SLASH!
Beatrice's eyes widened as she felt someone approaching her.
A familiar white-haired boy appeared out of nowhere and swung the sword that was on the ground. She barely moved her stomach, but the blade still made a deep cut on her right side.
At the same time, a dark blade burst out of the underside of Dante's forearm.
With her eyes wide in terror, the blade extended until it pierced her shoulder.
That was the second form of Dante's relic — the Arm Blade!
Without the need for a hilt, it could burst from any side of his forearm, acting as a hidden blade that was perfect for surprise attacks!
"Arghh!" Beatrice roared as she held one of her axes and cut her own arm, running away from Dante's grip.
She wouldn't have done that if her situation wasn't desperate.
'What the hell is this blade design!!'
Dante's blade had thin, sharp needles along its edges, giving it the look of centipede legs. The needles were curled backward, ensuring that once the blade pierced flesh, its victim wouldn't pull free easily.
It reflected the sword's greedy nature of not letting its prey go.
That was a mechanism that Dante didn't use earlier because it was more useful in thrusting rather than slicing and slashing. But when he got his chance, he didn't hesitate to use it.
Beatrice coated her body in flames. Then using her great mana control and comprehension over Fire Aspect, she formed an arm of fire and stopped her bleeding.
Fafnir stood in front of Dante, holding his sword firmly to protect him. While Dante stared at Beatrice's arm in a daze.
Until now, the monsters he killed were all skeletons and shadows, without a trace of humanity in them, but this?
'Blood…'
A dark memory flashed in his mind, but he gritted his teeth and threw that arm aside. This wasn't the time for hesitation.
'It was her fault for harming me back then, and this woman will follow her for the same reason!'
Dante's sword finally left his arm and manifested completely into the first form. He held it gracefully and waited for Beatrice to move.
Beatrice looked at them with terror filling her eyes: 'I should run. The traps will slow them down.'
Without hesitation, Beatrice coated her axes in fire and threw them spinning toward Dante and Fafnir before running to the marble path.
Seeing the axes, Dante hesitated for a moment, remembering what those axes did for him even when he used a mana shield.
'No, I'm not the same as before.'
Dante infused his sword with demonic energy and performed a downward slash, snapping the axe's edge and throwing it away.
Dante's sword was able to cut a rusty sword like cutting paper when Dante was weak and without using demonic energy. Now, it grew after Dante's spirit increased, and he used his demonic energy in addition to that.
Fafnir also managed to block the axe, but unlike Dante, he had to use both mana and demonic energy. He had only half of Dante's stats and a normal sword
Instantly, Dante shifted his gaze toward the barbarian and started running after her, slowing a bit to dodge all the traps. Then, he aimed his index finger at her, while Fafnir aimed his palm.
Demonic Misfortune Spell — Demonic Jinx!
Demonic Shadow Spell — Demonic Shadow Bolt!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Beatrice's misfortune increased and a strange blood-red color deepened on her Wheel of Luck. Simultaneously, Dante shot three bolts at her.
"Listen to my calling and obey — FireBarrier!"
Crack!
Beatrice faced the bolts and cast three fire barriers. All the barriers shattered, but she survived without a scratch.
Dante noticed that her flames were countering the shadows, so he decided to not use Shadow Aspect again.
Then all of a sudden…
Click!
"Eh?"
Beatrice was unlucky enough to press on a trap she didn't notice.
Out of nowhere, three poisonous arrows hit her back. Her flaming skin burned the poison, but the arrows still affected her and slowed her down.
Seizing the opportunity, Dante charged his sword.
Sword Ability — Abyssal Slash!
Beatrice felt an attack coming toward her. She made a small burst of flames under herself to jump higher, but the abyssal slash severed her legs.
"AHHHH!"
Thud
Beatrice fell on the ground, but she didn't give up. She crawled.
Using her hands, her elbows, her knees, her chin and her entire body, she crawled.
All of a sudden, Dante kicked her injured side, forcing her to face him.
She suddenly opened her palms and aimed at him.
"O flam—!"
Slash!
Before she could complete her casting, Dante coldly sliced her arms into pieces.
Beatrice screamed, feeling a pain she had never felt before.
'No, I can't die here…'
She was just a normal huntress and a proud mother who had a talented son. Why did she have to let greed consume her?
She looked up at Dante and begged: "P-please don't kill me. I'll do anything! I'm sorry for attacking the dragon boy, I was just a fool who thought she c-could provoke a mighty dragon. Forgive me… please."
Dante's anger only increased upon hearing her.
'You fucking bitch!'
He gritted his teeth until Beatrice could hear them, then he made Fafnir turn into a shadow.
Beatrice didn't understand the bond between them, but seeing Fafnir turning into Dante's shadow made her realize they were very close.
Seeing Dante raise his sword, she trembled and begged again: "I-I have a family, I'm a mother! Please don't do that! My son is too young, he doesn't deserve to… become an orphan."
Dante's sword suddenly stopped, one word left his mouth: "Orphan?"
He didn't know too much about this world, but he knew the feeling of living as an orphan.
He didn't wish to make anyone an orphan. He didn't want to make anyone live the cruel life he lived.
But this was the woman who killed him several times! He had suffered here because of her. She was the reason Fafnir used the mysterious ritual to bring him here.
How could he forgive her? Didn't he beg her to spare his life once? And what if she was lying?
Dante's face twisted in hesitation, between sparing and killing her. Eventually, all emotions faded away from his face.
'Right, I don't have to make this decision myself.'
Misfortune Spell — The Doomed Coin of Decisions.
Instantly, a black coin appeared on Dante's hand. It had a dragon skeleton engraved on one side and a crown on the other side.
It was an improved version of his former spell. He received it from the runes.
It could be used as before to sense the misfortune with more accuracy, or it could be directly used to make decisions.
Dante opened his mouth and talked in this world's language: "Three skeletons, you die. Three crowns, you live as a crippled person."
Even if he spared her, he'd take her eyes from her. Without arms and legs as well, she'd be fully crippled.
Beatrice's face went pale as she looked with a glimpse of hope at the coin that held her life.
Ting!
"Skeleton." Dante muttered coldly.
Ting!
"Crown."
Ting!
"Skeleton."
Beatrice's face went even paler, looking at the coin with shaky eyes.
"Wait, please—!"
Ting!
"Crown."
Hope returned to Beatrice immediately.
The next toss would determine everything. She inwardly promised that if she lived, she wouldn't try to harm anyone again. She was ready to live as a crippled woman.
Dante also looked at the coin with anticipation. He would be lying if he said he really wanted to kill Beatrice.
He both wanted to kill and spare her. It was a strange feeling.
He was still a 16-year-old boy—he wasn't supposed to kill anyone. Yet, he killed someone when he was only 11, and now he might kill another one.
Dante took a deep breath and steeled his mind, looking tiredly at Beatrice as he held the coin.
'Last one…'
TING!