Chapter 745: Water and Ice.

Dante was stunned for a fraction of a second before he raised his arms, catching the fangs coming down at him. He stepped on the ones coming from below, stopping the beast from taking a bite out of him or biting him whole, considering its open maw covered the entire hallway.

’Damn... it...’

The beast was tough. Tough enough to push down on his Level 5 body. Dante looked for a way to dispose of it, but that was difficult with him standing between its teeth. After a moment of thought, he braced himself and let go of the fangs threatening to impale him, but not before jumping back. The beast’s jaws snapped closed, and before they could open again, Dante lunged forward and whipped his fist at it. Even without any of his abilities active, the power behind that one blow was enough to quake the surroundings.

Blasted with that single punch, the black beast shot through the hallway, then smashed into the wall at the end. Dante didn’t think for a moment that that was the end, and his fears proved true when the beast splattered, turning into a splash of black ink that spilled onto he alleyway. Just seeing it slowly spread over the tiles gave him a bad feeling. Thankfully, it seemed to gather a moment later, returning to the shape of a normal dog, one with green flames running over its back.

Just when he prepared to face it again, the mutt turned away and ran around the corner. Going after it was a tempting choice, but Dante decided against it, instead returning to the others.

"Whoa, that gave me a scare back then," Boris said. "What was that thing?"

"Who knows," Dante replied. "We’re going after it. Stay close."

By now, the creature had likely disappeared somewhere, and tracking it was going to be a pain, if it was possible at all. Dante wasn’t worried, though. Once the first attack arrived, more would follow, and he wasn’t disappointed. Another black mutt showed up soon enough. He couldn’t tell if it was the same one, but that mattered little.

This time, he didn’t wait for it to rush at him. He reached it before it could move and kicked it into the nearest wall, splattering it all over the place. When it regained its form, he kicked it again, then again. He was making a game out of it, and the girls in his party didn’t seem to like that very much. A dog was still a dog, even if it was a demonic one.

Just as he was about to kick it for the tenth time, two more showed up, so Dante kicked it toward them instead of a wall. One of them was hit, but the other managed to dodge and went on the offensive right away, the flames on its back spreading to the rest of its body as it grew to three times its size. It wasn’t as large as the first, but there was something unnerving about a burning dog running toward you.

Naturally, Dante wasn’t worried about fire. He would just punch the dog or kick it like he had been doing so far, and would be gone. That’s how things should have worked, at least. When he went to punch the beast, his fist went straight through it. There was no solid body inside. The beast was made entirely from flames.

’Shi-’

The green flames shifted, manifesting the beast’s head with jaws wide open. Before he could draw his arm back, it sank its fangs into his forearm, sending a current of unbearable pain through his nerves. Waving his arm to throw it off, Dante slammed it into the wall when the beast refused to let go, causing the flames to scatter.

Jumping back, he looked down at his arm. 4-3’s green plating wasn’t so easy to break or penetrate, yet the beast managed to bite through it. Then there was the pain. The holes left by the beast’s burning fangs still stung even after the fire was gone, almost as if his arm was back to being flesh and bone. Returning his focus to the beasts, he saw that they were quickly regaining their forms. Seeing the other two quickly get covered with the green flames, danger bells began ringing in Dante’s head.

’No choice...’

Giving the command, he swapped the Module on his right arm. Just as it turned into threads of light, the beasts attacked, as if sensing what he was trying to do. Switching Modules took longer than equipping armor, but he didn’t have to worry about them being damaged in the process. Not that he planned to give the beasts a chance to touch him.

Staying in one spot, Dante evaded every pounce, every bite, and every slash. He guided the beasts’ movements to ensure that they didn’t shift their attention to Merry and the others, and soon enough, the new Module finished forming.

Ripping through the fabric of his suit was a slender arm covered in blue scale-like plating. Its proportions were slightly off, and with it appearing larger than the rest of his body, one couldn’t help but get the impression that his arm had mutated somehow.

[

Name: Dante

Species: Human

Threat Level: 5

Baseline Retention: Ascended (5%)

Stats:

Strength: 228

Durability: 196

Agility: 152

Dexterity: 157

Computing Power: 122

Energy: 350/350

Implants:

Kinetic Absorption Protective Sub-Layer Generation 15 (C)

RespiraCore Series VI (C)

Overmind Cortical Interface Module (A)

Overmind Neural Response Enhancer (A)

Ares Iron Cage (A)

Ares Iron Fiber (A)

Ares IronPulse Engine (A)

NephroCore Series XI (C)

NutrimaCore Complete Series XI (C)

Voxcore Series XI (B)

Eroscore Series V (C)

Suzuka’s Modular Bionic Interface (Arms) (SS)

Suzuka’s Modular Bionic Interface (Legs) (SS)

Suzuka’s Skull Guard (S)

Oculuscore series XIII (C)

Suzuka’s Modular Bionic Interface (Torso) (SS)

Modules:

Right arm: Type 2-4

Left arm: Type 4-3

Right leg: Type 4-3

Left leg: Type 4-3

Torso: Type 4-3

Abilities:

Force Amplification

Kinetic boost

Impact Amplification

Recoil Suppression

Aqua Edge

Hydro Pulse

Aqua Prison

Cryokinesis

]

Water was the obvious weapon when it comes to fire, which is why Dante equipped 2-4’s Module. No sooner was it done forming than he jumped away, putting some distance between him and the beasts. The air around his right arm shifted as he aimed his palm forward, then gathered into a single point, creating a sphere of water that instantly grew to the size of a football. Three streams shot out of it, each directed at one of the burning beasts that came rushing after him. Upon contact, the water exploded into a cloud of vapor.

The ability Dante activated wasn’t a direct attack, so the streams weren’t meant to deal any damage. Their role was to deliver the water to the beasts, and then-

’Aqua Prison!’

The clouds of vapor contracted in an instant, forming new spheres around the burning beasts. The streams continued flowing, quickly filling their interior. With their fire doused, the beasts quickly reverted to their original form and flailed around, trying to escape. Nothing could have freed them, but Dante wasn’t about to wait until they drowned, and so he activated Cryokinesis.

In an instant, the spheres of water turned into spheres of ice. One after the other, they fell to the floor, the beasts inside them entirely motionless, their maws wide open as if they were still barking.