As expected, Nero was sent flying by an invisible force, her Phantom Sword array shattering against the air. While Nanna struggled to suppress the other consciousness within her, resurfacing to the dream's surface, everything was spiraling toward an irredeemable abyss.
The blood moon faded, and the eastern sky began to lighten. Anyone could see it—the dream world was changing hands.
And Little Ace, now the master of this dreamscape, finally revealed its true form.
The pair of bunny ears atop its head shifted backward, cascading like hair. Horns, marking its demonic nature, slowly emerged, and its cat-like features began to take on a more human shape.
Its body transitioned from pinkish-white to a pale purple hue. The upper half resembled a human woman, while the lower half was a mix of bird claws and a serpent's tail. A second head protruded from its abdomen—part goat, part dragon.
Nero, knocked back by the demon's aura, rolled across the ground. Scrambling to her feet, she unleashed another barrage of Phantom Swords at the creature. Predictably, they did nothing.
"Heh~"
The demon let out a bewitching laugh, appearing before Nero in a flash. It shoved the half-kneeling Nero to the ground, pinning her with ease. Slender fingers tipped with sharp claws reached straight for Nero's chest.
"You're gorgeous," the demon purred, its other hand gripping Nero's throat, a finger pressing against her lips with a nostalgic glint in its eyes. "No surprise there, being Sparda's descendant."
That finger teased along Nero's lips, stifling her attempt to turn away. Meanwhile, the demon's other hand sank into Nero's chest, grasping at something inside.
In that moment, Nero understood. Even when Little Ace had cut ties with Shoko, it hadn't forgotten to set a trap for Nero through her. It never intended to give up on claiming the Yamato! That line it fed Shoko was just to lower Nero's guard!
"Urgh!"
With a muffled groan from Nero, the Yamato—and her body outside the dream—was pulled into this layer of the dreamscape by the demon. Nero snapped back into her physical form, eyes flying open, only to see the gleaming blade being yanked from her chest.
A hollow emptiness and crippling weakness surged from Nero's heart. As the demon rose, holding the stolen Yamato, Nero summoned the power of "Pride," desperate to reclaim her weapon.
But the demon's bird-like claw stomped down on her, pinning her to the ground. With Nero subdued, the strength of "Pride" couldn't overpower the enemy and quickly fizzled out.
"Good girls should behave, you know," Little Ace teased with a grin. "Don't worry—once I've claimed Nanna's power, I'll come back to properly pamper you."
Its voice was so alluring that, for a fleeting moment, Nero's mind wavered, thinking, Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
She bit her tongue hard, the pain snapping her back to reality. She'd been had.
"Your name…" Nero rasped, staring at the demon. "Your real name… it's Asmodeus, isn't it?"
Asmodeus didn't answer, but Nero knew she'd hit the mark. The demon, Yamato in hand, flickered and reappeared before the girl struggling with Nanna for control. With a smile, it brushed a lock of hair from her face, caressing her cheek.
"Let me give you a hand," it said.
The blade plunged into the girl's chest.
"Shoko Toyokawa's" eyes blazed with red light. A skeletal shadow of Nanna's true form flickered behind her before dissolving into a pure, crystalline orb shaped like a heart.
In Asmodeus' arms, the girl's body went limp, sliding off the blade and collapsing to the ground. With a beckoning gesture, Asmodeus drew the orb toward its palm, tethered to the dream world.
Looking at the fallen girl and the prize now in its grasp, Asmodeus laughed.
"Thanks for all your hard work, Shoko Toyokawa."
The demon reached for the orb, ready to devour it.
"No need to thank me."
A voice from behind froze Asmodeus in its tracks.
In that instant, the orb slipped past Asmodeus' grasp, flying toward the voice's owner.
And Asmodeus knew who that voice belonged to, which made it all the more unbelievable.
"Shoko… Toyokawa?!"
Yes, another "Shoko Toyokawa" had appeared in the dream. She materialized at the dream's entrance, catching the orb with ease. After a graceful curtsy, she bit into it.
Wiping her lips elegantly with a handkerchief, she shot Asmodeus a mocking look. "And thanks for your hard work, 'Little Ace.'"
As she spoke, control of the dream world and Nanna's power slipped away from Asmodeus.
Nero staggered to her feet, seizing the moment. With lightning speed, she charged Asmodeus, kicking the Yamato from its grasp. She flipped midair, catching the blade, landing lightly, and drawing it to point at the demon—
And at the mysterious "Shoko Toyokawa."
Asmodeus, shocked and enraged, whipped around to the original "Shoko Toyokawa," only to see the girl clutching her chest and rising from the ground—now wearing a different mask.
Not the half-mask of "Oblivion," but one that covered nearly her entire face: the mask of "Death."
That wasn't Shoko Toyokawa.
The red glow in her eyes flickered and faded, finally extinguishing. Nanna's power was gone, vanished completely—until it could revive in another dream.
"Mutsu Wakaba… when?!" Asmodeus snarled through gritted teeth.
Nero pieced it together in an instant. The Shoko in this dream was Mutsu Wakaba. Which meant the Mutsu in Mutsu's dream—
The "puppet" Nero had seen in Mutsu's dream, controlled by strings… that was the real Shoko Toyokawa.
No wonder the stage in that dream was modeled after Shoko's family estate.
No wonder that puppet never once called itself "Mutsu Wakaba."
No wonder that "Mutsu" had dodged answering how to reach Shoko's dream.
No wonder the guards in this dream were a horde of "puppets."
Unbeknownst to everyone, the two had swapped identities in the dream, pulling off a perfect bait-and-switch right under Little Ace's nose.