Chapter 112: 112 | Smoke and Stone

"What kind of sparring are we talking about?" Felix asked as the three of them stood in the yard. "Hand to hand?"

"If it's hand to hand, you go first." Freya said, leaning her back against a tree with her arms crossed.

"No, it's something different." Dante smiled and reached into his storage ring. He pulled out a set of wooden replicas of Crimson Requiem, identical to the original in size and shape but made from reinforced wood. He had bought them from the villain store for 2,500 VP specifically for training.

"A double-bladed scythe?" Felix raised his eyebrows as he looked at the weapon.

"What an unusual choice." Freya had encountered one or two scythe users before but this was her first time seeing a double-bladed one. She disappeared into the house and came back seconds later holding two wooden swords.

"Do you know why you don't see many scythe users?"

"Most of them end up cutting themselves?"

"Exactly." She tossed him a look. "So why a scythe?"

"That's why I need to train." Dante swung the replica with one hand, getting a feel for the weight.

The replicas weren't the only thing he bought. He also purchased a double-bladed scythe art from the store for 10,000 VP. It was a basic weapon art but enough to teach him the fundamentals.

Natasha had told him to wait until she could find a proper weapon technique for him. Her personal collection was mostly sword techniques. She had other weapon arts too but only because she studied them to understand how her enemies fought, not because she used them herself.

She had rarely encountered a double-bladed scythe user in her life and the few she did weren't particularly skilled. So she had nothing to offer him on that front.

But the Eden's Gate library was a different story. Thousands of years of accumulated knowledge from every weapon type imaginable.

She had already sent word to the Phantom Force to search the archives and bring back the best scythe techniques they could find.

But he couldn't sit around doing nothing until then. The basics were the basics no matter what technique he ended up with.

"These are just replicas, right?" Freya looked at the wooden scythe with a careful eye. Even for a training weapon, it was oddly detailed. "It must be one hell of a weapon if you're willing to give up learning the sword from Madam for it."

"Well, you're right about the weapon." Dante didn't deny it. If he mastered the scythe, it wasn't really necessary to learn the sword from Natasha. Plus, his weapon was a lot cooler.

"But when did I say anything about giving up on the sword?" He added with a grin. Crimson Requiem was going to be his main weapon but he needed other options since he couldn't use it for every situation.

Especially as a villain, he couldn't have people finding out his real identity that easily. Crimson Requiem was way too distinctive for that.

"Haha, greedy aren't you?" Freya looked at him with a mix of amusement and respect. "Most people spend their entire lives trying to master one weapon and you want to take on two?"

"Shall we find out if you can handle even one first?" She dropped one of her wooden blades and held the other loosely at her side. "I'll use one blade and pure technique."

"Alright!" Dante took his stance. He had read through the weapon art and absorbed the basic stances and footwork.

Freya rolled her shoulder and pointed her blade at him. "You can come at me whenever you want."

She kept her stance loose and her weight centered. In her mind, this was a teaching spar. Mana Awakening Mid Stage against Mana Core Formation was barely worth taking seriously. She just needed to hold back enough not to hurt him while correcting his form.

'She's not taking me seriously.' Dante could tell from a glance. 'Good.'

Dante shot forward.

One second he was standing six meters away. The next, he was in front of her and the scythe was carving through the air toward her stomach.

Her eyes widened and she brought her blade up just in time. The impact rattled through her arms harder than she expected.

'What the hell? Since when can a Mana Awakening cultivator move this fast?' She pushed him back and reset her stance but the carelessness from a second ago was completely gone.

'There it is. That's the face I wanted to see.' Dante grinned.

On the side, Felix's arms unfolded slowly. His eyes had narrowed the moment Dante closed the distance. 'That speed isn't normal for his realm.'

Dante didn't let up. He pressed forward with another swing, transitioning from a horizontal slash to an overhead strike the way the weapon art described. But his footwork was a half step off and the transition was clumsy, leaving his left side wide open.

Freya punished it immediately. She sidestepped the overhead strike and slapped the flat of her blade against his ribs.

'Shit, that hurt.' Dante winced but kept moving. 'My mind knows what to do but my body can't quite follow.'

His next swing came from a lower angle and while the technique was rough, his body moved with a strange fluidity.

'He's all over the place but his body moves well on instinct.' Freya blocked another strike and countered with a quick thrust at his shoulder. 'His speed, reflexes… all of it is way above someone at Mana Awakening.'

Dante saw it coming and twisted away but the dodge put him off balance and she swept his legs out from under him.

He hit the ground hard and stared up at the sky for a second. 'Yeah… reading about it and actually doing it are two completely different things.'

"Your instincts are sharp and your body is oddly efficient." Freya said, looking down at him with curiosity in her eyes. "But your technique is a mess. You're relying on raw ability to cover the gaps."

Dante got back up and dusted himself off. "That's why I'm here."

"How long have you been training with a weapon?"

"Today is day one."

"Day one?!" Both of them looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you really telling the truth?" Freya asked while extending her hand to him.

"Why would I lie?" Dante got up with her help and patted the dirt off his body.

'Wasn't he supposed to be a cripple? He got cured and became a genius all of a sudden?' Freya looked at Dante and then at Felix, sending a voice transmission.

'Maybe there is more to this than we think. Could that be why Madam kept it hidden?'

'I knew it. How could any of Madam's students be normal?' Freya sighed internally and turned back to Dante with an eager grin. "Let's go again."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Dante raised the scythe.

They went three more rounds. Dante lost all of them. But each time, he lasted a little longer.

She stepped back and shook out her wrist. "I'm done." She looked at Felix. "Your turn."

Felix walked over, looking at Dante while settling into a stance. "I won't need a weapon." He raised his fists. "Whenever you're ready."

Dante wiped the sweat off his face and picked up the scythe. 'Fighting Freya was like trying to catch smoke. Let's see what it's like hitting a wall.'

***

Inside the Devereux mansion, Marcus Devereux sat alone in his bedroom with a thick folder open in front of him.

His people had spent the entire night digging up everything they could find on Dante's recent activities.

He started from the beginning.

A few weeks ago, Dante had gone to a bar and drank himself half to death. Natasha Raven's guards dragged him back to the mansion.

After that, Dante and Natasha were spotted together at Starline Plaza and spent the entire day there. Then Emma returned from her business trip earlier than planned and the two of them went to work together the very next day.

Then the gala.

Marcus stared at the photos for a long time.

Red carpet, hand-holding, feeding, dancing, and the kneeling. Every photo looked like it was taken from a romance drama.

He closed the folder and leaned back, letting out a deep breath.

"So that's what happened." A cold smile formed on his lips. "He threw a tantrum and begged Madam Raven for help. Emma had no choice but to come back early and go along with it."

In his mind, the picture was clear. Emma was only playing along because Natasha arranged the whole thing.

"He mocked me for using my father's money." Marcus murmured, his fingers tapping the armrest. "And then he turns around and hides behind Madam Raven's skirt to get close to Emma. What a hypocrite."

He picked up his phone and stared at the screen for a moment before setting it down.

"It doesn't matter. Emma is a smart woman. She'll realize it eventually." His eyes darkened. "And if she doesn't, I'll open her eyes myself."

He stood up and looked out the window at the city lights below. 'I'll get her out of that family's grip. No matter what it takes.'

In the study room, Natasha sneezed for no reason and felt an inexplicable urge to hit someone.

"Are you okay, Master?" Emma looked at her with worry in her eyes.

"I'm fine." Natasha rubbed her nose with a frown. She didn't think much of it and went back to teaching. But the faint urge to hit something lingered for the rest of the day.