Chapter 89: Telling everything to them

"Watch it. Then do what you want" the old man said. He pressed his thumb against the red line.

Light spilled out in a thin cone and made a picture on the wall.

A hall of black stone, lit by red candles. Twelve people knelt in a circle on the floor, wearing crimson capes. Their eyes were open and empty. A thin red thread ran out of each chest and up into the air, where it gathered into a glowing knot above their heads.

Dante knew the cape. He knew the faces too. Guild members from the 55th floor raid. Marcus knelt at the center with his head down. Elena was beside him, shaking.

Two figures stood in front of them, tall and robed, their faces smeared with shadow. One was a man’s voice. The other was a woman’s, soft and bored.

"Twelve," the woman said. "It will do."

"Yes, my lord," Marcus said."It’s already arranged"

The threads snapped. The twelve bodies fell on their faces and didn’t move.

Marcus flinched. He didn’t look up.

"Open your hands," the man said.

Marcus held out his palms. The woman dropped a small red stone into each. Marcus’s fingers closed over it, and the veins in his arms turned black.

"This will hold us in your flesh," she said. "Your body will not last long. A few weeks of use, then it will tear., and you remember what i say earlier about upper floors, and knows your mission right?"

"I understand."

"You do not. But it does not matter." She tilted her head. "When it breaks, we will leave it behind."

Marcus’s shoulders shook. He said nothing. Elena made a small sound. The woman looked at her.

"You as well, little one."

"Yes. Yes, my lady."

The man turned his head slightly, as if remembering something.

"And the exile? The boy who lived?"

"Dante Grey," Marcus said. "He’s... he’s still alive. We don’t know how."

"Does it matter?" the woman said.

"He has some power. A reflection skin..."

"A flea that learned to bite." The man waved a hand. "Finish him in the arena, then forget him. He is not worth a second thought.We have more important things then him "

"And about the–"

But then The picture glitch and went out.

Nobody spoke. Dante stared at the blank wall. His right hand had closed on the blanket, and the cloth twisted in his fist.

’ It’s seems like they don’t care about me that much, it’s seems like they are planning something big .’

Gideon slipped the crystal back into his coat.

"There’s more in the vault," he said. "I’ll go through the rest. You three stay put and heal."

"Gideon." Dante said. The old man stopped at the door.

"Thank you."

"Rest kid " Gideon gave a short nod and left.

Dante sat on the edge of Yenna’s bed with his hands between his knees. He looked at the floor. Behind him, Esabella sat on his bed with the pillow against her chest.

"I owe you both," he said.

Neither of them answered. "Yenna." He made himself look up. "Three weeks in that cell. You didn’t say my name once. And i–i don’t even treat you properly back, I’m sorry, Yenna"

"Dante..."

"And thank you for everything. I mean it." Then He turned his head. "Esabella."

She sat very straight, with the glass pressed against her chest.

"You broke every rule I made. You followed me when I said no and you sacrifice yourself for me " He stopped. He had seen her face on the sand, right before the dragon form started. He didn’t say it. "Thank you. And I’m sorry. Because of me you two suffered like this."

Her lips trembled. "You never said that to anyone, did you?" she whispered. She put her hand over her mouth.

Dante rubbed his face with his palm.

"You’ve followed me this far and you don’t know why I’m here," he said. "I never told you. I should have."

"You don’t have to if you feel uncomfortable" Yenna said softly.

He sat for a moment, and then he speak.

"It all start when I was ten years old."

And then i told them everything about my past life, my parents death.

"That night I decided I’d climb the tower and kill whatever came out of it. Nobody else would sit in a cellar and count. I trained for fifteen years. I became an S-rank. I pulled strangers out of dungeons and never asked for anything. I thought I was building something."

His jaw worked.

"There were five of us. Marcus. Kenneth. Nelon. Briggs. Elena." The last name came out flat. "I trusted Elena most. When I was in the boss room on the fifty-fifth floor with no mana left, she walked down that corridor with the rest of them and didn’t look back."

"They threw me away. When I woke up again, a year had passed and everyone thought I was dead." He lifted his hands and looked at the bandages. "I told myself I’d climb and make them pay, and that would be enough. i thought i was strong. But I was wrong, I couldn’t even keep you two from bleeding."

The room was silent for few second.... Nobody spoke now.

A tear ran down Esabella’s cheek. Then another. She didn’t wipe them. She set the glass down on the bed, carefully. Then she stood up.

She crossed the room in three steps. She stopped in front of him, shaking all over.

"M-May I?" she asked.

Dante looked at her. At her wet face, her bandaged ribs, her hands hanging at her sides, held back by a rule he had made.

"I said you couldn’t touch me." Dante said

"I know." She replied. "but..."

Then She threw her arms around his neck.

She didn’t hold back. She hung on as if he might vanish, with her face in his shoulder and her whole weight against his chest. Her ribs creaked against his, but she didn’t loosen her grip. She was crying into his collar in a low, broken sound.

"They did wrong to you my king," she said.

He didn’t pull away. After a moment, he lifted one hand and laid it on her back, between the bandages. He felt her shudder. For a long time, neither of them moved...

"Esabella, Can You let me go now." Dante said to her.

"No, i want to stay a little longer "

Yenna watched from the other bed. She was crying too, quietly. But her eyes kept going from Dante’s arm around Esabella to the empty space next to her own pillow. Her tail slapped once against the sheet.

She had half lifted her arms before she remembered. Her legs lay still under the blanket, and the gap between the beds was three steps wide.

’It’s unfair,’ she thought. ’I’m the one who was in the cell.’ Her lip trembled.

"Dante," she said, smaller than she meant.

He turned his head to look at her. She looked at him, then away, and her ears went flat. "Never mind."

"What?"

"It’s nothing. I wanted to... I can’t walk, so..." She pressed her face into the pillow. "Forget it. I’m being stupid."

Dante looked at her. Then down at Esabella, still hanging on his neck.

"Let go now."

"No."

"Yenna is waiting."

Esabella went stiff. She lifted her head and looked across the room, and her face did something complicated. Her jaw tightened. Her mouth made a tiny pout.

"She’s a child," she muttered.

"Esabella"

"Fine." She let go one arm at a time, very slowly, as if every finger had to be pried off. She stepped back, wiped her face with both hands, and crossed her arms.

Dante stood up and sat on the edge of Yenna’s bed. He held out his arms. Yenna didn’t move for a second. Then she launched herself at him. She wrapped both arms around his neck and sobbed so hard her whole body shook.

"I thought you were going to leave me again."

"I won’t." He put a hand on the back of her head. "I mean it now."

Across the room, Esabella stood alone with her arms crossed under her chest, and a faint twitch ran across her mouth.

’Her too.’ she looked down at her hands. ’It’s fine. She’s a child. He’s just being kind.’

She picked up the glass and hugged it against her chest. She counted to herself in a whisper.

"One. Two. Three."

"Esabella what are you counting?," Dante said, Without turning

"Nothing."

"Come here."

She froze. "What?"

"Sit."

She sat on the edge of the bed on his other side, stiff as a board. After a moment, a hand slid across the blanket and wrapped around two of his fingers. He didn’t pull away. Yenna sniffed. She peeked over his shoulder at Esabella, and her ears twitched.

"You hugged him first," Yenna said, in a thick voice.

"I did." Esabella said.

"For a long time." Yenna was talking while sobbing .

"You’re mad?"

"A little."

Esabella pressed her lips together. Then, very quietly: "So am I."

Yenna let out a wet laugh that turned into a hiccup. Dante looked between them. His face was tired and blank, but the corner of his mouth moved.

’Two women crying on me,’ he thought. ’Wonderful.’

He stayed where he was for a longer. And after a hour Yenna had fallen asleep against his shoulder. Esabella rested her chin on the edge of the mattress, watching him with half-closed eyes. The sun in the window had turned orange.

Dante eased Yenna back onto her pillow and pulled the blanket up. Then he sat still and opened the stack of red notices that had been blinking in the corner of his vision.

[Unclaimed Daily Spins: 10.]

[Kill rewards: Marcus (host), Elena (host), entity fragments.]

[Notice: Floor 55 cleared.]

[Notice: You may exchange all unclaimed spins for 2 Grand Spins. Rewards guaranteed SSS-Rank.]

’Two grand spins?’

Corrected sentence:

<Sorry, I could only upload one Chapter today, but don’t worry, I’m gonna mass release Chapters tomorrow>