After walking for quite a while, I arrived where my victim was. He was the kind of guy you'd think, "Pretty standard," at least by today's standards.
But there was something that set him apart from the rest: he was on my kill list.
I made my presence known by taking a few steps forward. When the guy saw me, he seemed almost startled, which was understandable. Standing before him was a man in robes, with a skeletal face and a gigantic scythe.
His startle was momentary, as his expression quickly shifted to arrogance.
"Another monster who wants to kill me. This is getting boring," he said, though I could still detect nervousness in his voice.
"I'm different because I've come for your soul, nothing more," I told him.
"Ha, I'll try. Unfortunately for you, I'm immortal. It doesn't matter if you cut off my head; it will grow back. There's no way to kill me," he declared arrogantly, almost losing the fear he had of me.
"Well, let's try it," I exclaimed, using Soru to sever his head from his body with a single slash, sending him crashing to the ground.
"HAHAHA, see? I told you I'm immortal. You can't kill me. Just wait until I return to normal so I can destroy you." He practically screamed, and we stood there for a few minutes.
I watched as the guy's face shifted from arrogant to nervous and finally to pure horror.
"What's wrong? Why won't my head rejoin my body?" he exclaimed in a panic.
"My scythe has the unique property that, when it severs a head, it can never be reattached under any circumstances. Unless you possess an ability that defies the laws of cause and effect, you'll never be able to reattach your head to your body again." I explained calmly, then created a simple sword and severed all of the man's lifelines.
His eyes lost their sparkle, and he let out a small groan as his body fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut or like a toy when Andy came in Toy Story.
Since he died in Greek territory, his soul automatically traveled to Hades, so there was no need to imprison it.
At that moment, Kiss-Shot emerged from my shadow to give me a hug.
"It won't be long now; after that, we can rest and go on vacation like we should have from the beginning," he said affectionately.
"Right, there's only one left," I replied, gently holding his hands.
At that moment, I summoned the scroll that listed the names of those I had to find. I noticed that only one name finally appeared, since this thing updates, much to my misfortune.
"Well, let's finish the job."
...
After searching for three days, I managed to find the last person on the list.
I arrived at a small cabin, somewhat isolated from civilization. Using my Haki, I sensed that there were two people there, a man and a woman.
The name on the list was Adara, a woman's name, so I already knew who to target.
I entered the house, opening the door rather roughly.
"Who's there?" I heard the voice of the man in the room with my victim.
"I've come for your soul, Adara," I said as I walked toward the room to see the two of them. When I saw them, I stopped dead in my tracks and frowned.
There was a man who looked to be around 30 or 40 years old. Beside him lay a little girl on the bed; she looked about 8 to 12 years old and very ill, and I immediately understood why. Her soul was incomplete. Her body only had three-quarters of her soul.
The man was startled when he saw me, while the girl looked too sick to do anything.
I noticed the room was filled with potions and things related to alchemy.
I fixed my gaze on the man.
"What did you do?" I asked the man in a threatening tone.
At my voice, he collapsed to the floor.
"Please, don't do anything to my daughter. She's innocent. I just..." I didn't let him finish. I picked him up and spoke again.
"What did you do? Answer me!" I demanded.
"I just wanted to bring her back to life. I spent my entire fortune to revive her. I asked a witch to bring her back, and she did, but now she's very weak and sickly, and I can barely take care of her. It's all my fault," he said, weeping.
I let go of the man and looked at the girl; seeing her so defenseless and weak made me hesitate.
"Let's make a deal," I said to the man. As I said this, he looked at me.
This was something I always did to the people whose souls I had to claim. I offered them a deal, both in my Grim Reaper form and my normal form.
"Usually, she should have to do this, but I'll give you the option to do it. Northwest of here is a city called Crisa; there's a being there you must defeat. If you do, I won't claim your daughter's soul, but if you fail, I'll claim yours as well. Do you accept?" I announced to the man.
He looked at me, his tears subsiding slightly. He stood up and wiped his face with a blanket.
"I accept," he said resolutely.
"Good, you have one year to do it," I exclaimed, then left the place and hid nearby.
Once hidden, I would see when this guy left the house to fulfill the deal. At that moment, Kiss-Shot emerged from my shadow.
"That's strange; you never do things like this," he said to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked without looking at her.
"Giving so much time, taking pity on him, letting someone else do the dirty work—why did you do it now?" She knew the answer, but she wanted me to say it.
"Because I would do the same for my daughter," I said simply. "Except for the crying part."
"That guy won't make it," she told me.
"I know," I replied, "but all we can do is wait."
"For what?" she asked.
"Just be patient," I told her.
...
After three days, the man left the cabin with his daughter, and I, like a stalker, followed him to find out what he was going to do.
At the end of four days, he arrived at a town, where, after speaking with a farmer, he left his daughter and headed northwest.
The man carried only a knife and a bag of provisions. Seeing him, I thought to myself, "This guy's going to get killed," and he did—well, not quite.
In the middle of his walk, three harpies appeared. If harpies played with his food, then what I was seeing was a representation of that.
"Don't you think this is already a harsh reality for him?" Kiss-shot asked me from within my shadow, since it was daytime.
"Yes, he's going to get killed at this rate," I replied, summoning my Sword Buster and walking in his direction. I was now in my adventurer's attire; there was no indication that I was the Grim Reaper forcing him to make this journey.
With a leap, I sliced the three harpies in half in a flash, landing in front of the man.
"You look bad, my friend. I saw you needed help. I hope I didn't bother you," I said, extending my hand.
"Not at all. I greatly appreciate your help, sir," the adult man replied.
"Dante, call me that, without the 'sir.'" I said sincerely.
"Understood, Dante. My name is Bemus," he said, sounding a little shaken from the previous attack.
"And what brings a man like you to these lands teeming with beasts?" I saw his face pale at the mention of beasts.
"Well, it's not that simple," he answered.
"Tell me; I like to hear interesting stories," I said, expressing my desire to hear something I already knew, but from his perspective.
And so he told me how a malevolent being tried to take his daughter from him, but in exchange, he made a very dubious deal, though given the circumstances, it was his only option.
"What a moving story," I said, wiping away a tear. "A father who would do anything to save his children; Zeus should learn from you."
Right now, we're walking along a dirt road, heading to the next town to sell the remains of the animals.
"And where are you headed?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation.
"To Crisa, that's where I have to go," he replied.
"What a coincidence, I have to go there too; my brother had a son not long ago and asked me to visit him, and he lives right where you're going," I said, to which he just looked at me and nodded, amazed by the coincidence. But at that moment I stopped him, grabbing his shoulders.
"If I'm not mistaken, where you're headed there's a dangerous creature that kills any living thing that dares to confront it." I spoke with exaggeration.
"So the people who live there aren't in danger?" he asked nervously.
"Not really; the thing lives on a mountaintop and never comes down. As long as you don't climb recklessly, you'll be fine." I explained the island's situation. "If you have to face that creature, you'll die just as you are."
"I have no other choice; if I don't, my daughter will die," Bemus explained.
"I know; that's precisely why I'll train you," I said excitedly.
"How?" he asked incredulously.
"I'll teach you to fight and kill like a great Spartan." He tried to say something, but I interrupted him: "Don't you want to save your daughter?" I said, stopping him in his tracks to nod. "Then you have no choice," I explained with a malicious smile.
...
It's been a good six months since I started training Bemus.
It's been tough, because, as the saying goes, you can't teach an old dog new tricks; as they say back home, if he won't learn the easy way, he'll learn the hard way.
I made him do a lot of exercise and very little rest. Lots of sword practice, at least enough to make him capable of fighting beasts, since the idea is for him to survive the journey to the finish line. I made him go into the forest to fight different monsters, and if there were many, I had to go and save his skin.
"Well, things have certainly changed a lot," I said to Bemus as he wiped the sweat from his brow after his fight with a giant boa.
"Why was there a giant snake in this forest?" he retorted.
I had brought the snake from a more distant place, way back in America.
"No idea; it must be something to do with the climate, but with this, I think you're ready to go to Crisa alive," I said, giving him the thumbs-up.
And so we set off on our journey. It should be noted that I was leading the way, and for that reason, we would be taking the longest route.
I didn't know how long I would be accompanying him, but I found it entertaining to watch this middle-aged man doing these things that young warriors do.
During the journey, we encountered numerous beasts in the surrounding area, including chimeras and harpies, and we happened upon Echidna.
With her came a horde of beasts; in the end, we had to escape and hide.
"What was that thing?" "Bemus?" I asked, frightened.
"Echidna, the mother of monsters, Typhon's mate; we were very unlucky to run into her," I replied, pulling out a map. "This area is under her control, so we have to take a detour. We don't have much further to go, and we still have time, so we'll go to the seashore and take a boat to an island near Crisa."
I proposed my plan to Bemus, who readily agreed.
So, tiptoeing, we reached the sea, where I grabbed a piece of driftwood and, as quickly and skillfully as possible, fashioned a boat for the two of us. With two oars, we set sail.
After a day of a horrible boat trip, we found a fishing boat passing near our next stop.
And so our journey became easier, but not for long.
As I gazed at the sea, I sensed something was about to happen, but I didn't know what.
"What's wrong, Dante? Are you nervous? Don't you like traveling at sea, or are you afraid of pirates?" said a bearded man who was part of the boat with Bemus, holding a wooden cup of alcohol.
"I feel like something bad is going to happen," I replied with complete sincerity.
"Don't exaggerate. The worst that could happen is running into those women who lure sailors with their voices," the man responded.
"Women? Are they some kind of monster women like Echidna?" Bemus asked, more to me than to the man.
"Relax, they say their voices are otherworldly. Wouldn't it be bad to fall into the hands of a beautiful woman?" The man said, winking at Bemus.
I was about to say something, but the ship began to move erratically.
I looked back at the sea, and using my Haki, I sensed what was in the water, only to open my eyes.
"A monster?" Bemus asked me.
I just grabbed his clothes and ran to the other side of the ship.
"It's Charybdis," he replied simply, throwing the creature into the sea and following as far as possible, then leaping after it.
The sailors tried to do the same, but they only managed to fall into the whirlpool that formed, which was part of their doom and Charybdis's lunch.
As I submerged, I could see the monster's body more clearly, and it was astonishing to see the creature that appeared in the myths of the Odyssey and the Argonauts.
We swam until we reached a somewhat uninhabited island.
As soon as we stepped ashore, I felt that the place was more divine than usual.
"This place is the territory of a god or gods, so be careful," I told Bemus, who nodded, a little afraid.
For him, the gods are something to be venerated and feared, but as this journey progressed, his fear and whimpering gradually subsided.
"Do you need me to do anything, my husband?" Kiss-Shot asked from the shadows.
"No, not right now, but be ready in case I need you to come out in an emergency," I said mentally to Kiss.
As we continued walking, I sensed a presence approaching.
"Something's coming; watch out," I said to Bemus, who had his sword ready, only to see a small, long-haired, purple-haired girl with a spear.
"Or maybe they're just visitors," I said, turning to look at me and narrowing my eyes.
Seeing this, I couldn't help but think how adorable this little girl was. At the same time, I didn't want any trouble, so I raised my hands in a gesture of peace.
"We don't want to fight. We were stranded on this island by a sea monster. Could you take us to someone who can help us?" I asked the little girl.
"Hmm, if that's the case, maybe my sisters can do something," she said.
"Thank you very much. My name is Dante, and this old man is Bemus."
"Medusa, that's mine. Follow me," she said, turning and heading toward the center of the island.
At that moment, I realized that Medusa was standing before me, currently in her Anna form, the form she displayed in the singularity of Babylon, and who would later become the infamous Gorgon.
After a short walk, we arrived at a beautiful place, both stunning and precious. In the middle of it all were two very young women; I could tell from my guess that they were Stheno and Euryale.
"I see you've brought visitors, Medusa," one of them said.
"And this time you brought back some good catches and some not-so-good ones," said the other, who practically teleported to my side. "You smell of chaos. I like it."
"How dare that vixen touch my man like that?" I heard Kiss-shot cursing in my mind, about to step out of the shadows.
After calming her down, I explained our situation to the two goddesses.
They nodded and said that if we did a few favors, they would help us. And so was our time as servants of two goddesses.
We spent our time cleaning the temple, finding food for the goddesses, and giving them massages—something they insisted only I do.
During this time, I got to know the three goddesses, especially poor Medusa, who had to put up with her two sisters taking advantage of her kindness.
I could feel the love Stheno and Euryale had for Medusa, but that didn't excuse the things they did, which, in my opinion, are things older sisters would do to annoy their younger sister.
There were only two months left before Bemus reached his destination, so I went to speak with the goddesses to ask them to release us. It turned out they only wanted me. So, after making a deal with them, they let Bemus go and continue his journey alone.
And so, with my sacrifice, Bemus was able to leave the island to continue his journey to save his daughter.
Once she left, the two goddesses tried to take advantage of me, but since Bemus wasn't there, I let Kiss-Shot go out and face them.
In the end, I had to take Medusa and escape the eye of the storm. Using my Darkness Fruit ability, I covered the sky with a dark cloak, preventing the sun's rays from penetrating it. That way, Kiss-Shot wouldn't worry about the sun and would unleash her fury.
After four straight days of catfights, the three reached a mutual understanding. The deal was that I had to be here for a certain amount of time each season with both of them, including Medusa herself.
So I spent a whole month with the four women, my only solace being the adorable Medusa, since the three of them spent their time fighting and making up. It was awful.
During this time, using the scythe, I was able to track Bemus until it took her a day to reach Cirsa. And with that, I had something to do.
Together with Kiss-Shot, I went to where Bemus's daughter was.
"What do you plan to do?" Kiss-Shot asked me when he saw that I had everyone unconscious except for the little girl, who was looking at me with fear and panic.
"A loophole," I told him, so I could use the sickle on Bemus's daughter.
...
The next day, using my Haki, I sensed Bemus's arrival in the city, and as planned, the citizens told him that the mountain could only be climbed at night. And so it was.
When darkness fell, Bemus ascended the mountain with great determination. I noticed he carried a new sword, imbued with divine power. I immediately felt Apollo's presence in that blade.
"So he acquired some blessings along the way," I said, observing him.
"Will that be a problem?" Kiss asked from beside me.
"No, not really," I replied.
I waited for him to reach the summit; when he arrived, he looked around only to find no one there.
At that moment, I emerged from my hiding place, clapping my hands.
"Wonderful, you made it to the top," I said with a smile.
"Dante, what are you doing here? Did you defeat the monster?" he asked, seeing me confused.
"How am I supposed to defeat myself?" I replied, and upon hearing my answer, his eyes widened, only to reveal the giant black wings on my back that I always kept hidden beneath my robes. "My dear Bemus, allow me to introduce myself properly; my name is Dante, servant of Hades, or better known as the Grim Reaper." And with that, he transformed me completely, donning the mask, white hair, blue eyes, and the two angel wings.
"You're deceiving me. Why did you do all that?" he asked me with disbelief and rage.
"Easy, so you could reach the top of this mountain as unscathed as possible," I said, arms outstretched. "Now for the main course, bring her here, darling," I said to Kiss-Shot, who appeared with a healthy Adara.
"Father," she exclaimed.
"My daughter," he tried to go to her, but I blocked his path with my scythe.
"Hold on, we have a deal to make," I said, dropping the scythe to create another with bluish energy.
Bemus just looked at me and got into a battle stance.
And so our confrontation began. Something I always did with the guys I had to kill: I always forced them to come to this mountain in search of salvation, only to kill them and complete the scroll.
No matter how much training Bemus had, the difference in skill and power was abysmal; even his sword was of no use to him, as he couldn't cut me at any point.
Finally, after a few cuts to my chest, Bemus dropped his sword, but he didn't fall to the ground.
"What's wrong? Have you given up?" I said mockingly.
"I wouldn't give up; if it's for my daughter, I'd give my life." He exclaimed with determination, "I've already come this far; I can't give up now, especially not in front of her."
"Oh, so you're willing to give your life for hers?" I asked playfully.
"YES," he said.
"Prove it," I said, throwing him a knife.
Bemus stared at the weapon, ready to grab it. Using my Haki, I saw that he was going to plunge it into his heart, and just as he was about to, with a swift movement, I snatched it away.
"Fine, I accept your deal, your soul for your daughter's; in 15 years I'll ask for her back; meanwhile, make the most of this time by being a good father." I told her, much to her disbelief.
At that moment, Kiss-shot let go of Adara, who ran into Bemus's arms.
I just left, followed by a smiling Kiss.
"You're such a good-natured fellow," she said teasingly.
"Shut up, I just want to rest," I replied, and she hugged me.
And so we went to a place not far from here to see what would happen tomorrow.
-------------------------------------------------------
[Current image of Dante as the Grim Reaper]