Rounds quickly burst from the barrel of Nero's gun, impacting all across the two demons. A few more shots and the old man was finally put down. Matilde fell to the ground, clutching her throat and taking a few large gasps for air. Nero's next few shots missed the younger demon, as the host body was much stronger and more agile. It tackled him and ferociously began pounding at his face and chest as a large, toothy maw seemingly formed out of nothingness and attempted to engulf him. One final shot from his revolver put a quick end to this attempt at making him a late night snack though. The demon flew back and landed in the snow a few feet away, twitching. Before Nero could stand up, the creature jumped up off of the ground and into a tree, dashing away amongst the frozen limbs and branches of the forest.
Nero scowled, "I was just gettin' started. Hey, are you okay?"
Matilde raised her head to face a concerned Nero, and nodded, "I'll be fine...I just don't know if I can take this anymore. Everyone I loved is dead."
"Aw, such a pretty girl crying. And over what? A few fried demons? What a waste of tears, hehe." Loki rang out in his normal tone of voice. Nero sighed and held out his hand for her to take.
The next few hours were full of nothing but silence and travel, with Nero on the lookout for any ambushes from a wounded, but angry demon, and Matilde slowly falling behind from physical and emotional fatigue. And then she finally collapsed. The event helped Nero finally realize that his ankles were slightly sore. He quickly jogged over to her and wrapped his jacket around her like a blanket, leaning against a tree and letting her use him as a pillow. 'This couldn't be a much worse place to get some beauty sleep.' He thought.
"I agree. The snow doesn't bode well for a comfy night's rest, eh boy?"
"Can it."
"I don't think I will. You see, this is the first REAL opportunity we've had to just relax and talk."
"Oh, Hell." He muttered to himself.
"What a joyous conversation starter. And speaking of hell, how about we go into detail about your acquaintances with its populace. It recently came to my attention that you know a Dante. He wouldn't happen to be THE Dante, would he?"
"What's it matter to you?"
"Tsk, I may not be a full fledged demon, but I know some who are. They don't take kindly to those who are related to the Son of Sparda. Even by simple association."
"Oh yeah? Like who? Because I've fought my fair share of rejects."
"These parts are coated in Demon activity. The path to the nearest town passes through a small canyon, incidentally guarded by two friends of mine. This region lies right on the edge of a border between the next. And the border is represented by a massive wall placed right between the two sets of mountains around it. The town that this young girl wants to take you to is just beyond the wall."
"And why do you think she failed to mention that to me before? That's kind of like...need to know information." Nero frowned and slowly pulled his phone out of his jacket's pocket, trying not to wake the girl. Flipping it open, he proceeded to shuffle through various items until he finally got to Tetris.
"Perhaps it's because she and the rest of her people have never had any problems passing through the border. The civilizations that erected the wall are long gone. But being the unlucky boy you are, you had to go off and run into Dante. The keepers of that place won't be happy."
"So you're telling me that because I've met Dante, I'm going to get attacked by more demons. What kept them from attacking everyone else?" Nero had easily made six lines already, and was working on getting three more in one shot.
"Too insignificant to awaken from two-thousand years of slumber just to kill a few humans, don't you think?"
"Maybe-EE! Yes, level two." Nero's thumbs swiftly tapped the keys of his phone.
"Are you really playing games right now? I'm warning you about serious threats to your safety, and you're pla-"
"Yeah, I don't trust anything you say. Maybe there are demons waiting for us at this wall. But why'd you warn me? See, you're a d*ck. D*cks don't do nice things. That could only mean one thing..."
"What's that?"
"That you've got a d*ck in your mouth too, and I can't properly understand what you're saying."
-----
Dante and Trish had continued following the footsteps, which had eventually led them into a small cave. A burnt out fire lay smoking in one of the larger areas of the cave, and Dante knelt down to investigate. The ashes was still warm. "We're definitely getting closer."
Trish yawned, "This has actually been a very boring job."
"Well, that's what happens when you sign up with the top dogs. They normally offer Lean Cuisines. Not TV Dinners. So you don't get any flavor."
"Only you could compare demon hunting to TV Dinners. I'm surprised it wasn't a pizza analogy for once." Trish giggled.
"I like to mix things up every now and then."
"Yeah, more like once a year." Trish shook her head. At that moment, they both heard a series of gunshots in the distance.
"That's gotta be the kid. C'mon, let's go!" Both Dante and Trish ran out into the forest toward the sound of the gun.
-----
Nero had managed to reach level ten in Tetris before he lost. At this, his fun abruptly died out and he put his phone back into the jacket. But upon smelling a new scent, he instantly whipped out Blue Rose once again. It seemed familiar. Maybe the demon he had capped earlier was coming back for round two, he thought.
"Kid!" Dante shouted from a few trees away. The sudden shout startled Nero, and Matilde shifted uncomfortably on top of him.
"So you are here. I need to get my sense of smell fixed. Or maybe you just stink." Nero smirked, pleasantly surprised at the seemingly random arrival of his friend.
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