Chapter 167 - The Knight Takes On The Beast

Dante walked through the abandoned hallway and came to the end. He noticed there was a slightly ajar door that led to the terrace outside. He stepped through it and looked around, but didn't see Seri anywhere.

He was glad he came to this party. He was never bored when Seri was around and her hijinks were always particularly interesting. Even now he had the feeling she was planning something, but he couldn't guess what.

He looked around the terrace, but saw no trace of Seri. He shrugged and decided she must have been trying to confuse him. As he turned around, he froze upon hearing maniacal laughter coming from above him. He looked up to see Seri standing on the railing of the balcony above him.

"FUFUFU! You dare try to fight me?!"

Dante tilted his head with an indifferent expression, "..."

Fight? He was sure they were playing a game of cat and mouse. When did it escalate to fighting?

She smiled arrogantly at him, "Well you are no match for me! I am an invincible god who has transmigrated from another world!!!"

"..."

He was beginning to believe that alcohol really was bad for the mind because she is talking like a crazy person.

She paused as if waiting for something. Then she looked at Dante with a frown, "Dante! Say your line!"

He was more confused, "Line?"

Seri nodded with a grin and twirled on the balcony's railing. Dante tensed up, prepared to catch her at any moment. However, she didn't fall over. She spoke, "Yes! This is when you say-" Suddenly she changed her voice to mimic Dante's, "You evil villain! I will never let you destroy my storyline! You think I will let you change the story?!"

Dante just stared at her with indifference, "..."

However, he was incredibly confused in this moment that he couldn't even find any words to say.

Seri didn't mind this and changed back to her original voice, "FUFUFU! I can never allow this awful storyline to proceed! I shall destroy it at all costs! You thought you could kill me in the library, but you were wrong! I'm far too powerful!"

He thought to himself, "Yup. She's crazy."

She held up a fist, "Now I will control all of evil's forces and become the Black Death! No longer will I be hurt or stabbed in the back by any so called friends! In this life, I vow to be unstoppable!"

He frowned slightly. Is she acting out a play or something?

Her look of unbridled determination changed to a gentle smile as she looked down at Dante. She suddenly shouted, "Seri uses pounce attack!"

Pounce attack?

Seri suddenly jumped off the balcony with her arms outstretched towards Dante. He effortlessly caught her in his arms and stumbled back slightly. Seri giggled as she wrapped her arms around Dante's neck. She smiled at him coyly, "I knew you'd catch me."

He gave an emotionless nod. He thought to himself, "Well of course. I will always be here to catch you."

Seri leaned forward and suddenly kissed him. His body tensed up in surprise, but he slowly loosened up. However, before he could enjoy the sweet kiss, he suddenly felt a knee kick his stomach. It was such a strong force he was instantly winded. Seri slipped out of his arms as he fell to one knee gasping.

Seri giggled playfully and jumped over the terrace railing. She landed on the ground below adeptly and started running into the small woods beside the imperial palace. She shouted to Dante, "Well, come on! Let's have more fun!"

He recovered from the knee to his stomach and smirked as he watched her run. He jumped over the railing and ran to follow her. When he got to the forest, he slowed and started walking. He looked around, but oddly he didn't hear any running.

He heard some leaves rustle above him and he looked up to see Seri. She twirled on a limb and hung upside down, her legs wrapped around the tree limb. Her face was only inches away from his. She smirked while upside down, her eyes looked into his with a drunken haze.

"Dante... You really need to get better at hide and seek."

Dante shrugged passively, "Why should I get better? You eventually show yourself."

She pouted, "But that's no fun..."

His golden eyes meet hers. He spoke in a cold tone, "You shouldn't hang upside down in a dress-"

Before he could say anything else, the bottom part of the dress fell down as if it was just now listening to gravity. Dante's ears turned bright red at the sight in front of him and he quickly looked away.

Seri continued to hang upside down with the dress now covering her face, "Ah..."

*THUD*

Dante whipped around to see Seri on the ground having fallen from the tree. She made an indignant face, "Curse you gravity!" She sighed, "Why must the Earth spin?"

Dante walked over to help her as she sat up rubbing her head. She looked at him with a grin, "Say Dante..."

"What?"

"Why are there two of you?"

"..."

He flung her over his shoulder, "I will bring you to a room so you can sleep off your intoxication."

She kicked her legs and hit his back playfully as he carried her back. "Oi, oi! Let me down!"

"No."

"If you keep holding me like this, I might actually vomit. Shouldn't you carry me princess style?"

"You're not a princess." He responded coldly.

She sighed, "Ai... Dante. You've always been a rather stubborn character... I guess some parts of a personality won't ever change."

"Right. Like how you are a troublemaker."

Seri giggled, "Hey, you're also forgetting that I'm also extremely clever."

"Clever? Hmm." He said not fully believing this.

She chuckled, "I'm quite knowledgeable."

"Mhm."

She spoke in a storyteller kind of voice, "Once upon a time, there was a cold Prince. This cold Prince cared not for anyone else. His name was William. Beside him was a warm and kind Knight named Dante whom everybody loved. On the day of another entrance ceremony, a commoner named Mary watched from the rafters. She was in awe at Prince William's prestige and strength as he competed in the race. She went to congratulate him, but the Prince wouldn't hear her out. So she gave up without feeling discontented."

Seri giggled, "But when the Prince saw that Mary didn't care about who he was, he grew more curious about her. The two got closer and their feelings began to bud. Over time, each of the six heavenly gods came to have a crush on Mary. They were completely enamored by her innocence and purity."

Dante interrupted her story, "The six heavenly gods?"

Seri nodded, "Yes. William, You, Artie, Lucius, and Mathias. You are all the six heavenly gods."

"That's only five."

"..." Seri blinked drunkenly, "Huh. I never thought about that before. I guess the author didn't count correctly."

"Author?"

Seri continued ignoring his question, "One day, Mary was kidnapped and tied up in an abandoned warehouse. Dante had noticed the kidnapping while he was out walking, so he followed them. As he slaughtered everyone in sight, Mary cried at this terrifying sight. She had never been a fan of blood and Dante was covered in it. Mary discovered the truth that Dante wasn't a warm and kind Knight. He was actually ruthless and despicable. He wouldn't even blink an eye no matter who he killed. On that night, Dante found himself obsessed. This obsession would turn into something sinister and sadistic. No longer would he hide his true self. He didn't care who he killed as long as the source of his obsession was at his side. And that obsession, was Mary."

Dante suddenly felt extremely irritated, "What nonsense!"

Seri clicked her tongue, "It's not nonsense. It's excerpts from the original novel!"

"Original novel?"

Dante found that the more she talked, the more confused he became. It was hard to understand what exactly she was talking about. Perhaps it was because she was drunk and slightly slurring her words.

She nodded, "Yes! The original novel is the book that this entire world is from. Even you are a character! And not just ANY character! My favorite character!"

"You're favorite? Why?"

"Because you killed that d*mned Seri!"

He frowned, "...But you're Seri."

She clicked her tongue, "I'm not Seri! I'm Leia! L-e-i-a! Leia!"

"Huh?" Dante was finding himself more and more confused.

She noticed this, "I'm not the real Seri. I'm from another world."

Dante had no idea what to think, "Are you joking?"

She giggled, "I'm being SERI-ous." She broke out into rambunctious laughter, "HAHAHA! Get it?! SERI-ous? Seri - Serious? Get it?"

"..."

"Oh, you're no fun. That was hilarious."

"Sure."

She stuck out her tongue, then continued. "Anyway. I died and then was thrown here into the body of five year old Seri."

After this sentence, her cheerful drunken state changed abruptly. Her mood did a complete 180 and her voice turned sorrowful, "At the time I had no idea how I got here... But then... I slowly remembered everything..."

She didn't cry, but her eyes turned dull. As she spoke, her throat constricted. "I remembered how my mother killed my brother... How that neighbor tricked me into being separated from my only other family member... How I was tortured and abused at an awful orphanage... Then being rejected by my last remaining little brother... I remembered it all..."