Chapter 28: Checkmate
As someone who had played a lot of games, if there was one thing Dante took pride in, it was his creativity.
The moment the terms were set, he had already issued the mental command to the pool at his feet.
Vincenzo gripped his sword with both hands, adjusting his stance and raising the blade slightly.
"I’m ready when you—"
Dante didn’t even let him finish before pointing his blade straight at him.
’Chains!’
Suddenly, four chains forged of pure blood erupted from the churning crimson wave around Dante. The chains all had tips that were triangular and razor-sharp, and they shot forward toward Vincenzo from different angles.
Vincenzo didn’t seem to panic even though the attack cut his sentence short. Reacting instantly, he threw himself into a tight roll to the left, letting three of the crimson chains whistle harmlessly past the space he had occupied a fraction of a second prior.
Dropping onto one knee as he came out of the roll, he brought his blade up in a swift arc, knocking the fourth chain off course with a metallic ring.
Then, his eyes darted around to see that the three chains he had dodged were already redirecting themselves, curving in midair to head straight for him again.
Vincenzo immediately dropped into another roll to avoid the incoming strikes. The heavy blood chains slammed into the hardwood floor, splintering the polished parquet tiles where he had been a split second before. Without wasting a moment, Vincenzo sprang to his feet, gripped his sword, and began swinging with enough force to sever the constructs entirely.
He slashed through the first chain while its tip was still embedded in the wood, then cleanly severed the second just as it uprooted itself from the floor. The third chain lunged straight for his head, but he calmly tilted his body to the side, letting the spiked tip whistle past his ear before bringing his blade down to chop it in two.
He then immediately whirled around to tackle the fourth chain, cleanly severing it midair before it could strike.
Meanwhile, Dante frowned slightly.
’Of course. He’s smart,’ he thought. ’I used those chains to force him to close the distance toward me, the source. But he’s seen right through my intention and refuses to approach, avoiding the sea of blood around my feet. Instead, he’s taking down the constructs while keeping his distance.’
Even as the thought crossed his mind, Dante had already issued another mental command to his pool. A sphere of blood surged upward from the ground, hovering right before him before instantly shaping itself into a razor-sharp arrow.
The moment Vincenzo destroyed the final chain, he turned back only to see the crimson arrow whistling straight for him. He arched his body backward, letting the blood arrow pass barely an inch above his chest before it burst against the far wall.
Then, Vincenzo straightened up, and rested his sword loosely against his shoulder. "Aren’t you going to come at me, signore? Or are you just going to keep hiding behind these weak constructs?"
Dante smiled. ’A very obvious taunt. Normally, I’d refuse, but I can’t beat him by just throwing out constructs. He’ll keep avoiding them while I waste my reserves. I need to remember that the goal of this duel isn’t to defeat him, but to touch that artifact.’
Dante dropped into a low crouch.
’Strengthen my body with fifty percent of our remaining reserves, blood demon.’-
’Yes, master!’--
Suddenly, Dante felt his body grow stronger as his muscles bulged beneath his armor.
"Alright." He obliged, launching himself forward across the parquet floor with explosive speed. He could see Vincenzo smile slightly as he rapidly closed the distance, but he didn’t let it faze him. Stepping into Vincenzo’s reach, Dante swung his sword with all the strength his boosted body could muster.
But then, his opponent casually raised his sword to block the blow.
’Fuck!’
Even with his boost, it felt like he was hitting an iron wall. The recoil alone rattled through Dante’s wrists, nearly forcing his fingers open. Still, he tried to hold on to his blade and maintain his footing, because just then, Vincenzo swung his own blade in a fluid counter-arc, refusing to let him breathe.
His only saving grace was that, according to their terms, Vincenzo was holding back to match his overall speed.
If Vincenzo were using his real strength and speed, Dante knew he wouldn’t even see the attack coming before it took his head off.
He raised his blade just in time to deflect Vincenzo’s weapon to the side, taking the opportunity to leap backward and regain his balance. Then, he lunged again. Their steel clashed with a loud clang, and in the seconds that followed, the two traded a flurry of strikes.
Vincenzo’s expression grew more unimpressed with every exchange, and he eventually placed one hand behind his back as if bored.
While Dante was giving it his all, Vincenzo was just casually swatting away Dante’s weapon with a single hand.
This humiliation made Dante frown.
’Is he really matching my strength?’ Dante gritted his teeth as his arms ached from the bone-rattling force behind every blow he had to block. ’I can’t find an opening, much less reach out for the artifact. Tsk. Come join me, Edward!’-
’Yes, master!’--
Just then, a boy drenched in crimson emerged from the pool of blood Dante had left behind, wielding a longsword forged from dense blood.
The boy lunged to the side before zoning in, closing the distance rapidly with his sword held low in both hands.
Seeing that, Vincenzo seemed to grow a bit more alert.
He frowned as he put a bit more strength into his next strike, forcing Dante’s blade back and opening his guard. Before Dante could recover, Vincenzo slammed a heavy kick directly into his chest.
Dante’s eyes widened as the force lifted him off his feet, sending him flying backward before crashing onto the floor.
He rolled a few meters before coming to halt, and pain rattled through his chest, leaving him wheezing for air.
In the same breath, Vincenzo pivoted and brought his sword around to clash with Edward’s incoming blade. But unlike before, he poured even more force into the swing, knocking Edward’s strike wide. He immediately followed through with a brutal roundhouse kick to the side of the boy’s head, sending Edward spinning through the air.
’I don’t trust that kid!’ Vincenzo thought as he turned his attention back to Dante. But as he looked down, he noticed Dante still hadn’t gotten up.
Glancing back toward the boy, Vincenzo saw that the boy had disappeared, leaving nothing where he had landed except a fresh pool of blood.
Vincenzo frowned and looked back at Dante, and his expression hardened into a scowl. "Are you just going to lie there?"
A second passed, and another, but no reply came.
Instead, the silver armor covering Dante’s body began to slowly disappear and retract, until its form had completely reverted into the simple bracelet on Dante’s wrist.
"Heh. Do you think I’m going to fall for that?"
He took a cautious step closer to Dante, and only then did he notice the crimson stain splattered across his mouth as if he had coughed up blood.
Also, Dante’s eyes were wide open, staring blankly into space.
Vincenzo’s frown deepened.
He nudged Dante’s leg with his boot, but the body simply swayed with the blow, entirely limp.
Seeing no response, he clutched the artifact bracelet tightly just in case, then bent down cautiously and placed two fingers beneath Dante’s nose.
However, no air moved against his skin.
’What?’ Vincenzo lowered his hand, pressing his fingers firmly against the side of Dante’s neck.
’No pulse? He’s dead?’
How could that be?
Vincenzo felt a sudden spike of panic. ’That blow shouldn’t have been enough to severely injure him, let alone kill him. What happened?’
"Hey." He tapped Dante’s cheek, trying to draw a reaction.
"Hey. Talk to me, boy."
By then, even Isabella had stepped forward, and her brows furrowed with concern. "What happened?"
Vincenzo lowered his hand and turned his head toward her. "I don’t know—"
At that moment, however, the bracelet on Vincenzo’s chest was left exposed!
In that fraction of a second, a grin spread across the lips of the supposedly dead Dante. And before Vincenzo could react, Dante’s hand shot forward like a striking viper, wrapping his fingers tightly around the artifact!
Vincenzo spun back toward him, and his eyes widened in shock, but it was already too late.
Dante’s lips parted, and the overlapping voices of both Dante and the blood demon echoed softly between them.
"Checkmate."