Chapter 31 - The Realization Of A Nepo Baby - Eldritch May Cry

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

["Speech Through Technology"]

…

The chains had wrapped around my entire body. It seemed to have spawned from nothing upon my touching of the almost decrepit-looking scroll.

The more I tried to move, the harder they restricted me. It was almost as if—

"What's even the point?" I completely stopped trying to move. A sigh escaped my lips as I just felt defeated.

I had fought for my life, died, and lost everything. I felt a deep sense of nothingness, the only thing left within me being my self-disappointment.

As if sensing my defeat, the chains immediately disappeared, causing me to fall onto my back, entirely unserious-looking.

It would be at this point in a story that a protagonist would be grateful that their supernatural powers had shown themselves. For me, I think I'm just done. It was genuinely over.

Whatever that thing was, be it a sealing spell, a mirage, or something else entirely, my care for it was in the negative.

'Why didn't you do it?' This question, which I kept asking myself, was the one I kept trying to avoid. I knew the answer, but every time I tried dodging, the question would reappear in my mind.

The facts are: Mal0, also known as SCP-1471, is a technology-based electronic entity. Her "real" body, or connection to me, was housed within my phone. I knew this. I could have uploaded and dispersed the Mal0 app, her data, and anything else to the internet. My freeze-up at seeing my phone would've and could've been avoided right then and there.

But I didn't. And I now had to come to terms with why I didn't.

The truth was that I was a selfish bastard. I thought that if I had uploaded Malo, she'd leave me. I wanted a sense of certainty more than the possibility of her dying. If I never introduced her to the wider populace, even if she had my phone and the entire internet to search, she'd always be tied to me. The thought of her dying never entered my mind until I saw my phone in the hands of another.

"I'm such a piece of shit…"

This feeling of emptiness wouldn't go away. What was wrong with me? I didn't even have the strength to get on my computer and check if the people who died because of me were alive.

I could say, "Vergil can reverse time, go after him, and get Malo back!" But that's realistically impossible from where I am now.

First was finding Vergil, where was he? After that, I need to get him to undo what he did, which is realistically impossible. He's going to reject it the second I ask.

Which means I'd need to beat him in combat. Not by any means necessary, if I did that, then he'd rather die than give me what I want. I'd have to beat him in one-on-one combat and prove I'm better than him.

At least, if the Vergil I know is the same as the Devil May Cry series, that's the only way. With the way our last fight went, I'm nowhere close to touching a follicle of hair on his head.

It didn't seem possible; There was no way I would be able to do any of that within a short period of time.

My eyes drifted back to the scroll. Looking over it, my eyes widened. Apparently, touching it was a no-no because I was supposed to move it with my mind.

▄▅▆▇█〘Weapons〙█▇▆▅▄

Deterioration — (Free)

[Description]: A sword created by The Crimson Monarch, blessed by ██████ ██████. The second sword of his creation, for his secondborn son. Deterioration is a pitch-black long sword with misshapen handprints decorating parts of the blade, the most notable print being the one within the blade's handle. The blade's guard looks skeletal, but has a thin black outline coating the outside. On both sides of the sword are two stone-like carvings, which are both in the shape of eyes, though one of the eyes appears to be inhuman. The—

————————

That was enough reading for me. I realized I might be in this after all. On the scroll was an image of the sword, which spun like a 3-D image whenever I wished the image to turn.

This could be something! Not a cheat, but something greater, more fulfilling. There were more options, more things to see, but I put it on pause.

I first went to my computer, my feelings still in the gutter, but I searched for anything related to the fight I had with Vergil. I found nothing, no news coverage, no coverups, nor any deaths. It seems that whatever time ability Vergil had, he had used it to undo the damage of our fight.

With that information, the lump within my soul receded. I wasn't a saint; I did everything for survival, but reducing my morals to nothing wasn't something I wanted. I didn't want to go around murdering innocent people.

Whenever one breaks their morals, they'll find it easier to do it again the next time. I didn't want to become the type of person who says something and then immediately turns around to ignore what I said, the second it's convenient.

What I'd do is simple. I'll take a shower, put on some clothes, find a store that can fix my phone, and hopefully get Malo back. If that doesn't work, I'll have to fight Vergil, and I'll have to win.

Realistically, getting Malo back could be considered the goal. The truth was, I'd have to fight Vergil even if I only wanted Malo back.

Vergil was a threat I couldn't ignore. If I got Malo back, who was to say he wouldn't do what he did all over again? He already proved he could do it once; I can't let it happen again.

I took that shower. It allowed my feelings to be reset, die out, and be reborn, just as I had before.

I put on a white shirt, long, tan-colored jeans, my military-style boots, and my black fingerless gloves.

The scroll, seal, or whatever you wanted to call this thing, had four options. Statistics, weapons, abilities, and outfits.

I, of course, went to outfits.

▂▄▅▆▇█〘Outfits〙█▇▆▅▄▂

Fledgling's Awakening — (Free)

[Description]: A singular red, leather trench coat, created by ██████ ██████, for her secondborn son. Blessed by her to self-repair, repair other bits of clothing attached to the wearer, and get harder to destroy the more the wearer grows in strength. Supposedly thought to be a birthday present. Never was it able to be given.]

Smokey Sexy Style — (Locked)

[Description]: A special outfit created by The Crimson Monarch in celebration of his second son's 18th birthday. Unlocked by entertaining a specific way of fighting, throwing in moves, comboing enemies, styling on them, and keeping them in the air as you're doing so. This outfit has a style counter that boosts statistics the greater your style is.]

The New Crimson Prince — (Locked)

[Description]: Upon the birth of his twin sons, The Crimson Prince became The Crimson Monarch. This outfit was created for Dante Azaogdesz for his second birthday after he cried upon seeing the eldritch form of his father's avatar. This allows him to mimic the original look of The Crimson Monarch fully, the aura feeling uncannily reminiscent of his father.]

Eldritch Hunter Official — (Locked)

[Description]: A red—████████ █████ ██████████]

Eldritch Hunter Extraordinaire — (Locked)

[Description]: (Hidden)]

█ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▂ ▁ ▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █

Reading the descriptions as far as I could, I felt a little overwhelmed. I had been transported, survived, died, gotten up again, and apparently was a very loved child. I tried to go farther down, but apparently, everything else wasn't meant for my eyes.

I looked at Fledgling's Awakening, the preview of the dark maroon trench coat appearing within my vision. The description of it didn't do it justice, but I paid no heed to it.

The status of the outfit went from "free" to "obtained," and I—

"Actually, what do you want me to do here?" I stood there confused. The outfit hadn't appeared on me, within my hand, or on any surface in front of me.

"You want me to like… hold out my hand and will it to appear?—" Right as I finished, a dark maroon trench coat dropped into my hand. "Oh, I see, higher-dimensional fuckery. How was I supposed to guess that?"

It wasn't from nothing. I could see a portal-like thing appear for an instant before the trench coat dropped from it. I could equate it to seeing a cultivator reach into a storage ring and drop one of its contents.

The fantastical, lackluster, and frankly uninspired design of how I got that aside, I had to come to terms with it. The second I put this coat on, I was on a mission. Resurrecting her, doing things that would get me closer to resurrecting her, and gathering information to resurrect her quicker would be the only thing on my mind.

I would not be straying from that goal for any reason. The only cause for doubt would be if I found a faster way to resurrect her.

Clenching the coat between my fingers, I took a deep breath. Putting on the coat, I got a good look at myself.

The dark maroon of the coat, the two leather holsters on my back that wrapped around, allowing one to see a line of leather cross my chest, the two buckles near my waist that look like threes, even the small metal studs on the left side of the holster.

Counting my white shirt, pants, boots, and fingerless gloves, I didn't want to say it, but I might be Dante.

"Who woulda guessed it, huh?" I said as I slowly paced around the room, looking in the mirror. "You always did have a way of doing things."

I stopped trying to find another person in whom I was and instead focused on the goal I had set. I had a wolf-girl to get back.

As I was making my way out the door, I realized that I had tried everything. I truly did try to survive. I was put into this world with no help, no information, and I crawled with everything I had.

To others, it could look like I was a beast of a person; Someone willing to sleep on the ground in case of monsters pretending to be the bed, willing to sleep without covers in case monsters were in the shadows, willing to sleep in bursts in case of monsters stalking, and the other compromises I made to survive.

At this moment, though? All I saw was the cage of a sad creature. Always prey, always hiding, always watching, never able to do anything, and always bending over backwards so as not to die.

Over the month I've spent here, I've met over 300 eldritch creatures, seen over 1,000, and know so many more. This was my hell. I was glad to be leaving it.

But what if this hell had levels? What if I got the good end of the stick? It probably was for the best that I didn't imagine it.

I disarmed all of the traps. I wouldn't need them anymore. If something broke in, I'd kill it. I could feel it in my movements, in the way I looked at the world. I was faster, stronger, more perceptive in my senses, and I even had whatever this item dispenser was.

I knew it had more, much more, to offer me, but I held off until I got the answers I needed.

Stepping outside, it looked much more lively. More people on the street, more cars passing by, it was as if the world really came alive.

First thing on my mind was getting to a store, asking them to repair my phone, and if that didn't work, then it was destination Vergil.

On my walk, I had seen more people, more cars, and more life than I'd ever seen previously—the empty streets and parks I was used to had been completely flipped on their heads.

The people I passed by looked at me weirdly, but logically, if you see a guy dressed the way I am, with white hair on his head, and empty gun holsters on his back, you'd look at him like he was crazy, too.

Adding on my dead look, extremely built physique, and my height, I was a person who made people look twice.

The second I made it to the custom phone repair store, which let me remind you, I have never seen on my maps before, I stepped inside.

Looking around while walking forward, I made it to the front desk. Behind the desk, a man around—exactly 5'8, and on his phone until I showed up.

Black hair, brown eyes, he seemed human. He was human. I could tell, somehow.

There wasn't anyone else in the building besides us, so I felt there was no need to stall.

"You think you can repair this?" I said as I took the destroyed phone out of my pocket and placed it on the counter.

The man's eyes widened.

"Jesus Christ, dude! The fuck did you do to this thing, stab it multiple times?" His outcry was very reasonable.

The phone was totaled. The screen absolutely shattered, had multiple circular spiderweb fractures, as if it were shot by a gun multiple times. In one specific hole, you could see through the smallest gap to the open air, even if you held the phone to your face.

The back of the phone wasn't any better. Shards of glass were barely holding together in some spaces due to the thin layer of protection, designed to stop glass from flying everywhere.

"Look, dude, listen," I could feel a sigh form on my lips, half-release as my left hand softly gripped my face. "Some things happened, my phone got totaled, can you fix it?"

He looked at me for a second before taking out a toolbox and opening it.

"I can see what I can do. Realistically, I can fix it, but it'll be expensive," He said as he overlooked the total amount of destruction.

I nodded. "Alright, just try to get the data if you can't fix it. I really need what's on there."

He nodded as I watched him take apart the phone.

"This is going to take a while to repair. Do you want to leave me a number to call when it's finished?" His question hurt me physically as I realized I had no way to keep in contact with anyone without a phone.

"Well, that's my only phone. Can I, like, buy one from you? Do you sell phones?"

"Yeah, I got you." Grabbing something from underneath the desk, he showed off a newly boxed phone. "This one is the latest model of iPhone, the 15Pro. A thousand without tax."

I could hear a mental "FAHHHHH!!!" go off in my head. Of course, I didn't need to buy the most expensive, newest model. But, if I did need a data transfer, I would rather it be on a newer model.

I held a hand over my heart and almost doubled over. "Alright… I'll take it." It sounded as if I were fighting demons that gave me asthma.

"Though," I said seriously. "Even if you can't get the phone to turn on, do all the repairs, and I'll pay you for it."

I was given another nod as I gave the man my new contact info. Luckily, he didn't ask for a down payment. I don't think my heart could take it. Buying a thousand-dollar phone, WITH TAX, from him should be enough for him to trust me.

All that was left for today was closure.

…

I stood outside the same familiar restaurant I had worked at all this time. I had only just gotten to look through the window, and the place was still empty, besides the person working at the counter.

Cars drove past, but nobody besides me was currently on the sidewalk.

I saw her eyes lock onto my figure through the window and widen. Ashley. She practically bolted from the restaurant. The second she stepped out the front door, our eyes locked.

"Dante!" The relief and surprise, I could hear in her voice. "I didn't mean for that to happen, I didn't think that any of it would go like that! I just wanted—"

I began tuning her out as she tried to explain herself. I felt nothing as I stared at her. Every slight moment she closed the distance between us, even just slightly more, I could feel hate beneath the nothing.

The index finger of my right hand began to twitch slightly as she went on. Everything around me felt still as she continued speaking, giving me a soft internal quiet that allowed me to think.

'I should kill her right now.' My index finger twitched again at that thought. The rest of my body was totally still as I kept my eyes locked onto her.

'In this situation, I'd doubt anyone would blame me. She's the reason I've lost so much, I'd be mortally in the right, correct?' I could feel my heart beating slightly faster as I tried to rationalize her end.

'I am morally in the right. Killing her is justified!—'

'Wrong.'

I paused.

My thoughts and feelings were fighting against each other. One part of me really wanted to kill Ashley. The other part was telling me not to.

'Why? She's the reason Malo is gone! It's a rational thought!'

'You're casting the blame onto her entirely, instead of looking at the full picture. Stop trying to act blameless.'

'She caused this to happen! Don't fight me, you know she deserves at least an equal sentencing!'

That's right. Give unto her what she gave unto others.

'She caused this based on the information you gave her. You gave her incomplete information. You let her form her thoughts on her own, and she put together the dots on her own because of you.'

I couldn't argue that. The information given was lacking. It was obvious that it looked as if I were overtaken by a cognitive hazard if someone with the barest information viewed me.

'So, stop acting as if you're blameless. Especially when you didn't upload her onto the internet, or even to your own computer.'

I could feel my teeth grinding softly within my jaw.

'Even if that's so, she can still be held accountable! That wouldn't be entirely wrong to say!'

'Look, I gave you the information. I can see that you've already pre-determined the outcome this is going to go. You want her dead; nothing I say will change what you do, but you want to feel morally right in doing so. I'm telling you, you're not right, but if this is what you want, do it.'

'No, I'm not right. I don't need to be entirely right, we both know, she has to go! This weaponized incompetence she has will stab us in the back again and again!'

'I'll say this once more. You have a pre-determined outcome that you want. I won't argue with you further because I know it'll get us nowhere. Do as you please. If you won't listen to reason, then I won't reason with you.'

I felt the rage, intellectual calm, and something else stir inside me. This disgusting amount of emotion, paired with my usual thoughts, felt as if I were being murdered.

I really wanted to kill her.

'Yes! Kill her!'

But—

'Eldritch creatures kill innocent people, not Dante.'

'Correct.'

Looking at it logically, it was partly my fault—

'Aww, come on!'

—and that shouldn't be all forced onto her because of my personal losses—

'Correct again. You can continue.'

—Because—

'''—Eldritch creatures kill innocent people, not Dante.'''

It was frustrating to let her go free, but it was entirely my fault for introducing her into a world and giving her partial information to work with.

"Ashley." My stoic voice caused her to pause and stop speaking.

'But just because of that, it doesn't mean I can't separate myself from this if I don't feel comfortable.'

"I hate you," I said plainly and clearly. "And, I've never hated anyone in my life."

"What…?" Ashley's voice came out in a whisper.

"Tell the others, or don't, but I'm leaving. I have things to do, and I don't want to be here anymore." I was about to turn around and walk away, but I had one more thing to say. "This entire time you've been trying to explain yourself, never once have you said sorry. It was all just accountability deflection."

With that, I began walking away. I would be going back home, working on finding Vergil, and seeing what this item dropper was about.

Ashley did call out to me, but I ignored her entirely. I had said all I needed to.

…

Sitting in my gaming chair in my room, I overlooked the options.

▄▅▆▇█〘Weapons〙█▇▆▅▄

Deterioration — (Free)

Mutilation & Desecration — (Free)

[Description]: Mutilation & Desecration are two twin pistols. Mutilation is red with black and white accents, and Desecration is black with gold and silver accents. The pistols take eldritch energy to fire, separating the worthy from the unworthy. These twin pistols weren't originally made by The Crimson Monarch, but were made by an old worshiper who got the chance to please her deity. Legend says her bloodline is still around today, making masterfully crafted weapons.]

Unseen Claw — (45,000)

[Description]: Unseen Claw is a pair of gauntlets and boots that look draconic and are made from origin darkness. Both hand-ware and footwear have sharp claws that can shred through many materials. It was said that Azaogdesz, who is Free Reign, was a nigh-boundless three-headed black dragon. Beneath his skin crackled yellow, gravitational lightning. With his claw, he molded the Original Darkness, and each head oversaw Freedom, The End, and Fairness.]

█ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▂ ▁ ▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █

There were more weapons, but I wasn't able to view them. From the three weapons I could see, I could make an observation on who this Azaogdesz guy was.

I knew he was my father—the original Dante's father. So my father by proxy. However, the gathering of all these different descriptions leaves me wondering. Are all of these beings the same?

It obviously says my father is The Crimson Monarch, but his name is also Azaogdesz, who is also a three-headed black dragon? I'll use the eldritch bullshit card and run along with it.

He's Free Reign, who's also a nigh-boundless three-headed black dragon, who's also The Crimson Monarch, who oversees Freedom, The End, and Fairness.

This sounds like some ol' bullshit! Are you telling me the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda was replaced with a Fair King in Crimson Freedom? It did sound like an upgrade, but the Devil May Cry Dante got hell for it. We might not be so different after all.

Returning my attention to the three weapons, I saw the Unseen Claw cost 45,000 of some currency. I did see the amount I had at the top left originally, it was, and still is at zero.

Thinking of tapping on the currency—

▂▄▅▆▇█〘Misc.〙█▇▆▅▄▂

[Black Orb]

[Description]: An eldritch black stone of crystallized elder soul. Exchange these for weapons, skills, upgrades, and release.]

█ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▂ ▁ ▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █

That was ominous. Crystallized elder soul? So, I get these by beating on eldritch creatures like Dante would a demon?

As I said previously, I had zero. So, Unseen Claw was a no-go.

I focused on Deterioration, the sword going from "free" to "obtained" immediately.

Right as I was about to summon the sword, I saw something that made my eyes widen.

▄▅▆▇█〘Weapons〙█▇▆▅▄

Deterioration — (Obtained)

↳ Upgrade 1: Stinger Thrust — (5,000)

[Description]: Pull back your sword and then thrust forward with eldritch energy covering the blade. Stinger Thrust takes you farther as more energy is put into the attack.]

█ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▂ ▁ ▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █

Apparently, every weapon had its own upgrades, too! This was getting better and better.

Holding out my hand and "willing" Deterioration into my hand, I felt my palm graze a blade handle. Gripping the handle, I pulled the long sword into reality.

The first thing I realized was that the handprints within the blade's handle perfectly matched my own hand. As if I had gripped the blade too long, and it was an illusion that it had this indent before I grasped it.

The blade matched its description and then some, it gave an otherworldly feeling I couldn't describe. I could feel myself itching to see all that this could offer me.

But, to do that, I needed to kill as many eldritch creatures as possible.

That I could do.

…

Within a luxury-looking office, a man was looking out of the large window onto the cityscape below. He looked out with an absolute calm, and certainly from the top of the skyscraper he was in.

His hair color was a dark black, and combined with his deep purple eye color. It gave a uniqueness none other could match.

Suddenly, another man burst into the room. The new person was scrawny, much less muscular than the man with purple eyes.

"Mr. Te, I have some information you need to hear." The scrawny man said with an entirely serious tone.

"Go ahead, you've burst in, so it must be important." Mr. Te, the man in the royal purple suit, continued looking out the window as he spoke.

"Yes, sir! Around three days ago, eldritch and cryptid entities began running in all directions away from a singular point." The scrawny man explained with a clipboard of notes and neat writing. "We believed something had been causing them to run—an event of great scale! But apparently, after trying to talk to some of the more intelligent ones, they all said the same thing. 'The monster in red is coming.'"

"So, it's begun." Mr. Te smiled. "Marcus!"

The scrawny man, Marcus, stood straighter. "Yes, sir?"

"Send him in to collect information on this 'monster in red' and then set me up a bounty."

Marcus nodded repeatedly.

"After we have the information for whatever this thing is, what do you want to set the bounty to?"

As he heard that, Mr. Te gave a knowing smile as he continued looking out the window.

"Set the bounty to one billion."

…

(A/N: Once again, this goes out to my goat Apathy_Personified and a new one, Brother_Chicken, two goats who have been following for a long time.

I had some things to do, and some things I need to do tomorrow. I'll try to post at least once a week, but most chapters end up being around 5k words due to details. Not saying it's a bad thing, but I don't want to put out a half chapter because I was lazy. I hope you've enjoyed it so far, as Eldritch May Cry is about to really begin.)

Chapter 33 - Chapter 31 - The Realization Of A Nepo Baby