Mission:052 The Savior

"Isn't this something we discussed long ago?" the Pope asked in return. "For the arrival of the Ideal World, someone must make a few sacrifices. Just like the knights of the Order, just like your Parents..."

"You have no right to mention them."

Credo answered coldly, swinging a Light Blade from afar at the Pope, who dodged it by Teleporting onto the Savior's shoulder. Credo went on, "This was no accident, and there was no noble self-sacrifice. All I can see is shameful betrayal and exploitation!"

And so the Pope could only shut his mouth.

At the same time, Trish undid her disguise and returned to being the Beauty with Blonde Hair and Blue Eyes, dressed in pitch-black leather jacket and pants.

With a turn of both hands, she took out the Twin Guns, "Light and Shadow," which she had taken from the unconscious Nero, and aimed them at the Pope.

"Gloria..." The Pope noticed her movement and spoke in a complicated tone.

"You don't look especially surprised." Trish shrugged. Then she waved at Credo, who kept staring at her face, and said, "Handsome, now's not the time to get lost staring."

Credo turned his head away in embarrassment. "My apologies. That was rude."

He suddenly remembered that Trish's outfit really was somewhat indecent, and staring at her like that reflected badly—on his own reputation.

Fortunately, the others were not paying much attention to him.

"For someone capable of obtaining Sparda's Blade, no amount of investigation would be too much." The Pope sighed. "But I still failed to anticipate this. When did you discover the existence of the Blood of Sparda?"

"From the very beginning, of course."

"So you had discussed this from the very beginning."

Trish's gaze swept over the two people beside her with a smile in it. "That's right. So shouldn't you surrender?"

Nero was somewhat speechless. If Trish had told her earlier that she had already discussed things with Credo, she would not have had to take that beating for nothing.

But after thinking it over carefully, Nero felt that the earliest they could have discussed it should have been after Nero and Credo fought. Trish was probably bluffing the Pope.

"Surrender?"

The Pope gave a cold laugh and sank into the Savior's body.

His voice came from inside the Savior, sounding as if it had passed through a speaker. "Shouldn't the ones surrendering be you?"

He questioned Trish in return. "All you rely on is Dante, but he is still far away on the other side of the planet. Don't tell me you truly think that with just these few people, you can defeat the Savior?"

Then Agnus's voice came faintly from downstairs. "Your Majesty, activation is already comple-comple-com—"

The next second, under the burning of an enormous amount of demonic power, the Savior began to move.

It raised its hand and slammed a swift punch into the floor beneath the three of them.

Nero, Credo, and Trish all retreated, and the dust raised by the shattered floor obscured their vision.

The Pope's voice came through the smoke. "Agnus, go open the Gate of the Demon World."

"Huh?" A surprised voice came from below. "But Your Majesty..."

"I know. There is no need for Yamato. Don't you have another method? While you are at it..."

"But—very well. This subordinate understands."

The dust dispersed. Credo looked at the Savior before him and asked with cold hostility, "What are you going to do?"

"Didn't you hear? Open the Gate of the Demon World."

Trish said, "But Sparda's seal cannot possibly be undone. You don't have Yamato."

"Cannot possibly be undone? Heh..."

The Pope laughed mockingly. "How dreadfully pedantic.

"Let me tell you, then. First—"

The Pope launched a sneak attack without the slightest hesitation, and the Savior's giant palm sliced diagonally across the platform before it.

Only after watching the three below dodge in disarray did he slowly say the rest. "Why do you think we made small Gates of the Demon World?"

"Weren't they substitutes for the true Gate of the Demon World?" Nero asked after landing.

Credo shook his head. He was not clear on any function beyond that either.

"How could that be? The demons that can come out of those doors are far too weak, and they are not enough to let the Savior pass through either."

The Pope released another laser from the jewel, sweeping it through the smoke and dust that covered the entire floor. "Their actual function is resonance."

"Resonance?" Trish sounded puzzled.

"A seal, in the end, is only a lock. As long as a little skill is applied, a lock can be picked."

Under the Pope's attacks, the entire floor was completely destroyed. As the three fell through the air to the lower level, they could faintly see Agnus already running into the distance.

"This is resonance. When three small Gates of the Demon World are activated simultaneously at self-destructive output, the energy they release is enough to destroy the seal!"

The Savior lifted its leg and stomped down.

"You truly have gone mad!"

Credo flew into the air, gathering a Light Sword and thrusting it toward the Savior's chest. "An uncontrolled Gate of the Demon World will kill everyone in Fortuna!"

"Don't listen to him, Credo!" Nero shouted for him to stop. "One of the three gates is already gone."

"That doesn't really count as a problem. We created three gates only to increase the speed at which the main gate opens. If we have Yamato... we can instantly push the true gate past its operational limits as well."

The Savior raised a hand to shield the gem in its chest, and the golden Light Sword struck its jade-like fingers.

"I suggest you hand over Nero and Yamato."

The Pope's tone was filled with utter disregard for the townspeople's lives. "Watch closely. Your decision will get them killed."

What a shameless shifting of blame. Nero gritted her teeth and said to the other two, "Credo, go stop Agnus. I'll hold off the Pope!"

She was ready to draw Yamato.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" the Pope chuckled from within the Savior. "I'm worried they may not be a match for Agnus."

"Who are you looking down on?" Nero shot back.

She knew better than anyone just what Agnus was capable of.

"Am I?"

The Savior stretched out its hand and swatted Credo, who was flying through the air, aside like a fly. "Ah, so you still don't know? I sent Agnus to do two things."

The instant they heard that, an ominous feeling welled up in both Nero and Credo's hearts.

Seeing their expressions, the Pope laughed again.

"That's right. Before he went, I had him bring someone with him."

It was Kyrie.

Originally, Trish had already used the pretense of joining forces with Agnus to get Kyrie away from this battlefield. That had also been an important part of her cooperation with Credo.

But they had not had time to hide Kyrie away.

"Sanctus!!!" Credo roared the Pope's real name in fury.

"How disrespectful." The Pope sighed. "You..."

"Y-Y-Y-Your Holiness!"

A rapid string of cries burst onto the battlefield. Agnus flew back, carrying the unconscious Kyrie in his arms and beating his wings.

He cried out in panic, "Th-th-th-the Gate of the Demon World, there's only one left!"

"What?!" The Savior froze.

Trish looked at everyone in the field, each wearing a different expression, and spread her hands with a smile.