In the heart of the battlefield, Trish mimicked the Pope's earlier tone, throwing his words back at him. "How long do you think it takes to cross eight time zones?"
"Dante's here?" Nero asked, a spark of excitement in her voice.
Credo shot her a glance, his brow furrowing with suspicion.
But now wasn't the time for chit-chat. Agnus had dragged Kyrie back to the battlefield, and their top priority was getting her back.
"Agnus, bring her over!"
The Pope, controlling the towering Savior, bellowed as he resumed his pursuit of the trio. If Dante was already on the island, it was only a matter of time before their plans went up in smoke. The Pope's only shot now was to stuff Nero into the Savior before Dante could carve his way through.
Nero's bloodline and demonic power were the key. Only then could the Savior stand a chance against Dante.
But first, they needed Kyrie fused into the machine—a hostage no one could take away.
"Let her go!"
Credo's voice dripped with fury as he lunged, appearing behind Agnus in a flash. His blade gleamed, aimed straight for Agnus's life.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Agnus spun around, yanking Kyrie in front of him like a shield. "You'd better think twice!"
The Pope unleashed a laser barrage across the ground, forcing Nero and Trish to scramble for cover.
Seeing Credo hesitate, his blade frozen mid-swing, Nero's eyes narrowed. In a single motion, she drew Yamato, the katana humming with power.
A surge of demonic energy blasted away the dust, drawing the Pope and Agnus's attention. Nero shot Trish a knowing look before launching herself at the colossal Savior.
"Fools draped in dazzling colors!"
Yamato's blade flashed, slicing through space to carve a deep gash into the gem embedded in the Savior's chest. Nero's chant rang out, "Stone-hearted wretches cloaked in gold and jade!"
The Pope recoiled from the blow, stomping toward her in a panic. Seizing the moment, Trish vanished from below, transforming into a bolt of lightning and streaking upward.
The Pope saw it all too late to warn Agnus. Kyrie was as good as gone—Trish and Credo would make sure of that. But this was both a setback and an opportunity. With only Nero standing in the Savior's way, capturing her could turn the tide in an instant.
Nero vaulted onto the Savior's foot, sprinting up its surface like it was flat ground. The trick was simple: channel demonic energy to stick herself to the statue's body.
The Pope's missed stomp gave way to a new attack. From the gem in the Savior's chest, several black-and-gold orbs of demonic energy shot out, swarming toward Nero.
"You, who preach sacrifice while hoarding salvation for yourself!"
Nero spun, her blade dancing through the orbs, cutting a path as she leaped to the gem on the Savior's knee.
"Your words breed misfortune, your steps birth sin!"
She raised Yamato high and drove it into the massive blue gem below. The Savior's internal energy flow faltered, its colossal frame teetering off balance.
Nero yanked the blade free, flipping backward to dodge the Savior's swinging hand. In mid-air, she sheathed Yamato with a flourish, only to draw it again, tearing through space to shatter the gem on the other knee.
"Your soul will plummet to Hell, your corpse trampled by thousands!"
With both legs' energy sources crippled, the Savior buckled, its knees smashing the floor of the Advent Chamber.
Nero's onslaught—and her impromptu hymn—had clearly pissed off the Pope. He commanded the kneeling Savior to raise its hands, reaching for Nero as she hung in the air.
"You understand nothing!"
The Pope's voice was unhinged, screaming, "This world has lost its way, and I must fix it! This is my divine mission!"
The Savior's hands closed in—one in front to force Nero to dodge, the other behind to trap her.
If she got caught here, it was all over.
Nero spared a glance at Agnus. Trish, now a storm of lightning, had closed in on him, her bullets of light and shadow piercing his chest.
Kyrie was safe. Nero couldn't afford to hold back.
Still airborne, Nero didn't dodge. She chose to end it.
Yamato slid back into its sheath, only to be drawn in a blinding iaijutsu strike. The final verse of her chant roared from her lips:
"Let gold crush your neck, and jade pin your limbs!"
Five verses, four afterimages, one swordsman. In an instant, five slashes erupted, shattering the blue gems on the Savior's head, chest, hands, and back. Cracks split each gem down the middle before they exploded into crystalline shards.
The already-kneeling Savior collapsed forward, utterly spent. The Pope's voice rang out again, this time laced with terror.
"Damn it, this isn't how it's supposed to be! The Savior isn't finished—it can't fall!" He screamed, "Agnus!"
No need to call. Agnus, battered and bleeding, abandoned Kyrie and fled into the Savior's interior like a rat.
"That's right—keep squirming!"
The next second, the fallen Savior began thrashing wildly, pounding the ground. Its internal demonic core blazed, turning the statue into a rampaging juggernaut.
Her transformation fading, Nero's blonde hair returned as she dodged the attacks and regrouped with Credo and Trish. "What the hell's going on?"
"They've overloaded the Savior's energy source," Credo said, holding Kyrie close, his expression grim.
"Energy source?" Nero asked, caught off guard.
Trish answered this time. "The Sparda blade."
As Nero turned to her, Trish elaborated, "The Savior's power comes from the Sparda blade. That sword holds near-infinite demonic energy, but only someone with Sparda's blood can fully control it."
Nero finally pieced it together. The game's vague description of the Savior had only mentioned it needed the Sparda blade and a Sparda descendant to be complete. Now she understood: the blood was the key to controlling the blade.
"So they've just cut the leash entirely?" Nero eyed the Savior as it flailed chaotically, taking a deep breath. "Gloria, think you can do me one more favor?"
"Hm?" Trish tilted her head, curious. "What's the plan?"
Nero touched her chest. "Get me inside."
"Nero, you—" Credo started to protest, but one look at her steely gaze told him she was dead serious. "You're really going through with this?"
"We can't let them run wild like this," Nero said, her eyes locked on the Savior. "I'm the only one who can wield Yamato. I'm the only one who can control the Sparda blade. So…
"I'm the only one who can stop them."