After the "Demon Tree of the Wheat Fields," Beatrice led Nero and Ritsuka to the "Monster Stone Sealing Demons in the Forest," the "Pond Reflecting Demon Shadows," and the "Stream of Devil Fish." Without fail, every single one was a bust.
Legends, after all, are just legends—hard to sift truth from tall tales.
Half the day slipped by, and the group had wandered far from town. By all accounts, it was time to head back. But when Beatrice mentioned there was just one last place left to check, Ritsuka rallied the others to finish the search in one go.
Mostly, she was rallying Nero. Mephistopheles, the ever-loyal Master-affirming robot, was naturally on board. Nero's main concern was Beatrice getting chewed out by her father for staying out too late, but Beatrice shrugged it off, saying her dad didn't care if she was home or not.
Well, that settled it. Off they went. Worst case, Georgios was back at the manor holding down the fort.
Realizing they hadn't checked in with the town since leaving, Ritsuka had Chaldea patch through a video call.
Saint Georgios had apparently gone to church with the lord that morning and was now out on the streets doing good deeds. When Ritsuka explained, "We're with Beatrice and might be back late—cover for us if anything comes up," Georgios simply said, "Got it," and hung up.
All bases covered. Their final destination? The "Sea Cave of Demon Whispers."
Ratvinci wasn't far from the coast, but a steep cliff wall blocked the way, with no major roads to cross it. That meant no port and a barely-there fishing trade.
Guided by Beatrice, Nero and Ritsuka trekked through a forest path, climbing over a slope until they glimpsed the jagged, rocky shoreline in the distance.
It was quiet—hardly any birdsong. A chilly sea breeze rustled through the trees, stirring faint whispers of leaves.
In that eerie atmosphere, Nero caught it—a faint whiff of demonic energy riding the wind.
"Ritsuka."
One word. That was enough for her to get the message.
"Enemy?"
Before Ritsuka finished, Nero's Aestus Estus flared to life, slicing through the air and striking down a jet-black bird. A sharp crack followed, and Ritsuka's eyes locked onto the creature—a red-eyed raven, its body half-torn by the serpent-blade, twitching and bleeding on the ground.
They'd found their mark.
"Eek!"
Beatrice let out a delayed yelp, quickly clapping a hand over her mouth.
Mash, monitoring the area, chimed in: "More enemy signatures! Ten o'clock, twelve o'clock, and three o'clock—five in total!"
"Mephistopheles, take the one at ten. Nero, handle the rest!"
Ritsuka's knack for on-the-fly tactics shone through. As the (debatably) low-combat-power leader, her role was sizing up the enemy's numbers and types, dishing out strategies, and tossing in some moral support for good measure.
With the ten o'clock enemy closest, Ritsuka sent Mephistopheles—the weaker fighter tasked with close protection—to intercept, keeping him free to fall back if needed. The rest? That was on Nero, the heavy hitter.
"Got it~"
"No sweat."
A handful of demonized animals? Barely a blip for a Heroic Spirit or Nero. If they didn't have two people to protect, Mephistopheles could've handled the lot solo.
Nero spared a glance at Mephistopheles, who was charging a demonic wolf with his cane. She swung Aestus Estus, encircling the other four: two demonic wolves, a demonic boar, and a demonized vulture.
Wolves and a boar teaming up? Rare sight. But the real threat wasn't them—it was the biggest one, the only flier: the vulture.
It became Nero's first target.
Her serpent-blade lashed toward the sky, its whip-like tail snapping like a viper under Nero's control, darting and accelerating straight for the vulture. But with a gust of wind, the beast soared higher, slipping out of Aestus Estus's range.
Two wolves lunged from either side. Nero recalled her blade, and in a flash, silver spiked armor materialized over her slender limbs, crimson magical energy pulsing through the gaps. A sideways kick sent one wolf flying, half its teeth shattered. Her left hand seized the other, metal gauntlets clamping its jaws shut.
Then, Nero hurled the wolf skyward. A magical longsword coalesced in her right hand, cleaving the beast in half midair before rocketing toward the vulture above.
The boar charged straight at Nero. Against a battering ram like that, with Ritsuka and Beatrice behind her, Nero couldn't dodge—she had to meet it head-on. Her Gilgamesh, forged from impact steel, was perfect for the job.
Nero grabbed the half-human-sized boar by its tusks. The massive force was mostly absorbed by her impact steel gear, but Nero still slid back a step. Weight matters in a contest of strength, and she was the lighter one.
The absorbed force flowed like water through the metal. Nero planted her feet, then drove her knee into the boar's jaw with a vicious crack.
Spiked metal sank smoothly into the boar's flesh. It opened its mouth, letting out a silent wail. In that instant, the stored impact force unleashed, flipping the massive beast like a sheet of paper. It sailed through the air, tracing a bloody arc before crashing down, rolling twice. Its torn throat gushed like a fountain. The boar struggled, flipped over, and collapsed for good.
The vulture, dodging Nero's thrown magical sword, adjusted its angle and dove at high speed, as if avenging its fallen allies. The wolf Nero had kicked earlier regained its footing and charged again.
Ritsuka's voice cut through: "Nero, focus on the vulture! Mephistopheles!"
"On it, Master."
Having dispatched his own wolf, Mephistopheles darted past Nero. His slender, guardless rapier thrust straight through the toothless wolf's maw, piercing its skull.
Nero whipped Aestus Estus again, pairing it with two magical flying swords to meet the incoming vulture.
But the vulture's dive was a feint. Just before colliding with the magical swords, it flapped its wings, soaring upward with a piercing screech.
Then, an endless wave of demonic energy surged from every corner of the forest, engulfing Nero and the others.
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