Chapter 80 – Death

It was a familiar sight, though most hadn't been there in months. Really, of all the places the right core could have been, Dante hadn't expected this. He couldn't remember what this core contained in the novels, but that was another piece of information that didn't really matter. If he was feeling whimsical about it, Dante would say something about going back to where it all began. The goddess did say that, incidentally.

Rabier territory. The manor on a plateau. A looming obelisk. Of course the core they needed was within the Tyrant Dragon Rex. The biggest issue was that it was situated at a manor in a town. Depending on its strength, it could be very damaging to the surrounding area. That was why they told the new-ish lord ahead of time. More accurately, they said they would break the seal, so the lord could either try to fight several powerful heroes or comply and evacuate the town for a short while. He chose the latter.

Of course…

"Brionac X!"

"Shooting Star Axe X!"

"Liberation Firestorm X!"

The giant dinosaur, which supposedly was sealed because the heroes of the past couldn't kill it, fell like it was made of wet cardboard. The fight took less than a minute. It took less than 10 seconds. The past heroes must not have shared power up methods, with the Shield's methods being hidden. It was the only explanation for the easy fight, and something Dante assumed from the books anyway since Fitoria had killed it with complete ease.

"Got it." Dante said, holding up the core.

"Good…" Motoyasu looked away as Dante came back over after absorbing the corpse.

His reaction wasn't strange. They were one step closer to unleashing a Guardian Beast. One step closer to killing millions of people. For someone like Motoyasu…it clearly wasn't something the man wanted to think about.

"I guess we're done here." Rifana said, looking at the single worst place on the manor's grounds.

"Yeah. I'll tell the governor and we'll be on our way." Dante offered.

It was just the three of them that took on the ancient monster. While others could have been brought in too, there was much to do. Much to prepare.

Just like Glass said, Ethnobalt came back a few hours after the Wave with the first group of people. Before then, Dante had to find a good place to put them. Melromarc and Siltvelt had territories of his, but each came with their own issues. It was the same issue, just from different points of view. Humans, gem people, spirits, and grass people (or elves, really) would be arriving. Both countries would have an issue with some of them and the large influx wouldn't help. So, he went with a sort of middle ground.

The meeting with Nelshen in Shieldfreeden didn't take long. There were a few places that would make good sites for a new town, but the Waves had pushed back any previous plans. In truth, the land belonged to Shieldfreeden mostly because they claimed it and weren't contested over it. If Dante was going to help set up a town with little cost to her and her people, who was she to argue?

Ethnobalt arrived in Othil and was able to get a good part of the way there before his skill came off cooldown. JoJo picked up a carriage form that would let him go to and from fairly quickly, so he was able to handle the rest. He swapped out with Lilith and Rifana for traveling to the Spirit Phoenix country. Bioplants for food were used in areas that wouldn't otherwise be good for farming, and large camping plants made decent temporary shelter for the otherworldly refugees. It wouldn't be a quick thing to build everything up, but the Territorial Reform ability Dante rarely used would help.

It was the day after the Wave in Othil when they went after the Dragon Emperor core they needed. There was a small hope they wouldn't need to use it, but they'd need the knowledge on how to break the level 100 cap. For that, Gaelion sent out a call to other Dragon Emperors for aid. It was different from the 'challenge' given off by Dante's Asylum spell over a month ago. For one, it had a more immediate effect for gathering strong dragons. Their responses were less than friendly, to say the least.

That did fill another role, though. Technically, the core found in that dinosaur wasn't enough. They needed a dragon with more cores to properly awaken the Dragon King. Thanks to Gaelion's call—or, rather, challenge—they'd have all they needed soon.

With everything going on, Dante was bouncing around the three settlements in his control. It was mostly between Korokan and the new one in Shieldfreeden, but he just came to Lurolona. That one did have a dock already set up, where he found a girl casting a line into the sea.

"Hey." Dante said as he approached the former hero.

"…" Kizuna gave no response, merely moving her line around.

After waking up, she did yell at him for what he and Glass were going to do. Someone like Kizuna wouldn't be satisfied giving up on a whole world like they were. She was especially mad that they did so behind her back, even if the conversation was muted at first. Dante explained the situation on this world as best he could, even mentioning the goddess to her. He still wanted that kept secret, but he though Kizuna deserved to know his reasons. Another hero was fine to tell, more so since she seemed to keep that information to herself.

If this was how she would be acting until Glass and Ethnobalt were finished, that was fine. Dante didn't need her to like him, and adding one more set of hands wouldn't do much for constructing a new town. From Dante's brief interaction with the refugees, they at least seemed to understand the position Kizuna was now in.

After Dante attempted to start a conversation a few more times, he left her be.

"She'll get over it eventually." The voice of the goddess spoke in his mind.

"You make me look crazy when I talk to you. Well, crazier, I suppose." Dante responded out loud.

"You didn't need to speak just now~." The goddess teased.

This little situation started in the morning. With the power of the Shield and Axe combined, the goddess had no trouble speaking to him directly. As an aside, being bound to him made the Axe no longer dangerous for others to touch.

"So, what have you been up to? Are we closer to protecting this world?" She asked.

"Can't you see what I see now?" Dante asked.

"Yeah, but I'm so bored! Thanks to that damn Shield, too many powerful eyes got put on too many of my projects and champions. It's why you're helping the people of that other world, after all."

"I remember." For an ancient and powerful being, Dante found her to be rather chatty.

Dante kept to himself as he walked around the village. Sadeena and the others helped out here and there, mostly checking in on friends and old neighbors. If Gaelion encountered another dragon in Siltvelt, Rat would ping Dante and he would grab a Vassal Hero and jump over there.

"At least Shildina doesn't need to be possessed anymore." Dante decided to humor the goddess with conversation.

"Hm hmmm~." She hummed in his mind. "Have to keep the evil goddess away from your little sister~. For a hired killer, you can be pretty kind at times. A lot of times, actually."

"Quiet." And just like that, he began to regret it.

"Is she being mean to you, Mister Dante?" Atla asked as she came up and matched his pace.

Dante looked over and saw the expectant look on her face. He moved his arm slightly, which she immediately wrapped in hers as they walked. "We talked about this." He said. "Don't say 'mister' anymore."

"Just a little longer." She happily replied, her eyes looking into his.

"…Alright." Of all the things they needed to worry about, her insistence on that minor formality was near the bottom. "And no, she's not really being mean."

"Even though I'm such a cruel goddess~?"

"Hmm…" Atla hummed, ignorant of the voice. "Okay."

They walked together for a time, seeing how the village was progressing. Many buildings were restored while others were knocked down to be rebuilt.

"Atla." Dante spoke. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Something I should have asked before…we had sex." He looked down at her as she returned his gaze. "Why do you love me?"

It wasn't really an easy question.

She smiled at him. "Isn't it enough that you saved my life, Mister Dante? You gave me a life I never would have had otherwise."

"Is there anything else?" Dante knew that was big, but it wasn't as if everyone he saved from slavery was fawning over him. Not that he wanted that, of course. He saved Rifana, but she already had a crush on the Shield Hero. Raphtalia planned to have him as a consort, though that was more political.

Sadeena's reasons were the easiest to understand. He put his life on the line to save what was left of her family when he didn't need to. Even after that, he was willing to separate from them if it meant they could live peacefully, despite it weakening his own fighting power.

Atla shifted, stopping them and holding Dante's hand in hers. "Do you remember what I said about you when we first met?"

Dante nodded. "You said you felt kindness from me." He recalled. "And, that I was damaged."

"Didn't I say you were kind?" The goddess asked.

Dante ignored her words in favor of Atla's act. She kissed Dante's hand, actually making him blush slightly. "I still feel that way." She told him. "Perhaps you don't see yourself that way, but you are kind. Even killers can be kind to the people they care about."

"See? She gets it!"

"That hardly makes up for everything else about me." Dante pointed out. "I've killed plenty of people only for money."

"And how often were you cruel about it?" She asked.

There were times. Mostly, he did the deed and was done with it, though mostly for practical reasons. The times he killed violently were when he knew his target deserved their fate. Outside of his rampage, the number of truly innocent people he killed were a very small minority.

He was silent long enough for her to continue. "I know your old world was far different from ours, but there will always be people who need to die."

Dante placed his other hand on the side of her face, earning a pleased hum. "Maybe I shouldn't have slept with you if you still think so highly of me."

She moved one of her hands to cover the one on her face. "I guess I'm still a bit childish. Maybe I'd accept any number of people you killed as justified. Maybe I can't really explain why I love you. Isn't it enough that I do?"

"…It is." Dante relented.

Perhaps it was the coming deaths of millions that made him question things. Despite the numbers, killing two-thirds of all living things would ensure this world would continue for a long time. The initial deaths would be overshadowed by the number of lives born in a couple generations.

"I have something else I wanted to ask." Dante spoke again. "Why did you agree to meet with Aultcray?"

Atla held both of his hands in-between them. "Would you be upset if I said it was for you?" She asked.

"I'm…not sure. Why?" He didn't understand how it could be for him. He only agreed to ask the sisters for Aultcray, leaving the decision for them.

"I don't think I'd regret it if I didn't, but I think you would have. If he died and Sister and I couldn't talk to him one last time, you would have felt it was your fault. Family is really important to you." Atla continued to smile. He had to hand it to her, she knew him well. "Besides, you're going to marry my cousin. If Uncle survived, it wouldn't have been good to stay away forever."

Again, she wasn't wrong. While entirely doable, it would have been a long and tiring time to avoid someone.

"Alright then." Dante accepted her answer and they continued on.

"There's something else." Atla said. "About what I saw in you before. I saw the man you could be. Maybe I thought I could help you become him."

It was a pleasing thought, if not a little naïve. Dante had met a few people like that, both men and women, who thought they could fix their partner. Even more he heard about through colleagues, and rarely did it work out. In this case, he thought it might.

~The Wrong Hero~

"To wield multiple legendary weapons, Lord Shield is truly the one and only god!"

"Yeah, that doesn't sound familiar at all."

The next day, they fought in Siltvelt's Wave. Just like in Othil, the number of monsters was enormous. They played with the idea Dante had before about only three heroes fighting, the others hanging back at first. But, the volume of enemies made it impossible. At least, if they didn't want casualties to be much higher than they were.

All throughout the Wave, the Siltvelt knights venerated Dante as an even greater god than before. Switching between the Shield and the Axe was the cause of it. Outside of his and Motoyasu's parties, no one knew the true reason for Dante wielding the Axe. It wasn't as if it would have a positive effect.

They continued through the endless hordes of monsters until they came to where the boss was. Gunshots rang out as they approached. The boss was already being fought by a certain blond-haired man with some cowboy aesthetics.

"Mighty fine day, ain't it, Sonny?" Duke Chance called out over his pistol shooting into the boss. It looked to be some sort of golem or maybe an elemental as it was made of jagged rocks and looked to be over 30 feet tall.

"Understatement. Shooting Star Axe VII!" The energy slash soared into the boss, cutting off a chunk of its chest.

As the heroes and their parties piled on their attacks, skills, and spells, the boss fell in no time. Once it did, Duke turned to look at them, his pistol still in his hand. Dante kept the Axe ready, but lowered it when Duke stowed his pistol.

"Guessin' we won't be seein' much of each other again." He said, tipping back his hat.

"We didn't see each other outside of one other Wave." Dante countered, returning the Axe to a shield form.

Duke let out a chuckle. "Guess not. Got my own problems on my side, but yours seem a mite more dangerous."

"Yeah." Dante thought to ask. "The goddess you follow. She's really trying to protect worlds?"

"Oh, you wound me!" She complained.

"Heh." Duke looked off to the side. "You ain't dumb enough to accept any answer I give, are you?"

"I suppose not…" Dante honestly replied.

With a shrug, Duke turned back to the crack that reached the ground. His party had already walked through it. "Well, I do have a wife and kids, so it'd be wrong of me to let them die." Dante widened his eyes at his words. Duke gave one last glance over his shoulder. "Maybe I'll see you in your next life."

With a wave, Duke moved through the crack. It closed shortly after, returning the sky to its original shade of blue.

"What did he mean?" Dante asked aloud.

"Interested~?" The goddess playfully asked.

Dante said nothing as they went to check the aftermath of the battle.

~The Wrong Hero~

The days seemed to stretch on. New arrivals continued to come via Ethnobalt's vessel, increasing the size of the growing settlement. More camping plants were produced to provide housing, still in the large style rather than individual homes. It was more efficient that way.

The Wave in Zeltoble was as difficult as the last two, but no one appeared from the rifts. Dante got information from the queen regarding other countries' hourglass timers and made plans to fight there as well. The last thing they needed before summoning the final Guardian Beast was a horde of powerful monsters devastating the land and killing hundreds, if not thousands.

On the third day after Zeltoble's Wave, it was decided another person would be joining in the defense. Kizuna was going to start coming. Normally, Dante would have objected. Without her Holy Weapon, she was no stronger than a normal adventurer. Even after being taken out to grind in the ocean with Dante and Sadeena to be ready, she wouldn't have the power to fight. That wasn't the reason for her insistence.

Ethnobalt didn't come that day.

Dante wanted to be hopeful. The goddess wasn't able to find anything out so they couldn't say for sure. At the very least, that world still existed. A day passed and he still didn't appear. Another day, this one with a Wave, and still nothing.

Despair began to sink in for Kizuna. Each day made it worse. Finally, a week after Ethnobalt's last appearance, they got their chance. Kizuna's level rose dramatically. The Wave they were in, located in Faubrey, was connected to her world.

Excitement and urgency laced her voice as she urged everyone to quickly defeat the Wave. The monsters that stood in their path were quickly defeated. Dante kept his weapon as a shield to keep Kizuna protected while the others cut a path to the Wave crack.

Once the boss was defeated, the Vassal Heroes stepped forward.

"Go." Dante gave the go-ahead.

With the protection of his spell, Raphtalia, Rifana, JoJo, and Reiko went through the Wave crack. Rhubaldt stayed behind to help defeat the remaining monsters with Motoyasu and the others, while Dante stayed with Kizuna. He wouldn't let her risk going through and refusing to return, and he himself was still barred from leaving.

A minute passed.

Then another.

Before dread could set in, they returned, a few seconds after the timer appeared. Glass came with them, heavily wounded and supported by Reiko.

"Glass!" Kizuna cried out and rushed to her friend. The Wave ended after they returned, causing Glass to slump further into Reiko.

Wearily, the spirit woman looked up. "Kizuna…"

"You're hurt!" Kizuna helped Reiko set her on the ground. "Dante, help!"

"Already on it." He said, pulling a vial of soul healing water from his shield. He handed the vial to Glass, who slowly drank it. Her wounds quickly healed and closed themselves.

"Thank you." She said, climbing to her feet again. Kizuna helped her up, keeping a hand on her.

"What happened?" Kizuna quickly asked. "Where's Ethnobalt?"

In response, Glass turned her head away.

"Glass!" Kizuna pressured her.

"He…" Glass began to speak, but changed her words. "There are no more Vassal Heroes that fight for our world."

Her meaning was clear-cut. Ethnobalt was dead. The other Vassal Heroes were either dead or fought for another god who wanted to destroy their world.

"He…" Kizuna teared up upon hearing that.

That was it, then. There would be no more people coming from their world. All that would remain of that world were Glass, Kizuna, and the roughly 3,500 people brought over. It was enough for a large town, which could hopefully grow into a city one day. But that was for later.

A portal location had long since been set up in the country of the Spirit Phoenix, a rotating shift of heroes and party members to watch for trouble. None had appeared yet, but that could always change.

They already had all the Dragon Emperor cores they needed. Defeating the dragons that answered Gaelion's call wasn't difficult. Sure, the weakest were at least as strong as the Wave bosses they fought recently, but they didn't have to slog through countless monsters to fight the dragons.

Now there was only one thing left to do.

~The Wrong Hero~

"WHAT!?"

There was no subtlety, composure, or grace to be found in Queen Mirellia's voice as she stood from her throne. Melty looked equally aghast and Malty wasn't far behind. The knights in the throne room lost their composure as well, heads swiveling side to side and murmuring to each other. Only Aultcray looked anywhere close to calm.

"I think releasing the Dragon King is our only option." Dante repeated what he just said.

After Faubrey's Wave, Dante dropped Kizuna and Glass off at the settlement in Shieldfreeden. He had a couple of stops to make before returning to Melromarc castle with Motoyasu's portal skill. He would have gone to Siltvelt, but he left that job to Rhubaldt. Rifana went to Korokan while Raphtalia went to Lurolona. That just left Reiko and JoJo with Vassal Weapons in the throne room. Motoyasu's party and the rest of Dante's was just outside the room.

"How could you possibly think of doing something like that!?" Mirellia practically roared. "Did you not receive the report on the Guardian Beast?"

"I did." Dante replied. He got it from one of her shadows. It mostly corroborated what the goddess told him before, though it lacked some information. Namely, how to summon it.

"Then why?" The queen pressed. "Why would you want to do this, Hero MacRory?"

"To protect the world." Dante answered plainly. "We've given you reports on our battles in the Waves. We don't have the strength to keep fighting them. We're managing for now, but they'll outpace us soon."

"Then we'll send our forces to aid you!" Mirellia quickly responded. "Siltvelt will doubtlessly give every warrior they have. I will immediately petition the other countries to—"

"Stop." Dante held up his hand. "We've already had the strongest knights and adventurers we could get helping us. With more Waves from other countries being added in, plus their frequency, we can't keep up. Without all the heroes going, casualties would rise. But having so many go negates any XP for us."

Even if Dante only used the Vassal Axe during the Waves, Motoyasu still wouldn't gain any XP near him. Not only that, but Dante also counted as a Vassal Hero for the others gaining XP.

Mirellia's hand shook as she tightly gripped her fan. "Hero MacRory…do you fully understand what you're saying?"

Dante looked her straight in the eyes. "I will be signing the death warrants for two-thirds of the world's living creatures."

"How can you say that so calmly!?" She yelled.

It was strange to see the usually calm queen act out in this way. Of course, the only times she did were when her country was threatened. Still, confronting Aultcray about his actions before paled in comparison to the force in her voice now.

"Hm." Dante looked to the side. "The hardest choices require the strongest wills." If Reiko was alive at the time, perhaps she would have enjoyed the reference. The plan of the movie villain notwithstanding, he was right about that. "We could wait for the Spirit Phoenix to arrive, but that carries too much of a risk. I only waited for more people to arrive from Glass's world."

When Dante looked back at the queen, he found her quietly staring at him.

"How long have you been planning this?" She asked in a stern voice.

"Since we defeated the Spirit Tortoise. Motoyasu only agreed after Othil's Wave." Dante said.

"Hero Kitamura!" Mirellia turned to the Spear Hero. "Do you truly agree with this plan?"

Motoyasu didn't respond. He didn't even look at the queen. Since the moment they entered the throne room, his face was turned to the floor.

"Answer me!" Mirellia roared.

Dante could see the smallest of winces from the blond man. Dante didn't want to put him through this, but he'd at least wait for him to respond before intervening. In the quietest voice he'd ever heard from the man, Motoyasu spoke.

"…We can't defeat the Waves. It's the only way."

Mirellia glared at him. "Then will you do it?" She asked. "Will you, Hero Kitamura, be the one to release the Guardian Beast?"

Motoyasu didn't respond.

"Hero Kitamura!" She yelled.

"He doesn't need to." Dante stepped in. "Motoyasu's already agreed. If you wanted to persuade someone, it would be me."

The queen turned her glare to Dante. "Are you sane?" She asked, a hint of desperation in her voice. "Has your mind been corrupted by the Seven Star Axe's curse?"

"She's not far off. Pretty sharp, this queen." The goddess spoke in his mind.

Dante grunted. "I suppose I can tell you now. No point hiding it anymore." He shifted his weapon to the Small Axe form. The guards readied their spears, but Dante simply held the Axe in front of him. "Through this axe, I'm speaking with a god."

"Goddess."

"While not responsible for the Waves, she has played a part in using them to her benefit. It is partly due to her that the Shield chose me as a hero." Dante lowered the Axe until the head rested on the ground. "I was to be her champion in this world, acting as the Seven Star Axe Hero to both protect the world and gain levels for her to use."

"Just tell her all my secrets, why don't you~." She said whimsically.

Dante ignored her and kept his focus on the queen. With a clang, her fan dropped to the ground.

"All this time…everything you said about the reincarnated and the people behind the Waves…it was a lie?" She asked, her voice low.

"No." Dante reverted his weapon back, letting it hang off his arm at his side. The knights eased their stances as well. "I only learned this after we defeated the Spirit Tortoise."

"And you were given this information by this goddess?" Mirellia asked, her voice becoming more heated. "You trust her?"

"Minimally." Dante said.

"Aw. Maybe just a little more than that~?"

To be fair, it was her connection to the Axe that allowed the Shield to reform after being cut to pieces. Dante's connection to the Shield wasn't as strong as it should have been, partially from clashing with the Axe in the first place. It was weakened further when he connected with the goddess back in Q'ten Lo, but not connecting properly with the Axe. Another weird magical thing he couldn't understand.

"At the very least," Dante continued, "I don't think the situation could possibly get worse from following her suggestion."

"Hey…are you paraphrasing what I said to you in the tortoise?"

"And if this is some sort of trick?" Mirellia countered, picking up her fan from the ground. "If this is all a deception so you unleash the Guardian Beast and have it collect souls for this goddess, what then?"

Dante sighed. "We've already reached the point where it doesn't matter. She's already pushed back the Wave timers by using some of the souls the Spirit Tortoise collected. Besides, a partial barrier should have been made anyway, but it wasn't. We really don't have any other good options at this point. Even if it was all some grand illusion to trick us, we still can't keep up with the Waves."

The heroes and their parties already worked through this. If the Waves were going to happen at their current times anyway, without this goddess's 'help' in pushing them back, they wouldn't be able to trust the Wave timers and be teleported unexpectedly. If the goddess was going to steal the souls, lives would have been lost due to the Waves anyway. Their backs were against the wall.

"There's another way…" Mirellia began, her eyes focused. "If…The Waves are only so difficult because we lost two of the Holy Heroes. If we were able to summon all four again…"

"Mother!" Melty cried out.

Dante quirked an eyebrow. Then, he smiled. "A desperate measure, but one with merit." For the briefest of moments, Dante had considered that as a solution. It was discarded with the others, if for no other reason than he wanted to live with his family. "Unfortunately, there are three problems with it. Aside from, of course, war with Siltvelt for killing their god. It's not like they would have believed anything you said about me, anyway."

"Oh?" Mirellia's face actually curled into a smile. It was somewhat forced, but Dante could overlook it as a whole, given the situation. "And what are the problems?"

Dante held up a finger. "First, the Vassal Heroes are in favor of this plan. Even if you somehow persuaded Motoyasu, you'd still have to fight six fully-powered heroes, three of which are here right now."

He extended another finger. "Second, even if the timers became more spaced out and the Waves slightly easier, you'd have to train up four new heroes with no Vassal Heroes to help, since they'd all be dead from the first point. Don't forget, the Spirit Phoenix is set to release in about a week from now anyway."

Then a third finger extended. "Lastly, this is all moot anyway."

"What does that mean?" Mirellia asked.

"I figured no one watching the hourglass came by yet." Dante lowered his hand. "I've already released the Dragon King."

Dante could feel it in the air. The oppressive dread of the assembled knights and royal family as all eyes stared at him.

"You…" Mirellia couldn't respond.

"Coming here was only to inform you of things." Dante said calmly. "I had Gaelion assume the role of the Dragon King before coming here to explain."

"How could you…" Melty asked that partial question, tears falling from her eyes. JoJo looked like he wanted to run up to her, but Dante kept him back.

"Like we said, it was the only way." Dante simply said.

With a snap, the fan in the queen's hand broke. "You had no right!" Mirellia screeched. "You had no right to decide the fate of so many people!"

"We are the Holy Heroes." Dante calmly said. "We are the only ones who have that right."

"Guards!" Mirellia called to the assembled knights. "Arrest the heroes!"

The men and women readied their weapons, which shook in their grips. JoJo and Reiko readied themselves, but Motoyasu remained still. Dante sighed, but he figured this might happen. The queen truly cared for her people. Using a Guardian Beast like this…it was unthinkable. Still, Dante wasn't about to let any of the heroes here get killed. He shifted his shield into the Goliath Spider Axe and gripped it in both hands.

"Hold! Don't throw away your lives in a hopeless fight!"

Surprisingly, the knights stopped. They clearly knew the difference in power. What was more surprising was that Aultcray was the one who spoke.

"What are you doing!?" Mirellia yelled. It wasn't to the knights, but to her husband next to her.

"Dear wife, don't send these men and women to their deaths." Aultcray told her. "Let them spend some time with their families. Some of them may not get to for much longer."

"That is Hero MacRory's doing!" She pointed a finger at Dante. "He chose to unleash a monster to kill countless people. He's lost his mind!"

Aultcray shook his head. "He made a choice few others would have the stomach to, myself included."

"How can you act so calm?" Mirellia seethed.

Aultcray lowered his head. "I have seen the Waves."

"You…"

He nodded. "After I returned to aiding Lurolona, I asked the Shield Hero to bring me to one of the Waves, though I asked him to tell no one of this." The old king looked at his wife. "The reports he and the Spear Hero gave…do not give them justice."

It was true, but it wasn't an intentional deception. The hero parties were simply stronger, so the perils they faced were far less. Aultcray was able to get a much more objective view of the fighting.

"The fight against the Waves was over after the Spirit Tortoise, my queen." Aultcray said, lowering his head once more. "We simply weren't aware of it then."

Mirellia stared at her husband, completely unmoving.

"You knew…" She whispered, barely loud enough for Dante to hear.

"…Yes." Aultcray didn't move, not even after Mirellia slapped him.

"How could you keep this from me!?" She screamed. "Had I known, we could have come up with a different solution!"

Aultcray looked up. "Because the Shield Hero…Dante values family just as much as I, and he still chose this path."

"What does that mean?" Mirellia bored into him.

"Do you know how many women Dante has slept with since he arrived in Siltvelt?" Aultcray asked before continuing. "He has told none of them any of this, nothing of his plan reaching Siltvelt until today. Any number of them could meet their ends due to the Guardian Beast. What's more, how would Siltvelt view the women who carry the child of a man who sanctioned the deaths of millions of their own?"

That was a price Dante had come to terms with over the course of fighting the Waves. If they somehow were able to defeat the Waves, it was likely more would have survived than due to his choice.

"And as for the heroes…there are only seven now. He is right. There's no way to get stronger fast enough, especially if we cannot surpass level 100."

Not only that, but there couldn't be more than nine. Two Holy Heroes were dead, and no one could convince Raphtalia, Rifana, and JoJo to kill Dante and Motoyasu. Reiko might have somehow been convinced, and Rhubaldt was a bit of a toss-up. At the absolute most, there'd be three Vassal Heroes to aid the new Holy Heroes, the Staff likely returning to Aultcray.

The Vassal Projectile never picked a new wielder, and no one could remove the Gauntlets from the stone they were embedded in out west. While Dante would have chalked it up to the weapons not considering the dire situation, his opinion on the matter became clearer over the past week. The Projectile and Gauntlets didn't pick someone because there was no point. They must have known Dante's intention and decided to remain as they were. There was no urgency, so they didn't loosen their requirements for a hero. Perhaps if they found how to pass the level 100 limit, things would be different.

"Truly, this is our best option." Aultcray finished with another bow.

Mirellia snapped her fingers. A shadow appeared behind her, handing her another fan. Even with it covering the bottom of her face, it did nothing to hide the pure disdain in her eyes.

"What should we expect, Heroes?" The venom in her voice was clear.

"Acid rain." Motoyasu responded blandly, his head still looking at the floor.

"In multiple locations." Dante added. "It'll spread far and wide to quickly gather souls. From what we know, it should only be a few days, a week at most."

Mirellia looked between the two remaining Holy Heroes, perhaps contemplating the magnitude of the destruction that awaited the world. She clicked her fan shut before she spoke.

"Hero MacRory." She began. "You should consider whatever debt the Kingdom of Melromarc has to the villagers of Lurolona to be paid."

"Of course." He gave a brief nod.

"Then you are dismissed." She swung her fan forward. "Leave my sight at once."

Without any delay, the four heroes present turned around. JoJo offered a quick wave to Melty, but the frown on his face told his true feelings. Reiko let out a breath. Dealing with all that was likely mentally exhausting, given how she was stronger than almost everyone else in the room. Motoyasu, however, kept his head lowered.

When the doors opened, Dante looked to his party. The doors weren't so thick they couldn't hear what happened inside. Their faces said as much.

"Let's go home." Dante said before activating his portal skill, bringing his and Motoyasu's parties out of the castle.

~The Wrong Hero~

Four days. It took four days for the Dragon King to finish collecting souls. All the while, the hourglass in Dante's status slowly filled. It worked fast and hit hard. The areas it hit were decimated, leaving survivors in only the most fortified of areas, like castles and such. When it passed through Melromarc's capital, Dante was glad to receive word that Malty—and the rest of her family—was safe.

Of all the areas that were affected, Dante made sure his three territories would be safe. That was one of the things he cleared with Gaelion, aside from knowing the dragon would return to normal once the Dragon King finished. He was able to set up those three areas as places the acid rain wouldn't reach. Not that anyone else knew to ask, but Dante wanted that for them.

The people of Lurolona suffered first through a Wave, then death and enslavement at the hands of knights of their queendom. The rebuilt Korokan was filled with free slaves that was then attacked by a man who was looking for Dante and a member of his party. Lastly, the people of the recently named town of Sickle were the only survivors of their world. All three places suffered plenty. Perhaps it was a bit of selfishness on Dante's part. After all, many suffered already, but these were the ones in his care.

Once the Guardian Beast was finished, Dante's shield emitted a light. He knew what that meant. He looked to his party, who sat with him as the Guardian Beast neared the completion of its task.

In an instant, he felt his consciousness shift. No longer was he in his manor in Korokan. Instead, he found himself in a void. There was nothing to see, except two balls of light and…an ethereal woman in long, flowing robes. Her long hair swayed in a nonexistent wind as her entire body glowed in a golden light.

"Classy." Dante remarked blankly.

"Oh hush!" The woman—clearly the goddess by her voice—responded playfully.

Before Dante could say anything else, he heard a loud humming noise. One of the glowing balls, the red one, shined brighter as it bobbed up and down. The other one, noticeably green, did nothing.

"Wow." The goddess laughed as she approached. "Axe is really going off."

"I can't understand it." Dante said.

"I think you do." She responded coyly.

It wasn't hard to imagine. The Shield Spirit interfered and, due to that, the Guardian Beasts were needed. The Axe Spirit's physical form was rendered useless for its role, since it drove its wielders mad. Dante would be pissed too.

"Alright, enough." Dante stepped in-between the glowing orbs. He pointed his finger at the green one, Shield. "I have questions for you."

Shield hummed in response.

"Why did you stop that goddess from summoning me?" He asked, pointing to the woman in question.

It hummed once more.

"To prevent her from collecting souls from this world. How stupid." The goddess translated with commentary.

"Is that so bad?" Dante asked.

Another hum. "They don't belong to her." She gave a short laugh. "It's energy. Once used, it returns to whatever world it was from, eventually."

The green ball glowed brightly at that.

"Oh please." The goddess scoffed. "I'm not one of those degenerates who destroys worlds to gain power. I can get plenty doing this."

Another bright flash.

"Hey." Dante interrupted.

"Yes, yes, we can discuss this later. Or never." The goddess remarked. "You had questions?"

Dante turned back to the Shield Spirit.

"When I arrived in this world, I was 17 again. Why?"

More humming. "…Wow. That's dumb." Dante looked to the goddess. "That was when you experienced the first traumatic thing in your life that sent you down a path of death. Reverting your age was supposed to help alleviate that."

"That is dumb." Dante agreed. "You realize making me watch my family die and leaving me alone for two weeks did more damage than anything else, right?"

It hummed again. "That wasn't my intention."

"It was the result." Dante said.

The Shield Spirit hummed and bobbed again. "…If the Axe Spirit didn't clash with me, you wouldn't have witnessed that."

"YOU clashed with IT!" Dante pointed at the green sphere. "Or are you going to try and say I was your intended choice all along?"

It hummed lowly. "At first glance, you were minimally acceptable as a Shield Hero."

"Well, fuck you too." Dante didn't really know what he was expecting as an answer.

"Shield isn't wrong." The goddess interjected. "You protect what's yours with all your might. The people in your previous life looked to you as someone reliable, someone to count on. While a follower and not a leader, you can act at your own discretion. It's part of the reason Axe and I chose you."

"You both did?" Dante turned to the glowing red sphere, which bobbed and shined.

The goddess spoke for it. "You move forward with purpose. You don't let obstacles stand in your way for long. Aside from your penchant for murder, you fit the qualities I look for in a hero."

"Huh." Dante was a bit surprised to hear that. He wouldn't think himself worthy, though the goddess's needs influenced the decision. "I wish the Staff was as reasonable as you."

The red orb almost seemed to bristle at that, the light sparkling around it. "Don't compare me to that stubborn Staff. I get things done, not sit around reminiscing about the times before."

Dante couldn't argue with that. There wasn't a time Dante could recall the Staff willingly leaving Aultcray in the web novel by command, only as a temporary measure.

"Any other questions before you get your reward?" The goddess asked. "Maybe some for me?"

"We've talked plenty." Dante said.

He got enough information out of her since they could talk freely. She acted during the Waves as camouflage, since the energy released from the Waves made it difficult to parse out her influence. It was also part of the reason Duke Chance and Iaoth weren't already level 300 monsters. Past level 100, they'd have been spotted and moved against by her enemies.

She wanted to harvest XP instead of devouring worlds because it was better than stripping the land of resources and salting the earth, if Dante was to compare it to something. It was the same reason she preferred burning down two-thirds of the field instead of letting the infestation kill the farmers, though that metaphor for the Guardian Beast belonged to her.

"In that case…" The goddess gestured to the Shield Spirit. It gave its usual response, which she translated. "Due to the way the world was protected, you have two options. You can return to your world, living past the time you would have died, or you can remain here. However, should you remain, you will no longer wield the Shield."

Dante eyed the glowing spirit as the goddess continued to translate.

"Perhaps I was wrong to intervene. I am fixing that mistake now."

Dante scoffed. "That's hardly a choice. There's nothing left for me in my world now. I'll remain here."

The Axe spirit hummed and swirled around Dante.

"I will remain with you. Even if my agreement with her is done, you've shown enough good intentions to justify my cooperation. The Axe is yours as long as you live."

That put a smile on Dante's face. "Thank you." With the Axe, he could still protect his family.

"Well said." The goddess said as she slid closer. "So, have you considered my offer some more?"

"You've only asked every day since you first mentioned it." Dante responded. "I have a few things to discuss with everyone first, now that this is done."

The goddess hummed in response. "Well, that's fine. I give it a week before my connection to this world is almost completely severed by the barrier. You know how to reach me."

With that, the void began to disappear in a blinding light. When it faded, Dante found himself once more in the manor in Korokan.

"Well then." Dante said as he stood, looking at the faces of his family. "I suppose we should see what we can help fix."

Author's Notes:

Not going to lie, I did speed through a few things here, but I believe I closed up most everything. The epilogue is next.

Once I'm finished with this story, "Forging Legends" will be my top priority. One-hero world, its own magic, monsters, pacifiers, plot, and all that fun stuff. That will (hopefully) be updating weekly, so if you like my writing, start checking that out.