The Bounty Hunter

October 15th, 2089

Dante’s POV

“I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and bright!  And I pity, any demon who isn’t me tonight!”  I sang a jaunty tone as I skipped down the halls of my recently acquired high-rise penthouse in Dubai.  It was a gaudy place, lavishly decorated with gold, platinum, and rare gemstones.  I added my own personal touch, accenting the décor with bones that were generously donated by the previous owners and drastically helped improve the feng shui.

The few minions I had around were busy cleaning up the blood of Ori that still decorated parts of the wall, floor, and ceiling.  That dumbass wasted my time when she claimed there was another Remnant at the concert in Tokyo.  Turns out it was just some idiot who happened to have some blessed talismans.  I nearly lost Susan and Ibaraki-doji to my darling Rin, who intercepted them early into the fight.  Ori’s lucky that valuable information was obtained about the Princess Vivian claiming her family’s relic.  That discovery, along with my merciful nature, allowed Ori to keep her life and only have to suffer through 3 days of torture.

Rin’s multiple interventions have made it clear that I’ll have to switch up the game plan a bit.  Her companions have made direct confrontation far less desirable, and although I could regain the upper hand by bringing more minions along it would delay my end goal.  That demonpower is needed elsewhere.  It’s an easy peasy fix, however.  Rin and the world in general have been reactionary, moving only in response to my actions as if they were puppets and I was pulling on the string.  For the important jobs, I’ll simply do a multi-prong approach.   My future waifu is amazing, but even she can’t be in two places at once.

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* Oh?  Who could be calling me at this time?  “Hey, hey, hey!  This is Dante!  Who’s calling?”  “I believe you are aware of who I am.  You’ve received the information, I presume?”  “Yeah, but it sucks!  What do you mean ‘she doesn’t exist’?  All I got was a last address that is no longer valid!  That’s not good enough for my services!”  “I am well aware of that, however I am willing to make up the difference in cash.  I’ve heard the English have been quite effective recently in hampering your income, can you afford to ignore the offer?”

Hehe, Mr. Hayashi has become rather bold since our first encounter.  But... having a legitimate corporate front from which we can exert influence would be useful.  Pandemonium has a lock on most of the notable criminal undergrounds from across the globe and we have just about fully infiltrated a major political player, so all we need now is a pawn in the corporate world.  And if Mr. Hayashi is successful in usurping control of the Global Trading Company, I can have him possessed and Pandemonium will then be set to start our world conquest.

“You sure know how to sweet-talk me, you old horn dog.  Alright, alright, I’ll send two of my best to take care of it.  When do you want it done?”  A few minutes of boring plotting later and it was settled.  I sat back in my chair, having decided that I am not a savage and thus would sit and talk on the phone, and thought about my new partner.  He’s having his estranged grandson’s fiancé killed so he can then exploit said grandson in a corporate power play.  And don’t forget that’s all after he manipulates his estranged daughter by backstabbing her as he offers a hand of reconciliation.  Even to a guy like me, that’s cold.

“Susan.  Sparky.  Report.”  My two loyal lieutenants appeared instantly at my summons.  “S’up.”  I greeted them as they prostrated themselves before me.  “Lord Dante.  Things have been proceeding as directed.  We have finished assuming direct control.”  “Yes, yes, yes, yes! We’re, we’re, we’re, we’re, good, good, good, good, to, to, to, to, go, go, go, go!”  Sparky concurred.

“Excellent!  Now get the fuck out of here!  I wish to solemnly contemplate something.”  The two demons vanished as quickly as they came.  Hehe, I already knew the situation, I just wanted to get a rush bossing some lackeys around.  Anyways, back to the contemplation.

As a demon lord, I am in tune with happenings that eclipse mortal understanding.  It’s hard to explain to lesser beings, but suffice it to say that I feel it when something big is in the works.  Said event was nothing more than a mere rumbling for now, but it was enough for me to realize that time is tickin’ away and the world is on a severely shortened schedule before something happens that takes its attention away from me.  It’s pathetic!  I’ll be playing second-fiddle to everything that unfolds from then on.  AND I REFUSE TO DO SO!  I AM A DEMON LORD!  I AM THE ONE WHO RULES!  I AM THE ONE WHO SPREADS CHAOS!  I WILL ACHIEVE MY INFERNO OF FUN AND NO MAN OR GOD WILL STOP ME!

Whoopsie, I got a little carried away.  I shouldn’t focus on that.  I’m a demon after all, I should be safe.  As long as I can get my fun in before the shit hits the fans it won’t matter what happens afterwards.  So, long expose cut short:  I need to speed up the plan.  I wanted to build-up my forces over 2 years before starting the inferno, but now I have to do it in one.  Which is the only reason why I’m even pretending to be working with a human. 

I have to abandon the search for relics, although I already collected a fair amount.  Most of the notable ones in museums and private collections that reactivated have been found, so it is not much of a loss.  I even picked up a trump card should things go south.  That avenue of hope for humanity has been all but closed off.  Who cares that the Princess has a relic?  Even if it is one of the most powerful in human history, it is still limited by its wielder.  She’s nothing but a toy that I can break at any time.

The only true remaining threat is Rin and her allies.  Currently she’s been forced to be reactionary, which has allowed me to divert her attention and minimize the damage she’s causing.  However, that will change once Pandemonium fully reveals itself.  We’ll become a big and easy target and she’ll definitely strike regardless of hostages or potential human casualties.  She will do what we’re doing now:  strike hard and disappear fast.  We need to overwhelm her while we are at full strength and force her to commit to a losing battle.  Then she’ll become my toy and I get to watch her slowly break as she witnesses the destruction of the world.  Oh yeah.  That’ll be so god damn hot.  Soon.  That dark, twisted fantasy will become reality soon.