Crushing someone’s head under his foot felt like stepping on an egg, which ruined the moment for Dante, even if a little. A wave of darkness washed over him the next second, and soon after, he felt a powerful force pulling him forward.
Though he wasn’t trying to resist, he didn’t submit to it either. Even then, he found himself flying at a speed no different from when he was first caught in the hero’s telekinesis. Thinking he was in for another sword strike, Dante tried and failed to shift his posture in the air. 6-1 was far too heavy, allowing very little freedom of movement, let alone acrobatic tricks performed on a whim.
Raven reached out with his right hand, his slightly bent fingers trembling as if he was trying to crush something between them. Giving up a moment later, he raised his arm up then whipped it down, slamming the invisible object on the floor with everything he had.
The rust brown bull crashed into the floor at the same moment, sending a web of cracks spreading through the surroundings. Before he could take in his situation, Dante felt his body being pulled again, rising slowly before slamming into the floor with much greater force than before.
’Damn it...’ He gritted his teeth. ’I can still feel it...’
The impact might have been greatly reduced, but the slight tremor that managed to get past the thick layers of metal still caused the pain coursing through his body to flare.
[I suggest that you make use of Type 6-1’s ability.]
Hearing Volcan’s calm voice, Dante recalled that the rusty brown armor came with a single ability called Force Field. Without a second thought, he gave the mental command to activate it just as he was about to smash into the floor once more.
This time, there was the sound of a crash, but Dante didn’t feel anything, as if he had landed on a soft cushion. Without the blow rattling his brain, preventing him from thinking, he quickly raised his arm and punched the floor. Just moving proved to be difficult in the bulky armor, but with the floor softened from the continuous strike, his fist went through, digging a deep enough hole for him to hold on to.
The invisible force came again, pulling him toward the ceiling. His body refused to move, however, remaining on the floor as he defied the pull with a single arm. Still on his knees, Dante looked ahead and once again wished he could take off the armor’s helmet.
It felt like the right moment to grin at the enraged hero, further fueling his flames. He also wished he could see the hero’s face, take in the agony of being in such a situation. Trapped with the one who murdered his teammates, knowing his turn was coming next, his complexion was undoubtedly twisted, whether it was with anger, fear, or grief. Dante wanted to see it, but he could only curse the hero for denying him that experience and swear to make him pay for it.
The invisible force kept getting stronger, trying to yank him off the floor, but Dante refused to let go, holding his ground the entire time. Raven seemed to focus all his efforts on the arm planted into the ground, and though he couldn’t move it, the floor soon gave in, a large chunk of it tearing off along with the arm.
Letting it rise without resistance, Dante twisted his body and flung the piece of debris with everything he had. Although sluggish, 6-1 was still capable of generating a considerable amount of strength, allowing him to turn the debris in his hand into a missile-like projectile.
Whether it was exhaustion or delayed reaction, Raven failed to use his powers to stop the motion. He managed to get out of the way, however, and the debris went past him-
And crashed straight into the phaser.
Raven stood still for a moment, watching as the wall crumbled and buried his friend in more debris. A faint rumble reached his ears the next second, and when he turned around to check, his mind still processing what had just happened, he saw a bull running toward him, horns pointing forward as its speed increased bit by bit.
The hero focused his mind and tried to push the monster away. He reached out with his arm, straining his power to its limit, but it wasn’t having an effect. Dante was gaining momentum with each step he took, pushing against the invisible force trying to press him down. He strained every muscle in his body, running toward his enemy as if intending to crash into him.
Seeing that his ability wouldn’t work on the charging bull, Raven jumped back and threw something into the air. Going by the shape and color, Dante assumed it was more feathers, but a second look revealed that they were throwing knives with the black feathers attached to each one of them.
All at once, the knives pointed toward him and shot forward, flying like a salvo of bullets. Though he was sure his armor could handle them, Dante activated Force Field once again, causing the knives to bounce off him without as much as a clang. Raven didn’t let up, however. He commanded the knives to fly around, strike from different angles as he searched for weak points.
Unfortunately for him, there weren’t any, especially with Force Field active. Instead of making that desperate attempt, he should have focused on running away. But it was too late now. Time had already run out.
As a last-ditch effort, he put everything he had into pushing the bull’s charge, straining his power to its limits and finally managing to slow him down. Nevertheless, the distance between them had grown far too short.
Not wasting the chance, Dante reached out and grasped the hero’s extended arm before he could retract it.
Raven found himself pulled into a bear hug, the first and last he will ever get. He tried to push the arms, once again straining his power to its limits, but it was to no avail. Whatever limit his power had, he had long since reached it. The most he could do was stop the pressure from snapping him in half, yet it was only a matter of time.
Under 6-1’s rusty brown helmet, Dante was grinning. He could feel the force blocking him weakening by the second, and as it did, the end drew closer and closer. Staring the cloaked hero in the face, his wide open eyes glowing with a maddened glint, he put the last of his strength into the armor and felt the resistance pushing against it shatter.
An agonized scream filled the empty corridors of the twenty-eighth floor, but they went quiet soon enough. When the silence caught up to him at long last, Dante finally understood that it was over.
Remaining static for a moment, he finally let the hero’s limp body fall to the floor. Staring at it for a few seconds, he then raised his foot and brought it down, making sure that the job was finished and that his enemies wouldn’t start moving the moment he turned around.
Glancing at the broken wall a short distance away, he confirmed that the phaser was still in the same spot, buried under a pile of debris. He checked on the tracker next, then looked down at the headless corpse of their leader. Taking a deep breath, Dante let out a satisfied sigh.