Chapter 55
Darkness was not Dante’s enemy; it was his closest ally. In the pitch black, deafening gunfire and the panicked screams of mercenaries echoed throughout the warehouse. Dante moved with the liquid grace of a predator, utilizing his suppressed pistol to eliminate his targets one by one. His bullets always found their mark, while the enemy fired blindly into the void. In less than ten minutes, Antoine’s entire mercenary squad had been wiped out. Only Antoine remained, standing amid a sea of corpses, clutching his assault rifle, his breathing ragged with fear. He knew he was facing an undefeated legend. Suddenly, the backup halogen lights flickered on. Dante stood ten paces away, his pistol aimed squarely at the Frenchman's head. "Game over, Antoine," Dante said, his voice entirely flat. "You made a fatal mistake targeting my daughter." "You think killing me will stop the Ember Consortium?" Antoine sneered, wiping blood from his cheek. "We have power everywhere, Russo. You're just a washed-up relic." "I didn't come here to debate power," Dante stepped forward slowly. "I came to eradicate you." Just as Dante’s finger tightened on the trigger, the glass skylight above shattered explosively. A figure repelled down from the roof on a tactical wire, unleashing a hail of automatic fire toward Dante. Dante was forced to dive behind a steel crate. The woman landed gracefully on the concrete, moving quickly to shield Antoine. When she pulled off her night-vision goggles, Dante froze in absolute shock. That face... those eyes... she looked exactly like Maya! "Surprised, Dante?" Antoine mocked. "The Consortium has watched your family for years. We know your weaknesses. This is Katerina, a specialized operative surgically altered and trained to be a perfect replica of your wife." Dante clenched his jaw. The sheer cruelty of his enemies had crossed every conceivable boundary. They wanted to weaponize the face of the woman he loved to break his focus and resolve. "I’m going to carve you up," Katerina said, her voice freezing cold, entirely lacking Maya’s warmth. She drew twin tactical blades and charged straight at Dante.
