Chapter 98 I really to start changing my life...

In the reflection of Dante's eyes, Katley saw it. An otherworldly orange hair-- wild, disarranged, stained with streaks of blood. Her body was perforated with wounds, with the shattered remains of her shield floating like dust around her.

Katley lost her defenses and her armor broke, yet Dante hadn't finished speaking. She went easy, thinking she could incapacitate this aspect until THAT event happened. But that was her mistake-- Dante didn't have that restraint. He wanted to annihilate.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem. But, Dante, instead of growing weaker from tiring out, grew stronger from understanding the magic of love and hate, carrying energy reserves seemingly limitless.

Even if what appeared to be her imminent death was mere centimeters away from her, her face didn't show any affliction. She perfectly posed like prey, waiting to be devoured, but her eyes-- her trembling eyes-- held something deeper. Something dark, lurking beneath the surface, waiting for that perfect moment.

But Dante didn't care. He didn't have time to care. All he needed was to crush her, to overwhelm all the tricks she might have left. He violently gathered his energy.

His body pulsed with black, raw magic, glowing with pink edges as it twisted within him. He would end it in one final strike.

A sphere of black energy, tinged in pink, hovered before Dante's face. His left hand twisted with a loud, sickening crack, reshaping itself into a monstrous claw, imitating a deadly hawk's talon.

With no hesitation, he lunged at the sphere, swallowing with his mouth the raw energy, and then he opened his claw.

Finally, this was the moment he was waiting for.

Katley's lips parted, leaving a faint murmur escape. "This just turned from bad... to worse."

Dante couldn't help but think she was bluffing; he had already won-

*Crack*

In real-time Dante turned his head to the left, from where the breaking sound came.

His thousands of hate hands had formed a dome of darkness, isolating them in a perfect barrier that should have been impenetrable, but his senses were telling him that something bad was about to happen.

A black puddle slipped in an instant in the cracks, propelling at Katley's position; it exploded and engulfed the battered Katley, covering her in a sticky black cocoon of many white eyes.

His claw hand retracted and decided to ignore it; whatever it was, it would get eradicated, too.

L E F T

His claw twisted back into a defensive position to protect himself from the dangerous direction. A searing light erupted from the left, and his view was evaporated in a kaleidoscope of pristine colors that swallowed his perception.

*BOOM*

An attack that didn't appear like magic; it didn't feel like it; this was pure and raw physics. From hundreds of kilometers away, a fast projectile advanced enough to destroy moons directly and slammed with all its might into Dante.

His left hand and a great part of his torso disappeared. His body fought to regenerate it, but whenever it tried to grow some mass, it clashed with something, stopping him from fully recovering at his usual speed.

'M A G I C ?'

A message popped up on Katley's screen, mocking her in colorful, italic letters, "Wow, she completely obliterated you, like you were on the floor, praying for your life! Were you sure that you had everything under control?"

She clenched her fist, and the worst scenario just came to life; just as she was about to reply, a robotic voice broke in, "She is still alive...?" The robot quickly ignored the surprise, "You know the drill. My willpower will just fuck you more if you don't calm down. Also, It's not my fault if I ended up killing her, I'm not going to play games just so you can keep her alive."

The voice of the goo resonated inside her head. "She seems really dangerous... Look at yourself! Your body is a total mess, I just did symbiosis, and 3/10 of my health, energy, and mana reserves went to waste."

A third, calm, mysterious voice carefully spoke in the darkness, seemingly analyzing the battlefield. "Hey, is she really that strong? Or were you playing?"

Katley took a deep breath and replied in a low tone, "A bit of the two... She was supposed to get wings and a horn to evolve because of my actions... I was just waiting for that... but she did something different and her appearance changed after she drank a few potions. Either I got scammed or did something wrong in the steps..."

Suddenly, Dante's voice broke through the haze of their conversation. The sound was distorted, twisting with a monstrous amalgamation between a monster and a girl, "Who...? Do... You...Think...You...Are..?" Said, dripping with melting hate, as his vicious heart-shaped iris fixed on them.

A new unknown voice said behind her. "You may be an aspect, a chosen one from the gods, but I think you forgot a two tiny details..."

2 commanding figures stepped from the shadows, entering the dome with no fear. One walked in traditional Japanese clothes, with a gleaming katana hanging by his side. The other was clad in dragon black/red armor, having as a weapon of choice a strange pair of massive gauntlets with 6 gems of different colors in each finger.

The gems in the gauntlet began to shine in an explosion of colors that destroyed the dome of hate hands, dissipating like mist into the sunlight, "This is a team game! And we might not be aspects--"

Dante's gaze darkened, locking onto the newcomers. The atmosphere quickly shifted to a heavier one. His legs coiled back like a literal spring waiting to snap.

Anyone who moved-- Any twitch-- He'd be ready to lunge over them.

"DISTANCE! THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR THE MONOLOGUE. FUCKING JUMP HER!!!" Yelled Katley angrily to her companions, who apparently didn't seem really happy to see allies to help her in this ordeal.

The Katana guy didn't need to be told twice those words. His legs got covered in an exo suit that pushed him at lethal speed, aiming to take the head in a swift strike.

But oh... what a mistake! He didn't seem to realize he painted a big red target on his back.

With a thrust, the pink girl's arms extended unnaturally, mimicking the motion of holding a sword, yet her hands didn't carry anything with her; even so, he readied himself into a flexible position to attack and defend.

In the split second before their clash, a brilliant pink sword appeared in Dante's hands. In the impact, it struck with such force that sparks exploded everywhere.

The girl's cold, piercing eyes stared directly at his soul. He already had his own share of killing aspects, but this was new; still, he remained undying, giving defiance against the relentless pressure.

Not even half of a second passed before Dante's sword grew slightly in size, creating sharp shark-jagged teeth on the edges; they quickly began to vibrate, wickedly rotating at high speeds as the cold metallic shriek reverberated in the place.

The katana guy's sword trembled under the huge pressure. His stance faltered, simply unable to keep up with the overwhelming pressure from the sword chainsaw.

Sparks constantly flew wildly from the grinding clash, filling the place with a blinding storm of light and sound. It was as if the very space around them was cracking under the staggering strain.

And then, in a critical moment, his sword gave up, becoming a pulverized metallic powder that shimmered in the air. His face of surprise and astonishment couldn't be measured --How could one of the best swords possible break with such ease-- by far, it wasn't the main star of the show, but still, this was an extremely remarkable blade that many players would kill for it.

He could only watch those eyes-- Devoid of sympathy, hollow and cold as they locked onto her helpless opponent. And with an ice voice, she whispered one word.

"Good"

That was the last thing he heard before Dante's monstrous form lunged forward. The girl saw-blade cleaved his armor in an instant, sending him flying in a high arc before being slammed into the ground with bone-shattering force onto the stern ground.

--

Authors stuff:

Damn, we are getting close to the first ending...

Also fun fact: Katley and (REDACTED) probably have more plot armor than Dante.