〈Nero〉

First name: Nero. Aliases: The Devil Hunter, The Young Devil Hunter. Gender/Sex: Male. Height: 180 cm (5'11). Age: 22 years old. Species: Hybrid (Quarter demon). Family: Eva(paternal grandmother, dead), Sparda(paternal grandfather, dead), Vergil(father), Dante(paternal uncle), unnamed mother, unnamed adoptive mother(dead), unnamed adoptive father(dead), Credo(adoptive brother, dead), Kyrie(girlfriend/love interest). Status: Alive. Affiliation: Devil May Cry. Former affiliation: Order of the Sword. Occupation: Devil Hunter. Former occupation: Holy Knight.

Nero was abandoned at the orphanage in Fortuna as an infant. Sometime later, Credo and Kyrie's family saw him there and, being intrigued by his hair matching Sparda's human form, decided to take him under their care. As a child, he was bullied by other children who claimed his mother was a prostitute. As with Credo, Nero joined the Order of the Sword to defeat demons that threatened the city, though Nero often worked alone. Devil May Cry 4: Deadly Fortune

As was mentioned in an incident report, a number of demons appeared suddenly from the Mitis Forest and attacked Fortuna. Nero was present at the scene and exterminated all of the demons, but he couldn't prevent demons from injuring Kyrie and his own shoulder. Nero's sword, the Red Queen, was also damaged and sent for repair. Kyrie recovered completely, but Nero's shoulder never healed properly, and was transformed into something else. Initially he believed it to be an infection but, upon realizing it was demonic power, he began training with it in secret.

Swordsmanship: Nero is particularly proficient with a sword, it being his main form of combat. He is skilled enough that he was able to take on Dante in their first fight for a time and even gained the upper hand and disarmed him in their second fight. Unarmed combat: While there aren't many cases where Nero is shown to fight unarmed, he has demonstrated decent proficiency with it. He once managed to easily take on several Scarecrows with only one arm, using punches and kicks while evading and even catching a Scarecrow's leg mid-swing. In addition, many of his Buster moves implement wrestling moves, which while enhanced by his demonic power, show that he is familiar with those techniques. Engineering: Nero upgraded his Red Queen to bypass the limiter placed on the revving feature as well as to spray a flammable accelerant on the blade. He also designed and built Blue Rose himself. Devil Bringer: Nero's right arm and the manifestation of his demonic power, the Devil Bringer allows Nero to create a spectral arm capable of being controlled by Nero's movements on his right arm. It is durable enough to withstand punishment from the likes of Rebellion. Artifact absorption: The Devil Bringer can absorb items and use their powers or absorb items into it for storage. Bringer Claws: After awakening his own demonic power at the end of Devil May Cry 5, Nero can manifest two spectral wing-like arms growing from his shoulder blades.[12] Flight: Nero's new devil bringers double as wings. Upon first activating his true devil trigger, Nero flew to the top of the Qliphoth tree Combat proficiency: Nero's combat abilities are great enough that the Order sometimes assigns him missions to carry out on his own and he has earned certain respect among his peers. Of some additional interest is his ability to fight proficiently using only one hand.

Superhuman stamina: Nero has a capacity to continuously battle demons with being exhausted, even when he is power limited. Accelerated healing: While in Devil Trigger Nero displayed a healing factor capable enough to have given him vitality even after being stabbed by various Bianco Angelos.[11] When Vergil tore off Nero's arm, Nero used Devil Breakers as substitutes. By the time he stopped Vergil and Dante's fighting, his true power had awoken and Nero regenerated his entire human right arm within a matter of seconds. Demonic power manipulation: Nero has shown the ability to channel his demonic energy into his gun from his Devil Bringer or in the air to perform Charged Shots and Air Hike.[11] He's also able to convert his regenerated right arm back into its spectral form so he can fit in a Devil Breaker when needed, which Nico joked as "Raw Demonic Power knows a good thing". Demonic hybrid physiology: Nero possesses both the blood of a demon and human due to his heritage from Vergil. As such, he is granted a far more powerful physiology.[11]

Superhuman strength: Nero possesses great strength, able to easily block an attack from Berial's large sword using his left hand and the Red Queen. He is also capable of easily overpowering the Scarecrow physically and is capable of stopping two Bianco Angelo's in the middle of their thrust and throw them aside.[11] He is capable of contending against Dante in battle despite his own extreme strength and wielding his Devil Bringer, can even overpower him, able to easily throw him away. Superhuman speed: He is also remarkably fast, capable of running on Echidna's back faster than the effect of gravity.[11] Superhuman endurance: Nero can endure high amounts of physical damage, displaying such endurance when he was ran through by a Bianco Angelo's lance at full speed and survived. He was also able to survive for a short amount of time with a Gladius stabbed into his chest.

A month and a half before the main events of Devil May Cry 5, Vergil forcibly severs Nero's Devil Bringer and takes back Yamato harbored within. As a result, Nero loses the ability to use Devil Trigger for a time, implying that his previous Devil Trigger was incomplete and fully relied on Yamato's power. As replacement of Devil Bringer, Nero uses Devil Breaker in the place of his right arm, relying on flexibility and maneuverability along with his demonic physiology.

Nero achieved his true potential during the events that led a reborn Vergil to battle Dante, where Nero's desire to save them both unlocked his complete Devil Trigger, allowing him to take on his true demon form and become powerful enough to fight his battle-worn father and gain the upper hand (although the battle was cut short due to Vergil's concern on the roots). Instead of a spectral demon avatar, Nero transforms into a full demonic form, with two spectral arms double-functioning as wings. These arms will follow up with claw attacks whenever Nero attacks with Red Queen. In addition, in this form Nero can create a spectral Yamato made out of demonic energy as a replacement for Yamato for the Maximum Bet combo. Interestingly, Red Queen disappears in blue light whenever he activates Devil Trigger, although it will reappear when Nero starts attacking.

Due to his demonic heritage, Nero possesses great potential for power and amazing combat prowess. Though he was stated by Sanctus to not be in Dante's caliber during the period in which he opposed the Order of the Sword, Nero has proven himself to easily surpass members of the Order of the Sword and several, formidable demons such as Berial and Echidna. He was able to stop Dante temporarily, when Dante underestimated him (because Dante was still fine even after being impaled by his own sword by Nero and then would've fought again, but he chose not to do it). Dante also openly acknowledged that Nero was more powerful than most of the many opponents he had faced, although he was beaten when Dante casually slapped Nero on the back of his head during their second fight.[11]

In Devil May Cry 4, after the events in the underground laboratory, Nero acquires Yamato and the ability to use Devil Trigger with it. His Devil Trigger is quite unusual in that it doesn't transform Nero himself: instead, a blue, spectral demon avatar manifests behind him, wielding the Yamato. Nero himself only acquires a blue aura, burning red eyes, and a deeper, echoing voice. The specter usually mimics Nero's movements, doing right-handed versions of Nero's attacks. This specter has a noticeable resemblance to Vergil's Yamato Devil Trigger, mainly because of the "sheath" on its left arm used for storing Yamato.

Red Queen: A mechanical blade customized by Nero that has a powerful fuel injection system. When the propellant is sprayed onto the blade, it allows Nero to unleash fiery attacks. It is durable enough to clash with the likes of Devil Arms such as Rebellion and Yamato.[13] Blue Rose: A product of Nero's own design, this weapon is a uniquely constructed revolver with two barrels, allowing two shots to be fired nearly simultaneously. It is also capable of performing Charge Shots from Nero's channeling of demonic energy from his Devil Bringer. [14] Yamato (formerly): A legendary blade formerly wielded by Sparda that is said to be able to have the will and power to divide and wipe out the darkness.[15] This blade is capable of unleashing Nero's latent power and Devil Trigger. During the activation of Devil Trigger, the spectral entity that represents his very soul uses it during combat.[11] Aegis Shield: A shield once held by Credo, absorbing its power allowed Nero to perform "Hold" with his Devil Bringer.[16] Evil Legacy: An item which contains the power of an ancient evil and awakens a new power,[17] this allows Nero to utilize Grim Grips.[11] Anima Mercury: An artificial soul made via alchemy that breathes life into inanimate objects like the Gyro Blades.[18] Rusalka Corpse: Part of a dangling feeler used by Bael that allows Nero to use the "Auto Search" ability.[19] Devil Breaker: After the loss of his Devil Bringer, Nero began to use a cybernetic prosthetic that replaced his previous arm and allowed him to perform some of his previous actions. They also enriched his assortment with new moves and techniques. Sephirothic Fruit: One of Echidna's seeds, this fruit of her womb holds the power that binds demonic plants together and allows Nero to wither away demon plants laid by Echidna.

Nero has fair skin, light blue eyes, white hair, athletic and muscular build. In Devil May Cry 5, Nero shortens his hair to a faux-hawk like style, and now wears a more casual punkish attire, consisting of a dark blue hooded jacket, a tattered dark crimson shirt, a small necklace made of two folding feathered wings surrounding a red stone and black pants with military-style combat boots. He also uses a cybernetic arm in place of his Devil Bringer. Although at the end of the game, he regrows his human arm, he also uses a prototype power gauntlet made by Nico to substitute his Devil Breakers.

Nero is one of the few characters in the Devil May Cry series to actually swear and showcase offensive and crude behavior to others. Such instances include: him calling Agnus a "jackass" and his laboratory a "hellhole". He also almost calls Agnus a "son of a bitch" later, but is cut short. Before fighting Dante, he tells him "Kid? Well, if that's how you see me, I think you'll blush a pretty pink when I kick your ass". Later on, he tells Sanctus "Go blow yourself" and could say "I'm not interested in your bullshit!" when using a Buster in the first battle with the vicar. Lastly, he gives Dante the middle finger before being absorbed by The Savior. In Devil May Cry 5, during the final battle between him and his father Vergil, he says "Fuck you!" while giving him a middle finger during his transformation into his demonic form via Devil Trigger. He further calls Vergil a "Fucking Asshole!".

Like Dante, Nero is a somewhat arrogant and cocky person. He shares Dante's habit of casually mouthing off to even the most powerful of his enemies, making taunts and sarcastic jokes on the battlefield. Nero also taunts in a similar, sarcastic fashion to Dante: one taunt involves him bowing mockingly and asking, "Shall we dance?"; another has him aiming the Blue Rose at his enemies and saying "Bang!" instead of shooting; and another has him applaud his enemies. Despite that, Nero shows an underlying insecurity about his own ability to protect those he loves, a fear aggravated by his inability to save Credo. Therefore, he takes comments about his own abilities to heart, which is seen when he holds a resentment of the term 'dead weight' after Dante called him that. He eventually comes to terms with his insecurity when he resolves not to let Dante and Vergil kill each other, which allows him to tap into his own demonic abilities.

Nero was initially disgusted by his demonic abilities. When he first received the Devil Bringer, he considered it a curse and covered it with a medical sling to hide it out of shame. However, over time he began to train with the Devil Bringer until he finally embraces it as his power.

In contrast with Dante's laid-back and occasionally flirtatious attitude, Nero is a more serious, sardonic and somewhat antisocial person. He is a choleric character whose emotions can get the better of him, especially when his loved ones are involved. Nero also has a short-temper and prone to be impulsive, although by Devil May Cry 5 he has notably mellowed out somewhat, which Nero attributed to caring for the orphans that lives with him and Kyrie. Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare

However, he is also like Dante in that he has a rebellious nature: he wields a gun, despite the Order's general prohibition against them; he doesn't really believe in the Order's religion; and cares little for the legend of Sparda. His rebellious nature leads to the Order having him work alone on "special jobs." In fact, Nero actually prefers to act as a lone wolf.[8] However, Nero shows great loyalty to people he cares about, especially to Kyrie and Credo whom he grew up with. Even though he doesn't care for the Order of the Sword's religion, Nero still participates in some of their activities out of respect for Credo and Kyrie. Nero's softer side comes out around his loved ones, especially around his lover Kyrie. Nero is very gentle and thoughtful towards Kyrie and considers himself to be very lucky to have her in his life.