We reached the power stone goal
Bonus chapter
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Kiba was clearly unhappy that Rias had let them leave before he got the chance to fight them. "Why... why did you let them go...?"
Rias stayed calm. "Yuuto, fighting them would have gained us nothing. In fact, they are doing us a favor by handling this problem on their own. We do not need to interfere. Let them deal with those pests for us."
Kiba clicked his tongue and turned away.
Issei quickly grabbed his shirt. "Hey..."
But Kiba shoved his hand off with force. "Don't to".
"Where do you think you're going?", Rias asked, her expression turning sour.
"…I only escaped the Church because my comrades gave their lives. The bitterness and regret they left behind... it is my duty to answer it with my Demon Swords."
"I will not allow that!" Rias said sharply. "You are a Knight of the Gremory Familia. I will not let you throw yourself away and become a stray. You are staying here."
But Kiba turned his back on them and walked out of the clubroom alone.
"Yuuto!" Rias shouted after him, but he did not stop or look back.
BAM!
The door of the clubroom slammed shut behind him.
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"The Holy Sword Project?"
Rias gave a small nod at Issei's question. "Yes. Yuuto is one of the survivors of that cursed project."
Rias and Asia were in Issei's room, and Rias started explaining what had happened to Kiba.
"Until a few years ago, there was a plan inside the Christian Church to create a person who could use the Holy Sword Excalibur."
"…I've never heard of that before."
Asia clearly knew nothing about it. That was only natural. The people behind something so dark were never going to tell a respected Holy Maiden about it.
"There are many Holy Swords, and each one has its own story, but the most famous one is Excalibur. Holy Swords are special weapons made by people who reached a godlike level through magic and alchemy. But not everyone can use them. Only a very small number of people are born with the ability to handle one. They say it happens only once every few decades, so they decided to raise children so they could wield one. Yuuto was one of the children raised artificially so he could become compatible with Holy Swords," Rias explained. "More exactly, with Excalibur."
"Does that mean he can use Holy Swords?" Issei asked.
The prez shook her head. "No. Yuuto was never able to adjust to them. And he was not the only one. From what I heard, none of the other test subjects could use them either."
"When the people in the Church realized that Yuuto and the others could not use the Holy Swords, they called them failures and got rid of them," Rias continued.
Her eyes grew colder, as if the memory itself disgusted her. "Many of those children were killed... Yuuto would have died too... all because they could not use those cursed weapons."
"H-how could they do something like that...?" Asia whispered. "No true servant of the Lord would ever choose to be that cruel..."
The truth hit Asia hard. Her eyes trembled, and tears began to gather in them.
"When I found Yuuto and revived him as a demon, he was already close to death, and even then, all he spoke of was revenge. Since the day he was born, his talent had been wasted on Holy Swords. I wanted to save him and give that talent a new purpose as a demon. His skill with the sword was far too great to be thrown away on those cursed weapons."
Rias wanted to save Kiba and give him another life, one better than the miserable life the Holy Swords had forced on him.
She had told him to leave those weapons behind and live on as a demon.
But in the end...
"He could not forget," Rias said quietly. "Not the Holy Swords. Not the people behind that project. And not the Church itself..."
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"Oh, may blessings fall upon the lost sheep before us!"
"Heavenly Father, please have mercy on these poor, miserable souls!"
At the side of the street, two young women dressed in white robes were praying.
"How is this possible? Is this really Japan? I heard this country was very advanced. This is why I can't stand countries that don't follow our beliefs."
"Don't say that, Xenovia. We already spent all our money. If we don't accept help from unbelievers, we won't even have anything to eat. We can't even buy a loaf of bread!"
"Hmph. This is all your fault. You just had to buy that shady painting from that scammer!" Xenovia said, pointing at the badly drawn picture that was supposed to be a saint.
"What are you saying?!" Irina shouted. "It's obviously a holy person! The man in the shop told me so!"
"Then who is it? It doesn't look like anyone I know."
"...Saint Peter, maybe?"
"You have to be joking. There's no way Saint Peter looks like that."
"How am I supposed to know?!"
"Ah, why did I end up with you as my partner...? Lord, is this another one of your trials?"
"Hey, don't talk about me like that! When you get depressed, you get depressed really hard, huh?"
Only a few seconds later, the two of them were already arguing right in each other's faces.
Grrrrrrrrrr...
The sound of their hungry stomachs was so loud that it stopped them cold.
"First, we need to find something to eat. Otherwise, we won't even be able to think about getting the Excaliburs back."
"...Right. Should we threaten the pagans and take their money? I'm sure the Lord will forgive us as long as they're pagans."
"What about attacking a Buddhist temple? Or maybe stealing the money from their offering box?"
"Please don't do that. You'll just cause a mess."
A tall man with blonde hair tied behind his neck said that. He was dressed in a formal black shirt and black trousers, and a pair of sunglasses hid his eyes.
Irina turned to look at him, and her face became a little red. She was a Church exorcist who had trained her whole life to use Holy Swords, but she was still interested in men.
Xenovia, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. She was used to men hitting on her. Usually, she would just beat them up and that would be the end of it.
"Come on, I'll buy you some food."
"Thank you for your generosity, may the lord be with you." She said. First, she needed to eat. After that, if he tried anything funny, she would beat him up.
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"So good! Japanese food is amazing!"
"Yeah, yeah! It really tastes like home!"
Xenovia and Irina kept stuffing their mouths, eating one dish after another.
"This scene is giving me a real sense of déjà vu," Adrien said with a chuckle. "Don't you think so too, Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou?"
Xenovia and Irina froze.
The man in front of them had just called them by their full names. Wasn't he supposed to be just some passerby who took pity on them?
Xenovia slowly raised her head and looked at him. A knowing smirk was on his face.
"Don't you remember?" Adrien said. "Berlin, three years ago."
Irina gulped. Xenovia slowly moved her hand to the hilt of her Holy Sword. If he was really who she thought he was, then this was a huge problem.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. This isn't exactly a good place to fight. It'd just give Rias even more work, and the result will only be the same as last time."
Xenovia sighed and let go of her sword. "What is this world coming to," she muttered, "when the faithful have to rely on the charity of demons?"
Adrien smirked. "You said that exact same line four years ago. You really don't know how to say 'thank you,' do you?"
"Why would I ever thank a devil?"
"Because I just fed you, you were starving on the street when I picked ya'll up like a bunch of puppies."
Xenovia looked away and clicked her tongue, while Irina, who was sitting next to her, smiled weakly.
Three years ago, news reached the Vatican that a demon had been spotted in Berlin, Germany. So Irina, Xenovia, and a third exorcist were sent to deal with him. It was their first official mission as exorcists.
When they found Adrien, he was sitting on the bruised body of a priest right in front of the church the man served in. You can probably guess how that went.
After the fight, Adrien piled the three exorcists on top of each other and sat on them.
He didn't kill them because they were around his age, and honestly, he didn't feel like it. The next day, he saw them crying at the side of the street. He invited them to lunch, and for some reason, they accepted.
They told him they couldn't go back after failing the mission, especially since it was their first one. Adrien had already gotten bored of Berlin anyway, so he left. After that, they returned and reported that the mission had been a success.
"I love how exorcists lie just as easily as us devils. So, did you go to your dear Father and confess your sins?"
"Shut up!" Irina snapped. "What were we supposed to do? We weren't even Mid-Class, and as for you, I couldn't even measure your strength. You beat us using a freaking branch against our Holy Swords!"
"Couldn't you have just reported that the devil was way out of your league?"
Xenovia frowned. "The report said it was a child devil. We were children too, but we had Holy Swords."
Adrien gave a small nod. "Fair enough."
Irina watched him carefully as he took a sip from the Coke in front of him. "Do you live in Kuoh too?" she asked.
"Nah, I live in Shibuya. Well, I'll be moving there in a few days."
Xenovia narrowed her eyes. "Then how did you know about us?"
"A friend told me about you," Adrien said. "And from the way she described you, I was pretty sure it was you three. Not to mention the aura leaking out of those disgusting things hanging from your waists."
He paused for a second, then asked, "So why are you here?"
"That has nothing to do with you," Xenovia said coldly.
Adrien smirked. "Come on. Think of it as repaying me for the meal."
Irina looked at Xenovia. "Xenovia, can't we ask him for help? If he's with us, we might actually pull it off."
Xenovia shook her head. "We can't take sides. Just like we asked Rias Gremory not to interfere, we can't accept help from a demon who isn't even part of this territory."
"You know, I can just go to Rias and ask her what you two are doing here. She already owes me, so she'd happily tell me," he said.
Xenovia froze for a second.
Adrien blinked at her. "Whoa, you seriously didn't think of that? Devils being friends with other Devils, preposterous!" He grinned. "You're actually dumber than you look."
SLAM!
"Shut up!" Xenovia snapped and slammed her hand on the table, spilling their drinks and making all the customers turn to look at them.
She slowly sat back down and Irina started apologizing for her, Adrien was just watching everything with an amused smile.
Seeing that there was no point hiding it from him anymore, Xenovia started to explain why she had come here.
"…But that does not mean we need your help, even if we are up against Kokabiel."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Kokabiel is a ten-winged cadre. He is basically comparable to a mid-ranked god in some Pantheons. Fighting him basically means you're dead."
Both of them went quiet for a moment. They clearly did not know how to answer. If they told him the truth, it would mean asking a devil for help. Xenovia bit her lip. The closer the fight came, the more she started to doubt the mission. Rias Gremory was right. They really had been sent here to die.
Adrien did not push the issue and asked something else.
"Where is Mary? Shouldn't she be with you?"
"She is on standby. If we fail, she will have to fight with everything she has to protect the last Excalibur," Xenovia said.
Xenovia was still thinking. How was she supposed to face Kokabiel without asking Adrien or Rias for help?
Suddenly, four people entered the restaurant. The boy in front, with brown hair, was panting heavily and holding his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Beside him was a short girl with white hair, Koneko Toujou. Yuuto Kiba was with them too. Issei had called him to come because he had something important to say, but instead Kiba ended up running all over Kuoh with him until they reached this restaurant. The fourth person was a young man with short blond hair and grey eyes, Saji Genshirou.
The moment Saji's eyes landed on Adrien, he froze. His eyes widened, and goosebumps spread all over his body. His hands started shaking, and he suddenly felt sick.
"Haaaa! I've been searching all over town for you!" Issei said as he looked at Xenovia and Irina. Then he finally noticed Adrien, and he froze too. He knew exactly who this guy was. It was the man who had humiliated Riser, the one none of them could even scratch. All four of them went silent the moment they saw Adrien.
Adrien chuckled as he stood up. He looked at Xenovia and Irina with an amused expression.
"The Fantastic 4 have come to save you. If I were you, I'd accept their help. But hey, you do you" Adrien shrugged.
With that, he paid for the food and left.
Issei was the first to break the awkward silence. He walked up to the two girls, and the others followed behind him.
"You said you want to get the Excaliburs back, right?" Issei asked.
Xenovia gave him a questioning look. "We do not want Kokabiel to have them, so yes."
"Then you can destroy them too, right?" he asked. "If you destroy them, that Fallen Angel will not be able to use them."
Xenovia and Irina stayed silent for a moment. Then Irina was the one who answered. "Destroying them is also an option."
"I want to help destroy the Excaliburs," he said.
Both Irina and Xenovia looked at Issei in surprise, then glanced at each other. A second later, Xenovia's eyes widened.
'Did he know this would happen after we rejected Rias's help? But How? and why? We told him clearly that we would not work with demons. Why would we accept their help?'
Xenovia suddenly remembered something and quickly took out her phone. She opened the reports she had on Kuoh, and then she found it.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"I see. Then perhaps we can leave one of them to you," she said. "That is, if you really can destroy it. Just make sure no one finds out what you are. We do not want our enemies—or our superiors—to think that we have joined hands with you."
"Hold on, Xenovia. Are you sure? Issei is a devil, after all," Irina said in protest.
Adrien had warned them that if they faced Kokabiel alone, they would die. But he had also given Xenovia a way out. What if she worked with devils? The Church had sent them here to die anyway. Would it not be better to finish the mission and stay alive? ...She had already lied to the Church once before, so could she not do it again? ...She already sinned once before, nothing really happened right? Xenovia felt goosebumps spread across her arms. The devil's words were still whispering in her ear.
"Irina. To be honest, it will not be easy to take back all three swords and fight Kokabiel completely on our own."
"I know that! But still!"
"At the very least, our mission is to destroy the three Excaliburs and escape. If there is even a chance that our Excaliburs could be stolen, then we are supposed to destroy them immediately. Even with our secret weapon, there is only a thirty percent chance that we can finish the mission and return home safely."
"But we knew the risk when we came to Japan. We were both ready for this!"
"Yes. Our superiors had no problem sending us here. In the end, they basically told us to die for this mission."
"Is that not what we, as followers of the Lord, are supposed to do above all else?"
"I've changed my mind about that. My faith is flexible. That is why I can always choose the best path."
"…You know, I've been thinking this for a while, but there is really something wrong with your faith."
"I will not deny that. But there is nothing wrong with believing that our duty is to finish our mission and return home safely. We should try to stay alive so we can keep fighting for the Lord in the future, should we not?"
"…I cannot argue with that. But still…"
"That is exactly why I will not ask a devil for help. Instead, I will ask the dragon. Our superiors never said anything about that, did they?"
Xenovia's eyes turned toward Issei, the dragon.