The Wrong Hero

Chapter 20 - Handle with Care

The ride to the village wouldn't take long. By carriage, it was maybe 30 minutes. Dante, however, wanted to resolve the issue from the caves as soon as possible. Under the premise of a quick hunting session, he, Sadeena, and Dio separated from the others. With a decent amount of distance between them and the carriages, he gave Dio a casting of Faust Guard V and let her go off while they talked. Dante used his Humming Shield to give them extra privacy, just in case any Q'ten Lo shadows escaped Sadeena's detection.

"I can go first if you want me to." Dante told her.

Sadeena held one arm to her side. "Could you?"

"Yeah..." He did want to get this out of the way, but he knew it wouldn't be comfortable. "I...heard the voices of my dead family. I've told you a bit about them before. The first voice was Eddy's, a man who was like a brother to me. Hearing his voice wasn't difficult. Neither was the second voice, his wife, Gloria. I'd seen her in my nightmares constantly until our fight with Idol. But, after that..."

This was the part he really didn't want to say. He knew Sadeena wouldn't react badly to hearing it. He knew that. She didn't think of him as a failure.

"...It was the voice of their daughter. Mary's voice. She—"

Dante found himself wrapped in Sadeena's arms.

"W-What?" He asked. It was rather sudden.

"You're crying." She said, rubbing his back.

Dante brought his hand to his eyes, feeling the fresh tears around them.

"You don't have to continue." She said. "I can—"

"No." Dante pulled back, holding her arm. "I can finish." He knew if he didn't get this out, if he tried to keep this back, it would probably eat away at him. "I told you before that she was who I wanted to bring back. If no one else, it has to be her. Eddy and Gloria would never forgive me if I brought back one of them instead. Ideally, I want all three of them alive again."

Dante took a deep breath before he continued. "There were some people I killed. Others in their group wanted revenge. They figured out where I would go, where I would lower my guard, and found a time to act." Another deep breath. "There was an explosion, but the timing was wrong. I had already exited the building. Eddy and Mary were killed immediately. Gloria received severe burns, but died not long after. With her dying breath, she blamed me for it. She was right to do so." Dante could feel the tears start again. "Mary was nine years old."

Sadeena held him close. "I'm so sorry."

Dante returned the hug. They stood there for several minutes, Dante just letting it out.

"Am I..." Dante tried to speak. "The kids...do I..."

Sadeena traced her hand up and down his back. "What is it? Ask me anything."

Dante swallowed. "JoJo and Dio...I treat them well, right?" He asked. "I treat them like they were my own kids, right? Not like...they're replacements?"

"That's..." Sadeena pulled back to look at him. "Dante, one of the first things I saw you do after they transformed was comfort them. I heard the guilt in your voice over Dio's scar."

Dante's eyes widened slightly before he gave a soft laugh. "You heard a lot of that, huh?"

"Just a little." Sadeena smiled. "They were your kids long before I had them call you father. You all just didn't realize it."

"Hm." Dante returned her smile. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Thanks."

"I'm only telling you the truth." Sadeena said. Her expression darkened as she let go. "I guess I need to tell you what I heard now."