To have an advantage in battle, it is necessary to possess not only the strength that flows in the blood, but also certain, carefully trained qualities. That's why Dante insisted on your training. You clearly lacked knowledge and skills, but the opportunities were huge—and it definitely wouldn't have led to anything good.

It would be reasonable to assume that since Dante was so eager to get you to improve, he will do it. But it wasn't like that. He laughed off the role of "mentor", saying that he had in mind a candidate who would be as good as himself. You didn't have to guess for a long time about who it was. Your "training" began on the same day, and the responsibility for communicating with you fell on the shoulders of his older brother, Vеrgil.

To say that you and he had different levels is like saying nothing. Hours turned into days, days into weeks, and in the end you still lagged behind him. You only managed to find a few minutes to duel. And you didn't like it too much.

That's why, when you were pinned to the ground once again, you growled a little. You understood perfectly well why this happened—you had to rely too much on your stamina, crossing blades with him...

He didn't pay any attention to that guttural growl, but you seem to have noticed... a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his face... ? Almost imperceptibly flickered, carrying the same subtle hints of a kind of pride.

“It's not bad compared to last time. Four minutes longer."—he calmly summed up in a voice in which there was no fatigue at all, while the attentive gaze of his eyes went over you lengthwise and across, as if assessing everything he needed once again—your physical condition, your fatigue, as well as the emotions you are experiencing at the moment.