Chapter 733: Mystical Mambo Jambo.

Turning around, Dante saw that his favorite Gearhead was looking up at him with an uncharacteristic smile.

"Well..."

"I worked really hard, you know?" Said Suzuka. "Hadn’t slept in three days, trying to complete your requests as soon as possible."

"Do you... want a hug or something?" He replied. "I can praise you a little more, if that’s what you want."

"Wha- this isn’t the time to be joking. I might pass out at any moment!"

"Then just go get some sleep. It’s not like the world is going to end if you do."

For some reason, her expression turned blank. She stared at him like that for a while, and just as he was about to ask if she had fallen asleep with her eyes open, she spoke again.

"Why do I get the feeling that you’ll end the world if I let you go now?"

"Seriously, what are you talking about?"

He was a villain with the power to destroy the world, sure, but that didn’t mean he was going to do it. Unless he had a good reason, of course.

"Anyway, you seem to have forgotten the other part of our deal."

"Hm? Oh, right."

In the months they had known each other, Dante had come to regret agreeing to the deal he made with the genius Gearhead. He regretted it even more as he stood inside her machine, waiting as she scanned another one of his armors.

"This will be the last time, so we’re going to go through the ones that are left all at once."

"You got to be kidding me..."

"You don’t get to complain. I made you that clone specifically so you would have time for this."

In other words, he was going to be stuck there for hours, maybe days. The only armors his genius Gearhead had yet to scan were Type 7 and 9, and since she had no interest in Sorcery, she had him equip 7-6. Technically speaking, Dante could easily take over the clone, controlling it remotely and using it as a second body. In fact, he was just about to do that when Suzuka mentioned a topic he had just dealt with the day before.

"I heard you were attacked by the Cult the other day."

[Yeah. They showed up out of nowhere and just started attacking.] Dante said. [Turns out they weren’t happy that I refused their invitation.]

"They asked you to join?"

[Yeah. They said it from the start that they’re after my bionics. I’m guessing they meant the Modules.]

"It was only a matter of time."

[Come to think of it, you were being chased by them the first time we met, right? What was that about?]

"Pretty sure I already told you. At least try to remember." Heaving a sigh, Suzuka turned off the terminal before her. "I’m gonna go get some rest now. Will be back in a few hours."

[You can’t be serious.]

"In fact, I can."

Turning her back on him, she began walking away.

[Did you know? Volcan might be the deity the cult worships.]

That statement seemed to catch her attention.

"Volcan?"

[Yeah. Apparently, they had this relic that lets them upgrade their implants. We’re guessing it’s one of Volcan’s missing parts.]

"Hm... the one that lets you upgrade stuff remotely?"

[Apparently.] Though he was stuck inside 7-6 and unable to move, Dante was able to use his light manipulation abilities to look at her as if she were standing right in front of him. [I don’t know how they were able to use it, though.]

"Beats me. I couldn’t even begin to understand how this relic of yours works."

[Well, if you can’t figure it out, then the rest of us have no chance.] Dante sighed. [So, do you have any idea?]

"Any idea of what?"

[Who stole the cult’s relic?]

"And why would I know that?"

[You have a beef with them, so I thought you might have a guess.]

"You have a beef with them yourself, and you don’t know."

[You got a point.]

The two went silent for a while, and Dante thought that she was going to just leave at that point. That’s when she spoke again.

"The first time we met, I thought you had something to do with the cult." She said. "Then Volcan spoke to me, and I was practically convinced."

[And yet you didn’t say anything about it.]

"Did it ever matter? You didn’t seem to be involved with them, so I guessed the previous user was the one who started the whole thing."

[I thought something like that.] Dante said. [Volcan said it’s not possible, though. He hasn’t been operational for far too long.]

"Maybe the cult is just that old."

[Then how come there are no records of something similar to the armor?]

"There aren’t records of a lot of things. The history most people learn is never the real thing."

[Right...]

Even with that being the case, Dante was struggling to believe that cyborgs could have been a thing in the distant past. Sorcerers and martial artists were one thing, but highly advanced tech in an age where vaccines didn’t exist? Didn’t really match the image.

[The only way to accept it would be to believe in all the mystical mambo jambo. Though most of it no longer sounds crazy.]

"Tell me about it." Suzuka scoffed. "I’m still struggling to accept the whole thing about souls being real."

Scientists seem to struggle a lot with the concept of the astral plane and souls. Their whole worldview was based on matter and physics, so when you tell them something that sounds vaguely religious, they lose their mind. Unfortunately for Suzuka, Dante had shared with her the input from his Absolute Awareness a while back, allowing her to experience what it’s like to perceive souls, both with and without the filter that lowers the burden on one’s mind. She would have dismissed it as nonsense any other time, but knowing about Volcan made it difficult.

[Speaking of souls.] Dante said. [I discovered something new the other day.]

"What is it this time?" Suzuka sounded rather annoyed when she asked, and exhaustion showed in her voice.

[Well, it turns out that if anyone installs one of my old implants, those that had been upgraded by Volcan, their soul gets linked to me for some reason.]

"... What in the world are you talking about?"

[Wish I could tell you.] Dante replied.

He didn’t understand anything besides what Volcan had explained to him, and if his resident AI didn’t know anything about it, it was unlikely that anyone else knew.

"So it’s not a function of that relic?"

[Doesn’t seem like it.]

"Huh..." Suzuka went silent for a few seconds, seemingly deep in thought. "Well, who could have thought? Turns out you’re special after all."

[Yeah, I never believed that for a second.]

Though his condition was bizarre, and it sure was convenient for his situation, Dante never considered it anything extraordinary. There was only one VOLCAN as far as he was aware, meaning they couldn’t test it. Otherwise, Dante was sure that they would have found countless people capable of the same.

Dante went on to explain what this new ability of his does, and how he planned to use it. He was going to seek Viktor’s advice later on, but he thought he might as well hear what his genius Gearhead had to say.

[By the way, would you like me to leave one for you?] He asked. [I still have my old Nutrimacore. You can...]

Halfway through, he realized that she had fallen asleep in her chair. Left in that situation, Dante could only sigh and turn his attention to the method he chose for passing the time. He closed his eyes, and when Volcan gave him the signal, he opened them again and found himself looking at an entirely different scene. Despite his body being in Suzuka’s underground hideout, Dante was back in his office.