Even after he reached the station, Dante remained hidden for so ti until the train arrived. The red-haired girl was waiting for him on a bench near the entrance. Her expression brightened when she saw him but glood after he passed her and walked to the train without saying a word.
"Hey!"
Ignoring her call, Dante scanned the QR code at the door, paid the fare, and boarded. The train was desolate. The fluorescent lights lining its interior revealed the filth that remained invisible during the day, and with next to no passengers in each carriage, one couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.
Dante picked a random spot and sat down. Not a second later, a shadow fell on his face. The red-haired girl, Liliana Eisenberg, stood before him with her arms crossed, a look of deep displeasure on her face.
"Sit down." He sighed. "The train is about to move."
She chose to ignore his warning, and after almost losing her balance when the train took off, she begrudgingly took the spot beside him. Not a second later, Dante slid to the side and put so distance between them. The girl didn’t get the hint, however, and imdiately pulled to his side.
"Is this supposed to help us lose the pursuers?" The girl asked after a few seconds, her voice a little high from the embarrassnt. "Because I still have so things to do back there."
Dante turned back to his thoughts instead of answering her.
’Volcan?’
[None of your pursuers have boarded the train.] The AI replied.
"Hey, I’m talking to you!"
Liliana’s voice echoed in the silence of the empty carriage. Shifting in her direction, Dante returned the sa displeased look she gave him. His eyes lacked the glint found in hers, however, and being under their gaze was enough to frighten anyone.
"Turns out that guy was after you." He said. "And because you kept clinging to , he got his buddies to follow around as well."
"How would you know that?" Liliana furrowed her brows.
"I told them so crazy girl was following since morning and they left alone."
"Cra- Hey!"
"Goddamn it, keep your voice down." A grimace twisted Dante’s face and he plugged a finger into his right ear. This was not a conversation he wanted to have. He was even starting to regret not heading ho from one of the other stations.
The girl studied him for a while. When she turned away, her silence didn’t last long, although this ti she made sure to not raise her voice.
"I’m starting to think that you hate ..."
"You just figured that out?"
Dante’s reply caused her head to snap in his direction once more.
"What did I ever do to you!!?"
"I would have been much happier if you never crossed my path."
"If anything, I have every reason to hate you! You are the one who has been rude all this ti!"
"Go ahead, see if I care."
As insufferable as ever. Street rats were angels compared to the entitled little shits dropped from the elites’ golden behinds. Dante could only curse his luck for having to deal with one of them after so long.
No, the girl wasn’t just another elite spawn. She was a Level 3 Advanced, an Enhanced Individual with the destructive power of a tank. The superiority complex that ca with money was without a doubt tripled thanks to the raw power she has on her hands.
"I get it now!" The girl sounded awfully cheerful all of a sudden. "You are looking for it as well!"
"... what?"
"You ca to Factory Town because you heard the rumors, and you must’ve found sothing in that building!"
Dante turned to her with a bewildered look that morphed into a frown when he saw her smug smile.
"I’m right on the spot, am I not?" She asked.
"Listen, Ms. Hero, I don’t know what you’re talking about, neither do I want to know. As you might have guessed already, I don’t want to deal with you or any of your kind. If you understand that, fuck off."
Liliana winced at his reply but didn’t fold.
"I already said I wouldn’t let you go until you told what you saw!"
"And I told you I didn’t see anything!"
"Trying to hide it from won’t work! I know you saw sothing!"
"And how the hell would you know that?"
"My intuition!" She said without a hint of doubt. "And I heard what you said earlier."
"Tsk..."
"So? Are you going to start talking or what?"
"Seriously, who do you think you are?" Mumbling under his breath, Dante stared at the shifting scenery beyond the window opposite him for a while. "Did you seriously co all the way here just because of so rumors?"
"Well, I could ask you the sa question!"
A vein bulged on Dante’s forehead.
"You see, I’m not an idiot who goes around looking for sothing that doesn’t exist."
"But Catalyst does exist. I have fought villains who used it before."
The faint clatter of the train echoed inside the carriage. With slow movents, Dante turned to look at the idiotically oblivious rich girl, his expression blank.
"Are you sure you should be saying that to ?"
One second passed, then another. As if her brain lagged while attempting to grasp what he said, Liliana’s face changed color one bit at a ti, going through different shades of blue.
"You... aren’t very smart, are you?"
The disappointed sigh that followed his remark turned it into a sharp spear that pierced her chest.
[Dante, I’m not sure I understand.] Volcan’s voice rang out in his head. [Catalyst is the na of the drug Michael Jason used to gain temporary enhancents, correct?]
’Bravo. Did you figure that out on your own?’
[Sarcasm is unnecessary. I’m simply asking to confirm whether you believe that to be the case or not since you just claid that it does not exist.]
’I thought you can tell when I’m lying...’ He said internally.
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