Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 31 Mission: 01-2 Gate of Hell
"Gee-hee-hee!"

With nearly half of his body missing, Faust retreated into his cloak and uttered a sharp wail. The piercing sound was like claws scratching glass, and Nero's brows knitted together.

"Noisy!"

Nero held Echidna, unfolded five dark blue flying swords from his back, and rushed towards Faust again.

Its body was too weak, which prevented Echidna from pulling it out of her cloak, killing it instantly. It had to be said that this was quite a bit of black humor.

The magic flying sword flew out instantly, piercing Faust's magic cloak and tearing it into shreds. Nero swung out the accordion sword again, catching Faust, who had lost his ability to float. After wrapping it tightly enough, he suddenly pulled it tight.

The demon then transformed into countless sticky chunks of flesh in mid-air, scattering across the ground. Nero retrieved Echidna and turned to look behind him. Sure enough, the remaining two Mephistopheles had already run far away.

Unfortunately, given their speed, this distance was just a drop in the bucket. Nero continued to chase after them.

The two Mephistopheles moved through the valley at varying speeds, then suddenly accelerated and vanished from Nero's sight. While they might have fooled ordinary people, they couldn't fool Nero. Nero clearly saw the two suddenly turn right and hide behind the rock face, creating the illusion of a sudden disappearance.

Is this a sneak attack? Or is there some hidden passage there?

Nero slowed down his pace slightly, and while climbing up and down, he came to the place where the demons disappeared. Turning his head, he saw a dark hole in the mountain wall.

There was no wind, no sound, no light. It was a bottomless cave, like the gate to nirvana.

But if a weak demon like Mephistopheles dared to go in, there was no reason why Nero wouldn't dare to go in. Even if the other side of the door was really the demon world, for her it would just cause some trouble on her way back.

She jumped into the cave, condensed a glowing blue rose in her hand, and dropped it on the wet ground.

With the faint light in his hand, Nero could vaguely see the interior of the cave. It was a very typical karst cave, with a spacious space inside, stalagmites and stalactites growing side by side. The moist and smooth surface reflected the light, making Nero's surroundings filled with a faint blue fluorescence.

Nero didn't see Mephistopheles coming in, but since they had the ability to travel inside objects, it wasn't surprising that they were hiding behind a thinner rock wall somewhere. Nero simply remained curious about this unknown area and continued to walk down.

Gradually, Nero felt a sense of strangeness. It wasn't just Mephistopheles; she hadn't seen any other demons here. Demons didn't need to eat or rest; they could survive with just enough magical energy. This deserted cave should have been their haven. But Nero didn't see any living demons, which meant two things.

First, deep within the cave, there existed an exceptionally powerful demon with a strong sense of territory, which drove away other demons that had entered.

Secondly, deep in the cave, there is a place connected to the demon world, allowing demons to travel directly.

Both were good news for Nero. Unless Father Vergil and Demon Emperor Mendes unexpectedly won the resurrection match, no demon in the world could threaten Nero single-handedly. Conversely, from Nero's perspective, this discovery might eliminate a significant threat to Fortuna.

At this moment, two ghostly figures suddenly emerged from behind the wall in front of him and plunged into the deeper darkness. Nero knew that they must be the demons he was chasing.

And these two guys seem to be... trying to lure Nero deeper into the cave.

"interesting."

Nero curled his lips and chased after him.

She also wanted to know what these two Mephistopheles wanted her to see.

As Nero continued to move deeper into the cave, the demonic aura from the depths of the earth grew stronger. The two Mephistopheles ahead, with their ability to pass through walls, had the upper hand in the chase, seemingly waiting for Nero to avoid losing her.

And in the end, what was waiting for Nero at the end of the cave was indeed a pitch-black stone tablet.

The Demon Gate was identical to the one towering over Fortuna. This towering stone monument pierced the cave's ceiling, blending seamlessly with the growing stalagmites, resembling the mythical Wall of Sighs. Mephistopheles arrived at the Demon Gate and spun twice in mid-air, as if mocking Nero's pursuit. Then, he dove into the stone monument and vanished through a tiny crack in space.

Seeing this scene, Nero showed a complicated expression. He folded his hands, rubbed the hair on the side of his cheek, and was speechless.

No, my grandpa whom I have never met, why did you leave two doors to the demon world on a small island?

If you want a passage to go back to your hometown, then leaving one door is enough. What is the meaning of these two doors?

And it seems that the seal of this underground door is not as effective as the one on the ground, and some fish have started to slip through the net.

Nero sighed, recalling the scene in his memory where Dante used the Yama Sword to cut off the real door to the demon world, and slowly reached out his hand to his chest.

Originally, Dante hadn't destroyed the sealed Demon Realm Gate because he didn't have the Yama Blade, felt it was too much of an effort, and was also afraid of scaring the city residents. But now it seemed he couldn't leave it there.

When we get back, we'll take down that door as well.

In an instant, the Yama Sword was unsheathed, and Nero's long hair turned silver-white.

"Through me, enter the city of distress—"

A flash of sword light flashed.

"Through me, into the abyss of sin!"

Another flash of knife light passed by, crossing with the previous one to form a cross.

"You who have walked in, leave all your hopes behind!"

Nero concluded the hymn with this. The clear a cappella echoed through the cavern, weaving into a vast resonance. Amidst this grand choir-like chant, three blades flashed once more.

The gate to the demon world slowly collapsed. Nero breathed a sigh of relief, put away his Yama Blade, and prepared to leave.

However, the Yama Blade was not taken back.

"Huh?" Nero looked at the Yama Sword in his hand in surprise, which made a sharp sound, and immediately looked back according to his intuition.

A crack slowly opened in the ruins of the Demon Realm Gate. At the edge of the crack was a trembling space, while within was a deep void.

"No, wait..."

Before Nero could finish her words, the space crack suddenly expanded, swallowed her in, and then disappeared.

The echoes gradually faded, and the only light in the cave vanished. This uninhabited place returned to the silence it had not experienced for thousands of years.

No one knows what happened here.

　Enter a new volume! As the title suggests, Nero is about to journey to the Type-Moon world. Tomorrow, the first Heroic Spirit will appear, and her class is Ruler. As for her real name, I won't spoil it here.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)