V

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V is one of the main protagonists and the third playable character introduced in Devil May Cry 5.^[4] A human with demonic ties, V presents himself as Dante's new client to put him on the trail of Urizen and takes Nero as backup insurance. It's revealed later that V is, in fact, the human half of Vergil.

Development

According to Hideaki Itsuno, new characters like V and Nico were the first designs they came up with in the early phase of the game's development.^[4] Feeling that DMC5 needed a new protagonist that was completely different from Dante and Nero, Itsuno wanted V to have a very different gameplay style that made players attack and defend separately, and experience a whole new gaming style.^[5][6] V's playstyle and how he fights was thought out before any other detail of the character.^[7] Itsuno acknowledged that V seems to be a "complex" character to players, but his style makes him a powerful character overall.^[8]

Itsuno stated in an interview that V caused the most trouble when creating Devil May Cry 5.^[9] There were times where the developers kept wondering if adding V was really necessary due to how difficult it was to develop him.^[10]

In an Interview before the game released, Itsuno teased that when creating V's character and story, it was a conscious decision to make sure that V didn't necessarily have a specific relation to Dante and Nero. V's character was based on the game's setting, and the staff was satisfied in how V's inclusion achieved a balance with Dante and Nero.^[11] V's character was made to be complicated and flawed, as he is a "representation of humans with both good and bad intentions."^[12]

Concept art featured in the artbook has Vergil at first with familiars but then changed in the early stages of V's conception, V was initially planned to be called "Gilver", based off of Vergil's disguise in the Devil May Cry novel. Tatsuya Yoshikawa struggled designing V, who was to be a weak human character, since he was used to drawing characters that looked strong and cool. Many of the early concepts made V look too strong until Yoshikawa started drawing V in a way that conveyed his physical weakness.^[13]

V had various different designs during development, including a female design by Daigo Ikeno called "Angelo." Angelo was intended to be Nero's younger sister, while also being the human part of Vergil as in the final concept.^[14] However, Ikeno has asserted that V was set to be a male early in development, and that the Angelo design was created for fun rather than serious consideration.

Appearance

V is a tall, slender young man with pale skin and dark green eyes. He has chin-length, natural white hair with long bangs swept to the left, which sometimes obscures his eye, but his pact with his demons dyes his hair black and covers his entire upper body and his neck in black tattoos.

V wears a long, open sleeveless leather coat with the sides tied together by strings, inside pockets, and a sewn-in, corset-like vest in the front. He also wears black pants with a silver chain made up of skulls on the right side of his belt and a fingerless glove on his right hand. V sports many accessories, including a tooth pendant around his neck, silver ring on his left middle finger, and a spiked bracelet that crisscross around his left wrist. Unlike most characters in the series, V wears black sandals instead of boots. V carries a silver metal cane, which serves as a weapon and a tool for support since his slowly decaying body making it hard for him to move, and a brown, gold-embroidered book, containing poems by William Blake, with a large "V" insignia in the cover.

When he was separated with Vergil by stabbing himself with Yamato, he was naked and covered in a purple haze as his entire upper body and his neck in black tattoos were quickly formed.

In the second half of the game, V's deteriorating condition caused his skin to become flaky and cracks to gradually form on his skin, showing that he was literally falling apart. In this state, he could barely hold himself up, even with his cane, and required Nero to drag him into the Qliphoth's lowest chambers.

Personality

In contrast to the more flamboyant Dante and hot-headed Nero, V is a quiet, calm, and relaxed individual. While V is generally polite to everyone he meets, V is a man shrouded in mystery and does not speak more than necessary, which caused Nero and the others to question if they can trust him. Due to being the human half of Vergil, V possesses all of Vergil's knowledge of the Demon World and often reveals that he knows things that no human should have knowledge of, but does not explain how he attained such information, which only makes others more suspicious of him. Due to his odd appearance, behavior, and abilities, many people often found V to be unsettling and have often questioned if V really is a normal human despite his frail look. Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare

A distinctive trait of V is his extreme fondness for poetry, as he often recites lines when speaking to people or even enemies, and often by memory alone, to the point where Griffon calls him "Shakespeare" at one point of the game. V greatly treasured his book of poems, as his original self, Vergil, possessed it since he was a young boy. Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare Keeping in line with his original self's personality, V has a dry sense of humor and is not above jokes or finding antics around him amusing. While first introducing himself to Dante quoting Infant Joy, V was being cheekily literal with Dante, as Vergil used Yamato to split himself on May 1 and V met Dante on May 3; therefore, he had been alive for about two days.

Being the human half that Vergil repressed and disdained, V is more in touch with his emotions and is introspective. V often reflects over his "past self", such as remembering how prideful he was in the past and that he was the type to be irritated at being called a "dead weight". He deemed Urizen to be full of "delusions" while expressing a deal of regret towards his own actions as well. Unlike his former self, who looks down on humans, V has been shown to respect humans and believes that their tenacity to never give up is their best quality. Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare

As he is aware of his limits and capabilities, V has demonstrated to be pragmatic and cautious in how he approaches situations. While confident in his abilities, V is able to tell when a fight with certain demons would be too much for him to handle and will walk away from it or leave it someone else to deal with. While V is willing to do morally questionable things and even outright lie and manipulate his allies, V possessed a genuine desire to save the world from Urizen and help humanity, even at the cost of his own debilitating health. Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare

Upon seeing Proto Angelo and Scudo Angelo, V's collected demeanor cracked and he became enraged at the sight of them due to his memories of Vergil's horrible time as Nelo Angelo. While V was mostly affable towards Dante, Vergil's lingering resentment towards his brother was still within him and he expressed resentment and hatred towards Dante while he was unconscious. Before re-merging with Urizen, V also revealed that his intense desire of power strongly lingers in him. In V's idle animation, V even runs his hand through his hair, in a way similar to Vergil's habit of slicking back his hair.

Biography

After being freed from Mundus' control, Vergil was able to escape the Demon World, but his body was weakened and was crumbling from going through battle after battle. After tearing off Nero's Devil Bringer in order to regain Yamato, Vergil then returned to his family's burned mansion in Red Grave City. Fueled by his desire to defeat his twin brother Dante and for power without having to be hindered by human thought or emotion, Vergil stabbed himself with Yamato to separate his human half from his demon half, sparking the birth of "V" and "Urizen". Just seconds after his birth, V was able to retain consciousness and witnessed the horrifying formation of Urizen. In addition to being humanly weak, V was also left with four physical manifestations of Vergil's trauma from his time as Nelo Angelo, taking the forms based of Mundus's minions - Griffon, Shadow, Nightmare, Phantom. Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare

V's separation from his original self doomed him with a slowly decaying body, which was barely kept together with the lingering remnants of Vergil's demonic power. Knowing that Urizen plans to gain power from the Qliphoth tree, V vowed to stop the large-scale destruction and hopefully remerge with Urizen before his body completely crumbled.

Devil May Cry 5: Visions of V

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Born at the same instant as Urizen, V is immediately subjected to Urizen's overwhelming presence and begins fearfully searching for a way to preserve his newly formed body. He fails to find anything of use, instead finding Vergil's childhood poetry book. In his panic, V thinks that he doesn't want to die and upon hearing V's thoughts, Griffon appears to scold him for not saying so properly as he then grabs hold of V and carries him outside to drop him down onto a pile of garbage. He then tells V they should make a contract, cheekily suggesting it would be suitable repayment for having saved V from Urizen. V demands that Griffon explain himself, prompting Griffon to explain that he is one of Vergil's discarded memories of his time as Nelo Angelo and that he will disappear without a host, hence his insistence on forming a contract.

V and Griffon then take to the streets where they find a punk in the middle of mugging someone. Griffon sneaks up behind them while they're distracted by V's naked approach, knocking them unconscious and allowing V to steal their clothes for his own. V expresses that the revealing clothing barely counts as clothes, but wears them regardless. Griffon tells him that he's glad to see V looking better and brings up the notion of a contract again, which V responds to by saying he understands why Griffon needs him, but that doesn't mean that V needs Griffon in turn. Griffon proceeds to get worked up, prompting the two of them to bicker while an Empusa appears nearby. Seeing this, V decides to give Griffon a test to prove his worth and orders him to kill the Empusa; Griffon complies, striking the demon down in a single hit with a large bolt of lightning. Griffon then insists again that V will die without his help and V reluctantly agrees that Griffon has passed his test and that they can team up for the time being. His attitude about it causes Griffon to take offense however, resulting in them bickering once more while the Empusa that had been struck down moments prior begins getting back up onto its feet.

Griffon lifts V up into the air just in time to avoid the latter getting hit, questioning why it's still alive; V replies that Griffon's attack must have been more of a simmer than a roast, causing Griffon to become agitated and launch a stronger attack at the Empusa this time. In doing so, he uses up a considerable portion of his remaining demonic energy and is forced to drop V. The two of them have no choice but to break into a nearby antique shop in an attempt to hide. As Griffon is too weak to move, V is forced to drag him along the ground behind him.

They fail to make it very far inside before the Empusa is upon them, swinging at V and pinning him to the ground. Griffon, who V was forced to release, fires a bullet at the Empusa from his spot on the ground while shouting at it, attempting to divert its attention away from V. He's successful, the Empusa choosing to attack Griffon instead while V internally laments how frustrating it is to be weak and smashes the display case behind him to grab one of the canes inside of it, which he then uses to impale the Empusa through the head, killing it.

Collapsing into an armchair and covered in blood, V wonders why he was able to kill the demon if Griffon's attacks weren't enough to do so and considers if it could be something to do with the cane itself. Griffon interrupts his thoughts, stating that the cane isn't anything special. He then deduces that because he's essentially a "dream" without any substance, he's unable to kill anything himself and thus V has to land the killing blow. V then reflects on the amount of effort it took them to take down a simple Empusa, feeling doubtful that they stand a chance against Urizen. This prompts Griffon to assure V that he shouldn't feel ashamed since they're both "pathetic" in their own way. Saying this, Griffon begins to melt away and emphasizes to V that if they're going to make a contract, this would be the last opportunity to do so; V reluctantly accepts that they need each other, reaching into the puddle that now makes up Griffon and forms a contract with him, something that manifests physically as black markings that cover V's upper body.

Sometime later, V is plagued by a memory of Vergil's time being tortured by Mundus but is able to snap himself out of it, though Griffon poked fun at his pale expression. V is then informed by Griffon that another physical manifestation of Vergil's memories is somewhere nearby and urges V to find them before they disappear, prompting V to ask if that means more "annoyances" to deal with. Griffon then points out that they urgently need more allies and explains that there are three more of Vergil's cast offs out there and while some will likely be aggressive, some of them should be willing to form a contract with V if only to keep themselves from dying. When V asks what they'll do if they refuse to help, Griffon replies that they'll just have to use force to tame them.

At this moment, V spots a dark human-shape figure in the street which causes Griffon to hide behind V, snapping at the figure to get lost. The figure suddenly morphs its body and attacks them with a large spike; V is successful in blocking the attack with his cane, however the figure morphs into a large jaguar and darts forward to steal the cane from V's hands before running away with it. Griffon speculates that the demon may think the cane could lead to the demon world due to the faint scent of demonic energy lingering on it, which V counters by stating that Griffon had already said that the cane isn't a Devil Arm. Griffon then clarifies his previous statement by saying that the cane isn't a Devil Arm, but may contain trace amounts of demonic materials by happenstance, comparing the cane to V's current state of being a human held together with inherited demonic energy.

Using Griffon to fly, V attempts to track the demon who stole his cane for a while but is forced to land when Griffon reaches his limit. They land in an alley that V quickly observes is covered in an abnormal number of bugs and upon further examination, they also find the demon from before near-dead on the ground nearby, on the verge of disappearing. Before V can attempt to do anything, Phantom appears before them and threatens to eat V and Griffon for daring to encroach on his prey. Seemingly unbothered by the threat that Phantom poses, V takes his cane back with a quip that this demon was their "prey" first.

Griffon quickly explains to V that the demon is in their "core" state and that their normal form should return soon, as they still have some energy remaining. However, Griffon advises V that they should deal with Phantom first. Phantom interrupts, expressing that he recognizes V and Griffon while referring to the former as his and Griffon's previous "host", due to their shared time as a part of Vergil. Griffon then attempts to reason with Phantom in way of convincing him to form a contract with V for his survival, which Phantom again interrupts to state that he would never serve a "weakling" like V and would rather die than live bound to such a pathetic master. V, angered by this, replies that he has no need for Phantom and will simply get rid of him instead, prompting Phantom to attack. V and Griffon are able to dodge out of the way, pulling the jaguar's limp body behind a large rock to hide with them; Griffon scolds V for provoking Phantom, which V pays no heed to, stating that negotiation was a waste of time. Exasperated, Griffon emphasizes that they're in no position to be taking on two demons at once, something that becomes more apparent as the demon at their feet suddenly springs back to life and lunges at V. Holding the demon's jaws back with his cane, V realizes that demanding cooperation is pointless and instead releases his cane entirely to then ask that the jaguar make a choice: die here, or struggle to live. V tells them that if they choose to struggle then V needs them, earning their cooperation.

The demon is used as a decoy, taking V's shape out in the open and tricking Phantom into attacking them only for them to suddenly reveal that they're a fake and attack Phantom now that he's at a close enough range. The attack is enough to expose the spider's core, leading to Phantom's death as V quickly plunges his cane through it. Happy with V, the jaguar suddenly pounces on top of him and begins licking his face gleefully, leading Griffon to comment that the "kitty" likes him. The "kitty" then allows V to form a contract with them and Shadow is added to both V's list of familiars and to V's skin, as yet another set of markings on the upper half of his body.

During the forging of their contract, V experiences another traumatic memory of Vergil's time as Nelo Angelo, causing him to think on how much he hates these memories and wants to rid himself of them, but knows he doesn't yet have enough power to defeat Urizen and will need another familiar. Griffon tells him that Phantom would have been a strong ally had V not picked a fight with him, which V waves off entirely and instead asks if Griffon is aware of any other strong demons in the vicinity. Griffon hesitates before nervously admitting that there's one more, though he insists that it's best to leave this one alone. Continuing his trend of ignoring his familiar, V pays the warning no mind and has Griffon guide him to the next cast-off memory. They end up at an abandoned church, which V enters undeterred by Griffon's continued insistence that they should leave while they can. Almost immediately, the demonic sludge on the ground beneath his feet takes on a new form: Nightmare.

Griffon, in a panic, explains to V that while the original Nightmare had the power to destroy the Demon World, it did not have a will of its own and was bound to the will of its master, attempting to stress to V that communication with Nightmare is impossible and that they need to leave. Nightmare blocks their exit before they can even attempt to leave, however, preventing them from leaving. When Griffon then questions V on if he has a plan, V tells him that he wants to gauge Nightmare's power and sends Shadow to attack. Before Shadow can land a blow, Nightmare forces Shadow into a stalemate with a single blow, much to V's surprise. Nightmare then aims a laser at V, who just barely manages to dodge out of the way in time; Griffon is less likely, taking a direct hit and joining Shadow in stalemate. V, now left without any form of protection, is forced to admit that confronting Nightmare was a mistake.

Using its sludge-like tendrils, Nightmare pulls V into his body and into a dark abyss where he proceeds to mock him with various illusions of his past, the first of which is a giant, cracked bust of Mundus laying shattered on the ground in front of him. Vergil then emerges from the ground while donning his Nelo Angelo armor, prompting V to understand that he's trapped in a "worthless dream" and none of this is real. Knowing this, when Nelo Angelo suddenly grabs V by the neck, V attempts to banish the illusion away with the force of his will, but fails to do so successfully. Instead, Nelo Angelo places a hand over V's head and forces him to see a flood of memories from Vergil's time as Nelo Angelo, disturbing him greatly.

Suddenly, a bullet rips through Nelo Angelo's head with the appearance of Dante; the manifestation both startles and upsets V, who is barely given time to process what just happened before he's pulled deeper into Nightmare's mental abyss where he comes face-to-face with Nightmare's consciousness. Angry and tired, V demands to know why Nightmare is showing him these things, believing that he's being mocked for his own weakness and his inferiority to Dante. He then puts his hand over Nightmare's eye to channel his demonic energy into it, breaking it to the point where he's able to plunge his hand directly into Nightmare's core, grabbing hold of it and bringing himself back to the real world as Nightmare's body crumbled away beneath him.

No longer trapped within Nightmare, V can once more interact with his familiars where Griffon wastes no time in insisting that V kill Nightmare as it won't listen to him, advice that V opts to ignore even as a large number of demons begin forming outside the church. Instead, V holds Nightmare's core out, stating that he knows Nightmare wants it back, prompting Griffon to yell at him for being stupid enough to just give the core back. V, unfazed both by Griffon and by the spike that Nightmare impales him with from behind, says that he isn't giving it back at all: he's bestowing it. He then remarks that Nightmare should recognize his own master, something that seems to resonate with Nightmare because the spike is withdrawn from V's body and a new set of contractual markings appear on his skin, binding Nightmare to him as his third familiar.

Nightmare is then ordered to kill the invading demons, which proves to be a bigger toll on his body than V expects; the moment the demons have been defeated, he suddenly collapses to the ground, unconscious, with his familiars forcibly returned to him.

After losing consciousnesses, V dreams of being in Sparda's mansion, appearing pristine and functional as music plays in the background. Upon opening a book to nothing but blank pages, V realizes that this is only a memory from childhood and recalls that in reality, he's laying on the floor of an abandoned church. V reflects on how powerful Nightmare is, deeming him the strongest of his familiars and humoring the idea that he could even be strong enough to defeat Urizen. However, V notes that the demonic power in his body isn't enough to sustain Nightmare for a long time, only for a few seconds, and is doubtful that he could manage to defeat Urizen with such a short time limit. Unable to seek out more familiars, V laments that he underestimated his abilities and proclaims that everything he's done so far is pointless as it still isn't enough to defeat Urizen. V's misery causes his surroundings to change, transforming the mansion into the state of destruction it had been left in following the attack by Mundus' demons. As V acknowledges the fact that he's weak, he's suddenly taken to a dark, watery space; initially annoyed by this, he notices Vergil's poetry book beside him and flips through it, wondering what possessed him to take this with him. Reciting William Blake's "Auguries of Innocence" , V ponders if there's any part of his life thus far that he's wished to be everlasting. V recited some lines from the book, particularly drawn to the word "eternity", causing him to ponder if there was any moment in his life so far that he wished to be everlasting, remarking that sentiments such as these are exactly what Vergil sought to rid himself of in exchange for power.

In his dream, Yamato appears before him; however, as he reaches out a hand towards it he finds himself stopped by a mirror. In his reflection, he sees Dante grinning back at him, who V tiredly questions him about what it was Vergil did wrong to result in his loss. Dante never answers, lost as the dream shatters around V and he wakes to the sound of Griffon screaming, afraid that V had died. V calmly explains that he just ran out of power, which Griffon warns is still something to be more careful of, as anything happening to him spells certain death for his familiars too. Griffon then informs V that there are no more "nightmares" for V to find and questions what their next move will be now, which V tells him will be recruiting Dante's aid in their fight against Urizen.

After getting back in the more populous part of Red Grave City, V rests on a bench while Griffon is sent to find out when the next train is scheduled to leave. V uses this time to reflect on Dante's achievements as a Devil Hunter, deeming him the strongest one of them all. These thoughts are short lived, with Griffon quickly returning to report that it would be some time yet before the train would depart, which he follows up by asking how V intends to face Dante. V states that he doesn't plan to reveal his origins to Dante since Dante won't even recognize him anymore, and will just request Dante's help as a stranger. Amused at the thought of hiding their identities, Griffon tells V he'll need a pseudonym, an idea that V is wholly indifferent to. He tells Griffon to pick one for him, leading Griffon to offer joking suggestions based on V's slender physique. All of these are ignored as V ultimately decides he'll simply go by "V", using the poetry book's "V" insignia as inspiration, much to Griffon's exasperation.

V gets to his feet, realizing in that moment that he's hungry. When Griffon expresses that he doesn't know what humans eat, V points out that procuring food, train tickets, and getting Dante's help all require money, which they don't have. V then resolves to steal money, deciding it would be best if they could do so from someone rich as it would mean they'd remove the need for additional targets and thus preserve their energy for longer, a sentiment that Griffon agrees with.

In an alley, V and Griffon spot a young woman being robbed by a trio of men. Seeing that the burglers had a gun, Griffon advises V not to get involved and to instead run away, as getting shot would result in his death. However, V overhears the young woman beg the thugs to let her keep her necklace as it's a memento of her mother and V, recalling the memory of Eva gifting him and Dante their halves of the Perfect Amulet, is unable to turn his back on her. He steps forward to help her but stumbles and trips over some garbage cans, his body weakened from a lack of nutrition.

The one of robbers confronts V and questions his presence in the alley, to which V replies that he's simply passing by and attempts to get back to his feet, something he's proven unable to do when one of the thugs kicks the cane away from him. The muggers demand that he hand over his money and accuse him of lying when he says that he has none, the closest one pointing a gun at his head. Noticing Griffon watching above, V warns them to let him go before any real trouble starts, earning himself a pistol whip across the face and a nose bleed; the thug proceeds to mock V, only to be abruptly stopped when Shadow skewers his hand all the way through and flings him into a nearby wall. Shadow protectively manifests into a large mass of spikes looming behind their master, which V calmly comments on by stating that the robbers had made Shadow angry. Frightened by Shadow's appearance, the other two robbers draw their guns but are quickly dispatched by Shadow's skewers pinning them to the wall alongside their friend. With the threat now gone, V takes the opportunity to take their money for himself.

Griffon flies down to join back up with V, complaining that this isn't enough money for what they need. V responds that his cane seems to give thieves the impression that he's an easy target, so they shouldn't have a problem finding more people to steal from. Griffon protests, stating that it's too dangerous for them to make their money by using V as a target for thieves, but V is unconcerned, insisting that they'll be fine so long as they put a swift stop to anyone who attempts to attack him. He then notices the necklace left on the ground, stepping forward to pick it up as Griffon asks him if it's worth anything. The woman, who witnessed V's entire confrontation with the robbers, is rightfully terrified of V and begs him to stay back; not wanting to scare her any further, V drops her necklace down near her while telling Griffon it isn't worth anything before taking his leave.

After taking the train to the city, V hunts for J.D. Morrison by investigating bars that he likely frequents, but all the leads he was given turn out be a bust and he's badgered by thieves along the way. After dealing with three would-be thieves, V takes a break to unhappily eat a burger, finding the messiness of the sauce to be particularly disgusting. While eating, V questions Griffon on if he really knows where to find Morrison, which the demon bird has no real answer to. When Griffon inquires as to why V is going through all the trouble to find Morrison when he already knows where Dante's shop is, V explains that he wants to conceal their identities as much as possible and a stranger wouldn't already know the location of Devil May Cry.

While continuing on their search, Griffon questions what they'll do if Dante can't defeat Urizen, causing V to admit that he hasn't thought about that scenario. V remarks that it was Vergil's wish to beat Dante and is the reason why V was discarded in the first place, but V admits that he's more scared of dying than anything else and has faith that Dante won't lose. Suddenly, a man appears and holds a knife to V's neck in an attempt to rob him, which V is utterly unfazed by and barely reacts at all as Griffon quickly dispatches the man, allowing them to continue moving onward.

Upon finding Grue's Cellar, V contemplates what would happen if Dante did lose and briefly considers Nero, whom has been left gravely injured after Vergil took his Devil Bringer. However, Nero is quickly dismissed, V believing him to be too weak as a back-up plan compared to Dante. V then enters Grue's Cellar, where Morrison proceeds to greet V and offers him an apology, stating that this place is reserved for the day. V ignores this, instead simply confirming that he's talking to Morrison before stating that he needs to speak with Dante.

A short time after his conversation with Morrison, V waits outside of Devil May Cry while Morrison informs Dante that there's a job for him with cash upfront, something Dante is excited to hear about. During this time, Griffon asks V why they haven't gone inside yet and suggests that V is nervous about seeing Dante again, advising him to act 'un-Vergil' to avoid suspicion, such as making a joke. Griffon then wishes V luck and disappears back into his tattoos as V finally enters Devil May Cry. Morrison leaves the two of them alone, telling Dante that he's going to recruit Lady and Trish, which Dante takes immediate offense to. Once Morrison has left, Dante asks V for his name, which V responds to by quoting, "I have no name; I am but two days old", a line from William Blake's "Infant Joy". He then adds that he's kidding and that Dante can call him "V".

Dante asks for more information about the job V is hiring him for and laughs when V tells him that a powerful demon is going to resurrect, saying that he hears that a lot and he's yet to have a demon live up to the hype. V insists that this demon is special, referring to them as Dante's "reason for fighting" and is honest when Dante asks for the demon's name, telling him the name is "Vergil". This immediately angers Dante who tells V that while he's used to his clients lying to him, V has to pick a better name for his stories; while Griffon expresses some concern from the inside of V's head, V is actually relieved by this reaction as it means that Dante hasn't changed from how he remembers him. V then tells Dante that it's fine if he doesn't believe him and that he'll see for himself what the truth is when Red Grave City is overrun with demons as he questioned the location, Dante's rage subsiding at the mention of Red Grave. V notes that it seems as though Dante is starting to believe him and that he should look forward to his fight against Vergil. He then leaves Dante in thought, turning to move around the office only to notice the photo of Eva kept on Dante's desk, which he's promptly irritated by and turns away from.

Some time afterwards, V, Dante, Trish, Lady, and Morrison arrive in Red Grave City via helicopter, where the Qliphoth has already grown to a massive size. As they enter, Lady asks for the name of the demon they're after and Dante defers to V for an answer, much to Griffon's amusement. V tells the group the name "Urizen", a name he and Dante had decided on at some point prior on earlier as it was both more fitting for the situation and allowed Dante to avoid talking to the others about Vergil.

While Lady and Dante are immediately taken aback by the Qliphoth's disgusting smell, V is silently distracted by Trish. Griffon speaks to with V via their shared thoughts, commenting that V looks as though he's remembered something bad and makes a joke about goosebumps that gets no reaction. Griffon then reminds V that they need to win the upcoming fight against Urizen and that V needs to be the one to deal the final blow, which V reassures him that he's aware of. As V takes another step forward, he's forced to a sudden stop as he becomes intensely aware and overcome by the overwhelming force of Urizen's current power, felt even from the Qliphoth's entrance. He realizes, terrified, that Urizen has become significantly stronger than he was anticipating and begins to spiral, only to be snapped out of it by Griffon asking if V needs to pee.

The group notices that V had fallen behind, causing Dante to call back to V to tell him that there's no shame in running away if this is too much for him. V struggles with that thought for a brief moment before he agrees that Dante is right and heads back out the way they came, a decision that greatly startles Griffon who asks if they're really leaving. V's response that one should always have an insurance policy does nothing to comfort Griffon, who continues to yell after V as they make their exit.

Griffon demands to know if V means to recruit Nero and insists that Nero would be completely useless in his current state, which V counters by stating that it would still be better to have him than not, as the blood of Sparda in Nero's veins makes him more useful than V by default. Griffon argues further, bringing up the possibility of Urizen killing Dante while they're out fetching Nero. V tells him that this won't happen, though he opts not to answer when Griffon questions if the situation is worse than V originally thought. V approaches Morrison's helicopter, telling Morrison that Dante is inside and that he needs the helicopter sent back out, this time to Fortuna.

The helicopter is able to take V into Fortuna, however the pilot expresses some uncertainty regarding where they're going to land due to Fortuna's lack of a heliport. V responds to the request to hold tight as a spot is located by jumping directly out of the helicopter without a parachute and scaring the pilot.

Nero, previously asleep in his hospital bed, is startled awake by V, the latter calmly standing in front of the window in Nero's hospital room. Nero is quick to jump up into a crouched position on his bed in preparation for a fight, which prompts V to scold him for his jumpiness, stating that the front door had been closed so he'd come in through the window, and that if he'd meant to harm Nero he would have done so before Nero had woken up.

Upon being questioned by Nero regarding his identity, V informs him that he knows the demon that stole Nero's arm, stating that he's a devil hunter who has been chasing this demon for a long time and he's already hired Dante for help, however he underestimated the demon's power. V asks Nero to come back to Red Grave City with him and join the fight as Dante may not be able to handle it alone and Nero calls him a crappy comedian. Instead of arguing, V simply summons Griffon, who proceeds to throw himself at Nero while calling him an idiot. Nero observes that Griffon is a demon while snatching him out of the air, holding him still while Griffon yells at him to let him go; V interrupts their little spat, stating that there's no time to spare. He then proceeds to bait Nero into coming along by asking if he lacks confidence without his arm, a tactic that proves successful.

The two of them arrive at Nero's garage a short time later where Nero has V wait while he collects his coat and weapons, with Griffon and V both reminding him that they're running short on time. Upon rejoining them outside, Nero expresses concern regarding the helicopter potentially waking up his household and tells V not to let the helicopter come too close, which V responds to by telling him he has no way of contacting the pilot and sarcastically says that Nero should try jumping up there to speak with the pilot himself. As they wait for the helicopter, Griffon reaches out to V in his head to insist that V should try and be friendly with Nero since he has to be either Vergil or Dante's kid, and families should get along. V finds the idea foolish, as if it weren't for the situation at hand he'd have no reason to be interacting with Nero in the first place. He then thinks that Sparda's bloodline is doomed to fight to the death.

Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare

Knowing Urizen's resurrection is nearing, V goes to Grue's Celler to find J.D. Morrison in order to get into contact with Dante. Before entering the bar, V assaulted a random man with Griffon in order to obtain money to pay for Dante's services. Upon meeting Morrison, V asked him to take him to Dante and hands him the bloodstained money. Although wary of V and Griffon, Morrison accepts the payment, especially due to wanting V and Griffon not hurting more people just to collect more cash and takes them to Devil May Cry. At the shop, V waited outside the office with Griffon while Morrison spoke to Dante first. Griffon questioned if V was nervous meeting his "brother" for the first time in years and remarked that Dante shouldn't be able to recognize V as Vergil, but encouraged him to act differently from Vergil just in case, suggesting V to tell a joke before dissolving back into tattoos on V's body. Once he entered the shop, V introduced himself to Dante and explained that he wants him to stop a powerful demon that is about to be resurrected in Red Grave City. While Dante is confident that V's job would be easy, V claimed to Dante that this demon is much different from the others he fought before because the demon is Dante's "reason for fighting" - his brother Vergil. V's revelation caused Dante go into a stunned silence, giving time to V pondered over Dante's reaction. When Dante showed a furious reaction and let out his demonic aura, V was secretly elated yet frightened by Dante's strong reaction, pleased that Dante hadn't change since he defeated Vergil years ago. V calmly explained to Dante that he doesn't mind if he doubts him because once Red Grave City is demonized, he'll know the truth. At the mention of his old home, V saw that Dante was already starting to believe him and warned him that the city will be in danger soon, so Dante should keep an eye on the news. When V turned his back to Dante, V was pleased how Dante was being lured in, but V's mood quickly soured when he spied Eva's picture on Dante's desk. Devil May Cry 5: Visions of V

A few days later, Morrison provided a helicopter to take V and Dante to Red Grave City with Trish and Lady, which V was grateful for. Upon arriving inside Qliphoth tree, V hopes to attack Urizen before he is fully resurrected, but realized that Urizen had awakened as they were traveling up the tree. Noticing how V was staring at Trish, Griffon telepathically spoke with V, worrying if Dante and the girls would kill them if they find out the truth. Griffon also reminded V that he must give Urizen the killing blow before Dante. Suddenly, V sense Urizen's demonic power, amazed and frightened by how much stronger he became since their separation, and hallucinated a vision of slug-like skulls haunting him. Distressed, V realized that Urizen was much stronger than Dante and his plan was likely to fail. Devil May Cry 5: Visions of V When V openly express his concerns over the situation, Dante ordered him to leave, believing him to be "dead weight" if he can't handle the mission. While frustrated by Dante's comment, V pragmatically complied with Dante's words, much to Griffon's shock. Unsure of the chances of his allies in defeating Urizen, V wants to get Nero as "insurance", despite knowing Nero's Devil Bringer arm was recently ripped off and Griffon's own protests. Using the helicopter, V quickly arrived at Fortuna and found Nero at the hospital just as he awoke from his coma. After introducing himself, V explained to Nero that it was Urizen that stole his arm and he hired Dante to subdue him. V asked Nero to join them and goads him by pointing out Nero's wounded pride. Although Nero was suspicious of V, Nero agreed to help him to get his arm back.

After getting Nero's gear, V and Nero return to the Qliphoth tree and spotted Dante fighting Urizen from a distance. V warned Nero not to underestimate Urizen since he gained a lot of power after taking Nero's Devil Bringer. V went ahead of Nero, using Shadow's ability to carry himself since moving was becoming more difficult for V due to his decaying body. V and his familiars dealt with demons coming from the tree to make things easier for Nero. Once Nero caught up with them, V told him to go ahead and leave the other demons to him. When V and Griffon arrived at Urizen's throne room, V saw Nero and Dante struggling to beat Urizen as the ground began shaking. Dante yelled for them to run while he holds Urizen off, though V had to drag a stubborn Nero out the cavern, who insisted on staying and helping. When debris blocked the path to Urizen, the two met up with Morrison and told him what happened as tentacles started sprouting from the group and attacking people. While Nero wanted to fight, V demanded he retreats and revealed that the world will end after a month. V encouraged Morrison not to lose hope and Nero to get stronger since he is the only person that can defeat Urizen besides Dante. V and Nero agreed to meet up again in a month, with Nero returning to Fortuna to train. V choose to stay in Red Grave City, lying to Nero that he will be collecting information in the meantime.

As the days passed, V observed the Qliphoth tree growing bigger as it sucks more human blood. Griffon then suggested that V should evacuate the city to slow Qliphoth's growth, but V rejected the idea because he didn't believe anyone would listen to him and he did not have the authority or time to organize a city-wide evacuation. While V tried his best within his capabilities, he felt great regret about not being able to do more. When Griffon questioned if Nero will return, V commented that Nero isn't the type to accept a "losing streak", causing an amused Griffon to quip about it where Nero's inherited that attitude from. V contemplated over his beloved book of poems, which echoes the Qliphoth's nature. V bitterly recalled his former self's delusions and how he lied to Nero since he already knew everything about Urizen. Although he wanted to avoid too much movement since his body was eroding, V resolved to help the humans and to minimize the damage as much as possible until Nero returns.

Devil May Cry 5

Once a month had passed, V called Nero to set a meeting place so they plan their next move. V arrived to their rendezvous point just as Nero was finishing battling Goliath. V uses Shadow on the weakened Goliath and dealt the final blow before Nero could kill him. After bantering a little bit, Nero asked if he knows if Dante was still alive at the Qliphoth tree. V calmly stated that if Dante was still up there then he would likely be Qliphoth pollen by now and explained what the Qliphoth does to Nero. While Nero wants to go straight to the tree to save Dante, V stopped him and informed that they must take care of the Qliphoth roots first. When Nico arrived in the Devil May Cry RV, V meets her for the first time and went inside to plan their next move. V and Nero agreed to split up to cover more ground and meet up with each other at the base of the Qliphoth tree. V then silently watched in amusement as Nico bickered with Nero and Griffon before taking his leave.

On the streets, Griffon questioned V if he believed Nero could defeat Urizen, but V stated that they can only hope that Nero could. A swarm of Empusa soon appeared before V and his familiars, with Shadow ready to fight and Griffon wanting V to run away due his frail condition. However, V chooses to fight and destroy as many Qliphoth roots as he could. Eventually, V encountered Nidhogg and quickly dealt with him. Soon after, V noticed the gigantic Gilgamesh and decided to leave it alone, knowing that it was beyond his current capabilities. However, Gilgamesh spotted V and attacked him, plunging him into the city's underground tunnels. As V destroyed more Qliphoth roots on his way out, V attacked Gilgamesh's legs that were protruding from the ceiling above. V briefly bumped into Nero, who was fighting Gilgamesh topside, and told him that he'll leave Nero to deal with Gilgamesh. Upon returning to the surface, V spied on Cavaliere Angelo being ordered by Malphas, who is the second-in-command of Urizen, to find Sparda's sword and destroy it. After Malphas left, V confronted Cavaliere Angelo, expressing recognition of it and mockingly promised to be "gentle" with it. While V was able to kill Elder Geryon that Cavaliere Angelo rode on, Cavaliere Angelo escaped from V due to tiring himself out. V soon wished to find the Sparda Devil Arm to raise their chances of beating Urizen. When Griffon pointed out that V was not strong enough to wield the sword, V stated that Nero might be able to do it. Noticing a fragment of Elder Geryon on the ground, V picked it up and returned to the RV.

V entered the RV just as Lady, who was rescued earlier by Nero, were telling the others what happened after V and Nero left the tree a month ago. V politely greeted Lady and handed Nico the demon fragment to make a new Devil Breaker for Nero. Since the road to the Qliphoth tree was blocked by debris, V and Nero decided to travel the rest of the way on foot. While they went on different underground paths, V and Nero met again on the surface and were confronted by a Proto Angelo and small army of Scudo Angelos. Recalling Vergil's time as Nelo Angelo, V grew angry at the sight of the Angelos and proceeded to battle them alongside Nero on their moving battlefield. V and Nero finished the fight before their platform went over a cliff, landing in an area that V recognized to be where Vergil and Dante's old family home resided. V nostalgically and cryptically shared his childhood memories to Nero before stating that they must part ways because V wanted to find the Sparda sword. While Nero warned V that the sword would be too much for V to handle, V shrugged it off and said that they need all the help they can get, much to Nero's puzzlement.

V sent Griffon to scout the area and, upon hearing his reports of nearby demons "dancing", figured that the Sparda sword was nearby. After fighting off a Behemoth and other lesser demons, V sensed the sword's presence and was led to a group of Nobodies worshiping it, which V mocked them for. After dealing with them, V retrieved the sword and tried to lift it, only to fail. While Griffon playfully teased him, V believed that Nero was the only one left that could wield it just as Shadow alerted V to a fortunate find - a comatose Dante, whose presence had been concealed by the sword. While initially relieved to see Dante, V was overcome with rage and attempted to stab Dante with Sparda, ignoring Griffon's pleas to snap out of his trance. However, V only attempted to stab Sparda near Dante's head, which was able to shock Dante's instincts enough to wake up him from his coma.

When Dante remarked that he believed that V was going to stab him, V explained that stabbing or at least attempting to stab him was the only way to wake him up since Dante could be "stubborn". V updated Dante on the fact that he's been in a coma for a month and Nero was on his way to fight Urizen again even as they speak. Dante demanded that V leave Nero out of their mission, but V retorted that if Dante could beat Urizen alone, then he would never have to use Nero. V lamented how Nero was useless during their first attempt at Urizen, but Dante cut him off and started to leave. V tried to stop Dante, but fell to the ground and noticed that his body was starting to deteriorate. Although it became harder to move his body, V rushed after Dante and eventually caught up to him, but Dante quickly departed and left him with a unconsciousness Trish to take care of. V sent Griffon to follow Dante while he stayed behind to look after Trish and read his book until she woke up. When Trish began asking questions about Urizen's origins and V's identity, V explained to Trish about his birth and the truth of Urizen. V told Trish that he seeks to right "Vergil's" mistakes and asked her if he was foolish for thinking Dante could help him atone, seemingly looking to Trish for maternal assurance due to her resemblance to Eva. However, Trish does not answer his question and told him that he had a duty to see Dante's war through to the end.

V and Trish traveled to the Qliphoth tree, but when the ground began rising due to the Qliphoth completing its emergence in the Human World, V nearly fell off a cliff if it weren't for Trish grabbing his hand. At the base of the Qliphoth, V and Trish reunited with Dante and their other allies. V explained to Dante that Urizen was at the top of the tree and insisted that he allow Nero to join them since they are running out of time. However, Dante decreed that all three of them should go their separate ways and left before V or Nero could interject. V fights his way through the tree and briefly encountered Dante and Nero on the way, only for them to get separated after the ground collapsed. V had Griffon slow his descent and carried him for a short time before he exhausted himself.

Although his body continued to slowly crumble and movement became more difficult, V was grimly determined to go Urizen's location. V came across an area with strange rocks, which deprived him of his familiars and rendered him unconscious, and was ambushed by Malphas's illusions. Malphas threw V into pocket planes of the Demon World, which he surprisingly discovered was healing his body. V was forced to recovered his familiars one by one and battle against mirages of Goliath, Artemis, and Cavaliere Angelo. Upon exiting the pocket plane, V soon found Malphas again, but he acknowledged that he didn't have the strength to fight her. As he tried to figure out a way past her, he accidentally alerted Malphas of his presence and shrunk back in fear, but was saved by Nero's timely arrival. While Nero battled her, V tossed Nero some Devil Breakers he was holding on to so he can have a better chance in fighting against Malphas. After defeating the demon, V thanked Nero for his help and tried to proceed onward to Urizen's location. Seeing how V's body was badly deteriorating, Nero told to get him some rest, but V begged Nero to take him to Urizen as his last request, which he reluctantly agreed to. As they made their way onward, V revealed to Nero that Urizen was really Dante's older brother Vergil, much to Nero's shock. When Nero questioned why the brothers would fight, V explained that it was because they disagreed on their reason for existing and fought each other to adhered their own beliefs, though Nero found it all ridiculous.

In the aftermath of Dante's victory against Urizen, V and Nero arrived to the scene and V finally decided to serve his own purpose to confront Urizen in his weakened state. While Dante warned him to get away, V told him that he wanted to finish the fight with his own hands. Climbing on top of Urizen's chest, V advised Urizen not to struggle since he already lost, who only proclaimed his desire to have more power. V stated that even though he and Urizen had lost each other, they are connected by that one feeling. As he began reciting William Blake's "Love & Harmony" poem (relating to the relationship between V and Urizen), V stabbed Urizen with his cane before Dante could stop him. As a result, both V and Urizen became engulfed inside a blue light as they both merged back into one person - Vergil.

After Dante's brief clash with Vergil, V was mentioned by Nero when he inquired what happened to V, to which Dante informed him that V had reunited with Urizen and turned back into Vergil, and during the final battle between both Nero and Vergil as father and son. In the aftermath of the entire incident, the only things V left behind was his familiars, who chose not to merge back and died fighting against Dante's hands; his cane, which his familiars used as a focal point for Nightmare. After Vergil's fight with Nero, he gave V's poetry book to Nero.

According to Matt Walker, Vergil's World of V skill represents that V himself is still technically part of Vergil, rather than him fading completely into Vergil's self upon his reunion with Urizen.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

V uses his unique cane in battle only to perform singularly strong strike to finish off enemies who have sustained enough damage. According to Nico, his cane is forged with a metal ideal for channeling demonic energy, such as the attack called "Royal Fork" where he summons several copies of his cane and rains them down on enemies, as well teleport to enemies using his cane as beacon in a flash of blue energy. V can proceed to strike the target down with his cane as well as perform a double jump upon stepping on an enemy. Upon finishing demons off, V seems to use his cane to absorb the power of defeated demons, enhancing the strengths of his familiars with it. Finally, V can also enter a state similar to Devil Trigger, which causes the black ink in his hair to disappear, revealing his natural white hair, and allows him to augment his familiars as well as summon Nightmare.

As he is the human half of Vergil, V only has a comparatively minuscule demonic energy, making him mostly human with a crumbling body supported only by the demonic power he had left; though he seems to replenish his energy by defeating demons, it would eventually fail to sustain him unless V uses his cane to re-merge with Urizen.

Similar to Nero's moveset, which are named after gambling and casino terms, most of V's moves are named after chess terms.

After beating Bloody Palace, V learns taunt that allows him to cover his cane with demonic energy, which increases the power of his attacks and allows him to hurt and defeat demons on his own.

Familiars

V has the ability to summon familiars with demonic powers, formed as physical manifestations of Vergil's trauma from his time as Nelo Angelo, taking the form of Mundus's demon minions which he had authority over. When not called upon, the demons appear as tattoos on V's body and as ink in his hair, turning it from white to black. When they are summoned, the corresponding tattoo to each demon disappears and in case of Nightmare, his hair turns back to its original color. Due to their nature, V described his demons' abilities to be "dream-like" since they are only able to inflict pain, yet unable to kill. Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare Although he can direct them, V can also make them fight automatically. The demon familiars revert to their core state upon taking too much damage and require some time to regenerate before they can be resummoned. V can increase the speed of their return by standing close to them. Due to their contract, V is capable of telepathically communicating with his familiars. Devil May Cry 5: Visions of V

Griffon: This avian monstrosity can always be found somewhere around V, usually flapping its beak with some inappropriate jab. Griffon can summon pillars of thunder strikes and fire an electric blast as well as launch enemies into the air.^[15] He is also able to lift V across the air when needed. Griffon is the only one that knows human language and acts as the interpreter for Shadow and Nightmare so others can understand them..

Shadow: This demon familiar usually takes the form of a quadruped beast, only to shapeshift into blades, needles, and all manner of nasty weapons to act as vanguard, but it can also use it's claws, fangs and tail to attack. Through Shadow, V can also move at faster speeds than normal.^[15] V can also ride on Shadow as a form of transport.

Nightmare: V can unleash his full power to call upon this gargantuan demon. When summoned, Nightmare may crash onto the battlefield like a meteorite, or burst through parts of the environment to heed the call. Its sluggish movements belie unsurpassable strength and high-invulnerability. Wherever Nightmare appears, its massive fists or brutal laser beams are the last thing enemies ever see.^[15] In his normal size, Nightmare is 3.5 meters tall, but is capable growing even larger. V is also capable of controlling Nightmare directly by climbing atop it and piercing it with his cane to kill off enemies.

File

Devil May Cry 5 promo site^[16]

V, The Mysterious One

Book and cane in hand, this slender man appears covered in impressive tattoos. Before chaos fell upon Red Grave City, he sought out Dante through the information broker Morrison and tasked him to subdue a certain demon. V lacks the power to fight himself, instead relying on three demon familiars to take the offensive in battle.

Nico's Note - The Art of Devil May Cry 5

Now call me crazy here, but soooomething about that "V" guy weirds me out. Can't quite put my finger on it right about now. I mean, this cat signs up Dante on a road trip to the underworld and calls himself a Demon Hunter. Not sayin' I doubt him. Seems like his ink gives him some crazy powers, least of which is summoning a mouthy demon chicken that I WILL country fry if it back-talks me again.

Nico's reports — Character reports — V

Documents - Old Man's Diary

I often think of that boy as of late. Wise beyond his scant years.

He would show up at my home with his nose crammed into some collection of poems. He seemed to favor William Blake most of all, so one day I gave him a Blake anthology as a present. With an expression of delight on his face, he asked to borrow a pen.

Strange though I found the request, I gave him the pen on my person. The boy opened the back cover, and proceeded to scribble his own name within.

I was puzzled to see him write on the book in such a way, and asked the lad what had possessed him to do such a thing. Clutching the anthology to his chest he answered thusly:

"I have a twin brother, sir. We fight over things often, so I have to write my name on things to make them truly mine."

I found myself charmed by his statement, and at once envious of such purity. I felt ashamed...me, a self-styled bibliophile, had devoted myself solely to preserving the beauty of books...

It was clear this child loved books far more than I ever did.

That child is no longer in this town. He disappeared amidst circumstances most unsavory. Perhaps he is no longer in this world. To think that a promising youth like that could lose his life, while a lout like me still drags on...The thought is almost unbearable.

I am already in my twilight years...Perhaps that is why I recall that youth's serene eyes at every opportunity...That pure, untainted youth.

DMC5SE Official website — Vergil

Nico's reports — Character reports — Vergil

Gameplay

In combat, V uses his cane and a book with the letter "V" on its cover as weapons.^[1] Most of the actual fighting is handled by three demons V can summon. Due to his unique gameplay style, V has been described as a "tricky" and strategic character to use in battle. V takes more damage than Dante and Nero, and also possesses less knockback resistance plus slower movement speed, so maintaining a distance is key while his familiars are fighting. So long as V doesn't take damage, the battle can continue. In order to quickly evade by attempting to ride on Shadow or fly with Griffon, V must have his familiars close to him or call them back to his position.

V's familiars have their own health bars displayed under V's Familiar Gauges. They can be strengthened and learn new abilities over the course of the game. However, V's familiars cannot kill other demons and V himself must land the finishing blow. When enemies are close to death, they will start to stagger and turn white with a violet glow, signaling for V to finish them off with his cane. This move is called Checkmate and it requires V to be positioned close to the enemy to strike them down. Note that attempting to attack an enemy normally with V's cane will only deal a puny amount of damage, and it will leave him stunned and vulnerable to enemy attacks. In addition, V's cane can learn new abilities to increase its efficiency, such as Gambit and Touch and Move. The former allows V to teleport to a dying enemy and finish them off swiftly. The latter enables V to follow up a finishing blow (Checkmate) with a teleport to the next target enemy and strike it down as well. The most powerful ability available to the cane would be Royal Fork, which can kill off all dying enemies in close proximity.

The familiars are manually directed by V, but Griffon and Shadow can fight automatically at the cost of using up V's DT gauge. As for Nightmare, summoning him consumes a part of the DT gauge and the gauge will continue to drain while Nightmare attacks. Due to Nightmare's slow movement, Nightmare essentially cannot traverse the ground very well and isn't ideal to use when surrounded by enemies while the DT gauge is low. Nightmare also fights automatically, but can be directly controlled by V when he climbs on his shoulder and pierces him with his cane. As long as Nightmare is controlled by V, V can kill enemies off using Nightmare. In very narrow spaces, Nightmare cannot fully emerge and will only stick out his head to fire his beams. Due to the many different summoning entrances when summoning Nightmare, secret passageways can be found when Nightmare burst through the environment.

V's familiars use their own orientation relative to the camera rather than V's for command moves. For example, if the player wishes for Shadow to perform Arbiter and Shadow is facing towards the camera, the command will be Left Stick Up rather than Left Stick Down. As with all such inputs in DMC5, only the four cardinal directions (up, down, left, right) are used. The nearest one will trigger the desired move, with a significant overlap at 45-degree angles where both inputs will work.

If V takes too long to finish off enemies, they will regain partial health, forcing V to attack them again. The familiars can take damage and will revert to their core state after taking too much damage. In their core state, they cannot attack and cannot be summoned again for a certain amount of time. If Griffon and Shadow are in their core state, summoning Nightmare is a quick way to revive them. Another way to quickly revive the familiars from their core states is for V to stand close to them, the closer V is the faster the familiars can revive. However, it is vital to exercise caution when trying to close the distance as the remaining enemies will try to kill V, who cannot do anything against them without his familiars.

In order to fill the DT gauge, V has to read his book. The closer V is to his opponents while reading, the faster the gauge will fill. However, V's movement will be slower while reading, leaving him more vulnerable to enemies.

Besides being a playable character, V along with his familiars can be also summoned for an attack called World of V when playing as Vergil in the Special Edition. During World of V, V and his familiars are impervious to damage.

Etymology

The letter "V" is the Roman numeral for the number "5", referencing V's appearance and importance in the fifth installment of the Devil May Cry series, Devil May Cry 5. Furthermore, the first words spoke by V in promotional material was "He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.", which is the fifth proverb from William Blake's "Proverbs of Hell." V is also the first letter of Vergil, the name of the man who he was once part of.

Appearances in Other Media

Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2

V appears in Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 as part of the Devil May Cry 5 collaboration. V could have been acquired by players during the collab period and added to their party, he also makes an appearance during the story chapters of the collab, even acting as an enemy at one point. Both Shadow and Griffon again act as his main way of dealing damage to enemies, but Nightmare is not present.

TEPPEN

V makes an appearance in TEPPEN with its "The Devils Awaken" expansion. He's featured in three cards, all of the purple element. He has his own card which is called "V, The Mysterious One". This Legendary card is unique in the game as it was the first card added which cannot attack, however, whenever the player triggers Resonate, V will spawn either Griffon, Shadow or Nightmare into play.

More V cards were added to the game with its "Haunted by Memories" expansion, one of them is a secret card which has an animated illustration.

Trivia

• In Devil May Cry 5, V has the lowest number of playable missions in the series at 6 (Mission 4, 5, 7, 9, 13 & 14).
• Despite the understood mechanic that V needs to deal the final blow to finish off enemies, his familiars are capable of destroying Qliphoth tentacles and Blood Clots on their own.
• Due to his likeness, many fans made the comparison between V and actor Adam Driver, particularly Driver's role as Kylo Ren from the Star Wars franchise. However, the character of V was being developed before Star Wars: The Force Awakens had been released.^[4]
  • When completing the Bloody Palace as V, the player earns the "Special Provocation" move. This is a special taunt that makes V's Cane glow and adds a special sound effect when he uses it, much like Lightsabers from the Star Wars franchise.
• Some sentences said by V are quoted directly from William Blake poems, such as "He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence." and "I curse my stars in bitter grief and woe, that made my love so high and me so low.".
  • Additionally, one of Nico's tattoos also quotes a William Blake poem titled "Eternity".^[19]
• At the New York Comic-Con 2018, Itsuno also stated that V was actually his favorite character.^[20]
• V's EX Costume may be a reference to Gilver, with it having a green color scheme and the patterns of Vergil's trench coat. Before some retcons made by Devil May Cry 5 and Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare, Gilver was a disguise taken on by Vergil/Nelo Angelo in the Devil May Cry novel.
• Hideaki Itsuno admitted in an interview that he is surprised by the warm reception V has received since his release, whom Itsuno thought would be "more divisive."^[21]
• The song V plays during his violin taunt is Paganini's Caprice no. 24. During his orchestra conductor taunt, Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries plays.
• V's Familiars appear to be references to the servants of Koichi Yamano from the manga Babel II. These were Rodem (a panther), Ropross (a pterosaur), and Poseidon (an iron giant).
• Much like with Urizen, there are multiple hints throughout the story of Devil May Cry 5 that foreshadow V's true identity:
  • Each of V's three familiars, Griffon, Shadow, and Nightmare are named and visually similar to demons Dante fought on Mallet Island, and as revealed by Griffon in Mission 18, represent the physical manifestations of Vergil's trauma during his time as Nelo Angelo.
  • While noted to be human, V's summoning of Nightmare causes all of the dark ink coating his body to vanish, revealing his hair is naturally white, a trait all from Sparda's bloodline carry.
  • V's own name is derived from Vergil's, and the book of William Blake poetry he carries, having previously belonged to Vergil as a child.
  • The way V swings his cane has an identical animation to the start of one of Vergil's combos with the Yamato.
  • V's Royal Fork finisher has him summon multiple energy formed copies of his cane, reminiscent of Vergil's usage of Summoned Swords to surround and impale his enemies.
  • V is visibly disturbed and angered at the sight of Proto Angelo and Scudo Angelo, which are replicas of Nelo Angelo, specifically stating "What evil lurks, I must destroy."
  • When V attempts to lift the Devil Sword Sparda, he comments that the sword is "still too much for [him]", subtly hinting at his previous attempt to wield the sword as the Force Edge in the final mission of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Likewise, when V moves to seemingly impale Dante with the sword, he briefly rages at Dante for his existence hindering his own, hinting at a deeper connection between the two. Finally, like with Urizen in the Prologue, when V stabs at Dante with the Sparda, Dante's eyes snap open, and V's reflection is seen in his eye, once more recreating the opening scene Devil May Cry 3.
  • Several of V's battle quotes in DMC5 are used by Vergil in previous titles, from "Scum!" "Blast," "Die!", and "Begone!", similar to Nero as well, hinting at the two's connection to Vergil. Tellingly, both V and Urizen share the quote "What an eyesore" in battle.
• V was specifically designed to have an easier time with getting high Stylish Ranks due to him being a new character, the same was done to Nero in Devil May Cry 4 according to Hideaki Itsuno.^[22]

See also

• Urizen
• Vergil

Sources