^Sire.^

^Yes, Oleda?^

^Is there any particular reason why we're traversing through the Mountains of Malevolence this late at night? The monsters and curse may not be a threat to us, but they're still quite harrowing to deal with.^

^Ah, yes...it's because of a legend, my dear Oleda. A legend.^

^Oh dear...^

Traversing through the jungle in the dead of night, a man of aristocratic origins named Bajin Gutierrez and his servant, Oleda.

Bajin Gutierrez was an Aether King of some repute back in his homeland; as such, he was more than capable of being able to fight off the evils of the [Malevolent Mountain range].

Then again, it also probably helped that his servant, Oleda, was also an Aether Emperor.

^Sire, you're not talking about the "Ascension of the Star Stallion" again, are you?^

^That's the exact one, yes.^

^Oh dear...^

For some context, the "Ascension of the Star Stallion", is a legend that detailed the rise of one of the most prolific Bloodliner originators of Valresta, the Star Stallion.

The story went that when the Star Stallion was on the cusp of breaking through the tenth tier, he had done so after running so fast off of the ground that he started running on air, all the way up to the realm of Heaven.

Ever since that day, when the stars and moon were in just the right positions, it's been said that one could see the world attempt to recreate that fantastic moment...and learn an incredibly powerful aether art that mimicked this fantastic feat.

Of course, it should be noted that nobody had ever seen this shadow since the original Star Stallion ascended some odd...five thousand years ago.

It's actually been pointed out to would-be believers that it was statistically impossible for a five-thousand-year-old aether art to not have been learned by at least one person or another.

Alas, the only ones who knew the truth of the matter were either dead or currently squirreled away in a library that was inaccessible to the wider world.

Regardless, Bajin still wanted to go and see if there was any truth to the legend.

If it were true, then he would benefit greatly.

If it wasn't, well, at least he managed to enjoy a brisk evening journey through a horrible cursed jungle land…despite how ass-backwards crazy that sounded to any reasonable human being.

Or in this case,a well-meaning attendant who didn't wan his charge to end up as some monster's snack, or worst.

^Master, I don't mean to be blunt, but I sincerely believe attending an auction or perusing the sect's archives would be a better way for you to acquire a powerful aether art. Not traversing through a wretched jungle like this in the pursuit of a legend of vague origins,^ Oleda stated with sincerity and care.

^Oh come now, Oleda,^ Bajin said in a slightly dismissive but warm tone. ^You were young and reckless once. Sometimes one needs to go to the edges of the world in order to grow.^

^Yes, but—^

Before Oleda could finish presenting his counterargument, the sound of a land ripping explosion grabbed both his and his charge's attention.

^What in the phoenix ashes?!^

Thankfully, they were far enough that they weren't going to be caught in the fallout of whatever caused such a titanic shift in the earth.

However, they were soon going to wish that they were closer to the source of the explosion.

^What the hell caused...that...^

^My word...the legend was true?!^

In the distance, Oleda and Bajin were greeted by the sight of what they could into describe as a giant horse-like creature suddenly breaking through the side of a mountain, breaking through multiple layers of cursed earth, and ascending to the stars above.

Needless to say, once the duo saw this shadowy manifestation appear, they immediately made moves to get a closer look.

After all, they had no idea if there was a minimum distance necessary to learn the art!

^My master, I apologize for ever doubting you in the slightest!^ Oleda profusely apologized

^No need, I had doubts about this situation as well!^ Bajin admitted. ^But less talking, more running like the wind. No, like lighting!^

^Yes!^

...Speaking of ascension...

[Oh, it's night time! Perfect!] Captain Gallop exclaimed with joy as he and his ship broke through the ground and finally reached the open air. [If only I didn't have an annoying fly on my window while I was out here...oh well!]

Despite forcing Dante through several layers of molten stone, having his ass perforated by more than several tons of shrapnel, all while having a literal spaceship jammed into his stomach like a cursed spear, the false Kaijin Lord was somehow still alive.

Granted, the size of that weird giant [Core] in his chest was a lot smaller at this point in time, meaning a whole mess of this man's kaijin had died in the process.

If he was to somehow unfuse with them, the amount of kaijin left alive would be less than a handful at best.

Not that there was going to be anyone left to mourn them once Captain Gallop was done.

[Alright, all ahead full!]

Manipulating the console before him and redirecting the power he had channelled before, Captain Gallop made the spaceship kick into high gear and finally fly straight upwards.

Despite not being exposed to the elements, Captain Gallop could feel himself being pulled down by both gravity and the cursed land, all while pushing against the atmosphere as he attempted to break through it and reach orbit.

Needless to say, the guy who was fully exposed to the elements was not having a good time in the slightest.

...If there wasn't any wind, you'd hear the screaming too...

[AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!]

From being smashed into walls, to being torn apart by pure g-force, Dante was in an excruciating amount of pain.

Most other warriors in history situation would either be dead or would've passed out by now, but alas, he was too stubborn and lively for his own good.

However, that wasn't the worst part.

The worst part is that he could also feel and hear the pain of all the kaijin he had absorbed as well being stacked on top of his own!

[Slavina...Delictum...Obsidious...someone...do something!]

[We... can't...!]

[Barely...holding together!]

Due to Arbalest's shenanigans, the rebellious kaijin had somehow managed to activate the full link between Dante and his horde of monsters, causing them to share all of their senses and then some.

However, whether it was due to the all the cursed energy or because they were unused to the sensations was unclear, but Dante and his ilk were feeling everything by a factor of ten.

They didn't notice at first when they were initially slammed into the cavern wall, but once they were exposed to the outside night air, they began to feel everything at once.

Making this moment more horrific and painful though, to Dante at least, he began to feel the life force of his elite warriors beginning to slip away in a slow manner, in spite of the viciously fast g-forces ripping them to shred.

[Can't...hang on...]

The first to fade was Delictum, his wings breaking against the wind and his feathers being scattered to ashes.

[Can't...tough it out...]

The next was Gumba, his mud drying up and his fat legs melting away into horrific vapors.

[Apologies...my master...I can't...]

Slavina burned up, her vines snapping and roots becoming so rotted that the wind blew her away like dust.

[I'm sorry...I wasn't...strong enough...]

Surprisingly, the next to splatter was Oizys, who despite being the youngest and strongest of the lot, couldn't keep up the charade before disappearing.

The last to remain was Obsidious, the wretched embodiment of Dante's hatred.

But even that was starting to smoulder.

[My master...I don't think I'll be able to...]

[No, no, no! Not you too!] Dante oddly shouted in an intimate manner. [I need you to keep sane! How else am I supposed to burn this world and get my just reward?!]

Obsidious was his first kaijin, and was the embodiment of his [Hate] towards the world, the whole reason why he was able to keep going and keep fighting.

Without his [Hate] for, how else could he continue to live and...wait, that wasn't right.

[I...I didn't hate the world,] Dante began to realize after so many years, so many bodies and so many kaijin that he created.

[I hated myself, that's why I did all this. All so that someone could do what I was scared of doing all this time.]

It is often said that when death approaches, one gains great clarity over their life.

The reason why they act the way did, and the reasons why they were able to reach this point in life.

And right now, for the first time in years, Dante understood something.

[I did all this so that someone could kill me.]