Finally, far from Sun City and the friends she left behind, Sosei Nagasaki came to a halt.
She stared at the twin blades in her hands, silent, a flicker of regret stirring in her chest like a bad aftertaste.
Sosei knew. She knew exactly what her actions would lead to. Nero would be lost, wandering through endless dreams, unable to find his way back.
Worst case? He might sleep forever.
But to truly save Shoko Toyokawa and Mutsu Wakaba, Sosei had no choice. She had to do it.
"Well done, Sosei."
The voice came from a weird little creature—pink and white, somewhere between a rabbit and a cat. It stepped out of the shadows, sauntering up to her with a smug air. "So far, everything's gone off without a hitch."
Seeing Ace appear, Sosei let out a small breath of relief, but she wasn't about to let it slide. "This'll save Shoko and the others, right?" she pressed.
"Damn right it will," Ace replied with a confident nod.
Yeah, every move Sosei made since nightfall had been part of Ace's plan.
And her role? Simple. Just like earlier—snap her scissors shut at the right moment.
From Nanna's appearance to Nero and the crew chasing down Hatsuka, trying to dive into Shoko's dream—every single thing that happened tonight was exactly as Ace predicted.
"So…" Sosei ventured, "when do we move to the next step?"
That backstab earlier? That was a key piece of Ace's plan. Sosei's goal was to save Shoko and Mutsu—more importantly, to turn them human again. She couldn't let Nero waltz into Shoko's dream. If he did, Shoko would overpower Nanna in their clash, fully claiming her power.
And if that happened? Shoko would become a living seal to keep Nanna's power in check—a human pillar, never to be human again.
Sosei wasn't about to let that slide. That's why she turned to Ace for help. And this plan was the answer.
By banishing Nero to the dreamworld, Sosei created an opening. A chance for her and Ace to nab the legendary demon blade, Yama-to.
With that blade, Sosei could separate Nanna from Shoko. She could slice the demonic power out of Mutsu, letting her become human again. Then Ace would use its own body to seal Nanna's remains, locking the source of New City's demonic power in the Underworld forever.
City saved. Shoko saved. Everyone wins.
"It's already in motion," Ace said, its voice dripping with a smug grin. "Relax, kid. I'll keep my promise."
Sosei pressed a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath to steady her racing heart—and the guilt gnawing at her.
Ace's plan had a catch. There were people who wouldn't be saved.
To get Yama-to and fully separate Nanna from Shoko, they still had one more thing to do.
It was obvious: the planetarium wasn't just holding a sleeping Nero. There were others there too. And to create the perfect moment for Sosei to snatch the blade, Ace would lure Nanna right to them.
After that, Nanna would reclaim her fragmented power from Haring and the others, becoming whole again.
In the process, those three would be absorbed by Nanna. Ace would use their consciousness to suppress Nanna, creating a window to separate Shoko. Once Shoko was free, those three would become part of the seal for Nanna—gone for good.
Yeah, the full plan was to swap Shoko's role in Nero's scheme with Haring, Hatsuka, and Myamu. And to pull it off, Sosei had to sacrifice Nero too.
With Hatsuka offered up as a sacrifice to free Shoko, there'd be no one left to bring Nero back to his body.
Talk about a heavy sin. But to save her friends, Sosei agreed to Ace's deal without hesitation.
She felt guilty as hell, sure. But regret? Not a damn bit.
Ace watched her, its sealed mouth curling into a faint smirk.
What a perfect pawn.
Naive yet willing to fall. Selfish yet full of self-sacrifice.
Sosei was so innocent she'd buy into "wish-granting" nonsense, but when it came to sacrificing others, she didn't even flinch. People like her were easy to manipulate—so easy Ace didn't even need to think hard about the lies.
The plan Ace fed Sosei? Mostly true. Hell, scratch that—it was all true.
It really could turn Shoko and Mutsu human again. It really could save the city from Nanna.
And Nanna's power? It'd be sealed, no question.
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But what happens after the seal? That, Ace conveniently left out.
To claim Nanna's power, Ace had rigged this entire dreamworld with traps—something it sure as hell wasn't telling Sosei.
Truth is, this plan started the moment Ace found Nanna's remains. It's been running for nearly a century.
And the real, complete plan? It goes like this:
First, to invade the dreamworld inside Nanna's corpse, Ace needed humans carrying its magic.
To get those humans, it schemed in New City for a hundred years, seeping its power into every inch of the place. Using the power of "lust," it influenced the dreams of every resident, linking this place to the Underworld. That let it send weaker demons to the surface.
Then, using demon-slaying and wish-granting as bait, it lured in gullible young girls.
After grooming them for a while, it orchestrated "accidents" to kill them off, sending their souls to the Underworld to merge with Nanna's remains.
When the time was right, it used a dreamy girl to fully awaken the corpse. Combined with the sacrifices offered before, the dreamworld and New City would start to overlap.
From there, it was a cakewalk. Ace just had to wait for the reborn Nanna to grow stronger. The dreamworld's New City would get closer and closer to reality until they were identical. When that happened, Ace could control the dream through its connection to the city and its dreaming residents.
After that, Ace would use its link to that girl to "extract" Nanna's power—filtered, free of her will. Done and dusted.
By then, the power of the dreamworld's master would be Ace's. Nanna's consciousness? Stuck with that unlucky girl. Everyone else? Just pawns to boost the odds and have a little fun.
Now, Ace was one step away from pulling off its century-long gambit.