"Cure her. Sara ran off desperately after her mother and forgot about her friend. She used what she had and left her behind, that crazy girl..." Simon murmured. Dante looked at Vex. "Go down to the Subterranean. You can teleport to me if you need to talk," Dante said, and she nodded.
"Vex will work hard! I demand payment! Dante's love!" she said, mimicking Eldrax who pouted. "Yes, go quickly before I punish you," Dante sighed, watching Vex smile and vanish completely from the scene as he continued to tend to Akiko's condition.
"Luckily, I'm here..." Dante murmured, observing Akiko, who, despite being healed physically... well, her energy was another story. "She focused on the wounds and forgot to purify her energy. I can't purify it, but..." Dante said, placing his hand over her. A black mist oozed from her pores, mainly from her mouth and nose. "Tsk, disgusting," he muttered as he absorbed the demonic energy.
Quickly, Akiko stopped gasping.
*Cough, Cough.* She began to cough and swiftly turned. "Bleeeh," she vomited.
"Gross," Eldrax remarked. "Eldrax doesn't make messes like this; Eldrax is very clean!" she said, clearly anxious for some reason. "Yes, Eldrax is perfect just the way she is," Dante said, patting her head as he set her on his shoulder. "Wow, so high!" she exclaimed. Well, Dante was over 1.90 meters tall, and she was 1.55 meters tall. It was indeed a significant change.
"You look like a father," Voralith said, laughing at the situation. To her, it was very amusing to see a little dragon acting this way, even knowing she just wanted attention. After all, dragons aren't this silly. Eldrax was just pretending, and Voralith knew this well. But Dante...
well, Dante was a fool when it came to the people he cared about, and now, he was a super fool when he saw Eldrax doing these cute things. "Do I look like a father? That's good. Our children would be beautiful, don't you think, Mei?" Dante asked, almost implying something...
When Voralith heard this... she almost fainted. "C-c-children??" she stuttered, her face completely shocked as she saw Dante chuckle lightly. "So cute," he said, and Voralith turned completely red and immediately looked away. She didn't want to give Dante the satisfaction, especially at this moment when she was teetering between a yes and an absolutely. Hearing this made her even more embarrassed!
"Damn man!" she muttered to herself, noticing he was still paying attention to another woman. "Damn it! Look at me at least!" she screamed inwardly, truly fighting a mental battle within herself.
"Are you okay, Akiko?" Dante asked as the woman caught her breath after vomiting black sludge, or rather, the demonic impurities in her body. Unfortunately, Dante couldn't remove everything completely. He could only extract the energy, and her body would expel the remnants in the safest way possible. "Sara was careless. I'll punish her later. Just rest," he said, but Akiko quickly grabbed his sleeve.
"Go after Sara. I couldn't tell her everything, but there was a demon, a demon stronger than the Empress. He was posing as a human," Akiko said, recovering. "She went to the Subterranean, and knowing her... she went to the forest. Try to find her as quickly as possible.
Simon huffed, crossing his arms. "That's no excuse to leave me in the dark. If we're dealing with high-ranking demons, I need to know what's going on. I'm your strategist with support magic, not a decoration."
Dante sighed and nodded. "We'll clarify this later. First, my wife and my mother-in-law." He glanced at Akiko, still pale but determined, and then at Voralith, who was busy checking the area around them.
"First, Sara," Dante said, shifting his focus to the urgency of the moment. "She's in the forest, and if there's a powerful demon disguised there, we need to find her before it's too late."
Akiko tried to stand but wobbled, her body still weak. "I... I can help. I know Sara well, I can track her easily."
Dante placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving and making her sit down. "No way, you need to recover and be happy for when my wife returns. You've done more than enough." He turned to Vex, who had reappeared from the Subterranean with a determined look in her eyes.
"Honey, I found the entry point to the forest. I can guide you there, but the path is full of bodies. We can fly over; it's not far from here," Vex said, ready to act. She was genuinely eager for her reward, skipping her usual jokes.
"Perfect," Dante responded. He turned to Eldrax, still perched on his shoulder, and gently placed her on the ground. "Eldrax, you stay here and protect Akiko. Any sign of trouble, you know what to do."
"Yes, dear! Eldrax will burn them all with my firepower!!" Eldrax replied, mimicking a soldier, but this time with a gleam of seriousness in her eyes.
"Protect the area; nothing goes in or out, anything at all, call me with this," Dante said, throwing a magical seal to her. He was already starting to form a plan in his mind.
Voralith, observing the exchange, intervened. "And me? Do I stay here or go with you?"
Dante smiled, "Of course you're coming with me, my cute dragon," he replied, making Voralith smile, satisfied despite being called cute.
"Let's put an end to this mess once and for all. I need to fix this world," Dante said, heading off to find his wife.