"Who are you…?"
"You okay, old man?"
"Thanks to you, I'm fine. But who are you?"
"Just a passing handyman. Dealing with those things is my job," Dante says casually.
The guards eye him warily understandable, given he took down a monster they couldn't and carries a massive sword no normal person would.
Military police arrive, called by a guard during the fight. The Marshal orders them to handle the aftermath.
"I'm the Navy's Marshal, the top authority," he introduces.
"Dante."
"Good name. Care to join me? I'd like to thank you properly."
"Sir?" a guard questions. Dante's an unknown, a self-proclaimed handyman with no clear identity. Yet the Marshal invites him to a secure military facility without hesitation, a mystery in itself.
"It's fine," the Marshal dismisses the guard.
Dante hops into the car as directed.
"To headquarters."
"Yes, sir."
As the car moves, Dante thinks, "Jumped into that portal without a plan, and ended up in Japan. How do I get back?"
The Marshal speaks. "Where're you from?"
He sounds almost amused.
"America."
"Your Japanese is impressive."
"Learned it for work."
"Remarkable."
"Not a fan of studying, though."
The Marshal laughs. The car reaches headquarters, and Dante's led to his office.
"Marshal, you're safe!" a woman rushes forward.
"I'm fine, thanks to this young man," the Marshal says, introducing Dante.
"Thank you for saving the Marshal! I'm Yamato, first of the Yamato-class battleships, his secretary ship."
"(Battleship?)" Dante's confused.
"…"
Yamato stares back, puzzled by his silence.
"What's with the staring?" the Marshal asks.
"N-Nothing!" Yamato blushes.
"(Ya-ma-to, huh?)"
"Sit, Dante," the Marshal offers.
Dante takes a sofa, facing the Marshal and Yamato.
"Thanks again. What reward do you want?"
"More importantly, do demons show up often here?"
"Demons? Fitting name for that creature."
"Not a metaphor. They're real demons."
The Marshal explains demons appeared recently, complicating efforts against the Deep Sea Fleet, a global threat for decades.
"Japan's fighting weird enemies," Dante remarks.
"Not just Japan—Deep Sea Fleet's been a global issue for years."
"What?"
Dante's never heard of them, not from TV, peers, or brokers. The only explanation: the portal in the cemetery was a gate to another world.
"(Another world? That's insane…)" Dante sighs, knowing both human and demon realms exist.
"You don't know about shipgirls either, do you?" the Marshal asks.
"Shipgirls?"
"Girls with the memories and souls of past ships. Reincarnations, perhaps."
Dante glances at Yamato. "You called yourself a battleship. You're a shipgirl?"
"Yes," Yamato confirms.
"Women come in all kinds," Dante mutters, thinking of his peers.
"…"
"I'm from another world. No Deep Sea Fleet or shipgirls there."
"Hard to believe," the Marshal says.
"Only explanation. I met you because I jumped through a portal."
The Marshal ponders. "We'll figure that out later. You're a handyman, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"I have a job for you."
"Not fighting Deep Sea Fleet, I hope. I handle demons."
"They're like demons to us. But I need you to deal with demons."
Dante's eyes sharpen.
"A week ago, a naval base went silent. We sent people, but they vanished too."
"Dead?"
"Likely. Demons might be involved."
Yamato's face darkens, looking down.
"Go to the base, eliminate any demons, and rescue survivors. We'll pay you."
Dante stands, heading for the door. Yamato, thinking he's refusing, pleads, "Please save our friends!" Tears stream as she bows.
Dante stops, turns, and grins like a kid. "Payment details when I'm back. Tell me the location."
En Route to the Naval Base
Dante speeds toward the base on a motorcycle.
Hours Earlier, Headquarters Gate
Dante, the Marshal, and Yamato review a map.
"We're here. The base is there. Need transport? Can you ride a bike?" the Marshal asks.
"No problem."
"Use this. Call me when it's done." He hands Dante a paper with his office number.
"Please, do your best!" Yamato says.
Dante pats her head. "I'm the type to get the job done. Wait like a good girl."
She blushes. "Y-Yes!"
"See ya."
Dante revs the engine and rides off.
The Marshal teases, "Flirting already?"
"N-No!" Yamato protests.
"I saw you two!"
"What's with 'saw'!?" Yamato's flustered as passersby stare.
They watch Dante's direction. "He'll be okay, right?" Yamato asks.
"No need to worry. He took down that monster easily. And… he's oddly reassuring," the Marshal says.
"Yes…"
Yokosuka Naval Base
"Here, huh? Smells like demons," Dante notes, arriving at night. Two guards stand at the gate.
"Stop! Authorized personnel only. State your business."
"Sent by a navy bigshot."
"Purpose?"
"Got something to deliver."
Bang! Bang!
Dante shoots both guards with Ebony & Ivory. They morph into demonic forms and vanish.
"Invitation to the afterlife."
Dante kicks open the gate. "Let's rock!"
Shipgirl Dormitory
Akagi and Kaga are locked in a room.
"It's been a week…" Akagi says.
"Does headquarters know?" Kaga asks.
"No idea. Are Houshou and the others okay? Will we…?"
Kaga falls silent.
Bang! Bang!
"Gunshots!?" Kaga exclaims.
Outside, Dante fights demons. "Nothing but demons out here. This place is huge easy to get lost."
More demons appear. "Quite the welcome!"
He dives into battle.
The dorm echoes with combat sounds.
"Someone's fighting?" Akagi wonders.
"Help?" Kaga hopes.
Dante finishes the demons. A faint voice calls, "Help…"
He looks around, alert. Ghostly girls appear, surrounding him.
"Save them…" They point to the dormitory.
Dante heads there as the ghosts vanish. Battle sounds grow closer, unsettling Akagi and Kaga. Kaga shields Akagi as footsteps approach. The door bursts open.
"Found you," Dante says.
"You!" Akagi gasps, recognizing the youth from her dream.
"Dante, handyman. Sent by some navy bigwig."
"You're here to save us?" Kaga asks.
"That's the job. Anyone else alive?"
"…We don't know," Kaga replies.
Akagi steps forward. "Dante-san, please stop the Admiral."
"Akagi-san?" Kaga questions.
"He's summoning those monsters."
"…"
"Can you guide me?" Dante asks.
"Yes," Akagi nods.
BOOM! CRASH!
Dante wields Agni & Rudra, cutting through demons in the main building's halls, Akagi and Kaga following.
"Amazing…" Kaga says, awed by Dante's precise yet brutal fighting. The halls are wrecked.
"Turn the corner; the Admiral's office is at the end!" Akagi shouts.
"Blast, vanish!" Dante slices the last demon, crashing through the office door.
Inside, the Admiral stands in a white uniform.
"Bingo."
"Quite the rampage. No manners?" the Admiral sneers.
"Knocked too hard," Dante quips.
"You two brought an outsider here instead of staying put," the Admiral says to Akagi and Kaga.
"We won't obey you anymore!" Kaga retorts.
"You used those monsters to kill our friends! You're unforgivable!" Akagi adds.
"Weapons don't talk back. You let your friends die," the Admiral smirks.
"They're not weapons," Dante interjects. "They're more human than you."
"Shut up!" The Admiral's body swells, clothes tearing, transforming into a white-skinned, red-eyed demon.
"Now you look the part!" Dante grins.
They clash, bursting through the wall outside. Akagi and Kaga watch as Dante, equipped with Beowulf, trades blows with the demon.
"What is he? Fighting that monster evenly…" Kaga wonders.
Akagi can't answer, captivated by the intense battle.
"I gained this power to destroy the Deep Sea Fleet!" the demon roars.
"Demon power's not for humans," Dante replies.
"Shut up!"
Kaga asks, "Why'd you ask him to stop the Admiral?"
"He's the man from my dream same voice, face, clothes, sword. I knew he could do it."
The demon swings, but Dante dodges with Trickster's speed, slicing off its right arm with Rebellion, then the left.
"No arms, no punches. Give up."
The demon's jaw opens, charging massive demonic energy. Dante smirks, watching.
The energy unleashes, but Dante's gone. Akagi and Kaga see him airborne, having dodged with Trickster. He dives, slashing the demon with Helm Breaker. The Admiral collapses, dead.
"Not much of a fight," Dante sighs.
"Is it over?" Kaga asks.
"Let's go," Akagi urges.
They rush to Dante. Ghosts reappear.
"Thanks, Demon Swordsman," one says.
Dante reacts to "Demon Swordsman," his father's title, but assumes it's about him.
"You can tell?"
"You learn things in death."
"Be careful. It's not over."
"Thanks for saving them."
The ghosts vanish as light particles.
"You okay!?" Akagi asks.
"Fit as ever," Dante replies.
A purple light pierces Dante's chest.
"Guh!"
His weapons, except Rebellion, fly to the rooftop, where the jester who empowered the Admiral stands.
"Like my gift, Devil Boy?" he taunts.
"Arkham…!" Dante growls.
"Call me Jester now."
"Lady killed you."
"Arkham's dead, but I'm alive!"
"What's that mean?"
"Find out next time. I'm taking these weapons. Hyahahaha!"
Jester vanishes.
"Damn clown…" Dante mutters.
"Are you okay?" Akagi asks.
"I'm tougher than most."
"Who was that?" Kaga asks.
"Annoying circus freak."
"Got a phone? The old man said to call."
"In the Admiral's office," Kaga answers.
They decide to contact headquarters as dawn breaks.