I looked around my surroundings for a few seconds, making sure that there weren't any humans in the vicinity. Once I concluded that me and Kiba were alone, I turned back to look at him.

"There's no one around, so we shouldn't have to worry about accidentally hurting someone." I said.

"Hmph. How considerate of you," Kiba scoffed. He opened his hands and a demonic sword formed right in front of him. He gripped it and took a ready stance. "I don't know what you're planning, but I didn't come out all this way to be lectured by an outsider!"

Kiba rushed towards me and I blocked his attack with Zangetsu. Sparks flew right into my face as our blades fought for supremacy.

"C'mon. You're gonna have to try harder than that!" I yelled as I pushed back with one arm. Kiba's body flew back and crashed through the abandoned warehouse.

"Kh! Your Sacred Gear...Zangetsu, was it?" Kiba growled from the wreckage. He slowly crawled out of the rubble and leaned on his sword for support. "Hiding its abilities...do you not have any dignity?"

"Hah!? I don't wanna hear that from a spoiled brat that ran away from his master just cuz he got his feelings hurt!" I shouted. "And Zangetsu ain't a Sacred Gear!"

"Don't you dare mock my convictions! Someone that hasn't experienced pain or loss like you has no right to lecture me!" Kiba roared.

Crack.

"...Hasn't experienced pain or loss?" I whispered.

Kiba didn't seem to hear me speak. He discarded his current weapon in exchange for a newer, but larger sword. I couldn't even hear his loud scream as he jumped up into the air and swung his sword with all his might.

I held my free hand out and caught Kiba's sword midair. He gasped out as I held his sword into place with my fist. He couldn't yank it out from my grasp no matter how hard he pulled.

"Talk again like you know me." I growled.

The butt of Zangetsu's handle rammed into Kiba's stomach, sending him back into the already wrecked warehouse. I tossed Kiba's sword behind him and slowly approached him. He was clutching his stomach and continuously coughed out blood.

"You're right. I haven't gone through what you've been through. I don't know what it's like to be experimented on and seeing your friends die in front of my very eyes or having to live with anger every waking day. But is that how your friends want you to live?"

"W-what?" Kiba weakly asked.

His body froze when Zangetsu's tip hovered in between his eyes.

"When I clash blades with someone, I can tell what the person I'm fighting feels. It's like taking a peek inside their soul. Sometimes I feel anger and passion hot enough to burn me alive. Other times it's a never ending loneliness that drowns the world in rain. What I felt from your sword was pure rage. Rage so powerful it even pissed me off."

"That's…" Kiba trailed off. "If you know, then you should understand why I can't stop until I destroy every Excalibur with my bare hands! The only thing they've caused is suffering and death!"

"And what? You think you'll be at peace by abandoning your friends and getting yourself killed?" I asked. "What do you think is gonna happen when you run off just to fulfill your own selfish wishes? What're your dead friends gonna think when you turn into a monster?"

Kiba didn't say anything. He only gritted his teeth and refused to look me in the eyes. Even as a thin line of blood formed on his neck from Zangetsu resting on his skin, he refused to budge. All I could do was sigh angrily as my patience began to wear thin.

"You're a real dumbass if you think throwing your life away like that is gonna solve everything. Now that we've clashed swords, you're about as readable as an open book."

"What?" Kiba coughed.

"You're not just angry. Deep down, you're terrified. You keep on blabbering on about not caring if you die at the end of the day. But your heart doesn't feel that way. You're scared of becoming a deformed monster, scared of failing your mission, and scared of leaving behind your friends at the Occult Club!"

I continued to stare at Kiba who didn't move from his spot. He seemed awfully quiet. I'm pretty sure I didn't hit him that hard, though it did piss me off when he said that I hadn't gone through tough times. But judging from the angry stare he gave me, he wasn't passed out at least.

Kiba stared at me as I took a folded piece of paper out of my pocket and tossed it in front of him. He unfolded the thing and gave me a confused look.

"...What is this?" he asked.

"Your friends asked for my help. If you want answers, meet us there by that time. Believe me, I wanna know what the hell is going on too."

"W-wait!" Kiba shouted. I glanced back to see him struggling to get up. "Why go this far for someone who's not even in your Peerage? What do you gain by helping them!?"

"I don't get anything, dumbass. They asked me for help, so of course I'm gonna lend them a hand."

Kiba didn't say anything in response to my answer. Not like I needed to hear it anyways. One look into his eyes told me enough already. I flash-stepped away and soared through the cool night sky back to my apartment. Already, I could feel the lingering energy of a massive battle looming over my head.

"Guess we're all here, then." Issei whispered.

"Why do I have to be a priest!? Why couldn't Ichigo be it!?" Saji complained as he tugged on his black vest.

"You lost when we drew straws. Get over it." I said, pulling my hood over my head.

Me, Issei, and Koneko were wearing the white cloaks that Irina and Xenovia were wearing when they weren't fighting. Saji was wearing a standard priest's uniform. The goal was to walk around the city looking the way we did to draw out the rogue exorcist known as Freed to beat any kind of information out of him.

"I'm gonna die…" Saji whimpered.

"No one's gonna die. Stop being a crybaby." I said as I karate-chopped the top of Saji's head.

"So who's the person we're waiting for?" Issei asked. "I'm pretty sure this is everyone. Irina and Xenovia are waiting nearby when Freed shows up-"

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting." Kiba called out.

Issei and Koneko visibly jolted when they heard his voice. They spun around and gasped as Kiba walked down the narrow alleyway towards us. His face was still in a permanent scowl, even as he faced his friends.

"About time. Was starting to think you forgot about this." I said.

"W-w-why is Kiba here!?" Issei exclaimed.

"It sounds like you don't want me here, Issei." Kiba jabbed.

"That's not it…" Issei trailed off. "How'd you know about our plan?"

"I told him about it. After a brief discussion." I replied. My answer seemed to earn me a lot of shocked expressions, aside from Koneko. She just stared at me with a deadpan expression.

"Did you two even talk like normal people?" Saji nervously asked. "Something tells me that you're the type of person who lets his weapon do the talking instead, Ichigo."

I tossed Kiba the same white cloak I was wearing while making Saji shrink away with my stare. "We're disguising ourselves as priests to draw out this Freed guy. From there, we beat the crap outta him to get any info about the Excaliburs."

"Sounds simple enough." Kiba said as he threw on his cloak. "Let's get to it then."

We began to walk around the city, sticking to the more obscure alleyways to draw out the rogue exorcist. But no matter how much we seemed to wander around, we didn't get ambushed by anyone or anything.

"Hah...Guess he didn't show up today. Maybe another time." Saji said in a hopeful manner.

"You'd think we'd get attacked right outta the blue by pretending to be priests, but…" Issei mumbled.

I suddenly stopped walking, accidentally causing Koneko to bump into my back. Kiba seemed to do the same.

"Yuuto…" Koneko began.

"Seems like the plan worked." Kiba growled. His head then shot up to look above us. "Up there!"

I brought up Zangetsu in time to block the sword that would've cut me in half. A terrible screeching noise shook my eardrums as Zangetsu grinded against the enemy's blade. The sheer amount of killing intent that flowed out from the holy sword was more than enough for someone like me to identify it.

"Heh. It's hard to believe that something that twisted and evil is Excalibur. But it fits in well with your ugly-ass face." I scoffed as I held off the holy sword.

"Hah!? You're not priests!" Freed shrieked as he jumped away onto a ledge. His eyes narrowed as he studied our group, until he finally seemed to realize that we weren't priests. "Wait, I know you! You're Ichigo!"

"Freed!" Issei shouted. He threw off his cloak and a red gauntlet formed on his left arm.

"Ah, Issei! Has your dragon power increased? Is it time for me to kill you yet?" Freed asked excitedly.

Everyone else activated their own Sacred Gears behind me. This only made Freed laugh even harder. "Hahahaha! Killing so many filthy demons at once is just as good as killing stupid priests! Here I came with my cute Excalibur~"

I flash-stepped in front of Freed and grabbed his face with my free hand. The rogue exorcist let out a startled yelp before I threw him back several feet into a wall. His body smashed through the concrete and rubble fell on top of his body.

"Kh! How dare you interrupt my celebration!?" Freed growled as he got up and charged at me with speeds no normal human was capable of. "It's like a damned circus, you damned Devils!"

Freed began to swing his Excalibur at me as fast as he could, but his strikes might as well have been moving in slow motion for me. I calmly ducked and dodged his first few swings before blocking with Zangetsu. Freed's holy sword bounced off uselessly against Zangetsu and this pissed him off even more.

"Fuck! Why didn't my Excalibur Rapidly break your stupid sword!?" Freed howled.

I swung out with my right leg and kicked Freed right into his stomach. Blood spilled out of his mouth before his body flew back towards the rest of the group.

"Saji!" I yelled.

The blond boy nodded in acknowledgement and readied his Sacred Gear. "I got it! Absorption Line!"

A purple rope shot out of Saji's gauntlet and wrapped around Freed's left ankle. Freed tried to cut the line with his Excalibur, but it didn't seem to make a dent.

"Shit! This thing's leeching my power! And I can't cut it!" Freed yelled as he continued to cut at Saji's line. "Damn stupid dragon-type Sacred Gears!"

"Kiba! Take this guy down while I'm holding him in place!" Saji said as he continued to restrain Freed.

"There's still two more Excaliburs out there. But I'll just have to settle with this one!" Kiba yelled. Two demonic swords formed in each of his palms and he raced towards Freed.

"Kyahaha! You really think your shitty swords can break my Excalibur!?" Freed giggled with glee. He shattered both of Kiba's swords in one swing and continued to cut away at Saji's line. "Dammit! Let go of me you stupid lizard!"

"Hmph. Guess this shows just how much of an inexperienced wielder you are." a low voice scoffed.

I instantly turned towards the unknown voice to see a fat man dressed as a priest standing above me. His glasses gleamed maliciously as he studied all of us.

"Valper...Gallei!" Kiba growled with contempt.

"So he's the guy that started the entire Excalibur project…" I mumbled. "He looks like a complete dickhead. Just like how I imagined him to be."

"Ah! Old man!" Freed exclaimed. "I can't cut this stupid rope with Excalibur!"

"Hmph. Use the special element imbued in that sword. Focus your energy around it and cut that thing off." Valper calmly instructed.

"Hm, like this?" Freed's Excalibur began to glow brighter and brighter until he swung it at Saji's line. The rope was cut and Freed jumped back in triumph.

"Shit!" Saji growled.

"Valper! Why are you here!?" Kiba angrily demanded.

The fat priest simply looked amused rather than intimidated by Kiba's anger. "Hm? Oh, I remember you. You were-"

"Raaaah!" Kiba wasted no time creating another sword and jumping at Valper, though he was quickly intercepted by Freed.

"Ah-ah-ah! Your fight is with me, pretty boy!" Freed cackled.

"Damn you! Get out of my way!"

Valper continued to look on and laugh periodically watching Kiba fight Freed. But his confident demeanor disappeared in an instant when I flash-stepped behind him and tapped him on his shoulder.

"Wha-"

I ran my fist right into Valper's face, though I made sure to hold back as much as I could so that I didn't accidentally kill him. Still, it felt really satisfying watching his teeth fly out and blood come out of his nose. His fat body tumbled off of the roof and Koneko jumped up and caught his body before he could become a pancake on the ground. She then pinned him to the ground and softly spoke into his ear.

"Don't move. Or I'll break your arm." Koneko softly threatened.

"Kh! Filthy Devils! Get your hand off of me!" Valper growled.

"You're more of a filthy Devil. Now then…" I calmly flash-stepped back down and held Zangetsu against his throat. "The Excaliburs. Where are they?"

Valper's body continued to shake in fear as I towered over him. At first, I thought he couldn't speak because he crapped his pants too much. But suddenly, his fear slowly disappeared and it was replaced with glee. I could hear low giggles coming from his mouth until he suddenly burst out in maniacal laughter.

"What's so funny!?" I yelled. I pushed Zangetsu even closer to his neck to the point that it began to bleed a little, but this didn't stop Valper from laughing.

"I get it now! No wonder he was so interested in you!" Valper craned his neck to look up at me and gave me a toothless grin. "You're no ordinary Devil, Ichigo Kurosaki! Serafall really has done something outrageous by making someone like you her Queen!"

"Shut up! Tell me where the Excaliburs are now!" I yelled.

"It's too late. The ritual has already been set up! Soon, the Earthshaker spell and the Great War between the Heavens and Hell will be reignited! There is nothing you can do to prevent the destruction of your beloved city, Ichigo Kurosaki!" Valper exclaimed.

"Great War? Reignite?" Koneko asked softly.

"Earthshaker...We're wasting our time. Let's knock him out so-"

It all happened so quickly. A flash of light so bright that it lit up the whole world like the day was forcefully shifted into the daytime. And the suffocating amount of killing intent that washed over my body like a tidal wave.

My body was moving automatically as soon as I felt the light. Blue Spiritual Pressure was already pouring out of my blade and I swung it at my target with all of my strength.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

My attack roared towards the heavens and collided with the building-sized light spear that was crashing towards me. An explosion ripped through my eardrums and I was thrown back by the shockwave. Smoke covered my body and I felt my right arm getting burned and blistered by the explosion. But I wasn't dead, and I didn't let the attack reach the people below.

"Hoh? You actually managed to block my strike and live. Most interesting."

"Dammit...some light show you put on. It really sucked ass compared to the fireworks back home." I growled towards the voice.

"Hahaha! This is why you mortals amuse me so much! Always talking big in order to save face. It'll make crushing you all the more satisfying!"

As the smoke began to clear, I could see the figure of my attacker more clearly. What immediately stood out to me was the five pairs of black wings that sprouted from his back. His overall appearance was topped off with a black dress shirt and pants. He had long black hair and his red eyes glowed with malice.

"Bastard! What're you trying to pull!?" I yelled.

"It's nice to finally see you in person, Queen of Leviathan," Kokabiel sneered. "Here. A present from me."

Kokabiel suddenly tossed a humanoid object at me. It was only after I got a better look that I realized that he did throw an actual person at me.

"That's Irina!" Issei gasped.

I flash-stepped forward and caught Irina's limp body before she could hit the ground. The black battlesuit that she wore was torn to shreds and blood was leaking from her mouth. She was still breathing, but her skin was cold to the touch. She was beaten within an inch of her life.

"Damn you! What happened to her!?" I demanded.

"They came all the way to our headquarters. We decided to greet them in return. But one got away." Kokabiel calmly explained.

Hearing that put my mind somewhat at ease. Xenovia had somehow gotten away. But for all I knew, she could've been just as hurt as Irina.

"No wonder they didn't show up…" Issei trailed off. "They were lured away from us."

"This city is under the protection of both the Gremory Family and the Leviathan Family! You trying to start a war or something!?" I yelled.

"HAHAHAHA! That is exactly what I wish for! Both of their family's headquarters are located in Kuoh Academy! If I rampage there, Sirzechs and Serafall will never sit still! I thought by stealing the Excaliburs, it would force Michael to act. But all he sent were two puny holy sword wielders! How boring! Letting loose in that academy will surely bring more entertainment!" Kokabiel roared in laughter.

"Damn psychopath! Don't you dare hurt the President!" Issei yelled.

"Ever since the Great War ended, I've been hopelessly bored! Azazel and Shemhaza have been too scared about war. Ever since then, all they've been doing is meaningless research on Sacred Gears!"

The names of the two big shots from the Fallen Angel faction barely registered in my mind when I winded my arm back with Zangetsu. "If you're bored, then I'm right here! Getsuga-"

Before I could unleash my attack at Kokabiel, I felt something incredibly heavy slam into my back. My head spun from the pain and I spun around to see what attacked me.

"Tch! They're…!"

Behind me were hundreds of Fallen Angels. They all wore some kind of black armor and each had a pair of black wings like Kokabiel's. The sky lit up with the light spears in their hands and they hurled their weapons at me.

"You fucking coward! I thought you were bored!" I yelled as I dodged and knocked away any light spear that came too close to me.

"You are the only one that is a threat to my plans, Queen of Leviathan. It would be far too boring to have the duel to determine this city's fate right here and now. If you are so insistent on preventing the destruction of the academy, then I will await you there once I kill both sisters!"

With that, Kokabiel vanished into thin air. His maniacal laugh still echoed in my ears even after he was gone.

"Well then. Bye bye, filthy Devils! Meet you at school!" Freed cackled. He threw down what appeared to be a flash bang and both he and Valper also vanished in a flash of light.

"Ichigo!" Issei yelled from below me.

I swiftly dropped Irina's body, allowing Issei to catch her in time. "Tell Rias and Sona to hurry over to the school! I'll kick these guys' asses and get there as soon as I can!"

"But-" Koneko began.

"I can handle this! Stop Kokabiel before he starts another war!"

I could hear everyone else begin to hurry off. Once I made sure that their presences were no longer within my general vicinity, I turned to face the army of Fallen Angels and released my Spiritual Pressure.

"Bankai!"

Black Spiritual pressure covered my entire body and weapon until I was finally in my Bankai's shihakusho.. I quickly swept the wind aside with my sword and stared down the enemy.

"Tensa Zangetsu. Sorry, I can't be messing around here."

"Keep your guard up! He just used his Balance Breaker! It augments his speed!" one Fallen declared.

"Try to keep up then."

I flash-stepped forward and ran Tensa Zangetsu through the first Fallen Angel. I then disappeared again and cut another Fallen in half and continued my rampage through anyone who was unfortunate enough to be chosen to be cut down. Tensa Zangetsu cut through them like a hot knife through butter.

"Kh! He's too fast!" one Fallen gasped before I swiftly decapitated him.

The Fallen quickly began to regroup and started to hurl light spears at me, but none of them even came close to hitting me as I raced around taking down as many Fallen as I could. I stopped my brief assault to gather my Spiritual Pressure around my blade to charge up my attack. My blade was swung down and the night sky was covered with an even darker blackness.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

At least a hundred Fallen Angels got caught up in my attack and swallowed their entire bodies. They couldn't even cry out in pain as I watched their bodies literally disintegrate thanks to the Getsuga. By the time the attack subsided, less than half of the Fallen Angels that Kokabiel had brought with him were left alive.

"W-what was that!?"

"Everything went black, and they just vanished...Can we really beat this guy?"

"Stand your ground! Our numbers may have been halved, but we still have the advantage in numbers! We must buy enough time for Master Kokabiel! He is still a Devil, so use your light spears!"

I couldn't help but sigh inwardly. These were the type of guys to never give up despite having the odds stacked against them.

"I said I don't have time to mess around here, dammit!"

The Fallen Angels seemed more emboldened after watching several of their comrades die by my hands. They became much more aggressive and ruthless, choosing to swing their light spears at me instead of throwing them.

"Tch! They're persistent!" I growled as I dodged an overhead attack. Bankai or not, any light-based attack was going to hurt more than if I was human thanks to my demonic nature. That was the one catch that I found out after Sera made me a Devil. My powers would increase, but that meant that certain things that wouldn't have affected me when I was human would now do so.

"Got him!" one Fallen yelled.

Before I knew it, I was completely surrounded by a dozen Fallen. Their spears were raised and were immediately thrust towards my head. It was a well-coordinated attack that no one but an extremely well-trained and experienced group could pull off. At the speed they attacked, there were no openings for me to dodge completely.

I poured as much spiritual pressure and power into the arm that held Tensa Zangetsu and swung the blade around wildly, aiming for anything that could stop or kill them. Head, neck, chest, it didn't matter to me. I needed to get out of this situation no matter what.

In less than a second, the head of every angel that had surrounded me flew up into the air. Their minds couldn't even register just how fast I swung my blade around to decapitate each and every one of them. Some of faces still looked determined to kill me as their heads were separated from their bodies. It was all over in an instant.

"I-impossible…" one Fallen whimpered. "He was completely surrounded, yet he managed to kill all of them!"

These followers of Kokabiel had probably seen some truly insane things ever since the First Great War. But seeing so many of their battle-hardened comrades killed in the blink of an eye by a relatively new Devil like me definitely shook them to the core. What they witnessed was speed so inhuman only a god could be capable of it. All that was left of their army was a bright red mist that covered the battlefield.

Now, all that stood before me was one last Angel. The poor guy looked absolutely mortified after seeing all of his comrades get killed without much thought. His light spear visibly shook as he attempted to raise it at me, but the will to fight was already gone in his eyes.

"...Give up?" I offered.

No matter what they threw at him, he treated it like child's play. Akeno's lightning simply made him laugh. Rias' attack augmented by the Welsh Dragon gave him some amount of amusement, but even that ray of hope was dashed when he literally cut the attack in half with his bare hands. Not even Durandal, the sword gifted to Roland by God himself seemed to offer little help. All seemed hopeless, until Kiba unleashed his Balance Breaker.

It was a sword that shouldn't have ever existed. No matter how much someone willed it, there was no way the opposing forces of demonic and angelic powers could ever come together and form one complete being. It had even smashed through the combined form of four Excaliburs with ease and cut down Freed in one stroke.

The Devil named Kiba had managed to do the impossible. With his Balance Breaker, he had managed to forge a demonic holy sword. Just that label itself seemed like an impossibility. It was the beginning of light, and the end of darkness.

And it was completely meaningless. No matter how much power Kiba put behind his sword, Kokabiel casually caught it with just his fingers. The Fallen Angel simply grinned in arrogance as he studied the impossible weapon.

"Hmph! To think that you can only go this far with such a weapon," Kokabiel scoffed. He reached behind him and formed a sword made of light in time to block Xenovia's Durandal that would've decapitated him had he been millisecond late. "And if there's one thing that always makes me excited to fight humans, it's that you always fight dirty!"

Kokabiel's six wings shot out and knocked away Kiba and Xenovia, shattering Kiba's sword into pieces. Xenovia could feel the iron feathers tear through her body and she slid across the ground. Her body shook and trembled as she tried to force herself up, but her body refused to obey.

"Such strength…" Xenovia groaned. She now knew why the Bible had sung such high praises of Kokabiel's power in battle. Even with Durandal's power and the combined strength of Rias' Peerage, there wasn't even a scratch on Kokabiel. Was it even possible to beat him?

No. Never mind besting Kokabiel in combat. They would soon be dead before Ichigo could arrive and drive off Kokabiel. And she had seen the sheer number of Fallen Angels Kokabiel has brought to keep the Queen of Leviathan busy. Even someone like him would have a hard time against that many Fallen.

"Oh? You're still trying to fight even when you've lost your master?" Kokabiel remarked as he studied the struggling Xenovia.

"What...are you saying?" Xenovia croaked. "I've lost my master?"

For a second, Kokabiel seemed shocked at Xenovia's answer. Then that shock was quickly replaced by soft chuckling, then full on maniacal laughter. Rias and her Peerage looked on with confusion while Xenovia's body shook with fear at the sheer amount of madness she heard in his laughs.

"Oh, that's right! I've completely forgotten! I'm trying to start a war here so there's nothing to hide!" Kokabiel cackled. He spread his arm out and stared at his adversaries. "In the Great War, the Four Great Satans along with God perished!"

A collective gasp echoed through the battlefield. Everyone stared at Kokabiel in complete shock as the words from Kokabiel's mouth echoed in their minds.

"N-no…" Xenovia whimpered.

"God is...dead?" Rias asked in an almost fearful voice. "Such a thing has never happened!"

"The war brought an end to all Satans and many High Class Devils, as well as most lower Angels and Fallen. Pure Angels cannot reproduce, and there are very few pure-blooded Devils left. All three factions rely on humans to survive. The leaders of all three factions concealed God's death in order to make the humans who believe in God survive!"

"Liar!" Xenovia yelled. "As if we would believe in the words of a madman like you!"

"You can believe whatever you want. None of that matters to me however. What I cannot truly bear is that after the deaths of the Satans and God, we decided that anymore fighting was meaningless! They told us to lower our raised fists! We would've won if we kept on fighting! That asshole Azazel even proclaimed there'd never be another war! Unbelievable!" Kokabiel howled.

"Then, if the Lord is gone, then where is His love coming from!?" Asia desperately asked.

"Michael's done a good job standing in for God and leading the Angels and humans. It's no wonder nobody has discovered God's death." Kokabiel chuckled.

"Archangel Michael is substituting God?" Xenovia muttered. "Then, we were…"

"As long as the 'system' is working, prayers, blessings, and exorcisms would work to a certain extent."

Asia suddenly collapsed onto the ground. Xenovia couldn't blame her though. It was a miracle in and of itself that she hadn't passed out too or even lost her mind. Not being able to move seemed too small of a consequence. All she could hope was that Asia was the same girl when she woke up.

"I'll end this war how it was supposed to end, and take your heads as souvenirs! The fire to start the Great War again shall begin right here!"

Kokabiel was suddenly right in front of Rias. The arm that was holding a spear of light was raised high above the Gremory for the killing blow. He had moved so fast that Xenovia's mind couldn't even register his existence for that split second.

"And consider this the spark!"

There was nowhere to run, and no time to defend. It was as Xenovia watched helplessly as the spear inched closer and closer to Rias' chest that she realized that Kokabiel was merely playing with all of them. She had thought that as long as she could perceive his movements, there was a slim chance of somehow defeating him or even slowing him down until Ichigo's arrival. But Kokabiel had used all his years of fighting experience and power to overpower them and reach Rias. They could never hope to match a Fallen that even the Bible mentioned by name.

For the first time in her life, Xenovia closed her eyes so she wouldn't look at what happened next. She had seen humans and Devils alike die in painful ways throughout her time as a wielder of Excalibur. But she couldn't bear to watch Rias die. It was a shame that she was going to carry all the way to her death.

"...Made it in time."

The familiar voice caused Xenovia to gasp and open her eyes. What she saw wasn't a victorious Kokabiel and an impaled Rias. The spear of light was stopped by a blade darker than the night itself. His black robes fluttered majestically in the wind and the arm that held the obsidian blade didn't budge against Kokabiel's might.

"HAHAHAHA! Why do heroes always show up at the last possible second?" Kokabiel laughed in amusement.

As the protective barrier that covered the school shattered like glass around her, her eyes were drawn to the orange-haired teen's eyes. Just one look made her feel calm and reassured. She could see it. All the power that was held within him.

She could place all of her trust into him defeating Kokabiel without any regrets.

"Let's go, Kokabiel. I'm going to end this in an instant." Ichigo declared.