Story & Lore
Devil May Cry 5 is the culmination of a story that spans five games and over two decades. If you're jumping in fresh or need a refresher, this page covers everything: the series timeline, DMC5's full story, and the mythology that underpins it all. Major spoilers ahead.
Series Timeline (Chronological Order)
The DMC games were not released in chronological order. Here is the in-universe timeline:
The demon knight Sparda rebelled against the demon world to protect humanity. He sealed the Demon World away and became a legendary hero. Sparda eventually fell in love with a human woman named Eva. They had twin sons: Dante and Vergil.
Teenage Dante and Vergil clash at the Temen-ni-gru tower. Vergil seeks their father's power; Dante fights to stop him. Vergil falls into the Demon World by choice, seeking more power. Dante opens his demon-hunting shop.
Dante is hired by Trish (a demon created by Mundus in Eva's image) to defeat the Demon King Mundus on Mallet Island. Dante destroys Mundus and Trish joins him as a partner.
Dante faces the businessman-turned-demon Arius on Dumary Island. Dante enters the Demon World to seal a portal. Generally considered the weakest entry in the series.
In the city of Fortuna, young Nero (secretly Vergil's son) discovers his demonic heritage through his Devil Bringer arm. He fights alongside Dante against the Order of the Sword, a cult worshipping Sparda. Dante entrusts Nero with the Yamato katana.
A massive demonic tree — the Qliphoth — erupts in Red Grave City. Nero, Dante, and a mysterious man named V join forces to stop it. The story reveals V's true identity, Vergil's fate, and the brothers' final confrontation.
Devil May Cry 5 — Full Story
The following is the complete story of DMC5. Major spoilers for the entire game.
The Fall of Nero's Arm
Before the game's main events, a weakened Vergil — barely alive after his defeat as Nelo Angelo in DMC1 — ambushes Nero in Fortuna and tears off his Devil Bringer arm to reclaim the Yamato katana embedded within it. Vergil uses Yamato's power to separate his human and demon halves: the human half becomes V, a frail man sustained by three demonic familiars (Griffon, Shadow, Nightmare); the demon half becomes Urizen, a being of pure demonic power.
The Qliphoth Rises
Urizen plants the Qliphoth — a demonic tree from the underworld that feeds on human blood — in Red Grave City. It grows rapidly, devastating the city and killing thousands. The Qliphoth's fruit, nourished by human blood, grants whoever eats it supreme demonic power. Nero (now equipped with Nico's mechanical Devil Breaker arms), Dante, Trish, and Lady assault the Qliphoth but are defeated by Urizen. Dante is impaled and falls into a month-long coma.
V's Mission
V, knowing he's Vergil's human half, recruits Nero and guides events from behind the scenes. V's body is deteriorating — without his demon half, he's slowly dying. His true goal is to reunite with Urizen and become whole again, but he genuinely cares about stopping the destruction Urizen has caused. V's familiars (Griffon, Shadow, Nightmare) are fragments of Vergil's memories of past demons he fought.
Dante's Awakening
After a month in a coma, Dante awakens and obtains the Devil Sword Sparda from Trish. Fighting back through the Qliphoth, he faces Urizen again. During the battle, Dante's desire to protect drives him to merge Rebellion and the Devil Sword Sparda, creating the Devil Sword Dante and unlocking his Sin Devil Trigger — a form of power rivaling his father. Dante defeats Urizen, but V reaches Urizen first.
Vergil Returns
V absorbs back into the defeated Urizen, reunifying into a restored Vergil at full power. Vergil immediately eats the Qliphoth fruit and becomes the most powerful demon alive. He challenges Dante to their final duel — not out of evil, but because rivalry and combat are the only way the twins know how to relate.
The Final Battle
Dante and Vergil fight atop the Qliphoth (Mission 19), matching each other blow for blow. Before either can land a killing blow, Nero intervenes. Having unlocked his own true Devil Trigger through sheer determination to save his family, Nero challenges Vergil — his father — and proves himself their equal. The fight resolves the family's generational trauma through combat, not words. Nero wins, and Vergil relents.
Epilogue
Dante and Vergil descend into the Demon World together to cut the Qliphoth's roots, sealing the portal. They continue fighting each other in the Demon World — but this time, as brothers rather than enemies. Nero takes over the demon-hunting business on Earth, and the series ends (for now) with the Sparda family finally at peace.
Key Characters & Relationships
Son of Sparda and Eva. The legendary demon hunter. Runs the Devil May Cry shop. Carefree and wisecracking on the surface, but driven by deep loyalty to his family and friends. DMC5 represents his acceptance of Vergil as a brother, not just a rival.
Dante's twin brother. Obsessed with power since childhood, driven by the trauma of failing to protect his mother Eva. His journey across the series is one of isolation and the refusal to accept weakness. In DMC5, splitting into V (his humanity) and Urizen (his power) forces him to confront both halves. His reunification and Nero's intervention finally break the cycle.
Son of Vergil, though he only learns this definitively in DMC5. Raised in Fortuna by his adoptive family. Hot-headed and emotional — the opposite of his father's cold precision. Nero represents the next generation and the possibility that the Sparda bloodline can choose connection over conflict.
Vergil's human half, created when Vergil split himself with the Yamato. Physically frail, poetic, and surprisingly empathetic. V represents the humanity Vergil suppressed for decades. His familiars are manifestations of Vergil's memories. V knows he must cease to exist to save Vergil, and accepts this.
Nero's partner and weaponsmith. Granddaughter of Agnus (the villain from DMC4). She builds all of Nero's Devil Breaker arms and drives the mobile van. Nico provides the game's comic relief and human grounding.
A demon created by Mundus in the likeness of Eva (Dante and Vergil's mother). After DMC1, she became Dante's ally. In DMC5, she's captured and used as the core of Cavaliere Angelo's armor.
A human demon hunter and Dante's longtime ally since DMC3. Despite having no demonic power, she fights alongside Dante using firearms and rocket launchers.
World & Mythology
Sparda
A legendary demon knight who 2,000 years ago chose to side with humanity against his own kind. Sparda single-handedly sealed the Demon World, sacrificed his power into the Devil Sword Sparda and his amulet, and lived among humans until his mysterious disappearance. Everything in the DMC universe flows from Sparda's rebellion — the twins' power, the recurring demonic invasions, and the cycle of conflict that DMC5 finally resolves.
The Qliphoth
A demonic tree from the underworld that periodically rises in the human world. It feeds on human blood, and its fruit grants supreme demonic power to whoever consumes it. The Qliphoth is rooted in Kabbalistic mythology (the Qliphoth represent the 'shells' or 'husks' of evil in Jewish mysticism). In DMC5, the Qliphoth serves as both the setting and the MacGuffin — Urizen planted it to grow the fruit, and the final act takes place among its branches.
The Yamato
One of two swords left by Sparda (the other being Rebellion). The Yamato can cut through anything — including the barrier between the human and demon worlds. Vergil used it to separate himself into V and Urizen, and Dante and Vergil use it to seal the Qliphoth portal in the epilogue. It's also the source of Nero's original Devil Bringer arm power.
Devil Trigger
The transformation that occurs when a half-demon (or powerful demon) unleashes their full power. For the sons of Sparda, Devil Trigger is a birthright — a manifestation of their demonic heritage. Sin Devil Trigger represents an even deeper awakening, approaching the level of power Sparda himself wielded.