Dust rose into the air, making the atmosphere even heavier. Splinters of wood and broken roots were scattered everywhere, while blood seemed to rain from the ceiling, the result of a massive beam of roots transporting negative energy being destroyed.
Then, a figure emerged from the debris.
"Hahahaha!" A different voice came as it rose from the ground. It wasn't Dante laughing; a demon emerged from the mist, looking toward where Dante had fallen. This time, however, it wasn't exactly that demon... At least its appearance wasn't the same.
Its appearance seemed to have shattered; it was as if it was just in a transformation, or rather, a different bodily armor than usual.
"HAHAHAHA!" The man's laughter echoed as he stepped out of the rubble. Dante was trapped between the wood and the innards of the roots, but he quickly freed himself, devastating his surroundings with just his aura.
He stood up, and the dust fully dissipated, finally revealing it—the demon, in its true form. He had heard that voice before, a voice between masculine and feminine, but now he was sure of what he was seeing. Yes, a woman.
Tall, really tall, perhaps about 3 meters? She was slightly shorter than her previous form. Dante didn't have a ruler to measure her height, but that didn't matter. She had an athletic build, her body was truly defined, just like Nagasawa's or Valentina's, the indomitable body of a Demonic warrior.
Her face matched her body: high cheekbones, a defined jawline, and a sharp chin, combined with a pair of large, intense eyes with irises as black as the abyss of night and neon red pupils.
Dante just watched that scene. The woman's large breasts were bound by strips that resembled bandages, and her white hair fell to her waist. Additionally, she had two ebony horns curved backward.
"Damn it, hiding this beautiful woman in a man's body! Damn it!" Dante cursed, laughing, as he adored strong women.
"It's not as if I had a choice," she said, a bit breathless as she placed her hands on her waist. Her red skin provided a very unique contrast for that moment. "You would have gone easy on me; everyone goes easy because I'm a woman." She said this like a personal confession. Dante kept a poker face and looked at her deeply.
"If I had seen you like this, I would have used even more force." Dante said, maintaining his deadpan expression. He looked at her, analyzing how she was behaving. But she was a warrior, she seemed to want to continue the battle, but he couldn't waste any more time here...
"Hey, what's your real name? Avaddon seems too strange for you," Dante asked, wearing that smile on his face... that damned smile.
"Akira, just Akira." She said. Dante needed to go. Many thoughts passed through his mind, and he just smiled. "Akira, huh..." he murmured and walked towards her without using any aura or releasing any ill intent.
"How about we postpone our fight? I have to save my wife and her mother, then we can fight in Hell without worrying about destroying everything around." Dante said with a smile. Akira did the same. She was a warrior; she wanted the fight, not to invade a world. "Alright! Let's do that!
"I'm coming, dear..." Dante said. There was little time left to reach the top and finally find his wife. It was his only real goal; it was his best choice at the moment... He just needed to keep moving forward... Despite the previous battle having taken a lot out of him, he would just keep going forward. He needed to reach the summit.
But it wasn't just he who continued to think about Sara...
"I request an audience," Michael said in front of God's cosmic hall. He was already impatient, seeing the entire situation with Sara in the mortal world, and his Father seemed oblivious to what was happening.
Not a single order had been given, not a word of concern, not a single emotion had been conveyed. Even Ariel, the Archangel closest to His Father, hadn't communicated anything, said absolutely NOTHING about a DEMONIC INVASION! And Michael's sense of humility was on the verge of exploding. He felt compelled to help with this invasion, which led him to the Hall of the Cosmos.
The door, made of a material similar to gold, opened, revealing the completely majestic landscape of the entire planet among nearby galaxies. Michael entered the room with heavy steps; he didn't want to waste more time. The situation happening... shouldn't have even started, to begin with.
"Father!" Michael shouted, calling out through the entire place, but he noticed the divine spark hovering in the skies.
"Another one here to bother me..." It murmured, slowly changing its voice. "Are you also here to question my actions regarding this invasion, my son?" The masculine voice asked.
"Yes, that's right! The World is being invaded, and we are doing nothing!" Michael said, looking at the divine spark of light. "If intervention were necessary, do you think I wouldn't have allowed you to act?" the voice questioned Michael, who was left speechless.
"See for yourself." It said, and a screen appeared before him, showing five trees...
"How is this happening?" He spoke, incredulous... "You have limited your vision too much to mere Humility, my son." The voice said...
"Justice has already descended upon the realms. The three kingdoms adjacent to the Eastern and Western Empires are already being dealt with. As for the other two... I am not inclined to involve myself with the Infernal Progenitor. Unfortunately, Humility has allied with him, and it is up to him alone to protect." The voice said, and it seemed the light was looking at Michael.
"Return and observe that man," the voice ordered, expelling Michael with a gust of wind...
"That's just what I needed..." The voice returned to being feminine as usual. "Why is it so difficult to have children?"
The woman floated, looking at the planet... "Lilith is in the mortal world, heading towards the Infernal Progenitor. My pathetic son is trying to gather strength to rise again and seek revenge, and the balance is being broken..." She murmured...
"Why can't I just sleep in peace? I'm so tired..."