A Village in Japan
Nestled in mountains, the serene village thrives in nature. Winter brings heavy snow, with adults shoveling and kids playing. But today, a sudden blizzard engulfs it, freezing everything. A beast's roar echoes through the icy silence.
Headquarters, Marshal's Office
The Marshal chuckles over a report, handing it to Yamato.
"Akashi made rigging for the Admiral, and he went on a sortie…" Yamato reads, shocked. "Sank two destroyers and a light cruiser in our front waters!?"
"He took them down himself," the Marshal says.
"Is that possible?" Yamato stares at the report.
"It's written here."
"Hardly any sorties, so he's not after glory," the Marshal muses.
Ooyodo (headquarters) enters. "Marshal, a village is frozen, and military police were attacked by monstrous creatures."
"What!?" The Marshal knows these are demons, thanks to Dante. He's their only hope.
Devil May Cry Naval Base
Dante stands alone on the grounds, focusing inward to summon Quicksilver and Doppelganger—powers gained from subduing high-level demons at Temen-ni-gru. Nothing happens.
"No good," he mutters. The powers were likely stolen with his devil arms.
"Admiral, what're you doing?" Tenryuu calls, Tatsuta behind her.
"Testing something. Done now. Grounds are yours," Dante says, heading to the office.
They follow. "Why're you tagging along?" he asks.
"More sorties and expeditions?" Tenryuu suggests.
"Why?"
"Control the seas, hit resource-rich areas. Beat Deep Sea Fleet, get materials—two birds, one stone. Plus, I'm getting rusty."
"You train, don't you?"
"I wanna fight big!" Tenryuu insists.
"When needed," Dante says.
Ooyodo rushes in. "Admiral! Marshal's on the phone!"
Office
"Yo," Dante answers.
"Admiral Dante, been a while," the Marshal says.
"Cut to it. Something's up if you're calling."
"Demons appeared. Need your help."
The Marshal briefs him. "A car's on its way to take you to the site."
"Got it."
"What'd he say?" Ooyodo asks.
"Work. My real job," Dante says, prepping.
"Take me!" Tenryuu says.
"What?"
"I'll fight demons with you."
"You'll get in the way. Stay."
"It's reckless," Ooyodo agrees, knowing demons' danger from past losses.
"We fight Deep Sea Fleet, but if demons show up at sea, we need to know how to fight them," Tenryuu argues.
Reports of demons at sea exist. No guarantee shipgirls won't face them.
"Shipgirls never listen," Dante grumbles, eyeing Tenryuu's resolve. "Fine, come."
The car drops Dante, Tenryuu, and Tatsuta (as Tenryuu's minder) five kilometers from the village. Military police block the road. The car leaves.
"They ditched us," Tenryuu says.
"Old man didn't plan the return," Dante mutters.
They pass the blockade and walk. The path is clear until they reach the village, frozen in ice.
"Wow…" Tenryuu says, awestruck.
The trio investigates. Tenryuu slips. "Ow!"
"Careful~," Tatsuta says.
"(Bad idea bringing them…)" Dante thinks.
Tenryuu notices an ice statue. "Hey, this is… a person!"
More ice statues villagers, even children dot the area. Tatsuta murmurs sadly, "Even kids…"
Tenryuu reaches for one, but Dante grabs her arm. "Don't touch."
He tosses a bullet at the statue, which freezes solid, merging with it.
"Touch it, and you're like them," Dante warns.
Tenryuu sweats, shaken.
Demon-made ice doesn't melt and freezes anything it touches. They search houses but find nothing.
Regrouping, a red barrier traps them.
"What's this!?" Tenryuu exclaims.
"Barrier," Dante says.
"How do we get out?"
"Kill all the demons."
Tenryuu and Tatsuta ready their katana and spear. Three Frosts and ten Blood-Goyles appear. Dante curses, noting Blood-Goyles' troublesome ability.
Frosts target Dante; Blood-Goyles swarm Tenryuu and Tatsuta. The sisters fight bravely, but each cut makes Blood-Goyles multiply.
"They're growing!" Tenryuu shouts.
Dante, dodging Frosts, shoots a Blood-Goyle with his shotgun, turning it to stone. "They're weak to modern weapons! Turn them to stone with cannons, then smash them. I'm busy!"
Frosts attack with ice claws and icicle bullets, forcing Dante to struggle. Tenryuu and Tatsuta follow his advice, cannon fire petrifying Blood-Goyles, which they shatter, reducing their numbers.
Dante chips away at the Frosts, but they encase themselves in ice to heal. He watches, then strikes as one heals, unleashing Dance Macabre to strip the ice. The Frost fails to recover, and Dante finishes all three with Gun Stinger.
The barrier vanishes.
"Exhausting. Deep Sea Fleet's easier," Dante says.
"Did those demons do this to the village~?" Tatsuta asks.
A beast's roar echoes.
"What's that!?" Tenryuu asks.
"Still more. Probably their boss. Stronger, too," Dante says.
"Seriously…"
"You can head back."
"No way! Let's go, Tatsuta!"
"Wait~!"
Dante wishes they'd leave failure could mean trouble with the others.
They climb the mountain toward the roar, defeating Seven Hells along the way. Tenryuu and Tatsuta, trained with Dante's sparring, handle them easily.
At an open area, they see a giant three-headed ice statue.
"What's that?" Tenryuu asks.
"Huge~," Tatsuta says.
Approaching, Dante calls, "Hey, chatty pup! This is too much. Show yourself!"
The ice shatters, revealing Cerberus, a three-headed demon dog.
"Been a while, kid," Cerberus growls.
"What the hell…" Tenryuu says.
"It talks~…" Tatsuta says.
"What are these girls?" Cerberus glares, freezing them in place.
"Leave, humans! This is a demon's domain!" Cerberus roars.
"What's this thing~?" Tenryuu asks.
"My old pet," Dante says.
"You kept that!?" Tenryuu exclaims.
"Come back quietly, and I'll just spank you," Dante says.
"You abandoned me. I owe you nothing," Cerberus retorts.
"Stolen, not abandoned."
"Prove your strength to reclaim me!"
Cerberus unleashes a freezing breath. Dante grabs Tenryuu and Tatsuta, jumping to dodge, then tosses them into bushes.
"Hey!?" Tenryuu yells.
"Eek!" Tatsuta cries.
Dante walks forward, firing pistols to chip Cerberus's ice armor. Cerberus swings, sprouting ice pillars from the ground. Dante rolls to dodge, evading a headbutt and a follow-up swing by jumping off a summoned magic circle. He keeps shooting, peeling ice. Cerberus hurls ice chunks; Dante slashes them with Rebellion and shoots Cerberus's legs with the shotgun, toppling it. He attacks a head, destroying one. Cerberus charges; Dante dodges falling icicles with Trickster. Cerberus re-armors with ice; Dante shoots relentlessly.
"Amazing…" Tenryuu says.
"We've gotta help~," Tatsuta says.
"Aim for the legs!" Tenryuu says.
"Let's go~!"
They notice Cerberus's weak legs and fire cannons, toppling it again. Dante destroys another head.
"Puny humans!" Cerberus roars, collapsing.
Dante sheathes Rebellion. "Still fighting?"
"You've proven yourself," Cerberus says. "You subdued me once before."
"What happened after that clown stole you? Where is he?"
"Don't know. I was released here."
Dante sighs at the lack of answers.
"Take my fang's blessing again," Cerberus says, becoming light and forming the three-sectioned ice nunchaku Cerberus in Dante's hand.
"Over…?" Tenryuu asks.
"What's that~?" Tatsuta asks.
"The demon. Subdue or take their soul, they turn into devil arms like this," Dante explains.
"Bravo!" Jester appears, clapping.
"You…" Dante growls.
"Who's this creep…?" Tenryuu says, wary of Jester's bizarre appearance.
"Great show, Devil Boy! I'm smitten. Your lady's charmed too," Jester taunts.
Dante aims his guns. "We had a deal. You'd talk. Why're you alive?"
"When Arkham was defeated by you and Vergil, he split—human Arkham and demon me! He fell to the human world; I stayed in the in-between. Landed here, and I'm thriving!" Jester explains mockingly.
"Where're the other devil arms?" Dante demands.
"Who knows~?" Jester smirks.
"Spill it!"
Jester dodges Dante's rapid gunfire with strange movements, singing, "Tara-ta! Tara-ta! Tara-tatta!"
"Don't rush, Devil Boy. Game's just started! Plenty of surprises left. Ladies, enjoy~," Jester bows to Tenryuu and Tatsuta.
"I'm not playing!" Dante shoots again.
Jester teleports, vanishing into the forest.
The trio leaves the cleanup to the military police and heads back. Tenryuu complains of hunger, so they stop at an out-of-place family restaurant.
"Orders?" the waiter asks.
"Meat spaghetti," Dante says.
"Carbonara," Tenryuu says.
"Raw ham and garlic potato pizza," Tatsuta says.
"Got it."
"And a strawberry sundae," Dante adds.
"We don't have that."
"…"