Alexander ran, but he didn't know from where or to where.
The environnt around him shifted constantly, like an endless corridor of broken mirrors, with fragnts of his darkest mories reflected on every surface.
His brother, Boris, appeared in the shards of mory, wearing that self-assured smile, always admired by others while Alexander was just… the second, the one who couldn't asure up.
"Why this!" he scread internally, feeling as if he were being swallowed by the darkness around him.
No matter how hard he tried, Boris was always ahead, and it consud him.
He rembered every word and gesture their father dedicated to his brother, and the emptiness he himself left in everyone, a space no one even noticed.
"Don't show this trash!" Alexander's heart raced, mories suffocating him as he kept running, the feeling of being useless and invisible crushing him with every step.
For a brief mont, the mories of Boris faded, but they were replaced by an even more imposing and threatening figure… A simple fourteen-year-old boy. Well, he wasn't that simple.
He was the son of the most brutal, terrifying woman in the world, the woman with the title of Scarlet Devastator and… Godslayer. Dante Scarlet. He was the "son of Valentina," everyone treated him like a god among mortals, like his mother. They even warned Alexander not to provoke or interact with him.
In Kryoris, everyone feared him as if death itself were in the air, and for Alexander, trapped in his own shadow, he was consud with envy, a twisted desire to surpass or… destroy Dante.
He heard so much about the boy that, without even eting him, he already hated him. The fear they placed on him around this person… It was beyond the ordinary. It was as if Alexander were dood to live in the shadow of an incomparable figure. Rage ate away at him, and he started to realize he no longer cared about being second, third, or last. He only wanted one thing: for Dante to cease to exist.
The nightmare continued, growing more intense and distorted, until finally, he found himself face-to-face with Dante.
Then he heard sothing, sothing that would forever be etched into his mind...
"The one who is always in battles, the son of the Werewolf King, the Man who walks in packs, the holder of the title of Alpha Wolf of Kryoris, Alexander Sucellus!"
The fox's voice echoed in his ears, and he was back in that arena… The arena where it happened… That cursed day...
He saw the audience fall into a stunned silence, rembering exactly what he thought that day… "That reaction…"
His arrogance blinded him to what had happened earlier… He looked at his younger self.
"Hm? What's with that reaction?" the Younger Alexander said, scanning the environnt. "They must be respecting ? Probably, I am incredible," he thought quickly and looked at his opponent.
"So naïve…" Alexander murmured.
"Look who we have here, the relentless idiot of the school!" the Younger Alexander shouted loudly, his voice echoing clearly for everyone to hear.
An absolute silence filled the air; no one dared to laugh, for they'd already seen what had happened before…
"It's now…" Alexander murmured, rembering what ca next.
"Akemi, you can tell the truth," he said to the fox, who displayed a wide grin.
[Due to a ranking change, Sara Vortex has beco the second-ranked student in the First Year Rankings.]
[On the right side of the arena]
[The one who bows to no one except Valentina Scarlet]
[A boy who won over two of the greatest forces of the present through marriage]
[The most famous young vampire in the supernatural world]
[The official husband of Valentina Scarlet and Morgana Arcano]
[The holder of the highest title in the first year at Kryoris, The Demon King of Devastation]
[Dante Scarlet.]
"I tried to be soone kind to all of you. I tried to make friends, but you all made excuses and excluded from everything. Since you've excluded , I'll exclude you as well."
"Especially the filthy offspring of world leaders who have been acting like spoiled children this past month." Enjoy new chapters from empire
"I spent a month doing nothing, and even without knowing who I was, I beca the absolute focus of all of you. Ironic, isn't it?"
"Since you wanted so badly to destroy , just as you've been committing horrible acts against all the students in this school, then let's do it."
"Extortion, physical and psychological abuse, bullying, theft, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and sexual harassnt."
The pressure began to affect the surroundings, the arena starting to crack slightly. "If I kill everyone, it ans I've cleansed your kingdoms, don't you agree?"
"Then I challenge all of you at once," Dante said with a smile they had only seen once before—when Valentina first appeared.
Dante's voice echoed, "CO ON, YOU LOSERS."
The nightmare continued, becoming increasingly intense and distorted, until Alexander finally found himself standing before Dante. They were both in an empty field, illuminated only by the oppressive light of the moon. The chance to end him had arisen as an irresistible temptation, and Alexander realized that every fiber of his being craved it, like an addiction nurtured over the years.
Dante looked at him with cold indifference, not even appearing surprised by his presence. The disdain in Dante's gaze was more than Alexander could bear, and the simring rage took hold, consuming him. He lunged forward, attacking with every ounce of strength he had, but Dante dodged each blow with an insulting ease, as if he were rely toying with him.
Every failure fueled Alexander's hatred and frustration as he fought with a desperate fury. He knew he was inferior, that he had never truly matched Dante, but the thought of seeing him fall, of erasing that superior expression from his face, was all that mattered. He charged again, ignoring the pain and fatigue, finally landing a single blow—a shallow cut that barely touched Dante.
Dante smirked, and in that smile, Alexander saw his own insignificance reflected back at him. He would never be enough. Never be respected. Never be rembered.
Alexander opened his eyes with difficulty, breathing heavily, with a sense of dread carved deep into his soul. He blinked repeatedly, struggling to distinguish reality from the twisted mories he had just endured. The vision around him was hazy, but little by little, he realized he was no longer in the nightmare. He was back in the room—a cold, dark place where he had endured the most rciless forms of tornt. His body was there, or what was left of it, scattered like a grotesque jigsaw puzzle.
Looking down, he saw a desolate, surreal scene. His legs and arms were laid out on the ground, the severed limbs displayed before him like trophies of a perverse victory. No matter how he tried, he could no longer feel pain. His body, reduced to a powerless torso, had transcended the threshold of sensation, leaving only emptiness behind.
Around him stood the figures he had learned to fear and loathe. The won who, without remorse or hesitation, had taken everything from him, piece by piece, physical and ntal, tearing away all that he was until only a fragnt of the man remained. The blonde maid, Evangeline, wore a sadistic smile, a gleam of morbid satisfaction in her eyes. Beside her, Nagasawa held a look of disdain, regarding him as little more than a pest that had finally received his due.
And then he saw Dante, sitting casually, his gaze cold and distant, almost bored. Dante had not lifted a finger during the entire torture session; he had simply watched, as though Alexander's suffering was a re spectacle. Dante's indifference was the cruelest blow of all—a reminder that, to him, Alexander had never been anything more than a pathetic shadow, trying in vain to impose himself.
After a long silence, Dante finally spoke, his deep voice cutting through the oppressive weight that hung over the room. "Did you enjoy the dream?"
The question, so simple and ironic, struck Alexander like a sharpened blade. He opened his mouth, trying to respond, but no words ca. Everything he had experienced in the dream surged back like a crushing wave, reviving the agony and frustration of never having been able to asure up to Dante. Even in his mind, in his own nightmares, he was defeated, humiliated, reduced to nothing.
Dante rose slowly, crossing the room with deliberate steps, each one echoing with an oppressive weight. He stopped inches from Alexander, leaning in slightly so their eyes t. "You've always wanted to be sobody, Alexander. Soone important, soone recognized. But the truth… is that you've always been a coward. A small man, incapable of facing his own flaws."
Alexander tried to gather the strength to respond, but the emotional pain was unbearable. There was nothing left to say, because he knew Dante was right. The hatred and envy he'd carried for years, it all felt so hollow now. Consud by his desire to destroy Dante, he'd been left as nothing but an empty shell.
Nagasawa approached, her smile calculated and icy. "You always wanted to be soone, Alexander, but look at you now. Just a fragnt of what's left of a person. That's what you are, the shadow of soone who never had the courage to confront his own insignificance."
The blonde maid, Evangeline, moved closer too, twirling a knife deftly between her fingers. She crouched beside him, eting his gaze directly, and smiled. "Maybe we should give him another dream. This ti, one where he doesn't fail at everything." Her sadistic laughter reverberated through the room, amplifying the suffocating atmosphere.
Tears welled up in Alexander's eyes, but he could do nothing but endure. There was no escape, not even from his own sha. All the emotions he once clung to — pride, envy, hatred — crumbled around him, leaving only emptiness.
With a desperate final breath, he forced the words from his lips. "Please… just end this…"
Dante regarded him, scrutinizing him as if deciding whether he truly deserved a final release. And then, as if reaching a conclusion, Dante gave a slight, cold, compassionless smile.
"Did you enjoy that?" Dante asked, and suddenly... Alexander found himself sowhere else entirely.
His body was completely healed, and only Dante was with him in this place. It was a beautiful, flowered adow.
"W-where am I?" Alexander stamred.
"You're in hell, obviously. Didn't you want this to end? You're dead." Dante smiled. "And now, you'll go through an endless cycle of dreams until you purify, reliving your worst nightmare every day, until you're redeed of your sins and ready for the cycle of reincarnation. Goodbye." Dante gave a wave, and the man vanished.
"You're so cruel, Master! You could've told him he'd never escape hell!" Evangeline pouted, crossing her arms.
"You say that, but you suggested sending him to the Fields of Lust, to let the demons use his soul as a plaything forever. Tsk, such a hypocrite." Dante folded his arms. "You were the first human, you know that? You're so evil!"
"You're the one who made , darling," Evangeline replied.
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