Dante prepared himself for battle, his strength reaching its peak once again; he was fully recovered. Unlike ten years ago, Dante now believed he could fight against Valentina...
Or at least he thought he could.
"Ugh!!" He groaned in pain as he felt his stomach brutally kicked, sending him thousands of kilometers away from where he was initially. He was confident at first, but... "She... she's stronger than before, this crazy woman!" He yelled as he floated in the air, recovering from the impact. His senses were confused, but he couldn't waste time on that.
Once again, the red-haired woman appeared before him, holding a golden spear, something he had somewhat forgotten... after all, he had never felt Gungnir piercing his body at its full force; his mother never allowed that... unlike this mad woman in front of him, who was no longer his beloved mother.
"Valentina, snap out of it!" He shouted quickly, but the woman had no time for conversation, and another horizontal attack came towards Dante. "Not this time!" He said, gripping his weapon, which, through fusion, had become a spear.
Tching! The impact of the colliding spears made them both tremble slightly as the sound echoed through space, followed by a wave of wind that pushed them apart.
Dante tried to stand firm, but he knew his defeat was certain, no matter how he fought. Valentina was a war goddess, compared to him, who had only fought to survive... but... he felt something different.
"It's me! Dante! Your husband? Remember me!" He shouted, but nothing resonated in that irrational woman. She advanced again, striking a precise blow to his arm.
"Argh!" He groaned in pain as he felt Gungnir grazing him, quickly placing his hand over the spot. "It feels like acid, is this because of the divine power of this stupid spear?" He wondered, but soon she pierced his abdomen again... another unacceptable mistake, letting his guard down against a woman like Valentina.
As Gungnir impaled him, she grabbed his face and squeezed, the woman's nails piercing his flesh.
"Argh!!" He screamed in pain, unlike ordinary people... He was dealing with an absolute woman, a woman who emanated strength just by breathing. As he began to struggle to escape Valentina's grasp, she lifted him up and stared deeply into his eyes. Both blood-colored eyes met, however...
"Tsk, Trash." Valentina said, hurling Dante towards the ground, causing him to plummet several meters...
Contrary to what Dante thought, that left him saddened. Usually, he didn't care much about things; he was a free spirit who made efforts only to survive. Even in extreme cases, he merely nodded and moved on, but he had never truly felt sad... But to hear something like that from Valentina's mouth tore him apart inside.
He fell with his arms open, was he injured? Well, not physically... In fact, the mental wound was much greater. "I'll kill you, Alice." Dante thought aloud as he stood up... He decided he would face that woman, at least until she regained her senses.
"The most beautiful woman is always the craziest, isn't she?" He questioned himself as he saw the woman hovering in the sky with a sovereign gaze, as if she truly only looked upon trash.
Fear.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
Valentina received a supersonic punch to the face, sending her thousands of meters away, crashing into a mountain, which in turn, was nearly devastated.
"Snap out of it! You're Valentina Scarlet! My wife!" Dante shouted, echoing throughout the area. At the same time... the fallen Valentina rose with blood dripping from every corner, her dress completely stained, her eyes burning with fury, her body wounded in a way that hadn't happened in many years.
She stood up, and all her hair ignited, her dress turned into flames, and she prepared herself, bathing Gungnir in her fury.
"It seems like it's really going to start..." Alice said, while conjuring a barrier around the entire empire to prevent damage.
"I don't think that will be enough," Morgana said and waved her hands, creating a different barrier.
"Hm?" Alice questioned as she observed the magical technology she used.
"What is this?" She asked. "A barrier of regenerative layers. Instead of always having an equal barrier, I use mana to determine where it will be hit and there it will be fully reinforced, it's more effective," Morgana explained. Alice observed closely; after all, since her daughter returned, she had learned a lot, and she was obsessed with knowledge.
"It seems like he got it," Alice commented as she saw Valentina being thrown again for several meters after her blade met with Dante's. "That form..." Morgana murmured, feeling something coming from Dante's tattoo... "Amaterasu," Alice concluded, watching the scene carefully. "Yes, the Power of the Sun, just like..."
"In Light or Darkness, you bow to me," Dante said, and the pressure fell upon Valentina, sinking her into the ground where they fought. A chain of miasma emerged, and Evangeline appeared behind Valentina, holding her fiery wings, which didn't hurt her, after all... she was absorbing.
"Snap out of it!" Dante shouted, but the current Valentina fought against the chains; her whole body roared with pain, but she didn't stop. "Urght!!!" She growled, and the heat began to rise again. She broke free and lunged directly at Dante's neck.
She lunges at Dante's neck to cut it, but before the blade of her spear could hit him, a dark energy erupts around him, forming an impenetrable defense that completely halts her advances.
Valentina recoils, surprised, while Dante stares at her with a defiant smile on his lips. "You're brave, but don't underestimate my strength, Valentina," Dante murmurs, his voice laden with power. "You're not my Valentina, she would have utterly annihilated me."
Valentina was not pleased at all. Unlike her complete self, that woman didn't have the experiences and life experiences of Valentina's current woman. Meanwhile, Dante had all the knowledge Valentina had passed on to him. Basically, the master was becoming the disciple.