Path of the Demonic Villain

"That traitor!" Dante mumbled after rubbing his forehead slightly. To feel better, he raised the cup of winterberry blend on the table in front of him and took a sip, before dropping it back on the saucer.

Then he leaned back and sighed, letting his thoughts drift to other important matters.

’...My cost isn’t simple like the others in my family who just need to drink lots of water or be around water as much as possible. I need lots of blood and since my level is not that high right now, I need to grow stronger and max out my Faith. Which means I have no choice but to go out, hunt and drain certain people of their blood.

’At the same time, I also have to use my powers to their fullest from time to time if I want to resonate even faster. Not to mention, there’s also the bit about combat experience. I need to come across slightly stronger foes and survive. I need to experience more life and death battles where I’m forced to think and use more than just my powers to survive. Only then can I even dream of attempting the Test of Faith.

’This doesn’t mean I should be careless, though, and throw my life away. Everything would be for naught if I died.’

Dante lowered his gaze to the steam rising from his cup.

"Goddess..." he exhaled as the thought of increasing his faith lingered in his mind, and then, his eyes suddenly changed to red. But when he blinked, they reverted to being purple.

’I might have to leave the Capital with Ezio or rather Micheal during the weekend to go hunt some bastards.’

He suddenly smiled. ’Heh. Micheal.’

For a brief moment after, Dante’s thoughts continued to drift, and then he suddenly grew curious about something.

Speaking of growing in power and the Test of Faith...

’Hey Edward. Do you have any idea what powers I would get after I survive the Test of Faith and advance to the second rank?’

While the general measure of power in this world was Tiers, when particularly referring to the progression of an Apostle along their Divine Skill tree, it could be referred to as Ranks.

Unlike some others who could easily find out what powers they’d gain by researching people who possessed the same Divine Skill at a higher rank, Dante couldn’t do that.

He suspected that he might be the only Black Apostle of Blood, which meant he was likely the only one with the Blood Demon.

Fortunately, his blood demon had a consciousness of its own, so Dante hoped that he would at least have an answer for him.

’I do have an idea master!’ Edward replied cheerfully. ’I may not be able to remember what the higher ranking powers are, but I can at least remember the one right above our current rank!’

Hearing that, Dante’s brows furrowed slightly as a specific word caught his attention.

’...Remember?’

As he began to mull over what that implied, Edward quickly continued, completely oblivious to his growing suspicion.

’The direct next skill under the [Blood Demon] is the [Blood Demon’s Perception].’

’Blood Demon’s Perception?’

’Yes!’ Edward chimed in eagerly. ’When you get that, all your senses will be heightened, allowing you to sense living beings or blood anywhere within a few meters of you. You will be able to place certain curses on people as long as you have their blood, and you will also be able to trace and track targets by consuming it.’

He paused for a few seconds as if trying to recall the rest. ’Uh... oh yes, you should be able to absorb certain memories, secrets, and fears of a target by taking in even a small amount of their blood.’ He paused, and his voice grew a bit more excited. ’Also, your thirst for blood should probably kick in around this time.’

Hearing that, Dante couldn’t help but smile in excitement.

’That’s actually really cool. From what I know, all the skills on a skill tree are expansions of the core Divine Skill. The goal is to unlock all the powers of that core divine skill: in my case, the Blood Demon. Heh. It seems the Blood Demon is even more interesting than I thought. I’ll unlock the ability to be able to gain certain memories and secrets, too? Not bad.

’Plus, the curses part of it fits perfectly with my class. After all, High Priests are known for their ability to use curse magic.’

While he was drifting in thought, taking another sip of his coffee, he suddenly heard a familiar voice that caused him to look up.

She was a young lady with dark blue hair, and a black blindfold was tied neatly over her eyes.

It was none other than Annabella Bellini.

She walked gently, and with the help of a black cane in her hand, she navigated her way to the counter to place an order.

For some reason, when Dante saw her, the corner of his lips involuntarily pulled into an imperceptible smile.

"Excuse me, can I have uh... what was it again?" She paused, trying to remember. "God, I have a really bad memory." She chuckled out of embarrassment, and then... it hit her. "Oh, right. A winterberry blend, please. Thank you."

"Coming right up, Signorina," the man at the counter replied.

Annabella then turned to sweep her gaze around the room, before pursing her lips. Then, she turned back to the counter and leaned over politely. "Excuse me again. Uh... I can’t see." She waved clumsily at her face as if that wasn’t already obvious, before continuing after a chortle. "I’m actually looking for someone. He’s handsome, tall, could take your breath away if you stare, dark hair, and purple eyes. Could you please tell me if such a person is here?"

The bald-headed man just stared at her for a few seconds, before looking up to scan the room halfheartedly.

Maybe the average-looking man didn’t know what handsome looked like, but... he seemed like he was about to say no. Just then, however, Annabella heard someone speak behind her.

"What if you hear his voice?"

She immediately snapped her head around. "Dante?"

Dante extended his hand. "Do you want me to help you over to a seat?"

But then, Annabella reached out and touched his chest, then her fingers roamed up to his shoulders, before settling on his face.

"What are you doing?" Dante asked when she began pulling his cheek.

"Confirming it’s Dante!" she beamed, letting go of his face.

Dante sighed. "My voice isn’t credible enough?"

Annabella smiled and immediately reached for his hand that was still extended. "Yes please."

Dante shook his head and gently took her white-gloved hand.

Before he began moving though, he looked at the man behind the counter and said, "Can I have another cup of winterberry, two almond croissants, a slice of dark chocolate torte, and a small box of candied chestnuts?"

Since Annabella was paying, he decided to shamelessly buy more than he would have normally done, just for the sake of it.

The barista nodded.

Then, Dante led her to where he sat at the back, as usual. He pulled out the chair for her, waiting until she was seated before he went back to his own seat across from her.

"You seem gentler than you look." She smiled and rested her chin on her folded hands.

Dante also rested his cheek on his palm and looked at her, but instead of a reply, he said, "You seem different today."

She tilted her head slightly. "What about me is different?"

"Well, everything." His eyes then rolled up to her black blindfold, "’And’ the fact that you don’t seem to be able to see today."

Annabella chuckled and shook her head. "I’ve always been blind. In fact, the first time I saw this cruel and beautiful world with my eyes was after I became an Apostle."

’Mm. If I remember correctly, her divine skill when it’s activated fully can let her see just like every other person. But to use her powers in that way, she would need to be sleeping. Unlike last week when I met her, right now, she’s fully awake which explains why she’s now her real, unfiltered self.

’Damn. She’s beautiful. I lied when I said it doesn’t work on me. If she touches me today like she did last time, I might fold so fast even the Goddess would be disappointed in me.’

Just then, Annabella smiled softly and asked, "Do you also like candied chestnuts?"

Dante smiled and replied, "Yes, I do. I order them when I come here every day."

When he said that, Edward gasped. ’You liar! You don’t even like candied chestnuts!’

’Shut up, little one!’ Dante snapped back internally.

Meanwhile, Annabella giggled softly and said, "I love them too. They make me sleepy. I like to sleep, you know. It’s actually a hobby I could do for an entire day."

Edward chuckled in his mind. ’She’s just like you, Master.’

"We can share mine when they come," Dante offered casually.

"Oh?" Annabella tilted her head before waving a hand politely. "No, no, I couldn’t possibly take that. You ordered them for yourself."

"It’s alright," Dante said, leaning back slightly with a smooth smile. "I ordered plenty, and besides, you are the one paying for it anyway."

Annabella let out a soft laugh, yielding to his gesture. "Well... if you insist. It would be quite rude of me to turn down such thoughtful generosity."

In her mind, she subconsciously added, ’Actually, now that I think about it, I might have stolen a few if you didn’t offer and you began eating them in front of me. I probably would have distracted you somehow, then snatched them off your plate. God, I need to get rid of these sticky fingers. They’ll land me in trouble!’

While she was still casually contemplating theft instead of just buying her own for goodness’ sake, the barista arrived with a large silver tray, setting down the steaming cups of winterberry alongside the plates of delicate pastries.

"By the way," Annabella said casually as she took her cup, "I just realized that unlike your older siblings, not much is known about you. I almost didn’t know that you are the son of a Count until I found out recently that you are a Fioravanti. Heh. It’s nice to finally put a face to the ’Dante Fioravanti.’"

It was standard practice for the children of nobles to be well known by the public, most especially among high society socialites who tracked every academy ranking, state ball, and family debut. Yet among the Fioravanti family, the twins had always kept a low profile and deliberately avoided the spotlight.

Of course, as high-ranking aristocrats, it was nearly impossible to stay completely out of the gazettes. Still, while Francesca rarely attended grand receptions or allowed press photographers near her, Dante didn’t even bother making public appearances at all. Even on the rare occasions when his name had to be mentioned in society prints, a photographic capture was never included alongside the text.

Though truth be told, his total absence from society was a topic of gossip in its own right. Now that he was back to continue his studies at the academy like anyone else, little by little, people would inevitably start putting a face to the youngest son, the Dante of the Fioravanti house.

"I’m not really an interesting person," Dante said, offering a quick excuse for his anonymity.

"You sound interesting to me, though," Annabella replied with a soft smirk as she popped a third candied chestnut into her mouth. "And you’ve piqued my curiosity a lot."

’Truth be told, you’ve also piqued my curiosity, Annabella,’ Dante thought as his eyes narrowed on her chest.

There was a silver chain around her neck holding a Penrose triangle emblem, known publicly as the crest of Athamas, the God of Domains and Unreality.

’From what I can recall from the game, during the first term of the academy, Annabella hid the fact that she was actually an Apostle of Dreams. One of the powers of [False Witness], the Purple Divine Skill of the Apostles of Domains, allows them to tell a temporary lie about their physical condition. Looking at it now, that provides the perfect excuse to explain how she can see at times despite being blind. I’m curious. Why is she hiding her real Faith?’