Chapter 70 – Therapeutic

"Of all the stupid fucking shit that could have happened, someone had to go ahead and release the damn turtle!? I'm going to kill them! I'm going to murder them! I'm going to tear off their arms and burn them to ash!"

Dante had been yelling since the notification popped up in his status. The angry tirade had been going on for almost five minutes and he was repeating himself often. The others didn't want to get in his way, likely worried he might lash out at them.

It wasn't unfounded, since he wanted something to kill.

The time he spent ranting wasn't wasted. At least, not entirely. He'd taken to hacking away at the flesh of the Wave boss, the Vassal Axe being handy for such a thing. Since he was clearly dissecting the dead monster to absorb it and not at all letting out his frustrations, his shield didn't complain about using a weapon. This dead monster was no more a threat than the trees he felled with the same axe.

Eventually realizing something was wrong, Atla came over on Lilith to calm him down.

"Alright." Dante said, having already taken a few deep breaths, rewrapped the cursed axe in the blessed cloth and stored it on his back with the harness once more. "Alright…"

"Are you done freaking out over nothing?" Itsuki asked condescendingly.

"The Guardian Beasts aren't nothing!" Dante barked at him. "They're meant to protect the world from the Waves if the heroes can't, and someone just woke one of them up!"

"Maybe we should discuss this back on the ship?" Motoyasu offered. "We can gather up the Wave boss remains and figure out what to do next."

Everyone settled on that idea, including Dante. It would give him some time to cool off properly.

The revealed shields had good stats. It wasn't hard to figure out which one Naofumi used out of the bunch. The Whale Magic Core Shield was the best. After awakening it, Dante realized why he wouldn't be using it in the fight to come. The shield had a water element, and he was pretty sure the Spirit Tortoise's main attack was some sort of lightning breath.

Once they were back on the ship, the heroes had their meeting. Glass, L'arc, and Therese joined them, with minimal awkwardness from one of them having fought against the four heroes before. Unfortunately for Dante's mood, Aultcray sat in for the meeting. He was the former Staff Hero, the current king of Melromarc, and might possibly have some insight into the current situation. Dante couldn't give a real reason to exclude him, outside of personal enmity.

However, aside from Therese and Aultcray, no other non-heroes were present. That was especially true for Atla and Fohl, neither of whom wanting to be near their uncle.

Together, everyone pulled their knowledge of the Spirit Tortoise, either from their games, the books, or personal experience of a similar monster.

"This is the consensus." Aultcray spoke. "The Spirit Tortoise uses familiars to collect the souls of people and monsters from far off. Those killed can then be turned into familiars to expand further outwards. The Spirit Tortoise itself has a powerful lightning attack in addition to its massive size and physical attack, as well as an impressive regeneration ability. It can also drain the MP of those close by, as well as SP from heroes, and has strong gravity magic."

Both the heroes from this world and the other nodded in agreement before Aultcray continued.

"What's more, the Shield Hero speculates that the Spirit Tortoise may have additional abilities, dependent on who awakened it and if they are in control of it. Further, to defeat it, a sealing spell is required to be used on the heart at the same time its head is destroyed."

"That just feels needlessly complicated." Itsuki remarked.

"If I had to guess, it's to prove the world is strong enough to fend off the Waves, with the bonus of showing cooperation between the heroes." Dante said.

From the novels, Dante recalled how Naofumi's group worked on the heart while Fitoria dealt with the head. In the web novel, Naofumi was the one to destroy the head with his curse skill while the others sealed the heart.

"I think Ethnobalt uncovered a book that said something similar before." L'arc added in.

"Didn't you guys beat the Guardian Beasts in your world?" Motoyasu asked. "Was it really that hard?"

"We'd already leveled considerably, or gained energy in my case." Glass said. "We also had weapons unlocked from the Demon Dragon, and much more time to prepare."

"Just another thing MacRory didn't tell us about soon enough." Itsuki gave Dante a glare.

"Do you only believe me about things when you can blame me for shit?" Dante shot back.

"What's the problem, anyway?" Itsuki shrugged. "You said how the Shield Hero from the books was able to take attacks from the Spirit Tortoise. We've all powered up, so we can do a lot of damage to it."

Dante rolled his eyes. "First of all, Naofumi had to swap between using a cursed shield and his Soul Eater Shield a lot to do that." After being reminded of the SP stealing, Dante remembered that bit of information. The Soul Eater Shield prevented that from happening when equipped, but it wasn't strong enough to completely block the damage from the lightning breath, which would steal all his SP otherwise. Not that the Shield of Wrath fully could defend him either. "Second, I don't think my defense is as strong as his. I'm able to attack with magic normally, which he couldn't, so it follows my defense took a hit. Third, I still can't use armor or accessories, so I'm missing out on a whole bunch of resistances and effects."

The best shield he had for defense was the Stout Shield, which he got from devouring people with his Savage Shield that gave a defense bonus. After being awakened, it greatly surpassed every other shield in terms of defense, but lacked much else. It didn't even gain any additional effects, nor did it have any slots for the Hammer method to gain more.

"Then use your curse powers more." Itsuki casually remarked, flicking his wrist.

Dante's eye twitched. "Oh, sure, why not? Maybe you'd like to bear the brunt of my wrath after we beat it. Maybe I'll unlock another curse while I'm at it. Bet you'd like that."

Itsuki stood from his seat. "You want to fight!?"

Dante did the same. "I'll crush you."

"Heroes! Cease!" Aultcray roared. "Now isn't the time to be fighting amongst yourselves!"

Dante wanted to snap back at him, but he had a point. He just didn't like that Aultcray called him out.

The two heroes settled back into their seats, with Dante speaking next. "Fine. There are more ways we can get stronger to prepare. Did any of you three use the Slave User series like I mentioned?"

At his question, the other three Cardinal Heroes turned their heads away.

Dante sighed. "So that's a 'no'."

"We…didn't get the effects you said we would." Motoyasu quietly said.

"What'd you get?" Dante asked.

The other three looked between themselves, wondering who would speak first. Ren volunteered. "Mine gives me an equip bonus for additional damage to slaves I'm fighting."

"Oh." Dante let out. That was pretty bad.

"I get bonus stats for every slave I have." Motoyasu said next. "Only with that spear, and it's a pretty weak one."

"Oh…" That was even worse.

All eyes were on Itsuki, who gave Dante another glare. "I get an equip effect for bonus stats…for every slave I kill with it."

Dante didn't want to comment at all about that one. While most of the effects were similar between weapons, there were more than a few differences. This was a pretty big one.

"Alright, then, we'll start using one of the power up methods from Glass's world."

"O-Oh yeah, you did mention that, Kiddo." L'arc shook himself from the previous topic. "Which ones do you know? Glassy and I have seven."

"I have two from the Ofuda. One gives magic ranks to increase spell power, and the other lets you sacrifice levels to increase your stats." The only reason Dante remembered them was their simplicity and being the power up methods of two Vassal Weapons here. The scene also involved beating the shit out of Witch, so that helped cement those two.

"Nice! I see them now." L'arc nodded along. "What's the third?"

"It's from the Mirror. Food prepared by a hero increases a food level for anyone who eats it, which I think increases stats and other things. Either of you know how to cook?"

L'arc turned to Glass, who simply held her head in her hand. "You don't want to eat L'arc's cooking." She said.

"Damn." Dante sighed. That would have been a good way to increase power. "Alright, well, try eating other food. Maybe that'll work, too. Or I could show one of you how to cook properly."

It wasn't the best situation. Only one method really worked immediately, and Dante didn't know if either of them used all that much magic. Therese did, but that didn't really help the matter. The level reduction was something that could be done for the next few days during the activation event, but that was really it.

"I guess all that's left is to start going to the Spirit Tortoise." Motoyasu said. "One of us can go and set a portal location, then start bringing everyone else."

It wasn't the safest option, but getting an army large enough for consistent ceremonial magic with enough troops to defend them from familiars would take quite a while. Even using their portal skills for that could be an issue. If they didn't plan the Spirit Tortoise's route correctly, they'd end up teleporting a lot of people to the wrong place, wasting time and many lives.

"I'll go." Dante volunteered. "I've got some locations to the east, and I've got Lilith. We should get to the area in a few days."

"I don't recommend that." Aultcray voiced. "If your curses aren't healed, you can't use equipment. And unless you expand on your existing curses, you'll be weaker."

Dante had to admit, that was a good point. "Who should we send?"

"I could go." Motoyasu offered. "Fleonne runs pretty fast, or I could borrow Lilith if Dante's okay with it."

"I suppose…" Dante was less okay with it, but he knew Motoyasu was more than strong enough to keep them safe.

Aultcray shook his head. "The Spear Hero can still benefit from the Whip method, and so can his party. For that reason, I recommend the Whip Hero." Aultcray pointed to Reiko, who looked shocked at the suggestion.

"M-Me?" She pointed to herself.

"She has been in the Shield Hero's party for quite some time, thus having benefited from the Whip's method by a larger amount than the other heroes. The Shield Hero will continue to treat his curses while the others will continue to gain XP and sacrifice levels to increase their power, before the point they can't maximize their level from Cal Mira."

Once again, that wasn't a bad idea. Cal Mira's bonus XP slowed down once their level neared 80. They'd all spent enough time on Cal Mira to get a feel for the XP gains, so they should be able to time it right.

"I'll go." Itsuki said as he stood. "I have a location saved in the east, too, and somewhere I can get fast mounts. My level is already above 80 and a couple more days will only give me a few more levels of stats. I'll take a couple party members with me while the others continue to level with another hero. We can meet back at the capital in a few days and I'll bring the other heroes with me then."

And just like that, Dante's expectation of proper XP grinding was lowered. Though, powerful weapon forms could only be unlocked at higher levels, so it wasn't like there wasn't a legitimate reason for it.

"Hm." Aultcray hummed. "While the stat growth of hero levels isn't to be underestimated, I do concede that—"

"Wait, what?" Dante interrupted. "I thought our stat growth was average."

"Why would you think that?" Itsuki turned to ask. "Our stats rise higher on average, especially for our best ones."

Dante was about to argue, but he got nods from both Ren and Motoyasu. Even L'arc looked at him questioningly. When he turned to Reiko, she gave a slight nod to him, too.

Seriously? I know my attack went to my defense, which is why that one increases so much, but all my other stats have had average growth. Is that also from being able to use attack magic? Well…I guess that's still a good trade. My strength is pretty high, too.

"Regardless." Aultcray continued. "If the Bow Hero believes he has leveled sufficiently, then he may go."

"Then that should be everything." Itsuki said as he turned to leave. "I'll see you all in a few days."

"Guess the rest of us go back to the islands now." L'arc stood as well. "We'll get as much out of this level sacrificing power as we can."

"Thanks again for helping us, you three." Dante said to the otherworlders, holding out his hand.

"Hey, no problem, Kiddo!" L'arc gave him a pat on the back instead, avoiding the Axe. "It's the least we can do if someone from our world is behind this. Besides, it's not like we're able to leave while a Guardian Beast is active."

"We need to defeat it as quickly as we can." Glass added. "I don't want to worry Kizuna, or leave her without us for long."

That was an important point. Depending on how those other Vassal Heroes acted, they may pose a threat.

As the others got up to leave, Aultcray stood before Dante.

"I would speak with you, Shield Hero." He said in a regal tone.

"I'm sure you would." Dante gave him an annoyed look.

Once everyone else was out of the room, Dante closed the door. He sat back down at the corner of the table with Aultcray across from him. The old man didn't look any better since the last time they saw each other in the castle. If anything, he looked even more worn down, an observation Dante missed earlier. He endeavored to give the king as little attention as he could, but now he had nothing else to focus on.

Aultcray spoke first. "You hate me."

Dante scoffed. "You tried to have my family killed multiple times. If Melty and Malty weren't your daughters, I'd have already killed you. That, and the Staff. Be thankful for that, or they'd have to see their father as a burned corpse."

The old man hardly reacted. There was perhaps a wince, but it was masked with years of political experience.

"What I did, I did to protect my family." Aultcray said.

"We both know that's not true." Dante returned.

The mask slipped a little more with Aultcray clenching his teeth. Before he could lash out, he took in a deep breath.

"My wife doesn't want conflict between us. Part of her reason for sending me was to show you my…willingness to work with you."

Dante shook his head at Aultcray's words. "You were hoping to see your nieces again and this seemed like a good excuse. It wasn't."

Whatever reasons given were irrelevant. Dante did make a mental note to speak with Mirellia about trying this type of thing again. As things stood, she was lucky Dante was in a good mood, or he'd have made good on his threat to Aultcray.

"What you said to them was only my most recent issue. Between the enslavement of the Seaetto demi-humans and the brutal treatment of Eclair, I have more than enough reason to hurt you." Dante said.

"I did not do those things." Aultcray defended.

"You didn't stop it either. Hell, you promoted the man directly responsible for both. You let castle knights do as they pleased. You're lucky Malty saved the survivors." Dante scoffed. "I thought you might have some use. Maybe I was wrong. Anger me again and I'll forget whose father you are. This conversation is pointless. Is there anything else?" Dante wanted to finish this quickly, just in case the old man did try to piss him off.

Aultcray stared at him for a moment. "I've been told before you mentioned it here. Your knowledge of our world from your books doesn't always match up with what happens. What are the differences?"

"There's a lot. Be more specific." Dante didn't think he could list them all at this point.

"Then tell me of the other Cardinal Heroes. How are they different?"

That was an easy one for him, so he indulged the old man. "Motoyasu is far more calm and caring than I thought he'd be. It helps he doesn't have a manipulative sociopath whispering in his ear. He also doesn't have a fetish for angel girls." That was a bit of a surprise to see at the banquet. He hardly reacted to the filolial kids, outside of making sure children weren't in danger.

"Ren is about where I thought he'd be, maybe a bit better. He still thinks this world is a game, but he's willing to listen and work together when needed." Despite his beliefs, Ren still reacted to his part in killing the villagers of Mirso.

"Itsuki…is about as bad as he could be. He's acting like he was in the books when he was the manipulated hero. He wants others to know that he's a hero, even going so far as to ignore how one of his party members killed another."

Aultcray absorbed all the information. "And the Seven Star Heroes?"

"Mostly dead." Dante said. "The man who would have been the Whip Hero killed four of them. The only other one is Fitoria, but…she isn't in any condition to battle something like the Spirit Tortoise now." He didn't bother mentioning Rishia and Fohl, who weren't heroes at the moment.

Really, Dante hoped to see Fitoria again. Maybe she had some other insight into his curses that Gaelion didn't, or could at least provide support. Her carriage might be able to transport a large number of people repeatedly, though he didn't know the limitations.

"And me?" Aultcray asked. It almost felt like this conversation was leading up to this.

Dante shrugged. "You are the same as you were. The only real difference is the timing of…when you saw Atla."

"I see…" Aultcray said.

Dante almost didn't mention that, but it wasn't as if Aultcray could really do anything with that information.

"Do you truly believe I would bring any harm to either of them now?" Aultcray asked.

"Now? No." Dante answered truthfully. "Before? I have no idea. So many things were different already. You weren't introduced to Atla until after you were removed from power, or at least having the queen return. When I found Atla, she was weak and sickly, much like how I assume your sister was without decent medicine."

Aultcray winced at Dante's words before he went on. "If I'd brought them to you right away, maybe you would have gotten a little better. Or, more likely, you would have claimed it to be a trick of some kind, what with you still thinking I raped Malty. I wouldn't have let anything happen to either of them, and all that would have gained me was another headache."

The old man silently listened to Dante's words, which almost started to piss him off. Really, anything involving Aultcray angered him at this point.

"Did I ever become better?" The old king asked. "Did I ever become worthy of the Seven Star Staff again?"

And there it was. The reason Aultcray talked with him at all right now. "You did. I don't think you will here."

"Why?" He asked. The question wasn't filled with anger or contempt, remaining perfectly neutral.

"The path to your regained intellect can't be replicated."

Aultcray stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Surprisingly, Dante wasn't hoping for a painful reaction.

"Your oldest daughter aided the Whip Hero, Takt, in murdering your wife."

Something about using family to hurt Aultcray didn't feel right to Dante. Atla and Fohl were an exception because they were already hurt by Aultcray. Part of him wanted to mention Malty's current issue, but he thought better of it. The old man didn't know of his oldest daughter's lusting toward his youngest one. And, really, Malty would be more hurt by that than him.

Frankly, Malty didn't really have anyone to ask for help about either issue. Melty didn't know about her sister's attraction to her, and Mirellia wasn't the warmest person he's met.

What would I even say? "Your daughter was uncomfortable having sex with me, so I changed my body into a 12-year-old's?" As much as I'd love his reaction, Malty has been through too much already for me to put her through all that. Guess it's on me to console her. Somehow. That, or maybe Fohl could. I don't know.

Still, he felt like he had to go on.

"And here you are, a ghost of your former self. Practically useless aside from giving minor advice and plans. You could have been so much more, and yet you burned the bridges that might have helped you. Atla and Fohl want nothing to do with you now."

Aultcray dug his nails into the table. "That was your doing." He hissed.

"That was your fault!" Dante spat back. "You couldn't hold back your stupid hate for the man who protected one of your daughters and freed the other!"

"You killed those knights in my home!" Aultcray yelled. "Their families demand justice!"

"If the families I've wronged want to say something about it, they're free to do so! I can kill them too! I'm sure your wife would welcome the purge!"

Aultcray slammed back his chair as he stood. "And you think you're better than me for this!"

Dante did the same. "I'm far worse than you!"

Aultcray had no response. His mouth hung open as Dante pressed on.

"I realize how much you and I are alike, as much as I hate to admit it. I may not have your brains, but I feel the same way about family. Your acts in the past may very well have caused more death through war, but more people are dead directly by my hands. I even killed a child! Two, in fact!"

Dante started to walk around the edge of the table toward Aultcray.

"When I was summoned, I was in the middle of a two week long murder spree through town to avenge the death of my last family. There was a moment of clarity where I thought I might get back what I lost, and now that hope seems farther away than ever! I don't know if it was ever possible to begin with!"

"What are…" Aultcray stepped back at Dante's approach.

"And now, here I am with you. A stupid, old man who can't do a damn thing for me. I might have been able to use your brains to deal with a whole bunch of issues, the biggest one being the missing Projectile Hero, who'll likely move on the Holy Heroes to steal their weapons. Hell, he could be the one in the damn turtle for all I know!"

Dante breathed heavily, staring at the weathered old man before him. He didn't think he'd be this angry. He didn't want to be this angry. And he really didn't want to look at what he might turn into one day.

Aultcray broke the silence. "What do you want from me?"

Dante took a few more breaths and straightened out, trying to somewhat compose himself.

"I wanted you to tell me what to do. Long before, when I still had hope for you, I wanted you to go back to how you were and help fix this damn world. I wanted Atla and Fohl to be able to speak with their family without any of this crap. And, truly…I wanted you to tell me what could possibly fill the hole in my heart from seeing my family dead."

Aultcray said nothing. He stood there in shock, unable to move.

"But you can't do that, can you?" Dante went on, his voice softer. "You don't know. You were the Wisest King of Wisdom. If someone like you can't answer that, then what hope is there for me?"

That was the ugly truth Dante didn't want to face. He was damaged beyond repair. All he was now was bunch of patchwork barely held together. All it would take was one decisive blow, and he'd fall apart completely.

"Now, if we're quite done, I need to get the rest of my party." Dante didn't wait for a response, quickly leaving the room.

He didn't have to go far before Atla came up next to him from behind, taking his arm once more. She may very well have overheard the conversation with all the yelling. It was a nice comfort, especially after dealing with Aultcray. He really needed it. So much so that he spun around and gripped Atla in a fierce hug. The tiger woman practically squealed at the action.

Dante was pretty sure the pride curse affected his emotions more than the wrath curse. After all, as the curses were getting purified, he found himself feeling angrier at the old man. The most he could figure was his pride kept him from getting too angry at something in the relative past that wasn't an active threat.

And, maybe, that one also helped keep him together.

"Where to now, Mister Dante?" Atla happily asked him after they continued to walk.

"…The body of the Wave boss, then to Q'ten Lo." He said. While he could set a portal location on the ship, it would likely move before they returned, landing them in the ocean.

They made their way to the deck of the ship and told the rest of the party the plan. Any complaint Fohl was about to make was silenced before it was voiced, a single look from Atla being the cause. After having Lilith take the pair to the Wave Boss, Dante set the location and then teleported him and Atla to Q'ten Lo.

They arrived on one of the balconies in the palace.

"Who goes there!?" A passing guard spotted them, leveling a spear in their direction.

"The Shield Hero." Dante told him grimly, showing his weapon.

"Ah." The guard returned his spear to its upright position. "The empress said you'd be coming soon. Please follow me."

The guard led the pair through the palace. It was cleaned up a bit since the last time he was there. Not that it took damage from any fighting, of course. It just felt like a more welcoming place, possibly due to who was now in charge of it.

Once in a well-furnished waiting room, the guard excused himself to inform Raphtalia. The room gave off an old Japanese feel, complete with tile mats, hanging lanterns, and a sliding door. They stood in silence as they waited. There were places to sit, something like thick mats on the floor, but Dante stayed where he was.

Atla wrapped both her hands around one of his. "Everything's fine, Mister Dante." She said as he fidgeted in place.

"You don't know that." Dante murmured, still reeling from his talk with Aultcray.

"I do." Atla held up his hand. "Sadeena loves you. We all do in some way."

"You couldn't see her eyes." Dante said. "The way she looked at me. The way she couldn't look at me."

She couldn't bear to look at a monster, at a man who gave into his anger and murdered a helpless child.

The circumstances didn't matter. The end result was the same. He did what he did and there was no taking it back.

"She loves you." Atla repeated, moving a hand to his arm. "You'll see."

Dante placed his free hand on hers. "I know."

Sadeena wasn't the only one he was worried about. Raphtalia looked angry with him, Rifana looked afraid of him, and Keel wouldn't be around him. And his son…

Suddenly, the door to the room slid open.

Dante looked over and saw Sadeena standing there. The look on her face…it wasn't the easygoing smile she usually had. It was more neutral.

"Sadeena…" Dante weakly called out to her.

She took a single step inside, remaining completely silent.

Dante sighed. It was probably best to stick to what the immediate issue was. "I'm sure Raphtalia and Rifana told you about something appearing in their status. The Spirit Tortoise was released."

Sadeena's eyes widened for a moment before resetting.

"We need to start getting ready. Itsuki's already on his way to save a portal location near it. I'll be going back to Cal Mira to continue my curse treatment and grind a few more levels."

She continued to stand there, simply looking at him.

Dante lowered his head slightly. "I know…you probably don't want to talk to me. I don't blame you. Let's just—"

"Little Dante." Sadeena's voice brought his head back up. "Take off the Axe."

Dante grimaced slightly before doing as he was told. He undid the straps of the harness that secured the Axe to his back. Sliding them off, he set the Axe down to his side.

Once it was on the ground, Dante heard several quick thumps before he was slammed into. He fell to the ground with Sadeena on top of him, her arms wrapped around him in a fierce hug. Before he could say anything, her lips were aggressively pressed against his.

Without even thinking about hit, Dante wrapped his arms around her. The fears he had slowly began to fade.

"I've missed you." Sadeena held herself up with her hands next to his head, still straddling him. "I missed falling asleep next to you. I missed waking up next to you."

Dante kept his hands around her hips, staring up at her face with that silly smile of hers back on it. "I've missed you too."

She gave him one final kiss before standing up, pulling Dante with her. "I see you're talking like normal again."

Dante shook his head. "Did no one want to point that out before?"

Instead of responding, Sadeena wrapped him in another hug.

"See, Mister Dante?" Atla spoke up, a beaming smile on her face.

Dante gave her a warm smile. "You were right." He reached over and patted her head. Atla took hold of his hand and slid it down to her face, letting his thumb slide against her cheek.

"Oh my~." Sadeena kept one arm around Dante while she raised a hand to her own cheek. She gave Dante a sideways glance with a sly smile. "I thought I tasted hakuko on your lips~."

Dante sighed at her ridiculous statement. "I love you too."

Another set of quick, heavy footsteps made their way toward them. A ball of blue feathers burst into the room.

"Dad!" JoJo leapt toward them.

The two women wisely slid to the side as the large filolial slammed into his father, wrapping him in his wings.

"JoJo." Dante's muffled reply was barely heard.

"Don't leave us again!" JoJo's voice came through the thick feathers.

"I won't." Dante promised him.

While his hands were moving around inside the mass of feathers, they passed along something that made Dante flinch. Sensing the disturbance, JoJo pulled back. Using a few feathers like fingers, JoJo retrieved the item in question. He transformed and held it up in his hands, offering it to Dante.

It was the bag that contained his daughter's ashes.

Dante reached out, letting his hand graze the side of the bag.

"Do you want to hold her?" JoJo asked.

"I…" Dante let the word hang in the air before he shook his head. "No."

"Little Dante." Sadeena placed her hand on his back.

"I'm not worthy enough to." Dante said, lightly pushing the bag back to JoJo. "Keep holding onto your sister. Please."

JoJo gave him a slight nod and tied the bag tightly to his hip.

"It wasn't your fault, little Dante." Sadeena said.

"It was." Dante said back. "Please. I don't want to think about it right now."

"Alright." Sadeena moved her hand up and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze.

Dante knew he wasn't solely to blame for what happened, but he played his part. His biggest job was to protect his party, his family, and he failed that miserably. He was thankful he still couldn't sleep for long. His dreams would certainly be filled with everyone in his family he let die.

Atla hugged his side as Sadeena stepped back. "Let's go see little Raphtalia." She said, changing the subject.

"Is she ready for us?" Dante asked.

"She will be. We won't be meeting her in the throne room, though. There's something we have to show you."

With that, the four of them exited the room. Dante grabbed the Vassal Axe and slung it over his shoulder.

"You won't be ahead of me forever, Sadeena." Atla said, keeping an arm looped around one of Dante's. "Mister Dante already acknowledges my feelings for him. Once the Waves are over, we'll be equal for sure!"

"Oh my~!" Sadeena let out a laugh. "I look forward to it, little Atla."

"Oh my god…" Dante would have chastised them over the topic if he thought they were serious about it. He was pretty sure they were trying to keep his mind off of Dio, and it was working.

They made their way down the halls of the palace, following twists and turns and going up a few levels. Arriving at the end of a long hallway, they came around a corner to see the last three members of the party.

One closed the distance between them immediately. In her mostly unused demi-human form, Rifana wrapped her arms around Dante in a tight hug.

"Welcome back, Mister Dante." Rifana said into his chest.

Dante smiled. "Thanks, Rifana. I missed you, too." He laid the Axe against the wall and placed his hand on her back.

Rifana leaned up and gave him a quick kiss, surprising him. She blushed as she came down and backed up. "I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye properly before."

"Don't be. You were right to be afraid of me." Dante told her.

"No, we weren't." Keel spoke next, gaining Dante's attention. He stayed in his therianthrope form. "It was obvious what needed to happen. Just because most of us didn't really think about it doesn't mean we didn't understand. It was just shocking to see, you know? And…I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye, too."

Dante gave him a nod. "I should have looked for you to say goodbye, but I'm happy to be back with all of you."

Keel crossed his arms. "I'm not hugging you, and I'm definitely not kissing you."

Dante smirked. "I'll just have to pet you later."

That earned a light snort from the dog boy, but a good natured one.

The last member of their party stepped forward. Raphtalia wore the same outfit she did when they first invaded, albeit a bit touched up, and was still in her demi-human form. The Vassal Hammer was secured against her back. Her expression was stern.

"Raphtalia." Dante wasn't sure how to start this conversation. "Are you still mad at me?"

"I wasn't angry at you, Dante. And I wasn't afraid of you." Raphtalia assured him.

"You weren't?" Dante asked.

Raphtalia shook her head. "Not for the reason you think, anyway. It's like all the officials who joined us said. That child should have been killed in a public execution. His death was certain."

It was the same sentiment many people said, and it hardly changed what happened.

"Did you know that they expected me to execute him myself?" She asked, looking down as she brought up her hands.

"I…didn't really think about it, though it makes sense." Dante admitted.

"I wouldn't have." She said, closing her fists. "They wouldn't have had the chance to set anything up. He wasn't going to walk out of that throne room." Raphtalia looked back up at him. "I was going to wrap my hands around his throat and strangle him until he died."

Dante was taken aback by the admission. He was the only one. The others' reactions were mixed, but not at all horrified by the declaration. It was clearly something they heard from her since he left.

"But I didn't get the chance." Raphtalia looked him right in the eye. "You got to him first. Your grief…was stronger than mine. While I hesitated to act, trying to rationalize my decision as something that was going to happen anyway, you acted first. You were the one to let out the monster."

Dante winced as he turned his head away.

"Hey!" Atla yelled at her from Dante's side. "Mister Dante isn't a monster!"

"He is." Raphtalia gave her a glance before she returned it to Dante. "He is a monster." She slowly walked toward him. "He knows he is, too."

She stopped in front of him as Atla glowered at her. Then, she took Dante's hands in her own, causing him to look up. The look on her face had softened, a slight smile on her face.

"But we love you anyway. Because you're our monster. You do these things so we don't have to." Raphtalia looked over at her older sister figure. "Sadeena told me what you said to her long ago, back before you saved us. You said you'd do any torturing that needed to happen, and she'd give them a quick death."

She let go of his hands and moved in for a hug.

"I'm upset that I couldn't kill him myself, but I'm thankful you didn't let me become a monster too."

Dante returned the gesture, bringing his arms around her.

"I'm a terrible person." He said, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"We know." Raphtalia soothed.

"I'm not going to get better." He could feel the tears starting to come.

"We know." She said again.

"You'd be better off without me."

Raphtalia stroked the back of his head. "That's a lie even you don't believe."

She kept him there, letting the silent tears fall from his face and onto her white robe. He couldn't explain the relief he felt. He thought he'd be horrified at them thinking of him like this. But he wasn't. They accepted him as he was.

Being comforted by her like this felt nice. He wanted the moment to last forever. Sadly, such things couldn't be. She gave him a pat on the back and separated from him, still holding onto his arms. A warm smile adorned her face.

"Are you going to kiss him now? I'm pretty sure you're the only one here who hasn't by now." Keel said with a slight laugh as he glanced at Atla.

Raphtalia groaned as she turned to the dog. "Seriously, Keel?"

"What?" Keel held up his paws defensively, still smiling. "Someone had to ruin the moment. If I didn't, Dante would have."

Dante laughed as well. "I do prefer making jokes over feeling like crap." He also wondered if Atla was giving off some sort of glow he didn't notice.

"See?" Keel pointed at him.

"It's just as well, I suppose." Raphtalia sighed and looked back at Dante. "We have something to show you and it'd be better if you're in a good mood."

"I already don't like the sound of this." Dante said.

"You'll probably like what I have to say later less, but, well, that's for later. Right now, I want you to stay calm." Raphtalia said cryptically.

Dante was about to ask about it, but Raphtalia moved away. She pulled a key from her robes and inserted it into the door they stood in front of. When the lock clicked, Dante realized the door was magically warded. Two signatures beyond it just popped up through his Life Sense.

Raphtalia opened the door and stepped in, gesturing for Dante to follow. He did so, though somewhat hesitantly.

As he stood at the doorway, Dante clenched his fists. A gentle squeeze back made him realize Atla was holding one of his hands. Sadeena sensed his discomfort and took hold of his other hand.

Of course he was upset. The sight before him made the feelings in him war with one another. There were two beds in the room, but only one was occupied. A girl with heavy bandages on her left side lay on the bed with a slightly younger boy curled up on her right. She turned slightly to look at Dante and her eyes widened. A gasp escaped her, rousing the boy. He, too, looked at Dante with fear.

It was understandable. They knew who he was, and he certainly knew who they were. The girl's skin had what would normally appear to be full, black tattoos covering her arms. The boy had red-brown hair with a pair of furry ears on top, and a pair of pink eyes that stared at him.

And they both looked so much like Raphtalia and Sadeena.

Author's Notes:

Man, I had too much trouble writing this chapter. Dante's conversation with Aultcray didn't go how I thought it would. A whole lot more yelling than anticipated. The end of it is what I more or less thought of before. Dante isn't dumb, but he works better being directed at tasks than large-scale planning. He's also somewhat wise, in that he knows himself pretty well. If not for the Spirit Tortoise, Dante would be working with Mirellia next to remove more corrupt nobles from Melromarc. He'd also work on getting the Lurolona villagers back home and set up, appointing someone as governor like he did with Fiadia.

If Dante talking about Aultcray giving him orders/directions feels a bit forced, that's my bad. He knows how smart Aultcray is, at least when it comes to battle tactics. And he knows for a fact that Aultcray cares about family as much as him, given their drastic actions after losing loved ones. They both did start a war because of it. I mean, I'm pretty sure there was a war—or some form of continued conflict—after Aultcray's son was poisoned. If not, there was still the war between Melromarc and Siltvelt Aultcray participated in after his family was killed by hakukos.

It's not all doom and gloom, which is surprising given my track record. Dante gets some closure from the rest of his family, even if it isn't perfect. After every line he's crossed, it's safe to say Dante is a monster. Sure, he doesn't particularly enjoy killing people (except for his enemies) but he still does it time and again. He's good at it. Raccoon boy provoked him like an idiot, but Dante still sent his fist through the kid's chest and then threw his bloody, mangled corpse to the ground. Non-monsters don't do that sort of thing.

Blabber, blabber, blabber. Next chapter will cover Ruft and Shildina, and a bit more.