Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 370: A Place By Her Side

Chapter 370: A Place By Her Side

The second he and the others stepped off the path, the house disappeared behind them. Dante looked briefly over his shoulder, a feeling of panic threatening to burst from his chest, but he held it back.

The last time Hattie had disappeared from his sight she came back a different woman, stronger, yes, but still not the same. Would that happen again? The next time he saw her, would she show him a new face? Or would he still be able to see the woman who held his heart in his hand?

Taking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly as he raised his head. The land in front of him was like nothing he had ever seen before. A dense fog floated at the base of the trees, covering the path in front of him.

The Devil only knew what was lurking in the mist, but this was the path set out for him. The one he was determined to walk on. What did it matter what was lurking in the darkness? Before Hattie, all he knew was the shadows, his very name enough to cause fear in all who heard it.

It didn’t matter which side of the moral line the person stood. They understood that messing with Dante Leone meant only one thing... Death.

But now it felt like he was nothing more than a shadow of his former self. He was no longer the emperor of the underworld, but rather a dog running after a little girl in a princess dress with flowers in her hair.

It wasn’t that he was bitter or didn’t want to follow her, but he felt lost. How could he equate the man who had built an empire from ashes with the shadow he had become? It was like he was a sword without a grip, and a small part of him was worried that one day, being her follower wouldn’t be enough, and he would end up causing her to bleed.

He had once stood above millions, but now he was just one of ten. If something happened to him, would Hattie even notice? Would she miss him, or would one of the others simply fill in the gap?

"We are Pride," hissed the demon inside him. They were fully merged, neither fully man nor fully demon, but Pride always seemed to be the voice of his insecurities, whispering things in the darkness that should never be seen during the day. "We are not some nameless creature that can be traded like a cookie. We were created by her, made not only in her image but in her idea of perfection. You’ve played human long enough. It’s time the world remembers who we are—and what happens when the Seven Deadly Sins stop pretending to be something that we are not."

Dante nodded his head but didn’t bother to respond verbally. Pushing past leaves that were easily five feet long, Dante continued to move through the jungle, his footsteps becoming more confident with every step he took.

The vines hissed at him, moving out of his way as if they didn’t even dare to block his path. The trees leaned away, giving him a wide berth. It was only the leaves that couldn’t move fast enough, but even they were much more subdued than they had been earlier.

It wasn’t as clear for him as it had been when Hattie was walking on it, but it wasn’t trying to trip him up either. It was like it was waiting for something.

Dante had a good idea of what it was waiting for. He had felt the eyes of something watching him since he stepped off the bridge. The only question was if the eyes belonged to a friend or a foe.

Deciding that he had enough of this game of cat and mouse, Dante stopped walking. Looking around at the trees and plants that hadn’t existed for millions of years, he couldn’t help but draw a parallel to himself. It had been a long time since the Sins had last been here. Would they face the same extinction as these plants and dinosaurs?

Or, would they come back in this new world stronger than ever? Ready to take back everything that had originally belonged to them.

"Come out," he said, not bothering to raise his voice. Even then, his worlds echoed around them, sending birds into the air.

"It’s about time you noticed me," smirked a man as a shape peeled itself from the shadows. It looked like a man, but there was something primal about him. Naked to the waist, his body painted in streaks of red and black, the man stood in front of Dante with a spear made of bones in his hand.

"You don’t belong here," said the stranger, his eyes sharp and yellow like an animal’s. "None of you do. But that’s fine. I’ll kill you, take your body, and then be able to finally stand at her side."

Dante scoffed at his words. He had to give the stranger credit; he had an active imagination. However, he wasn’t the first one to want his position, and he wouldn’t be the last.

"You think you are better than me," mused the stranger, cocking his head to the side. "You think you are better than a god."

Once again, Dante didn’t bother to respond to the being in front of him. It didn’t matter if he was a man or a god. Either way, if he kept blocking his way forward, then he was going to die. Maybe it was time to see if a demon could kill a god.

"Such a loyal dog, serving his master," continued the god, carrying on a one-sided conversation. It was like Dante didn’t even have to be there; the stranger was lost in his own delusions.

"I don’t serve anyone," sneered Dante. And it was true. Never once had Hattie asked him to serve her.

"Keep telling yourself that," replied the other man. "You bow to her just like the jungle here bows to me."

"To bow to someone isn’t love," replied Dante as he saw one of the vines trying to sneak away from the stranger, only to be crushed under his heel. "That is fear. Hattie would never ask me to bow to her."

He didn’t follow Hattie because he feared her; he followed her because he loved her. He and the rest of the guys knew exactly who and what Hattie was, and they didn’t fear her. She loved them in her own way because of that, just like they loved her in their own way.

Letting out a warning growl, the man lunged forward, his bone spear ready to puncture Dante’s heart.

But Dante didn’t flinch. The world slowed, and his foot shifted. One breath, one step, and he caught the stranger’s arm mid-swing. Using his own momentum against him, Dante slammed the man to the ground with a bone-snapping crack.

"I follow because I choose to," he said, his voice as sharp as a blade. "I protect her because I want to. And if anyone tries to take that choice from me, I’ll gut them and feed them to her house. Understood?"

As soon as Dante let go of the man’s arm, the figure disappeared, sinking into the mist until not even his presence could be felt.

"I should thank you," sighed Dante, coming to his feet. "Now I understand."

He wasn’t Hattie’s shadow, going along with everything just because.

He would let her explore a world that she had never known before because he was her sword. He would protect her from everyone and everything... he would slay those who tried to hurt her.

Because he was hers, and his place was at her side.

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