Path of the Demonic Villain

"What’s taking him so long?" Thalia muttered with a slight frown while looking at a large grayish-white boulder in front of her.

Dante was supposed to have followed soon after her, but he was yet to appear.

"Didn’t he say he just wanted to tie his shoes." She swallowed and turned to Lucian behind her who seemed to be growing more tense by the second, seeing as his grip on his sword was tightening.

Then, all of a sudden, he rushed forward into the boulder, phasing through it. A beat later, the scenery of the first floor came into his view. He immediately looked around, and in just a few seconds, his single eye landed on an envelope that was on the ground.

It had the seal of the Fioravanti family, which was an elegant imprint of a twin-headed serpent wrapped around a sword. Seeing that, Lucian immediately bent down and picked it up, then hurriedly opened it and began to read the letter inside it.

"Lucian...

"I know that you are likely wondering where I’ve wandered off to. I’m afraid I cannot tell you that, and I apologize for the headache. But do not worry. Wait for me by the entrance to the second floor. I will soon reunite with you, assuming I do not run into any misfortune."

Lucian arched a brow. "...do not worry?"

He gritted his teeth. "If anything happens to you, your mother will have my head. No, death would be the least of my worries."

For a moment, he looked upset and clenched the letter in his fist. But then he figured there was nothing he could do. Dante had not mentioned where he had gone off to, and he couldn’t start moving around to look for him. This Labyrinth was vast and dangerous.

Lucian tilted his head back to look at the sky and sighed deeply, then he muttered with a glassy gaze. "Please do not get yourself killed, boy. I have a family who depends on me."

***

After reading the words on the ground, Dante reached into the bag on his hip. This small bag was no ordinary bag, but was more of a spatial artifact, so even though he had swum through water to get here, it was no surprise that nothing in it was soaked.

He rummaged through and took out a matchbox, then he lit the candles around the statue one by one. After that, he knelt down on both knees in front of it, pressing both palms together, and lowered his head, as if in prayer.

’As long as I am in a temple, I should be able to figure out what I need to do and what to offer in order to speak to this Goddess, thanks to my trait, Divine Attunement.’

From what he knew, in order to speak directly to a God, a High Priest needed to pay a price or offer something. Right now, Dante needed to figure out what that was. Even if he did not have it on his person, as long as he uncovered the requirements, he could go try to commune back at home.

With his eyes closed, he kept repeating the mantra. "All Hail Evelyn, Mother of the Heart, Blood, Carnal Desires, and Horror."

A few seconds later, the smell of blood wafted into his nose. This scent was immediately followed by a fleeting vision of the image of a unicursal hexagram.

Dante opened his eyes, having figured out what to do. He reached into the bag on his hip again and took out a small knife. Then he gritted his teeth, and after a few breaths to steady his nerves, he drew the blade across his palm.

Blood dripped out onto the ground. After a few seconds, Dante did not bother wiping away the pain, and with a stained finger, he drew an image of a unicursal hexagram in a circle using his blood.

Once that was done, he put his hands together again and prayed. "Speak to me, oh Mother Evelyn."

At that moment, a gust of wind blew into the space causing the candles to flicker before stilling. Dante suddenly felt really hot and uncomfortable, as if his blood were boiling.

When he did not hear anything even after a few seconds had passed, his heart began to beat even faster as he became filled with dread.

But then, amidst the silence of the ancient temple, he suddenly heard footsteps nearby. And not long after, the most beautiful voice he had ever heard finally reached his ears.

"To bleed for me so readily..." she chuckled lightly. "How interesting. Tell me, child, why have you called my name?"

Dante, who was now sweating profusely, summoned up his courage and replied, "Isn’t it obvious? I want to serve you."

"...?"

He paused for a bit, then added, "Make me your Apostle."

The voice chuckled. "So you just want my power, is that it?"

Dante did not lie. "Yes."

For a moment after, it was quiet. And then, the Goddess spoke again in a voice that dripped with amusement. "A brazenly honest one. I like that. But I have to say, I am curious. There are Gods from the pantheon whom you mortals of this realm worship. Why have you come to me?"

Dante’s mood became somber as he exhaled, before finally replying.

"To be honest, I have actually visited the churches of all the orthodox Gods, but due to my special uh... circumstances, none of them chose to make me their apostle."

Indeed...

There were two ways one could become an apostle. The first was that at the age of sixteen, the God from the Order one served might bless them, making them their Apostle. This was the common standard. But there were not many people in the world who had this fortune, and the majority of them were members of noble families.

However, there was a second method. As long as one was willing to change their faith, they could visit the churches of a different Order. If the deity wished, they would grant them their favor.

During the past year after Dante turned sixteen, he had actually visited the churches of all the major Orders, aside from the Order of the Moon.

There was no way turning to an evil Goddess was his first choice!

Unfortunately for him, however, none of the Gods chose to appoint him. This was why he finally made up his mind to visit this Goddess.

She chuckled after hearing that. After a moment, she mused aloud. "I see. It is not surprising. After all, you are something alien."

"Huh?!"

When he heard that, Dante almost opened his eyes.

"Yes." The voice reverberated with certainty. "You are an existence that feels alien, with many mysteries surrounding you. Your broken mana core is a result of this. So it’s not surprising that the orthodox Gods you served would refuse to make you their apostle."

Dante swallowed as a cold sweat broke out across his back.

’Why did I not think of this? There are cases of people with issues regarding their mana core. But it was always either that theirs was small or did not have the potential to grow. No one had the issue of a completely broken mana core, as this core is an intrinsic part of a person here.’

Of course, he had always questioned his reincarnation. However, he had never connected the dots that his broken core was a direct result of him not being native to this world.

Finally, a few things made sense.

While he was still reeling from the realization, the Goddess spoke again. "Tell me, child. If the other Gods have refused to make you their apostle, why should I make you mine?"

Dante reined in his raging thoughts. For a few seconds after that question, he was almost tempted to say: "Just because...?"

But he stopped himself, and after a moment of thinking, he licked his lips and replied, "Unlike the others who have a plethora of apostles, you don’t. There are not many who know you, if any. And so, no one even prays to you. If you make me your apostle, I will make sure you have at least a few more loyal followers who will also serve you faithfully."

A silence fell over the temple.

Then, the voice, which was amused before, spoke again, sounding a bit colder this time. "You mortals seem to think that the power of all Gods comes from Faith, but you are wrong. Your power comes from Faith in us, not the other way around. I hope you keep that in mind."

Dante nodded. "Of course."

There was silence again, and then the voice, now softened, chuckled lightly.

"Hahaha. Things are really going to become much more interesting, and I’m really curious. So... yes. I will take you as my apostle, but in return, I will take something from you."

Dante’s heart began to race. He knew that evil gods might sometimes demand something atrocious from their followers. It was why most people avoided them.

’Please, please, please, not something like my sanity or my soul, or... or my ability to have children...’

At that moment, the voice rang out again. "I will take your heart."

’Huh?!’

Suddenly, a massive pain struck his heart. He groaned and bent over in agony, but his heart only thumped faster, as if it were going to explode. He clutched his chest, but then, he began to feel his consciousness slipping away.

After a few seconds of agony, the last thing he heard was:

"Remember this well. No matter what, you can no longer change your Faith."

Dante collapsed to the ground, unconscious.