138: Hidden relation (1)

Hidden relation (1)

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—

Anastasia couldn't believe that there was a demoness that they knew from the mortal world. But the woman managed to evade any suspicions and vanished following the conclusion of Lady Sophia's birthday celebration.

A sinister chuckle escaped from Viktor at the sight before him, and he remarked, "How unfortunate, Amara. To have pined for the executioner and yet remain unable to have him in either the realm of the living or the dead."

The demoness's face soured in response to the Devil's words, and she retorted, "It is only a matter of time before doom befalls," her words carrying an underlying meaning. Having ventured into the living realm to bind the archdemon to her, she said, "I would have accomplished it had I not been summoned back here."

Dante paid no attention to the lowly demoness, and he placed his hand on Anastasia's back before gently nudging her out of the place. Once they exited the Devil's tower, she inquired,

"Did you know about her?"

"Not until I awakened," Dante replied as they walked away. "There are a handful of demons who were sent to the living world, either to observe or to tempt souls into sin, leading them here. Amara has attempted her advances on me, but I have never held any interest in her."

"Your popularity seems to span across all realms," Anastasia murmured before a faint smile graced her lips.

Dante's hand shifted from her back to gently clasp her hand. He said, "There is no need to feel threatened by Amara. She's well aware not to cross me, or Viktor, for that matter, as you have been acknowledged as my woman. The one and only one for me. My eyes and every other sense are devoted to you."

Anastasia noticed how some creatures crawled along the ground or lurked behind the skeletal trees, yet none dared to approach them. They seemed to harbour a fear of Dante and what he could do to them. A few of the lesser demons scurried away from the scene.

"You didn't bring me here solely to meet the Devil, did you?" Anastasia asked, her gaze shifting to his handsome face, where his demon features were still on display.

"It is a combination of different factors," Dante responded as they travelled a little bit further, and Anastasia began to feel a change in the temperature. He explained, "With Magnus lurking around, I didn't want to leave you behind. It was wiser to remove Viktor from the equation, rather than risking him bringing you here."

"Like kidnapping me?" Anastasia asked before the realisation slowly dawned on her mind, and she said, "Killing me."

Dante affirmed with a nod, "You and I are the first of our kinds bound by a soulmate connection on this side of the world, where darkness and sin thrive without end. Because of my position, the devil wouldn't want anyone disrupting the balance. There's also another reason."

Anastasia wondered what it was, as Dante wasn't quick to reveal it. She then heard him continue, "Your soul is purer than the water that springs from the ground. Just like Viktor said, no fae's soul has ever crossed into Hell, or, as you know it, the underworld. And though I won't allow anything bad to happen to you, if such an event were to occur, it would be better to corrupt you just enough to ensure you will return here… where I can reclaim you and bring you back to my side, rather than a place where you'd be lost from my sight forever."

So this was a precaution, Anastasia thought to herself. Dante was making sure to safeguard against any potential harm that might arise in the future. Curious, she asked him, "How long does it take for a soul to become corrupted?"

"It has already begun," Dante remarked, causing Anastasia's eyes to widen. "The emptiness you felt earlier, before the potion took effect, was the essence of this place seeping into you."

Then that meant her soul wouldn't depart from Hell if she were to die. She was condemned for eternity. She stated, "We will never be apart."

"Never again," Dante vowed to her, and he meant to uphold that promise at any cost. After years of searching, he had finally found Anastasia, and he wasn't going to let her slip through his fingers again.

As they continued to walk further, Anastasia eventually grasped the reason behind the escalating heat with every step she took. She saw the skeletal trees engulfed in a fiery blaze, and vast portions of the land were covered in pits of fire, accompanied by the cacophony of agonised screams echoing in her ears.

"Does this look enough like hell to you?" Dante asked, a faint curl forming on one corner of his lips as he observed Anastasia taking in the surroundings.

The combination of the screams and the eerie atmosphere created a deeply unsettling feeling within Anastasia, urging her to flee from the place. She heard him say,

"Long ago, the entire place was consumed by flames, but over time, the towers where Viktor resides have gradually cooled and transformed the land into desolation."

"Are we here to sightsee?" Anastasia asked Dante, moving closer to him when she caught sight of a creature with a decayed lower face. "I don't think I will ever complain about the desert again," she murmured. As if recollecting something, she said, "Why did you tell Viktor that I was the one who cursed you?"

"Because it was you." Dante stared back at her as the flames continued to rage around them. "Your memories from the past haven't returned yet, but I am hoping that our visit to one of the cellmates here might trigger them."

Anastasia's eyebrows furrowed in question, and she wondered out loud, "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" She still had a hard time wrapping her head around the idea because, up until now, she had been the woman who had chased after freedom… not a demon.

"You weren't ready to know, not until you confronted the truth in the lair," Dante stated as they resumed walking.

Anastasia saw Dante raise his hand, and as he moved it to the side, the flames obediently parted to create a path for them. He said to her, "You died the night you cursed me, your soul moving in time with mine, until I was reborn into the Blackthorn family. However, our destinies had been entwined long before that, back when I was an earthling."

A wave of discomfort settled in her stomach, and she voiced her unease, "I am not that woman, am I?… The one who stabbed you to death?"

"You are…" Dante's reply hung in the air, the weight of his words causing Anastasia's face to drain of colour. But he continued, "You are related to her."

Anastasia didn't like this portion of the revelation, and it made her uncomfortable. Moreover, the fact that Dante had slain the entire family of that woman added to her discomfort; there was no way he would have spared her life. As they approached a structure that resembled buildings in the living world, which was wide and expansive, she asked,

"Were we related to each other? I mean, did we know each other?"

"Yes. You were a close acquaintance. A friend," Dante responded as they entered the building, the air slightly stifling due to the surrounding heat. "You were her sister."

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