Dante's uppercut is a calculated move, aimed at throwing Nero off balance. If she stumbles mid-air, he can leap up and keep the pressure on with a relentless aerial combo.
But Nero's not biting. She plants her foot on Dante's fist, bends her knees, and uses the force of his punch to spring backward, instantly putting distance between them.
With a flicker of demonic energy, she conjures three phantom swords, firing them at Dante to snuff out any chance of pursuit. In one fluid motion, she draws her Yamato blade mid-air, ready for the next move.
Dante, unfazed by the incoming phantom swords, spins into a rising dragon kick. Twisting like a flaming top, his whip-like legs, wreathed in fire, shatter the swords into nothingness.
Before he even touches the ground, a cold glint of steel slices through the air—Yamato's blade thrusting toward him. Dante tilts his head to dodge the stab, but the relentless blade tears through the air again. He meets it head-on, his fiery fist clashing with the steel. The collision erupts in a blaze that engulfs his figure.
As the flames fade, Nero emerges through the rift Yamato carved, slashing straight at him. Her lips curl into a smirk, her bright eyes glinting with a hint of amusement.
Dante, unscathed, raises an eyebrow. Nero's in the zone now, no question. His form blurs in an instant—no wind-up, no tell—just slipping out from under the blade like a ghost. Done playing defense, he shifts gears and goes on the attack.
A skeletal wing-like sword case materializes behind him. He draws twin swords, crossing them in front—one slashing to halt Yamato's advance, the other thrusting viciously at Nero's chest.
Yamato's momentum stalls. Facing the incoming sword, Nero sheathes her blade into her hand like a scabbard. The blade vanishes in a flash, and at the same moment, a burst of swordlight severs Dante's expendable blade into three pieces.
Dante glances at the hilt left in his hand and tosses it aside without a second thought. He flings the other sword at Nero like a dart, his free hand already reaching back to grab a fresh blade.
Nero draws Yamato again, deflecting the flying sword with a flash of steel. But Dante's already closing in like a specter, stepping on the air to leap upward. Both hands swing, unleashing a fan of swords that spread before Nero like a peacock's tail.
Dante's turning up the heat. Nero knows what he's doing—her uncle's testing her, seeing how long she can hold out before she's forced to go Devil Trigger.
But this? This ain't enough to push her there.
She sheathes Yamato. In its place, she brandishes a jet-black cane, twirling it as it extends into a scythe. Nero spins the long weapon, its whirling blade-light knocking the flying swords out of the air.
Then, a guitar riff cuts through the chaos. Glancing over, Nero spots Dante suspended in mid-air, held aloft by crackling electric energy. Each strum of his strings births a glowing orb of lightning, raining down on her in time with the chords.
Nero kicks off the air, leaping forward and swinging her scythe, activating its unique power for the first time.
Just as Yamato can cleave through anything and the serpentine Echidna can command plants, the transforming cane "Samael" has its own trick: Void Stalk. It's a near-invisibility technique, erasing Nero's presence and aura, turning her into a phantom reaper.
From Dante's perspective, Nero's charging at him, her feet glowing with demonic energy—then she vanishes. He knows her trajectory's locked in, but he also knows his niece isn't dumb. This leap's a feint; the real attack's coming from another angle.
He strums the guitar one last time. As lightning bursts around him, Dante swaps to gauntlets, leaping upward and plummeting down like a blazing meteor, trailing a stream of fire.
A dull thud echoes through the abandoned factory as flames surge skyward, enveloping Dante. Nero slices through the fire wall with her scythe, but the move forces her to reappear—leaving her open as Dante, emerging through the flames, closes the gap.
She blocks Dante's punch with the scythe's handle but ditches the long weapon—it's useless up close. Switching to Gilgamesh, she stomps the ground, channeling power through the impact steel on her legs. The energy flows to her right leg, meeting Dante's whip-like kick in a mirrored clash.
Their shins collide at waist height, the impact whipping their hair back. Both pull back in sync, diving into a brutal close-quarters brawl.
Nero ducks Dante's flame-wreathed jab, countering with a spiked elbow to his chest. Dante blocks with a raised knee, his fiery toes grazing upward. Nero spins away, dodging, and aims a whip-kick at Dante's forehead.
Dante raises an arm to block her leg, then throws a straight punch at her face. Nero doesn't dodge—she grabs his arm, yanking it to throw off his aim and unbalance him.
But even with both arms pulled in the same direction, Dante doesn't budge. He sinks low, letting Nero's leg swing over his head, and slams into her with a shoulder charge.
Caught mid-kick, Nero can't recover in time. She leans back, turning the missed kick into a side flip. Dante's shoulder charge is short but sharp, and he's already on her, launching another rising dragon strike.
No dice. Forcing Dante to go Devil Trigger first? Nero's still a step behind.
Crimson-black Pride magic surges from her core. In a flash, she transforms into her Pride Devil form, cloaked in emerald feathers.
Nero flaps her wings, dodging Dante's uppercut. She plants her feet, braking mid-air, then lunges forward, aiming a rising fist at Dante's gut.
"Well, now that's interesting," Dante says, grinning.
Unfazed, he unleashes his own scarlet magic, shifting into his Devil form. He halts his move mid-motion, throwing a counterpunch that meets Nero's fist head-on, stopping her uppercut cold.
Nero pulls back, stowing Gilgamesh. Crimson-black magic coalesces into twin swords in her hands. She spins, charging Dante again.
Behind her, more magic swords materialize in her wake, trailing her as she rushes him.
Dante reaches back, and with a forward swing, his greatsword Rebellion is back in his grip. He spins the blade, smashing the magic swords aside before meeting Nero head-on.