Chapter 727: The end of the path was far from near.

With his own hands, Dante had ripped countless people apart. He had pulled one part of their bodies and watched as the flesh stretched beyond its limited elasticity allowed, crimson blood oozing from the spots that gave in first. Compared to that, the way Larry cuts someone apart was nothing short of art.

His scalpel traced a green line projected over Riot’s bare body, and one of DAEDALUS’s robotic arms followed after it, sucking away the blood using the tool a its end. The skin was then peeled to the sides along with the fat and other soft tissues. With how large the patient was, the details of his anatomy were clear to the eye.

Another robotic arm came down next, this one with a saw at its end. A different line was projected over Riot’s exposed sternum. With a faint hum, the saw started rotating at a speed then lined up along the selected are. A faint screech followed, and as the saw moved down, the same suction tool from before traced its movement, collecting the fine particles created from the process.

Despite the graphic sight, Dante remained standing in his spot, unmoving as he watched the process. Two of DAEALUS’s arms took hold of the the now split sternum then pulled them apart, creating an opening for Larry to access the organs below. Dante had no idea what makes a healthy organ, but from what he could see, Riot didn’t seem to be suffering from any problems, except in one area.

Nestled among the glistering flesh was something that appeared entirely out of place. Its inorganic shape and metallic surface gave it an artificial look. Tubes pierced it from several locations, and it seemed to be held in place by them alone. Every few seconds, it released a faint pulse despite remaining completely still.

That was the Titan Forge implant that had replaced Riot diseased heart. Created with war in mind, it was made to withstand all kinds of damage, ensuring that it would continue pumping no matter the circumstances.

The next part of the operation seemed to be the most sensitive. Large tubes were inserted into the major blood vessels, each of them connected to a certain machine. According to Volcan, it was called the heart-lung machine. Apparently, it takes over circulating and oxygenating the blood for the time being.

The tubes connected to the implant were disconnected, then the implant itself was removed. As he placed it aside.

’Now...’

Dante had already handed Larry his old heart. The upgraded implant looked a little different from the one it was about to replace, but not because they came from different manufacturers. Dante’s implant had been upgraded by Volcan, and because of that, its outer appearance gained a strange quality, one that made it seem as if the implant wasn’t made by human hands.

With the robotic hands holding it in place, Larry attached the tubes one after the other, taking his time to inspect each one before placing the implant into its intended spot. The heart-lung machine was disconnected, and as blood naturally flowed into the implant, it let out a faint pulse just like the previous one, showing that it had turned on.

In that moment, Dante had switched the settings of his Absolute Awareness to allow him to see the astral plain. Riot’s soul was still the same. The new implant now rested in a black circle, same as the one before it. The thread that should be connecting it to its original owner had yet to form, and with that being the case, Dante had an idea of the condition that had to be met for it to happen.

Larry proceeded with putting everything back together, sealing the wound and injecting a dose of Nanomeds into the big guy. It was only once he was done that Dante noticed a change, and so he braced himself.

The circle surrounding the implant wobbled, then parts of it stretched inward as if being pulled by an invisible force. Losing its form, if began to shrink little by little until it connected with the implant. No sooner had that happened than the bionic heart began to glow.

’here it comes...’

Dante watched as a thread shot out of his chest, and at the same time, he saw one come out of the glowing implant. The moment they connected, a sharp pain shot through his entire body, making him feel as if he was being strapped repeatedly all over the place.

The pain matched what he had felt following Bella’s surgery, but he had been prepared for it this time, and so he didn’t collapse.

[The connection has formed.] Volcan said. [And the damage to your soul is much less severe. Truly fascist...]

Dante shared the AI’s curiosity, but his attention was on something else. As the glow faded, the implant regained the white color of the physical realm, but the circle that had surrounded it was gone. No longer was isolated from the rest of the body.

’A success...’ Dante thought. ’What do you think?’

[Same as in the case of Bella Adams, his soul has been forcibly stretched. However, with this being its original form, the resulting strain is much less severe.]

’I see...’

With his soul refusing to adjust to his bionic heart, Dante was worried that forcing it through this method would result in worse complications. Fortunately, things turned out better than expected.

~[ ]~

Opening his eyes, Riot stared at the ceiling for a long moment then let out a long sigh. Somehow, he was still alive. The realization came with a bit f disappointment, even though he didn’t recall being suicidal. The more he thought about it, the more it felt as if he had missed his chance to be done with this world, which made him want to try again.

"Hey, the hell do you think you’re doing?"

The question came just as he closed his eyes, snapping them open right away. Turning his head to the left, he saw the monster who put him in that position in the first place.

"Don’t tell me you plan on sleeping more than you already did?"

"Give me a goddamn break." Riot Grumbled. "I’m fresh out of surgery."

"Yeah yeah. The Nanomeds were done stitching you up hours ago so how about you stop being a bitch."

Riot didn’t understand why the Red Demon was in a bad mood when he was the one who put him in this situation in the first place.

"Anyway, how do you feel?"

"Like shit." Riot replied.

"Notice anything different?"

"What are you ge-"

The words caught in his throat, and his body shot up. Eyes wide open, he slowly reached out and hesitantly touched the left side of his head. Gone. It was gone. That uncomfortable sensation that had persisted all those years, even after he had replaced his dying heart. He could no longer feel it.

"Turns out my little experiment was a success."

Riot stared at the red demon in disbelief. When he told him he wanted to swap out his heart, it never even occurred to him that this was his intention. Cyborg Dysmorphia Response was a common result of installing bionic implants. Aware the truth about it being related to the shape of his soul, he had long since given up hope, but...

"This... this can’t be..."

"It sure as hell can." The Red Demon said. "Apparently my upgraded implants can reshape people’s souls to fit them. I’ve tried it on two more people so far, and it looks like the results are... Hey, why the hell are you crying?"

The red demon gave him a look full of disgust, but his visage quickly grew blurry as the tears continued to flow. Gritting his teeth, Riot covered his eyes with his right forearm and turned away, realizing that he wouldn’t be able to stop even if he wanted.

"Damn, creepy bastard."

"Who the hell do you call creepy! Do you even realize how big this is!!?" The comment finally caused him to snap, but it didn’t look like the red demon cared.

"A grown ass man like you shouldn’t be bowling his eyes." With a sigh, the red demon got up, walking to the exit. Stopping at the door, he said three words without turning around. "You owe me."

Left alone, Riot repeated the words in his mind again and again. After losing their fight and his gang as a result, he had thought that was the end of the line for him. Even before that, he believed that he would be forced to spend the rest of his life at the same spot, hoarding a flock of losers who have never known true strength. To think that, after so long, he would be able to stand again. To walk the path he gave up instead of his life. And it was all thank to the one who struck him down. The one who reminded him that the end of the path was far from near.

"Damn it..."