Suddenly, the pillar was split by a flaming slash in what seemed to be a flash of a second. The debris crumbled and fell to the ground abruptly; Gordon gasped at the sigh as he began to shoot more panicked spirals in his direction.
"No…No! This isn't how it's supposed to go!!!"
Dante continued to slash through each spiral, one by one. The flames coated the sky with a bright light as if it were being painted blissfully by an orange paintbrush. He weaved the fire with his sword through each attack until eventually reaching Gordon, who tried once more to attack with the last of his wits. A spiral formed quickly before an orange flash appeared before him, swinging downward and stopping before reaching his chest. The spiral began to crumble in the air as Gordon's head fell back slowly, tears in his eyes, and his mouth dropped in shock. The last image he could see in his eyes was that of a beast he'd never thought he'd come across.
"A…dragon…!"
Gordon passed out on the spot as Dante stood above him, blade in hand and almost touching his chest. He looked down at Gordon as the flames slowly began to disperse, leaving him to look up at the sky as the rain slowly began to stop falling from the sky. The pillars began to shatter and crumble around him, causing the view of what happened to be seen amongst the villagers. Many eyes lay on Dante, and their shocked and worried expressions held as a scream was released from the center of the field.
Dante looked to the sky and let out a monstrous roar. A roar of victory could be heard all around, yelling to the heavens.
"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, DAMMIT!!!"
He screamed loudly as many cheers and cries were heard amongst the group. Many began to run to him as he let out his cry, but shortly after, he slowly began to fall back, dazed from the energy spent during his fight. But he fell into someone, who then held him tightly from behind. Their arms were shaking as they pulled him close and let him lay back on them. He slowly looked up with lowered eyes before seeing a woman's face with tears. Before realizing just who it was.
"Miss…Rita…?"
"You did it kid…you really did it…"
Tears streamed down her face as she hugged him tightly, refusing to let go as the others began to surround the two slowly. He slowly looked around before seeing Xavien carrying Terra on his back and giving him a small smile. Dante, realizing what everyone was seeing, was suddenly embarrassed at the attention he was getting. He slowly tried to push Rita off of him, but she refused to let go.
"Miss Rita…you're embarrassing me…"
"Thank you."
"Huh…?"
She held him closer as she nestled her chin on his wet hair. She didn't care about anything else and only wanted to have him close. Seeing him flourish in the moment he was most needed not only made her worries slowly disappear but also made her feel proud of seeing how much he's grown over the years. She looked at his wounds and mustered what she could from her own mana as a faint green glow began to emanate from the two as many words crossed paths in the center of the village. His eyes slowly began to feel heavy.
"Miss….Rita…"
"Shh…enjoy your rest, Dove…you deserve it."
Dante closed his eyes as the chatter, and cheers amongst the people slowly began to fade out as he lost consciousness. The rain slowly faded away as the sun started to shine from behind the dissipating clouds. The bright sunset began to show as the village celebrated their victory against the unexpected enemy. A rainbow began to form as the sun set before nightfall. Terra slowly began to open her eyes as her head was nestled on Xavien's shoulder. She heard the talks and chatter amongst the villagers, seemingly celebrating what appeared to be a victory. She looked to see Dante on the ground, held by Rita; Xavien slightly turned his head and softened his eyes.
"He actually did it… he's something different, isn't he…?" Terra asked as she slowly blinked, adjusting from the strain of the pill. Xavien smiled as he gave her a small pat on the head before answering her question.
"Yeah…he sure is." She smiled at his response as she rested her head once more before drifting into her sleep again. While everything was finally settling down, she felt one feeling over anything else: relief that everything was finally over—at least for the time being.