The Countess and The Demon (Resident Evil X Devil May Cry)

Chapter 9: Machinations and Monstrocities

Dante awoke to the sound of thunder in the distance, momentarily disoriented. After a few seconds, he recognized where he was: Lady Dimitrescu's private chambers. Sure enough, there she was, under the sheets next to him, naked and asleep. Hmph, beat that, Vergil, he thought to himself. Smiling, he rolled over and fell back asleep, his mind at ease.

7 hours later, he awoke to the chime of a clock somewhere. His senses were on high alert after yesterday. Subconsciously, he reached for his holsters before remembering that he wasn't in his room. Slowly, he hopped out of bed and pulled his pants back on. He only just realized that Alcina was not in bed with him. Shrugging, he backtracked to his room and pulled on his boots and jacket and shirt, and strapped the holsters for Ebony and Ivory to the back of his belt once more. He also grabbed the Rebellion and Sparda, slinging them over his shoulder. Something told him he'd need them.

His thoughts drifted to the whereabouts of the other castle residents. Where were they? He'd heard not a single sound out of any of them so far, and it was almost noon. Someone would've woken him up long ago, surely. As he approached the dining room, he heard something move behind him. Faster than the human eye could follow, he drew Rebellion and spun, stopping the blade an inch before he sliced Cassandra in half. "Well, that's one way to say hello. Was just coming to wake you up." She said, eyeing the blade nervously. Exasperated, he slung it back over his shoulder. "With all the weird shit going on, did you SERIOUSLY think it was a good idea to sneak up on me?" He asked, sighing. "Where is everyone? It's almost noon." Instead of replying, she started walking towards the front doors of the castle. "As shocking as it sounds, mother and my sisters have gone to the factory for safety reasons regarding yesterday's attack. That place is absolutely disgusting, if you ask me. Mother despises it. I was asked to guide you there. It's warm enough outside today for my sisters and I to make the trip without dying, fortunately." It seemed logical from his point of view, and it was a relief to know it was warmer outside.

As they exited the castle, the sun stung his eyes. The castle had been dimly lit in some areas and was lit entirely by fireplaces, candles, and chandeliers. It felt refreshing to bathe in the sunlight once more. As they strode through the village, they saw green slime everywhere, as if someone had run around puking. Except it seemed alive and was pulsating sickeningly. Cassandra looked worried as they jogged past it. Her hood was down, revealing her brown hair and tattoo on her forehead. Strange. He'd never noticed it before. "We need to get out of here before that moronic freak blocks us in. Come on, we gotta hurry!" She said, shifting from a jog to a sprint that he easily kept up with. "What 'moronic freak' are you referring to? That Moreau guy? If he's so much of a problem, why not just kill him?" She sighed, clearly exasperated. "If it were so easy, it'd be done, now wouldn't it? All this mucus he's spitting up is blocking off the way to his reservoir. Uncle Heisenberg has been working on something that might be able to clear up the route, but he doubts it'll work for long. Moreau can just keep on puking and blocking the route if he wants to." He nodded, understanding. "Say, seeing as we're already in the village, any chance you can show me thials supposedly blocked path? I got an idea," he said, pulling out the Sparda and looking mischievously at the blade.

That blade was off, she thought to herself as she changed directions and started heading towards the reservoir. Sure enough, a wall of pulsating green slime was blocking the way. "Step aside, kid. Wouldn't want to splatter your fine dress with this gunk," he said, flicking the blade to the side. To her suprise, it elongated into a scythe. "Huh, interesting weapon. What're you gonna do, at-"

She did not get a chance to finish her sentence before he plunged the blade deep into the mucus and tore straight up, cutting a riptide in it. Seeing that this wasn't working, he swapped to the Rebellion and, flicking the blade back while reversing his grip on the handle, unleashed a flurry of demonic waves from the blade, cutting into the mucus like it was butter. Sure enough, it exploded, splattering him from head to toe. He quickly wiped his face off, the shit felt like acid! Turning to her, he spoke, arms wide like a showman who'd just finished a performance. "TA-DA!" He exclaimed, smiling broadly. She just stood there dumbfounded. "Well, I suppose that's one way to do it. Also, you're steaming." Looking down, he saw his clothes were indeed steaming, and his coat was starting to dissolve. Looking around frantically, he dove into a nearby stream, thankfully counteracting the sludge. "OK, note to self, the shit is acidic." He said, crawling out of the stream, soaking wet. Cassandra couldn't help but laugh at him as they continued towards the factory.