The shining portal closed behind Dante, and he let out a long sigh, feeling the weight of recent battles lift from his shoulders.
"What the hell was that?!" he roared before finally calming down. "It was obvious they weren't alone, but a voice could just stop me? What the hell was that?" He vented his frustrations into the air as his wives surrounded him, uncertainty lingering in their eyes—something was wrong...
Well, all of them, even those who hadn't been at the meeting, knew what had happened because of Morgana. So, in a way, they all knew why Dante was really upset at this moment. "And that son of a bitch still escaped without anyone noticing. Damn it!" he growled.
"It's hard to see him like this," Aaralyn commented, while Velryna nodded. "It's the first time I've seen our dear like this," she remarked. "Get used to it, it happens all the time," Morgana interrupted with a nod. "All the time? I've been with him for months, and nothing like this has happened..." Aaralyn replied. "I've been with him for years, I know what I'm saying," Morgana retorted.
Valentina, the closest to him, gently touched his arm. "You seemed to be having fun with Velkan," she commented with a slight smile. "But the work never ends, does it? You're going back to training..." She said, causing Dante's body to tremble completely... "B-but..." "You're going to train with me.
Just like old times..." Valentina said, making Dante's body shake entirely, making him forget all the problems and focus solely on Valentina...
"This isn't the time for that," Voralith interrupted, looking at Dante and his... "Ahem- Ahem- You have a guest, dear." She coughed, drawing his attention.
Everyone laughed at his reaction as muffled giggles echoed through the hall. "You're all forgetting you're coming along too, right?" This made several of the women freeze.
"Now..." Dante turned. "I'm going to talk to my dear friend," Dante said, smiling. "Really? But..." Vex murmured... before she could respond, a booming voice cut through the air. "I think the man's talking about me, ladies!
Enjoy new adventures from мѵʟ
Sorry, but I'll be stealing him for a while," Clovis, the burly dwarf who had followed him through the portal, stepped forward with a hearty laugh and a warm expression. He no longer wore the battle armor he used to, but instead, a worn leather cloak adorned with the crest of the Dwarf Kingdom, which didn't diminish his imposing presence at all.
Dante greeted him with a slap on the shoulder, a gesture of friendship that spoke of decades of trust and shared battles. "Of course I'm talking about you, Clovis. How could I forget my old friend?" He commented—he had actually forgotten...
Dante's wives watched with a mix of feelings, but... they all knew something... "He forgot," they thought in unison. Dante rarely showed himself so at ease with any man. In fact... besides Simon... did Dante have male friends?
For them, seeing Dante genuinely happy in the presence of another man, without the layers of severity and responsibility he carried as "emperor" (something he's not even yet), was a rare sight.
"By God, it's been far too long!" Clovis exclaimed, grabbing a mug of beer that some diligent servant had brought. He raised it, signaling for Dante to do the same. "Let's drink like the old days, like the friends we are."
"Oh, but I insist!" Clovis slammed his hand on the table, his eyes gleaming with determination. He made a gesture, and a portal spat out a large wooden box richly adorned with ancient runes. The dwarf placed it in front of Dante, who eyed the object with contained curiosity.
"What's this?" Dante asked, raising an eyebrow as his wives moved closer to get a look at the mysterious gift.
Clovis grinned, his white teeth shining through his beard. "A gift from the Dwarven Kingdom. My most powerful weapon, the perfect creation of my life... I call it the 'Malevolent Demon Fang.' And now, it belongs to you, Dante," he said, gesturing for Dante to open the box.
Dante carefully opened the box, revealing a deep red spear that pulsed with a strange, warm energy. He picked it up, feeling an ancient, almost living power vibrating through it.
"This is... impressive," Dante commented, lightly touching the spear's shaft.
Dante smiled, a rare, genuine smile. "Clovis, this is more than I could ask for. I can't accept this."
"Oh, stop being a killjoy. I owed you this... especially after losing that spear with that strange material you requested," Clovis said, taking another swig of his beer. "Just keep being the stubborn bastard you always were, and we're good. No need to thank me..."
"Hm? What spear?" Lilith asked, now paying close attention to the conversation.
Dante chuckled lightly, recalling the incident. Before he could speak, Valentina jumped in, shrugging nonchalantly, "He made a spear from your horn, but lost it within hours."
The room went silent as everyone took in Valentina's words, before bursting into laughter at Lilith's expression. The throne hall, previously tense with recent battles and conflicts, was now filled with a warm sense of camaraderie and relief.
As the night progressed, the conversation shifted to the Dwarven Kingdom and the changes that had taken place over the last ten years.
"It's been... interesting times," Clovis began, leaning back in his chair. "After that invasion, we had to rebuild almost everything. It wasn't easy, but dwarves are resilient folk. We expanded our underground borders and found new sources of precious minerals."
"But I thought—" Dante started, but Clovis interrupted, as if it was nothing, "Yes, we weren't invaded by giant trees, but we were attacked by some strange demons. Nothing we couldn't handle. That's why it took me so long to come here. Trust me, when I saw you killing Ethan, I thought about coming immediately, but all this mess happened first."
Clovis then grew more serious as he continued, "There are always threats in the depths," he said, his tone darkening. "It's not just creatures like the ones we've fought before. There are... rumors of something older, something stirring in the darkness. I can't say much yet, but I've got a feeling we're not far from another war."
N.A: Sorry for the mood-breaker with the Nova Spear reveal. I didn't have time to review it so I'll leave it for when Dante uses it as a Weapon and not a Souvenir.