Chapter 25: Veil of Genius and Shadows
Scene 1: The Sovereign's Infiltration
Nero slipped through the castle's shadows, his form blending with the gloom. Guards patrolled, oblivious to the devil in their midst.
Nero (internally):
Divine Gate for light steps. Hell Gate to mute aura. Perfect.
He paused at a vault door, sigils pulsing. A smirk. With a flick, blue flames dissolved the wards.
Nero (whispering):
"Security's gotten lax, Fernando."
Scene 2: The Priestess's Ploy
Eri charmed her way through the academy, Kana trailing like an awestruck puppy.
Kana (gushing):
"You're so elegant! Are you nobility?"
Eri (laughing):
"Just a traveler with good posture."
Her gaze drifted to Saki, hunched over a desk.
Eri (softly):
"What haunts you?"
Saki (without looking up):
"Ghosts. The kind that don't stay dead."
Scene 3: The Cube Prodigy's Gambit
Mari's lab reeked of ozone and desperation. Nero leaned over her failed barrier cube, humming.
Mari (snapping):
"This isn't a toy!"
Nero (tapping the cube):
"No? Then why's it singing?"
The device lit up, humming a perfect harmonic scale. Mari's pen clattered.
Mari (stammering):
"How?!"
Nero (grinning):
"It needed a friendlier touch."
Scene 4: The General's Humiliation
Saigo's sneer faltered as Nero floated mid-air, the barrier cube orbiting him like a loyal star.
Saigo (barking):
"Fraud! That cube took me five years—"
Nero (interrupting):
"And me three minutes. Apologize to the lady."
The department watched, slack-jawed, as Saraswati's sigil—a lotus of infinite knowledge—bloomed behind Nero.
Saigo (bowing):
"…Forgive my arrogance."
Mari (whispering):
"Who are you?"
Nero (winking):
"A wanderer. With a weakness for tea."
Scene 5: The Dungeon's Secret
Darky dangled the dungeon boss over a lava pit, the man's screams music to his ears.
Darky (sing-song):
"Fernando's next sacrifice ceremony—details. Now."
Boss (sobbing):
"Full moon! The Primordial's Altar!"
Darky (dropping him):
"Oops. Clumsy me."
Scene 6: The Hellgate Revelation
Eri's clone dissolved in the hellscape, but not before catching Akihiro's whisper:
Zornak (hissing):
"The Primordial hungers. Prepare the vessel."
Back in her dorm, Eri shuddered.
Eri (to Nero's spectral form):
"They're feeding it people."
Nero (grim):
"Then we crash the feast."
Epilogue: The Ceremony's Shadow
Fernando's Sanctum — Midnight
The king traced the altar's edge, blood-runes glowing.
Fernando (to a bound figure):
"Soon, little sacrifice. Soon, godhood."
Above, a raven cawed—Nero's eye glinting through its own.