CHAPTER 305: ISOLATED.

"Take it slow. Breathe."

With his head spinning, Dante wasn’t sure if he could believe his ears. He had heard Nobara’s voice before receiving that blow to his head, and he was hearing it now, but that didn’t make sense.

After debating it with himself for a while, he decided to take care of the chameleon before she could cause any trouble. At the very least, he wanted to learn her intentions, and what she had done to the original Kurosaki Suzuka, but the girl didn’t answer any of his questions, clearly waiting for help to arrive.

They were currently in an empty apartment on the third floor of the megacomplex housing the Bowl of Fortune, and the doors were sealed shut. No one should have been able to enter, at least not without making any noise, but somehow, someone managed to sneak up on him and delivered a devastating blow to his head.

[Dante, be on guard.] Volcan spoke into his mind. [I am detecting a powerful Aether signature.]

’A... what...’

Holding his head, Dante tried to stand, only to tumble and fall to one knee. It took him a second to understand what his resident AI said, and when he did, he was finally able to hear the danger bells ringing in his head.

"You metal bastard..."

Looking ahead, he saw the small, old woman facing him, her fists clenched with suppressed rage as she glared. Dante felt a strange pressure emanating from her, and he could have sworn that the air in the room was swirling, causing her hair and the sleeves of her yukata to flutter.

"I will make you pay." She said. "You will regret the day you decided to hurt her!"

Raising her right arm, she let go of her pipe, but instead of falling, it started spinning, and a bright white light spread through its shaft a moment later. The small pile instantly grew in size, its form changing before falling into the old cook’s hands once more.

With her size, the newly formed naginata looked comically large in Nobara’s hands. Dante wasn’t about to laugh, however. He had seen the old cook angry before, but this was the first time she showed him this face.

[Threat Evaluation: Level 4 Aetherion.]

Hearing Volcan’s assessment, Dante knew he had to run away. Activating Spatial Rift, he placed a gate under him and another one outside, but before he could open it, Nobara made her move.

"Oh no, you won’t!"

The old cook snapped her fingers and a wave washed over the room. There was an imperceptible change, but Dante simply ignored it, activating his ability. He braced himself, but the falling sensation didn’t arrive. His eyes widened as he realized the floor under him hadn’t disappeared.

[Dante, the space inside this room had been isolated!] Volcan said, sounding panicked. [Spatial Awareness can no longer reach outside!]

Knowing what that entailed, Dante understood why it was a panic-worthy situation. His resident AI has some powerful sensors that get boosted by Type 8-3’s abilities, but for his range to be suddenly cut, it could only mean they were in a very bad spot.

"As I thought, you were the same bastard who attacked her the other day." Spinning the naginata above her head, Nobara then pointed its blade at him, taking a fighting position. "I will make sure you pay for what you did!"

As though he had lost focus for a moment, Dante failed to see how the old cook crossed the distance between them. She stopped a short distance away, he weapon already swinging down. Dante reflexively rolled out of the way then rolled again, somehow sensing that a second attack would follow the first. Rolling once more, he rose to his knees and faced the old cook, watching as she sent the blade of her pole weapon flying toward him with a horizontal slash. Finding no time to dodge, he raised his right hand to block, activating Spatial Severance.

’Sorry, old hag!’

Going by the naginata’s exquisite design and the way it appeared, Dante guessed that it was a very important, and likely very expensive, weapon, which is why he apologized for destroying it in his heart.

[Dante! Do not-]

Volcan’s words were swallowed by a loud clang and a sharp screech. Dante felt his arm swing away, his wrist and elbow protesting in pain. He had flung his head back reflexively the instant the pain hit his nerves, and because of that, the naginata’s curved blade barely missed his neck.

[Spatial Severance doesn’t work as well!]

’I... figured that out... already.’

Of course it doesn’t work. Spatial Severance was just a movable gate the size of his palm. All it does is teleport things to some unknown location, and since neither Spatial Awareness nor Rift creation worked, it was only logical that Spatial Severance wouldn’t work, either. Unfortunately, Dante had realized that a little too late.

[It is almost as if the space inside this room had been cut from the rest of the world.] Volcan said. [I suggest using Type 9-3 to disarm the Atherion and remove the effect blocking our access to the outside world.]

Dante came up with the exact same plan. He tried not to think about the old cook being a sorcerer, intending to focus on escaping for now, but that turned out to be easier said than done. Even if he wanted to swap armors, the old hag didn’t give him the time, continuing her attacks and barely missing him each time.

Dante rolled back to put some distance between him and the enraged old cook, barely evading a downward swing. He was about to do it again, but his back hit a wall. Somehow, he ended up in a corner, with his left being blocked as well. His only choice was to go right, but it was already too late for that.

"You have nowhere to run!" Said Nobara, once again spinning the naginata above her head. "Just stay still and-"

As he went through his remaining options, the old woman froze mid-sentence. The look in her eyes changed as well, and her arms stopped moving. Slowly, she lowered her weapon and leaned in, squinting her eyes. Dante leaned back, still afraid of what she might do. That was when she said something that shocked him beyond words.

"Boy, is that you?"