43Devil May Cry, The Traitor's Bloodline, Nero Arc
Chapter one: A Devil and two Princesses.
It was a joyous occasion on Fortuna city, for it was the seventeenth birthday of Princess Sapphire Rhodonite, despite the recent reports of humans suddenly turning into demons, particularly in the neighboring country, Veldime, the citizens were celebrating, inside Fortuna Castle. At the ballroom, Princess Sapphire was waiting for a very important guest, she wore her usual armored dress; beside her was a brown haired man with a goatee, wearing a white uniform.
"He's late…" Sapphire sighed. "Credo, why is Nero late for my birthday party?" She asked the brown haired man, she was getting impatient.
"Nero has always been irresponsible." Credo replied, annoyed by the tardiness of the person in subject. "I'm sure he's coming though."
"He better!" Sapphire's impatience was reaching its limit. "I have something very important to tell him!" She could barely contain her excitement.
On the streets of Fortuna city, a young man with white hair and his right arm in a sling, dressed in a navy blue trench coat with a red zip up vest was rushing to the castle.
"Damn!" The white haired man was rushing to the castle. "I'm gonna be late!" He was said in a worried tone, he held with him a small green box with a ribbon tied onto it. "I can already hear Credo lecturing me, "Nero you should be more responsible!" Give me a break…"
Just as Nero neared the castle, he was confronted by several demons, the demons showed grotesque features, and their "skin" looked like tattered cloth or leather and a large blade stuck out of where their right leg should be.
"I don't have time for you bastards!" Nero let out an annoyed sigh. "Just my luck, Sapphire's gonna kill me for being late!"
The demons pounced at him, leaping several feet into the air, with a demonic cackle; they started to slash at him.
"Get the hell out of my way!" Nero caught one of the demons and ripped its bladed leg off then slicing it in half with its own leg.
The demons slashed madly at Nero, each swing becoming more violent than the last and their cackles had become ear shatteringly loud.
"I'll shut you up!" Nero was annoyed by the demon's loud cackles, he then raised the bladed leg and he cut down two of them.
The demons attacked in a more aggressive pattern, they now jumped and slashed with savage brutality, hoping to overwhelm Nero.
"Let's make this quick." Nero smirked and he threw the bladed leg like a boomerang, slicing all but one lone demon. "I hope you like flowers, because here's my Blue Rose!" He took out a long silver double-barreled revolver engraved with a rose stem pattern. "Bang!" He shot the demon, killing it instantly.
Nero rushed into Fortuna Castle and made it to the ballroom where Sapphire and Credo were waiting for him.
"You're late." Credo scolded Nero. "The princess has been waiting for you!"
"Well, I'm here now right?" Nero sighed in discontent; he didn't like being scolded by Credo.
"She's furious at you." Credo said to the tardy Nero, to him, failing to follow Sapphire's orders was a grave sin. "As a Holy Knight and a member of the Royal Guard, you must always be ready to receive orders."
"You don't have to tell me." Nero gave Credo an annoyed look. He really hated lectures.
"From my experience, I can tell that your father was a great warrior." Credo sighed, still rather annoyed by Nero's lack of respect. "Your cocky and unreliable attitude must have come from your mother."
"Yeah?" Nero stood up, he felt that Credo's comments were out of line and he was getting a little angry. "I didn't know either of them, so who cares where I got my attitude!"
"Forgive me." Credo said. He had just realized that he had commented on Nero's parents, despite his status as an orphan. "I had no right to make such assumptions."
"Whatever…" Nero walked away, though Credo had apologized, the whereabouts of his parents was a touchy subject for him.
"Nero!" An enraged Sapphire had just spotted him; she then walked over to him with her fists balled up. "You're late!" She punched his right arm with great force, causing Nero to stagger backwards.
"What the hell?!" Nero looked at Sapphire with a surprised expression, he knew she would be angry but not to that extent. "Sorry I'm late, there was a roadblock." He remembered the demons he had fought earlier the he rubbed his right arm after feeling the impact of her punch. "If that was my left arm, you would've broken it to pieces!"
"It's your fault for being late for my birthday party!" Sapphire crossed her arms, still mad at Nero for his tardiness. "But thanks for coming." She smiled at him.
"Wouldn't miss this if my life depended on it." Nero smiled back at Sapphire, relieved that she had calmed down so quickly. "With your berserk disposition…my life does depend on it." He thought to himself and shuddered.
"I don't care what Credo says, you are dependable." Sapphire gave Nero a warm smile; the kind of smile a princess would give a knight when she praises him.
"Well, Happy Birthday." Nero smiled nervously and handed Sapphire the green box he was holding. "Hope you like this."
"Thanks Nero!" Sapphire smiled excitedly as she opened the box. "Wow!" Inside the box, she saw a ornate silver pistol adorned with blue and gold markings. "It's beautiful…" She was amazed by its appearance.
"Getting a gun is a pain in the ass here in Fortuna." Nero smiled nervously, he was glad that Sapphire liked the present he had given her, especially after all the trouble he had gone through to obtain it.
"I'll treasure it forever." Sapphire gave Nero a warm smile; she was really touched that he had given her such a nice present.
"His Holiness, Sanctus is about to say a prayer." Credo said to both Nero and Sapphire, as a holy knight, prayers were very important to him.
In front of all the guests, an old man dressed in a white robe with red and gold markings was about to say a prayer to commemorate this event and to bless the citizens of Fortuna City, behind him was a horned statue that held a large sword.
"2,000 years ago, the Dark Knight Sparda, turned against his demon brethren and took up his sword for the sake of mankind. Though despite his great efforts in our names, I fear some have forgotten the truth of that great sacrifice." Sanctus preached in front of the guests, making several gestures with his hands.
"Who could forget with you shoving this down our throats every Sunday." Nero said under his breath, Sanctus's speech was putting him to sleep.
"Although we live so close to the border between the human and demonic worlds, and an affliction has befallen our brothers and sisters at Veldime, caused by the evil Overlord Zenon, we must rejoice the coming of age of our beloved princess, may the Savior always protect her." Sanctus added to his speech, he spoke to bless Sapphire. "May the Savior, guide her to her destiny." He then held his hands together. "Let us pray."
"I'm outta here…" Nero sighed and stood up, he was at his limit with Sanctus's preaching.
"But it's almost the good part!" Sapphire smiled at Nero, wanting him to stay and celebrate with her. "After this, I'll tell you something really important." She was becoming very anxious.
"By the time this is over…" Nero looked at Sanctus with an annoyed expression; he didn't like how preachy he was all the time. "I'll end up looking like His Holiness." He joked, but then suddenly, his right arm started to glow through the sling.
"Time to crash this party!" A man with white hair dressed in a red coat with a large Zweihander with a bone design broke in through the ceiling and landed on the table in front of Sanctus.
Sanctus was surprised by the red-coated man's sudden appearance; he stood still with his jaw wide open.
"Sorry, but Sunday mornings are for sleeping in!" The red-coated man grinned and took out his silver handgun and shot Sanctus between the eyes, the spray of blood dyed his cheek red.
"Your Holiness!" Credo was shocked by what had just transpired, upon seeing the red-coated man slay Sanctus, he drew his sword, prompting the knights behind him to do the same. He immediately rushed to the wounded old man's side.
The knights charged at the red-coated man and surrounded him, the party guests were scrambling to get out of the room and avoid the incoming battle.
One of the knights charged at the red-coated man but was kicked away by him, sending him flying to a nearby table, another knight tried to slash him with his sword, only to have it parried, the red-coated man then pushed him down and stabbed him.
"No!" Credo was distraught by the sight of a bloodied Sanctus, he then commanded his knight to take the old man away from the ballroom.
The red-coated man continued to fight off the knights that had surrounded and attacked him, a knight tried to stab him but ended up getting stabbed himself, the red-coated man then swung his sword, the poor knight still suck on its blade, he used the impaled knight as a mace and hit the other knights, sending them flying to the walls, he then noticed another knight behind him and he cut him down mercilessly, he then saw Credo holding Sanctus's body and approached him.
"Credo!" Sapphire glared at the red-coated man, she then aimed her pistol at him and shot at him before he could get any closer.
"That's some greeting you got there." The red-coated man saw the bullet coming and he sliced it in half with his sword, he then approached Sapphire.
"Get away from her!" Nero yelled out as he ran over to the red-coated man and he delivered a powerful jump hick to his face, sending him flying, he then landed and he took out Blue Rose, firing two bullets at him.
The red-coated man blocked the bullets with his sword he jumped on top of a horned statue, stabbing his sword into it to prevent him from falling.
Nero then leapt and kicked the red-coated man causing him to loosen his grip on his sword, both of them landed on the statue's arms, Nero pointed Blue Rose at him and the red-coated man took out his two handguns, one black and one silver and pointed them at him.
"Nero!" Sapphire yelled out and she aimed her pistol at the red-coated man. "I wanna fight him, too!"
"Go with Credo and get outta here!" Nero yelled out, he didn't want Sapphire to get involved in this dangerous fight, despite knowing full well that she could hold her own.
"I will return with help!" Credo rushed over to Sapphire, wielding hos sword, just in case the red-coated man attacked. "You stall him until then!"
Neo was in a standoff with the red-coated man, both of them had their guns pointed at each other.
"I won't hold my breath." Nero stood his ground, preparing himself for his fight against the red-coated man; he then fired two bullets from Blue Rose.
The red-coated man jumped into the air to avoid Nero's bullets, he then aimed his handguns at him midair.
Nero then jumped after the red-coated man, firing more rounds from Blue Rose, hoping to hit him, the red-coated man then fired his handguns at him at point blank, both of them firing at each other. Nero grabbed the red-coated man by the ankle and he hurled him at the statue.
The red-coated man saw that hos sword was still stuck to the statue and he gripped its handle, but then Nero delivered a powerful axe kick, sending the sword flying, the red-coated man then caught his sword and knocked Nero down.
Nero rolled down the statue and kicked against the stone sword's blade so that he wouldn't fall. The red-coated man stood atop the stone sword's pommel, but then Nero kicked the sword, breaking it away from the statues hands, as the sword fell, he ran up its blade and shot at the red-coated man.
Nero and the red-coated man landed on the ground, both of them aiming at each other with their respective firearms.
"You've got a jacked up notion of fair play pal, and it's beginning to piss me off!" Nero was angry, the red-coated man had interrupted an important day for Sapphire, and he had killed several of his fellow knights, he shot at him and reloaded Blue Rose.
The red-coated man disappeared from sight in a red blur, only to appear behind Nero.
"I guess this doesn't quite cut it." Nero put away Blue Rose and he saw one of the fallen knight's swords, he then kicked it up and caught it, stabbing it onto the ground and revving it's handle, producing heat from the blade. "What's the point packin' a sword like that if you aren't even gonna use it?" He noticed the red-coated man's sword.
The red-coated man raised his sword and looked at it, before sticking its blade onto the ground and mockingly imitating Nero's revving movement.
Nero charged at the red-coated man and crossed swords with him, the red-coated man pushed him back with his tremendous strength, Nero recovered quickly and tried to stab him, but the red-coated man knocked the sword out of his hand, he then glided his feet across the ground and lunged at him at a high speed.
Nero broke the sling on his right arm, revealing a demonic looking red arm with a blue glow, blocking the red-coated man's attack, the resulting impact blew away the chairs and tables around them.
"You got a trick up your sleeve." The red-coated man looked at Nero's arm, he recognized its demonic power and felt a familiar presence from it.
"I thought the cat had your tongue." Nero blocked the red-coated man's sword, surprised to hear him speak during their battle. "If it's a trick you're looking for, try this!" He held the red-coated man's sword and threw him across the room along with it.
"Looks like you too are a…" The red-coated man landed on his feet, fully acknowledging Nero's demonic blood, He also noticed that Nero had the exact same look in his eyes as someone he once knew.
Nero summoned a ghostly extension of his demonic arm, he then picked up the statue's sword and he hurled it at the red-coated man.
The red-coated man moved his head, avoiding the stone sword by mere inches; he then took another look at Nero's arm.
"Hate to interrupt." Nero dusted his hands. "But I wanna wrap this up before the cavalry arrives."
The red-coated man slashed at Nero, only to have his sword caught once more by his opponent's demonic arm, he was then thrown across the room and he landed on a chair.
"So, you're looking to play, huh? The red-coated man sat back and grinned, excited for the upcoming battle. "Alright, I guess I've got some time to kill."
"Tough guy, huh?" Nero pushed the red-coated man away with his demonic arm; he then picked up his sword and jumped onto a chair and smirked. "I think I'll have to take you down a couple notches."
"Whatever you say, kid." The red-coated man smiled and he readied his sword.
Nero and the red-coated man fought once more, Nero slashed his sword in an ex formation after swinging it around and the red-coated man parried his attacks, he then tossed his sword up in the air and he took out his dual handgun and opened fire, Nero responded by taking out Blue Rose and firing it, the red-coated man then put away hid handguns and caught his sword, Nero then charged at him and was ready to punch him, the red-coated man blocked the punch but was pushed back, Nero the grabbed him by the ankle and punched his face, causing the red-coated man to lose his grip on his sword, sending it flying, Nero continued to punch his face, causing the red-coated man to transform on and off into his demonic form, Nero then threw him against the statue and picked up the red-coated man's sword, throwing it at him, and impaling him against the statue.
An exhausted Nero then walked away, thinking he had won the battle.
"Getting better." The red-coated man said, still impaled onto the statue, surprised by Nero's strength. "I would even go as far as to say I underestimated your…" He pushed himself and his sword out of the statue. "Abilities." He smirked with his sword still stuck on his chest.
"You aren't human, are you?" Nero was shocked; he thought he had killed the red-coated man for sure.
"We're the same, you and…" The red-coated man placed both his hands on his sword's blade and pushed it out of his chest. "I." He then looked at a fallen knight with its helmet off, revealing its black volcanic skin and bright orange eyes. "And them, though I suspect you carry something different from the others." He disappeared in a red blur and he reappeared on the window.
"What are you talking about?!" Nero pointed at the red-coated man, confused about what he had just heard from him.
"You'll come to learn the meaning soon enough." The red-coated man spoke in a playful yet cryptic tone, not wanting to surprise Nero. "But, business beckons, if you want a round two, you can find me on the other end of the forest!" He then walked out of the window, preparing to jump.
"Hey!" An angry Nero shot at the red-coated man, only to see that he wasn't there, he still didn't understand the meaning behind what he was told.
"Adios, kid!" The red-coated man reappeared briefly and grinned before jumping out of the window.
Credo and his reinforcements arrived, only for them to see that the red-coated man was no longer there, leaving Nero to think about his words, they were then followed by Sapphire, who dragged a large black case with the order insignia on it.
"You brought this here for me?" Nero smiled at Sapphire, thankful to her and at the same time, he was glad she was safe.
"You would've beat him of you had it." Sapphire looked annoyed, she wanted to fight the red-coated man as well, but he was already gone.
"Well, with this Red Queen, I can kick his ass when I see him again!" Nero opened the black case and assembled his sword, when it was finished; it took the appearance of a large curved blade with a red handle and a gearshift.
"Don't leave me out next time!" Sapphire glared, was still upset about missing the fight.
"So, he's headed for Veldime, huh?" Nero held Red Queen and smiled, content at his weapon's assembly.
"That's what the witnesses said." Credo paced the room, assessing the damage to the surroundings. "One of the Order's research facilities is there."
"Not exactly a tourist friendly place, with all the demonized people living there!" Nero joked as he revved Red Queen.
"You jest so lightly in a time of crisis?! Credo was annoyed by Nero's inability to take the situation more seriously. "We have this madman on the loose on top of Overlord Zenon's curse!" He clenched his fists, remembering the attack. " You must capture him!"
"Trust me, I'll get it done." Nero placed Red Queen on his back, preparing to lave for his mission.
"Before the attack, His Holiness selected you to deal with Overlord Zenon and reverse the curse." Credo calmed down as he explained the situation, for Sanctus's orders were treated like an absolute to him. "I suspect that he is behind the Man in Red's recent attack as well."
"Two demons in one day." Nero sighed; thinking of the amount of work his new mission entailed was enough to tire him already. "Today's my lucky day." He said with sarcasm in his voice. "Maybe the curse has something to do with my damn arm."
"Nero." Sapphire looked at him, she wanted to tell him what she had been meaning to since the beginning of the celebration. "Can we talk?"
"There's no time, duty calls." Nero was ready to embark on the mission that he was assigned to. "Can't pass up on an emergency…" He looked at Sapphire, feeling guilty about leaving so abruptly.
"Just don't keep me waiting too long." Sapphire punched Nero's shoulder playfully; she resigned herself to waiting after hearing how urgent his mission was. "Or I'll sneak out and bring you back myself!"
"I understand that Veldime is where the accident occurred, and the place where that arm of yours first appeared." Credo said in his regular commanding tone. He asked in order to find out if that fact could be a liability to the mission. "There is a famous summoner living there in Holt Village, my contacts will inform her of your arrival."
"I don't remember anything about that place… all I remember is getting this damn Devil Bringer" Nero looked at his demonic arm and sighed, his inability to remember his time in Veldime before his arm changed was bothering him. "Well, time for the most stressful vacation ever."
"I must return the headquarters and report." Credo looked at Sapphire before walking away, he knew that it wasn't safe to remain where they were. "Come with me, princess, you'll be safe there."
"Remember, you have to come back quickly!" Sapphire shot a smile at Nero, confident that he could finish his mission. "That's an order!" She then followed Credo.
Later, at the Order of the Sword's headquarters, Credo and Sapphire were having a conversation regarding Nero.
"Why would you select someone like Nero as your personal knight?" Credo asked he was confused by Sapphire's decision to choose Nero, despite his irresponsible behavior.
"Because Nero's the only person who won't die on me." Sapphire looked down as she remembered all the heroes that had died in her name. "He's all I have, the one person strong enough to stay by my side, he's always been there for me…ever since we were kids." She blushed as she remembered the fond memories of their childhood together.
Nero then headed to Veldime through a road The Order had constructed, passing through Mitis forest, as he arrived in Holt Village, he saw the demonized villagers.
"Great…Halloween in December." Nero sighed as he observed the villagers, their features had become demonic but their attitudes and general activities still seemed human albeit slightly altered.
"So you're the order official sent to help us?" A middle-aged blue haired woman with three eyes approached Nero from behind, she was glad to see that The Order had finally sent help.
"Yeah, that's me." Nero turned around to face the woman; her three eyes didn't bother him as much as it should have, due to having a demonic body part himself. "The Order's errand boy." He sighed. And his stomach grumbled he hadn't eaten anything since his fight with the red-coated man.
"You must be starving!" The three-eyed woman smiled; she was eager to entertain her new guest and to help him solve the problem they faced. "Come spend the night at my house, I'll introduce you to my family."
"Sounds good." Nero smiled, after the long journey and his fight with the red-coated man; he was looking for an opportunity to recover.
Later that night Nero and the three-eyed woman were having dinner with her family, her husband was a red haired demon with grey skin and a horn, her eldest son was a young man about Nero's age with red hair, her middle son was a small boy with horns and grey hair and her youngest daughter was a pink haired girl with small bat-like wings.
"Who are you?" The little girl tugged on Nero's trench coat, his white hair and icy blue eyes caught her attention. "You look really cool!" She said in an excited tone, her cheeks tinged a light pink.
"Oh, it looks like Hanako's taken a liking to you." The three eyed woman chuckled at her daughter's behavior.
"The name's Nero…" He looked at the pink haired girl, though she was a demon, he still thought she was a cute little girl.
"Looks like Hanako has a crush!" The grey haired boy chuckled as he noticed the color of his sister's cheeks and her enthusiasm. "You're in love!"
"Taro, be nice to Hanako." The young red haired man said, he knew that anyone that teased His little sister was up for a bad beating, personally delivered by her.
"Yeah, Tardo!" Hanako smirked at Taro after calling him by his derogatory nickname. "Listen to Adell!" She then held onto Nero's left arm. "Mom, can Nero stay in my room with me?" She asked in an enthusiastic tone.
"That's out of the question." Their father spoke out; the thought of his kid daughter with a boy was rather unnerving to him. "I'm sure our guest is tired."
"You're a member of the Order of the Sword, right?" Adell asked Nero, the battle maniac was excited to be in the presence of such a strong fighter. "We should fight one day!" He raised his fist, challenging him to a friendly battle.
"Maybe later…I just had a fight this morning…" Nero yawned; the fight with the red-coated man and the long journey to Holt exhausted him greatly.
"The guest room is right beside Taro's" The three-eyed woman said to Nero with a smile on her face, she was glad that the rumors about Order members being arrogant snobs was false, at least in Nero's case. "We'll summon Overlord Zenon tomorrow."
The next morning, Nero, Adell and Mom, were gathered in front of the house before a large pot where Dad, Taro and Hanako were.
"You know, I could just storm the castle and fight all the guards, I've had some missions like that before." Nero was unsure of the summoning ritual, magic was something he knew little about, but always seemed like a high risk factor to him.
"I agree with Nero's plan!" Adell raised his fist and entered a fighting stance. "Break into Overlord Zenon's castle and fight him fair and square!" The idea of fighting such a powerful opponent was firing him up.
"But we've searched everywhere and we couldn't find Overlord Zenon's castle." Mom lectured both Nero and Adell, time was running out and she didn't want to waste any of it with fruitless searches. "Besides we've already completed the summoning preparations." She looked into the pot. "Fried Dragon, Fairy Oil, the Shura Sword, Clown Shoes and a Wyrm Bone… it's all here." She gave them a confident smile. "Now we just need to sacrifice a little life energy to summon Zenon…I hope."
"Sounds insane…" Nero sighed, after hearing the names of the ingredients, Mom's plan was sounding more ridiculous by the second. "But, you're the expert."
Just as they spoke, Dad, Taro and Hanako stuck their heads out of the large pot.
"Honey, This summon just might kill us!" Dad said in a frightened tone, he had faith in his wife's abilities, but this ritual was quite dangerous, due to the nature of whom they wanted to summon.
"Yeah, Why ours?" Taro objected, the idea of having his life, even a little of it was frightening to him.
"I got this, you guys get out of that pot." Nero sighed as he broke the sling on his right arm and his Devil Bringer started to glow. "We're trying to summon and overlord, not make stew out of your family." He didn't like the idea of lives being used as part of a ritual; he had lost some friends to failed rituals performed by The Order in the past.
"He's right!" Adell smiled, confidently. "We shouldn't have to rely on such cheap tricks!" He was concerned for his family's wellbeing; Nero's offer was like a godsend in that situation.
"Yay!" Hanako jumped out of the pot, she was relieved that she didn't have to use any of her precious life energy. "Thanks, Nero!"
"I owe you one." Dad stepped out, he was glad he no longer had to play a part in his wife's crazy experiment.
"Thank you so much!" A terrified Taro climbed out of the pot, he had just gotten the scare of his life.
"Well, here goes nothing." Nero's Devil Bringer glowed brightly as a large phantom hand appeared beside it; he poured large amounts of demonic energy into the pot. "Now's a good time to start, you know?" He poured more demonic energy into the pot.
"That's perfect!" Mom smiled, the amount of energy produced from Nero's Devil Bringer was impressive, and she then took out a flute and channeled that energy into a magic seal. "By the spirits of darkness and light…by this boy's hand, by his power, I hereby summon Overlord Zenon to his side!" The magic seal glowed violently above the pot, as the ingredients melted into it, lighting struck it and an explosion of demonic energy erupted from it, but then nothing but silence followed. "Oh, what went wrong?" Mom said in a frustrated tone, she was sure Nero's demonic energy was enough.
"Well, that was a bust, why don't we try pulling him out of a hat next time?" Nero joked, part of him wanted to point out how useless these kinds of rituals were.
Just as Mom had given up, a large sphere of demonic energy appeared above them, with it came a seal shaped like a four-leafed clover, as the seal broke, a blonde girl in a regal black and red dress floated in the air where the seal was, without warning, the girl dropped down from the sky and fell right on top of Nero.
"Dammit!" Nero was on the ground, his face right under the blonde girl's chest. "What the hell happened?!" He was confused and annoyed by the chaos the ritual had caused.
"Where am I?" The blonde girl was confused, one minute, she was in her room reading, and before she knew it, she was summoned to a town.
Nero tired to speak but the blonde woman's sizeable breasts that were still planted on his face muffled his words.
"Ugh, you pervert!" The blonde girl blushed upon realizing where Nero's face was. "How dare you act this way before a princess!" She immediately stood up she was fuming with anger.
"Watch where you're landing!" Nero got up and rubbed his head, partaking in a summoning ritual and then suddenly finding himself in this kind of situation was too much to take in.
"It's…a girl?" Adell was shocked, he expected the terrible Overlord Zenon to make his appearance.
"Well, she sure is cute for an Overlord." Mom said as she observed the blonde girl's features, she was also surprised by the result of her ritual.
"Am I being punked?" Nero was still in shock he had expected a confrontation with Overlord Zenon, but instead, he almost suffocates to death under some girl's breasts. "Are there hidden cameras around here? There's no way she's Overlord Zenon!"
"Overlord Zenon?" The blonde girl looked at Nero, curious about how he knew him. "Do you know my father?" She pressed on, eager to find out.
"Father?!" Nero was shocked; he didn't think someone like the fearsome Overlord Zenon was even capable of fathering anyone, much less a beautiful girl. "You're that guy's daughter?!"
"That I am!" The blonde girl held her hand out and she wore an arrogant expression on her face, her lineage was something she took great pride in. "For I am Rozalin, the one and only daughter of Overlord Zenon!"
"Just because I'm some kind of knight…doesn't mean I need another princess." Nero sighed, he had planned to defeat Overlord Zenon and then track down the red-coated man to settle the score. "What's next? I have to go slay a dragon?"
"Wait a minute…" Rozalin took a closer look at Nero, his white hair, icy blue eyes and above all his Devil Bringer looked all too familiar to her. "N-Nero!?" She stared at him with an expression that can be best described as a child meeting with a friend they had just found again after years.
"How the hell do you know my name?" Nero was confused by Rozalin's sudden change in attitude and her knowing his name, adding yet another confusing event to process. "Lemme guess… I'm famous?" He said with sarcasm in his voice.
"Y-you don't remember me?" Rozalin glared at Nero, she was annoyed by his lack of memories, and judging from her reaction, they must have been important. "How could you forget about our promise!?"
"Look, I've seen these kinds of shows." Nero rubbed his chin, trying to assume a detective-like pose. "I'm the main character and my mysterious childhood friend, who I don't remember, finds me after all these years, right?" He sighed, this situation was getting out of hand for him.
"Exactly!" Rozalin was overjoyed, though she tried to maintain her noble demeanor. "You promised to be my knight, and to protect me forever!" She held that memory close to her for a while.
"Get real." Nero sighed, he started to think that Rozalin might have some screws loose in her head. "Those things don't happen in real life." He joked, thinking that this was all some elaborate prank.
"Y-you're the worst!" Rozalin walked up to Nero and gave him a very hard slap across the face; she was blushing with anger and a killer aura appeared behind her, it was so strong that an instinctive fear arose within him. "I-I even gave you my first kiss!"
"Well, looks like my luck is going down the drain." Nero scowled; he knew that after summoning Rozalin, his mission would be a lot more stressful than it had to be. "Looks like I did something really stupid before I got this arm." He looked at the Devil Bringer and sighed, dreading what the rest of the day had in store for him.
At a cheap hotel outside Holt Village, The red-coated man was eating pizza while lying down on the sofa, he was trying to relax after a long day of work, when suddenly, he heard a loud knock on the door.
"Dante!" A small red haired girl with a tail and wings knocked on his door, she seemed anxious about something.
"Oh, it's Etna." Dante smirked before geting up and answering the door, he wasn't used to seeing Etna in an anxious mood, and so something interesting must have happened.
"You were at Fortuna, right?" Etna asked, she seemed to be in a very excited mood, like she had just found something important to her.
"Lemme guess, you're after Vergil's Yamato, right?" Dante deadpanned, he knew the sword was obviously very important to Etna.
"Yes!" Etna smiled excitedly, the thought of obtaining Yamato made her very happy. "Once I get it, I'll have something to remember Vergil by!"
"So sentimental." Dante chuckled; he knew how much Vergil had meant to Etna. "By the way, I fought with an interesting kid today." He remembered his battle against Nero, and his uncanny resemblance to his late brother.
"Interesting kid?" Etna was puzzled by Dante's words, but since he had brought up the topic so close to their conversation about Yamato, she came up with one conclusion. "Y-you don't mean?!" She was shocked, if her suspicions were correct, the sword wouldn't be her only reason for going to Fortuna.
Author's note: The first chapter of the Nero arc is done! I made an effort to be more descriptive and I altered the structure a bit, I'll reedit the other Traitor's Bloodline chapters after this. Nero and Sapphire's childhood friendship is based on the fact that Nero's voice actor is Almaz's and Sapphire's is Kyrie's I gave subtle hints on the identity of Nero's mother, though it should be obvious by now, Next chapter, we find out how Rozalin knows Nero! Check out my poll and look forward to the Dante Arc!
