Chapter 01: A Talkative Mercenary.

Chapter 01: A Talkative Mercenary.

A girl with long black hair and blue eyes, wearing a pure white dress, was running through a filthy alleyway.

She appeared to be around 12 to 14 years old, and she seemed to radiate innocence and kindness, as evidenced by her body which was lightly "glowing" in white.

A purity that didn't match the place she was in.

"Huff, Huff."

Her breath was heavy, fear and panic evident on her face.

Her heart was pounding in a way that felt like it could burst out of her chest at any moment.

As she looked ahead, the girl's countenance turned dark as she realized she had reached a dead-end alley.

Stopping her run, she looked around carefully, searching for an alternative escape route, but all she found were walls of buildings. However, her eyes soon fixed on a window connected to a fire escape staircase.

Knowing she didn't have the strength to jump and reach the fire escape, she made a quick decision. She spotted a nearby trash bin and pulled it over, positioning it close to the fire escape.

Luckily, the trash bin was relatively empty and equipped with wheels, making it easier to handle.

Quickly climbing onto the dumpster, she held onto the fire escape and began to ascend.

Just as she was about to reach the top, she suddenly felt her thin legs being grabbed.

"No need to run from me, little princess~," a deep and sinister voice echoed.

"Kyaaa!"

As if the weight of the little girl was insignificant to the assailant, he lifted her upside down, holding her as if she were a chicken about to be plucked.

The girl stared at her attacker, facing a monstrous creature about two meters tall, its imposing figure dominating the space around it.

Its skin was dark, almost black, with dark red tones coursing through its body, creating an infernal appearance. Sharp spikes protruded from various parts of its skin, giving it a fierce and intimidating look.

A long tail ending in a sharp point was used by the demon to grip Alice's fragile legs, revealing its strength and cruelty. On its back, two large black membranous wings stretched out, symbolizing its demonic nature and the ability to fly.

Atop its head, two twisted horns emerged, curving upward like a crown of malevolence. Its eyes were a disturbing mix of red and intense yellow, emitting a malefic and penetrating aura. The absence of a visible mouth was replaced only by the sight of rows of sharp, pointed teeth, revealing its predatory nature.

Every movement of the demon seemed to be filled with strength and ferocity as if it could annihilate anyone who dared to challenge it. Its presence was overwhelming and invoked instinctive fear and horror in anyone who crossed its path.

This creature was the embodiment of a monster, something that seemed to have emerged from the depths of hell.

A demon.

"Let me go!" she pleaded, her voice trembling.

The demon completely ignored the girl, focusing its attention on its own words.

"Such a rare specimen, so pure," it murmured as a slimy tongue protruded from its maw and licked the girl's cheek. "Delicious~. Such a pure soul~."

In addition to fear and a sense of helplessness, Alice felt her stomach churn at the demon's foul breath and the saliva on her cheek. 'Disgusting...' she thought to herself, but she didn't have the courage to voice it out loud.

"...It's truly a pity that I can't devour you," the demon said as if lamenting the missed opportunity.

Despite facing such a terrifying monster, the girl didn't shed any tears. Instead, she looked at it with determination, even though her eyes threatened to fill with tears at any moment. Despite her bravery, she was still just a child.

"Tell me, girl," the demon began, attempting to extract information from her. "What is your name?"

Alice, instead of responding, simply looked around wide-eyed, desperately searching for anything that could help her escape from this situation.

"Answer me," the demon demanded, its eyes gleaming with intensity.

Visibly trembling, the girl's body reacted, and tears threatened to escape from her eyes. Finally, she swallowed hard and answered in a trembling voice, "A-Alice." Despite her fear, she mustered the courage to face the creature.

"Alice, huh?" the demon murmured. "Alice, from the depths of my rotten heart, I admire your courage and persistence. It's not every day that someone talks to the great Razallath and doesn't succumb to fear, especially when that someone is not a demon."

Alice didn't know what to say or how to deal with this demon. She was reaching her limit on every possible level. She wanted to cry, scream for help, and run away. However, she remained silent, knowing it would be futile. She had learned the hard way that this place, Abbadon City, was not friendly to the weak. Kindness was only met with cruelty.

In this godforsaken place, what demons respected was strength, and unfortunately, that was something she didn't possess.

"Now, despite your interesting existence, after all, I've never seen such a pure soul in this damned city; I still have a job to do," the demon declared, changing the subject.

"I need to deliver you to my leader."

Alice's eyes widened with pure fear, and the image of a man with a sadistic smile appeared in her mind. 'I don't want to go back to that place!' She panicked.

"Wait, please don't take me back to that place!" she pleaded, desperate but determined.

"Oh? Finally found the resolve to speak?" Someone commented sarcastically.

"Indeed, I even thought she was too paralyzed with fear," the demon scoffed narcissistically.

"Indeed, Indeed. Few can look at Razallath's ugly face and not flee in fear."

"....." The demon looked to the side and saw the face of a man with golden hair, a smiling expression, and sapphire blue eyes.

"Huh?" The demon and the girl looked at the man in shock.

"When did he appear?" both of them wondered.

"Sup, Razallath, long time no see, buddy? Are you still practicing your hobby of corrupting church priests? I've warned you several times that it will kill you one day. The pigeons don't forgive those who corrupt their toys."

"!!!" Razallath quickly attacked the man with his claws, but the man simply jumped backward and stood on the building's wall facing down at them.

"How rude. I thought we were having a friendly conversation." The man brushed off his black clothes as if removing dust.

'Who is this man? Another demon?' the girl wondered as she looked upside down at the man.

"As an old friend, I thought we would talk about our daily lives, or like the day I visited your mother and helped her fix the plumbing in her house, she seemed quite pleased with my work."

Veins began to bulge on the demon's head, and he finally remembered that hateful, playful voice.

"Dante!"

"Yes, I'm Dante." The man nodded.

"Why are you here, you bastard!?" The demon demanded.

"And what's this story about my mother!?" He added.

"Eh...? You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"See? If you don't know, how am I supposed to know?" Dante rolled his eyes.

'What's wrong with this man...?' Alice couldn't help but think as she witnessed their casual exchange.

"And it's not my fault if she kept our relationship a secret from you."

"Huh...? What relationship are you talking about!?"

Sigh...

The man visibly sighed and looked at the demon with a serious gaze.

"Listen, I'm only going to say this once."

"...."

"I am your father."

Dum, Dum, Dum!

Rumble, Rumble, Rumble!

"What are you doing, you bastard!?" Razallath practically shouted from the depths of his heart as he saw the man take out a cellphone and add sound effects to the reveal.

"I mean, I thought it would be a shocking revelation, and you would start calling me Daddy or something."

The man put his hand on his chin as if thinking about something.

"...Actually, that would be weird. Please don't call me that."

"......." The girl could only look at this situation with a strange gaze; these two beings completely forgot about her existence.

"Not even if hell freezes over in the morning will I call you that, you bastard!"

"And it's not the first time she invited you over to the house!"

"...." Alice looked at the demon with an incredulous look.

‘Demons have a mother!?’ Despite being afraid, she was genuinely curious.

"Why are you here!? Answer me!"

"Tsk, Tsk. That's why Barbatos demons are called muscle-headed idiots."

'Barbatos...? Who...?' Alice didn't understand what Dante was talking about.

Veins began to bulge on Razallath's body, as his eyes seemed to be on fire, starting to get irritated with this talkative man.

"In response to your earlier question..."

"...."

The two stared at each other for a long time.

"I came here to play UNO." He shows the cards he brought.

".......''

'Does this man not take this situation seriously!?' Alice shouted in frustration to herself.

"DANTE!" The demon shouted toward Dante, and pure fire spewed out of his mouth.

BOOM.

The wall on which Dante was standing was destroyed, but the demon saw no sign of the man.

"Okay, okay. You really have no sense of humor... Sigh, looks like I'll have to play with your mom later."

‘Just forget about this mother talk!’ Alice screamed internally.

Hearing the irritating voice behind him, The Demon quickly turned around, but as soon as he felt the man's palm touching his back, he thought:

'Shit.'

BOOOOM!

And all he heard was the sound of a loud blast, and soon he found himself flying toward a wall.

Grabbing the girl falling from the sky like a sack of potatoes, Dante turned around and started to leave. "Job done~... Seriously, I'm going to charge more for this job, facing an A-rank demon? That wasn't in the contract, damn pigeons."

The girl looked at the man's hand and saw that it was completely dark red, as if it were a carapace, and a small spike was sticking out from the top of his hand.

'A demon.' Her face darkened even more when she realized that she was not safe... Probably... He saved her, right?

Maybe he is a good person?

'No! Alice, don't fall for this illusion again!'

"...Why did you save me?"

"I was paid for it." The man replied nonchalantly.

'A mercenary...' Remembering what the man said and recalling the words 'pigeon,' Alice thought:

'Angels? What do they want from me?'

Although she hadn't been in this shitty city for long, she knew the local slang thanks to her former kidnapper who loved to talk, and usually words like:

Pigeons and feathered ones are words used to identify an angel.

Beings that were the opposite of demons, and they were usually described as servants of God.

As she was about to ask for more information, she heard a rumble behind her.

BOOOOOOM.

"Dante!!" The roar of a furious demon was heard.

"Yes, Yes, My name is Dante." Turning his head to the demon covered in flames, Dante smiled lightly.

"Really, man? Can't you just forget about the girl?"

"My leader wants her."

"And he shall have her."

"Do not get in my way, mercenary."

"Or you won't have a place to live tomorrow-."

"Why are you recording?"

"Don't mind me~. I'm just recording the cliché lines of a villain. I'll show your mom later; I know you practiced it a lot in front of the mirror. She often bragged that her son was growing up fast." A small tear threatened to fall from Dante's face.

"Daddy is proud." He said as he wiped away the tear.

"....." The girl and the demon were simply speechless.

"I'm sorry, I get very emotional when it comes to my children." Dante took a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose.

Sounds of veins popping were heard, along with the sound of teeth grinding and the sound of air pressure.

Razallath's body began to turn redder, and his eyes practically seemed to glow with fire.

"H-Hey, what are you doing!? He's coming!" Alice started hitting Dante's back.

"Hmm?" Dante looked up and saw an enraged Razallath.

"I am not your son, you bastard!" He attacked Dante with his giant fist.

Seeing that fist coming towards him, Dante couldn't help but say:

"This is not my lucky day."

BOOOOOOOOM!

...

"Ugh..." Alice opened her eyes, her vision blurry, and feeling a bit dizzy. Shaking her head to regain clarity, she looked around and realized she was inside a destroyed building. Soon her attention was drawn to an incredible sight in front of her.

"Oh my God..." escaped her lips as her eyes scanned a straight line of holes caused by Razallath's punches. "How many buildings have been destroyed... And more importantly, how am I still alive?" She wondered, shocked, but soon a voice answered her questions.

"What do you think?" came the familiar voice.

"I protected you, of course," the voice continued, and Alice looked in the direction it was coming from. That's when she saw Dante's body.

Or rather, what was left of it...

Dante's body was impaled by iron bars, and his limbs twisted in strange directions. His chest appeared sunken, clearly broken.

"Y-You..." Alice was left speechless by the horrifying sight.

"Ah, he really went overboard this time," Dante sighed, looking at the destruction around him. "Just look at all this mess. When the authorities arrive, I'll blame him for this wreckage... And I'll make sure to punish his mother even more when I finish this job. Ahh~, just imagining those curves..."

Alice blushed upon hearing those indecent words. "How can you say those things when you're so badly hurt? And why are you so obsessed with that demon's mother?"

"Huh...? You don't know?" Dante seemed surprised.

"Know what?" Alice asked, confused.

"The best way to get revenge on an enemy is to go after their mother and give her the best night of her life," Dante explained with a genuine bloody smile.

Alice didn't even know where to begin questioning that statement, but one doubt remained. "What if your enemy doesn't have a mother?"

"Then I'll go after his grandmother, of course," Dante replied nonchalantly.

"If there's no grandmother, I'll go after his sister, wife, childhood friend, and so on. But preferably, the mother is always the best choice. Who can resist an experienced woman?" He spoke with a bloody smile.

".......” Somehow, this demon was worse than the other one!

"Anyway, don't move. You're injured," Alice said, changing the subject.

"Hmm? This is nothing," he casually replied.

"Eh...?" Alice was confused.

A red aura began to envelop Dante's body, and Alice witnessed a scene she would never forget. Dante's broken body began to regenerate before her eyes, quickly restructuring itself. In a matter of seconds, he was completely healed, as if nothing had happened. Even his clothes were restored!

Dante stretched his muscles a bit. "Seems like everything's in order... Ahh!"

"What!?" Alice was startled by Dante's sudden shout.

"I forgot to check on my Dragon warrior!"

"Dragon Warrior?" Alice tilted her head, confused.

Dante ignored the girl, opened his pants, and checked that his tool was intact, satisfied with the discovery.

"Well, it's here," he affirmed as if everything was fine.

Alice felt embarrassed, not knowing how to deal with this demon.

"Oh, by the way, girl. You better get out of there," Dante suddenly said.

"Huh?" Alice was confused.

BOOOM.

The sound of an explosion echoed, and a demon emerged from the ground, appearing on the same floor where Dante was.

"Hiii!" Alice quickly started running and hid behind a pillar.

"Dante, I'm going to kill you!" shouted the furious demon.

Dante looked at the demon with a resigned expression. "You really lost yourself in fury... Well, as expected of a fury demon, isn't it?"

Heavy footsteps sounded, and the two-meter-tall demon slowly approached Dante, a deathly gaze in its eyes.

"Die!" yelled the demon, striking Dante with its fist.

BOOOM!

"I'm sorry..." muttered Dante amidst the blast.

"...It'll be detrimental to my reputation as a mercenary if I get beaten up too much, you know?" he continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"He's so strong..." Alice couldn't help but comment as she witnessed Dante simply holding the demon's fist as if it were nothing.

Dante squeezed the demon's fist tightly.

Crack, crack.

The sound of bones breaking echoed through the area, along with the roar of a beast in pain.

"Ahhhhh!" The demon screamed, thinking, 'What is this? Why does it hurt so much!?"

"And your punching technique is terrible... Let me show you how to throw a real punch." Dante's right arm began to glow with a red aura.

"DANTE!" The demon shouted, releasing flames from its mouth toward Dante.

Slowly, Dante's arm began to transform. The human part disappeared, revealing a demonic arm. The arm had a deep red-dark color, with pulsating orange and red veins running through it.

Alice swallowed nervously as she saw Dante's toothy grin manifest. At some point, he had changed.

Ignoring the fire consuming his body, Dante clenched his fist tightly.

"This is how you throw a real punch."

The red power in his arm grew more intense, and in the next moment, when Dante struck the demon's stomach with a punch, only a deafening blast echoed.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Witnessing this scene, innocent Alice couldn't help but think that the demon chasing her wasn't as scary as she thought. In Alice's opinion, that golden-haired man with blue eyes exuded a much more sinister and dangerous aura. To her, that mercenary with a disturbed mind was much more frightening than the demon itself.