In the distant past, the Dark Knight Sparda rebelled against the Emperor of Darkness in a desperate attempt to save the human race. Thousands of years later, the "Order of the Sword," a religious sect that worships Sparda, has taken on the task of continuing the eternal battle against the forces of darkness. The Order consists of elite "Holy Knights." Everything will change the day Dante, a young knight of the Order, witnesses the massacre of many of his comrades at the hands of Nero, the legendary son of Sparda. Why has the heroic demon hunter turned against his fellow humans? What does fate have in store for these two brave warriors?