The tower felt like it stretched on forever.
Stone corridors twisted upward in a spiral of ancient architecture, a mixture of spiritual and demonic decor along the walls, and statues. With every step the trio took. Saiya, Dante, and Lady moved and killed with clinical efficiency; demons died quickly, blades and bullets cutting them down before they could speak, shriek, or even fully manifest.
Dante spun Rebellion in one hand as he kicked open the next ornate door, revealing two stone pathways splitting in opposite directions. The air grew thick. Each hall hummed with a different energy.
Saiya stopped, her eyes glowing faintly crimson as she sniffed the air.
"…Two scents," she said. "Left path… smells like you."
Dante arched a brow. "Vergil."
Saiya didn't smile. "That way leads outside. The other one…" She narrowed her eyes, nostrils flaring. "It leads to the Sanctuary. I can smell Arkham."
Dante's playful smirk dropped. For once, he looked serious.
"Guess that makes this an easy decision."
He stepped toward the left door.
Lady blinked. "Wait, what are you going?"
Dante paused and looked over his shoulder. "I'm going to knock some sense into my brother. He's been acting a little off, y'know, I haven't seen him in years, I thought he was dead. Then he comes to fight me for our mom's amulet, then leaves and disappears again. Now he's summoning demon towers, partnering with some devil-wannabe psycho, releasing demons on the city... worst of all?"
He turned, face grave.
"He trashed my shop before I even got to name it."
Saiya's lip twitched. The lady wasn't impressed.
"We need to go after Arkham, Dante."
"We will," he replied. "But we need both halves of the amulet. Vergil has one, and our blood with yours is the key to unlocking that damn sword. If I don't deal with him now, this whole thing might be for nothing."
Lady squinted. "…How do you even know that?"
Dante scratched his head. Skimmed Jasen's mission briefs. While waiting for my pizza."
Saiya shook her head. "Then it makes sense. You go after Vergil. Me and Lady will deal with Arkham."
Lady sighed, reluctantly nodding. "Not a bad plan… You see if your brother's gonna take Jasen's offer. I'll handle my business."
Dante grinned. "See? Two birds. One stone. But be careful Lady, killing family isn't easy, and it won't help you feel at ease."
Lady scowled. "What will a devil like you know about family. Your father was a demon and if the reason your mother is dead. Your brother, as far as I'm concerned, is no different. My father is a traitor, and he will die for what he did to my mother. So don't talk to me about revenge when you don't care about anyone but yourself."
Dante didn't say anything. He turned his head back to the door and left.
They split. Dante took the left path, walking casually toward the wind and oncoming rain outside.
Saiya and Lady went right, deeper into the heart of the tower, toward the blood-soaked sanctuary that pulsed with demonic energy.
Atop the Outer Tower…
Rain began to pour gently, streaking down the ancient stones as thunder rumbled in the distance.
Vergil stood alone, his back to the open sky, the Yamato resting on his hip. In one hand, he held a book, its pages worn and written in languages older than time.
Dante walked up a flight of steps. He saw a woman in a red jumpsuit. She pointed with her thumb to the steps that went up to the left. Dante just walked past her without saying anything. Jeanne smiled with amusement.
"The Sparda boys will clash, and soon the demon shall rise." She then looked up to the sky into the rain clouds. "Oh, now this is gonna be fun."
Dante stepped onto the slick platform, the wind catching his coat. His cocky smile returned, but there was an edge to it now.
"Y'know," Dante said, walking toward him, "you've been real busy lately, Vergil. Summoning hell towers, partnering with some second-rate devil wannabe, letting demons run wild across the city…"
Vergil didn't turn.
"…But the worst offense?" Dante continued. "You wrecked my shop. And I hadn't even named it yet."
Vergil slowly closed the book.
"You always cared more for trivial things."
"Well, I am the fun one," Dante said. "But this? All this? It's gone too far. It's not too late, Vergil. You can still come back from this. Just think about mom, she wouldn't want this for you."
Vergil turned at last, calm and cold.
"If you think, for even a second, that I've come all this way just to turn back now, then you are a fool."
Dante's eyes narrowed.
"I will claim the power of Sparda," Vergil said. "And use it to destroy Mundus once and for all, stand above all as the strongest. But to open the gate, I need your amulet… and your blood. So are you gonna hand it over or will I have to take it by force, again?"
Dante's hand went to Rebellion.
"You want it?"
He stepped forward.
"Come take it. But this ain't gonna be like last time."
Lightning cracked.
The wind howled.
Their blades clashed with a flash of steel and a shockwave that blew the rain back in a wide circle, thunder following like a war drum.
Sanctuary Chamber...
The circular room pulsed like a heartbeat.
Arkham stood in the center, dressed in his human form, composed, calm, and smiling.
"Ladies," he said mockingly. "I was wondering when you'd arrive."
Lady answered with a hail of gunfire, her pistols blazing. Arkham dodged, his body melting into shadow as he reappeared across the chamber.
Saiya was faster.
She was already in motion, a blur of crimson wind, her blade striking in a dance of precision. Arkham blocked one, but missed the follow-up slash that tore open his shoulder.
He grimaced.
"Oh… her blade," he muttered. "I remember now. Chiropteran blood"
The two women advanced in perfect rhythm, gunfire and steel, striking together in a beautiful, destructive harmony. Arkham grunted as blood splattered across the stones.
"You think yourselves clever," he hissed. "But this place is my domain, and you two are way out of your league."
"And we're burning it to the ground," Lady snapped, blasting his leg out from under him.
Above the clouds…
The private plane trembled slightly.
"We're just about over Redgrave City," the pilot announced. "But the cloud cover makes visibility near-zero. I'll have to reroute to the main airport, it's over two hours away."
Jasen clenched his jaw. "We don't have two hours. We're already behind."
Alucard leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "I may have a faster method. For you and me."
Logan raised an eyebrow. "And us?"
Alucard smirked. "You two will need to find your own way."
Laura cracked her neck. "Parachute?"
The pilot turned, startled. "Uh… we don't have any parachutes on board."
Laura turned to Logan with a wild grin.
"I got this."
Jasen watched the two step toward the emergency hatch. "Be careful, you two."
Laura winked. "Same to you, boss."
Then Alucard reached out. "Take my hand."
Jasen grabbed it.
And in a blink, the two of them phased through the plane, their bodies warping with darkness.
They fell.
For a terrifying moment, they plummeted, free-falling through rain and lightning, clouds surrounding them in every direction.
Below the Tower loomed like a spear toward the sky.
Alucard's black coat flared as he grabbed Jasen midair, slowing their descent somewhat. As they made it past the clouds, Jasen saw the tower in view. Jasen narrowed his eyes, rain stinging his face. Red and blue coats, and blades flashing faster than lightning.
"I can see Dante," he muttered. "He's fighting someone."
"That's Vergil," Jasen muttered.
Alucard grunted. "This will be close. You're quite heavy."
"Just don't drop me," Jasen said. "I know I won't die, but this fall's still gonna hurt like hell."
A smirk appeared on Alucard's face. "If I do drop you, it'll be on the enemy. At least you'll be useful."
"…You're joking, right?"
Alucard said nothing.
"You're joking, right?!"
"Three."
"Alucard—"
"Two."
" Don't you fucking asshole"
"One."
He tossed Jasen with great force.
The wind roared.
Jasen screamed into the open sky.
"I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS, YOU PASTY BASTARD!!"
Above, Alucard muttered as he vanished into the mist.
"…Worth it."