Chapter Text
There was no doubt in Vergil's mind that it was a great day outside, perfect for some outdoors reading. There was no wind to annoy him by turning the pages, and the sunny moments were interrupted now and then by the occasional cloud, allowing him to not have to squint at his book. Pale blue eyes weren't the best with bright light, after all. The temperature wasn't cold, but definitely cool, just enough that he could wear his favorite clothes comfortably. Humans apparently found it a bit too cold to sit outside for no reason, seeing as it was winter-cold, but this posed Vergil no problem. Winter was his favorite season, and even if it was still fall, it felt almost like winter. So yes, it was indeed a perfect day to read outside.
Which was exactly why Dante had accepted a big job in another country, a job that would also require Nero's help to do the hunting, and his own to get them there since nobody had a passport. Great. Just great. He had the worst luck ever.
"Well, are you ready?" Vergil growled, the Yamato in hand. Since his perfect reading day had been robbed from him, he had decided that he'd participate in the hunt too. A bit of demon-killing would get his mood right back up.
"Yeah, just need Dante to get his ass down here," Nero grumbled, sitting on the couch at Devil May Cry. "Hey, Dante! The hell's taking you so long?"
"I gotta find Balrog first! I can't remember where I put that thing. Gimme a minute!" Dante shouted back.
Father and son exchanged a glance, then Vergil unsheathed the Yamato with a loud, sinister hiss of metal against metal.
"We're leaving," he announced, slashing the air and creating the portal.
They heard footsteps from upstairs, and then Dante jumped down all the stairs in one go, Devil Arm in hand.
"Wait for me! Geez, you guys are definitely related. Impatient dumbasses."
"We've been waiting for ten minutes! Let's go!" the youngest Devil Hunter growled at him.
"Get into the portal," Vergil ordered.
That stopped them right there and then, and they went through the portal. When they emerged on the other side, it was way below freezing temperature and they were stepping in a foot of snow. Nero's teeth immediately started chattering, his entire body shivering.
"W-what the f-f-f-fuck, w-why is it s-s-so cold?!"
"Oh, didn't I tell ya? Our mission's in Canada today," Dante said, casual as ever, the cold not bothering him. "Didn't expect so much snow in November though."
"T-t-the hell, Dante?! No you d-didn't!"
"I told Vergil though. Guess I forgot to tell ya."
They headed for the mission anyway, Nero eventually using the Red Queen to warm up. His fingers and toes were still frozen, but the rest of him felt pretty toasty, pretty quickly. He raised a brow when they arrived at their destination though. The building was decently big, and it had a particular kind of architecture. It was actually pretty impressive.
"Riiiiight. That's definitely some kind of church. Even I can feel the demonic presence in there. Our mission's in this place?"
"Yeah. According to the city's administration, there's been several accidents in the past year, things that really shouldn't be happening because the building is well-maintained. They were forced to close it for now and get it inspected, but someone there used that time to contact me and see if we can do something about it. Of course, this mission is entirely confidential. People here don't want to look like they believe in demons," Dante explained. "Which is fine by me. This gig is paid in cash, up front. And believe me, the amount is pretty insane. I did tell 'em I don't have a passport."
"They are ready to spend quite the coin to protect their dear Oratoire Saint-Joseph," Vergil huffed with disdain.
That got him a look from both brother and son. He quirked an eyebrow at them.
"What?"
"Their dear what?" Nero asked.
"Oratoire Saint-Joseph, or Saint Joseph Oratory, if you prefer. Don't tell me you have no idea what this place is?"
Nero shrugged as he got closer to the building, ignoring the many "DANGER" signs all over the place. He jumped over the cheap, temporary metallic fence, followed by the twins.
"Whatever it's called, it's some kinda church. Old and boring. That's all I need to know," he laughed, heading for the side door.
It was unlocked, luckily, and they went inside without any trouble. It was very dark in there, all lights off, but it was warmer than outside and Nero breathed out a sigh of relief. The Red Queen was providing just enough light that they could all see pretty well despite the darkness.
"I can't pinpoint the energy," the young Devil Hunter grumbled. "It feels like it's all over the building."
"Follow me," Vergil said.
Nero and Dante looked at each other, but followed the older twin without complaining. Vergil was used to demonic energies. It wasn't surprising that he had a better understanding of this energy's structure and source.
A few minutes later, they were on the top floor. They crossed glass doors, and ended up in a gigantic room. Rows upon rows of pews stood around them, and each of their steps felt very quiet. The room was so big that it practically absorbed sound. Nero looked up, and noticed a very particular pattern in the ceiling. That probably helped keeping things quiet in there. The young Devil Hunter looked back, and saw a huge organ at the back. That thing probably pumped some massive notes when used. Everything in this place reminded him of all the nonsense people had tried to ram into his head in his life.
"Careful, kid," Dante spoke in a low voice, his hand landing on Nero's arm to hold him back. He pointed towards the sanctuary.
There was a woman kneeling there, her back facing them. She seemed frail, fragile, and Nero had a frown. What was a woman doing in here? He was about to say something, but she got up and faced them. Her traits were young and sweet. She extended a hand towards them, smile on her lips.
"Welcome. This is a place of prayer and self-reflection, where one can-"
She suddenly stopped and looked down, her smile vanishing. Several glowing blue swords were now firmly planted into her chest. She opened her mouth to scream, but Vergil was on her before she could. He pulled out the Yamato and decapitated her in one smooth motion. Nero was about to yell at him, to ask him what the fuck he was doing. However, he saw the head that rolled off, and had a shiver when he noticed that the youthful face was now replaced by the one of some kind of horrifying monster.
"Ooookay. That was creepy," he breathed out with a disgusted expression.
He could feel the net of energy thinning out around them, and through it he could now feel several different demons, spread all over the building. Vergil made sure to clean his blade before he sheathed it, turning to face them.
"This demon was the main source of the concealing energy. We can now properly search the oratory."
"Then it's hunting time!" Dante exclaimed, excited. "Let's get it done!"
The older twin's hand grabbed his arm before he could run off. Vergil raised a brow at him.
"No destroying this place. I will not help you pay off any property destruction that could occur."
"Aww, Vergil, come on! I wasn't gonna wreck this place."
"And demons fly out of my ass," Nero huffed. "Let's go."
Vergil let go of Dante, and soon enough the three of them were scattered around the place and hunting demons. It had become a challenge without anyone saying it, and when they joined back in the entrance, an hour later, they were all carrying the heads of the demons they had killed. Dante pouted when he saw that he was in last place, almost equal to Nero, but far behind Vergil.
"You cheated!" he accused his brother half-heartedly.
"I did not. Unlike you, I'm more than capable of handling demons without destroying everything around me," Vergil retorted.
"Let's go, you two. I'm fucking freezing in here," Nero complained, warming his hands using the Red Queen's blade.
The twins nodded, and they all headed out. Some kind of blizzard had started outside, and Nero growled as the biting frost got his skin.
"Fucking hell. I don't think I like Canada."
"Eh, it's pretty nice weather," Dante laughed. "King Cerberus makes much colder temperatures than this."
He turned towards Vergil, who was frowning at the Yamato.
"Vergil? We goin' home?"
The older twin sheathed his blade and shook his head.
"It seems that we are not. Not like this, in any case."
"WHAT? What do you mean we're not?!" Nero exploded. "Stop fucking around and-"
"The barrier between worlds is too thick," Vergil explained. "I cannot make portals from this place."
Dante gently hit the side of his fist into his other palm, raising his brows.
"Aaah, gotcha. That's what you meant when you said that places like Fortuna are easier to make portals from. You need the barrier between here and the Underworld to be thinner to do this shit easily since you use Hell's energy to create the portal."
"I'm surprised you remembered that."
"It wasn't like we had much to do in Hell except talk about this shit. I also remember that, once you make a portal, it can lead you anywhere, is that ri-"
"Hey, assholes, I'm freezing! Can we get out of this stupid blizzard before I become a fucking popsicle?!"
The twins both looked at Nero. Right. He had more human blood than they did. Time to head elsewhere if they didn't want him to get sick.