The main plot point of Devil May Cry, a hack-n-slash video game series revolving around demon hunter Dante, is revenge. The king of the underworld, Mundus, killed both of Dante’s parents, one to see through his plan of conquering the human realm, the other to enslave Dante’s brother Vergil as his ally.
That’s a lot of bad blood to start with, and it only gets worse from there. In the animated series, Dante is pretty blunt about his ambitions. Even the threat of yet another super-demon coming back to life and feeding on millions of humans to grow his power seems to be little more than a nuisance. “If Argosax comes back and kills Mundus, then I won’t get to do it myself,” Dante tells Lucan, a trusted mentor.
What Dante will realize only too late is that, indeed, he has more in life worth fighting for than revenge. There’s Mary, a former demon hunter turned romantic interest. There’s his buddy Enzo, who helps Dante find well-paying missions. And, of course, his brother, whom he immediately starts arguing with as soon as he meets him again after many years of lost contact.
“A man driven by vengeance swings his sword in the dark imagining all he hits is his desired enemy,” Lucan counsels Dante, “not seeing who it is he truly wounds.” In the end, all of Dante’s friends will pay some price or other for his obstinacy.
Sometimes, your purpose must carry you beyond relationships. But when relationships are your purpose, consider your next actions carefully.
It’s easy to get carried away for a prize ultimately not worth having. Before you start swinging your sword, make sure you turn on the light. Victory is rarely worth becoming someone you’ll dislike—even when it’s victory over the forces of hell itself.
