The Wrong Hero

Chapter 38 - Battle on Two Fronts

"Jesus, that was quick!"

Before everyone had turned in for the night, Dante spoke with Werner about the newest additions to his group. He made it clear, in no uncertain terms, what would go down if something were to happen to Rat or either of the siblings. Seeing how Werner was still wary of him, the message was received. He also told Werner that Rat needed equipment to work on his arm. Werner sent out some of his men to gather the materials, being told what was necessary by Rat. After morning arrived, Dante could see what came of it.

One of the rooms in the castle had been converted into a lab of sorts. There were a few pieces of equipment that stood out, such as culture tanks. A few reagents sat on one of the tables, as well as the remains of one of his burnt up arms. What really caught his attention was several of the liquid filled containers. Arms were already being grown in them, with bone and muscles already forming.

"If I gave you the impression I needed this immediately, I apologize." Dante told Rat. She greeted him with a bow when he entered the lab. While she still wore the clothes he gave her the previous night, she also got herself a lab coat. One of the tailors was going to come by today to dress her in whatever she wanted. "Still, I'm very pleased by the results."

"The least I could do was get started, Lord." Rat said, showing him to one of the arms. "I'm not sure how this will work, given what you told me and what I could get out of the samples. If nothing else, this prototype will help fill in the gaps."

"When will it be ready?" Dante took a closer look at the arm suspended in the tank.

"By the end of the day, at the earliest." Rat informed him. "But I think it would be better to wait until tomorrow."

"I look forward to seeing how it works." Dante said. He turned to Werner, who came with him to see his approval. He looked quite pleased with himself. "Good work, Werner."

"Of course, Lord Shield." The shusaku said with a bow. "If I may be so bold, does that mean you will be taking a member of my tribe to bed with you tonight?"

"No." Dante shook his head. "I'll be taking two. I doubt any of this was cheap, and you got it on such short notice."

"I thank you for your generosity." Werner bowed again. It wasn't just the equipment. A few of his men had gone around to the other alchemists to get the samples for Rat in the first place. One was still assisting Rat now, fetching whatever she needed.

On that note, it was a bit rare for Werner to ask for that. It wasn't as if Jaralis was the only one doing things for him, but this was the first time any of the four major tribes had done anything like this. There may have been politics at play that Dante wasn't aware of, but it didn't really bother him all that much. Then again, only three of them had any real influence. He had seen a couple hakuko sparingly, but none had seemed that important relative to the other three tribes.

With Rat settled in, Dante grabbed his party and headed out to Zeltoble. He wasn't taking everyone with him, not that he couldn't, of course. He had enough room in his portal skill's party limit. This was just the first time he needed to consider leaving some people behind to make sure things continued running smoothly. For that, Keel and Eclair stayed back to watch over the others. Atla wanted to come, but Dante didn't want her involved just yet. She had a good amount of levels, but not as much fighting experience. There'd be time enough to see what she could really do. Fohl was split on staying with Atla and helping with the wave like she planned to, as payment for treating her sister. Atla insisting Fohl go to "watch over Mister Dante" was enough encouragement.

The party composition was still good. Sadeena and Raphtalia were the heaviest hitters. Dio and JoJo fell in that category too, but they also had speed, which would let them all arrive at the wave's boss quicker. Fohl had good agility and attack, and she was quite proficient in unarmed combat. Rifana had them covered magically, with Dante bringing his defense. His attack was nothing to scoff at, but he knew the role he would be filling first.