Athena had refused him. She had not even tried to express any interest in staying with him. It made him angry. He wanted to storm the Northern Territory and cause the suffering of every single being that dared resist him. It was their tough luck that Dante had chosen to move anticlockwise in his quest for power starting from the doomed northern land. Athena's reluctance to come to him had created a void feeling for him that only the suffering of others could fill. Oh. They had no idea who was coming to unleash his display of dark power on them.

He glanced at the response sphere from the Northern territory's capital that was sitting on his desk. He was now in his head quarters about to summon his commanders to give them the verdict on how to proceed with the protocols. A briefing was needed before attack to maximise the destruction that he was planning. There was going to be a lot of smoke and carnage. It made him feel more at ease now that he had locked up Athena in the safety of his chambers away from the action. He knew there were possibilities of her breaking out but she hadn't had her strength back yet. He smirked, those roses had really weakened her. It could be at least Agee hours before she could make any descent attempts to leave. A healing body had to preserve its energy. He knew that well.

Dante threw his burgundy coloured stones and summoned the commanders at his base. It was time to start the show. He was going to enjoy every minute of this battle. All his commanders arrived within minutes. It was good that they understood that their master had no patience at war time. If they responded late, they were going to get punished. That was how it worked in the Ronas army.

Dante looked at his commanders who he had picked for this first battle kneeling in front of him and avoiding eye contact as usual waiting for him to instruct them.

He spoke with his coldest tone : " Greetings commanders. You may rise and permission to look up is granted."
As they rose, he continued after a short pause that allowed him to make eye contact with all and feel their waves of emotions at full force.
Dante nodded in satisfaction as he felt the waves of determination and restlessness "We are now at the brink of our first victory in the quest to overtake North America and liberate those who value and worship the Ronas protocols that has graced our lives for the past decades. Now we will honour the Great Ronas, my ancestor with making sure that this battle would be fought worthy of the legacy and heritage he left behind for us."

Dante continued speaking in a cold voice void of any emotion " We start this war from the next hour. We only need a few hours to secure the area and then it would be fun time for the enforcers. Lets be clear about the issue of any prisoners you would be taking. You attack. You acquire those worthy to undergo the conversion process and place them under custody in the captive head quarters. But those weaker beings unworthy of any use in Arkansa would be acquired and sent to the captive bank for use in target practice of our enforcers. Of course they could use them for other entertaining purposes too. Their deaths is no concern of mine but the longer they live the more entertainment for the enforcers. So allow them remedies and let the enforcers reuse them again and again. But lets show you the naive side of the enemy you are going to face before I set you your individual tasks."

Dante then waved his hand and a
the sphere on his desk flew upwards and turned into a parchment floating above the eye level of the commanders. Dante smiled " Look at the response I received from the Northern Territory authorities. They want to fight. I say they are either foolish or committing suicide. No army can withstand our attacks. None on this planet."

Dante paused and looked around at each pair of eyes and it satisfied him as they all trembled "Uh, They have also requested for us to wait until those who are going to willingly surrender come to our base. Nathan, I expect you to do a great job of housing them in the captive head quarters before we set off. When we attack, the divisions under each commander would be responsible to take control of different regions. Dylan and Tanya you are responsible to communicate with commanders and acquire their captives in addition to your own prisoners and send them to Nathan. Each commander is responsible with communicating with me when each region under their invasion has been secured. Then Xavier, Sean and Lucia, it would be your responsibility to make sure the law enforcers whom are sent by Alexander to us after each victory in each region to be assigned different regions. Our law enforcers would then be stationed across the Northern land to oversee the transition and the conversion of the laws to the Ronas protocols. Northern Territory would be officially ruled by Arkansas laws from this day."

Dante then started circling his commanders. He could sense them breathing out in relief since they didn't have to hold eye contact when he was walking around them. He was well aware of his intimidating presence and the effect of his piercing eyes staring into the depths of their souls. It seemed that the overwhelming presence he was radiating was getting more and more powerful as the days went by. He was used to people fearing him and trembling in his presence. All he encountered shivered when he glanced at them. All but Athena. She held his gaze defiantly and never backed down. Unless he threatened the people she cared about.

Dante spoke: "Let me clarify this. There are two groups of inhabitants in the northern territory to consider. Part of the population have surrendered. They are now behind the edge of their borders waiting for me to grant them Mercy and spare their lives., There is also another part of the population who have dared to disrespect me by expressing that I am apparently in no position to make them choose anything. They are basically expressing that this is their land and they would do as they wish. However some of these so called battle seekers have been most likely running way to the north direction to places like Alaska to join other resistance forces. So it would be only a matter of time before we would capture them. But the group that most likely are going to please us and entertain us are ones who have chosen to stand their ground and remain in their land to defend it or so they think. This is no war, this is no battle, this is a capture and kill mission that could provide some entertainment for you, commanders and also enforcers. We are an invincible army. Make sure you don't show them mercy. Be brutal to them when you attack. They show us defiance. We show them cruelty.
So ensure that those stupid northenrs who have chosen to resist are going to pay. You are dismissed. All except Sean."

As all commanders left, Sean was standing shakily in front of his master waiting to be reprimanded. Nothing escaped his masters attention. His master read all reports line by line as they were sent to him by his commanders in messenger spheres on daily basis. Only a miracle could spare him.

Dante started circling Sean and smirking as he spoke " Uh, Sean. I got some surprising reports about you. Nathan reported to me that you interrupted the interrogation of an intruder who happened to be his sister. Now tell me Sean why did you do it?" He suddenly grabbed Sean's neck and slammed him against the wall. Sean was now looking at his master with terrified eyes. One wrong word and he was signing his death warrant and Nitizya's. He could not afford for his master to suspect anything about Nitizya trying to break into the dungeons to rescue her parents. Nathan and Xavier had believed his reasoning that Nitizya had left her chambers to find him. Only Sean knew about Nitizya's rebellion.

Dante tightened his grip on Sean's neck making it painful for him to breath " What's the matter Sean, you are unable to speak now? Enlighten me Sean. You are one of my top two commanders. You set an example for others. In no situation, have I ever heard of you passing up an opportunity to torment the condemned and the captives. Why suddenly you have turned soft. Even though you knew she was innocent there was no way you would have defended anyone when an interrogation according to protocol is in progress. Why not let the captive suffer and let them confess rather than you jump in and admit to the explanation that could save them. Why did you become a captive's lawyer suddenly. they had a voice. They could defend themselves. Give me one good reason for your display of empathy. Make your sentence as efficient as you can if you want to remain amongst my top commanders. You know full well I don't tolerate empathic acts in no shape or form. I am waiting. Respond to me. Keep it short."

Sean's eyes were watering now from the pain and suffocation. In some ways Sean was relieved since it seemd like Nathan had defended him well in that report. His master was not questioning why Nitizya was there. Dante seemed to be convined of Sean's defence of her. He was just questioning why he had passed up the opportunity to inflict pain. He knew he had to tell the truth or at least part of the truth so his master would be convinced to a point not to question him further. His master could sense lies. So Sean forced the words out not knowing what his master would do to him next. " Master, ........ Nitixya is ......,.. my ..... blood match."
As he said the words and it registered in Dante's mind, he let go. It reminded him of his feelings towards Athena. He couldn't fault Sean. He had to save his beloved. The pull was too powerful.

Dante rolled his eyes and turned around " of course. You had to fall in love in the middle of our war zone. Surely, your timing couldn't be worse Sean. But I guess I have myself to blame. I ordered the enforcers to bring me the patrol guards. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have met her in the first place Sean. But that is fine. I don't mind you getting close to her as long as you don't neglect your duties. You are lucky this is war time in a way. If It was any other situation. I would have given you at Least 4 weeks of leading border night shifts on top of your commander duties. But I am going to let you off with a warning because your divisions discipline and conduct impresses me. Don't ever repeat this kind of act. You are dismissed."

As Sean knelt on the floor to take his leave respectfully, Dante spoke his last words that brought a chill down Sean's spine " And Sean, control your woman or I will. Farewell."

Dante's thoughts quickly went back to Athena. It was all about her. He was coming down hard on the northern fighters, not just because they thought they had a chance but also because they were the ones he was going to take out his rage and fury on. All his heartache of feeling the void that only closeness to Athena could fill, was going to come down hard on those unfortunate souls. No one could save them now. No one. He wanted them to suffer for their arrogance as well as to ease his heartache from Athena's hesitance to come to his side. He was going to enjoy every minute of it. He smiled and poured himself some elderflower herbal tea. It reminded him of her. He knew it was Athena's favourite, since it was his most favourite too.