God Of War's Inferno
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Chapter 8 - Kratos vs Dante
The wait was rather unnerving for Kratos.
Used to be on the edge, fighting for his life or for his ambition of conquest, and continuously putting his life on the line against both men and monsters, the Spartan warlord found himself ill at ease having to wait for something to happen. The fact that he and his allies were now in a safe haven was doing little to calm him down - he well knew Ares was out there, waiting for the right moment to strike. Sure, Ares had never been the most patient of all the Olympians, who were for the most part quite impulsive, but he certainly knew how to play the waiting game if need be.
His three companions, or at least the three warriors Athena had chosen to oppose Ares' plots along with him, were minding their own business as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Kratos could see Ulysses carving what seemed to be a small horse figurine in a piece of wood. It reminded him of the toys he had a habit of making for Calliope during those rare times he could spend some time with his family, and it reminded him that, in fact, Ulysses was an husband and a father himself - twenty years before, he had left his small kingdom of Itaca in order to fight in the Trojan War, and after that ended, he had found himself condemned to aimlessly wander the Mediterranean Sea, cursed by Poseidon. As far as Kratos knew, Ulysses and his men had been captured by a Cyclops called Polyphemus, who just happened to be the son of the god of the sea, which Poseidon had sired out of a Naiad he has seduced. The furious Poseidon had wanted revenge on the king of Itaca, and for ten years, Ulysses had been denied the chance to reunite with his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus.
The other two warriors of Athena weren't being much more talkative, not that Kratos really minded. As far as he was concerned, the only reason he wanted them around was to more easily thwart Ares' scheme and get what he was after in the first place. Achilles was probably in his quarters, practicing with his weapons, while Atalanta was probably running a few laps around the place. Well, whatever made them happy. He sure had enough things to worry about to think of what his allies were going to do.
Just when he was about to stand up and walk away, looking for a way to assuage his boredom, Kratos' acute sense perceived something approaching, and soon after a faint sound like that of the wind among the trees reverberated in the pristine marble room, accompanied by the metallic clanking of armor and weapons. With a start, both Kratos and Ulysses stoodd up and grabbed their weapons, ready to fight if that turned out to be a threat...
"You do not need to be alarmed. At least, not for now." Athena said in a strong, steely voice as she materialized in front of the two warriors, armed with her bronze breastplate, helmet and spear. Both Kratos and Ulysses lowered their weapons, and the king of Itaca took a breath of relief after seeing that his patron goddess was there... even though the reason for her visit might not have been as pleasant as they might have liked. "I have come with worrying news. It seems that there was another breach in the border that separated our world from the one the invasion of Olympus came from. We still have no idea what caused it, and what the intention of whoever is behind this could be... but this is our chance to know more about what is going on. Us Olympians are forbidden to interfere beyond a certain point with what happens in the world of mortals, but..."
"Say no more, Athena. I will go." Kratos spoke up. "I was getting quite annoyed with having to wait."
"That is satisfactory." Athena answered, before turning to Ulysses, as if making sure that the other warrior she had decided to champion was okay with her decision. "I trust this will not be a problem for you, Ulysses?"
"It's not, Athena." the king of Itaca answered evenly. Never one for rash actions or out for personal glory, Ulysses could always be counted on to do the rational thing. "It could give us a chance to see for ourselves what the enemy can do, and what manner of opposition we are to face."
Kratos had a suspicion that Ulysses was going to use him as bait to gauge the opponents' strength, but he didn't voice any objection, and simply nodded. "Fine. Then, Athena, take me to where the invaders have infiltrated once again. I will personally see to it that they don't get away."
"That is fine, Kratos, but try not to kill the intruders, if it is reasonable." Athena warned him, knowing how Kratos could easily lose himself to bloodlust. "At least, not if they can tell us anything about the situation."
"I'll try. Can't promise anything." Kratos said with a grunt, and Athen sighed before waving her hand, spiriting herself and Kratos to the place where she had felt the disturbance happen...
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Dante sighed in frustration as he rummaged through what seemed to be an abandoned store, filled with broken vases, shattered furniture and whatever remained of the peple who once lived there. It looked like the place had been razed and depopulated several weeks before, as the ruins were beginning to get covered in dust, cobwebs and weeds... and judging by the appearences, the place had a Classic Greece style to it that made Dante think that he had actually gone back in time. Still, no sign of Beatrice and no hints as to where Lucifer might have taken her...
"Poet, this place should seem rather familiar to you." Dante asked Virgil, whose shade was still hovering close. He could see that the expression on the great poet's face was solemn and somewhat wistful, as if the place brought back memories of his life. "Is it a mere delusion of mine, or this place happens to be what remains of a small Greek city of two thousand years before the birth of the Saviour?"
"Indeed it is, Dante. By some unfathomable working of the Angel of Darkness, we were cast in this place, far removed from your time." Virgil answered. "I know not what sort of ploy is the Great Fiend trying to use against you, but stay on your guard. We are in completely unfamiliar territory right now."
Dante nodded, holding his sickle with both hands as the two returned outside, walking along the paved street that must have once been bursting with activity. Now, the buildings lay broken and dilapidated, as if an invading army had attacked and brought down everything they could reach. "Well... In any case, we are not one step closer to solving this problem. If only we knew where to start looking, we might have a chance." the crusader answered, fingering the red cross-shaped piece of cloth he had stitched on his chest. It was a reminder of the shame and guilt he was feeling for all the sins he had committed during the Crusade... With a sigh, Dante sat on a nearby stone, wondering whether he really had the right to ask for Beatrice's forgiveness after all he had done.
He shook his head, reminding himself that he did not have the luxury to feel sorry for himself. Maybe he was beyond salvation with what he had done... but at least he would make bloody well sure Beatrice would not have to suffer for his mistakes. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Dante grabbed his sickle once again, and stood up, intending to continue on his way until he had gotten to the bottom of it. "Alright, it seems we have found nothing to help us here." he stated. "We need to get moving and try to find someone or something that might point us in the right direction."
"I agree with that, Dante, yet I would advise to be careful." Virgil answered... before the sound of rocks being stepped upon distracted both him and Dante, and they turned to the source of the noise. As they did so, a terrifying-looking man with ghostly white skin, his body naked from the waist up and decorated in red tattoos that reminded Dante of bloody paintings, stepped out of another road, holding a pair of wicked-looking scimitars, one in each hand. The weapons were connected to his arms thanks to a pair of chains wrapping around the man's lower arms, and the look on his hardened face, decorated with a short, spiky black beard was hard and ferocious, that of an hardened war veteran who had seen enough tragedy and bloodshed to last a whole lifetime and then some. Dante had seen that look in the faces of many of his former comrades during the Crusade, and it was never a good sign.
The white-skinned man walked out of the narrow way, glaring at Dante with a cold, appraising eye and raising his scimitars in a battle-ready stance. The crusader, for his part, stood in place, getting ready for everything... and a few seconds later, the newcomer spoke, his voice laced with cruelty. "I have never seen the likes of you in all the campaigns I have taken part in." he said. "Who are you, and where do you come from? Speak, or my Blades of Athena will do the talking for me."
Dante raised his scythe, ready to strike. "Who we are is for us to know, and for you not to care about." he answered. "Are you another one of those tricks Lucifer is using to throw me off? If that is the case, I will send you back to him."
The ashen-skinned man frowned, his steely expression never wavering, not even for a second. "I know not what you are talking about." he answered. "But you seem to want things done the hard way. I am giving you fair warning, for my patience wears thin."
"In that case, I will not waste any more of your time and go straight to the point." Dante answered, closing in for a powerful slash. Kratos was expecting an attack at any moment, though, and so he was more than ready to jump away and avoid the razor-sharp blade directed towards his chest. His reaction time was incredible, and before Dante could defend himself, Kratos slashed away with the Blades of Athena, causing the crusader to widen his eyes in surprise and hastily raise his own sickle to barely fend off the attack. There was a deafening sound of metal clanging against metal when the two weapons met in midair, and both combatants were forced to step away from each other under the tremendous force of the blow. Then, before Kratos had time to recover, Dante brought out his silver cross and fired a trio of cross-shaped projectiles of pure light at the Spartan commander, hitting him straight on! Kratos staggered backwards, shielding his eyes from the light, but surprisingly enough - both to him and Dante - the holy projectiles had left no mark on his body, aside from causing him some dizziness.
Kratos recovered from his surprise first and dashed forward, before executing a spectacular spinning attack, slashing outwards with the Blades of Athena and trying to catch Dante into a vortex of blood and steel. This time, Dante was not prepared, and he had no choice but to guard as best as he could and take the blow, which lifted him off his feet and slammed him on a crumpled wall nearby. The dilapited wall fell in a heap under the terrible might of the blow, and Dante rolled on the ground for a short while before ending up on his back, stunned for a split second. Kratos attacked again, trying to pounce on Dante and skewer him with the Blades of Athena before the scythe-weilding crusader could recover... but Dante reacted faster that the Spartan expected, and managed to raise his weapon just in time to block Kratos' downwards thrust and push him away just the right distance to allow him to climb back to his feet. Then, Dante hit Kratos in the midsection with the handle of his sickle, and the Spartan grunted in pain for a moment, staggering backwards. Another sweeping strike knocked Kratos off his feet, sending him in the dust... but Kratos was not going to give his opponent the time to capitalize on his advantage, and before Dante could get closer, Kratos summoned Cronos' Rage in the form of an azure globular bolt that struck Dante head-on, electrocuting him! Dante screamed in agony as the electricity coursed through his body... but his sheer determination allowed him to fight off the pain and dash forward, surprising Kratos and allowing Dante to score a hit with his scythe! Kratos was able to dodge just in time, but the curved blade still grazed his muscular chest, drawing some blood from a rather long cut.
Kratos grunted and took a step backwards, wiping the blood off his chest with a nonchalant gesture of the hand before getting back on guard. "You are skilled, I will give you that." he commented, giving some grudging praise. "I have met few who were able to match me blow for blow in my carrer as a warrior of Sparta."
"You speak of Sparta, warrior. The city of warriors and conquerors of reknown." Dante answered, shaking the blood off his scythe. Kratos frowned in suspicion, but said nothing and instead raised his blades a little higher, imagining that his opponent was trying to distract him with small talk. "So, this means that the place I am in is the Greek paeninsula indeed. Just as I had gathered."
"Of course it is. What did you expect?" Kratos answered in audible annoyance. "But you should not get distracted when facing an opponent in a duel."
Kratos had scarcely even ended the sentence before he dashed at Dante, trying to close in and land a punishing combo with the Blades of Athena. An horizontal slash tore through some of the rings of the armor protecting Dante's right arm, sparing the flesh but ripping through the iron. Then, another slash struck Dante in the side, opening a rather nasty wound that immediately began to bleed. The penitent crusader groaned in pain, and Kratos followed by kicking him in the midsection hard enough to lift him off the ground and send him crashing through the door of one of the few buildings remaining standing!
The crusader managed to climb to his feet once again, and used his left hand to clutch the wound on his side, the palm emitting some strange kind of white light that stopped the bleeding in a few seconds. But now, Kratos was on the offensive once again, charging at Dante with the Blades of Athena drawn! Dante grit his teeth and tried to think fast - never had he fought someone as strong, fast and ferocious as this white-skinned Spartan warrior, and if he could not step up his game, he would soon be torn to pieces!
With few other options, Dante grabbed a dilapidated chair which was lying close to him and threw it at the charging Spartan, hoping to catch him off guard or at least cause him to lose a precious second. The latter was the case when Kratos slashed away with the Blades of Athena and turned the chair into smithreens... but this single action gave Dante enough time to recover, and once again, the scythe-wielding crusader dashed in, surrounded in a brilliant white aura and leaving some crystal-like mineral growths in his wake! Kratos tried to block the attack, but he was not fast enough to do so, and the blow propelled him off his feet and to the ground, where he rolled for a good distance before stopping and catching his breath. Whoever this strange warrior was, Kratos had to admit he had seldom ever faced someone with his skill and tenacity. And certainly, he had never had this much trouble with a human opponent. Sure, he remembered how tough the Furies, Persephone, Ares, Thanatos and the Sisters of Fate were, but at least they had the excuse of being supernatural beings whose power far exceeded the limits of mere mortals. This one... this one was a simple mortal whose skills had been honed to almost perfection by years and years of hellish battles!
The two combatants were now in the streets once again, facing off against each other and glaring at each other in the attempt to catch the other off guard, or finding an opening in their stance. Neither of them made a move, instead preferring to assess his opponent's possible strengths and weakness from what seemed to be a safe distance, ready to react as soon as one of them made a false move. The tension was thick, and nobody even dared to make a noise, trying to keep their concentration on the opponent at all costs. In the distance, Virgil stood watching in slight anxiety. He had never seen Dante forced to go all out like this before, with only Minos having managed to put him against the ropes before. What manner of warrior was this person Dante was fighting against? And how did he factor into whatever plans Lucifer had in store?
Finally, both of them decided it was time to stop wasting time and dashed at each other, weapons drawn and ready! Both of them executed a great swing with their weapons, and the powerful blades met in midair, releasing a short shower of sparks! Both fighters reeled from the force of the blow, but they remained standing, and they began pushing against each other in an attempt to overpower the opponent. They seemed to be evenly matched, none of them giving ground or gaining it for a while... but at a certain moment, Kratos used an old trick to unbalance Dante and cause him to stagger forward, dropping his guard. With a sadistic grin, Kratos raised one of the Blades of Athena and tried to skewer Dante in the chest with it... but before he could make a move, he found himself with the point of Dante's scythe pressed dangerously against his side, opening a small wound from which some blood trickled down! If he had made one more step, the blade would have plunged deep into his flesh...
With both fighters at a stalemate, holding their blades only millimeters away from the other's flesh, Dante and Kratos glared venomously at each other, as if trying to read what the other wanted to do... but they couldn't make a move yet, knowing that the other would quickly take advantage of the lapse in defense...
There was silence for a while as Dante and Kratos glared at each other under the scorching sun... and finally, the tension seemed to die down at least a little when a short, mocking laugh resonated in the air around them. Dante looked around in surprise... but Kratos grit his teeth and let out an annoyed groan as he recognized that high-pitched, annoyingly mocking voice. He had heard it more times than he cared to count, back when he still had a throne on the summit on Mt. Olympus...
"Hermes." Kratos groaned, turning to the roof of an abandoned building, with Dante looking in the same direction a moment later. On the roof stood a slim yet fit-looking man wearing a sleeveless white tunic and a golden tiara on his forehead, whose hair seemed to be made of golden light and whose young face seemed to be continuously smiling, albeit in a mocking way. Golden arm guards protected his forearms, but the most telltale sign of his identity were the winged boots adorning his feet. He was sitting in a squatting position on the roof, an hand placed on his cheek as he enjoyed the sight of Kratos and Dante facing off against each other. That was clearly Hermes, son of Zeus and Maia, and the messanger of the Olympians, as well as the fastest of all the Olympians. Kratos had never been too fond of him, even back when he still had some respect for the gods... his mocking, cowardly ways had always caused the proud Spartan commander to frown in disgust.
"My, my, my, Kratos, that was a fun performance you two set up." Hermes chuckled. "And what a splendid fight that was! I mean it, Kratos. Two fools squaring off against each other and waving their toys about. Really, it is not every day you come across such an amusing scene!"
Dante walked away from his opponent and held his scythe with both hands, casting a fierce glare at the messanger of the gods. "Who are you, buffoon? Why do you interfere in our battle?" he exclaimed in clear annoyance. "I warn you, I am not in the mood to be mocked, and I don't care if you are an Olympian god or whatever. Are you another one of Lucifer's cronies? If you are, I will show no mercy!"
Hermes hmmphed and looked at the crusader like one would look at a dirty stray dog. "That is something that does not concern you, outsider. At least, not now." he said in a pompous way. "Now, I am not interested in engaging in an uncouth battle with you. And if it was my decision to make, I would be chilling in my home on Mt. Olympus, enjoying a cup of ambrosia and the attentions of the fair Aphrodite. But Lord Zeus' orders to me were to keep an eye out on you... and on that silly half-sister of mine. Looks like you have been organizing yourself, have you not?"
"You should come clear with your intentions, Hermes, instead of talking in circles." Athena said, appearing from nowhere right behind Hermes. The light-footed Olympian smirked in satisfaction, pleased with himself for having guessed just where Athena was going to appear. "Does that mean you have an inkling of where the stranger in front of us has come front, and what role he is playing in this debacle? Speak, or refrain from making a mockery of us and take your leave."
"My, my... touchy, are we not?" Hermes said, placing his hands behind his head in a laid-back way. "Fine then, I suppose I might as well tell you. Lord Zeus can say with certainty that this strange man we see here..." he regarded Dante with a playful grin on his face, and Kratos fought the rising urge to punch that smirk off the god's face. "...does not come from this time period at all. In fact, he seems to come from the future. From the place the invasion of Olympus had originated from, in fact."
"What?" Kratos exclaimed, utterly surprised by the revelation. "Is that another one of your pathetic lies, Hermes, or we can actually trust you on this one?"
"Well, whether you trust me or not, does not change the facts, Spartan." Hermes smirked. "And as far as I am concerned, I care not whether you trust me or not. But Lord Zeus seems to have taken an interest in our friend right here, and he would not take kindly to you coming to blows with him just yet. If I were you, I'd sheathe my blades and listen to what he has to say."
"And what makes you think I have anything to tell you, Olympian?" Dante asked in a steely voice, annoyed at the fact that these people did not seem to take his own will in account. "I am here for my own purpouses, and I will certainly not submit to you. Farewell, and hopefully our ways will never cross again."
With that, Dante leapt away before anyone could stop him, jumping on the roof of a low building, and from there, to a taller one, before finally making a run for it and leaving the village. Kratos tried to hold him back, but Dante's sudden burst of speed had taken him completely off guard, and he was unable to apprehend him before Dante got away. The Spartan warrior was left to mutter a profanity in frustration.
"Close, Spartan. Close but no dice." Hermes mocked him in a completely unconcerned tone.
"Why did you not even try to stop the stranger from getting away, Hermes?" Athena asked, even though she felt like she already knew the answer. "With your speed, you could have easily restrained him so that we could question him about his involvement in this conflict. And about that name he uttered before running away. Lucifer."
"Oh, my, so you were listening in from the very beginning?" Hermes joked. "That was rather indelicate of you, sister dear. Anyway, yes, I suppose I could stop him, but where would the fun be in that? You know us Olympians aren't exactly fond of solving problems for mortals anyway."
"If I did not know better, I would say you and your ilk enjoy making things harder on us, Hermes." Kratos snarked, annoyed at having had to leave his hideout and his family at Mt. Ida and teleport all the way there only to end up empty handed. But he tried not to dwell on that so much. As a general of the spartan army, he well knew that there was hardly any time to reminisce about failures, and the best thing to do was to try and think up a better approach, in order to be prepared for next time. He had to admit, he was rather impressed by the skill demonstrated by that strange scythe-wielding warrior. His weapon, his attire and his fighting style were rather unfamiliar with Kratos, but he could not deny that he was effective. Oh, well. Next time they met, Kratos was not going to take any more chances.
"We have nothing more to do here." Athena said with a sigh. "We will try to keep a watch on that mysterious warrior, but for now, all we can do is get back to our waiting game and hope for the best."
"I figured you would say that, Athena." Kratos said in annoyance - a man such as him hated to have to wait, but he knew he was no match with Ares right now. "I wonder why we cannot use the Box of Pandora to unleash its powers and kill Ares before he has a chance to move. That would save us quite a lot of time and trouble."
Hermes' jovial expression evaporated slightly, and his face took on a more serious countenance as he saw Athena slowly shake her head. "This is not an option, Kratos. At least, not until we are sure there is no other chance for us to prevail." Athena explained. "I will explain my reasons in due time. But for now, suffice to say that we need to find another way to overcome Ares. This was the exact reason why I gathered the three companions you have met earlier."
"Hmph..." Kratos sighed in resignation, feeling his patience grw thin but still understanding that there was not much he could do. "Fine. For now, we will do as you suggest."
"Well, well... it appears I have overstayed my welcome." Hermes said, flipping his coin in the air and catching it on its way down with a nonchalant gesture of his arm. "It seems I would best leave you to discuss your own problems, while I get back to Olympus to discuss our own. See you around!"
Faster than the eye could see, Hermes leapt away and began jumping from roof to roof, becoming a golden blur of pure speed and energy that soon managed to put enough distance between himself and Kratos. In disgust, Kratos shook his head and spat on the ground.
"That was a total waste of time, Athena." Kratos grunted. "We still are no closer than before, and I wasted time in a pointless fight with that unknown warrior."
"Do not dismiss this encounter as a waste of time out of hand, Kratos." the goddess of wisdom and war answered. "That unknown warrior, whoever he might be, is clearly an important part of the puzzle. I will try to keep a closer eye on him and convince him to reveal what he knows."
"I am sick of this uncertainty, Athena." Kratos commented. "At least, back when I was in the service of Olympus, the situation was clear and cut. Travel to some place, find something for you Olympians, kill whoever was that was annoying you, and wait for you to give me another task. Now, you expect me to just sit and wait while Ares prepares to destroy all I have managed to recover?"
"We are not asking you that, Kratos." Athena answered. "But your little... escapade... with the Sisters of Fate has changed everything, not necessarily for the better. We are not the only ones who know how events played out in the timeline you have just modified. Ares knows as well, the Furies know... and pretty much the whole Olympus knows. We need to take care, considering that further tampering with the timeline might cause more unexpected events. I hope you have not forgotten about the fact that the mysterious invaders came to this place after your time travel. I can hardly think this is a coincidence."
"Spare me your preaching, Athena." Kratos concluded. "For now, I just want to return to Mount Ida and rethink our options."
"That would be wise." Athena answered, and the two of them slowly vanished from the place, only leaving a devastated, deserted village behind.
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As soon as Dante was sure that nobody was running after him any more, he stopped and took a few breathes of relief, hiding inside a nearby fissure in a tall rocky cliff in order to protect himself from the blistering heat of the day, and any other possible menace. He laid his sickle down at his side and sat down on a rock, trying to inspect the wounds he had taken in the fight. Luckily, none of them had been too deep or had damaged any important organ, and using whhat knowledge of field medicine he had, Dante was able to wrap his injuries and patch himself up enough that he would be able to sustain another fight... but the skill and brutality shown by that Spartan warrior were truly something else. Dante had a suspicion that warrior hadn't even shown the full extent of his capabilities, and was not in a hurry to face him in battle again.
However, as of now, there were a few more problems to take care of. The poet turned crusader looked around himself, searching for his guide... and much to his relief, the diaphanous figure of Virgil appeared close to him. As one of the few leads he had, Dante was beginning to feel lost without him.
"It is fortunate that you managed to escape without severe harm to yourself, Dante." the shade of the great Roman poet told him. "I could never imagine such a warrior ever existed. Never in my studies have I ever heard of a warrior with white skin who was capable of such displays of skill."
"So, even you do not know who he is?" Dante asked, looking wistfully at the silver cross he had with himself. "Whatever the case, he was a truly formidable opponent. Even my cross failed to harm him, for reasons I cannot even begin to fathom. What is the meaning of this, I wonder?"
"That I really do not know, Dante." Virgil answered. "The only think I can say for certain is that even he, much like us, is a part of a much greater scheme, of which we have but begun to scratch the surface. We need to be very careful right now. One false move could spell disaster."
Dante nodded, but in his heart, the vow to rescue Beatrice and get to the bottom of the mystery became stronger than ever, and gave him the determination he needed to carry on.
"I do not care what happens to me as long as I manage to save you, Beatrice." he thought to himself. "Whoever that ashen-skinned warrior is, I will not allow him to stand in my way. Never."
Unbeknowst to them, the eyes of a shadowy predator were upon them... and as soon as it knew what it needed, Daimon took flight and flapped away noisily, eager to report what it had discovered to its mistress...
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TO BE CONTINUED...
