Modern World Warlock-Chapter 297: Dante Vs. Isidor

When Dante arrived at the office building where the strong magic was being cast, he found himself face to face with one of Netherius' Death Knights.

Dante had heard about him from Balthazar, who fought him in Cerulis after the man blew up a building full of innocents. However, it was the first time that he had seen a former Holy Knight turned into a Death Knight.

"You must be Hellslayer… Master Netherius warned us about you," the knight said with a deep but strangely soothing tone.

"I prefer Dante…" the warlock replied.

"I'm Isidor," the man politely introduced himself.

"Isidor, I gotta ask, what's a goddess' lapdog doing with Netherius?" Dante inquired.

However, the knight didn't respond, his umbra didn't fluctuate in the slightest, and his face was wholly covered by his helm, so Dante had no idea how the man felt about the question.

"A goddess' lapdog…? Do you also count yourself as one?" Isidor muttered his question.

"Not anymore. Besides, it's not like I served the goddess out of my own free will…" Dante replied.

"You, however… You have a bunch of innocent blood in your hands, huh?" he continued, slightly taunting the knight.

Dante's words seemed to have an effect on Isidor, making his energy fluctuate with anger for a brief moment.

"How pitiful… From being commanded by a bitch goddess to kill innocents—to being commanded by a necromancer to kill more of them," Dante commented.

"Seriously, what's your deal?" he asked, his gaze sharpening and his tone leaving room for no negotiation.

"I cannot remember the details…" Isidor muttered.

"What I do know is that Master Netherius' vision is up to par with that of Goddess Aelara…" he continued.

"I see. Then there is no point in trying to have a real conversation with you. You were brainwashed, but I suppose that's what you get for making a deal with a necromancer…" Dante explained.

"Mhmm, it would seem that way," Isidor agreed, clenching the long, heavy sword on his back and unsheating it.

"Still, I know I made the right choice back then," the knight continued, pointing his blade at the warlock.

'I'm sensing both necrotic energy and ether from this guy… I need to be careful,' Dante thought.

When Isidor waved his sword horizontally, a flash of light appeared and generated an arc that flew straight toward the warlock, prompting him to extrude his wings and jump high in the air to avoid it.

In the blink of an eye, Dante flew straight down and stopped mere centimeters before Isidor with his palm pointed at his chest.

"Obliterate," Dante chanted, releasing a powerful blast that flung the knight with force back inside the building.

The warlock wanted to erase his entire torso with one attack, but Isidor was experienced enough to defend himself with his energy.

When the knight stood up and posed his sword against his forearm, he aimed the tip forward, making Dante widen his eyes as he dropped back to avoid the piercing light that flew right above him.

'Light spear…?' Dante pondered, remembering the name of the holy knight's spell.

The light trail traveled all the way to another building in the back, blowing its base and making it wobble.

Dante glanced back for a brief moment to ensure the building wasn't falling on top of him, and Isidor relished the opportunity to advance, grabbing Dante's head and smashing him against the ground.

Still, when Isidor tried to keep the warlock pressed on the floor, Dante made the shadows on the ground extrude like spikes, prompting Isidor to step away before getting stabbed.

"You Holy Knights are always giving me trouble…" Dante muttered as he stood up with only a tiny scratch on his cheek.

In Dante's past world, it didn't matter if the warlock had the goddess' favor. He was always looked down upon by the holy knights and priests of the church.

The warlock considered their animosity an improvement from their previous treatment before he was blessed by the goddess, as the priests of the church would constantly try to assassinate him.

After he received the "ageless blessing," their assassination attempts turned to hatred and rudeness, but Dante never truly cared about it since he didn't want to interact with the church either.

"This brings me back, you know?" Dante said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Heh, I can finally kill you people without Aleara breathing down my neck," he continued.

Isidor bolted towards Dante at high speed with his greatsword in hand, infusing light with it and making the blade shine as bright as the sun.

Still, right as the knight was in front of Dante with his sword raised overhead, everything around him went pitch-black.

"Malevolent Art: Pride," Dante muttered, making the knight envision sudden grinning faces before him.

When the environment's light returned, Dante was sitting down on a large throne that had materialized in the middle of the small plaza between the buildings. frёeωebɳovel.com

His black wings looked slightly bigger than ever, and his body was covered with black veins that reached his face. His red eyes glowed brighter, and his hair seemed to get a bit longer.

"H-How…!?" Isidor asked, clearly unsettled by Dante's appearance.

"How what? Are you wondering how a warlock can use Lucifer's signature ability?" Dante replied with another question, smiling with a condescending expression.

Isidor didn't reply, and even though Dante still couldn't see his face since his helm was covering it, he could clearly sense fear flowing from the man's body.

"Huh… I thought becoming an undead stripped you away from fear…" Dante commented, casually placing a hand on his chin.

"Could it be…? The fears you had as a Holy Knight are still present?" he continued, grinning evilly.

As Dante lowered one foot and touched the ground, he instantly appeared before Isidor, mere centimeters away. Gently placing his claw-looking hand on his helm, he removed it and revealed the knight's face.

Isidor didn't look much different from any of the other undead. His skin was pale gray, his eyes teal, and his hair was white.

"Go back to your goddess. This world is not meant for you," Dante muttered, unleashing a powerful blast that covered the area in shadows.