For Chisaya Aine, the few minutes after Samael's arrival were a whirlwind of chaos.
First, Samael swooped in to bail her out of Riki's verbal beatdown. Then, she charged straight through the demon horde, locking blades with their leader and taking them down in a blur so fast Aine barely had time to blink.
But in that same instant, a crimson moon silently bloomed in the night sky.
Just like that time they chased after Hiiro, the moonlight shimmered, and before anyone could react, they were swallowed into another world.
The only difference this time? The enemy standing under the moon was someone they'd never seen before.
"…My love, you've wronged me…"
A haunting, melodic voice echoed through the moonlight, wistful and sorrowful, enough to bring tears to anyone's eyes. But to Aine, it sounded… familiar.
"Hatsuka?"
A voice from behind—outside Aine's barrier—snapped her attention. She turned and saw a girl about her age with long, dark hair, looking vaguely familiar. The name she'd called out—Hatsuka—clicked in Aine's mind a moment later. That was Mana, the former lead singer of the idol group sumimi. And the name she'd shouted…
Aine looked up at the figure under the moon, golden hair glinting in the light, and her suspicion was confirmed. It was Hatsuka, the other half of sumimi. Was she part of the Manpuku Carnival too?
Hatsuka's eyes were closed, her body curled up as if asleep, floating in the moonlight. Her voice was the only thing that carried, sending out an invisible wave that instantly lulled Mana into a deep slumber. Mana swayed and collapsed.
Aine saw Samael spring into action, slashing Yamato toward the airborne Hatsuka, only to be repelled by an invisible wall. At the same moment, a strange pink glow flared up around the sleeping Mana.
Before Aine could make sense of it, a bone-chilling roar made everyone's blood run cold.
The blood-red moon… it had awakened.
The world beneath it trembled, expanding rapidly, swallowing entire city blocks as if it meant to devour the whole damn city. Aine couldn't feel much of the changes in this moonlit realm, but one thing was impossible to miss: on the distant high-rises, windows were lighting up one by one. Either the entire city had been dragged into this moonlit world, or the moonlit world was merging with reality.
Either way, it spelled disaster: every citizen in New Metropolis was now a target for the demons.
"Damn it! How'd it come to this?!" Riki snapped out of her shock, turning to Aine. "Hey, focus! Don't let those demons slip out. Your job's the most critical now!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
Aine abandoned any thought of fighting, pouring all her focus into her barrier, enveloping nearly the entire street. What she didn't realize was that this chaos wasn't part of the enemy's plan either.
The moment the shift happened, the demons in front of them stopped attacking and began to retreat. Hatsuka, still floating in the sky, dissolved her barrier and opened her eyes. From the crimson moon, a shadowy figure descended slowly.
"Shoko Toyokawa," back in the flesh.
Her eyes were now a solid, blood-red glow—eerie and terrifying. As she appeared, Aine's barrier popped like a soap bubble. Towering, mountain-like shadows loomed under the moonlight, as if ready to crush Aine and the others into dust.
Samael moved again. This time, emerald-green wings sprouted from her back—she was going all out. In a flash, she shot toward Shoko, her target clear.
"Ha… haha… HAHAHA!"
Shoko let out a manic laugh, her voice dripping with glee. "Did you forget what I told you?"
A crimson figure materialized at Shoko's side, colliding with Samael. Aine had seen Samael hold her own against Shoko and her goons before, practically untouchable. But now? The invincible Samael was sent flying back in an instant, crashing toward them.
"This time, you don't stand a chance!" Shoko's voice rang out, savoring the moment.
Aine tried to throw up a barrier to cushion Samael's fall, but she wasn't fast enough. Before Shoko's words even finished, Samael slammed into the ground beside Aine. The pavement cracked, kicking up a cloud of cement dust.
"In one hit…?"
Samael's defeat left Riki stunned, her expression tinged with fear. The last time they faced Shoko, they'd only escaped because Samael showed up in the nick of time. Without her, they wouldn't have had a prayer of getting out with Hiiro.
Now, Shoko seemed to have powered up to god-tier levels, swatting Samael like a fly. Who the hell could stop her now?
"Whew, that was a close one."
To everyone's shock, a male voice cut through the dust—deep, magnetic, and laced with a playful edge, like the situation was just a minor inconvenience.
A gust of wind swept the dust away, revealing a man in a red trench coat kneeling in the center of the shattered pavement. He raised an eyebrow, smirking at the tuxedo-clad girl he'd caught in a princess carry. "Gotta say, every time I show up, you're falling out of the sky. You okay, my little princess?"
Aine's jaw dropped. "Th-that's… Nero's uncle?!" He knew Samael?!
But the real bombshell was still coming. The girl in the tuxedo finally pulled off her mask, her face lighting up with relieved surprise. "Uncle Dante, thanks… I'm fine."
That wasn't Samael. Sure, her hair and eye color were different, but Aine would never mistake her friend.
That was Nero.
Samael and Nero… they were the same person this whole time?!
No way!
In that moment, Nero shot Aine a small smile—gentle, but with a hint of apology in her eyes.
Dante set Nero down, stepping back once she was steady. With a theatrical bow like it was their first meeting, the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
Then he drew his massive sword, looking up at the figure floating in the night sky. Nero joined him, their eyes locked on Shoko.
(End of Chapter)