Chapter 97: It's Time

The battles raged fiercely, but Dante lost interest in watching when Valentina appeared. Just her presence alone caused the fighters to completely lose focus on the fight and perform poorly. Yes, it was Valentina's intimidating presence that completely shattered the concentration of the weaker ones.

As Dante left the Arena, he walked through the first-year corridors where the classrooms were located. He remained calm despite everything. Being essentially invisible to everyone's eyes, he continued to wander through the areas while listening from afar to the Tournament announcements, which were already in the fifth fight.

"Perhaps patience is my best weapon at this moment," Dante commented while, from his shadows, two witches emerged.

"Yriel and Sylvia, what brings you here?" Dante questioned. "All preparations have been made, the targets are sealed within the Barrier." They bowed and continued, "The Chief said there are many alpha werewolves within the School. She said to be cautious of the two women accompanying Velkan, they are royal guards." Sylvia concluded.

"We are going, if there is any trouble, call for the signal." Both disappeared into Dante's shadows.

Nagasawa suddenly appeared behind Dante and embraced him from behind, her hands sliding over his neck. She said nothing, but Dante understood what it meant.

"Let's go, it's almost time," Dante said, and she released him. She was both anxious and afraid at the same time.

Dante walked in a direction, through long corridors, only giving time for a certain event to occur.

The fight between Forki vs. Alexander was about to happen, and at this moment, Dante would descend to settle things.

As he walked through the corridors, he heard small murmurs, caught broken conversations, and many other things about him, including speculations on how he died.

Dante was a dead man among the living. His death had been confirmed, so now everyone thought so. After all, he had been missing for almost five months. Anyone would think that such a person had died.

Dante marched firmly towards the main arena, where the fight between Alexander and Forki was about to begin. His thirst for killing had already started to slowly leave his body, affecting the atmosphere slightly.

He began to walk down the main hallway, pondering for a few seconds about the circumstances of his life, but he didn't care. His first action upon returning was... to devastate everything.

His aura began to fall over his body. However, as he passed by a room, he felt an extremely familiar aura and lowered his head. He realized there was nothing but a person inside the room.

He headed towards the room and, for a second, hesitated to open it. But when he did, he saw...

Clovis Arton, the dwarf prince, hanging upside down, completely beaten and with serious bruises all over his body. Several broken bones and claw marks. He was upside down, and the entire floor was dripping with blood, forming a large puddle.

"Wolf remnants," Nagasawa commented as she surveyed the scene. "They asked for help from their parents and thought I wouldn't come back, so they did this to him. They went after my only friend to demonstrate their superiority," said Dante, observing how they had beaten Clovis, focusing mainly on his hands.

"Take him to the infirmary," Dante commented. "Be cer-" "Don't make me repeat myself," he replied coldly, his hand beginning to drip, and Nagasawa saw the blood falling to the ground in small drops.

"Right." She picked up the boy's body and disappeared.

"Sylvia, Yriel," Dante commented, and the two witches appeared. "Send Morgana here now." "Yes, Young Master." They bowed and vanished.

Initially, Dante didn't want to do anything about Morgana, didn't want to involve her directly, as it would cause problems for the Witch Kingdom in a way. But he disregarded the rules; he would devastate everything if necessary.

"Not yet," Elizabeth murmured.

"Coming from the west side! Representing the Giants!"

"He who fights for the honor of his ancestors," she shouted.

"Forki Dolafor!"

The crowd's eyes sparkled with anticipation, like stars in the night sky, as each soul vibrated in anticipation. Akime stood up from where she was and went to the middle of the arena.

"Before that, we have to say a few words about two people who sacrificed their lives to save several students, Dante Scarlet and Nagasawa Yamata," Akemi drew everyone's attention.

In the VIP area,

"I feel bad about holding a tournament at the same time as a tribute," Zed said as he watched Akemi preparing something in the middle of the Arena.

"It seems more like a celebration," Aren commented. "That's what they wanted from the start," Katarina said.

"It seems they haven't realized yet," Katarina murmured as she looked at two blurs on top of one of the rooftops.

Akemi then summoned a kind of giant portal in the arena, and two gigantic statues were conjured. They were lifted to two smooth areas, fitting perfectly, each statue representing one of them, Dante and Nagasawa.

Dante observed the scene with a mixture of complex feelings, his indecipherable expression hiding the storm brewing within him. However, it was what followed that ignited the flame of anger within him, like a dormant volcano awakening to life.

Alexander stole and raised the horn from Akemi's hands, startling her. His voice echoed, filled with respect and reverence? No, it was just a mask to come off well in front of others.

"While the pages of records may fail to capture the whole truth, it is my duty to shed light on the unparalleled bravery of Dante and Professor Nagasawa," he announced, his words like rays of light cutting through the darkness.

"They faced the unimaginable, fighting against a evil beyond human understanding, holding the reins of fate so that we, the living, could escape from the clutches of imminent death. If it weren't for them... I fear we would be gathered here today, not to honor them, but to mourn our own loss. May eternity bear witness to my deep gratitude for the sacrifice of my sworn friend.

May every soul present bow in reverence to these heroes who walked among us, I ask for a minute of silence."

Silence descended upon the crowd like a sacred shroud, enveloping everyone in a hug of respect and gratitude. For a moment, time seemed to freeze, as if the entire universe paid homage to the extraordinary deeds of Dante and Professor Nagasawa, but Dante was far from happy, especially knowing that the culprits were specifically these two.

In the distance.

"It's time, let's start the plan," one of the dark beings said, and the Barrier began to be engulfed by a kind of curse.

A roar from the heavens filled the entire place, and the clouds began to turn red, lightning storms began to form in the distance.

A beast had been enraged.