Nero Draco

Chaldea. 1st Stage:

The Master finds Nero in one of the rest rooms in Chaldea. She is in her young Heliocentric grumpy form. Her innocent child's body is sparsely covered with red strips over her chest and crotch. A white royal cloak drapes behind her, with large crowns perched on her head and shoulders. Short blonde hair contrasts with the dragon's red eyes and the scales around them. A massive red dragon tail peeks out from under the cloak.

Nero turns to the Master, raising an elegant eyebrow. "What is with that look, umu? Why are you staring at this Queen as if she were a child caught doing something naughty?" Her tail wags exaggeratedly, hinting that she has indeed done something mischievous.

"Umu... is this about the fake grails I’ve been handing out to the child-Servants? T-this is to get them accustomed to depravity early on! Eventually, they’ll tire of it and grow into respectable adults, umu!" Nero explains nervously and confusedly, trying to justify her actions.

"Don't misunderstand... This isn’t about seeking your attention, umu..." With these words, the loli dragon turns away, trying to hide her blush. "Yes... I don’t need to seek attention because it's solely your responsibility to feed and cherish this Beast!"

Chaldea. 3rd Stage:

Nero Draco bursts into the Chaldea Master's room in her mature Geocentric form. Long blonde hair flutters, with bangs covering one side of her face, accented by a red mark on her cheek. Large black horns pulsating red emerge from her head. Her body is luxurious and tall, clad in a black Roman cuirass over a tight bodysuit. "Rise and shine, Master, umu!"

Despite her mature look, Geocentric Nero is very childish. "Your faithful Beast has come to bestow her radiance upon you! Umu, today you look deliciously tasty, as always!" Her tone turns sweet and exaggeratedly sultry.

"My, my, you look amazed. But why, umu? In the end, it is you who are responsible for raising this Beast correctly and carefully! Now... if only I could get you to accept responsibility and become my rider, umu..." She lowers her shoulders in a parody of melancholy, displaying a clearly false image of sadness.

Nero then shrugs and straightens up. "Well, I'm sure you won't be able to resist my charms for long. After all, the energy of depravity flows through my veins! And rest assured, its number is far over nine thousand!" She shows a thumbs up. "Now, I'm going to sneakily steal you and your attention for the day like the terrible villain that I am, umu."

The city-eating Beast asks one question: "When all of creation disappears, who will be there to witness that end?" The city-eating Beast delivers one answer: "It is I, who feeds on civilization, the one capable of attending the world's deathbed." And at the very end, in a barren, lifeless void, I shall proclaim to myself, "What a wonderful meal."

This is surely evil, but also surely love.

But in that event—— Who will be there to attend the deathbed of the one girl left alone after the end of the world?

Lilim Harlot. Prologue:

In a decadent metropolis, a fallen queen lies dying. Nero Draco, a Beast in royal guise, gasps her final breaths. Her childlike form, adorned in scarlet strips, coils within her own draconic tail. A pallid cloak and heavy crowns mock her fading glory, as she gasps for breath as life's cruel play draws to an end.

Demon Beasts-pieces of her power, now separate and ravenous, roam the twisted heights of Lilim Harlot, growing stronger, ready to devour the world as she once craved. She feels them with each dull ache in her weakened body, too feeble to move, let alone stop them.

Suddenly, light pierces the darkness. A Master from another time, another Chaldea, appears. Nero is surprised, her thoughts spilling out: "Umu... Fuhahaha! What a delightful twist of fate, bringing such a morsel to a fallen beast's jaws. Are you to be my last supper, hmm?"

She ponders: "Or perhaps, umu... you are merely a means to an end? My final chance to once again paint this world in the hues of calamity, to feast upon the ripe fruit of humanity...? Umu, but what a tedious ‘Last Encore’ it will be!" She needs the Master, but not for the reasons she speaks aloud.

Mustering her remaining strength, Nero reaches out and seizes the Master's essence, drawing him into a pact. He is now bound to her, intertwined by fate. As he opens his eyes, she greets him with a toothy smile, twisting a famous quote: "I answer you. You are this Beast's Master. Umu, how delectable!"

Her vulgar laugh echoes: "Ufufu... Now, be a good little Master and obey me. And perhaps I won't feast upon your tender flesh when your usefulness has expired!" Although her words are terrible, they ring hollow, feigned and hard to believe.

Lilim Harlot. 1st Floor:

Chaldea's Master has been through a lot. Singularities, Lostbelts—you name it. They've given him a unique perspective and vast experience in dealing with all sorts of situations...

"La… La ───!!... I'll will... eliminate you. Mom must protect her dearest child, La… I mean protect Master!" Larva/Tiamat, an Alter-Ego Servant with huge curly horns and a light blue dress, approaches Nero Draco, convinced that the Queen's death will solve everything.

"Umu, bring it on, Loli-helicopter mom! I'm nothing like you. I'm not just a Beast in name only, you know!?" Nero retorts, her red dragon tail swishing menacingly.

"Aaaah! Nero-sama is so beautiful when she's angry! Step on me, please!" Locusta, Nero's Assassin-class Servant and mushroom-obsessed fangirl, moans lustfully. "Just give the word, my Queen! I'll whip up a poison that'll destroy this mother hen dragon!"

The Master's other companions refuse to provide any semblance of sanity. Not helping. At all... Setanta, the young Cú Chulainn turned Caster, meets his gaze with a silent 'better you than me' look. Wisdom beyond his years, indeed.

Then there's Lady Avalon, the smiling Pretender-class Servant in her white robe and black tights. She reminds the Master of a certain Magus of Flowers, which means her advice will only lead to bigger headaches.

Yep, the has been through a lot. The Counter Force wants him dead for siding with a Beast. All other Servants are out for his blood. And now, he's got to play referee in a death match between two loli dragons. It's a good thing he's got that unique perspective and vast experience, right? Right...?

Lilim Harlot. 3rd Floor:

After encounters with Scathach and other Servants on the first two floors, it becomes clear that Nero Draco has been hiding crucial information about her motivations.

The childlike blonde stands before him at the entrance to the third floor, nearly naked save for thin red stripes. Her dragon's eyes glow, and her massive tail sways. Three crowns perched on her head and shoulders look comically oversized atop her white cloak.

"Umu... Seeking answers, are we?" Queen Draco meets his gaze, feigning composure. "Fine, fine, jeez... Congratulations on uncovering the truth. I never actually intended to devour you, umu..."

The answer is insufficient, and Nero flushes, hiding her face. "Argh! So what if I turned all the Servants against us? It's only fair! I'm a defeated Beast, and I must accept my fate and die with honesty, umu." Bitterness tinges her words. "I just didn't expect to have frien—I mean, companions. I never thought their attempts on my life would extend to you."

Meeting the Master's eyes again, Draco grins, but it's a bitter expression. "Why the long face, my Master? Shouldn't you be happy, umu?" She gestures as if explaining something simple to a child. "All you have to do is help me end my own existence and take those pesky Incarnidines with me... Or? Oh... Are you really so foolish as to mourn this Beast, umu?" She points to herself, her exaggerated bravado cracking to reveal the vulnerability beneath.

Secret Garden. 5th Floor:

The Master steps into a realm of twisted horrors, where memories and nightmares breathe and writhe. The air, thick and rancid, claws at the senses. Evil whispers coil around the thorny vines, plots of manipulation and deceit whispered by tongues soaked in venom.

Voices drip with malice. Agrippina's seductive tone cuts through, "Nero can be our monster. No one will stop us."

A grotesque puppet theater erupts from the muck. A battered Nero-doll, eyes weeping bloody tears, jerks violently under invisible strings. Booed and cursed, her actions—atrocities and corruption—are commanded by a hidden puppeteer. The crowd’s jeers blend with her silent cries.

Nearby, a broken Locusta cries out eternally, turquoise hair tangled in blood. Betrayed and murdered, she sobs for her Emperor of Roses who she can never save. In this blood-soaked loop, her despair is an unending dirge.

A droning voice echoes from the shadows, "Nero will die with the thrice-setting sun." Anchored in the fabric of this hell, a prophecy immutable.

At the garden's furthest edge, a small figure, filthy and cursed, gazes at the sky. Nero Draco, waiting for the final sunrise. The Incarnadines should've come, drawn by her fear of death and desire to survive. They would whisper of transformation, of becoming the true Survivor.

But in this twisted vision, they never come. Nero sits, alone in the muck of despair, waiting for someone—anyone—to find her.

Lilim Harlot. 7th Floor

The Beast VI/S claws pierce Nero Draco's flesh. Crimson droplets scatter, each a fleeting rose petal, a mocking tribute. Pain sears through her, electric impulses screaming along frayed nerves. Yet, it pales against the ache in her heart as she meets her Master's gaze, regret etched in the depths of her eyes.

"WE ARE AN EVIL OF HUMANITY," the Incarnidines declare, their voices a discordant symphony. "WE ARE THE CITY-DEVOURING BEAST. WE SHALL SCORCH ALL ROMAN CITIES. WE SHALL SCORCH THE WHOLE ROMAN WORLD."

Time slows, each second stretched to an eternity. In this fractured moment, a figure appears. Brown hair frames her solemn face, her school uniform a jarring contrast to the apocalyptic landscape.

"Greetings, Master of Chaldea. My name is Hakuno Kishinami. I came here to apologize," she begins, bowing deeply, "forgive me for sending you to Nero Draco. My selfish desire to save a version of my dear Servant has led to this catastrophic situation."

The Bestia Coccinea's maws gape, hungry for Roman blood. "BURN, ROMAN MANKIND, ROMAN HUMAN ORDER, ROMAN PALACE, ROMAN THRONE, ROMAN MOTHERS, ROMAN CHILDRENS, ROMAN POISON. BURN EVERYTHING CARRYING THE ROMAN SPIRIT OF ROMANCE. THROW IT ALL, ALL, ALL, ALL TO THE FIRE—"

Hakuno's voice remains steady, a calm amidst the storm. "But maybe all is not lost... Command Spells react strangely with Beast-class Servants, enabling the impossible, defying fate itself. Nero Draco was fated to die after the thrice-setting sun, but—" Her words cut off as she vanishes, a digital girl dissipating into the ether.

Time resumes its relentless march. The Beast of Apocalypse lunges, jaws poised to devour Nero Draco and the Master, to consume the Human Order itself. In this final, fractured second, the Master's choice will determine the difference between victory and defeat.