Why is Red Grave City devoid of life in DMC3?

[The New Crusader]

In the first room of Mission 3, you can examine a wall to get the message "The city is devoid of life. Did the people already flee in fear of demons, or...?"

Normally, this would be a "Ha ha, Capcom is lampshading the PS2 game being suspiciously devoid of NPCs" but it's phrased like a question, implying some deeper mystery that the game wants you to think about even though iirc it never gets brought up again.

[Director Bison]

A gigantic demonic tower erupted from the ground, and there are Demons roaming free in the streets. I don't think it's too complex to figure out why Dante doesn't see too many people running around.

[The New Crusader]

Originally posted by Director Bison:

A gigantic demonic tower erupted from the ground, and there are Demons roaming free in the streets. I don't think it's too complex to figure out why Dante doesn't see too many people running around.

Did you actually read what I wrote, or did you just read the title of the thread and immediately assume I was an idiot without a basic sense of cause and effect?

[Director Bison]

I read what you wrote, it's just that it's not really a Mystery that requires any pondering. The people in Red Grave City either ran away or they died due to Demon Attacks/the earth quake that shook the entire city. They could also be Taking shelter or trapped.

There is nothing to imply anything is going on beyond those options to my knowledge.

Dante just doesn't outright state the Gruesome reality of the Situation, since perhaps he'd rather not think about it.