Somewhere at the same time in the newly rebuilt Academy, the principal, or more precisely the Archmage, had just appointed a new head professor for magic teachings.
Her name was Belgia Hartwell of the Hartwell noble family of magic scholars. She was thirty six years old, strict, disciplined, and serious.
Her small glasses rested neatly on her nose, and her violet eyes carried a cold, cutting presence that made even seasoned men and teenage boys avert their gaze when they looked at her well defined figure.
As she prepared her new workplace and organized her office, she studied the Academy's recent historical records.
Her fingers traced over the pages as her expression tightened, the faint sound of paper turning echoing in the quiet room.
"Tch… demons. If I had been appointed earlier, I would have wiped them all out. Yet the appearance of four sinners and a demon king… I would not be able to take them all at once."
Her thoughts lingered. The reports made no sense. Someone had pushed back an entire demon invasion, and yet the records were inconsistent, fragmented, almost deliberately unclear. She narrowed her eyes slightly, intrigue cutting through her pride despite herself.
Who was the one who pushed the demon army back
She turned her gaze toward one of the academy cleaners.
"You. How long have you worked here" she asked.
"Ten years, madam."
"Then tell me. Who was mad enough, or strong enough, to take on a demon clan army" Belgia asked sharply, her tone leaving no room for hesitation.
The cleaner paused her work, gripping the mop tighter as she tried to recall.
"Ah… that. It was a manaless boy who goes by the name Dante Ruthwilfer. Rumors say he might be the last descendant of the Alderman line. And the possessor of an infinity mana foundation. But those are only rumors. Except for the invasion."
Belgia's interest sharpened instantly. Slowly, she removed her glasses and began wiping them with deliberate precision, her voice lowering as she focused.
"Explain it to me properly. Exclude the rumors."
The cleaner swallowed, nodding quickly.
"They were all pushed back by Dante Ruthwilfer. People said the Goddess of War from the Alderman clan possessed him and used him as a vessel or something like that."
"I said exclude the rumors" Belgia cut in coldly, her voice like a blade.
"Ah, forgive me. I am old, my hearing must be failing." The cleaner corrected herself quickly, flustered. "Dante pushed the army back using his forgery."
"Forgery" Belgia repeated slowly, her violet eyes narrowing further. "No wonder so many mana students are joining forgery classes this year. But to think this Dante used forgery against a demon army… what exactly did he forge"
The maid hesitated, her hands trembling slightly as she gripped the cleaning cloth. The atmosphere in the room felt heavier, as if the answer itself carried weight.
"I can tell you in just one word…"
"Death."
"RRRAAAGGHHH!!!"
At the same time, far away in the Dwarven Kingdom, Akka launched her assault at Dante with explosive force, her roar tearing through the battlefield like a war horn.
Dante stepped aside with precise timing, narrowly avoiding the first strike as his chain blades snapped forward in response. Metal screamed through the air as their weapons collided with violent impact.
He leapt over her swing, twisting mid motion, adjusting his footing the moment he landed to meet her next attack without hesitation.
Akka tightened her grip on her katana until her knuckles went pale. She poured every ounce of strength into her stance while Dante responded in kind, pulling on the chains and handles of his blades as they whipped forward in controlled arcs meant to overwhelm her defense.
Their weapons clashed again and again, each impact sending shockwaves through the stone beneath them.
Sparks burst between steel and steel, lighting their faces in brief flashes of orange and white as neither gave an inch.
Akka shifted her weight and dodged, then immediately parried, her expression sharpening as she raised her demonic orcish hand.
Dark energy gathered around her palm, thick and unstable, as she activated levitation magic, attempting to crush Dante's body as if he were nothing more than paper caught in a vice.
"What… what is going on… why are you not being crushed" Akka muttered in disbelief, her voice strained as her eyes widened at the sight of Dante remaining completely unaffected, standing against the force as if it barely existed.
In a flash of motion, Dante vanished from her sight and reappeared at her side mid air. His chain blade struck down in a brutal arc, cutting through the space with lethal intent.
Akka managed to parry at the last possible moment, forcing herself back into her stance upon landing. Steel screamed as the impact forced her backward, but she stabilized her footing with sheer force of will.
Akka muttered in disbelief, seeing Dante not feeling any fracture.
As the battle escalated further, the pressure between Akka and Dante intensified with every clash of steel and magic.
Suddenly, a binding spell warped tightly around both of them.
"The fuck!?" they both shouted in unison, immediately turning to see where the magical lines were coming from.
The glowing restraints coiled around their bodies like living chains, pulsing with unnatural energy. Even Akka's demonic strength struggled against it, while Dante narrowed his eyes, feeling the mana within the spell constantly shifting and reinforcing itself.
From the shadows, a figure emerged.
She looked almost identical to Ashley Orochi, yet older. More mature. More sinister. Her long dark hair flowed behind her while her eyes carried an unsettling calmness, as though she had already dissected countless lives in her mind before even meeting them.
"Honestly, I left my pathetic clone to handle the work just to see how it would end."
Akka's eyes widened slightly in disbelief.
"You… then the one I was fighting was…"
"A clone I created," the woman replied casually. "Honestly, such delicacy and such wasted time. No matter. A clone is replaceable."
Dante's expression hardened as he stared at the mysterious woman.
"Who are you…" he muttered cautiously.
"Who am I, dear Maladeva? Or should I say… Dante Alderman…!"
Dante's eyes widened instantly.
How could they know his real name
It was hidden under the Ruthwilfer trial. Their faces had been concealed during the Academy invasion, and only the name Dante had spread throughout the continent because of his achievements during the battle.
Yet this woman knew.
A cold feeling crept through Dante's chest as silence overtook him for a brief moment.
Seeing his reaction, the older Ashley smiled wider.
"Seeing your silence, it confirms it." She chuckled softly. "Now then… a Commandment and an Alderman. Ahh… how lucky of me. Two birds with one stone."
Her eyes slowly wandered over Dante with disturbing fascination.
"You, Alderman, would make my final masterpiece complete…" Her smile deepened before shifting toward Akka. "And as for you, Commandment of Honor, Akka. I have heard many mysteries surrounding your blade called Katana."
Akka gritted her teeth violently against the restraints.
"The hell are you talking about, bitch…"
The older Ashley merely smiled.
With a snap of her fingers, Akka's small group of high ranking demons were annihilated instantly.
No screams.
No resistance.
Their bodies exploded into blood and fragments in a single horrifying moment.
Akka's eyes trembled in fury while Dante remained silent, his expression darkening at the overwhelming display of power.
"Now then…" the older Ashley whispered excitedly as her violet eyes glimmered with madness.
"Shall we begin the experiment, my new pets… hihihi…♡"
A few hours later, both of them were concealed within a protective anti magic confinement.
The room was cold and dim, illuminated only by several purple crystals embedded into the walls. Strange runic symbols glowed across the floor, constantly reinforcing the barrier around them. Heavy metallic cuffs restrained both Dante and Akka, draining any magical output the moment it appeared.
"Be good pets while I deal with something else. I need to make another clone to handle the kingdom's mess you all made," said the older Ashley Orochi as she turned away from them.
Her heels echoed against the stone floor before the massive door slowly shut behind her.
Silence filled the room.
Sitting face to face with Dante, Akka narrowed her eyes before finally speaking.
"So you're that kid, huh? Dante Alderman. The last bloodline of the Alderman house." Her lips slowly curled into a grin. "Lady Ingrid spoke highly of you, saying she wants your head. If I bring your head to her… I can imagine what surprise she will—"
"The katana is not merely steel. It is discipline given form."
Dante suddenly interrupted her.
Akka blinked once.
Dante slowly lifted his head, his cold eyes staring directly into hers.
"You brought dishonor to yourself, woman."
Akka paused.
Veins bulged across her forehead as fury instantly exploded inside her.
"THE FUCK DID YOU SAY!?" she roared, yanking against the restraints hard enough to shake the chains. "ME? DISHONOR!? FUCK YOU, HUMAN! THEY… THOSE DWARVES ARE THE REAL ENEMY! YOU'RE JUST A PAWN!"
Her voice thundered throughout the chamber while demonic energy leaked violently from her body despite the anti magic seals trying to suppress it.
Dante simply looked at her without fear.
"Hmph. Whatever."
He slowly stood up.
Crack.
The cuffs around his wrists shattered apart like brittle sticks.
Akka's eyes widened.
"You! How did you—"
"Didn't you hear what that stupid bitch said?" Dante replied casually while rubbing his wrist. "This is a magic confinement."
"So?"
Dante stared at her in disbelief before sighing heavily.
"Sigh… you're dumb. No wonder you lost to her." He shook his head slightly. "And me for not sensing her presence."
Akka's eyebrow twitched.
"MAGIC," Dante said while making air quotes with his fingers. "I said it with air quotes, damn it."
Akka paused for a moment before realization finally hit her.
"Oh…"
She immediately added brute force into her arms and snapped the cuffs apart with sheer physical strength alone.
"Pfft, I knew that."
"Sure you did," Dante replied flatly.
Dante looked around the area inside the room, carefully examining every corner.
Knowing the confinement was anti magic, he attempted to use brute strength earlier, but even he failed to force it open. The walls were reinforced with some strange material that absorbed impact and mana alike.
"There has to be a way to—!"
A loud vibration suddenly interrupted him.
Dante turned sharply to see Akka repeatedly slamming her fists against the confinement barrier.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each strike shook the room violently, cracks of demonic energy bursting around her arms despite the seals suppressing most of her power.
"Hey! Banging on it is not gonna solve shit, Akka!" Dante shouted irritably.
"Like I care!" Akka barked back without stopping. "I want my blade! My katana! My master!"
Dante paused.
"Master?"
Akka instantly froze.
For the first time since meeting her, an awkward expression crossed her face. She slowly turned away.
"You didn't hear that."
Dante narrowed his eyes suspiciously but decided not to press further.
As the two searched for another alternative, footsteps suddenly echoed from beyond the massive door.
Both of them immediately assumed it was Ashley Orochi returning.
Akka shifted into a fighting stance while Dante grabbed the broken remains of his cuffs instinctively.
The door slowly creaked open.
"Yaho, master!"
Dante blinked.
"Kaen?! What are you doing here!?" Dante exclaimed in disbelief. "I thought I told Lustia to—"
A dark shadow suddenly expanded beneath Kaen's feet.
Lustia emerged from the shadows in her fog like form, her body partially dissolving into black mist as she bowed respectfully.
"Forgive me, my liege. I could no longer sense your presence, so I traced the last remnants of your magic to this location," said Lustia calmly while maintaining her shadow form.
"Oi, oi… Lustia?" Akka's eyes widened in surprise.
Lustia slowly turned her gaze toward Akka, her crimson eyes glowing faintly through the shadowy mist surrounding her body.
"No shit, Sherlock. What are you doing inside with my liege?"
"Go to hell." Akka scoffed. "I wondered what happened to this succubus bitch after her death. You became a slave to this Alderman? Pathetic." A cruel grin spread across her face. "Slutia, your twin sister has already taken your mantle, you know."
Lustia was not fazed in the slightest.
Her expression remained completely calm as if Akka's insults meant absolutely nothing to her anymore. Instead, she simply turned toward Dante and bowed her head slightly.
"My liege?" she asked.
"Find anything that can release us from this confinement," Dante ordered immediately.
"At once."
The two began searching around the chamber while Akka remained nearby, impatiently tapping her foot.
As Dante searched, he noticed Kaen's tail was still injured, though it had been wrapped carefully with bandages. Despite that, the feline Sha'karr still carried her usual energetic expression.
"You should be resting," Dante muttered.
"And leave master behind? Impossible!" Kaen replied proudly while puffing her chest.
After several minutes, Lustia finally located the mechanism hidden behind one of the glowing runic walls.
With a sharp twist, the confinement barrier flickered violently before collapsing entirely.
"Alright, let's go and—!"
BOOM!!!
A loud explosion suddenly echoed throughout the underground halls.
The group turned just in time to see Akka sprinting away at full speed without hesitation.
"My katana!" she shouted while disappearing into the corridor.
Dante clicked his tongue.
"Leave her. I already got what I wanted. I have forged my new weapons." He adjusted the chains wrapped around his arms. "For now, let's get the hell out of the Dwarven Kingdom, Járnheimr."
The three quickly moved through the underground hallways, the dim torches casting long shadows along the stone walls.
Then suddenly—
Dante's body froze.
A violent aura burst from him instantly.
"Kila?" Dante muttered in alarm. "What's wrong?"
Kilamahi immediately possessed his body.
His eyes glowed fiercely while his posture shifted unnaturally, overwhelming killing intent radiating from every direction.
"Shut up…!" Kilamahi snarled through Dante's body. "I sense something… hrrkk… I sense malice… wrath…"
Her breathing grew heavier.
"I sense them… Aldermans…"
Without warning, Kilamahi forcefully moved Dante's body deeper underground.
"Kila, wait—!"
But she ignored him completely.
Kaen and Lustia hurried after him as Kilamahi followed the strange sensation through countless underground chambers until finally stopping before a massive rusted door.
"Here…" she muttered.
The door slowly creaked open.
The moment it did, everyone froze.
Both Dante's and Lustia's eyes widened instantly.
Kaen, who arrived moments later, stared in absolute horror.
Inside the room was a massive pile of corpses stacked together like a mountain.
Old skeletons.
Fresh bodies.
Rotting flesh mixed with dried bones.
The stench of death filled the chamber so heavily it became difficult to breathe.
Dante suddenly felt enormous heat radiating from his entire body as Kilamahi's rage spiraled violently out of control.
"Kila, calm down and—"
"Watch your tone, boy!" Kilamahi roared furiously through Dante's mouth. "I am still the Goddess of War!"
The entire chamber trembled from her wrath.
Her glowing eyes locked onto the mountain of bodies.
"Those corpses…" Her voice cracked with fury and grief.
"…are all ALDERMANS!!!"
---
Chapter 55 — End.