Just moments ago, Asmodeus had used the Yamato to separate Nanna's power and consciousness. Nero's presence in this city with the Yamato was a complete fluke—something Asmodeus couldn't control or predict.
So, naturally, it had another way to steal Nanna's power from Shoko Toyokawa.
A method it hadn't used yet.
Now was the perfect time.
The space around Asmodeus warped suddenly as Nero struck with the Yamato's power. Asmodeus reacted swiftly, dodging the blade-like spatial turbulence, but not without cost—half its forearm was torn apart.
Its power seemed… underwhelming, not quite matching the image of a demon wielding an arsenal of magical artifacts.
But that only made it creepier.
In that instant, demonic energy from Asmodeus detonated within Shoko Toyokawa and Mutsu Wakaba. Nero didn't have time to check on them, launching another attack at Asmodeus.
Clutching its wounded elbow, Asmodeus let out a cold laugh. "Now do you see why I chose you as Nanna's sacrifice?"
Behind Nero, Shoko Toyokawa doubled over, clutching her head.
Mutsu Wakaba's face twisted in agony.
Nero closed in on Asmodeus, her blade slicing into its body. Despite the massive gash, Asmodeus retreated, continuing to taunt the two girls.
"So naive, so weak. Your flaws are painfully obvious, begging to be exploited.
"Mutsu Wakaba, you'll be forever trapped between apathy and greed," it sneered.
"Shoko Toyokawa, you'll always yearn to be human, always suffer," it cursed.
Asmodeus could peer into hearts, wielding their weaknesses like a weapon. Its words pierced through the girls' mental defenses with ease.
Its demonic power burrowed into the deepest corners of their minds.
With a silent scream, Mutsu Wakaba and Shoko Toyokawa's forms began to fade.
Asmodeus, like a phantom, slipped past Nero's pursuing blade, vanishing into the air.
"Farewell, spawn of Sparda," its mocking voice echoed from the void. "Let's hope we never meet again."
The voice faded, leaving Nero alone in the dream's ruins.
She glanced around. The blood moon had vanished, and dawn was breaking in the east. A gut feeling told Nero that when the sun rose, the dream would dissolve, and she'd awaken in the real world.
In the end, Asmodeus had claimed Nanna's power and slipped away unscathed?
That's how it looked. After breaking Shoko and Mutsu's mental barriers and devouring them, Asmodeus got everything it wanted and vanished from the dream. Nero had no idea where it went or where to find it. It seemed irreversible.
But—
"Who'd accept an ending like this?"
Nero gritted her teeth, tightening her grip on the Yamato.
Asmodeus hadn't won yet.
If devouring Shoko was enough to claim Nanna's power, it wouldn't have bothered stealing the Yamato first.
Nor would it have fled so abruptly, leaving Nero behind.
There had to be some kind of "side effect" to its plan. That's why it ran from Nero, choosing to hide.
But where was it hiding?
"A deeper dream?"
Nero murmured.
A spark of realization flashed through her mind.
She knew where Nanna was.
It would be somewhere completely safe, where no one could find it.
A place buried in the deepest, most nested layer of the dreamscape.
The Astral Prison…
Or perhaps Limbo, or The Border of Hell.
In the dream world, it had another name:
The Nightmare Frontier.
But knowing this didn't change the situation. The Nightmare Frontier was the deepest, most secretive, and most dangerous part of the dreamscape. It was likely crawling with monstrous entities born from human memories. One wrong move, and you'd be lost forever.
Worse, Nero didn't know how to get there.
Still, she wasn't giving up.
Asmodeus had to pay for what it had done.
Recalling the methods to reach the Nightmare Frontier from Inception and Bloodborne, Nero turned the Yamato's blade toward her chest.
She closed her eyes.
A sharp, icy pain pierced her body. Nero's consciousness wavered, separating from her physical form, taking the Yamato with it.
Still clutching the blade, Nero opened her eyes to see her sleeping body lying amidst the church's ruins.
Step one: success.
To leave this dream layer and reach the Nightmare Frontier, Nero's first thought was to use the Yamato to slice through the dream world. She'd tried this before, but every time she cut open the dream, it led to the real world—Nanna's corpse.
If the dream world was a series of nested boxes, Nero could only cut open the box she was in. She couldn't pierce the smaller boxes from the outside.
But that was with a physical body. For a spiritual form, could the sea of the subconscious be the largest box, and the real world the smallest?
Nero didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a shot.
She took a deep breath, focusing. Nero channeled her demonic energy, letting it seep into the dream world's depths, locking onto the concept she wanted to "sever" with the Yamato.
A trembling string of the world.
Her blade struck.
Before Nero even opened her eyes, a faint pull from ahead told her she'd guessed right. While asleep, in a spiritual form, if she tore through the dream with the Yamato, she could reach its deepest layer.
When Nero opened her eyes again, she stood in the heart of a white flower sea, a closing rift behind her.
"Didn't think you'd actually follow me."
Asmodeus' heavy voice came from the center of the flower sea, right in front of Nero. A flickering, illusory blood moon hung above its head, and Asmodeus no longer resembled its former self.
Its long tail had split, sprouting countless tentacle-like branches like Nanna's. Sharp ribs protruded from its chest, turning its once "alluring" upper body grotesque. From its long ears sprouted writhing tendrils, resembling the maw of some abyssal horror.
"Asmodeus."
Nero slowly curtsied, her eyes glinting red as she flashed a smile.
"Consider this your invitation."