St. Daphne Hospital, Almeria.
A towering structure looming over the avenues of the Eastern District.
Despite the calm, in Wing C — the one reserved for victims of the Genesis Convoy — behind the glass doors of Room 407, Dante lay still, unmoving.
The bandages around his side were still damp, yet his eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, as if searching for something only he could see.
Beside him, Youpi was hooked to a respirator, locked in a medically induced coma.
Across from them, Ginny slept peacefully, one hand resting on her stomach — right where Ming's spider leg had pierced her.
Dante spent his days watching the news, unable to meditate without being racked by pain.
When his body allowed, he'd walk up to the roof. The wind up there was strong — it gave him a fleeting sense of life.
That morning, the sky was clear. A few clouds drifted in the distance.
Dante sat on the edge of the rooftop, a cold can gripped between his fingers.
His feet dangled into nothingness, but he paid it no mind.
He liked the feeling of the wind on his skin — it reminded him of the outside world.
— "Now that all my stuff is in the hands of the WG I fully expect Klein to show up and beat me up... Oh I wonder if there's still pudding rations left… I should probably send some money to Mom." He thought, glancing up at the sky.
Footsteps behind him. He didn't need to turn — he recognized that presence instantly.
— "Took you long enough." he said, eyes still skyward.
Johanna. Her blonde hair tied low, resting against the shoulder of her dress.
She still carried the grace of nobility, but her face showed the weight of a sleepless week.
— "I was volunteering in the hospitals." She said quietly, stepping closer.
He didn't reply right away. He tilted his head back and emptied the can in one go.
— "Shigeo's fine. He got released yesterday." She added after a pause. "Zara too… well, she's still in custody, but nothing serious.
You fought like a madman, Dante. You protected people.
You… you stood between death and the rest of us." She said, humble, clearly in awe.
She stepped closer, sitting beside him, legs folded under her.
— "I'm sorry, I didn't come sooner. I… felt guilty."
He finally turned to her, eyes heavy.
But it wasn't physical pain in them — it was something deeper, existentialpain.
— "Why are you here now, Johanna ?"
he asked.
She inhaled slowly.
— "Today's the Imperial Academies' opening day. Remember ?"
A bitter smile tugged at his lips.
— "You're gonna be late."
— "Not really, we're not late. They decided survivors from the convoy won't need to take the physical exams. Just a Level Stone assessment — formality, really."
He nodded, saying nothing.
Then, softer :
— "I was even thinking of coming back next year. If you're not there this year, then… what's the point ?"
He stared into the void. She stared at him. Then he exhaled.
— "I'm going to die, Beatrice."
— "Wh—What ?" She jolted.
— "Let's not sugarcoat it. Ming Tang's poison… there's no known antidote. Labs are scrambling. Ginny and Youpi are in comas. Me…" He sat up slightly. "Me, I'm in pain every day, just waiting for it to be over."
Johanna shook her head, eyes wide.
— "No… No, you can't say that. They'll find a cure, Dante. They have to."
— "This isn't a fairytale. We're not chosen ones. Just kids who survived something way above our pay grade."
She stood up abruptly.
— "But you survived a third-tier mutant! You fought to the end! You can't just—"
He gave her a resigned look.
— "Go to Genesis. Be what you always wanted to be. I've played my part. That's all."
She froze. Tears welled up, silent. Then, slowly, she stepped back, one foot at a time.
— "I was wrong about you… You're just another idiot pessimist like the rest." Whispered the Don Quixotte, walking away without looking back.
---
As Johanna descended the stairs of St. Daphne's Hospital, the polite smiles of the nurses and the silence of the hallways felt like blade across her heart.
She didn't dare turn around. One more step, and she'd break.
But near the main entrance, something made her pause.
— "Oops! Sorry! Excuse me!" A woman's panicked voice rang out.
A figure stumbled into the lobby, basket in hand.
It was a young woman in a lab coat, clearly flustered, her name badge askew : Dr. Helena W. Orpheline.
Every move she made was a desperate effort not to spill her basket.
Johanna stared, stunned by the sheer clumsiness.
— "Ah, sorry, sorry… it's for Room407."
Helena mumbled to a nurse.
— "407?!" Johanna thought. "That'sDante'sroom…"
She glanced at Helena, then looked away, disappointed.
"What was I even thinking…" She sighed.
Without a word, Johanna stepped aside, letting the woman pass, then climbed into the Maybach waiting at the gate.
As the doors shut around her, she whispered :
— "Ihope you're wrong, Dante…"
---
Helena sprinted up the hospital stairs, basket pressed tightly to her chest.
She hadn't slept in thirty-six hours. Hadn't showered in two days.
But she forced a smile to avoid scaring the hospital staff.
At the door, she knocked three times, sharp and quick.
— "It's me! Dr. Helena! I… I brought something!"
The door opened. Dante stood there, leaning against the wall, IV still in his arm.
— "You're late. Gonna blame the train company ?" He smirked.
— "I did my best, dumbass!" She puffed her cheeks and stormed inside.
She set the basket on the center table.
Youpi was still breathing slow, face pale as death.
Ginny lay deep in sleep, a scowl on her face like she was dreaming about a horrible meal.
Helena opened the basket. Inside: six small vials filled with glowing blue liquid.
— "Here's your 'miracle'." She whispered, eyes shining.
Dante stepped forward, smiling at the vials.
— "Guess I'm pretty good at spotting talent." He thought.
— "Almost went blind for this and nuked my whole career." She said with a laugh.
"But yeah — thanks to your secret funding, I built my own lab. And believe it or not, I only used the samples you gave me."
She handed him a vial.
— "Drink. Now."
He hesitated. She locked eyes with him.
— "You're not allowed to die. Not until I've properly thanked you. So drink."
Dante chuckled, took the vial, and downed it.
Immediately, warmth surged through him — igniting his dulled nerves, reigniting his strength, like every cell had just rebooted.
He staggered back, grunting in surprise… then smiled.
— "Damn… it's like I'm really breathing for the first time."
Helena was already prepping two vials into a syringe.
She approached Ginny's bed, checked her vitals, and injected the antidote.
— "Come on, sweetheart… time to wake up."
Seconds passed. Then Ginny's eyelids fluttered. A soft groan.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Dante above her.
— "God, you stink," she mumbled, pinching her nose."What's this bitter taste in my mouth ?"
Dante burst out laughing.
— "Should've let you die."
— "The student learns from the master. Keep it up and you'll be able to diss me in verse." She grinned, tapping his shoulder.
He stroked her hair, relieved.
Helena had already turned to Youpi. She bit her lip.
— "He's the most critical. If he reacts badly… we could…"
— "He'll recover," Dante cut her off, voice firm."He has to."
Helena didn't reply. She injected the antidote, praying silently.
Time stood still.
Then, slowly, Youpi's fingers twitched.
His heartbeat picked up. His eyes opened.
— "You… woke me up… to miss breakfast ?" He rasped.
Ginny cracked up. Dante too.
— "Even on death's door, this guy's thinking about food…" Ginny sighed.
— "Ahem." Fante coughed loudly, as if to remind her she wasn't one to talk about gluttony.
---
Dante, Youpi, Ginny, and Helena were coming down the stairs, dressed in oversized hospital gowns that hung awkwardly on their skinny, worn-out bodies.
They looked like they'd just walked away from an explosion in an action movie.
Helena still had her lab coat on, but her stride had more confidence now. There was a quiet pride about her.
They weren't supposed to be outside.
Doctors, nurses, even hospital security had strictly forbidden them from leaving the building.
But the rush of recovery, the high of having cheated death—and maybe a bit of madness—was pushing them forward.
As they walked through the halls, the other patients watched them like they were ghosts.
Whispers. Wide eyes. Stifled gasps. Even a few emotional tears.
— "No way… weren't they… like, nearly dead ?"
— "It's a miracle…"
— "I've got chills…"
Ginny winked at a nurse, who nearly dropped her tray.
Youpi was chewing on a chocolate bar he'd snatched from the break room.
— "Girl… you could've worked for a pharma cartel." He said, nodding at Helena. "Now you're basically a living cheat code."
— "Heh… if only you knew." Helena chuckled nervously.
The moment they stepped past the sliding doors—boom.
A human tsunami. Cameras, mics, flashes.
At least fifty reporters, photographers, and gawkers had gathered outside.
Major networks. Local news. Streamers, too. All shouting over each other.
— DANTE! DANTE!
— YOUPI, HOW DID YOU LOSE TO THE MUTANT?!
— GINNY! ANY COMMENTS ON THE ALLEGED TIES TO TERRORIST GROUPS?!
Camera drones hovered above them.
Blinding white flashes popped nonstop, capturing every step they took.
Ginny pressed closer to Dante.
— "This is terrifying. It's like they're waiting for us to die for real…"
Youpi didn't even look up.
— "If I end up on national TV looking like this, I swear I'll set myself on fire live."
Helena tried to shield her face with the basket she was holding. No luck.
As the crowd grew louder, more aggressive, almost hysterical—Dante raised one hand. Just one, palm open, and silence fell.
He stepped forward, planting himself in the center of the chaos, and looked straight into the cameras with a sly smirk.
— "They told me my heart would give out. That my body would rot from the inside because of that venom the Tang brat injected me with. That I had 'afewdays' left. That I'd end up a vegetable hooked up to machines."
He stretched his arms out, palms to the sky.
— "Look at me."
He turned around slowly.
— "Do I look like a corpse ? Do I look like someone on his deathbed ? Do these eyes look like they've given up ?"
A reporter whispered into her mic :
— "What message would you like to send the Tang clan ? The mutant was identified as one of their own."
Dante went on :
— "I give them credit. They've improved. Their next-gen poison works great… as pesticide."
He stepped up to a mic.
— "Oh, and one more thing. To Doc C—that lab rat with his twisted schemes and cult leader monologues—you'll end up right where all prophets do : buried and pissed on."
There was a nervous chuckle from the crowd. Cameras inched closer.
Dante pointed at Ginny and Youpi.
— "We're just a bunch of stubborn brats who refused to die. We weren't saved by some divine miracle. We were saved by sheer genius. Helena here did what top scientists couldn't—she created an antidote. Alone. No budget. No fancy lab."
Helena lowered her head, blushing. Youpi scratched the back of his neck.
— "Yeah well, I didn't wake up for some shōnen monologue. I just wanna go home and sleep."
But Dante kept pushing, taunting danger like it was a game.
— "You want an imag ? Keep this face into your memory. Because from now on, I'm the guy busting heads in caves, sewers, creepy manors—hell, even at the North Pole if Santa Claus want to fight with me."
He raised a finger.
— "qif anyone still wants to test my will… go ahead. I'm right here."
Flashes burst. The crowd surged toward Dante—this nobody now on over 200 live broadcasts, spouting arrogance like a superstar.
And behind his smug little smile, he was already imagining the mixed reactions online.But hey—that was the whole point.
---
Kovalia, Belthemis.
In Belthemis, far from Almeria, Jophiel slouched on the living room couch, drowning in an oversized hoodie, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands.
His mother, Annabelle, had been pacing for over thirty minutes.
— "I'm booking the next flight. I can't take this anymore. He's been in the hospital for a week! My son could be dying!"
— "Mom… wait."
— "I said I'm not waiting anymore! I'm—"
— "Just watch."
Jophiel turned up the volume. On the screen—Dante. Standing tall, facing the press.
Annabelle froze. Her eyes filled with tears of relief.
— "Oh… thank God… he's okay. She sat down, hand pressed to her chest. "I was just about to leave… if you hadn't stopped me…"
— "I always knew that idiot would be fine, Jophiel said with a grin. Even death doesn't want him."