Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 380 Mission: 12-4 Final Awakening

"came back?"

In the abandoned Sparta manor, Nero met Dante again who had returned from Virgil.

"Ah."

"Yeah."

By looking at his expression, Nero knew what the outcome of this meeting would be.

But even though Nero didn't ask, Dante spoke to himself. He sat slouched and dejected on the floor before his mother's portrait, muttering, "I don't understand. He's the one of us who was raised by human parents, yet he's even further from human than I am."

"That's it."

Nero wasn't surprised. It's unclear why, but despite living a safer life than Dante, this world's Virgil awakened to demonic powers much earlier. Perhaps it was this sense of disparity, the feeling of possessing powers different from humans, that arose at a younger age, that led him to believe he wasn't human.

There is no good or bad in this. Virgil feels that he is not human, and that is fine.

Dante raised his head and continued, "He said he...would be the ruler of the world."

And that's the problem.

Nero looked down at Dante and finally uttered a complete sentence: "He has already shown us what kind of existence he is as a ruler."

Suspicion, constant lying, saying one thing and doing another—these were just bad habits he had picked up from humans, and they were all within the tolerable range.

"...cruel and heartless." Dante murmured in response.

Indeed, because Virgil doesn't consider himself human, he naturally lacks any empathy for humans. He can watch, command, and even force anyone to die with indifference. This is the worst possible trait for a ruler with absolute power.

This is also the fundamental reason why Dante and Nero cannot accept him.

Is this world's Virgil truly devoid of emotion? Not really, as his attitude towards Dante reveals. He has a sense of family, and he values ​​Dante, his last remaining relative. The joy he felt upon receiving Dante's approval—albeit unreal—wasn't something he could fake. Dante couldn't forget the astonishment and pain in Virgil's eyes as he turned and left.

Perhaps Virgil was right. With him ruling the Human World, it would be a better place than it had been under Mendes. And it wouldn't hurt Dante in any way. As the brother of the King of the Human World, he couldn't even imagine how good his life would be.

But, what then?
To maintain his rule, the ruthless Mondes destroyed the Spartan family, giving rise to two rebels, Dante and Virgil. So how many more families would Virgil, who was equally ruthless towards humans, create to maintain his rule?

Dante could probably close his eyes and pretend he didn't know what was happening. But what if time passed and another child, just like him in the past, covered in blood, holding a knife, and with hatred in his eyes, stood before him? Could he still play dumb?
He can't.

Nero and Phineas' words pierced the fog in his heart, freeing him from the confines of his own world. He could not help but ponder his own future, and the future of the world. The thought that another child might be born in the future, suffering the same tragedy as his past self, perhaps even because of his brother—Dante feared he would never be able to sleep peacefully from now on.

So no matter how unwilling or reluctant he was, he had to draw a clear line between himself and Virgil.

Virgil must and can only be the target he wants to stop.

"...Mother." Dante held the swaying magic stone in front of his chest and pressed it against his head. "I'm sorry."

She definitely wouldn't want to see her children killing each other with the power she left behind. But...

"Don't worry." Nero interrupted him and said in a voice without emotion: "Don't worry about Virgil. I will take care of it."

"...You?" Just as she questioned him, a wave of blue energy erupted from her body. The powerful magic shocked Dante. "Your power?"

"It has basically recovered. Only the last step is left to complete the transformation."

Fist gloves, long staffs, pistols, serpentine swords... a variety of weapons constantly appeared and disappeared from her hands. Although Dante's power was constantly awakened along the way, it was obvious that he was still severely suppressed by Nero at this moment.

Nero looked at the power that had finally returned to his hands, and there was no joy or sadness on his face.

After returning here, she made another trip to Limbo before Dante returned. Within the soul space left by Eve, she also completed the transformation of "envy," swallowing it along with the other two magic stones. Her power as a demon was thus fully awakened. She only needed to wait for the final, and most difficult, transformation of "arrogance" to become "humility," and all would be complete.

"Transformation—so this is why you said we don't need to continue working with Virgil?"

Dante recalled Phineas's previous guess and suddenly realized it.

"Yes, I will soon possess the power of the Nephilim. The task of closing the door to the demon world can be handed over to me." Nero replied calmly.

Dante now had to believe that Nero had the strength to defeat Virgil. But in contrast, he was worried about another thing, which was -

"Well, don't really kill him..."

Knowing that it was a bit too much for him to say such a thing as the one who didn't take action, Dante lowered his voice slightly: "...and be careful not to get killed."

"I am measured."

I can only say that Virgil might be like this. He won’t wake up unless he gets beaten.

Nero put away his weapon and looked directly at Dante who was still sitting on the ground. After thinking for a moment, he tilted his head.

"That guy said before that there is still a seal on you that has not been released." As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, and a ball of light yellow gentle light appeared in her hand.

"What is this?" Dante asked.

But Nero did not answer. She just said, "Let me help you," and then shot out the light, injecting it into the magic stone on Dante's chest.

"No, this is?!"

Before Dante could finish his words, he fell to the ground and fell into a coma.

This is the power of "tolerance". In contrast to "jealousy" which can copy the power of others, tolerance not only cannot make Nero himself stronger, but instead is used to strengthen the power of his companions.

At this moment, the angelic power turned into a "key" and took Dante to the final sealed door.

"That way it'll be fine, right?"

Nero asked softly towards Eve's mark on the back of his hand, and then sat down in front of the sleeping Dante.

When he wakes up again, it will be time for the general attack to begin.

(End of this chapter)