The two clashed instantly, the ground cracked beneath their feet as it began splitting apart, unable to withstand the sheer force of their collision. Stone erupted into the air while violent shockwaves rippled across the battlefield.
Dante and Akka stood locked against one another in an epic showdown, their blades grinding together as sparks burst between them like miniature explosions.
Both of them pushed with everything they had, their clash resembling a brutal tug-of-war fought with steel instead of rope. Muscles strained, veins bulged, and neither side was willing to yield even a single step.
"You're strong," Akka admitted with a cruel smirk, "but you made a fatal mistake. You're fighting a Commandment, kid."
Dante scoffed, his crimson eyes narrowing with utter disdain.
"Bitch, shut up and put that title where your mouth is."
With a sudden burst of overwhelming strength, Dante shoved forward, forcing Akka backward.
The tremendous impact launched both of them straight through the outer walls of Járnheimr Castle, sending shattered stone and debris raining behind them.
The two crashed onto the Dwarven streets below, skidding across the cobblestone roads as terrified dwarves screamed and ran for cover. Homes trembled from the impact while merchants abandoned their stalls in panic.
Akka wasted no time. Her katana swung past Dante in one fluid motion, the razor-sharp blade slicing cleanly through several stone houses behind him. Buildings collapsed with thunderous roars as dust and rubble swallowed the street.
Dante twisted aside at the last second before instantly parrying her follow-up strike. His Vermillion Chain Blades whipped around him like blazing serpents, each swing colliding against Akka's katana with deafening metallic shrieks.
He unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks, putting everything he had into every strike, refusing to let her dictate the pace of the battle.
Yet despite his aggression, Dante's eyes constantly scanned his surroundings. The battlefield had shifted from the castle to the heart of the city.
Seeing frightened civilians everywhere, Dante immediately abandoned his offensive momentum and shifted entirely into defense.
Every movement of his blades became precise, redirecting Akka's attacks away from the fleeing dwarves rather than toward them.
"Nice, kid. Stick to defense first. These dwarves are everywhere."
Kilamahi's voice echoed calmly within Dante's consciousness.
"I know, Kila."
Dante answered without hesitation.
With a powerful parry, Dante forced enough distance between himself and Akka before quickly surveying the area. Running civilians.
Trapped children crying beneath fallen debris. Elderly dwarves unable to move fast enough. Lost individuals frozen in fear as destruction consumed the streets around them.
His expression hardened.
"Come out!"
The shadows beneath Dante suddenly rippled.
Dark, undead figures silently emerged behind him, their armored forms kneeling respectfully before their liege. Without even turning around, Dante calmly issued his command.
"Get them all to safety. All of them. North, west, south, east—everywhere, top to bottom. Not a single dead person is to be left unchecked. Go!"
The Shadow Knights saluted without a word.
The very next instant, their bodies dissolved into living shadows that swam across the stone tiles like flowing black water.
They disappeared into every street before reappearing beside terrified Dwarven civilians, gently comforting them before escorting them toward the designated safe locations Dante had already ingrained into their minds. Behind the chaos of battle, the silent evacuation had begun.
"Kuhahaha! Rescuing the weak while fighting me? What a waste they produced an Alderman."
Akka mocked, laughing arrogantly as the sounds of terrified civilians echoed throughout the streets.
Dante didn't say a single word.
He simply stood his ground, maintaining his defensive stance while silently watching every movement she made. His crimson eyes remained focused, calm, and unwavering despite the chaos surrounding them.
Akka suddenly launched herself forward.
In a mere flicker, she disappeared from Dante's sight before reappearing behind him, her katana slashing down with deadly precision.
Clang!
The strike was blocked by a metallic figure that instantly materialized behind Dante.
It wasn't ordinary armor.
It was a fully suited armored construct composed of countless tiny metallic objects that had assembled themselves in an instant. The moment Akka's blade made contact, the construct shattered apart into hundreds of miniature fragments before detonating directly in her face.
Boom!
The sudden explosion forced Akka backward, smoke erupting around her head.
"Why you...! Trickery?! You coward—Ugh!"
She never got to finish.
Dante instantly counterattacked.
His knee drove violently into her stomach, forcing the air from her lungs before he seized a fistful of her hair. Without giving her the slightest chance to recover, Dante slammed her face into the stone pavement.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Each impact shattered the cobblestones beneath her as cracks spread across the street.
Akka growled through gritted teeth before finally regaining her composure. Twisting her body with brute force, she broke Dante's grip on her hair and immediately leaped backward, creating distance between them before steadying herself once more.
"What's wrong...?"
Dante asked calmly as he casually cracked only the knuckle of his index finger.
"Bitch lost her money where her tongue is...?"
"ARROGANT!!"
Akka roared in fury at Dante's retort.
Her face twisted with rage as she exploded forward once again, katana raised high while charging straight at him for another clash.
Akka clashed head-on against Dante once more, their blades colliding with enough force to shake the surrounding streets. Every exchange sent violent shockwaves ripping through the town, cracking roads, shattering windows, and reducing nearby structures to rubble. Their relentless duel had transformed the once-proud city into a raging battlefield, neither warrior willing to surrender even a single step as sparks, dust, and flying debris filled the air.
Back at the ruined Járnheimr Castle, Ashley Burnwill slowly pushed herself up with a groan of pain. Every muscle in her battered body screamed in protest as she looked around at the destruction surrounding her. The magnificent fortress, once the pride of the Dwarven Kingdom, had been reduced to little more than broken stone and collapsed towers.
Her eyes soon landed on the unconscious Kaen, Dante's feline slave.
Ashley limped over and knelt beside her, placing two fingers against Kaen's neck to check her pulse. After a brief moment, she let out a quiet breath of relief.
"Still alive... Not bad for a Sha'karr."
She mumbled to herself before carefully withdrawing her hand. Leaving Kaen where she was, Ashley painfully rose to her feet and slowly made her way toward the enormous hole torn through the castle walls.
Every step sent a sharp pain through her injured body, but she continued forward until she reached the edge.
From there, Ashley overlooked the Dwarven Kingdom.
Her heart sank.
Ruined buildings stretched across the city. Massive blazes consumed entire districts while thick pillars of black smoke rose into the sky. The streets below were filled with frightened civilians desperately fleeing from the destruction.
Then something caught her attention.
Dark, undead shadow soldiers moved swiftly through the city. Despite their terrifying appearance, they weren't attacking anyone. Instead, they were escorting terrified dwarves away from danger, carrying injured civilians, freeing trapped children from collapsed buildings, and guiding everyone toward safe locations with surprising care.
Ashley's expression gradually fell.
"What have I done... neglecting the very kingdom Father passed on to me..."
She whispered to herself in despair, guilt weighing heavily upon her heart as she watched strangers protect her people while she had failed them.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed across the heavens.
Ashley instinctively looked up.
High above the burning city, two figures crossed blades with overwhelming intensity. Every collision produced another thunderous shockwave that echoed throughout the kingdom.
Akka, the Commandment of Honor.
Dante Ruthwilfer.
Clad in his War God Form and wielding his newly forged Kalikriktar chain blades, Dante met every one of Akka's attacks head-on as the two continued their earth-shaking duel above the Dwarven Kingdom.
Dante was gradually pushed onto the defensive until Akka finally saw her opening.
With a vicious roar, all four of her arms drove her katana forward in a devastating slash, the overwhelming force sending Dante flying across the battlefield. His body tore through the air before crashing straight through five massive buildings one after another. Stone exploded outward as each structure collapsed behind him, burying the streets beneath clouds of dust and rubble.
Yet before the debris could consume him completely, Dante reacted.
He hurled his Vermillion Chain Blades deep into a distant structure. The chains stretched taut before violently retracting, launching him like a living projectile back toward Akka at incredible speed.
As he rocketed through the air, Dante wrapped the chains around the remains of an enormous stone structure.
"Take this!"
With a powerful pull, the gigantic mass was ripped from its foundation and dragged behind him before he swung it forward with all his strength.
The massive structure crashed directly into Akka, burying her beneath thousands of tons of stone.
Silence...
Then—
BOOM!
The rubble exploded outward.
Akka emerged from the wreckage laughing.
"Kahahaha... Oi, Dante. Are you tired?" she mocked while brushing dust from her shoulders. "What a waste. Lady Ingrid warned me not to cross paths with you, saying you're her prey. But imagine what would happen if I brought your severed head back. Oh, the glory... I'll finally show the other Commandments what it truly means to be honored."
Dante's expression darkened.
"Honor?" he repeated, almost disgusted.
"You don't have honor. You ambushed this kingdom, turned it into a living hell, and you only care about yourself. You don't have honor. You only take pleasure in bullying the weak."
Akka's smile disappeared.
Her entire body trembled.
Then she exploded.
"SAYS WHO?!!"
Her furious scream shook the battlefield.
"Who was with me at my lowest?! Who gave me hope when I had nowhere left to go?! My master! She gave me everything! She was my mother!"
Her grip around her katana tightened until her knuckles turned white.
"And what did your precious humans do to her?! They tortured her! They raped her! They nailed her onto a walking cross because they believed she was a demon!"
Her voice cracked with years of bottled-up hatred.
"I killed them all! Every single one of them! I buried my master with my own hands! But when I returned after being unsealed..."
Her breathing became ragged.
"I found her grave desecrated."
"They dug up her body..."
"They turned her into a lab rat!"
Her killing intent erupted uncontrollably.
"Every trace left behind... every trail... led me to Járnheimr!!"
Akka unleashed every ounce of rage she had carried for centuries.
Gripping her katana firmly with all four arms, she vanished.
She flickered across the battlefield so rapidly that even the air screamed in protest.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Dante's body jerked repeatedly as cuts appeared across his arms, chest, shoulders, and back. Blood sprayed into the air with every strike, yet his eyes struggled to follow her movements.
"Kid... she's too fast."
Kilamahi's voice echoed within Dante's consciousness.
"I know."
Despite the relentless assault, Dante remained calm.
With one quick motion, he slammed his hand against the ground.
"Ice Magic."
An intense wave of freezing mana instantly spread across the battlefield, turning the shattered streets into a sheet of solid ice.
Akka took one more step.
Her footing slipped.
For the briefest moment...
She lost her balance.
That single mistake was all Dante needed.
He vanished.
In an instant, he appeared directly above her in midair.
His Vermillion Chain Blades merged into a devastating overhead strike as he brought every ounce of his strength crashing downward into Akka's abdomen.
BOOM!!
The impact shattered the ground beneath her into massive cobweb-like fractures. The streets collapsed under the tremendous force as dust, rubble, and broken stone erupted skyward, engulfing the crumbling kingdom of Járnheimr in another thunderous explosion.
Dante flickered backward, creating as much distance as possible before thrusting both hands toward the shattered battlefield.
"Earth Magic."
The broken streets rumbled violently as countless slabs of stone and earth surged forward, burying Akka beneath layer after layer of rubble. Massive chunks of the battlefield collapsed inward, forcing her even deeper underground until the crater itself became a mountain of crushed stone.
Only then did Dante allow himself a brief moment to breathe.
His chest rose and fell heavily as blood trickled from the countless cuts covering his body. Every breath sent sharp pain through his ribs, yet he refused to lower his guard.
"Status check."
At his command, the metallic armor surrounding his body came to life.
Tiny mechanical components shifted across the suit as blue holographic interfaces projected around him. Internal scanners immediately swept across his entire body, analyzing every injury with clinical precision.
"Sir, current combat status indicates approximately forty percent bodily damage sustained. Thirty-five confirmed bone fractures. Three torn muscles—"
"Don't give me the details."
Dante interrupted impatiently, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Tell me if I can still move or not."
The AI assistant immediately stopped speaking.
A brief silence followed as it recalculated its assessment. Unlike ordinary assistants, the AI Dante had personally designed possessed no emotions, no unnecessary sympathy, and no comforting words. It existed for one purpose alone—to provide practical, logical information during combat.
After less than a second, it delivered its answer.
The AI assistant paused for less than a second before replying in its calm, emotionless voice.
"Combat mobility remains at eighty-three percent. Offensive output estimated at seventy-one percent. Pain suppression is no longer recommended. Current injuries will continue to worsen under prolonged combat. Survival probability against the current target: thirty-nine percent."
Dante clicked his tongue.
"Can I still fight?"
"Affirmative. Current physical condition permits continued combat. However, prolonged engagement will significantly increase the risk of permanent bodily damage."
A grin slowly spread across Dante's bloodied face despite the crimson trail dripping from his chin.
"Good enough."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
Kilamahi suddenly materialized beside Dante in her spiritual form before immediately slapping him across the face.
Smack!
The impact turned Dante's head slightly to the side.
"Are you begging for death?!" she shouted, her golden eyes filled with frustration and genuine fear. "I saved you and helped you take on Domikhael two years ago because I was there! He was the Sinner of Pride of the Demon Clan!"
She pointed furiously toward the mountain of rubble where Akka was buried.
"That... that is a Commandment! You're in no position—nor are you powerful enough—to stop her, let alone kill her! Stop trying to prove you're somebody! You're weak, so why can't you just admit it?!"
Every word came from a place of desperation.
She wasn't insulting him.
She was terrified.
Terrified that the last descendant of the Alderman bloodline would throw his life away before her eyes.
Dante remained silent.
Blood continued to drip from the countless wounds covering his battered body as he slowly lifted his gaze toward Kilamahi.
"My weakness..."
His voice was calm.
"...was Lytharis."
A brief silence followed.
"She was my peace... along with Zhurong."
His crimson eyes showed neither hesitation nor regret.
"But weakness is a choice."
He clenched his fist.
"I stopped choosing it."
His battered body trembled as he slowly rose to his full height.
"Pain became fuel."
"Doubt became fire."
He looked directly into Kilamahi's eyes.
"No one is born strong."
"I don't grow by chance."
A fierce determination burned within his gaze.
"I grow because I refuse to stay the same, Kila."
All of a sudden, a crimson and black aura erupted around Dante, the two colours intertwining violently as they spiralled toward the heavens.
The ground beneath his feet trembled under the immense pressure, while the air itself seemed to distort around him. His crimson eyes slowly darkened before glowing with a far fiercer intensity than before.
Kilamahi instinctively took a step back.
She had felt this presence once before.
This wasn't merely mana.
It was the will of House Alderman surging through its final descendant.
Her gaze slowly shifted toward Dante's newly forged chain blades.
Vermillion.
The blades trembled softly as crimson droplets of scorching flames dripped from their edges, each drop melting through stone before igniting the ground itself.
BOOM!!
A violent explosion erupted behind Dante.
He didn't even bother turning around.
He already knew.
Akka had finally broken free from the mountain of rubble. Dust rolled off her shoulders as she casually twisted her neck and all four arms before resting her katana upon one shoulder.
"Alright."
She smirked.
"Rest time is over. Let's end this, boy."
...
Silence.
The atmosphere had changed.
Akka's smile gradually faded.
Something...
Was wrong.
Dante hadn't uttered a single word.
He stood perfectly still.
Too still.
Too quiet.
Without another thought, Akka seized the opportunity.
She vanished.
Not a single sound accompanied her movement as she flickered through space itself. Within an instant, she appeared directly above Dante, raising her katana high before bringing it down with the full force of her perfected technique.
A strike that had ended countless lives.
Clink.
...
Her blade stopped.
Caught effortlessly.
Between two fingers.
Dante hadn't even turned around.
He simply held the katana between his fingertips as though stopping it required no more effort than catching a falling leaf.
The pressure generated by the halted strike exploded outward behind him.
BOOOOOOM!!
The resulting shockwave tore across the horizon, reducing everything in its path to a devastated wasteland as it carved through the already ruined kingdom of Járnheimr.
Akka's eyes widened.
He... caught it...?
With... two fingers...?
Impossible...
No one has ever survived that strike.
I perfected it myself.
So how...?
HOW DID HE STOP IT?!
HE'S WEAK!
HE'S NOT AT MY LEVEL!!
"...Surprised?"
Dante muttered quietly without looking back.
"Ah..."
For the first time in centuries...
Akka hesitated.
It was an emotion she had long forgotten.
"Weak?"
Dante finally spoke again.
"No."
"I've grown."
CRASH!!
Akka's pupils shrank.
One of her four katanas shattered into countless fragments.
The broken pieces floated through the air before being irresistibly drawn toward Dante's Vermillion Chain Blades, where they were completely absorbed into the crimson metal.
Akka immediately disengaged, launching herself backward before sliding across the ruined street. She stared at Dante, unable to understand what she was seeing.
"You're not making jokes anymore..."
She whispered under her breath.
"You're not mocking me..."
Her grip around her remaining weapons tightened.
"It's like..."
"...you're done playing around."
A chill slowly crawled up her spine until it reached the back of her neck.
A single bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face.
Dante slowly began walking toward her.
One step.
Then another.
With every step he took, his War God Form continued to evolve.
The brilliant white armour gradually shifted into a deep blood-red, glowing as though forged within the heart of a dying star. His silver hair became smoother than silk, flowing weightlessly behind him. The tribal markings across his body writhed like living creatures, rearranging themselves into an entirely different pattern.
Then...
He opened his eyes.
They no longer burned crimson.
They shone with a brilliant golden light, scorching and radiant like the sun itself.
Kilamahi froze.
Her breathing stopped.
She recognised that form.
It wasn't Dante's.
It belonged...
To one of her own.
One of the seven divine manifestations she had once wielded in the distant past.
Her lips trembled.
"This..."
She could scarcely believe what stood before her.
"...This is..."
"...Asura's Wrath...?"
Disbelief overwhelmed even the Goddess of War.
What kind of monster...
...did House Alderman create before they went extinct?
As the answer to that question slowly unfolded before everyone's eyes...
The final conclusion had begun.
---
Chapter 58 — End