Chapter 368: The Tank.
[Dante. I believe its time.]
"Hm?"
[The prisoners.] Volcan said. [They are likely about to run out of oxygen. If you don’t hurry, they might die from hypercapnia.]
"Oh, right..."
Getting up, Dante took a towel out of his Storage and quickly dried his hair. Putting it away, he stretched his body and took out a deep breath.
"Alright. Give me 8-3."
Since the day they first talked, Dante had used his inner voice when talking to his resident AI. It was the obvious option, since he didn’t want to appear like a demented idiot. There is a reason people rarely use the phone function of their NIMs nowadays. Still, after he started spending time in Hollowstreet, he started making a habit of talking out loud.
The pocket dimension replicated the street in its entirety, including the physics of the area. But that’s it. The replicated areas always missed something important—the atmosphere of the original.
The noise that had always been in the background was gone. No cars blaring their horns, no train grinding against old tracks. No machines rattling, an no people yelling, chattering, or blasting music.
The pocket dimension was eerily quiet, and though he didn’t mind it at first, Dante quickly found it unsettling to be alone in such a place. That’s why he brought a small speaker and asked Volcan to use when talking to him. Now that he was leaving Hollowstreet, however, it was time to go back to taking in his head.
Light enveloped him once more, and a dark armor manifested around him. Though its helmet had a round visor much like that of an astronaut’s suit, his face couldn’t be seen through the darkness filling it.
With a thought, he prepared Spatial Rift and went about creating a portal. The entrance was in Hollowstreet, but the exit was in a different place. Volcan had updated his NIM with an interface to sort and navigate pocket dimensions. Selecting the one he wanted, Room 09, he checked the cube shaped 3D model and the two red dots sitting in its corners. Placing the exit there, he activated the ability.
A black spec appeared in front of him then expanded to fill the oval shaped selection. Once it settled, Dante stepped through it without hesitation.
~[ ]~
Dante fund himself inside an apartment after stepping out of the portal. Though it appeared much like his own, the cracked walls and empty exterior told a different story. There was a small lamp placed at the center of the room. It was set to the lowest output to preserve energy, and because of that, the room still felt like it was shrouded in darkness.
Noticing a hint of movement, Dante turned to on of the corners. There, he saw a man slowly rising to his feet. If this were somewhere out in the city, one wouldn’t be faulted for mistaking him for a hobo. His clothes were a mess, and so was his long brown hair. The stubble covering his chin, his bloodshot eyes, and the bags under them spoke of several sleepless nights. Stress had sapped whatever strength he had, and now he was struggling to even stand.
"Y-you’re back..." he stammered before breaking into a coughing fit.
Dante stared at him, waiting till he recovered. He then spoke in the deepest voice he could muster.
[The tank.]
There was no real need for him to change his voice, since Volcan altered it so it sounded more intimidating. He still did so for the fun of it, however. The haggard man tumbled at the word the quickly snapped into action, whipping his head left and right. As if remembering something, he turned to the corner he was sitting in.
There, a thin, meter-long gas tank sat on the floor. The man knelt before it and quickly detached the tube connected to its port before carrying it and running over to were Dante stood.
"P-please..."
The man knelt and placed the tank at Dante’s feet, coughing all the while. Dante stared at him without saying a word. He took his time before leaning down and grabbing the metallic cylinder. Neon-green lines quickly spread over it, and a few second later, it disappeared.
[The other one?]
The words reverberated through the dimly lit room, carrying with them an ominous tone. The haggard man looked up with a start, then his eyes began to widen. He staggered to his feet then rushed to another corner. This time, it took him a bit longer to return, but that was because he came carrying another tank, as well as the other man trapped in that room.
The second one looked much worse, as if he had been around for much longer. He was struggling to stand, his eyes were barely open, the look on his face that of someone resigned to his face. He crumbled to the floor the moment his friend let go of him and didn’t bother to move an inch.
The first one went about removing the tube from the gas tank then quickly presented it to Dante who went about storing it right away. Once that was done, he opened his Storage and took out two of the same item, manifesting them in front of the two men.
Two gas tanks fell to the floor with a light clang. A moment later, the first man snatched one of them and attached the tube to it. He then took the mask on the other end of the tube and brought it to his friend’s face, pressing it firmly while turning the valve on the gas tank.
The second man didn’t react at all, but then his eyes went wide and his hand shot to his face, grasping the mask and bending as he inhaled. The first man took the second tank and quickly returned to his corner, doing the exact same thing. Once he breathed in the sweet sweet oxygen, his face finally relaxed.
Once they got their tanks changed, the two men seemed to forget all about the armored figure watching them. Having a mental sigh, took another item—a large paper bag. Dropping it on the floor, he turned around and created another portal.