CHAPTER 413: BE READY.

’We need to incapacitate him without destroying the suit...’

Just as the thought crossed Dante’s mind, his opponent moved. The boosters on his back, arms, and legs erupted with a blue glow and he suddenly exploded forward. Having enhanced his perception beforehand, Dante activated Rift Creation, manifesting a pitch black spot in front of him.

The portal was like a black curtain that blocked the view, but thanks to Spatial Awareness, Dante could still see his opponent as a red 3D model overlayed with his vision. Because of that, he was able to catch the moment Kortic pivoted, sidestepping the portal to attack from the side.

Dante raised his arms just in time to block the punch, jumping back to kill the impact. Despite that, he still felt it though 8-3. The punch carried with it such explosive power that it could have easily pierced through a normal human. It launched Dante back, slamming him into the wall.

Not letting the second impact faze him, he quickly leaned aside and evaded another punch, watching as the armored fist shattered the spot he had just hit. Reading the movements of his opponent, he gave more mental commands just as another attack came his way. Another dark spot manifested, and the fist flying toward him sank straight through it.

The lack of counterforce caused the white power suit to dive into the portal. Dante watched the red model, waiting for it to vanish so he could give the command to close the portal. Just when it looked like only one leg had to pass through, the entire thing jerked back, and the power suit came flying out of the portal.

[Holly-] Kortic stretched his arms and spread his palms, using the boosters at their center to launch himself back. [Wha-... huh? What... what was that!!?]

’Tsk!’

Launching another set of commands, Dante closed the portal in front of him and opened another one. Kortic was just about to and when another portal manifested right under his feet. This time, he reacted fast enough, blasting himself up then away from the black hole even before his legs sank in.

[Whoa... what the fuck?]

Not letting up, Dante was about to open another portal when Volcan’s alarmed voice rang in his head.

[Dante! Behind you!]

A thought minimized the 3D model, rotating it to allow him to see his surroundings. Something was flying straight toward the back of his head. Dante was already moving out of the way, shifting his boy to the right and tilting his head. The projectile abruptly changed its trajectory just a it was about to pass him, and though it was unable to make a sharp enough turn, it still managed to strike his helmet, ricocheting off its visor then the floor.

The projectile was a triangle. With two sharp edges, it was shaped like a long arrowhead, or a spearhead would be more accurate, considering its size.

Dante didn’t get to curse it or whoever threw it as he hurried to dodge the dozen more that followed right after. Try as he may, a few still managed to hit him, carving shallow lines on the dark plating of his armor as they bounced off.

Turning to the stairs leading up, Dante locked in on the bastard playing it safe with the long-range attacks. He wore another power suit, and though it shared a similar design to the white suit Kortic wore, this one was green and far less bulky.

The green bastard had his right arm outstretched with his palm pointed in Dante’s direction. Four more of the triangular projectiles hovered around him, and the rest soon made their way back to his side. Though it seemed like he was about to launch them once more, Dante sensed it wouldn’t be the case and quickly snapped his attention to his second opponent.

Dante leaped out of the way just as Kortic came down at him with a hammer strike. The blow sent a tremor through the long corridor, leaving a small crater in the floor. Looking at it, Dante cursed himself for not setting a portal in that spot.

His line of thought was once again interrupted by the flying spearheads. This time, he didn’t neglect opening a portal the instant he got hit, and he closed it the next instant, banishing several of the flying projectiles to one of his pocket dimensions.

[Damn it...]

The green bastard was clearly pissed, having lost half of his drones. The white bastard tried attacking again, only for Dante to dodge and parry everything he threw at him.

’Volcan...’ as things got tougher for him, Dante turned to his resident AI. ’Be ready.’

[Understood.]

While evading another set of blows from the white bastard, Dante opened his storage and selected three items. Diverting a particularly heavy blow, he spun his body in the air, balancing on the white one’s outstretched arm, then swung his legs, kicking the bastard in the head and sending him flying into the wall.

The flying projectiles were already zooming in his direction, not even giving him the chance to land. Before they could reach him, Dante took out the items he had previously selected, dropping them on the floor right in front of him.

Arcs of energy formed in the air, striking the flying spearheads. As they pierced the floor and ceiling, three cloaked figures fell to the floor, and the next instant, they all lunged at the green bastard, energy blades extending from their arms.

Dante was sure he could’ve handled both opponents on his own, but there was no point in overexerting himself. With Volcan handling one of them using his remote-controlled androids, Dante got the leeway to focus on his original opponent.

[Seriously,] Jumping backward to put some distance between them, Kortic lowered his posture and pulled his right fist back. [How many tricks do you have!]

The plating around his arm snapped, then unfurled, sliding down to his fist before arranging itself into a new shape, creating a bulkier gauntlet. The suit’s boosters roared, and a faint blue glow coated the oversized fist just as he exploded forward.

Dante made the selection for a portal in an instant, but he held back on activating Rift Creation at the last moment. Even with his perception enhanced, the white bastard still appeared to move at normal speed in Dante’s vision.

He shifted his body at the last moment and redirected the glowing fist, then kicked the floor and slammed the white bastard with his shoulder. The bastard barely budged, quickly regaining his balance and swiping with his arm. Dante docked, evading the glowing fist once more. The energy coating it seemed to shoot out like a series of bubbles that exploded upon making contact with the walls, releasing a powerful shockwave that caused everything to quake.

The glow seemed to grow faint, and right after, the plating retracted and the bulky gauntlet returned to its original form.

[Damn it...]

Kortic leaped away once more, and as the distance between them grew, the plating on his left arm began to shift much like what happened with the right. This time, Dante didn’t wait for him to launch another attack. Following right after him, he evaded a swing from the bastard’s right arm and delivered a low kick, swiping him off his feet.

The white power suit was much heavier than 8-3, that’s for sure. Dante was still able to rob the bastard of his balance. He ignited the suit’s boosters in an attempt to regain it, but Dante was already a step ahead, grabbing the bastard’s right arm as he leapt in the air, pulling it along. Flipping him so he would be facing the floor, Dante rapid-fired mental commands. Just as it looked like they were about to smash into the floor, a black spot manifested, and the white bastard plunged into it.

Dante let go of his arm and kicked off his back, jumping up just as his legs passed through the pitch black screen. The instant his feet emerge from it, the black screen shrinks instantaneously before vanishing entirely.

Right now, the white bastard must have hit the ground on continuousthe floor of the same apartment where Dante had left the first two gangsters he captured to starve. Now, all he has to do is wait a few days before going to collect his prize.

’A bit disappointing.’ He thought. ’I expected a lot more from these new-’

Just as he turned to check on the green bastard, something slammed into Dante, the force knocking him back several meters. Falling to the floor, he rolled a few times before managing to get a hold on his movements, quickly pushing himself up to his knees.

A short distance from where he was, one of Volcan’s cloaked androids was jerking repeatedly as it tried to get up. The remaining two leaped back a few times, retreating toward Dante. Looking beyond them, Dante spotted the green bastard still standing at the end of the corridor. However, he wasn’t alone anymore.