"Hundreds… no, thousands of enemy signatures!" Mash's panicked scream crackled through from Chaldea. "Senpai, you've gotta get out of there, now!"
With numbers like that, it was no surprise the enemy wasn't just a pack of oversized beasts like before. Nero squinted into the distance, and sure enough, the main force of the demonic tide pouring out from the forest's depths was that endless swarm of rats they'd faced yesterday.
This area? Probably their nest.
"Well, looks like we found the source of the problem," Nero said, abandoning her pursuit of the demonic vulture. In a flash, she was back at Ritsuka's side. "Time to break through, yeah?"
"Got it!" Ritsuka replied, sounding way calmer than Mash, who was stuck in Chaldea, freaking out from afar. "Demon buddies, stay sharp!"
Mephistopheles, fresh from dispatching a demonic wolf, sauntered back, his rapier neatly tucked back into his cane. "Understood," he said with a sly grin.
Demons on their side, demons as enemies. Nero couldn't help but side-eye Mephistopheles, even with Jeanne's saintly vouching for the guy. How the hell did Ritsuka trust this shady trickster so easily?
The demonized animals closed in from all sides, and Nero, leading the charge back, was the first to collide with them. With Ritsuka and Beatrice to protect, Gilgamesh was stuck in close-quarters combat, unable to clear a path. Echidna's magic risked friendly fire, leaving Nero with one option.
Her hand went to her chest, and in a flash, the Yamato blade was drawn. Her hair faded to white, her body crackling with dense demonic energy as she gripped the katana and swung forward with purpose.
"From the depths of the earth, a palace rises! Demons gather in droves, cackling in awe!"
Her improvised hymn rang out as the blade's light solidified, forming a blue crescent that carved through the earth and forest. The two-meter-tall blade of energy tore the black tide of demons apart, ripping open a gash in their ranks.
"Move it!" Nero barked.
Ritsuka grabbed a stunned Beatrice, who was gawking at the parted sea of demons like it was some biblical miracle, and bolted. The poor kid's brain had checked out entirely.
Nero, Yamato in hand, dove into the fray before the tide could close. She stabbed the blade into the ground, her voice rising again. "Proud cherubim draw their swords, and a thousand blades light up the depths of hell!"
Her song summoned a forest of glowing swords from the earth, piercing the demonic beasts and forming a wall that held the tide at bay.
The path was clear. No need for Nero to shout—Ritsuka, dragging Beatrice, darted through the sword-lined corridor with Mephistopheles guarding their flank. But ahead, the black tide was regrouping, ready to crash down like a fanged tsunami.
"Winged heralds blow their horns, and hell's legions muster in force!"
In that moment, Nero yanked Yamato free, the blade trailing a streak of light as it carved a blue arc through the dim forest. She surged past Ritsuka, taking point, and with a single horizontal slash, bisected the front line of demons. Blood sprayed like a crimson fan, painting the air.
Time to end this. One final strike to split the sea of demons and escape.
Nero stepped forward, her slender ankle sending a tremor through the forest. Yamato swung again, countless motes of light converging into a radiant blade nearly ten meters long.
"These rebellious fiends fell from the heavens long ago, like meteors trailing the setting sun!"
The illusory blade cleaved through the forest, toppling trees in droves. The demons in its path were sliced clean in half, their blood soaking the damp earth.
But it wasn't enough. That strike took out a hundred or so, but Nero needed to stop the pursuers. Without pause, she followed through, flicking the blade upward. The massive energy blade towered like a monolith before shattering into hundreds of flying swords, raining down on the demons behind them.
"Go!" Nero shouted, her demon form fading as she dropped to the rear. Once Ritsuka and Beatrice were clear of the horde, she turned toward the coast, giving a mock curtsy with an imaginary skirt.
After cutting down so many demonic creatures, she could faintly sense the "whispering demon's seaside cave." No doubt about it—the Demon God Pillar behind this Singularity was holed up there. Once they regrouped, ditched Beatrice as a liability, and stormed the cave…
Maybe then Nero could unravel the Sphinx's riddle.
"The sun is devoured by hatred, and the prideful king is about to hatch." If Sherlock and Da Vinci's analysis was right, something seriously bad was brewing in that cave.
They needed to move fast. That curtsy? Nero's declaration of war.
The sun still hung above the horizon, but the sea was already glowing red. After her quick bow, Nero took off, weaving through the rain of swords to catch up with Ritsuka and the others.
The forest roared with chaos for a bit longer before falling silent.
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The sun set, the moon rose. It wasn't until nearly midnight that Nero, Ritsuka, and Beatrice finally made it back to the town.
No more enemies popped up after they left the forest. The biggest threat was stumbling through the dark on barely visible paths.
By this hour, the lord's manor was locked tight, but Beatrice, being the lord's daughter, wasn't about to get stuck outside. After some face-scanning at the gate, the group found Jeanne waiting at a stone table in the garden.
"We're back," Ritsuka said, keeping her voice low to avoid waking anyone in the manor.
"Good to see you're safe," Jeanne replied.
"We found the Demon God Pillar's location," Nero added, ruffling Beatrice's hair. The poor kid had been running and staying up way past her bedtime—she was barely standing.
"Go get some rest," Nero whispered to her. "If your dad catches you, come find us. We'll cover for you."
"Mmm…" Beatrice mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she wobbled into the house.
Only then did Jeanne speak again. "You found it?"
"Yup," Ritsuka confirmed. "It's in a cave by the coast, but we've gotta cross the forest to get there. It's crawling with demonized animals. We couldn't break through."
They might need to round up some new allies. No way were there only three Servants in this Singularity.
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