Chapter 1: Lost Balance

Hell on Earth. It's something that you hear said on the news time and time again, but until you see it, you have no idea what it actually looks like. And it seems like I can officially say that I know it perfectly well, both literally and figuratively.

People stampeding in all directions, screaming and yelling, blood running down the walkways in a constant stream. Countless grey in human figures, big and small, running amongst the people, ripping and tearing through them like paper. This was only the start of my adventure.

One week ago, I was just a normal dude who had a variety of hobbies. Comics, TV, Video Games, you name it, I liked it. If I didn't actually experience it, I at least knew of it and the basic premise. But I balanced it with my work life, so I wasn't a shut-in either. You couldn't call it a healthy balance, however, as the balance was so perfect it excluded one thing, a social life outside of texting, calls, and the occasional chat at work.

I wasn't ugly or anything, just a normal 5' 10" dude with short blonde hair, and a normal build. I just didn't feel like taking the time to do more socializing, and was content with what I already did. But apparently, someone found it prudent to disrupt my balance forever. One day, I lay on my bed half asleep, and suddenly felt a pull towards the side of my bed.

I soon fell off, and went through my floor into a blank black space. What stood there waiting for me was a white mist in the silhouette of a person, with no features on it. I was well awake from the fall, and immediately jumped back and distanced myself, taking a quick second to observe my surroundings before giving my full attention to the mystery being.

"I have no intention of spending too much of my time on you, so I will make things quick" the voice said, rather disinterested. What was weird that it's not that the voice had a specific sound or no specific sound, but that it felt like I just couldn't perceive it.

I had no reason to interrupt it, however, as not only was that usually a bad idea, but they planned on getting straight to the point anyways. "Throughout the multiverse, Devils are appearing. These devils directly replace a random person, and hide amongst humans. The longer these devils can remain in the spotlight without being caught, the stronger they become.

They are almost impossible to be discovered by a normal resident of that world, so I have decided to send people from other worlds enmasse to deal with it accordingly, you being one of them". This was crazy, but seeing the current situation, I had no choice other than to roll with it.

Being cannon fodder just thrown at a problem didn't feel very nice, however. Ignoring my inner thoughts, the being continued. "Obviously sending normal people at a Devil is pointless, being worse even less than nothing. So I will give you one advantage of your choosing".

My brain immediately went into overdrive, thinking of all the abilities and traits within reason. Singular abilities were immediately thrown out the window, as specializing in one thing would be the death of me, seeing that my leader wouldn't care to send me against enemies that match well against me or not.

Instead I had to go for complete packages, or being another race entirely for that matter. That way it counts as one thing, but gives me many benefits. Slowly but surely, the plan came together in my head, and I responded confidently, "I would like to have everything one person has, the Legendary Devil Hunter Dante. This should work, as even though it is a bunch of advantages, it's all from one source. And I'm almost certain fiction exists within the multiverse".

The being took a few minutes to think, and spoke "I can agree with this. HOWEVER, one hardly trustworthy mortal can't possibly be handed all that power immediately, so I will only give you a fraction for now. You will have the same blood of sparta mixed with human blood, but you will not be immediately awakened to the full power.

In addition, you will not be given his full arsenal, as that was something he had to assemble from slaying powerful foes. You will only be given his two guns, Ebony & Ivory". I did not like this one bit, as I would be quite promising in the future, but my first few missions will be rough. Hell, the being probably bets on me dying before they give me anything else.

I agreed to these terms however, and perhaps with being annoyed by actually having to spend time thinking, the Being immediately waved their hand and cast me off, spiralling into the unknown.

I woke up in a dirty back alley, just the perfect start to a new day. Surveying my surroundings, I immediately found that my clothes were different than what I was used to, with a long red coat, with a red vest underneath, with dark red pants and black boots, aka Dante's outfit from the first Devil May Cry game.

In back holsters, covered by my coat, were the two pistols Ebony & Ivory. Only having these two would make things dangerous, as their offensive power wasn't that great, and their only advantages were that they shot fast, had little to no recoil, and bottomless clips thanks to Dante's powers, which I now had.

If the devils I'm after are anything more than small fry, this would take quite a bit of effort. But, no point crying over spilt milk, so I headed out of the alley into the streets. It was currently nighttime, yet there was still quite a bit of foot traffic, and the roads were constantly packed.

I never spent much time in big cities, so seeing neon starlight shining in the dark with all these people was quite the sight. Because I was told that devils gain power quicker the more they stood disguised in the spotlight, I immediately looked for things that stood out.

Assuming the Being that sent me here wasn't completely incompetent, I should atleast be in the same city as my target at minimum, if not near a clue that would narrow things down. Lo and behold, as I scanned through the bustling crowd, an advertisement on a nearby wall caught my attention.

A local girl was performing at the nearby club just a few blocks down the street tonight. Under normal circumstances, I'd assume this isn't 'spotlighty' enough for a devil, but if it was a weak one fitting for my first job, it would make sense that this was all it could amount to.

It was also quite possible that lower ranked devils possess less individual intelligence, so their natural hellish instincts lead them to seedier places. Putting aside that thought process for now, I made my way on foot a few blocks away to the club. Upon stepping past the bouncer waiting outside, the loud music began to fill my ears.

Rather than the sheer pounding assault that most loud party music would bring, this was a comforting, almost angelic song. Normally this wouldn't fit a place like this at all, but upon experiencing it for myself, I must admit, any normal man could sit and listen to this for hours on end. The second that thought crossed my mind, I knew for certain my target would be here.

Once I reached the main room of the club, there she was, center stage, the apple of everyone's eye, I believe the ad said her name was Chloe. She wasn't a wall toppling beauty, more like on the upper tier of average, but that wasn't meant to be her appeal at all.

Her plain brown hair, cut down to her shoulders, was meant to give more of a cutesy vibe, and paired with her bright singing, she definitely could compete with the best of the best in her own ways. She was astonishingly amazing, with normally average features compounding into her own style of perfection. But that's what confused me.

A devil would have just stacked all the best parts onto themselves and been done with it, instead of building around their character like an actual human being. I started to doubt my own judgement that my target was here, but I was soon proven right, if only in the most twisted way possible.

Simultaneously, chaos broke out from around the club as the 10 bouncers that surrounded the room were taken down all at once by different people, one man each. This was too convenient, you're telling me that 10 men strong enough to take down a professional bouncer just happened to coordinate in a club that I was led towards?

A heart rending scream prevented me from taking action however, as an 11th man rushed the stage through the crowd and grabbed Chloe. All eyes stared down this intruder, and if looks could kill, the combined effort of every person in this club would have levelled the building.

In my emergency observation around the room, I noticed that directly across from center stage, I saw someone taking video on their phone, a sign that things would only escalate from here.