Easy solutions always came with a price. At any point during his fight with the hairy giant, Dante could have easily taken out one of his more powerful armors and completely crushed him. The price for that would be experiencing the excruciating pain of the pressure of each armor, so the question was a matter of his willingness to subject himself to that suffering.

That choice was made for him when the hairy bastard set that building on fire. The heroes were likely to appear at any second, so he gave up on killing the bastard right away and equipped 8-5. His intention from the start was to teleport himself and the enemy, but he had to be careful when to do it.

The backlash from teleportation wasn't easy to manage, and after all the stunts he pulled with 5-3, his body was ready to collapse. In that condition, he wasn't too sure if he could handle more than one teleportation, so he sought to trick the enemy using Rift Creation first.

It would have been all better if he had managed to push his opponent through one of the portals, but it turned out that would be asking for too much. In the end, Dante teleported both of them and then opened a portal for himself, leaving the hairy bastard to rot in Hollowstreet while he made it back to his apartment.

Teleporting him into a smaller pocket dimension would have guaranteed a faster death, but Dante didn't want to risk being caught in a cramped space in case the bastard decided to launch more of his energy spears. He would have to move him out at some point, but for now, he tossed the matter out of his head.

Dismissing his armor, Dante dropped to the floor and vomited the contents of his stomach. As he felt the acidic taste on his tongue, he looked down and saw that most of what he threw up was crimson red. His vision swam, and he almost fell on his side.

Leaning on the wall for support, he pushed himself up, his legs almost buckling under him. With a mental command, he took out the RED bottle and popped a pill. Seconds later, the pain began to fade, but the effects of his injuries didn't vanish.

Ignoring them for the time being, he turned his attention to the messenger app and the text he received from the blue-haired genius. Turns out the text he saw was the first in a long series, and looking through them, he realized something else.

An entire day had passed since he got captured. From the looks of it, Finn had left Suzuka's penthouse somewhere around noon. The brat wasn't supposed to wander around on his own, and after everything he had just gone through, Dante could only think of the worst-case scenario.

He sent the brat a few messages, using every curse he knew how to spell, then contacted Viktor and Boris, informing them of what happened. He then replied to Suzuka, saying to meet him at the Bowl of Fortune, took a quick shower to wash away the blood staining him, and tended to the wounds on his left hand. After chugging a pot of coffee to fight the drowsiness caused by the drug he too, he too put on an outfit then headed out.

[Dante.]

'What?'

[The Raven is no longer in your possession. There is no reason for you to head for the underground parking lot.]

Dante froze, his hand outstretched toward the elevator's control panel. He let a minute pass, then moved his finger, pressing the button to the ground floor. His arm fell to his side, and his fingers slowly curled, forming a trembling fist.

The replies poured in one after the other. Viktor said he would check with his sources, while Suzuka apologized for her neglect. Still no reply from Finn. Standing by the roadside, Dante raised his gaze and looked at the sky. It was cloudy, as usual, but having lived in the city for five whole years, he could tell it would be raining soon.

Heaving a sigh, he put his hands in the pockets of his jacket and started walking. He passed a group of street rats crouching near some old vending machines. They seemed to follow him with their eyes, but that's what street rats do, so he paid them no mind.

He passed another group in the corner, then spotted a different one loitering in one of the entrances to the building on the other side of the street. Dante was used to getting looks from people due to his red hair, but this felt way too much.

[Dante, you are being followed.

Be careful.

]

Volcan's warning came with a screen displaying the footage from one of the still operational security cameras. One of the groups he passed was tailing him.

'The hell do they want now?'

He spotted another group, and as soon as he looked their way, they all averted their gazes. The same happened more than once after that. Just when he started getting a bad feeling about it, a new message arrived.

[Viktor: There is a bounty on your head.]

Reading the message, Dante came to a halt. He stared at it for a few moments, then turned around. The three that had been following him froze in their place, having just turned the corner. They remained static for a moment, then seemed like they were about to retreat, but one of them panicked and reached behind him.

Dante watched him aim the pistol with half-lidded eyes. He stepped aside as the barrel flashed. In his enhanced perception, he watched the bullet pass right beside him. He then turned to the rat who fired it and equipped his own pistol, and without a second thought, he shot him straight between the brow.

As the first one fell to the ground, he shifted his aim to the other two. They took off running right away. Lowering his weapon, he turned to look at the others watching from a distance. Seeing them avert their gazes, he returned his hands to his pockets and continued to walk.

No sooner did he take a few steps than a truck came speeding down the road. At a distance, he saw someone peek from the passenger seat with a rifle ready to aim. Dante was about to aim again, but then he noticed someone leaning from behind a dumpster on the other side of the street with a rifle aimed at him. Pushing his perception to the max, he looked around and found another five.

'You got to be fu-'

A storm of gunfire blasted through the street. Bullets rained from every direction, and Dante suddenly found himself trapped. Taking his gun, he fired three bullets, one at the guy hanging out from the truck and the rest at the driver. He dropped flat on the pavement and let the storm pass before rolling and taking aim once more, firing a few more shots.

'Volcan!'

[On it!]

The sound made by screeching tires masked the gunfire for just a moment, then came the crash. Dante pressed on his right foot as he pushed himself up, his arm extended as he aimed. As he fired another bullet, a sharp current traveled through his arm. His grip on the gun loosened, and he almost dropped it.

The pain must have been much worse for it to bypass the sedation brought by the RED. Dante didn't get to consider even that as another wave of pain surged through him, the source being his mouth this time.

BLAM!

Having lost his focus, his perception dropped to average levels, and the world around him resumed moving at normal speeds. Because of that, he was able to hear the moment another bullet was fired, and he felt it when it struck his left flank.

That might have been the first time his subdermal armor served its purpose. Getting up, Dante turned to the bastard who shot him and aimed his gun. Noticing the lack of recoil, he realized that he was out of ammo and gritted his teeth again, only for more pain to surge through his body.

Another bullet hit him in the back, snapping him out of it. Storing the pistol, he took off running, kicking off a wall and spinning in the air, then rolling on the ground. He evaded all the bullets and arrived at one of the shooters, leaving n distance between them.

No longer was his hair the only red thing about him. Like a wrathful demon, Dante hit the shooter with his bare fists, instantly breaking his jaw before grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him off his shoulder. As he bounced off the hard asphalt, Dante grabbed him again and held him up just as a salvo of bullets flew off another shooter's rifle.

As the bullets pierced his makeshift shield, Dante stumbled to the ground, flipping the gun the last guy dropped and kicking it up, catching it out of the air and firing.

[Dante, it is no good!] Volcan said, sounding alarmed. [None seem to have their NIMs active! I am unable to do anything remotely!]

Hearing the report, Dante's confusion suddenly escalated. His mind raced, trying to make sense of the situation. The dots lined up in a matter of seconds, and as soon as he had the conclusion, Dante fired the bullets he had left and took off running.

A bounty had been placed on his head, that was what Viktor had said, but that alone doesn't explain why the situation had escalated to such an extent. Even if the prize was high enough to draw in all those people, it still wouldn't explain why they showed up so close to his apartment, or why they knew to shut their NIMs while fighting him.

For that to happen, they would have to have detailed information on him, including his personal life, and if they knew where he usually spends his time…

'FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!'

Dante ran with everything he had, ignoring his short breath and the flashes of blinding pain. His legs gave up on him more than once, but he rolled and continued running, letting nothing get in his way. More bullets were fired. Few grazed him, but none slowed him enough. Only a single corner separated him from his destination, and he didn't stop until he reached it.

The instant he made that turn, an orange glow caught his sight. His steps slowed down, and he soon came to a halt. Wind carried the scent of burning bio-fuel into his remaining lung, and he felt the heat cast by the orange light reflecting on his skin.

Tearing his eyes from the bright flames eating at the old paper and plastic, Dante caught sight of a word on the old sign obscured by the rising smoke.

Fortune.