"Hey! Where are you taking me!?
Dante ignored the girl and continued walking away from the crowded area. Soon enough he found a somewhat isolated alleyway and went in.
No sooner had he walked a couple of steps inside than the girl yanked his arm, forcing him to stop. She was an Enhanced Individual and had far more strength than the average human. When he turned around to face her, Dante noticed the blush spreading over her cheeks.
He was fighting nausea and anger yet here she was acting like a maiden who never had a man hold her hand before. Realizing that brought him one step closer to snapping.
"Why are you stalking me?" He asked.
"Sta- WHAT!!?" She yelled. "I'm not stalking you!!!"
"Yeah right. You just happened to be nearly everywhere I went. Nothing but a coincidence."
"I. am. Not. Stalking. you!!!" She stumped the ground with each word. "I just wanted to ask you some questions but you refuse to listen!"
"Didn't anyone teach you to not talk to strangers? What gives you the right to ask questions? What makes you think you're entitled to answers?"
Something felt very off about the conversation, though it might be more accurate to call it a shouting match. Dante failed to grasp it at first, but then the fog cleared and he suddenly understood why.
The girl looked him in the eyes and smirked.
"You know what? I do have the right to ask you questions." She held her left hand up and tapped the bracelet on her wrist. "Or should I say I have the authority?"
A hologram popped up and floated over her palm. It was a small rectangle that resembled an ID card, and upon further inspection, Dante's anger boiled even more.
"Bureau of Enhanced Operations?"
[The Bureau of Enhanced Operations is a law enforcement branch that deals with incidents related to Enhanced Individuals] Volcan spoke as if he was reading a search result. [t was established four years ago. Enhanced Individuals registered under it are granted the authority to use their abilities to resolve conflicts.]
It was impossible to not know, seeing that the organization is always mentioned in news relating to heroes.
Though Eidolon was more powerful than most of the nations it operates in, it still tries to keep up the illusion of following their laws. An official organization dedicated to giving heroes legitimacy as law enforcement was a logical step in a world where normal people still believe that the state holds a monopoly on violence.
"... You haven't heard of it?" The girl asked.
"You can live under a rock and still hear about it." He replied. "Also, a digital ID is no good. If you're going playing super-cop then you better have a real badge on you."
Dante didn't care about the BEO as much as he cared about the girl's name.
'Liliana Eisenberg...' Dante's eyes narrowed. 'Volcan?'
[The Eisenbergs are a major shareholder of Golden Heart.] The AI answered. [They are a subsidiary of Eidolon and specialize in the cultivation of artificial organs.]
Dante's theory about the hero Flare being nothing more than an advertisement tool suddenly gained a lot more credibility. Though her true identity is yet to be revealed, one could already see the stocks of her family's company soaring the moment that happens.
"You're still going to be disrespectful even after I showed this to you?" Liliana said. "I can arrest you for that, you know?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't give a flying fuck about what you can and can't do."
"Why does every response that comes out of your mind have to be so foul? Did your parents not tea-"
The look in Dante's eyes suddenly changed, forcing the girl to swallow her words.
"Ah, so I wasn't mistaken after all." He said, the corners of his mouth curling up.
"... what are you..."
"You're still doing it." He scoffed. "Talking to me as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Can't believe you almost tricked me."
With each word Dante spoke, the confusion on Liliana's face became more apparent. Horror slowly crept on her the longer she looked him in the eyes.
"Nice acting, really. If you had picked other clothes then I would've believed you were just another girl." He chuckled. "It can't be that easy, huh? Pretending to be on the same level as us. Acting as if it doesn't bother you at all. How did you get so good at it?"
"I... I'm not sure what..."
"Well, you can drop the act now. Go ahead. No need to pretend anymore." Dante looked at the nearby dumpster. "You can vomit over there. Holding it in for so long must have been a struggle.
As his voice continued to get even more condescending, Liliana suddenly snapped.
"What are you going on about!? Is there something wrong with the way I talk?"
Liliana struggled to understand. She tried recalling everything she said in the few times they met, convinced that nothing seemed out of the ordinary for her. At the very least, she couldn't recall being rude to him at any point yet for some bizarre reason he considered that to be a problem.
The confused look on the girl's face spoke of her innocence, a truth Dante refused to accept.
"I just looked up your name." He said. "You come from quite the family."
That managed to surprise the girl for some reason.
"Why would a rich young lady like you come to this part of the city? Got tired of being cuddled and decided to play hero somewhere more dangerous?"
"Guess looking down at us from your towers wasn't enough. You had to come down here and flaunt your powers, huh?"
"That's... That's not..."
"I know what your kind thinks. If there is anything you like more than filling your pockets, it would be having us common folk worship you. You want to be a hero? Give me a fucking break. How about you stay in your expensive part of the city and leave us alone?"
After saying all of that, Dante was still far from venting his anger. He was going to continue while he could—it wasn't every day one comes across an elite they can shit on to their face. It was then that he noticed the tears that had gathered in the girl's eyes.
She cast her gaze down and pressed her lips shut, waiting for the verbal abuse to continue. The guilt born from seeing her like that only helped fuel Dante's anger. Thankfully, logic kicked in before he did something he would regret so, clicking his tongue, he placed his hands in his pockets and turned around to leave.
The nausea that struck him earlier had yet to disappear and the bad mood he was in seemed like it would last for a while. The girl didn't try to stop him so for a moment he believed that was it, but then his body got yanked to a halt a second time.
Looking to his left, Dante saw the red-haired girl clinging to his arm like an ex desperate to fix her relationship.
"Not... not this time..." Looking up with a start, she pierced him with a tearful glare. "I'm not going to let you go this time!"