"You're arrogant, aren't you?" Dante questioned, lifting his head to stare at Tiamat, who, despite saying all of this, showed no emotion.
"Arrogance? I'm just putting you back on your path. Or do you want to continue like this and lose one of them?" Tiamat said, looking at Dante without fear of what might happen.
"The right path... by reminding me of the women I lost..." Dante murmured.
"Exactly. You're so focused on that, you've forgotten there are people who would give everything for you, or rather, they already have, and you abandoned them. Don't you feel ashamed?" She asked seriously.
"Silence," Dante countered.
"Of course, silence this, silence that... as humans say, the truth hurts," Tiamat replied.
Dante stared at the dragon for a few seconds, unwilling to admit it... but it was true. He had swept many things under the rug.
Dante glared at Tiamat, her words echoing in his mind with relentless force. He could feel the weight of truth behind them, even though the bitterness in his chest tried to deny it. The silence between them lingered, thick and tense. The dragon observed him without fear, as if she was used to confronting stubborn, broken souls.
"You're a powerful being, Dante," Tiamat continued, her voice rumbling like distant thunder before a storm. "But it's in that very strength you hide. You use your power as a shield to avoid facing your failures. But I ask you: what's the point of being strong if you can't protect those you love?"
Dante clenched his fists, his golden eyes glowing with fury and frustration. "I did what I could. I did what was necessary."
"Did you really?" Tiamat shot back. "Or did you just do what was convenient? You're trapped in a cycle of destruction, sowing chaos wherever you go, and in the end... it's always others who pay the price."
The dragon circled around Dante, her immense presence surrounding him, as she continued. "How many times have you run from your responsibilities? How many times have you let those who trusted you fall into shadow while you pushed forward alone? Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Aphrodite, Brynhildr... all of them. Did you truly do everything you could to save them? Or did you abandon them when they became inconvenient to your plans?"
Dante gritted his teeth, pain and guilt stirring inside him. He knew he wasn't perfect, that he'd made mistakes—some that weighed heavily on his soul to this day. But he also knew he couldn't change the past, and tormenting himself over it wouldn't help him protect the people now under his care.
"I didn't abandon anyone," he muttered, though his words sounded more like a reassurance to himself than a reply to Tiamat. "I did what I had to do... always."
Tiamat let out a soft, joyless laugh. "Always that excuse. 'I did what I had to do.' That doesn't erase the fact that you failed. It won't change what happened. And if you continue down this path, the ones beside you now will end up the same way."
Dante felt his anger boiling inside him, mixed with a feeling of helplessness he rarely allowed to surface. He didn't want to admit it, but part of what Tiamat said was true. The women he had lost weren't just victims of circumstance—some of them had been left behind, sacrificed for the path he chose to follow.
"Watch your mouth, you piece of crap husband!! I was worried about you, you know that? Look at what you've done!" Valentina yelled, her voice thick with frustration.
"A month in a coma! All because you decided to pull that stunt, you idiot! Before you do something like that, think about the people who love you!!" She continued, gesturing wildly, almost like a mother who couldn't contain her worry.
Well... she was sort of his mother in some ways, so it made sense...
"Did—what...?" Dante muttered, trying to ignore the pounding pain in his head that made him feel like it was going to explode off his body.
"Oh, you don't remember?" Valentina crossed her arms even tighter, pushing her chest forward, her eyes locked onto Dante's with a deadly glint. "I'm going to kill you! How dare you pull something like that on me!" she snapped.
Dante stared at her, completely confused.
"One minute... I was fighting a giant... the next... I was here... ugh, my head hurts," Dante groaned, pressing a hand to his head.
Valentina sighed deeply, her eyes flashing with a mix of anger and concern as she watched Dante struggle with the pain. "You really don't remember anything, do you? After you consumed that cursed energy from the giant, you passed out... and you've been like this for an entire month! A whole damn month, Dante!"
Dante frowned, trying to piece together the fractured memories in his scrambled mind. "A month...?" he repeated, disbelief lacing his voice. Time had seemed to warp completely, and he could barely process the idea of having been unconscious for so long.
"Yes, a month!" Valentina repeated, her voice rising an octave as she glared at him furiously. "You almost worried us to death! You had no idea what was happening, you idiot. You just went ahead and decided to absorb that... Chaos!" She shook her head, clearly frustrated, her eyes still locked on him.
Dante, still pressing his hand to his forehead, tried to remember. Fragments of memories floated up hazily: the battle against the giant, the dark energy that corrupted everything around it, the decision to absorb it... and finally, Tiamat's presence, the heavy conversation filled with inconvenient truths.
"I... did what I had to do," he muttered, trying to justify his actions.
Valentina huffed, uncrossing her arms and stepping closer, leaning toward him. "Did what you had to do?" she nearly shouted. "Did you think about us? Your wives? What we went through with you in a coma, not knowing if you'd wake up? You almost died, Dante! That cursed energy you absorbed nearly killed you!"
Dante remained silent for a moment, knowing she was right. He always made rash decisions, believing he could control everything, but the truth was, he often underestimated the consequences, especially for those around him.
"I... I'm sorry," he finally said, the sincerity heavy in his voice. He knew his apologies wouldn't erase the pain he had caused, but it was the least he could offer in that moment.
Valentina stared at him, her expression softening slightly. Though the anger still lingered, there was a trace of relief in her eyes. "Just... think a little before you get involved in things like that, okay?" she murmured, her voice losing its sharp edge. "I... I don't want to lose you. None of us do."