152: Fingers around her heart

Fingers around her heart

Anastasia wanted to tell Dante that it was her, but Magnus had stripped away her capacity to speak, and for some reason, she wasn't able to use her abilities, as if she had none. She even found her lips glued together, and she understood how dangerous the demon of mischief was, with his capabilities ranging from creating false realities to making people assume other's identities. 

Her attempt to use sign language to communicate with him was thwarted as her hands moved, causing the dagger in her hand to rise, giving the impression that she was readying for a fight. 

And although Dante didn't snap his fingers to explode her, it didn't spare her from his anger, and he swiftly unsheathed his daggers. 

'Oh no…' Anastasia uttered in her mind, feeling her heart rate accelerate. 

Driven by urgency to locate Anastasia and find out what condition she was in, Dante had fought and killed every single individual who had obstructed his path, and he now stood ready to finish the last remaining Elder minister involved in her abduction. 

When Dante swiftly moved from the room's entrance to stand directly before her within a blink of an eye, Anastasia realised there was no way to avoid the imminent fight that was set to unfold between them. 

Anastasia raised the dagger gripped in her hand and pulled out the other dagger from its sheath in time to parry her soulmate's attack. The impact of the clash felt like she was pushing back a wall. As she wasn't the one to attack, all she had to do was dodge and find an opening to let him know it was her! Failure to do so would likely mean she would remain alive for no more than a minute. 

The daggers clashed against each other, igniting sparks. On one side stood Anastasia, who had never fought anyone in her life, while on the opposing end stood a seasoned fighter, a man who had killed countless people before crossing paths with her. 

Magnus, who had disappeared from the room, chuckled and remarked, "How wonderful will it be when you realise that the person you killed is none other than the woman you love?"

The dagger swept towards her face, and Anastasia marvelled at her ability to keep up with its pace, making her wonder whether this skill was a remnant from her past life. Her eyes watched the dagger move as if in slow motion as it drew near her, and in response, she swiftly evaded by leaping aside. At one point, Dante's sharp dagger struck the very spot on the wall she moved away from, yet he persisted, advancing towards her with an inhuman speed. 

"Where is Anastasia?" Dante demanded, his voice gruff and his clothes covered with bloodstains from the lives he had taken beyond these walls. 

When Anastasia went to move her hand, a light materialised, directed at Dante. T—That wasn't her doing. The ability didn't belong to her but to the deceased minister, whose body was being manipulated by Magnus. She contemplated whether surrendering would catch Dante's attention. But the moment her daggers dropped from her hands and she moved her hands in an attempt to sign, it failed to deter him. 

BOOM! 

A breach formed in one of the walls, stirring up dust and momentarily obscuring their vision. 

Magnus's lips widened into a devious grin, and his eyes sparkled in anticipation. Leaning forward, he enjoyed the spectacle while he waited to see how long the woman would hold her defensive stance before attacking Dante. 

The demon of mischief had long waited for this day, seeing it as an opportunity to get his way without getting his own hands dirty. Because Dante would be the one to do it himself, personally infusing the fae's energy and power source into the awaiting pillar, causing it to ignite and pierce the sky. 

With anticipation, Magnus eagerly listened to the sound of clashing daggers filling the room. He observed Anastasia, who wore the Elder minister's appearance, being thrown to the ground. Anastasia looked like she was having difficulty rising to her feet, and simultaneously, Dante came to stand before her. In a swift motion, he picked her up by her collar, causing her eyes to widen in response. 

"That's enough games," Dante said. He lifted his hand while the minister in his grip struggled to free himself. 

The next moment, Dante's fingers plunged directly into the Elder minister's chest, his hand sinking deep to seize the heart. The minister's face registered shock as he looked downward at the demon's hand within his chest, coughing out blood that splattered onto Dante's hand. 

Gradually, the Elder minister's features morphed into Anastasia's, and Dante's eyes widened upon seeing her lips covered in blood. Shocked, he instinctively pulled his hand out of her chest, but this only resulted in intensifying her anguish, and her body trembled as she continued to cough out more blood. 

Before Anastasia's body could fall to the ground, Dante quickly caught her, his arm encircling her back while his other hand cradled the back of her head. Her eyes welled up with tears while she moved her lips, as if attempting to say something to him. 

"Anastasia…!" Dante called her name, desperation tinging his voice, and simultaneously, she lifted her hand to touch his face. 

However, Anastasia's hand didn't linger for long, as her body rapidly lost strength, becoming limp. And while Dante continued to cradle her, Magnus finally stepped away from the wall and remarked, 

"Tch, poor woman. She had to face your wrath and hate, which still reside within you." He came to stand a few steps away from them. "She believed you wouldn't kill her, but you did anyway," he added with a pitying click of his tongue. "Now, it's time to throw her into the pil—"

Magnus's words were interrupted by Dante, who had gently placed Anastasia's head on the floor and launched a punch at the demon of mischief. However, Magnus evaded the blow, causing the punch to meet the wall behind him. A wide hole appeared to reveal the setting sun against the orange-red sky, almost as if reflecting Dante's fury. 

Dante and Magnus tumbled out of the building, entangled in close combat. The smaller structures in the vicinity promptly shattered and collapsed under the force of the demons' blows and kicks, their powers pushed to their limits. 

The people, who had wisely refrained from fighting Dante, retreated as far away as they could. In some cases, some even packed their belongings and left Nightworth altogether. Because wherever the two demons moved, they left a trail of destruction in their wake. 

Magnus didn't hold back in his battles, and the more Dante's strength increased, the more excited he got. He lifted his leg to execute a kick, but Dante blocked with his hand and caught hold of Magnus's leg. But the demon of mischief managed to use it to his advantage, using his leg as a step to deliver a kick with his other leg. 

Dante managed to dodge the kick, instead driving his claws deep into Magnus's leg and tearing through the flesh.

"ARGH!" Magnus growled, feeling the demon's claws sink in. He surged forward to launch an attack on Dante, saying, "You and I were supposed to conquer the living realm, Dante. Have you forgotten?"

"I never agreed to it, you deranged scum." Dante drove a kick into the demon's stomach.

But Magnus was no less adept at wielding power and strength; he swiftly regained his footing. Raising his hand, a circle of concentric rings materialised from it, aimed at his adversary. The rings vibrated, moving like the wind, and anything they made contact with was reduced to dust. When they touched Dante, his clothes were shredded as if countless swords sliced through him in a split second, leaving him with multiple cuts. 

Dante raised his hands, and a single snap shattered the ground as if it were experiencing an earthquake. He questioned Magnus, "You think Viktor will simply stand by and watch you create another hell?" 

"He's not here, so he should be fine, and he's growing weaker. Why do you think he hasn't stepped into the living realm even once?" Magnus chuckled, his eyes glowing red, and he said, "Every ounce of energy that you expend is being absorbed for my own use. If you work with me, we will conquer every realm, Dante. Why waste energy when you can put it to better use? We can even retrieve Anastasia's soul from Heaven. What do you say?" 

Dante moved quickly, and in the next second, his hands unleashed a barrage of strikes on Magnus, who tried to shield himself and retaliate in kind. Just as Dante was about to land another blow, the demon vanished from his front, reappearing behind him and swinging an iron rod aimed at him, striking his head. 

However, being a demon, Dante's head didn't detach from his body; instead, he flew into one of the trees, which fractured into two halves upon impact. 

"Looks like your answer is no. How unfortunate, I was going to make you my second-in-command." Magnus spat blood onto the ground. 

A chuckle escaped from Dante's lips, and he pushed himself to stand upright. He remarked, "Unlike you, I'm not inclined to board a ship that is bound to sink."

Magnus's eyes narrowed, and his fists ploughed at Dante, hitting him and trapping him within a conjured circle. He said with a sneer, "Why don't you go ahead and take a seat aboard the ship you believe will set sail, while I use the fae's spirit force to shape the world as it deserves to be? Even if you intend to bring her back, without a body, there's no place to house her soul." An evil smile appeared on his lips. 

Black wings sprouted from Magnus's back, and he flew back to the tower, where the translucent pillar awaited him. As he departed, he left Dante trapped in a maze of false reality, a place where every path he took led him to the very spot he started from. 

Upon returning to the tower, Magnus's eyes fell on Anastasia, still lying on the cold, dusty floor. He approached her lifeless form and grabbed her hand before dragging her body towards the translucent pillar. Opening its door, he lifted and placed her inside its spacious interior. 

"Watch me make my world now," Magnus declared, raising his hand and pointing his finger towards the sky. He yelled, "In the presence of the fae's power and the departed souls, I now sacrifice the living as an offering to shape the realm of the deceased!"

The remaining inhabitants of Nightworth erupted into a chorus of screams as their bodies began to disintegrate and wither in the air, offered as sacrifices to Magnus's grand scheme. Some attempted to flee towards the borders in a desperate attempt to escape the unexpected onslaught of death, but swift-moving shadows swiftly snatched their lives away. 

"AHHH!!!" The people screamed with every life claimed for the sacrificial ritual until their shouts and panic gradually subsided as the death toll escalated. 

Magnus erupted into maniacal laughter as he observed the darkness filling the translucent pillar, and as he muttered incantations, a dark light shot into the sky, creating black clouds that started to spread from the tower's zenith. The clouds carried bolts of lightning within them, ready to smite as they growled. 

The translucent pillar began to vibrate, and Magnus heard something crack behind him. 

It was Dante, who had made it atop the structure, bloodied and battered as he watched the pillar emit malevolent energy into the world of the living. 

"Look how stunning the world is turning out to be!" Magnus shouted loudly over the vibrations. "You took a wrong turn, Dante."

Dante wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, his expression darker than the clouds filling the sky, yet his eyes were calm. He asked him, "Are you sure about that? You should take another look at the pillar."

Magnus's eyes narrowed, and he turned to see the pillar continuing to vibrate, but it had started to crack, and the intensity of the darkness emitting into the sky began to diminish. Despite the demon of mischief having no hand in making them fade away, the smoke-like clouds started to dissipate. The Elder minister, Alrad, was soon seen inside the pillar, and the demon's eyes widened in surprise.

"…?!" Magnus gritted his teeth and snapped his eyes towards Dante. 

"You must be wondering where Anastasia is, when you put her in there yourself and the pillar is broken," Dante remarked coolly.

The plume of smoke in the sky faded away, and the translucent pillar ceased vibrating. Magnus seethed in anger, his hands shaking, ready to end the demon who had thwarted his plan. He laughed briefly before anger returned to his face, and he inquired, 

"So you stole her body in time so that I couldn't use it?" 

While the two demons stared at each other, the sound of soft footsteps reached their ears, and Magnus frowned, turning his head to see Anastasia step into his view before she came to stand next to Dante, leaving him shocked. 

One corner of Dante's lips curled upwards, and he questioned Magnus, "Did you think you were the only one with tricks?" 

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