Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 221 Mission: 08-3 In the Name of Sparta
Gifted game name: "Sworn by the Sword (Spada)"

Participants: Holders of the Mark of the Beast
Game Leader: Sparta's Sword

The contestant's victory condition: Distinguish the authenticity of the magic sword and pierce the beast's illusion with the real sword.

Oath: Respect the above content and hold the Gift Game based on honor, flag and organizer authority.

[Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Beasts]

----

“Actually… it really exists?!”

When Nero emerged from the ruins of the church, clutching the gleaming parchment, even V, who had made this guess, couldn't believe his eyes. Sparta had actually left a backup plan within this outer gate to prevent what was happening.

“I was surprised, too.”

Nero said, showing V another object he had brought out from underground: "I have also found the 'Sword of Truth' from the game. It's wrapped in this flag."

Indeed, it couldn't be more obvious. The game documents, the flag, and the jet-black cross dagger wrapped in the flag were all stored in the church's basement, in a place similar to a confessional. This, I suppose, was a clear hint.

The moment V saw the dagger, his heart moved. He held it in his hand and confirmed his thoughts: "This sword has the blood of Sparta."

Nero shared the same view. Combining this information, the rules and purpose of this gift game became clear. The "Sword of Truth" was a demonic sword forged from the blood of Sparta. The dagger they held was a conceptual model of the "Demon Sword of Sparta." The "Illusion of the Beast" had two meanings: the first being the "Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Beasts" banner encasing the dagger, and the second being the demonic tree "Qliphoth" that now took root within this outer gate.

The rules of the game required piercing both the flag and the Demonic World Tree with a dagger. Once the flag was pierced, due to the rules of the game, it was likely that this flag would replace the flag of the Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Beasts headquarters for a certain period of time, or even swap places. And after piercing the Demonic World Tree, it would likely be sealed again.

In this way, the [Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Beast's] ambition to use the Demonic World Tree would be thwarted. And if the [Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Beast's] desires were suppressed and no attempt was made to summon the Demonic World Tree, then this Gift Game would remain unopened, as no one other than the descendants of Sparta could meet the requirements to participate.

The existence of this game was truly a timely help to V. After mumbling a thank you to his father, whom he had not seen for decades, V gripped his dagger with his backhand and stabbed it into the yellowed flag with respect.

In the sudden burst of light, the dagger rapidly lengthened, taking on a form that was all too familiar to V. The pierced sheepskin, now free from the blade, was completely invisible. Without a doubt, this was the true flag of the Six-Digit Community Alliance, the [Beast of Six Hundred and Sixty-Six].

Seeing that V was struggling to hold the sword, Nero offered his help. But V shook his head and refused. "Let's go. Let's stop this annoying storm."

The [Wind of Decadence] surrounding the outer gate of 666710 was both a barrier and a protection for them. If this destructive storm dissipated, the [Beast of Six Hundred and Sixty-Six] would obviously immediately notice that something was wrong with the game.

But in this situation, the flag they held, belonging to the Beast of Six Hundred and Sixty-Six, became the perfect talisman. Because the flag itself had become part of the game, the Beast of Six Hundred and Sixty-Six would not dare to interrupt the game rashly. If the alliance flag disappeared, the alliance would essentially disband, causing far greater damage than losing the Demonic World Tree.

So no matter how angry he was, the [Beast of Six Hundred and Sixty-Six] could only swallow his anger. It was truly a counterattack that made one's eyebrows rise.

Holding the gleaming banner of the triple-digit Community Alliance, Nero advanced against the gray storm. The gray storm twisted wildly, attempting to shred anything that approached, but the luminous banner's invisible aura pushed it back. The bright light gradually neutralized the dimming storm. As the Destroyer retreated, Nero, with V trailing behind him with his sword, delved deeper into the storm, vaguely sensing a wisp of power being absorbed by him.

Nero sensed it for a moment and realized that the embryonic form of the "Sloth" Magic Stone had absorbed the power of the Wind of Decadence, which had been dissipated by the radiance. After a short moment, it seemed to be fully formed. It was another unexpected surprise. The Wind of Decadence was a demon king awaiting destruction at the end of time. To some extent, it did fit the definition of "Sloth" - escapism, irresponsibility, and a waste of time.

Finally, deep within the Storm Wall, Nero and V found the summoner of the Wind of Decadence—a similarly radiant in-game document. As they stood before the document, bearing the banner of the Beast of Six Hundred and Sixty-Six, the Wind of Decadence, which had blocked the outer gate of 666710 for hours, was finally driven out.

The third Sin Stone within Nero's body was finally complete. The next step was to complete the second victory condition in the Gift Game, "Sworn by the Sword."

However, a problem arises here - using the sword of reality to pierce through the virtual image of the beast, then facing such a huge demon tree, where exactly should it be pierced to be considered as "piercing through" it?
As an experiment, V found a random tree root and stabbed his sword into it, but as expected, nothing happened. This meant that the sword had to penetrate the root deeper into the Demon World Tree.

"But what if this 'Illusion of the Beast' has a third explanation?"

Griffin warned sharply.

Nero's heart sank upon hearing this. Indeed, according to the original meaning of the game, the "Virtual Image of the Beast" should only refer to the banner of the [Beast of Six Hundred and Sixty-Six] and the Demonic World Tree. However, the Demonic World Tree now has an owner, and that owner can also be understood as part of the "Virtual Image of the Beast."

That was Urizen. If his appearance had changed the rules of the game, forcing them to pierce Urizen with this sword as well—

"That's okay."

V whispered, "I'll do it."

"At least it should be 'we', right?" Nero responded with a hint of dissatisfaction.

“…Yes, it’s us.”

Hearing Nero say this, V forced a smile and said, "We will defeat him."

At this moment, the two men and the bird still knew nothing about the battle that took place in the tree, and had no idea what the current condition of the three people who stood up to fight against Urison was.

But the time to meet again is not far away.

(End of this chapter)