(Keep up with the story, folks!)
Using the Yamato to slice open a portal across space? Yeah, that's no walk in the park for Nero. It's not just because this is her first stab at it—pun intended—but because she's got zero clue how to lock onto a far-off location in the void.
That's exactly why she's never tried this crazy stunt before.
Thankfully, with a little help from some projected visuals, she pulls it off. Barely.
Landing on solid ground, Nero glances down at the girl cradled in her arms. Beatrice is out cold. Probably scared senseless, poor kid.
The townsfolk? They clock Nero the second she appears. They recognize her as the silver-haired, sword-raining "angel" who lit up the sky a couple days ago. For a moment, they're too spooked to make a move. But those "witches" who tumbled into the crowd? No such luck for them. The mob grabs the broken nooses, dragging the women through the dirt. Some folks are already pulling out blades, itching to dish out their so-called "justice."
"Back off, all of you!" Nero snaps, her voice cutting through the chaos.
She tries summoning her phantom swords to scare them into submission, but that just lights a fire under their asses. The demonic aura swirling around the townsfolk, the red glint in their eyes—Nero gets it now. These people are too far gone for soft tactics.
Push them any further, and that demonic energy might just turn them into full-blown devils.
What now?
Nero's eyes flick to the lord perched on his high platform. He's drowning in demonic corruption, worse than the rest. If Georgios were here, she'd probably say this high-and-mighty, faithless, paranoid lord is the perfect candidate for a demonic makeover.
But seriously, executing his own daughter to cling to power? That's a new low, even for a creep like him.
Nero locks eyes with the lord, and the icy venom in his gaze sends a chill down her spine. That's not the look of a father or someone grateful for a savior. It's pure hostility, contempt, and—yeah—fear. Like Nero and Beatrice are his sworn enemies.
The lord's a lost cause. The priest? He's practically a walking demon factory. Nero pieces it together: the riots, the witch trials, all of it was orchestrated with these two pulling the strings—or at least turning a blind eye. From the start, they planned to drive out Ritsuka's crew and kick off this ugly circus.
Should I end them? Right here, right now?
It's the only way Nero can see to save those innocent women. But the townsfolk, twisted by demonic energy—are they really guilty? Killing one innocent to save another… is that justice?
Nero's only got two hands. Saving everyone and escaping Latvinchi Town? That's a pipe dream. So it comes down to this: let the crimes in front of her slide to save more lives later. Can she live with that?
No more hesitating. Time's not on her side.
Gritting her teeth, Nero decides to break out with Beatrice first, prioritizing the youngest girl's safety. The others… she'll save who she can.
That's when a sharp cry cuts through the crowd from the outskirts.
"Stop this madness!"
Nero knows that voice instantly. It's Georgios, dragging her half-broken body to the execution site.
That single shout actually freezes the mob for a second, their heads whipping toward the sound. Nero, clutching Beatrice, flashes to Georgios' side in a blur. "Georgios…" she starts.
"No need for words," Georgios cuts her off, raising her one good hand. "I see what's happening here. Let this battered body serve one final purpose—to wipe out your worries for good."
Nero's heart skips a beat. "You—"
She knows what that means. Georgios is ready to die here, to sacrifice the body she was granted as a Servant.
They barely get three words in before the crowd starts roaring again. Screams of terror drown in the frenzy, and blades rise high, ready to spill blood.
"Silence!"
Georgios' voice booms, impossibly loud for her broken frame. She draws her sword with her right hand, standing tall before the mob like an unshakable mountain. "This is in the eyes of the Lord!"
Then, turning to Nero in the brief hush, she delivers her final message: "Tell the Master: beware Mephisto—beware the 'Lightless One'! It's night now, and the 'Seventh Sun' has fallen! It deceived us all!"
Nero doesn't even have time to process that bombshell before Georgios swings her holy sword, severing her own head in one clean stroke.
Her pale face kisses the earth, lips stained crimson by the blood gushing forth. But her headless body doesn't fall. The wound at her neck erupts like a scarlet fountain, drenching her sacred armor and soaking the ground beneath her.
Before the stunned crowd, the blood spreads, forming four outstretched arms—
A crimson cross of blood.
And then Nero gets it. Georgios' final words—"let this battered body serve one final purpose." Her Noble Phantasm requires the ground to be sanctified with blood. With no demons or enemies to draw it from, the only blood available…
…was her own.
"This is a land of faith, a land of justice. From this moment, the faithful shall find their place, the believers shall find life, and the virtuous shall be forever shielded by the divine!"
Georgios' voice echoes from the void, unleashing her Noble Phantasm's full power.
"Swear it, under the witness of the Lord."
At last, her body runs dry, collapsing in a heap. Her holy sword, Ascalon, falls, piercing the blood-soaked earth at the center of the pool.
"By the Cross of Blood, I swear—Ascalon."
The final whisper of the Heroic Spirit fades into the noonday sun.
A radiant white light bursts from the ground, outshining even the sun itself. The black demonic aura flees, scattering into nothing under the holy glow. The lord and the priest, consumed by corruption, are reduced to ash in its purity.
The other townsfolk? Untouched.
As Nero escapes the Noble Phantasm's range and looks back, endless light engulfs half the town. The townsfolk, freed from the demonic taint, lie asleep in the heart of the radiant barrier, surrounding the bloodied sword. Georgios' body is gone.
The town is safe.
Nero, still holding the unconscious Beatrice, lets out a bitter chuckle.
She gives a small nod toward the sword in the distance, a silent salute, then turns to head toward Ritsuka and the others.
Final intel secured! Time for the last battle after we regroup! Please keep following the story—it means the world to me!
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