Before we begin, I'd like to address how Dante escaped the box, as I wasn't entirely satisfied with my explanation; it's both simple and complex at the same time.
Firstly, Dante used a paradox to escape. Using the Kamigami no Gigan, which allows him to see different timelines, he saw that it was possible for him to be outside the box. This is possible and something that should happen, something the world allows, but the world sees that Dante can't get out of the box.
Here's where it gets complicated. The world detects that Dante should be outside the box in the near future, but he's still inside. So, the world takes him out, which means that Dante, a few seconds earlier, is inside the box and then outside.
This is possible because Dante sees a future where he's already outside the box, being helped by the world; that's why it's a paradox.
Well, that's all. I hope this has helped to clarify what happened, and anything that goes wrong is Nasu's fault for making his own universe so complicated with his rules and all that.
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Dante is seen running quickly toward where Crisa should be; meanwhile, he writes some important things on a note.
At that moment, Apollo, using his abilities and blessings as the sun god, detects Dante's presence and quickly alerts Hephaestus to go immediately to his location. To prevent Dante from reaching the island and attempting to rescue Libra, Hephaestus begins firing arrows at him from the direction of the sun.
Just as Dante finishes writing the message, he looks up at the sky to see the arrows heading toward him.
Dante realizes that this attack isn't meant to harm him, but rather to hinder him and prevent him from reaching the island, or at least to slow him down.
Faced with this situation, Dante transforms into his full Reaper form and, using several energy arrows, intercepts Apollo's arrow.
Using his wings at maximum speed, he stops mid-flight and clicks his tongue.
Quickly, he created a spear, placed the message on it, and with all his strength, launched it forward. In that same instant, a massive attack struck, generating a huge explosion and a massive shockwave.
Dante flew through the air unharmed, at least superficially, as his transformation left him without any wounds, either external or internal. However, if he were to transform back, he would have several minor burns on his body, thanks to the protection he received from Haki and magic.
Our protagonist had seen the attack coming and the resulting damage to the paper with the message, which is why he launched it to its intended target. In exchange for sustaining some damage, he managed to save the message.
A large figure plummeted down at high speed, crashing onto an island, something Dante noticed. He simply squinted and then dived, dodging a powerful blast of pure magical energy fired directly at him from the island.
"Failed," Hephaestus said from the island, his ether cannon already spent.
"Remember that Dante has clairvoyance, or at least the ability to see the future," Apollo's voice was heard descending shortly after, standing beside the god of blacksmithing. "The best way to fight him is to overwhelm him with attacks."
With that said, multiple attacks of arrows infused with the power of the sun rained down directly on Dante, this time intent on bringing him down.
Dante began dodging every possible attack, diving as far down into the sea as possible to increase his chances of avoiding the attacks launched from the sky.
As this was happening, Hephaestus began to unleash all the artillery and traps he had prepared long ago, just for this moment.
"Prepare yourself," Apollo said, sensing that Dante was heading toward them, as he knew that they were the only ones currently standing in the way of saving Libra.
Apollo could only be grateful that Artemis had chosen to protect Libra from harm, or else she would most likely be helping Dante right now. And, incidentally, that she had drugged Ares to get him involved.
The sun god could only fear the way his brother thought and everything he had planned that had led to this outcome.
After finding Dante with his father's wife and imprisoning him, Athena told him everything she had done and asked for his help; he agreed, provided this demon got what he deserved.
Hephaestus was there only to see if Athena would take him more seriously afterward and to get his revenge on Dante.
The god of blacksmithing brought out all the swords he had forged, each possessing the power to eliminate demons. Apollo took one to imbue it with his divine power.
Faced with this situation, Dante stopped, standing a few meters away from the two gods. He looked at the sword and could only laugh inwardly.
The swords were specifically made to eliminate him, and imbued with Apollo's power, they were extremely effective against vampires.
"So let's go all out," Dante said, placing Kiss-Shot's sword on the ground to sink into the earth, as it was of no use to him right now, not at the moment.
He also left the Buster Sword behind, because the way things were going, what he needed most was speed, and the sword would hinder him.
"Don't get too cocky," Apollo said arrogantly, ignoring that he had humiliated him not long ago.
"You will fall today, whether by my hand or by that of another god," Hephaestus exclaimed.
Dante said nothing in response, only crouching slightly before vanishing instantly.
Both gods opened their eyes.
"Hephaestus, to your right," Apollo warned, only for the aforementioned god to turn and be sent flying by a single blow from Dante. "Damn it!" exclaimed the god, blocking a kick that sent him crashing to the ground, destroying a large portion of the area where they stood.
"HOW THE HELL DID YOU ESCAPE FROM THE BOX? TELL ME, DANTE! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?" Apollo screamed hysterically.
Dante stood still for a moment, considering what to say.
"It was chaos." That answer left Apollo speechless. "He gave me a gift, a vision beyond you gods, seeing the injustice you did to me."
"Injustice, you say? We are, you say? Justice is us, not some trash like you." As soon as he finished speaking, he opened his eyes to see the several swords Dante had generated, ready to attack.
The sun god fired several arrows from the sky, destroying all the swords, only to be met with a punch from Dante that sent him flying.
Dante was about to fly to where Apollo had gone, only to have to dodge Hephaestus's attack using the swords designed to eliminate any being of darkness or evil, which fell into the first category.
The attacks of the god of blacksmithing were clumsy and predictable, making it easy to dodge each sword strike; he didn't even need to use Haki to do so.
With two simple blows to specific spots on the god's body, he made him drop his sword, spin around, and deliver a kick to Hephaestus's stomach, forcing him to his knees.
"You're a blacksmith, not a warrior; your swordsmanship is on par with that of a five-year-old," Dante declared to the kneeling god, who spat out saliva and a bit of ichor.
Dante opened his eyes and leaped into the air, dodging several arrows that had rained down on him.
Apollo, seeing this, simply clicked his tongue. He quickly went to where Hephaestus was, who was already getting to his feet and recovering from the blow.
Our protagonist looked at his foot, as the attack he had launched against Hephaestus hurt, as did the first punch; it was like hitting a mountain made entirely of adamantium.
"Attack with everything you've got, overwhelm him," the sun god told his companion, to which he simply nodded.
Dante narrowed his eyes slightly and decided to jump upwards.
Apollo created several divine ropes, which acted like arrow strings to launch various projectiles in Dante's direction.
Hephaestus, taking advantage of the area's technical flaws, began creating volcanoes from which fire and lava erupted towards Dante.
Faced with all the artillery being thrown at him, Dante could only dodge as much as he could; the attack came from all directions: above, below, left, and right, and it was so relentless that he couldn't dodge everything thrown at him, gradually increasing his already considerable damage.
Seeing that if things continued this way, the two gods would achieve their goal of buying time for Zeus's arrival, he decided to go after the more troublesome of the two, Apollo.
Using his wings, as dark as the void, he flew straight to where the god stood, only to stop and look up to see a giant metalworking hammer blocking out the sun and hurtling toward him.
He had no time to dodge, so he had no choice but to brace himself for the hammer's weight.
The colossal tool dragged him to the ground; Dante braced himself for the landing, which was anything but smooth.
The moment he touched the ground, he felt as if the entire weight of the world had crashed down on him. The ground beneath his feet cracked and shattered. The weight of the hammer was something he had never endured; he couldn't help but compare himself to Atlas and think he was carrying the weight of the world as punishment.
Using only his two arms, Dante prevented the hammer from falling on him and, in turn, on the entire island they were on.
Dante used all his strength to hold on and think of a way out of there quickly; the bones in his legs and arms began to crack and creak as if they were about to break. This forced Dante to his knees.
Just as he was about to use the Yami Yami no Mi to try and absorb the hammer, Apollo flew at full speed toward him and punched him in the face, shattering his mask and sending him flying away from the island, saving him from being crushed by the hammer. But the island they were on wasn't so lucky.
Now airborne, passing over the sea, Dante saw more arrows falling in his direction. Ignoring the pain in his arms and legs, he used Soru to propel himself toward the next island.
The moment he touched down, a current of ether shot out in his direction again, destroying everything in its path.
Dante had no choice but to keep forcing his legs to dodge the attack.
Taking advantage of being airborne, Apollo began firing several concentrated, heat-based magical energy blasts in his direction.
This forced Dante to return to the ground to avoid being such an easy target, only to have to dodge an attack from Hephaestus with his hammer, now in its original form.
Our protagonist had no choice but to dodge, as the moment the hammer hit the ground, a large part of it was instantly destroyed, along with a significant portion of the island.
If there was one thing he had to acknowledge, it was that Hephaestus was stronger and more resilient than him. He could probably only withstand three direct blows from him, and he had already received one indirectly.
Apollo teleported nearby and fired another blast of his own divine power.
Dante was launched into the air once more, only to find these blasts chasing him.
The sun god continued firing his attack without stopping while Hephaestus prepared to fire another ether cannon.
Apollo's bullets acted erratically, as if they had a life of their own, making them difficult to dodge. Dante's main idea was to use his speed to overwhelm both of them and go directly to Libra, but every time he was about to attack one, the other god would come to his aid; he had no way to attack them both at the same time.
The sun god could see his movements, even if he wasn't excellent at reacting to them, and the god of blacksmithing could withstand much more than normal.
If there were a way to summarize all this, it was that things weren't going well for Dante.
"There's no other way," he told himself, only to see Apollo's bullets stop, swirling around him, only to expand and transform into small suns before exploding in a massive, consecutive burst.
Apollo watched this, smiling that his attack had hit its target; he hadn't seen Dante dodging. But his joy was short-lived.
Dante emerged from the smoke and ashes, flying at full speed toward the god.
Hephaestus immediately panicked. He created several arrows, which he fired in Dante's direction, but to his horror, Dante didn't dodge them; he tanked the entire attack without pausing for a moment.
One of the arrows even managed to destroy one of Dante's wings, but he used Geppo to continue his path toward the god.
Just as he was about to reach the sun god, Hephaestus intervened, attacking with his hammer. But Dante used Kami-e and Geppo as a wall, dodging the god's attack to reach Apollo.
But unfortunately for him, Apollo had already prepared and teleported away.
Hephaestus didn't waste any time and attacked Dante again, but Dante dodged him with a little more difficulty.
The god of blacksmithing had already realized that he could not land a direct attack on his opponent, so he had no choice but to use other types of attacks.
Taking a great leap backward, he snapped his fingers, and two titanic fists, made of the most potent mineral he possessed, appeared at Dante's sides. Hephaestus could summon any of his creations, and these were specifically designed to combat the Titans should they manage to escape.
From the wrists of the giant gauntlets were thrusters that hurtled toward Dante at full speed.
He attempted to escape, but several of Apollo's arrows stopped him in his tracks, and with the attack so close, Dante had no choice but to put a hand to each fist and brace himself.
Miraculously, he managed to stop the attack, but not without consequences. Dante felt the bones in his arms shatter brutally.
But the attack didn't stop there; Hephaestus, taking advantage of Dante's stillness, fired the ether cannon directly at him, and Dante was completely absorbed by it.
Once the attack ended, Dante was seen; he still withstood the fists that tried to crush him, but with his head bowed.
"Let's finish this," Apollo declared, creating a sun in a minute and transforming it into a giant arrow, the same one he was about to fire at Libra and Orion.
What the sun god didn't notice was that Dante's hands had been enveloped in darkness.
"Goodbye, you trash demon," Apollo said, firing the arrow, but in the middle of the attack's trajectory, a singularity appeared and began to absorb everything; this included the god's attack, which was absorbed with great speed.
The singularity's power of attraction was so strong that it began to draw in everything around it.
Apollo's eyes widened in horror as he saw that this singularity wasn't one of the normal ones Dante had created before, but rather a real black hole, one on a microscopic level.
"Kaboom," Dante said, causing the little bit of energy the black hole had absorbed, along with the ether that had sustained it, to be scattered in all directions.
The explosion affected everything around them, destroying both the island they were on and everything in its vicinity.
Nothing was spared from the destruction, including the gods Apollo and Hephaestus and Dante himself.
The explosion destroyed the entire island and some surrounding ones. It would be quite some time before Dante emerged from the water on an island that hadn't been affected by the blast. He had also made sure that the gods had been closer to the explosion than he was.
Dante was covered in wounds and bleeding profusely; his arms were the most severely damaged so far. He crawled along the shore to lie down and begin to regenerate slowly. If it weren't for his power of darkness, the attack would have affected him far more than it should have.
At that moment, a figure emerged from the water: Apollo. He was also covered in wounds; he was missing an ear, some fingers, and an eye, not to mention his other injuries.
Shortly after, Hephaestus crawled out, missing a foot. He, too, had a few wounds, but this one was the most serious.
Dante and Apollo had stopped to continue their fight, thanks to Dante's healing factor, which stemmed from having Kiss-shot's soul fused with his, while Apollo, being a god of healing, could heal himself.
The sun god gathered his divine power in his fist and charged forward to strike. Dante simply blocked the attack with both arms, being dragged back a few meters.
Apollo didn't stop there; he attempted another blow, but it was dodged, replaced by a punch that sent him flying.
Dante had been passively absorbing all the damage he had received using the Yami Yami no Mi, and now he had concentrated all this energy and power in his fist.
With a leap, he landed above Apollo, who crossed his arms to block the punch.
Just as he was about to connect with the god, someone with incredible speed grabbed Apollo and pulled him out of range, causing Dante to miss his attack.
Dante looked to the side only to see Apollo being thrown to the ground by Hermes.
If Hermes were here, it could only mean one thing. Thunder and lightning crackled all around.
The dark entity stared at a specific spot, only to see Zeus in his great radiance, glaring with hatred and fury.
There was nothing to say; what had happened was known.
"I lost," Dante told himself, panting from exhaustion and ignoring his aching body. "Kiss-Shot," he mentally told his partner.
"I know, don't worry. After all, I wouldn't want to be in a world without you." Hearing Kiss-Shot's voice, Dante could only smile.
Dante swiftly summoned the Buster Sword and, imbuing it with the accumulated power, Haki, and magic, attacked Zeus.
The god of thunder simply stared at the attack and, at the last moment, summoned his lightning and blocked it.
Zeus opened his eyes as he was forced to the ground, something he hadn't expected. Once on the ground, they began to struggle, only for several arrows to be seen shooting into Dante's sword.
The moment Zeus arrived, Apollo summoned his special bow and threw it to Hephaestus, who reinforced and strengthened it to return.
As soon as he saw Dante attack his father, he decided to attack his opponent's back. Thousands of arrows rained down on the sword, and combined with Zeus's lightning bolt, it couldn't withstand the force, shattering into pieces.
Dante opened his eyes at this, only to see Zeus immediately strike him with a lightning bolt.
Using kami-e, he barely managed to dodge the lightning in time, just enough to try to escape, but at that moment he felt his speed significantly reduced.
He looked at Hermes, who was pointing his staff at him. The messenger god's attack is designed to slow his opponent down as much as possible, reducing their speed and movement.
Seeing that Zeus was about to attack again, he had no choice but to block the attacks.
Using the Murasama and the Kokorowatari, I blocked Zeus's lightning bolt. The attack affected him, but it wasn't as damaging as it would have been without the sword.
Using his remaining speed, he went straight for his nearest opponent, Apollo.
The sun god began firing thousands of arrows, but Dante, with pinpoint accuracy, deflected each one of the god's attacks. Something he did triggered panic, as he could feel the power of the swords; he sensed his death drawing ever closer.
The moment he was close to Apollo, Hermes appeared at his side, and to his horror, Dante stopped blocking the sun god's attacks, only to turn and slash him directly with the kokorowatari.
This was Dante's plan: to attack Apollo in the hope that Hermes would intervene.
Hermes felt as if everything within him were split in two, as if his very being and concepts were torn in half.
Dante would have cleaved Hermes in two at that moment had he not had to dodge a lightning bolt that was striking him.
At that moment, Dante was on the verge of killing Hermes. The god fell to the ground, nearly dead and unconscious; this caused the curse he had placed on his opponent to disappear.
This gave him the opportunity to barely dodge Zeus's attacks, but Dante's body was already failing.
Using all his strength, he reached Hephaestus, who had just finished attaching his prosthetic leg to continue fighting, and received two cuts to his torso, which took him out of the fight for good.
This left a confrontation between Zeus and Dante alone, as Apollo was trying to prevent Hermes from dying from the severe damage he had sustained.
The two stared at each other, motionless, until one of them spoke.
"Why do you resist so much? The only path left for you is death," Zeus declared.
Dante took a breath to answer.
"I know," he gasped, "I knew it perfectly well from the beginning." This made Zeus raise an eyebrow.
This caused Dante to close his eyes, only to open them again with the Kamigami no Gigan activated, something that surprised the god of lightning, as he could sense the almost divine power of the eyes.
"I see," the god said simply, looking into the eyes.
One of the abilities of the gods' all-seeing eyes is to see the future, and in the short time he had possessed them, Dante saw everything that would happen, or what could possibly happen.
Dante only had one way to escape unscathed, and that was to activate the system and leave this universe; that was his only option to get out of this alive. But there was a problem: everything he had done would fall on his daughter, Libra.
If he escaped, she would be punished by him; she would suffer the consequences, something he couldn't allow.
The eyes showed him that if he left, no matter what happened, no matter what he did, Dante would end up dead, one way or another.
But Dante didn't care, for it was more important to him that his daughter could see her own life. His eyes had shown him everything she would endure if he accepted the punishment. Libra would have a peaceful life; she would have children, a family, something Dante couldn't take away from her, especially now that he had seen it.
So he chose to rescue Libra as soon as possible, before Zeus arrived. That's why he didn't focus on eliminating Apollo and Hephaestus but rather on taking them down and going for Libra as quickly as possible. But with Zeus's arrival on the battlefield, this was no longer possible.
It wouldn't do him any good to kill the four gods, as that would only attract other gods to him, and he would likely die from collateral damage.
"Let's make a deal, god of thunder." At this, Zeus narrowed his eyes at Dante. "I will accept your punishment willingly in exchange for you leaving Libra alone; she has nothing to do with this. Let her go and don't bother her; that is my condition."
The god considered this option.
"Why would you make this kind of deal?" Zeus asked.
"Because I couldn't live the rest of my life if I did that to my daughter," Dante replied.
"Very well, I accept your deal," said the god of thunder, knowing what he was talking about.
With that, Dante put the Muramasa back in his inventory and returned Kokorowatari to his shadow.
"Well, I tried," he thought to himself.
"You did what you could, and don't blame yourself for what happened since I agreed knowing what was going to happen," he told Dante, easing his guilt somewhat.
A high amount of energy, magic, divinity, and ether began to form beneath Dante.
He just stared at the accumulation of rays only to take a deep breath.
"Well, there's always a first time," he told himself, only to glance in Apollo's direction. "Sun god, you never beat me; you're useless. Live the rest of your life knowing I could have easily killed you, you piece of shit."
Dante couldn't continue his taunt as Zeus's lightning bolt struck him, obliterating everything in its path, destroying everything in its wake, including Dante's body, leaving nothing behind, not even his shadow.
(Note: This is how you send a character to the throne of heroism: by killing them the old-fashioned way, not with strange methods that even the author doesn't understand.)
Once the attack ended, Dante's presence was neither seen nor felt, causing Zeus to sigh with relief.
With this, the death of Dante, son of Chaos, at the hands of Zeus was confirmed.
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Well, folks, this concludes Dante's adventure on Olympus. As you can see, he will become a heroic spirit to be summoned for the Holy Grail War, and to avoid complicating things by figuring out how to send him to the throne of heroes, I decided to kill him off.
Now there are one or two more chapters in this part where we'll see the consequences of what happened and what will happen to Libra, since with everything I've done, I also have to finish his story.
I racked my brain to make this fight as convincing and logical as possible; well, at least I tried, but if there are some things that don't make sense to you, keep in mind that if I had written it differently, it would have been even less.
That's all. Have a fantastic day.