Few times does this happen, few times is Dante's existence threatened, and he simply doesn't care about it.
After all, to him, death is just a temporary inconvenience.
If Dante dies, he will simply come back to life, kill whoever dared to attack him, and continue living as always, beside his wives, without anything stopping him.
The issue here, however, is not about his own survival.
It's not about the threat to his life, but something much deeper and personal.
When the threat is not directed at him, but at someone close, someone he cares about, whether that person has been in his life for a long time or just for a brief moment.
In Dante's presence, any threat to his loved ones awakens something much more dangerous.
The black mist around Dante's body began to solidify, shaping his form, but now there was something different.
A primordial fury, he felt an incomprehensible rage, it started emanating from the figure that was being reconstructed.
The ground around trembled with an intensity that made it seem as if the very realm was about to collapse.
Alexa, who until then had been delighting in the chaos she had caused, began to feel a chill rising up her spine.
'W-what w-what... w-what kind of person is this?' She stammered in her own thoughts from confusion.
The aura of power around Dante was overwhelming, and she started to realize that by provoking someone like him, she had made a fatal mistake.
"You messed with the wrong people," Dante murmured, his voice reverberating with a latent threat as his body fully reconstructed.
His eyes, now open and glowing with an intense red, fixed on Alexa, and what was once a simple threat now became a promise of destruction.
The atmosphere around them changed.
The air seemed to grow denser, charged with electricity and oppressive energy.
Alexa's wicked laughter had disappeared, replaced by an expression of pure terror.
"M-m-mommy..." Ophis stammered as she saw Dante's form... that damned form... of war...
"G-g-get out of here quickly" She trembled so much with fear that she couldn't complete a single sentence without stammering. And Rose was no different; she was also feeling great fear... A primordial fear she couldn't understand...
"H-how c-can s-s-someone h-have s-s-so much b-b-bloodthirst" She said, barely understandable, she only acted by picking up Ophis and moving away, even almost losing her balance with her trembling legs...
"W-war d-dragons..." Ophis commented while hiding her face in Rose's chest to avoid the pressure... not that it helped much.
Dante took a step forward, and with that, the black mist surrounding him began to expand, covering the area around him like a living shadow.
"You thought you could destroy me... that you could harm those with me and get away with it?" He said, his voice seeming clear and calm, but that made Alexa instinctively retreat.
She tried to summon the portal again, desperate to escape, but the very air around her seemed to suffocate her, blocking any attempt to flee. "This... this can't be happening..." She whispered, feeling reality close in around her like a never-ending nightmare.
Dante continued to walk toward her, each step creating a wave of energy that pressed against the environment, crushing any mana resistance in the air.
"I don't care about my own life. But when you touch someone important to me... there will be no place in hell where you can hide from me."
'W-who made me do this? W-who in their right mind wants to kill someone like this?!' Alexa, now fully overwhelmed by fear, realized there was no escape.
She was facing a force that could not be controlled or stopped.
The price of her arrogance was before her, in the form of a demon whose rage had been awakened. And that rage would be her destruction.
"I have to stop being kind" Dante advanced on Alexa with terrifying speed, and before she could react, his hand was already grasping her head.
"AHH!" She screamed feeling Dante's claws piercing her skull. His fingers dug into her cranium with relentless force, lifting her off the ground as if she were nothing.
Dante's expression was cold and unwavering, his eyes fixed on hers, while a black aura pulsed around him, intensifying the sense of despair beginning to engulf Alexa.
"L-Let me go!" She tried to fight, her hands gripping Dante's wrist, but it was useless. The pressure on her skull increased, and the pain began to spread throughout her body. Her wide eyes were the personification of fear as she tried, in vain, to free herself.
"Who is behind this?" Dante's voice was low, but so serious that it made her feel even more fear. "Who gave you the audacity to challenge me and put those around me in danger?"
Alexa, even suffocated by terror, remained silent.
She knew that speaking would mean her death, but the growing pain made it impossible to maintain her composure. She closed her eyes, trying to resist, but the pressure on her skull intensified with each passing second.
"Are you not going to speak?" Dante tightened his grip, and the sound of bones beginning to crack filled the air. "I don't have patience for games. You will tell me what I want to know."
Alexa let out a strangled scream, but still did not answer. Dante's fear was overwhelming, but the fear of whoever controlled her, of who was really behind the plan, was even greater.
Dante tilted his head, his eyes glowing with controlled fury. "Do you prefer to die in silence? Or do you prefer to give me what I want to know and maybe have a chance to survive?"
Alexa's silence was her only answer, her eyes full of dread. She writhed, desperation evident in every movement, but her words were still stuck in her throat, choked by terror.
Dante sighed, his patience wearing thin. "You made your choice." The pressure increased once again, and the sound of cracking bones grew louder until, with a swift motion, he threw Alexa to the ground with force, leaving her in a state of agony.
Alexa lay on the ground, groaning in pain, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Dante with fear and helplessness.
"Last chance, Alexa," he said, his voice laden with a deadly calm. "Speak, or I'll make you speak."
"Mary Rose, of the Twilight Witches," she murmured, her words filled with a certainty that made Alexa freeze completely in his hands.
Alexa's eyes widened in pure shock, her body trembling violently.
The name Dante had spoken was the last one she wanted to hear, the name she knew would seal her fate.
The expression of terror on her face made it clear that Dante had hit the mark precisely.
"So it is," Dante said, while observing Alexa's reaction.
"Then it's like this…" Dante said, his voice full of contempt as he watched Alexa's reaction.
"n-n-not…" Alexa tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.
Alexa, lying on the ground, could barely breathe, her body paralyzed by fear. She had been used by Mary Rose, thrown into a suicide mission, and now was paying the price for her blind loyalty.
Dante looked at Alexa with a cold and disgusted gaze, his patience completely gone.
"Evangeline," Dante called, his voice sharp as a blade. He didn't need to wait more than a second.
A blonde woman appeared beside him almost instantly, as if she had been waiting for the call. She wore a maid's outfit, but not just any outfit—it was sensual and perfectly fitted to her slender body, with lace details that enhanced her beauty and at the same time exuded an aura of power.
Evangeline tilted her head in a gesture of respect, but her eyes were sharp and rather malicious...
"Yes, Master?" Her voice was sweet, but with a dark tone indicating that she was ready to carry out any order without hesitation.
Dante gave one last look at Alexa, who now seemed completely broken, before turning his attention to Evangeline. "Take care of her, find out where this Witch Mary Rose is," he said, the simple words of a final and irrevocable order.
Evangeline smiled faintly, a smile that held no warmth. "With pleasure, Master." She moved closer to Alexa, who tried to crawl backward, fear spreading across her face as the reality of her situation became increasingly clear.
"Please…" Alexa tried to plead, but her voice faltered, the strength she once had had faded.
Evangeline crouched down, holding Alexa by the chin and forcing her to meet her gaze. "No use begging," she murmured, her voice smooth as poison. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you accepted to go against my lovely and majestic master."
"Do whatever you want with her soul." Dante said, as he turned away. "If you succeed, I will reward you very well, my beautiful Eva." He murmured, and Eva heard it perfectly, immediately...
"THAT'S IT, DAMMIT! LET'S GO!" She screamed internally as she grabbed Alexa by the hair and disappeared...