Chapter 62 – For the Emperor!
"What the hell!?" Dante blocked another attack, this time a mace.
"What's going on?" Raphtalia knocked a pair of assailants back with her hammer. "Why are shadows attacking us? Are they from Shieldfreeden?"
"They're here for you. Air Strike Shield VI!" Dante threw up his skill, only for it to be destroyed immediately. It still gave Sadeena a moment to run through one of her attackers.
"Me!?" Raphtalia didn't have time to consider things, since another two shadows were already coming at her.
"Talk later. Rifana, keep casting spells and don't stop." Dante stood in front of the weasel woman.
"Y-Yes, Mister Dante!" Rifana began chanting.
"Kill the wielder of the spirit implement! Without him, the false empress will fall!" One of the shadows yelled.
"Yes!" Some of the ones in the back started converging on Dante.
They had the right idea, in a sense. Dante was able to throw out defensive skills to protect his party, even if these people could quickly destroy them. He also had powerful magic, something they no doubt witnessed, on top of being able to take a lot of damage.
Slave Deceased
"Air Strike Slash VII! Second Slash VII! Dritte Slash V!" Warbaldt unleashed his sequence of skills at his enemies. They were knocked back, but despite taking direct hits, they weren't dead. No, that wasn't right. One fell, and an XP notification flashed in Dante's vision.
"Careful! Hero weapons and skills might not be as strong against them!" Dante called out.
"Got it!" Warbaldt shifted tactics, grabbing one and crushing them under his massive foot.
He could tear them apart with his hands for all I care, so long as they die.
Dante followed in his footsteps. The next assassin swiped at him, only for Dante to block the strike and throw them to the ground. A quick maneuver deprived them of their weapon.
Slave deceased
Before Dante could finish them off, another two charged him. His shield blocked one while the other got a strike on Dante's side, this time with a staff. They were clearly weapons strong against heroes, but the damage wasn't as much as Dante thought it'd be.
Well, we have access to more power up methods than Naofumi did, and we're already buffed with Drifa Aura X. Put that against the larger number of attackers and no other reinforcements for us, I still think we're in a better position. Survival isn't the issue, though. We need to finish the wave and get back quickly!
It still wouldn't be wise to shift his focus back to the wave boss. The flames from the webs behind them also made it hard to regroup. The Q'ten Lo attackers kept up the pressure in the front.
Slave deceased
"High Quick!" Dio raced past, tearing open the chest of one of the attackers with her claw.
"Drifa Tornado!" Likewise, JoJo sent out a massive whirlwind at a group. Some managed to evade, but others were caught up in it and were torn to shreds.
I think I understand. They wanted us to be tired from the wave before attacking. I don't know how they got here, but that's a problem for later.
"You!" A voice called out near Sadeena. One of the orca therianthropes pointed their weapon, a katana, at Sadeena.
"Hmmm~?" Sadeena cut down her opponent before looking curiously at the orca.
"So, this is where you've been hiding?" The approaching therianthrope said, preparing their weapon. Compared to the other orca assassins, this one's voice sounded higher pitched. Perhaps it was a woman.
"Oh? Do I know you?" Sadeena readied her harpoon.
Her new opponent didn't seem to like her question. "Everything I've gone through is because of you!"
The katana wielding orca charged. Sadeena met her with her harpoon.
"Shildina!?" Dante reflexively called out.
Slave deceased
The name caused a brief distraction, allowing Sadeena to easily push back.
"Oh my!" Those two words had been said often enough in different ways that Dante could determine the intent behind them. This time, it was a mix surprise and pity. "So, those two had another child to replace me?" While Sadeena's voice was even, Dante could feel an edge to it.
"It's your fault!" The other orca, Shildina, roared and charged again.
Dante realized the situation might be more dangerous than he first thought. Shildina and Sadeena were pretty close in power before, ignoring Sadeena's power ups. He had no doubt the other assassins were strong, but Shildina was likely a few steps above. All the more reason to wipe out everyone else quickly.
Another pair of attacks came at Dante. He was only able to block one of them. The other was parried by Raphtalia. She'd made her way closer, likely from Sadeena's direction.
"Drifa Firestorm X!" Dante let loose his spell. He wasn't as fast as Rifana, nor as skilled as Sadeena, but he did learn to cast difficult spells under pressure.
The raging inferno swept across the valley opening. Unlike in Melromarc's throne room, Dante didn't need to restrain the size of it. A few attackers were unable to evade in time, but only one was killed.
Slave Deceased
Dante looked around at the only other members of his party that hadn't stood out. Keel and Rishia were working together, keeping their attackers at bay. While Keel's agility was his greatest stat, it seemed like those from Q'ten Lo suffered the same penalty from the wave monsters' poison. Those two were also far smaller targets than just about everyone else.
"We'll finish here! Attack the spirit implement wielder!" Dante heard the shouts of the Q'ten Lo assassins near the rear.
"Right!" One of them broke away and charged.
What the hell are they doing?
Dante didn't have the time to question it. This warrior came straight at him, brandishing a katana. He lunged in the air and swung down at Dante.
"That all you got!" Dante met his attack and threw him far back with his shield.
Slave Deceased
This one was different. He didn't have any animal features visible with his face almost completely covered, a pair of angry, pink eyes being all that was not hidden. His weapon seemed to be a higher quality, too. Given that Shildina was here, he likely wasn't the leader, but his weapon signified he was higher up than the others.
"You must die!" The katana wielding shadow yelled, charging Dante and Raphtalia with a group of eight others.
"I don't have time for this!" Dante called back, stepping aside slightly for Rifana.
"Drifa Hellfire V!" Rifana directed one of her spells at the group.
A ball a speeding fire shot out and struck one of them before they could dodge, incinerating them. Like with Dante's spell, it seemed like magic cast by heroes was just as deadly.
That wasn't the only source of fire they had to deal with. Lilith swooped down and breathed out a gout of flames, splitting the charging group. Four made it past, including the katana guy, though two of those ones got burned. Another two had to jump back from the flames while the third was fully caught in it, falling dead to the ground.
Slave Deceased
Dante intercepted the katana one and another while Raphtalia took the other two. Heroes or not, they had more than high enough stats to handle themselves against hero-killer weapons. Between their damage output and Rifana's intermittent healing, the enemy would soon be whittled down to nothing.
Shildina was the only real issue. Once the wave was over, Dante was going to teleport them all away. He didn't want to leave Shildina to be an issue for later, but it had to be that way. The notifications for dead slaves didn't stop.
Just then, the area around them started to turn pink. A large cage appeared around them, enclosing an area roughly 300 feet wide. From the back, a pink barrier quickly spread out and passed over them. Dante's shield and Raphtalia's hammer sparked on contact with it.
Slave Deceased
"This is…" Raphtalia was at a loss for words.
Dante knew what this was. It was an ability to seal away holy and vassal weapons.
"Keep fighting!" The katana warrior yelled. "They're no match for us now!"
He might be right. Dante's stats plummeted. From the information he gleamed in his status, it was the same for everyone else, due to losing the Whip's power up. However, that wasn't everything.
The katana came down, crashing into Dante's shield. He was able to divert it to the side. With a heavy step forward, Dante smashed his fist into the man's face, sending him reeling back.
"My curse is still active!"
Despite this barrier cutting off all his power up methods, plus his hero exclusive spell, the stats he gained from his Wrath curse still heavily buffed him. Those stats were mostly tied to him and not whatever shield form he was using. Still, the fight just became that much harder.
Everyone on his side slowed down, while their opponents seemed to get faster. The abrupt change caused a few of them to take hits they otherwise wouldn't. Thankfully, Rifana could still cast spells outside of her given attributes, just not as fast.
"Lilith!" Dante called up to his dragon between strikes. Her movement had been restricted a bit by the cage. "Take out those guys in the back!"
"Gau!" She nodded her head, adjusting her path.
Slave Deceased
A loud hiss brought Dante's attention behind him. The attack by Q'ten Lo had distracted him. The giant spider had finally come forward, the flames from its webs having died down. It seemed it was in the cage when it formed.
Dante quickly shoved Rifana to the side and brought his shield up, only to get pushed into the ground by the spider's fangs. They chewed at his shield as he tried to fend it off. The katana warrior lunged for Dante, but Raphtalia deflected the strike, engaging in a power struggle with him.
"Hey! Get off Dad!" A body tackle from JoJo knocked the spider off Dante, giving him room to stand.
"Thanks, JoJo!" Dante blocked another strike from one of the Q'ten Lo attackers. "Keep Rifana close!"
The spider wasn't done yet, pouncing on them. Dante was able to push his attacker into the spider, promptly getting picked up by it. They swung their weapon for a moment before going still. It didn't look to be from poison, as they were still able to move. Rather, they seemed to accept their fate.
They know killing the boss ends the wave. Without it, and possibly the barrier, we can escape.
Slave Deceased
"NOOO!" Raphtalia's cry made Dante whirl around.
She wildly swung her hammer, causing the katana shadow to step back, but only momentarily. He reengaged, quickly gaining the upper hand. He knocked Raphtalia's hammer downward and delivered a quick slash to her side. Dante moved back in, pushing back against him. He also stood in front of Raphtalia.
"Stop!" He yelled to her. "Stay focused!"
"Dante! Move!" Raphtalia tried to get around, but he stayed in her path.
"Focus!" It was hard to block strikes and keep Raphtalia back.
"She's…" Raphtalia trembled, but she swung at one of the other assailants that got past Dante.
"I know!" Dante knew this fight was going to get worse. Raphtalia's concentration was broken. It was entirely justified and Dante didn't blame her. He was pissed too, but they had to work through it. Dante just lost a friend, but Raphtalia…
Raphtalia just lost her lover.
Dante was able to keep people in a party group over long distances, thanks to the slave seals. Anyone else would automatically be removed. Thanks to that, everyone there was able to see the names and HP of normally partied people that weren't nearby. Everyone here knew Eclair just died. The sudden disappearance of her name from the party was unbelievable.
"All Drifa Heal!" Rifana kept using her magic to keep everyone's HP high. The sheer volume of attacks before led to a number of hits. The enemy's numbers decreased, but the connecting hits didn't, a result of losing the bonuses from the Shield.
Dante swung his shield, the spikes catching the katana wielder's mask and tearing it as he fell to the ground. He lifted his shield, ready to capitalize on his opponent's position. Even with the Q'ten Lo barrier up, the shield did have a good attack bonus. With a slam, he'd remove one of the enemy's stronger fighters.
Then, he stopped.
As he looked down, the pink eyes that were filled with anger before became scared. The face that looked up at him resembled one of his closest companions. On his bloodied head sat a pair of ears so much like that of a raccoon's, or a tanuki's, sticking out of red-brown hair.
"R-Ruft…?" Dante stared at him.
After the name left Dante's lips, the tanuki regained his resolved. His katana thrust up, impaling Dante's stomach with the shimmering blade.
Dante stumbled back, tripping over himself. Another attacker saw the opportunity and slammed a mace into his head, knocking him on his back. Ruft quickly got to his feet and pulled back, distancing himself from the man that nearly killed him.
Dante couldn't think straight. The blunt force had his mind spinning, in addition the revelation of his opponent's identity. He barely registered the yellow fellows that rushed past his vision.
Why…Why is Ruft here? First Shildina, and now him? Why is he an adult?
"AH!" Dio's cry brought Dante out of his stupor.
The filolial queen had one of her wings cut in half. Her attacker was kicked away, but that allowed another to step forward and thrust his spear into her upper leg. Dio fell to the ground, her injure leg unable to support her weight. The assassin brought back his spear and aimed it at her.
"Papa!" She desperately called for him.
"Air Strike Shield VI!" Dante tried to activate his skill, but the barrier prevented it.
Monster Deceased
The text barely registered to Dante. The raging battle around them seemed to slow down. Dio was lifted off the ground, the spear having completely gone through her chest and out the back.
With his wound barely closed from the healing Rifana provided, Dante launched up and tackled the shadow, wrapping his hands around their throat.
There was noise. Loud, deafening noise all around him. He couldn't tell who was saying what.
It didn't matter.
All that mattered was the bastard in his grip.
It didn't take long. A snap and an XP notification told him the killer was dead.
Dante would have held on longer, but a metal club struck him in his face. He was thrown back, slightly dazed, but furious. His head landed right next to Dio, her body having changed into her child form. Her lifeless eyes seemed to stare into his.
Then, he saw it. Like in so many of his dreams before, he saw a little girl with long brown hair. The face of Mary stared at him before quickly shifting back to Dio's.
He reached out and pulled her to him. With great effort, he slowly pushed himself off the ground, holding Dio's limp body under his arm. Clanging metal sounded all around him.
Raphtalia was in front of him. She was saying something, yelling something. Her words couldn't reach him. She dragged him back with the rest of the party, who were starting to form a defensive circle.
Blood continued to stain his arm. Her blood. His daughter's blood. Dio's blood.
Even in shock, he was able to reflexively bring up his shield arm to block a strike. It was then he noticed the ones in the back being lit up by Lilith. Despite the attacks on her, she was able to take out the ones maintaining the barrier.
The pink coloring around them slowly disappeared as the rear shadows fell. The enemy began to move slower, but Dante's party didn't speed back up. The Aura spell wasn't repressed, but was canceled by the barrier.
They needed help to finish off the Q'ten Lo attackers.
Dante needed to cast a spell.
"Kill them all, Dante. Only you can."
Dante's eyes flared with hate. He held up his free shield arm and began his chanting.
"I, the Shield Hero, command the heavens and earth! Cut off reason, rejoin it, and expel the pus from within!"
Sadeena glanced over, a scared look on her face. "Little Dante, you…" She quickly shook her head. "Protect Dante as he casts!"
The party huddled closer while the Q'ten Lo attacks fought harder, seeming to understand something big was coming.
"Power of the Dragon Vein! Merge with the power of a hero, who commands you!"
The grief and rage in Dante didn't hinder his casting. No, they enhanced it. They gave him focus.
"As the source of your power, the Shield Hero commands you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Incinerate my enemies in a raging inferno!"
He pointed forward, marking his target.
"Liberation Firestorm X!"
Flames sprang up all around, scorching everything they touched. Dante aimed the center of the spell away from his party, bringing it close enough to wrap around those from Q'ten Lo. The ones close enough to the edge could be seen turning to ash as the fire consumed them. Drifa class spells were powerful, but Liberation were on a whole other level.
As the short explosion of wind and fire began to clear, the sky turned back to blue. The remains of the giant spider were spread across the ground. Parts of it were burnt to a crisp while others were liquefied. The valley wall it was somewhat close to had a large chuck of it blown away, as well as the ground at the center of the spell.
Shildina had been caught in the spell, but she managed to escape it. One of her arms had heavy burns across it. It seemed Ruft was out of the blast entirely.
"They still live. Keep going, or your family will never be safe."
Dante turned to the next group. His next target.
"I, the Shield Hero, command the heavens and earth!"
"Little Dante, stop casting that spell!" Sadeena cried out.
"Cut off reason, rejoin it, and expel the pus from within!" Dante kept chanting.
"Little Rifana, little Raphtalia, take us back!" Sadeena quickly called on the other two heroes in the party.
"Portal Staff!" Rifana used her skill, but everyone stayed. "I can't! Something's interfering!"
"Little Dante—" Sadeena tried calling to him again, but she had to block an attack from her wounded sister.
The words of the others seemed to melt away. Only the words Dante spoke made any sense to him. His surrounding seemed to disappear. Only his enemies remained.
"Incinerate my enemies in a raging inferno! Liberation Firestorm X!"
The final line of the spell was finished. The second blast was as powerful as the first, if not more. Wind blew in every direction from the sudden change in pressure. More XP notifications flooded his vision.
"Little Dante—leave—safe—" Garbled words wafted through the air.
From the scorched valley around them, Dante saw only two more remained. There was a burned orca therianthrope and a tanuki demi-human. The second their eyes met, the pair turned and ran.
"They are fleeing. Do not let them escape."
Things got in Dante's way. It was tall and wide, but Dante pushed it aside. The only thing that mattered was killing his enemies.
"I, the Shield Hero, command the heavens and earth!"
The noise around him finally quieted down. The useless scenery disappeared, leaving only the last two targets. He could see them plain as day, like desperate little flames flickering in the immense darkness.
"Power of the Dragon Vein!"
His fingers crackled with power.
"—the Shield Hero commands you!"
His voice was hoarse, as if he'd been screaming for hours.
"Incinerate my ȇ̴̜͗͊̌ṅ̶̛̲͍̝̽̏͝é̴̡̛̹͍̩̐̍̓m̷̹̜̿͆͑̈ị̴̾͛̀̂̒ͅḛ̴̼͖̥̹̽s̵̯̝̀ ̴͉̘̖͒̏̉̇ǐ̴̮̜͎͇̓͗͘͠ǹ̴̮̉͝ ̴͍̲̠̌̈́͜a̵͐͜ ̵̫̭͎̯̘͋͑̽̚͘r̸̮̝͗̐̊̕͜a̴̳̅͠͝g̶̩̙͛į̸̠̊͜n̵̰̈͠g̶̝͎̟̀̓͐̚ ̵̟̊͊͒̽͘i̴̯̘͋̇̉̌͘n̴̜̠̮̦̋̂̀͝͠f̵̨̻̳̎e̷̫̱̰̼̹͌͘͝ř̵̘̥̘n̷̹̓͂̌͜ͅǫ̶͇̼̰̅̉̂̕͘!̸̧̗̖̈͌̂̓̑"
The pain from his wounds completely disappeared, his only focus on the retreating forms of his enemies.
"L̸̬̬̀̆ï̴̢̥͊ḇ̷̣̺̆̏́́e̴̢̨̜͕̯͆̓r̸̩͉͕͓̙͋̀̋ằ̵̢̛̰͂ͅṯ̵̛͒̊̍ì̴̢̛̞̹̥ô̴̧̥̗̅̉͝ǹ̵̢͙̘̆͐ ̶̢̤͖͚͈͂͌̿F̶͔̀́̕̕ì̶̬͊̍r̸̮͇̻̔͝ȩ̴͗̆̍̃̅ ̸̡̠̤̖̓͋͒͜͠S̵͕̭͕̉ť̴̤͈̣͕͕̈́̍ǫ̵̩̹̯͍̾-"
His voice stopped. The magic he was about to unleash fell from his grasp. He pitched forward, but couldn't fall. Lowering his hand, he found a long shaft sticking out of his gut, ending in sharp tip. The pole crackled with the remnants of an electricity spell.
"I'm sorry." The soft words spoken were the last he heard before his vision went completely black.
~The Wrong Hero~
Pain.
All throughout his body, Dante felt pain.
His mind was foggy, barely registering where he was. He kept his eyes closed, but could smell pine in the air. That was a clear indication he was inside a camping plant.
Still, he didn't move. He didn't want to move. He didn't want to get up. Memories were coming back to him. If he got up, he had to face the truth he knew just couldn't be possible.
There was movement. He felt something against his chest.
"Papa?" He heard her voice.
"Dio!" Dante shot up, wrapping his arms around her.
It was a dream! A horrible dream!
"Dio! You're here! I'm never letting you go!" Dante felt tears running down his face.
He rocked back and forth, holding his daughter in his arms. He kissed the top of her head as a hand found its way to the back of it, stroking her hair.
"Mister Dante?"
He stilled. The muscles in his arms froze.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. Black and white striped hair was below his chin. As the body against him slowly moved back, he realized they were much bigger than Dio.
"A-Atla…"
The tiger girl looked up at him, evidence of her own tears staining her eyes.
"Are you…" She tried to speak, lifting up a hand to grip his shirt. "I'm…I'm so sorry…"
Dante felt the pain all over again, like a hole existed where his heart was. He knew what happened wasn't a dream.
Dio was dead. That man from Q'ten Lo killed her. Anger replaced his grief as the scene played in his mind again and again. From the moment Dio was killed to when Dante snapped that bastard's frail neck.
Kill. I have to kill. Kill them all!
The rest of the fight came in chunks. The barrier went down. He cast fire magic…Liberation magic. The remaining assassins were dying. There was something else. He remembered hearing a voice…
"Sadeena…"
That was it. The last voice he heard. It was right after…
"She stabbed me."
He slowly lifted his shirt and looked down, seeing the giant scar on his abdomen.
"She stabbed me." It sounded crazier the second time he said it, but the anger in him started to rise more.
"Mister Dante, please." Atla wrapped an arm around him as he tried to stand.
"She stabbed me! How could she?! I could have finished them off! I could have—"
-Killed her sister and Raphtalia's cousin.
He clenched his teeth, biting back a yell. It came out as a low growl instead.
"I'm mad at her too, Mister Dante." Atla put both arms around him. "Even if your curse was getting worse, there must have been a better way than hurting you."
"My what?" He looked down at her.
"Your curse." Atla repeated. "She said it was getting stronger."
It clicked in his mind. It wasn't about saving her sister, or at least not completely. He cast Liberation magic. Not just once, but twice. Nearly three times if Sadeena didn't interfere. The consequences of that wouldn't be small. Or, maybe that was just an excuse to save her sister.
Dante tried taking deep breaths, but they ended up being rather shallow. He just couldn't calm down. He opened his status, possibly as a reflex to try calming himself.
His HP wasn't lowered. Instead, it went back up to the full amount before he cast Asylum. It didn't make sense, until he saw another notice in his status.
Curse of Pride. High speed regeneration. Aid reduction.
Dante glared at his open status menu.
Is this a joke? Is this saying I can help my party, my family, even less now?
It was a cruel joke indeed. Since he couldn't save his daughter before, now he could do even less? The name of the curse didn't help.
Pride. As in children, a parent's pride and joy. If this shield thinks it's being cute, I'll ram it into the mouths of every vicious monster I find!
There was too much to worry about at the moment. Too many thoughts assaulting his mind. There was one thing above everything else he needed to know at the moment.
"Where's Sadeena?" He asked as calmly as he could. It must have come off as rather threatening, since Atla flinched at his words.
Atla pulled back so Dante could look at her eyes as she spoke. "She said she needed to patrol the village."
"The village…right."
The timing of the two attacks were too close to be coincidence. Somehow, it was coordinated.
"What happened here?" He asked Atla forcefully. "I need to see what happened."
"Please, Mister Dante, you should rest." Atla tried to keep him seated.
"No." Dante stood regardless. Movement caught his eye.
There was a creature laying a few feet from the bed. It looked like a wolf, but its fur was a deep blue and it looked about as big as Sadeena in her therianthrope form. Dante recognized it as one of Reiko's monsters. When he actually looked around, he found he was in his room in the manor.
"Okay." Atla nodded, standing with him.
Atla went to lead him, but Dante started pulling her along. The wolf looked at them, but didn't move from its spot. Dante didn't give it a second glance. Instead, he went in his status and selected a familiar.
"Ara~" The Sadeena familiar transformed and popped out from behind his shield. Dante took it in his hand and glared into its eyes.
From the deep pools, he could see what Sadeena saw. She just walked behind a building. A few small bioplant experiments were there.
"She's behind Rat's lab." Dante said, mostly to himself as he had the familiar retake its place behind his shield.
When he left the manor, Dante's vision focused on the lab and the lab alone. He didn't look around the village. He didn't want to see the damage. He also didn't care.
The walk felt longer than it was. Dante didn't even know what he was going to say to her. Would he start yelling? Would he cry? All he knew was that he needed to see her.
Just as he was about to round a corner, he came face to face with her.
"Oh!" Sadeena took a quick step back to avoid colliding, changing out of her therianthrope form in the process.
"Sadeena." It felt cold how her name escaped his lips.
"Little Dante…" She reached slightly with her free hand, the other holding her harpoon.
Dante looked at the weapon. His eyes shifted back to Sadeena's.
"I've…looked around the village." She began. "I haven't detected anyone from Q'ten Lo nearby, at least not after we drove them back."
Dante eyes stayed fixed on her.
"Fiadia said there were 23 villagers killed, plus 12 knights. Little Melty is safe."
Dante didn't respond to her words.
"I'm…I know you're angry." She said.
"Don't." Dante's fists clenched. "You can't even begin to understand what I'm feeling."
Dante wasn't even sure how he would describe it. It was like his body was ready to burst into flames, before freezing and shattering into a thousand pieces.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Sadeena slowly lowered herself to the ground. She set her harpoon down next to her as she kneeled. "I need to talk to you. But, please, don't look at me like that."
"Like what?" Dante began walking around her, pacing back and forth.
"Like I'm a threat." She calmly answered. "Please, I don't want you to see me that way."
"Is that what you think? That you're a threat to me?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm not a threat. I promise. So please, just take my hand."
"Why?" Dante gazed at the offered hand. "What do I need to do that for?"
"Little Dante…there's no one else here."
What she said made no sense. Atla was with them, holding Dante's hand. He turned to the tiger woman, only to realize she actually wasn't there. His head turned more and he found her standing a little farther back.
Is that how it is? I see her as a threat now?
Begrudgingly, Dante stepped forward and took Sadeena's hand.
"Will you please sit with me?" She asked as she looked up at him.
Dante did so. Slowly. He was angry at her. Possibly. His emotions weren't making sense, but he at least had enough sense to realize that.
"Where is Raphtalia?" He asked, sitting right in front of Sadeena.
"With Eclair…" Sadeena looked away slightly.
That was probably the reason for his mixed emotions. He should be with Dio right now. He should be grieving properly.
It wasn't as if he was any good at grieving. When his old family died, Dante went around killing anyone even remotely connected to their deaths. He didn't even attend to his family's bodies properly. All he did was pull them from the burning building, Mary and Eddy already dead. He stayed long enough to hear Gloria, the person like a big sister to him, blame him for it all.
In the three months since then, he hadn't changed at all. He didn't want to look at Dio's dead form. All he wanted was to find more Q'ten Lo shadows and slowly squeeze the life out of them.
"Talk to me." Sadeena broke him out of his thoughts.
Dante scoffed. "About what?"
"Anything." She whispered. "Let me know you're still here."
"I'm here." Dante looked out at the village, or what he could see from behind the lab. "For all the good that's doing."
Sadeena took his other hand as well. "Tell me how you feel. Yell, scream, cry, do whatever you want."
"I want to kill shadows." Dante hissed out. "Find me some."
"I will." Sadeena squeezed his hands. "What else?"
There was so much he wanted to say, or yell. He couldn't properly form the words for it all. However, one thing came to the front of his mind.
"You stabbed me."
Sadeena closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Yes."
Dante didn't want to direct his anger at her. If she found more of those Q'ten Lo shits, he'd have plenty to take his anger out on. She was his oldest companion and love of his life. He didn't want to resent her.
"I get it." He finally said. "I overstepped."
"What?" Sadeena cocked her head.
"She's your sister, and you only just learned about her. It wasn't my place to try and kill her." The fight was already over, if his memory was correct. Killing them would have prevented potential problems later, not protect his family at the moment. "Next time we see her, you can do whatever you want with her. But, if she becomes a threat again…"
"No, little Dante, that's not it." Sadeena leaned forward. "I knew casting those spells would do horrible things with your curse."
"Is that all?" Dante could tell there was more to it than that.
"No. There's more." Sadeena shook her head. "My sister…I remember how my parents…how those two treated me. And…it wasn't that long ago that I left."
The real reason started to become apparent to him. Sadeena's next words confirmed it.
"I didn't want you to kill an abused child."
He'd forgotten that detail. Despite her appearance, Shildina was around 10 years old and had likely suffered through a lot. Ruft was even younger. That tanuki might not have been Ruft at all, given how much has changed from what he read. Still, until proven otherwise, he would assume that was Raphtalia's cousin.
"…Fine." He knew she was right. He didn't really want their blood on his hands anyway. "But, she's still strong. If she comes here, and she tries to kill anyone…"
"I know." Sadeena nodded.
He didn't know if that meant she would kill Shildina herself. Dante wouldn't allow it. If Shildina couldn't be reasoned with, he would do it. He would be the monster, not Sadeena.
That was, if Dante didn't kill her on sight. Child or not, he might not be able to control himself.
The topic of Shildina brought up another important issue. "Why did they attack us now?" He asked.
It was always a potential issue. At any point, if Raphtalia looked to be aiming for the heavenly throne, they could attack. Still, it didn't make sense. If anything, they looked even less likely to make a move on Q'ten Lo. Dante's own recent actions in Melromarc showed enough political tension that Q'ten Lo seemed an impossibility. Sure, the heir princess of Melromarc being in Dante's lands might indicate a power play, but surely those Q'ten Lo shadows heard enough between them to know that wasn't the plan.
"I…" Sadeena lowered her head. "I know why."
"What did I do?" He asked her. It was always something he did.
In response, Sadeena stood up, pulling Dante with her. She rubbed her thumbs over his hands as she bit her lip. "Dante, I…"
She let go of one hand. She stared at their joined hands, as if they would give her the answer.
"I swear, I didn't think this would happen. I didn't want to tell you like this. I wanted to keep it hidden until everything calmed down more. Maybe, once everything was worked out with Melromarc, it would be a good time. But, I can't keep this hidden any longer. Not after what you and Raphtalia lost, after everything that's happened here."
She looked into his eyes as she slowly stepped toward him. A difficult smile formed on her face. Ever so slowly, she moved his arm forward. His hand was placed against her side, just below the scar she got from the deranged Axe Hero. She slid it over and down, firmly pressing it against her stomach.
Dante's eyes widened. He didn't want to believe it, but Sadeena's expression told him it was true.
"I'm pregnant, little Dante."
The world slowed down around him.
The anger from what he lost was momentarily forgotten.
Some things started to come together. Sadeena had stopped drinking since Conrad attacked the village. He thought it really was just the drop in quality, but part of him thought it had to do with being more alert.
She was also more protective of him than she was before. Sure, they both had a near death experience and the sentiment was mutual, but now they had something together. Something they both needed to be there for. He couldn't do that if his mind and body were warped by curses.
Dante wanted to be happy. He wanted to embrace her.
But, the pain returned. And with it came a startling realization.
"They came to kill you."
He wanted to laugh, it was so insane. How long had it even been since she found out? Most likely, it was after the last attack when Rat gave her an exhaustive examination. Not even 10 days ago. According to Sadeena, it wasn't that long of a ride by ship to Q'ten Lo. Someone could have been there and back with days to plan something. They had plenty of strange equipment, like the stuff used against heroes, so setting up a dual attack and teleporting to the wave wasn't that out there. Dante recalled Glass's world had something like that, too.
And the reason for attacking the village? Dante was buying up slaves. They saw how strong Sadeena and the others became. What if they thought he was doing that with the new arrivals? He was already in Siltvelt and being praised wherever he walked in the capital, not to mention all the villages and towns he visited. Surely, the people of Siltvelt would fight for whatever cause he called for, especially the people he rescued.
Then there was Shildina and Ruft. They came too. Dante didn't know the reason, but he didn't care. Ruft came to murder his cousin. Shildina came to murder her sister, and her unborn child.
"Little Dante?" Sadeena spoke softly. "Why…are you laughing?"
Dante shook. Now that it was pointed out, he could feel his chest vibrating. It started soft, but it quickly grew into loud, boisterous laughing.
"Isn't it funny!?" Dante weaved a hand through his hair. "Your sister and Raphtalia's cousin came here to murder you two! My daughter and my friend are dead because of it!" His fingers curled up, gripping his hair and pulling at it. "My daughter is dead because of politics! Because of some stupid view they had!"
He already knew that was the case. The missing details prevented him from fully rationalizing it. Because Sadeena was pregnant with Dante's child, they thought Raphtalia was planning to make a move for the throne. Surely that was it. A child with the Shield Hero was supposedly very powerful, so one with the former miko priestess would be even more so. Why wait for Dante and Raphtalia to consolidate more power when they could be eliminated now?
"Mister Dante?"
Dante stopped his laughing and looked to the side. Atla had come closer to the pair.
"Atla!" Dante reached out and pulled her close. "Isn't it wonderful? Sadeena, my love, is pregnant!"
"I…yes, I heard, Mister Dante." There was no snide tone in her voice or jealousy at Sadeena. Only concern for Dante.
"You and your sister are strong. You've been training and practicing. You even fought in a wave. Eclair's taught you what she could, and Sadeena has as well."
"That's right, Mister Dante." Atla reached up and placed her hands on his face. When her thumbs rubbed under his eyes, he realized tears were flowing down them.
"And not just you. Everyone in my party has grown strong. Few can claim to be as powerful as us. And now, I know what we need to do with that power."
Dante grabbed hold of one of her hands, taking Sadeena's in another. "I will burn Q'ten Lo to the ground. I will crush everyone there that stands against me. I will break the people who want to kill their family—my family—for foolish pride and prestige."
He fell to the ground, his legs giving out from under him. Sadeena and Atla kept hold of his hands, even as he choked out a sob.
"AND I WILL SHOW THE WORLD WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY HURT MY FAMILY!"
Author's Notes:
Dante was hanging on by a thread when he first came to this world. That thread slowly grew into a sturdy rope over time. Now…
On the one hand, a big part of this chapter is a fight scene, which I still feel like I'm not good at. Partly why it went so fast. It didn't help that so many characters are here. On the other, this was an encounter I've been waiting a long time for. A few details changed, but the end result was mostly the same.
For some reason, I had trouble with the second half of this chapter. I've been waiting for this all for a while, but it just wouldn't flow out from my mind. I'm not entirely satisfied with how this chapter turned out. It feels a bit rushed like the last one. I would have drawn them both out a little more, but I don't think I could add enough detail to warrant that.