Hell Gates

"I know this thing's a major cultural artifact, but it's bad for the community."

- Dante about the true Hell Gate.

The Hell Gates (in Japanese: 地獄門, Jigokumon), also called "Hellgates" and "Hell-Gates", are tall, black monolithic structures that served as portals between the Human World and the Demon World and they play a major role in Devil May Cry 4. They are one of the primary methods of transportation between the realms, alongside the Temen-ni-gru and direct summoning. Fortuna's skyscraper-sized Hell Gate is considered to be the most important and possibly the largest.

Hell Gates are never to be confused with other methods of connecting the Earth and the demonic netherworld. Although they may be called gateways to hell, they are not true Hell Gates.

The Hell Gate
A long time ago, the true Hell Gate was sealed by the legendary Dark Knight Sparda, who used Yamato as a key to the seal. Recently the Order of the Sword who worshipped Sparda, sought Yamato to open the Hell Gate. Though they found it, they couldn't use it as the blade was broken and could not be repaired by any known method.

To forward their plans, Agnus, the Order's Chief Alchemist, created three lesser Hell Gates, copies of the real one. He used the Devil Arms Lucifer, Gilgamesh, and Pandora to power the Gates and allow demons into the human world, which he used in his experiments.

Opening the True Hell Gate
"Lend me your ears... and fangs. Destroy this world so that the true utopia can be born!"

- Agnus chanting while opening the true Hell Gate with the Yamato sword.

Nero closes the lesser gates as he pursues Dante, but doesn't actually destroy them. Later, after Nero restores and takes Yamato, Sanctus tricks and captures him, taking the sword in the process. Sanctus gives it to Agnus, who uses it to open the true Hell Gate, causing total chaos in the city. Sanctus, The Savior and their army of both Alto Angelos and Bianco Angelos then sweep in to destroy the released demons and pose as heroes to the general population.

As Dante returns to Fortuna to battle The Savior, he destroys the lesser Hell Gates using the same Devil Arms that powered them. After Dante returns to the true Hell Gate, he kills Agnus and retrieves the Yamato, which he uses to destroy Fortuna's Hell Gate.

DmC: Devil May Cry
There was a Hell Gate as mentioned by Mundus, found within his office at the Silver Sacks Tower in Limbo City. During Dante's battle with Mundus, Vergil, leader of the Order, was able to shut down the Hell Gate and revealed the truth to the humans, freeing them and the Earth from the demons' control.

Trivia

 * The phrase La Porte De L'Enfer appears twice in the game, as a mission title and as a video depicting the scene when Agnus re-opens the Hell Gates, it literary means "The Gate of Hell", and it is also the second part of Dante's Inferno by Dante Alighieri.