37 A Redeeming Mission
On the third day of Dante's training in the laboratory, he was checking the progress of his umbra control and asked Paige for a couple of targets to practice.
Clasping his hands together, Dante cast "shadow whip," which had been giving him a tough time as the spell was generating tens of lashes instead of one.
However, after practicing for the past few days, the spell produced three strands of shadowy mist that whipped the ballistic dummy, leaving three deep, fatal wounds.
While the power output was still higher than what he was trying to cast, he was at least able to control the three lashes simultaneously, so the whipping of random things around him had finally ceased.
Paige never stopped taking detailed notes of the warlock's training, and just when he felt like he was in good shape to hunt demons, Camille went to the lab to tell him that the raid on the Scarlett Bullets' base would take place the next day.
As requested by Dante, Megan and Krom would be the only people accompanying him, as he needed the brunette's expertise in criminal activity and the imp's skills in tracking demons.
On the day of the raid, Megan took her motorcycle out of the garage since it would be their vehicle for the night.
The warlock had never ridden on one, but he was pretty interested in them after seeing plenty on the streets and movies he had been watching.
Megan's motorcycle was entirely black with a carbon fiber front, and while Dante wasn't easily captivated by women, he couldn't help but stare at Megan's figure leaning against the front as she took off her helmet.
"You like it?" Megan asked with a straight face.
"Yeah. I guess the bike is nice, too," Dante jokingly replied.
"Funny—now get on," said the brunette with a slight smile on her face, handing him a helmet.
Dante sat behind the brunette and looked for the handles on the sides, and after noticing that they weren't there, he settled by holding onto Megan's waist.
When they arrived at Camille's office, she gave them the location of a house in a middle-class district, which Megan thought was strange since gangs didn't normally do that.
On the other hand, Dante thought it was perfect as the spaces were enclosed, so he could see how much his umbra control had improved over the past few days.
"The mission is simple…" said Camille.
They needed to get inside the house and steal anything that could hold information about their gang or the one above them.
"The Scarlett Bullets are just a stepping stone to the final boss, so try gathering all the information you can. Otherwise, the raid will be useless," Camille continued.
After giving them the details of their mission, one of the servants entered the office with a new set of clothes and a mask for the warlock.
He liked his new sneakers since they felt lighter than his current shoes, and the black jacket felt of higher quality. However, the most impressive piece was the mask.
"Paige made that polycarbonate mask for you. It won't fall off your face, no matter how much you move…" the handler explained.
Camille was a bit worried about Dante getting identified since he had pretty distinct features, which is why she wanted him to hide his face.
"The detectives are already looking into this case, and I don't wanna drag you into a problem with the authorities," she said.
When nighttime fell upon the city, Dante got on the back of Megan's bike, and even while they were going to hunt a bunch of gang members, the warlock was mesmerized by the sight of the city lights as he enjoyed the night's breeze.
After stopping a block away from their destination, Dante called Krom to his side, making the imp 'poof' right next to him.
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While Dante and Megan were making their way to the Scarlett Bullets base, Sophia was hanging out in the apartment with Zac and Krom, who were having a heated match on the GameStation.
"Dude, Krom. You can't just spam the same move!" Zac exclaimed.
"Hehe, why not? The game is letting me do it," the imp replied while snickering to himself.
"I can see why Dante said you were annoying…" said Zac, holding his face with exasperation, but Krom simply chuckled in return.
Meanwhile, Sophia was watching them play from the couch, but she wasn't paying attention to anything they were saying, as she was preoccupied with her two friends.
"Stop worrying, girl. Your umbra is distracting me," Krom commented.
"Wha-?" Sophia asked with confusion.
"There is no point in worrying about Dante. Do you not know who he is or what?" the imp replied.
"Ah—speak of the devil…" Krom continued before Sophia could say anything, pausing the game and standing up from the floor.
"He is calling me now. I'll be right back," the imp said, instantly poofing out of the apartment.
"What do you think he meant by that?" Sophia asked the redhead.
Nonetheless, Zac was still irritated about the imp's gameplay and didn't hear a word he said before poofing away.
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When Krom appeared next to Dante and Megan, the imp found himself on a dark street illuminated by a few light posts.
"What do you need?" said the imp.
"Look at that house…" Dante replied, pointing at the structure across the street.
"What do you think?" he continued.
Krom turned his gaze at the house and placed his claws on his chin. "Hmm…" he muttered.
"I can tell there is a demon in there, but I want to know if you recognize him," the warlock clarified.
"Nah. Don't know who that is…" said Krom, making the warlock smirk.
"Good—Megan, when I go inside, get closer to the house so we can quickly leave once it's over," Dante commented, looking at the house with confidence,
"Do you really not want me to go in with you?" the brunette asked indifferently.
"Not this time. I want to redeem myself from that last mission," he replied, putting on the hoodie and mask, leaving only his crimson eyes visible.
As Dante slowly walked towards the house's front door, Megan and Krom watched from across the street, and while the brunette didn't show any emotions through her stoic face, Krom could see the umbra of worries flowing from her.
"You too?" the imp asked.
"What?" she answered with a question, not knowing what the imp meant.
"You are worrying about Dante hunting some demon small fry… Seriously, do you guys not even know who he is!?" Krom exclaimed with frustration.
Still, Megan simply raised an eyebrow with confusion.
"There's a reason he is known in hell as Hellslayer," the imp continued.
"Hellslayer?" Megan wondered out loud.
*Sigh* "You know what? —I didn't say anything. You heard nothing!" Krom shouted, poofing away back to the apartment.
