Shigeo hunched over the bomb, sweat pouring down his face. His fingers trembled ever so slightly, but his gaze was locked in.
— "I hate this kind of job… I'm no expert in explosives, you know."
— "And yet you're the only one who knows just enough to keep us from getting blown to hell."
Behind him, Dante kept watch, his eyes scanning. Then—a faint crackling, followed by footsteps.
A lean silhouette emerged from the corridor, flames licking at his feet like a malevolent will-o'-the-wisp.
The man looked like a nightmare come alive—bare-chested, scars crisscrossing his skin, black pants torn to shreds, and eyes blazing with sadistic delight.
— "Well well… what do we have here? A pair of cockroaches playing heroes?"
Dante didn't flinch.
— "That outfit of yours… what, did you dig it out of a dumpster?"
The pyromaniac burst out laughing.
— "Aaah, I love when they talk back! But it's too late for apologies now, sweetheart."
A torrent of fire erupted from his palm, ripping through the ceiling like paper. Shigeo jolted but didn't move. The bomb couldn't wait.
Dante stepped forward, eyes dark and focused.
— "Perfect. I was just in the mood to try something new."
He pulled out a playing card glowing with a red aura—the Joker card, stolen from Lady Baccarat.
— "Ludicrous Luck…"
— "That's your technique name? What a joke." the pyromaniac sneered.
But as he flung another spiraling jet of fire, it recoiled—twisting mid-air and slamming back into him.
In an instant, he was engulfed—his own flames devouring him.
— "WHAT?! NOOOO—"
He collapsed in a shriek, consumed by his own madness.
Shigeo's eyes widened.
— "D-Did you just… kill him?!"
Dante slid the card back into his pocket, turning around.
— "It was him or us. Let's move. There are more bombs."
---
A few minutes later, they reached the girls' car.
Most of them huddled together, terrified—some injured. Dante and Shigeo led them to a safer spot.
At the far end, a door stood shut, defiant.
Dante stepped up and knocked once. No answer. He stepped back and kicked.
The door shattered inward. Inside, Johanna sat astride another girl, sweat-soaked and disheveled, fists raised.
— "Wait! I'm not an imposter! She tried to kill me in my sleep!"
---
Later, the girl tied to the bed was regaining consciousness.
She sniffled, face bruised, tears streaking her cheeks.
Dante sat at the edge of the bed, his voice firm.
— "Who are you? Who sent you?"
— "I… I'm sorry… I didn't want this… My name is Zara. They—they have my little sister. They forced me to sneak onto the train at the Lytherian stop… Said they'd kill her if I didn't cooperate…"
Johanna stepped back, her hands trembling.
— "By Mother Malenia… what the hell is this?"
Zara sobbed harder.
— "They all had a mark… an X, burned into their skin. The leader—I never saw him. But his voice alone… it was crushing. There's another guy too, green eyes like emeralds. They called him… Cain."
Johanna nearly choked.
— "What kind of monster forces kids to kill?!"
— "I saw a documentary once… with my grandpa… Lytheria's not like the rest of the world…" Shigeo said, voice soft, trying to join in.
Dante's expression darkened.
— "The kind of monster who slaughters his own family and manipulates people like pawns."
A faint metallic ringing reached his ears. He moved quickly, eyes scanning.
— "Clairvoyance."
His eye glowed briefly—then he saw it. A small bomb, lodged in Zara's clavicle.
— "She's rigged. Right there."
Without hesitation, Shigeo stepped forward, digging into his pouch. He exhaled, then began defusing the device.
Zara trembled.
— "I didn't… I didn't want to… I'm sorry… I had no choice…"
Shigeo's voice was calm, steady:
— "Well, now you do. I'm getting this crap out of you."
Dante added, more softly now:
— "You're going to the police. It's too dangerous to leave you free. Don't worry, no one's going to hurt you now. But if you'd actually killed the saint… things would've ended very differently. Still… if your sister's alive, I swear I'll find her."
Zara sobbed quietly, nodding. Seeing her sincerity, Dante untied her restraints.
Grateful, free at last, she threw her arms around Johanna. Johanna, surprised at first, let herself go, smiling slightly.
Then—suddenly—the entire cabin was hurled into the air, a massive gravitational force ripping it off the tracks.
— "WHAT THE HELL?!" Shigeo shouted.
Everything blurred. Luggage flew. The cabin twisted, spinning mid-air.
Dante tried to summon his energy—nothing. Then, he felt it: his soul-link weakening. Ginny. She was… hurt?
— "Please work…" Shigeo muttered, tossing a metal box.
As the cabin plummeted, a floating metallic disc materialized beneath them—one of Shigeo's inventions. Unstable, clunky—but it broke the fall.
Water splashed everywhere. The cabin slammed down, taking suitcases and memories with it.
— "That was way too close…" Johanna gasped.
Dante stared ahead, frozen. On a shattered platform, a battle raged.
But he saw only one thing.
A cushion. Odd in this chaotic wreckage. And on that cushion… a figure.
Tiny, fragile, wings folded, pajamas soaked in red.
Ginny.
She wasn't moving. Might not even be breathing.
Her blood dyed the cushion—a final painting. The end of Dante's world.
His chest tightened. Pupils dilated. Something inside him… cracked.
Nearby, a young man stood facing a mutant attacker, fists raised. But Dante didn't see him. His eyes locked on Ginny's still body. On her silence.
And then… the memories came rushing back.
Another time. Another life.
Ginny, on the ground. Again. Another death. Another loss.
His breath became ragged, his throat burned, his skin crawled. Voices whispered, not memories, inner voices.
— "They took her. Just like the others. Let go, Dante… You know what must be done…"
— "There's no saving them. Or her. DESTROY. DESTROY THEM ALL."
His fingers trembled, his hand turned red. Long claws slowly extended.
He wanted to scream, to shatter, to burn it all down. Scorch the sky if he had to. The world had already taken too much.
But then—a soft hand on his shoulder.
Dante flinched. He turned slowly, like waking from a nightmare.
Johanna.
Standing tall, radiant in armor. Her hand steady on him. She said nothing. She didn't have to. Her aura said it all.
Then—another hand. On his other shoulder.
Shigeo.
The nerd, the coward, glasses cracked. But right now, he held firm. Lips trembling—but his eyes ? Burning with this fire called courage.
— "Let us handle this." Johanna said gently.
— "You're not alone, dumbass." Shigeo added, voice rough but real.
Dante's throat tightened. He looked at each of them. Then up, to the swirling storm clouds.
He inhaled deeply. The rage—still boiling. But now… it had direction.
He nodded slowly.
— "Damn kids…" he muttered, emotion cracking his voice. "Fine. We do this together."
He glanced back at Ginny, still unmoving on the distant floating cushion. His heart thundered.
— "Until backup arrives… we do not fail."
Johanna drew her weapon. Shigeo activated a mechanism on his right glove—his boots became thrusters. Dante stood, finally unsheathing Reaper, the soul-eater.
No one needed to speak. They all knew the plan.
Three silhouettes, standing tall against the chaos. And this time… Soo Jin wasn't alone.
— "Let's end this."