Scene: Devil at the Dinner Table
Keisuke's chopsticks trembled as Verlord accepted a bowl of soup, Miku gleefully braiding shadows from his horns. "Uncle Void-Eyes likes mushrooms!" she chirped.
Sayuri's knuckles whitened around her spoon. "The same demon who fought four generals to a standstill... eating tofu in our camp?"
Nero ladled broth into Verlord's bowl. "Demons bleed for their children too. Aryavarta stole his son."
As Nero revealed Verlord's tragedy, rage simmered beneath Sayuri's calm. "Child sacrifice? Those noble vipers..."
"Which is why," Nero's eyes glinted, "we rip Fernando's throne from beneath him. Details tomorrow."
Scene: Gifts and Goodbyes
Dawn bled across the horizon as Verlord vanished into mist, leaving Nero holding two artifacts:
A scroll stamped with a masked wolf sigil
An academy enrollment letter smelling of ink and ambition
Keisuke unrolled the scroll—and staggered. "Blind Eyes Infinite Sword... the lost technique of Sword-Saint Ryuumei?!"
Nero smirked. "Master it, and generals will fear your name. Two months before it dissolves."
"But how—?"
"Fruits, not seeds," Nero winked. As Keisuke protested, Nero's body shifted—robes melting into Eri's dress, his form now wholly hers.
Scene: The Road to Aryavarta
Eri sighed, adjusting her priestess robes. "Must I play student while you gamble with Darky?"
Inside their shared soulscape, Nero and Darky slammed cards onto a phantom table. "ROYAL FLUSH! Pay up, boss!" Darky crowed.
THWACK! Eri's spiritual slap rattled their skulls. "Bandits attacking students—FOCUS!"
Scene: Blossoms and Blades
Eri moved like poetry—ice shards pinning three A-Rank wolf monsters mid-leap. Students gaped as Ayumi emerged from the trees, her blade a silver blur beheading the pack leader.
"Thank you," Ayumi bowed, eyes lingering on Eri's otherworldly grace. "I'm Ayumi. Priestess Academy, fourth year."
"Eri," she replied, heartbeat steady despite Nero's roar in her mind: "DARKY, NO—!"
The shadow twin seethed in their soul-prison, held back by Whity. "SHE BETRAYED US! LET ME PEEL HER SKIN—"
"She's monitored," Whity hissed. "Scrying spells coat this forest like spider silk."
Scene: Gates of Deceit
At Aryavarta's ivory gates, a sneering officer snatched Eri's papers. "Masked Tribe seal? Stolen, clearly. Nobles don't associate with—"
A knife pressed against his throat—wielded by a figure in a white fox mask. "Question the Masked Tribe's judgment again," the stranger whispered, "and I'll mail your tongue to the king."
The officer paled. "P-Pass freely, madam."
Scene: Ghosts of the Past
As Eri walked academy paths lined with cherry blossoms, Nero's memories flooded her—
A small apartment smelling of burnt bread...
His mother humming as she bandaged his wounds...
Ayumi's laugh before the betrayal...
"Our old home," Nero murmured as Eri entered her dorm—a sunlit room with silk bedding. "Luxury compared to ratty futons."
"It's... adequate," Eri shrugged, ignoring Nero's groan.
Scene: Night's Embrace
Moonlight silvered the room as Nero materialized in alchemical flesh. Eri traced his horn's curve. "Stay out here tonight?"
"The bed's yours," Nero turned away—but Eri gripped his wrist.
"Not the bed," she whispered, cheeks blooming crimson. "You."
He stilled. "Eri... you can't just—"
"I know what I want," she breathed, closing the distance.
[Fade to Moonlight]
Their kiss was wildfire and tenderness—robes pooling like fallen petals. Nero's hands cradled her face as shadows draped the room in intimacy. No words. Only breath, warmth, and the universe narrowing to two souls rewriting their story.
Scene: Dawn's Aftermath
A maid's shriek pierced the morning calm—"DEVIANT—!"
Whity's paw flicked. Golden dust erased her memory mid-screech. "Breakfast in thirty, my lord," he murmured, vanishing.
Eri bolted upright, sheets clutched to her bare chest. "LATE! Priestess orientation—!"
Nero tugged her back, kissing her shoulder. "Blame the guy who couldn't resist you."
"Pervert," she huffed, hiding a smile. "...But thank you. For... everything."
As Eri left, Nero tossed Darky—now a sulking shadow-cat—into his hood. "Mission time. Steal the Moonlight Dagger's spirit... and make it scream."
Darky's eyes glowed hell-red. "Now you're speaking my language."