The Wrong Hero

Chapter 8 - Commitment

Dante woke with the morning sun pouring into the room. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to sleep throughout the night. He didn't exactly have pleasant dreams, but no unpleasant dreams either. Dante expected to wake up screaming in the middle of the night, or be woken by Raphtalia's. Neither was the case.

He wasn't even sure what the cause of his good sleep was. Was it helping Raphtalia and Rifana, the good deed easing his mind? Was it the aftereffect of the shock of losing his arm?

Or was it the horror of seeing that demi-human child's skinned corpse? Was that enough to push his mind full circle?

Whatever the case, he had a lot of issues he should probably work out in his head.

Speaking of, he recalled the shield he got when he absorbed the child's body. It was another unpleasant thought, but one he couldn't ignore.

Savage Shield
(abilities locked) equip bonus: minor HP regeneration
equip effect: cannibalize

Dante had suspected what was happening in that dungeon, and now he was sure.

Forcing them to eat each other, then killing them? How could anyone become that deranged?

He'd seen some pretty messed up things in his time, but that was likely the worst. That shield wasn't something he particularly wanted to unlock, but the equip bonus was too good to ignore. Unfortunately, like his cigarettes from before, things used to reveal shields couldn't be retrieved. It seemed the entire body was required to reveal the Savage Shield, so...

I'm sorry I can't bury you now. I hope avenging your death with Idol's is enough.

As he went to get up, he found he was held down by something. Two somethings. Two small children, clinging to either side of him, sleeping. One had blonde hair while the other had blue.

They were also completely naked.

Well, this isn't ideal, but it's not unexpected either. That thought alone is also far from ideal.

He first shook Dio, who was attached to his right side, then shook JoJo on his left.

"Hey, you two. Time to wake up."

Dio awaked from her sleep, sitting up to rub her eyes. JoJo did the same, stretching out with a yawn. Dante was able to lean up on his arm.

"Mmm, morning, Master." Dio said, lazily opening her eyes.

"Morning." JoJo scratched the back of his head.

"Good morning." Dante gave his back a small twist, letting out a pop. Despite sleeping on the floor, he didn't feel sore at all. His defense probably helped with that.

He gave a good look at his transformed filolials. Dio's hair was fairly long, reaching halfway down her back. It seemed more wavy than spiky, though there were a few shorter parts near the top that seemed to spike out more. JoJo's seemed to stick out a bit in the front, tapering down. It was also somewhat long in the back, stopping just above his shoulders. If he had to describe it, it would take parts from both Jonathan and a younger Joseph Joestar.

If nothing else, their names somewhat matched their physical descriptions. Though, Dio seemed to have a somewhat more innocent expression than he was expecting, and JoJo less so.

"How did you two sleep last..." Before Dante could finish, both filolial children turned to face him fully. Their eyes began to tear up.

Wait. They're crying. Why are they—

"Master!" The both yelled, jumping at Dante and knocking him back to the ground. They clung to him as they cried into his shirt.

This is even further from ideal.