ONE MINUTE MELEE: Kratos vs Dante Alighieri

Kratos vs Dante Alighieri is a What-If? episode of One Minute Melee, featuring Kratos from the God of War series and Dante Alighieri from the video game equivalent of Dante's Inferno.

Description
''Today, two anti-heroes who have traveled through Hell and seek both redemption and vengeance, are going to battle each other to see who is more worthy for redemption! Can the Ghost of Sparta hope to overpower the Crusader who traveled through Hell?''

Interlude
ONE MINUTE MELEE!

WHERE ALL THE FIGHTS ARE SETTLED IN 60 SECONDS!

'''TWO FIGHTERS! NO RESEARCH! 60 SECONDS!'''

'''1! MINUTE! MELEE!'''

PRESS START!

SELECT YOUR CHARACTER!

(PLAYER ONE CHOOSES Kratos.)

(PLAYER TWO CHOOSES Dante Alighieri.)

LET'S ROCK?

'''Alrighty! '''/ Uh, one sec...

(Alrighty! selected.)

MELEE!
The Inner Ring of Hell’s Circle of Violence

In the Seventh Circle of Hell, in this nightmarish inferno of a desert where burning flakes rained down from the smog that passed for clouds overhead, the two travelers – who had entered this realm from opposite directions – reached a circular patch of black stone that was to serve as their arena for the upcoming fight. From the left, a man drenched in ghost white ash and his body adorned with an intricate red, the God of War himself… Kratos.

On the right, a knight built like a linebacker, his chest sporting an ornate cross-shaped tapestry. In his hands he wielded a massive scythe, its handle made from bone... the crusader himself, Dante Alighieri.

The legendary rage and murderous prowess of these two warriors made them a natural fit for the Seventh Circle of Hell. It was here, in the realm of violence, where the two would settle a dispute. Here, it would be determined if Dante Alighieri was nothing short of a pale imitation of the Ghost of Sparta… or if he could prove his worth as his own man.

Kratos looked his opponent over and sneered. Far as he was concerned, this pale copy – who pledged himself to the loyalty of a god, something Kratos had long ago decided he would never do again – would not last a single minute. He vowed to rip that pathetic excuse of a tattoo off his chest and shove it down his throat.

From the crusader’s point of view, he saw nothing but a barbaric heathen, a blasphemous slayer of gods whose sacrilegious nature was an insult to the Lord’s Creation.

The two men stepped into the ring.

Dante pointed a finger at his counterpart of antiquity,

“Barbarian, you will answer for your crimes. By the task divinely appointed to me from on high, I will see to it you answer to God’s justice-“

THWIP!

In less than two seconds, Kratos had knocked an arrow and let it fly from the Bow of Apollo. A bronze blur; it left a cut on the crusader’s cheek, halting his righteous speech in its tracks.

Kratos’ scowl could not have been any deeper,

“I answer to no gods, neither mine nor yours, high nor low.”

Grimly, Dante fell into silence, merely raising the Scythe into a state of preparedness.

Battle, like the flakes that fell from the sky, had rained upon them.

'''GO FOR BROKE! FIGHT!'''

Kratos ran at his opponent, the Nemean Cestus ready to beat the Crusader who traveled through Hell to a bloody pulp. But Dante unleashed a barrage of energy crosses at Kratos. One of them managed to hit Kratos, but the God of War managed to dodge and roll from the remaining crosses. He managed to deliver a strong uppercut to Dante's jaw with the Nemean Cestus, which sent him flying into the air and crashing on his back. Just as Dante got up, Kratos ran toward him and stabbed him in the stomach with one of the Blades of Exile. Dante just casually punched Kratos in the face before punching him repeatedly. He eventually unleashed another barrage of energy crosses, all of them hitting Kratos this time. Kratos slashed Dante's chest before uppercutting him with the Nemean Cestus again. Kratos then fired multiple arrows from the Bow of Apollo at Dante. Dante unleashed yet another barrage of energy crosses, but Kratos blocked them all with the Golden Fleece. Dante then retaliated with the Holy Magic; The Righteous Path. The Righteous Path caused Dante to charge at Kratos, while at the same time, creating a trail of icicles behind him. However, Kratos managed to dodge the attack and retaliated by tossing his blades onto Dante. The Blades managed to hook onto Dante, and Kratos pulled himself at the crusader. He then stabbed the Blades of Exile into Dante's stomach and then punched the side of Dante's head with the Nemean Cestus, cracking his skull. Dante was pushed back and fell to the ground. Dazed, but still alive, Dante spotted Kratos in the air about to stab him in the stomach with the Blades of Exile. Desperate, Dante used the Unholy Magic, the Sins of the Father. The Unholy cross managed to hit Kratos, causing him to be pushed back, resulting in him failing to finish off Dante. Kratos then hooked Dante with the Blades of Exile and swung him around and threw him at a pillar. Kratos then walked over to Dante, who was weakened by the force of the throw.

"This is where you die."

He then pulled the deadliest weapon in his entire arsenal.

The Blade of Olympus.

Just as Dante looked up, Kratos swung the Blade of Olympus, decapitating Dante in a guillotine-like fashion. Kratos then stomped on Dante's decapitated head with enough force to destroy it.

"You shouldn't have faced me mortal."

Kratos then walked away, not even bothering to celebrate his victory.

'''K.O.! THIS MELEE'S WINNER IS...'''

KRATOS!