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"Don’t you think, Alice?! Isn’t this super fun?!" Kireina laughed. "Hahaha— Aw, come on now! Why are you staring at me like that?!"

"..." Alice stood sweating beside her cousin. She had always feared Kireina’s madness and overwhelming power, which far surpassed her own. While Alice pursued the end of humanity with cold rationality, Kireina remained a chaotic force no one could ever predict. "It’s nothing, cousin... I’m just not sure this is a good idea. That damned goddess has only grown stronger. How exactly is this a good thing?"

"Aw, you’re so boring" Kireina sighed, crossing her legs. "Hmm? Oh, looks like something’s coming right now. Gee I wonder what it is?!"

"...?!" Alice’s eyes widened, her eyebrows twitching as the space above the building cracked open and began to shatter. "A Gate?! Right now?! Why now...?"

"It’s that girl, remember her? The one who stole our aunt’s heroic spirit... She’s come here to vanquish. Yet another incredible player is about to join the war... This is wonderful, isn’t it?!" Kireina laughed. "And... oopsie. We might have accidentally made it happen a little earlier than planned, huh, Foreigner?"

"My apologies," Foreigner said beside her.

"Nah, nah, don’t worry about it." Kireina patted his shoulder. "Mistakes are normal. Nobody here is perfect, right? And sometimes... these little mistakes can turn into wonderful things. Don’t you think, Alice?"

Kireina smiled viciously as Alice watched a tremendous aberration begin to loom from the other side. Its glowing red eyes and writhing black tentacles slowly descended.

Black fog spread everywhere, turning the sky into a nightmare. People nearby began coughing and collapsing, infected by the spreading darkness.

"Aaaarrghhh!"

"W-What’s happening?!"

"Hyeeeee!"

The dark fog pierced the barrier created by Amaterasu’s clan members. It infected the people, twisting their deepest desires, forcing their hearts to crystallize and shatter. Black roses of darkness bloomed from the ruins, distorting reality itself.

"GRAAAHHHH!"

"OOOOGGHH!"

"WRAAAHHHH!"

Their bodies warped completely before exploding, unleashing pocket dimensions born from their own souls and traumas... from their nightmares.

"Don’t you like what you see? I thought you wanted humans to die," Kireina said with a grin. "I did what you wanted! Because I love you so much, Alice! Come here for a big hug!"

"I-I’m good..." Alice muttered.

"Sheesh! See, Foreigner?" Kireina sighed, crossing her arms. "You do everything for them, and they won’t even give you a simple hug that costs nothing! Cousins are so hard to please!"

Ignoring Kireina’s chatter, Alice and Avenger both stared at the utter destruction spreading before them. Space itself continued to distort even further.

"Master, although I do not dislike the view, just what is your cousin’s endgame with all this?" Avenger clicked his tongue, his voice thick with jealousy. "The Gates of the Demon King of Death, Caster’s Canvas Bleed... and now this?! Where do I even get to shine with so many chaotic beings running around? And that’s without even counting Tartarus spreading her domain everywhere..."

"I suppose... I think I know what she wants," Alice replied. She felt several powerful presences beginning to mobilize toward the area inside and around the barrier. "She wants to create a grand battle royale. All this chaos... it’s just an invitation to Them."

"Them?" Avenger asked.

"The other participants of the Holy War... and, of course, the strongest guardians of Tokyo," Alice muttered, swallowing hard. Yet her nervous expression gradually relaxed into a smile. "Heh... Well... maybe this will be fun after all."

Kireina smiled as she watched Alice begin to enjoy the chaos. But her amusement was suddenly interrupted when a blue door, belonging to an ancient castle, opened behind her.

"Heir of Chaos, this wasn’t what we agreed on."

A deep voice echoed from the gate. A tall, demon-like man emerged, coated in dense nightmare essence and radiating immense power. Long black horns crowned his head, his pale gray skin contrasted with sharp red-blue eyes, and his long white hair gave him a regal, imposing appearance. Several other demons followed closely behind, like a dark family.

"Oh! Nightmare Demon King! I was waiting for you!" Kireina exclaimed. "Do you like it? I finally released one of the Fragments of the Original Nightmare Curse, just like we agreed!"

"This isn’t what we agreed on!" the Nightmare Demon King roared. "He was supposed to appear in the Nightmare Castle—the realm we’re building at the center of the Earth—not on the surface! How do you expect us to bring that thing with us?!"

Kireina remained silent for a moment, staring at him with a blank expression while casually eating popcorn. "Um..." She swallowed, putting on an innocent face.

Then her tone shifted.

"Who do you think you’re raising your voice against, you worm?"

TRUUUM!

"Nngh?!"

The Nightmare Demon King and his family instinctively dropped to their knees as Kireina’s presence turned deadly serious. Her eyes gleamed blood-red, and her face began to fragment like shattered glass, revealing an endless abyss of darkness beneath.

"This is what we agreed on, and you never specified how it would be done," Kireina said, her voice low and intimidating. Reality warped around her as she towered like a giant of pure chaos. "You should be grateful I even bothered with you, trash."

"A-Ah...! Y-Yes... I was mistaken... Please forgive me, Princess of Chaos..." the Nightmare Demon King stammered, swallowing hard. Suddenly, he sensed a dark, bloody presence below. "Huh? E-Excuse me, what is that?!"

"Hmmmm?" Kireina looked down. "Ahhh! That’s our newest experiment! We lured Noah after promising him he could easily get the Holy Grail and... pffff...! Would you believe the dummy actually came?! He fought a goddess and got sealed inside her... and it turns out the goddess got corrupted?! Hahahahaha! It’s way too funny!"

"...?!"

"...!"

"...?"

"What? You aren’t laughing either?"

The Nightmare Demons panicked and forced awkward, ridiculous smiles as they began laughing nervously.

"H-Hahahaha! Yes, it’s... r-really funny!"

Foreigner narrowed his red eyes at their fake expressions.

"Master, I always wonder... Why do you surround yourself with such fake people?"

Kireina turned back to him and smiled warmly.

"Well, not everyone is fake. You’re very honest, and I love that about you, Howard."

"...! Well, I only speak what I believe to be the truth. I would rather die than ever be ’fake’ to myself or the world."

"Yes, yes, I know" Kireina chuckled. "Let’s enjoy the show, shall we? Lots of things are about to happen now... Fufufu!"

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