Chapter Eight: Repulsion and Mission Rewards

Chapter Eight: Repelled and the Quest Reward

“Hya!” Nero charged forward, swinging his sword in a fierce arc. He blocked with his right hand, seized the blade, and hurled it. This time, his strength struck Dante squarely, tossing him onto a bench. The impact knocked over many more, piling them into a small mound of seats.

Once the chairs settled, Dante tapped his crossed legs and propped his chin on his hand. “So, you want to play, do you? Well, I suppose I can spare some time for you...”

“Tch, troublesome guy, huh?” Nero walked over irritably, retrieved his sword from the ground, and rested it on his shoulder. “Fine then... Hyaa!” He kicked a chair at Dante, who leapt into the air, following up with a midair clash—steel ringing against steel.

Nero perched atop the mountain of benches. “I guess I have no choice but to put you in your place.”

“Whatever you say, kid,” Dante replied after landing on his feet.

“Tch.” Nero hopped down. Both turned their gaze to Shuster, who had been idly watching from the sidelines.

“All right, all right! I’ll be the referee, is that good enough? Final battle... begin!” Shuster exclaimed, resigned.

At the very instant the match began, the two shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow. Dante lunged with a thrust, Nero sidestepped and launched an upward slash. Parrying and countering, their blades clashed, strength against strength. Lacking Dante’s power, Nero was shoved back. Dante pressed the attack, but Nero raised his demon arm to defend, grasped Dante’s blade, flung it, rebounded off the wall, landed, and dashed forward in a flash. They exchanged blows, parried, and widened the distance. Gunshots cracked as they fired at each other, bullets colliding in a hail of sparks—sweat trickling down their faces. Both emptied their magazines, then charged simultaneously. Swords crossed with a metallic ring, and Nero seized the moment to wind around his opponent and gather force in his right hand for a crushing blow. Dante’s blade blocked the fist, but in the next instant, Nero’s attack sent both man and sword flying. Dante vaulted after him, grabbed Nero’s ankle, and yanked him back. Nero was pulled face-to-face, and Dante drew back his right fist.

“Hyaa!” The punch landed squarely on Nero’s face, pinning him to the ground. His greatsword flew from his grip and stabbed into the floor beside him. (Why do weapons always land blade-first instead of just dropping?) Dante grabbed Nero by the collar, unleashed the full force of his right fist, and pummeled his left cheek with a barrage of cannon-like blows, each punch echoed by a fierce shout. Finally, Dante flung him at the chest of the colossal Sparda statue—so even that thing remembers me, huh?—then pulled out Nero’s fallen “Rebellion” and tossed it back to him.

A metallic clang and a soft squelching sound followed. “All right! The victor—Nero! And you, white-haired old man, stop pretending to be dead!” called a lively, androgynous voice that drew their attention.

“What?” Nero looked from Shuster to Dante.

“Uh... How did you know, little girl?” the white-haired man asked, pulling the sword from his chest and looking at the child—was it a boy or a girl?—before him.

“#%!” In Shuster’s mind, a string called sanity snapped.

“Go to hell! You’re the little girl—your whole family is! Thunder God Choke!” The faux-maiden radiated a dark aura and unleashed one of his signature moves.

Caught off guard by the proximity, Dante had just removed the sword from his chest when he was hit by the fierce attack and scrambled to defend himself. “Clang! What’s going on?” he exclaimed, glancing in surprise at Shuster, who was charging in with a katana.

“Who knows? But it looks like your luck’s run out.” Nero leaped back dramatically.

“?? Hey! Let’s talk about this—” “Tch! Clang! Crackle—” Bullets exploded, icy air burst forth, and Dante was instantly frozen into a solid statue, his surprised expression still etched on his face. In the next second, “Bang! Go to hell! Damn it, I’m a guy!” Shuster shattered the ice statue with a single swing, his dark aura dissipating at last.

Dante recovered quickly in midair, but his chest wound gushed fresh blood, the injury deepening as a curse took hold. Rolling nimbly, Dante evaded Shuster’s line of sight and addressed Nero: “Kid, you did well. Honestly, I completely underestimated your strength.”

“You’re not human?” Nero asked in shock.

“I’m the same as you... and them.” Dante pointed to a fallen knight whose helmet had rolled off in death. The knight’s face had long since lost any semblance of humanity—black skin, a crimson tongue, eyes glowing red with a yellowish light. There was no doubt he was no longer human.

“But I sense something different about you...” A voice echoed from the shattered skylight above.

“What are you talking about?” Nero demanded, looking up at the red figure perched on the jagged opening.

“You’ll understand soon enough... But for now, I have other matters to attend to.” With that, the figure turned and vanished.

“Hey—bang!” Nero fired a shot after him, but the skylight was already empty.

“Until we meet again, kid. And you, strange little lady.” The red figure reappeared in the window, formed a finger-gun with his index and middle fingers, pointed it at his head, and flicked it down—just like the final scene of Devil May Cry 4.

“Ding-dong, objective complete. Gained: 1000 Soul Crystals, 1 Butcher’s Blade, items sent to Infinite Space. Acquired: 1 C-rank Main Storyline. Please check your inventory.”

“…” Shuster walked silently to a corner and sat down.

Again, and again, mistaken for a woman. Why? Damn it! Do I really look that much like a girl?

A tap on his shoulder brought him back to himself. “Brother Nero, do I really look that much like a woman?” Shuster asked, bewildered.

“Sigh... Shuster, you may look like a woman, but you’re not one. Understand? Once you show your strength, who would ever mistake you for a girl? Why worry so much? Even if someone calls you ‘sister’ or ‘little sister,’ you’re still a man, aren’t you?” Nero said earnestly.

“Thank you, Brother Nero. I’ve figured it out—no need to worry anymore.” Shuster looked up and smiled at Nero, a gentle curve of his lips so radiant it seemed to move the sun itself; a sunbeam slowly cast its glow upon his beautiful features, as if he were veiled in holiness. That smile made Nero turn away, unable to look directly at him. “Enough already! Get up! Tch!” he muttered, hurrying away from the corner.

So even my face can make Nero shy. Maybe being a faux maiden isn’t so bad—when others unleash their ultimate moves, maybe they’ll pull their punches. Ha!

“Infinite Space.” A list appeared in his mind... but why was everything empty except the first item, Butcher’s Blade? Helplessly, he withdrew the Butcher’s Blade and held it in his hand. The wild katana before him was over a meter long, the blade itself about 115 centimeters. For those with little strength, wielding it one-handed would be a challenge. When held horizontally, the spine of the sword gleamed crimson, while the edge was a cool blue. Of course, our protagonist was no longer human—let’s not forget his lineage: the perfect second-generation son of a demon. Demonic bodies are strong; though he’s not pure-blood, he still carries half the bloodline.

“System, show weapon details.”

Butcher’s Blade
MishupafbutcherisLargeSword
Weight: 150 kg
Blade length: 153 cm
On attack, 10% chance to break defense, causing crushing damage
On attack, 10% chance to cause rending wounds
Attack speed increased by 10%

“Amazing!” Shuster leapt up from the ground.

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PS: The second Rule-class weapon has appeared. Where are your recommendations?