This mansion was all kinds of wrong.
Nero came to that conclusion fast after stepping into the Toyokawa estate's garden. The place reeked of demonic energy, thick and heavy. The people living here acted normal enough on the surface, but little details—odd glances, too-perfect smiles—gave them away. Something was off.
For this visit, Nero was playing the part of "the Pope's sister from the Order of the Sword" and "Fortuna's Saint." Thanks to Manager Haze's connections, her cover story was that she was here to "court investors for demon research."
Nero knew enough about the former Pope and his researcher Agnus to bluff her way through most conversations. No problem there. But the Toyokawa representative sent to meet her? They were asking questions so specific, so probing, even she wasn't sure she could answer them all. That wasn't just suspicious—it was downright unnatural.
Either someone behind the scenes wasn't paying attention, or they assumed Nero was some naive outsider clueless about the Land of Harmony. But Nero had learned a thing or two during her days at school here. The Land of Harmony hadn't seen a public demon attack in ages, and most people knew next to nothing about demons.
So yeah, something was definitely up.
Nero took a deep breath and decided to poke the hornet's nest. "I've got a question about the Toyokawa family's young lady."
"Young lady?" The man across from her tilted his head. "The Toyokawa family has no young lady."
Dressed in a formal gown, Nero maintained her ladylike posture and said calmly, "I'm talking about Shoko Toyokawa."
In that instant, the man froze like a puppet with its strings cut.
Two pinpricks of red light flared in his eyes, spreading fast. The glow flooded the elegantly decorated room, blending with the sunset outside. Like a tidal wave, the crimson light swept over Nero, pulling her under.
When she opened her eyes again, she was still seated, legs crossed, hands folded, poised as ever on the sofa. But the lights were out. The sunset was gone. Crimson moonlight streamed through the windows, casting an eerie glow.
The man who'd been sitting across from her? Vanished. In his place was a girl, seated in the same prim posture as Nero. She wore a black gown adorned with red silk, her sky-blue hair cascading down her back. Amber eyes gleamed, reflecting the blood-red moon.
"First time meeting you," the girl said. "I'm the Shoko Toyokawa you're looking for."
Her gaze was sharp, commanding yet refined, as she asked, "So, how exactly did you come across my name?"
Nero gave a small smile, rising to her feet. She lifted the hem of her crimson gown and dipped into a curtsey. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Nero Fortuna."
Then she locked eyes with Shoko and said, "I heard it from a classmate of Tomatsu Lamp."
Shoko's eyes widened, a flash of suspicion cutting through her composure. "That's odd. I don't know any Tomatsu Lamp. Care to explain?"
Nero wasn't buying the act. She cut her off, voice sharp. "Drop the charade, Oblivionis. You might've erased her memories of you, but physical records? Those aren't so easy to wipe, are they?"
"…I see. So that's where the problem lies."
Shoko went quiet for a moment before replying softly, "You read Lamp's notes, didn't you? But even if you found the name Shoko Toyokawa in them, how did you learn my current name?"
She rose gracefully, mirroring Nero's curtsey with one of her own. Her tone grew heavy. "And more importantly, why are you here? Enlighten me."
A massive black shadow loomed under the red moon, blocking the light from the window. Nero, unfazed, pulled a top hat from her coat and answered, "The first question? That's my little secret. After all—"
She donned the hat, and her gown morphed into a sleek black tailcoat. Drawing her Yamato blade, Nero let out a chilling laugh. "I'm a demon hunter."
In a flash, Shoko vanished into a blur, dodging Nero's slashing strike. At the same moment, a beam of dark demonic energy tore through the Toyokawa mansion's roof, engulfing the room.
Seconds later, Nero leaped from the rubble and smoke, her blonde hair now shimmering silver under the strange moonlight, glinting like blood.
Standing in the center of the ruins, she calmly fastened a half-mask over her face.
"So, you're the one they call Samael?" Shoko's voice rang out.
Nero followed the sound and spotted her perched atop a massive pillar under the red moon. The pillar's surface was uneven, crawling with writhing, malevolent eyes.
A Demon Pillar. Rama—the former master of the mask Nero now wore.
Her expression darkened. "You can read my memories?"
A Demon Pillar from the Fate world had no business being here, especially not Rama, who was long dead. The only explanation was that this pillar was a monster born from Nero's own memories.
And it wasn't weakened at all. This was a foe even Nero at her best would struggle to defeat.
"You think so?" Shoko asked, gazing down from her perch.
"No." Nero forced herself to calm down, shaking her head.
If Shoko could truly read her memories, she wouldn't have fallen for Nero's misdirection. The real reason Nero knew both of Shoko's names wasn't Lamp's notes or her demon-hunting intel—it was knowledge from another world entirely.
Which meant Shoko wasn't conjuring these memory-born monsters on her own.
"This world…" Nero looked up at the crimson moon, realization dawning. This place wasn't simple.
It wasn't the human world, but it wasn't the demon realm either. The air was thick with demonic energy—so thick that closing her eyes made Nero feel surrounded by demons. Yet there wasn't a single living thing in sight.
Looking back at the memory-born monster Shoko had summoned with this world's power, Nero had a bold theory.
"This world—it's the source of your power, isn't it?" she asked.
Oblivion, Death, Fear, Love. The powers these girls gained as demons all tied to the mind and soul. This strange space that had swallowed Nero mirrored the real city perfectly, down to every detail, but it was utterly devoid of life.
There was no doubt about it. This was a pocket world created by an extraordinarily powerful demon—one so terrifying it could craft a realm of consciousness and spirit on the backside of reality.
(End of Chapter)