"It’s all your fault."
His eyes opened to a blurry expanse, his ears full of nothing but sharp ringing. His mind played the last few seconds with sickening, and though the little girl had no voice to carry her words, Dante felt like he had heard it.
"It’s all your fault."
’No...’ he told himself, banishing the thought. ’That... that wasn’t it...’
The girl had tried to say one word. Only one. She was in pain, and all she wanted was help. Help. That was it. That was the word she had tried to say.
"It’s all your fault."
Burning hatred bubbled up deep within him, slowly rising to the surface as his vision cleared up. The visage of his enemies ca within sight, and just like that, it all ca surging forth.
’It’s all your fault!’
A ntal command unequipped Suzuka’s cloak, and another removed the damaged 5-3. Another command brought out a different armor. Though he hadn’t paid I much attention, Volcan’s voice had still reached him before the explosion took place. Dante knew he was up against at least seven Sorcerers, and so he chose their bane.
White plating took form, woven from countless threads. Their shape and size differed from what ca before, contrasting the ominous, sharp edges with gentle curves. A regal knight carved from pure white marble slowly stood up, the pressure radiating from him raining down on the evil sorcerers.
[
Na: Dante
Species: Human
Threat Level: 4
Baseline Retention: Ascended (38%)
Stats:
Strength: 130 ( 25)
Durability: 115 ( 30)
Agility: 50 ( 20)
Dexterity: 84 ( 15)
Computing Power: 50 ( 20)
Energy: 110/110 ( 250/250)
Modules:
Right arm: Type 4-3
Left arm: Type 4-3
Abilities:
Force Amplification
Impact Amplification
Armor: Type 9-3
Abilities:
Aether Shield.
Aether Spear.
Aether Rebound.
Aether Distortion.
]
Holding his right hand up, Dante brought his thumb and middle finger together. His eyes had been on the hostess, so he caught the mont she tensed up, panic twisting her expression.
"Jas!"
"On it!"
The blond man kneeling beside her vanished. At the sa ti, Dante felt a powerful impact, then a second one. Jas had kicked his hand and followed it with a kick to the head. Dante’s body tilted, but his head snapped in the blond’s direction, red light gleaming in the depth of his visor. His right hand shot toward Jas, who attempted to dodge, but Dante still caught the leg that the bastard kicked him with.
Slamming his left foot forward, Dante arched his body and swung the man like a rag doll, or he tried to. He felt a sudden pull in a different direction, and Absolute Awareness showed him that his body was bound by several thin threads.
Jas kicked him once more, managing to release himself and quickly retreating. Before he could get away, Dante snapped his fingers. Light flooded the underground theater. As it washed over the ultra-thin spider silk, the Aether running through them scattered into the surroundings, rendering them as brittle as real spider silk.
From the sa position, Dante activated Aether Spear, manifesting a spear of light into his raised palm. The threads restraining him snapped as he continued with the throwing motion, his aim locked on the hostess.
BOOOM
Light flashed through the theater once more, vanishing as fast as it had appeared. As bright particles rained on his surroundings like snow, Dante clicked his tongue.
"Fueee... That was close..."
A large disc dropped to the floor, the sound it created speaking of how heavy it was. Hidden behind it was a man whose bushy brows were the first thing people noticed about him. His face was square-shaped, half of it covered in a well-grood beard and mustache. He appeared to be kneeling at first, hiding his body behind the circular shield, but Absolute Awareness made it clear that he was just a 140-centiter-tall mass of muscles.
’That shield...’
[Your Aether Spear shattered the instant it ca into contact with it,] Volcan replied. [It seems to be an item created specifically for countering Sorcerers.]
Dante stared at the dwarf for a mont before his eyes fell to the floor. He could sense that sothing was covering it currently, though his mind struggled to understand its nature.
In the simplest of terms, it appeared to be an invisible layer coating everything. He could tell it was sorcery, seeing as it was infused with Aether. The problem was that he had just used Aether Distortion, yet the layer seed unaffected.
The dwarf glanced over his shoulder, exchanging a look with the hostess.
"The barrier seems to be intact," She said, smiling while holding her right arm. "And Arts cast inside the body aren’t dispelled."
"I see..." The dwarf returned his gaze forward. "Blocking that spear shaved quite a bit of my mana. Try avoiding them next ti."
The storm raging inside Dante began to recede, weakened by a bad feeling. Soone landed on his right, and another moved to flank him from the left. A third one positioned himself right in front of the dwarf, taking a stance with a strange spear in his hands. In the audience seats, the muscular man whom Volcan scanned earlier was now surrounded by three people, each of them holding a different weapon.
By now, it was impossible to deny. Seven Sorcerers and three Genos, all equipped with weapons that look like they had been taken from a museum. Dante didn’t need his resident AI to finish a valuation. He had walked straight into an ambush, one prepared specifically for him—for Ghost.
Sothing fell from the ceiling and fell into Jas’s hand.
"Let’s get this over with quickly," he held the object to his right leg, and it instantly snapped around his shin. "Make sure he doesn’t switch armor!"
No sooner had he issued the order than his figure blurred. Dante’s perception accelerated, and his arms shot up, blocking the blond man’s kick. As he tilted his body to absorb the blow, the one flanking him from the right puffed out his chest, sucking in a large amount of air. Freeing himself, Dante prepared to face the attack that was about to be thrown at him next, but he failed to anticipate what it might be.
"SCRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
The scream slamd into Dante like a wall, and his vision swayed. Sound vanished the next instant, and Absolute Awareness adjusted, cutting off the auditory data. Volcan’s reaction was quick, but he was still late.
Sothing flashed in the corner of Dante’s eye, and before he could guess what it was, his vision shook once more, this ti from a powerful blow. Everything blurred, and another tremor coursed through his body.
Dante found himself buried in the audience seats, his thoughts in disarray. Only when Absolute Awareness sent a warning through his nervous system did he realize that his perception had returned to normal levels. Enhancing it once more, he saw Jas crouching right above him. The blonde man launched himself like a missile, and if Dante hadn’t rolled out of the way, the bastard would have plunged straight into him.
"SCRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
Though he hadn’t heard it, Dante felt the scream, and his thoughts were thrown into chaos once more. This ti, Dante held up his arms to block. That turned out to be the right decision as he felt another blow, but his position made it difficult to hold his ground.
"SCRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
Just as his back slamd into the wall, Dante sensed the scream once more and couldn’t help but wonder how it was getting through his armor. The chaos rampaging through his mind made it difficult to think, and he barely managed to dodge the blond one’s attacks.
’A Geno!’
The thought was like a beacon in a stormy sea, and as its light spread, Dante’s thought gathered around it. Light exploded from his armor just as he raised his arms to block another kick.
"Tsk!" Jas squinted. "He can do it without snapping!"
He didn’t halt his attack, aiming for where Dante was standing. The kick connected before it should have, making him realize that sothing was off, but it was already too late.
The light from Aether distortion faded, revealing Dante’s form encased in a spherical cocoon, cracks spreading across its translucent surface from the spot where Jas’s kick had landed.
The translucent barrier wasn’t strong enough to block it entirely, but the shin guard on his leg was enhanced with mana, allowing Aether Shield to push against it montarily. That bought only a fraction of a second, but it was all Dante needed to shift his body and pull his fist back.
Force Amplification was already active, and Impact Amplification followed. Jas tried to block, but Dante’s fist struck him like the hamr of a wrathful god. The instant he went flying, Dante turned his attention to the screar.
Besides the man nad Jas, two other Genos were in the underground theater. Both had flanked him earlier, and one of them had used that sound attack. If it were Sorcery, 9-3 would have been able to block it, but as if it were a Geno’s ability, it passed through undisturbed.
Dante didn’t waste any ti trying to understand it and gathered another Aether Spear, flinging it at the screar right away. A round shield appeared in its path, and the spear exploded. Dante moved to gather another one, but felt a tug on his arm as he moved to launch it.
A spider thread had bound it without his notice, and when he glanced at the witch who cast it, he saw the spear wielder charging at him. The screar ca out from behind the dwarf, his chest bulging as he prepared another sound attack.
Dante activated Aether Distortion just so he could use its light as a cover, moving from the spot where he stood. He leaped a few ters to the side, putting himself out of the screar’s range and away from the spear wielder. His target remained the forr, and so he twisted his body, whipping his arm like a sling.
"HALT"
The word pierced Dante’s mind like a burning needle, and his will shattered, leaving him frozen as if ti itself had stopped.
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