Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 71 Mission: 12-2 No Hero Returns
At that moment, the demon collapsed. It had given Nero everything she needed and desired, yet Nero remained unsatisfied, choosing to abandon it all and intervene in something that held no value to her. It cried out, "Why?! This makes no sense! Everything you could gain, I've given you. Everything you could change, I've realized for you!"

“Why do you still want to do something that has no value?!”

So, before stepping into the crack, Nero looked back at the demon hidden deep in this space who could fulfill any wish.

"It's really troublesome to talk about all these meanings." She shrugged, her long silver hair flying up, and a slightly hideous smile appeared on her devilish face: "I don't care about that."

Nero summarized his purpose this way: "But since you insist on asking why, I can only say -

"My pleasure."

Nero stepped out of the crack and left this empty space, yet a space where everything could be realized.

Leaving the demon of collapse behind.

The next moment, she appeared on the coast, surrounded by the deep pit left by her attack on the Demon Pillar.

The connection to the source had been severed, but the power that had transformed Nero into a demon hadn't yet subsided... but it would soon. Nero waved his clawed hand, still amazed that Mephisto possessed such power.

Mephistopheles was connected to the Root—since his Sinner form hadn't yet ended, Nero could only believe this was true. However, judging by the demon's behavior, it couldn't use the power of the Root without a wish.

That's a good thing, otherwise Nero wouldn't be able to beat it up.

It would be unreasonable if we couldn't collect the debt after letting this guy pretend for so long.

Nero recalled the scene he had just seen under Mephistopheles' demonstration and looked up - the sun was hanging high in the center of the zenith.

If the information was true, then the situation wasn't that bad. Nero reached out, feeling the lingering magical power in the sea breeze, and scooped it up with his backhand.

Dots of dark starlight gathered in her hands, transforming into a pitch-black mask with golden patterns.

It was a half-face mask, flanked by jet-black wings shimmering in iridescent colors and centered by a sharp beak. It was a relic of the crow-like demon, Ramer. Nero silently tucked the mask into his arms, his figure flashing a hundred meters away. Another flash, and he appeared on Hernan's stranded warship.

This is to confirm the situation of a person who was not mentioned in the intelligence.

"anyone there?"

Nero transformed back into his human form and entered the cabin. Hernan was gone, leaving Beatrice alone on the luxurious bed.

This might have been the first time in the life of the Baron's daughter that she had enjoyed such treatment. Nero approached and saw that Beatrice, who had been drowsy, had opened her eyes, her cheeks flushed abnormally.

"Are you ok?"

Seeing Nero approaching, Beatrice gave a bleak smile: "Of course not. I'm dying."

what? !

This was not what Nero had expected. Nero quickly approached her, disregarding any formality, and directly reached out to rip the girl's clothes off. Large black bruises suddenly appeared on her delicate skin.

"I remember you said it was the Black Death, right?" Beatrice smiled unhappily and said weakly, "Really, I'm really grateful that you came to save me. But I'm sorry... I may not be able to repay you."

"how is this possible?"

Nero was filled with shock and confusion. The Black Death had clearly been suppressed by Hernan, and those strange rats had been eliminated and no longer attacked the town, so Nero had never considered this possibility. "When?"

Now it seems that Nero's behavior of not leaving Beatrice in the town and leaving her in Giorgios's Noble Phantasm will cost her her life!

"About... two days ago?" Beatrice closed her eyes slightly, recalling with difficulty: "I remember... the first night my father imprisoned me in the dungeon... a rat ate the scones the servants brought."

Nero was horrified by the girl's description, and he was furious. He wished he could pull the lord, who had been destroyed in the holy light, out of hell and grind his bones into ashes. "That was the only food I had during my confinement... I hadn't intended to eat it, but I was so hungry. So after a day of starvation, I started eating from the parts that hadn't been bitten by the rats. I just didn't eat the small piece that had been bitten in the end. But it seems..."

"That's enough, stop talking."

Nero lowered his head in frustration, because all the sufferings Beatrice had endured were caused by her.

It was Nero's rash agreement to Beatrice's request that led to the girl being imprisoned in the dungeon by her father and forced to eat food containing pathogens.

It was unfortunate. If Beatrice had contracted the disease immediately after her confinement, Hernan's Noble Phantasm would have suppressed the pathogen. Therefore, it was precisely because she hadn't eaten on the first day that the disease broke out.

During this time, if Nero had anticipated the excessive punishment Beatrice would face, and paid more attention to her condition after rescuing her...

"However, my death should be a good thing for everyone." The girl's murmur interrupted Nero's self-blame.

"how come!"

"I'm sorry, I overheard your conversation the other day."

Beatrice turned her head slightly and looked at the surprised Nero: "The farming method I envisioned...will lead to something very bad, right?
"So you can rest assured. As long as I die... no one will know about this method anymore."

The girl had a smile on her lips, but her brows were tightly furrowed, tears flashed in her eyes, and she was full of unwillingness.

"I'm so sorry... I just hope everyone can live better..."

"you're not wrong."

Nero grabbed Beatrice's hand, looked into her eyes, and said seriously, "There's nothing wrong with your idea from the beginning to the end."

At this point, even saying such words seemed utterly meaningless. They were meaningless, futile, and wouldn't save Beatrice's life or alleviate her dying agony. Yet Nero blurted them out anyway, as if it would bring him peace of mind.

Thankfully, Beatrice found some comfort in these words. She averted her eyes, gazed at the sheep-horn chandelier overhead, and whispered, "...Thank you, Miss Nero. If I survive at all—it's probably because of these words of yours."

She took the initiative to end the topic and continued, "You should have more important things to do, right? That terrifying demon king who occupied the cave..."

"...Yes." Nero let go of Beatrice's hand and stood up straight: "I will defeat it."

"I wish you..." Beatrice trembled her lips, forced out the most beautiful smile she could imagine, and gave her most heartfelt wishes.

"May you become the hero who slays the Demon King, and may your name be sung here forever."

Nero nodded silently, took a few steps back, used his remaining strength to transform into a demon, broke through the cabin, and disappeared into the sky.

　I have to admit, the storyline surrounding Beatrice seems a bit out of place in this volume... but the author really couldn't think of a better way to make her relationship with Nero more logical the next time she appears. T_T This character will have quite a few more scenes later, so please forgive me! Sorry!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)