Valentina, panting heavily, gripped Gungnir tightly, her eyes flashing with frustration and determination. "Damn it... He should've fallen with that hit."
Dante smiled, a humorless smile. "You think he's going down that easy, love? We're just getting ward up."
Valentina shot him a sharp look, but the usual playful glint in her eyes was absent. "If this keeps up, our chances are going to drop fast. Can't you feel it, Dante? This force… this power that's draining us. Sothing else is going on."
"Yeah…" Dante muttered, feeling the air around them hum with an unnatural energy. "Sothing is coming. The convergence isn't the only problem here."
Siren, standing beside them, looked equally alard. "I've seen this kind of distortion before… but never like this. Never this strong."
"All of our attacks are being nullified. It's like the world itself is rooting for this monster to keep fighting," Valentina said, her voice laden with fatigue and frustration.
Dante glanced at the giant, now advancing again, his wounds regenerating as if nothing had happened. He clenched his fists, feeling the dark energy coursing through his body, fueled by his own frustration. "Then let's see how far this goes. We can't stop now."
With a surge of energy, Dante raised his hand, channeling every last ounce of his power into a final attack. The black flas surrounding him intensified, burning with a heat that felt almost tangible. "Valentina, get ready. We're ending this together."
She nodded, more determined than ever. "If we're going to take him down, we'll do it once and for all."
The two unleashed their attacks simultaneously. Gungnir shone brightly in Valentina's hands as Dante's dark energy tore through the air, creating a vortex of destruction. The impact was so powerful that even the surrounding hordes paused for a mont, as if ti itself had hesitated.
The giant staggered backward, a blast of light and darkness swallowing his body. And for a brief mont, it seed like it was finally over.
But then… he rose again.
"You've got to be kidding …" Dante muttered in disbelief.
Valentina, breathless, stared at the giant with a mix of shock and fury. "This… is impossible."
Dante, eyes fixed on the giant, remained silent for a mont, processing the mories that began to surface in his mind. He had always been different, sothing about him always stood apart from the rest — a primal force, an ancient energy he had never fully understood until now. But now, pushed to his limits, he began to glimpse fragnts of his true essence. He wasn't just a vampire. He wasn't just an ordinary being shrouded in mystery and power. Sothing deeper, older, pulsed within him.
"Valentina… Siren…" he began, his voice dark and low, barely containing the intensity that surged within him. "You're going to need to fall back."
Valentina spun to face him, confused and frustrated. "Fall back? What are you talking about, Dante? We're in this together!"
He smiled faintly, but it was a tired smile, devoid of his usual charm. "I know, but… this is sothing I need to do alone now. I need to tap into sothing I've kept dormant for a long ti."
Valentina narrowed her eyes. "What are you hiding from ?"
"It's not about hiding," he replied, looking away toward the horizon, where the giant was preparing for another attack. "Actually, I just rembered."
A heavy silence fell between them. Lilith, more perceptive, stepped forward. "You're talking about your life before reincarnating, aren't you?"
Dante nodded, not looking at her. "Yes... I was much more than I am now. I was the Dragon Progenitor. A primordial creature. Sothing closer to the gods themselves."
"Step back," Dante asked gently, and before they could ask any more questions, Dante began to glow.
His skin, scarred from countless past battles, started to pulse with a vibrant black demonic energy. The air around him seed to hum with an unusual intensity, as if the very environnt was reacting to his growing presence.
"I can't rely on borrowed power anymore... on relics or external forces. I need to release what's been buried within . And to do that, I'll have to force an evolution."
"An evolution?" Siren repeated, her brows furrowing.
"Yes..." Dante closed his eyes for a mont, focusing on the distant mory of his primordial heart. He knew the risk was imnse, but there was no other option. "I'm going to use my heart... as a demonic energy bomb. If I succeed, I'll transform into sothing much stronger. More... destructive."
Lilith stepped forward, her concern evident. "Dante, this is too dangerous! You can't just toy with those forces!"
He opened his eyes, and sothing had changed within them. "I have no choice."
Before anyone could argue further, Dante prepared for what was to co. He began to focus his inner energy, pushing against the limits of his body and spirit, forcing his heart to beat more intensely. Heat radiated from within him, and with each passing second, his form started to change. His veins glowed a deep crimson, like lava coursing beneath the surface.
Suddenly, demonic energy exploded from his body in a devastating wave, forcing Valentina and Siren to instinctively step back. Dante arched his back, screaming as the transformation overtook him. Ebony-black horns sprouted from his forehead, curving back like those of an ancient demon. His wings, previously invisible, tore through the air, black and majestic, yet with the texture and appearance of a fallen angel. His skin turned crimson like fire, and his eyes, now glowing gold, blazed with a primordial and cruel power. His hair, once dark red, turned completely white, and his very presence now felt suffocating, as though reality itself was straining under his pressure.
Dante raised his hand and summoned his sword, Rebellion. But the weapon, sensing its master's newfound strength, began to shift as well. The sharp edges reshaped, elongating into a trident-like spear with a malevolent glow. He gripped it confidently, feeling the raw power coursing through him. It was as if, for the first ti, he was truly alive.
Valentina, Lilith, and Siren watched as Dante stood in his new form. He was no longer the man they had known. He was sothing beyond that—fiercer, more dangerous. But even so, Valentina felt that despite the monstrous transformation, Dante was still there, inside that new shell of demonic power.
Without a word, Dante turned to face the giant, which roared in defiance. He smiled, but this ti there was humor in his grin, as if he knew sothing the monster didn't.
"Now," he murmured, "we begin for real."
In a blur of motion, Dante shot forward. His new wings propelled him with terrifying speed, and before the giant could react, Dante was already upon it, driving the trident deep into its chest. The force of the impact was so great that the ground around them cracked, and the giant was sent flying backward, crashing into a nearby mountain.
The monster howled in agony, but Dante gave it no ti to recover. He raised the trident, channeling his demonic energy, and the sky above them began to darken. Bolts of black energy rained down, striking the giant from all directions.
Valentina, still stunned by Dante's transformation, couldn't tear her eyes away. The power he now wielded was overwhelming, almost divine in its magnitude. Siren, beside her, could barely believe what she was witnessing.
"He... he really forced an evolution," Siren whispered, her voice filled with both awe and fear.
"Yes..." Valentina responded, her eyes never leaving Dante. "And he has beco sothing far more dangerous than any of us could have imagined."
The giant, once unshakable, now fought desperately against the overwhelming power of Dante. But it was futile. Dante was relentless, his strikes precise and brutal. With each blow, the giant lost more ground, and with every roar of pain, it beca clear that it wouldn't survive much longer.
With one final roar of fury, Dante raised the trident and, with all his strength, plunged it into the giant's heart. The creature let out a last scream before collapsing, its massive body disintegrating into black dust.
Dante landed softly on the ground, breathing deeply. He looked at Valentina and Siren, a smile returning to his face, but this ti, it was more tired. "Looks like we're done here."
Dante, now in his overwhelming demonic form, gazed at the remains of the giant dissipating into the air, as if they were nothing more than dust. The battlefield had fallen strangely silent, and even the surrounding hordes seed to hesitate, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
Valentina, still holding Gungnir, approached him slowly, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew Dante was powerful, but this transformation was beyond anything she could have imagined. Every fiber of his being radiated power and danger, and for a mont, she had to fight the instinctive urge to step back.
"Dante..." Valentina called, her voice steady but with a soft note of concern. "Are you okay?"
Dante, without taking his eyes off the horizon, took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his own evolution. The air around him still buzzed with energy. He slowly turned toward her, his golden gaze softening as it t Valentina's eyes. He stepped forward, his hand gently caressing her face with an unexpected tenderness for soone who, just minutes earlier, had beco an unstoppable destructive force.
"I'm fine... now," he murmured, a tired smile curving his lips. "But this... was only the beginning."
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