At the same time Leo and the other two were transported into one of the labyrinth's rooms, their servants were also scattered into separate chambers.
Some ended up alone. Some appeared in pairs, and some in groups of three—but almost none were completely isolated. Whether by coincidence or by the mechanism of this forced teleportation, those who stayed together were usually the same type: Knight with Knight, Rook with Rook. Leo's group stayed together for the same reason—they were all King pieces.
Under this arrangement, Akeno and Tsubaki appeared in the same room. Utaha, Koneko, and Tsubasa were placed together. Mahiru, Reya, and Momo ended up in one room. Only Asuna, Kiba, and Tomoe were exceptions. Despite all three being Knight pieces, they were separated.
To be precise, Asuna and Tomoe were together, while Kiba appeared with Ruruko Nimura, a Pawn piece from Sitri's group. It must have been the conflicting attributes of Asuna's and Kiba's Sacred Gears that caused the teleportation offset—their demonic power repelled each other, altering the jump.
After all, the magic circle locked onto everyone's demonic power. Transmission interference from clashing energies wasn't surprising in the least.
Only Yukino—despite being a Bishop piece—did not appear with Mahiru, Reya, or Momo. She was entirely alone.
"...Where even is this?"
After the initial confusion, Yukino regained her calm.
She hesitated before trying to leave the room, but found no exit at all, forced to walk in circles inside the enclosed space.
"A sealed room?"
She frowned and attempted to activate a communication magic circle in her palm, only to discover that the space itself disrupted it. She couldn't reach anyone.
"...Tch."
Yukino's patience wasn't great to begin with. She immediately resorted to brute force, forming a massive ice spear and firing it at the wall—but the spear shattered on impact without leaving even a scratch.
"It won't work."
A familiar voice drifted into her ears.
Yukino whipped around.
And there, stepping out from the shadows, was a figure she would never forget.
"This labyrinth is a separate dimension, isolated from the human world. Every room is part of its structure. Unless you can break space itself, you won't be damaging a single brick here."
A blonde girl in a nun's habit calmly walked forward, smiling up at her.
"Sharon Holygrail."
Yukino's eyes sharpened instantly.
It was indeed Sharon.
"Long time no see, Yukino." Sharon smiled with that strangely seductive expression far too unbecoming of a nun. "It's been a few months, hasn't it?"
"Forty-three days," Yukino replied coldly. "A little over a month."
"Your memory really is something, little princess of the Yukinoshita family." Sharon chuckled. "I only remember constantly waiting to see you girls again. It felt like ages."
Sharon's gaze drifted, just for a moment, before returning to normal.
"I heard that guy took in more servants afterward. Talented ones too. Looks like the number of devils I need to eliminate has increased again." She smiled sweetly as she said something utterly murderous. That too was simply her nature.
"So you've set your sights on me again?" Yukino's expression didn't waver. "Meaning this is another plot from the Church?"
"You're mistaken." Sharon shook her head. "This time, the ones behind it are your own kind."
"My kind? Devils?" Yukino's brow tightened. "Are you joking?"
"If anything, your naivety is the joke here, Yukinoshita-san." Sharon's voice held a dry laugh. "You can't seriously think devils get along with each other, right?"
"Humans can't get along even with their own species, let alone devils, who are even more cunning, more twisted, more evil."
"And you—after becoming a devil—have you already forgotten what a filthy species this is?"
Yukino's frown deepened, but she wasn't about to back down.
"I don't know how devils relate to each other, but I do know one thing—you're the last person who'd ever work with devils."
Her meaning was clear: if devils orchestrated this plan, why was someone like Sharon here?
Sharon, who used to despise devils as if they were poison.
"Ah, so that's what you meant." Sharon didn't mock her this time. Instead, she laughed at herself. "If I were willing to cooperate with devils, I wouldn't still be hunting targets I haven't killed yet."
"But I am the sort who uses any means necessary. If it helps me eliminate the current target, I don't need to walk alongside them—just hitch a ride."
Yukino had no idea what she was talking about.
"What do you mean, hitch a ride? What exactly are you saying?"
Sharon answered with only one sentence.
"I'm saying that the enemy of my enemy may not be my friend—but they can still be a tool. Understand?"
Before Yukino could speak, Sharon drew a small exorcist handgun and fired repeatedly. Light Bullets shot toward Yukino without a sound.
Yukino's vigilance never wavered. She reacted instantly, releasing a cloud of supercooled mist around herself.
Cr-cr-cr-cr—
The Light Bullets entered the freezing fog and were immediately encased in ice, falling as tiny shards.
"...Your control over demonic power's getting better and better, Yukinoshita-san."
Sharon spoke expressionlessly.
"And you're getting more despicable. Not very fitting for someone from the Church." Yukino's voice was sharp. "Though I guess you've always been a messed-up woman. A normal person wouldn't keep serving the people who turned her into a test subject."
"You don't hate the one who did this to you, but you hate the Demon Factor instead? You really are sick in the head."
Sharon's head lowered slowly at those words. Her bangs hid her eyes completely.
"You don't know anything."
For the first time, Sharon's voice wasn't seductive—it was cold. Dark. Like a whisper from the depths of hell.
Yukino froze for a heartbeat.
Then Sharon tossed aside the handgun and drew two swords.
Swords that radiated sinister, claw-like shapes—nothing like the Light Weapons she once used. Their aura felt less demonic and more… wicked.
"What are those?"
Yukino's expression shifted. They resembled Demon Swords, yet weren't the same as the ones Yuuto Kiba created. They weren't just tainted by demonic energy—they felt outright malevolent.
"If you know my origins, then you know the Church has always researched ways to kill devils."
Sharon lowered the blades as she stepped forward.
"To kill devils, some researched new weapons. Others researched new soldiers. That's how institutions like the Siegfried genetic program were formed. The weapons division created their own abominations—breaking taboos in the process."
She lifted the twisted blades. Their eerie glow cast cruel shadows across her beautiful face.
"These weapons were born from that taboo. They contain the resentment, hatred, and malice of humans who died because of devils. Their souls were harvested, sealed into these blades."
"They're exorcist swords designed specifically for devils. Their name—Devil Slayer."
It was both Sharon's title as an exorcist, and the name of the weapon.
Yukino froze.
"The Church actually tampered with souls...?!"
If altering life was one taboo, then tampering with souls was the taboo above all taboos.
Yet the Church had crossed both.
"You're the real devils here, aren't you?"
"All for the sake of exterminating devils," Sharon replied flatly.
"Ice Princess!"
Yukino summoned her heteromorphic princess without hesitation, bracing for Sharon's second attack.
"For that purpose, any method is permitted."
And with that, Sharon launched herself across the room, blades raised, charging straight for Yukino.