Mission:057 Gift

Mission:05-7 Gift

"No, no, no..."

Agnus's old stutter returned from sheer nerves. He huddled in the corner, saying "no" for ages, and only when Nero had covered nearly half the distance did he finally force out, "Impossible!"

"What's impossible?"

"Your power!" Agnus spat the words out one by one, pointing a trembling finger at Nero as he said, "The power of Sparda's Blade should be, be above yours!"

"So what? His Majesty the Pope couldn't bring out that blade's power at all."

As Nero spoke, she arrived in front of Agnus and raised the sword in her hand.

"No, that can't be? My cal, calculations can't be wrong..."

But Agnus had no interest in dealing with Nero right now. He fished his notes out from inside his clothes and kept flipping through them, searching the contents. So in the next instant, a length of blue-green blade swept past, slicing the Manuscript Paper in his hands cleanly into left and right halves.

"My, my research results!"

Agnus froze on the spot and cried out in disbelief, "They've been cut, cut, cut, cut open!"

Nero raised her sword again, aiming it at Agnus's eyes. "Is this really the time to worry about your research?"

Agnus ignored Nero's threat and merely protested, "You don't know how, how precious this is! Through my research, we can fully unleash the power of Sparda's Blade, and then, then..."

As he spoke, he trailed off, staring at the unmoving blade before him. He blinked, his expression blank. "You, you're going to kill me?"

Nero looked at him with some amusement. "What else?"

"Why?" Agnus gesticulated wildly as he questioned her. "Although His, His Majesty the Pope is dead, you and Credo can still, still make use of this research!

"As long as my research continues, the Order will one day be able to fully con, control Demonic Power! You can also become the strongest de, de, demon!"

Nero watched him offer himself up, the Sword Edge in her hand not budging an inch. "Are you finished?"

At her question, Agnus froze again.

Nero looked at the demon draped in human skin before her. The corners of her lips lifted, and she said with a smile, "What a pity. Your research is completely meaningless."

"H-how is that possible?!" Agnus was so anxious he almost jumped. "This is becoming the strongest demon, the strongest! Surpassing e, everything in this world!"

Nero moved the blade away, and a hint of delight appeared on Agnus's face.

Then it froze in that instant.

The Sword Edge in Nero's hand cut sideways through Agnus's neck, then sank straight into his chest cavity.

Agnus raised his head slightly, the corners of his mouth moving faintly, but he could no longer speak.

"Using your methods, you'll never reach true strength."

Nero looked into his eyes and told him the truth that would destroy every achievement of his life. Then she twisted the longsword and yanked it out.

"This is my return gift for what happened before."

With endless emptiness and despair, Agnus breathed his last in silent stillness. No blood gushed from his wound. There was only Black Mist drifting quietly away.

This was proof that he was no longer human.

Nero withdrew Echidna, supported herself against the wall, and slowly walked out, falling from the top of the Savior's head. Just as she thought she was definitely going to land face-first and be knocked senseless, a hand reached out from behind to steady her, then set her on the ground.

"Tha... thank you."

Nero turned and saw that, at some point, a silver-haired, flamboyant uncle in a Red Trench Coat had appeared behind her. The thanks already at her lips caught for an instant, and she subconsciously took a step back, performing a traditional Skirt-Lifting Bow according to Fortuna's customs.

"Oh?"

Dante raised a brow, leaned back, crossed his arms, and tilted his head. The muscles in his cheeks twitched twice. With his mouth crooked, he still couldn't figure out how to start talking to Nero, so he could only turn to Trish not far away and change the subject. "Looks like I missed a ball?"

Trish was clearly holding back laughter as she replied, "That's right. Need me to introduce you?"

"No need for that." Dante turned to look at Nero again, his expression already back to normal. "Nero, right? This is our First Meeting."

"You must be Dante, then. Perhaps I should call you Uncle?"

That straight shot made Dante rub his nose. He planted one hand on his waist and covered his chin with the other as he asked, "Mm... you're not wrong. But usually, in this kind of situation, aren't you supposed to guess the other person is your long-lost father?"

Nero pressed her lips together to hold back a smile and said softly, "I don't think you're that irresponsible."

"Pfft!"

To the side, Trish covered her mouth and bent over at the waist.

"Hey!" Dante cried in protest, then cleared his throat and asked Nero, "Ahem. All right, you know..."

Very consciously, Nero took out Gilgamesh and handed it over to Dante with both hands.

And so Dante couldn't finish the words he was halfway through saying. He cleared his throat again, and the moment he had just reached out to take Gilgamesh, he heard Nero speak again.

"This is something I found inside the Gate of the Demon World. I imagine it's part of your collection. But regarding Yamato, there are some questions I think you may know the answers to... Is it a relic of my true father?"

Nero put on a serious expression as she asked.

And so Dante had no choice but to swallow the words he had already prepared. He reached up and pushed his bangs back, deliberately answering in a relaxed tone, "Your instincts are pretty sharp. That's right. This sword once belonged to my Older Brother."

"Do you want to take it back?"

"That depends on you." Hearing Nero ask this question, Dante finally let out a breath of relief, put both hands on his hips, and said, "It's true, this sword is very dangerous. It's the key to the gate of the Demon World and possesses great power..."

His gaze fell on Nero, carrying a hint of approval. "But you proved you were qualified to wield it. In this incident, I barely got to play any part at all. Your strength and your will are both worthy of being the owner of this blade."

So Nero finally let go of the worry she had been holding on to. She lightly touched her chest and smiled. "Thank you for your recognition."

Nero's overly earnest reply left Dante at a bit of a loss for words too. He lifted his head, looked at the Savior lying collapsed on the ground, hefted the Demonic Tool in his hand, and asked, "Aside from Yamato, do you have any other weapons?"

"I also have this." Nero took Echidna from her chest and answered.

"Looks really weak." Dante frowned, reaching the same conclusion as Nero. So he simply tossed Gilgamesh back to Nero and said, "I hear you use it pretty well, so it's yours."

"Huh?"

Nero caught Gilgamesh, looked up, and saw that Dante had already picked up Sparda's Blade from wherever it had fallen and was walking off into the distance with his back to her, waving a hand in her direction.

"See you, girl," he called loudly. "I'll send you another gift later, so remember to sign for it!"

Nero smiled, quietly thanked him, put Gilgamesh away, then raised her head and glanced at the setting sun.

Then she walked toward the little town beneath the sunset.