A Demon's Tale

The smell of soup filled the boy’s nose.

It reminded him of his mother’s very own soup.

On occasion, his mother would make soup for both him and his sister.

The two of them loved the taste of it.

It had almost felt odd to them that such a meal was their favorite, above even the likes of steak or pizza, but they truly enjoyed the soup she had made the most.

He missed the taste of that soup.

But even more than the soup…

He missed his mother.

Boy: [Aah!]

The boy woke up to the same smell of soup as before, while laying down in an unknown house. It wasn’t a fancy place by any means. The wooden floor had creaked as he moved up from where he had rested, and it was as if the walls were over a hundred years old with how worn down they had looked. This was certainly not the type of house he had been familiar with.

???: [Good. You’re awake. The soup was gonna get cold if you stayed knocked out for another ten minutes.]

Boy: [Aah!]

Once again startled, the boy turned to see a woman sitting at the opposite side of the pot that hung above a fire in the middle of the room. Around the area of the fire had been an open space away separating the food, with rocks sprawled across it.

The woman who sat there matched a few of the details he had seen before losing consciousness earlier in the day. The woman was not cold like he had once thought, but rather she was smoking a cigarette. The line he had seen across her face was not an ordinary line, but an eyepatch that sat on her right eye. She had jet black hair styled into a rough ponytail which had only made the scary look on her face much more frightening. Like he had seen before, she was indeed wearing a gray tank top, with dark brown cargo pants to pair with it. She wore no shoes, though this was likely due to the setting being indoors. Somewhere in his mind made the boy believe that she likely never wore shoes though. This woman had looked fit from the skin he could see. Her arms weren’t bulging with muscle, but they were well toned enough to assure anyone that she was likely quite strong. Along her arms, and in some areas of her face had been scars. Perhaps she had been a war hero of some sort.

???: [Enough with the aahs. It’s annoying to hear it more than once.]

Boy: [Y-yes ma’am!]

???: [None of that either. I don’t like hearing the “ma’am” shit.]

Boy: [U-understood.]

The woman removed her cigarette with one of her hands, and took a vicious bite out of the bread in her other hand. She moved her body into a cross legged position, and put the bread in her lap, before reaching over to the spoon in the pot and pouring some soup into a bowl.

???: [Here. Have some. You were out in the freezing cold before I brought you here.]

Boy: [R-right.]

The boy picked up the bowl from her, and started to drink some of the soup.

Boy: [It’s alright.]

???: [Don’t go being picky. This ain’t some restaurant or something.]

Boy: [I’m sorry! I did not mean to say such a thing. It’s just…I’m rather used to the soup my mother once made…]

???: [Speaking of your mother, you should probably head back home once you’re feeling better. I don’t got time to babysit.]

The boy did not respond, but merely gazed at the fire underneath the pot of soup. The woman noticed his fixation on the fire, and immediately became frustrated with herself.

???: [Shit. Why’d I have to go and say that? Should have just assumed this was the case as soon as I saw the two. Look, kid, I’m sorry about that. It was my ba–]

Boy: [I apologize for interrupting but…no. It is not your fault. You did not know. If it’s alright for me to ask, where is my sister?]

Despite how scary her face had been up to this point, the woman closed her eyes and smiled.

???: [Well look at the polite little knight here. Shocking to see someone like this nowadays. Anyways, the other brat is fine. She’s over there.]

The woman pointed to a space on the floor nearby the two of them, and the boy was able to see his sister who had been sound asleep.

Boy: [Thank goodness. I was worried something had happened to her.]

???: [Heh. She was a bit of the hassle on the way here, so I knocked her out–]

Before she could continue, the woman noticed the boy’s hair had started to move upwards while a faint blue line surrounded his body. His eyes began to widen, his veins were etched across his face, and his pupils had started to change from pitch black to a bright white, decreasing in width.

???: [Hey, I didn’t do it out of malicious intent or anything. I just knocked her out in a harmless manner, and from there I brought her here. She’s been sleeping ever since.]

After the woman had given her reasoning for what had happened, the boy’s state slowly returned back to what it originally had been.

Boy: [I apologize. That was rather rude of me to only assume the worst.]

???: [It’s fine. Hell, if I’m being honest, I kinda liked that.]

Boy: [You…liked that?]

???: [Shows you’re willing to stand up for your family. I’d say that’s worth a whole lot as a person.]

The boy looked down at his bowl, watching as the liquid moved while chewing on the woman’s words.

Boy: [Worth a whole lot…as a person…]

The woman then put her cigarette out near the fire, before standing up.

???: [The two of you can stay here. That’s fine by me.]

Boy: [Huh? But I believe you said you did not have time to babysit?]

???: [The hell are you talking about? I love babysitting.]

Despite what she now said, the boy had remembered her previous statement, becoming confused upon hearing the now updated version.

???: [I got one condition though. Need your names. I’m not giving them to anyone, nor are they gonna know you’re here, but I need them for myself.]

Boy: [That…is the only condition?]

???: [Ha? What, you want more?]

Boy: [No, no, it is quite alright! It just seemed rather easy is all.]

The boy had calmed himself down after a small panic that occurred from the woman asking him if he wanted more to do in order to stay, and politely addressed both himself and his sister.

Nero: [My name is Nero. My sister over there is Mena. It is very nice to meet you, miss…]

Inkra: [Inkra.]

Nero: [It is nice to meet you, Miss Inkra!]

In response to Nero’s statement, Inkra closed her eyes and started to wave her hand.

Inkra: [You don’t gotta put the “Miss” on it. Just Inkra is fine. You don’t have to call me anything other than that. I’m just a human in case you’re curious. Not a special little oni like either of you. Anyways, when your sister wakes up, make sure to give her some soup. Hopefully she isn’t as picky as you. Oh, and both of you should take a bath or something. I don’t got time to help you with that.]

Nero: [Yes, understood. However, my sister has always needed our mother’s assistance for bathing, so perhaps I will need to assist her there.]

Inkra: [I’ll help your sister out with taking one.]

Nero: [But you said that you did not have time to do so?]

Inkra: [Ha? What are you talking about? I love helping kids.]

Inkra then moved into a separate room, and Nero focused on eating his soup while looking after his sister.

Eventually, Mena had woken up, crying over her brother being okay. Nero informed her of who Inkra was, and passed her a bowl of soup. Mena made the same comment as Nero had done, which led to Inkra stomping back into the room and yelling once again that her house was not a restaurant. This of course led to more crying from Mena, and both Nero and Inkra comforting her.

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Oni.

A subcategory of demons known for being brutish. They largely focused on the aspects of life that centered around becoming strong, and fighting others. Injuring, torturing, killing, all of these were mere sports to them. It’s true that with the passage of time, they had evolved past such trivial things, and focused on the much more grand aspects of life. But in every oni, persists a single desire hidden away within their mind. A desire that is prepared to jump out once given the occasion to do so. An urge like no other, the urge to battle with others. It claws at the mind like an addiction, and does not stop until it has had its fill. It is not something that is hard to resist, but once someone is put into a scenario which draws this urge more, it will only grow stronger in that moment.

Similarly, another subcategory of demons has an urge that persists in their brains. An urge to love, an urge to be loved, an urge to mate, an urge to breed. This urge lingers in their mind, and desires for their partner to consume them as they are, metaphorically speaking. The true essence of love lives within their mind, along with much weaker false variations of the urge that persist within. These urges that claw at the minds of these demons belong to both incubi, but also…

Succubi.

Nero: [Ah! Shiro! Silvia! Kōkatsu! What happened?! Your injuries look terrible! I knew I should have focused on arriving in a much quicker manner. I’m so sorry that I caused this much trouble.]

Shiro: [No, I’m….fine…]

Nero: [Are you sure? You seemed to have hesitated there.]

Shiro: [No, no I just….I’m surprised…at the current situation.]

Nero tried to make sure his friends were alright, while Shiro along with the others were in complete disbelief over what was happening.

Nero: [The current situation?]

Kōkatsu: [There is no fuckin’ way…that yer serious right now…]

Nero: [I’m not sure I understand.]

Silvia: [Oh my godssss.]

Nero: [It’s about the joke setup that you were all doing, isn’t it? I’m still very sorry about that.]

Yoro: [H-H-Hi…]

Nero heard a different voice in the room speak that he had not recognized before, and turned his head to see the girl who almost looked like a tomato with how red she had been across her entire body. The red on her cheek being much brighter than any other area.

Nero: [Oh, hello. What would you like?]

Yoro: [A child.]

Nero: [Pardon?]

Yoro: [SHIT! I MEAN…ahem…May I ask who you are…s-sir?]

Nero: [Ah! How rude of me. I am Nero Virtuoso. I am a good friend of the other girls here.]

Yoro: [...]

Yoro had started to gaze her eyes across the room in deep thought.

Nero: [Are you alright?]

Yoro: [Yeah I’m just…trying to combine some things in my head. I’ll worry about that after.]

Nero: [I see. Your injuries look quite bad as well however. Are you feeling okay?]

Yoro: [....Maybe two….]

Nero: [Two?]

Yoro: [T-TWO….TWO MINUTES BEFORE I….START FIGHTING….AGAIN…! I AM FEELING FANTASTIC.]

Kōkatsu: [Sure don’t look it.]

Yoro turned to face Kōkatsu, the red on her cheeks now replaced by an annoyed glare.

Yoro: [I still have the saw out.]

Nero: [If it’s alright for me to ask, what is your name?]

Yoro turned back to face Nero and along with her came the blush that sat there before.

Yoro: [I…am…]

Yoro was ready to respond to Nero in a certain manner, but a thought had come into her head. Though Nero was powerful, though he was polite, it did not change the scenario in any way. Multiple heroes had come through the same door he had, and every single one had been slaughtered by her own hands. She never cared, and why would she? They never proved anything. They never showed that they could put up a good fight, that they were strong, that they could set her free. She relied on a fairytale since she was only three years old, but every time someone entered, they only proved it wrong.

Why was he any different?

Why was he an exception?

No. He was nothing.

Not only that, but soon, that boy along with his friends would be nothing.

Yoro let go of her grip on Kōkatsu, jumping to her throne and pointing down at Nero.

Yoro: [I am Yoro of the Sands! The great demon lord! I will kneel to no one, and all will kneel before me! I refuse to let even the strongest of so-called heroes take advantage of my status!]

Nero: [I see. So you are the one I was tasked with defeating. That is rather unfortunate. I can assure you of this, however. I had no intention to take advantage of your status.]

Yoro: [Whether you did or didn’t doesn’t matter to me! I’ll crush you without a second thought and make you beg for your life!]

A massive pink aura bursts out from within Yoro as she moved her arms into the air to launch an attack against Nero.

Yoro: [Razor Donuts!]

A series of rings then appeared with sharp edges surrounding them, and were hurled towards Nero at a rapid pace.

Shiro: [Look out! She’s incredibly strong!]

The donuts had moved towards Nero, nearly inches away from touching him. The only thing that stood between the attack and Nero was his own matōki aura.

The donuts…shattered upon making contact with his aura.

Shiro: [W…hat….?]

Silvia: [The donutssss…]

Kōkatsu: [Oi, oi…the fuck is happenin’?!]

Yoro did not add any comments, but instead stood there in disbelief. The attack she had thrown, the donuts that could easily cut into anyone…broke apart at the mere touch of the boy’s aura.

Without another moment to analyze the situation, or to think of what trick he had used, Yoro launched several follow-up attacks in order to hit him before he could think of guarding.

Yoro: [Brownie Bricks: Full Batch!]

Several rectangular pillars pierced into the room and aimed straight towards Nero. The brownies made contact with his aura, shaking and struggling to correctly attack, before ricocheting off Nero’s matōki into each other and being destroyed instantly.

Yoro: [Hk! Hell Tarts!]

A wide range of darts were formed and sent towards Nero. Before they made contact however, Yoro prepared another attack to go alongside them.

Yoro: [Cupclusters!]

The darts flew straight towards Nero, and right behind them were a series of cupcake-like grenades. The darts were destroyed on contact, but the clusters had exploded right in front of him.

Yoro: [Hah! Surely that peeled off your face or something!]

The smoke cleared out to reveal that Nero…

Yoro: [He’s completely fine?!]

Not a single one of the grenades detonating hit Nero. Each cluster had attacked the aura that stood around him, and caused no damage to Nero in the slightest.

Yoro: [L-Landpies!]

Yoro once again used the landmine style technique in order to attack Nero. However, unlike with Shiro and Silvia where the pies had blown up towards their direction, causing damage to them, the pies this time had somehow inverted, and exploded the ground underneath where they had been planted.

Yoro continued to stare at Nero, completely bewildered at how he was capable of such a feat.

Yoro: [C-Carawall…Crusher…]

Four walls were formed around Nero, and sent at a rapid speed in the hopes of flattening him. Upon contact with his aura, the walls cracked into large chunks.

Yoro: [Why….How…..I don’t….I don’t understand….]

Nero: [I apologize, but I cannot afford to lose this fight. My friends have been injured, and thus, I must confront the one who has caused them harm. I would rather end this fight in a harmless manner, but–]

Yoro grew annoyed in an instant, her anger once again swelling up within, and she let out a furious roar of words.

Yoro: [Harmless, harmless, harmless. All of you so-called heroes are the same! None of you can do anything! None of you are strong! You all come in with such high confidence and leave in a body bag! Not a single one of you understands things! None of you understand how outmatched you are! None of you understand how I feel! I bet it feels great to move around freely, huh? It does, doesn’t it?! You, nor any of them could ever understand how things are! You could go anywhere else, but here! You decide that this is the right place for you! What is wrong with you?! What the hell is wrong with all of you?! You really want to die that badly?! Why can’t I just be left alone?! Why can’t I do as I please?! All these heroes talking about how the world is such a great place. Is it?! Because I haven’t seen a damn single good thing!]

Yoro fell to her knees with her head casted down.

Nero: [I see.]

Yoro: [Do you?! You couldn’t understand a single thing! You’re as heartless as I am despite putting on such an act! You killed my knights! The only people I had left! Now I’m stuck here! By myself, with no one to speak with me!]

Yoro looked at Nero with disgust in her eyes, however, Nero stared back in confusion.

Nero: [Killed?]

Yoro: [Yeah! You! You killed them, correct?!]

Nero: [I believe you have a misunderstanding.]

Before Yoro could slash Nero with more words, marching echoed through the halls and two loud voices spoke up.

??? and ???: [Lady Yoro!]

Yoro’s eyes widened at the familiar voices that rang out, and she gazed at two knights rushing into the room and kneeling before her. Each on a respective side of Nero.

Yoro: [But…you…]

Corti: [Lady Yoro, please!]

Forti: [We beg of you!]

Corti and Forti: [Do not kill this man!]

Yoro continued to look at the two in utter disbelief. The two knights who she had believed were slaughtered by Nero were now kneeling in front of her.

Yoro: [H-How….]

Corti and Forti: [Allow us to explain why we are here, Lady Yoro!]

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Corti and Forti: [Valiant warrior who stands before us, prepare yourself! We accept your noble challenge, and shall duel you in order to protect Lady Yoro’s honor!]

The two knights had started to flex every inch of muscle on their bodies, while pointing towards Nero.

Nero: [A fine declaration. Very well, let us begin then!]

Nero and the Corti Forti Brothers charged at each other in order to start the chivalrous duel.

The two knights prepared themselves to hit Nero with everything they had, but before they could even do so…

A massive wave of Nero’s matōki was sent at them. The pressure had been immense enough to drop them to their knees in an instant while also halting their breath for five seconds. Nero did not proceed with any other attacks, but instead walked to the space in between the knights.

Nero: [As I had mentioned, I would achieve victory in the most harmless way possible. You two do not seem to have any evil within you, therefore, I do not desire the idea of harming you.]

Nero continued to take a few steps toward the castle doors, before being interrupted by the knights.

Corti and Forti: [Wait!]

Corti: [Why…Why do such a thing…]

Forti: [We are your enemy…You should have no issues with killing us here and now!]

Nero stood there in silence for several moments, before responding to the two.

Nero: [There are people who likely care about the both of you. Family, friends, whoever they may be, there is likely someone. I do not wish to sadden those who love you. If I cause harm to you, they will weep. If I were to kill you, they would grieve. I learned what such a thing felt like at a young age, and I do not wish to have others feel that way.]

Nero continued to walk, before stopping one more time to speak with the knights.

Nero: [Live peacefully. Being around those you love is far greater than any feeling in the world. You should cherish the time you have with them, and not focus on the violence that this world should be without. I’ll try to make sure the one you serve isn’t too harsh on you for your loss.]

With that, the boy stepped away from the area, into the castle. The two knights continued to kneel on the ground outside while a sandstorm had begun to form.

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Yoro, kneeling down on the floor, listened to her knights explaining the situation. Her mind did not understand Nero, her heart did not understand Nero, her eyes wanted to weep but resisted the urge. She could not understand anything about what he had done, nor what had made him the way he was.

Corti and Forti: [That…is what happened…My Lady…]

The room was silent, and many of those within the room stared at Nero in shock.

Shiro: [Nero…]

Silvia: [He did all of that…for them…]

Kōkatsu: [Honestly, this guy really thinks we’ll start cryin’ over his story…]

Said Kōkatsu, who not only had blood covering her face, but now tears and snot streaming down it as well.

Yoro: [Why…]

Nero looked back up to the girl who was looking back at him, before giving his answer.

Nero: [I’m not sure what you have gone through. You’re right about that. But, I do not wish to cause sadness for anyone. Your knights, and you as well, are the same in that regard.]

Yoro had begun to shake, and her knights immediately stood up to check on her.

Corti and Forti: [Lady Yoro!]

Yoro: [...I Scream…]

Corti and Forti: [...! No!]

The guards shouted in panic as soon as Yoro uttered those words. A wide, purple cloud filled field was then spread out across the room.

Yoro: [People bullshit things all of the time. They toy, they gaslight, they methodically plan for things to go their way. What truly makes you any different? I’ll see through your lies with my ability.]

Kōkatsu: [Yer tellin’ me everythin’ from before was jus’ simple matōki manipulation?!]

Shiro: [This…is her ability?!]

Silvia: [We musssst remain on guard…Although…given the ssssituation the two of ussss are in, doing sssso may prove rather difficult.]

Corti: [Lady Yoro, please!]

Forti: [This is unnecessary!]

Yoro: [Silence. I’ll see through everything, and from there, I’ll use it against them.]

Yoro slowly moved down the staircase in front of her, and started to explain what was now activated.

Yoro: [I Scream. It’s my matōki ability. I’m able to read what each and every one of your fears are. From there, I can even replicate them using my advanced version. Usually that would require a bit of extra effort, but my conditions were met already.]

Yoro then pointed towards Shiro who had still been stuck to the wall by Yoro’s frosting attack.

Yoro: [For example, this girl seems to fear spiders. Not the people kind, but the insects. She also seems to fear the idea of zombies, and the concept of not being able to help others. How cute.]

In an emotionless manner, Yoro cruelly spoke of Shiro’s supposed fears out loud.

Shiro’s eyes widened in response to her words.

Shiro: [She actually…read my mind…?!]

Yoro: [Do you understand now? All I need to do is see your fears, and that will tell me everything I need to know in order to reduce you to nothing.]

Her arm then moved from Shiro to in front of her, now pointing towards Nero’s direction.

Yoro: [Let’s finish this.]

As she read his fears, she saw many things. He did not want to lose anyone else he cares about again, he feared the idea of being impolite, he feared the idea of hurting and killing others. It was similar to many of the things he had said, which only made Yoro’s brain brew with ideas.

However, there was one more fear. A freshly made one. Yoro was able to see when such things had started, so seeing that this one had just been created not long ago was simple for her. It was a fear of…

Yoro: [...!]

Yoro’s face had gone from cruel…to once again…on the verge of tears.

She could see the last fear. She knew what it was. But just the sight of it made her want to cry.

Yoro: [...You’re…afraid of…]

Nero: [I suppose it would be possible to see that…]

Her voice whimpered. She struggled to speak. Seeing what Nero had been afraid of struck Yoro’s heart deeply.

Yoro: [You…don’t want to…hurt me….]

In that moment, the tears that had welled up within her were finally let loose.

Yoro: [Are you saying…you…want to help me….be free…?]

Nero: [If that is what you wish, then yes.]

Kōkatsu: [Oi, Nero! Ya know that she almost–]

Nero: [I’m well aware of what was done. But, I believe it is possible to atone for such actions. Do you not believe you cannot atone for any actions you have taken in your life?]

For the first time, Nero spoke in a stern voice towards Kōkatsu, causing her to choke up and remain silent afterwards. Kōkatsu was quite familiar with her reputation, and how she was known for beating up the group at school that had once bullied others. Nero’s words had struck a chord within her, and made her realize that she had grown past such actions.

Yoro did not respond to Nero. She stood in front of him in silence while her tears tapped onto the floor below.

Corti and Forti: [Lady Yoro…]

Yoro’s opened mouth slowly closed, and formed into a smile. She began to laugh while trying to wipe the tears off her face. Her eyes remained focused on the man in front of her. The clouds around them disappeared in an instant, returning the area back to the castle from before.

Yoro looked back up at the man one last time, her eyes now completely dry. She smiled at him once again, but this smile was not ordinary. There was an emotion behind it. There was a feeling to it. There was…

…an urge.

Yoro jumped back to the top of her throne, the smile still residing on her face, as she made a request of Nero.

Yoro: [I would like to make a bet on this duel! If I claim victory over you, you will stay here with me for the rest of time!]

Nero closed his eyes, a smile now forming on his own face, before opening them with a determined gaze aimed at Yoro.

Nero: [Very well. If I win, however, I will free you from your chains, and allow you to leave this castle!]

Yoro’s smile only became more wide as she started to giggle. Her matōki once again erupted like it had before, but now with a new emotion behind it. She wondered to herself how long it had been since she had truly felt like this, or if she had even felt like this ever before.

Yoro: [I have one rule! I wish to fight you without that shield! Grant me this, and I will show you what I am truly capable of!]

Nero: [Very well. But I will not go easy either. I’ll finish this in one decisive blow.]

Her eyes gleamed at the sound of Nero’s words.

Yoro: [I look forward to it!]

Nero shot himself to the right, touching the ground as he moved, while Yoro sent out a series of attacks to follow. Narrowly avoiding each and every single move, Nero continued to touch the ground, the walls, and the ceiling as he moved.

Yoro began to gleefully laugh. She was enjoying herself with this battle. It was difficult to attack Nero, but she enjoyed the challenge. If she were to win, if she were to lose, she enjoyed the idea of both outcomes. She felt as though she could finally be happy.

Yoro: [Come on! Come on! I have high expectations for you!]

Nero did not reply, he only continued to move and avoid the attacks that were sent spiraling towards him. At times, they had grazed his hair or cut his clothes, but not a single one injured him. It was as though he was completely untouchable.

Shiro: [I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. He has clairvoyance after all.]

Kōkatsu: [No, Shiro, ya got it all wrong.]

Shiro: [Huh?]

Shiro then looked over to see Kōkatsu beside her, who had been carefully assisted by the knights in order to avoid any possible crossfire with the battle at hand.

Kōkatsu: [He’s not using a single thing…other than his element.]

Shiro: [Other than his…Wait, so the only thing he’s using right now is his ice?!]

Silvia: [It issss indeed true. He issss not only holding up hissss end of their deal, but he issss alsssso handicapping himsssself even further.]

Shiro: [...This is what he’s capable of…?]

Not a single ounce of Nero’s power was being used. Though he had supposedly been using his element in this fight, it was impossible to see what he had been using it for. Shiro had begun to believe that perhaps it was for a boost in speed, but there were no traces of ice left behind…except for small ice roots that were sprouting all across the room.

Nero dropped down into the center of the room, and charged towards Yoro. Yoro moved her arms behind her body to unleash her final, greatest attack yet.

Yoro: [You’re going in quite the simple direction! Sucks to be you then, you’ll just have to stay with me forever! Here comes my…Galaxy Sundae!]

Yoro threw her hands forward, and an immense barrage of treats came flying towards Nero from every angle. There was only one space that was not occupied. A small hole, that only became smaller as the attack moved closer, in the center of it all. Nero jumped into the air, aiming for that circle. It was impossible. No being on the plant would likely be able to fit through there, let alone one who had been as large as Nero. Even if he were to straighten his body towards the hole, he would still receive the attack.

Nero began to straighten his body as expected, and…

By a singular inch, he moved through the circle perfectly. Before Yoro’s attack could even impact anything, Nero quickly moved in front of her. He casted his arm forward, only a few inches away from her body, and the ice roots around the area became sharp ice spikes that lunged towards her in an instant. They shattered the attack that Yoro had sent towards Nero without effort, and stopped at the same position as his hand had stopped.

Nero: [Ice Maiden. As promised, I have ended the fight with one decisive blow.]

Yoro stared back at him in shock. She was unaware that this had been the attack he was setting up for this entire fight. She remained motionless, before her mind forced her arms to take an action.

Nero: [Hm?]

Yoro grabbed Nero’s extended hand with her own two hands, and looked at him with the same face she had when he first entered the room.

Yoro: [Yoro. My name is Yoro Kobi.]

Nero: [My name is Nero Virtuoso.]

She did not respond to his reintroduction. The two simply smiled at one another, before Yoro took his hand and put it on her chest. A loud, rapid heartbeat was felt from within the extended palm.

Yoro: [Can you feel it? I’ve never felt like this before.]

Nero: [I’ve certainly never felt a heartbeat like yours either.]

Yoro began to giggle, before asking a favor of Nero.

Yoro: [Please…give me this feeling…forever.]

The once nihilistic shut in had fought against a noble boy and from there, a new lovestruck flower had bloomed within her

The second task of the fourth trial…was now cleared.

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