the army of demos that just came." Kyrie got scared at this. "Don't worry though. I'm sure that they can handle this. Come with me, I'll take you to a safe place." He placed his right hand on top of her head and they both teleported in a bright light to the underground control room, the Altar of Everlasting Darkness.

Zenaku was sitting on a rock, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He was meditating to calm and straighten him mind. He replayed in his mind the words Kairi said to him back at the rooftop. At first he thought that she didn't understand why he did what he did, but after he replayed the beating he gave Ageha and Tsurara, he realized that he indeed became, for a moment, like the monsters that killed her mother and Yasha. He concluded that he indeed may have gone a little too far; nevertheless, he wasn't sorry for what he did to them. He decided to just forget what she just said and move on with his mission.

Suddenly he heard a rustling sound behind him. He was about to summon his blade but after he sensed the presence of who was coming, he calmed and got down from the rock. Kairi came near, winded from running as she looked for him in the woods. "What does the fair white angel want with an evil fiend like me?" he spoke coldly and with a stern look on his face. But this cold shoulder had a different point.

She felt hurt the second she heard what he just said. That was a definitive that he was still upset about that time. "I'm sorry." After a minute of catching her breath, she spoke again. "Listen Zenaku, I came because I wanted to talk to you."

A forecast of what she would be about to say emerged in Zenaku's mind and kept on his masquerade. "You do realize I could've killed you by coming the way you did."

She joined her hands bowed her head down, "I...I wanted to apologize to you, for what I said back on the roof. I truly am. Can you…" she hesitated, but her mind wouldn't let her leave that place without saying it. "Can you forgive me?"

Zenaku scoffed lightly before leaving the rock and approaching her. Coming close to her clearly made a chill go down her back as he could tell that she feared he would hurt her. "Your words are true. I'll give you my answer shortly." His words made her wonder what he meant. She couldn't ponder longer on it because he then reached for the bun on her hair and undid it, letting loose her long flowing hair. "I think you look better that way, care-free and unrestrained." He said, making her blush a little at the words he said about her looks; it made her feel like he thought she was pretty.

He walked back to the rock and Kairi was just turning around to return to the Academy when she heard him speak again. "By the way…" she turned to look at him and got spooked when she saw him summoning black spectral blades around and above him, her eyes blew up like saucers, "…hold still." She didn't have time to process the words in her brain when she saw the blades racing straight and breezing by the edges of her head.

"What was that for?" she yelled hysterically. Zenaku pointed behind her and saw two Van Gelfs and four Flare Shadow Fiends, each with a blade in their heads and their bodies dissolving.

"Oh god, please tell me that's all of them." She said, stuttering in fear.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not even the smallest fraction of the legion that just arrived." He said as he summoned Sounga to his right hand and turned his attention to the dead forest. A legion? That couldn't possibly be good. Kairi began to hear strange noises, like muffled cackles and strange screeches from afar. She was about to ask Zenaku what were those noises but was halted when she saw a grin on his face. She didn't need to even ask to figure out what was crossing his mind: he was thrilled by the idea of these demons coming after him and killing them all. He enjoyed the slaughter and the adrenaline rush he got when he faced multiple opponents.

All of a sudden she saw many fiends of various sizes and shapes jutting out of the ground. "Well well. Looks like today won't be such a boring day after all." Zenaku said in a voice that almost demonstrated happiness for what he was going to do.

"Kairi!" Ruby called from above as she landed next to her. "I'm here to take you out of here and to a safe place." Kairi nodded but when they looked up they saw several flying fiends.

"Oh no, we're trapped!" Kairi said as she looked all around her at the approaching fiends.

"Come on girls, if it's a way out you want…" Zenaku said as he summoned Ifrit to his left hand. "…all you need to do is ask!

Zenaku aimed the gauntlet towards the academy and it began to glow in an infernal blaze. The dragon-like item then slowly opened its mouth, revealing a fireball in the mouth area where his hand was. "If I were you, I'd get out of the way." Kairi and Ruby wasted no time in moving aside.

In a horrifying display of power, Zenaku unleashed an infernal torrent of hellfire incinerating anything unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end while the Ifrit roared like a savage beast as it unleashed its ravenous inferno. Several fiends shrieked in agony as they swaggered about like headless chickens before collapsing on the floor and turning to ash.

"Go now, I'll deal with them." Zenaku said as he charged to the fiends slashing and hacking. The girls nodded and ruby grabbed Kairi by the waist, summoned her wings and flew between the flames and escaped the demons.

"Where are you taking me?" Kairi asked in midflight.

"To a safe place; I'll explain everything when we get there." Ruby replied as she headed to her destination.

"At long last, I can reclaim what is rightfully mine." Kuyou said as he raised his arms gazing at the academy.

"What is 'rightfully yours'? Dude, you sure have an ego the size of your butt-ugliness, and that's saying a lot." Nero mocked Kuyou's words.

The former chief of safety for the academy frowned at Dante's words. "What cheek. You will pay for disregarding the law." Kuyou flinched as Dante placed his hands behind his waist, grasping his guns.

Ryu, Ayane and Momiji appeared out of the blue and stood right in front of Dante, the black ninja leering at the black samurai. "Ah, the heir of the Dragon Lineage. We meet yet again; such strange paths fate takes." Doku said in a mechanical voice that irritated Ryu.

"Doku, go back to hell." Ryu spoke dimly and coldly. It was obvious to the demon hunters that those two had already clashed before as mortal enemies.

"Well this has become a rather amusing introduction, but I believe we're missing someone." Kuyou said as he grinned, confident of emerging victorious from the mission.

Zenaku suddenly appeared landing in front of Dante, covered with fiend blood. "Am I late?" he said as he got up slowly.

"Look at you, making a big dramatic entrance and stealing the spotlight." Dante said satirically.

"What are you complaining about?" Zenaku said as he licked some blood of his right hand. "The main event hasn't even begun." Dante then noticed something familiar in his left hand. The Ifrit. Did he take those other Devil Arms as well? No matter, I'll beat the truth out of him later, he thought.

Every student and teacher was chatting and walking about in a large and dark room dimly lit by a control panel in the center and a large pentagram on the floor. Tall pillars stood across the room and reached up to the unseen ceiling. The Altar of Everlasting Darkness, that is the name given to this secret place, and the source of the grand barrier that protected and hid the academy from the human realm. To Tsukune and the girls with him, it reminded them of the confrontation they had with Kaneshiro Hokuto as he almost dispelled the barrier. And now, they had come here yet again. For a few minutes they spread out to talk to the students to gather information and regroup right by the panel.

"Have you heard anything that might tell us why we're all here?" Yukari asked. Everyone moved their heads sideways.

"It's stressing me out not knowing what's going on." Kurumu exclaimed.

Then the chairman appeared right in front of the main control panel and with him was a girl in white which Moka recalled yesterday in their classroom. "Guys, she's with the devil hunters. Perhaps she knows something."

Mizore approached Kyrie and tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me, you're uh…" she struggled with her identity but quickly recalled it. "…Nero's girlfriend, right?" Well, sort of recalled it.

Kyrie was caught a little off guard with her question as she gave a shy giggle. "Y-yes, I think so. What can I help you with?"

"Do you know what's happening outside?" Yukari asked.

"I don't know. We were walking outside when two strange individuals appeared." Kyrie said.

"What did they look like?" Moka asked.

Kyrie recalled those last moments. "Well, one of them was a samurai clad in black armor with purple flames in his face and the other was a tall man with long blonde hair wearing a black suit."

The last description gave them chills as it sounded too close to a threat that almost cost Tsukune his life once before.

"You don't think it could be him, do you?" Yukari asked shakily.

"Let's hope not." Mizore said.

A light shone from the ceiling and Ruby appeared with Kairi in her arms. "Phew, we made it." Ruby said.

Tsukune and the girls approached her. "Kairi, thank goodness you're ok. Is everything alright?"

"Thanks for caring. And no, not really; when I found Zenaku, several demons appeared. If it wasn't for him, Ruby and I would be dead by now." Kairi answered back.

Two strange individuals and now demons; so far things were looking bleaker by the second. The chairman activated a speaker in the panel and called out the students. "Your attention everyone." A giant screen lit up on the ceiling displaying the Chairman and everyone looked up to it.

"The reason I have brought all of you here is because we are under attack." Everyone then grew alarmed. "As we speak, a massive army of demons and fiends is entering the outer grounds. They will try to find and kill us all. But we need not worry. This place in inaccessible to them and are deep beneath them. Plus, with all of us out of the way, the devil hunters will have nothing to worry about as they slaughter them all. So you can all relax, and if you wish…" the screen quickly changed to a real-time feed to the outside, showing Dante's partners and the enemy. "…enjoy the show."

Those words hardly brought any calm to some students who saw Kuyou on the screen, especially Tsukune. "Oh my god, it's him again." He said in fear.

The girls were just as shocked as he was when they saw him. Still they tried to comfort their love objective. "Yes, but the chairman is right; we shouldn't worry." Moka said.

Yukari quickly joined in. "Yeah, the hunters will surely exterminate him, if Zenaku doesn't beat them to it."

"I guess you're right. For once, that psychopath's bloodthirst will be good for something." Kurumu remarked.

"Let's hope so." Tsukune uttered before they turned their attention to the screen.

"It appears that all of them are here. It's time to arrest you for defiling my territory." Kuyou said with a cocky grin.

Zenaku made a spit gesture and retorted. "This place isn't yours, it's mine." The Hunters were a little caught off when Zenaku referred to the academy as his own. Trish, Nero and Lady couldn't quite grasp if he meant it as actually him claiming himself the king of this castle or just a rouse.

"And call out the other one with you; I know there're three of you here." Dante and Vergil got a little confused when he mentioned one more, but when they honed their senses a little more, they indeed sensed another demon.

"Very perceptive of you." Kuyou said pretending impression before snapping his fingers. A rumbling was then felt and a giant tower of flame jutted out of the ground. A powerful bestial roar shredded away the ascending flames, revealing a minotaur flaming figure. Dante and especially Nero knew very well that fiend who called himself the Conqueror of the Fire Hell.

"The infamous sons of Sparda. Though you may have defeated me the last time we met, I swear to you, this time it will be MY SWORD that ends your lives." Berial proclaimed as he saw Dante, Vergil and Nero, then saw Zenaku pointing at them with his lava sword.

Then Berial noticed Zenaku. "Don't think I do not know you, warrior. You are Ashura the Bloodshed, the last descendant of the Dark Dragon, of whom neither human nor demon escapes alive." Ryu's blood froze for a moment the second he heard Zenaku was a descendant of his clan's arch-nemesis. He knew his mother was a black dragon and just recently accepted the thought that maybe his mother's origins were different. But he was wrong. "Your name is a feared one in the demon world. You have the blood of Sparda in your veins and unlike your heretic brothers Dante and Vergil, you are a full-fledged demon. I sense a great darkness in you, fitting for a king of hell. Why do you stand against us, your demon brethren?"

Kuyou, Doku and the hunters were surprised at what Berial had just revealed about Zenaku. He was known in hell and with a fearsome title. Dante and Vergil heard little references and whispers about him as they killed demons. Nero just remembered some notes in Agnus' research room about some warrior going by that name. Kuyou had also heard about him also in whispers from other monsters, just as Doku. In the underground shelter, the chairman was also surprised when he heard that name: to be a legend among the demon world was an almost impossible feat to achieve.

Zenaku scoffed a little before responding. "My name's no longer Ashura and I don't care what titles you demons give me. And you're right in your observation. Humans and demons, hell and earth, they mean nothing to me."

Dante and the other hunters couldn't help but frown a little at what he said. If he were to carry on in this manner, Dante would have a very hard time defeating him, just as he did with Vergil. And frankly he didn't want to end up in that situation again. Despite having defeated his brother and killing him, deep down he wanted to make him reconsider his position. But then again, each had his own path and reasons for doing what they did. In the Altar of Everlasting Darkness, Kairi felt sad by what he had just said. Just like Dante, she wanted to change his mind about killing everything he came across and become someone different; someone who's at peace with the world and himself—maybe even become like Dante, fighting to protect the world from evil beings.

"Spoken like a prince of darkness." Kuyou said as he clapped his hands. "Now then, I'm going to arrest you al for crimes against the law and the Academy Police. Will you comply?"

"Try putting those handcuffs on us first, then brag about it. Or better yet…" Zenaku pointed his blade at Kuyou, as a taunt and insult to the blonde man's ego "…try coming close enough to do it."Kuyou then ordered his followers to move in with shackles and cuffs in hand. Unlike normal cuffs, these were specially made to suppress a demon's powers.

As they approached Zenaku turns his eyes to Nero. "Hey kid, here's a friendly tip: your fighting style is good, but if you want to be even deadlier, let your demon instinct drive you. Get drunk in the ecstasy of slaughtering your enemies and the adrenaline of combat."

Nero heard his words but tried his best not to listen to them. Because he was right; every time he fought and killed a demon, he couldn't help but feel even a little joy in it. Yet he hated it, it made him feel less than human. Zenaku saw his conflict and added a small boost to make him agree with him. "You know I'm telling the truth, boy. You felt it when you used your demon power fighting me back on that castle." Nero couldn't deny what he just said. The moment he felt angered and summoned Yamato, all he could think of was killing him.

The moment Zenaku turned his attention back to the enemy, he flashed Sounga and the followers stopped frozen in their tracks, his sword now resting on his shoulder. "What's the matter, you fools? Arrest—" Kuyou shouted but didn't finish because in a split second, his students' heads slid off their bodies and blood gushed like a geyser from their severed necks, spraying Zenaku. Now angered, Kuyou once again snapped his fingers and thousands of demons surrounded them, both in ground and air.

Dante and the other hunters managed to recognize a ton of demons like Assaults, Basilisks and a vast number of the Seven Hells. Ryu and the Kunoichi saw fiends like the Ariochs, Flare, Inferno and Lesser shadow fiends, Gallas, Gobdecks, Van Gelfs and an fleet of Quetzalcoatls up in the sky.

"I trust you know who your target is." Zenaku spoke out. Looking into their eyes he could tell who they had picked to kill: Dante and Nero had their eyes on Berial while Ryu was fixed on taking down Doku.

Since apparently Kuyou was the only one left, he checked his aura level to see if he was worth slaying and absorbing his soul. Indeed he was way over the levels of all the monsters in the academy, which added weight to the thought of killing him, but since he had no interest for him he decided to leave him to whoever caught him first. "I suggest that the women go to higher ground to take out the flying ones." Zenaku added.

"That's not a bad idea. With you out of the way we can kill them without worrying about accidentally hurting you." Ryu added. At first they complained about it, particularly Lady who was hungry for action, but after some reasoning by Trish and Dante, she agreed. So they did. Lady, Trish, Momiji and Ayane ran to the school, but were cut off by some fiends who were quickly dealt with by Trish's lightning bolts. The kunoichi were rather impressed with her abilities. They quickly headed for the highest rooftop and the chairman, who saw all this, saw this and decided to help them by summoning a magic chest in their rendezvous point.

Doku raised his Kitetsu then aimed it to their opponents, signaling the fiends to move in and attack. Kuyou and Doku mingled with the rushing fiends to go for a surprise attack, whereas Berial gave out a mighty roar and charged after Nero and Dante. "Let's welcome Chaos." Zenaku said and all demon slayers and ninja rushed to the fiends and began killing them as each did best: Dante fired a stream of hot lead with his pistols, Nero revved the Red Queen to a blaze and ready to strike, Vergil flashed Yamato at lightning speed, Ryu lashed out the Dragon Sword and Zenaku fired off a fireball from Ifrit and began to slash away.

Back on the roof, the women found a tall brown chest that had two notes on it. One said 'Magical item #402: Dirac' and the other had a message. This chest will provide you with a vast supply of ammo. Fire away. Lady opened it and found several ammo clips, grenades, and rockets that fit all of her weapons and Trish's pistols, just as they found explosive kunai for Ayane and arrows for Momiji.

Ryu and Doku quickly found each other and wasted no time to fight. They attacked fiercely and any attack that missed either one landed on the surrounding fiends. The other men fighting the demons were killing in almost every possible way there was: decapitation, shot, slashed, stomped, and many others. The blood was pouring and flowing like the rivers of ancient Babylon. Zenaku particularly was having a hell of a good time, mostly because the sight of blood aroused him to kill even more. The students watching this massacre were not as thrilled about the fight. Many girls were horrified and even began to puke. The news club, Kairi and Kyrie weren't far off as they too were appalled by the blood rage.

As the devil hunters slaughter fiends by the dozen, Berial found Dante and swung his magma saber at him which Dante easily evaded as he kept shooting down demons. Nero kept slashing away as well and saw the flaming centaur going at it with Dante and decided to not let him have all the fun of killing him, but as he ran to him, a Goliath smashed his fist right in front of him. Several small fiends jumped off its shoulder and more came all around him. Just then, Zenaku jumped out of the thick and in mid-air summoned a plethora of long dark blades. With the flick of his wrist, they all came raining down upon the fiends surrounding Nero, impaling and cutting them down. Some also fell on the Goliath as they struck its face and arms. Zenaku gave it the fatal blow by lashing out a slash wave at its head, releasing a torrent of blood as the giant corpse fell and dissolved like every slain demon. "No need to thank me. Keep fighting!" He said after landing next to Nero and rushing back to battle.

Thanking him for a little help, yeah right, Nero thought as he raced towards Dante. The corpse of a flaming demon came crashing down next to him and looked up to see winged demons and missiles hitting them, then some lightning bolts and some arrows before plummeting down dead. Turning his eyes to the academy, he saw the women shooting and firing with remarkable precision and providing a good cover for them as they dispatched every demon in the sky they saw.

More demons came Nero's way and revved up the Red Queen, unleashing his EX moves and hacking them like a hot knife through butter. Dante was also cutting down the fiends as he used his Trickster maneuvers to use Berial's fire attacks to kill even more fiends. Jumping above the giant demon's head, Dante unleashed a Rain Storm followed by an Aerial Rave on his face. "You underhanded bastard, I'll get you for that!" Berial snarled out as he swung blindly for a moment trying to hit Dante.

Dante laughed in mockery as he kept killing more fiends. "Where the hell are you looking at? I'm right here, you hot-headed dumbass!" Irritated, Berial lashed out a mighty roar, unleashing a powerful flaming shockwave that took out several small fiends and demons, along with partially incinerating two Goliaths. This guy doesn't care about who he destroys as long as he can take me down. I can use that to finish this faster, Dante thought.

Nero had almost caught up to Dante but Kuyou got in his way, "Going somewhere?" he said as he swiftly transformed into his blue flame battle form.

"Yeah, to kick your ass!"he shouted as he revved up his blade and Streaked at him but was evaded. He kept fighting and shooting at him but Kuyou's agility and speed kept him away from Nero's blazing blade. As he kept on trying to land a hit on the fox demon, his frustration grew larger.

Still slaying demons, Zenaku noticed the situation and could tell that Nero was unconsciously about to heed his previous advice. That's it, boy. Let it build up. Then tear him apart, he thought as he drove his fist through an Assault's skull. Nero then got blindsided when Kuyou infused one of his punches with a fireball, throwing him off guard and pushing him towards a tree. "Is this really all you got?" Kuyou walked to him as Nero Struggled up and killed a few fiends who went at him. A second after he beheaded a Gallah, The Demon Fox Choked him against a tree with his arms held back by his azure flaming tails.

"Not bad, but I can see you like you're in slow-motion." Nero struggled to escape quickly as he felt his wrists burning. "Just so you know, when we're done with all of you I will slaughter everyone here, Starting with that pretty little girl you call Kyrie." Hearing her name come out of his mouth made Nero stop struggling as his eyes displayed his surprise. How did this man knew about Kyrie?

"You won't lay a hand on her. I won't let you." Nero growled at Kuyou. He then delivered a powerful kick to Kuyou's solar plexus, which he didn't like at all. He squeezed harder at his neck and wrists, providing third degree burns that slowly kept digging to his bones.

"Brave but empty words for someone who's going to die; I will enjoy looking at her expression when I bring her your severed head and gut her like a deer." Nero's rage had peaked as he heard Kuyou's taunts and as he snarled, his demon energy began to manifest from his right arm, shining violently and quickly enveloping him. Finding new energy, Nero shook his arms violently ad broke free from his opponent's blazing grasp. The white flames quickly began to dance behind him, fuse together and take form. Nero's wrath had awakened his Devil Trigger once again.

"You're the one who's getting ripped apart." Nero's feral voice made Kuyou's blood curdle. As Nero grasped the Red Queen once again, his demon energy enveloped it in flames, making it a deadlier weapon many times over. Kuyou leaped in the air and used his Flame Wheel, bur proved useless when Nero pierced through it with his giant spectral arm.

What? Kuyou couldn't believe it, for Nero to have easily rejected his attack. Taken by surprise, Kuyou was brought down when he felt Nero's Devil Bringer claw on his throat. It swiftly brought him down and pinned him to the ground next to him.

Nero then raised his blade high as he leered at his enemy with vicious contempt. "Time to die." With a swift strike, Nero beheaded Kuyou as his head rolled away. His body, as well as the head, was consumed by its own flames, banishing and leaving a fireball in Nero's right hand. Quickly absorbed, the flames that covered him turned to a azure blue and flickered wildly around him. Not taking the time to think of what just happened, Nero let his bloodlust drive him to slay every fiend he came across.

He gave in, as I expected. Zenaku noted as he decapitated a Quetzalcoatl in flight.

On another fight, Ryu was taking the upper hand against Doku as the samurai noted his increased strength and ability. "You have grown since the last time." Doku said before going for a frontal attack. Not waiting a second, Ryu gathered the Ki around him to quickly perform the Dance of the Dragon's Scales. Moving too fast all around him, Doku had no chance of blocking and received a monumental amount of damage. Ryu then finally delivered the final blow as he bounced from a tree and severed Doku's helmet from his body. The fiery armor then exploded and the Kitetsu was sent flying to the sky. Content with this victory, he headed to kill a Goliath nearby.

Vergil was spilling blood all around him, slaughtering the fiends, giant and small, with relative ease. He noticed something gleam in the sky and by jumping off the head of a Goliath, he caught the Kitetsu. "Interesting." He commented as he felt its power and deduced its abilities. So you steal the souls of those you kill… For a small second, he could tell that Kitetsu wanted to take his, but after sending a pulse of his power to it, Kitetsu was subdued. When a Goliath knocked down the tree Vergil was on, he quickly jumped and used both blades to cut the giant fiend's head cleanly in half. "Ok, let's see how strong you are." He exclaimed as he resumed his onslaught, now with two blades.

And yet, even as they were slaughtering several fiends every second, hundreds more seemed to appear. But even so, as the students witnessed the battle scene, everyone was shaking with fear as the saw how the monsters slashed down each and every demon up on the surface. But what scared them most was that all the warriors had an evil sadistic grin on their faces, as if they derived a great twisted pleasure in spilling the blood of their enemies. Kyrie wasn't so far behind as she saw the same expression Nero's face. Had he given up his humanity to the demon within him? All she could do was ponder on it, for she retained hope that this blood-drunk status he was in was only because of the combat.

On the surface, the battle ground was already turning to soggy mud with all the blood it had been covered in. Then it was flash-burnt as Berial's blazing sword swiped by it. He was already showing exhaustion from his fruitless battle with Dante, who in all this time had done nothing more than mock the fiery centaur demon in every attack he performed, as was his usual style. After Nero joined in the struggle, Berial became quickly overwhelmed. Resting his weight on his sword, Berial shouted at the red demon slayer. "Why is it that fate would play such a foul tactic with me? Even now, history seems to repeat itself."

As Dante twirled his guns, he replied. "And to think that this time you would bring a better fight than last time. What a washout you turned out to be." Nero and Dante then jumped at Berial and with a mighty slash from their swords, they killed the flaming behemoth and watched as his body collapsed on the ground to become a towering blaze.

Zenaku, Vergil, Ryu and all the other fighters then gathered in front of it and took view of their handiwork. "Well, I must say that this was quite a demon buffet." Dante wittingly commented as he rested Rebellion on his shoulders, then turned to Nero who was still in his Devil Trigger. "Heh, you look like you took a tour in a burning meth lab."

"I prefer to call it 'battle heat'." Nero retorted as he saw that more demons were gathering up; almost a hundred was an easy estimate.

Zenaku then formulated a tactic to eliminate the remaining demons in one fell swoop, though it would take some serious power to execute. As much fun as these vermin have been, I have tired of them. He thought. "I suggest you go with the women up on the roof." He commented.

"And why is that?" Nero smugly responded. The others were in the same page, when they noticed that Zenaku withdrew Sounga and performed some hand signs.

Ryu immediately saw what he was going to do. "Let's go. Quickly, before you get caught." The flames behind Zenaku then began to flick and gather around him. Vergil and Dante quickly sensed he was gathering his power to perform a magic attack, as Nero did seconds later. They then quickly made their way inside the building and onto the roof, where they then stood to see what Zenaku was going to do.

Spreading his wings, Zenaku rose above the fire and spread his arms. The blaze underneath abruptly opened up as the petals on a lotus flower, and flaming serpents began to rise and Zenaku raised his hands, now brandishing both Ifrit gauntlets to further enhance the power of his attack, to gather the inferno that spiraled by him into a massive fireball. The ninja then figured it out: Zenaku was summoning the Art of the Inferno, but unlike Ryu's, his appeared far more powerful, just like the time they witnessed his use of the Wind blades.

Zenaku then focused on all the demons below him and aimed his hands at them. Ready to strike, he shouted, "Gehenna Rising!" In an abrupt manner, several dragon-like serpents emerged from the fireball that quickly and fiercely came down, setting the demons and the dead forest ablaze as well as the sky when the fire reached the flying demons. Vergil and Dante were rather impressed at this, as were Trish and Lady, while Nero was left captivated and Kyrie somewhat frightened at the sight of all the fire. The heat was quite intense as it spread wide across the land.

In the display of the refuge, the screen was temporarily blacked out, but moments after, the display showed the entire school grounds burning. Gasps and awes were heard everywhere. As the remaining fiends were reduced to ash, Zenaku came down and kneeled from the exhaustion. The ninja and the others then jumped down from the roof. "You sure know how to throw a BBQ." Dante joked as he took an eyeful of the burning plains.

"Too bad you charred up all the meat." Nero added.

"True, but now they're at point." Zenaku replied as he got up. "Ashes to ashes…"

"…dust to dust." A grunting voice echoed from the flames. As the others were wondering who it was, Zenaku recognized it with scorn. Tightening his fists, he searched for the one who was now his priority target. As if it were an automatic gate, flames began parting way as the greater fiend f fire came into scene.

"Zedonius." Zenaku uttered.