Hero of Remnant: Veil of the Aether

by Aetherveil

Following after the events of the Volume 3 Arc, Dante, and his partner Inuba travel across Remnant to make their way to Haven, searching for clues that will lead them to the real mastermind behind the attack on Vale 6 months prior. They will meet allies, both old and new, and face challenging new enemies on their journey. Secrets will be revealed. Continuation of Hero of Remnant.

65. Chapter 65: Lost Night

Heya everyone, been a while again, huh?

To sum it all up, it was mixture of sickness, work, more work, sickness and needing time to myself during these stressful times.

There is also another thing but I'll get to that in a bit.

As you know, with this whole pandemic, work has been difficult, much less finding new work after my old job closed down. I did go back after the states reopened business', but only for a short while for reasons I'll disclose momentarily.

So for weeks I worked myself to the bone and got sick from the stress and overwork. But I made enough money to survive so far at least. It was tough, but it's over now.

Now for the other thing.

I'm leaving the US. Don't know if its indefinite or that I'll come back. One thing's for sure and that's the fact the US is a shitstorm right now with all the riots and protests and deaths because of all this nonsense. As if dealing with a pandemic isn't enough, now we're starting to kill and attack one another.

I'm getting out while I can and going to Europe where the majority of my family is. Gonna spend some time with them first before figuring out a new job (which I have significantly higher chances of getting a significantly better job in thanks to my relatives and people I know).

Plus, I've been having a really shitty time of it here as it was, so I think the move to Europe is gonna be better for me anyway.

So yeah, that's the situation. I'm leaving toward the end of June. Don't worry, I'll have internet and I can post.

Again, sorry to make you all wait so long. It's really been a struggle and I needed to figure my life out a little first. Now that I have, I should have more time to write now.

With my troubles aside, enjoy the new chapter.

---

Chapter 65: Lost Night

«»

---

Oscar was sitting on the ledge of a rooftop, far off from the center of town where he and everyone else set their base. It was closer to the fishing docks, also a good deal away from the Atlas base.

It was a good enough sight, and from up top, he could see the whole town of Argus, as well as the ocean, from this single angle. He didn't own a Scroll, so he couldn't have taken a picture. But really…

He was thinking about what he'd say to his aunt when he got back home. Though… he was also afraid of how hard she'd whoop him too.

If one thing was clear to him, it was that Oscar didn't really have a place among them anymore, not while Ozpin was lurking about in him somewhere.

Ozpin… If it weren't for him, Oscar wouldn't have been in danger almost all the time like he had been for the last few weeks. He wouldn't be hated like he was now. But at the same time…

He wouldn't have met everyone, even if they hate him now. He wouldn't have seen all the incredible things he had seen so far. And…

He wouldn't have left to spread his wings out, and find a more meaningful life than being just a simple farmer.

Oscar loved his aunt, but… living on the farm day in and day out? It just… never felt like it was for him. It wasn't the kind of life he wanted to live. Even so, it wasn't like he could just up and leave to do anything else, least of all be a Huntsmen. It was practically because of Ozpin that he got to live out that fantasy, if only briefly.

Technically, he could still do so. He retained a lot of Ozpin's techniques and skill, but so far, he hasn't been able to use any of his powers as of yet. If he wanted to, maybe he could find a place of study, become an actual Huntsmen in a few years.

If he was still alive by then.

Salem… All this… The tragedies that followed in the shadows of everybody…

…

Would they be able to do it?

…

Of course they would. They had people like ms. Kitsukami, and Dawn, and…

Dante.

…

Oscar wasn't sure how he felt about Dante anymore. When they first met, he seemed friendly and cool enough. Like the popular guy at school that you could be friends with, and wasn't actually rotten to the core.

But the moment he pointed that gun in his face, and how nonchalant he was about it afterwards… It terrified Oscar. Moreso that so many people relied or trusted in him when he was… What was he exactly?

Was he really a good person? Or was he actually someone bad pretending to be good?

"You gonna jump or something? I'm getting bored out of my mind just sitting here watching, you know?"

Oscar's body shot up, freezing before he slowly turned his head around as his heart seemingly sank into an abyss of nothingness.

"H-How did you-?!"

"Inuba pinged you in an instant, youngster." Dante explained as he crossed his arms, "Said I'd go out looking for you. Unfortunately, the others don't know and they're still looking."

"T-They're looking for me?"

"Course they are. Jaune's out there too if you can believe it. Right over there in the park." Dante pointed out with his finger.

Oscar did his best to remember where the park was positioned and narrowed his eyes, but alas, he couldn't see that far away.

And he can..?

Oscar looked up at Dante, watching the young devil take steps forward and loom over him, the younger boy quickly shooting up to his feet as he leaned away. He tried taking a step back, but immediately noticed the ledge and froze.

"So you gonna jump or what?"

There it was again… That nonchalant way of saying or asking things… It was like him saying something like that wasn't terrible. Like it was normal.

Even so…

The farmer boy's eyes drifted towards the ledge, and he admittedly had some thoughts cross his mind, even if it was brief. But now… he was moreso thinking about jumping just so he could escape Dante.

"Minds not made up yet I see. Well I have an easy fix for that."

"What?"

Before he knew it, Oscar felt abnormally light, like he was floating. As he watched the devil get farther away from him, to his horror, the boy realized he was pushed off the ledge as his eyes grew wide with fear. Instead of just simply letting himself fall, he reached out towards the white haired teen, and surprisingly saw him clasp his hand tight around Oscar's as he immediately pulled him back up on the rooftop, spinning him away from the ledge and towards the center of the roof.

The farmer boy breathed heavily as he patted himself down, wide eyed and terrified, but very much alive. When he looked up at Dante and saw the young devil looking back at him calmly, he got really angry, enough that he forgot any semblance of fear.

"What's wrong with you?!"

"Plenty of things. But hey, at least you know for sure you don't want to die or anything. You did grab my hand after all."

"A-A test?! What kind of sick test is that?!"

"When some people are about to die, they do one of two things. One, they give up, and just let their end come. Or they go with two. They keep fighting." Dante said as he walked up to Oscar again, "The end even then is uncertain. But if you don't fight… If you just give up and let your future slip away, you won't live to see what might be. You won't live to see tomorrow, and keep going."

"T-That's..!"

"Crude. I know. But it told you something didn't it?"

Oscar's eyes untensed from the frustration he felt towards the devil. Now… He wasn't sure what to feel. Angry? Relieved?

…

If there's something he was sure of, it was that he didn't like that Dante was right about how he felt.

Any thought of giving up… Any thought of going home now completely left him.

And yet…

"Was that fun for you..? Messing with me like that?"

"Eh." The teen shrugged.

"That's it?!" Oscar shouted.

"Well it's not all fun and games. You could've really died."

"What is with you?! Why are you so..! So..!"

"Cool? I know, I know. You don't need to tell me."

Oscar just shook his head and began walking towards the fire escape ladder. Even if he wasn't looking, he could feel it on him. He could feel Dante smiling, and that was enough to make him turn around and look back at the devil to see him doing so.

The devil laughed as he nodded his head opposite of him, "Have a seat with me Oscar."

"W-What? I don't want to-"

"Come on you big chicken. I'm not gonna throw you off the building. Maybe." The teen answered as he sat on a brick outcrop.

He frantically patted the stone, so much so that Oscar was beginning to be annoyed by the noise and eventually gave up, making slow strides forward. Dante didn't stop loudly patting the stone until the young boy sat down next to him, albeit with a few feet in between them.

"You know Oscar, I frankly thought you were something of a chickenshit, even with Ozpin's voodoo flowing in you." The devil explained, making Oscar scowl again, "But… I'm thinking there's more to you than I first thought."

"And how would you know?"

"You grabbed my hand, didn't you?"

"Just by that?"

"Just by that." Dante smiled.

…

What is he..?

"What do you think about me Oscar?"

"I don't like you as much as I first did."

"Instant. Ouch. Well, that's alright."

"It's not alright! Just about everything that you do or say is just strange, weird, or..! Or..! Or not alright!"

"Why?"

"Because you almost shot me! And they way you looked at me too..! It's like it wouldn't have been nothing to you! You..! You demon!"

Dante stared blankly at Oscar, and the farm boy froze, realizing what he just said. Then, the devil laughed, and he laughed hard. He was laughing so much that his voice echoed through the air, leaving the boy utterly confused as Dante wiped a tear from his eye.

"Oh man! Haven't had anyone say that in a while! Gets me every time!"

"I…"

"Oh, don't apologize or anything. Seriously though, that was pretty damn funny."

"I'm so lost…" Oscar said.

"You wanna know why I almost killed you out there Oscar? Or rather, was pretending to almost kill you?"

"I don't… Wait, what? Did you just say..?"

"I wasn't actually gonna snuff you out like that. Not unless I had a legitimate reason to do so."

"But why-?"

"It was a farce. For the most part anyway." Dante shrugged, "I'm reluctant to say anything more about it, but oh well. It was mostly to scare the guy in you."

"Scare him..?"

"Didn't it cross your mind that if he damn well pleased, Ozpin could hold you hostage?"

Oscar's eyes widened, realizing he indeed didn't think about it happening. He took over everyone else essentially, so it wouldn't have been totally unnatural. But if things got bad for Ozpin… he could hide behind Oscar essentially and use him as a shield. Better yet, threaten the other with his safety if he was really evil enough.

…

Would he ever do something like that..?

"The gun in your face was essentially me telling him to fuck off with any sort of idea of doing that. Just because I won't really kill you doesn't mean I don't have my ways of getting to Ozpin. Even if he is essentially using you like a meatsuit."

"M-Meatsuit..?"

That was… a disturbingly accurate term…

"Oscar… If Ozpin really is up to no good concerning you… I'll find a way to tear him out of you."

The farm boy looked up at Dante in surprise, the young devil's eyes focused on the distance.

"I'm not gonna let him use you like some kind of thing just for you to disappear. That's why I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

…

Oscar was shocked. He didn't know what to say at the moment. It turned out Dante wasn't as terrible as he imagined. Instead, he moreso realized his methods were just… incredibly unorthodox, and maybe even extreme at times. It didn't make it totally alright, but it made sense at least why he suddenly took a turn like he did.

"I know you didn't come here so far because you wanted to at the start. You were honestly handed down a crappy legacy that spans thousands of years, and essentially were told to deal with it."

That was true. The more Oscar thought about it, the more he realized he really didn't have much of a say in the matter. This whole thing started with Ozpin just showing up in his head, and telling him what to do.

"It's not all bad though, is it? I mean, you're getting to do things you never once thought you would be doing. Like trying to save the world and all that." Dante shrugged, "And hey, you even made some new friends along the way. Me included of course."

"Am I really though? Your friend I mean…"

Dante sighed as he leaned back a little, crossing his arms.

"I'm not human, man. I usually tend to think the way you guys do because I've lived among you for so long. But because I am what I am, I also tend to think and feel differently compared to human standards. So yeah… What might seem extreme by your standards might not be extreme in my eyes."

"I think I understand…"

"Suffice it to say… I'm sorry. For thinking about actually shooting you, and for pushing you off the ledge, even if I was gonna grab you regardless."

"You were testing me in your own way, so I get it. It's a little twisted and I really hated it, but… I get you didn't do all that because you don't like me or anything."

It was gonna take a little more time, but… For the most part, Oscar had forgiven him. He hadn't totally forgiven the young devil, but just enough that he wouldn't avoid him like he had actively been doing since the train crash. And… he'd also try to know him better, so that they could be good friends soon enough.

"What's it right now? Three?" Dante said as he checked his holographic screen, "Let's you and me have some fun before we go back."

"But wouldn't everyone get mad if we're goofing off and they find us?" The boy innocently asked.

"Of course they would!" The devil immediately answered with a proud smirk, "Which is why we won't get caught."

Oscar's eyes blinked rapidly for a few moments before he sighed, soon getting a strong pat on the back from the young devil.

"Come on farmer boy. Let's see what trouble we can get into."

---

This wasn't a meeting he was looking forward to. He didn't have much else to do today by means of appointments or the like, but coming here of all places wasn't something he wanted to do.

Nonetheless, he had to.

The inside of the office was huge and expansive. Two library shelves filled with books and documents, black leather furniture, a few large potted plants here and there. The floors and walls were all dark grey marble, smooth but with roughed out edges, resembling the inside of a cave almost with a few outcrops of marble.

At the center of the room was a large glass table, seemingly barren except for the few black binders on the desk. Given the black bar that was perfectly centered at the front edge of the desk, it was a large holographic display that from the looks of it interfaced with the glass. Behind the desk was a large black leather chair that looked as though it could rotate.

The large, black colored metal double doors slid into the door frames edges, and the man he was waiting for entered the room.

Chin length brown hair that was slightly messy, grey pinstriped dress shirt with a black vest, black dress pants, a grey tie, and black dress shoes that had a slick shine to them. He was even wearing black framed, rectangular glasses, something he seemingly never wore until now.

"I never knew you wore glasses, Darwin. Although given your status as an android unit, you shouldn't have need of them."

The Android looked up from his black binder upon hearing the voice, narrowing his eyes as he snapped it shut with a brief sigh.

"So you're my three o' clock then…"

Darwin trekked to his desk, placing his binder on the table as he removed his glasses.

"They're mostly for aesthetic purposes, but they also act as a secondary HoloCommunication tool." The man explained as he took his glasses off, setting them on the desk, "What's the purpose of your visit… Blanc?"

Blanc Angelford sat in his seat, dressed in a white suit with a black dress shirt underneath, grey dress shoes and a white tie. He had been wearing a thicker white coat because of the snow season in the city right now, but he took it off when he sat himself down, and neatly blanketed it on the leather seat he sat in.

He ran a hand through his slightly curly white hair to rearrange it in a neater fashion, and focused his emerald green eyes on Darwin across the way.

"Just checking in really. It's been quite a while after all, and your organization is in charge of this World's safety concerning all things otherworldly or supernatural. Considering my current position, it would only make sense that we should monitor one another's progress. See if either of us can provide aid to the other, if need be."

"I made it abundantly clear more than a year ago that we have no affiliation with one another in terms of our fields. Let alone social affiliation." Darwin coldly replied, his gaze firmer.

"Such hostility…"

"It's well deserved." The Android spoke sharply to Blanc.

The white haired teen dropped his smile, grasping the armrests.

"I'll be frank then. Your organization was quite busy last week providing security for the annual convention between Yōkai, Dark Entities and Humans. And yet…" Blanc's fingers brushed against his armrest, "You were nowhere to be seen. Along with the current head of the Kitsukami family too. How gracious of his sister to take over for him though."

"I was with Akihito at the time."

"Doing..?"

"Cherry blossom viewing."

"In the winter?"

"You forget that cherry blossoms bloom once a month in the Apparition World, even under harsh weather conditions like the winter." Darwin explained, "Akihito had no wish to give a speech this year, so he left the task to Asahi instead. I was of the same mindset, and was comfortable leaving security in the hands of my people, considering they are both powerful and competent individuals. Akihito invited me, and so we both decided to take the day off, considering we weren't needed."

"I see…" Blanc said, folding his hands together again, "And during this time, neither of you went off World?"

"No." Darwin firmly stated with a glare, "Akihito will corroborate the same exact details."

"I was unfortunately turned away at the gates, so I didn't have the opportunity. Which is why I came to see you instead."

"Did you ever stop to consider why they've closed their gates to you, oh Grand First?"

"It has, but I find it unreasonable at best."

"You find it unreasonable to be a traitor?" Darwin spoke harshly.

Blanc chuckled lightly, "More than a year later, and yet you still support him in spite of the consequences his actions brought upon him."

"If it weren't for Dante, many of the people I know today wouldn't be here. Smiling, working hard, living their lives... The same thing can be said for some of your people too."

"Dante is gone now because of his irresponsible actions, Darwin. The thing that apparently you, Akihito and everyone else don't understand is that Dante always did as he damn well pleased." Blanc calmly argued, "And because Dante did as he pleased, he often disrupted the balance and natural order of things, thus affecting all of us in turn."

"You're still trying to pin everything on him?"

"It isn't a matter of pinning anything on him. It was a matter of him selfishly doing what he wanted regardless of how it affected us."

"Yet he still saved all our lives." Darwin argued in return, "Mine. Yours, in spite of betraying him. Everyone. And what did you do? You threw him to the wolves. The very same corrupt foundation that abandoned us in our time of need. Now what do you do? Act as their lapdog?"

"Careful, Darwin."

"You don't scare me, Angelford." The Android said as he stood up from his chair, "You may be a Deity now, and the Grand First of The Trinity, but you forget who it was that helped to heavily modify my body in order to stand on par with the likes of your kind. I may not be able to defeat you on my own, but I can assure you now you wouldn't leave here alive if I wished it in the end."

"You talk a big game, for a machine."

"And you forget who your friends once were. I assume it's easy to forget, once you have enough power to not cower in fear anymore."

Blanc's eyes narrowed into a harsh glare, all while he kept up the smile as he too stood from his seat.

"You forget as well, Darwin. You forget who helps keep the peace. Who helps keep the more unsavory types in the other realms in check. Remember that next time." The young man said, turning around and grabbing his coat as he headed for the door, "Dante wasn't the only one to accomplish great and seemingly impossible matters, you know? After all… we've been doing just fine without him."

The Android silently growled at the statement, clutching his fist tightly.

"Do you know where he is?"

Darwin froze in place.

"I for one don't. H made sure no one would be able to find him, after all. I guess that must mean the rest of you as well."

"It's only natural. You lot couldn't execute him, considering he's immortal. So exile was your only other option in terms of punishment."

"And our old friend H hasn't by chance contacted you in any way since a year and a half ago?"

"You already know the answer to that. As soon as Dante's sentence was carried out, he vanished from view, like a few of the others."

"I presume Akihito would say the same thing?"

"What are you getting at, Angelford?"

Blanc chuckled as he put on his coat, turning to face Darwin.

"Don't plan on helping him, if ever you do find him. We've already suffered the consequences of his actions. And we need not suffer them once more. We have no need of 'the great Dante' ever again."

With those final words, Blanc Angelford strode out of the office, leaving Darwin to himself.

He had to admit, even if he was an Android, he could very well understand how biological entities felt when they held their breath in uncomfortable situations. And that? That was certainly an uncomfortable situation.

It had been months since Darwin last saw Blanc, much less spoken to him. Considering he was seventeen now, he took back his family's power when he became of age, and was made King. Not only that, but because of his allegiance to The Council, they saw fit to reward him for outing Dante, and so handed the young man Altus' previous position.

Grand First, and Overseeing Deity for Primordial.

Most of his "Heavenly" subordinates took care of matters regarding his post as Overseeing Deity, which left him to focus on his duties as King in the human world. Darwin hated to admit it, but Blanc made a good king.

He kept the peace, he kept the various treaties between humanity, the yōkai and Dark Entities, allowing the two supernatural species entry into their world and theirs. The only exception was the Dark World, where the Dark Entities came from.

Thanks to Dante's efforts two years ago, Dark Entities who had long been refugees in their World from the war torn realm for many years, and those seeking refuge, had the chance to crossover and stay if they wished. Here, they could live more fulfilling lives than just living a life of constant battle and war. So after an extensive screening process, one that was far more stricter compared to the yōkai, some Dark Entities were granted entry.

It was unprecedented at first, Dark Entities living amongst humanity in peace. But it happened. In thanks to Dante, and another Dark Entity that fought for peace, Primordial became a World for many.

"Consequences…" Darwin scoffed as he sat down in his seat again.

The only time consequences were ever present, they only applied to Dante and Dante alone. Much to his own detriment, and much to our displeasure as friends seeing him suffer.

The Android reached for his glasses, rubbing a thumb over the top of the lense frames as he sighed.

As much as I hate to admit it, even without Dante among us now, the World is very much at peace. But… he also forgets that it's because of Dante's invaluable help that this World not only continues to exist, but a majority of its people can coexist with each other, all having peace of mind.

Darwin tapped his desk, a multitude of large, rectangular, holographic screens popping up at once. In the bottom left of the desktop, he saw a photo application, slowly shifting through photos from years past, one of which had him and Dante in it. He was teaching the Android how to smile that week, so in the picture taken, the teen was using his fingers to push the corner of Darwin's mouth into a smile.

I hate what they did to you, friend. I hate that I can't see you freely, and that we can't get into trouble like we used to. But… seeing you again only reaffirmed for me that you're better off now. While we may have peace… we still live under Heaven's scrutiny.

The Android looked out the window behind him, seeing the cloudy skies as they sprinkled down snow upon the busy city.

My only hope is that one day… we can do you justice, friend.

---

Dante buried his head in his inner arm to sneeze, sniffling a little as he shuddered.

"You ok?" Oscar asked, "What am I saying? Of course you are."

"Hey, I get sick too, you know? Maybe once every month, but…"

"Once a month?"

"Yeah. Think of it as a sort of trade off for the limitless amount of strength and stamina me and my siblings have." Dante shrugged, turning his head back to the magazine he held.

Both he and Oscar stopped inside a bookstore, mainly to get refreshments and something to snack on before the devil dragged Oscar with him to wherever they went next.

"Though in all honesty, somebody might be talking shit."

"What..?" Oscar asked.

"Ah, some weird superstition that if you sneeze out of nowhere, somebody's talking smack about you. Or something like that." The young devil shrugged again, "Then again, it's me we're talking about, so it wouldn't be unnatural."

"You must get a lot of flak, huh?"

Dante chuckled, "Oh yeah. You see Oscar, when you do things that don't entirely coincide with the 'law' or 'natural order of things', you tend to become an unpopular person."

"Um…"

"You're a little sheltered, so it's alright that you don't know. But I'll tell you, so make sure you listen to good ol' Dante." The devil said as he turned a page in his magazine, "Corruption can burn deep, Oscar. And when corrupt individuals root themselves in positions of power, they'll change their surroundings to best suit their wants and needs, even if it harms and slowly kills innocent people around them. It's just as bad when there's a group of corrupt individuals working together to cover their asses."

"It's even worse when they make the law suit their own needs and wants. Because if they do that much, they can hide behind the law to protect themselves."

"Well well, aren't you clever? Totally right Oscar. That's why when someone like me comes along and has a problem with the way they do things, they'll try to turn the whole world against a guy like me. The reason for that is because they know someone like me can do something about their bullshit. So they get scared, and come up with all sorts of schemes, plans and falsehoods to trip me up."

"Trip you up?"

"Yeah, like they'll try to turn the law around on you and whatnot. Make you seem like the bad guy for 'disturbing the peace' or 'natural order'. That way you're the one they send to prison or execute."

"Is it so wrong to just go along with it all?" Oscar.

"Not entirely, no. But when it affects you personally… what then? What'll you do when it affects people you know or care about? What will you do when that kind of stuff does more harm than good? You can't just stay complacent forever and pretend everything will be alright. If nobody does a thing, then that chain of corruption and hate will just keep lashing out at everyone without restraint or reason. And then… there'll be nothing in the end. Just a scorched earth."

Scorched earth..?!

Oscar gulped audibly when he heard those words.

"Ozpin ever relay to you why I was here, in this World?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… In case you never realized it, I'm not originally from this World." Dante explained, gaining a surprised look from Oscar, "I'm an exile, if that makes any sense. But hey, the way I'm living now? Best exile in history."

"You got kicked out from your World..?"

"Yup. I didn't quite agree with 'The Will of Heaven', so seeing as previously I was immortal to anything and everything, they couldn't execute me like they wanted to. So they just kicked me out. But hey, I'm not complaining. Frankly I'm in love with the World of Remnant. A lot simpler, but still plenty of bullshit to deal with."

"You got punished for doing the right thing… Aren't you angry about that?"

"Well of course I am. But there's nothing I can do about it now, can I?" Dante shrugged, "Only thing I can do right now is just put it behind me. I'm not going back, nor do I intend to, so it doesn't matter as much to me anymore. Besides, what's there to complain about really? As far as I'm concerned, I'm living a hell of a better life than I used to."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Dante answered as he flipped through another page, "Don't dwell on it too much, Oscar. Like I said, it's all in the past. Good for telling stories about, but nothing to be done about it. Besides, I've got better things to focus on now. Like this magazine."

"What's so important about this magazine?" Oscar asked.

"Here."

Dante leaned the magazine down for Oscar to peek at, the farm boy immediately turning red as he stepped back.

"Y-You're looking at a dirty magazine?!"

"Yup."

"WHY?!"

"Ah, well… See, I have perfect mental imagery, so sometimes I compare Eclypse and everyone else to other girls."

"Again, why?!" Oscar asked.

"Simple." Dante said as he snapped the magazine shut, and dramatically slotted it back into the shelf, "Because it's to constantly reaffirm that my girlfriends are the cutest and most beautiful in the world, and that no one can compete or compare!"

…

…

"What..?"

"It's true! They're so perfect in my eyes that for a while, I thought something was wrong with my head! But the more I look, the more I realize that it's true! There's no one else that's cuter than my girlfriends!"

Out of nowhere, Eclypse herself appeared out of a burst of black Aura and chopped the back of Dante's head with the edge of her hand, making him fall forward a bit as she placed him in a headlock.

"While I appreciate the love, as I'm sure the others do, I have to say this is fairly stupid." The girl said, Dante rapidly tapping out, "Knowing you, I'm sure this isn't an excuse to look at dirty magazines, since you'd never actually stoop so low. So, that would only mean you were actually trying to rationalize that you are indeed sane. For the most part anyway. Still…"

Eclypse squeezed even tighter, making the young devil let out a strained cry.

"Was that truly the only reason you were looking through those magazines?"

"Y-Yes! Complete and honest truth!"

"Really~?" Eclypse asked with more firmness in her tone as she pinched Dante's cheek.

"Y-Yes! I love you all very much to the point I think I went insane for a little bit! Forgive my foolish actions!"

"Fine then."

The girl let her lover go as he staggered backwards a bit, rubbing his pained cheek.

"Honesty though… I keep telling you that you don't need that kind of stuff. If there's a lovely pair of breasts you'd like to oogle, all you have to do is ask me, you know?"

"The point was to make sure I didn't go crazy by checking out someone else for a brief while. To not be a creeper and cheek out actual girls, I went with magazines instead."

"Still dumb." Eclypse pointed out as she slammed her hand on Dante's back, making him guffaw.

The girl looked to Oscar, who's eyes were still darting around nervously.

"What's the matter, farmer boy? Never seen a pair of bare tits before?" She asked.

The young boy jolted up at Eclypse's question, backing away into the bookshelf as she approached.

"Well, if you're lucky, soon enough you will."

"Wha-?!"

"Stop teasing the poor kid. Remember, that hasn't happened yet." Dante commented.

"It may as well be a done deal, no?" The girl asked, quirking her eyebrows at him.

"We'll see." The devil said, both of them looking at a confused Oscar.

"Well, we had some pizza, did some karaoke, fought some punks out in the streets, and checked out some magazines while having a nice snack. I say that's a nice place to put a pin in it until next time."

Dante began walking towards the door, Eclypse vanishing in a short burst of Aura right behind him as Oscar followed him out of the store.

"So Oscar, what do you-?"

The devil stopped in his tracks, seeing that Oscar wasn't next to him. He turned around and saw the farm boy standing still, gazing at something ahead of him. When Dante approached, he could see the boy staring rather longingly at an outfit through a store window.

The young devil gave Oscar a pat on the back, enough to make him stagger forward a little as he looked back to Dante, seeing him nod at the door.

"I don't…"

"It's on me."

The boy's eyes lit up with surprise, "No, I can't just-"

"Come on, don't be a chicken. Go in there and pick something out for yourself."

With a forceful enough push from Dante, Oscar reluctantly opened the glass door and stepped inside the shop. Lacquered walls and a ceiling of wood greeted him with a fresh scent of what smelled like forest bark, something he very much enjoyed seeing as it reminded him of home.

Aside from the rich scent, he looked around the store and saw impressive mannequin displays of some of the finest clothes he had ever seen. Whenever he visited towns on business with his aunt, he'd always look at these stores from afar, never actually going in himself until now.

While the majority of the clothes and outfits were impressive, they weren't exactly all too appealing to his taste, unlike the coat he saw in the window.

A olive green coat with lapels, lightly padded dark red leather on the shoulders, a black and silver straight collar, and split coattails that reached the back of his knees. Looking to the belt rack near him, he saw a dark red leather belt with a silver buckle, slowly taking it up in his hands as he looked towards the shelves of pants.

His eyes drifted towards a nice pair of loose black trousers caught his eyes, making him reach for them as he neatly draped them over his arm. Looking across the way at a shoe rack, he saw a pair of red, laced boots high above, with hard brown leather padding the tips of the boots.

The last thing to catch Oscar's eye was a neat white, collared shirt. It resembled his own shirt a great deal, only, the sleeves were short, the collar was smaller and not flaring out into lapels, and the center fabrics overlapped with each other, a zipper holding the fabric together with a golden button near the top of the chest.

I guess this is all I'd like…

"Are you ready to check out, sir?"

"Oh, um… Yeah."

The lady behind the counter took each article of clothing from Oscar one by one, skillfully scanning each item with quick speed.

"Alright young sir, your total is going to come out to 200,000 Lien."

"T-Two hundred?!"

"Thousand!" The clerk cheerfully added.

"Uh, I'm sorry-"

"Here you go miss." Dante patted Oscar's shoulder as he placed down two black Lien cards.

"S-Sir! Two black Lien cards?! You must be some fancy out-of-towner from Atlas! Are you maybe a member of the Schnee family? Usually they only carry cards like this..."

"I get that a lot, but no." The devil chuckled, "I just made a good living is all."

"Wait a minute..! I know you! Are you Dante?! THE Dante?!"

"Yep. I am The Dante." He joked along.

"W-Wait! I'll give you a discount, and-!"

"No no no, I'll pay you in full."

"But-!"

"Hey, come on. If I get a discount every time I go into a store, you guys are gonna start making me feel bad."

Oscar looked at the young devil with a quizzical glance, not sure if he was speaking the truth or using sweet-talk as he walked towards the changing booth.

"You got a business to run, miss. Times are tough as is with everything going on." Dante argued as he slid the Lien cards closer to the clerk, "No discounts for me today."

"But, you're a real hero and everything!"

"I'm no hero. Just an idiot with some fancy swords. I should pay my dues like everyone else." He waved off, "Where'd you even hear all this?"

"Some fancy writer called Avery Davis. He's been sending out articles everywhere." The girl told him, "Is it true you killed both of the Wyvern Grimm at Beacon?"

"Only one of them." The teen corrected, "My girlfriend turned the other one into a statue with cool eye-beam laser powers."

"Woah~!"

"Yeah, woah."

Bringing up Ruby's Silver Eyes power, Dante always wondered something.

Did her Silver Eyes work only on Grimm?

Or could they also work on him if he was using his Shadow Skin?

…

…

It was difficult working without his ultimate trump card. Even so, Eclypse made her point when last they spoke about it. He relied too much on that power to resolve battles, and because of that, he never placed any focus on developing new abilities with his Semblance.

In a manner of speaking, the seal that was placed on him was a blessing in disguise of sorts.

But it didn't mean it wasn't a pain.

Hearing some footsteps behind him, Dante turned around to see Oscar walking up in his new clothes, holding his old boots in one hand with his old clothes neatly draped over the other.

"How do I look?"

"Actually cool, for once." Dante told the boy.

Oscar scowled at him a little, making the devil laugh.

"Come on farmer boy, we gotta get you home." The young devil patted the boy on the boy, "Thanks for your help, miss."

"Thank you mr. Dante! Keep kicking evil's ass!" She raised her fist in the air.

The devil smirked at the comment, genuinely liking her words of encouragement as he left the store.

"Alright Oscar, run a long home."

"You're not coming?"

"Uh… Noland and I got a request to investigate something, so I'm waiting on him to send me whatever he finds. So you go on ahead."

"If you're gonna wait around, wouldn't it be better to come back?"

"Yeah, but I wanna wander a little. Never been to Argus and it looks nice." Dante shrugged, "Might come back to vacation if it's any good. Stay outta trouble, you hear?"

"Y-Yeah. You stay safe too."

After Oscar waved goodbye, he quickly walked down the street, getting on a tramcar that was almost ready to leave.

Youngsters these days…

~At least he's going back. I was getting ready to tie him up. And not in the sexy way like how I tied you up with your own shirt a few nights ago.~

*How fascinating! Please tell me more, my senior!*

~I'm not your senior, Navâra. Stop calling me that. And if you really want to know, I'll explain it in detail.~

Dante sighed as he placed his hands on his eyes, slowly turning and looking around to find something to do with whatever time he had. Noland was searching for leads around the edges of the town, seeing if there were any minute flaws in any of the barriers or walls that would allow someone or something to slip in and out of the town.

Given his talents, the job was more suitable for him, since he could send out his little Nevermore bird.

Still… What to do…

…

Dante thought back to what Blaire said earlier, eyes drifting up towards the sky as he noticed small specks of snow gently drifting in the wind.

Well Navâra, I did say we should get to know each other better. So how about it? Wanna go on a date until Noland gets back to us?

*Do my ears deceive me?! Joyous day! I will happily oblige you, good Dante!*

~You're way too excited about this…~

*How could I not be?! If I am to further my relationship with my Wielder, I must adhere to the modern day practices of maintaining a relationship! In other words, dating so we can eventually become more intimate with one another as our hearts desire! Therefore..!*

In a small burst of white Aura, Navâra appeared at Dante's side, hooking her arm with his as she flashed him her usual bright smile.

"I'll spoil you rotten, my Wielder! I will offer unto thee pleasures afforded to only those of Royalty!"

The young devil chuckled, "Do your best to convince me then, Empress."

---

"I see! So this is how coffee tastes!"

"It's pretty nice, isn't it?" Dante asked.

"Indeed! Knowing about it and actually tasting it are two seperate things!"

The devil gave her a quizzical look, "You… had coffee back then?"

"Oh no no no my dear Wielder, we never had such a delicacy in my time. I'm afraid if I did, there would have been many a sleepless night for me."

"Then..?"

"Hmmm… I see my senior didn't quite explain it to you… Not out of negligence, but perhaps it may have been unnecessary." Navâra pondered as she crossed her arms, "Very well then, I shall explain it to you. Do you know what happens when a Blade like myself and another being form a contract?"

"Our souls connect with one another, right?"

"Indeed, they do. But what else occurs?" The little Empress pointed out, "Our souls not only undergo a process of bonding together, but so too does our respective knowledge to some degree."

"To a degree?"

"Yes." Navâra nodded, "Take me for example. I am from a time nearly two thousand years ago. Normally, I would have no knowledge whatsoever of this era unless I gained that knowledge for myself in some way. However, to quickly bridge the gap, it would seem that when a Blade contracts with another sentient being, we gain a mass information dump of the current era, its history, and so forth."

"So it's like downloading an encyclopedia of common knowledge to help you Blades out."

"Precisely. Should we choose to, I would suppose we Blades can share our knowledge with you."

"Oh yeah…"

He almost forgot about that fact. A fact he suddenly remembered considering somehow, when he reconnected with Eclypse, he gained what was essentially an immense treasure trove of knowledge on "how to please women".

And not just in the flowers and chocolates sort of way.

"Still… The technologies of this era are indeed great and marvelous! It only serves to make me more jealous of the fact that I couldn't think of such innovations to simplify our lives!"

Dante laughed a little, making the Empress seated across from him in the booth pout a little.

"Why do you laugh, good Dante?! I surely would have been able to think of similar inventions in my time!"

"I don't doubt it."

"Then..?"

"I'm only laughing because it's true."

"Because it's true..?"

"Yeah. It's funny because it's entirely accurate or very possible." The devil smiled, "Then again, if you did come up with half the stuff we have today, your citizens probably would've thought you were some kind of alien, or god. Or an alien god."

"Well, that would not be too far off, I suppose."

Yet again the young devil gave his Blade a questioning glance.

"Not in terms of raw power, good Dante! Honestly… You are far too cheeky sometimes, my Wielder!" The Empress cutely pouted once more, "I meant in terms of being a Ruler."

"Ok..?"

"Think about it, good Dante. In some cultures, a king or emperor can be considered a god amongst the people. Was this not true of these… What were they called again…? Ah yes! Was this not true of the Egyptian peoples of your world in Ancient times?"

"True enough I suppose… Pharaohs were essentially considered 'gods amongst men' and the like… And there are some cultures in the east that have a similar mindset." The devil rationalized, "What's it like then? To be an Empress, but also to be revered as a god of sorts?"

"Like you've imagined, more or less. When you achieve something absolutely phenomenal that benefits all, you are showered with praise and love. When disaster strikes, and there's nothing that could have been done, they cry out. Either with rage, pain, or a cacophony of other negative emotions. As we are like the gods above, so too do we Rulers take on a great responsibility to our peoples, and all the burdens with guiding them to the future."

"You take on the good and the bad, in essence. Almost like a god."

"Indeed. Naturally, if the kingdom prospers, then it shows that both the Ruler and the people have performed to make it so. Without a people, you cannot be a Ruler. Without a Ruler, there can be no people."

"One needs the other." Dante spoke, "But if the Kingdom declines…"

"Naturally, the fault solely falls unto the Ruler. It's truly an unfair way of life." Navâra shrugged, "But people do not take on the role of a Ruler simply because it is fair or unfair. They do so either because they can be a Ruler, or the role falls to them."

Both the Empress and the devil turned their heads towards the waitress approaching them with two platters.

"Strawberry shortcake for the miss, and chocolate chip mint cake for the gentleman!"

"Oh! What might this be?!"

The waitress looked to Dante with a confused glance.

"Uh, she's been practically sheltered her whole life and is just getting out for the first time. You know, fancy noble and all that."

"R-Right…"

The girl offered them a brief smile as she set down the slices of cake, quickly walking off to take care of another order.

"Tell me, Wielder… Why lie about who I am?"

"Well we can't just go around telling people you're the Empress of an ancient kingdom some 2,000 years ago."

"I'll have you know that while I did rule nearly 2,000 years ago, I am in fact still quite young!"

"Right right… You were practically in stasis the whole time."

"Nineteen."

"Hm?"

"I am nineteen years of age, good Dante."

"Oh. Huh… I thought you were maybe my age given your stature."

"I may be small, but I am both mighty and voracious!" Navâra proudly proclaimed with her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest.

Given how distinctly large and noticeable her chest was, Dante couldn't help but snap his attention to his cake to avoid staring.

Even if she has on multiple occasions given him permission to do so.

"Mmmm! This is outrageously delicious! This sweet delicacy is what is known as cake?"

"Glad you like it." The young man spoke as he finished eating a piece himself.

A moment later, he noticed a fork pointed his way with a piece of the strawberry cake on it, Navâra happily giggling to herself as she pushed it forward a few times.

Dante began noticing the stares and chatter around the small dinner, his face turning red a little as he realized that the Empress was blatantly flirting with him in front of everyone on purpose.

Surrendering to both the smiles he received from onlookers, and Navâra's own happy hums, the teen leaned forward and took a bite.

"How is it, good Dante?"

"I-It's good…" he replied, still a little red from embarrassment.

To her surprise, the young devil soon had his fork raised in front of Navâra, a piece of his own cake on it. He was doing his best to avoid eye contact with her, but it made the small Empress giggle with joy as she eagerly and quickly leaned forward to eat the piece of cake.

"Indeed! This so called cake is delicious! Moreso if we share it between each other like this! Although…" she leaned forward across the table, resting her chin atop her folded-together hands, "How strange…"

"W-What?"

"When you are engaged in intimate actions, you are not as reserved as you are now. Why is that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Oh? Then did I imagine you blushing just now?"

Dante groaned silently as he looked away, making Navâra pleasantly giggle all the more.

"I see, I see!" The Empress said, "You are weak to women pressing the advantage!"

"As if…" Dante said, hiding part of his face with his hand.

"You are indeed! Now I see why some women enjoy teasing you! You give such wonderfully cute reactions!"

"Give me a break…"

"There there!"

In the next moment, Navâra was sitting next to Dante, and rather forcefully shoved his face into her bosom as she gently and lovingly stroked his head.

At first, the teen attempted to move his head out of the way, but almost immediately ceased resisting, realizing it was quite useless since Navâra intended to do as she pleased. It wasn't really a bad thing, but it was still a little embarrassing.

"Are you pleased with my process of spoiling you, my Wielder?"

All he did was nod his head.

"Indeed! You would be! I am an Empress after all! Spoiling loved ones can be considered a specialty!"

There it was. That lovable, proud attitude of hers. Arrogance made cute.

Before Navâra could continue indulging in having Dante in her arms, she felt sudden vibrations coming from near his neck, making her release him as he stood up straight. A small screen popped up in front of the young devil, the box showing it was a message from Noland.

The little Empress pouted as she growled silently, waving her hand frantically through the holographic projection to whisk it away, as if it were a cloud of smoke.

Dante chuckled as he read through the message in spite of Navâra's efforts to thwart the monitor.

"Looks like Noland found a lead."

"Hmph! At an inconvenient time too!"

"Can't be helped."

"We shall continue another time, I suppose…"

Dante saw her frowning, smiling as he nudged her gently.

"You had fun though, right?"

"Indeed, I did! Seeing how the world has changed over so many years is truly a sight to behold! Aside from that, I am truly fortunate to have you at my side to show me the new World."

"Thank you for putting up with me." The teen nodded.

Navâra giggled to herself, moving out of the booth as the metallic soles of her silver grieves touched the ground with brief "clinks". Having the Empress going around in public was a bit… difficult… but it wasn't all too problematic. She just stuck out is all with her elegant attire and her grieves that had a perfect clear shine.

…

Frankly, she stuck out really well. But it was fine.

"Now then, good Dante! I will do you the honor of escorting me to our next destination!" The Empress said as she stuck out her arm."

"Heh… As you will it, your highness." The devil replied, looping his arm with hers.

Navâra jolted up briefly with surprise, then gave him a wide smile as she strutted out of the cafe with Dante in tow.

---

Noland stood in silence outside, his cane adequately lighting up the forest area considering the trees were rather tall and night was quickly descending. He was reading his Grimoire, the Histories section to specific.

It was a curious thing, the Histories tab. Whenever Noland gathered information with historical context, it would appear in that tabbed section and give him every bit of information on the subject.

For instance, Navâra. When meeting her for the first time, he obtained a dossier that detailed a great many things about her. Everything from her powers and abilities, to her life story was detailed. Even the entire history of Romantia was now inscribed with the pages of the Histories tab.

Thankfully, this was all possible due to the Grimoire's ability to create more pages and condense them together. Essentially, the information that could be stored on the Grimoire was infinite.

Unfortunately, Noland couldn't access information on the Histories of other Worlds, regardless of how many times he tried. He could see a variety of other names of various Worlds, but each time he tried to open the archives, they simply didn't. Noland theorized that perhaps he had to be on-world to access those records.

It was a clever failsafe, but still rather irritating to deal with.

"Hey, wait long?"

The young man turned around, seeing Dante approach. Snapping his book shut, Noland holstered it once more and picked up his cane, dimming his light a little.

"Not too long. I had plenty to read. I imagine you spent your time productively?"

"I went on a date with Navâra."

"Heh… Popular indeed."

"I'm seriously gonna kill you."

"And yet you haven't." The young man replied with a smirk.

"Dick." Dante replied as he playfully punched Noland's shoulder, "So? Figure out what we're up against?"

"Nothing good, that's for sure, pretty boy!" Tâz said as he swooped out of the cave and perched on Noland's outstretched arm, "You can go hide behind your girlfriends' skirts if you're scared."

The devil's hand reach out, tightly grasping the beak of the small Nevermore.

"You know, I've been killing your kind for ages now… Never occurred to me to maybe take a bite out of one of you."

Tâz squawked uncomfortably at the notion.

"I bet you taste like chicken. What do you think, Noland?" The teen turned to his companion, "Think I can get a good taste before he disappears?"

"Perhaps. Depending on the size of the Grimm, larger ones take a bit more time. Small ones like Tâz disappear within, say… A minute or two?"

"Plenty of time then." Dante smiled darkly.

The devil tossed the bird away, allowing him to fly up and away from him.

"Remain at the entrance out of sight. If people follow us in-"

"Yeah yeah, I got it, I'll let you know." The small Grimm spoke as he perched himself high in the treeline.

With that, Dante and the dark haired teen entered in the cave, Noland leading the way with his glowing cane.

"Would you really eat a Grimm?"

"What? No." The devil said, "I mean, can you even do that?"

"Possibly. I don't think there's anyone who's had the courage to do so."

"Heh… If it was Old Drifter, maybe he'd take a bite."

"Who?"

"Guy I knew when I was… working. He was a bit of a crazy guy that lived in the hangar of our base The Tower and gave out some sweet loot whenever we competed in his Gambit games. Win, lose, it didn't matter. You always got paid. So did he."

"And how is this relevant?"

"Well, he always talked about eating all sorts of things or creatures. Fallen, Hive, Cabal…" Dante numbered on his fingers, "Hell, he even talked about eating Scorn." The teen shuddered.

"And which job was this?"

"A job where it was practically guns, Light and Darkness. I didn't much like using guns back in the day, but… That job kinda made me like 'em a little."

Noland hummed a little as he continued leading the way through the cave, the duo coming upon numerous corpses of Beowolves that were almost completely disintegrated.

"Seems fresh…" Noland spoke out, "Average rate of disintegration for a Beowolf is three minutes. Considering they're almost gone, this didn't happen too long ago."

"That's not all… Take a look at their claws." Dante pointed out, "See that?"

Noland's eyes shifted to one of the claws, examining them closely before they vanished moments after.

"Electricity?"

The dark haired man lowered his cane towards the ground, noticing yellow powder scattered across the floor.

"Lightning Dust… Interesting…"

"For real?"

"Yes… It would seem our Witch has managed to infuse the outer appendages of Grimm with Dust. Their claws were not only eroded, but were crackling with dying sparks."

"Hmmm… You gotta wonder what this Witch has been using to make this happen."

"Magic?" Noland scoffed.

"Sure, she could have used magic, without a doubt smartass." Dante said as he slapped Noland across the back of his head, "What I'm saying is what if she used alternate methods in conjunction with her magic? Like technology?"

"Magic and science in tandem… The possibility isn't far-fetched in terms of physically modifying Grimm, but it's completely unheard of."

"Not entirely. Ozpin sent me on a mission once to apprehend a guy called Merlot. Guy was a sick puppy obsessed with the Grimm, and believed they were the superior species. You hear of the Mountain Glenn disaster?"

"Who hasn't?" Noland replied.

"Ozpin worked out Merlot was partly responsible for that total fiasco because of his experiments but never managed to catch the guy. After a few investigations in Forever Fall forest and beyond, I tracked the guy down and saw his new work. The fruit loop was forcibly mutating Grimm to make 'em meaner and more powerful than usual."

"Then perhaps he is a collaborator with the Witch?"

"Unlikely given that I killed the bastard." Dante squatted down, staring at the last few disappearing corpses, "But he may have been an indirect help."

"I see. The man may not have modified them himself, but at the very least he had proven that modifying Grimm is in fact possible."

"And because of that, all the other friggin fruit loops have more than likely gotten some fancy ideas… Just what we needed…"

"DAMN IT!"

A loud yell echoed throughout the cave, Dante motioned his hand to have Noland put out his light. Using a spectral arm, the devil had it grab hold of Noland's cane to act as a sort of string guide to follow behind. With his Shadow Eyes, seeing in the dark wasn't difficult in the slightest as the duo traversed the dark silently.

As they traveled in further, light began creeping into the dark tunnel, Dante taking note of multiple splits in the path. He quickly decided to take the trail leading higher up, and eventually, the two were overlooking a massive cavern that was lit by torches.

Below, they saw a man, toiling away as what sounded like glass shards crunched with each movement of his hands. But with the cold temperature, and the shines of blue light, one could assume he was tinkering with Ice Dust. When he stepped away, they saw a Beowolf had been strung up, shackled by stones and vines with its mouth thoroughly bound. Aside from its arms and legs, it's neck and various other parts of its body had been shackled as well, that way it could not move.

It's arms were bound together by the same earth-vine material, its fingers subdued as to prevent movement. Interestingly, it's claws shimmered with blue light, covered in jagged ice that made its claws thicker and longer, blue wisps of cold flowing from the cold claws.

"GRRRRR WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING?!" The man shouted as he circled the Grimm, "The Catalyst Binding is flawless! The Dust is of the purest quality! So why can't these damned Grimm maintain a charge for more than a day?!"

Catalyst, huh..? Interesting… Humans with Aura can practically stab shards of Dust in themselves and use their power… Hazel proved that much. And if I recall, Cinder Fall used a Dust infused dress that was… problematic. Merlot used a chemical agent of his own creation to enhance Grimm and make 'em go berserk, more so than usual. So much so that it drastically altered their appearance.

Dante narrowed his on the older man, watching him as he angry and frantically threw his hands about in frustration.

This old bastard made a catalyst agent to bond Dust to their appendages. Bonding is successful, but for only a short time. Is it because he's only coating their appendages? Or is the catalyst just not strong enough. Not only that…

The young devil closed his eyes, focusing his Aura Sensing to reach out throughout the cavern. No other presences or signs of life besides the old man.

~Where's the witch?~

Don't know. Maybe it was just this freak playing Doctor. If Ironwood and Atlas could figure out how to transfuse someone's Aura to another person, then I don't think it'd be farfetched to say Dust can't be bonded to other beings that aren't human or Faunus. Maybe Dust just doesn't agree with their system…

~Ever the scientist…~

*But is it not wonderful that our Wielder is also an intellectual?*

~Mmmm… I guess so. His nerd speak does turn me on sometimes.~

Guys, later please?

"What's the plan?" Noland whispered.

"There's no one in the cave other than him and that Beowolf. We kill the Grimm and detain this old shit to find out what he's working on, and-"

"Did she lie to me?! Is the component not stable enough?!"

~She?~

The Witch.

Dante jumped down from his perch, summoning an Aura Sword in hand as he tossed it at the Beowolf. The old man spun around surprise, yelling as soon as he saw the teen and slowly began backing up in the Grimm corpse

"You've been leaving a big mess around the forest, old chum." The devil spoke as he crossed his arms, seeing numerous books and notes scattered around the cave, "So let me guess… Your mangy ass got some form of an idea from Merlot, right? And because of that, you got ideas of your own. Pretty ingenious, trying to infuse Dust into Grimm appendages to make 'em deadlier. But did you consider for a moment magic meant for human hands just isn't compatible?"

"W-What?"

"The erosion around their claws? Your catalyst agent is solid. The erosion was from the Dust itself. Humanity's been killing Grimm with Dust for thousands of years, considering it fucking melts them when used properly. Hell, it's ten times more effective than standard ammunition, which is like shooting spit-wads at them. Still, good idea, but doomed to fail from the start."

The man's eyes finally adjusted, finally able to see Dante in his entirety, making him shrink away in a corner all the more.

"You..! You are the one she mentioned! The Devil Child!"

"Devil Child, huh? And where did she get that from?"

"She warned me of you… Of your terrible power…"

"Aw, come on, I'm not so bad. I'm actually sweet as sugar when I want to be."

"You joke like some fool… But I've seen you! And so has she!"

"Alright."

Dante's hand reached out, grabbing the man by the collar and raising him up in the air.

"Here's what's happening. I'm confiscating and burning your notes. Then, I'm gonna toss you to the authorities to put you in a hole for a few years."

"You don't..! Scare me!"

"Really? You seemed about ready to shit a brick. If you haven't already. Yech… Smells like you did shit yourself a little. You think he shit himself Noland?" Dante asked.

"It does smell a little more rancid now."

"Laugh while you still can, Black Devil! It won't be long now..! Before the true King..! Rises..!"

Dante gave the old man a confused stare.

Before he could so much as open his mouth, something flew past Dante's cheek, cutting it slightly as the old man slipped out his hand. Rather, the body shot out of his hand, impaled to wall a few feet away by a crimson red spear.

"What the fuck?"

The devil spun around, looking at an equally confused Noland before the dark haired teen's eyes went wide.

He hadn't noticed it earlier, but another had been in the cave with them. Their advance was so swift and silent, it almost startled the devil.

A thud sounded behind him, one so silent that it was like a pin drop, almost impossible to hear.

As he turned, his eyes went wide as well.

A woman was crouched low to the ground, her hands in front as her fingertips were pressed against the ground. She stood up slowly, standing as tall as Eclypse at an exact 6 feet. Her hand reached out and grabbed the red spear, ripping it free from both wall and corpse as she gave it a good few, rapid twirls with the most minimal effort.

When the woman turned to look at the duo, Dante finally got a good look at her as he backed away towards Noland.

Her attire was form-fitting, like a bodysuit of sorts mixed with pieces of armor. Every swell of her long, lithe legs, wide hips, narrow stomach and waist, and every hugged contour of her perky but well-endowed chest was emphasized by the skin-tight velvety-purple cloth she wore. What covered her body from neck to toe was practically almost see through, the paleness of her skin just barely showing through the thin fabric.

More protective layers of thicker cloth sat strapped by violet embroidered ropes, connecting at their intersections by silver etched, circular studs to keep to her elegant, almost seductive look. The thicker cloth acted as an external covering of her inner layer of fabric, strapped snuggly around her upper thigh and running down her narrow shins to disappear into her silver armored, high-heeled boots. The fabric also looked like it had thicker, streamlined padding at the bends of her knees and connected to a narrow strip up her outer thighs.

Just beneath her short-trailing cloth, that fell in a light flutter against the backs of her thighs, sat a narrow covering to just barely hide away the juncture between her legs, the thicker, darker fabric connecting to two strapped ends and their silver studs at the bones of her hips. There, the straps traveled up her body in a crisscrossed pattern, molting over her smooth stomach and torso to connect with more studs just beneath her breasts, one middle stud glimmering just above her navel to hold that crisscross snug together.

The straps there acted as a means to hold her opened, thin cloak in place and mold it over her round chest and narrow sides, keeping it flush against her body. Probably because the fabric only passed the threshold of her central body over her chest in a curved, almost heart shape from the connecting straps, leaving the rest to hug against her and flutter in her cloak tail just over her upper thighs. The heart connected to one final piece of thicker cloth that reached up and wrapped around her neck, the dark fabric finally spanning out there and draping down to cover her arms beneath two silver-plated, curved, elegant shoulder guards.

Her wrists were protected by the same, violet, almost thin leather-like bracers with more silver studs and decorated straps, the thinner cloth protected just beneath it coming down to encompass her hands and fingers in full. A silver trimmed and embroidered cowl rested on her head of dark magenta hair, her cowl trailing thin strands of silver chains, one draped down against her bangs with a single thin, scarlet ruby dangling at its center.

The cowl itself reached about halfway down her hair, and the locks of her long, silken hair reached as far down as the tail of her cloak, falling to frame her body as perfectly as her attire did. A veil covered her face, hiding it for the most part, but Dante could very much see the light glow in her crimson red eyes.

The young devil then looked to her right hand to take a closer look at her spear.

Her scarlet red spear was a head taller than her with an ivory polish. The weapon itself was elegantly carved with a thin fuller traveling up from the base of her narrow, but long spear-head to about two-thirds up to its tapered tip. The blade had a steep, gentle slope to its edges, curving out at two points on its way down to its hilt where it dramatically curved in and tapered out again to mold into the four petal-like prongs sat in a cross shaped guard connecting her long blade to her spear's shaft.

The rose-like buds connected down into the polished metal of her long staff formed ridges almost reminiscent of the head of a mace. The expanse of the shaft itself had what looked like an elegant vine protruding out of the staff's surface, coiling and winding tightly around the metal, carved to almost look like veins running down the scarlet red weapon. A narrow, weighted pommel gradually tapered out just slightly at the butt of the spear, rolling down just two corners to mimic the more dangerous edges of her spearhead in a small, more compact form before narrowing down to a dull, rounded tip.

The woman in question was seemingly beautiful, but she was undeniably dangerous. She had managed to sneak up on him, all without alerting him or pinging his Aura Sense.

He had no idea she was here until the old timer bit it when she pinned him to the stone wall like a scrap of paper.

"Well, be it as it may that you took care of him, albeit brutally, I still had questions for that old bastard. So… seeing as you just killed him when he was about ready to spill the beans, I take it you're the witch?" Dante asked, summoning Eclypse to his hand as he pointed it at the woman.

She chuckled lightly, grasping her spear with both hands as she slowly began to circle Dante, scrapping the tip of her spear against the floor. The devil was predicting an upwards swing from below, but he still kept his eyes fixed on the glow the woman's eyes gave off behind her veil.

Without warning, she struck with frightening speed, a cracked footprint embedded in the ground where she stood previously. Blade and spear point locked together as Dante brushed the point past his head by swinging his sword across his body. This turned against him, for she used the momentum of Dante's parry to spin and slice at him with her spear.

The woman was absurdly quick on her feet and frighteningly dexterous with her crimson spear. Each time Dante countered her strikes, she managed to pull a complete reversal and strike back in response; a counter to the devil's counters.

Her strength was nothing to scoff at either, for each time their weapons crossed, she was able to stop him completely. At least, that was when Dante was using one hand.

What made this all the more troublesome was her pacing. Her flow was graceful yet fierce, unrelenting and without end. She kept up with him, all while keeping close to Dante the whole time without getting knocked away a single time in spite of the power behind his swings.

Before he fully realized it, the young devil made a mistake within his attack patterns, giving the veiled woman an opportunity to force up his blade with a powerful upwards swing. With Dante off balance, the woman took the chance to sweep the teen's leg with her spear, something the devil anticipated as he jumped up.

He couldn't get his feet on the ground quick enough, and found them instead planted on the woman's spear as she swung him further up. She quickly twirled out of the way, and then leapt up while swinging her spear down on Dante. The first strike forced his blade down out of defensive position, all while the woman's spear tip touched the ground, allowing her to push off the ground and land a second, more powerful strike.

As the young devil crashed into the ground, he bounced off the dirt and was swiftly kicked in the face away from the woman, sliding on his back towards Noland.

"Urgh… Anytime you feel like helping would be great!"

"What do you expect me to do against her?" Noland said as he looked up at the woman in concern.

"I don't know, fire a spell at her or something!"

The raven haired teen raised up his cane, shards of ice circling around the pointed tip before a monolithic spike of ice shot out. Quite effortlessly, and with a brief laugh no less, the woman twirled her spear around rapidly a few times before she thrusted it forward. The impact completely shattered the gigantic ice spike, tiny fragments passing by the woman harmlessly as she rested her crimson spear on her shoulder.

"You have the most powerful Grimoire in all existence and you can't even take one person out?"

"And yet you who are significantly stronger than me was put on your rear." Noland replied as he helped up Dante.

"Fair point."

"Do you see it?"

The young devil focused his eyes on the woman's spear, watching as blood red energy coursed around the entire weapon through use of his Aura Sense.

"Aside from her freakish strength and speed, I'm under the impression her spear negated my magic. If you didn't know by now, my magic is Aura converted into a physically manifested spell."

"Like one of the Maidens, minus the limits or restrictions."

"Precisely. Magic without usage of Dust."

"Then using Aura based attacks won't work on her unless we get that spear out of her hands. She'll just keep blocking it."

"Any suggestions?"

"You're the magician. Work some trickery to give me an edge."

Noland sighed as Dante rushed forward, attacking the woman. Instead of focusing on completely overpowering her, the devil went at her with quick and focused strikes, matching her pace entirely. Eventually, the two would strike one another simultaneously, both of them reeling back from the sheer force of their strikes.

The woman however would not strike back, for when she tried to, she found herself completely halted, turning to see thick tendrils of shadow coiled around her spear. Before she could rip free, Dante cut in and swiped down with intense force, making the woman let go of her spear as she dodged backwards.

The devil would take a few more swings at her, only to find himself disarmed once the woman grappled him. Now free of his weapon, the woman immediately engaged Dante in a brutal fistfight. She was the only one to land clean kicks or punches, given that she was far too quick on her feet for the devil to keep up normally. It didn't help that her strikes actually hurt him each time she landed a hit.

Or that she was flexible and agile enough to slip around him, dodging, leaping and flipping around the teen.

She was an expert in hand to hand combat, that much was certain given how precise and focused her strikes were along with the deadly impact they had. The woman had already delivered two blows to his chest where his heart was located, enough that it would have killed any other man from the sheer trauma to the heart.

It was moments like this Dante was thankful he wasn't normal.

Needing a change up, the young devil moved away from trying to attack her directly like the woman had, and moved to counter her every strike instead. Fist collided with fist, and kicks countered kicks with blinding speed.

If the devil couldn't directly attack her yet, he would at the very least tire her out.

But even that strategy looked as though it wouldn't work. Regardless of how quickly he struck or how relentless he was with his own attacks, the woman still managed to keep up and showed no signs of slowing down at all. When they punched one another's fists, both were sent skidding backwards on their heels to put good distance between them.

The woman moved quickly however, clapping her palms and fingers together as blood red Aura surged from her hands. Once she spread them out, another spear just like the one she wielded earlier, formed in her hands.

"Are you shitting me?!" Dante shouted as he scrambled to his feet.

Navâra formed in his left hand quickly as the spear surged forward, however, with the spear's trajectory and how he was already mid swing, Navâra too was disarmed from the young devil. Another spear instantly formed in the woman's palm, and just as quickly as it was made, it flew out of her hands towards Dante.

To her visible surprise however, instead of her spear piercing Dante, the young devil had caught the spear mid flight with a spectral arm of Aura. Although he caught it, the force of the weapon still made him skid backwards on his heels. Instead of being forced further back, the young devil moved out of the way, clutching the spear with his actual right hand, and used the momentum of the weapon along with a spin to send the crimson spear back at it's owner.

The woman stood completely still instead of dodging, her weapon passing by her head as it tore away the veil covering her face, as well as the black fabric mask covering her lower mouth.

For someone so incredibly skilled, she looked young, perhaps between 25-30.

Now that Dante caught his breath, and saw the woman's face, he could see her crimson eyes glowing softly in the dimly lit cavern, her black pupils slitted like serpent eyes. Her dark magenta hair flowed more freely now under her cowl, reaching to her waist as her bangs framed the sides of her face, slightly draping over her shoulders. Her entire forehead was covered as well by the bangs of her silky hair, barely hiding her eyebrows.

The woman chuckled once more, her smooth lips curling into a smile as her eyes narrowed, her pupils dilating. Dante froze up a little as a shiver went down his spine. It wasn't out of fear however…

Shit… She's looking right through me… Been forever since someone's done that… Always creepy as hell…

~Who the hell is she..? Hey, Empress, you ever see someone like her before?~

*I'm afraid not, my fellow Blade. The only remark I have is about her incredible skill, both with a spear and without a weapon. Her strength is as brutish as yours.*

"Incredible physical abilities on par with mine, if not greater…" she said as she circled the teen, spear tip lowered to the ground, "Excellent skills in judgement and skillful adaptability to various situations… Overall, by no means mediocre. Well, unless you will it, of course."

There a point to this?

"The amount of Aura you possess is quite outrageous. Yes… You seem like a fellow that has talent. Although, your skill with a spear is quite lacking."

"Not a fan of spears."

"Oh? And yet you seemed dead set on defeating me with one."

"One of his more crueler tendencies, I'm afraid." Noland spoke up, making sure to stand just enough behind Dante.

The woman hummed, her eyes returning to thin slits as she found an outcrop of rock to sit on while she laid her spear on her lap.

"What business did you have with that man?"

"You first."

"You're certainly a cheeky one… Though I suppose I owe you some courtesy considering you were here first." She shrugged, "That man was my target. Perhaps he was yours as well?"

"Not exactly. What we're looking for is a witch. That old bastard was just a collaborator."

"Ah, the witch hiding in this town. That would mean we share the same target then."

"Do we now?"

"Do you believe me to be your enemy?"

That was hard to answer. The eyes alone made Dante think she was one of Aizûr's kind, but her hair wasn't black. Although, even they could dye their hair if they wanted to, especially if it's an identifier.

"What are you exactly?"

"A human."

"Cut the shit." Dante spoke with some bite to his tone, "There's no way a human in this World can fight the way you do."

"There are none that can fight the way I do. Not now, or ever."

Dante narrowed his eyes on the woman, using his Aura Sense to focus on her. What he saw… shocked him a little.

"Your body… It's composed of Aura Particles to form a human shape, with real flesh and blood."

The woman's eyes went a little as she snapped her gaze to Dante, smiling with a hum.

"So you have a sort of sight as well… Interesting…"

"You're a spirit… No… with that kind of power… A Deity?"

"Close, but not quite, young man. I am… something in between. An incomplete existence that cannot die, no matter how much time passes or how many times I am struck. Should my body be destroyed, it would only be a matter of time before I am reformed. I suppose you could say I am closer to what people call 'a Divine Spirit'."

"You are from the Old World."

The woman was surprised as her eyes focused on Noland when he spoke, resting his hands atop his cane.

Dante looked to his ally for an answer, not sure as to why he thought that.

"Who else is in a similar situation to hers?" The dark haired teen whispered to the devil.

Salem…

"You… How do you know-?"

"We saw what happened. Both of us." Dante answered.

"You… saw?"

"Specifically, the entity within the Relic of Knowledge showed us in great detail the Age of the Brother Gods and the extinction-level event the two Deities caused." Noland explained.

"And yet despite all life on Remnant being wiped out… you survived somehow." Dante spoke up.

"I wouldn't precisely say I survived, but… I do at the very least still exist. My original body was incinerated, along with the rest of Old Humanity. What you see before you is essentially a copy produced from my Aura. While I may be flesh and blood, it is only mimicry at best."

"You said you were an incomplete being. What did you mean by that exactly?"

"Where to start…" the woman hummed, "I won't go into full detail quite yet. The only thing you need to know really is that the Brother Gods at one point praised me for my power and skills in the Old World, and thus desired for me to become a Deity." She explained, "To make a long story short, halfway in between, I realized becoming a Deity was not something I truly wanted. So in the end, I was left an incomplete being cursed to live on for eternity, and lost favor with the Brother Gods. Does that answer your question?"

"For now." Dante answered, untensing himself a little, "How did you get to hunting down our witch?"

"I saved a merchant that was exporting goods from this town. While offering the usual antics of flattery, he made me aware of a potential witch hiding near Argus that might mean harm to the town. I saw Grimm attacking each other and eventually followed the path of bodies to this cave."

The young devil sighed, crossing his arms, "Was it necessary to kill the old man?"

"He was a problem, was he not? Why risk bringing him into town? Besides, from what I overheard, his research was something quite dangerous."

"Not everything has to been handled with the edge of a blade."

"Perhaps. But would you prefer that he would have escaped eventually to continue his experiments?"

The young devil cast his gaze off to the side of the cave, the woman chuckling a little.

"It is good that you are well tempered against recklessly killing given how powerful you are than most humans. I admire that in fact. But not all evil humans can turn back from the dark path they have taken. And while words may fail to reach others… a trusted blade will not."

"Considering we are after the same prey, I assume you will be joining us?" Noland asked.

"At first I thought to simply leave it to the two of you, but…" the woman looked towards Dante, resting her chin in her hand, "You've piqued my curiosity. Long has it been since I have met a warrior of actual worth, and not some blowhard who boasts of their feats, whether they be real or falsified. So for the time being, I'll join you."

Noland grabbed Dante's arm, taking him off to the side to speak to him privately.

"I know you and I will be enough to handle this matter. However… I would think we've had a stroke of luck with this encounter."

"How so?" The devil asked.

"Think about it. For the time being, she will ally with us. I assume that if she's impressed with your performance, she may be swayed to joining our cause."

"Help us with Salem, considering they're both from the Old World. It's a fair point, but… Think we can trust her?"

"I think the two of you share some similar qualities regarding the foundations of honor and such. Which is why if you're convincing enough, we may gain a powerful new ally."

~Scrawny has a point. The more powerful allies we have, the better for us in the long run.~

*Indeed! I am of the same opinion as my fellow Blade! Perhaps with your skills and silvered tongue, you may woo her to your side!*

~That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. Seduce miss what's-her-name.~

Dante slammed his palm into the side of his head, shaking it briefly with a sigh as his Blades laughed before going silent.

"So then… Do we have an accord?"

Dante turned around to face the woman as she walked up to them. Now that they weren't trying to kill each other, he saw that she was actually quite tall. Six feet in total, like Eclypse.

"Am I going to be happy by the end of this team up, or am I going to find that fancy spear lodged somewhere uncomfortable?" The young devil pointed at the crimson spear.

"Heh… I promise not to stab you in the back. If anything, I'd tell you upfront if I desire a battle with you." She said, extending a hand, "And whom do I have the pleasure of working with?"

"Dante Aetherveil." The teen answered as he shook the woman's hand, "And you are..?"

"Sêrythîl, Mistress of what was once the Land of Death. I look forward to seeing you work, young man."

---

Hey hey, a potential new ally has joined the fray. And she's pretty strong too.

But what of this talk about a king? And who is the witch? All that and more next time folks.

I've pretty much told you guys my situation and all that, so I really don't have much else to say. So with that...

I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing story Rogue Huntsman written by Xera Stark. The story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you seriously read it. You won't want to miss out. Plus, I'm working on it with him as a co-author, and my characters are in it too. So if you want to see a sort of alternate story and such with my characters in it, go on over and give Rogue Huntsman a read.

Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer them without spoiling anything.

Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story!

With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!

And remember... be kind to one another, stay safe, and stay healthy. Peace to you all.