Chapter 130

Dante

I materialized outside the building to a peculiar scene—Jean telekinetically holding Kilgrave in the air as she ripped through his mind for information.

I let out a breath I had been holding since Isha made her comment, shaking my head.

What was I thinking? Jean was Jean. Of course, I didn't need to worry.

He flopped to the floor the second Jean noticed my presence, and I rushed over to her, summoning my red jacket from my inventory and handing it over to her to cover herself. She was in her underwear, and it was no doubt Kilgrave's doing.

I glared at the asshole, who practically squeaked when he looked up. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to stomp out the asshole.

'Don't,' Jean urged. 'He had a contingency plan. There are bombs scattered all over campus. They will go off if he doesn't return in a few minutes with the Doctor.'

'You can't be serious! That bitch Domina thought about everything.'

'I've looked through his memories,' Jean said. 'Domina determined that I was the real threat, and that was why she sent demon mind mages, a Cambion, and Kilgrave. Between all three of them, she guessed that they'd be enough to take me down. She hadn't expected the mutant brotherhood to cooperate with us.'

'She was also probably banking on Fury sending me to deal with the formula hunt and used that as an opportunity to separate us and come after me. She even had knives designed to cut me through dimensions and sent Cambions after me. FYI, we also have bounties on our heads now. If I hadn't used Unity earlier. I'd have died,' I said.

'Given everything that has happened. I don't find that the least bit surprising.'

'I was thinking I could disguise myself as the professor after manipulating Kilgrave, or we could start hunting for the bombs, but I doubt we'd find it in time,' she said.

'There's always a negotiation,' I said. 'I didn't kill Isha. If her sister's heart is not completely black. She'd be willing to trade Kilgrave for her.'

Jean frowned, and I looked at Kilgrave, who was shaking. 'I know it's not ideal, but it's the obvious play. The alternatives are having Pietro and the sorcerers find and transport the bombs. We have less than four minutes. It's going to be a stretch. A wild, final option is to disguise myself as Banner with the mask and go with whoever they send. I'd get in there, set a few bombs off, slip out in the wreckage, and get transported back here. If I'm lucky, it'll take out Domina."

Jean's eyes widened slightly, and I didn't need words to know how she felt. Her face told me. She shook her head.

'That Cambion is still on Campus, and he's a teleporter; he might know where the bombs were set," she sent. 'Rin is wrestling with him now. You help him and call Pietro, and I'll end the Reactor problem inside. Things are starting to get dire.'

I nodded. 'If all else fails, we have Kilgrave to make the final play. I should probably call Fury in. He has Stark with him. Who knows, he might be able to get this out."

Jean nodded. "We have our roles. I guess we better get to it."

"Yeah," I said, my voice echoing from my helmet.

"The armor looks great, by the way," Jean commented, and I smiled.

"Yeah? It's not bad for a prototype. Stay safe, and if you need me…"

"You're a telepathic message away," she smiled, and I laughed. I

turned intangible and exploded forward with a Burst, rushing to Rin's

side. He was in a brawl with an exhausted Cambion, which he was

still soundly losing."

Rin

I got up to my feet with a huff as crimson energy rolled off me

and my longsword and glared at N'tesh, whose complexion had somehow worsened throughout all of this. He'd stopped using energy to fight me, solely relying on his skills and a physical sword after I drained enough darkness energy from him mid-teleport and landed us in this abandoned alleyway somewhere inside campus.

 "I don't need magic to put you in your place," he'd claimed derisively as he produced his blade.

And it turns out he was right.

N'tesh sprung forward, as did I. My blade slipped under his just before we clashed, and faster than I could react, he was behind me, his curved blade coming down on the crown of my head. A slight shift to the left helped me avoid the worst of the pain, and an energy-packed sweeping cut forced him back.

He somehow managed to retract his blade in time, and I healed visibly before his eyes. I charged this time, cracking the pavement as I sprung forward. Just before I impacted, I saw the recognition in his eyes and marveled at his incredible athleticism. He was in the air before my sword fell, fracturing the ground around us. He kicked off the wall and shot down at a crazy angle, blade first. It was my turn to be slick; I stepped back just as he impacted and swung at him with a blade mostly devoid of energy.

He rolled to the side to avoid it, but I was ready for him as he came up. My feet impacted the floor, destabilizing him enough for me to get close enough to pop him in the face. Unsurprisingly, he avoided most of the hit, but my fist grazing him was enough to send him tumbling to the side. I chased after him with a blade raised only to get a knife to the throat, stopping me in my tracks. Several others followed, drawn from shadowy clouds. They penetrated nerve clusters and tendons.

In the span of an eye, I was a half-mobile pincushion, and I stomped the ground hard again, forcing him back when he tried to close the distance. I quickly yanked out the daggers he'd hobbled me with, only for fresh ones to replace them. I was not nearly fast enough to dodge them or absorb the budding energy in each blade.

In a few seconds, I was bleeding out, covered head to toe in black knives, leaning against the far wall of the alley.

Slowly, the demon stalked over with his Katana.

"You're disappointing for an Ascended, but that will change. You've only just awoken after all. Domina will be pleased by the unexpected boon."

I yanked out the two daggers sticking out of my throat.

"Is that what you tell yourself?" I croaked. "I know if I was your boss, I'd be pissed if you failed me, regardless of whatever consolation prize you show up with."

N'tesh smiled for the first time since I'd met him.

"You undersell yourself," he said before bringing the Katana to my neck. "Now, will you behave yourself or will I have to start cutting off body parts."

"Fuck you," I seethed, and N'tesh shook his head as he raised his blade. With every ounce of desperation left in me, I screamed, forcing all of my energy out. It poured out of me like a dam. I caught the look of surprise in N'tesh's eyes before he sheathed himself in a cloak of darkness.

Crimson energy crashed down on the alley like a Tsunami, cracking the ground and the building around us and pushing N'tesh several feet back. My vision was blurry, and when it cleared, I caught N'tesh panting hard. He had blood running down his nose, eyes, and ears.

His bloodied eyes flared as he stomped towards me. "I warned you," he roared and blurred forward, moving so fast he vanished in a flash of darkness. When he reappeared, his blade was inches from my face, held back by a white gauntleted figure.

When I saw the rest of his medieval armor, I was confused and a little afraid until I spotted his dull purple eyes.

"Bossman?" I asked, and Dante huffed.

"Who else was it going to be," he snorted, his eyes never leaving N'tesh once, who debated whether to retreat or flee. He tried to remain stoic, but I saw the fear in his eyes.

"See you unlocked your demonic powers," he said. "It's about damn time. Now, I can actually make you decent weapons and armor."

Dante's left gauntleted hand suddenly burst into flame, and he swung at N'tesh, who finally abandoned his blade and dashed backward.

He tossed me a vial filled with the same healing substance he gave me when we were back at the Hydra base. "Drink that up and give me some room. Watch closely. This is how you fight a Cambion."

He produced a unique-looking blade that glowed ominously in red and started to pack it with demonic energy.

N'tesh looked at Dante nervously and spoke. "Dante Sparda. You're every bit as arrogant and conceited as the scouts report you are." 

"And you're not very bright. Isha Storm Fire failed, and so did Thabo and Bastille. The last two are dead, and you're fucking next unless you tell me where the bombs are." 

Bombs? I blinked. What bombs.

Dante suddenly narrowed his eyes, and N'tesh's slight look of worry morphed into complete fear.

"You're lying," he said.

"And you're fucking useless," Dante said dismissively and struck a strange sword stance with the blade pointed at N'tesh. The demon's body tightened, and faster than I could blink, there was a bloody hole in his eyes. 

Dante swiped his blade to the left, and that was when I saw it: a line of compressed blood shooting at speeds I could not comprehend. N'tesh's entire head exploded, and Dante deactivated his blade.

"Did you make a blood sniper?" 

Dante grinned. "I did, and what did you learn from watching that?" 

"That you're fucking crazy?"

He tutted like a disappointed teacher. 

"Always have an Ace, and never let your enemy know you have one until it's too fucking late."

"Wise words," I said, deadpan, and he helped me up to my feet. 

"I hope you got a pick me up from his death because you're going to need it."

"We're going after the bombs?" 

"Yup," he said. "We're just waiting on back up."