Having had a RED pill, Dante was struck with unbearable exhaustion as soon as he was done filling his stomach. In the end, he barely managed to stay awake long enough to make it back to his apartment.

He woke up ten hours later feeling rather sluggish, but the pain was gone. After doing some stretching and push-ups, he confirmed that his body had entirely healed, and that instantly improved his mood. He headed into the shower and let the hot water wash the stiffness away.

[Good morning, Dante.] Volcan said.

'Good morning.'

[I suggest checking the news.]

'Was about to do just that.'

Dante had tried not to think about it too much the last time he was awake, but now that his mind was no longer sedated, he had many things that needed his attention. With a mental command, he opened a browser and went to one of the popular video sites. Checking the trending tab, his eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth slowly rose up.

"Did Paragon just lose!!?"

"ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD ERASED"

"The massacre at Neo-Varta"

"The Biggest EI Incident of The Year!"

"The heroes failed… again."

"Do we have a super SUPER villain?"

"They got away!"

"MUST WATCH! Wealthy neighborhood completely erased!"

Every last video at the top of the site was about one thing and one thing only: the disaster at Red Hill. Some spoke of the destruction and how the entire gated community was wiped off the earth. Others spoke of the heroes' failure and how, despite having the strongest Genome in the world around, they still failed to stop such a massive disaster.

"Hahaha…" As he watched a video showing a bird's eye view of the disaster scene, the sudden urge to laugh overwhelmed Dante. "hahaha…hahahah…"

He messed up. He messed up big time, but…

"Damn does it feel good."

Almost five years have passed, and not a day has gone by without him imagining that moment. The moment he would finally come face to face with his biggest enemy and finally pay him back. After all that time, it finally came, and it was nothing like what he had in mind.

He was far from prepared and had no plan to speak of. One could say he was taken off guard. Despite all of that, he had faced the bastard and lived to tell the tale. He even dealt him a blow he would never recover from. It might not have caused him any injuries or direct damage, but the scar it left will never fade.

'Well, fuck me…' His grin spreads further. 'The bastard doesn't have a scratch.'

Somehow, despite hitting him with a small black hole, Dante was convinced Paragon would come out of it unharmed. Still, seeing him standing in front of the press, giving a speech as if nothing had happened.

As he watched the press conference, Dante's smile gradually faded. The video had long since ended by the time he came back to his senses. The hot water was cut off at some point, too, and the control panel on the wall displayed a message saying he had used the free hot water for the day, and that he had to pay five hundred Radmir credits if he wanted more.

Realizing he was no longer in the same elated mood he woke up with, Dante got out, grabbed a towel, and dried himself.

'Volcan.'

[Yes?]

'Look out for anything relating to the villain who caused the incident.' Dante said.

[Will do.]

Though the disaster had been described as an EI incident, there has been no mention of the villain responsible for it. No name, no portrait, and not even a description of their power. Barely a day had passed since the incident, so they were playing the "the investigation is still ongoing" card. Dante didn't expect them to disclose anything concerning him, but they needed to give the public something.

'I wonder why they didn't try to cover it up…'

It would have made more sense for them to spin it as an accident of some kind, but with the perpetrator on the loose, there was always the chance of their lies getting exposed. That didn't mean they were willing to disclose the truth. Dante was looking forward to hearing how they were going to spin it out.

'Now, on to business.'

At the moment, he had a few things he needed to take care of. First, he opened an online shopping site and ordered a few things, which were delivered via drone while he ate a hearty breakfast and answered some of the messages that had reached him while he was asleep.

Both Victor and Nobara sent him the same question: "Don't tell me it was you." Since it wasn't anything urgent, he decided to leave answering until the next time he visited. Storing the delivered boxes, Dante put on 8-3 and opened a portal to Hollowstreet, then dismissed it as soon as he arrived there.

He was currently in the spare apartment he prepared for himself in the pocket dimension. It was supposed to serve as a hideout for him to recover in, whether from exhaustion brought by his training or from injuries that left him incapacitated.

He looked around for a moment, then went to the bedroom. Making sure to knock on the door first, he waited a couple of seconds, then called.

"Marie? Are you awake?"

The door slid open not long after, and behind it was the little girl. For some reason, she looked extremely happy to see him.

"Did you sleep well?" Dante asked.

"Y-yes…"

"Good. I have brought some clothes for you. Choose which ones you like, okay?"

He left the boxes on the floor and left the room. Once the door closed behind him, he heaved a long sigh and went to sit in the kitchen. Last night, he was too tired to think of how he should deal with the blonde child. That's why he left her in Hollowstreet while he went back to his apartment. He had convinced both of them that it was for the better, since no one could reach her there, but now that he thought about it, leaving a kid alone in a deserted pocket dimension sounded like a bad idea.

Dante still has no idea how to deal with her. She had seen him without his armor, so he couldn't just leave her be, but at the same time, he didn't feel like disposing of her just like that. After everything she went to, keeping her trapped didn't sit well with him, either.

'What a pain…'