[Issei POV]
The old man suddenly appeared before us. Wrinkled face, completely mismatched with a body overflowing with dense, youthful muscle. And that name, Vasco Strada. I'd only just heard it yesterday. So the mastermind behind the coup is showing up in person, alone?! What kind of insane confidence is that?!
We all tensed up instantly. But the old man didn't move. He didn't speak either. He just watched us in silence after his first greeting. Yet that silence was heavier than any shout. It pressed down on us like a physical weight.
"Hah, impressive. You've refined it well for your age."
"Huh? Refined what?" Honestly, I couldn't even move properly just now.
The one who answered was Ikki. "It was nothing serious. I just found the exchange educational. Though continuing any further would be rude to my friends."
"Hohoho! It has been a long time since I faced someone worth testing like this. I may have gotten a bit carried away."
Wait, testing?! Was that even a fight?!
Rias finally spoke, voicing what all of us were thinking. "Wait, what are you talking about?"
Ikki calmly explained. "He attempted to take our position using extremely subtle footwork. I countered with the same. We were essentially exchanging feints based on timing and presence. A hundred exchanges and neither side could finish it, so we stopped."
What kind of invisible high-level chess match was that?!
Before anyone could process it further, Strada turned toward Xenovia. "Xenovia. I hear you have become a devil."
"Yes. It has been a while, Your Eminence." Her voice was tight. She was sweating far more than the rest of us.
Then the old man reached into his coat, and walked straight toward Rias. "This is a challenge letter."
"A challenge?" Rias' voice was still stiff from the pressure.
"We intend to challenge you." That simple declaration stunned all of us. You're kidding, a coup leader personally delivering a challenge letter?! Isn't this something a messenger should do?!
Rias snapped. "This is not a joke! You understand the situation with Trihexa, don't you?! And yet you choose this timing?!"
Strada raised one finger, then gently shook it side to side. "You are young. Far too young."
"Wha?!" I lost it at that moment. I stepped between them. "That's enough! I don't care who you are!"
The old man suddenly smiled, and patted my head like I was a child. BOOM. His hand alone completely covered my head. "Good eyes, boy of the devil."
"Don't treat me like a kid!" I slapped his hand away, and in the next instant, he was gone. No sound. No movement. He was suddenly several dozen meters away. What the hell, I didn't even feel it!
At that distance, he turned away and spoke. "Then, Cardinal Teodoro Legrenzi. Please proceed."
Behind him stood another figure. A boy. About eleven or twelve years old, wearing the highest-ranking ecclesiastical robes.
"Are you Teodoro Legrenzi?"
"Yes. I am Teodoro Legrenzi." A child. That kid is one of the highest-ranking officials in the Church?!
Then he spoke, his voice trembling, but firm. "I will protect the rights and principles of exorcists! If even righteous devils exist, there are still evil ones that must be judged! To strip us of that right, even if it is the will of God or Archangel Michael, I cannot accept it! I refuse to accept it!" His voice echoed with pure conviction. No manipulation. No coercion. Just belief.
And then, from every shadow around us, church warriors emerged. Dozens, no, over a hundred.
Seriously, this is what it's like just a little way from town. They say Kuoh Town is a dangerous place, but when you're part of 'D×D', Kuoh Town and other towns don't seem that different. It's a volatile situation. It looks like our clash with them is imminent.