Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 208 Mission: 06-5 Family Soul
When there were only a dozen centimeters between V's face and the ground, Nero finally swooped down from above and lifted his body with his arms through his armpits.

"Can't you even stand steadily?"

She asked with some confusion after Nero lifted V back into the air and saved him from falling.

She vaguely remembered that V's physical condition was less than ideal due to his separation from Urizen, and that he was physically "weak as a dregs." But since they had come to the Little Garden, they should be better than before, right?

“…Even if you don’t care, I won’t fall.”

V was silent for a moment before answering with such a bold face. He didn't want to show weakness in front of this demon girl who was only his collaborator for the time being.

Nero only uttered a sneering nasal sound in response to this stubborn behavior, and then said: "--Naked and helpless."

This is the second half of the poem that V just read.

Knowing that Nero had heard his sigh when he was about to fall, V had no choice but to shut his mouth and not reveal anything more.

"Don't blame me for being harsh." Nero didn't wait for V's follow-up and continued, "In your current state, it would be difficult for you to even walk up to your 'significant other'. You would only be a drag on them."

“…I can walk by myself.”

This was a double-edged answer to Nero's words, so Nero respected his opinion and let go of his hand.

"Okay," she said.

A violent shockwave swept across the earth once again, but this time, Shadow leaped up from the ground and accurately caught the falling V. Nero also lowered his altitude and asked, "Is 'not losing' so important to you?"

V, gliding along the ground in a shadow, raised his head, locked eyes with Nero beside him for a moment, and sighed softly, "I once thought that defeating that man was my entire purpose, a goal I must achieve at the cost of everything..."

"But you used the past tense."

"……yes."

The thin man's mouth twitched as he forced a bitter smile. "But it wasn't until I really lost everything that I finally realized I had been deceiving myself the entire time. I didn't want to die not because I really wanted to defeat him, but because I was afraid of death."

“I’m afraid of dying, but I don’t want to admit that I’m afraid as a human because that would make me weak.

"And by the time I finally realized it, I had already lost so many important things."

After listening to these words quietly, Nero asked again: "If that's the case, why don't you continue to live?"

"You also think I'm seeking death?"

V met Nero's gaze again, his eyes clear but firm.

"If you continue like this, you'll definitely die." Nero simply replied with the truth. "If you want to survive, there are still many ways to find a way."

Unlike V, who knows nothing about Nero, Nero knows most of what V has experienced. For the former V, separated from Urizen and whose body is becoming increasingly weak, defeating Urizen and reuniting with him is the only way to continue living.

But for V, who has now come to the small garden, there are naturally many ways to prolong his life. This is also the only place that Nero has not been able to see through.

Does V really want to defeat Dante, so he wants to defeat Urizen?
The answer to this question that V just gave is no.

It seems that V, who is here right now, is really risking his life just to atone for his sins and defeat his evil self. But why?
"Haha."

V laughed at himself and said to himself, "You're really courting death.

"It's all Dante's fault. If that guy hadn't disappeared at this critical moment, I wouldn't have to do such a suicidal thing."

Dante is missing? Nero was slightly surprised when she heard this. She knew that the man had rushed back to the Demon Emperor's palace, but the Demon Emperor was so weak now, and Dante was fully prepared. How could he be left there?
Then Nero suddenly realized something. He moved in front of V and stopped. "Dante is missing? When did it happen?"

V, forced to brake, frowned and recalled, "I heard that no one has seen him in several years. To be more specific...

"About four to five years."

He did not question why Nero was so concerned about this, but simply walked past her, slowed down, and continued walking, muttering, "If he is gone, then I am the only one left to succeed Sparta.

"In the end, the thing he said he would inherit ended up falling on me... Isn't that ridiculous?"

During the final battle all those years ago, Virgil said he would inherit Sparta's power, but Dante refuted him, saying that Sparta's "noble soul" was more noble than strength.

When V finally understood the meaning of this sentence and realized how precious the human soul and emotions are, he found that Dante had also disappeared.

These words, like a curse, bound V's life, as weak as a candle, and confined him to the responsibility of being "Sparta's successor."

That's right, in V's view, he is now the last descendant of Sparta, so he must take on Sparta's will on behalf of Dante - to protect the human world protected by Sparta.

So even if he will die, he must move forward.

Nero's somewhat confused brain slowly sorted out the cause and effect relationship, and then he realized belatedly that V came from several years after he went to the Little Garden.

At that point, Nero still hadn't returned, and Dante was missing in another battle with the Demon Emperor. Ultimately, only V was left to fight Urizen. Faced with this hopeless future, V was summoned to the Little Garden.

This is probably his last hope.

Urizen must be stopped.

At this moment, the spark burning in V's heart finally reached Nero's heart and ignited it.

If it were the current V—the V who was willing to risk his life to help others even when facing an impossible-to-beat enemy.

Nero might not have been offended.

It seems that you have passed.

Nero spoke behind V, without making a sound. But at this moment, she felt that she could finally regard V as her own family, just like she regarded Dante.

However, it remains to be seen. What matters about a person is not what he says, but what he does.

If V truly proves that his actions are consistent with his words, then Nero will probably tell him his identity in person at some point in the future.

(End of this chapter)