Before he could think of anything else…
"Dante Scarlet." The voice came from behind him, sending a chill down his spine due to the irritation in her tone. "You have a lot to explain, don't you?" Nagasawa, arms crossed, asked, seeing Dante and an unfamiliar woman in front of her. "Dante Effect," she thought, still annoyed.
"Ah... Sorry, okay?" Dante said, raising his arms in surrender. He had already imagined that something like this would happen and honestly, he didn't want to deal with it... But... "Alright, I can already imagine what you went there to do. How was it?" Nagasawa questioned, ignoring the girl she had just seen, but still, she was irritated.
Every time this man got involved with a woman, it meant one thing: Trouble.
Especially now that he was someone important, the problems were doubled, and if he brought someone from the spiritual world... "Where are those two?" Dante asked before saying anything to Nagasawa; he didn't want them to hear what he was about to say. "Sleeping in the guest room, you disappeared for twelve hours." She said, making Dante's eyes widen; for him, it hadn't even been an hour...
"Damn time difference," he muttered, looking at Nagasawa...
"Better no one hear this..." Dante murmured while casting a total privacy spell. "It's a long story..." Dante said while using his mana to restore all the destruction he had caused when entering the Spiritual Realm, recreating all the furniture in the place as if nothing had happened in that scene...
"Since when do you~" "Morgana taught me many things, even though I had to recreate and adapt everything with demonic energy, it's still easy to control in small environments..." Dante explained. "Oh... Master is more powerful..." Cherry murmured as Nagasawa's angry eyes bore into Dante, trying to understand what was happening there and why there was a clown woman with him...
"First, Cherry, you don't have a body. So I will temporarily store you in the Infernal Sanctuary until I find Lilith and give you a body. Besides... You wouldn't want to stay near my dear Nagasawa in this form; any wrong words (which we know you will say) might make you uncomfortable, right?" Dante said, trying to lighten the mood; after all, he didn't want more problems than he already had...
"O-okay..." She murmured, looking at the ground, "You won't be alone, alright? Evangeline will be there to talk to you." He said while holding her soul, and the dog in his arm gently swallowed it, without fear or desperation, just calm and gentle. "See you later."
"So... don't try to kill me, alright? She's a long-time acquaintance from when I wasn't exactly Dante." He spoke after she was gone. Dante really didn't want any trouble now...
"And who's that?" Nagasawa questioned, pouting; just hearing the first sentence from this idiot man, she already knew there was no turning back, and he wouldn't abandon her. Well, it wasn't as if she expected something like that, in fact, she had already given up thinking about it when she saw how he treated her.
"Naturally, you've already heard her name, Cherry." Dante said, sitting in the armchair while seeing Nagasawa with her arms crossed, looking at his face. "She's a Witch... Or was, right..." Dante said, still thinking about what to call Cherry now... "What do you mean?"
"According to her, she only became a spirit because she wanted to. And honestly, given how carefree she was acting, that's how it is... Seriously, I get into so much trouble..." Dante murmured, looking at Nagasawa, who almost said, "Seriously? You only realized that now?"
"Hey! Stop looking at me like that, okay? It's not my fault you're all too crazy!" He roared. "Ow!" It didn't even take a second, and he had already been hit on the head. "Quiet, you're a womanizer, it's your fault!" Nagasawa roared, angry. Well...
She had a point... "Have you ever thought that the abnormal one here is you? I became like this because of you, you bastard!" She screamed.
Dante rubbed his head where he had been hit, a tired smile on his face. "Okay, okay, I deserved that," he admitted, trying to calm Nagasawa, but already knowing it wouldn't be that simple.
Nagasawa huffed, arms still crossed, but there was a small spark of something that wasn't just anger in her eyes—maybe it was concern mixed with the exasperated affection that only someone who knew him so well could feel. "You always cause trouble, Dante. And, as always, it's up to us to deal with the consequences."
"I know, I know..." Dante said, raising his hands in surrender. "But listen, Cherry... she's different. She's not just another person I met along the way. She's from my past... from before I became the Dante you know.
And if she's here now, it's because there's something important that still needs to be resolved."
Nagasawa narrowed her eyes, studying his face, trying to grasp what he was trying to say. "So, she's important to you?"
"In a way, yes," he replied, his tone now more serious. "But not in the way you're thinking. Cherry is... a reminder of who I was, and maybe a piece of the puzzle to understand what's really happening to me and to the world."
She sighed, uncrossing her arms, finally allowing herself to relax a bit. "Okay, I understand. I just hope that, this time, you have a plan that doesn't involve almost getting us killed in the process."
Dante chuckled, a light laugh that eased some of the tension in the air. "You know that's asking a lot, right?"
Nagasawa rolled her eyes, but a small smile appeared on her lips. "Yeah, I know. But I had to try. Besides... Come on, tell me what happened in the Spiritual Realm," Nagasawa said, curious to understand how and why he went there so suddenly.
So, Dante began recounting what had happened there and how he brought Cherry back...
"Seriously... you..." Nagasawa muttered, knowing how audacious this man could be, but he managed to surpass himself every time... "Damn, you humiliated the Spiritual King?" she said incredulously, watching him shrug. "He's the jerk, and he made me go through some horrendous things," Dante said nonchalantly as he crossed his legs. "Every action has a reaction," he commented with a smile.
"I just hope his reaction doesn't come back to bite us later," she remarked.
"It's fine, he's not a resentful guy... He knows me well... he knows it's just a matter of time before I catch up to him... That's the case with dimension progenitors; that man has already reached his limit... But as for me..." Dante murmured confidently with a mischievous smile. "Damn, you're messing with me," Nagasawa said, looking at him.
"Oh come on, you like it..." Dante teased.
He quickly stood up and pulled her into his lap, setting her down snugly on him. "We have work..." she murmured before feeling Dante's fangs sink into her neck. "Ah~~ Love, take it easy," she moaned as she melted in his arms. "Tomorrow will be a long day... I want my beautiful wife happy and well-rested," Dante whispered in her ear, making her entire body melt...
While Dante enjoyed himself, in a distant and dark palace, firm and furious footsteps echoed through the corridors, laden with almost palpable tension. Velkan, the King of the Werewolves, was visibly angered by the recent problems threatening his sovereignty, especially the constant menace of his enemy, his ex-wife, a presence so hateful that he could barely contain his frustration.
"Are you okay?" The soft and familiar voice of Fenrir, his closest confidante and ally, interrupted his tumultuous thoughts.
Velkan sighed heavily, sitting down on his throne as he massaged his temples in an effort to relieve the tension. "I can't calm down knowing what I know," he admitted, his voice laden with a weariness that only grew with the weight of his responsibilities.
"Knowing or not knowing is just a matter of perspective," Fenrir replied, embracing him from behind, her presence offering a strange comfort. "The end may be near, but change is even closer."
Velkan looked at her reflection in the distant mirror, his eyes filled with concern. "What will we do?" he questioned, his voice revealing the internal struggle he was facing. "Every day it becomes harder to resist that vile witch."
Fenrir, without hesitation, encouraged him firmly. "You are a King, Velkan. Hold your head high and move forward. When the time comes, you must kill her without mercy."
Velkan barely had time to absorb Fenrir's words when a female voice, dripping with irony, cut through the dark hall.
"I've been really curious to know who this woman by your side is, Little King."
The most dangerous woman in the supernatural world, the only one who could be considered a ruler without even having a kingdom... "Hello, Velkan. How are you?" Valentina said, smiling at him while Gungnir gleamed in gold on her back. Fenrir saw it and trembled slightly... Of course, Valentina noticed immediately.
An aura of utter disdain materialized before her, her presence emanating a strange power Fenrir had never seen before. Valentina looked at Fenrir's slender and elegant figure as she emerged from the shadows behind Velkan, dressed in a black gown that seemed to merge with the darkness around her, contrasting with the venomous gleam in her pure green eyes and her beautiful tan skin.
Velkan stood up abruptly, his expression hardening as his eyes locked onto her with barely concealed hatred. "Valentina," he growled, interrupting Fenrir's aura, his words nearly a death sentence. Fenrir stepped back slightly, positioning herself beside Velkan with a cold gaze, ready for any move from her adversary.
Valentina took a step forward, an insolent smile curling her lips. "Oh, Velkan, always so serious," she taunted, completely ignoring Fenrir's presence as if she were insignificant. "What do you want?" he said sternly, knowing he couldn't fight her, couldn't even dream of it.
"Your son's head, of course," Valentina said, her eyes glowing deeply with limitless red.