#maybe I wasn’t exaggerating about DMC being one of my obsessions 😆

[rosewood-multifandom-writer]

First one immediately out as much as it pains me is Vergil. He would basically be the reason why the demons are attacking because he grew another giant tower or giant tree or… a giant bed of flowers or whatever. Not to mention that he was blinded by his own trauma and did not like being victimized so he would be a bit too preoccupied with seeking power and depending on which version we’re talking about since this poll doesn’t specify which version of Dante, Vergil, or Nero, if we’re talking DMC3 Vergil, he will keep people at arms length and act cold and be more selfish.

If it’s DMC5 Vergil, maybe, but since we didn’t get canonical glimpses of him being selfless after coming back from the dead other than taking the loss from Nero gracefully, I can’t really say that he will be selfless and risk his life to save someone even if he gets little to no benefits from it. If we’re talking Reboot Vergil, I think anyone who has seen me slander Reboot Vergil already knows the answer to that, lol.

Second one out is Dante mainly because he has this tendency to tell important information to people he’s close with at the very last minute when they’re in danger. He’s done it to Nero, even after knowing that Vergil is his dad and tells Vergil DURING THEIR FIGHT in DMC5 that Nero is his son. Like Dante, I love you too, but uh… I’m pretty sure both of them could’ve learned about this fact, idk, earlier??? Though I get why, Dante projected onto Nero quite a lot. Do not get me wrong, he does have a protective streak. He’s protective of Patty and he’s protective of Nero in his own way.

I also forgot to mention Reboot Dante, whoops! Reboot Dante starts out selfish and arrogant. Yeah, I know he’s a Nephilim (half angel half demon) and has dealt with demon attacks a lot to the point where it’s an everyday chore for him, but like I said, Reboot Dante is probably the most selfish one you don’t want to rely on to protect you. Chances are he only killed a bunch of demons because they were in his way, not because you were in danger.

But the winner here is Nero. Nero was motivated by his last failure to protect Credo, the fact that he actually has a blood family, as well as the fact that he also saved and protected the leftover SWAT police guy at the beginning of DMC5. When he first got weird vibes from the hooded and zombified Vergil, he immediately told Kyrie to stay inside. Nero is the definition of fight or flight mode and he instantly chooses fight every single time. He even protected V from Malphas even though he barely knew the guy. Even though he despises Vergil, he still wanted both him and Dante to live.

So TL:DR based on everything I’ve seen in canon so far, Nero would be the best protector.