Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 1 Mission: 01-1 Death
"Laudate te, Sol nostra salvator——"

The singing voices pierced the glass windows and drifted into the sky, while fragmented sunlight streamed down from the church ceiling, gilding the holy white sword-wielding sculpture behind the pulpit. In front of the pulpit, two young girls sang beautifully.

The slightly taller girl with flaxen hair tied into a ponytail sang the lead, while the girl with long, flowing golden hair sang harmony to the side and behind her. The two of them worked together seamlessly, like sisters.

After the song was over, the girl who led the singing patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her head and looked to the side: "That's all for today. Thank you for your hard work, Nero."

The blonde, blue-eyed girl, Nero, shook her head and replied softly, "I'm not tired yet. How about you, Jillie?"

"You've been practicing for an entire afternoon, how can you not be tired?" Jillie turned around and tapped Nero's forehead with her fingers, wiping away the few drops of sweat. "You still like to push yourself."

"No, I—"

"Listen to my sister."

Jillie interrupted Nero's objection and took her hand as they walked towards the church door. "You work so hard at everything you do. You never complain when you're tired, and you even like to practice alone when you feel your singing isn't good enough. It's been all these years, don't I know?"

"...Yeah. I'm sorry." Nero lowered his head.

Jillie stopped and said, "I'm sorry, Nero, I'm not criticizing you. But you should rest when you need to, okay?"

"Ah."

Nero pursed his lips and followed behind Jillie, sighing slightly in his heart.

This year's Demon Sword Festival, a major annual festival on this island, was about to begin. As a diva who would perform at the festival, she grew increasingly anxious as time passed. Even though both Jillie and Credo had confirmed that she was more than qualified to be this year's diva, her nameless anger remained undimmed.

Ji Liye glanced back and instantly saw through Nero's expression. She frowned slightly, then immediately put on a bright smile: "It's okay, don't be so stressed."

Nero looked up and saw the smile reflected in the sunset. His tense expression melted a little: "But, Credo..."

"Don't feel pressured," Jillie repeated, then added, "He fought for this position for you because he thought you had the ability. Although there was only one singer every year before, it was just a custom, not a tradition."

As she spoke, she pushed open the door, letting the bright sunshine and sea breeze pour into the church. She jokingly said, "If Fortuna weren't so sparsely populated and lacked a proper choir, the Pope would surely want a full choir to sing at the ceremony. What do you think?"

"Yeah." Nero's brows finally relaxed. She looked towards the small town below the hillside, towards Jillie and the setting sun over the sea, and smiled faintly. "Thank you."

She suppressed the anxiety that was churning in her heart, no longer showing it on her face to worry her sister, and walked out of the church.

But she still felt she wasn't ready.

"I'm going to the orphanage next. Nero, do you want to come?"

The church door gradually closed. Nero's gaze slowly drifted towards the orphanage that Jillie had mentioned, and he casually replied, "I'll go back and take a look too."

A happy smile immediately appeared on Jiliye's lips: "Yeah, Granny Xista also said that she hasn't seen you for a long time. Let's go together!"

So the two of them walked one after the other through the garden in front of the church and prepared to go along the street to the nearby orphanage.

In Fortuna, an island town almost completely isolated from the outside world, most residents rarely wandered around in the evening. This was partly due to the lack of entertainment facilities in this devout town, and partly due to the dangers that came with the night.

It is a dangerous demon lurking in the shadows of the island, an evil that cannot be eradicated.

However, the two girls didn't seem to care much about the potential danger. Although victims of demonic attacks occasionally appeared in the town, those attacks often occurred in the forests and snowy mountains outside the town. Protected by the knights of the order, the town's interior was safe, even at night.

Because there is no need for nighttime lighting, there are no electric lights installed on either side of the stone-paved road. In other words, there is no power plant in the entire town, and those residents who need electricity have installed private small generators on their roofs.

As mentioned before, Fortuna was a pious, ascetic town. On one of these dim streets, stained by the twilight glow of the sunset, Nero and Gillie walked slowly along the cobblestones, chatting and laughing softly.

According to the time, the orphanage was just finishing its prayers and preparing to start dinner, so the two of them were not in a hurry and walked slowly and leisurely - until a shrill scream came from the direction of their destination, breaking the peaceful silence.

"demon--!"

Nero and Jillie suddenly tensed up and pricked up their ears to distinguish the sounds in the evening breeze: below the sharp cries for help, the chaotic crying of children was also heard.

A demon has appeared in the orphanage.

"Nero, go find Credo!"

"Jilie——"

In this situation, Jillie left these words and ran to the orphanage without hesitation. However, Nero did not follow Jillie's instructions to find his high-ranking brother. After a moment's hesitation, he went straight after her.

She knew that the orphanage was always protected by the Knights of the Order, and that Jillie, who was about to enter the protection circle from outside, was in even greater danger.

The long white dresses they wore for rehearsal were inconvenient, limiting their running speed. This gave Nero a certain joy amidst her unease. At this rate, by the time they reached the orphanage, the matter should be over. They wouldn't encounter any demons.

This seems to be the case.

"Grandma Sistah!"

From a distance, Jillie could spot the orphanage director, still terrified, crying for help. She called out the director's name and trotted closer.

When Xista heard Jiliye's voice, she turned around and then froze in place for a moment.

The Knight of the Order also looked over here, and after a brief moment of surprise, he drew his sword with a serious expression.

Nero, who was following behind Jillie, fixed his gaze on Jillie's back, and his hands and feet turned cold in an instant.

Because right in front of her, in the shadows of a narrow alley, a humanoid figure wrapped in a rag bag staggered out, carrying a rusty machete.

It's a devil, a fish that slipped through the net.

At this moment, Jillie was still looking ahead cluelessly, while those members of the Knights who followed tradition and did not carry guns were still far away.

The bad premonition became reality.

"Jilie!"

There was no time to think. Nero shouted his sister's name, jumped with all his might, and pushed her out.

Then, Jillie fell heavily onto the cold stone bricks. She stood up and looked behind her, her face instantly turning pale.

"Nero?!"

Nero pushed Jillie away and also fell to the ground. At this moment, he had been pierced through the chest by the rusty big knife and was firmly nailed to the ground.

The hot blood dyed the white dress the color of sunset.

"Nero!!!"

(End of this chapter)