Chapter 64 – Agitation
"Gau!"
Lilith roared as she let loose a gout of flames. The target of her attack swiftly ducked out of the way before resuming his run. It was short lived, as Dante was able to grab hold of his arm.
Instinctually, the black-garbed warrior thrust his shortsword into Dante's chest with his free hand. The tip went in barely an inch before stopping. In response, Dante swung the man around and slammed him into a nearby dead tree. It was swiftly knocked over from the impact.
"Vermin." Dante coldly addressed the shadow before pulling the sword from his chest and tossing it aside.
"You…" For his part, the shadow could say little after having the air knocked from his lungs.
Dante didn't give him time to recuperate. He pulled the shadow to the ground and shoved a knee into his chest. His hands wrapped around the shadow's head, keeping it from thrashing around. The shadow struggled in his grip, clawing at Dante's arms, but it was pointless.
With a hard look in his eyes, Dante rammed his thumbs into the shadow's eyes. The prone man let out a blood curdling scream for a few seconds before being silenced, his neck snapping when his head was twisted to the side.
Dante breathed in deeply, observing his handiwork.
"I spend hours searching for any of you, and the moment I decide to start gathering kindling, you get close." He scoffed as he quickly pulled what he could from the shadow's person. Once light starting coming off the body, Dante tossed him to the side. "Shield Prison V!"
Seconds after the shadow was surrounded, a loud thud emanated from the skill. There were several impressive cracks in it, but it held.
"Lilith. Come." Dante called the dragon over.
"Gau!" Lilith happily bounded over to him.
Dante gathered up the equipment, mostly items used for reconnaissance and nothing of real note, and placed them in his shield. The weapon was well-made, but it clearly wasn't made to kill heroes. Most of the weapons used by the shadows that attacked the village were like that.
"We are returning." Dante stood and walked over to the fallen tree. With some chopping, it would be good for making the pyre.
Dante had walked the perimeter of the village a couple times before going to his room last night. JoJo and Sadeena were waiting for him, though he found JoJo with his head against Sadeena's stomach as they both lay on the bed. Rifana was still comforting Raphtalia and Atla stayed near Melty, just in case any shadows slipped in.
JoJo had gotten as close to his father as he possibly could before trying to sleep. Both he and Sadeena fell asleep before too long. Dante gave them an hour next to him before slipping out, his restlessness taking over. He knew Sadeena saw him leaving, but they both pretended otherwise. His inability to sleep was still only known by two.
Afterwards, he tried hunting Q'ten Lo shadows for hours before changing to gathering wood for the funeral pyre. Lilith joined him part way through, seeing as she wasn't doing much else at the time.
It was still several hours before sunrise, so Dante got to work. The Vassal Axe was on hand, so he used it to carve up the fallen tree. If his shield had any complaints about using a cursed Vassal Weapon he wasn't bound to for chopping wood, it didn't make them known.
Dante settled into a rhythm with his chopping. In what felt like no time at all, he had more than enough for two bodies. Most of the other people would be buried, with a few being sent off to sea. A cremation wasn't the first idea, but it was mostly for Raphtalia's sake. Neither she nor Dante were ready to say goodbye, so carrying around their ashes was a way to work through it. JoJo would actually be the one to carry Dio. Dante knew he wouldn't be able to handle it. Besides, he already had a piece of her with him.
The small pyre was set up at the edge of the village. Once his party was awake and ready, they all went to the lab to retrieve the bodies. The two weren't dressed up in anything special, just the magic clothes they both normally wore.
Once they were set on the pyre, Rifana cast a fire spell on the base of it. The dry kindling quickly spread the flames over the whole thing.
Dante watched as the fire came over his daughter. Raphtalia was right next to him watching Eclair. Aside from the party, Melty and Ann came to pay their respects, as well as Reiko, Rat, and Fiadia. Once they did, they stood back to let Dante and Raphtalia have a moment.
"She liked pulling carriages." Dante broke the silence between them. He kept his eyes on the burning pyre. "She liked fighting monsters. She liked eating my food. Do you know what she loved doing most?"
Raphtalia shook her head slightly, keeping her face toward the pyre. "No."
"Neither do I. I took for granted she would be here, and now she is gone."
It wasn't as if he didn't pay attention to his daughter. He just knew he could have spent more time with her, despite sleeping her feathers dozens of times. That would change with JoJo.
"Eclair and I were together for a little over a month." Raphtalia told him. "When we weren't training or killing monsters, we would just talk. Despite all the nights we spent with each other, I think I'll miss talking with her the most."
That is good. Dante thought to himself. He didn't really doubt it, but that just confirmed Raphtalia and Eclair cared more about each other than just some physical connection.
Silence hung in the air for a few minutes. The flames were high enough that they couldn't see the bodies through them anymore.
"Did you know that Eclair was the last of her house? No other close relatives to claim her lands?" Raphtalia asked.
"I assumed as much." Dante nodded. Admittedly, he didn't spend too much time with Eclair either.
"Her father was concerned about that. I guess he hoped she would stop being a knight for a little while to marry someone and continue their bloodline."
"Well, she was a noble."
Dante could imagine the sword swinging woman would scare off any suitors that her father managed to find. It wasn't as if her family would be that popular in Melromarc, given their treatment of demi-humans. After her ordeal in Ronota with those mercenaries, such an outcome would be even less likely.
Dante spared her a glance. "Was that a concern for the two of you?"
Raphtalia shook her head. "Eclair wanted to honor her father's wishes, but she also wanted us to stay together. A political marriage is what she decided on. One where she could have a child to continue her family line and still be with me."
"That would be a difficult thing to do." Dante said. "Finding a Melromarc noble that is okay with not only demi-humans, but his wife having a demi-human lover, would be next to impossible."
Raphtalia let out something like an exasperated sigh combined with a single laugh.
"What?" Dante turned his head to look up at her.
She looked down at him, her face containing a grim smile. "You."
"Me?" Dante raised an eyebrow. "Me what? Oh…"
He had to admit, he did check all those boxes. Eclair wasn't exactly keen on being around men, but she more than tolerated Dante. As far as political marriages went, that wasn't such a bad idea. Once everything got cleared up in Melromarc—however that was going to happen—Dante's fondness of family combined with his likely violent reputation there would keep any undesirables away from Eclair. It wasn't as if the Three Heroes Church would be an issue once all was said and done. He'd make sure of that.
Raphtalia continued. "She believed you wouldn't try to keep her holed up in her manor, away from her duties as a knight. She knew you would make sure her child, your child, would be kept safe. I thought so, too."
Dante returned his gaze to the pyre. "You both were right."
Eclair knew how much Dante cared about family, and the children he would have with the women of Siltvelt. Dante could easily see himself agreeing to such an arrangement, provided Eclair wasn't a complete stranger to her child. He doubted she would, given her sense of honor and loyalty.
Dante decided to broach a difficult subject. "Raphtalia. Do you…want her familiar?"
"I…don't know." She looked down a little. "Ask me again later."
"Okay."
Both hers and Dio's familiars were no longer functioning. It was part of being bonded with them, rather than being like Reiko's other creations. Dante could still transform them between their amulet shape and their normal form, but they did nothing. Now they were more like dolls. Dante kept both safe behind his shield for now.
"Shield God!" Not five minutes after their talk, Elvira shouted. Dante turned to look at her and saw what she was concerned about.
In the distant sky, over a dozen figures were flying toward them.
"Well." Dante clenched his fists as he took a few steps toward the approaching creatures. "I suppose I was not satisfied killing that shadow earlier. Now I get to kill whatever is interrupting the funeral."
"I'll join you." Raphtalia lifted her hammer from her back. "I was actually starting to feel some peace."
Alarms were raised in the village. The people rushed to the lab, the basement of which having been designated as a sort of fallout shelter. The knights present started to assemble on the outskirts of the village with Dante's party. Atla and Fohl stayed back with Melty and her shadow—it appears one may have died in the previous attack.
Dante and Raphtalia stood at the front, with Rifana right behind them. He cast his Aura spell on everyone, though at Drifa. Despite his earlier use of it, Dante wanted to save Liberation for when it was necessary.
"Can anyone see what is coming?" Dante asked the assembled warriors.
"I can, Shield God!" Elvira immediately raised her hand and rushed forward. "It's a group of dragons, eight of them. The one in front is much larger than the rest."
While that could be seen as an issue, Dante was happy to get more dragon shields revealed. He encountered very few, and the mix breed he absorbed with the vampires on Gaelion's old mountain didn't reveal that many. That idea sparked something in his mind.
"What color is the larger dragon?" He thought to ask.
"Blue, Shield God." Elvira relayed.
Dante sighed and eased his stance slightly. "Of course he would come now."
Once the group got a little closer, Dante was confident in his assumption. He ordered the knights to return to their duties and leave the dragons to his party. Either believing in their god or not wanting to fight a group of dragons, the knights obliged.
"Gau!" Lilith chirped as the dragons descended slowly. The lead dragon beat his massive wings until he landed on the ground with a loud thud. The others reached ground behind him.
"Gaelion." Dante looked up at the Dragon Emperor, though his expression didn't soften. "What do you want?"
"I have come seeking your aid, Shield Hero." Gaelion spoke in a booming voice.
"I am busy." Dante looked back at the pyre, and his party. Seeing as it was only Gaelion, Raphtalia already went back to it.
"It is urgent, Shield Hero." Gaelion pressed.
"I do not care." Turning his back, Dante walked back toward the funeral process.
"Do you care about this village?" The question stopped Dante in his tracks.
The Shield Hero glared up at the dragon. "Was that a threat?" He took a heavy step back toward the much larger dragon. "Do not think for one second that I will tolerate any move against the people here. I will tear you apart if you so much as—"
"Little Dante." Sadeena quickly wrapped her arms around his sides. "I don't think he was threatening us."
Dante was about to snap back, but reconsidered. Surely if Sadeena sensed any danger, she would have her harpoon still at the ready. Dante looked back up at Gaelion, though whatever response he was thinking of slowly faded. Near where his neck met the rest of his body, a small demi-human child sat, peaking around the dragon's neck.
Dante took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.
Wyndia is here. Whatever the problem is, it at least does not involve her immediate safety.
"What happened on your island? Speak." Dante commanded.
Gaelion seemed to bristle at his tone, but nodded all the same. "Another Dragon Emperor came, seeking my fragment. I was able to chase his scout away, but I fled before he came himself. But that—"
"Do you know how strong he is?" Dante quickly asked.
"I do not, but I believe you are more than strong enough to face him. However—"
"Fine then." Dante eased away from Sadeena. "Reiko, with me."
"Yes sir!" Reiko skittishly approached.
"I will fight the dragon. You will bring us back right after. I do not want to be away longer than I have to."
"Got it!" Reiko's nervousness was more than apparent. She'd been like this around him since he returned to the village, and it wasn't exactly surprising. She saw Dante burn a Q'ten Lo shadow Sadeena found to ash as they tried to flee pursuit the day before.
"Please allow me to come too, Shield God!" Elvira ran up, stars in her eyes.
"Fine."
"Should I come too, little Dante?" Sadeena asked.
"No." Dante looked at her, and JoJo. The filolial boy had his arms around her leg as he glared at the surrounding dragons. "Stay here."
"Little Dante, I know you want to keep me safe, but I can still fight." She tried to reassure him.
"We'll be back soon." Dante told his party.
"Shield Hero, there is another matter—"
"Portal Shield!" Without waiting for Gaelion's words, the three of them teleported out.
~10 minutes later~
The party of three reappeared near the center of the village. Dante led the other two, a stone in his right hand.
"That was amazing, Shield God!" Elvira gushed. "Your power is unrivaled!"
"Hm." Dante didn't give much of a response.
They neared the still burning pyre. The rest of his party had come back to it, plus the visiting dragons. The villagers had come out of the lab, though they were wary of the dragons near the edge of the village. Wyndia stood on the ground next to her father, but that was the only other change Dante noticed.
"Dad!" JoJo shouted when he spotted them. He broke away from Sadeena and ran over.
"Keep your distance, JoJo." Dante held up a hand to his son. He appreciated the concern, but he didn't want him to get covered in dragon blood.
"Oh my." Sadeena voiced, though it was less enthusiastic than usual. "What happened?"
"It was glorious!" Elvira held her hands together. "Shield God leapt into the dragon's mouth and tore it apart from the inside!"
She made it sound more dramatic than it was. Dante's attacks and magic were getting through, but he could tell it would take some time. His defense was more than enough to keep him going against the dragon. He just wasn't patient enough. The easier tactic was to let the dragon eat him and then switch to his Titanic Ogre Shield and grow. Stomach lining was far less durable than dragon scales.
Dante absorbed the dragon's corpse, along with the others in its brood that Elvira and Reiko killed. He'd disassemble and give them out later. If the main shield he revealed from the corpse was any indication, the other shields would provide great stat bonuses.
"It is dead. Here." Dante lobbed the dragon's core fragment to Gaelion's front claws.
Gaelion looked at the core. "That was fast."
"I am good at killing things." Dante then waved his hands in a shooing motion. "Now, go away."
With Gaelion's problem solved, Dante could go back to the cremation in peace before he needed to get on with his day. A visit to Zeltoble was in order. Mercenaries needed hiring, as well as some shadows. He was still hesitant to enlist any more from Siltvelt than the rat shadow, who continued to prove loyal, especially with Melty here. More eyes that were trained to spot secret operatives like those from Q'ten Lo could only be helpful, especially with the binding contract magic hired shadows used.
He also needed to take Ann to the capital with Raphtalia and Sadeena. Part of Raphtalia claiming the throne of Q'ten Lo involved her looking the part. Sadeena knew what the clothes the Heavenly Emperor wore looked like, so she would help design them. Ann was good at her craft, and the castle tailors and blacksmiths would help make the clothing function closer to armor.
Gaelion picked discarded core off the ground and flicked it into his mouth. After swallowing it, he looked down to Dante again. "Shield Hero. I thank you for doing this for me—"
"Then leave." Dante needed to get the blood washed from him, possibly with Keel or Sadeena's magic, before returning to the pyre.
"—But that is not the only reason I have come here."
Dante sighed and returned his attention to his guest. "What do you want, dragon?"
"May I enter your village?" He inquired.
Dante glared and grumbled, but swept his arm to the side regardless. "Only you. Leave your horde outside."
"As you wish." Gaelion slowly made his way in.
Sadeena came up to Dante with an easy smile on her face. After a quick casting of water magic, Dante's clothes and body were free from blood. He then flooded his magic clothing with MP, forcing them to quickly dry. It was a neat trick, mostly used to return the clothing to their original form from damage.
"What are you doing here?" Dante asked as Sadeena took his arm in hers. Reiko returned to the others, but Elvira walked a few paces behind her god. JoJo walked next to Sadeena.
"I have come to offer my help. You surely need it, Shield Hero." Gaelion spoke as he walked.
"Based on the strength of your now-dead enemy, I doubt that." That dragon's defense was a nuisance, but not overly impressive. "Though I suppose having more dragons to fight would be good in the war."
"Your partner informed me of your conflict." Gaelion gazed down at the pair. "War is not wise during the Waves.
"It will not be a long war. I plan to crush Q'ten Lo swiftly." Dante had some time to think more on Q'ten Lo's position.
Given the amount of time they had between learning of Sadeena's pregnancy and their attack, Dante assumed the assassins they brought was what were available. That was compounded by the number of hero-killer weapons they actually had, and their condition. They were old and worn down. For whatever reason, new ones weren't being made, or at least being handed out. If they were, Dante and his party may have died in Shieldfreeden with the amount of warriors fighting them.
What's more, he expected those shadows to be stronger. They weren't weak, but they weren't these highly skilled warriors either. At least not all of them, the range of skill between different shadows was apparent. Thinking back, it was rather strange Dante was able to grab that shadow in the throne room so easily. An attack that was likely meant for Dante's heart ended up in his stomach.
Finally, the method of using a Sakura Stone wasn't as quick and easy as he thought before the battle. A group of shadows had to maintain the barrier that restricted hero powers, and even then it took some time to start it up. A war was no place to use such an ability, especially when the affected area was centered on the stone and with arrows and spells flying around.
"Then you should limit your theaters of war." Gaelion stopped in front of the totem Dante erected.
"I leave the war logistics to the Siltvelt generals." Dante said. "If they think spreading out is more beneficial than staying grouped together, I will not argue." The only part he would argue on is the placement of his party, who would stay with him.
"That is not what I meant." Gaelion turned around. Before Dante could react, the large dragon slammed his claw into the totem, smashing it into pieces. A few people cried out in panic before running off.
Dante raised his hand to incinerate the dragon, but Sadeena placed hers over his. "Calm down, little Dante. You too, little Elvira." The vampire in question had her new whip out and ready to strike. JoJo, on the other hand, stayed by Sadeena's side.
Setting aside the value of what was just destroyed, it was what kept Takt from popping in whenever he wanted. With the Vassal Projectile, Takt could be a small army all on his own, assuming Conrad told him the power up methods. Dante didn't want to chance that.
"Dragon. Explain. Now." Dante gritted his teeth. He lowered his arm so he wouldn't be an immediate threat, but he was ready to lunge at the dragon if he didn't like what was said.
"Do you know what it was you made?" Gaelion asked.
Dante patted Sadeena's arm with his free one, separating from her. He looked over the destroyed, shiny stone totem. The dragon head at the top was further away from the rest of it, broken near the bottom jaw.
"An enchanted monument to prevent portal skills from people I did not want entering the village." Dante explained.
Gaelion shook his head. "That was not the only effect. Do you know how I came to your village?"
"One of your children knew where it was." Dante had brought back the young red dragon at night to rest while they traveled to Gaelion's island.
"I did not need my child to guide me." Gaelion lowered his head to meet Dante. "The spell you cast over the monument was like a beacon shining in the dead of night. I could have found it from halfway across the world."
"How?" This was the first Dante heard of it. No one said anything about it, not even Sadeena.
"Any Dragon Emperor, or sufficiently powerful monster, can sense it."
"Then why did my children not?" Dante asked. He knew how high their levels were.
"Tamed monsters lose that ability." Gaelion explained.
"Why?"
Gaelion smirked. "Why do tamed monsters need a class upgrade to advance further?"
The large dragon had a point. There were plenty of monsters that were stronger than level 40. Dante knew being registered to a hero made filolials different, though there were underlying reasons for that. Lloyd's griffins were smarter, too, though his whip took most of the credit. Reiko went over a number of the already unlocked forms with Dante. It could be that whatever was used to make the monster seals to have monsters obey people also reduced some of their natural abilities.
It was also fair to say Dante didn't really know that much about the Asylum spell he cast. All he really knew was it had an effect he needed. His curse didn't provide all the details about it.
"Fine." Dante relented to Gaelion's question. "But the fact remains. I need something to keep others from using portal skills to sneak into my village."
Gaelion raised his head again. He looked to the sky and began chanting. While Dante never tried casting the spell himself, he understood it enough through his Curse of Greed to recognize it.
"Dragon Sanctuary!"
Dante could feel the magic emanate from Gaelion. An invisible barrier spread throughout the village.
"Boo!" JoJo made his disapproval known immediately. After all, it was basically a spell to claim territory. Dante understood the gesture well enough, but two out of his three curses seemed to be irked by the action.
"Your village is now safe from such attacks." Gaelion said proudly. "I will designate you and your allies as exemptions to the restrictions for your portal skills."
"I'm going to learn how to do that, so Dad won't need you! Boo!" The filolial boy puffed up his cheeks at the dragon.
Dante shook his head. "A nice gesture, Gaelion, but someone sufficiently powerful can remove it once you leave." Though, he had to admit, the same could be said about the anchored Asylum spell. It was weaker and easier to overpower, so a large enough group could have cast Sanctuary. Doing what Gaelion just did could have gotten rid of it, too.
"That brings me to the second reason for my being here." Gaelion turned his body to fully face Dante. "I wish to take up residency in your village."
"Boo!" One person was already fully against the idea.
"For what purpose?" Dante asked. Given Gaelion's desire to be away from people, it was rather odd to hear him wanting to be in a village, let alone one an hour's ride from a major country's capital.
"To help you with the only reason powerful monster have not tried invading your lands before." The large claw of the dragon came forward, pointing at Dante's chest. "Your curses."
"My curses kept monsters away?" Dante asked.
"Powerful monsters, but yes." Gaelion nodded. "Your Asylum spell acted as a challenge, and your curses backed up your claim to power. But, they are also a detriment to you. We should work on removing them."
"You can help cure little Dante's curses?" Sadeena eagerly asked.
"I can try." Gaelion gave a sort of shrug with his claw, opening it and facing it to the sky. "My knowledge on hero curses is not comprehensive, especially with the Shield Hero's…abnormal condition."
"You mean how my curses do not have weapon forms?" Dante clarified, receiving a nod from Gaelion.
That would be highly beneficial, especially since the priests in Siltvelt didn't know why his curses were the way that they were. Either that, or they did know and chose not to say. Part of Dante wanted him to keep his curses, since they offered him great power. But, with his Curse of Greed reducing his ability to heal and aid his family, he thought better of it.
"I may also be able to help with the Vassal Axe on your back." Gaelion held forward his claw. "May I see it?"
Dante scrunched up his face. "Anyone who touches it goes into a berserk frenzy. I may have to kill you if I can't get it away from you."
"I will be cautious." Gaelion promised.
Seeing as the Axe was otherwise a liability, having it restored would be helpful. He could still carry it around until a proper wielder for it was found, assuming it didn't fly off or embed itself in the ground like the Gauntlets have out west. Dante began removing it from his back, unwrapping the head from the enchanted cloth the Q'ten Lo shadows tried to use. It was mostly to keep from accidentally sticking someone with the many jagged edges of the Axe.
Once freed from the cloth and harness, Dante held out the Axe. Gaelion brought his claw to it, tapping the head with the end of his talon. The dragon quickly brought his claw back, bringing it close to his face.
"Interesting." He murmured.
"What is?" Dante asked, continuing to hold the Axe in front of him.
"I felt what the Vassal Weapon is feeling. It seems it is searching for something, though it does not know what."
"I already know the answer to that." Dante lowered the Axe to the ground. "It wants me dead."
Gaelion cocked his head to the side. "Are you certain?"
"Reasonably." Dante nodded. "Unless the last man who owned it had a reason to hate me, or the Shield Hero in general." It wasn't impossible, seeing as Aultcray hated the Shield Hero. Dante wasn't really active in Faubrey, which is where he heard the Axe Hero was from. More evidence for the initial answer was from soon after killing the berserk Axe Hero before. When one of the knights tried to move it and went berserk, Dante was his first target, despite other knights being closer.
"Fascinating." Gaelion hummed in thought.
"Do you know why that is, or why I am able to hold it while no one else can?" Dante hoped to get some answers.
Gaelion, however, shook his head. "I do not, nor do I know why it remains in its cursed form. A Vassal Weapon should return to its base form when it loses its hero."
Still no answers to important questions. If these thoughts were on Dante's mind more, he'd be more upset.
"For now, I will start with helping you purge the curses from your own weapon and body." Gaelion made to lay on the ground, his front legs nearly folded under him. "What can you tell me about them?"
Dante looked over at the pyre. He wanted to be back over there already. But…he knew it wouldn't help him to be there. It was just something he felt he should do.
Taking in a deep breath, Dante began explaining the overview of his curses.
"I have three weapon curses in me. The Curse of Wrath increases all of my stats, including attack, but keeps me from using any armor and accessories. The Curse of Greed grants access to all magic attributes and Way of the Dragon Vein, but all buff and healing spells and abilities I use on allies are reduced by at least one tier. It also made me need to be in contact with someone with a slave or monster seal of mine, or else I would begin to panic. The more recent Curse of Pride gives me a fast regeneration ability, but reduces any buff and healing spells cast on me substantially. That one seemed to negate the Curse of Greed's need for physical contact. They all also influence my emotions based on their concept."
Gaelion kept his eyes on Dante all throughout the explanation, looking deep in thought. "When you cast magic outside of your attributes, what happens?"
"It agitates my curses." Dante answered. "Some of the effects are physical and harmless, changing my hair color or wearing down my face. When I go further, the emotional effects get stronger."
"Hm, yes." Gaelion nodded. "I seem to recall something like this." It was beginning to look like this dragon's stay in the village would be quite beneficial. "To begin with, you must stop using the benefits of your curse abilities."
"I already figured as much." Dante said. "I have needed to use some spells, but I am trying not to. I cast several Liberation spells yesterday…"
When he thought about it, that may have been what led to his Curse of Pride unlocking. He didn't need to cast it so many times. Before things started going dark, he remembered cutting down the enemy's numbers by a large amount after only a single casting.
"That is not all." Gaelion continued. "Attacking and allowing your regeneration to work will also worsen your condition."
"What?" Dante raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?" Sadeena asked. "I've seen Dante attack countless times, both with his shield and with magic, and I never saw any change."
"I do not doubt it." Gaelion said. "The effects are small, but they add up. They are likely the reason any attempts to heal those curses have not born any fruit."
"That is asking too much." Dante sighed. It would be difficult to resist even before Q'ten Lo acted up. Now, it would be nearly impossible.
"You must." Gaelion insisted. "For you to be cured, you must forgo using any of your curse abilities. Rely on your party instead of doing everything yourself, like your curses push you to."
"They…" The last words Gaelion said set off a light in Dante's head.
That is what these curses do. I can see it. Each one makes me more able to fight alone. Being able to attack made it so I do not need to have a party at all. Stats in place of buying armor or improving armor from drops. More magic instead of needing mages, and I can help my allies less with my own magic. The same for regeneration, where I do not need healing magic from others.
While he knew using magic outside of his attributes influenced his emotions, specifically his anger, he didn't think the curses were linked in such a way. The Curse Series he knew about was to keep a hero alive and continue fighting. His made it so he could go it alone. In truth, both versions did both things, just in different ways.
Still, Q'ten Lo made that an issue.
"I will do what I must to protect my family." Dante said with conviction. "If I must use my curse abilities, then I will."
"Little Dante." Sadeena wrapped her arms fully around Dante from behind, now that the cursed Axe was off his back. "You need to do as he says."
"You know why I cannot." Dante looked over his shoulder.
Sadeena shook her head. "I need you to. I can't let you be taken by your curse."
"And I cannot lose you." Dante let go of the Axe and turned around, placing his hands on Sadeena's arms. "I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive."
"I know you will." Sadeena grabbed one of his hands with both of hers. "But if I lose you because of that, then what's the point?"
"You will live. That is the point."
"I want you to live with me." She rubbed their hands together. "When everything is over, I want to live a peaceful life with you. If you're taken away by your curse, I can't do that. You need to be here for me. For all of us. And for…"
Sadeena brought his hand forward, placing it against her stomach. Dante gritted his teeth and turned his head to the side.
"That is not fair." He grumbled.
Sadeena simply smiled. "It is fair, and that's why you don't like it. You have a lot of powerful friends willing to help you."
"A-Ah!" Without even being looked at, Elvira took that as her cue to step forward. Though, she decided on kneeling before the pair. "Shield God, I will do everything in my power to help you! I will crush all your enemies and lay my life on the line to protect the mother of your child!"
Sadeena winced as she looked down at the kneeling vampire. "And I want you to understand what you're doing to those around you."
Dante understood what she meant. In his mind, the young vampire made her choice to follow him. She was a party member and he would treat her as such, protecting her in battle as he should. If Sadeena wanted him to do as his weapon type suggested, he would try his best.
Breaking away, Dante faced Gaelion again. "You may stay. I need to know what else you can provide me."
With a nod, Gaelion reached out with his claw and placed a talon on Dante's chest. Magic flowed from the dragon into the Shield Hero. When he was done, Dante looked up in shock.
"You…just gave me a blessing." He whispered.
"To use Way of the Dragon Vein." Gaelion nodded.
"That core I gave you had that knowledge?" Dante asked.
Gaelion shook his head. "I always had that ability."
Dante felt his eye twitch. "You withheld that from me?"
"Shield Hero, when I first met you, all I saw was young hero offering me little but vague warnings. When next we met, after one of my children died in my old home, you already had a curse from your shield. That made you dangerous, and giving power to someone dangerous is unwise. Would you have done otherwise if you were in my position?"
Dante didn't want to argue. He knew the dragon was right. In fact, he did something similar with Warbaldt, Khana, and Lloyd, not to mention the other Holy Heroes.
"Now that I see what the alternative is, my blessing will be able to help you." Gaelion added.
He was right about that, too. With both Gaelion and Sadeena, Dante would be able to properly learn Way of the Dragon Vein to continue using Liberation spells safely. He just needed to figure out how it all worked together.
~The Wrong Hero~
Dante went back to the pyre after their talk. He would wait until they could gather the ashes of their fallen before getting on with their day. Raphtalia kept the bag tied to her hip while JoJo had it stored in his feathers. It seemed as though the filolial would now stay transformed as much as he could.
Before they left, Gaelion gave a few more details about the curses. While Dante shouldn't attack with his shield or fists, it seemed it was fine to use attack magic. After all, he was able to use that before he even left Melromarc. That made it up to him a little, especially since he had become better at casting while in combat.
The first stop was at Siltvelt castle. Raphtalia began spinning out thread to make magic clothes that could function as armor. Ann spoke with the castle tailors and blacksmith, with Dante translating until a proper translator came by. Some of the blacksmith's shields Dante copied were among those that gave the highest bonuses, so Dante knew they were all good artisans. With Sadeena's help, they got the design for Raphtalia's clothes made.
After that came Zeltoble. Along with the previously mentioned demi-humans, JoJo was also there, along with a representative from Siltvelt and a pair of guards. The representative would act as the negotiator for hiring mercenaries in the campaign. JoJo was there for protection. The three heroes were strong enough on their own, but the filolial boy was there for another reason. Despite her resolve, Dante had Elvira stay behind for now. Rather, Sadeena wanted her away from Dante for a while, saying it would be better for the young vampire. Dante didn't argue.
JoJo wanted to stay by Sadeena as much as possible. He said he wanted to protect his mom and soon-to-be baby brother or sister. Dante could only smile approvingly at his words. He'd never heard JoJo refer to Sadeena that way, and the thought of him being a protective older brother was heartwarming.
Their destination was a sort of guildhall that had many mercenary companies listed there. In actuality, it was more like several streets that was reminiscent of a pseudo-medieval Las Vegas. Bars, gambling halls, brothels, and many other recreational buildings lined the streets. All of them were filled with warriors and mages, ready to work for the highest bidder.
Dante let the representative do his thing, scouting out companies willing to sign on. Their sizes ranged from groups small enough to be adventuring groups to bands of over 100. The group that had taken over Ronota in Melromarc was on the larger side of the scale, at least before breaking in half.
Given that Siltvelt was the country looking to hire mercenaries, most of the interested groups were demi-humans. Most of those, predictably, were therianthropes. It was a pretty good thing Dante was present. While most of the demi-human mercenaries were neutral or positive toward the Shield Faith, some groups were much more enthusiastic. Not only that, but Dante had gained a good reputation in Zeltoble. His battle potions he sold to apothecaries and the Adventurers' Guild were a big hit to adventurers and mercenaries alike. Getting his recipe would help cut costs significantly.
The representative got started drawing up the contracts. He would be there for quite a while, perhaps even the rest of the day. They already set a place to meet the next morning if that was the case. Dante set off with his small party to their second destination in Zeltoble. While the clerk in Faubrey's branch of the Dark Guild said his actions—threatening said clerk—would have him expelled, Dante doubted they went through with it. They did allow a bounty to be placed on a Cardinal Hero, after all.
Even if Dante didn't have Siltvelt's backing, he had more than enough from his battle potion sales to hire out a few shadows to watch the village in his absence. Reiko had more monsters she could make from the bodies in Dante's drops, so defense wouldn't be a problem. Only finding those from Q'ten Lo was. Though, Reiko was working on making a monster to detect them with Rat.
In the meantime, shadows would do.
Speaking of shadows…
"Shield Prison V!"
The one that was tailing Dante's group since a few blocks ago wasn't nearly as good as the ones from Q'ten Lo. They were easily caught after rounding a corner to continue following Dante's party.
Dante dismissed his skill and grabbed the invisible shadow, who was easily spotted with his Life Sense. They were pinned to the ground with one arm behind their back, accompanied by Dante's knee. The other arm was out in front, though a threatening harpoon and hammer kept them from making any sudden moves. A few passersby saw the exchange, but kept on walking.
"This was a bad day to follow me." Dante told the shadow darkly as they dropped their invisibility.
"I'm not with the church." The fully covered, black garbed person quickly said.
"That is the smartest thing you could have said." Dante nodded at their words. "Assuming I believe you, who do you work for?"
"I can't say." The shadow replied.
"Then I do not care."
As long as I do not start crushing the life out of you, my curse will not be agitated. Luckily, I have two people to do that for me.
Dante glanced up. "Sadeena."
With one word, Sadeena knew what to do. She angled her harpoon over the shadow's head and pulled it back. Just as she was about to thrust it forward, rapid footsteps caught her attention.
"Dad!" JoJo's warning went out just as Dante turned around, readying his shield.
"Dante!" Another voice yelled out. A spear struck against Dante's shield with a heavy weight, knocking him off the shadow. The surprise attack was enough to allow the shadow to jump back and retreat.
The spear wielder jumped back, gaining some distance from Dante's party. The blond man pointed an accusing finger at Dante. "Return Princess Melty!"
"Motoyasu." Dante climbed to his feet, eyeing the hero.
He wasn't the only one present. The first one Dante saw was the yellow-green haired woman, Rino. She had her sword in hand and looked to be composed of righteous fury. Then…
"You." The other party member come into Dante's view. The ball of fire in her hand matched the hair on her head.
The red-haired Bitch of Melromarc.
Her presence here brought questions, but Dante didn't care to ask them. It was obvious. Why else would Motoyasu attack him on sight?
"Kill her, Dante. She is a threat to your family."
Malty was to blame. She made her move. And now, it would be her last.
Author's Notes:
So, looks like we're going to be settling the issue of Malty pretty soon.
I've thought about it, and I think I want to start winding down the story. I'm not going to end it abruptly or abandon it, but I am going to go through things more quickly. This chapter isn't a very good example, but I'll use more description over dialogue to get through things. Some parts just need more dialogue to work.
I talked to a reviewer about it and said I didn't think this story would be more than 100 chapters long now. Thinking about it some more, it's more like I don't want it to be that long. Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly feeling burnt out, but I do recognize that I take too long on some parts and I need to speed things up a bit. I also go through some things a bit too quickly. This is also my first real story, so it's good to work these things out now.