Echidna fell silent for a moment, but Nero's question wasn't one you could dodge with silence. So, it took it as permission to speak up.
"If you could lend me a bit of your magic and let me get up close with those plants, I can make it work," Echidna replied, its tone humble yet confident.
"Then get to it," Nero shot back.
He yanked Echidna free, shifting it into its sleek, throwable straight-sword form. Pouring a hefty dose of magic into it, he hurled the blade forward. The emerald-green sword spun through the air, slicing clean into the thick, crimson trunk of the tree. From where Echidna landed, a branch sprouted silently, stretching toward Nero.
The odd, downward-growing branch reached right to him, practically handing Echidna back.
"Not bad," Nero said with a smirk. No surprise there—Echidna was a demon that ruled the forest, after all.
He pulled the blade free, absorbing it back into himself. Leaping onto the branch, he hopped to the rising platform, sliding down it like a makeshift ramp. The steps made it a bumpy ride, jarring his backside a bit.
This was the grand hall of the Order's headquarters. Just beyond lay the Chamber of Descent, where the Savior statue—and, according to Agnus, Kyrie—awaited.
Nero shoved open the massive doors, only for three sword-wings to dive at him in a flash. Caught off guard, he ducked low, dodging the flying blades. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed Echidna, snapping two of them out of the air.
The last one soared upward, only to be snatched mid-flight by Agnus, who dropped down from behind Nero with a sinister grin. Landing atop the platform, he taunted, "Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? I'm still here."
Nero stood in the doorway, cool as ever. "Figured you wouldn't just sit pretty at the finish line waiting for me."
"Oh, really?" Agnus chuckled, his voice dripping with mockery. "I saw that fool Credo head to the Chamber of Descent. Don't tell me he lost?"
"You're gonna lose too," Nero replied, unfazed. "Where's Kyrie?"
"What, scared I'll use her as a hostage?" Agnus sneered, pointing his captured sword-wing at Nero's back. "Why don't you turn around and see for yourself?"
Keeping his eyes locked on Agnus, Nero backed into the hall. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed Kyrie, asleep like a caged bird in a suspended iron cage at the center of the room, surrounded by a swarm of sword-wings circling her.
So, Agnus never planned to play by his own rules. He didn't even trust Credo to take Nero down and force her surrender.
Agnus leaped off the platform, landing just outside the doors. "Gotta say, I'm surprised. You didn't rush in to save her like some reckless hero."
Nero turned, locking eyes with him. "Plenty of time to save her after I kick your ass."
"You think I'll hold back like last time?" Agnus growled, his voice warping with a demonic reverb. He raised his sword-wing, pointing it at Nero. "Get him!"
The swarm of sword-wings froze mid-air, aligning into a dense formation aimed straight at Nero. You could practically see the meteor shower of blades about to rain down. Below Kyrie's cage, two squads of metallic knights clanked into formation.
Nero wasn't fazed. This guy's so-called "full force" was just a numbers game—pure, overwhelming quantity. The sword-wings came first, and Nero didn't hold back, drawing his katana, Yamato, in a flash. He needed to thin their numbers fast to ease the pressure later.
Raising the blade, he bellowed, "All sins face heaven's wrath!"
Yamato sliced through the air, unleashing two cross-shaped beams of light that tore the sword-wing swarm into quarters. Dozens of demons fell, sliced apart, but the rest closed in like a hive of angry bees.
"Murderers drown in pools of blood!" Nero chanted, weaving through the nearest swords with ease. Spinning gracefully, he swung Yamato in a wide arc, knocking several wings out of the air before plunging the blade into the ground. In an instant, a forest of glowing blue magic swords erupted around him, shooting upward and crashing into the swarm.
After facing Credo and studying his attacks, Nero had picked up how to conjure magic blades of his own. It was his father Vergil's signature move, after all—a talent that clearly ran in the family.
Next came the silver knights, charging with shields raised. The magic swords shredded the wings but barely dented the knights' armor. One barreled through, shattering the blades, its lance aimed at Nero, who still had Yamato lodged in the ground.
Nero yanked the katana free, a blinding flash of steel cutting through the air. "The forsaken are bound to withered trees!"
The knight's legs were severed in a single stroke, sending it tumbling harmlessly to the ground.
"Gotta hand it to you," a voice sneered from behind. "You're more of a Son of Sparda than that lazy slacker ever was."
Nero spun, Yamato flashing to parry a sneak attack from Agnus' sword. He knew exactly who Agnus meant—Dante. Before Nero's demon blood awakened, Dante was the only known living heir of Sparda, the whole "Savior" plan built around capturing him.
Nero let out a dry "Heh," as if to say, "What does a godless creep like you know about divine sons?" Sensing the knights' next charge, he broke the clash, flipping backward with a boost from Agnus' force, and belted out the fourth verse of his chant.
"Blasphemers fall to rains of fire!"
Hanging upside-down in mid-air, Nero kicked off the air itself, plummeting like a meteor. Yamato struck true, cleaving a silver knight from head to toe. The magic enveloping the blade hit the ground, unleashing a shockwave that sent the surrounding demons staggering.
By now, Nero had left four magical afterimages across the hall, his chant nearing its climax. Right on cue, a golden knight charged from the mob, its blade flashing. Nero slid into an iaido stance, rushing to meet it.
"City of chaos, suffer eternal ruin!"
As they collided, Nero drew Yamato in a single, upward slash, deflecting the knight's blade and slicing it clean in two. In that instant, the first afterimage at the hall's far end, the second and third kneeling in place, and the fourth poised in the air all erupted into massive, crescent-shaped waves of light. The marble floor shattered into fragments as the blades carved through the hall.
"What the hell is this?!" Agnus roared.