Bridget had a look of disbelief on her face as she took in the two swords in his hand and the dead noble who lay bloodied on the ground behind him. “What do you think-”
“Spencer!” The other noble with the greatsword had none of Bridget’s misgivings, he looked between his friend’s corpse and Dante. His face twisting in anger. “Bastard, I’ll kill you!” Without the slightest hesitation, he charged.
Dante began to fill the two swords he created with world essence, pumping as much as he could into the blades as the noble ran at him.
“Stop, you idiot. We can’t kill him.” Bridget’s words had no effect on the noble, and he was thankful for it, he ran to meet the noble’s charge head-on.
The first swing came in from overhead, slicing diagonally to his left shoulder.
He was ready for it. More than ready, he wanted to be attacked. Dante brought up the sword in his right hand, connecting to his opponent’s weapon with a shower of world essence sparks. The noble was strong, far stronger than anyone he had fought aside from sir Andres, and he was only able to marginally change the path of the greatsword’s swing as his sword was knocked away.
But it was enough. Dante ducked under the greatsword and pivoted on his right leg, twisting around and bringing the sword in his left hand down onto the back of the noble’s ankle.
The noble’s Constitution was shocking. He should have sliced straight through the ankle with his world essence filled blade, but it only cut about an inch deep. Still, the strike was crippling. Dante immediately rolled away, putting himself outside of the greatsword’s range, and in a position to watch both Bridget and the noble.
He was relieved to see that she hadn’t made a move yet, he had no delusions of being able to take on both of them at the same time without using Blink, which he was keeping hidden in case he needed to make an escape after the fight.
The noble’s face, which had been twisted in rage, was now contorted in pain. “I’ll fucking kill you.” He tried to limp forward but crumpled down to a kneeling position as soon as he put his weight on the bad ankle.
Dante ignored him, a crippled swordsman was no threat, just someone to be handled at his leisure. He only needed to make sure the noble didn’t surrender.
Dante sneered, then pointed to the noble’s kneeling form with one of his swords. “You don’t seem to be in a position to do so.” Then, to anger him further, Dante gave his full focus to Bridget, completely dismissing the downed noble.
That should keep him from surrendering long enough for me to kill Bridget…
Bridget seemed furious but forced a smile. “Don’t be a fool. We are on the same side, but if you make a mistake now it will cost you your life.”
She was trying to mollify him, but saying that they were on the same side only made him feel angrier.
Bridget didn’t even have a mana shield up, seemingly an easy target as a magic Classification. Dante began to walk toward her, swords at the ready, waiting to block any fireballs she might send at him.
Bridget saw him walking over, and her forced smile disappeared, turning into a sneer. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself.”
He ignored Bridget’s words. Using all of his Agility he dashed toward her until he was only inches away from cutting her with his sword.
Bridget wasn’t fazed in the slightest, she just lazily raised her hand, palm facing out toward him. “Arron, make yourself useful and knock him out. Don’t kill him, or I’ll have you executed.” As soon as she finished saying that a force slammed into him. At first, it just stopped his forward momentum, but then he was blasted through the air.
Damn.
Dante was flying backward. Directly toward Arron, who he hoped would just knock him out instead of killing him like he had tried to do earlier.
He was out of options, there no way he could turn mid-air and immediately defend against Arron’s Strength. He had been saving Blink for an escape, but it wouldn’t matter if he was already captured.
Dante glanced back, Arron had gotten back to his feet and was holding his sword out in a ready position. He disappeared, then reappeared right in front of Arron.
Dante slashed at Arron’s neck, the momentum of Bridget’s attack still aiding him to increase the force of his swing. There was a sickening thunk as his sword cut almost two inches into Arron’s neck, it was like an axe embedding itself in wood.
Dante watched as Arron reached up to feel the sword that was stuck in his neck, relishing the nobles fear and confusion when his hand came away bloodied.
Dante, who was now standing a few feet away after being carried by his earlier momentum, completely ignored Arron. Unless he healed the wound immediately, it would be fatal. And even if he was treated, his chances of living were questionable.
His full attention was now on Bridget, who was watching him in horror.
He now knew two of her skills, and it was unlikely that she had a third, but underestimating her earlier had almost cost him dearly. He checked his mana reserves. Thankfully, he still had a little over 100 Mana left, more than enough to kill a magic Classification without a shield.
Bridget saw him staring at her. Saw the killing intent in his eyes. “Stop!” She held her hands up in surrender. “I-”
He wasn’t sure what she was going to say, because as soon as her hands went up in surrender, he Blinked three times, putting himself directly behind her.
There would be no surrender.
Without hesitating, he brought his sword down and cleaved Bridget’s head from her body.
Dante watched as it tumbled to the ground. He turned to check on Arron, who was now dead from the wound in his neck. He even glanced over to check the perforated noble they had called Spencer.
He didn’t enjoy it like he thought he would, and It didn’t satisfy him like killing Greggory had. Killing Arron, Spencer, and Bridget seemed so… empty. Like there was no purpose.
Dante glanced over at Jaseni and Haden’s corpses. Bridget’s death didn’t mean anything, they were still dead. For a moment he told himself that she wouldn’t be able to treat others like that, but Bridget wasn’t the source of the problem, others would only take her place.
Everything he had just done was meaningless. It was strange though, his desire to fight wasn’t stopped, if anything it was still growing.
“The winner of the platinum rank tournament is team Hope.”
Hearing the moderators voice only worsened his mood. ‘Team’ Hope was just him now.
It may have been meaningless, but I don’t regret anything.
Dante walked to the entrance of the fighting pit, where the same flustered attendant from earlier tried to stop him. “My lord, you must not lea-” Without waiting for the attendant to finish he shoved him to the side.
It was time to leave this Goddess forsaken academy.
* * *
Layla Calman
“What? How long ago?”
Her spymaster waited no time in answering. “Only a few moments ago, I came immediately to relay the news.”
“Damn it!” Layla bashed the desk with her fist. “Are you sure? He just vanished and reappeared in the middle of the fight?”
A completely unknown Classification, and a creation Classification that makes weapons…
Layla was having a hard time controlling her breathing. She thought he might have a second Classification, but three?
The spymaster quickly nodded. “Yes, multiple witnesses confirmed it. We need to act now.”
“Goddess damn it.” Layla rubbed her forehead. “It will be a waste, but we need to act before House Ailloss or Ramotar can make a move for him.” Layla took a deep breath. “Have him captured, alive. I want him collared within the hour.”
Chapter 37
Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 37
As soon as Dante exited the arena, Mia ran up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his combat uniform, pulling him toward her with surprising strength. She looked anxious and spoke quickly. “Did they kn
ow about your Classifications before the fight?”
Dante shook his head. “No.”
Mia grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him through the academy streets. “You need to leave, now. You don’t have time to go back to Housing District 1.”
Mia looked back for confirmation, and Dante nodded. He didn’t need the warning.
“Good, keep your head down, we need to find a way to hide your hair and eyes.” Mia began to lead him down side alleys, furtively glancing behind them every few seconds.
“Keeping my head down won’t help.” He had more than enough experience to prove that.
Mia rolled her eyes. “Obviously, but it’s worth a shot.”
Mia’s attempt to help him drastically improved his mood, but he didn’t want her to get in trouble because of him. “Maybe it would be better if you didn’t help me.”
Mia glared at him, then spoke as if he were an idiot. “How exactly do you think your chances of escaping would be better without me?”
Dante cleared his throat. “That’s not what I meant. Won’t you get in trouble?”
Before he could even react, Mia turned on him and smacked him in the head. Hard. “Do you think that this is a game?” The blow was so hard that he wouldn’t have been able to continue his pace if Mia hadn’t been dragging him along. “If you get caught your life will be over.”
Her words gave him pause. Would they kill him? Or was it something else? It didn’t matter, either way he couldn’t get caught. “Where are we going?”
She answered without hesitation. “You are going to ride in a wagon. It would be almost impossible to run away unseen because of the academy’s geography.”
For a brief second, he focused on the way she said the word ‘you’. Something about it was disappointing, but he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting. He dismissed the thought, the second thing she said was far more important.
He hadn’t even thought that far ahead; his emotions, which were running hot from his fight in the arena, had been clouding his judgment.
Dante took a few deep breaths. Distancing himself from the thoughts of Jaseni, Haden, and Bridget.
The crater that the academy was located in would make escaping far too difficult. He would be in clear sight until he made it outside of the crater, and even then, the area surrounding the academy was mostly flat and open farmlands. Her plan was far better than escaping on foot.
Mia cursed. “They were faster than I thought.” She slowed their pace slightly, moving them into a dense crowd of people, and he was unsure of what she was doing until she yanked him sharply and they disappeared into a side alley that was only large enough for one person to walk through at a time.
“We won’t have time to organize a wagon ride, you’ll need to sneak on one.” The alley she led them down opened up into a wide street. As soon as they walked out, she led them in the opposite direction than they had been heading earlier. “Shit.”
Mia immediately cut back, turning completely around. “I can hold them off for a few minutes, but that’s all the time I can give you. Go straight down this road, there is a trading company at the end. Find a wagon on its way out and stow away on it.” She paused. “Your chances of making it out aren’t good, but I’ll do what I can to stall them.”
It didn’t take him long to find out who she meant by ‘them’. Almost a dozen House Calman guards poured out of the side alleys in front of them. Dante glanced behind them, but the road was already blocked by half a dozen guards. Seeing them, he cursed.
He recognized some of them, they were instructors from his Swordsmanship class.
Don’t tell me all of them are specialized… We’re screwed.
Dante checked each of them, looking for a familiar face. He was relieved when he didn’t find Archie, that would have only made the situation far worse.
“I’ll open a path forward.” Mia glanced at him. “Good luck.”
To his shock, Mia’s hands began to glow with world essence. He had never seen world essence that was so dense and compact, and the speed she was forming it was unreal, and she wasn’t even packing it through a weapon or glove.
Almost as soon as the world essence coalesced around her hands, it began to swirl down to her elbows. Spinning with incredible force.
It was exactly like world essence around Aiden’s spear, but there was two of them, one of each hand, and they were far more powerful.
Without wasting any time, Mia charged forward, and he followed closely behind her. She quickly swept the guards to the side, none of them were even willing to come near her, as soon as she got close to them, they recoiled away. Then tried to attack him when she passed.
Mia was ready for it though. One of the Swordsmanship instructors, the one who got in a fight with Archie on the first day of training, lunged toward him blade first. She didn’t hesitate, slamming her hand into his world essence filled blade, shattering it instantly, and followed through until her hand penetrated the instructor himself.
Dante didn’t stop running when the instructor’s blood splattered across him. The man wasn’t stabbed by Mia’s hand, he was shredded by it.
As soon as they made it past the group of guards, Mia spun on her heels, waiting to block any attackers and allowing him to pass through unmolested.
Dante ran as fast as he could down the road, unwilling to waste a single second that Mia had given him. He pushed forcefully through the crowds, not allowing them to hinder his movement in the slightest.
He was only three blocks away when he heard a hoarse scream come from behind him.
Shit.
It sounded like Haden’s when he was burned alive, except feminine.
Dante hesitated, unsure if he should continue to the wagons or not. If he went back, everything that Mia did would have been for nothing.
But after a few seconds, the screaming didn’t stop, it only became even more hoarse.
Dante let out a deep breath, he knew it would be beyond stupid to go back, but if it was Mia…
He wasn’t sure what he could do if it were her, but for some reason, he needed to check.
Dante looked around, checking to make sure there weren’t any of House Calman’s guards looking, then Blinked up onto the roof of the building next to him. Thankfully the buildings were close enough together that he could run all the way back to where he and Mia split up, jumping across the rooftops and only Blinking when he came to a connecting road.
By the time Dante got to the rooftop that was overlooking the road where he had left Mia, the screaming had turned into guttural moans. Hesitantly, Dante looked over the edge of the roof, doing his best to remain unseen.
Mia was writhing on the ground, back arched, and clawing at her throat while Sir Andres was holding a glowing violet colored orb while standing over her. Surrounding the two of them were almost forty guards, around half of them were armed with bows aimed at Mia. The entire road was soaked in blood and covered in chunks of human flesh. Most likely a result of Mia’s ferocity against the guards before Sir Andres had arrived.
Seeing Mia in pain, Dante’s blood began to boil, and his jaw clenched. But the violet orb in Sir Andres hand made him want to kill… everyone.
Mia had a wraith collar on all this time…
He had seen wraith collars on more than one occasion. Whenever one could be acquired by the head priest in Alazel, it would be sacrificed to the Goddess in a grand ceremony. The violet orb that Sir Andres had used though… That was a wraith leash.
His information on wraith collars and leashes was limited, but he knew enough. He hadn’t thought his opinion of the Calman’s could fall any lower, but this wasn’t ‘almost slavery’ like the mana contracts. This was slavery.
Now he knew what Mia had meant when she said he’d lose his life if he were caught.
Dante controlled his breathing. Regardless of the possible consequences, he needed to find a way to get Mia out.
Sir Andres looked away from Mia, who had finally passed out.
“Where did he go?”
One of the guards answered. “We lost him when he went into the crowds.” The guard pointed down the road that he had just come from.
Sir Andres called to order quickly. “Split up into six units and fan out toward District 7. If you find him use your flares.” He gestured toward Mia. “Tristen, your unit will deal with her, when you get to the garrison, arm the other guards with flares and send them out to search.”
The words made Dante perk up. If Sir Andres took most of the guards, his chances of rescuing Mia would be far greater.
The guards assembled into their units then took off down the street with Sir Andres in the lead.
Six guards stayed to take care of Mia, and four of them were carrying bows. His chances were far better than if he had to deal with Sir Andres, but they still didn’t look good. And if they were going to take Mia the academy’s garrison he would need to act quickly.
One of them picked up Mia and threw her over his shoulder before walking toward the garrison. He was followed carefully by the other five, four of which had arrows knocked.
Dante took a deep breath. Rescuing Mia seemed impossible. It was likely that the guards were specialized, or just shy of specializing. Trying to save Mia would only end poorly.
Yet… he needed to. Just the thought of leaving Mia disgusted him. He didn’t think he would be able to live with himself if he did nothing.
It wasn’t that he owed Mia anything, but… there was no one else. No one who he had ever cared about nearly as much as he cared for her. No one who actually cared about him, and who would risk their wellbeing to help him.
Mia was his first real friend, and her actions proved it. If he needed to die or even be enslaved to protect that, then so be it.
Dante stalked through the rooftops, carefully watching the guards progress below.
Ideally, he would have liked to take his time and pick the perfect moment to move. But the closer they got to the garrison the slimmer his chances of success would be. Dante created a narrow dagger, filling it with world essence and forming an edge.
Dante's Immortality: Beginnings Page 33
