I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Sophia and Alice were fine—they simply felt 'uncomfortable from the heat,' but they didn't experience any dehydration or anything like that.

As for Momoi, Midori, and Yuzu... they really need to pay attention to their hydration levels.

Amamiya withdrew her gaze, nodded to Sofia who had made the suggestion, and then glanced worriedly at Yuzu, who had no reaction.

"……Grapefruit?"

Previously lost in thought, the girl, whose light blue, round eyes had only gradually focused after Amamiya's soft call, suddenly looked up as if waking from a dream.

Realizing what was happening, she took a deep breath and then transformed the single-handed staff in her hand into a two-handed scepter used by priests.

"Priest's Aura... Spring Aura."

"Mage Aura... Blessing Aura of the Ice Goddess."

Yuzu seemed to be 'out of her mind' for a moment, her gaze lingering briefly on Alice, who was following closely beside Amamiya, and on Amamiya herself, before she quickly lowered her head again.

The ripples of water and the halo of fine snow and frost spread outwards from the pomelo, temporarily offsetting the constant scorching heat.

Amamiya, sensing that Yuzu's condition was not quite right, walked over, gently placed her right hand on the girl's head, and ruffled her long, smooth, light red hair tied with a small bow.

"Is Yuzu... alright?"

"No, it's okay..."

The pomelo, having been patted on the head, seemed to have some kind of switch flipped, giving a barely perceptible jolt before giving a hasty reply.

Did he notice his previous interaction with Alice, or...?

After a moment of doubt, Amamiya didn't say much. She gently patted Yuzu's head, then walked to the front of the group with Sofia and took on the responsibility of leading the way.

Amidst the scorching heat, the group stepped onto a suspension bridge pulled by some kind of red-glowing metal chain, with a lava moat below.

Just after crossing the bridge, getting closer and closer to the spiked city gate, Momoi suddenly thought of something and tilted her head to ask.

"Speaking of which... since Alice has also awakened her 'Persona,' shouldn't she also get the Phantom Thief's codename?"

Regarding the 'codename', Amamiya had no objection. So, at Momoi's 'prompt,' he looked at Alice, who was also casting her gaze at him.

"So what kind of 'codename' does Alice want as her phantom thief codename?"

"Well……"

When asked this question, Alice, who had temporarily tied her hair into a neat single ponytail and looked much more dashing than before, lowered her head and pretended to be deep in thought.

Her predecessor, 'Sophia,' was similar to her; their codenames were essentially just one word different (Sophia → Sophie).

Should she adopt a similar naming convention...?

"Alice's codename for the phantom thief... let's call her 'Alyce'!"

'Alyce...?'

Amamiya pondered for a moment and then nodded thoughtfully.

It is spelled differently from "Alice," which is the most common spelling and means 'Iris.'

"Alyce" is a less common spelling (compared to the former), but it also means "Alice".

Sophia immediately approved of the code name Alice had given her, slowed her pace slightly, and waved to Alice: "Then, please take care of me, junior Alyce."

Alice nodded enthusiastically in response, "Yes, I'll do my best, Sophie-senpai!"

'Hey... two AI girls with naturally energetic personalities, and just like that, senior and junior met...'

For some reason, I found this scene rather amusing.

After pausing briefly at the gates of the Demon King's Castle behind the lava river suspension bridge, Amamiya began searching for the 'small path' to enter the Demon King's Castle.

First of all, the phantom thief will not break in from the front.

Secondly, there's the possibility of a direct frontal invasion. It's highly likely that once the heavy city gates open, you'll find a large number of crossbows, flamethrowers, and possibly even defensive structures like lava.

The lessons learned at 'Stoneville Castle' about not going through the main entrance, and the experience of being a phantom thief, led Amamiya to choose another path.

After glancing around with his third eye, Amamiya easily noticed an area set up to the side of the main entrance, which looked like a passageway for sentries and other personnel.

After leading the girls to this 'fortified outpost', Amamiya did not approach rashly, but observed the situation from a distance.

The shadow guarding the gate was a short maid dressed in a maid outfit, who looked strangely familiar to Amamiya.

From afar, Amamiya could see the petite maid, dressed in a delinquent-style coat and a modified maid outfit, casually crossing her legs and placing her feet directly on the table.

That arrogant and smug expression, for some reason, looked a bit like he wanted to punch someone.

"Is the gatekeeper a maid...?"

Clinging to the edge of the building, Alice and Midori watched this formidable character from afar, feeling a chill run down their spines.

Although I can't see the level information... but if I could...

This little maid, who looks about the same height as them, is definitely a level 99 red skull icon, an elite monster, or even a boss... an invincible enemy!

"I think I've met them a few times... Although they're about the same height as us, they inexplicably give off a very intimidating vibe..."

The shadowy Nero, who was 'relaxing and enjoying himself,' suddenly seemed to sense a gaze, paused slightly, and stared back with eyes as sharp as knives—

Momoi, who had just been commenting on the target, was startled and instinctively shrank back.

The shadowy Nero, resting, seemed certain that she had sensed an 'unusual gaze' and 'malice directed at her'.

With a bang, she stomped her foot on the guard post table, and then kicked the guard post window open with a crash.

Then, with a fierce look in her eyes, she grabbed her gun with both hands and leaped out of the guardhouse.

"I smell a mouse..."

"Little ones, stop hiding!"

"If you don't want me to find you, and then... cut you up, slice you open, chop you into pieces!... then jump out of here..."

"It seems... she is an enemy that must be defeated if we want to enter the Demon King's castle."

After carefully observing Nero's impressive performance in battle, which had truly broadened his horizons, Amamiya turned to look at the four members of the Game Club who were either apprehensive or frightened by Nero.

"Prepare for battle...it's coming!"

Chapter Twenty-One: Nero: An unexpected encounter with a hero's party in the Demon King's castle, but even with all his might, he cannot defeat them!

"Gotcha...you little mice!"

Wow...

The metal chain was dragged, and the crisp sound of it snapping open grew louder as it approached.

In that instant, the four members of the game club behind Amamiya felt a terrifying aura and pressure that made them feel suffocated, and the sound of chains came from afar and descended upon them.

'Zheng~'

Amamiya conjured the 'God of Destruction' out of thin air, and then calmly swung the sword, the sharp black and gold blade instantly severing a section of the chain that was being pulled towards him.

"Oh... this Demon King's castle has stood for so long, and I've never seen such a rat... it even has the ability to withstand two of my attacks..."

Shadow Nero licked his lips with a 'bloodthirsty cruelty', then laughed with high fighting spirit: "Interesting, very interesting..."

After quickly scanning Amamiya and his group, Shadow Nero did not continue his direct attack. Instead, he stood still, wielding chains in both hands, like Kratos wielding the Blade of Chaos, and coldly asked a question.

"What...why did you come here?"

"What else could it be for...!" Although she was a little scared of this 'fierce maid', Momoi still mustered up her courage to answer, relying on Amamiya's protection, "Of course it's for... to defeat the Demon King!"

"Oh...is that so?"

Nero's shadowy gaze briefly fell on Momoi, who was involuntarily carrying her shield and whose legs were trembling slightly.

"...They seem to be nothing more than greenhorn adventurers, relying on..." Nero's gaze lingered on Amamiya, who remained calm, Sophia, who was ready for battle, and Alice, who held her sword in both hands as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Relying on being a low-level hero with two high-level characters helping him... he dares to spout such arrogant words..."

"Should we say you're brave, or just overestimating yourselves...?"

Amamiya moved a step to the left, blocking the shadow. Nero looked at the members of the game club with a sharp, mocking gaze and calmly replied, "Whether it's overestimating oneself or not, we'll have to try to find out."

"Heh heh...you really dare to say that."

"Well... let's give it a try."

Shadow Nero suppressed all expression, calmly flicking the chains wrapped around her arm, the clattering sound accompanied by her ferocious aura spreading further.

The dark eyeshadow gradually distorted, and the already deep red eyes began to cast eerie shadows.

The next second, dark red mud began to swirl and overflow across her body and clothes.

The shadowy Nero slowly collapsed, and then... the writhing, twisting black and red mud finally transformed into a skeleton knight riding a red steed, wielding a jet-black longsword, wearing a tattered black robe, seemingly formed from pure 'war' elements.

'The Knight of War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.'

Looking at the tall, red-skulled knight that Nero had conjured from the shadows, Amamiya felt a chill run down his spine and quickly reviewed the basic information about this 'skull knight' in his mind.

As the War Knight among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, this Black Knight is said to 'spread conflict across the land, plunging humanity into endless strife'... Correspondingly, He can unleash various forms of magic related to negative consciousness through His blade and the neighing of His warhorse.

Or it can unleash attacks that truly evoke fear or other negative thoughts in humans.

"It's time for this farce to end... Cry, scream, and then die!"

"What Iori Yagami... Hmph, don't think we're afraid of you just because you're riding a horse!"

Perhaps due to the principle that things reach their extremes and then reverse, Momoi suddenly stopped being afraid after her fear reached its peak.

Quickly entering combat mode, she raised her icy shield high, transforming it into a heavy two-handed tower shield, and then slammed it forcefully into the ground.

"Since it's an undead creature... you should be afraid of this!"

The paladin's holy domain skill spread out, and holy light rose up beneath the Demon King's castle, transforming into countless star-like birds of paradise and butterflies of light.

"Paladin skill... Divine Domain!"

The Red Knight, riding a tall horse and charging recklessly, raised his greatsword, about to sweep it down—but just then, he stepped into the area covered by the aura, and his movement stopped, revealing an extremely obvious flaw.

Seeing that her skill had truly proven its effectiveness, Momoi clenched her fist in excitement, then revealed a smug, victorious smile.

"Yattaze! It seems that undead creatures will suffer double damage from Holy Light attacks. It really works on the undead creatures of this world!"

With Momoi's clear example, the remaining three members of the game club immediately knew what they should do next.

Little Green: "I see..."

After realizing that the Red Knight in front of him was not as terrifying as he looked, Little Green transformed the pixelated dagger in his hand into a flame-shaped dagger.

Carrying a short sword, she transformed into a pixelated green shadow and, with an overconfident attitude, launched an attack on the Red Knight imprisoned in the sacred realm.

"Heh... a little guy with the agility attribute, huh... Come on, give me a gua sha treatment!"

"Gua sha? Don't look down on the assassin profession."

“If I scrape fast enough, it’s not gua sha, it’s bone scraping.”

The pace of the charge quickened further, and at this moment, Little Green was so fast that it became a green trail.

"Silent Hunter Skill... Unique Technique!"

"break out……"

"Bullet Time!"

"Dance of the Blades... Lingchi!"

"Steel Storm..."

"A magnificent ending!"

A cherry-pink light descended from the sky, and the dazzling steel storm transformed into strands of cherry blossoms that seemed to carry sunlight as they fell, creating a poetic and picturesque scene. However, this scene was composed of countless serpentine short swords.

Countless pixelated short swords, as if Dio had unleashed a massive time-stop attack, converged in the air, firmly fixing the Red Knight in one spot.

"Finishing move!"

call……

At that moment, steel blades were simultaneously launched, unleashing a terrifying, magnificent metallic storm composed of pixelated blades.

Little Green's 'developer weapon' is the Assassin... and the Assassin is a profession destined to be forever separated from the Holy Light.