"The boss needs human dreams to keep this world stable."
Nero wasn't shocked by Kairin's answer—it lined up with what she'd already figured. What did catch her off guard was Kairin claiming Shoko didn't actually want to drag people into the "dream world" to sleep. Their kidnappings? Supposedly a form of "protection."
It made sense, in a twisted way. Compared to being lured by Little Ace, where you could lose your life for no reason at all, just snoozing for a few months and waking up later wasn't the worst deal. But it clashed with Nero's earlier guess about "snatching people." If Kairin was telling the truth, it meant Shoko still held onto the one thing that made her human—her heart.
"If that's the case, why all the tough talk like you're some cartoon villain?"
Nero kept that quip to herself, but the situation was getting messy. If Kairin wasn't just blowing smoke, Shoko's state might be worse than she thought. On one hand, she hadn't pulled enough people into the dream world to sustain it. On the other, the ones she had grabbed were likely tampered with by Little Ace. Nero wouldn't bat an eye if Shoko snapped under the strain.
Right now, Little Ace was exploiting Shoko's "weakness," slowly eating away at her.
Sure enough, when Hanaka showed up and willingly let Mana fall into a dream, Nero's gut screamed trouble. She moved to stop it.
The second Mana drifted off, Nero caught a familiar scent on her—a demonic power laced with the stench of original sin. Lust.
How Little Ace hid that power right under her nose didn't matter now. What did was that Mana wasn't a one-off. Every girl Kairin's crew had dragged into the dream world probably carried this same latent power. And now that it was flaring up, it meant Little Ace was done prepping.
It was ready to reap.
As if on cue, a manic shriek tore through the moonlit night—not Shoko's voice, but the Blood Moon Princess's. Little Ace must've tampered with the girls' dreams, using their connection to this world to awaken the Blood Moon Princess's demonic consciousness.
It was all happening faster than Nero expected, which just proved how slick Little Ace's scheme was.
Then Shoko appeared, but those crimson eyes said it all—she wasnAngels wasn't Shoko anymore. In ten seconds flat, she pulled the entire city—and everyone in it—into the dream world.
As Shoko descended from the blood moon, her skirt fluttering, a massive shadowy figure of bones and tendrils loomed behind her. That's when Nero clocked the true face of the Blood Moon Princess, Nanna.
Power passed through flesh.
Humans turned to werewolves.
A world of dreams.
A demon from the moon.
All these pieces clicked together, and Nero couldn't help but think of something from another world. Even if "It" and Nanna weren't the same, they were cut from the same cloth.
The Moon Presence from Bloodborne—the final, behind-the-scenes puppet master.
Shoko's crazed laughter only confirmed it: her mind was gone, devoured by demonic power thanks to Little Ace's machinations. Whether she was Shoko or Oblivionis, that person was dead. All that remained was the newborn Blood Moon Princess.
So, naturally, her power was on a whole other level now.
Nero didn't hesitate—she was the only one here who could take on this demon. Aine and the others were too weak, too shaken. Kairin and Myaomu were scared stiff and had already bolted. And Hanaka? Hanaka didn't seem keen on abandoning this version of Shoko—or rather, Nanna.
Nero charged Nanna, but this time, it wasn't the Savior or her own shadow that blocked her. A red-clad figure with a greatsword came at her full force, overpowering her with ease. One more swing, and she was sent flying.
It was Dante—the same Dante she'd fought before.
But instead of crashing to the ground, someone caught her.
"Man, every time I show up, you're falling out of the sky," her rescuer said with a grin. Seeing his face, Nero let out a relieved breath. With Dante here, Nanna's days were numbered.
"Uncle Dante, thanks… I'm good."
The problem? Aine was watching, and there was no hiding her identity now. So, Nero just ripped off her mask and flashed Aine a grin.
Ignoring Aine's gobsmacked expression, Nero gave Dante a quick nod, then turned her eyes to Nanna in the sky.
"That's the Blood Moon Princess?" Dante asked, hefting his sword and taking a step forward. "Not really my type."
"She's pulled the whole city into the dream world," Nero said from behind him. "We need to end this fast."
"New guest?" Nanna giggled from above, waving a hand to summon a new foe from memory. "You, sir, seem like you've met some interesting people. Let's see—"
A gray-white statue rose from the ground, its face stern, a pair of massive wings unfurling behind it. Bathed in moonlight, it looked evil, grotesque—but it wasn't the Savior Nero had seen before.
Close, but not quite.
Dante, usually cool as ice, went pale the second he saw it. His cocky grin vanished, replaced by a grim look. He growled a name that even made him uneasy: "Mundus?"
Yeah, Mundus. The Demon Emperor.
Once the ruler of the demon world, the strongest of his kind. Betrayed by his own lieutenant, the demon swordsman Sparda, and sealed away in the demon realm's palace.
Dante had been hunted by Mundus's minions after the emperor woke up. When he finally faced the big man himself, this was the form he took.
The enemy Dante hated most. The one he never wanted to see again.
And in the glowing eyes of that statue, Dante saw the same contempt for humanity, the same malice, that Mundus had always carried.
(End of Chapter)