As Dante stood before the Sea of the Dead with Cerberus beside him, his crimson eyes seed to glow montarily as he looked around.
Strands of light traveled along the sea's current, which slightly illuminated the darkened waters, and Dante recognized each of these lights as a soul.
Searching for a specific soul in the Sea of the Dead wasn't an easy task—even for Cerberus. Still, the three-headed demon dog was able to sense Saris' soul and reduce the area where Dante had to search.
Suddenly, as Dante stood on the edge between the ground and the sea, he calmly turned his head and noticed a robed figure riding a small boat along the river.
When Cerberus saw the mysterious figure, the dog whined and took a few cautious steps back. However, Dante was utterly unperturbed, knowing the identity of the approaching demon.
"Here again, Hellslayer?" The hooded figure muttered, his voice sounding like a loud whisper.
"Charon. Have you lost your sense of direction? I believe the river is far back…" Dante greeted the demon with a sarcastic comnt.
Charon was hell's ferryman, who guarded the Acheron River where the souls of the deceased traveled all the way to the Sea of the Dead.
The demon was bound to his small boat, and his ogre-like features could barely be seen from the open space of his robe.
"I was curious to see who you would fish out this ti, hehehe~" Charon mused while slowly rowing his boat forward.
"I'm looking for a banshee…" Dante replied while still looking at the souls on the sea.
"There are many banshees here. Pick whoever!" Charon replied. "Though, it would be better to look for a living one…" he continued, and his tone sounded like he was mocking the warlock.
"No, genius. I'm looking for a specific banshee…" Dante refuted, starting to feel annoyed by the demon's company.
Charon chuckled as his boat slowly approached the edge where Dante was standing, offering his help in searching. However, Dante instantly declined, knowing that demons didn't help without asking for sothing in return.
"No, no. I'll do this one for free!" Charon continued, but the warlock was not convinced.
"Yeah, right. Do you think this is my first ti here?" Dante asked and turned his gaze towards the demon.
"Don't piss off, Charon. I'll smash your boat in an instant," he said in a cold tone that made Charon freeze for a second.
Still, when the demon got over his words, he continued moving closer to the warlock. However, his expression seed to scrutinize Dante as if he could sense sothing different about him.
*Sigh* "What now? I'm busy…" Dante pondered aloud, feeling Charon's gaze burning into him.
"Hellslayer… Where did you co from?" Charon asked, his sarcastic and playful tone completely gone.
"Hmm? From Shadowvale, I guess," He confusedly replied.
"No. Where were you before coming here?" Charon continued.
"What's it to you?" Dante answered with another question, which was his way of avoiding getting caught lying. Moreover, he saw no reason to tell Charon the truth.
"Bah, whatever. Just don't bring that energy here again!" The hooded demon said as he began to row and turn his boat around.
'What energy is he talking about?' Dante pondered, examining his own body and seeing nothing out of the ordinary.
As Charon slowly rowed away back to his river, the demon raised his staff, prompting a number of souls in the Sea of the Dead to rise above the water level like motes of light.
When Dante looked at the glowing orbs, he knew they were all different banshee souls, which Charon had separated from the rest to make Dante's job easier.
Taking one last look at the departing demon on his boat, Dante glared at the hovering orbs and squinted with suspicion when he spotted one that had a familiar aura.
"That one, Cerberus!" Dante exclaid, and as one of the heads opened its mouth, the glowing orb was slowly dragged to the shore.
With Saris' soul hovering between Dante and Cerberus, the warlock pointed his palm at the ground, generating an intricate pattern that seed to be carved on the obsidian dirt.
As the pattern glowed red, the soul descended into its center and produced a blinding flash of light, which Dante avoided by simply closing his eyes.
*Cough, cough* "Ughh, that sucked…" Saris spoke up, finding herself naked atop the carved pattern on the ground.
Her body was steaming as if she had co out of a sauna, and when she looked around, she was surprised to see Dante and Cerberus standing beside her.
"Hellslay- I an, Dante…" Saris corrected herself.
"D-did you pull out?" She asked.
"There are people waiting for you," Dante replied, and although his face showed a serious expression, his words were quite comforting to the banshee.
Dante had thought about it before arriving in hell. If the people of the Jade Dragons hadn't gotten so attached to Saris, he didn't know if he would have searched for her soul.
The warlock was utterly emotionless when it ca to dealing with any kind of demon, but he couldn't deny feeling slightly different after seeing the Jade Dragons getting along with the ones he summoned.
He enjoyed seeing Saris getting along with the team mbers and playing video gas, so he felt it would be a sha to lose her, even though she was a demon.
As he thought about the change in his ntality, Cerberus left for a quick second and returned holding a black robe in one of his mouths, handing it to Saris to cover herself.
A naked demon in hell wasn't really a big deal, but considering they would be traveling back to Earth, the three-headed dog was aware of its etiquette.
"Umm, Dante…" Saris spoke up as she walked behind the pair, going back through the Abyssal Gates.
"Thank you…" She continued, slightly embarrassed.
Dante turned and locked eyes with the banshee, staying silent for a few seconds before letting out a slight smirk.
"Let's keep getting along with everyone," He replied, and Saris was surprised when she realized that it was the first ti that Dante had ever smiled at her.
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