Vergil Sparda

Vergil is the older twin brother of Dante and one of the main antagonists of the Devil May Cry franchise. Following the death of their mother as children, Vergil and Dante went their separate ways, with Vergil rejecting his humanity and embracing his demonic heritage, in contrast with his younger brother's embrace of humanity and initial rejection of the demonic. Stoic and reserved, Vergil displays a willingness to do anything in his quest to obtain the power of his father, Sparda.

Suffering defeat in confrontation with Mundus in the secret ending to Devil May Cry 3, he is tortured and transformed into the Black Knight – being encountered in Devil May Cry under the name Nelo Angelo. After numerous conflicts throughout the game, he is finally defeated by Dante.

In Devil May Cry 5, years after his last encounter with Dante as Nelo Angelo, Vergil is now free from Mundus' control, but has become very weakened as a result. As the hooded figure who took back Yamato while ripping the Devil Bringer from his son Nero in the process, Vergil is the true main antagonist of the game after both the newcomer V and Urizen merge back together as himself, with both revealed to be his human and demonic halves.

In terms of physical appearance, Vergil has fair, yet pale skin, and white, swept back hair, which puts emphasis on the fierce, yet stoic expression on his face; however, when his hair is brushed down or becomes wet, his appearance is physically indistinguishable from his younger twin brother, Dante. Just like his brother, he also has the same, blue eyes.

In terms of apparel, Vergil commonly wears a long, silver buttoned blue coat with three separated coattails. A white, serpentine pattern runs around the collar, with a snakes head hanging over the coat's left shoulder, and its tail slinking down the right, all the way to the bottom of the coat. A gold lining runs across the edges of the coat, and a silky, golden flower blossom pattern decorates the inner lining. Each cuff of the coat also possesses five, gold buttoned straps with gold lining; in Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, the coat also features identical straps on each shoulder, decorated with silver buttons instead of gold. Before facing the demons, Vergil wore a long brown hooded cloak where he conceals his main outfit.

Underneath the coat, Vergil wears a navy blue ascot wrapped around his neck, which hangs over a black, sleeveless vest that reveals his well-toned arms and shoulders. He wears tan, fingerless gloves, a brown, snakeskin belt with a silver buckle, dark green pants with a scale pattern running across its surface, and tall, brown boots with two golden buckled straps at the top.

During certain in-game cutscenes in Devil May Cry 3, Vergil's golden half of the Perfect Amulet can be seen around his neck, yet it is not a permanent part of his character model.

As Corrupt Vergil, Vergil's appearance becomes much more sinister; his skin takes on a sickly, almost grey pallor with blue, pulsating veins running across his face. His eyes become a deep red, with black pupils. In addition, he now wears his father's clothing instead of his own, with his half of the Perfect Amulet replacing Dante's half as its brooch. In Devil May Cry 4, his outfit is slightly modified to his coat split into three coattails similar to his old outfit.

While serving as Nelo Angelo's base, Vergil has completely white skin tone, with blue veins and red, pupil-less eyes.

In Devil May Cry 5, Vergil looks nearly identical to his younger self from the third game, but is older in appearance due to the passage of time. His coat is now black with light neon blue serpentine patterns and three separated coattails with slightly tattered edges. Vergil is no longer wearing an ascot tie as he was seen wearing a black sleeveless zippered-turtleneck beneath his midnight blue formal vest. He also wears charcoal gray fingerless gloves, black pants and dark boots covered by teal gaiters.

When he initially appears in his weakened state and severs Nero's Devil Bringer to regain Yamato in order to separate his human and demon halves, creating V and Urizen in the process, Vergil wore a tattered long black hooded cloak to cover his outfit, and half of his face was shown to be pale white with blue veins, retaining these features even after his defeat from Dante as Nelo Angelo and being freed from Mundus' corruption, however when V and Urizen reunite to bring Vergil back his skin returns to normal.

Personality In contrast to his twin brother Dante's boisterous, outgoing, and extroverted personality, Vergil is calm, cool, collected, and introverted, constantly maintaining an aura of fearlessness.[4] Vergil cares little for the well-being of those around him, and is unflinching in his pursuit of power; however, in spite of his cold and ruthless demeanor, he is an honorable warrior who maintains his own set of morals and disciplines. Vergil despises fighting dirty and refuses to use firearms, deeming them to be unworthy of a "true warrior", though he will still use ranged attacks if they can be made to originate from a melee weapon.[5] His code of honor still surfaces while he is corrupted as Nelo Angelo: he refuses to attack Dante from behind and waits until both are outside to begin their first fight. In Devil May Cry 5, after he was restored and then attacked by Dante, he noted that his brother was weak and wounded from his fight with Urizen. As such, despite having been able to easily kill Dante, Vergil allowed him to rest and recover, stating that defeating Dante while weakened had no meaning. He also has a tendency to speak in a very formal and somewhat antiquated manner, possibly as a consequence of reading a great deal of classic literature in his younger years. It should be noted however that his "code" is more based upon proving his dominance than any sort of underlying morality. As such he is perfectly willing to utilize methods or tactics that may be dishonorable for the sake of becoming stronger, or in situations where he simply has no other choice. For instance, when he tore off Nero's devil bringer arm to retrieve Yamato, he essentially ambushed Nero while his back was turned. However, as he was dying at the time, he likely lacked the time or energy to engage in a full-on battle with an opponent of Nero's caliber.

Unlike Dante, Vergil is willing to embrace his demonic heritage, and seeks to emulate his father's power and cold persona. While Dante seeks to protect humanity from the demons, the only thing which Vergil seeks in life is even greater demonic power. His desire for power is an almost character defining obsession for him, and almost certainly stems from having not only lost his family as a child, but from being on his own from the day of his family's destruction on. Despite his normal personality of cold dismissal, he does cherish certain things - the Devil-blade Yamato, a dark katana left to him as a keepsake by his father, his own half of the Perfect Amulet, a keepsake from his mother and, after his own realization, his own son Nero. In Devil May Cry 3, Vergil seems to reveal some of his feelings by claiming to Dante: "Might controls everything, and without strength you cannot protect anything, let alone yourself.". This may be a reference to their mother's death. It may also imply that Vergil seeks power as compensation for failing to protect her. His failure may also have made him forsake close human relationships, due to his perceived fragility of humanity. He appeared also to link the acquisition of power to loss or sacrifice, complaining as Urizen to Dante during their final battle that Dante should not be as powerful as he is due to having "never lost anything."

V is the human side of Vergil, and he is able to see his past without the coldness and uncaring eyes of Vergil himself. This is his human manifestation that he has kept suppressed all his life to attain his goals of power. V describes Vergil as "One who lost everything", and that the defeats he suffered only caused him to sink lower. Ashamed of his actions, V realized the gravity of crimes he committed and how important the things he threw away in the endless pursuit of power really were, such as his humanity and younger brother. V explained to Nero that "he", meaning Vergil, only wanted to be protected and loved, but since he was alone his only option was to survive.

V mentioned that he originally went to Dante in the hope that he could right the wrong that Vergil created with the birth of Urizen and all the past horrors he had caused during his lifetime. The legitimacy of V's actions and words comes into question when he reveals in his final moments that he had manipulated Dante and Nero in order to remerge with Urizen, due to his fear of dying and being without power. However, either intentionally or not, he also achieved what he mentioned: stopping Urizen's invasion and making Vergil a better person. After Urizen's reintegration with V, Vergil was seen to question his choices as he stood atop the Qliphoth, wondering aloud if his fate might have been different if he had experienced Dante's life. He was also willing to leave his book of poems to Nero, and implied that he would be back for it at some point. His interactions with Dante in Hell after destroying the Qliphoth were also significantly less antagonistic than ever previously seen, with the two of them working in tandem to kill a demon horde and sparring rather than genuinely trying to kill each other.

Vergil is very strong-willed, capable of fighting off Mundus' control for a time and upon seeing Dante's Amulet, causes Nelo Angelo mental anguish. In Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, players may play on a separate file as Vergil. Vergil's scenario has a new prologue, but all other cutscenes were removed. Also, while the Vergil boss fights are still fought, the boss wears red instead of blue so that the player can see the difference.

Vergil possesses his Devil Trigger and all three of his Devil Arms (Yamato, Beowulf, and Force Edge) from the beginning of his scenario. His signature Dark Slayer Style behaves somewhat like an upgraded Trickster Style, allowing to quickly move on the battlefield and ambush enemies. It must also be leveled in order to allow purchase of higher level actions for Vergil's weapons. Vergil also cannot obtain as many actions per weapon as Dante can, and uses his Summoned Swords instead of firearms.

Vergil's Yamato is a faster weapon than Dante's Rebellion, but has weaker power and range. Yamato can be compared to Agni & Rudra in its role, although it has completely different moveset. Vergil's Beowulf cannot charge attacks like Dante's, but overall is more powerful. Vergil can also use Yamato and Force Edge together, and his actions with the pair of swords resembles Dante with the Rebellion. Finally, while firing his Summoned Swords cannot propel Vergil like Ebony & Ivory can propel Dante, they can still juggle enemies, can be used without interrupting other actions, and can be used both to guard himself or to surround the enemy.

Regardless, the damage output is rather high across most of Vergil's kit while more limited than Dante's to a degree, especially when using Beowulf and Force Edge's attacks. Knowing to also shift properly between all 3 of Vergil's Devil Arms, laying extra in-between damage with Summoned Swords, and warping around targets is key to playing him effectively.

However, lack of specific mobility options such as Air Raid, Wall Hike and Air Hike which Dante has access to can often have Vergil struggle in certain spots of traversal (often needing to use Trick Up as an Air Hike/midair jump substitute).

Main article: Nelo Angelo Instead of Dante's "Legendary Dark Knight Dante" and "Super Legendary Dark Knight Dante" costumes which allow him to assume Sparda Devil Trigger, Vergil possesses the "Corrupt Vergil" and "Super Corrupt Vergil" costumes which allow to become Nelo Angelo via Devil Trigger. As Nelo Angelo, Vergil becomes noticeably stronger than Dante in their first encounter and his entire moveset changes to that of that one he possessed in the first game. His armor and zweihänder serve as his weapons, represented by Beowulf and Yamato on the weapon wheel respectively and recognized as such by Combat statues. He attacks with slow but strong sword slashes, punches and kicks that generate an azure-colored flame. He can also charge up to fire explosive azure blasts of energy with either weapon. Nelo Angelo still retains Vergil's Air Trick, but comes in the form of vanishing in a blaze of azure flame instead of a blur. The powerful armor gives him higher resistance to flinching. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition In the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 4, Vergil retains most of his moves from the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 3, but also added with elements from the reboot of the franchise DmC: Devil May Cry in the form of just frame Judgment Cuts and using Summoned Swords to warp towards his targets as well as other interactables. It is known that his moves are also fully upgradable. And a feature has been added for his choice of stylized fighting, which is known as the "Concentration" mechanic. While in action, Vergil's abilities and moves will grow stronger and faster the more calmly and flawlessly he fights. Unlike with the other four playable characters, Vergil goes through all of the stages by himself.

The Concentration mechanic is signaled by a blue gauge in the upper left corner of the screen which is Vergil's Concentration Gauge. It has three levels. The higher the level, the more properties and/or overall damage his Devil Arms gain. To increase the gauge, Vergil can land attacks on enemies and dodge their attacks, standing still or walking. But if he is hit by an enemy or if he runs during combat instead of walking, these cause the gauge to deplete. Missing attacks also depletes the gauge, so the player must be efficient with their attacks during battle.

Even then, the gauge cannot be interacted with if Vergil is not in combat with an enemy, even if he gets damaged by a hazard. However, attacks that interact with the Concentration level do not expend it.

Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition Vergil is a playable character in the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 5. His gameplay is very similar to that of his DMC4SE incarnation with the return of the Concentration mechanic, just frame Judgment Cuts and more. Rather than turn into a demon, his Devil Trigger has him summon his Doppelganger, a nod to his DmC counterpart. The Doppelganger follows Vergil's attacks with its own Yamato attacks, and can be set to attack in three different speed settings. Vergil's Sin Devil Trigger acts as an in-between of both the standard Devil Trigger and Dante's Sin Devil Trigger, where it must first convert his regular DT gauge to the Sin Devil Trigger Gauge in order to activate, but also regenerates health and can be manually cancelled at any time.

Vergil wields his three main weapons from his previous appearances. Yamato gains two new attacks: Void Slash which slows time and sucks opponents close to Vergil, and Aerial Cleave which serves as an alternative to Helm Breaker. In place of the Force Edge is the Mirage Edge, a Mirage Blade with enough constitution to act as a proper weapon. Vergil still wields Beowulf as a hand-to-hand weapon, now with the addition of an optional Rising Sun finisher after Kick 13. All three weapons gain new combo-extender moves while Vergil is in Sin Devil Trigger, such as Dragon Breaker gaining an extra uppercut and Mirage Edge Combo A ending in two Stingers instead of one.

Vergil's Concentration Gauge can now be spent as a resource for other mechanics, especially in full to perform a new move known as World of V, where Vergil impales himself with Yamato and transforms into V for a brief period of time to attack in a wide area with all of his familiars. How long the attack lasts is dependent on how much of the Concentration Gauge was filled up upon usage. In addition, while Vergil is at Concentration Level 2, and provided that he either has a full SDT meter in human form or is already in Sin Devil Trigger, Vergil can also spend (in the former case) the entirety or (in the latter case) a portion of his SDT gauge to perform special finishers based on which weapon he has equipped. With Yamato, he uses the Judgment Cut End from his final boss fight appearances; with Mirage Edge, he performs Deep Stinger, a drilling lunge attack similar to Vortex; and with Beowulf, he performs Hell On Earth, a much more powerful version of Volcano that produces a powerful explosion around him.

Vergil also gains new abilities, such as a Block that has parry capabilities at Concentration Level 2, the ability to Trick Dodge in multiple directions, Trick Down no longer being DT-exclusive, and offensive aerial Taunts.

Noticeably, the playable version has some differences visual and gameplay wise from the boss version due to being an updated version of the character. Aside from lacking the Stinger-like attack from the Yamato and the flying swoop in his Sin Devil Trigger form, the player version's aura visuals have a lighter shade of blue, closer to a cyan hue as opposed to the enemy's deep shade of blue, the Judgment Cut End not having a visible area of effect indicator of his attack and the Trick being depicted as super speed as opposed to something closer to a warp. These differences can easily be seen when playing as Vergil in Bloody Palace. Vergil and his younger twin brother Dante were conceived by the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda and the human Eva, where they resided in a secluded mansion near Red Grave City. Growing up, Vergil would often fight with Dante over various things, and trained alongside his brother with his father.

At some point before Mundus' attack, Vergil would often visit a man due to his keen interest in literature, namely poems. There, he avidly read many works, though developed a particular liking towards William Blake's poems most of all. One day, the man gave Vergil a collection of Blake's poems as a gift, in which Vergil responded by writing his name on the back of the cover. When asked by the man, Vergil told him about his relationship with his brother, and the man understood. Vergil would keep this book throughout his life, even in adulthood. Devil May Cry 5

Sometime before their eighth birthday, Eva gave Dante and Vergil each a half of the Perfect Amulet. Around the same time, Sparda disappeared and later died from unknown circumstances, and Eva and the twins were left vulnerable. At some point after these events, demons - sent by the Prince of the Underworld, Mundus - attacked their home, setting part of it ablaze. Devil May Cry During the attack, Vergil was playing alone at a playground a few yards from the house, where he was most likely ambushed. Eventually, he found himself in a cemetery surrounded by demons. Upon seeing his house burning in the distance, Vergil awakens his inner demon and kills all of the demons with Yamato. Vergil then went on the run believing his mother had abandoned him, a suspicion that would haunt him for the rest of his life. In actuality, Eva was killed while desperately searching for him. Devil May Cry 5

Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition DMC4SE Vergil arrives in Fortuna Vergil arriving in Fortuna.

At some point at least seventeen years prior to the events of Devil May Cry 4, Vergil visited the city of Fortuna to investigate the Order of the Sword. Upon his arrival into the city, Vergil wondered why they worship a demon like Sparda as a god. As he pondered, a horde of Scarecrows surround him, but Vergil dispatches them with little effort. After that brief encounter, Vergil then continued deeper into Fortuna, intending to learn more about the Order and their intentions. After finishing his investigation of the Order's plan, Vergil soon leaves the town pondering whether or not one can call them misguided for their worship. As he walks away, he vows that one day the Order will know the true power of the son of Sparda. While leaving, the shadow he casts has the shape of Nero's Devil Trigger, hinting at their relationship. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition

While in town, he had a brief affair and sired Nero.

Devil May Cry 3 (manga) At least one year before the events of Devil May Cry 3, Arkham finds Vergil searching for a book in his library, and tells him about the legend of the Temen-ni-gru. Vergil endorses Arkham's plan to raise the Temen-ni-gru. Arkham reveals that they must undo a number of "seals" as the first step. These seals are, in fact, fallen angels representing the seven deadly sins, and they must be given their names in order for the seals to be undone. While Arkham searches for the location of each seal, Vergil resides in his mansion, along with Alice. However, he wanders through the town at one point, and is confused with Dante by Enzo Ferino. The revelation that Dante lives within the city seems to excite Vergil.

After conversing with Dante, exchanging several threats of mortal injury with him in the process, Vergil reveals his plan of raising the Temen-ni-gru, thus opening the gate of the demon world. When Dante declares his intent on stopping Vergil, Vergil then proceeds to taunt Dante by showing him the half of the amulet that Alice stole earlier, prompting him to attack. However, after a quick battle, in which Vergil trounces Dante, Vergil throws his brother’s half back to him; Vergil then taunts Dante again, stating that he could retrieve the amulet from him whenever he wanted. This chapter concludes with Arkham preparing to start the ritual to raise the Temen-ni gru. Devil May Cry 3 manga Arkham helps Vergil to break the first seven seals Sparda cast upon the Temen-ni-gru, and then directs him to the Forbidden Land at the base of the tower. Vergil is later seen alongside Arkham at the top of the emerging tower. When the Hell Vanguard they sent to kill Dante returns, having failed its task, Vergil immediately dispatches it.

Vergil waits at the top of the tower for Dante, and at one point dispatches Arkham to eliminate Lady. When Dante reaches the peak of the tower, the two banter and then ferociously battle. Vergil emerges victorious, and takes Dante's half of the Perfect Amulet as his prize. Though Dante's Devil Trigger begins to manifest and Vergil prepares to fight him again, Arkham urges him to ignore Dante because "[they] already have all [they] need". The two then jump off the tower to reenter the Forbidden Land.

As Vergil and Arkham approach the final door to the Lair of Judgement, Vergil reveals his knowledge of Arkham's betrayal, and deals him a mortal blow. He then enters the chamber and commences the ritual to open the gate to the demonic world. During this ritual, he is momentarily interrupted by a blinded Beowulf, who has mistaken him for Dante. However, Vergil quickly vivisects the devil, and takes his soul as a Devil Arm.

While Dante was hurrying up to the final seal, Vergil had no luck on unlocking the seal, and was later interrupted by Dante. The twins engaged another fight which was interrupted by Lady causing the battle to end in a tie. Both demonic brothers are equally wounded, and Jester makes his appearance by announcing that everybody has served their role nicely. Jester later turned back and forth between Arkham and Jester, explaining why Vergil's ritual was incomplete, and why Vergil had failed against Dante and Lady. Arkham completes the ritual, and then plays with the three warriors while waiting for the tower to activate. Once it does, he knocks them off the ascending platform, wherein Vergil falls into an abyss.

Later, after Dante enters the Netherworld, Vergil is seen passing through the Divine Library, with Lady still huddled up, wounded and in grief, after her battle with Dante. She hears his footsteps and looks up to see who it was, but by that time, he had already gone through the door that Dante took. Vergil later interrupts Dante's fight with the ascended Arkham, and the twins finish Arkham off together. However, Vergil has not given up his goal of obtaining the Force Edge, and the twins are again forced to fight. Though Dante is able to defeat Vergil, he cannot convince him to return to the Human World. Vergil lets himself fall even deeper into the Netherworld.

In the epilogue, Vergil is seen in the Room of Fallen Ones, while three glowing orbs approach. Vergil recognizes the approaching devil, remarking that if Sparda was capable of defeating the Demon King, then he should be capable of doing it too, before discarding his scabbard and charging to fight.

Devil May Cry 5: Visions of V DMC5 VoV Vergil Becoming Nelo Angelo Vergil becoming Nelo Angelo.

In his weakened condition, Vergil was defeated by Mundus, his sword Yamato being shattered by the Prince of Darkness as well. The Devil Emperor bound Vergil's bloody and beaten body while mocking him for being a half-breed, before proclaiming he would remove Vergil's human heart. Mundus then corrupted Vergil, turning him into Nelo Angelo. Like his brother Dante, Vergil possesses the blood of Sparda in his veins. This makes him extremely powerful and due to how he had fully awakened his powers, Vergil was able to easily defeat Dante in their first confrontation in Devil May Cry 3 and then go toe-to-toe with Dante in their second confrontation after Dante had grown considerably stronger in his own right. However, although not going down without a challenge, Vergil was ultimately defeated by his brother in their final altercation. After Vergil's restoration (Prior to that his demon half Urizen becoming far more powerful thanks to the Qliphoth fruit) he was once again able to fight on even terms with Dante. Superhuman strength: Due to his demonic heritage, Vergil has inhuman amounts of physical strength. So much so that he incorporates strikes with Yamato's sheath in combat and can throw it with enough force to pierce a scarecrow.[6][7] Vergil is also strong enough to palm strike Rebellion through Arkham powered by the Sword of Sparda.[8] He can effortlessly overpower much larger demons. Indeed, Vergil was even able to overpower Dante in a sword lock when Dante was not at his full awakened state easily and could match him after he had gotten considerably more powerful in his own right. After his time as Urizen and accepting his human side, Vergil has come to be Dante's match once again, constantly parrying his sword swings and holding Dante's blade back. Even after being drastically weakened, he was able to rip off Nero's Devil Bringer with ease. Superhuman speed: When wielding Yamato, combined with his prodigious swordsmanship, Vergil can cut and slash at speeds faster than the eye can see. He is quick enough to draw multiple slashes in one draw, to stop raindrops from hitting the ground in a heavy downpour,[9] and swings Yamato fast enough that he can catch bullets and even launch them.[10] Vergil is easily capable of outpacing Dante in his suppressed state and keeping up with him in all their subsequent fights. Superhuman agility: Vergil can perform jumps much higher than a normal human and perform a variety of flips and spins while doing so. Superhuman durability: Vergil is capable of taking brute force attacks without showing signs of damage. Superhuman Stamina: Despite taking a large amount of damage and large amounts of physical strain, Vergil is shown to be able to continue fighting and only needs a few moments of rest to move about again without strain.[11] By Devil May Cry 5 Vergil's stamina is great enough to the point he was able to fight Dante continuously for weeks while they were trapped in the Demon World. Accelerated healing: Due to his demonic heritage, Vergil can heal instantly as soon as whatever is injuring him has been removed from his body. It is strong enough that he came out unscathed from a strike from Rebellion that would have otherwise bisected him. This healing factor is extremely strong; even when Vergil is physically exhausted, his healing powers work at almost full strength. After his return to the human world, Vergil's body was breaking down due to unknown causes. Demonic power manipulation: Vergil is able to imbue his demonic power into objects to augment them. He mostly uses his demonic power to create weapons that can be used for various purposes. Since reuniting his human and demon halves, Vergil is able to create a doppelganger of himself to aid him in the battle against his opponent. Teleportation: Vergil has advanced teleportation abilities that he uses to strategically reposition himself around the battlefield. He is noted to be more skilled with teleportation than Dante, as he uses it far more frequently and sometimes with the aid of Yamato. Force Field Generation: Vergil can project a purple, spherical shield, made of demonic energy, around his body, whilst preparing his Devil Trigger. Although it only seems to last for a few seconds, the shield is strong enough to protect him from every manner of attack. The shield can also generate a repulsion field that prevents enemies from getting close. Vergil can control this repulsion field, disabling it when conjuring a set of Spiral Swords, which will harm nearby enemies. Devil Trigger: Vergil can unleash his demonic side to significantly enhance all of his powers and abilities. When he jumps during this state, wings sprout out, however he cannot glide or fly with them.[12]. Sin Devil Trigger: In Devil May Cry 5, Vergil obtains Sin Devil Trigger, it allows him to fly with new wings while retaining his regeneration ability and further enhancing his power. Doppelganger: In Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, Vergil can create a phantom doppelganger of himself. World of V: In Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, Vergil can use Yamato to summon V & the Familiars for a short time Weapons proficiency: Much like Dante, Vergil can quickly grasp the fundamentals of whatever weapon he picks up. He showed immense skill with Beowulf and Force Edge shortly after obtaining them.[13][14] Swordsmanship: Vergil is a dangerous master swordsman wielding the Yamato with unrivaled precision and versatility; his technique is based on Iaijutsu, a style of samurai swordsmanship which involves quick, precise draws from the sheathe, striking the opponent, and removing blood from the sword before resheathing. His Iaijutsu is made more powerful by incorporating his own demonic powers, developing a personalized style called the Dark Slayer. When Yamato is still unsheathed, Vergil also often uses the scabbard itself as a weapon, using it for blunt strikes, or to block an enemy's attack.[9] Due to this style, Vergil commonly wields Yamato with one hand, holding the scabbard with the other. However, when necessary he sometimes puts the scabbard away and uses both hands with Yamato.[10][11] In Devil Trigger, the scabbard becomes a part of his left hand and can adjust the position at will, allowing him to freely wield the blade with both hands while still performing his iaijutsu techniques. After obtaining Force Edge, Vergil was immediately able to fight in a style almost identical to Dante's.[14] During his short time using Rebellion, he shows competent use of it.[8] His overall skill in swordsmanship is shown to be great enough to easily rival his brother,[10][15] and even at times overpower him. On lesser foes, the speed, precision, and discipline bestowed to him allows him to outpace and utterly them cut down as if akin to an artform[16][17][18]; with great concentration in only splits of a second and issuing a number of blows at his discretion, one of Vergil's signature traits is to time his victim's demise, and sheathe in sync with the damage done, resulting in a display of destruction that slays the opposition before they could even realize it. Hand-to-hand comba