Glad to see everyone enjoying the story. There will be future sex scenes, but they won't be happening often, only every once in a while, so don't get too excited. Now, I noticed that some of you might not enjoy the idea of Nerscylla being a spider. To remedy this somewhat, Nerscylla will primarily remain in her human form throughout the entire story and only on rare occasions will she be in her demon spider form. This isn't really the answer you may want but it's all you're going to get. I may change her appearance later on, but there is little to no guarantee of this.

Moving on.

I'm a little surprised nobody got that little reference near the start of the previous chapter. The 'money bin' Excelsus referred to is actually a reference to Scrooge McDuck's giant vault of gold coins and treasure that he swims through every once in a while. I'm not making this up, the official name of Scrooge's vault is the Money Bin. I'm a little disappointed in all of you for not getting that reference.

Anyway, we're getting off track.

This chapter will be primarily focusing on Nero and co on Vie de Marli. I will be incorporating events of DMC 5: Before the Nightmare into my story, modified to fit my purposes and the timeline. There will be small changes as needed, but I will remain as close as I can to the main part of the story.

Although, I do have one question involving the inclusion of one specific mechanic of Devil May Cry games. Should, or should I not include the Bloody Palace as a means to help Nero and others train in the future? Like, I know it doesn't make sense, but it would be really interesting and possibly funny seeing the Olympians try their luck in the Bloody Palace and only get to half the rank either Nero or Dante achieve. This idea is just speculation and won't happen for a long time. Like, perhaps in book 4, maybe 3? I don't know, just let me know what you think, okay?

Proceeding forward.

I plan to bring back some previous demons or species of demons like the Glavenus because why the hell not, and also because I like Acidic Glavenus and think that a Devil like him would be all Samurai-like in mannerisms and fighting style.

Another thing is that I'm still considering combing the two stories together. The poll is still up and I hope everyone voted at some point. I want to know what should I do! Combine the stories for simplicity or just keep things the way they are, I don't know?

Also, I wanna apologize for taking such a long time to update. I had a lot on my mind recently and had midterms to study for so I had to direct my focus elsewhere.

I also want to thank Wrath of the Sun Deity for helping me out with the story. He's my unofficial editor while Mayday is still absent. Wrath, thanks a ton for all your help while writing this story.

One last thing, this chapter may be longer than previous chapters, which isn't a bad thing, but something to be aware of, okay?

Okay, I'm done.

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Capcom owns Devil May Cry, Rick Riordan owns Percy Jackson, the only thing I own are certain events in this story.

Devil May Cry: Slayer's Return

Chapter 7: Blows and Brimstone Part 1

Matier's Cottage, Vie de Marli, Caribbean

Things got pretty interesting when Dante, Nero, and the others entered Matier's cottage with the aforementioned elderly woman and Lucia. Also, a little more context as to how Nero's uncle knew either of them was given. As it turns out, a little after Dante met up with Lucia on the job at a museum where something called the Arcana Medaglia was put on display. After some convincing, he went back with her to Vie de Marli, or Dumary Island as she called it, where he first met Matier. She asked Dante to help her fight, Arius, an international businessman who used demonic power to try and take over the world. Surprisingly, Dante agreed to help over a coin toss. It was revealed that Arius was planning to use the Arcana, several demonic artifacts to release Argosax.

So, long story short, Dante takes down Arius, saving the world but has to defeat Argosax in a portal that had opened briefly. Inside the portal, Dante defeats Argosax but is temporarily trapped in the Demonworld and finds a way back home.

"Sounds like you had quite the job," snorted Nero as he sat on a couch inside Matier's Cottage, "Makes you wonder how you find the time to sit down at Devil May Cry."

"Yep," sighed Dante as he rubbed his eyes in a tired fashion. While the whole story was informative, Nero was a little interested in the details between him and Lucia since they were a little brief about them, focusing only on the business part of the conversation, but he'd ask about that later. Right now, Matier had her eyes closed and was in deep thought about what Dante and Nero just explained to her.

"This is indeed troubling news," stated the elderly woman after a few moments, however, she then gave Dante an expectant stare, "Though I am curious as to how you escaped the Demon World after defeating Argosax."

"What can I say," shrugged the aged Devil Hunter, "a portal opened up and I took the opportunity to get home."

"Seems a little convenient that a portal would open up right in front of you," remarked Nero, his tone a little suspicious. In their line of work, people tend to be not that lucky.

"It isn't as far fetched as you might believe, Nero," interjected Saeko, speaking up from the side of the room they were in, "In places where there is great demonic influence, portals between worlds can open up at random times."

"Durmary Island is one such place," concurred Lucia, "It is also the reason the Guardians exist to protect the island and the people."

"Fortuna has the same deal," added Lady, folding her arms as she leaned back in her chair, "Durmary Island has its Guardians..."

"And Fortuna has its Knights," rationalized Nero, agreeing that it did make sense for people to exist that focus on dealing with demons, however, he shook his head after a minute, "While that's all well and good, I think we're getting off-topic."

"Yes, the prospect of a descendant of Mundus in our world is worrying," agreed Matier, returning to the matter at hand, "However, the involvement of the Greek Gods is troubling as well."

"It's kind of interesting that Nero happens to be the son of a goddess," added Lucia, glancing at the mentioned hunter.

"Don't remind me," he replied sharply, the topic of his mother still very sensitive.

Seeing that he was slightly uncomfortable with the mention of his heritage, the redhead moved right along with the next subject for discussion. Nero's vision.

"You said Nero recently had a vision of the future?" she recalled, "Which is why you came here to ask for our help?"

"Partially, we aren't certain the vision he had is a hundred percent true," explained Trish, glancing at Nero for a moment. The teen had his arms folded and eyes closed, his head was bowed down slightly, as if in contemplation.

"Would you care to explain how that is the case?" requested Matier, having been aware that children of the Greek Gods all share a connection to the Fates, "Wouldn't his connection to the Fates confirm what is to happen in the future?"

"Normally that would be the case, if Nero was completely human," interjected Saeko, her tone neutral but one could just hear a small amount of concern in her words, "Before we began our journey, Lord Raiden informed us that Nero's connection was damaged, or more specifically, his connection to the Fates was flawed."

Now that caught Matier's and Lucia's attention as surprise spread across their faces. Meanwhile, Nero opened his eyes and unfolded his arms to rest his elbows on his knees. He glanced down at Devil Bringer for a moment, silently recalling what the Shinto God of Lightning told them.

*Flashback*

"Essentially," stated Nero as he headed for the door, leaving the others behind him, "We've got work to do."

"Before you go, there is something you should be aware of, Nero," spoke up Raiden heading towards Nero, "It applies to your connection to Fate."

"Yeah, it gives me headaches," retorted the hunter as he stopped at the door, Devil Bringer gripping the door handle, "You took care of it for the moment."

"I refer to the reason for your headaches," corrected the deity, eyes narrowed slightly while his tone grew grave, "The cause of the pains is indeed related to your heritage as a Demon."

This update caused the hunter to pause and turn to the Shinto god of thunder, it also grabbed the attention of the other hunters, as well as Patty and Morrison.

"So the kid's demon half is causing some interference," condensed Dante, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall of the office, "Would chalk it up as a good thing."

"If only that were the case, son of Sparda," countered Raiden as he approached Nero, "Nero's connection to Fate is more than just flawed, it is fractured into hundreds of different paths."

"'Paths'?" repeated Nero, eyes narrowing, "plural."

"Indeed, Nero's demonic heritage is refusing to conform to the path the Fates' have placed and is causing ripples in the flow of fate, affecting countless others," elaborated the thunder god, "In essence, there is no one future tied to Nero and any around him, creating uncertainty of the future. The migraines you experienced are visions of possible futures and events, however, each future has a chance to partake pending Nero's present actions and decisions."

The hunters glanced at one another for a moment, however, Nero had only one response to this revelation.

"So basically, it's like before when I didn't know what's going to happen next?" surmised the hunter.

"Somewhat, but be warned," cautioned the deity, "While I have temporarily disrupted your connection, preventing further visions, it will not last for long. It is for that reason I suggest that Saeko accompany you specifically, Nero."

Nero glanced at the mentioned woman for a second, "Any particular reason you're pairing us up?"

"Saeko's training and heritage gives her acute understanding of the human mind," explained the deity gesturing to the purplette who stepped forward, "Should my temporary disruption begin to falter, she will be able to reinforce what remains and prevent possible deterioration and a flood of visions."

"I am fully able to assist you, Nero," bowed Saeko to Nero. The hunter only arched his eyebrow slightly.

*End Flashback*

"So Saeko is basically Nero's mind nanny?" smirked Lucia in amusement, looking between Dante's nephew and the purple kunoichi. Nero rolled his eyes and folded his arms while Saeko just remained passive.

"Basically," shrugged Dante as he jabbed a thumb at his brother's son, "Raiden's fix won't last long so she's there to keep it together until the next time he can reinforce it."

"Be better if I could just break the connection," muttered Nero in a sour tone.

"Be that as it may, there are still things we must discuss," interjected Matier, reminding the group as to why they were on Vie de Marli, "Such as recent developments on the island."

"Is it more important than Mundus's son coming to the Human world?" challenged Dante, reclined in the armchair within Matier's cottage.

"Dante, this is actually related to Excelsus's arrival, though not directly," advised Lucia, narrowing her eyes slightly at the tone he used when addressing her adopted mother. The veteran hunter just shrugged and directed his attention back to the aging woman.

"When you first came to this island, Dante," she recalled, "Do you remember the name of the demon that brought you?"

"I killed things like a big monkey if that helps?" shrugged the hunter.

"I'm referring to Argosax," corrected Matier, sounding a little annoyed.

"Remembering the names of devil's I killed isn't really useful to me and a waste of my brain," snorted the son of Sparda, "Only reason I remembered him is when we did our little trip down memory lane. Besides..."

Dante's tone grew darker as his eyes narrowed, "There's only one name of a devil I'll never forget."

Everyone in the room knew exactly who the owner of the name was: Mundus, the demon who killed his mother all those years ago. Matier cleared her throat before continuing her story.

"Sometime after you defeated Argosax, a demon emerged," as she spoke, Matier glanced at Lucia for a moment, who nodded before heading to the side of the room towards a desk of drawers. Opening one, she withdrew a stack of papers and brought them to the coffee table and set the stack down. On the top page was an image of a demon, a rather porky but no less muscular one at that, "Its name is Balrog."

Dante leaned over to the picture and picked it up, inspecting the demon further. It was a large one, with a slightly hunched back, four massive ram horns protruding from the head while the face was covered with a black mask, but allowed it's glowing eyes to be seen. The chest was protected with several armored plates that looked similar to a ribcage. Huge wings sprouted out of the back, the stalks engulfed in flames but was missing the membrane needed between the stalks to allow flight. A long thick tail swung out from the demon's end. The most notable thing was the metallic gauntlets, greaves, and shoulder pads that were attached to the demon.

"He's a big one," snorted Dante as he handed the picture to Nero for a look himself.

"Balrog was Argosax's right-hand man," added Lucia as she folded her arms.

"I already took care of the number one guy," snorted the hunter with amusement, "Now I've got to deal with the number two guy?"

Dante's self-assurance and confidence in himself weren't unfounded, having already defeated Argosax, a demon god, without much issue. And he's a lot stronger than he was back then, so Balrog didn't sound that much of a threat to him.

"For a time, around half of hell rallied behind Balrog," revealed Matier, her expression, catching the attention of all the hunters.

"That's a lot of demons," noted Nero as he tossed the picture back onto the table.

"No kidding," added Lady.

"It looked like Balrog was going to be able to slip through a portal to the human world recently, deep within the island," informed Lucia as she looked through the stack of papers and took out an old map of a mine within the island, "In an abandoned mine."

"I feel like there's a big 'but' to be had here," interjected Nero, folding his arms and looking right at the redhead, "And I think it has to do with our demon problem."

"You would be correct," nodded Lucia, "There have been signs that Balrog and his horde were gathering in the mine, but until three weeks ago, it's as if every demon there has left but one."

"Balrog," realized Saeko.

"So basically that big pulse when Nero closed the portal at his family's camp was a calling card for every demon on the planet," condensed Lady, seeing where this was going, "And the demons that were following Balrog, just up and left him for Excelsus?"

"It would appear that way," nodded Matier.

"Why hasn't he fallen in with Excelsus then?" asked Trish.

"Probably pissed that all his lackeys ditched him for Excelsus," snorted Nero as he stood up from the couch, "Either way, we got a job to do and a tight schedule to keep."

"Nero is correct," Matier agreed, "It is best that you all deal with Balrog and any lesser demons that may still be on the island."

"Still need a little confirmation from Lucia," spoke up Dante, turning to the aforementioned redhead, "Once we're done here, you up to help us save the world from Mundus' brat while also dodging Nero's family?"

"You know as well as I do, Dante," she smiled, "I'm more than willing to fight the monsters of the Demon World."

Dante smirked at her enthusiasm before standing up, "Glad to hear it, now let's go while we still got some daylight to burn."

Each of the hunters in the room nodded and started for the exit, however, Matier suddenly stopped Dante with her staff.

"Dante," she addressed the son of Sparda, "Might I have a world?"

"Kind of busy right now," he countered, but the aging woman was having none of it.

"No, we are going to speak, now," stated Matier firmly as Lucia and the others exited the cottage. Once everyone was out, the door to the building shut and when it did, Matier addressed the man in red with a surprising sentence.

"You're a cruel man, Dante," criticized the woman, slapping her staff against Dante's left arm.

"Any reason for that sentence to come out?" asked the veteran hunter pointedly, as he rubbed the spot where Matier struck him.

"Not returning for ten years after leaving Lucia and the island," supplied Matier as she leaned back into her chair.

"Couldn't help it, I was stuck in a garbage dump and traveling between worlds isn't exactly easy either," he defended, folding his arms.

"Perhaps, but that still doesn't exactly explain how you managed to travel between the Human World and the Demon World, or why you didn't return after you managed to escape," countered the elderly woman.

"Got a little theory on that," sighed Dante as he paced across the room, "First time I went to Fortuna, they had the Hell Gate right on display, around the same time they had Yamato before Nero got his hands on it. Figured it had something to do with my brother's old sword."

Dante glanced out the window to see Nero speaking with Trish and Lady, the veteran hunter's eyes fell onto his nephew's right arm. The Devil Bringer as he likes to call it.

"Before my brother got it, it was a memento from our old man," recalled Dante, "A sword so sharp it could slice through the boundary between the Human World and the Demon World."

"Lucia initially objected to bringing you back to Dumary Island," sighed Matier, remembering the conversation they had before she went off to try and find Dante, "but then again, there aren't many young men left on the island."

"Wouldn't call myself a young man anymore," countered the son of Sparda, "Though it does make me wonder. How long do I got before I'm too old for this gig anymore, considering who Sparda was. Not even sure I'm aging anymore."

"Lucia waited for you to return to the human world, making dozens of trips to your office. Before you eventually did come back."

"I remember," smiled Dante as he recalled that memory.

*Flashback*

10 years ago...

Lucia was standing in Dante's office, in Devil May Cry, leaning against his desk. She was wearing a brown leather jacket, a white blouse, blue jeans that were rolled up and dark brown high heeled boots. She had her hair tied up in her usual braid and hung down in front of her face, covering the left side. Strapped to her hips was her duel blades, Cutlaseer as they were named.

This had been the fifteenth time she waited at Devil May Cry for him.

And while she waited, Lucia tossed the coin he had left her before ending up trapped in the Demon World. She remembers what he said to her before crossing the portal.

'My job is hunting devils... Devils never cry.'

Lucia tossed the coin back up into the air, watching it flip several times.

'I know...,' Lucia caught the coin as Dante's last sentence echoed in her mind, 'He did the same thing.'

Lucia sighed before opening her hand to look at the coin Dante carried with him.

"But...," the redhead said to herself, "Sparda did come back."

Suddenly, the silence of the office was broken when Lucia heard a sound. Looking up to the front windows, she saw a light glowing through them and the rumble of a motorcycle engine. Her eyes widened when she heard the engine shut off. Tossing the coin she kept with her since that day back into the air, Lucia rushed to the front doors, forgetting about the coin.

The adopted daughter of Matier threw the doors open and a small gasp came from her when she saw Dante standing in the doorway, a little worse for wear, but in pretty good health. Rebellion was still strapped across his back, his red coat a little faded, but there was no mistaking this was Dante. Safe to say he was a little surprised to see her, and although he was surprised to see Lucia in his office, she, on the other hand, felt a different emotion.

Joy.

Tears started to well up in her eyes as she saw the man whom she had been waiting for for so long. Before he could make a comment about the waterworks, Lucia threw herself at him, wrapping his arms around his torso and burying her face into his chest.

Dante was even more surprised than before, not entirely sure what to do for a few seconds while Lucia cried into his coat. After putting the pieces together, the Devil Hunter sighed as he wrapped his own arms around Lucia.

"I missed you too, red," chuckled the son of Sparda and rubbed her back tilted his head forward.

*End Flashback*

Dante let out a snort of amusement as he recalled what happened next in that memory.

"Moment was kinda ruined when a call came in with the password," he chuckled, "Tend focus solely on a job when given one, so there might be a little problem trying to hook us up."

"While admirable, to put such focus on one's career, that is not what I meant," scolded Matier, "It's not like I want you to marry Lucia, all I wanted was for you to give her one happy memory."

"My bad," shrugged Dante, "I have my reasons."

"That's hardly an apology," stated the woman, "Your father had a better way with words and apologies."

"I like to think myself a better man than my father," snorted Dante, which earned him a jab from Matier's staff.

"If that's the case, then try to be a little more courteous to Lucia," she ordered.

"Alright, alright," groaned Dante, rolling his eyes as he headed for the door, "If you'll excuse me, I've got a devil to take care of."

Matier shook her head as she watched Dante exit her cottage, however, a part of her did hope that what she said, or at least a bit of what she told him got through that thick skull. While she wasn't Lucia's mother by blood, she loved that girl as if she was truly her own and she wanted her to be happy. She remembers the times when Lucia would come back from his office, how disheartened she was each time Dante didn't show up.

But the time came when Dante did return and she could see that Lucia was overjoyed to see him back once more, despite not returning to Dumary Island. Matier just sighed as she leaned back into her chair.

"I do hope that one day, she will be able to find happiness," said Matier to herself.

Uroboros Mining Co., Vie de Marli, Caribbean

While Uroboros, the multinational company that was headed by Arius before his defeat, was in business on the island, one of its first projects was attempting to start a mining operation when several mineral deposits had been discovered. The mine had initially been pretty profitable, but as time went on, the mine began to run dry and was eventually closed when it had nothing more to give.

The mine was rather impressive, digging deep into the bedrock of Vie de Marli, even revealing some massive chasms beneath the island. But despite the enormous caves, no one had ever been down into the mines in years. No one until presently.

Several gunshots echoed through the mine, followed by a monstrous roar. A primate-like lesser demon hit the ground, a bullet hole between the eyes and a few holes in the chest. Suddenly, more demons of similar appearance were gunned down.

Dante smirked as he leads the group into the mine, gunning down several demons with Ebony and Ivory.

"Nell, these babies really were your magnum opus," smirked Dante to himself as he twirled the firearms on his fingers before swinging his arms out and shot two more demons in the heads. In the small tunnel, the devil hunters were at work, taking out several demons that remained behind with Balrog.

Trish was wielding the massive Devil Arm, Sparda. The giant sword was as long as the She-Demon was tall, with one massive single blade formed by two smaller blades. The Legendary Devil Sword of the Dark Knight was very unusual in both appearance and function. With a spiral handle that leads to four skulls on the pommel with a spike on the top that was split in half, with the frontward more elaborate and forming a small blade that curves around the bottom of Sparda's blade. The blade had a spine-like structure attached to two curved blades via an organic-looking substance. Together the blades form one long blade when in sword mode. The top portion has a large glowing red gem-like object in the center. The other side has two significantly smaller gems; glowing orange and pink. Sparda's blades can reorient themselves to give Sparda various shapes to suit its needs such as a spear or scythe.

Trish easily put the legendary weapon to good use as she hacked and slashed through several demons. The lesser demons didn't stand a shred of a chance against such a powerful weapon. It was also clear that she had received some tips from Dante about using the sword because a few of her slashes looked very similar to his own moves.

While the blonde took on a small group of lesser demons, the other hunters took out whatever came their way.

"As usual, your guns are wonderful," commented Lucia as she had her Cutlaseer drawn. The twin blades were both rather thin, similar in shape to an elephant's tusks curved in the opposite direction. While they were smaller, they did allow Lucia to perform rapid slices and slashes.

"You know it," chuckled Dante turning to look at Lucia as he shot a lesser demon between the eyes without even looking, however, the hunter glanced past the redhead, "You may want to turn around."

"Why spoil the surprise?" grinned Lucia before she suddenly backflipped right over another demon that tried tackling her. As she flew over the beast, her blades flashed as the devil hunter left dozens of cuts all over the demon's back and limbs. The creature roared in pain before it was silenced when Lucia sheathed one of her blades and threw a knife right into its head.

"You guys seem to be doing well," noted Nero as he sliced a demon clean in half, "But can you save the nostalgia trip for later? Like, after we take care of business."

"I'm with Nero," agreed Lady as she fired her twin 9mm pistols at a few demons, "Let's just take care of this demon then you guys can go back to whatever it was you were doing."

"Yeah, yeah," shrugged Dante as he holstered his hand cannons before looking at Lucia, "You know the island, any idea where our problem is?"

Lucia nodded.

"Deeper into the mine," she explained, "There's a terminal that controls the lighting within the mine which should make it easier for us to see."

"Is this place even connected to the main power grid anymore?" asked Nero as he sheathed his sword across his back. The lesser demons were taken care of, at least in the immediate area, "Like you said, this place was abandoned when the mine went dry."

"The mine was powered by a geothermal generator. It may still be down here and may still be operational."

"Good, because not all of us have demonically enhanced vision," commented Lady referring to herself and Saeko.

The other hunters nodded before following Lucia as she leads the group to the terminal. Dante was walking relatively close by the redhead. Following the two was Lady, with Nero, Saeko, and Trish bringing up the rear.

"Dante and Lucia seem rather close," noted Saeko, speaking to Nero.

"Never thought he'd be close to anyone," admitted the Legendary Devil Hunter's nephew.

"You might not believe, but Dante has a softer side," interjected Trish, glancing at the two from the corner of her eye. Nero gave the blonde a skeptical look, not exactly believing her at all.

"Yeah, 'Dante' and 'soft side' isn't something I'd think would be in the same sentence," he snorted, glancing at his uncle for a moment.

"For the most part, that is true," agreed Trish as she picked up the pace slightly, passing both Saeko and Nero, "but there are still plenty of secrets Dante has."

Both young adults paused for a moment to glance at each other, Nero giving the purplette a shrug before looking back at his uncle with a cocked eyebrow. It was true, there was still a lot about his uncle that he didn't know about, but a 'softer side'?

Back up with Dante and Lucia, the two were walking in comfortable silence before the former decided to speak up.

"It's been a long time hasn't it?" began Dante, causing Lucia to look back for a moment.

"It has been, Dante," she replied, giving the son of Sparda a quick once over, "It appears a few years have caught up to you. You've aged a bit."

"What?" the hunter gave the redhead a bitter smile, "I think you just imagining things."

Lucia rolled her eyes, a small smile forming.

"But what about you?" he returned, "You haven't changed a bit."

Lucia's smile fades slightly at that and a melancholy look crosses her face, "You know as well as I do, Dante, that I will never age, no matter how much time passes."

Dante frowns slightly, recalling the details of her origin, "I wouldn't be too upset, you know how many women try to spend thousands of dollars to try and stay young looking?"

This doesn't really help Lucia as a somewhat lonely expression settles across her face. Switching tactics, he tried to lighten the mood.

"Dark dreary mine, demons popping out every corner, a giant fire devil waiting for us to fight him," he listed, letting out a dry snort and formed a wry smile, "With all that in mind, I'm basically a gift from heaven."

This gets a smile out of Lucia, albeit a small one before she suddenly stopped and turned to face Dante. Suddenly, she stepped towards him and pulled him into a gentle hug, surprising the hunter slightly.

"Thank you for coming, Dante," she said softly before letting him go and proceeding down the tunnel, leaving him stunned for a moment before letting out a bemused snort and followed her. It was then the group arrived at what looked like an office of some kind.

"This is the junction room that connects to the generator," informed Lucia as she kicked the door open. The metal door broke through the lock and swung open as the group entered the office. Inside, there was dust everywhere, on the tables, chairs, floor, walls, not to mention dozens of cobwebs throughout the room.

"You weren't kidding when you said no one had been down here in years," noted Nero as he waved his hand in front of himself, trying to wave away some dust.

Lucia didn't respond as she approached a terminal with dozens of buttons, switches, dials, and meters. Giving the entire thing a once over she flipped a few switches before a humming filled the room.

Suddenly, a few light bulbs began to flicker in the room while the hum became louder and more of a drone. To the side of the room was a window that looked out into a larger chamber. The group went over to look out the window and at what looked to be a main junction for minecarts. Dozens of rails broke off into other tunnels while floodlights illuminated the area.

"Very impressive," commented Saeko as she looked out the window.

"No kidding," agreed Lady.

Dante and the other demonic members of the group didn't respond for a moment. However, it was because the former suddenly picked up an interesting smell, something smelled an awful lot like sulfur. It was then the way of the office adjacent to the window was suddenly torn from the office.

The group spun around to see a hulking devil looming over them, one that they had all seen the pictures of.

"INTRUDERS!" roared the devil as he towered over the hunter. Just like the photo, Matier had, Balrog was hunched back fire-demon with massive wings of fire, a blazing tail, large horns, and armored gauntlets, grieves, and helmet. The beast drew back it's right fist and sent a powerful punch at the group.

The hunters reacted by jumping through the window and into the chasm below. All six warriors landed on the gravel floor with relative ease and all turned around to see the junction room be consumed in flames.

"Well that's one way to meet someone," noted Dante casually as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, a smirk forming across his face.

"He's certainly a fire demon," commented Trish as she rested her right hand on her hip and leaned to her left, she then glanced over at Nero, "Your little vision say anything about this guy?"

"If it did, you think I wouldn't have mentioned something?" retorted Nero as he drew Red Queen while Saeko drew her own sword, gripping the Katana in both hands.

Through the smoke and fire, Balrog peered down at the group, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. A low growl rumbled from the beast as he picked up one particular scent.

The demon then leaped out from the office, a trail of smoke and fire following him. The hunters all looked over them as Balrog flew over their heads and crashed down to the floor, shaking the ground slightly on impact.

"So, you finally came," greetedBalrog, his voice echoing through the chamber as he stood up and turned around to face the intruders, "The infamous son of Sparda has graced me with his presence."

"Didn't know you were waiting," taunted Dante.

"Indeed," confirmed the demon, "I knew that if I waited here, sooner or later, someone strong enough would enter the mine."

"Well don't get the wrong idea pal, we were just in the neighborhood to ask a friend for help and we heard you were stirring up some trouble," corrected Dante, his tone casual.

"Besides, we have bigger fish to fry then you," added Nero, also smirking, following his uncle's lead.

"You refer to Excelsus," spat the fire-demon bitterly.

"You've heard of him," smirked Dante, "surprised an introvert hears anything these days."

"Do not take me so lightly!" snapped Balrog angrily as he took a step towards the group, the ground shaking as he did so.

"Kinda hard to do when he's the one making the big moves," jeered the son of Sparda, folding his arms, "but if it's all the same to you, let's cut the chit chat-"

Dante then drew Rebellion from his back and readied himself for battle, Lucia, Trish, and Lady doing the same with their own weapons while Nero and Saeko adopted combat stances, "And get to the fighting."

"So be it," growled Balrog as he let out a thunderous yell that echoed through the entire mine. Suddenly, demons started coming out of the tunnels leading into the main junction area. About twenty demons into total responded to Balrog's roar.

"Well now things are interesting," noted Dante as he flipped Rebellion around, "but let's get down to business!"

Dante then leaped at Balrog, being the first to attack while the Devil let out a roar.

The National Archives, Washington D.C., United States

Athena let out a frustrated sigh as she left the National Archives, spending several dozen hours searching for anything related to the name Mundus and so far she hadn't found a single thing. Not even a mention of such a being. It's as if someone or something had gone completely out of their way to ensure the world never knew the name 'Mundus.'

"Waste of time," muttered Athena to herself as she pushed through the doors and left the building. The goddess was wearing jeans, nice black shoes, and a grey t-shirt underneath a black jacket, "Not even a mention of this thing!"

Suddenly, her phone began to ring and she took out the device... Even deities can use cellphones.

"Yes?" she addressed the caller.

"Have you found anything?" asked Zeus, wanting an update on the research.

"Not even a mention of whoever this is," replied Athena, in an annoyed tone.

"Well, clearly you missed something!" snapped her father, "There has to be something!"

"Father, I went through every file in the building, searched every document even related to demonic occurrences or history," explained Athena, her tone shaking slightly as she did not like being made a fool of or being denied info being the goddess of wisdom, "I'm telling you, there's nothing about a demon named Mundus!"

It was at the mention of the previous demon king did a couple stop for a moment, or the man did anyway. He paused in the doorway as his wife looked back at him for a moment.

"Keep looking!" ordered Zeus, "I don't care how long it takes! Your sister has had more progress finding the boy then you have of uncovering whoever this Mundus is! Now keep looking!"

It was then the call was cut and Athena glared at the phone for a few seconds before storming off. The man that had heard Athena's conversation watched her go off to what appeared to be a cafe across the street. The man was wearing a white collared shirt with a black suit jacket, he also wore white pants and black shoes. His hair was raven black and eyes were dark grey. Resting on his nose was a pair of round glasses.

"Honey?" asked the woman, coming over to her husband, taking hold of his hand in both of hers. The man looked at his wife, she was an average-sized woman wearing a light pink blouse with a red skirt and high heels. She had chocolate brown eyes and auburn hair, as well as oval glasses, "Is something wrong?"

"Everything's alright," promised the man, turning to her for a moment, "just thought I should help out that lady for a moment with something."

"Oh," responded the wife, sounding surprised for a second, "What was it she needed help with?"

The man then turned in the direction of the cafe where he saw Athena sitting at an outside table, cooling off for the moment.

"Just thought I should give her a little direction on where to look in her research."

To Be Continued...