Chapter 46: Pursuant Aftermath
«»
He read through the white book's black pages, scanning through each glowing white word quickly as he sat on the bench outside of the room. Raum sat next to him on the same bench, watching over the sleeping Irene curled up in his lap.
Lucifer glanced over at Raum briefly, letting out a silent sigh as he closed up his book.
"It's ironic really." The older brother stated to Raum, "More than a year and half ago, the two of you were trying to kill each other with utmost ferocity. And now… here you sit with me, equally as worried as I am."
Raum only glanced back at Lucifer to meet his brother's eyes, not saying a word.
"You can hide it behind your calm silence all you like. But you forget that I can still see through you, little brother."
"And you forget just how much of a pain in the ass you can be."
Lucifer chuckled quietly at the statement, "Perhaps. But I did give you a second chance if you recall, and created a new body for you so that you may walk again."
"On an entirely different world without my whole power."
"What lessons might you have learned then if you didn't live like most of the people here did?"
…
He wasn't wrong about that statement. Raum's first thoughts was to conquer whatever world he would find himself in once his feet touched the ground, but when he realized just how much weaker had become after getting a new body… that idea had flown out the window quickly.
It did enable him to… see things more clearly and understand his brother's words for once.
And…
Raum's eyes focused on Lucifer's hand scratching Irene behind the ears, her wolf tail whipping about happily in her sleep.
"You learned more than a lesson from what I see now. You've taken the responsibility of nurturing a life."
"Unfortunate circumstances brought us together." Raum stated.
"But nonetheless brought you two together. Not to mention… when I came to get you, it seems as though you've established a rather intimate relationship with someone."
"You here to pick me apart or what?"
"No. I'm simply impressed with how far you've come on your own and want to praise you is all."
"Well save it. I'm not interested in praise."
"Clearly." Lucifer said, resting his hands atop his book, his leg crossed over the other, "You're angry."
"Of course I'm angry."
"Why?"
"Why?!" Raum asked in a hushed shout, taking a deep breath moments after and looking away.
"You're actually upset about his condition. What she did to him. It irks you all the more now that you know he's actually family. And in spite of your… tantrums over the years… you've always held family in the highest regard above everything else."
"Why didn't you do it?" Raum asked, changing the subject.
"Why what?"
"Why didn't you kill her, brother? You could have easily done it."
Lucifer hummed to himself as he stared up at the ceiling, "I could have. But you know as well as I do that if I truly intended on killing that woman, I would have had to use a great deal of my… Aura, was it? Yes, Aura to achieve that. And if I used such a great amount while not in the Dark World like I'm supposed to be…"
"The Celestial Accord…" Raum muttered under his breath.
"Should I specifically leave the Dark World for any reason, and they take notice of my presence elsewhere, it could reignite a war between us and The Plane of Angels. A war which no one would like to fight in, myself included."
The younger brother scoffed at the mere mention of those ridiculous accords that kept Lucifer bound to the Dark World, a prisoner in his own home. It made his blood boil thinking about it.
It was why-
…
…
It was why he started four wars throughout the millennia, his last attempt foiled by Dante and his allies.
Change was needed. Everyone needed to stop living in fear of those… holier-than-thou pigeons up in the heavens.
"So what now?" Raum asked.
"Well… Once Kareina Kitsukami finishes treating Dante, I'll remain a little while longer, and then leave for home before anyone realizes I've left."
"You don't want to stay?"
"I would like to, but we both know that's impossible at the moment. Believe me when I say I'd prefer to be here and watch over you and Dante."
"I don't need you watching over me, idiot." Raum proudly huffed, resting his chin in his hand.
Lucifer chuckled to himself once more, "Of course."
The younger brother slowly got up on his feet, holding onto Irene as he looked back at his brother.
"If we don't see each other before you leave… I… I'm…"
"You needn't say anything if it's too embarrassing for you. Go. Have time to yourself. You've been here all day."
Raum gave his older brother a nod before moving through the cabin-like home, which had been expanded upon to massive proportions in order to accommodate everyone.
Just as Lucifer reached for the cover of his book to turn to the page he was last reading, he heard footsteps approaching from down the hall, and looked up to see a young girl in a red hood standing around the corner, hesitant to approach.
"I understand Lady Kitsukami said 'immediate family only for the time being', but you needn't my permission. Come. Sit with me." Lucifer said, scooching further towards the end of the bench to allow Ruby to sit next to him.
She did so, brushing past the wall and slowly sitting on the other end of the bench.
Ruby was about to speak, but the door to the room they were next to opened, and out from it stepped Kareina Kitsukami, towel in hand to wipe away the sweat from her brow.
"The treatment was a success. He's in stable condition, but… not all of his wounds are healing normally. His arms have been healed to retain function, but there is a lot more that needs to be restored overtime. Not to mention… his right leg…"
The elder kitsune sighed as her fox ears folded against her head.
"It's as though… his body is refusing to heal his wounds, thus limiting his body's natural healing abilities. The only thing helping him now is my magic, but even that is working away at him slowly."
"Thank you, Lady Kitsukami. As always, you do the finest of work, even with the more difficult cases."
"I thank you for your praise. I will continue monitoring him and-"
"That won't be necessary." Lucifer said, earning a confused look from both the elder kitsune and Ruby.
All the King did was look up and smile at the woman.
"Your heart is elsewhere at the moment. Go. Be with your family. See your daughter." He said, nodding towards the hallway.
She looked as though she wanted to speak up, but she quieted herself, giving the Dark Entity a small nod as she quickly walked away.
"Tell me Ms. Rose, as someone who has been close to Dante for quite some time, has he told you his story?"
"He did…"
"Everything?"
She gave him a small nod.
"Then you understand the… complications surrounding his life?"
"Yes." She offered with another nod.
"It's tragic to think so much of one boy's life has changed drastically over the years. All because of the tiresome 'politics' surrounding my kind and those above." Lucifer said, folding his hands together, "In some way, I feel responsible for this whole… sad tale of tragedy and heartbreak. As much as I'd like to, my hands are tied in too many ways to be of any actual help."
"There wasn't much you could have done about it… I mean… if you being here is like starting a war or something…"
"Truthfully, it's not the war that intimidates me. It's what comes after. Surely, I believe that if we were to engage in a war, our side would win. But at what cost really? How many lives would have to be sacrificed so that one side can be right and justified with their cause?"
Far too many for both sides… At least, that's what Ruby imagined.
"Tell me Ms. Rose… If you had the opportunity to go back and defeat that woman, what would be your reason?"
Her reason…
Ruby's head tilted down, staring at her hands as she thought it over.
"Revenge, perhaps?"
"N-No! I mean… I'm angry that she did what she did to him and Inuba but… If I could go back there… I wouldn't want to do it to get revenge. I'd want to do it to stop her from hurting anybody else. And… maybe a little payback for Dante."
Lucifer chuckled at her comment , "You have an excellent soul, Ruby Rose. One that many a Devil would like to obtain for themselves."
The little reaper jolted up at the comment, not sure how to respond.
"A joke. For the most part. You do indeed have an excellent, righteous soul. Ensure that it stays that way, and that you never stray from your path."
"Right." Affirmed Ruby.
The two heard heavy clattering within the room, and looked behind themselves at the room, standing as they did.
The door swung open wildly, and from it, Dante staggered out, gripping at the wall and struggling to pull himself further.
"H-Hey! You should be resting!" Ruby exclaimed, running up to the teen and moving one of his arms around her to help him.
"I'm fine." Dante stated plainly.
He looked to his right eyes lighting up momentarily upon looking at the Dark Entity King.
"Yes. I'm really here." Lucifer said, giving a half smile.
"So it seems…" Dante said as he started walking, prompting Ruby to walk with him.
"Wait." Lucifer said, grabbing hold of Dante's arm, "At least take these, that way Ms. Rose doesn't have to carry you the whole time."
From his hands formed two black crutches, objects that the teen begrudgingly took from Lucifer without saying a word. Ruby let go of the once immortal to let him slide the crutches under his arms, and began moving forward.
"Um… It was nice meeting you!" Ruby said, waving at the King as he warmly waved back.
He let out a sigh, forming his white book out of his black and amethyst Aura, flipping open to the last black page he was reading as his eyes traced the glowing white words.
"How much longer will you suffer on our behalf, I wonder…"
The duo walked down the large hall, both silent the whole time. Dante's crutches were the only source of noise in the hallway, Ruby keeping a worried glance on the teen as he kept pushing himself forward.
They were getting on his nerves, for moments after, the once immortal stared at the crutch in his right hand and angrily tossed it against one the wooden wall, startling Ruby.
He pushed his back against the wall and slid down it, panting heavily as his hand carefully touched his right leg. The little reaper in red stepped forward, sitting down next to him and grabbing hold of his hand, interlocking her fingers with his.
"I know you aren't okay right now… So I won't ask if you are…" she announced
Dante shook his head in a thankful manner, sucking air through his teeth as he let out a sigh.
"All that… and I got crippled. With nothing to show for it." The teen said, flipping the crutch he threw towards the other wall.
"You saved Inuba, right? So it's not like you came out with nothing to show for it."
"You're not wrong, but…" Dante glanced down to his right leg, bolts of pain running through it as he took small breaths, "This… This whole thing has just been one big mess."
"I know."
"And we only came off it worse for wear. Well… I did at least."
"Are you mad that we lost?"
…
He was never a sore loser, but that didn't mean he wasn't disappointed whenever he rarely lost. And it was never disappointment in those that were with him. It was never their fault, not really. So how could he be upset with them in the slightest.
"I'm not mad at you or anyone else, Ruby. I'm just… angry with myself for multiple reasons. But… if I had to be honest, I'm just angry about this whole situation. This kind of thing has been a long time coming… and even if I lived in fear of it… there was still nothing I could do about it."
Ruby wasn't sure what he meant at that moment. Maybe he meant losing as bad as he did this time. Maybe he was talking about his immortality being gone.
…
Maybe he meant the whole situation with Inuba.
"I'm sure everything will work out later. We just… have to believe it'll be okay. Even if it'll take a while."
Dante sighed, bowing his head briefly before he pushed himself off the wall, and with Ruby's help, walked over to the other side to grab his crutch and walk further down the hall, rounding a corner.
"Are we… going back?"
The teen froze a few moments, turning himself to look back at the reaper in red.
"I don't know. I'd ask you know who if he could take care of it. Frankly… I don't want to go back there. Not unless there's no other choice. You probably know of Luci's status, but it's unlikely he'll be able to go back either. Him being here is nothing short of a miracle really. Especially since he's the last person I expected to see."
Speaking of expectations, Ruby turned Dante around, glancing over his entire person as he gave her a questioning look.
No platinum colored streaks in his hair… and his eyes were their normal bright sky blue.
"Something on my face?"
"I-Its nothing…"
"If you say so… How long was I out?"
Ruby's eyes lit up at the question, "I guess maybe five hours now…"
That long… He expected two hours maximum, but… Five hours had to be the longest he had ever been injured to the point of passing out or being knocked out.
"You're taking this a lot better than I thought…" Ruby stated, the two continuing their walk.
"No other way to act really. The only thing to do is accept that it happened and move on."
"You don't accept what happened. You're not showing it too much… but you're angry about it. The whole thing."
…
"Of course I'm angry. But that doesn't mean I haven't accepted what's happened, Ruby."
"But there's something else… isn't there?"
…
"I don't know what you're talking about." Dante replied, standing still in the hallway.
"Please… Please don't lie to me about this…" Ruby pleaded, "I know there's a lot of things you don't want to talk about to anyone, because a lot of those things hurt too much. I get that… But please… don't lie to me about this."
...
...
Why did her pleas always make him comply so quickly?
"How long?" She asked.
"How long 'what'? At the very least, if you want a truthful answer from me, you'll have to be specific."
Dante turned around to look Ruby straight in the eye, intent on answering whatever question she was going to ask. But she knew now. She figured it out. He had taken great lengths to hide it all this time, but Ruby had finally caught on.
She and Inuba were one of the few who could see right through him.
"How long… have you thought about dying?"
…
…
Nailed it right on the head…
Dante took a deep breath, searching his thoughts quickly to when it had first started. Was it two years ago, after he defeated Aultus and came here to Remnant? No. It went further back. Maybe when he was thirteen, just before he brought down that corrupt agency using him? That wasn't it either.
…
Now he remembered.
"When I was seven, I think. It was around the time I woke up in the hospital, not a clue as to who I was or where I came from. Doctors told me I was in some sort of terrible accident, and was lucky to survive. Nurses assured me that someone would be along to see me, and take me home by the end of the week."
Ruby moved closer to the teen, listening to his story.
"So I waited. Two days went by. Five days. Two weeks. Nobody came by. It wasn't until day five I started thinking to myself… 'What kind of unbelievable bastard must I have been that nobody is here to come get me?'. I was alone. Had nobody. Accidentally figured out my 'immortality'. So I tested, and tested, and tested until I couldn't find anything else that could hurt me in that hospital."
She lowered her head in silence, listening to his tale as he continued.
"You know the rest. Things gradually got worse over time. Very few and brief intervals of happiness that… couldn't quite keep those thoughts down all the time. So I waited, and hoped for the day someone might be able to end this… torment of mine. I was always ready. Death never scared me because I was immortal. I wasn't scared, because early on… I prepared myself for the potential reality I might have been faced with. A reality, where Death, could lay its hands on me. And that day came today."
The reaper's hand slowly reached out for Dante's, gently taking it up to hold it firmly.
"But you know what? I wasn't ready then. And it wasn't because I was scared of dying. I was scared of not doing one good thing for somebody who's been with me since the beginning. Now that I did… I'm just… I'm just tired, Ruby. I just want to sit down and just…"
Dante couldn't even finish his own words before he raised a hand to his face.
"I just want to stop fighting… Twelve years of constant fighting… I just want it to end for once… This life of mine with no..."
Hands wrapped around the teen, hugging him tightly as a small head buried itself in his chest.
"I know it's been rough… But please… Don't think like that..! I'm here! We're all here! If you can't do it alone, let us help make it better! You've been fighting alone all this time for the most part, but..! Let me… let us pick up the slack for you just to make it easier on you!"
…
…
Could she be..?
…
…
"I'd… I'd like to see how my partner is doing… please…" Dante asked.
"Sure." Ruby said, following Dante further down the hall.
"You think he's alright? Trick question, he's always alright. Right?" Nora asked.
She, Ren and Jaune were on the second level of the massive building the cloaked girl had expanded upon to accommodate everyone, waiting anxiously.
"His resilience is otherworldly. But… this time… I don't know what to think."
"He'll be okay. He's always okay." Jaune stated to Ren, "At least… I'd like to think that… After all that… I just don't know… You all saw how roughed up he was, right? He wasn't healing like he used to. And… he's been isolated for so long already. I really think he's not immortal anymore."
"But does that change anything between the five of us?" Ren asked.
"I don't think so. I mean, he's always been helping us and taking hits for us whenever he can. But I don't think he'll stop anytime soon because he's like us now." Nora said, "He's kinda crazy that way, but not like, weirdo freako crazy."
"Like us now…" Jaune stated silently to himself, "It's just… hard to take it all."
"He has always been an unstoppable force of nature." Ren offered.
"Like a super tornado!" Nora interjected.
"Something like that."
Jaune smiled slightly at their exchange, letting out a huff of air shortly after.
"I just… hope he's actually okay." Jaune said, folding his hands together.
"He'll be fine." A new voice spoke out, approaching the three, "Might be in a small slump for the time being, but he'll pull through."
Their heads turned to look at the red haired woman approaching them, still donning her black and crimson armor, only, her two wing segments and longer wing in the shape of a blade were out of sight, along with her main Greatsword.
She moved around one of the black leather couches in the lounge and promptly sat down in it, leaning into the soft cushioning and letting out a long sigh.
"I'm sorry… Who are you?" Jaune asked.
"Me? I'm just a twenty seven year old waiting to find the perfect man for me." She stated with a wave of her hand.
The trio just looked at her in confusion. Although, Nora did inch closer to Ren in a somewhat concerned manner.
"Blaire. Blaire Embryl. Used to be a high ranking Combat Officer in the CGA. A Captain, to be precise. More importantly… I used to be Dante's Commanding Officer. More or less his Handler, really. Honestly… that boy was such a handful back then… Still is in a lot of ways. You'd know, since you're his friends and all."
"Jaune Arc. And these are my two teammates, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." Jaune said, introducing them all.
"Well… Good to meet you, I guess. And I only say 'I guess' in terms of meeting in some not so great circumstances, like this whole mess." Blaire stated, bringing up both arms briefly, "So… What's your kids' story? How do you know Dante?"
"We've been friends since the Huntsmen and Huntress academy Beacon."
"Ah… The Hunters of this world. Guess they make academies for this kind of thing afterall. Still… to think he'd actually go to a 'school'..." the red haired woman chucked, "I guess he must've been bored or didn't have much to do at the time. But since we're here now, safe to say he got more out of it than he bargained for."
Jaune would've smiled if the truth of it didn't hurt so much.
"How is it back there? In the world you and Dante come from?" Jaune asked.
"Hmmm… Well, to put it in simple terms, Primordial was in the deep shit. And that's putting it lightly. Aside from the problems humans posed in the past, problems from the otherworldly and supernatural began growing increasingly worrisome. For the most part, Dante and our allies quelled most of those problems before he left." Blaire recanted, crossing one leg over the other as she rested her chin in her hand, "But hey, the World's at peace for the most part. Can't really complain about all too much. Except for the circumstances Dante left under."
"He always mentioned that he was just… exiled. But he never mentioned the cause or reason." Ren noted.
"For good reason too." The red haired woman said, leaning closer to the group of teens, "See, Dante did something he wasn't supposed to, or rather, something he wasn't allowed to. But he did it for a good reason."
"And what might that be?"
The woman let out a sigh, rubbing the back of her head, "Truth be told, I really shouldn't be saying this. But honestly? Screw those holier than thou pigeons. They can burn for all I care." Blaire stated bluntly, a small flicker of flame escaping her lips, "Dante may have mentioned that he was exiled for killing an Angel, even if he was a rogue bent on destruction. But that's only part of it. Truth is… Dante was exiled solely because he restored the lives lost within Aultus' week long attack on Primordial."
"Restored lost life..?!" Jaune asked in shock, "Are you saying he brought people back to life?!"
"Not just a few people either. A whole city population, as well as numerous allies that either died or were crippled." The red haired woman stated, "It wouldn't be such a huge leap to say Dante is one of the very very very rare few to understand the secret of life and death."
Jaune's body tensed up when he heard that, Ren and Nora sharing concerned glances with each other.
"I know that look blondie. You just thought to yourself 'Maybe he can bring so and so back', right?" Blaire asked, focusing a sharp gaze on the blonde knight, "True. He probably could bring back whoever you might have lost. But ask yourself this…" She said, leaning in closer to make sure Jaune was paying attention, "What would the cost be this time?"
"This time..?" Nora silently questioned.
"Bringing back one life is a tremendous toll. Bringing back close to half a million? Imagine the kind of price you'd have to pay."
Jaune's hands clenched tightly on his knees, gritting his teeth as his gaze trailed to the ground.
"You probably haven't noticed it, since we don't have the same sensing capabilities… But how much of Dante is left, do you think?"
"I always assumed Dante was superb at erasing his presence, but… are you suggesting Dante doesn't have much of his soul left?" Ren asked.
"That's right. I never really knew what kind of price he paid until I saw him out there in that desert of black sand… but taking a look almost broke my heart. What he has, or rather, what he's been working with the entire time he was in this world, was just a brief flicker of his remaining soul. So small in fact that you'd think it'd fade out with just the slightest movement."
"That's terrible…" Nora stated, her trail beginning to trail the ground, "And he's been doing a lot for us without asking for anything…"
"So let me ask you, blondie… Knowing what you know now, would you still somewhere down the line ask Dante to bring back your friend, knowing what kind of toll it's take on him?" Blaire asked Jaune.
The knight's fingers slowly unclenched from the deathly grasp he held his Jeans in, sighing as he raised his head up to stare at the woman.
"No."
"Even if that person was someone you cherished dearly?"
Even if it was for Pyrrha…
…
…
"I could never do something like that… and still call myself his friend afterwards."
Blaire smiled at Jaune's response, "Good answer blondie." She said, tilting her head back towards the entrance, "You've been eavesdropping for a while now. Come on out. Sensing your 'little flicker' has been playing hell with my Aura Sensing."
"If it's any consolation, Sky wanted to walk in when you brought up Dante." A boy their age said as he walked in. The only real noteworthy thing he wore was his black hoodie, adorned with lime green detailing and trim.
The rest of him was a pair of simple, equally black sweatpants and a pair of sneakers.
Beside him walked in two girls. The brunette of the two was just a little shorter than him wearing a black jacket covering a similarly colored crop top, the tails of the former draped over a pair of purple-faded shorts and black leggings.
Maybe it was the combat boots that gave her a slight boost in height, but they did help her come closer to the boy's head.
The last of the three was a white fox faunus, the girl's head several inches shorter than the brunette's beside her, and her attire stood as a stark contrast to the darker clothes beside her.
She wore a simple white hoodie, adorned loosely over her top and almost hid away her black short-shorts beneath its hem. Her black boots were much less combat-ready than the girl beside her, paired with white laces and traces of white fur shown just inside their tops.
A certain fluffiness showed from her more docile appearance, something that matched the three white fox tails flicking behind her, and the two ears atop her head.
"He thought it seemed more rude than being mistaken for eavesdropping." The brunette commented, glancing the boy's way for a moment, "We did hear everything, though."
"And?" Blaire asked the new trio, "What about you? You've got what's essentially a golden goose here. You're not going to take advantage of the opportunity either now that you understand he knows the secret?"
"Why would I?" The boy responded, his voice still keeping the calmness he started with, "It's not my place to ask him to ever do something like that. And I wouldn't ask it upon her either, to come back."
"Well then… It's nice to know he's actually made worthwhile friends for once." The crimson haired woman said, uncrossing her leg to cross the other one over, "He's never really been all too great with making friends. Not unless they sought him out really. Even then he can be a pain sometimes."
The boy shrugged and tilted his head a little, his chin-length black hair and bangs shifting a little with the movement. "He kind of followed after me one night. So, it was more of a 'he met me' experience."
"Is that so? Well that's a bit a surprising for sure! He wouldn't really make a friend that quickly unless it was out of necessity. I guess… he might've changed a bit."
"Maybe. But that's the Dante I met, anyway." The boy replied.
Sky's gaze flicked to him, then Blaire for a moment, before the girl leaned forward around the smaller girl in white with a curious gaze, "Why'd you call Xera 'little flicker' by the way?"
Xera's head dipped a little before turning, muttering closer to the brunette's ear, "Probably because we're both fire users."
"Well, yeah. But by comparison I'm an actual raging inferno." Blaire proudly waved off, "Though it's mostly because my fire isn't normal and a hell of a lot stronger."
Xera seemed to shrug at that, accepting it.
Sky just seemed to grin, "I like her."
"Ironic isn't it? I've got a literal hell of power… and back then, it almost killed me going into overdrive. Kind of sucks when the 'container' can't really contain all that power. At least, that's how it used to be."
"I take it Dante played a part in helping you manage your own power?" Xera asked in return.
She gave an affirmative hum, "To this day, I still don't know how he did it. There I was, on the verge of death because I overused my power beyond what my body could handle. I only had three more days to live at the time, so I thought it'd be a waste to not go all out." Blaire shrugged simply, "But when it got to it… I was really scared, and still had a lot of things I wanted to do."
The crimson haired woman raised up her right arm, and dragged her left finger across the underside of it in a sort of cutting motion.
"Few drops of blood, and my body was on its way to fixing itself. And few is putting it lightly." She said, smiling, "Of course at the time, I didn't know it. You could imagine my surprise when I actually woke up a day later, and was in peak condition. In fact, I was much better than I had ever been before. So much so that I've never had to worry about my body breaking itself from my power ever again."
The shortest of the small bunch reached a hand into Xera's sweatshirt pocket beside her, fishing a black scroll out. Xera didn't seem to mind the action, actually.
The girl's fingers flicked the device open before typing something and turning the screen to Blaire, her fox ears sticking up curiously on her head.
"You make it sound like he has some kind of miracle blood."
"Who knows with that lovable little devil? Fact is, I think he himself is a miracle given to The World. Well, Creation really. But, he was a miracle that others took advantage of and took for granted far too often." Blaire explained, sighing as she did.
Those curious white fox ears drooped and folded back as she lowered her scroll, the girl thinking about what else to type while Xera glanced down at her.
"You're right. Or at least, the three of us agree with you on all that." Xera said, glancing back up from the fox beside him. His gaze calmly flicked to the others listening in the room as well, and he seemed to recognize the faces he saw.
Something he did well hiding.
"So… how did you three get roped into coming here by that crafty four eyes?" The crimson knightess asked.
Under the woman's question, Xera reached into his black pocket and pulled out a white crystal, holding it up for her to view.
"He referred to this as a bridge between our realities. It kind of went off out of the blue and pulled us to this Remnant." He explained.
"It made a lot more sense after we saw the flaming bombardments from the sky." Sky added, "And then Luci showed up. He bought us snacks since Kit hadn't eaten yet."
Two white fox ears flicked at the mention of her name, but also because Sky's hand was rubbing the girl's white head.
"Well that explains the three of you then… You said you were acquainted with Dante?" Blaire asked, directing her question to Xera.
"Friends at this point. He helped me a bit with a Dark Entity Lord that was a sort of pseudo-King Class back home." The boy said.
A soft laugh escaped her lips, "Yep. Sounds just like him to get into that kind of trouble. Figures." She said rolling her eyes, "What about you two?" She said glancing to Skyla and Kit.
"I like to think I'm closer to his sister, but he's a good friend." Sky replied, lifting her hand from Kit's head as the girl typed up her own response. "We were all there for that Dark Entity fiasco."
"And he helped me with my recovery." The fox typed out, adding to the short list that was forming.
"Charming little helper he is…" The knightess stated, her smile growing just a bit wider, "I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm pretty pissed off with the situation."
"More or less." Xera agreed with a small nod, "Just more worried about him right now…"
"Well, he isn't dead, that much I can tell you." Blaire responded simply.
"But from what I hear, he's not exactly healing like he used to either." Xera said.
Blaire's grip on the couch made a silent crunch before she let out a sigh and stood up, "At the very least… he's still alive."
Xera seemed to get the silent message of that kind of reaction and nodded in agreement, calmly sliding his hands into the confines of his hoodie pocket.
They heard noise on the upper level shortly after, like a loud crash that drew everyone's attention to the stairs as they ascended them.
Reaching the top floor, and rounding a corner, they all came upon the sight of someone slugging another person with great strength, enough that the person who was hit fell back towards the close shuttered window, shattering the glass.
Dante was the one against the wall, and from the looks of it, a small trail of blood was dripping down the back of his neck and across the sides.
Across from him was a girl. Almost chin length black hair that was somewhat messy, a white collared short sleeved dress shirt with two black stripes running down the left side of her chest, a pleated black skirt, and a pair of brown, knee high, laced boots.
More prominent however was the pair of jet black wings as big as her 5'5 body, resting behind her.
The crow Tengu Ayame had been crying. And she was very angry.
"You..! You don't get to see her..! You failure!" She shouted, words harshly echoing throughout the hall, "You were supposed to protect her and be there for her! Not the other way around! And you failed both times! You let her die before, and you let her turn into that..! That thing!"
Dante didn't so much as speak a word, and kept his hidden gaze towards the ground as she berated him mercilessly.
"Someone like you doesn't deserve to have someone like Inuba at your side! She's given you everything and more and you could do something as simple as returning the favor! So just..! Just stay away from her from now on."
Still no words from the teen. He only stood where he was silently, his blood still dripping and leaking into the white hospital pajamas he was wearing.
But his silence only irked the crow Tengu further, making her raise up her hand a second time.
Ruby made to move from the opposite end where she stood, but before she could, another hand stopped Ayame entirely from striking Dante again.
The man that stopped her was a fox yōkai that seemed to be in his mid-twenties, had chin length, brushed down white hair that was parted towards the right side of his face, along with white fox ears and crimson red irises. He stood at what seemed to be six feet tall. His attire consisted of black tabi socks, a white split-hakama, a white kosode robe that was held together by a black obi, also wearing a black shitagi underneath his kosode.
He also wore a black, sleeveless haori that had white trimming, accompanied with intricate white patterns of flame on the tail ends, as well as around the collar. The same flame patterns adorned the wide sleeves of the white kosode he wore, only, the patterns were in black. There was also a gap in the haori just above the rear to allow his nine white fox tails to move about freely.
"Let me go Akihito! We've been silent all this time, but I'm not going to give this bastard special treatment anymore just because you say so!"
"You would do well to not disgrace yourself further, General Karasugami." Akihito said, a toneless and calming voice commanding the Tengu to cease her actions at once.
She forcefully pulled her stopped arm out of his grip, and stole a final angry glare before she walked off around the corner, presumably to Inuba's room.
The elder kitsune let out a small sigh, and reached out towards the teen to help him, but his helping hand was brushed away by the teen, who worked to stand on his own two feet.
Without so much as a word, Dante began using his crutches to walk towards the group that arrived amongst the commotion, stopping as soon as he heard Akihito call to him.
"Lord Dante." He spoke calmly, keeping his sharp and focused gaze on the teen, "Why do you turn away? Why will you not look me in the eyes?"
It was difficult to stand there and watch the once immortal keel his eyes glued to the ground like a shamed child, but even so, he still said nothing and slowly moved forward.
Blaire was the only one directly in the way at the moment, and she looked like she was struggling internally, biting her lip to keep herself silent until eventually she just moved out of the way, like everyone else did.
Xera was the only one to reach out to stop him, but like Akihito, his hand was pushed away, albeit more forcefully than with the older kitsune.
"Just go home…" He spoke silently, almost in a whisper.
Without so much as another word, he dragged himself further forward with his crutches, eventually turning the corner everyone kept their eyes on at the moment.
All he wanted now… was silence.
…
This proud World that once stood… is now in shambles.
Rather… it was slowly falling apart this whole time. All there ever existed was temporary delays before the destruction resumed. But now…
…
Now it is all in ruins.
And I can do nothing but stay here, as I always have.
…
I want to leave. I want to get out. I want to escape this place. But how? How can I leave? I've tried and tried, yet I've found no way out.
…
Is it too much to want to leave?
…
Is it too much to wish to be with him?
RNJR, Blaire, Xera, Skyla, Kitsuki and Lucifer all anxiously waited outside of the room until at last, Kareina Kitsukami had stepped out, closing the door behind them.
She shook her head slightly, "There's… not much else that can be done at the moment. Ever since yesterday he's gone into some sort of… stasis, and hasn't woken up."
"He isn't comatose like I presumed?" Lucifer asked.
"Whatever… this may be… It isn't a coma. Rather, it mimics one slightly. Emotional stress, shock, anything can be a cause at this point. Quite frankly… he shouldn't have survived in the first place."
"What do you mean by that?" Blaire asked, pushing herself off of the wall to stand in front of the elder kitsune.
"Looking over the record of his battle, his heart rate was quite literally all over the place." She said, turning to Jaune, "Mr. Arc, was it? You mentioned you specifically installed a heart rate monitor function into your device to keep track of young Dante's vitals, since your tool couldn't properly ascertain his… Aura Levels… My… such a strange word to get used to…"
Jaune simply nodded to her question.
"What exactly did you observe after he had risen from death?"
"Well…" the blonde's hand raised itself to his chin, trying to calmly remember what his eyes saw during the whole ordeal, "It's like you said, his heart rate was all over the place. At one point it was one twenty, the next it'd jump down to fourty. The end is where it got weird."
"Weird how? Please explain."
"It was stuck between ten and forty. But as quickly as it got down to ten, it jumped back up to forty."
"He was forcing himself to stay alive then, is what you're suggesting?" Lucifer asked the kitsune.
"Young Dante is… most certainly an oddity, of that there is no question. Regardless, his biology entirely matches that of a human's biology, only, a large majority of it is vastly improved in terms of durability, strength, etc. For instance, whenever he would take a lethal injury, his body would automatically compensate for the injury to prevent him from ceasing function, or dying. Like with his heart. If his pulse was disturbed or tampered with through outside sources, it would immediately adjust itself to rectify the issue, as if it never happened."
Kareina took a glance back towards the door, letting out a small sigh before her gaze wandered back on the others.
"I've studied young Dante's abnormal body and form of immortality for many years now. I've come to understand how it works quite well, but… This? This is something completely foreign to me. I have no means to explain why he isn't waking."
The Dark Entity King nodded briefly, "Thank you always for your hard work."
"I apologize for not being much use here."
"There's no need for that. You did all you could."
The elder kitsune gave the King a polite bow before she wandered off to where she came from.
Lucifer let out a deep sigh as he removed his glasses from his face, playing with the pair of spectacles between his fingers as he kept his amethyst eyes closed.
When he opened them again, he didn't say a word to anyone, and simply walked away opposite of where Kareina went. Just as he was about to round the corner however, Ruby, who had been standing next to the taller Blaire, caught his eyes focusing on her briefly before he looked away and disappeared behind the vast entrance of the hall.
"Well, that wasn't a cryptic glance or anything." Sky commented quietly, her own amethyst eyes flicking to Ruby for a moment.
Xera's own gaze lingered on the door to Dante's room, his mind still focused on why Dante's state shifted so suddenly. But if he was being honest with himself, he knew his theories weren't really going to cut it with him.
The rules here were so different than the ones back at home.
"Regardless, there's nothing we can do." Xera said with a sigh, glancing to Sky and Kit for a moment before drifting his attention over the rest of the group. If his self-repair really was damaged… the situation wasn't going to get any better. Especially if the damage to that ability was permanent.
"No…" Ruby's voice suddenly spoke out, focusing everyone's attention onto her, "There is something we can do."
Xera's eyes flicked to Ruby this time, a curious gaze forming.
"We're going back." She affirmed.
"Ruby-"
"No! We can't just leave things as they are! And we can't let that… that person get away with it so she can hurt other people!" She said, interrupting Jaune, "We're going back, and this time, we'll stop her!"
"But how?" Jaune asked, "We don't even know if that portal we took is still even active."
"But that Reality Space she set up is still in the sky just orbiting Remnant. Frankly speaking, the only way we'd get up there now is if we had a pair of wings that didn't need to breathe oxygen." Blaire noted before looking to Xera, "And I highly doubt you can survive space. Much less go back and forth to take a few of us."
"Yeah, I'm not exactly a spacecraft." Xera replied, poking lightly at the wings he had wrapped beneath his hoodie, "And from what I heard and saw, we aren't going to be enough. Not without that army of Black Knights Lucifer got to tag along."
"We'd be more enough. I've got excellent crowd clearing with my abilities. And I bet you might be able to hold a candle to me." The crimson haired woman jokingly said.
Xera shook his head. "I wasn't talking about that army of Grimm. I was talking about what we're going to do after we get through it."
"Well, you still have me regardless. I'm pretty certain all you youngsters aren't slouches in tough fights. Otherwise Dante wouldn't have placed such faith in you all to fight with him when he was able to."
"Whether or not we can all fight still doesn't mean we'll be enough to take down a Dark Entity of her class. And if she can whip up an army like it's nothing, who's to say she doesn't have the energy to keep those forces coming to exhaust us? We'd lose that kind of battle of attrition." Xera said.
"Obviously… you would lose without us…" spoke a new voice.
Heads turned to end of the hallway, seeing a very familiar pair staggering closer to them, ripping off their bandages as they moved closer to the group.
"Yeah… Besides, we have a bone to pick with that skank anyway…" Ciel stated, moving forward with the help of the rather tall and tanned dragon Faunus Musashi.
"And we don't intend to stop until she's dead…" Leo said, also having some guided assistance from the two twins Bailey and Alice Lianna.
Sky seemed to perk up at the sight of Ciel, but Xera still lightly crossed his arms with a sigh, "We're still going to need that army."
"Pfff… Army he says. You hearing this amateur?" Ciel said, elbowing Leo's side.
"We are the army, Stark." The twin replied, rubbing his side, "With all of our forces combined, we'll be more than enough for that witch."
"You say that now… but what were those bandages for? You weren't wearing them just for the fun of it." Xera countered again, but he wasn't looking to argue.
If they believed they could fight, then he didn't have any reason to disbelieve it.
"Okay… So we were on the mend. Big deal." Ciel noted, ripping off the last of her bandages, "But we've got our second wind after a nice nap. Now we're ready to kick ass. As soon as we get there though."
"We may need a few more minutes to adjust…" Leo mentioned.
Xera quietly sighed to himself at that. He'd ran with worse odds before… if he was being honest.
"We still don't exactly have a way up there." Kit typed, holding up her scroll again to catch Xera's eyes.
"We do… We just need to make a short trip. SOL?" Leo asked.
"Acknowledged."
The little machine unit floated from behind Bailey Lianna, hovering in the center of the group as its white v-line visor displayed a projection on the wall.
Leo moved upwards to point out on the map, "In my early days, when I was still wandering about, I discovered a secret Atlas outpost underground in this area that was abandoned due to Grimm activity. It was here I made my weapons as well before I met up with my sister, Ciel."
"Remnant isn't exactly known for its spacecraft… But is there anything there we can use to fabricate something that can actually reach the realm?" Xera asked.
"We don't need to fabricate anything, Stark. A space-worthy ship is already sitting in a launch bay, built and prepped. At the very least, the researchers finished a prototype of the ship, but never managed to test it fully."
"Talk about convenience." Sky commented with a light smile. "If there wasn't something like that, I would've offered to have these two act as thrusters."
She gestured to Blaire and Xera as she said that.
"His flames would flicker out as soon as we get far enough, and my Hellfire won't exactly be as potent. Plus, there's still the fact none of you can survive in a vacuum." The crimson haired woman noted.
Sky lightly poked Xera in the ribs at that. "She sounds like she can though…"
"Luckily we don't need to." Ciel cut in, "See, Leo fixed up the ship before he left and made sure it'd pressurized in a vacuum environment."
"I also ran simulations for three days and fixed whatever I could find. If we get to that ship, we can use it to break orbit and fly ourselves into that Reality Space orbiting the planet." The twin stated.
"Well, that'll be the easiest part of our fight, at least." Xera said.
"Hey, don't jinx us you flaming turkey." Ciel told the Phoenix.
"He's more of a flaming pigeon." Sky cut in.
"In any case, we seem to have a way in now." Blaire stated, looking to Ruby, "Well Little Red, you're the head honcho here since you're the one who's pushing for us to go back there and kick that Scylix's ass or whatever. You sure want to do this?"
Everyone's gaze fixed on Ruby in that moment, and it'd be a lie to say she didn't feel a huge wave of nervousness wash over her.
…
But she already made up her mind a good while ago.
"We're going. If any of you want to stay behind, then I won't fault you for that. I'd understand." The little reaper in red stated, "But if we're going… We're going there to win, not to come back empty handed. So… are you guys with me?"
Xera turned his gaze to the only two he managed to bring with him, but all he got was a half-shrug from Sky and a flick of an ear from Kit.
"Kit, if we're all going, I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Dante." The boy said, gesturing to the once-immortal's room, "I'd rather we have at least one person stay behind for him."
The fox's gaze flicked up to silently meet Xera's for a few long moments before the girl nodded, quietly closing away her scroll.
"Alrighty then! Let's get our asses in gear and move out!" Ciel said, raising up her arm with a slight "Ow".
"Best we go outside first before we travel." Leo noted to his sister.
"Yeah yeah, details details. Got it. Now let's boogie!"
With Ciel's declaration made, she moved around the corner she came from towards the stairs, everyone else following behind her as Ruby remained still, letting out a deep breath she took.
Glancing to her side towards the small kitsune, she said, "Please take care of him."
Kit nodded to the girl, giving her two thumbs up and three lifted tails behind her.
Ruby gave the girl a nod and smile, and ran after her friends who were already on their way down the stairs.
She was determined now more than ever to win. And she didn't intend to give up in the slightest, even after the terrible might of Scylix was laid bare for them all to see.
Ruby would defeat her. For Remnant… and for Dante.
Heya everyone. Quick announcement, I'm going to stop the omakes, Weapons Illustrated, and Semblance Encyclopedia for now. We're getting close to ending this arc at last, and I kinda want to do it since it's been like a year.
So for the sake of efficiency and speed, the omakes will be ceased for the time being. It's take a good long while to think of them at times, and frankly, it's a lot of time I could be using to get chapters out quicker. So yeah, I'll be hitting pause on them for the time being.
I've nothing much else to say at the moment, except that I hope things are getting interesting enough for you, the readers. Trust me when I say the year will have been worth it, and a lot of cool new things will be featured. So with that...
I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing story Rogue Huntsman written by Xera Stark. The story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you seriously read it. You won't want to miss out on this story. Plus, I'm working on it with him as a co-author, and my characters are in it too. So if you want to see a sort of alternate story and such with my characters in it, go on over and give Rogue Huntsman a read.
And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, and tells Rogue Huntsman's story from his characters' perspective, like how Knights of White and Black (my alternate story) tells the tale from my character's perspectives.
Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!
Bye-bye now!