The training today was completely different from yesterday.
Dante stood at the center of the barren wasteland of Hel. The sky above was a dull and oppressive gray, pressing down on everything beneath it. This wasn’t a place made for comfort, but a place to slowly kill whatever entered it. It was a miracle Hela had lived a thousand years here without going crazy.
He scanned the group gathered before him. It wasn’t the usual small session with just Laura and Psylocke. More faces had shown up. Felicia, Jean, and Gwen stood in a loose cluster off to the side. Gwen was still carrying a shadow of guilt on her face, but she had shown up ready to train regardless of her internal struggles.
Sharon was relaxing on Felicia’s shoulders, both cat girls showing a natural affinity with each other. Psylocke and Laura stood on one side while the siblings Illyana and Piotr stood not too far away from them.
Ororo had chosen to observe today since her mutant powers were still suppressed.
“I’d love to train you all one-on-one,” he said, resting his hands on his hips. “But I’m seriously low on time here. That’s why we’re doing this as a group.”
Most of them nodded, understanding the kind of pressure he was under. Only one person showed a bold smirk.
He locked eyes with her. “Illya, something you want to say?”
She manifested the Soulsword into her hand in a flash of pale light and rested it across her shoulder with lazy confidence. “I’ll be honest with everyone here. You can’t touch his pinky even on your best day. What made you think you’re qualified to learn from him?”
He couldn’t read Illyana’s play here. She was sarcastic by nature, but she still showed respect for her allies. She had spent too much time in another universe to act immature.
“Illya.”
She shot him a quick ‘trust me’ look before turning back to the group. “Borrowed light doesn't turn the moon into a sun. Just like how walking with giants doesn't make you taller.”
Felicia looked between Illyana and Dante, wondering if they were colluding for something here. “What are you getting at?”
“Body optimization, hidden genetics, symbiotes—he can only do so much for you. If you want to be strong—real strong—put your heart into training.”
Psylocke, who was standing with her usual confident posture, frowned. “I always give my hundred percent.”
Laura glanced away from Dante. “I’m trying my best… but things keep distracting me lately.”
She couldn’t stop herself from feeling horny. It had become her bane.
Felicia, who was playing with Sharon, nodded. “I’ll dedicate more time after my finals.”
“I just joined them,” Jean said, lifting her chin confidently. “But let’s be real. I’m a lot more powerful than Felicia and Gwen.”
“Suck my ba—” Felicia caught herself at the last second and flashed the black ring on her finger with a smirk. “Where is your telepathy?”
Jean raised a hand and flicked it up. Felicia shot into the air with a surprised yelp, flailing her arms helplessly against Jean’s telepathy control.
“Don’t need it.”
Felicia wasn’t one to stay helpless. She summoned her symbiote armor in a ripple of black, then fired a thick tendril to pull herself back to the ground. Her symbiote’s connection to the ground was so strong that Jean’s telekinetic grip couldn’t lift her again. Felicia had completely glued herself to Hel’s barren surface.
“You wanna fight here?”
“I wanted to prove you’re weaker than me,” Jean said confidently, then she turned to Illyana. “I admit I wasn’t giving my all at the X-Men, but I won’t repeat that mistake here.”
“You’ve got the fire inside you, Phoenix. But it’s still not enough.” Illyana swept her gaze across the group. “He is out here fighting against SHIELD, Mr. Sinister, the Externals, and who knows what factions.”
Dante hadn’t told Illyana about Mr. Sinister. Perhaps she had learned it through her divination.
“Illyana,” Dante said. “I’m using them to improve myself. I can finish them in a day if I ask Death for help. What am I trying to say is—they don’t pose any threat to me.”
“You don’t want to rely on Death, but it’s okay for everyone to rely on you? Can one person handle all of that? How long can you keep it up?”
He narrowed his eyes. Illyana wanted everyone to put their all into training and support him for whatever world-ending event she had told him about.
“What makes you think I can’t?”
“Nobody can. Not in the future we’re heading toward,” she spoke with a gentler tone. “One person’s strength only goes so far in the grand scheme of things.”
“Everything in this universe and beyond was created by one person.”
She crossed her arms and smirked at him. “You’re saying you’re at that level?”
“Nope.” He shook his head honestly. Right now, he couldn’t even compare to one singular cell of One Above All. “But one day I will be.”
His unshakeable confidence left Illyana speechless.
‘Null, is there a way to make every power permanent through Nexus?’
The Nexus only allowed one ability from a Resonance Link to be permanent, which was a frustrating limitation.
[Administrator currently lack the strength to lift the restriction.]
He wholeheartedly accepted that criticism. ‘Is there no other way?’
[There is one.]
‘Good. We’ll talk about it later.’
Illyana exhaled, looking almost helpless for a moment. “You aren’t there yet. If you want this world to survive what’s coming… everyone here needs to match my strength at the very least.”
Her words settled over the group like a heavy weight. For a long moment, no one spoke. Even Felicia and Sharon seemed to be deep in thoughts.
Gwen, who had stayed quiet through the back-and-forth, finally stepped forward. “What exactly is coming?”
“Let’s say it’s going to make his fight with Magneto look like children’s squabble.” Illyana sugarcoated her prophecy in the worst way possible. “If you don’t step it up, you’ll never evolve past your leech status.”
Gwen’s eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t snap back against Illyana’s claim. Dante, however, didn’t agree with Illyana’s assessment, even though she was doing it to help him. Everyone here was doing their best in their own ways. Just because he was helping them didn’t make them leeches. That wasn’t how friendship or love worked. It was all about lifting each other up.
Jean looked at Dante. “All the more reason we need his training.”
Illyana stepped in front of Dante, pointing her Soulsword at Jean. “Earn that right through me.”
“Who are you to decide that?” Jean asked sharply. “I mean, seriously, what can you teach me?”
“I’ll show you kids how to survive in Hell like I did. I’ll make sure you aren’t dead weight for him or your parents.”
That lit a fuse under everyone present.
Felicia narrowed her eyes, a flicker of clear hostility in her cat-like eyes. “Time travel nonsense or not, only my parents get to call me a kid. So watch your mouth.”
Psylocke straight-up unsheathed her sword, her violet eyes turned colder than ice. “Do you want to die?”
Laura extended her claws. The rage on her face was the opposite of Psylocke’s icy calm. “Survive? I’m gonna turn your demon ass into shish kebab.”
Jean pressed two fingers to her temple, staring Illyana down. “You have formidable mental defenses, I’ll give you that. But don’t think for a second I can’t break through and scramble everything inside.”
Sharon shifted into her beast form. Her fur bristled as she let out a threatening growl. “You aren’t Sharon’s mama! Sharon is gonna teach you a painful lesson!”
Gwen quietly put on her Anti-Venom suit, letting her actions speak for herself.
Piotr transformed into his towering steel form and looked at his sister with clear disappointment. “Illya, take it back right now, or brother will teach you how to behave like an adult.”
Even the ever-patient Piotr wasn’t having Illyana’s condescending attitude, which Dante knew was just to piss them off. Her plan to poke the bear had worked. Nobody liked being belittled, especially not by a stranger.
He watched the chaos unfold with a thoughtful look. Letting Illyana take the lead in training them wouldn’t be a bad choice. She was still miles stronger than every one of them without accounting for the powers Death had bestowed upon Felicia. Illyana could teach them the dirty, underhanded tricks. Method that he would be embarrassed teaching.
What’s more, she had gotten them fired up.
Illyana rolled one shoulder and stretched her neck, grinning like a wolf. “Still a bunch of toddlers. One decent demon from Limbo would cut you all down like apple pies. Actually, let’s test that.”
She raised her Soulsword high and cleaved the air with a dramatic slash, opening a jagged stepping disc portal with her sword just for style points. The tear widened with a shriek of magic, and the heated sulfur stench of Limbo poured through it. Seven giant lizard-like demons lumbered through the portal. Each one was the size of a semi-truck, their bodies covered in thick, black scales that gleamed dangerously. They roared and stomped, shaking the ground as they formed up behind Illyana like loyal attack dogs.
Not a single person flinched or stepped back at this hellish sight. A month ago, the appearance of seven infernal monsters would have terrified most of them. Now it barely earned a blink. They had all seen worse. They had seen Dante in action. No matter how big or ugly these things were, they paled in comparison.
Illyana noticed their lack of fear and gave a small nod of appreciation. She pressed the edge of Soulsword against her palm and drew it slowly across her skin, cutting open a wound. “Eat up, kiddos. I’m in a good mood today.”
Her blood spilled and formed bright blood-red orbs. Seven of them. Each one flew into the open maw of the demons, enveloping them in sinister reddish hue. Their bodies twisted and their scales cracked loudly as glowing red, vein-like fissures spread across their dark scales. Sharp red spikes grew along their back, both sides of their tail, and their arms, mirroring the style of Illyana’s demonic armor.
A fraction of Limbo’s power coursed through them, bestowed upon by their ruler.
Before they would have barely qualified as fodders for the seven. Now, they could pose a threat to everyone except Piotr. His steel form’s defense was too high to be threatened by even the diamond-like fangs of these demons.
“You idiots, have fun with these kids,” Illyana said. “Tear them apart, rip them to pieces, eat them—I don’t care how creative you get in messing them up.”
The demons roared savagely, already watching the six women as fresh meat. None of them even glanced at Piotr, which left the big man looking a little depressed.
Illyana stabbed her Soulsword into the ground and casually punched the nearest demon in the side of the head, sending its massive skull snapping sideways. “Don’t you meatheads dare make my Limbo bad, or I’ll unmake you with your true names.”
The demons answered with a unified roar, the sound shaking the barren landscape like thunder. Then they charged towards their prey.
The group split up, each person moving to have a proper one-on-one battle against their demonic opponent. They were going to earn the right to train under Dante after dealing with their respective demons and then beat up Illyana. Every single one of them. Illyana had done an excellent job pissing them all off.
Illyana, the culprit, was completely nonchalant. She approached Dante, only to freeze up when her eyes met with Ororo’s. “Miss…”
The price she paid to return home was heavy.
“Illyana, I can’t join your training.”
“I know,” Illyana said softly. “I know Fury played dirty… I believe you’ll recover soon.”
“Thank you,” Ororo said with a sweet smile and took her place by Dante’s side. “Having them fight real threats is still the fastest way to sharpen their instincts. I wish I could join them.”
“We’ll start the treatment once I get back from Egypt.”
She reached out and patted his back. “Don’t rush it for me. It’s a nice change of pace to not worry about losing control.”
Ororo comforting him wasn’t on his list of surprises, but he wouldn’t complain.
Illyana nudged him from the other side. “Who do you think will get the kill?”
He crossed his arms, revealing a faint smile. “All of them.”
Each demon weighed over twenty-two tonnes and spanned over twelve meters. Still, he had complete faith in everyone’s abilities.
“Confident, aren’t you?” Illyana laughed. “We’ll see if reality matches those expectations of yours.”
