Dante tilted his head.
"So let me get this straight, Raizel. You left me... betrayed me... betrayed the people because you fell in love?"
Paragon Raizel smiled softly. His face was pale and dark.
"That's a wholesome way to put it, Dante. But I never left you. I had always been with you—what we believed in was monstrous."
"Monstrosity is what saves the world, Raizel! WE NEED MONSTERS TO RESHAPE THIS WORLD!!"
Dante's voice cracked like thunder.
"Monsters grow everywhere—whether for a just cause or a greedy one, there are monsters all around us! And they don't walk around with hideous skins and vicious fangs—they look like you and me, Rai! They look like you and me!!"
His face turned darker, fiercer. He stepped forward, his focus laser-sharp on Paragon Raizel. His hands cut through the air as he spoke.
"You tell me, Rai, tell me—who's going to save us from ourselves when the strangest ones among us delude themselves with righteousness? You want to retain your humanity?"
His lip curled.
"That's rather selfish of you."
He paused. His dark gaze grew darker, his lips pressed together as a subtle, dangerous light began to dance in the depths of his eyes.
"You know what? I've always known. I've always known you were selfish. You think only of yourself, and when you fell in love with Lirae, you became even more selfish. Don't sell me stupid stories about retaining humanity. Now that you have something to lose, you restrain yourself—you tame the monster you've always been.
"You claim you left the government because you couldn't stomach the evil your father continued to allow. You hated yourself when you were with him, felt trapped, needed liberation—so you took a leap."
Dante's breath came shaky, his voice threatening to tremble.
"At the time, I tried to understand you. Veiled Light was a greedy man, after all. He was the kind of person who didn't let the government prosper—weak, greedy, and wicked. I understood your sentiments and supported them. In fact, I was optimistic. Since you were an Ascendant and I was merely a Savant, I was optimistic that you'd perhaps finally begin to move forward the greater vision we've always shared.
"But there was nothing. Nothing from you."
He chuckled dryly and continued.
"But I took no offense. You were quite the forgetful man, after all. I took no offense. Instead, I worked something out—I worked hard, and finally became an Ascendant, only to hear that you had become a Paragon. You were finally at that point of power where you could seize hold of our vision and begin making it real."
His voice dropped to a somber chord.
"But there was nothing, Rai. Nothing."
He chuckled again.
"I made every excuse in the world for you. Eventually became a Paragon myself. After months and months of hunting your location, I came to you, spoke to you, and asked you to join me.
"RAIZEL VAIRSTRID!! You DECLINED ME!!!"
At this point, Dante burned with rage. His eyes widened like wildfire.
He narrowed them, tilting his head like a demented psychopath.
"And now, you speak to me of the beauty of the world, of retaining your humanity, of meeting her. She's a dog to those old fools, for crying out loud!!"
Paragon Raizel's expression changed. His facial features remained unchanged, but a subtle, dangerous light kindled in the depths of his eyes.
Perfectly mirroring the tangible danger that Dante's own had posed just seconds ago—even though he was weakened at the moment.
Paragon Raizel was like a wounded alpha wolf. One might think him vulnerable with how battered he appeared. But the look in his eyes was that of a ruthless murderer who would let nothing go unkilled.
"You obviously have a few bones to pick. Pick them with me. Leave my wife out of this."
Lieutenant Dante stared at him impassively for several seconds. Then he sighed, slipping his hands into his pocket and drawing out a fat cigar and a strange flame-sparker that looked elegant to hold.
Dante lit the cigar and extended his hand gently to Paragon Raizel.
"Want some...?"
Paragon Raizel exhaled and shook his head.
"I'm currently in rehab."
Dante nodded, his lips turning downward.
"Let me guess... Lirae."
Paragon Raizel's silence was all the answer Dante needed.
"You know, I always knew she was your problem. Too bold, too outspoken for a powerless human. She has a way with words—she's cunning. She could make an assassin sent to kill her protect her instead."
Paragon Raizel smiled softly. Even though Dante didn't seem to be praising Lirae, those were all the words he heard.
"Well, Lirae is quite diplomatic. Did she manage to convince you not to kill her?"
Dante scoffed.
"The only reason she's alive is because I've been waiting for you."
Paragon Raizel didn't need the exact words to know that his wife had indeed worked her charm. His beautiful wife had gone ahead and done her thing. She'd almost convinced him, after all, into not loving her.
'She's a devious one, that girl.'
Lieutenant Dante stared at his friend with a dark grimace. A second later, he asked:
"Did I say something funny?"
Paragon Raizel scoffed.
"No need to be so uptight. Even if it's the end of the world, I'll still laugh. You have my wife and unborn child in your hands. You probably thought—and knew—this was the only way to get to me, the only way to kill me. What you want is my death, isn't it? Then let me see my wife for the last time."
He studied Lieutenant Dante's face.
"I've not really been a good father-to-be, you know. And the little time I have left, you obviously want to snatch that away. Isn't it right that I bid my family a satisfying farewell?"
The Lieutenant curled his lips in disgust.
"It's really irritating to see what you've become, Rai. To see how that woman has weakened you."
He closed his eyes, stopping all words for the moment. Then he slowly opened them and rested one hand on the sword strapped to his waist.
Lieutenant Dante's hair swayed softly in the wind. Slowly, gently, he began to open an eye he had never opened before. At least not since he became a Paragon.