Vergil (Devil May Cry)



Vergil, later called Nelo Angelo, is one of the main villains of Devil May Cry 3 and a boss in Devil May Cry. He is the twin brother of the protagonist, Dante, and seems designed to be his evil opposite.

Personality
Vergil is the complete opposite of his hotheaded and sarcastic twin, cold, collected, and cynical. He seeks to obtain power by any means, with no disregard for what may happen to others. Vergil also embraces his demonic side and hates his human half. He seems to want power so as to make up for his failure to protect his mother, as evidenced by his statement, "Might controls everything, and without strength you cannot protect anything, let alone yourself." Vergil also seems to desire to be like his father, so much so that he tries to look like him and seeks to have his powers.

Unsealing the Temen-ni-gru
Very little is known about Vergil's young life, but is implied that he and Dante were close. It was also known that his mother was killed by a demon attack. At least one year before the events of Devil May Cry 3, while looking for a book in a library, he met Arkham, the other main villain of the game. Arkham told Vergil about the Temen-ni-gru, a demonic tower that acts as the gateway between the demon and human world. It was sealed by Sparda after he turned on his demon brethren, using seven seals, represented by fallen angels, that must be given their names for them to be undone. Vergil stayed in his manion, while Arkham sought out the names of the seals, also managing to find out that Dante was in the town. They eventually managed to undo the first seven seals and while Arkham was sent to draw Dante to the tower, Vergil proceeded to the top. There he waited for Dante to arrive, sending Arkham out at one point to deal with Lady, Arkham's daughter and now a demon hunter. Dante eventually arrived and he and Vergil duel one another, in an epic battle between brothers.

Vergil won that battle and took Dante's half of an amulet called the Perfect Amulet, which he needed to unseal the Temen-ni-gru. As he is walking away, Dante's Devil Trigger activated, but Vergil left without finishing their fight, after Arkham stated they had all they needed. They found their way into an area below the tower called the Forbidden Land, until they reached the last door to the Sacrifical Chamber, where they would perform the unsealing ritual. However when Arkham unlocked the door, Vergil revealed he knew Arkham planned to betray him and cut him down. The half-demon proceeded to the Sacrifical Chamber and commenced with the ritual, after being attacked by the blinded Beowulf, a demon Dante had faced earlier. Since Beowulf could no longer see, he had used his sense of smell to find Sparda's blood and thought he had found Dante. However Vergil easily vivisected the demon and took his soul to use as a Devil Arm. Then the half-demon united the two halves of the Perfect Amulet and added his own blood, which he thought was all he needed to unseal the Temen-ni-gru. However when Dante came across him later, Vergil had had no luck in breaking the seal and the two fought again. They were interrupted by Lady and their battle ended in a tie, only for Jester to show up and say that everyone had played their part well. Jester began switching between Arkham and Jester as he explained that hte had used them all for his own ends. He then completed the ritual and activated the Temen-ni-gru knocking the trio off the rising tower, sending Vergil into an abyss.

Dante followed Arkham into the demonic world, with Vergil following him in secret. Eventually he showed up as Dante battled Arkham after he claimed Sparda's power and the half-demon brothers finished him off. However Vergil had not given up his goal of obtaining Force Edge, Sparda's sword, and the two battled over the blade. Vergil was defeated, though he refused to return to the human world and instead went deeper into the demonic world.

In an epilogue, Vergil was seen in the demonic world, confronting three glowing orbs, which he recognized as Mundus, the antagonist of Devil May Cry. Vergil stated that, "If my father could it, I should be able to do it too.", before attacking Mundus. However he was defeated and brought under Mundus's control, after being corrupted into a new Devil Trigger, Nelo Angelo.

Serving Mundus
During Devil May Cry, Mundus used Nelo Angelo to fight Dante. He first appeared in a mirror as a reflection of Dante, until he finally emerged and fought his brother in the castle garden. During the fight, Nelo Angelo managed to pin Dante against a wall, but when he saw Dante's half of the Perfect Amulet, it caused him pain upon remembering his past life and he fled. Nelo Angelo fought Dante again and then one final time, where Dante questioned his loyalty to Mundus. Nelo Angelo removed his helmet, but Dante didn't realize who he was. Upon his defeat at Dante's hands, the dark knight burst into blue flames and disppeared, leaving his half of the Perfect Amulet behind. Upon seeing this, Dante realized who Nelo Angelo was. It is unknown if he is dead or if he was simply teleported away by Mundus.

Powers
Vergil possesses superhuman strength, agility, and stamina, as well as the power to invoke his Devil Trigger state, which is when his demonic side is fully unleashed. He wields a katana called Yamato that he inheireted from his father, which is a Devil Arm, a weapon made from demonic power. Vergil is a master swordsman and possesses incredible speed, his opponents often not realizing they're dead until he sheaths Yamato. He uses a demonic fighting style known as Dark Slayer style, which he uses to teleport. Since he doesn't use firearms, Vergil summons Summoned Swords as long range weapons, which are energy swords resembling the Force Edge. He later gained another Devil Arm, Beowulf, named after the demon he gained it from, which was a set of gauntlets and greaves with light powers but he lost these after falling into a void and they were claimed by Dante. These gauntlets also gave him a different Devil trigger, a fact that is true for all Devil Arms.

After becoming Nelo Angelo, Vergil recieved an enhancement on his powers, though he seemed to lose variety in his fighting style. He could fire demonic energy from his fists and wielded a large zweihander sword.

Trivia

 * Vergil is named after Publius Vergilius Maro, a famous Roman poet. In the Divine Comedy, the namesake of Vergil's brother, Dante, makes Publius his guide to hell.


 * Vergil is the first Devil May Cry boss to have a playable role in the games. He is also the most recurring boss character in the series, with six total boss battles.
 * Vergil was believed to be the father of Nero, the main protagonist of Devil May Cry 4, and this was confirmed by someone who worked on the Devil May Cry series.