Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 293 Mission: 01-1 Sunset
North Section of the Hakoniwa Garden, 4000000 Outer Gate. A blonde girl with a silver wolf arrived through the boundary gate, gazing out from the brim of her black sunhat at the dark red sunset beyond the boundary wall.

For Nero, she had finally returned to the Little Garden after an absence of several months, but for Little Garden, only a little over a week had passed. It was the eve of the "Fire Dragon Birth Festival," and the streets of the city had already taken on a festive atmosphere. Beneath the fiery red walls of the realm, lights and decorations were everywhere, and exhibits from various communities were being transported here one after another, creating a vibrant riot of color everywhere.

Nero's eyes swept across the exquisite handicrafts used to decorate the streets, and he found several pieces of stained glass that reflected the lights and emitted colorful colors. He knew in his heart that Pest had come here.

Those stained glass windows are part of the "Grimoire of Hamel" used to summon Nero and other demons. Once these grimoires, which have been integrated into the streets with the help of the community [Salamanda], are activated, they can summon the "Ancient City of Hamel" that matches the legend to this place and enhance the power of the demons in the book.

Numerous glassware was displayed as decoration on the streets, many of which were even made by the Salamanders themselves. With Fire Dragons as their primary members, they were adept at crafting these kinds of crafts, which required firing. In this context, the presence of stained glass was clearly inconspicuous.

Nero walked through the bustling crowd and sat down under a parasol in a cafe. Across from her, the girl in a black and white Lolita dress raised her head.

"Long time no see." Nero greeted her with a chuckle.

"Yeah." Pest nodded slightly coldly and pushed a cup of milk tea that had been prepared long ago in front of Nero: "Did the thing I mentioned before succeed?"

She naturally knew that Nero was going to the outside world to obtain the power of "rage".

"of course."

They both fell silent. Thinking carefully, they hadn't spent much time together, and didn't know each other very well. Although they were now in a collaborative relationship, it wasn't a superior-subordinate or a companion, but more of a cooperative one. Besides the upcoming work, there didn't seem to be much to talk about.

So Nero took the initiative to bring up a topic: "I don't think I saw the 'Weser River'?"

"Weser" is a male demon wearing a military coat and with hair as sharp as a hedgehog. He is also a companion summoned by Pest through "Hamel's Grimoire". In the distant past, he was a member of the now-destroyed "Grimm Fantasy Grimoire Group".

"I told him to make more Sthrothrom. The more the better."

The Ström that Pest refers to is a clay puppet capable of controlling storms, a component of the gift game "The Pied Piper of Hamel," and a "filler." These puppets can only be crafted by the demon Weser, born from disasters like mudslides and landslides. Therefore, he is the most "important" being in this community.

Without Weser, even if Peste still held the position of a god, he would not be able to use the host authority left by the "poet". Therefore, to ensure the safety of Weser, who only had 130 spiritual stats, Peste granted him spiritual stats and promoted him to a subordinate god.

"After all, Your Highness and the others take this attack very seriously."

However, His Highness and the Ouroboros behind him weren't the only ones taking this attack seriously. Salamander also took this seriously. Although they had communicated with Ouroboros and intended to initiate a demon king attack, they didn't want to be killed by the summoned demon king. So, just to be safe, they summoned the East District's strongest level guardian, White Yasha.

This actually played right into Ouroboros's hands. Their goal was the dragon horn of the "Star Sea Dragon King," a legacy passed down from generation to generation by the leaders of [Salamandra]—an object said to be connected to the "Dragon of the Starry Sea," one of the sovereigns of the Sun. Shiroyasha's arrival had nearly caused them to abandon their original plan, but it also presented them with the opportunity to seize her sovereign.

But even if Nero successfully unlocked the incomplete simulated star creation map, there was no way he could defeat Shiroyasha. The former Demon King's power was beyond measure. The fully formed "White Night King" possessed a strength that was considered top-tier even in the double-digit realm. And though she was sealed as a "Yaksha," downgraded to a four-digit level, her possession of over half of the Sun's sovereignty was enough to crush all beings in the lower and middle levels.

Therefore, if you want to defeat her, you can only do it by playing by the rules of the game. And Pest happens to have such an ability, so she was summoned. At this point, Nero changed the subject: "But Pest, what is your goal?"

In this behind-the-scenes machination, Salamander seeks to slay the Demon King and restore his reputation, White Yasha is entrusted by an old friend to help the younger generation, and His Highness seeks sovereignty over the sun. And at the center of the vortex, Pest's desires remain unclear.

She is a chess piece, but chess pieces should also have a reason to step onto the chessboard.

Pest dropped her eyes.

She still didn't seem to want to discuss the subject. So Nero sighed and gave up on asking: "Okay, let's talk about the details of the attack first..."

"You still remember... how I died." At this moment, Pest raised his head and asked abruptly.

Nero couldn't help but frown at the mention of this. In her subjective time, less than a year had passed. The girl, flaming with heat, barely alive yet still trying to speak to Nero, was so vivid, completely different from the silent, gloomy girl of today.

"...Yes." Nero's voice couldn't help but become low, "If I had made one less mistake..."

"No, that has nothing to do with you." Pest shook her head. "We both made a lot of mistakes. Looking back, I actually had many chances to survive. But there was only one murderer who actually killed me."

"You mean the Black Death?"

"Do not."

Pest's wine-red pupils flickered with a dark flame. Nero knew the true nature of that flame very well; not long ago, she had faced an opponent with the same flame.

That is "anger" and also "hatred".

"It's the sun." Her tone was cold, her teeth clenched tightly. "It's the weak, powerless sun."

Indeed, it was the calming of the sun's activity that led to a decrease in food production. This decrease in food production prompted Pest to seek change, which earned her father's dislike.

It was also the sun that caused the global temperature to drop, making the spread of the plague easier and allowing the virus to cross the ocean and reach her hometown.

Likewise, it was the setting sun that gave the demon Pavone power, allowing it to drive rats to attack towns and bring plague.

"Everything is because of the incompetent sun."

(End of this chapter)