Chapter 87: Lev.
The man/crow hybrid remained static for a few seconds, then, like a monstrosity crawling out of the darkest depths of hell, it swiftly slid in Dante’s direction. The entrance to the containment tent parted, and though the creature’s form was finally visible, it turned out to be no less frightening than the dark silhouette.
The thing was dressed in a filthy patchwork of a robe, held together by countless stitches and quite a bit of tape. Thick gloves reached up to its elbows, but the arms extending from them seemed to be half as thick.
Nevertheless, the most eye-catching thing about it was without a doubt the cone-shaped mask which, when bent slightly, resembled a massive beak. The tubes extending from under it reached behind the creature, adding to the horror of the sight, and as if that wasn’t enough, the large goggles right above it seemed to glow with the same ghastly green light coming from the tent.
Dante couldn’t help but shudder, feeling the creature’s gaze fall on him. Their standoff lasted a few seconds, then, shattering the atmosphere that had surrounded it up to that point, the nightmarish entity raised its arms in the air and let out a muffled cry.
"DANTE!!!"
Before he could react, it lunged toward him only to hit the brakes halfway through. Backing away, it reached up to its shoulders, undid some clasps, then pulled on the gloves.
A bony hand emerged from within the dirty robe and pushed the beak-shaped mask up. An instant later, like a skin that had been shed, the entire entity dropped to the floor with an audible thud, leaving in its place a tall skeleton dressed in blue shorts and a white tank top.
"DANTE! IT’S REALLY YOU!"
It spoke, and with the same enthusiasm as before, it dashed toward Dante and wrapped its arms around him in a tight hug.