Mission: 044 Backstab (Seeking Follow-up)

Mission: 04-4 Backstab

Agnus dodged the raging blade-light in a panic, utterly helpless as the demons under him kept being cut down. Those Light Blades even tore open space when they struck the walls, changed direction, and passed through the hall again. Then they gathered together, turning into countless Demonic Power Flying Swords that covered the entire hall, forcing Agnus to keep scurrying around with his head in his hands.

By the time Agnus could finally raise his head and look at the state of the hall, his swarm of Sword Wings had been completely wiped out. Only two Silver Knights remained, and the two Golden Knights, under Nero's special attention, had both been killed as well.

"Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-madwoman!"

Looking at Nero, who had released her Demon Form and was standing empty-handed in the middle of the hall, Agnus shouted with violent emotional fluctuations, "A-a-a-a-aren't you afraid your sis, Sister might die too?!"

The way Agnus lost his cool was just as pleasing as before. Nero took out the Whip Sword and smiled calmly. "The only ones I can hurt are demons."

But that was actually a lie. Nero's control was nowhere near that strong. When the phantom's attack had been slaughtering everything just now, Nero had in fact been somewhere Agnus could not see, sneakily protecting Kyrie.

Still, her bluff worked. Agnus clearly began to think of retreating, shifting a few steps toward the hall's entrance.

But he knew he could not leave yet. If he left now, Nero could easily take Kyrie and leave Order Headquarters to hide, and the mission the Pope had given him would be a complete failure.

And in the instant he stopped because of his hesitation, Nero leaped toward him. The emerald Serpent Sword stretched through the air like wind passing through a forest, drawing an arc as it lashed toward Agnus.

The two Silver Knights vented steam as they blocked Agnus, raising their shields to stop Echidna. Nero landed and launched a side kick with her right leg equipped with Gilgamesh. After a brief collision, she knocked away one Silver Knight's shield, but she also lost her balance and leaned backward.

The two Silver Knights seized the chance and thrust out the Lances in their hands at the same time. Nero flipped sideways to open up distance, then snapped out the Whip Sword from a tricky angle. The whip tip of the Serpent Sword passed between the two knights like a venomous snake, biting toward Agnus.

Agnus fluttered his transparent membranous wings and flew into the air, throwing the Sword Wing in his hand, which was already close to shattering, at Nero. Nero instantly withdrew Echidna as well, turning it into a straight sword and cutting it apart.

Things were a little troublesome. Nero had used a bit too much demonic power during that wave of clearing the field just now. She had to rest for a short while before she could transform again, but Agnus clearly was not an opponent she could easily defeat without using Demon Form.

No matter what, he was still a demon transformed from one of the Order's higher-ups. He could not possibly turn into trash the moment he was separated from his subordinates. Now that Nero was being stopped by the Silver Knights, it would be trouble if Agnus called in another pile of demons.

After several rounds of fighting, Nero vaguely realized that she was very likely much stronger than the Nero in the game when she activated Demon Form, but much weaker in her normal state.

She could only kill the Silver Knights as quickly as possible. Nero flashed forward again, flinging out Echidna to loop around one Silver Knight's leg, yanking it down to the ground and dragging it around in a circle before smashing it into its companion.

The Silver Knight's entangled leg was instantly torn off, and the two demons rolled together on the ground. Nero leaped high and chopped down with her leg, directly embedding the two of them completely together.

They still were not dead. The Silver Knights were still writhing. Nero made Echidna turn back into a straight sword again, sliced off their heads with one slash, then pierced through their chests and nailed them to the ground together.

Done. Now the only demon left in the hall was Agnus.

Nero turned to look into the air. Sure enough, that guy was preparing something sneaky again. At that moment, he had already approached the cage holding Kyrie and was planning to take it away.

Fortunately, Nero had not been in a hurry to let Kyrie out earlier. The huge cage was not only a prison, but also protection. Taking away a large cage was obviously much harder than taking away a person.

Nero pulled out her sword, turned, and chased after Agnus. He was now planning to dismantle the cage and take Kyrie out of it.

That was just how this sort of thing worked. Whoever tried to open it would be the one in trouble.

The Serpent Sword attacked Agnus from behind, but he nimbly dodged it. So Nero did not pull the whip back to cause greater damage either; the scales on the whip merely made a string of crisp sounds.

Kyrie was not woken up. That sleep quality was truly enviable.

"D-d-don't think I'm a-a-afraid of you!"

The repeated stammering exposed just how guilty Agnus felt when he spoke. Although he opened a black-gold magic array behind him, he clearly did not have much confidence in himself.

A string of black-gold missiles shot out from the magic array. Although there was a golden halo above his head, Agnus's appearance and the color of his power were both closer to a demon than an Angel. Compared to Credo, he really did prove the old saying that one's face reflected one's heart.

Nero leaped up and swung her sword in midair, knocking down the incoming magic bullets one by one as she charged straight toward Agnus. But Agnus quickly canceled the magic array and slipped behind the cage holding Kyrie in a flash.

This utterly undignified way of fighting made Nero laugh in anger. But there was no helping it. To avoid hurting Kyrie, Nero could only land on the cage first, cut the chains suspending it, and fall toward the ground together with Kyrie.

That way, Agnus would no longer be able to hide. Nero swung Echidna and leaped toward Agnus.

Agnus grabbed the Serpent Sword with his demonic claw, which had only three fingers. Nero yanked him, and he instantly lost his balance. His fingers were nearly cut off as well, giving off black mist.

But not only did Agnus refuse to let go, he instead pulled the Serpent Sword back, dragging Nero toward him too.

That abnormal behavior made Nero grow alert at once—unfortunately, such a thing did not happen.

Because in the instant Nero's weapon was restrained, she was in midair, and she had lost her balance, a figure appeared behind her.

The sharp pain from both shoulders made Nero unable to stop herself from turning her head to look. That woman in revealing clothes, with White Hair and dark skin, had somehow already wrapped around Nero, and the two Flying Daggers in her hands had stabbed into Nero's shoulders from left and right.

It was Gloria. Or rather, Trish. The person who had given Nero clothes and Twin Guns, the undercover agent lurking inside the Order... that was how it should have been.

"Ni-nicely done." Only then did Agnus let go of the Serpent Sword and drop toward the ground.

Gloria pinned Nero to the ground, raised her head, and said with a smile, "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Why—"

Nero, filled with confusion, had only just opened her mouth when her abdomen was struck by a blunt object, forcing her to swallow the rest of her words amid the severe pain.

Then Gloria struck her with a knife-hand blow. Nero's vision went black after the heavy blow to the back of her neck, and she lost consciousness.

As the starting world, Devil May Cry 4 was about to enter its final chapter. Please keep reading, everyone!