Signs Vergil cares about Nero part 2 because I can't stop thinking about them.
So you ever wondered how odd it is that Vergil first challenges Nero to a fight on top of the Qliphoth, and then spends the whole time trying to talk Nero down? Yeah. About that.
So we start at top of the Qliphoth. Nero is standing inbetween Dante and Vergil, and is very clear about his intentions, after pulling them apart. "I'm putting a stop to this sibling rivalry." And Vergil actually, heartily, laughs. (That's a first.) "You came all this way just for that". And it is clear that he's not laughing at Nero. He sounds mostly astonished, and I personally think mixed with a hint of pride, especially after the courage Nero just showed by jumping inbetween 2 fighting demons.
Nero responds to that, stating that neither he or Dante are gonna die there, and wether Vergil has a problem with that. Interestingly, and I don't know whether that's intentional or a coincidence, Vergil seems to very slightly nod at that statement, which would imply that he to some degree understands what Nero is saying. (I slowed down the gif a bit to make it more visible).
And to that, Vergil issues a challenge. "If I beat Nero, then by default, I beat you. Agreed Dante?" And here's a crucial detail about that sentence. It may seem that Vergil is challenging Nero to some sort of test of his strength, and how it holds up to his and/or Dante's. I mean that's technically what's he's doing and saying. But he is not addressing Nero. He is addressing the challenge at Dante.
And I believe he actually wanted to continue fighting Dante, NOT Nero. Vergil was simply trying to bait Dante into protecting Nero, and taking the challenge for him. That's also why he's addressing his brother. The challenge itself was never meant as anything more than a dare.
And here is where, despite Dante being our favorite himbo, I gotta give him credit for seeing right through that. Which isn't unexpected, Dante and Vergil might know eachother to be competitive, as brothers, but they also spend a lot of time away from eachother. Dante has considerably matured throughout this time. So Dante plays it all dramatic in the background (really Dante you took swords through your chest the first time you fought Nero, that slap did not "nearly kill you") and just... Doesn't take the bait. He backs down.
And with that Vergil actually has to follow through with something he didn't expect to happen. So he's just... Looking at Nero. Doesn't speak or adress him. And with that Nero angrily takes the challenge. It always felt odd to me how the game immediately jumps to the fight like that, but it makes sense now. Vergil likely didn't know what to say in that moment.
So when you start fighting Vergil he immediately mellows. He states that Nero should stand down. That this has nothing to do with him. And the voice line that gets to me the most is the soft "Nero" he adds after that, he sounds almost pleading. I don't think I've ever heard Vergil speak with a tone like that. He's nowhere as competitive as he was with Dante. These voicelines are also a direct contrast with the earlier challenge, and therefore confirm the intention. The challenge had nothing to do with Nero to begin with.
After Nero flips Vergil off, all he can really do is respond to Nero's fury, he doesn't initiate the conversation anymore. It clearly shows how Nero's anger dominates the conversation now, and all Vergil does is endure it. The fact that he doesn't argue back also shows that he does not want to engage in the fight the same way he did with Dante. I feel like even though he was tired from the fight with his brother, he also was not throwing in his full power and will into this current fight, either consciously or subconsciously. Honestly, nowhere in the game did Vergil make a move that would imply he actively WANTED to fight Nero.
So I believe Vergil didn't even need Nero to prove his strength for him either, certainly not in battle. We have to remember the whole arc for Vergil is embracing his humanity. So his demon part was the one obsessed with "power" (and strength as a forced imagined part of that). But his human part already accepted Nero based on... well that. Humanity. Empathy. The time V spend with him. The fact that Nero helped him to the bottom of the Qliphoth and reunited him with himself. That's what Vergil thanks him for earlier in the game after all.
Honestly, maybe that's the "strongest" thing Nero could have done for him. And therefore it's the basis for Vergils acceptance of him. Maybe, in some way, he even already accepted Nero before knowing he was his son.
