Dante traversed the long corridors, destroying any living being that appeared. Indeed, he discovered that these individuals had been hired by some institution or person; they were mercenaries unaffiliated with any guild.
At least, that's what it seemed like and also justified the immense power difference between him and the mercenaries, who quickly perished with just a few strikes and had no real skills.
"Another one," he said as he severed the head of yet another mercenary, without the latter even noticing.
"I'm getting tired of killing cockroaches, Aaralyn. Where are you?" said Dante, pulling out some kind of sphere, and a blinking glow appeared.
"I found more survivors, master. I've already freed them. I managed to gather some information you'd like to hear..."
"Go on."
"One of the barons is responsible for the capture of many of them. Apparently, they were lured in by promises of a better life, but when they arrived, they were drugged and gagged. Some had their cores broken and severely damaged, just like that Demi-Human and the Dark Elf."
"Baron, huh... I'll definitely find out who's bringing these filthy things into My Vel's realm," Dante said, and Aaralyn trembled slightly on the other side of the transmission... for some reason, she... felt drawn.
"Master, I found something interesting," she said.
On the other side, Aaralyn stood on the ceiling as she observed the area. It was indeed an operating room where the auction would take place. There were several luxurious benches and a stage with a small elevator.
"What did you find?" she heard Dante's voice again and then turned the sphere towards the area, revealing the image to him.
"Hmm... it's packed with people."
Yes, there were indeed many people. Now, however, it made a lot of sense why the guards were so scattered as before. The event was happening while he was killing them. This meant that the concentration of power in this room was much higher. Nonetheless, it wouldn't be difficult to execute Dante's plan.
"I'm heading there," he said and began to move. He ran through the corridors towards Aaralyn's aura. Meanwhile, he faintly heard the sound of a voice.
"Welcome to the show!" The magically transmitted voice affected him slightly as he ran. He then suddenly stopped, feeling an evil aura.
And he turned to one of the doors. A door with a giant lock, the negative energy in front of him was comparable to what he felt in Lilith's Tomb.
"Aaralyn, wait for me. I just found something," he said and looked at the door, kicking it down.
BOOM
The door turned into pieces, dust filled the air, revealing only darkness. Dante summoned another magical fire sphere to illuminate the area.
As he entered the chamber he had just opened, his steps echoed throughout the area, and the presence he had felt earlier began to overwhelm him, but it was too weak to overpower him. Unlike before, demonic energy was nothing to him now.
He looked to the center of the room, where the energy emanated, and came face to face with something he never thought he'd see in person until descending into hell: a demon of disturbing beauty. Its form sculpted in enticing curves, but its eyes showed nothing but despair. Ebony-colored horns rose from its head, much like Dante's, which were hidden by magic.
What truly stood out about its appearance was its pink hair, flowing in waves down to its heel.
She was a succubus, a creature that fed on the deepest desires of mortals, yet at the same time, she seemed nothing like the succubi he had heard of. The woman stared at him, without any wicked smile or temptatious motives, just pure despair and lack of feelings, like an empty shell.
For a moment, Dante thought of killing her, of course, ending her suffering and sending her back to hell, but the reality was he couldn't. He knew what it was like to be betrayed, and theoretically, they were of the same kind. Dante revealed his horns slightly, while the woman, with her lifeless eyes, stared at him indifferently. She had no strength to care about it.
"I'll get you out of here," he said, looking at the magical circle that held her completely in pink chains. "How do I break this, Voralith?" He questioned internally, and the Dragon appeared by his side only in his sight.
Dhjxa-Vh, she said, in a language Dante didn't know, and the chains broke, and the woman trapped lightly fell to the ground and groaned in pain. Argh
"That's the most I can do for you; I've given you your freedom. Now, do as you please with her, but if I find out you're killing humans, I'll come after you myself," Dante said, coldly and without any fear of the demon who looked at him strangely, but he moved on, leaving her behind.
"Master, come quickly. You need to see this!" Aaralyn said, leaving Dante curious, and he ran towards her aura.
He jumped to the ceiling and began to run upside down using magic and finally arrived at the place where Aaralyn was waiting for him. He arrived hurriedly and panting; it seemed like it was something really important, and when Dante arrived, he saw something that completely enraged him.
"Aaralyn, tell me what I'm seeing isn't what I think it is," Dante questioned, and Aaralyn couldn't answer, nor did she believe that it was there.
"As you can see! The next item is truly unique! It was recovered two months ago from a mansion in the Vampire Kingdom, they say it's the broken spear of the Devastator!" Dante heard these few words, and his heart slightly turned into pure rage.
He knew the Spear in front of him, the spear that the Dwarf King made for Valentina, the Spear of Runic Blood that she used during the war. Although it was now broken in half, it was still an extremely powerful weapon.
"Aaralyn, get out of here," he said as flames on his body began to erupt due to his fury. "But Master, I can't—" "Get out of here before I hurt you," he said, and pressure fell upon everyone inside the auction venue. Aaralyn had never seen Dante like this, so she had no choice but to disappear from his sight and watch him from afar.
A thirst for killing so potent began to suffocate everyone present at the scene. His two demonic wings started to emerge, and his body ignited as fire began to spread over everything.
As Dante wielded the spear, the fury of the scorching sun surrounding it consumed the presenters, melting them until only a black puddle remained on the floor. However, his gaze didn't linger on the charred wreckage but rather on the profound connection he felt with the weapon in his hands.
In a fleeting instant, like a flash of light amidst darkness, Dante glimpsed Valentina's existence within Alice Arcano's Sealed World. A fleeting shadow, a remnant of his beloved, fighting with unwavering determination. A silent promise echoed in his mind: "I will erase them all for you."
A solitary tear escaped from his eyes, a silent witness to the pain consuming him from within. But determination burned in his chest as he proclaimed, with a voice laden with ferocity and pain, "Did you really think you could steal her spear?"
A precise strike of the spear swept through the area, cleaving it in half as if it were butter. "War Armament, Varixyx," Dante proclaimed, and the weapon began to metamorphose before his eyes. Despite its worn and ancient appearance, the runes adorning its surface began to glow once again, resurging with renewed energy.
"You have committed an unforgivable crime," Dante continued, his voice echoing with an authority that made even the most arrogant nobles tremble. "Not only have you enslaved people and sold them, but you have also stolen my Valentina. For you, this is the last moment. I hope you perish for eternity."
With a fluid motion, Dante unleashed a series of strikes with Varixyx, cutting through the surroundings into pieces, while shockwaves sent flames in all directions.
As Varixyx sliced through the air, each blow was a macabre echo of imminent death. The anguished screams of the victims echoed off the walls of the room, mingling with the deafening clang of metal against marble.
"What's happening?! Who is this man?!" One of the remaining slavers screamed as Dante ignored him, and once again, the strike instantly killed him.
"This can't be real! We're doomed!" One of the nobles shouted, but then his face was disfigured by the wind pressure.
"Help!" A noblewoman ran, but her legs were cut as she rose, an entire row swept from the world.
"We must stop him! Advance, men!" The guards began to arrive, but again, it was not enough; they were swept away in spreading flames, melting the guards in their path.
"Time is running out, Dante," Voralith said in his thoughts, but he didn't care. He continued, his fury falling upon them. How dare they steal his wife? It was something he would never forgive.
The buyers, silent accomplices of cruelty, now found themselves confronted with the horror of their actions.
"This can't be real!" one of them screamed, his face pale with terror as he witnessed the horrors unfolding before his eyes. "We didn't know... we didn't understand!" another pleaded, his words lost in the growing chaos.
One by one, they were consumed by solar fire, their bodies melting into a shapeless mass of flesh and metal, their screams of agony mixing with the crackling of flames.
Amidst the pandemonium, the sound of death and despair formed a dark chorus, an echo of lamentation that filled the air with an aura of terror and hopelessness. And when finally the last scream faded away, the ensuing silence was even more disturbing, for it was the silence of the condemned, the silence that would accompany those who witnessed the carnage until the end of their days.
"Run! Run for your lives! It's the end times! We're doomed!" The last cry that came from the venue resounded, and then, silence reigned with only the sound of flames over the environment.
Dante's form slowly began to revert to Ziriel, and his tired and panting body descended to the ground, falling to his knees engulfed in one of the most brutal scenes he had ever witnessed.