Chapter 20

Jinako looked on in horror at what Shiro had done, or rather he kept doing as blood, bones, and organs flew through the air amidst horrendously tortured cries of agony. She had never seen him doing stuff so… extreme, like this before, spewing so much gore across the battlefield that even sickened HER. she sees him huffing and puffing as if trying to get his breath but with more like a feral beast.

Moments later, a lull in the slaughter happened when there, literally, wasn't anything left to kill. Because of this, Shiro stood with a slouched posture, head lowered so the eyes were covered by his hair. His form remained DRENCHED in the blood of his enemies, countless dripping sounds emitting from the blood drops that fell from his body to the ground, though it didn't look like he remained moved by it.

Yet, as she stood there Jinako refused to step forwards, utterly frozen in fright thanks to what she had witnessed. That being akin to what could only be compared to an S-rated horror movie come to life. Her form remained constantly wrought with shivers, a strong urge to scream constantly till her voice became hoarse threatening to leave her throat if it weren't for her sheer willpower. Right now, she felt like she wasn't staring at a human, but a ferocious beast on a blood rage that could very well end her life if she weren't careful. It was NEVER a good idea to show fear or try to run from a predator, it wouldn't end well on the best of days, yet in her mind Jinako struggled to not go and do just that, knowing just from his stance that Shiro would chase her down and… well, the blood on his Spear showcased what he would do to her all too well.

Speaking of beasts, before her eyes Rashomon loomed around his form as if it were letting him rest against its side… only, something wasn't right. Up till now, she had never seen anything even REMOTELY close to Rashomon possessing a full body, only a head connected to a Tendril connected to Shiro's back.

That wasn't what she saw just now.

Instead, what she saw was an entity shaped similar to a wolf… a wolf with enough size and length that its middle stretched across Shiro's entire back to allow him to seemingly rest against it despite it currently sitting down and the male standing up. Its form came equipped with almost NIGHTMARISHLY long talons, talons Jinako swore she could see her own reflection in and could likely rip her heart out if it got the chance. Behind its backside lay a single tail that looked to be made with elongated Ribbons rather than fur like the rest of its slim body, spread out across the floors… while its head resembled an elongated canine snout with rows upon ROWS of dagger-like teeth, a sickeningly long tongue dangling out its lipless maw.

Worst of all, it kept LOOKING right at her, as if daring her to make any kind of move with its lightning bolt-like, glowing crimson eyes that, thanks to the darkness of the Nine Circles, had a whole new layer of menacing dread to them.

While she stood there in petrified silence, the beast raised its head and growled within his ear, as if tempting him to do something… something which seemed to work judging by the way that Shiro lifted his head to expose his glowing red eyes to the world. Eyes which bore into her JUST like those of the beast that suddenly vanished in smoke that receded back inside of the male…

Right when he started walking towards her.

Obviously getting flustered and ridden with panic, Jinako did not know what to do but her instincts told her that something bad was going to happen to her. Maybe it was to do with how Shiro looked at her or the memory of that THING she had seen still leaving its mark on her psyche. Either way, her hands violently shook and trembled while she slowly pulled out her weapon, stuttering in her attempts to speak with him which DID fortunately cause Shiro to pause in his strides. "S-Shiro? Remember what you said before? Don't lose your mind." she tried to tell him, goading him to remember his promises…

Only for them to seem to go in one ear and out of the other. He did not respond to her and instead took a step forward which she backed off. "Don't make me do this." she attempted to reason with him, though with the low and feeble tone that she used combined with the complexity of emotions racing through her gaze, it didn't have much of an effect.

Proof of this came when Shiro again did not respond to her, instead he raised his Kurogane into a thrusting stance, his eyes crimson and gleaming menacingly with the hunger of a bloodhound on a frenzied craze. Within the sea of bloodlust flooding through his mind, he only saw another demon still alive despite the mass slaughtering that he had committed. Bending his legs, Shiro leapt forth towards her like a blur, with the intent of adding this 'Demon' to the kill count.

Seeing this, Jinako yelped as while stepping back, raising her axe in defense in an attempt to block...

CLING!

….but instead it wasn't her that blocked his attack, if the lack of metal against her Axe in the following seconds was any indication. "...Eh?" Her eyes blinked open in confusion, confusion on what the hack had just happened.

Confusion which only escalated when out of nowhere, she heard an unfamiliar yet masculine voice speak up. "Whoa there, keep a hold of yourself young man. You could've hurt this girl." the masculine voice said, seemingly coming from in front of her. She hadn't noticed him there as she had been too focused on looking at her axe in her previous confusion, hence why she hadn't seen the man there. Slowly, and with still a bit of leftover dread from what had almost happened earlier, Jinako raised her head to see a tall, handsome-looking middle-aged man with blue eyes, a youthful face, and slicked-back white hair.

He wore a purple outfit, one which seemed more reminiscent of the Victorian era if she were to guess, one that consisted of a white cravat, a large red jewel around his neck, and a monocle over his left eye. He wore a purple Trench coat with golden outlines over the cuffs, with white gloves over his hands. Underneath that was his cravat, as well as the golden horned demonic-looking skull on his chest, was a victorian-style maroon colored tunic with a pair of matching maroonish purple pants and formal-looking shoes. All in all, he looked like some kind of rich nobleman from that aforementioned era, yet for some reason he seemed to make it work, with his very presence oozing a sense of refinement which she could not take her eyes off of. Compared to the brutish beast that her companion had become, that should be more than understandable at this point.

As for what had been the cause of that clanging sound earlier, she saw how he had blocked Shiro's Kurogane with some kind of unfamiliar-looking sword that looked to be made more from flesh instead of a normal metal one. It possessed a 'W' shaped guard, similar to a Demon's horns, with a spiralling handle that led to four skulls on the pommel with a spike at the top. Additionally, that same spike looked to have been split in half with the front and more elaborate half forming a small blade that curved around the bottom of the weapon. The blade itself looked to instead be an organic hide-like structure attached to two curved blades, these blades forming one long blade edge. The top portion of the weapon had a large glowing red gem-like object in the centre with two smaller gems on the other side, both glowing orange and pink respectively.

But most importantly, Jinako could feel an intense demonic power coming from this man, MUCH stronger than a lot of Devils she had come across. Perhaps it could be a match for the Satans she was aware of, Jinako wasn't sure. However, one of the biggest questions in her mind promptly left her mouth after a few moments of silence. "Who….. are you?" she asked him barely above a whisper.

Before he could respond to that, the man pushed Shiro back with a quick flick of his arm, letting the boy stumble back a few steps with a frenzied growl escaping from the said boy's lips. While this happened, the man turned around and faced her, giving a polite bow in the form of him leaning forwards slightly with one hand behind his back and the other over his chest where his heart would be. "You may call me Sparda young lady, I would love to talk with you but the situation seems rather dire, more so than what we're seeing, that is." he replied, pointing with his sword towards Shiro who had just gotten into a battle stance…

As well as struck first after instantly closing the distance between them. The strike wound up forcing the man back a bit with him digging his feet into the ground, resulting in two long skid marks being made on the ground beneath him. A low whistle escaped the older man's lips while Kurogane violently trembled against his sword's defense. "Hmmm, interesting. There's quite the power in this one..." he mused to himself, although he didn't show much exertion in keeping Shiro at bay.

Much to the boy's frustration as another growl escaped his lips. In response, Kurogane's tip started to morph into its maw form that launched another lunge at the man with the intent of biting his head off. Again to Shiro's dismay, this attack got thwarted when the man flicked his sword's edge upwards, deflecting the maw's lunge in the same direction, before he grunted at the kick to the stomach then the following kick to the side of his head that followed, resulting in him stumbling back again.

From his back, multiple Rashomon threads (about 10 or so) rose up towards the space above, then they performed a U turn to descend down upon the man with the intent of turning him into a hedgehog as it were. They came down there at such speeds that any average supernatural being wouldn't have been able to dodge them in time, yet the man almost waltzed through them like he was dancing in a ballet.

With a form that blurred about, leaving afterimages in his wake that the Threads shredded to pieces, though since none of them hit his real body then these strikes counted as misses in the berserk Shiro's book. Yet after each miss the Threads got themselves sliced into long thin stripes by the man's massive sword, showcasing that his swordsmanship had to be on par with his speed.

Something which Jinako could only stare on in awe at. "Holy…"

"Hmmm…" The man hummed while dodging and slashing away at the Threads, looking for an opening to finish the fight in one fell swoop. He could sense that the boy was close to the girl, not only that but he likely wasn't in his right mind, so he didn't think that death would be necessary, but if it HAD been then he could have done so 50 times already, This fury may be vicious, but it left many opportunities to kill for an expert warrior, weaknesses which would have been easily exploitable.

Finally, an opportunity presented itself when he saw a lull in the Thread generation, allowing the man to quickly dash forward and close the distance between them in a second similarly to what Shiro had done to him previously. Seeing him get in close, the boy roared while he struck with a rapid 10-thrust combo towards him, intending to go at his vital organs, thrusts which were easily avoided by the man just like his Threads… before he reared his sword back for a jab into his abdomen with its rear end. It wouldn't kill him, but he aimed to knock him out for a bit so that whatever is influencing him was shut down for the time being, for that was how he suspected it worked due to whatever doing this seeming to be naturally part of him instead of a foreign entity trying to possess him, which was a good thing too.

However, despite the quick actions the boy showcased his own extreme reflexes by stabbing Kurogane into the ground and then using it as a pole to flip himself up into the air, balancing on the Spear's rear end like he was doing a handstand. He then proceeded to launch a single Thread from his back which then sliced through the man's wrist, causing him to drop his sword… allowing Shiro to drop down after it and grasp onto the weapon by its hilt himself.

"?!"

Now THAT caught the man by surprise, as evident by the shocked expression on his face before a slight smile formed on his lips as Shiro lifted it with ease, holding it for a moment as if to examine the strange weapon… before he snarled and threw it back towards him like a javelin. "Oh, now THAT is interesting…" he muttered to himself, easily catching his weapon in one hand before it could impale his chest (not like it would have done anything to him though). He then blurred forwards once again, this time MUCH faster than he had been previously which caused Shiro to gasp in surprise, his guard momentarily shaken…

THUD!

Right before he got a hilt into the abdomen courtesy of the man himself. Unconsciousness soon followed.

Back along the sidelines, Jinako watched in stunned disbelief at how Sparda had been able to defeat Shiro, something which wasn't easy since Shiro's power wasn't to be reckoned with. Judging from what she could sense from this new guy, she began to feel the reason why he was so powerful that he could stop Shiro in his rampage though, and from that combined with the recent fight showcasing his skills, Jinako doubted she would be a match for him either.

The sounds of leather being patted down broke her from her musings, allowing Jinako to see him dusting off his clothes, then picked his sword up from where he had impaled it briefly, before looking at the young man. "It seems that you still aren't a monster….yet." he said which made Jinako out of her trance before she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why did you help us, Sparda? I doubt that you would do something to gain out of this demon?" she questioned him as she pointed her axe at him .

Though despite this behaviour, the man named Sparda remained unfazed by it, simply attaching his sword to his back like there were some invisible sheathe tethered there. "It is good to keep your suspicions in check even in the circle young lady, but I am not like those other demons in the circle. You'll find me more agreeable to your terms." he said to her which did not even convince Jinako a bit.

"How would I know that your not ly-"

"Be at peace Jinako, he is not an enemy towards any of us." Virgil unexpectedly declared, halting further words of suspicion from exiting the brunette Demigoddess's mouth. Seconds after he said them, the ghostly poet appeared between her and Sparda.

From the moment he made his appearance, Sparda raised his eyebrows in surprise At Vergil before forming a small smile. "Virgil my old friend, it's been a long time since we've met." Sparda said happily, something which Virgil responded to with a nostalgic smile.

"You too, Sparda." he replied, to which Jinako slowly lowered her axe and looked in surprise.

"You two…..know each other?" she asked the poet who nodded at her.

"Indeed young demigoddess, you see Sparda is not like the other demons. He once repelled the army of the demons before they could launch an attack on the human world." he answered her, to which Sparda had an amused smile.

"You flatter me old friend." he said before looking at Shiro, then conducting the task of walking towards him.

"If…..you're really one of those 'nice' demons…" Jinako began to say, making some air quotations with her hands after pinning her Axe to the ground via its spike. "Then why are you here in the circle?" She questioned him, the man stopping his walk before she saw him lowering his head.

"It was….not by choice. It was either I would work for Lucifer… or else he would die." He solemnly muttered, picking Shiro up and hoisting him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Those words combined with the tone that he used gave her pause"He?" Jinako asked again.

He did not respond, instead glanced behind him at her through the corner of his uncovered eye. "Let's end the conversation here, young lady. The longer we stay here, the more the circle and Lucifer will try to influence us." He said before walking to the path where the tree branch no longer blocked.

"I can already see it happening to Shiro." she solemnly said as she looked at Shiro, seeing that Shiro already lost his mind, but Sparda instead said something that ignited her hopes.

"His sanity is not gone and he hasn't lost his humanity, young lady." he said to her as she looked in wide eyes at him, to which he continued to explain. "One factor aside, it seems that something that is naturally a part of him, likely the boy's Sacred Gear, is rather animalistic in both nature and spirit. It's being influenced by the Nine Circles to further its own agenda, hence why he is acting that way." Briefly, Sparda looked at his sword for a moment as if judging something, although Jinako didn't understand why.

Nor did she care, the fact that his actions were likely due to the influence of his Sacred Gear made more than a little sense to her. From what she had known, Rashomon was a rather mysterious gear due to a lack of prominent users throughout history, hence why there was so little info on it. However, from what she HAD seen it seemed to behave more like an animal than other Sacred Gear spirits, examples being the Spirits of the heavenly Dragon type Sacred Gears. For it to be doing something like this as an animal made sense to her this way, and it also soothed her in a way since it wasn't completely Lucifer or the nine circle's doing.

Though these worries did spike a little when Sparda said the following words. "But it's only temporary. There is only one last nail to the coffin waiting to be hammered down, and take it from me: The nine circles and Lucifer have their ways of breaking into someone's spirit. I've seen many brave heroes try to overcome these machinations, but even they succumb to the despair wrought upon them." he explained gravely, both of them glancing towards the unconscious Shiro with varying levels of concern. Lucifer might do something that would break even Shiro's great spirit and will. "If it worst comes to pass…...then there is no saving him."

After leaving the area which had become a desolate wasteland, more so than it had been previously thanks to Shiro and Sparda, the trio proceeded onwards through the forest. It didn't take long for them to eventually come across a platform though, one which rose over a large swamp that looked to be ready to sink if someone stood on top of it. Above, there looked to be the way forwards, a mildly steep walkway which seemed to be their only way of navigating past this forest. Additionally, there had been a rope to their right upon viewing the platform that Jinako would have suggested they use had it been not for 2 things:

One, Sparda couldn't use it due to carrying Shiro. One would need both hands to use such a rope.

Two, the rope didn't lead to the walkway on the other side, only to the platform.

Hence, why she didn't say anything and glanced towards the elder Demon for advice.

Instead of taking the whole classy 'ladies first' route as one might expect from someone of his appearance, Sparda gestured for Jinako to take a few steps backwards, glancing at her with a look of warning. Jinako herself took that warning to heart and did what she had been unofficially told, allowing the man to take a few steps forwards before he jumped up onto the platform, remaining there for a couple seconds before bouncing back into the air. He flipped about a few times before landing on the walkway on the other side, all the while making sure that the unconscious Shiro did not escape his grasp.

Looked like there was nothing wrong with the platform, the Demigoddess mused in observation of all these actions. Thus, she proceeded to do the same by taking a few steps forwards to get a running head start… but then, just as she jumped onto the platform, countless roars filled her and Sparda's ears to which Demons began to manifest from the ground which the gentleman-looking man stood.

One such demon was about to jump and would have done so, had Sparda not stabbed it from behind. Out from the corner of his eye, the man saw blood running down the side of the boy's neck and initially worried that he had wounded the boy too much. But then, he noticed that there was a brand on his neck that was bleeding, one which he recognized quickly, but he didn't get a chance to maul on it since he spotted another group of demons running towards him. Yet instead of being dismayed, the man just sighed. "It seems that this thing is-"

SHING-SHING-SHING-SHING!

"-a conduit for the demons." he muttered from behind the demons, sheathing his sword on his back. The moment he did that, dozens of slashes appeared over the Demons before they exploded, their bodies being chopped into tiny pieces.

By this time Jinako had dealt with a bunch of Demons who had attacked her as well, thus she jumped onto the same spot he had once occupied and regrouped with him. Thus, they continued to walk down the walkway.

Eventually, they arrived at the base of what seemed to be a tower of sorts. They couldn't see much of it, but judging from the heat they could see from some faintly glowing cracks in the walls, the temperature inside must have been immense. "This place is…"

"Not one for mortals to dwell for too long." Sparda answered, finishing the Demigoddess's sentence. He then proceeded to head down towards the path that circled around the tower's base. "Come along, it's dangerous to stay in one place for too long."

After she jogged forth to catch up with him, they walked around the pathway, Jinako showing visible discomfort at how the damned were impaled of what looked like stakes, similar to vlad tepes reign

Shortly afterwards they jumped across a small gap of missing path, before they came face to face with another climbing wall. One which they climbed up through dozens of forest branches. Climbing with one hand showed itself to be a difficult task for Sparda, since he needed to constantly check in order to make sure he nor the person he was carrying didn't fall to their doom.

Fortunately, the two managed this task successfully, and afterwards they walked along the following pathway which led them up and around the tower's outside, finally arriving at the Tower's entrance that looked to have been made from a boulder of sorts crashing into it.

By this point, several groans and shuffling sounds came from the package the older Demon was carrying, signalling to Spard that Shiro was beginning to wake up, hence he put him down nearby.

Thanks to this, it finally caused the male's consciousness to be roused back into the waking world. Shiro's eyes clenched tightly as if straining to do something, before they started flickering open as if trying to wake up before he opened them, seeing an unfamiliar person who looked like an aristocrat.

"Finally, you're awake, young man." he said to Shiro who furrowed his eyes at him before getting up.

Once he was back on his own two feet, briefly stumbling about to which he muttered incoherently under his breath, Shiro raised his head before he looked at Sparda.

In that moment, Jinako wondered what would happen as she got filled with a sense of unease upon the two locking gazes. After all, she knew well of Shiro's hatred of Apostles, and anything related to them which he saw Devils and Demons as beings who fit into that category. He would be able to easily tell Sparda's race just from sensing his energy, and if he were to re-engage with Sparda right now… she feared the worst.

"Who the fuck are you?" However, the sheer abrupt bluntness that came from what said to Sparda, grounded her worries to a halt.

While she wondered if Shiro had secretly asked him that, Sparda in question laughed uproariously at it, which made Shiro a bit angry "Haha! You're almost similar to my son but a bit more blunt. Don't worry, I'm not an enemy to you since we both have the same enemy that we wish to kill." he replied.

Shiro did not look convinced as he was about to take out his Kurogane had Jinako not interfered. Mostly for Shiro's sake since she remembered how he got his ass beat by Sparda last time.

"Believe him Shiro, he's on our side." This made Shiro narrow his eyes at Jinako with suspicion.

"What makes you say that Jinako? For all I know he must be a demon in disguise, planning to trick us and stab us on the back waiting for the right moment." He said to her.

"If that were to be the case then how are we even further down to the circle you tell me that?" She questioned with her hands on her hips.

Shiro blinked for a moment before looking around and saw he was on some type of tower that looked like it had flames around it, he looked at Sparda as he already said his answer to his question.

"I was the one who carried you all the way here, it was not easy I tell you."

"... fine, I'll believe your words but if you even try to-"

"You don't have to worry, I swear on my name that I will not betray you or Jinako." He pulls out a small red crystal, looking down sadly at it.

"And… finally… free him." Shiro was confused before he thought of the reason that he even came to the circle willingly, to find someone or something. Whatever the case, it mattered not for Shiro, for he was here for one reason and only one reason.

Rescuing Brihanna.

He decided to inspect the gadgets before looking at the switch below the platform as he went to it and pushed it, it seems that on the middle of the gadget with the damned body's on it seemed to be a part of it before it descended downwards.

He let go of the switch and saw that it was going up as he hurriedly jumped to the platform with Jinako and Sparda. As he joined them before noticing another switch as he went to it and pushed it in order for the platform to go up, as he pushed it lesser demons appeared looking like they were cloaked in flames.

"COVER ME WHILE I PUSH THIS SWITCH!" He shouted towards the duo who both nodded,

Jinako easily killed them with her axe with a single slash while Sparda did the same with his sword.

Once Shiro was able to push the lever at the part where it started rising up, the platform started to go up as well, the male joining the duo while a number of demons spawned from it, the platform stopped as Shiro pulled it before he was blasted away from the demons.

"GAH!" He yelled as he was pushed back to the edge, not affected by the explosion but just the impact.

"Try to keep your surroundings idiot!" Jinako shouted over to him, dodging an exploding Demon before she grabbed it and launched it at the other demons.

Shiro growled at her before pulling out his scythe, proceeding to join her in the slaughtering with a look of bloody murder in his eyes… though his usual kind, not the berserker frenzy he had been in previously.

Sparda then pulled the lever to the edge as he was covered by the divine duo.

Upon sensing danger close to him, Shiro stabbed another Demon before throwing it to another of its comrades, seeing it explode moments later.

Sparda reached to the left side of the edge the platform went up, there was a stone that was blocking the path of the lever as Sparda got out of the lever and went to destroy it, not before he used his demonic sword into a lance as he stabs the demon behind it and threw it away before it explodes on him.

Jinako took this chance to push the lever while Shiro flipped around before releasing Rashomon threads at several Demons and bound them all together before throwing them to the side, each Demon falling down before exploding, making a new hole at the tower.

Once the lever was at the right side of the edge the platform went up, as it did it stopped where the path to the lever was at the middle as there was a stone wall blocking the path.

Jinako jumped from the switch and threw her axe at the incoming demon, the axe spin around before it went to Jinako who caught it. She then summoned her goblet to generate and throw multiple dangos at the Demon.

While that happened, Shiro jumped to the switch and destroyed the stone wall, he pulled the switch and was nearly attacked by a Demon only for Sparda to intervene, his sword in its spear mode. He intervened by stabbing the tip into it before he threw the demon away. Shiro pulled the lever before it was in the middle, and thus the platform started to go up.

As soon as it went up, it stopped in a path, to which the trio saw how there were three ways to even push the lever towards up as stone walls were blocking the path.

Shiro put his foot on the wall before he flipped around and slashed at the demon who was about to stab him if he didn't dodged it.

Sparda had thrown his weapon, making it spin around as it stayed in one place before he destroyed one in the middle. He put his hand forward and the sword flew back to him, the man catching it before killing a few demons.

Jinako threw a bunch of dangos as they just keep coming like rats with an entire family, he grabbed on and forced its mouth to open, she threw in a dango before kicking it away, it tried to get it out but was too late as it explodes with a bunch of demons around it. Shiro Delaware a bunch of divine energy as he announced his techniques.

"Blood art: RAY DRIVER!" He pulled his spear back before unleashing a projectile attack which destroyed a lot of demons, some of them fell out of the platform while the other demons disintegrated. It also destroyed the stone wall on the left side as Jinako took this chance to pull the switch but was unable to get even close to it as she was blasted by a demon as it pushed her away from the lever.

Shiro quickly used some Rashomon threads to kill the demons that were running to Jinako as she recovered quickly before joining the battle. Shiro pushed the lever to the left side since it was quicker before the platform went up.

Finally at the top of the tower, the switch just ended over there as the stone wall blocked the last part of the switch. Shiro decided to just yollo and ignore the demons this time though, as they attempted to stop him but Rashomons thread had pierced all of them, lifting them towards a newly summoned beast head before they went to its mouth. It then proceeded to chew on the demons delightfully before Shiro reached the end.

When the switch reached the end, the statues of the giant damned suddenly lit up with fire in their mouths, as if they were alive and looked at the sky as if asking god to release them from their punishment. A floating platform arrived at the tower as if it answered at the beckons of the tower's call.

The platform started to let out flames like a flame thrower had Sparda and Jinako not jumped to the edge, Shiro still was unaffected by the flames as he walked through it and jumped to the edge, to which the moment that happened Virgil appeared before them.

"Over there is the guardian of the fifth circle of hell: Phlegyas, a demigod son of Ares. He will be our ferryman towards the sixth circle." He said as he gestured at the floating platform which Jinako looks in confusion but Shiro and Sparda can sense that below the supposed platform was just his head.

"But be careful, despite him being our ferryman he still retains his anger from when he burned down the Apollonian Temple of Delphi." Virgil warned them.

"Uhhhh great poet, how can he be our ferryman if he's still gonna kill us?" Jinako asked him as Virgil turned to her.

"Would you rather cross the river of Styx without any transportation?" Virgil rebuked her, that made sense to her since even flying around in hell was still dangerous since there were lots of demons who would take advantage of it.

Shiro did not respond and instead, jumped down to the ground before landing, landing atop a platform made from stone. Seconds later, Sparda came down using a set of insectoid-like Demonic wings to glide towards the platform below, gently landing atop it as opposed to the blunt force landing Shiro had done. Finally, Jinako travelled downwards using the nearby rope of human bodies, landing behind them.

Once she had recovered, Jinako raised her head to see how they had landed just by… what looked to be a toothed lily pad, though if she were to look down she would have seen various signs of molten flesh below to indicate the platform's true identity: Phlegyas. To be more specific, the Demigod's head. Jinako pursed her lips as anxiety raged through her being like the cries of anguish, rage and torment that echoed all around them. Nobody could shun her for having doubts that riding such a volatile thing would be safe but what choice was there? It was either this or swim across a deadly river filled with unknown dangers they wouldn't be able to fight against.

She groaned to herself, before a whistling sound caught her attention. She looked to the source, seeing that Shiro and Sparda had already boarded the lily pad platform.

"Come along young lady, or else you would lose the chance to ride a demon." Sparda spoke with amusement, getting a deadpanned from her in return.

"That's what I was hoping for." She said to him as he smiled at her before she walked onto the lily pad. As if it had sensed that no more passengers would be coming, the pad started to move across the river, navigating through countless partially submerged, damaged statues of people frozen into expressions of horror and anger. Judging by the direction they were going, it seemed that the submerged Demigod was going to the large wall of where the sixth circle presided.

For now, though, it seemed like they had a small breath of respite to themselves, judging by the lack of Demons coming at them 24/7. Thus, once she had confirmed this, Jinako sat down by one of the platform's teeth, getting into a comfortable sitting position despite being on a demon's head.

Not being ones to be left out, Shiro and Sparda joined her by sitting at different teeth, resulting in them sitting at points akin to the corners of a triangle if one were to look from a bird's eye view.

Seeing as she now had a bit of a rare moment where she didn't have to worry about getting mauled to death 24/7, she decided to ask Sparda some questions. "So…. Sparda. Why did you say that…. you weren't here by choice?" She asked him which he was silent as it got Shiro's attention as well.

He did not speak for a moment before he answered her. "Lucifer….. has my son." He said as he gripped his hand hard as Shiro furrowed his brows at him.

Virgil was also surprised at him. "Son? Old friend… is that why you've been gone for more than a century?" Virgil asked him which Sparda nodded before pulling out a locket.

He pressed the switch which opened up a picture of a woman... a rather beautiful woman at that, with blue eyes and blond hair. "You see, in my time in the human world, I have been protecting the humans. Ever since I defected from the nine circles... that is until I've met her." He stopped as if remembering the day when he first saw the woman. How she approached him with curiosity and awe at him instead of fear. "She was not afraid of me, not what I was nor what I could do to her if she pissed me off. From there, we've spent time with each other, going from companions, friends, best friends….. and then finally lovers. We married each other and it was the best time of my life….. unfortunately I couldn't be with her all the time, the demons would notice my relationship with her so I…. had to leave her."

By this point, the man's tone had become so depressed to the point where he started letting out tears, something which stunned not only Jinako and Vergil, but Shiro most of all. He could still remember how heartbroken Eva had been when their hands had locked themselves together before releasing, moving further away from each other. "She knew of course, she knew about everything. I had made sure she knew from the start what was going to happen eventually. Didn't make parting with her any less bearable, I'll tell you. Not long after I left her, I discovered one thing she kept a secret….. She had given birth to a son. MY son."

"A son!? You mean you have a son?" Virgil exclaimed in surprise, not having heard of this since he hadn't seen his old friend in such a long time. Nevertheless that didn't soften the shock he felt at hearing that his friend had gotten himself not only a woman, but also a son. It really HAD been a long time since he had last seen Sparda, so anything could have happened but still...

"Indeed, I only discovered this about 3 years after we had separated. I had been protecting the town she stayed in from the shadows when I saw her briefly walking with a younger version of me. My son probably grew up thinking that I abandoned him and his mother, and he wouldn't be wrong in thinking that way. After getting over the shock of having a son, I quickly snuck back to Eva's house knowing that as a Hybrid of my line, he would soon be attacked by Demons, so I left one of my old swords there for Eva to find. She would then present it to my son as my first and only gift to him, so he could protect himself from demonic incursions. Its name was Rebellion."

Hearing THAT name caused Vergil to shift in a manner that both Jinako and Shiro noted to express his disbelief at what Sparda had just said. "Rebellion… I see. That sword definitely would be a good way for him to be protected, given its unique powers." He admitted, thoughtfully while cupping his chin with his free hand.

Instead of focusing on the fact that a Demon had created a hybrid, something which Devils did a lot hence why there were so many half devils running around, Shiro narrowed his eyes. "This story doesn't end well, I can tell." he stated bluntly, getting everyone's attention. "Despite your efforts, she still died in the end right? Left your son alone as an orphan without knowing what his father did for him. Essentially the classic life for a half devil hybrid."

"Shiro!"

"No young lady, he's not wrong…" Sparda spoke, silencing the demigoddess before she could lecture the descendant of Karna for his rude conduct. He then pocketed the locket inside his coat and continued with his story. "Despite my efforts, Lucifer caught wind of Eva's situation, and managed to send some Demons to distract me while others killed her in their family home, likely in front of my son. Ever since, he grew up despising both me and demonkind, hating us all for killing his mother, to the point where he became a Devil Hunter to find the Demon who ordered his mother's death. That led him to diving into the nine circles, braving them, and finally fighting Lucifer… without a shred of demonic power aiding him. One can tell the outcome of that."

All three observers gaped at that information, since entering the Nine Circles wasn't an easy task to begin with, and while Sparda didn't mention the methods his son had used to get inside, the fact that his son had managed to get down the circles without even a SHRED of his demonic heritage helping him spoke volumes of his skill. Looked like Sparda's entire bloodline spawned naturally gifted warriors, it seemed, and while this one likely hated his father he still travelled down his path as a warrior in the end, the proof being what Sparda had told them about his achievements.

After taking a moment to reel in his emotions, Sparda took a couple shaky breaths before he spoke up once more, his eyes now filling with grim determination. "This is why I'm here, to rescue my son from the circles of hell and Lucifer. Even if he still despises me… I still care for him even if I had to make sacrifices for it." Sparda solemnly said, already imagining the obstacles he would have to face in this task. But he was a father, and fathers can do a lot for their children.

Jinako and Virgil looked at him with pity.

The Demigoddess could relate to him since her father had to do his duties as a god, something that her mother had understood. That's why she wasn't angry at her father, only a bit disappointed he didn't visit her once in a while. It helped that he had told her everything beforehand instead of keeping it all a secret from her, something that a lot of supernatural beings tended to do way too often.

Virgil sympathized with his old friend for going through the hardship that he had to endure. Thinking about it, he didn;t know how long he had spent in this infernal realm as a disembodied soul, forced to wander its layers for eternity. He may have his own set of abilities, but they aren't suited for dealing with Demons or the other horrors this place had to offer. Thus, part of him couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Sparda for being able to leave this place of his own will. However, that feeling remained small at best since it seemed that the man had gone through much out there, just as much as Vergil himself had throughout these circles.

"Don't worry Sparda, we'll find your son and make sure to beat it into him that you cared for him." Jinako said to Sparda with a determined face.

"I only seek one person and that is Brihanna, nothing more." Shiro declared, already having a goal set on his mind. Nothing would stop him from fulfilling this goal, not Sparda, not Lucifer, not even Sparda's son if he proved to be a threat. To him, Brihanna's safety remained a top priority and everything else would be secondary.

Jinako looked at Shiro with the stink eye before Sparda who had an uneasy face. "Don't worry about him, despite being the rudest asshole of them all-(I heard that.)-You were supposed to. But, deep inside of him….. you'll find he's a better person that you think he is. He just doesn't show it well." She said to him.

Sparda looked at Shiro for a moment, the younger male holding his gaze for a while, before the older man wound up nodding. "We'll see what happens, young lady." She nodded at him, seemingly ending the conversation there.

Good thing she did, since it wasn't long before the platform started to shake as if they were approaching land. To respond, the trio quickly shot up to their feet, ready to act in case of an emergency, which would come seconds after this happened since from the river beside them, a giant rock lava hand rose out from within the water, clamping down onto a molten rock-made platform in front of it. All the while, the trio quickly took evasive action in their efforts to try to get a better grip of its head.

Shiro fell down the being's back, but he didn't stay that way for long since shortly into his descent he summoned and dug his Scythe's blade into it, dragging it down to slow himself to a halt. This wound up leaving a slash mark but he focused too much on regaining a foothold on the being while it rose out of the water to care. He then set aboud stabbing another section of the back to get to the other side and then hooked his Scythe into the creature's under arm, using it as a swing to vault around and land onto a higher elevated platform. One made from stone instead of molten rock.

As for Jinako and Sparda, the latter carried the former within his arms as he flew using his insect wings, before landing beside Shiro on the platform, the man letting the young Demigoddess go afterwards. Raising their heads, the trio looked upwards at the demigod child of Ares. This being took the form of a hulking, bulky freaking monster with a crack of magma running through him like a volcano, buffalo horns, an evil fiery face, and a crown that looked like a toothed Lily pad.

It glared down at them with mindless malice, confirming Vergils' words in their minds (as well as Jinako's prior concerns) before roaring.

RRRROOOOOOOAAARRRRR!

Instantly things got from bad to worse, when all around them Demons rose from portals on the ground, mostly consisting of Minions and a Hoarder/Waster which quickly entered its tornado spinning attack before rushing at them.

Jinako quickly took point in smashing her newly summoned Axe into it, knocking the thing back and out of its previous state, before a quick slash from Sparda resulted in its head being severed from its body.

Before the Minions could do anything to them, they got their first and only introduction to Shiro's Rashomon threads.

Afterwards, the trio regrouped and waited for more Demons to arrive… only none did so, causing some confusion amongst them. "Huh? Why aren't there…?" Jinako wondered from her spot in the formation.

"Lets not look a gift horse in the mouth, young ones" Sparda answered, glancing around and gesturing to their only way forwards which took the form of a walkway. "Lets go, our friend is an impatient brat if you know what I mean."

True enough, Phlegyas had (after glaring at them with enough force that they would have melted if looks could kill) started to stomp away from them, intending to head down a molten walkway which led to a massive chasm up ahead. One which led towards what could only be described as a demonic city of sorts, filled to the brim with spikes, stone buildings, torture devices and all sorts of things that each of them couldn't see from this distance.

Thus, the trio looked at one another, gave a unified nod, before proceeding to quickly jog across their walkway, quickly making a left turn before jumping over a large gap right as Phlegyas made to pass it. After landing, the trio gazed forwards to see a small walkway attached to a square-shaped platform that had an iron gate blocking their way, one with a lever to the right side.

"Jinako, the lever!"

"On it!"

With Shiro's order, Jinako quickly jogged up to the lever and grasped it, pulling it to the opposite side. As a result, various mechanical sounds filled the air as what looked like a pair of stone slabs rose up ahead of them to form a bridge. Seeing it and calculating in his mind, Sparda frowned. "We gotta get across before our friend gets there." he urged his two companions…

Before more Demons spawned around them, consisting of many demonic infants that brandished their blades at them and a bunch of Entantresses who gazed at Shiro and Sparda with looks of lustful hunger. Not something either men appreciated if the looks on their faces were any indication, although the demonic infants rushing at them quickly forced those thoughts out their minds in favor of retaliation.

Shiro went first, launching many Tendrils tipped with Jaws from what remained of his cloths which smashed into the demonic infants, gripping their heads and quickly crushing them into paste, letting their headless bodies disintegrate into nothingness afterwards. While this happened, Shiro noticed a bunch of Enchantresses striding sensually over to him from the left and right, and quickly made to jump back while Sparda parried several slashes from 3 Enchantresses at once…

BOOM!

The ones that pursued Shiro however, didn't see the molten monster of a Demigod moving along, but it did. Seeing them must have triggered something within Phlegyas, hence why he raised a fist and smashed them into paste.

"?!"

Jinako and the others gaped at the sight, but soon brought themselves back into the fight when more demonic infants spawned in and rushed at them, forcing the trio to fight back using their own means.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Phlegyas! He must hate both us and the Demons here, we're all fair game to him!"

"Well isn't THAT dandy?!"

By the time that they had finished, the iron gates barring their path to the bridge slid down into the stone below, allowing them to continue on their way. Ater crossing the bridge, both sides slid back down to let the violent Demigod pass through, to which Shiro had been partially surprised judging by the look on his face.

Something which Jinako soon took notice of. "What is it, Shiro?" She asked.

Glancing at her, he gave a swift response. "Thought that guy would have smashed the bridge first, but guess not."

Sparda hummed at that, but they didn't get a chance to mull that over for long since their way forwards turned out to be up a tower, one where a Horned Demon spawned in before jumping down to their level. All around the air space, dozens of wasp Demons suddenly flew in to reinforce the horned Demon, to which Sparda quickly charged forwards and engaged with the said Demon in a sword duel. "You take care of the pests, I'll take the big boy!" He called out, getting nods from the younger fighters.

As such, Shiro pulled out Nightingale while Jinako summoned her Goblet, to which in the following seconds the airspace became filled to the brim with energy arrows and dangos. The poor Pests didn't stand a ghost of a chance, although reinforcements soon came in the form of many horned Demons, Gluttons, Enchantresses and Minions which swarmed the two all over. If it weren't for Phlegyas occasionally shooting this ray of concentrated heat from his mouth like a laser of sorts, then the trio likely would have gotten overrun.

But they weren't, and after defeating them all the tower's elevator slid down to their level, allowing the trio just enough elevation for Shiro to do what he would need to do next. They quickly entered the tower as the elevator then went up, as they did they were higher than the monster of the demigod as it continued its path. Jinako looked at the tall walls.

"What should we do? That wall looks like the wall of china but even higher than that! It would take us months to even try and climb it." Jinako questioned frantically, and she was correct after all.

While Sparda thinks of a plan Shiro's first suggestion was to use the brahmastra but instead he suddenly remembered the time at the first circle of hell, Limbo where he controlled a demon as his escort, he took out his scythe and looked at it before making a suggestion. Jinako looked at Shiro as she was confused about what he was about to do before remembering.

"Oh no, you're not going to do what I think you're doing?!" Jinako yelled, though her words fell on deaf ears.

Shiro took a few steps back for a bit before running as he jumped at Phlegyas and stabbed his scythe into the centre of his head. Following this, Phlegyas screamed for a bit, shaking his head about trying to get him off, before slumping forwards in resignation of the fact that Shiro had gained control.

Shiro looks at the stunned duo before tilting his head.

"Get on."

Jinako snapped out of her trance and yelled at him. "The living fuck were you thinking?! You could've killed yourself for being reckless! What would happen if it didn't work?!"

"I rather go with action instead of words, I could've blasted that wall with the brahmastra but then the circle would be destroyed and we can't go any further down to the next layer."

"Ggaaahhhh, sometimes you're just being too difficult." Jinako groaned as Sparda laughed a bit before jumping to the lily head of Phlegyas as he was joined with Jinako.

Once everyone got themselves comfortable, Shiro commanded Phlegyas to walk through the bridge, the next circle of hell.

Heresy.

As Phlegyas walked through the bridge they came across a large door which blocked them, but Shiro commanded Phlegyas to destroy it via a few shrugs of his Scythe. It took a while but the demigod of ares strength showed itself to not to be reckoned with. Soon enough it used his great strength to smash the gates of the city down. Once he was inside, Shiro and the duo had entered the fiery tombs and corridors of the hellish fortress.

"Hey, why does it look more like a city to me?" Jinako wondered, she was not wrong after all. This place DID look more like a city.

Soon enough that question was not answered as there was another guest, one that always mock them.

"Hahahahhaha isn't this wonderful?"

Lucifer appeared as he floated higher than them as Shiro and Sparda looked at him with fury.

"YOU!" he let go of the scythe and pulled his nightingale as he prepared an astra and Sparda unleashing his demonic power.

"Well well, looks like you have accompanied someone else, one who is familiar to me."

"Where is my son Lucifer?!" Sparda demanded him while Lucifer still looked with amusement.

"You mean that half abomination? Oh he is in good shape, after all going through seven circles without any shred of power is amusing."

"WHERE IS HE?!"

"You'll find him soon enough Sparda, now as for you."

Lucifer turned his attention to Shiro as he had already completed charging his astra.

"BRAHMASTRA!" he released the energy bow as it flew to Lucifer but instead it passed through him.

BOOM!

It impacted at the walls of the city of dis, crumbling from the pressure of the power that his Brahmastra unleashed.

Lucifer observed this with mild concern.

"Oh dear, it seems you've made a mess on the circle here young man, looks like you need to be disciplined."

He put his hand forward as if he was pushing something, before anyone would notice he unleash a blue beam that hits Shiro on the face or more specifically his eyes.

"GAAAAAHHHHH!"

"SHIRO!"

Shiro screamed in pain, he pulled the scythe as Jinako quickly went to his side, soon enough the city began to collapse.

"Now then, will you go further down to the next circle, or will you be trapped here…...forever."

Lucifer disappeared as Shiro was about to yell at him, the floor began to crumble before collapsing. Sparda quickly used his insect wings to catch the both of them while avoiding the falling debris.

He soon found a floor where a gargoyle door was, to which he quickly landed there with Shiro still having his hand on his eyes, blood trails streaming down his cheeks like bloody tears. In utter outrage, Shiro blindly swung his scythe everywhere like a bloodhound on a berserker rage. "Where the fuck is that devil?! I'll chop his wings off and feed it to the fire so he won't fly anymore! WHERE?!" he roared up to the heavens above, blood splattering everywhere around him.

"Calm down or else you'll lose more blood! Drink this!" Sparda yelled, grabbing his head while dodging one of his sloppy attacks and putting him on the green fountain as Shiro wiggled around madly before starting to drink from the fountain. Soon enough he ceased his struggle, to which Sparda let go of him as he raised his head out of the fountain.

Steam proceeded to rise upwards from his face as the liquid Shiro had drunk went to work on healing his injuries, though unlike many of his minor injuries that he'd taken previously the wounds this time seemed… rather fatal, as if they could've killed him in a matter of seconds had Sparda not acted as quick as he had. Soon enough, the male felt the healing complete itself which allowed him to open his eyes, which proved difficult at first hence why his eyes kept blinking shut, his vision swimming. Soon enough however, it cleared up and he could see once more… Although he felt a minor aching on his face for some reason. After lowering his hands from his face, Shiro turned around to look at the duo, which allowed them to witness the sight of a burn mark that spread across the top half of his entire face.

"Are you alright Shiro?" Jinako asked him, feeling concern about him, he grit his teeth in anger as if losing himself.

"I'll fucking slice him into pieces, I swear. Once I see him again, his shadow form won't be so useful." he declared as he put his hand on his newfound scar on his face.

"You are almost close to the end of the circle Shiro." Virgil appeared before them. "Regardless, that was a close one. You will need to be more careful with the fallen angel, he has gained more power when he was sealed here by the lord at the end of the great war."

"I don't care if he's got stronger Virgil, no one has no chinks in their armor." Shiro growled at him before he was hit by the head courtesy of Sparda, whom he glared at before he regained a bit of calmness.

"There are three more circles left, this is the circle of heresy, here you will find the heretics and followers of every cult and pagan cult, all buried together, burning in eternal fire." Virgil explained what this circle is.

"Pagan cults? You mean the made up belief of different gods?" Jinako deduced as Virgil nodded his head.

"Indeed young demigoddess, but be careful, it house the condemned citizens." Virgil gestured to the door before disappearing. Shiro look at the door before his eyes become feral and went further to the circle.