It took some time, but Dante was finally able to move Rose and everyone else out of his pocket dimension. The biggest problem he faced was the limitations of Rift Creation, and how it allows one to enter pocket dimensions from anywhere, but is limited to where it can put the exits.

It goes without saying that they couldn't put the exits anywhere near Red Garden, so Dante had no choice but to move everyone into another pocket dimension before returning them to the original world. He contemplated letting them pass through Hollowstreet before dropping them near Hollowgrid's border, but he decided against it. In the end, he had Volcan ask them where they wanted to arrive, went and made a replica of the place, then had them use it instead.

The place was a warehouse at the edge of Blue Moon, the same one where they kept the woman and child Dante had kidnapped a while back. Once they were all out of the gate, Dante's job was done, and he was finally able to relax.

~[ ]~

Soon after he got them out, Dante received a message from Rose. It was more of a reply to a bunch of messages he sent her beforehand, only they didn't get through. He had made it sound like he was terrified for her and the others, asking if they had made it out in time.

After the disaster that had erased Red Garden, it would have sounded strange if he weren't in a state of panic. Apparently, Rose was worried about him as well, not knowing if he had made it out in time.

Dante already had his story ready to go, so he had no trouble with that part. They both agreed that it would be for the best if they lay low for the time being, and so they left, discussing the details of what happened for another time.

With that out of the way, Dante had one more thing to move around in his pocket dimensions before he was truly done. Only then was he free to pay Viktor a visit.

The fixer didn't look too well, to say the least. Dante found him slumped in his chair, staring at the ceiling with a vacant look. When he finally came back to his senses, he went on a long rant about how Dante was going to get all of them killed with his recklessness.

It took some time before he finally calmed down. Hearing Dante's story didn't get him out of that state, but it helped improve things, even if by a little.

"You have been making a lot of noise lately," Viktor said. "It should have expected it."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Dante said.

"I was going to say be more careful from now on, but… You aren't going to listen, are you?"

"I will try."

This last incident was another reminder of his recklessness and lack of self-control. Though he knew what he needed to work on, he felt that he wasn't going to stop making the same mistakes anytime soon.

"I will contact Rose and see what can be done about those children." Said Viktor. "With Jason at large, there is a chance he might trace them back to you."

"I'm guessing Black Skull will simmer down for the time being." Dante.

"Yeah. At the very least, they won't be acting in the open as much."

The two went silent for a while. Seeing that the fixer had calmed down, Dante brought up the matter concerning Marie and got himself another lecture.

"What am I going to do with you…"

By the end of it, the fixer looked like a fresh corpse. Seeing him like that, Dante started to feel really bad. He didn't have anything that could be called good news, but after giving it some thought, he realized that he had something that came close.

"Say, Vik."

"... what is it?" The fixer heaved a tired sigh as he replied. When Dante didn't say anything, he raised his gaze and gave him a look.

Wearing a devilish smirk, Dante dropped another nuke on the already stressed-out Viktor.

"Do you know anyone who might be interested in buying a Level 4 Genome?"

~[ ]~

The sun had already set by the time Dante made it back to the Bowl of Fortune. Marie seemed elated to see him back, and that caused guilt to well up in his chest, seeing how he couldn't say he felt the same. Currently, she was bomb waiting for the trigger to be pressed.

Viktor didn't have much advice for taking care of her, so he suggested that he leave her with Nobara for the time being. A little girl staying with her grandmother would draw much less suspicion than if she were to stay with a single man living alone.

"Um…"

As he sat by the counter eating his dinner, the little girl came up to him, looking rather troubled. It looked like she had something to say, but was too nervous to get it out.

"Hm? What is it?" Dante asked. He glanced in Nobara's direction, but she only shrugged at him, as if to say she didn't know what it was about.

"S-Sofie… I…"

"Sofie?" Dante raised an eyebrow, but then a light bulb lit up in his head. "Is she another girl like you?"

He had only made a guess, but going by the look of surprise she gave him, it was clear he hit the spot.

"She… she took care of me…" Said Marie, tears starting to gather in her eyes. "The others…"

"Oh, it's okay," Dante said. "They're all safe."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. We can go see them tomorrow, if you want."

And just like that, her expression brightened once more. Though she was still unable to smile, one could tell she was genuinely happy. Seeing her like that, the guilt Dante felt only got stronger.

Just as he shooed the little one away so he could finish his food, he noticed Nobara giving him a strange look.

"I've been thinking this for a while now, but…" She huffed. "You're surprisingly good with children, for someone who doesn't want to get married."

"You think so?"

She stared at him for a few moments, then her eyes went down, and her expression softened.

"You have always been a good brother." She said. "I can tell that much, at least."