Chapter 99: What is the cost of living?

As I explained my current situation to everyone, I felt something approaching, or rather, heading towards Valentina. It was a kind of... I didn't know what it was, but I positioned myself in front of her and was struck while protecting her. Not even half a second passed before a very strong headache emerged.

I held my head and let out a slight grunt, which caught Valentina's attention in my lap, who was startled by the change in position seconds ago. Quickly, she asked, "Are you okay, Dante?" Inquiring, she knew about what Lilith had done to my body, but she had assured that nothing strange was inside me. Still, concern knocked on her door.

"There's something wrong," I said, feeling strong pulsations not only in my head but also in my heart, as if I were being constantly regenerated.

I began to hyperventilate. My whole body started to heat up, as if something were taking over my head with each passing moment. My chest began to slightly expand. "Get out!" I shouted, pushing Valentina and the others away, as my body began to burn in flames and my core... self-destructed, exploding part of my body and opening my chest.

My energy began to drain as I watched black flames consume everything. I didn't have time to react, but looking ahead, I saw everything start to melt.

My energy raged, like a roar darker than limbo itself. When I looked properly, I only saw a smile in the distance. A man? No, I didn't know what that was. It was a different kind that I had never seen before. The barrier in the sky changed color quickly.

My body began to combust more and more, as if it were about to explode in milliseconds. Everything stopped.

When I viewed the situation from a different perspective, I understood the cause of this. In my soul, or rather, closing my eyes and entering my domain, I realized that I was no longer a vampire, at least not a normal vampire. Maybe what I think might be madness, so I couldn't simply assume, as I've been doing.

I looked outside and saw the scene getting blurrier. I had become a huge monster of black fire, almost like a hydra with seven heads, a strange demon, a king? I felt terrible watching that scene. In my mind, everything was chaos, horrible thoughts arose and vanished. Part of me was being emptied, as if everything were slipping away.

My uncontrollable self began to unleash fire on all sides, burning several people trying to flee. Many charred corpses began to lie in front of me. I began to cry inwardly. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. My body was being controlled by something or someone, or something inside me, something that emerged when I was struck.

It felt like I was in sleep paralysis. I saw Valentina in front of me trying to stop the damage and controlling her aura, but I completely ignored her. She seemed weakened... what was that? I didn't know, but the barrier in the sky was quite enlightening. It was an attack.

When I realized, I saw several black knights emerging, but Kryoris doesn't have black knights... what was this after all? I didn't know, but those people were enemies.

I tried in every way to regain control, but it wasn't possible. Not even trying to use all my power. It was as if I had never had mana. Nothing was controllable and everything was just a vision of terror.

My uncontrollable self met the ranks of knights, who simply melted. In the shape of a hydra, I simply attacked in a wide direction and precision.

Like Sara, she turned blonde, with golden curly hair, emerald green eyes, and a golden halo radiating light on her head. She was using a transformation that led her to become an angel, or so I concluded.

I heard screams of despair from all sides, louder and louder, my mind was breaking every second that passed. They were complicated screams of people whom I had just begun to truly value...

"Dante!" Nagasawa shouted. I saw her expression of concern when she was thrown and burned by one of the Hydra's heads. Half of her face was gone... That hurt a lot.

"Stop right now!" Gungnir pierced me, but I felt no pain. Valentina had teary eyes as a woman who was transformed into a phoenix appeared by her side, pulling her away.

"Tsukoyomi!" Morgana shouted as darkness covered me, but it was in vain, everything broke.

"Dante, please!" Sara... Again, I left her alone, didn't I?

Before I disappeared, I heard an angelic voice... Justice... yes, I understand what you feel... I'm sorry for forcing you to do this in front of your student.

"I'm sorry." She said and a huge energy was summoned from the heavens, a sacred energy the size of the coliseum hit me, and then... those were the last things before disappearing from this world

A huge flash of Golden Magic hit me, triggered by the clouds in the sky, I felt everything slowly fading away, my body, soul, and mind, everything collapsed as if it were over...

[Jacob's Ladder]!! It was the last phrase I heard, the name of the blow that expelled me, making my body disappear completely. I no longer had any state of life, just a long and vast expanse of white, as I floated in some kind of imaginary world, without any trace of life, it was probably really that, did I die? I don't know, but I didn't see anything beyond that anymore.

I just know that my body turned to dust, my limbs didn't exist anymore, and I was just a... a floating soul while feeling terrible for all the chaos they had created around me.

Everything went wrong again, everything always goes wrong with me. Even when I try to do the right things and plan, everything goes wrong. We had a plan, but my arrogance led to error again. I let my guard down, for what? I don't know.

Where am I going? Who am I? I will never know again, how are they? I won't know, everything is gone because again, I was stupid.

I died for the second time.