The legendary dark knight who defeated the Devil-king some 2000 years ago. When sealing the netherworld, sensing his power had grown too strong, he intentionally seals himself in as well.
Devil May Cry 5[]
Profiles - Dark Knight Sparda
Wherever you go in the world, you can hear the legend of the Dark Knight Sparda: a demon swordsman who defeated the king of the underworld, sealing him away to protect his lady love. Shoot, good luck finding a kid who ain't heard the tale in this day and age.
Them Fortuna folks, though, they took it a step further...went and based a whole dang religion around the story! I mean, sure, there are records here and there substantiating the existence of Sparda, but only a handful of people know about 'em.
Mama told me stories of Sparda when I was a baby, but she thought it was just something you tell kids to get them to go to sleep. Daddy, though... Daddy was from Fortuna, so he believed in the whole shebang, though he never tried to make her drink the punch.
Maybe he figured she'd never believe him, or heck, maybe he was so head over heels he didn't give a flip what she believed. They ain't around anymore, so I can't exactly go and ask them. I can imagine what Mama'd say if I told her I partnered up with a bonafide descendant of Sparda. She'd have me strapped up in a straightjacket, for sure!
Sorry, Mama, but Sparda ain't just a fairy tale. Nero and Dante...them fellas are living proof.
Documents - The Legend of Sparda
The world of demons was once connected to the world of man. The one who ruled the demon world set his sights on conquest of the human world. However, one demon rose up against the demon king, and fought to protect mankind: The Dark Knight Sparda.
Wielding a massive sword that shared his name, Sparda laid the demon king to rest, along with his subordinates. He then sealed the gate connecting both worlds, using a sword as the key. While most records offer little to no details about this weapon, many speculate it to be the Sword of Sparda.
And yet, the following was written in a record of devil swords I discovered:
"The Dark Knight Sparda split his power in three parts. One blade bore his own name; the second blade was named to embody retaliation; the final blade was named to embody a god of death."
If this is true, then there are two other devil swords out there besides Sparda.
Sparda was sealed by the dark knight himself, but no one has found any documents pertaining to the locations of the other two blades...