R-RRIINGGG!
The sound appeared in Kazuto's ears and his lightheadedness increased. He hadn't felt his legs get any weaker, so it was strange to him when he collapsed to the floor. His clothes scuffed against the muddy ground and his hair fell in front of his face, sticking to his forehead with sweat.
He was dying, probably. He rolled onto his back, strength fading. It seemed like new pains popped up every second closer to the end. Cuts and bruises he somehow had ignored despite them feeling prominent now. What I would do for some good ramen right now, he thought. He couldn't feel how wet or cold the ground was anymore. He couldn't feel much of anything. The single light that hung above the alleyway revealed how red the puddles around him had become.
My electric bill. Damn! If the city shut off his power now, his computer wouldn't mine anymore crypto. Worse, he could lose any of the save files he had open at the moment. Especially his….HIS NUZLOCKE! 287 hours spent on a single run! Kazuto stirred until he managed to flip his body over. I'm not losing…it…tonight
The only parts of his drained body that could move were his left arm. He used it to dig his elbow into the ground and drag the rest of himself away from the horde.
R-RRRIINNGG
R-RRIINGGG!
What is that? He searched the rest of the alley. The noise wasn't far.
….
BADASS!!!!
The music that accompanied Dantes Simple Domain carried to a crescendo. Guitars, Bass Guitar and even some Synth had begun to creep in. A direct tell to those around him how close they were to death. A single slash of Dante's scythe proved to wipe innumerable amounts of Cainas. There he stood in the middle of a darkened street, endlessly slashing at a similarly endless horde.
The Hell Cainas were growing restless as their barrage of attacks became more ferocious. It seemed like entire mounds of bones and loose flesh would move at a time to slice him. It wouldn't work. Dante readied his scythe behind him as another wave of Cainas charged.
Swordmaster!
He slammed the blunt end of the Scythe onto the ground and used it to vault himself above the crowd. As he ascended the pillar of flesh roared past, missing and smashing into a nearby building. As he flew, Dante knew he would land in a crowd of Cainas. So he used his instincts to guide him to the next best possible move. Dantes shoes crashed onto the ground as the Cainas around him noticed he hadn't been taken by the previous attack. He responded before they could even think to retaliate. He used his hands to grip onto the higher end of the scythe and began to spin. Empowered by cursed energy, as well as his Swordmaster style which focused his power onto his physical abilities and reflexes, he cleaved through the first surrounding of demons.
Not enough, Dante thought, as he continued to spin. This time he released Nevan from his grip ever so slightly, allowing to slide further and further away from his grasp, amplifying his range. The next circling Cainas was taken down, and Dante had to pick up the pace as the next wave would begin to attack. The more he slid the weapon down his reach, the larger his effective whirlwind of chaos became.
Using his Swordmaster instincts, he maneuvered his spin. Constant spins required a constant shuffling of feet. Dante had no issue with this, but it still had a maximum limit. In order to further amplify his attack, he continued his spin and shifted onto the point of a single foot.
Top Spin!
His momentum, due to his Badass cursed energy, would only continue to grow. Hell Cainas began to charge endlessly. Dozens of Cainas thought they could break Dantes spin, not knowing it was a death wish. Chunks of boney flesh began to rain down from the sheer number of monsters becoming shredded by Dantes technique. A single Caina stopped in its tracks, watching its brethren become nothing more than paste on the brick walls and windows of the street.
For the first time in this entire onslaught, a Caina felt fear. It was powerless against Dante. It was a bigger, worse demon than they could ever be. It turned from Dante and with it's clumsiness, its scythe scrapped against the pavement, causing sparks to fly. Others noticed their comrades retreat, and for just a moment, a large amount of Cainas hesitated.
Now! Dante, mid-spin, released Nevans Scythe form and let it fly from his hands. Nevans weight would carry it in its own spin, independent from Dante. There, the scythe spun around Dante and began to decimate all the surrounding Cainas as they attempted to flee. There wasn't a single moment to waste. The Scythe began to circle back inwards and back to Dantes arms. Many of the demons noticed this and tried to run, tripping and slipping over the pieces of their kin. It was too late.
Nevan spun in a final rapid spin around Dante and right into his hands. As he grabbed its long body, its sheer force spun him around as well. As he slowed, the scythe retracted back into itself as Dante ceased spinning, holding Nevans guitar form once more. Not a single wasted movement. Dante exhaled…
APOCALYPTIC!!!!
Unable to contain his own adrenaline, he shouted.
"Enhance Armament!" And he struck a powerful chord. The farthest deserters bore witness to a massive bolt of lightning that speared from the sky and struck Dante with its full might.
…..
Kazuto had crawled out of the alleyway, covered in dirt and water. His pants had ripped at the knees and the constant dragging had scraped and bloodied his skin.
Was that thunder? It hadn't even been raining.
RRRRINNNG!
There—Kazuto looked over, peering down the empty street that eerily contrasted with the crowded one he had just left. The same phone booth he had passed earlier. It was pristinely kept with no garbage around it and not a single streak staining its glass. Nothing but a pristine red against the bright lamp posts.
He had to answer it. Some strange urge within Kazuto had been yelling at him to do so. Why else would the ringing be so clear from so far away? Enough paranormal nonsense had occurred in this night to come to this conclusion. It was this or die in agony. This odd objective was enough to block out some of the pain he felt.
Every bit of dirt and friction against his wounds added a deep burning sensation that he felt within his skin. He had never been this injured, but knew it should have hurt more. He suspected that Dante figure had done something to him with his mystical abilities. Though, he couldn't figure out what the power to conjure rock music could do for someone.
Almost there. The phone continued to ring seemingly in his head. He would get his answers soon.
A shriek. A piercing scream that overpowered the ringing. Kazuto turned with a gasp.
One of those monsters, although it missed a leg, was chasing after a cloaked woman. Sparks flew as its blade dragged along the pavement, hoping for its next prey. Kazuto shuffled his body but he lacked the strength to get off the ground. What could he do?
What could he ever do?
"HELP!" the woman screamed, "PLEASE! PLEASE!". It hurt Kazutos ears more than anything. He would watch this woman die. She tried to get ahead of the demon, but her leg appeared to be already injured.
With a useless squeal, her leg gave out and she tumbled to the pavement not too far from Kazuto. Why were they ignoring him?
She looked over right then and let out another cry. This one was more sad and defeated. Oh, she assumed he was a corpse. It seemed his face couldn't move anymore. But it's not like he was any more useful if he could stand.
Good for nothing. Useless trash.
A gasp escaped her mouth as the blade entered her flesh. Her blood choked off another scream. If Kazuto was more conscious, he'd have been sick at the sound. Just then, her cloak fell past her face, revealing it.
Beauty stared back at Kazuto. A gorgeous woman with a soft and gentle face. Her jet black hair was the perfect length, barely reaching her chin. Usually hair like that was too masculine for his preference, but it just worked for her.
He gazed at her and longed for a specific dream. I wish, he thought, that I could've saved a babe like that. He let go. It felt like he floated above his body.
Kazuto died.
...
The streets were cleansed of demons with every passing second. The slaughter was accompanied by the electric lead guitar solo of Dante's Devil Arm Nevan. Dante moved fluidly around the fretboard, switching from tonic to dominant pentatonic scales. His own Apocalyptic aura bursting with power as drums, bass, and a heavy power guitar shook the very foundation he stood on.
With each note of his solo a massive swarm of bats surrounded Dante. Nevans enhanced form allowed him to control electrified bats that could fly at the speed of lighting. Every headbang sent a small squadron of death to a newly found herd of Cainas. He had long since cleared out the main streets. The swarm around Dante was blocking the drops of blood that still rained from the first few seconds of his solo.
The last of the horde had been cleared out. Spiraling around Dante was the entirety of his nocturnal forces. They stopped brimming electrical power, letting Dante focus his hearing. With a brilliant power chord, the bats stormed up into the sky. Dark and alive, they formed an artificial cloud.
Dante rested Nevan on the ground and leaned against it. He took note of the viscera he left behind. The pavement was completely painted in the shreds of bones and black fabric. He never minded the smell either.
There.
A slight bubble formed on one of the surfaces. He would have missed it had it not been for the popping. It was still breathing huh?
Dante laughed. It was more to keep his style up than pure enjoyment. The effort it took to hit Apocalyptic paid off in the duration it would last. Still, maintaining it with small doses of coolness didn't hurt.
"Ah! There ya are," he pointed towards the bubble, "was wonderin' where ya went."
The boil popped. Dante grinned. Moments passed and another one didn't appear. Nevan quivered in his hands. His Devil Arms had a much shorter timer than his aura. He had to find where the heart was…fast.
Dante started whistling. He had reduced the size of his domain so only he could hear the music. Slow and steady.
Dante yawned. Almost.
"So, didja catch the game last ni—"
The flesh erupted. A tower of exposed skin began to wrap around the remnants of bones. He was building a body out of his dead allies. Every body left behind was sucked into this amalgamation. You could see a heartbeat pulse throughout its entire makeshift body. Eyes started to form out of white flesh and teeth appeared out of bone. It spoke.
"DAAANTE! Cursed Son of—"
"DISTORTION!"
Dante slammed a feral power chord and lightning sparked from the cloud of bats. A massive bolt of lightning beamed down. It was the culmination of all of Nevans remaining power. The creature, the first one Dante had killed this night, was the Gore Devil.
It screamed in pain, cursing Dante through the rock music and shrieking bats. The lightning ceased and silence fell as Dante dispelled his technique. Nevan crumbled away into the air.
Dante loved dispelling during a peak of energy. It left an incredible adrenaline in his body. His eyes were widened. A horrible grin painted his face. He looked like a maniac, staring at the crisp, charred remains of the Gore Devil.
Its eyes reappeared. Pathetic little orbs with tears that poured off of its grotesque skin. It whimpered with two flaps of skin that resembled a mouth,
"K…Kill me," it pleaded.
Dante sighed. "Sorry pal, no can do." He leaned down and reached into the flesh of the beast. It was the kind of crisp you'd expect from autumn leaves. Burnt flesh eventually led to less damaged tissue. "You've got something…" he felt viscera slide between his fingers, "I sorta need to get paid."
A thump. He found the heart. With a firm grasp, he wrapped his fingers around it. Dante pulled—no—ripped the heart out. Small chords trailed behind as it left its owner's body. The rest of the flesh withered away as the Gore Devils power disappeared. He stared at the heart.
The urge appeared. One that Dante could only blame his father for. A deep and sickening hunger. The desire within him had to be suppressed before he continued. He hadn't noticed he was drooling.
Dante reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a thin white fabric. Special sealing cloth to suppress the Gore Devil. He wrapped it quickly, both for his hunger and convenience.
Another job well done. He started walking down the ruined street. The Hell Gate still had to be dealt with. It would be a piece of cake with the Gore Devils heart.
He stared at it as he walked. He muttered, "Heh, jackpot."