"What—!?" Dante's eyes spelled shock as the green wall manifested before him.
I had wrapped an Obelus around the entirety of the world. The globe's existence was clenched within my green grasp, excluding only myself. I, in the center of it all, was considered by my Fractal as the exterior to the encapsulation. As I pointed my palms outwards, emanating a force in the radial direction, the World Obelus' exterior wall was repelled by my body, forcing it to surround anything it intersected with, including Dante and his millions of flames. Once I noticed the green gleam radiating from Dante and his inferno, it'd been indicated that he was wrapped. I concluded the motion to Inverse Divisionary by twisting my palms backwards in the counterclockwise direction, disabling the Obelus that had connected to the rest of the world.
Fwoosh—!!
Dante swirled uncontrollably in his flames within the Obelus domain. I watched as he began to use—one consecutively after the other—a series of fire attacks to attempt breaking out of his shell. But it was all no use. This Obelus was reinforced like no other, and inside of it his existence could now only be curated by my Fractal alone.
This was the result of my Deployable Fractal Box.
"Let me out!!" I heard his voice scream faintly from within the confinement. I hung afloat in the air, watching him scramble from within. The mist surrounding us was beginning to subside, as the rays of the overhead sun began to break through the disappearing clouds.
The storm is passing.
Over the next few minutes, the sky had been cleared. It was a meek blue, staggered by solar streaks. The sun shone brilliantly over the horizon. I looked back at Dante within my Obelus, and he'd seemed to calmed down, having stopped with his attempts to escape.
"You've realized it now," I said.
He looked up at me with confusion.
"That it's no use."
My words surprisingly brought him to tears. His fire slowly diminished as he began to cry, soaking the bandage that wrapped his face. He tried to wipe his sadness aside, but the flames emanating from his hands only evaporated his tears.
"I know… I know it's no use!" He wailed with frustration. "I've just been possessed with rage, knowing that it wasn't my fault alone that the children died. The guilt has been too heavy, so much that I had to find someone else to dedicate the fault to. But I know killing Klyson would never bring them back. All 52 of them are gone forever. I know…"
I could sense within my Obelus a decline in his Fractal energy.
"I just wanted to avenge them. They didn't deserve what'd happened to them. They were just innocent kids with no parents, and no warmth in the winter cold!"
I sighed. This understanding had ran through my mind more than once already.
"You are a good person, Dante." I hovered closer to his entrapped domain. "You just so happened to be forced into a monster by the cruelty of this world."
He looked at me, his eyes gleaming with tears. A look of empathy manifested on his face.
"Is that what happened to you?" He asked.
The question stunned me in place. I didn't have an immediate answer. Instead, I faced away, looking past the horizon that seemed to go on forever.
"If this world is already full of monsters, then that would just make me normal, wouldn't it?"
The flames of Dante's Fractal had been fully put out by now. He sat silently at the bottom of the Obelus.
"I guess that makes me 'normal' too then."
I turned back to face him, concluding the realization that'd taken years for me to understand.
"You aren't 'normal.' Not like the rest of us."
People like Dante were what you'd call a 'hero' in a movie. He was the main character of his own story. He had reasons to go through with his motives. He had justification for his actions.
"What do you mean?" He asked, confused by what I'd said.
People like me, or even Klyson, were antagonists to people with a story like Dante's. All of us at Heathen were what you'd call the 'villains' in a movie.
"It's trivial."
We were the 'bad guys.'
"Can you let me out?" He asked.
My hand trembled with acceptance for who I was in the story of this world.
"Please," Dante pleaded. "I'm not going after Klyson anymore. I'll even return to the Cube. I need time to reflect."
The entire manner of his tone had changed. His heat-of-the-moment had been put out completely. The defeat had humbled him.
If I had the morals of anyone else, your pensive words would have bore more weight.
From the very beginning of my life in Heathen, I'd been met with dilemma after dilemma, testing my capabilities for retaining the right to life as a human. But I've stepped far past the mark on every single occasion. Even though I'd finally encountered someone who was likely to understand me on a deeper level, there was no difference that could compel a change in the inevitable conclusion to something like this.
After all, Dante Hade bore an HP Fractal.
"Eliminate all HP Fractal users."
Ian's words could never leave my mind.
"In another universe, you saved those dear to you, and defeated me here today."
Dante's eyes grew wide at what I said. "Wait, wait, please."
"I apologize for this."
"Wait, please—!"
I clenched my palm.
Squelch—!!!
The Obelus instantly condensed inwards, imploding everything inside into an eruption of bloody mist. The fleshy remains of Dante's body fell to the ground, splattering red among the wet grass. Afloat in the air, I looked down at my doing.
What I saw was the unfortunate result of a battle between a hero and a villain.
I am sorry, Dante Hade. You pose too high of a risk to remain alive.
I'd done what Klyson had failed to do. It was exactly for people like Dante, who had an amazing affinity with their Fractals and therefore a higher potential for disaster, that Ian preached for their erasures.
Klyson and I were the erasers.
I must get back to the city to support the Fractless in the next onslaught.
With the sun now high in the sky, I expelled an Obelus behind me, launching my flight back towards downtown Melysia, where dawn of the next battle would begin.