Dante is a fucking maniac. That much is certain. Why do I say that? Well, allow me to explain.

It took us about ten minutes to find the address Richard had given us for Dante's shop. When we stood before a beaten up, charred door, we heard mumbling from within the building: "Is this weapon deadly enough? -Bam!- *screaming* No, no, no, More finesse! More bravado! More blood! -Bam, bam, bam!-."

"What the fuck?" Dorrian whispered in horror.

My laugh quavered with barely-supressed fear, "Let's head inside."

We entered the store and gazed at the miniature warzone that surrounded us: scorch marks and dents were clearly seen on the iron walls. Blood was also everywhere: on the walls, on the floor, on the various tables around the store. There were also depressions on the flooring of the store. It was almost as if this Dante fellow set off explosives in here...

"Oh, hello!" The man named Dante called all-too-happily, tossing a nasty-looking weapon aside and walking over to us. The screaming we heard from outside probably came from a person that was bound to a chair in a corner of the store. The results of Dante's handiwork made me sick to my stomach.

The maniac giggled, "What can I do ya for?"

All manner of weapons hung on the walls: staves, bows, swords, axes, hammers, and a few other weapons that were foreign to me. They looked kind of like the hand cannon Nova made, except for the fact that they were larger and deadlier. There also appeared to be what could be considered a checkout area with an assortment of weapons and, yep, a severed head on it.

A quick glimpse at this guy's face made me turn away sharply: His irises were blood red, and the light in them was purely manic. His hair was a metallic shade of gray, and it went past the nape of his neck. Scars were...everywhere on his face: one going across his nose, a few crossing his eyes, and a cut across his mouth that made him look like he was permanently smiling.

"Um, Dante, Right?" I inquired.

"Yep! That's me all right! What can I do ya for?" He repeated.

Not staring at his face, I told him Richard sent us here to get weapons.

"Oh, well I certainly have weapons for ya!" He replied with giddy anticipation, "Yes I do!"

He ran around the store like a little kid, fetching different weapons with sadistic glee as he lovingly grabbed the tools of death off hooks and tables.

Taking my group to a (mostly) clean table, Dante showed us the weapons he found for us. He handed me and Luna staves made of a strange wood. They literally hummed with power.

"Those are infused with the purest ethridium found in this mountain! Perfect for two imagists such as you two!"

"How did you-?" I began, only for the mentally-unstable weapons dealer to cut me off.

"No time for chit-chat! Gotta blast!"

He dashed off again, only to appear a few seconds later with a nasty-looking pitch black sword in his hand.

He tossed it to Analise, "A scimitar! Not only is it deadly gorgeous, but it's also infused with death magic. One slash and your enemies are deader than me mum! Or maybe me da? Oh who cares?"

He quickly grabbed and tossed two bows at Dorrian and Ben, "One shoots multiple arrows, and the other shoots arrows that go ka-boom! Cheers!"

Hefting up a monster of a weapon, Dante threw a hunk of metal at Nova, whose face went deathly pale.

"Wh-What?" She demanded, "Is this a bloody anti-matter launcher?"

"It is! My first prototype too!" Dante replied with pride evident in his voice, "I haven't even tested it out yet."

This weapon (if you can even call it a weapon) was humongous: It fitted over Nova's hand kind of like a glove, but that's where the similarity to a glove ends. I honestly have no idea how to fully describe this thing other than the fact that it looked like a machine of death. Oh yeah, the damn thing also looked like it was about to blow up.

Carefully, Nova took the weapon off her hand and set it on the table. "Um, I'm sorry Dante, but I don't want to use a weapon that looks like it's about to explode."

"Damn! How'd ya guess?"

Nova looked like she was about to pass out. She looked at what appeared to be the hilt of a sword laying on the table before us and pointed at it: "Can I have the ethridial blade instead?"

"Oh alright!" Dante retorted glumly, tossing her the 'ethridial blade', as she referred to it. She caught it and turned it on. A blade of pure ethridium came out of the hilt, and Nova's eyes widened in amazement.

"Whoa..." She mumbled.

Dante laughed hysterically, "It's great, isn't it? I know it is!"

Dorrian held the explosive bow gingerly in his hands while Ben studied the bow that could loose multiple arrows at once. Ana admired the curved blade of her new toy and swung it experimentally.

"Yes...I'll have to try you out," Ana murmured, "You're not replacing my babies though," She continued, sheathing the scimitar and drawing her trusty knives. I looked at my staff in wonder. The damn thing was almost as tall as I was.

"My gods..." I mused. The power in this staff was unfathomable. Not only was the wood of this staff (which was set in a spiral pattern) imbued with magical energy, the crystal ball at the end of the staff was made of pure ethridium. Just on a whim, I thought of a wolf, only to be shocked silly when I saw a highly detailed beast of pale blue energy staring back at me.

Dante laughed, "See? The purest of ethridium! It amplifies your thoughts! It makes each idea into a deadly weapon, or a lovely cake-wait, the cake would be a lie then...no, no! The cake is a lie! A lie!"

Nova groaned. "Dante..."

He turned to look at her, "Yes love?"

She averted her gaze, "How much do you want for these weapons?"

"Oh, don't worry about it!" He replied, "You're using these weapons for a noble cause! Just make sure you bring back a few demon heads. That'll be a perfect payment!"

I looked at Luna, and she shrugged, "Okay, fair enough."

"Cheers! Good luck with your mission!" Dante chortled, "Don't you dare die: I need those demons heads. Now, get out!"

We all flinched.

"Hahaha...but seriously, get the fuck out." Dante repeated, and we all hurried out of his little shop of horrors with him continuing to laugh madly.

"Now, where was I...? Oh, right! I'm working on you my beauty! Ya got any screams left in you? This is what you get for breaking into my shop, you cocksucker! -Bam bam bam!-."

I shivered and stood close to Luna, "I've seen it all now..."

She chuckled, "Dante was quite an interesting person, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, just be glad none of you were used as target practice," Nova grumbled, "Let's get moving before Dante has a change of heart and drags us back into his store."

We hurriedly retreated back to the stronghold and went straight to the planning room where Nova's parents were still seated at the main table. Richard saw us enter the room, and he stood up to shake my hand.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked innocently, smiling when he saw the weapons Dante gave us. Luna and I had our staves strapped onto our backs, Dorrian and Ben had their new bows slung over their backs, Ana had her sword of death strapped onto her back, and Nova had the hilt of her ethridial blade hooked onto her belt.

"It went great," Nova replied, voice heavy with sarcasm, "Dante is mentally-unstable as always. I'm just glad we got away with all of our fingers and toes still on our bodies."

Richard nodded, "Dante is a brilliant weapons creator and dealer. Even if he's seriously unhinged, I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Makes sense," I replied, "Even if the dude is bonkers, he still supplies your guards with weapons."

He looked at me now, "So when are you heading out?"

"Tomorrow," I replied, "I'll need to know the latest sighting of the hoard and the village that sent the report. We'll then go to that village and help out where we can. For now, at least, we'll need a place to crash for the night."

Richard nodded, "You can all sleep in the castle tonight, and make sure to come back to Volhime after you're through with your first strike on the hoard."

I grinned ruefully, "We'll probably all need medical attention after this. I have no idea what'll happen tomorrow, but I at least know that it's not going to be a cakewalk."

"If any of your people are hurt, you can rest assured that they'll be in good hands. We have the finest clerics in the country that have been trained to heal most fatal injuries."

I nodded," Thank you Richard."

He chuckled, "I should be the one to thank you. I cannot tell you how much this means to me. You will fight while others flee."

"It's my job," I told him, "It's my team's job: we protect the weak and deliver justice to those who deserve it. Don't you worry your little head, Richard: those demon bastards don't know what's coming to them."