8 - A Mother’s Wish

A sound. A sort of whimper that could could hardly be heard resonated with him strongly, the voice of a women pleading. For what reason? "....up..."

"....wake...."

The sound of his heartbeat began to pulse loudly from the recognition of the voice.

"Wake up, Joshua!"

He focused his sights in the direction of the sound. "Mum..." the silhouette he saw across the distance only caused him to recognise such figure to it being his mother and the boy immediately began to run towards her.

"...You must…Survive..."

A force halted him from going further before it started to pull him away, no amount of struggling aided in his body being pushed back even further before everything once more became dark. "No, WAIT!"

XXX

"Mum!" The boy jolted up from unconsciousness. The sensation of a slime like texture was felt when he tried to get up using the closest wall as a crutch to get up. His eyes stung from the sudden brightness and began to allow his vision to adjust to the light and focus onto what was in front of him.

It smelled disgusting just being here. Why was he here in the first place? Shaking his head as he let go of the slimy wall he was using to stand up, he felt pain from the side of his neck and noticed it to be bleeding. The [Barrier] had taken too much damage and caused several fractures to be visible.

The sudden flash of memory of reaching the top of the tower before being attacked from behind by the one who stole his arm before being eaten by something large. His hand trembled, the slimy substance dripping through his hand. So close. Joshua was so close to the answer towards this whole thing. Then that monster, that demon appeared once more and ruined it.

'....MINE~.....'

"Yours?" He clenched his fist as his magic began boil across his perimeter due to his growing anger. His vein becoming more visible on the boy's face while it twitched as if ready to burst out of his skin. The feeling of his stomach asking for food seem to have increased. He was using his magic rashly yet Joshua gave no actual care to his stomach's growl. As if his sudden built anger was an indication, the appearances of demons he had now constantly encountered, with scythes being their common weapon, entered with the air cracking into existence.

The screech and howls they produced did not cause a reaction to Joshua at all as he continued to look at his trembling hand. "Yours...." The demons stalked towards the stilled child as one raised its weapon. The boy still did not move even as it struck him from the back and cleaved the shield he wore for protection to his back and split the tool in half in one swoop.

A small amount of blood seeped away from his back but the damage was less fatal than what the boy was expecting from the strength a demon would usually have. Perhaps it was the combination of his [Barrier] still around the shield itself which had allowed the metal to endure enough for the cut to his back to only be minimal at best even if his current magic ability was at the moment still weak.

Nevertheless, the demon had dealt first blood which caused the other demons to follow along and began to ready themselves, before they stopped prematurely. "Damn you!!!" The sudden force of magic was felt to the demons, forcing them to step back as the boy finally turned around to face them. His bloodshot eyes, mucus and blood covering his whole being, not showing whether it was his own or some other kind of demons.

Joshua's gaze was blurry to anyone who thoroughly checked, yet the demons could not comprehend the amount of magic power that washed out from the child even if it was typically normal.

The boy's first step was similar to a stumble which only made the group of demons that surrounded him to step back once more. "You...." The nearest demon couldn't react quickly enough before seeing one of it's kind slashed apart before it's eyes. "I'll make to kill you!!!!"

XXX

It did not expect itself to be swallowed by a fellow demon. But it did not matter in the slightest, it could simply kill it from the inside and devour on its corpse to get stronger. It's master would definitely praise him in returning stronger than ever.

It raised one of its hand and swallowed one of the organs of the giant demon before sucking on the blood. The flicker of sparks scattered and charred the tentacles that tried to attack within its presence.

"So Easy~" before it could take another bite, it felt a sudden chill from a certain direction causing it to crush the organ from its hand accidentally. "The child lives~"

XXX

He felt himself being struck from his side and back as he strangled one demon and continued to strike it with the spectral blade continuously. His rage seemed to have numbed the pain as his became a puddle more from the demons than his own large cuts. "Die!" The demon gave a shriek before dying in place, Joshua let go of the demon and raised his weapon to parry the attack that nearly struck his neck. He was unable to make a [Barrier] around his body and so he merely directed the amount of force the demon produced to another of its kind, killing them. This was only possible due to the boy utilising his speed rather than strength which was done by his magic increasing his body's movement. It was a simple method with very little improvement in power but gave enough effect to amplify his natural speed.

The time it took was no more than a few minutes and Joshua stood there with heavy breath as he watched the demons he killed to dissolve and leave red orbs to scatter. He left them there as he continued to walked forward. The sound of vibration was occurring in his body every time he proceeded further. The cuts he earned burned him, but he continued to walk forward to nearest hole on the demon's inside.

XXX

This feeling. It was impossible, it looked at its hands and felt it...shaking? Anticipation. Of a human child? "Stronger…?" Yet the tremor continued to flow across its body, the sound of heavy breathing and a slow paced but dominant walk came closer until it fell its eyes on him.

The human child, weakened. Bloody. Tasty~.

Yet even with the wounds and damage visible to its eyes when he looked upon the human boy, it felt his magic recovering before small panels of green enveloped his body and began translucent to it's naked eyes.

It smiled wide with all its teeth finally showing. "Mine~" it charged at the boy who followed suit.

XXX

The sudden power built by the rush of anger was useless as his weapon clashed against the demon's claw. He was immediately pushed back to the wall. The sting of his back which was cut ached even when the wall itself was on the softer but slimy side and presented no sort of damage to him with its elastic texture. Every shot he took was dodged so easily by the demon causing it to sneer in delight at his struggle.

The demon's whole being began to sparkle with electricity before it appeared right in front of him. Joshua could only dodge narrowly with only a large cut to his right thigh. He rolled across the slimy floor and groaned as he tried to stand up and fight but failed. The demon was too fast, too strong.

No matter what he did, what power he currently had reserved, it was impossible. The demon must have also understood the emotion coming from the child as it's screech of laughter echoed across the room they were in. "I can't lose here..." Tears came out of his eyes as he continued to struggle even as the demon grabbed him by the hair and pulled him to face the demon face-to-faceless.

The hatred coursed through his eyes which was targeted at the demon even as it began to twist his leg the wrong side. 'I can't die here.'

"Need some help, kid?!"

XXX

Of all things, he just had to be inside a smelly, filthy pit of a stomach from a demon that looked liked an overgrown whale. "One hell of a party alright." The red coated teen that was Dante said sarcastically as he walked marched towards the broken fleshy bits that looked like to was cut with a sword. Now that he thought about it, there was a kid who was swallowed up first before him. "...I forgot!"

The loss against his twin brother peeved him but even so, he wasted enough time just from fighting him and the kid may have already been dead.

The sharp cuts looked to not be healing. It gave the same essence of power as Vergil would usually create.

!!

The boy had that same feeling! Running ahead while following the ripple of the essence as his map. He stopped in an open area which had red orbs scattered across the floor. Dante gave a whistle at the mess and a small grin. "Whoever this kid is, he sure knows how to fight." Holding out a hand, he watched as the scattered orbs wiggle before shooting towards him and combine into the size of a tennis ball. "I guess I know what Vergil meant when he said he's not normal," he pocketed the orbs and continuing his running stride, "no sane person would survive this long unless he was probably a devil as well."

However, even when he sensed the residue of magic power that was still left across the damages, he felt only a sliver of demonic energy which was definitely his brother's energy, yet the energy felt too have been modified in a way for it to assist the kid's own usage of magic power.

A screech of laughter echoed from one of the passageways. The flicker of the boy wielding his brother's power was also felt in the direction. He narrowed his eyes and increased his pace and witnessed the sight of the child fighting the large demon with his guns and sword. The change of weapons was slow with only one hand which was a major disadvantage along with the main aspect of the demon being too quick for the kid to actually catch it.

The kid didn't seem to be older than probably seven years old and yet he could feel the child channel flickers of magic to the gun while shooting out bullets. 'Whoa, he's filling up ammo in the magazine by forging bullets.'

That was actually smart. Even so, the fight looked to be over with the amount of blood the brat was losing. Although, from a closer view, it didn't seem to have come from this demon itself except for the loss of his arm. The small essence of the demon's power was still present to the lost limb.

Even when he saw the boy's leg being toyed around and have his leg twisted, he felt as though if he helped the kid right now, it wouldn't follow well with the amount of hatred he could sense from his eyes. Although, Dante couldn't allow the brat to die in front of him just because he was curious to the current limit of what he was capable. He couldn't handle seeing the kid die in front of him.

"Need some help, kid?!"

"Y-you!" The demon looked to the direction of the voice and stopped its right hand from impaling the boy.

"How about having some fun with me for a change, ugly." Dante goaded it which caused it to react which he was expecting and let go of the child, at least that was what he was expecting.

The demon proceeded to look back at the captured boy and impale him on the stomach. Dante could only watched with widened eyes as the boy gasps while the demon's hand came out from the other side.

"N-no!" Dante rushed forwards with his sword at the ready before stopping as the demon chucked the kid at him to catch. "Shit, this wasn't meant to happen." Placing the kid to the side where he would be safe in the room, the teen placed a golden orb in hope that it would take effect in some case before turning back.

Dante looked back at the demon with anger in his eyes, the playfulness having disappeared from his face as he transformed into something else entirely. There was a slight echo repeat to whatever sound the man now made. The red jacket he wore looked to have combined to his flesh like a skin and act like wings while his head resembled that of a lizard. "You're gonna pay for that, asshole!"

XXX

It was hard to breathe, the sound of his heartbeat was slowing down so quickly and he felt so tired all of a sudden. He wanted to sleep, he wanted to go home. He wanted his mummy. Tears flooded his eyes.

The bright light that came out of nowhere stung his eyes as he felt her presence, "Mum, I'm coming."

"Don't...dear."

"...Why?" He tried to move but was unable to do so, "I don't want to be here without you, I missed you so much."

"I know honey," he could see tears drop from her face and all Joshua wanted to do was wipe it from her pale but beautiful face. "But I want you to live regardless...for me." The surge of a bright golden glow was felt from another area which came from one of his pockets as it soon started to melt inside of him. "You're a strong boy, I know you'll always make me proud. I love you." Her silhouette started to fade away as he began to feel his pain no longer exist.

"Wait...don't leave me!" He could do nothing as he watched her continue to disappear. His tears continued to escape even as she could no longer be seen. Even if he was to survive for the sake of his mother, would he really want to in the first place. While solemnly thinking such things, a presence soon warped to where his mother just was previously. "The Divinity Statue?"

XXX

The demon was definitely fast whenever it started to charge up a high velocity of electricity across its body. Even so, the teen dodged the demons assault and kick it to the other side of the room. If this was before he had achieved his new power up, he may have struggled only a bit, but not now.

"How does it feel to know you're gonna die with me toying around like you did to the kid?" The demon screeched loudly before charging towards him without any rational thinking, sparks of electricity embedding around its body as it zipped around the room.

There was a reason as to how the fight was not being immediately over even with the power difference being obvious, it was the strong defence the dark demon seemed to have across his body which absorbed the damage. Any hard but slow attack dealt no damage but anything fast was effective from his trials and errors in dishing out hits with his sword. This also comes with another reason to the demon's unique ability which every other demon kind possess, [Regeneration]. The lower class had a slower process of such ability but the demon before him was so fast to it looked as if when his strike enters through the demon's body, it appeared as if he phased through it even though the teen could feel his strike landing.

It was a hassle to continuously attack quickly and slow down the demon's fast healing process but there was currently no other option that looked to be effective.

Dante raised his sword upward and waited to strike before noticing a bright glow. "What now?" He watched with amazement as the boy's body fixed itself and stand up with a dazed expression to his face. That few seconds of pause from Dante was enough for the demon to charge and knock him to the side.

"Ugh," the teen recovered quickly enough to notice the demon focus on the now alive child and smile in glee. It somehow gave the demon some sort of newfound energy as it charged instantly to Joshua and Dante could only watched once more and not reach in time as it was ready to kill him again. "Kid, RUN!"

He didn't know what happened afterwards but, next think he knew was the kid holding the blade stances in a way that indicated the end of an attack. The demon stood there with its claw near where it previously impaled the boy halted. His eyes widened as the demons head slowly fall.

XXX

There was a dome that hardly visible, but it was there. He stood at the centre and saw everything around it. He could see behind even without turning his head and could noticed the lumps of fleshy meats on from where he stood. The demon who had basically 'killed' him was charging at his quickly at a pace which Joshua could not react, but for some reason his body eased in its tension as his body reacted to the threat that had entered the invisible dome.

The demon raised its claw and drew nearer to his body from where he was previously impaled. Everything was too fast to comprehend before his body grabbed the spectral sword and slashed sideways so fast that he felt the strain in his muscle in how quick it was. The demon's assaulted charged was halted after his swing was done and he watched as it's head began to slowly slide off its own body in confusion.

The dome immediately shattered from his sights and he felt his body moving from his command once more. It was unimaginable as to what the ability could truly do and as to how the Divinity Statue had entered into his mind scape but gave no care as he felt his magic be drained from a single usage of the new magic ability that was gifted to him.

[Flow State]

"Kid…you okay?"

"Huh, I think I..argh!" Joshua crouched to one knee as he felt the sudden shift of the invisible dome no longer exist as the world sped up to normal. The headless body of the demon sprayed him with its blood while it fell down beside him, his breathing becoming haggard from aftermath of using the ability which his body could not handle.

"Kid?!" He rushed towards him and noticed the boy leaking out blood which confused him as the golden orb should have already healed the damages he had carried along the way. The teen gave a confused expression and never noticed an orb coming out of the demon's corpse and shoot towards the boy before it announced his presence from the slight sparkle of electricity that was heard.

"Wait, that's…" Dante watched as the orb fly away from him and entered the crouched boy's back which a slight reactions of sparks to shock his body.

He screamed as his body began to burn up, the damage as soon as it arrived left immediately soon after in just a second causing Joshua breath heavily before fainting. "The...hell?"