Devil Hunter

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Devil Hunters are mercenaries and bounty hunters who specialize in hunting demons. They are supposedly stronger than normal humans either due to extensive physical training or demonic heritage. They are contracted to do a job (typically the slaying of a particular demon) and receive payment upon the completion of said job. They are usually expected to be calm, cool, collected, utilize their knowledge of demons and easily changes tactics throughout a fight. Payment varies depending on the contractor and the extremity of the job.

Training

Little is known about the requirements to become a Devil Hunter, but it is implied that there are no formal schools or programs available to train potential hunters. However, there are some groups dedicated to exterminating demons, like the Order of the Sword.

Accepting Jobs

Since Dante is the main protagonist of the series, much of what is known about Devil Hunters is revealed through him. Typically, he obtains work through an agent, such as Morrison or Enzo Ferino, who scouts potential jobs and checks on the authenticity of clients. Dante will accept jobs from people who walk into his office or call his office phone, but only if the client knows a password - which is never revealed to players - or has a particularly compelling story. Even though Dante is seemingly selective about the jobs he takes, he is also very much in debt, and has on multiple occasions accepted a job to repay a favor extended to him.

In Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, it is revealed that Lady runs her own Devil Hunting business, and she is contracted by the official organization in charge of policing highways to deal with a demon. She requests Dante's help because she realizes it's too big for her to handle alone.

Devil Hunting

After accepting a job, Devil Hunters must then actually carry out the task. Usually a job is as simple as killing a specific demon, but if the cause of the demonic activity is unknown, Devil Hunters are required to do some investigative work first.

Some jobs require Devil Hunters to function more as body guards than hunters. In these instances, a job consists of protecting someone or something from demons, and the actual number of demons killed has no affect on the reward. Dante is hired as a bodyguard twice in the anime: First to safely deliver Patty Lowell to a mansion where she will supposedly receive a large inheritance, and again to protect a group of treasure hunters as they scavenge the "haunted" home of a former rock musician.

Payment

Typically, payment for a job is not made until after services are rendered and only upon completion of a job to the satisfaction of the client. However, it is not unheard of for a Devil Hunter to request a portion of the total reward to be payed beforehand, though this arrangement is usually reserved for very difficult cases. Agents who work for Dante are entitled to a portion of the reward money if Dante chooses to accept the job they find.

Devil Hunters are not above the law, however, and must usually make reparations for any damage they cause while pursuing a target. For example, even though Lady splits the reward from the highway job with Dante, Dante actually ends up owing money to the highway department for property damage he caused while battling the demon.

Competition

Devil Hunting is not an exclusive business, and hunters often have to compete with others for jobs and clients. That there is enough work for multiple Devil Hunters to operate in a given area is testament to the pervasiveness of demons within the Human World. Although the known Devil Hunters operate individually, it is quite common for competing Devil Hunters to team up on difficult cases. This allows them to tackle much larger jobs than they could accomplish alone, and also grants a modicum of security, as there will be someone else to watch their backs. How the reward is split varies depending on the agreement reached between the involved parties.

Not all Devil Hunting is amicable. As is the case at the beginning of Devil May Cry 4, some Devil Hunters actually seek to put one another out of business by disrupting their activities: The Order of the Sword put pressure on Lady's business by taking most of the demons in her area, so she retaliates by hiring Dante to discover why they are collecting demons and Devil Arms in the first place.