Dancing With the Devil

Chapter 11

Third Person P.O.V. (Nero)

After facing off with Berial, Nero sighed and placed his hands on his hips as he observed the smoldering remains of the abandoned mining village. He wondered to himself what exactly the fiery demon had meant by his last comment directed at the young swordsman.

You are just like he was.

With the comment having been so vague, he could be any number of people, but in that moment, Nero thought back to the mysterious man in the red tailcoat. He had left the young male with a comment that was equally puzzling.

Though I suspect you carry something different from the others.

"I'm a demon," the male growled to himself, clenching his right hand into a fist and glaring disdainfully at his accursed arm. "That much is clear."

Nero's thoughts wandered painfully towards his girlfriend, Kyrie. He feared her reaction if she were to find out. Would she leave him? Tell Credo? God forbid if he ever beheld the truth. All the young swordsman could do was hope for the best. He loved Kyrie more deeply than mere words could describe, and if he were to lose her... It would kill him inside. He refused to let himself imagine life without her, yet the idea still plagued him all the same.

Forcing the thought out of his head, he set out once again to continue his mission; go to Fortuna Castle and capture the man in the red tailcoat. However, he hesitated for a moment. There was something Nero had just remembered about the older man's demeanor that scraped his nerves raw. During their first encounter in the Opera House, Nero had been giving everything he had, whereas his opponent had seemed to be deriving some sort of twisted pleasure from it all. Like he was toying with him. Nero shook it off as him just being overly observant and resumed walking.

~Time Skip~

Continuing along the bridge up to the front entrance of Fortuna Castle after meeting Gloria, Nero couldn't help but wonder if she was actually with the Order of the Sword. Granted, there were some officials he'd never met in person before, but at the very least Credo cared enough to validate their existence to his young subordinate. Gloria, though... Nero had never seen or heard anything about her. The fact that she'd openly admitted she was new made him even more suspicious. Furthermore, her arrival was during a time that the Order was in a crisis was oddly well timed, to say the least. Which meant that she was all the more likely to be a mole. This was all so confusing to him, and it reinforced his determination to get this mission over with so he could put it as far behind him as possible.

As he entered Fortuna Castle, Nero became acutely aware of a pair of eyes locked on him. Suppressing a shudder, he shrugged off the sensation, and as a cold blast of air rushed past him into Fortuna, he felt the unease leave him and gave a contented sigh. When the heavy wooden door closed behind him, there was a certain tension in the air that he recognized all too well.

"Just my luck," Nero grumbled with a hint of frustration as the reek of demons approaching filled his senses. "Will these blockheads never learn?"

Revving the hilt of Red Queen while she was still strapped to his back, the young male smirked as he watched a couple dozen Mephisto emerge from the shadows of the grand hall, led by a single Faust. He braced himself as they charged towards him, feeling the adrenaline rush.

"Let's roll!"

Author's Note

I'm very sorry that this chapter is so much shorter than the others, but I just needed to include it to make sure nobody forgot that Nero's an important part of this fanfic as well, especially concerning much later chapters involving Rose and a certain other white-haired half demon. Who is it, you ask? Here's a hint; he's thought to be "dead".

Anyway, please be patient with regards to updates on this and other fanfics I'm working on. Exams start two weeks from now, which will require my full attention. I will resume updating once exams are over, then everyone will be happy.

Until the next chapter, readers! <3