Feb. 9, 2011
I stared at the entrance of the Gate of Hell. Several thoughts were running through my head, chief among them being, "This is a bad idea." I knew next to nothing about that guy, and yet here I was, standing at his front doorstep and wondering what I was going to say. I tried to forget what happened the other day, but I couldn't get it out of my head. Every time I tried to forget that I almost got myself killed by a fire-and-ice breathing monster dog,
something kept me thinking back.
The feeling of adrenaline pumping through my veins, the
excitement, the
thrill…
I took a deep breath and run a hand through my hair. I didn't consider myself an adrenaline junkie or anything close, and the idea that I got excited by the prospect of fighting and nearly getting killed by a monster dog was…worrying, to say the least.
The neon sign on the bar flickered for a moment. I swear, the eye in the middle of the sign was glaring at me and saying, "Get on with it!"
"Well, here goes nothing…" I mutter under my breath and grab hold of the handle. I pull down and push the door forward.
Unlike before, where the man led me into the bar the first time, I felt a sense of dread and danger when I crossed the threshold. Every cell in my body was screaming for me to get away, but I pressed forward, swallowing my fear. I closed the door behind me and entered the bar, walking through the entryway and stepping into the main lobby. I stopped for a moment, transfixed by something I swore wasn't there before; a gold statue of a woman bearing a lion's head carrying an hourglass over her shoulders.
Behind the bar was the man who saved my life, wiping down a glass. "You saw the sign outside, didn't ya?" Rodin said without looking up. "We're closed for the day, sister. Plus, if you're looking for a drink, the only thing I'm sellin' to a minor is a soft drink."
"That's…not why I'm here," I said.
Rodin set the glass down and looked up, a hint of a smile on his face. "Yeah, I figured. Take a seat. What's your preference, cola or pepsi?"
"Either's fine." I take a seat by the counter. He nodded and bent down to grab my soda. "So, um… About that thing the other day… What-what was it? It said it's name was Orthrus. That's Greek, right? I-I looked it up online. He's supposed to be Cerberus' brother, right."
"Well, he's related to Cerberus, but they ain't brothers, kid." Rodin stood back up and set my drink on the counter, removing the cap with nothing but a flick of a finger. "That sucker used to be two separate demons; runts who fought tooth and nail to get a member of the Cerberus clan's attention so they could swear fealty to 'em. And sometimes, they happen to catch the attention of the big muchacho himself and get stitched together to another runt."
"D-did you say demon?"
He nodded. "That's right. That thing wasn't no Case-53 or a cape, Taylor. It came out from the pits of Hell. Or, well, a version of hell." He took out a cigar case, fingers wrapping around a thick tobacco stick before lighting it. I gagged in disgust, the smell already invading my nostrils. "See, each world's got its own version of Heaven and Hell. In one world, downstairs is called the Underworld and is divided into Hells, each ruled by powerful demons. At the top of the food chain is Mundus, though he got the shit kicked out of him and got locked away. Don't know much about its version of Heaven, though. My world's version of Heaven and Hell are called Paradiso and Inferno. And trust me, you
really don't wanna run into a demon from Inferno, much less one of those angels from Paradiso."
I gaped at the man. "D-did you say
your world? Then you're from—?!"
"Yep, not from around here. And let me tell you, Earth Bet is shit. If it ain't some leathered up pansies or a bunch of idiots in spandex, it's a bunch of Godzilla knock-offs prancing around with sticks up their ass." He suddenly looked up and scowled. "No, I am
not taking it back, ya punk-ass bitch!" Rodin shook his head. "Anyway, where was I?"
I took a very large swig of my drink. Ugh, Coco Cola Zero? Really? Who the hell would drink this crap? Ah, oh well. Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. "You, um, were saying you came from another Earth?" I take a moment to digest what I was hearing. "So, let me get this straight. Hell exists on every Earth, and so does Heaven…and that thing was a demon?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
He and I stare at each other. The staring contest lasted only a minute before I gave up and sighed. "To anyone else, that sounds all kinds of crazy. You realize that, right?" The man shrugged. "But… Well, after seeing what I did, I can't really deny it. That, and…"
"You felt it, didn't you? That tingling sensation in the back of your head. Something inside of you screaming?" I nodded. The man smirked. "That would be your other half talkin', kid."
We've found you, half-breed.
Orthrus' words ring in my head. My stomach lurches uncomfortably. "I'm half-demon? But that's—no, that can't be right. Mom and Dad are human. I know they are! I-I mean, I think I would know if one of my parents was secretely a monster!"
"Well, you ain't exactly a normal halfer," Rodin answered. "I've met half-demons before, enough to tell a genuine one from someone that's not entirely natural. My best guess is that your little buddy turned ya into a half-demon. Why in the hell it did that or how that gold bastard even knew how to do it, I got no idea."
"I'm sorry,
what?"
The man then explained to me how all parahumans got their powers. Apparently, a giant space monster came to our world and split off pieces of its body, scattering those pieces out into the world. Those pieces then took root inside a host, and when the host endured the absolute worst moment in their life, the fragment gave the host a set of abilities relating to their trauma so they could overcome the hurdles in their path. Said fragments, however, egged their users on, nudging them to experiment, strengthen and test their might against others like them.
In other words, the bar owner was telling me all parahumans got their power from Cthulhu's cousin.
If I didn't know any better, I would swear this guy is Void Cowboy from PHO.
"…you seriously expect me to believe that?"
"Believe it or don't, that's up to you. Either way, sister, like it or not, you got demon blood running through your veins," Rodin replied before his face turned serious. "And that means every thing that goes bump in the night will be gunnin' for your ass."
"Why?!" I demanded. "What did I do to them?! I didn't even knew they existed until two days ago!"
"You didn't have to do anything. When it comes to half-breeds, demons flock to you guys like moths to a flame. Supposedly, half-breed demons are a rare delicacy."
My blood went cold. The image of monsters from my worst nightmares came to my mind, descending upon me with claws and teeth tearing apart my flesh and biting into my bones.
"Lucky for you, you got what it takes to fight back." I break out of my thoughts. Rodin was smiling widely, showing his pearly white teeth. "You got a little power in you, kid. Way I see it, you got two choices. Either you sit around and let yourself become demon chow…or you fight back."
"…how do I do that?" I ignore the wild thumping in my chest and the sudden dryness in my mouth.
Rodin chuckled. "That depends, sister. You got what it takes to be a Demon Hunter?"
"Hello, and welcome to…"
I chuckle and wave awkwardly back at Parian, who just stared at me, no doubt confused as to why I was here. I still had some time before the Supreme King Geek got worried, so I figured I might as well stop buy the rogue's shop and see how she was doing. I mean, she did almost get killed by a dog straight out of hell, and it was my fault she was in that situation in the first place, so it was only right I apologize.
That being said, now that I was in front of her, I found myself unable to utter a word. Seriously, what the hell was I supposed to say? "Hi, Parian! Turns out I'm a half-demon and am being hunted by the forces of hell that want to eat me and I nearly got you killed!" Yeah. I'm sure
that will boil over well!
"Um…hi?"
Seriously, Taylor? Is that the best you could come up with?
As lame as my greeting is, it shakes Parian out of her stupor. "H-hello," she greeted back. "How can I help you, madame?"
"Uh, nothing much? I just wanted to see how you were doing, considering you were, you know…" I sigh. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this."
"Clearly," Parian snarked before she turned on her heel. "Why don't we talk out in the back?"
I nodded and followed after her, being led into a backroom filled with various dummies in fancy clothes that were
way above my allowance. Some stuff I saw looked like the sort of clothes a cape would wear.
Parian closes the door behind her. Before I could say anything, she rushed up to me and wrapped her arms around me. "Thank you!" she sobbed. "Th-thank you so much!"
I was momentarily surprised by her suddenly hugging me, and a little more so about the strength she put into her hug, but I reciprocated nonetheless and hugged her back. I didn't expect her to react like this, but thinking back on it now, that might have been the closest she had ever been to being killed. PHO kept speculating about the limits of her power and whether she was holding back, but as far as I know, she had no actual combat ability. She was useless in a fight and only wanted to sell clothes. As far as I know, none of the gangs ever tried to recruit her.
Two days ago was different; she came face-to-face with a threat that could have killed her easily like snapping a twig.
I let her wail it out, clinging to me for a few minutes before she let go. "I'm sorry," she apologized, briefly lifting her mask to wipe her eyes. I turned away so I did not see much of her face, only barely making out dusk-colored skin. "I have no idea what came over me."
"It's fine. It was kind of my fault you were in that situation in the first place," I told her. "I was trying to get away from it, and I kind of forgot the Trainyard was your home. Er, speaking of, it didn't…?"
"No, my place is still intact," Parian shook her head. "I did get a visit from Armsmaster, though. Apparently, they wanted to talk about reports of loud crashing sounds, smoke and giant icebergs coming up from the ground." I paled for a moment. Oh shit, did she tell them about me and Boss?! No way, this was bad! I wasn't ready! Oh, fuck, Dad is going to be pissed at me! Seeing my terrified expression, the dress-maker laughed. "Relax, I didn't tell them about you. I just told them that a brave cape showed up and saved me."
I sighed in relief. "W-well, thanks for not telling them about me? I'm, uh, kind of new…"
"Yeah, I sort of figured that," she giggled. "At any rate, I do owe you some thanks. If there's anything I can do to repay you, let me know."
I was about to tell her that wasn't necessary, but I stopped. I glanced back at the numerous dresses and costumes, and slowly turned back to her.
"…out of curiosity, how much does a cape costume cost?"
Feb. 14, 2011
Training with Boss was, to put it bluntly, a nightmare. The Idol, as he called it, allowed me to enter a space called The Void. According to Boss, it was a place that existed outside of time, which left me plenty of time to train. However, also native to that place was some kind of demon called a Doppelganger, which was a cheating bastard because it moved way too damn fast for me to keep track of it. Pretty much half of my training sessions were me scrambling for dear life or blocking while almost never landing a hit. And the training sessions stretched on for hours, and I always end up leaving with more bruises than I care to admit.
It wasn't noticeable at first, but as time went on, I started to realize that I was getting faster. My strikes were growing more precise, and I was managing to keep up with the Doppelganger. It hadn't been until when Boss pulled me out early that he told me that the damned shadow grew stronger in tandem with me, as a way to keep me on my toes. Hence why I call the fucker a cheating bastard.
As for why Boss pulled me out early, well, let's just say Christmas came early for me.
I was standing in front of the place that started it all, dressed in heavy clothes with a hood over my head and a scarf around my neck, my new Devil's Arm in hand. It was still freaky to learn that the sword in my hand is actually the same two-headed monster dog that nearly killed me, but after giving it a test run in the Void, I was immensely happy with it.
To be honest, I'm not sure why I came to see Winslow again. Maybe I just felt nostalgic and was looking back on the good old days where Emma and Sophia treated me like shit. Or maybe I just wanted to look at it one more time and think about how far I've come since then. I kept thinking back to my first year here, how weak and plain I was compared to everyone else. Cowering in fear whenever the Trio showed up with their wicked smiles and plans in their minds.
The more I looked at Winslow, the more indignant anger started to build up in my breast. I remembered how the teachers looked the other way. I remembered how everyone pretended to ignore what was going on.
I remembered their sneering faces, and that's all it takes before a part of me, in fury, draws Orthrus from its scabbard.
This place was
beneath me. It was where I was reborn in a sense, but there was neither love nor attachment to this cesspool. It was an
eyesore that I couldn't stand to look at another minute. The more I did, the more I'm reminded of how I used to be.
Frail. Pathetic.
Weak.
Human.
One moment Winslow High School stands in front of me, pristine and defaced as always. In the next, it toppled like a stack of dominos. In a flurry of movements I did not realize I made until Orthrus clicked back into its scabbard, I sliced Winslow apart until all that was left were slabs of concrete that fell in on each other, collapsing on top of one another until it was reduced to a pile of neatly cut chunks of concrete and steel.
I stared at Winslow, then at my sword.
"…oh, fuck me, what did I just do?!"
God dammit! I can't believe what I just did! What the hell was I thinking?! Agh, I knew coming back here was a bad idea! Boss is never going to let me live this down…!
"Huh. Well, can't say I've seen anyone do that before." I froze. Slowly, almost mechanically, I look over my shoulder. To my utter horror, it was my next door neighbor and occasional baby sitter, Murphy. The police officer was staring at me, not recognizing me for a while before he looked at the pile of rubble sitting behind me. "Never thought I'd see the day when a cape went and busted up Winslow. Don't think I know you, though. You new?"
"…yes?" I said weakly.
Murphy nodded. "Cool. You got a name?"
"V-Vergil," I answer without thinking. Wait, why the hell did
that pop into my head just now? I haven't even read the Divine Comedy!
"Well, Vergil, you might wanna start running in the other direction, because I'm going to call my boss and let 'em know we got a new cape in town who just destroyed public property."
I blinked. "W-wait, you're not going to arrest me?"
"For destroying Winslow?" Murphy grinned. "Fuck no. I still need to tell the higher-ups what happened though, so ah, you got a thirty-second head start."
I don't say anything more. Instead, I nodded and silently thanked Murphy and jump towards one of the nearby buildings, making good use of my thirty-second head start.
Remind me to make some meatloaf as thanks the next time I see Murphy.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Taylor sliced and diced up Winslow. And as you can see, there's already a few hints of Vergil starting to crop up in her. But why is that? Again, you'll have to wait and see.
Once again, I must stress that Taylor is not related to the Sparda family in any way, shape or form. I swear, the next time I see someone mention Taylor is somehow related to Vergil, Dante and Nero, I'm gonna discontinue this story out of spite.
All jokes aside, the next chapter will be an Interlude that will set up the next arc, and following that is another Rodin's Demon Guide and a Devil's Arm Catalogue to give some info about the devil Orthrus and the Devil's Arm itself. After that, Devil Trigger will be put on hold as I work on Adapt and Phantom.
Now, if you excuse me, I'm just gonna…gonna…
…zzz…
