Chapter 270 : Hellish Battle
Holding Lucifer's head, Dante looked directly into his eyes, his aura growing infinitely, destabilizing the entire dimension. His fury was palpable, a force that threatened to destroy everything around him.
"You could have attacked everyone in the world," Dante said, tightening his grip on the demon's head that resisted firmly. After all, he was facing Lucifer, not just any demon like Asmodeus.
"But you…" he murmured while lifting Lucifer by his hair. "Chose."
With a swift motion, Dante slammed Lucifer's head into the throne.
KABOOMMMM!
The whole place shook with the impact, Lucifer's head completely destroying the throne and creating a crater. The ground crumbled, revealing even deeper abysses of darkness and flames.
"My wife!" Dante shouted, releasing his aura throughout the place, destabilizing the other demon kings.
Lucifer, even in his pain, let out a wicked smile as blood dripped from his head. "Do you think this is enough to stop me, Dante?" he mocked, his demonic power radiating in waves.
"Attack him," Lucifer ordered as the other demon kings began to rise. "Weakened..." Dante murmured, watching the demons get up.
"Baal, Baleth, Purson, Vine, Balam, Zagan, and Belial," Dante listed with a smile, although he didn't care about them. Who he really wanted was someone else. "Astaroth," Dante said in a dark tone, fixing his eyes on a specific point.
The Demon Kings quickly surrounded him, forming a containment circle that made Dante only laugh. Astaroth, however, seemed more cautious, watching Dante with eyes that reflected both curiosity and precaution.
But Dante... despite laughing, he was not joking, his hands began to radiate a sinister aura, and a shower of black flames started to fall from them, enveloping his black armor like a protective aura. Brandishing Rebellion, also bathed in flames, he said, "Not going to attack? Children," releasing a terrifying aura of demonic energy.
Baal was the first to attack, letting out a fierce roar as infernal flames erupted from his hands. "Burn, intruder!" he shouted, his flames slithering toward Dante.
Dante raised his hand, absorbing the flames with the black energy of Amaterasu. "You'll have to do better than that, Baal," he retorted, after all, this Baal seemed very much like his old companion from past lives, then throwing back a jet of black fire that engulfed Baal, forcing him to retreat.
Baleth and Purson attacked together, Baleth invoking lightning that tore through the air and Purson conjuring a storm of poison. "Let's see if you can handle this!" Baleth shouted, his eyes gleaming with malice.
Dante raised an energy barrier, deflecting the attacks. "You are pathetic," he said, his voice laden with contempt. With a fluid motion, he launched a wave of energy that threw Baleth and Purson back, knocking them to the ground.
Vine emerged from the shadows, trying to surprise Dante with a stealth attack. "I'll rip your soul out, you damned!" he shouted, his claws glowing with dark energy.
Dante turned quickly, grabbing Vine's arm and breaking it with a brutal move. "You are nothing but an insignificant shadow," he declared, hurling Vine against a wall with such force that the stone shattered.
Balam, Zagan, and Belial advanced together, combining their forces in a devastating attack. "Stop underestimating us!" Belial roared, his voice echoing like thunder.
Dante smiled, feeling the adrenaline of the battle. "Come all at once," he challenged, concentrating the energy in his hands. With a battle cry, he released an explosion that engulfed the three demons, their bodies being thrown like burnt rags against the walls of Lucifer's castle.
Astaroth watched calmly, her eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation. She knew Dante was no ordinary opponent and could not be faced here. "You are powerful, but you are alone," she said, her voice firm.
Dante turned his gaze to her, a fierce glint in his eyes. "Alone, but not powerless. Besides... it's very ugly to steal your friends' powers, don't you think?" he replied, advancing towards Astaroth. "Let's end this."
Dante had noticed something... Were these Demon Kings really that pathetic? It was seven against one in a dimension where even the gravity was much greater than what he was used to. "She was draining their energy..." Dante concluded. The Demon Kings were weaker, but she... "She must be almost at Lucifer's level..." Dante murmured as he advanced.
Astaroth raised her hands, invoking an ancient magic that made the ground tremble. "Feel the wrath of the ancients!" she shouted, launching a devastating wave of energy.
Dante resisted the impact, his black wings extending as he advanced. "My sword is older than any magic you can conjure," he said, his voice cutting through the air as his strike nullified her magic.
"Return to your grave," Dante said, slashing Astaroth's chest, sending her flying and breaking part of the castle walls.
"Ugh," he gasped in exhaustion. He was using half of his energy to remain in hell and the other half to fight, all while holding the energy of the World Tree within his body. Dante was surrounded by the fallen bodies of the Demon Kings; they weren't dead, but all were unconscious.
Suddenly, a chilling sensation ran down his spine, a premonition that came too late. Before he could react, an icy hand pierced his back, impaling his heart with cruel precision.
"Thought you were done with me, Dante?" Lucifer's voice whispered in his ear, dripping with venom and triumph.
Dante gasped, blood dripping from his mouth as he felt life rapidly slipping away. But on his face... a chilling smile. The pain was unbearable, an agony surpassing anything he had ever experienced. He looked down, seeing Lucifer's hand piercing his chest, holding his pulsating heart.
But he never stopped smiling, as if... he had anticipated this. "You bastard..." Dante managed to murmur, his strength beginning to wane, or so Lucifer thought.
Lucifer laughed, a cold and inhuman sound. "You underestimated me, Dante. I am eternal. Your fight ends here."
The Demon Kings, though injured, began to rise again, their demonic laughter echoing through the ruined hall. Astaroth, still cautious, watched closely, a glint of triumph in her eyes but she could not see Dante's smile...
A demonic grin passed through Astaroth's eyes, and she quickly shouted, "GET AWAY!" But Lucifer had no time to react. Dante grabbed Lucifer's arm, pulling it with force and tearing it through the other side of his body. Dante's energy exploded from his body, creating a wave of destruction that forced Lucifer to retreat without one of his arms.
Lucifer was thrown back, an expression of surprise and rage on his face. "Impossible!" he roared, trying to stabilize himself.
Dante, staggering but resolute, rose with Lucifer's arm in his hand... "It's good to hold this; it's even funny," Dante said, letting one of Cerberus's mouths swallow it. The wound on his chest glowed with a black light as demonic energy began to heal it slowly. "I couldn't kill you anyway now, Lucifer," he said, his voice laden with renewed strength.
"This is all just a game." He revealed, his body completely healed, even without a heart. "How are you alive! You're a Vampire!" Lucifer shouted, and Dante's smile widened as he pointed to his chest. "Seven Hearts," Dante said. It was one of the things he had, just like a Demon King, seven hearts.
"Did you forget who I am? I am the Emperor of this world. If you want something from me, kneel." Dante said, and they fell again.
"Enough." A woman's voice emerged in the environment. "I was looking for you, filthy bitch." Dante said, seeing a woman with purple hair and red skin. She wore a red outfit and long demonic wings, a kind of red dress that perfectly matched her seductive body and her black eyes with two rubies. "Qliphoth," Dante said, seeing her in a humanoid demonic form.
"Progenitor," she said, looking faithfully into his eyes, trying to read him... but she... couldn't...
"An intruder from another world," she said, looking at Dante. "You're not completely wrong, but we both know that if I were an intruder, the Progenitor's abilities wouldn't be activating like this," Dante replied, almost challenging her.
"You..." Qliphoth looked at the man who seemed to have never feared anything. He stood before the strongest entity in Hell, the sustainer of the dimension, and he was just challenging her without hesitation. "Leave," she ordered, but Dante's expression changed completely. "Leave?" he questioned.
"After invading my world, hurting my wife, destroying parts of the planet of my other wife, and after all this crap, you tell me to leave?" Qliphoth heard those insinuations and when she heard "the planet of my other wife," she froze.
"You... you married my sister?" she stammered, incredulous at his declaration, but before he could respond, several chains appeared out of thin air, binding Dante's legs with crushing force. "Ah~ what a shame... seems I used too much energy to heal my heart," Dante said, casting a defiant glance at Lucifer. "I'll be back in a few years... hope your plans are still in motion."
The chains began to lift Dante, raising him to Qliphoth's height, who was still trying to process what he had said. "Hey, Qliphoth," Dante called, his hands now chained but still able to move. A wave of brutal demonic energy formed in his palm.
"My power..." Qliphoth murmured, feeling the familiarity of the energy Dante held.
"Take it back," Dante said, throwing the energy towards Qliphoth's true body, the enormous tree with a giant eye.
"NO!" Qliphoth screamed, flying at super speed to block the attack, but it was too late. The energy collided with the tree, causing massive damage that made the entire underworld tremble.
The impact was devastating, cracks spreading through the trunk of the demonic tree, the giant eye blinking frantically as the energy destroyed its internal structures. The ground around began to give way, forming chasms that swallowed everything in their path.
Qliphoth, desperate, tried to use her own forces to contain the damage, but the power released by Dante was overwhelming. "Damn you! You destroyed part of my body!" she screamed, her body trembling with rage and pain.
Dante, suspended in the air by the chains, watched with a satisfied smile. "This is your punishment, you bitch," he declared, his voice full of determination. "This is just the beginning, I'll be back." The huge gate began to appear, pulling Dante towards it.
Lucifer advanced, fury burning in his eyes. "You will pay for this, Dante!" he roared, preparing to launch a final attack.
"We'll see each other soon, Lucifer," Dante said, his figure starting to disappear into a whirlpool of shadows from the portal. "Enjoy your time."
These were the last words Lucifer heard before Dante's mortal body vanished from Hell.
Qliphoth looked at her tree and with one hand began to heal it. "Sister... why?..." she murmured.