Dragon Emperor of the Heavenly Storm

by dragonliege242

There's an endless number of universes, each differing from each other depending on the choices we make. In most universes, Hyoudo Issei would have grown up to be a weak, untalented pervert by the age of 17. But, in this universe, Issei's fate is changed by a small difference in his life at the age of 6. Strong!Smart!Demigod!Non-perverted!Issei IsseixOphis

4. Life 3: Moonlit Chaos

I'm back. This chapter, the Excalibur incident occurs and Issei fights Kokabiel.

Be prepared. From May 5th onwards, I won't have nearly as much time to write as before, so my updating speed will slow down.

Also, those of you who are unaware, the prologue for my Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance fic, Butterfly Effect, has been posted.

Kinunatzs: I'm aware of that, I rushed through the first 2 volumes because frankly, other than Asia, they're rather unimportant events in this fic.

Darkkon27: Well, Ophis had been pretty much by herself since the dawn of time, so I personally feel that she would get attached to Issei, the first being to ever show concern and affection towards her. And don't forget, Ophis seems quite easily influenced by human culture, seeing as how she created her current form because it seemed popular among men.

He's been in direct contact with Rias, Sona and their peerage for a year, so his attitude towards them is a bit better than he would be towards other Devils. He respects Sirzechs because Sirzechs is a leader and an immensely powerful being with power that can match even Gods. He apologized to Lord Gremory and Lord Phenex because he was the one who destroyed the union between the two Clans. While it's true that Raiser attacked him first, the Devils would have offered proper compensation to him. Instead, he made use of the opportunity to repay his personal debt to Rias and interfered with the Devils' internal affairs for what he himself perceives to be selfish reasons.

tsun: After consideration, I've decided to change the pairing to IsseixOphis only. Rias and the other girls are pretty much just there for funny situations. I have no intention of actually adding any other girl to the pairing. Though that leaves me with the problem of whether I'll leave their love unrequited or have them fall in love with someone else.

Savaris: Being the Dragon God of Infinity, I assume Ophis also has the ability to extend Issei's life. Maybe not completely immortality like she had, but an infinite lifespan like Gods have.

Zik: Don't worry, powerful enemies are coming soon.

Will: Puppy love tends to make people do stupid things.

Issei is currently on the same level as Scale Mail Vali in terms of raw power, so he's marginally stronger than Maou-Class. However, Vali prefers to rely on his power as the Hakuryuukou while Issei has trained in both his demigod powers and the Sekiryuutei's power, so Issei would definitely come out on top if they were to fight.

TrueRedDragonGodEmperor: Issei is meant to come off as a bit arrogant. It's basically impossible to spend almost a full decade training with Gods and not pick up some of their arrogance. He will get better though.

Akuma-Heika: Don't worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes. I once thought Merlin and Morgan Le Fay were siblings.

So, Great Red has the potential to exceed Ophis's power simply by imagining his power to be greater than infinity? Wow, no wonder Ophis can't kill him on her own. Thank you so much for clarifying this. A lot of people have been telling me that Great Red is stronger than Ophis, but they never really bothered to explain why.

But wait, both Ophis and Great Red should have some limit to their power if Rizevim is so confident that Trihexa has power equivalent to Great Red. Unless Trihexa has a similar ability to exceed all limits.

Of course not every Youkai is going to spam space-time manipulation Senjutsu. Each species has their own affinity with Senjutsu. Nekomatas, Kitsunes and the two Monkey Sages are at the top.

I'm aware that Shiva may or may not be the strongest God in Hindu Mythology depending on which version of the myth you're referring to, but the DxD author himself has stated that Shiva is the strongest God, to the point where even Indra doesn't dare to take him/her on by himself. On that note, is Shiva male or female? I think I might have mixed that up.

From I've read, scion refers to a child born to a high-class family, not just the heir. I could be wrong.

On with the story!

---

Issei's eyes shot open and he leapt out of bed when he heard an odd shuffling sound next to him.

He got into a battle stance, wondering how the intruder got past the barrier around the estate and got so close without he or Ophis noticing, but paused and forced down a groan when he saw it was just Rias Gremory, trying to sneak into his futon without alerting him. The expression on her face was quite similar to a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Issei pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Rias Gremory, what are you doing?"

"…I was trying to join you in bed." She said with a pout that only served to further irritate Issei.

"I believe I assigned one of the empty rooms as your own. Go sleep in your own room."

"I don't feel like it. I can't sleep properly unless I'm naked and cuddling something."

"Then go buy yourself a giant stuffed animal or something."

"Don't wanna. You're more than enough."

"Sleep. In. Your. Own. Room." Issei said while flaring a bit of his own aura to deepen and magnify his voice.

Rias Gremory's pout grew wider and she reluctantly walked out of the room.

Issei sighed, glad that Ophis hadn't woken up throughout the whole argument, or at least chose to ignore it.

Normally, he wouldn't tolerate a Devil other than Asia living in his estate, but Sirzechs Lucifer had sent a formal request that she be allowed to live with him for the time being, the official reason being there was a possibility that Raiser Phenex would attempt to make a move on her again.

But that was bullshit, and all of them knew it. There was no way that Raiser had fully recovered from the massive psychological damage Issei had dealt him during their match, nor did he think that Lord Phenex was underhanded enough to make a move on Rias even after the contract had been dissolved.

Most likely, Sirzechs was simply entertaining his little sister's whims, since he doesn't have much time to spend with her, being busy with his duties as a Maou. Personally, Issei didn't think a faction leader should be so sentimental, but Issei didn't have the right to judge. It wasn't like he wouldn't go out of his way to entertain Ophis's whims himself.

Issei thought himself to be opportunistic, so he didn't waste this chance to build relations with the Devils. No matter how much he disliked the species as a whole, he would not let his personal matters interfere with the affairs of the Shinto Faction. It would be quite beneficial if Sirzechs Lucifer and Ajuka Beelzebub became their allies.

But, he had regretted his decision since day 1. She intruded on his and Ophis's baths, meals and sleep almost every opportunity she got. Ophis probably would have killed her if she wasn't such a good cook. Issei had taken one bite of the western style meal she had cooked and admitted when it came to western food, she was a better cook, though he had to say that he was still better at cooking Asian dishes.

Not only that, but she had been pestering him to let her peerage come over for their 'club meetings' while the old school building was being cleaned.

That was an even bigger pile of bullshit than her reason for staying here was. The old school building was cleaned by their familiars and could easily be done during lesson time. She just wanted an excuse to invite her peerage over, though he couldn't tell what the reason was.

She wasn't the only one acting odd, the other members of her peerage, save Asia who was still the same as before, were acting strangely towards him as well.

Akeno had become a bit more affectionate towards him, something that, considering her sadistic nature, actually terrified him a bit.

Koneko was a bit more subtle in her change in attitude. She would offer him just a bit more food than usual, stand closer by just a bit, and her gaze would linger on him for just a bit longer. Issei didn't think it was affection or anything, but an interest in his show of power and her own desire to become stronger. Issei rolled his eyes, wondering if he would have to train yet another Devil.

Yuuto was the one who had changed the most. He lost his focus, staring off into space during 'clubroom meetings', and even during lessons, he was reportedly not paying attention to the teacher and stared outside instead, deep in thought.

It was even beginning to affect his training, he made mistakes he usually wouldn't, making too big of a step, putting too much strength into a swing, using too much effort to dodge an attack. Issei had crushed him one-sidedly without needing to resort to spells or techniques, something he hadn't been able to do since the beginning of Yuuto's training.

He had asked him what was wrong, but Yuuto denied there was anything on his mind. But Issei could see the strong animosity in his eyes, not directed at him, but at Futsu no Mitama. While Futsu no Mitama wasn't one of the legendary Holy Swords that Yuuto despised so much, it was a Divine Sword that was very close. He had probably been shaken to see such a powerful sword so close to him.

Issei sighed once more, this time mixed with a stifled yawn. It was way too late at night for him to be thinking about this.

He crawled back into bed, carefully making sure not to disturb Ophis as she slept.

---

*SMASH*

Metal fragments flew and landed on the ground as Issei effortlessly smashed another one of Yuuto's Demonic Swords with his bare hand.

*SLAM*

"Urgh!"

Yuuto grunted as Issei's knee slammed into his stomach and sent him sprawling to the ground, dry heaving as bile went all the way to his throat, leaving a vile aftertaste behind.

Issei sighed.

"This isn't working, Yuuto. You're still too distracted to train properly. Look at yourself. Just a week ago, I had to use Raijin no Yoroi to beat you down. Now? I can do it barehanded."

Yuuto snarled as he got up.

"Not yet. I'll force you to draw your sword."

Issei frowned. Ah, so that was what all this was about. He wanted to fight Futsu-no-Mitama.

"Don't be a fool. Even if you were in your peak condition, if I used Futsu-no-Mitama against you, I'd kill you by accident. Don't underestimate it just because it isn't as famous as other legendary swords. The destructive power of a Divine Sword is far beyond that of any Holy Sword."

"In other words, if I can defeat your sword, it means I'm strong enough to settle my grudge." Yuuto ignored his warning and said with an obsessive light in his eye.

Issei sighed. It appeared he had no intention of backing down.

"Fine then. I'll show you just how conceited you're being."

Issei held his hand up. With a white flash, a beautiful katana, still sheathed in its scabbard that looked ornament, crafted from black lacquered wood with metal ornaments at the far end, appeared in his grasp. The tsuka-ito, the distinctive cloth wrapped around the handle of a katana, was woven in the traditional diamond pattern from black over gold threads. A black sageo, a cord meant to be used to wrap around the wielder's waist, hung loosely from the scabbard.

Yuuto's knees almost buckled as an absurdly heavy presence, originating from the katana, bore down on him. And it hadn't even been drawn yet.

"What did you bring me out for? I don't sense any strong opponents in the area."

"I need to teach him a good lesson. You're needed for that."

"Haaaa…just get this over with. I want to go back to sleep."

Issei and Futsu-no-Mitama had a short conversation.

Yuuto straightened himself and created the biggest Demonic Sword he was able to muster, feeling irritated that his opponent was being dismissive of him.

"Finally…" Yuuto muttered and charged recklessly at Issei with a battle cry.

"Fool…" Issei said with a sigh and easily sidestepped Yuuto's reckless vertical cut. He then proceeded to slam the still sheathed katana into Yuuto's gut.

*CRACK*

Issei almost winced when he felt one of Yuuto's ribs crack under the force that proceeded to obliterate the ground behind Yuuto as well, the damage as far as several meters.

Yuuto's eyes went wide and his mouth opened wide in a soundless scream as he fell to his knees, the burning pain radiating throughout his entire body far worse than anything Issei had even done to him in a spar.

"Understand now? You took that much damage from being hit by a sheathed Futsu-no-Mitama, designed to heavily restrain her powers when not drawn. Imagine what would have happened if I had used the actual blade on you."

Yuuto grimaced. There was no doubt that there wouldn't even be anything left of him if the actual blade had been used.

"In your current state, forget about a Divine Sword like Futsu-no-Mitama, you can't even win against one of the low level Holy Swords."

"Dammit…I'm still this far away from Excalibur…" Yuuto growled to himself, but low enough for Issei to not hear it.

"Excalibur? What does the most famous Holy Sword have to do with your hatred for all Holy Swords in general?" Issei asked. He usually wouldn't pry, but Yuuto's grudge was getting out of hand and getting in the way of his training.

Yuuto froze at the slip of the tongue and seemed to wither before Issei's eyes. Some of the tension left his body and he sighed. He seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"I guess I should have told you sooner. About my past. Will you listen?" Yuuto asked almost timidly.

Issei stared at him for a moment before nodding.

Yuuto spent the next few minutes explaining what had happened to him in the past.

How he had been kidnapped by the Church at a young age to be an unwilling participant in the Holy Sword Project, a Church project to produce artificial Excalibur wielders, along with dozens of other similar aged children.

How it had gone on for years, and his comrades slowly dwindled down to only slightly over a dozen, the rest having lost their lives in the course of the experiment.

How they did not lose their faith in God, and continued to pray to him to deliver them from their suffering.

How the project was deemed a failure and shut down, ending in the disposable of the surviving test subjects.

How they were thrown into a small room and slaughtered like animals with poison gas.

How even then, they continued praying to God to save them, but to no avail.

How his comrades had sacrificed themselves to give him an opportunity to escape.

How, despite their efforts, he succumbed to the poison in the forest in the middle of winter.

How Rias had found him on the verge of death and reincarnated him as a Devil.

And finally, how he had vowed to avenge all of his comrades' death, no matter the cost.

Issei remained silent even after listening to Yuuto's story.

He had heard rumors of the unscrupulous things the Church had done, but he didn't think they had gone as far as to sacrifice children for their own purposes.

And all of this had been done under the watchful eye of the Biblical God, supposedly the most benevolent God of all? Issei resisted the urge to sneer. Obviously, the other Gods didn't know him as well as they thought they did if he had condoned this Holy Sword Project.

"…Yuuto. I'm not a member of the Three Factions, so I don't have all the information or the full story, so I can't say for sure that you're mistaken. I personally do not think that you're proceeding down the wrong path in wanting to avenge your comrades. I would do the same if I was in your shoes, so I won't say anything. Except for this. Yuuto, you grew up with your comrades. You supported each other in the worst of times, and no matter how much you suffered, all of it served to strengthen your bonds. You had a powerful camaraderie with your comrades. So, Yuuto, do you honestly believe that they were so shallow that they only helped you escape just so that you would avenge them?"

"…!" Yuuto's eyes widened as he stared at Issei, who dismissed Futsu-no-Mitama and turned around.

"Our training will be put hold until you get over this phase of yours. Take a walk and clear your head. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

Issei walked away, leaving Yuuto alone in the ruined courtyard, his heart in a state of turmoil.

---

Issei was walking home to his estate, Ophis, who had waited at the school gate for him to finish his training session with Yuuto, beside him.

Issei sighed, wondering if what he said would be enough to snap Yuuto out of his emo phase. Probably not, he could be stubborn, especially when it came to his grudge.

*DRIP*

"Hm?" Issei looked up when a drop of water splashed down on the tip of his nose.

*DRIP* *DRIP* *DRIP*

Issei groaned as he regarded the black clouds that had gathered in the sky above, rain drops beginning to fall, and wondered if he should use his power to disperse the storm.

"Nah…too suspicious."

Issei sighed. Looks like he would have to use his powers to dry his and Ophis's clothes today.

Issei and Ophis picked up the pace, not wanting to get caught in the heavy rainfall before they got home.

Issei sighed in relief as the front gate of the estate finally came into view, glad that the rain hadn't gotten too heavy yet.

Then, he paused when he saw two figures covered in white cloaks standing outside the gate, looking at the name plate next to it that read 'Hyoudo'.

"Exorcists…" Issei realized, and wondered if he should be preparing for a fight. But, he couldn't think of any reason why exorcists would want to hunt him down, other than the Fallen Angel and Stray Exorcist massacre he had been responsible for a few weeks ago. But, they should be thanking him, not hunting him.

Issei's narrowed when he sensed a strange aura coming from both of them. One coming from the long wrapped package being carried by one of them, and the other coming from the upper arm of the other exorcist.

Then, one of them perked up as she noticed their approach.

"Oh, Issei-kun! Long time no see! Your family got yourselves a really nice home while I was gone!" The exorcist said in an upbeat, slightly bubbly female voice.

"…I'm sorry, do I know you?" Issei asked, unable to identify who she was.

"Ehhhh? You don't remember me? That's so mean of you, not remembering your childhood friend!"

"…It's kinda hard to see your face past the rain and that cloak."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot about this. But, since it's raining, I'd rather not take this off. Can we come inside?"

"Wait. Are you sure we can trust him? I sense a very powerful aura coming from him, and the girl next to him. They're definitely not human." The other exorcist said in a female voice as well, though hers was a bit deeper than her partner's.

"Eh!? Issei-kun, don't tell me you became a Devil while I was gone!?"

"Hell no. If you ever suggest that again, I'll gut you. I'm not fond of Devils. I was almost killed by 3 of them when I was 6."

"6? That would be right after I moved away…"

"Right after you…Irina?"

The only person Issei could think of that moved away during that time period was his childhood friend, Shidou Irina. But, Irina was supposed to be a…

"Bingo, you got it right! Long time no see, Issei-kun!"

"Hm…now that I think about it, you did have an unusually high voice for a boy. So, you were a girl after all."

"Well, it can't be helped. Back then, I acted really boyish. So, if you're not a Devil, what are you?"

"Me? I'm a demigod."

"Come again? I think the rain's too loud, because I could have sworn you said that you were a demigod."

"There's nothing wrong with your hearing. I'm a demigod."

"What!? The Lord had a child!?"

"No no no no. Why would that be your first guess!? You are aware there are other Gods aside from the Biblical God, right? I'm the grandson of Susanoo and Amaterasu."

"…Who?"

"…Irina, I know you're a Christian, but at least be aware of the head deities of the main religion of your own birth country. Susanoo and Amaterasu are two of the Shinto Trinity that leads the Shinto Faction."

"Ehehehe…" Irina laughed sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head through the cloak covering her.

"And the girl?" The other exorcist asked.

"This one? She's a Dragon in human form. Don't mind her, she's harmless as long as you don't piss her off."

Issei imagined they were raising an eyebrow, their attention shiftd to the alleged Dragon in human flesh.

"Well, come in. You're going to catch a cold if you stand out in the rain for too long. There's plenty of bathrooms in my estate. Go take a hot shower."

"Ah, thank you. Sorry for intruding." Irina said the traditional Japanese greeting when entering someone else's house and took off her shoes to leave in the entryway.

"…Sorry for intruding…?" Her partner followed suit awkwardly.

"Wow! Issei-kun, your house got really big!" Irina said as she marveled at the size of the estate.

"One of the perks of being a blood-relative of the leaders of the Shinto Faction is a massive spending power."

The quartet walked into the main hall, and Issei pointed down the hallway to the left.

"The biggest bathroom is down that hall, it should be big enough for both of you. There are also some yukatas on the shelves, you can change into those."

"Okay! Let's go, Xenovia! We haven't taken a shower all day!"

"Y-Yeah…" The other exorcist, whose name was evidently Xenovia, said as Irina pulled her towards the bathroom.

Once they were out of earshot, Issei mumbled to himself.

"They didn't even leave the package behind to take a shower…As I thought, thet thing inside is…"

"…Issei." Ophis interrupted his monologue.

"Hm?"

*GROWL*

"…I'm hungry." Ophis said, ignoring the loud growl that erupted from her stomach.

"…Sorry, I'll get started on dinner." Issei said after a moment of awkward silence and got up, walking to the kitchen to start cooking, Ophis following behind him to wait in the dining room in the meantime.

"Ah, I should cook for those two too." Issei thought. It was still pretty early in the evening, so those two probably hadn't eaten yet.

The modern kitchen looked very out of place in a traditional Japanese mansion, but Issei was hardly a stickler for conventionality. It was certainly much easier to use than traditional kitchens, plus Ophis would complain if he took too long to cook.

After roughly half an hour, the mouthwatering, ambrosial scent of freshly cooked food wafted through the Japanese-style mansion, causing Ophis, who was sitting in the dining room, to tap her fingers on the table impatiently as Issei cooked dinner for 6 people.

In contrast to the modern kitchen, the dining room retained its traditional appearance, a short in height, but long in length wooden table atop tatami mats in a washitsu, along with cushions for people to sit on comfortably. Because it was directly connected to the modern kitchen, the whole thing made for a very strange image.

A feeling of irritation spread in Ophis's heart at being forced to wait longer than usual for Issei to finish cooking since he was making a meal for more and more people as they came to live in the house as well.

Ophis liked Asia well enough, so she didn't mind having to wait a bit longer for Issei to cook a bigger portion for the 3 of them.

Rias was someone who irritated her to the extreme. She interrupted her alone time with Issei every opportunity she got. Thanks to her, she couldn't feed Issei and vice versa in peace, she couldn't cuddle with Issei as much as she did in the past, she couldn't enjoy the hot spring water and bask in her lover's presence, and she couldn't get a good night's sleep with him without being interrupted somewhere in the night. It was only because she was so good at cooking western food that Ophis had abstained from outright killing her, instead taking to crushing her where she stood with her presence and striking fear into her heart with a terrifying gaze. If she dared to escalate any further, she would die a horrible, painful death, Issei's objections and diplomatic relations be damned.

And now, her dinner was being delayed even further because of these two visitors!? Unacceptable. Ophis wondered if she could escape his notice long enough to go to the bathroom and quietly dispose of the two and return without arousing suspicion.

Probably not. Issei wasn't squeamish about killing people, but he was very strict when it came to maintaining friendly relations with other factions as far as possible. Ophis didn't think Issei would be angry with her for very long, but if she could help it, she would rather not cause trouble for her beloved. He would so often go out of his way just for her after all.

*STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP*

"Hm?"

Issei and Ophis looked up when they heard an odd noise rapidly making its way towards them.

"Is that food I smell!?"

Issei almost jumped in surprise when a sudden loud voice came from outside and the shoji door shot open, a drooling Irina, dressed in a pink yukata, standing in the doorway. Her partner, Xenovia, stood behind her, dressed in a dark blue yukata, salivating as well.

Now that they were no longer wearing their cloaks, Issei could get a good look at them. Irina had certainly changed a lot in the time Issei hadn't seen her. Who was once a child that could be easily mistaken for a boy was now a rather beautiful woman with long light brown hair held in twin tails with blue scrunchies and violet eyes. With her bust size, it was impossible to mistake her for a male anymore. The aura he had felt from her still came from the same place, her left upper arm.

Xenovia was an equally beautiful woman. She was taller than Irina, though not by much, but shorter than Issei. She had dark blue hair with strands of green at her fringe, and dark yellow eyes that looked brown under the right light. Her bust size was bigger than Irina's and looked uncomfortably tight under the slightly too small yukata she was wearing. In her hands, she carried the same package from before.

"Yes, that is food you smell. I'm cooking dinner, so take a seat. You two certainly took your time in the shower. Did you forgot how to put a yukata on or something?" Issei answered his childhood friend's question and added on.

"No, it's just been so long since I was able to enjoy a hot bath that I didn't want to get out. Your bath tub is really big! It's almost like a public bath!"

"Funny how she can remember what a public bath looks like, but not who the main deities of the prevailing religion of her own birth country are." Issei idly thought to himself as he finished seasoning the soup.

Not ten minutes later, the four sat in seiza at the dining table, eating the Japanese style feast Issei had cooked.

"…Delicious! This is delicious, Irina!"

"Ah, I missed the taste of the cuisine of my homeland!"

Irina and Xenovia devoured their portion of food like it was going out of fashion, and then moved onto the extra portions that were typically for Ophis, who bristled and picked up her pace as well. Between the three gluttons, Issei was barely quick enough to get enough food for three people before they were eaten. Placing a talisman on the table and putting two portions of food over it, Issei activated a transfer spell. The two portions food disappeared in a flash of light.

"Iddei-gun, bwhe did de bood go?" Irina asked with her mouth filled with food.

"Swallow before you talk. No one wants to see all the half-chewed food in your mouth."

*GULP*

Irina swallowed the mass of food in her mouth with a great swallow.

"Sorry. Where did the food go?"

"There are two more residents in this house, but they'll be coming home late today, so I sent their dinner to them instead."

"Oh, you mean your parents?"

"No, my parents are in Kyoto. They decided to return to their duties as Shinto demigods. I myself only came back to this town to complete my education. After that, I'll return to Kyoto to join them."

Irina nodded in understanding.

"So, who are the other two residents in the house?"

"…Maou Lucifer's little sister and one of her peerage."

"Erk!?" Irina choked on her drink as she processed his words.

"Cough cough…there are Devils living in this mansion!?"

"Unfortunately. I do not mind the latter, but Rias Gremory annoys me to no end."

"Then, why would you let her live in this mansion? Is she that powerful that she was able to force you to do as she says? If you want, we could kill her for you." Xenovia offered.

"You wouldn't dare. Killing Maou Lucifer's little sister will likely spark the next Great War, and I'm sure the Church is trying to avoid that at any cost."

Xenovia grimaced, but conceded his point.

"Anyway, it's not like I couldn't force her out any time I want. I'm much stronger than she is."

"Then, why are you letting her live here? Didn't you say you disliked Devils?"

"It's true. I do dislike Devils. But, I'm not so unprofessional that I would allow my personal feelings to jeopardize diplomatic relations. If Rias Gremory had attempted to force her way into my household on her own, I would have thrown her out. But, her brother, a Maou, personally requested that she be allowed to stay, so I can't refuse. While we could easily crush the Devils, the Shinto Faction is not eager to go to war."

"I see…"

"Anyway, what about you two? Why are there two exorcists in town? And carrying such dangerous objects with you too…" Issei said as he looked at the package beside Xenovia.

"You…can tell what they are?"

"Of course. I have something similar with me as well. So, what's your story?"

The two of them sat up straight as their expressions became more serious.

"A few days ago, Excalibur was stolen from the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church and the Orthodox Church."

"Three different locations? Ah, now that I think about it, I heard before that the original Excalibur was shattered into 7 fragments during the Great War. The 7th fragment was lost, but the other six…"

"Yes, the Church took possession of them. 3 fragments were recently stolen."

"And you suspect the culprit is in this town?"

"Yes. We already know who the culprit is, actually, and he was last seen making his way towards this part of Japan. We suspect he will come here because this is the town Maou Lucifer's little sister lives in."

"Who is the culprit?"

"Grigori leader Kokabiel, as well as some of his followers."

"The warmongering Fallen Angel leader? The Church must be quite confident in your skills if they only sent two people to fight a faction leader."

"No, with the two of us, the success rate is 30% at best. It's just that our success rate was higher than anyone else's. Since we stand a better chance, the Church decided to send us. Along with these."

Xenovia held up the package and unwrapped it, revealing a black broadsword with an unusually long handle that continued for about two hands' length, followed by an axe-shaped cross guard, and then continuing for another hand's length, this time in an odd chain shape. The tip of the blade was strange as well, ending in three points rather than the typical one.

"This one is Excalibur Destruction." Xenovia said.

Irina pulled up the left sleeve of her yukata, revealing a lengthy ribbon wound around her left upper arm. She held her right hand up to it, and the ribbon unwound itself and formed a katana in her hand.

"This is Excalibur Mimic."

The aura coming off of them was rather impressive. Not quite at Futsu-no-Mitama's level, not even close, but it was certainly far stronger than any of Yuuto's Demonic Swords. It appeared he was right to say that Yuuto wasn't anywhere near ready to fight an Excalibur, not in his current state.

"They sent more Excalibur wielders to rectify the theft of other fragments? And your success rate is only 30%? You're practically handing more fragments to Kokabiel."

Xenovia and Irina frowned, obviously wanting to object to his harsh statement, but they knew he was right.

"Why not go ask Rias Gremory for help? I may not like her, but she's quite reasonable for a Devil. If you ask her for help, she'll probably listen."

"No, the higher ups told us to order Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri to stay out of this incident. If the Devils knew that the Church had a major security breach like this, they may join forces with Kokabiel to attack the Church instead."

"…"

Certainly, from a diplomatic point of view, Issei could see it, but personally, he didn't think Rias Gremory or Sona Sitri would help Fallen Angels.

"But, it is true that we have very little hope of success. Would you consider helping us? You are not a Devil, so the higher ups wouldn't mind as much if we received help from you."

"I would like to, but I can't. Were the target anything but a Fallen Angel, I would help, but currently, the relations between the Shinto Faction and the Grigori is in a bit of a risky state, because I killed a number of Fallen Angels and Stray Priests a while back without checking if they were acting independently. We sent an enquiry to the Grigori, but we've yet to hear back from them."

And it was unlikely they would. The Shinto Faction was incredibly powerful, and even more so now that Ophis was unofficially affiliated with them, though only the Devils knew that fact at this point. The Grigori would use any means to keep them off their back.

Xenovia and Irina grimaced, not at all optimistic about their chances of succeeding.

"But…"

The two looked up.

"If you can bring me proof that Kokabiel's actions are independent of the Grigori, I'll be able to help."

"Proof, huh?"

"Alright, finish your dinner. I'm sure you two have other things to do after this."

The rest of dinner was spent in silence, except for the sound of Ophis munching through the feast. Irina and Xenovia had become much more subdued in their eating pace, slowing down to that of a normal, civilized person's.

After dinner, the two left, promising to return the yukatas the next time they met.

Issei sighed as he washed the many, many dirty dishes left behind after the feast.

"Excalibur at a time like this…the timing couldn't be worse." Issei mumbled as he thought of Yuuto.

"Yuuto…don't do something stupid."

---

Yuuto trudged through the rain, taking the long route back to his apartment to clear his head.

Issei's words had really gotten to him. What was it that his comrades wanted for him? To avenge their deaths? Of course not. As Issei said, they were not so shallow that they only saved him for that.

Then why? Why was it that they saved him rather than try escaping themselves? There were many amongst them who longed to live, prayed to live much more than he did. So why was he the one they chose to save?

…Just for the sake of saving him? Just so that at least one of them would survive? They didn't even have the smallest notion of vengeance in them when they saved him?

"…No!" Yuuto shook his head frantically, denying that with all of his might.

He had only gotten this far because of his hatred. His need to avenge his comrades was the sole reason he was still alive. It was the very basis of the existence of the man known as Kiba Yuuto. If he didn't have that, then…

"…Who am I?" Yuuto asked himself in a broken voice as the very basis of his being was challenged.

*SPLASH*

"Hm?"

Yuuto was torn from his thoughts by the sound of something falling into the rainwater pooled on the concrete pavement.

"H-Help…me…!"

A middle-aged man, dressed in priest robes, choked out as he lay on the ground, his lifeblood flowed out of his body and mixed with the rainwater. The light faded from his eyes in the next instant, and he fell silent.

"…A priest?" Yuuto mumbled, unbothered that someone had just died in front of him. It was a priest, an enemy of Devils, after all. There was no need to feel bad about his death.

But, what on earth had happened to him? Was there a stray Devil in the area?

*SHIVER*

Yuuto reacted as a chill ran up his spine, and he immediately leapt away from his spot, just in time to avoid a sword stabbing into the spot his chest had been just a moment before.

Yuuto landed on the ground and created a Demonic Sword. He looked up to inspect his opponent. He was a young, silver-haired boy his age, wearing the same garb as the dead priest. Another priest? Or…was he a Stray Priest?

"Yahoooo! I came to hunt down the little lamb that escaped, and look who I find instead! If it isn't a shitty little Devil-kun!?" The teenage priest said with crazed eyes and a manic smile. Definitely a Stray Priest.

"I have no idea who you are, or why you're attacking priests, but would you mind leaving? I'm in a really bad mood right now." Yuuto said in an angry voice, but the Stray Priest either didn't get the hint, or just didn't care.

"Hahahahaha! That's good! As for me, I'm so happy to find a Devil that I'm shedding tears of joy! I'm tired of priest hunting! This is way more interesting! Let's have a good time cutting each other up!" The Stray Priest laughed madly as he swung the sword in his hand around.

"Tch, no way out of this."

Yuuto made to create another Demonic Sword, but at that moment, the sword in his opponent's hand started glowing gold, emitting an aura that was all too familiar to him.

"Excalibur…!"

"Hyahahaha! Let's see which is stronger, shall we!? Your Demonic Sword or I, Freed Zelzan-sama's Holy Sword Excalibur!"

Yuuto growled as the object of his hatred finally appeared before him.

"Finally…I've found you!" Yuuto shouted as he recklessly charged at the Stray Priest, who looked surprised his opponent made the first move and was almost too slow to respond when Yuuto swung his Demonic Sword in an arc, aimed for his neck.

*CLANG*

Freed brought up his Excalibur fragment and blocked the attack.

"Holy Eraser!" Yuuto shouted the name of the variant of Demonic Sword he had created. A black miasma emerged from the blade and attempted to envelop the Excalibur fragment, but was dispersed by the Holy aura in the next instant.

"Hyahahahaha! So that Demonic Sword of yours erases Holy power!? Sorry, that may work on those shitty mass-produced swords of light that the normal Exorcist uses, but it won't do shit against my Excalibur!"

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to see if it was the authentic Excalibur. Now that I have confirmed that fact, I will cut it down no matter the cost!"

Yuuto started swinging his Demonic Sword wildly and quickly.

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

Freed quickly parried each strike with ease. In his rage, Yuuto had completely forgone technique and his skill had suffered. Each strike became predictable.

"Oh! Oh my! This is only our first time, there's no need to be so aggressive! Save that energy for another time!" Freed shouted, making many sexual innuendos.

The clash continued for a full minute, until Yuuto slipped on a puddle he hadn't noticed beneath his foot and stumbled, giving Freed an opportunity to attack.

*SLASH*

"Arrrrrrrrgh!" Yuuto screamed in pain and fell to his knees as the Holy Sword cut his shoulder open, the Holy power damaging his body to a greater extent than an ordinary cut would.

"Oh, oops, didn't you know? This Holy Sword can kill shitty Devils like you with just a few cuts. Capiche?"

"I know! There's no way I could possibly forget!" Yuuto said as he lashed out with a sweeping kick and knocked Freed off his feet.

"Ow! That's playing dirty!" Freed complained as he landed on his ass, soaking his pants with rainwater and mud.

"Very Devil-like, don't you think!?" Yuuto responded as he pounced on the fallen Freed with his Demonic Sword raised. Freed rolled away, barely avoiding the Demonic Sword as its tip struck the spot he had just vacated.

Freed recovered and rose to his feet, and the two separated to assess the situation. Freed clearly had the upper hand at the moment. Even though appearance wise, he seemed to be losing given his shabby clothes, but Holy power was slowly poisoning Yuuto's body, slowing him down and weakening his arm strength and reaction time. The longer the match was dragged out, the more of a disadvantage he would be at. Yuuto had to find a way to end this fast.

Yuuto created another Demonic Sword in his left hand and charged at Freed, who readied his Excalibur fragment, but paused when a small magic circle appeared next to his ear.

In the next instant, Freed dropped his stance and dashed past Yuuto, who was caught off guard by his opponent's burst of speed and couldn't react until he was already out of reach.

"Sorry, but my boss is calling me, so I'll have to cut our little tryst short! See ya later!"

Freed cackled and threw something on the ground, releasing a strong flash of light that caused Yuuto to immediately raise his arms to shield his eyes from the light.

When it faded, Yuuto found himself alone, except for the corpse of the priest Freed had killed.

*SLAM*

Yuuto slammed his fist into a nearby wall, tearing his skin. Trails of blood flowed from his shaking fist down the wall, but Yuuto paid no mind to the pain, too caught up in his frustration.

"Dammit, just when I finally had a chance, it slipped away…"

Yutto gritted his teeth in satisfaction. His once-in-a-lifetime chance had come and gone.

But, perhaps it was for the best. He was too weak, he couldn't even defeat one fragment, there was no hope of him defeating all seven, not the way he was right now.

"I have to get stronger…" Yuuto mumbled to himself as he continued trudging back to his apartment, needing to take a shower and heal his wound.

"Do you honestly believe that your comrades were so shallow that they only helped you escape just so that you would avenge them?"

Yuuto shook his head as Issei's words drifted into his mind again. He didn't want to think about that. He couldn't think about that. Because if he didn't have his hatred, then…

…he had nothing.

---

Issei felt the power surge coming from the direction of the old school building and took the pot off the stove, turned off the gas and held onto a window grill as a tremor lightly rocked the campus.

It was the day after Irina and Xenovia had eaten dinner at his place, and Issei was in the middle of club activities. Today, he was experimenting with clam chowder, a western dish that Rias had cooked a few days ago that Ophis had liked. With his pride as both the man of the house and Ophis's mate, he refused to be outdone by a Devil.

Ophis sat off to the side. She was also a member of the cooking club, though she wasn't really doing anything. Partly because she couldn't use the stove properly without a stool, and partly because she didn't have any interest in cooking, only in eating.

If it had been anyone else, the club president probably would have scolded them, but since it was Ophis, one of the mascots of the academy, she let it go. Just having her and one of the princes of the academy, Hyoudo Issei, in the club caused its popularity to skyrocket. More and more members were joining, most of them only to ogle Issei and Ophis, but more members meant a bigger club budget allocation, so the club president let it go as long as they could cook basic dishes on their own.

He had sensed Xenovia and Irina arriving in the school and assumed they were here to get Rias, Sona and their peerages to stay out of the Excalibur incident, and briefly wondered how Yuuto would react.

Then, he sighed as he felt them moving to the courtyard and Yuuto clash with Xenovia multiple times. He was being unusually aggressive, even compared to how he had been lately and wondered if his words had the opposite impact instead.

Then, he had felt Xenovia getting serious and the coming tremor, which had prompted his actions.

It was only a small tremor, but even that could be dangerous in the cooking room. Knowing that, the other members of the cooking club descended into panic, until Issei shouted at them to restore order and instructed them to turn off all of the gas and electricity until the teacher-in-charge returned from his toilet break.

Issei and Ophis slipped out of the clubroom and headed for the old school building, intending to see what was going on. Well, Issei was, anyway. Ophis was just tagging along to enjoy his company.

Issei paused as he stared briefly at the crater that had appeared in the courtyard of the old school building. He was pretty sure that wasn't his doing.

He looked up to see Yuuto sprawled on the ground, vomiting bile with traces of blood, fragments of shattered Demonic Swords scattered.

Xenovia, dressed in a black battle suit, stood over him, Excalibur Destruction unwrapped and in her hands, releasing a powerful aura as she looked down at the fallen Yuuto.

Off to the side was the rest of the Gremory peerage, looking worried as they looked at their fallen comrade.

Further away from them, Irina, dressed in same suit as Xenovia, stood by herself, looking a bit awkward.

Issei rubbed his temples, feeling a migraine coming on.

"What are you idiots doing?"

All of them turned to face him, looking surprised at his sudden appearance.

"Oh, Issei-kun, you're a student in this school too?" Irina greeted him with an enthusiastic wave of her hand.

"This academy is the only school in town with a high school division. Of course, I'm a student here."

"You two…know each other?" Rias asked.

"We're childhood friends. Irina used to live here until she moved away to Britain when we were 6. She came back into town last night, so we had a talk over dinner. By the way…" Issei trailed off as he looked at Irina.

"Sorry, the yukatas aren't dry yet." Irina apologized.

"You…invited them over for dinner?" Rias asked with a tone of unhappiness.

"Yes, and before you go off on a tirade, allow me to remind you that I am a member of the Shinto Faction, and I have no grudge against the Church. You are a guest in my home that I'm only letting stay because your brother personally requested it, so don't try lecturing me about who I invite into my home for dinner."

"And what would you have done if Asia and I were at home at the time?"

"That's simple. If a fight broke out, I would have beaten the aggressor into unconsciousness." Issei said coldly.

"Even Asia?"

"Of course not. Asia wouldn't start a fight. And more importantly…"

Issei pointed at the crater in the ground.

"If you guys are going to have a duel, common sense would tell you to at least put an isolation barrier to prevent damage to the outside. That tremor just now scared the crap out of the cooking club. We do have a lot of gas and electrical equipment in the kitchen, you know? What would have happened if the tremor had been just a little bit stronger?"

Rias had the decency to look abashed.

"Sorry, this was meant to be a simple spar, so I only cast a basic barrier. But, the whole thing spiraled out of control so fast that I couldn't put up a stronger barrier in time."

"Hm, I'll let it go this time. But next time, it probably won't be just me who'll come after you. I expect Sitri-san won't be happy about you damaging school property and endangering the students."

Issei's eyes shifted to Yuuto.

"And Yuuto, what do you think you're doing? I already said you have no hope of defeating a Holy Sword of an Excalibur fragment's level in your current state."

Yuuto scowled up at him from his prone position on the ground.

"Then, what do you want me to do!? The object of my hatred has finally appeared in front of me, not once, but twice in a row! You expect me to just sit by idly and do nothing!?"

"Twice? What do you mean twice?" Issei asked with suspicion. Everyone else also looked at Yuuto, obviously never hearing about it before.

Yuuto grimaced at yet another slip of the tongue. He had been doing that a lot lately.

"…Last night, while I was walking home, I was attacked by a Stray Priest who had an Excalibur fragment with him. He had just killed another priest, and then he came after me."

"You fought him?"

Yuuto nodded tersely.

"And the result of the fight?"

"We didn't finish. He was called away by his boss, presumably Kokabiel, and ran away."

"Would you have won if the fight had gone on?"

"…I don't know. But, as short as the fight was, he had the advantage the entire time." Yuuto admitted.

"And who was this Stray Priest? Did you get his name?" Xenovia asked.

"I think he called himself Freed Zelzan."

Everyone looked up at a gasp from Asia.

"Father Freed? He's alive?"

"Asia, you know him?"

"Y-Yes, he was one of the Stray Priests that was with the group I was assigned to when I came to this town…"

"Issei, didn't you kill all of them?" Rias asked him.

Issei frowned at her use of his first name without his permission, but answered nonetheless.

"I'm pretty sure I did…Ah!"

Issei started as he remembered something.

"Is this Freed a teenage boy our age with silver hair and crazy eyes?"

Both Yuuto and Asia nodded.

"Ah, that's the priest I knocked aside instead of killing when I was rushing to get to Asia. Now that I think about, he wasn't there when I came back up from the ritual chamber. He must have escaped to the Grigori."

"And Kokabiel recruited him…what a troublesome guy. I know of Freed Zelzan. He was a top-class exorcist who used to be sent by the Church to eliminate Devils and mythical beasts. But he never had any faith in God from the beginning, he was just looking for an excuse to kill. At first, the Church didn't care as long as he did it to enemies, but eventually, he started killing fellow exorcists, so the Church charged with heresy and tried to get rid of him. So, he went to join the Grigori after that…And now, he's involved in this incident too? To think we have to deal with this because the disposal unit didn't do their jobs properly…" Xenovia muttered to herself before looking up.

"Thank you for this information. In return, I'll tell you something, Rias Gremory's Knight. It seems that you're the rumored sole survivor of the Holy Sword Project. That project was known to be one of the worst incidents in the Church's history. The Archbishop who was in charge of the project was excommunicated, and we heard he joined the Grigori. Since this incident involves the theft of the Excalibur fragments, there's a good chance he's involved too."

A strong murderous intent burst forth from Yuuto as he processed the information.

"…Who is this man?"

"Balba Galilei, the man known as the 'Genocide Archbishop'."

"Balba…Galilei…if I keep chasing Excalibur, I'll eventually meet up with him…"

"What you do with this information is up to you. But if you get in the way of our mission, I'll kill you myself. Irina, let's go. If Freed Zelzan is in town, that means Kokabiel and the stolen fragments are here too."

"Oh wait, before you go…" Issei stopped them.

"Xenovia, would you mind having a spar with me?"

Everyone, save Ophis, stared at Issei as though he had grown a second head.

"Excuse me?"

"Yuuto's in a middle of a phase right now and far from his peak condition, but defeating him without getting a single wound is quite the feat. I'm interested in the skill of a Church swordswoman."

"Well, I don't mind, but in return…"

"Yes?"

"You'll cook meals for us at your place until our mission is over."

"Breakfast and dinner only. I'm still in school at lunchtime." Issei negotiated.

"Deal." Xenovia sealed the deal, finding the terms acceptable.

"Wonderful."

Issei turned to look at his mate, who nodded and casually waved her hand, creating a powerful cylindrical barrier around the entire courtyard. It extended all the way up past the clouds, the top nowhere in sight. Despite the casualness and hastiness with which it was created, the entire barrier exuded great power that could rival an Ultimate-Class Devil's power, as though it was declaring it would not allow any attack through.

"See? This is what I meant when I said barrier. Not that papier-mâché piece of crap that you call a barrier."

Rias pouted at Issei's words, but he ignored her and prepared for the spar.

Koneko helped Yuuto up, bringing him to the sidelines to observe the spar.

The two combatants stood across from each other. Xenovia held Excalibur Destruction in a sword stance.

"Descend, Divine Lightning of Susanoo." Issei held his hand up to the sky. Storm clouds quickly gathered overhead and an immense pressure filled the area within the boundaries of the barrier.

A bolt of white lightning struck down and wrapped around his body, forming the Raijin no Yoroi Level 1.

"A suit of armor made of lightning? Interesting, I don't think I've ever fought someone like that."

"Shall we begin? Ladies first." Issei allowed his opponent to make the first move.

"If you insist!"

Xenovia rushed at him with her sword held in front of her to block any long-ranged attacks. A sound strategy, except that Issei's attacks were lightning-based, and metal, even the blessed metal that the Excalibur fragments were made of, conducted electricity.

Issei created a katana of lightning and swung it.

"Ikazuchi!"

A bolt of lightning shot out of the katana and raced towards Xenovia, or more specifically, towards the sword she was holding. Issei smirked, that bolt had enough power to paralyze even humans. Even if she was conditioned to resist electrical shocks, she would be stalled long enough for him to close in and seize victory.

Then, she did something unexpected. She lightly flung Excalibur Destruction at the bolt of lightning as it approached.

The lightning bolt struck the Holy Sword and dissipated quickly, allowing Xenovia to safely take hold of the handle again as she rushed past it and raised it above her head as she approached him.

Issei was so surprised by the unexpected maneuver that he almost didn't react in time when Excalibur Destruction was swung down at him. He snapped out of his stupor and raised his left hand to catch the blade. At the moment of impact, the earth beneath them trembled and exploded into a crater.

Issei's hand stood firm as he held back Excalibur Destruction that had been swung with force that couldn't possibly have been produced by the body of a human woman.

"Not bad. Your reflexes are pretty good. Not the fastest I've ever seen, but certainly faster than any ordinary human. And this arm strength of yours…rather unbecoming of a lady, don't you think!?" Issei asked as he slammed the blade down into the ground and elbowed Xenovia in the gut.

Xenovia faltered as she was pushed back, reeling from the force of the punch and getting the wind knocked out of her lungs.

"Heh, I'm fine with being unladylike, if I can have this power!"

Xenovia recovered and rushed him again, this time thrusting the tip of her sword at him.

Issei knocked it aside with a lightning-coated arm, but had to raise the other to catch an incoming punch.

Xenovia swung the hilt of Excalibur Destruction at his torso. Thanks to the lightning coating, he didn't receive much damage, but the force of the impact amplified by the Holy Sword's destructive power launched him across the courtyard and caused him to slam into the barrier.

As he slumped down to the ground, a red haze settled over his vision, and his mouth stretched into a manic grin.

"Hm. Alright then. Maybe I should get a bit more serious."

Issei stood up and dismissed his lightning gauntlets.

"Burn, Divine Flames of the Sun Goddess!"

Black flames burst into life, starting at his palms, before spreading and coating his forearms, shaping themselves into blazing black claws, the same technique he had used on the Fallen Angels and Stray Priests.

"I advise you to focus completely on evasion. This may be a spar, but these flames will consume anything they touch. If these flames touch any part of your body, I can assure you the pain will be unlike anything you have ever felt." Issei said as he got into a martial arts stance.

Xenovia raised her sword in front of her to defend herself, just in time to stop a black flame-coated fist aimed for her torso. As it were, she was knocked off her feet by the force of the impact on the blade.

Xenovia flipped in midair and landed on her feet. She quickly raised her sword and blocked a barrage of quick flaming punches, leaving her with no opportunity to attack.

Issei smirked as he continued to pummel the flat side of Excalibur Destruction's blade with his fists. No matter how well forged this sword was, it was still made by human alchemy and was only a fragment of a Holy Sword. He could easily shatter the frame if he wanted to.

*CRACK*

Xenovia froze when she heard the sound of her blade beginning to crack and in that moment of hesitation, Issei kneed her in the gut.

Xenovia dropped to her knees, wheezing, and took a look at her blade. A medium-sized crack had appeared in the center of the blade. She shivered at the thought of what an attack of that level would have done to her if she hadn't blocked it in time.

Issei's grin grew wider and more disturbing.

"What's wrong!? Surely that's not all you can do! Yuuto couldn't possibly have been defeated by that level of skill!"

Xenovia was beginning to panic. If she dragged this fight out any longer, there was a good chance Excalibur Destruction would be destroyed. That would be really bad, because that meant she would have to bring out her secret weapon to fight if she encountered any enemy, not just Kokabiel. She'd rather not. Secret weapons were secret for a reason. She couldn't risk exposing its existence to the enemy until the right time. She had to end this spar with her next attack.

Xenovia raised Excalibur Destruction over her head. A golden aura appeared around the blade and steadily grew bigger and wilder.

Issei's grin now threatened to spilt his face.

"Ending this with an ultimate attack? Very well!"

Issei held his left hand in front of him. The black flames on his hands flowed towards his open palm and gathered into a ring of 3 black fire balls shaped vaguely like a figure 9, spinning slowly and ominously as they grew bigger.

Xenovia shivered at the sight of them. Just looking at them invoked a deep sense of wrongness in her, as though its very existence challenged her faith. And it would certainly kill her if she couldn't stop it.

"Excalibur Destruction!" Xenovia shouted as she swung Excalibur Destruction down. A giant wave of destructive Holy energy raced towards Issei, who didn't even so much as flinch.

"Rengoku Magatama (lit. Purgatory Curved Jewels)!" Issei cried as he threw the ring of black flaming magatamas at the incoming wave of Holy energy.

The area within the boundaries of Ophis's barrier shook as the two attacks collided with each other, rending the ground beneath the point of impact.

"Urgh…!" Xenovia groaned when her attack slowly began to lose ground, pushed back by the ring of magatamas.

The wave dissipated the next instant, and the ring of magatamas rapidly continued their way towards Xenovia, who had no other option but to raise Excalibur Destruction to block it.

Then, just as the ring of magatamas was about to reach her, a great force intercepted it and destroyed the ring, sending sparks of black flames into the air.

As everyone else looked around for the source of that power, Issei turned to the only one present that he knew was capable of stopping his attack like that.

"What are you doing?" Issei asked Ophis, who had her hand raised in Xenovia's general direction.

"…You're going too far. This is a spar." Ophis said, sounding just ever so slightly cross that only Issei, who had known her for a long time, could perceive her tone.

Hearing that, Issei calmed down, and the red haze over his vision faded away, returning his lucidity, finally allowing him to realize he had gotten too into the fight.

Issei turned to Xenovia with an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry about that, when I fight a strong or interesting opponent, I tend to get bloodthirsty."

"…It's fine. If it's only a small crack like this, it's not like I can't use Excalibur Destruction anymore. I'll just have to be careful not to widen the crack." Xenovia shook her head as she wrapped her sword back in its cloth now that the spar was over.

"More importantly, who is that girl? That attack just could easily rival the power of an Ultimate-Class Devil, but she crushed it like it was nothing…" Xenovia thought to herself as she watched Ophis wave her hand, causing the barrier to disappear.

Shock wouldn't even begin to describe how she would feel if she knew that this girl was actually the strongest being in existence.

"Anyway, that'll be it for today. Club activities will be over by now, so we're heading home now. You should finish up whatever other business you have with Rias Gremory and her group. Dinner's at 6.30, so don't be late, or this one will eat your portions too." Issei said as he patted Ophis's head.

The duo left, leaving the rest to clean up the mess.

"…Rias Gremory, just who are those two? A demigod of the Shinto Faction that happens to live in the same town as the little sisters of two Maous, and a humanoid Dragon who lives with him, and both possess powers that can rival the top fighters in each faction? Does the Shinto Faction really have no intention of declaring on the Three Factions?" Xenovia asked.

"…I'm not sure. However, Issei has taken extra care in the past year to not attack any of the members of the Three Factions, outside of killing Stray Devils, retaliation and repaying his debts, so I'm fairly certain the Shinto Faction wishes to avoid war." Rias replied.

"True…he did make it clear to us that he did not wish interfere in this incident because it would jeopardize relations between the Shinto Faction and the Grigori…"

"That aside, shouldn't you hurry?"

"Hm?"

"Dinner is in 15 minutes and the Dragon girl will polish off all of the food if we don't get there in time." Rias said, taking care not to reveal Ophis's identity.

Xenovia froze for a moment and then turned to her partner.

"Irina, let's go. I'm getting hungry."

Xenovia and Irina ran at full speed after the duo. After getting a taste of the food Issei had cooked last night, there was no way they were going to miss out on even a morsel.

---

Issei felt a shiver run up his spine and resisted the urge to groan. He felt a strong premonition that something was wrong. He hated getting these feelings, because they usually turned out to be right.

It had been a few days since his spar with Xenovia, and they had been rather quiet. Yuuto didn't seem to be picking fight with either Excalibur wielders, not that Issei had seen much of him since he had decided to skip school.

Xenovia and Irina didn't seem to be having much luck finding Kokabiel and his followers. They had taken to dressing up in their priest robes and walking around town at night in an effort to draw out Freed Zelzan, who seemed to be hunting priests, and have him lead them to Kokabiel's base, but their efforts had been fruitless for the past few days, causing them no end of frustration.

That combined with his premonition, Issei wondered if they had actually found their target, and had gotten just a bit in over their heads.

He and Ophis were walking home, and Issei had paused at a fork in the road. His instincts told him that whatever was going on, it was happening down the other path.

"…Sorry Ophis, can you go home first? I have to make a detour."

"…Come back quickly, I want kabayaki-don for dinner."

"Mm, I'll make some sashimi for you as a bonus." Issei gently rubbed her head, eliciting a content purr from her.

The two parted ways, Ophis returning to the estate and Issei heading down the other path that led into the heart of town.

"Surely those two weren't stupid enough to force a confrontation while surrounded by ordinary humans..."

Issei picked up the pace, hoping to get there before the damage they did became irreparable.

He sighed in relief as the feeling he got seemed to be coming not from the heart of town, but further away, at the abandoned warehouse where Rias and her peerage had killed a Stray Devil before.

Issei clapped his hands together and a cylindrical barrier appeared around the area, extending to edge of the forest surrounding the abandoned warehouse, just as powerful as the one Ophis had used. Of course, Issei actually had to consciously put in a bit of effort to create this barrier, unlike Ophis who could easily do it while asleep if she wanted to. It couldn't be helped, that was just how great the difference in their power was.

*BOOM*

As Issei finished creating the isolation barrier, the side of the warehouse exploded, sending shrapnel flying towards him. Issei cast a simple wind spell to blow them away.

"Yahoooooo! If it isn't the shitty Devil that rejected me the first time we met! You know, I was really sad when you picked that dumb bitch over me to play with, you know!?" A silver-haired teenage priest with crazy eyes jumped from the hole in the side of the warehouse, landing a short distance away from him. Freed Zelzan held a glowing long sword in his right hand and his clothes were scuffed up. Obviously, he was fighting someone inside.

"Sorry, but I'm not a Devil. And at that time, I was in a rush and you were in the way."

"In that case, why not play with me right now!? I have to pay you back for the scar you gave me that day!" Freed rushed at him with unnatural speed, though Issei easily sidestepped him and lightly kicked him aside as he passed.

"Not interested. I'm just here to watch the fun and make sure it doesn't get too rowdy. Why don't you keep playing with the ones inside?"

"Eh, don't wanna! The ones inside are so boring! They're not strong at all!" Freed whined as he stood up and brushed dust off of his tattered clothes.

"Freed Zelzan!"

A blur shot out of the hole and slammed into Freed, pushing him a good distance awa, kicking up dust as Freed's feet were dragged along the ground. Freed had barely raised his sword in time to block the attack.

The blur stopped abruptly as Freed's feet grinded to a halt, revealing it to be Yuuto, wielding a Demonic Sword in his hands.

"…Yuuto-senpai, please don't rush off on your own. A legendary Holy Sword is not something any of us can defeat on our own." Koneko said as she stepped through the hole, followed by someone Issei didn't expect.

"Saji Genshirou?" Issei said in surprise when he caught sight of the mop of spiky blonde hair as Sona Sitri's newest Pawn, the latest addition to her peerage and the new secretary of the Student Council followed Koneko out of the hole. Both of them froze when they caught sight of him.

"…Hyoudo-senpai?"

"Hyoudo?! Why are you here!?"

"That's my line. I can understand Yuuto because of his grudge, and Koneko because of her wanting to help her friend, but why the hell are you involved? You are aware that your master will beat your ass upside down if she found out what you're doing, right?"

"Ah, don't remind me! And anyway, it's not like I got involved of my own volition! I happened to be in the same diner where Toujou-san was negotiating with the two Excalibur wielders, so she dragged me into this to stop me from telling Kaichou or Rias-senpai!" Saji complained as he went into fetal position, a look of fear on his face as he imagined what his strict master would do to him if she ever found out he was going against her orders to not interfere with the Excalibur affair.

Issei turned a deadpan gaze to Koneko, who simply shrugged in response.

"…Hyoudo-senpai, will you be helping us?"

"No, I can't afford to damage relations between the Shinto Faction and the Grigori any further. I'll contain the fight and minimize the damage to the town, but that's it unless I have proof that Kokabiel is acting on his own, not on the Grigori's orders." Issei said as he shook his head.

Neither Koneko nor Saji looked happy about it, but they said nothing. Both of them could understand that his Faction took precedence over this. If they had been in the same position, they probably would do the same. It was already a godsend that he would contain the fight for them, since neither were very food at damage control.

"And also…"

"…Hm?" Koneko looked up when Issei went on.

"…This isn't my fight. It's Yuuto's. There's no point if someone else does the work for him. His hatred for Excalibur isn't so small that it would disappear just from that."

Koneko's eyes widened for a second before she nodded, standing aside to give Yuuto and Freed room for their fight.

"You aren't going to join in?"

"…This is Yuuto-senpai's fight." Koneko said, repeating Issei's words. Issei nodded and watched as the two continued their fight. Saji looked between the fight between the two swordsmen and the onlookers, and sighed, shuffling his feet to get away from the epicenter of the fight and mumbling about why he was even involved if he wasn't going to do anything except watch.

*CLANG* *CLANG*

The sound of grinding metal grew louder as the fight grew more intense.

Yuuto appeared to have calmed down a bit since his one-sided spar with Xenovia, and his movements were better than before, though still inferior to how he was in his peak condition. But try as he might, he couldn't find an opening in Freed's stance.

Not so much that Freed's stance was perfect. If anything, he was so full of openings that if Yuuto could put a needle in each one, Freed would look like a human pincushion.

The problem was that he had exceptional reaction speed. Every time Yuuto made to take advantage of one of his openings, his Excalibur fragment would already be waiting to block his attack. And then Yuuto would be hard-pressed to avoid the follow up attack, since his reaction speed couldn't quite keep up with Freed's.

"In that case…!"

Yuuto leapt back from his opponent and placed his hand on the ground.

"Sword Birth!" Yuuto yelled the name of his Sacred Gear. The ground glowed for a second before hundreds of Demonic Swords sprouted from the earth, making their way towards Freed from two different directions for a two-pronged attack.

Issei whistled in appreciation as he looked at Yuuto's attack.

"The production speed certainly has increased by a lot since I first met him. Not bad, Yuuto. Looks like you really did clear your head a bit."

"But would it be enough?" That was the question Issei had left unspoken. He didn't think for a second that an Excalibur wielder would be defeated by an attack of this level.

He was proven right when Freed grinned madly, his Excalibur fragment glowing brighter.

*SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH*

The sound of metal shattering rang out rapidly as Freed swing his Excalibur fragment with incredible speed that surprised even Issei, shattering every Demonic Sword that reached him in an instant.

A few seconds later, Freed stood surrounded by hundreds of metal fragments. Yuuto's attack had been completely defeated.

"Impossible…!" Yuuto muttered as he stared at the metal fragments on the ground, the remnants of his failed attack that he had been sure would work.

"Hyahahahaha! I have to admit, that was pretty good! If I was using any other Excalibur fragment, that would have gotten me! But sorry, the fragment I'm holding is Excalibur Rapidly! Its greatest prowess is its speed! It won't be outmatched by your shitty Demonic Swords!" Freed cackled as he mocked Yuuto.

"Hm, this is pretty bad. As an opponent, this guy is probably the worst possible match for Yuuto."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Saji asked.

"Yuuto has two weapons: his Sacred Gear, Sword Birth, and the speed granted to him by the Knight piece. His entire fighting style revolves around making the most out of both weapons. However, Freed Zelzan possesses one of the strongest Holy Swords, even if it's only a fragment, while Yuuto's Demonic Swords are really little more than ordinary swords that happen to possess powers. And what's more, its greatest asset is also speed. And…Freed Zelzan did not use its full speed yet. The speed he showed just now already exceeds Yuuto's maximum moving speed and Demonic Sword production rate. In other words, Yuuto's greatest weapons are completely useless against Freed Zelzan."

"O-Oi, then, doesn't that mean he's gonna lose to that shitty priest!?"

"If he can't do something about Freed Zelzan's speed, then yeah, pretty much."

"In other words, we just have to do something about his movement, right!?"

Saji held up his left hand.

"Stretch, Line!" Saji shouted as a deformed lizard head formed on his left hand and something that looked like a disturbingly long tongue shot towards Freed, who was too engrossed in his fight to notice it until it had already wrapped around his left leg.

"Uaagh!?" Freed yelled as he suddenly lost his balance due to the line pulling hard on his leg.

"Absorption Line, huh? That's a pretty nice Sacred Gear you have." Issei commented as he looked at one of the four types of Sacred Gears that contained a fragment of the power of one of the Five Dragon Kings, Prison Dragon Vritra. As Vritra had been the strongest among the Dragon Kings in terms of technique, the ability of one of its Sacred Gears could not be underestimated. From the name of the Sacred Gear, Issei guessed that its ability had something to do with absorption.

"Dammit, this little piece of shit…!" Freed roared in rage as he attempted to sever the line with Excalibur Rapidly to no avail, not so much because he wasn't using enough strength than that the blade was passing through the line like it wasn't even there.

"Dammit, why the hell can't I cut this thing!?" Freed yelled in frustration as he failed again and again to sever the line.

Eventually, he gave up and tried to stand up, but lost his balance and fell over. At the same time, a dim light travelled from Freed down the line to the deformed lizard head.

"This is…!? You're stealing my power!?"

"Hah! How do you like that!? This is Absorption Line's power! It allows me to steal your power as long as that line is connected to you until you completely lose consciousness!"

"Tch, so it's a Dragon-type Sacred Gear!? The starting ability itself isn't much of a threat, but as its power grows, it becomes dangerous on a completely level from other Sacred Gears. Dammit, that's why I hate fighting these things!" Freed griped as he swayed shakily as he stood up.

"…No, there's no way that a Sacred Gear containing a fragment of a Dragon King's power is only limited to the ability to absorb power. There should a lot more to that ability. He probably just hasn't tapped into its real power yet." Issei thought as he stared at Absorption Line.

"Kiba, hurry up and finish him off! This guy is too dangerous to let him live! We can settle the whole Excalibur thing later, so just hurry up and kill him already!"

"…I hate to admit it, but he's right. You're too dangerous to leave alive. There are still two more Excalibur fragments left. I can only hope their wielders are strong too." Yuuto said as he raised his sword in preparation to finish Freed off.

"Hyahahaha! I'm way stronger than those pieces of shit! If you kill me, you'll never get another satisfying fight, you know!? So, still thinking about killing me!?" Freed said, causing Yuuto to falter and hesitate.

Just as Issei was about to berate Yuuto…

*SHATTER*

…The isolation barrier Issei had put up shattered into glass-like fragments.

"What!?" Issei couldn't contain his shock as he watched the fragments of his barrier fall to the ground and break down into energy, dissipating into the air. Who on earth could possibly possess enough power to…!?

"We came here to pick you up, Freed." An unfamiliar male voice echoed through the area.

*FLUTTER*

Issei's eyes focused on a single black feather descending slowly from the sky before shooting upwards to catch sight of young man with black hair and sharp eyes, wearing black ceremonial robes. But what really caught his attention were the ten black feathered wigs sprouting from his back.

"A Cadre!? This must be…!"

"Boss! And old man Balba too!" Freed exclaimed as he looked up at the Cadre and then to the side.

Issei followed his gaze to see a portly old man with a thin moustache dressed in priest clothes walk out from the forest.

"Freed, what are you doing?"

"Old man, I can't get away because of this stupid tongue!"

"A Dragon-type Sacred Gear, is it? Hmph, looks like you still can't wield that Excalibur fragment perfectly. Use the Holy element I gave you properly, will you? I am trying to gather valuable research data from that. Gather the Holy element in your body to the blade. That should be able to cut it."

"Oh yeah!" Freed exclaimed as though he had just remembered how to do whatever it was the old man was telling him to do.

Excalibur Rapidly glowed a brilliant gold as Freed held it above his head and swung it down on the line wrapped around his leg. The line was severed at the point of impact and retracted back to the lizard head on Saji's hand, but no one seemed to notice for they were too busy staring at the old man.

"Freed called him Balba. This is man must be….!"

"Balba Galilei…!" Yuuto growled with a voice filled to the brim with hatred after staring blankly at the old man for a moment.

"Speaking." The old man replied with an amused tone, and Issei's eyes narrowed. So, this was the Genocide Archbishop, Balba Galilei, the mastermind behind the Holy Sword Project. Then, there was no question, the one above them was…

"Kokabiel…" Issei whispered as his gaze returned to the Fallen Angel leader floating overhead.

"Freed, Balba, return to base and prepare for the ritual." Kokabiel instructed his underlings who nodded and prepared to leave, but were interrupted when someone crashed down on the spot in front of them.

"None of you are leaving!" Xenovia yelled as she brandished Excalibur Destruction. Issei noted that the crack he had made was still there.

"Hi, Issei-kun, fancy meeting you here!" Irina waved to him as she ran past him to stand next to Xenovia, Excalibur Mimic in the form of a katana, held in a sword stance.

"Freed Zelzan, Balba Galilei, Kokabiel! In the name of the Lord, we will now pass judgment onto you!"

"Don't say the name of the God I hate, you damn bitch!" Freed sneered as he prepared to take on the two exorcists, but a small wave of power from Kokabiel that caused everyone but Issei, who narrowed his eyes, to freeze stopped him.

"I said return to base. I'll deal with these trash." Kokabiel repeated, now sounding a bit displeased.

"Yeah yeah, if the boss says so. Well then, alliance of the Church, Devils and whatever the hell you are…!" Freed said while pointing Excalibur Rapidly at Issei before taking something out of his pocket.

"…See ya later!"

Freed threw whatever was in his hand on the ground, causing Issei to cover his eyes with his arm, just in time to avoid being blinded by a bright flash of light.

Issei lowered his arm when the flash faded to find that both Freed and Balba had disappeared.

Everyone's attention turned to Kokabiel, who was folding his arms as he looked down at Xenovia and Irina with disdain in his eyes.

"So this is all Michael sends to stop me? Two little whelps who are still wet behind the ears? He must really be underestimating me, or he doesn't care much for the Excalibur fragments." Kokabiel said, his voice dripping with venom.

"We're more than enough for the likes of you, Fallen Angel!" Irina proclaimed and leapt at Kokabiel.

"Wait, Irina!" Xenovia tried to stop her partner, but it was too late. Kokabiel held a hand out towards Irina and released a massive burst of energy.

"Kyaaaaaaa!" Irina screamed as she was struck by the attack and dropped Excalibur Mimic, unconscious and heavily wounded.

Xenovia caught Irina's unconscious body, but was unable to get to Excalibur Mimic in time before Kokabiel grabbed it and returned it back to its ribbon form.

"Hmph, the more Excalibur fragments, the better. I'd like to take Destruction too, but then there wouldn't be any fun in that. So, I'll simply depart with this message. Rias Gremory! Sona Sitri!" Kokabiel called out.

Two magic circles, one red with the symbol of the Gremory Clan, the other blue with the symbol of the Sitri Clan, appeared on the ground, and from them, the two High-Class Devils and their respective Queens appeared. Both looked up at Kokabiel with displeased expressions.

"Kokabiel, just what are you intending to do?" Rias asked one of her race's nemeses.

"I'm glad you asked. Rias Gremory, Sona Sitri and Excalibur wielder of the Church, send this message to your leaders. I will start the next Great War right here and right now, and by the end of it, it will be proven that the Fallen Angels are superior to the Angels and the Devils! And I will begin by rampaging around in your base of operations, Kuoh Academy. If the Devils and the Church wish to stop me, then come to Kuoh Academy tonight. I will gladly entertain you!" Kokabiel declared and then made to leave, but then he stopped and turned his head back.

"By the way, which one of you was the one who created the barrier surrounding this area?" He asked.

"That would be me." Issei said, and Kokabiel's eyes shifted to him.

Two flashes of light filled everyone else's vision in the next instant. One a wave of Holy energy from Kokabiel and the other a bolt of lightning Issei brought down to negate the former.

Kokabiel grinned as he watched his attack being intercepted so easily.

"I'm impressed. I actually had to get serious to break that barrier. And your reaction speed is quite fast as well. But, who are you? You don't smell like a Devil, nor do you seem to be from the Church." Kokabiel asked.

"I'm Hyoudo Issei of the Shinto Faction. I just happen to live in this town as well."

"The Shinto Faction…Interesting! You must be the one who killed the weaklings that were dispatched here a few weeks ago. Are you going to fight me as well?"

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in the squabbles between the Three Factions. I only act in the interest of the Shinto Faction."

"I see. How disappointing. You seem to be the only one here who can give me a decent challenge. Oh well, whether you like it or not, I'm sure we will fight sooner or later."

Kokabiel vanished in a flash of light.

"Sona, we need to get to the academy!"

"Yes. Saji!"

"Y-Yes, Ma'am!" Saji squeaked out.

"I'll settle your punishment later. Right now, we need to stop Kokabiel!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Saji repeated, only this time, his tone was less fearful and more serious.

"Let's go!" Rias, Sona and their respective peerage members present disappeared through magic circles, presumably to gather their other peerage members and alert their higher-ups about Kokabiel's intentions.

Issei walked over to Xenovia, who was supporting Irina's unconscious body.

"I'll take care of Irina. You should alert the Church and prepare for the battle."

"What about you?"

"Like I said, if all Kokabiel wants to do is to start a war between the Three Factions, that's not our problem. And even if I wanted to help, my hands are tied unless it's proven that Kokabiel is acting independently."

Xenovia looked downcast.

"However, ignoring his attempts to start a second Great War between the Three Factions and allowing him to do it with Japan as its epicenter are two completely separate matters."

"Huh?"

"Japan is the Shinto Faction's sovereign territory. If Kokabiel intends to make this country the battlefield of the Great War, the Shinto Faction will not allow him to do as he pleases. You saw how talkative he was. If you play your words right, you could probably get him to shout out loud that he intends to turn Japan into a battlefield or at least show his intentions through his actions. Then, I'll be able to step in."

Xenovia's eyes widened before she nodded.

"Now go, leave Irina to me."

Xenovia stood up and ran off in the direction of the academy.

"Now then…"

Issei lifted Irina in a fireman's carry and activated a teleportation talisman in his pocket.

"…Great, how do I explain to Ophis I won't be able to cook dinner?"

That was the last thing Issei said before he disappeared in a flash of light.

---

Issei watched as a blue crystalline barrier formed around the entire campus, created and maintained by Sona Sitri and her peerage, absentmindedly rubbing his sore stomach as he did.

Ophis hadn't taken it well when she heard that Issei wouldn't be able to cook dinner tonight and would have to make do with either fast food or instant food and had responded with a punch to his stomach before stomping off to the kitchen to cook some instant ramen for herself.

Issei healed Irina's wounds to the best of his ability, which wasn't saying much because he sucked at healing magic, but at the very least, she wouldn't die of blood loss or anything.

Then, he made his way here to a hill a short distance away from the academy to find that the Gremory and Sitri peerages, along with Xenovia, had already gathered there.

"With this, as long as nothing too drastic happens inside, we should be able to prevent any damage to the outside." Sona said, but Issei could hear the doubt in her voice.

Issei himself doubted the effectiveness of the barrier. At best, it was only as powerful as the isolation barrier he had created that Kokabiel had destroyed. If Kokabiel got serious, the barrier would crumble in an instant.

"No choice then."

Issei pulled out a thin stack of talismans from his pocket.

"Stand back." Issei told Sona and her peerage, who obeyed.

He threw the talismans into the air. The talismans fluttered in the wind before dispersing and sticking themselves to the barrier at regular intervals. The talismans glowed as surges of energy worked their way into the barrier, giving a red and more solid hue.

"I've strengthened the barrier and lessened the strain on the Sitri peerage. With this, Kokabiel should be able to get out for a few hours unless he uses his full power. I don't think I have to tell you this, but if Kokabiel uses his full power, if not for this barrier, the whole town, not to mention the surrounding region, will be completely vaporized."

"And he appears to be performing some kind of ritual. My familiar was able to get close enough to see a giant magic circle carved into the field, and Kokabiel releasing his power into it."

"Mm, looks like he really did steal the Excalibur fragments for something, not just to piss Heaven off."

"Rias, this plan is too reckless after all. The enemy is a Faction leader. We don't stand a chance against him. We still have time, let's call Sirzechs-sama for reinforcements." Sona said, and Issei agreed. Rias's plan to fight Kokabiel herself had way too many holes and was sure to fail if Kokabiel got serious.

"You didn't call your Onee-sama either." Rias rebuked as she shook her head.

"My Onee-sama is…Your Onii-sama loves you, I'm sure he'll do something."

"There's no need. I've already informed Sirzechs-sama." Akeno interrupted the argument.

"Akeno!" Rias started to scold her Queen, who cut her off with a harsh glare.

"Rias, I can understand that you do not wish to trouble Sirzechs-sama. This is an incident that occurred in your territory, right in your base, and it happened right after the mess with the Phenex Clan. However, the enemy is one of the Fallen Angel leaders. This is a problem that's far above our level. Let's borrow the power of a Maou."

Rias looked surprised at the vehemence in her Queen's tone, but relented and nodded her head reluctantly.

"Thank you for understanding, Buchou. Sona-sama, Sirzechs-sama's reinforcements will arrive in about an hour." Akeno said with a smile, a sharp contrast to her expression from just a second ago.

"An hour? That's way too long. Kokabiel doesn't strike me as the patient type. At the beginning, he'll probably let Freed and his other underlings fight you, but I'll give him 10 minutes tops before he loses his patience and joins the fight himself. You can probably already tell, but if Kokabiel attacks you with his full power, he would wipe the floor with all of you in under 5 minutes." Issei addressed Rias, her peerage and Xenovia, who would be the ones fighting Kokabiel and his followers inside the barrier.

"Then, what do you suggest we do?" Rias said with a grimace, conceding his point.

"…Xenovia, take this with you, there's a listening spell on it, so I'll be able to listen in. Remember, make him talk." Issei said to the exorcist, passing her a talisman. Xenovia nodded and tucked the talisman into her battle suit.

"What do you mean?" Rias asked.

"If Kokabiel intends to start the next Great War in the Shinto Faction's territory, we're not letting him go. I'll crush him right here."

"I thought you wanted to maintain as friendly a relationship with the Grigori as possible." Rias commented with an amused smile.

"Japan is our territory. Just because we've been lenient about members of the Three Factions building their bases here doesn't mean we'll allow you to start a war in our homeland. If it means destroying any semblance of a truce we've had with the Three Factions up until now, so be it. Of course, if I could avoid doing that, it would be nice."

Rias smiled before her expression became serious.

"So, all you need is confirmation that Kokabiel either intends to make Japan the battlefield for a second Great War or that he's acting independently for you to act, right?"

"Basically, yeah."

"Alright, I'll try to goad him into spilling the beans. Pray for my success, will you?"

"I would, but considering you have been infuriating me on an almost hourly basis ever since you barged into my home, I'll just settle with wishing you good luck."

"You wound me. You really do." Rias said with an amused voice as she placed her hand over her heart and started acting dramatic.

"Whatever, just go in already. You don't wanna wear down Kokabiel's patience any more than you already have."

Rias nodded and turned to her peerage.

"Now, my cute servants, we'll be going on the offensive! We will enter the barrier and draw Kokabiel's attention! This is completely different from any battle we've fought before. This is a true matter of life and death. But even so, I will not forgive you if you die! We will survive and we will continue to attend this academy!"

"Yes!" The Gremory peerage shouted as one. Issei watched as they descended from the hill and made their way into the academy through a hole Sona temporarily created in the barrier, his eyes lingering on Asia's and Yuuto's backs just a bit longer than the rest.

Issei wasn't so sure about letting Asia get that close to an enemy Faction leader, but knew he had no authority over her when it came to Devils' affairs.\

And as for Yuuto…

"Yuuto, this is probably your last chance. Settle your grudge with Excalibur right here, right now."

[Partner, shouldn't you be getting ready too?]

"Yeah. I'll probably need to use Boosted Gear to fight Kokabiel, so you should be prepared too."

[Got it. The opponent is a Fallen Angel leader. He certainly isn't an unworthy opponent.]

"Mm."

The conversation between Issei and Ddraige ended, and the former began to mentally prepare himself for his first serious fight in a long time.

---

Yuuto held the crystal that contained the Holy factors that had been extracted from his comrades with great care, afraid it would hit the ground and shatter should it slip out of his grip.

The past few minutes had just been one revelation after another.

The Gremory peerage, plus Xenovia, entered the academy and found Kokabiel, Freed and Balba in the field. Well, Freed and Balba were in the field. Kokabiel was seated atop a floating throne in the sky.

Freed and Balba were standing within the giant magic circle carved into the field. In the center of the magic circle were the now four stolen Excalibur fragments releasing incredible levels of Holy power that slowly converged with each other. Balba revealed that this was a ritual to fuse the four Excalibur fragments together into a single sword.

Kokabiel asked whether it would be Sirzechs Lucifer or Serafall Leviathan who would come to fight him, and when Rias said that they would be fighting in their place, Kokabiel responded by casually tossing a spear of light at the gymnasium and erasing it from existence, proclaiming his boredom and then before Rias could get him to talk about his intentions, he proceeded to take a short cat nap after summoning three Cerberuses, the guard dogs of Hades, to fight them instead.

With some difficulty, since a Cerberus was still a dangerous opponent even if they were mindless beasts, the Gremory group and Xenovia managed to kill the three guard dogs. Then, Rias shot a ball of Power of Destruction at Kokabiel, who lazily opened one eye and flicked it away with a finger.

Then, Balba completed the ritual and fused the four Excalibur fragments into a bastardized, incomplete Excalibur that possessed the abilities of Mimic, Rapidly, Nightmare and Transparency, using the energy produced from the fusion to activate the true spell carved into the magic circle, an Earth Shatter spell that would destroy the entire town and all of its residents in 20 minutes unless Kokabiel was defeated.

Kokabiel commanded Freed to wield the bastardized Excalibur and fight them, and the Stray Priest gladly complied.

Yuuto declared his identity as the sole survivor of the Holy Sword Project to Balba, who simply laughed and revealed that the Holy Sword had not failed. In fact, it had succeeded and Balba was able to produce artificial Excalibur wielders. Then, he revealed how.

In order to wield Excalibur fragments, a certain level of Holy factors was needed. So, the Church had collected several children who had Holy factors in them. However, none of them possessed enough Holy factors to be able to wield the fragments, so Balba researched a way to extract the Holy factors from their bodies and accumulate them.

And he succeeded. The real reason he and his comrades were due to be killed was not because the project failed. Rather, it was because it had succeeded, and Balba was going to kill them so that he could extract the Holy factors from their body.

The Church expelled him on grounds of heresy, but continued to use the same method to produce more artificial Excalibur wielders, though they spared the ones they extracted the Holy factors from, something that barely made them more humane than Balba.

Balba then produced the crystal that Yuuto was currently holding, the product of accumulating the Holy factors into a single physical form. He revealed he had created four of them from the Holy factors in his comrades and three had already been used on Freed who cackled and mentioned that the other two wielders just a while ago because their bodies couldn't accept the Holy factors.

Balba then proceeded to carelessly toss the crystal to the ground, saying he didn't need it anymore because he could mass-produce them without having to extract Holy factors from someone else.

Yuuto reached down to pick it up, which was why he was cradling it to his chest.

"…Everyone…" Yuuto whispered in a cracked, anguished voice as a tear slipped from his eyes down his cheek.

Then, Yuuto frowned when the orb started glowing, and odd white wisps appeared within the dim light, slowly solidifying into white figures. Figures that Yuuto recognized and almost cried when he saw them.

"Everyone…! I…!"

Around him stood specters of his late comrades, all staring at him with a mournful expression.

"…I've always…always wondered. Why was I the only one who survived? There were those who wished to live more than me, those who deserved to live more than me, so why was I the only one who was given a second chance?" Yuuto wondered aloud, barely loud enough for the specters of his comrades to hear him.

One of the specters, a young boy who looked no older than 12, smiled sadly and started to speak.

"…Don't worry about us. At least you were able to live…"

Yuuto's eyes widened as he heard the unexpected…no, the truth that he had already known deep down, but had refused to acknowledge. But, hearing it straight from them had really driven it home.

Then, all of them opened their mouths and began to sing a familiar song. How could Yuuto not know it? After all, back when the Holy Sword Project was still active, Yuuto and his comrades had sung the Sacred Hymn daily in the hopes that God would save them. But, it had been to no avail, and the only thing that Yuuto felt for that song was pure contempt.

And yet, when he heard that nostalgic song he had grown to hate, he couldn't help but smile and sing along as well as tears flowed down his face.

The specters began to glow bright blue and circled Yuuto.

"We were no good alone."

"We did not have enough factors to wield Excalibur. But…"

"…It's fine if we do it together."

Yuuto's heart was filled with warmth as he listened to his comrades' words. Normally, the sacred hymn would cause damage to Devils, but Yuuto felt no pain, only the growing warmth of his comrades.

"You must accept the Holy Sword."

"It's not scary."

"Even if God isn't watching over us…"

"…Our hearts are always…"

"…One."

The specters flew up into the sky and descended on Yuuto as a beam of light. As it died down, Yuuto felt an incredible power well up within his body and calmed his heart.

"…I simply wanted to live." Yuuto thought to himself as he remembered the night he had fled with the help of his comrades from the Church and was found and saved by Rias.

"What is it that you desire?" The then little girl had asked as she held his dying body in her arms.

"Help…" Was the only thing he could mumble with the strength he had left in his poisoned body. His life that was slowly fading away, the future he had lost sight of, his friends who had perished to give him a second chance and who he had to avenge, Yuuto held all of those regrets as he died.

"Live a new life as a Devil. That was what my master wanted for me. And…it was also what I wanted. But…I couldn't let go of my hatred for the Church and Excalibur. No, I could have let go, but…"

Yuuto had realized it over the past few days. He already had a new life, and close friends who would help him, like Koneko, who had been the on to convince the Church duo to allow them to aid in the destruction of the stolen Excalibur fragments, and Issei who had trained him and tried to help let go of his hatred. Wasn't that enough for him?

No…if his old comrades wanted revenge for their deaths, there was no way he could just go off and live his own life. He owed it to them to avenge them in their place. But, he had just been proven wrong.

"…Don't worry about us. At least you were able to live…"

They didn't wish for vengeance after all! They just wanted him to live!

But…even so, it's not like everything had been settled with that. If he didn't cut down the monster in front of him, even more people would suffer the same fate his old comrades had.

"Balba Galilei, as long as you're still alive, more people will suffer because of your research."

"Hmph, research always requires sacrifices. Haven't you realized that?"

"You truly are evil…"

"Yuuto! You must do it, surpass Excalibur! You are a servant of Rias Gremory! My Knight will not lose to a mere Excalibur!"

"Buchou…"

"Yuuto-kun, I believe in you!"

"…Yuuto-senpai!"

"Please do your best!"

"Akeno-san, Koneko-chan, Asia-san…"

"Hyahahaha! Why are you crying!? You were singing with your silly ghost-chan friends! Ah, that was seriously the worst! I really hate that song, you know! Just hearing it makes my skin crawl! I can't take it anymore! I need to cut you into itty bitty pieces to comfort myself! With this super Excalibur-chan made from 4 fragments!"

"Freed Zelzan, my comrades' powers are inside you. I can't allow you to misuse them any further!"

Yuuto brandished his Demonic Sword, and as he did, he thought back to the night he had first fought Freed, more specifically, his justification for his need for vengeance, and almost laughed at himself.

He had nothing? He couldn't be more wrong. He had everything, a new life, a place to call home, new comrades to protect and now…the will of his old comrades inside of him.

"That's why…I will become a sword! To protect Buchou and my new comrades, and to carry on the will of my old comrades! So, respond to my feelings, Sword Birth!"

Two beams, one of black light that was Sword Birth's power, the other of white light that was the power of his comrades, shot out of his Demonic Sword and began to fuse together. Then the, combined beam of black and white retracted into the sword, granting it a new, elegant shape.

It was complete. The sword that represented the will of his comrades.

"Balance Breaker, Sword of Betrayal! You shall receive the sword that possesses both Holy and Demonic powers with your body!"

Yuuto activated the power of the Knight and rushed at Freed with incredible speed. Freed tried to keep track of him, but Yuuto easily tricked him with a few feints and closed the distance between them. Yuuto swung his new Holy-Demonic Sword at Freed.

*CLANG*

But even after all of that, Freed was still able to block it. As Yuuto expected, he was a skilled swordsman after all. But…

*VHOOOM*

His Holy-Demonic Sword released an ominous sound as its aura began to devour that of the bastardized Excalibur's.

"Impossible!? That sword of yours surpasses one of the legendary Holy Swords?!"

"If that was the real Excalibur, I wouldn't be able to defeat it. But, that fake Excalibur cannot through our will!"

"Damn you!" Freed screeched and backed away.

"Streeeeeetch!"

The blade of the bastardized Excalibur began to twist and lengthen, splitting into multiple blades, and shooting at Yuuto at random speeds and directions.

"Mimic and Rapidly! So it can use all of the abilities of the four fragments it was made from!" Yuuto thought furiously as the blades almost reached him.

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

But, even with that speed, Yuuto easily parried each attack. Freed's murderous intent was so obvious that even if he couldn't keep track of the blade, he could predict where they would strike simply by getting a feel of his murderous intent.

"Dammit, why aren't any of my attacks hitting!? Aren't you supposed to be the legendary unrivaled Holy Sword-sama!? There are hundreds of legends about your power, aren't there!?" Freed screamed, with an expression that was an odd mix of elation and frustration.

"Then, I'll also add this!"

The twisted blades of the bastardized Excalibur suddenly disappeared.

"Excalibur Transparency? But as long as he doesn't hide his murderous intent, even if I can't see the blades, I can still block them!"

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

Sparks appeared in the air as Yuuto's Holy-Demonic Sword clashed with the invisible blades of the bastardized Excalibur.

*CRACK*

"…!" Freed's expression changed to one of pure shock as he retracted the blade and removed its invisibility, revealing a long crack along the blade.

"Good, just keep him there."

Xenovia rushed at Freed from behind with Excalibur Destruction in her left hand and her right hand held up next to her as though to grab hold of something.

"Saint Peter. Saint Basil the Great. Saint Denis. Holy Mother Mary. Hear my voice!"

Xenovia started chanting, and Yuuto wondered what she was doing. He got his answer when the space next to her hand distorted. She reached into the distortion and pulled a massive broadsword out, shattering the chains binding it in the process.

"In the name of the saints who reside within this blade, I shall release it! Holy Sword Durandal!"

Yuuto started. Durandal!? The legendary Holy Sword on par with even the original Excalibur!? It was supposedly the most powerful Holy Sword in terms of raw destructive power, but why did Xenovia have it!?

"Durandal!?"

"You weren't just an Excalibur wielder!?"

Both Balba and Kokabiel reacted in shock when they saw the legendary Holy Sword.

"You've got it backwards. I was originally Durandal's wielder. I was simply chosen to be an Excalibur wielder later on." Xenovia said as she held Durandal and Excalibur Destruction in a two-sword stance.

"Impossible! Even my research hasn't reached a point where it can produce an artificial Durandal wielder!"

"Of course. Even the Vatican's research hasn't advanced far enough to make an artificial Durandal wielder."

"Then, why can you-!?"

"I'm not the same as Irina or any of the other Excalibur wielders. I'm a natural born Holy Sword wielder."

Balba became completely speechless when he heard her. It was something completely unprecedented. Natural Holy Sword wielders were so rare in this age that the Church was willing to allow something as vile as the Holy Sword Project just to have a chance of producing artificial ones. Balba never thought he would actually meet a natural born in his lifetime.

"Durandal is a sword that ravages everything beyond human imagination. It cuts anything it so much as touches. Most of the time, it refuses to obey me, which is why I have to keep it sealed inside a pocket dimension, so that it doesn't endanger me. Now then, Freed Zelzan, thanks to you, we can have a legendary battle between Excalibur and Durandal. I'm so excited I can barely stop myself from shaking! Try not to die in a single blow! At the very least, use that Excalibur to its full potential!"

Durandal glowed a bright gold as its aura increased to the point where it exceeded even Yuuto's new Balance Breaker.

"Is that even allowed!? You damn bitch, I don't need a shitty plot twist like that!" Freed screamed and switched targets to Xenovia.

Yuuto couldn't see it, but he guessed that Freed launched the multiple blades at Xenovia instead.

*SHATTER*

But, Xenovia simply countered with a simple side slash. In that instant, the sound of metal shattering was heard and metal fragments appeared on the ground. Not only that, the shockwave of the attack levelled the ground between Xenovia and Freed. Freed retracted his blade and made it visible only to find that the top half of the blade was completely destroyed.

"So, in the end, it's just a heretic sword after all. It can't compare to my Durandal." Xenovia sighed with an expression of boredom on her face. Everyone was shocked. Excalibur Destruction's power had been nothing compared to that. But, Yuuto knew that as dangerous as Durandal was, its power still didn't hold a candle to the power of Issei's Futsu-no-Mitama, only a small part of which he had experienced firsthand.

"Seriously? Seriously!? My super Excalibur-chan is broken!? This is really horrible! Was it wrong to use something that was broken from the start!? The shallowness of humans, the Church's foolishness and hypocrisy, is it because I grew up with those that I ended up like this!?"

Freed seemed to lose his will to fight, and Yuuto took the opportunity to charge at him. Freed turned to Yuuto and used Mimic's ability to throw more blades at Yuuto, but…

*SHATTER*

Yuuto tore through the remnants of the bastardized Exccalibur, all the way down to the hilt, completely obliterating it and lacerating Freed along his stomach.

"Did you see? Our power has finally surpassed Excalibur." Yuuto whispered to his Holy-Demonic Sword as Freed fell to the ground.

It was done. He had finally settled his grudge. Yuuto looked skywards, a mix of satisfaction and loss in his heart.

"Holy-…Demonic Sword!? That's impossible, two opposing elements cannot be fused together…"

Yuuto turned to the source of the voice to find Balba with a confused and fearful expression on his face.

"Ah, that's right, this isn't over just yet."

As long as Balba Galilei existed, there would only be more victims in the future.

"Balba Galilei, prepare yourself."

Yuuto pointed his Holy-Demonic Sword at the old man and prepared to rush him, but then a look of understanding spread over Balba's face, causing Yuuto to pause.

"…I see! Holy and Demonic, it makes sense that they are able to fuse if the being keeping them in balance no longer exists! In other words, it wasn't just the old Maous, God is also-!"

*STAB*

Balba was cut off when a giant spear of light was rammed through his abdomen. Balba coughed up blood before falling over, the spear dissipating, leaving a hole in his abdomen. Yuuto went up to him to check his pulse, though it was fairly obvious he was already dead.

"Balba, you truly were remarkable. The fact that you managed to reach that conclusion proves your genius. But, it doesn't really matter to me whether or not you help me. I should have just done this myself from the beginning."

Kokabiel sneered down at them from his airborne throne. He stood up from his throne and jumped down to the ground.

"Hahahahaha…Kahahahahahaha!" Kokabiel laughed insanely, releasing a terrible aura that sent everyone to their knees in an instant.

"All of you, come at me at the same time with your full power."

Kokabiel ordered them confidently, causing Rias's face to redden in anger.

"Are you giving us a chance!? Stop messing around!"

"The ones messing around are you trash! Do you honestly believe you can actually defeat me on your own!?"

Kokabiel stared down at them with his cold eyes, causing them to stiffen with fear. Yuuto's palms were getting sweaty, causing him to almost lose his grip on his Holy-Demonic Sword until he had squeezed his hands around the handle, trying to stay calm. This was completely unlike anything he had ever felt, no enemy had ever managed to instil this much fear into him before.

Rias was right. This was a real fight to the death, if he didn't prepare himself, he would be killed.

"Take all the time you need. But I advise you to hurry up. There's only 15 minutes left until the Earth Shatter spell activates." Kokabiel taunted them and crossed his arms, apparently intending to wait until they were ready to attack.

"…Wait until my signal to attack. We'll be killed if we charged in recklessly." Rias said with a shaky voice as she held up her hand and began to focus her power into her palm. A ball of Power of Destruction formed in her hand, slowly getting bigger. Honestly, she wanted to get him to talk so that Issei could interfere, but at this point, if she tried something, she would probably only succeed in incurring his ire. There wasn't much of a choice but to do as he said.

The rest followed suit. Akeno charged up a bolt of lightning in her hand. Koneko got into a fighting stance and waited for her master's signal to attack. Yuuto and Xenovia gathered their power, Xenovia into Durandal for a powerful attack, and Yuuto into his Balance Breaker in preparation of summoning more Holy-Demonic Swords. Asia, being the non-fighter of the group, hung back, but prepared to heal her allies just in case.

After a few tense minutes of waiting where they feared Kokabiel would lose his patience and attack, Rias took a deep breath.

"…Now!" Rias called out and threw the ball of Power of Destruction, now the size of her head, at Kokabiel.

Akeno launched the bolt of lightning right after her.

Koneko rushed at Kokabiel from the side.

Yuuto summoned a ring of Holy-Demonic Swords around Kokabiel.

Xenovia swung the charged Durandal, releasing a massive wave of destructive Holy power, bigger than even the one she had used on Issei.

"Checkmate!"

That was what Yuuto had thought, but…

"Hmph, is that all?" Kokabiel snorted and held up his hand.

The three energy attacks slammed into his palm one after another, fusing and amplifying each other's power, but even then, Kokabiel didn't look like he was putting much effort into stopping them.

Koneko closed in and reeled her fist back for a punch just as Yuuto's ring of Holy-Demonic Swords shot at Kokabiel.

*SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*

The ring of Holy-Demonic Swords were shattered by Kokabiel's wings that had suddenly become as sharp as blades and at the same time, the wings also sliced deeply into Koneko, knocking her aside and leaving her heavily wounded and unconscious.

"Koneko-chan!" Yuuto shouted out of concern for his fallen comrade, even as Asia moved to her side to begin healing her.

"Hey, looking away from an enemy in a fight can be fatal, you know?"

Yuuto barely held up the Holy-Demonic Sword in his hand in time to block an attack from a sword of light from Kokabiel.

*CRACK*

"Wha-!?" Yuuto cried out in shock when a crack appeared on his Holy-Demonic Sword. The strength of his Sacred Gear-produced swords depended on his concentration. This held true for both the basic state and the Balance Breaker. Because Yuuto was distracted by Koneko's defeat, he lost his concentration and the strength of the Holy-Demonic Sword in his hands suffered because of it.

"Lightning!" Akeno sent down a bolt on Kokabiel's unguarded back, but it was deflected with a single wave of one of his wings.

"Trying to get in the way, daughter of Baraqiel!?" Kokabiel demanded.

"…Don't group with that man!" Akeno's face contorted into an expression of anger and self-loathing as she poured even more power into a second lightning bolt. But even that was effortlessly batted aside with a simple wave of a wing.

"Fuhahahaha! To think you degraded yourself into becoming a Devil! You sure have interesting servants, Rias Gremory! The sole survivor of the Holy Sword Project who obtained Balance Breaker, and Baraqiel's daughter! Your tastes are just as weird as your brother's!"

"I won't forgive you for insulting my brother, our Maou! And more importantly, insulting my servants deserves nothing short of death!" Rias shouted angrily at Kokabiel, who simply sneered.

"In that case, try to destroy me! Maou Lucifer's little sister! Crimson-haired Ruin Princess! One of your race's greatest enemies is standing in front of you! If you don't seize this opportunity, your reputation will plummet!" Kokabiel proclaimed and threw blasts of Holy energy at the four remaining combatants. Yuuto and Xenovia dodged in time, but Rias and Akeno, having used most of their reserves in their initial attacks, weren't able to react in time and were sent to the ground.

Yuuto calmed himself and prepared to charge at Kokabiel, but paused and turned when he heard someone coming up behind him.

"We'll attack at the same time." Xenovia said as she stabbed Excalibur Destruction into the ground and place both hands on Durandal's hilt in preparation for the attack.

Both of them charged at Kokabiel at the same time and slashed at him with their swords, but both attacks were easily blocked by Kokabiel's swords of light.

Kokabiel ignored Yuuto and turned to look at Xenovia, who struggled to break through Kokabiel's sword of light, but failed. Neither she nor Yuuto could understand it. She had easily shattered the bastardized Excalibur, why couldn't she break a simple sword of light, even if it was created by a Fallen Angel leader.

"It's no use. Even if it's the legendary Durandal, if the wielder isn't skilled enough, it's no different from an ordinary sword! You lack training, girl! The previous wielder of Durandal possessed unrivalled power!"

Kokabiel pushed both of them back and lifted them into the air with a spell. He converted his swords of light into energy and blasted both of them back with Holy power.

Xenovia crashed into the side of the main building, while Yuuto stood up, ignoring the pain the blast of Holy energy was causing him and charged at Kokabiel again.

"Kokabiel, I'm not done yet!"

Yuuto refocused his attention on the fight and the crack on his Holy-Demonic Sword vanished.

"Haaaaah…!" Yuuto swung his Holy-Demonic Sword with all of his might at Kokabiel, but he easily caught the blade between his fingers.

"Tch…!" Yuuto clicked his tongue and used one hand to create another Holy-Demonic Sword for a vertical slash, but that was stopped by another two fingers of Kokabiel's other hand.

"Not yet!" Yuuto created a third Holy-Demonic Sword in his mouth and awkwardly turned his head sharply.

Kokabiel, caught off guard by the unexpected action, sustained a small cut on his cheek before blasting Yuuto away.

Yuuto fell to his knees, exhausted and despair seeping into his heart, like everybody else present. Despite their advantage in numbers, Kokabiel held an even more overwhelming advantage in power, easily countering and overpowering them without visible effort every time they attacked. Was there even any hope?

"Not bad, I didn't think any of you trash could even scratch me. Looks like even though you've lost the masters you serve, the Devils and the exorcists are still able to fight well." Kokabiel said with a cruel smile, causing everyone to freeze upon hearing his words.

"…What…are you talking about?" Rias asked with a sense of dread.

"Hahahaha…Fuhahahahahaha!" Kokabiel suddenly started laughing manically, which did not help Rias's growing dread that she was about to regret asking that question.

"Ah, that's right, I completely forgot that the truth was never told to you peons! Fine, in that case, I'll tell you the truth! Back during the Great War between the Three Factions, it wasn't just the original Yondai Maou, God also perished!" Kokabiel revealed with a wide grin that split his face.

"What…did you just say…?" Yuuto asked in a soft voice that anyone could barely hear. His expression had stiffened in a mix of shock and incomprehension, which was pretty much the same expression everyone else had.

"Well, I suppose it's only natural that the truth wasn't revealed to you lowly pawns. After all, who in their right mind would say that God is dead? Humans are too fragile. Without God to worship, they can't keep themselves level-headed and civilized. Even the Fallen Angel leaders and Maous couldn't tell this to their subordinates, since they won't know who would leak out the information. Among the Three Factions, only the leaders and the higher-ups know the truth of God's demise."

"…God has perished…? That can't be…if that's really true, then…what the hell have we been believing in and praying to while we were trapped in that institute!?" Yuuto mentally screamed, unable to believe what Kokabiel had just said.

"After the War, the only ones left were the Angels who had lost their God, the Devils that lost their Maous and the majority of the High-Class Devils, and the Fallen Angels who lost most of their kind apart from the leaders. It wasn't a state that could merely be called exhausted. All Three Factions fell so low that they had to rely on humans to increase their numbers, especially Angels and Fallen Angels who could only increase their numbers by mating with humans. Well, Fallen Angels can increase if Angels fell, but pure-blooded Angels can't increase their numbers after losing God. Even pure-blooded Devils are rare these days, right?"

"…It's a lie…It has to be a lie…!" Xenovia whispered from her spot on the ground, close to where Yuuto was. She had an expression of terror and despair that none of the Gremory Group could bear to look at. It couldn't be helped, if her object of her faith, her sole reason for living no longer existed, it was natural that she would end up in that despondent state. Even Yuuto, who had turned his back on God and his followers after the Holy Sword Project, cringed when he thought of what his life before he became a Devil meant.

"In truth, a second Great War will never happen unless someone purposely fans the flames of animosity! It's because all of Three Factions suffered massive losses in the previous war! Everyone decided that continuing the war was pointless now that the ones who had instigated the war in the first place, God and the original Yondai Maou, were dead! Even that damn bastard Azazel declared that there won't be a second war after losing most of our men! Do you have any idea how hard that was to bear!? Lowering your gun after you've already shot it!? Don't fuck around with me! If the war had gone on, the Fallen Angels would have won! And despite that, that damn bastard…! What point is there to our existence if the only thing we do is invite Sacred Gear holding humans to increase our ranks!?" Kokabiel spat out with incredible venom, expressing his dissatisfaction with how things were now.

"…The Lord no longer exists…? The Lord…is dead? Then, the love he granted us is…" Asia said with a despondent look on her face, causing Kokabiel to burst out laughing.

"Yeah, that's right. There is no more love or divine protection from God! After all, he's long dead! Well, Michael is certainly doing well. He took God's place and is watching over the Angels and the members of the Church. Well, even if God is gone, as long as Heaven's system is still operating, prayers, blessings and exorcisms will still work to some extent. But if you compare it to the time when God was still around, the effects are obviously much weaker. The Holy-Demonic Sword brat was able to obtain a Balance Breaker like that because God isn't around to maintain the balance between Holy and Darkness anymore. Normally, there's no way that two opposing elements would ever be able to fuse, but if you take away the ones keeping them in balance, many strange things will occur as a result."

*THUD*

Asia's unconscious body made a dull sound as it struck the ground after the revelation of God's death became too much for Asia and caused her to faint.

"Asia, get a hold of yourself!" Rias shouted to her Bishop in vain.

"Right here and now, I will start the second Great War by taking all of your heads and sending them to Sirzechs and Michael! Even if it's only me, I will prove that the Fallen Angels are the strongest!"

Yuuto finally realized the futility of this fight. Their opponent was someone who possessed enough power that he would confidently declare war on the Angels and Devils by himself. There was no way they had any chance of defeating from the beginning.

"…So, you're saying that you are doing this by yourself without the Grigori's support, and you intend to turn this country into the battlefield of the second Great War?" Rias suddenly asked, seemingly for clarification.

"Yeah, that's right! Azazel is too much of a coward to do anything, and everyone else follows him blindly! That's why I'll do this myself, and I'll start with this town where the little sisters of two Maous reside!"

"I see. Did you hear all of that?" Rias called out, confusing Kokabiel.

"Yeah, I heard it loud and clear." A male voice reverberated throughout the campus and Kokabiel raised an arm to cover his eyes when a gigantic bolt of white lightning crashed down in front of him.

"Good work getting him to talk. I made sure to record all of that. Well, I wasn't expecting to hear that the Biblical God was dead, but…With this, the Grigori can no longer complain about the Shinto Faction interfering in their affairs. Take a rest and leave this to me." Issei said as he cracked his neck, and silently apologized to the deceased Biblical God for thinking badly of him.

"Ho, so it's the Shinto boy this time! Interesting! But, there's only 10 minutes left before the Earth Shatter spell activates! Do you really think you can defeat before then!?"

"Who knows? Why don't we test that right now?"

"Hahahaha! Well said! It'd be too boring if I killed you instantly, so I'll allow you to make the first move! Finish whatever preparations you need before you attack!" Kokabiel declared, so confident in his victory that he was willing to grant Issei the same handicap he had granted the others.

"Well, I suppose I should thank you for that. Well, just don't come crying to me when I turn out to be stronger than you think."

Issei raised his hand.

"Descend, Divine Storm of the Storm God!"

Dark clouds appeared overhead at Issei's command as usual, but instead of sending down a single bolt of lightning like the Gremory Group was used to seeing, multiple bolts of white lightning struck, creating a white flash that blinded everyone else.

The light died down, revealing Issei clad in lightning armor. But it wasn't the same as before. Instead of the usual lightning wrapped around parts of his body as a crude armor, this time, it was an intricate Asian full body armor crafted from white lightning, releasing sparks of lighting every now and then.

"Raijin no Yoroi, Level 2: Buyu no Shogun (lit. Lightning God's Armor, Level 2: Warlord of Valor). It's been a while since I used this." Issei said as he held up a lightning armor-clad hand and created a spear of white lightning.

"Gahahahaha! What incredible mastery over lightning! It might exceed even Baraqiel's power! Interesting! This is too interesting! Let's have a good fight to the death, Shinto boy!" Kokabiel cackled and leapt at Issei, who simply swept his spear, creating a wave of lightning that intercepted Kokabiel and exploded.

Kokabiel shot upwards into the air, his clothes covered in burnt, blackened patches, but still maintaining a manic grin and created dozens of spears of light. While they weren't as powerful as the ones he usually used, they made for quality in quantity.

With a wave of his hand, Kokabiel rained down the dozens of light spears on Issei, who spun his spear like a windmill, using the rotation to shatter the spears.

As the last spear shattered into tiny glass-like fragments, Issei caught sight of a gigantic double-ended spear of light forming above Kokabiel. He couldn't take that one head on.

"In that case…"

Issei held up his spear and pumped energy into it. The spear crackled with sparks of white lightning as it glowed brighter and the blade grew sharper.

Kokabiel tossed the gigantic spear of light at Issei who responded by tossing his own charge spear of lightning. The tips of both spears met and in the next instant destroyed each other, creating an explosion, though not as big as the ones that would have been formed if either attack were allowed to fully detonate, that generated a huge column of smoke that reached all the way to the top of the barrier.

Without wasting time, Issei leapt through the smoke column towards where he had last seen Kokabiel floating.

Caught off guard when Issei suddenly burst through the smoke column, Kokabiel wasn't able to react in time when Issei cut him with his lightning-coated hands, creating an x-shaped gash on his chest.

"Tch…!" Kokabiel clicked his tongue as blood poured from the gash and punched at the still airborne Issei, who barely brought up his lightning armored arms in time to block the brunt of the attack. Even then, the force of the attack sent him crashing into the ground, creating a sizable crater upon impact. Issei picked himself up and rubbed his slightly sore forearms. Even with the lightning armor active, Kokabiel's punch still stung. Then again, since Kokabiel's fist had come into contact with the armor, he should have been injured as well, no matter how light it was.

He was proven right when Kokabiel landed on the ground, rubbing his burnt fist.

"Hm, using a direct physical attack on someone using lightning armor was a bit stupid of me. But, whatever. It's been a long time since I had a fun fight. I think I'm entitled to being reckless every now and then."

"Shall we continue then?"

"Come at me anytime you wish! But, just remember, you're on a time limit. Keep in mind what will happen if you go over it."

Issei grimaced as he was reminded of the Earth Shatter spell.

"Shit. It's been a while since I had a real fight too, so I was planning on taking my time and enjoying it, but…Too bad, I guess. Come, Boosted Gear." Issei said as he shed the armor on his left forearm

[Boost!]

A deep, male voice echoed throughout the campus as a metallic red spiked and clawed gauntlet with two green jewels, one at the back of the hand, and the other at the elbow, appeared and replaced the lighting gauntlet on his left forearm.

Kokabiel, as well as everyone else, recoiled in shock when they saw the red gauntlet that was one of the legendary Longinus Gears.

"A Longinus!? And Boosted Gear of all things…" Kokabiel muttered as he stared at the Sacred Gear that contained the soul of Ddraige, one of the Two Heavenly Dragons whose power rivalled or even exceeded Gods.

"What's wrong? Lost your nerve already?" Issei taunted his opponent.

"Hahahahaha! Just the opposite! I've never been more excited! Boy, you said your name is Hyoudo Issei, correct?"

[Boost!]

"That's right. I am Hyoudo Issei, grandson of Susanoo and Amaterasu. A Shinto demigod." Issei answered as the second Boost activated.

"Hahahahaha! A demigod!? Even better! Very well, Hyoudo Issei, I acknowledge you as a worthy opponent! Let's have a good fight that both of us can enjoy!" Kokabiel grinned maniacally as a powerful golden aura burst forth from his body, crushing everyone except Issei down to their knees, unable to move.

Issei lowered his head and scratched the back of his head.

"Ah geez, if you say that kind of thing to me…"

Issei suddenly raised his head back up, revealing an equally manic grin as a familiar red haze settled over his vision, and a red and black aura emerged from his body, increasing the pressure that the Gremory Group and Xenovia already felt, causing to drop to all fours in an effort to stay up.

"…I won't be able to stop myself from getting carried away!"

[Boost!]

Issei launched himself at Kokabiel with incredible speed far exceeding even Yuuto's maximum. Kokabiel grinned in response and held a hand up. A massive wave of Holy energy shot from it and raced towards Issei, who simply laughed and swung his right hand, releasing a series of claw-like crescent energy waves that slashed through his opponent's attack.

As Issei reached Kokabiel, he reeled his hand, balled into a lightning-armored fist, back and punched at Kokabiel's head.

Kokabiel snorted and moved his head to the side to avoid the punch, only to bend over sharply when Issei's knee rammed into his gut, knocking the air out of his lungs.

But instead of being sent flying, Kokabiel held firm and grabbed Issei's face, the only part of his body that was not covered in lighting armor.

"Got you!"

"…!?" Issei barely had time to make a sound of shock before he realized Kokabiel's intention to hit point blank with another Holy blast.

"Ikazuchi!" Issei called out in a muffled voice and a bolt of white lightning descended from the sky and struck them both. Issei was mostly immune to electric shocks, even ones enhanced by divine power, due to his divine blood.

"Nuooooooooooh!"

But the same could not be said for Kokabiel who took the full brunt of the attack and was forced to let go of Issei and retreat lest he take any more damage.

But, Issei had no intention of letting him escape. He started chasing Kokabiel almost immediately. But, as he caught up, he hesitated when he saw a triumphant smirk on his opponent's face.

Issei's advance was abruptly halted when Kokabiel's wings sharpened and started slashing at him. Thanks to his armor, he wasn't actually being wounded, but the endless assault was enough to keep him in place long enough for Kokabiel to create another massive spear of light and toss it at him. Issei was unable to react as the massive spear struck his armored chest and exploded, searing his body even through the armor.

[Boost!]

As the explosion died down, the fourth Boost activated, though Issei paid little attention to it as his bloodlust began to skyrocket partly due to anger and partly due to his enjoyment of his first real fight in a while.

"Burn, Divine Flames of the Sun Goddess!"

Black flames burst to life in Issei's hands, but did not turn into claws like they did in the spar with Xenovia. Instead, Issei focused his energy to mold them into the familiar ring of black flaming magatamas. But this time, instead a single ring of 3 magatamas, they had turned into 2 rings of 6 magatamas.

"Rengoku Magatama!"

Issei tossed the 2 rings of magatamas that spun in the air like a shuriken on an erratic path towards Kokabiel, who immediately attempted to shoot them down before they reached him, but was unable to even get close before they both slammed into him and ignited into a giant column of black flames.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Kokabiel screamed so loudly in pain that it caused the Gremory Group and Xenovia to flinch and shiver.

Issei on the other hand was completely undeterred and held his hands up together such that the shape of the space between them became spherical.

The moment he made the hand gesture, the giant column of black flames distorted and remolded itself into a giant black flaming sphere with Kokabiel trapped in the center.

"Crush him…!" Issei muttered as he clasped his hands together, closing the space between them. The black flaming sphere immediately began to shrink rapidly, intending to forcefully compress Kokabiel's body along with it.

But, once the sphere shrunk to a certain size, it began to vibrate violently and then exploded in the next instant, sending countless sparks of black flames flying.

"He extinguished my flames...no, he used a burst of energy to blow them away."

Kokabiel floated unsteadily in midair, a good part of his clothes burnt to a crisp and the rest blackened and burnt. Under his ruined clothes, the exposed parts of his body, including his hair were in a similar state, burnt and blackened.

And yet, despite all of that damage, Kokabiel was still grinning manically, his cracked, charred lips making it look even more disturbing.

[Boost!]

Kokabiel ignored the fifth Boost when it activated and simply held his hand up, causing Issei to grow weary and focus his attention on Kokabiel.

But it was because of that that he didn't notice where the attack was coming from until it was already too late. Five columns of Holy energy suddenly shot up from magic circles on the ground, surrounding him and slamming into the barrier, causing it to creak and groan, but still hold firm.

The columns of Holy energy were so close to each other and to him that he had no way of escaping as they began to close in on him.

"Hmph, is this all?"

Bracing himself, Issei slammed at full speed into the ground, shattering it and disrupting the magic circles producing the columns of Holy energy. That was the weakness of the magic used by the Three Factions. If the magic circle producing the spell was destroyed, the spell itself was interrupted. Well, the same could be said about Onmyou Jutsu, since it could also be interrupted by destroying the talismans.

The five columns dissipated and Issei dropped his guard, only to look up and find Kokabiel already in front of him with a warhammer of light in hand. Issei had the wind knocked out of him as the warhammer slammed into his gut, not injuring him, but managing to actually put a crack in his lightning armor. Issei careened through the air, crashing into the main building.

Issei recovered and landed on the ground, stopping to look at the small crack in his armor. Now he was a bit impressed. While Lightning was an element that bolstered offensive power and speed and therefore didn't boast much defensive capabilities, the Raijin no Yoroi was still an incredibly powerful set of armor. The fact that Yuuto at his best before obtaining Balance Breaker and Xenovia with Excalibur Destruction were unable to put a dent in Level 1 proved just how powerful it was. But, it also showed just how powerful Kokabiel was to be able to put a crack, no matter how small, in Level 2.

…No, it wasn't only because Kokabiel had much more power than Yuuto or Xenovia. Issei himself was also part of the problem. Had he grown so out of practice that he couldn't manifest Level 2's full power?

Issei grinned. That didn't really matter. This was just too damn fun!

"Futsu-no-Mitama!"

In a flash of light, the sheathed Divine Sword appeared in his hand.

"Again? Who's the opponent this time?" Futsu-no-Mitama sighed, expecting that Issei had brought her out against an unworthy opponent again just to fuck with them.

"Don't worry. This time, the opponent is a Fallen Angel leader. He's not as lacking as previous opponents!" Issei said with a face-splitting grin

"Hey, it's nice that you're having fun and all, but isn't the town in imminent danger or something? Do you have the luxury of taking your time with this fight?"

Futsu-no-Mitama's voice snapped him out of his haze, finally allowing him to calm himself and think properly.

[Boost!]

Issei stared down at Boosted Gear as the sixth Boost activated. That meant 1 minute or more had passed. Which also meant he had less than 9 minutes to defeat Kokabiel and stop the Earth Shatter spell. Futsu-no-Mitama was right, he couldn't afford to waste time. Issei tied the sheath of Futsu-no-Mitama to his waist and clenched his left hand.

"Ddraige, that should be enough. Let's go." Issei said as he dashed out of the hole in the wall.

[Explosion!]

Issei's aura exploded to many times its original size, shocking Kokabiel with its sheer intensity.

"Hahahaha…you damn monster. This aura like this, it really reminds me of being in God's presence.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Do you still want to continue? If you beg for mercy and cancel the Earth Shatter spell, I don't mind letting you go."

"Are…you mocking me? I already said it, even if it's just me, I will start the second Great War and crush Michael and Sirzechs! No one, not even the current Sekiryuutei, will stop my ambitions!" Kokabiel shouted angrily, his aura becoming wilder.

Issei shrugged.

"Your funeral."

Kokabiel lost sight of Issei in an instant and then had his field of vision filled up when Issei suddenly appeared in front of him in the next instant. Then, he was sent flying by a fist to his face, though it felt more like he was being hit by a boulder. Kokabiel felt some of the bones in his face shattering.

Kokabiel forced himself to stop as he went spinning through the air like a discus, breathing erratically as blood leaked from his mouth.

*RIP*

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Kokabiel screamed when he felt his topmost wings being torn off. Blood spurted out of the stumps as he reeled from the shock of two wings.

Kokabiel turned to see Issei holding his torn wings in his hands before they burst into black flames and turned to ashes.

"Won't you just give up already? Now that I'm using Boosted Gear, you no longer have any hope of winning. I'm not into bullying my opponents unless they really piss me off." Issei sighed and shook his head, looking at Kokabiel with an expression reminiscent of the condescendingly contemplative look a human would have when they're in the midst of deciding whether or not to squish an ant on the ground.

"I…am a proud Fallen Angel leader! I will prove that Fallen Angels are the superior race!" Kokabiel shouted, the veins in his temples now becoming visible and pulsing.

Kokabiel flew up into the air and held both hands up. Immediately, a giant spear of light formed in the air above, rapidly expanding as Kokabiel poured all of his power into it. Eventually, it grew so big that it cast a shadow over a good part of the campus. There was no doubt in anyone's minds that if a spear that big detonated, the barrier the Sitri Group was maintaining would be shattered, even with Issei's talismans reinforcing them. Most likely, the entire town would be vaporized even before the Earth Shatter spell activated.

While the Gremory Group started panicking, Issei remained completely calm. If anything, he looked bored as he stared at the giant spear of light towering over him.

"Haaa…guess I just have to crush that."

Issei held a hand over Futsu-no-Mitama's handle and got into a drawing stance, pumping energy into the Divine Sword. The sword started glowing gold, even the sheath.

"Die, Sekiryuutei! Vanish along with the Maous' little sisters!" Kokabiel yelled and heaved the spear.

"Issen ( )!" Issei unsheathed Futsu-no-Mitama and swung the glowing blade in a swift horizontal arc, releasing a massive crescent energy wave that could rival even Kokabiel's spear in size and was clearly superior in power.

As Kokabiel's spear started to move towards Issei, it was quickly consumed and destroyed by Issei's attack that had also diminished from the effort of negating Kokabiel's attack. It slammed into the barrier, causing the entire campus to tremble from the impact but did little more than that.

Shocked at how even his strongest attack had been crushed in an instant, Kokabiel couldn't react when Issei appeared in front of him and slashed him once with Futsu-no-Mitama. Just that one slash was enough. Divine power seeped into Kokabiel's wound and began to interfere with his body, finally causing him to pass out and fall to the ground.

"Hmph, well that was a bit anticlimactic." Issei said as his first real fight in a while ended in an unsatisfying manner. His lightning armor vanished with a crackle and he dismissed Futsu-no-Mitama after sheathing her.

[Reset!]

Ddraige's voice called out and Issei felt the power boost leaving his body, causing him momentary immense fatigue before he recovered.

The giant magic circle carved into the field flashed and vanished, confirming the cancellation of the Earth Shatter spell.

"Now then, what should I do with this guy?" Issei said as he landed and looked down at Kokabiel's unconscious body.

"I guess either your faction or we Devils take him as a prisoner of war…? He did throw the first punch, so it is kinda within our rights." Rias said as she, the rest of the Gremory Group and Xenovia walked up to Issei. Now that the battle was over, the oppressive aura the two combatants had been giving off vanished, allowing them to get to their feet.

"Well, I guess I'm fine with that. You guys take him. I'm not really interested in this."

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that." A new voice interrupted them.

"This voice…! Hmph, I should have known Azazel would send you." Issei said as he looked up at the barrier.

[Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!]

An echoing voice like Ddraige's voice announced and the power of the barrier rapidly diminished, and right after that…

*SHATTER*

…It shattered into countless glass-like fragments, and a flash of light descended down to the ground in front of them, creating yet another crater.

And in the center of the crater, a white-armored figure rose and turned to face them. Everyone, save Issei, turned pale as they realized who it was.

"Hakuryuukou…" Rias whispered as she looked at the counterpart and nemesis of the Sekiryuutei, the owner of the Mid-Tier Longinus Divine Dividing that contained the soul of the other Heavenly Dragon, Albion. The armor he wore must the fabled Scale Mail that was the Balance Breaker for both Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing, though the two obviously possessed slightly different appearances and completely opposite powers.

"Yo, my eternal rival. It's been about three years since we last met, hasn't it?" Isei greeted his nemesis casually.

"Around there, yes." A young male voice echoed from the armor.

"So, did you come here to fight?"

"Sorry, as much I would like to since our last fight was interrupted, Azazel ordered me to retrieve this idiot and to not engage you." The Hakuryuukou said as he lightly kicked Kokabiel's unconscious body.

"I see. Take him then. But give this to Azazel too." Issei said as he flicked a talisman to the Hakuryuukou who caught it between two fingers.

"What's this?"

"A recording of everything Kokabiel said, including his claim of independence from the Grigori. I don't want you guys jumping down our throats because of something one of you idiots did."

"Heh, I'll be sure to give this to him. Too bad though, as unlikely as it is, if the Grigori declared war on the Shinto Faction, we could settle our fight."

"Don't worry. Even without a war between our factions, we will fight one day. It is our fate to clash over and over until one of us falls after all." Issei declared.

"True. Well then, we'll be parting ways here. I'll see you some other time, my eternal rival." Hefting Kokabiel over his shoulder, the Hakuryuukou took to the skies and vanished soon after.

"Issei, you've fought him before?" Rias asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, three years ago, we happened upon each other and started fighting. We destroyed a good part of the surrounding area, and then my grandfather and Azazel interrupted and stopped the fight. I haven't seen him again up until now."

Issei turned around.

"More importantly…"

*BAM*

"Ow!?" Yuuto cried out in pain when Issei struck him over the head.

"That was for acting out on your own. What were you thinking? Your opponent was Excalibur, what if something had happened to you?"

"…"

"Well, whatever, it ended well anyway. You've settled your grudge, and you've obtained Balance Breaker. From now on, our training is going to be a lot harder."

"…Eh?" Yuuto let out a sound of confusion.

"Kiba-san, we can go back to doing clubroom activities together, right?"

"Asia-san?"

"Yuuto."

Yuuto turned to face Rias, who looked at him with a relieved and gentle expression.

"I'm glad you've returned. And obtaining Balance Breaker as well…I'm so proud of you."

"Buchou…Everyone…I betrayed the one who saved my life…words cannot describe how sorry I am…"

"You have returned. That's enough. You mustn't let your comrades down."

"Buchou, I will swear to you once more. I, Kiba Yuuto, swear to protect you, and everyone else for the rest of my life as your Knight."

"Ufufufufu. I'm happy to hear that, however…"

*VOOOOOM*

Power of Destruction coated her hand as she raised it up.

"Yuuto, as punishment for acting on your own, 1000 spankings."

"Eh!?"

Issei chuckled to himself at the sight of Yuuto getting spanked by Rias like a disobedient child. Then, he looked at the destroyed school grounds and sighed.

"Well then, I'd better get started. This mess isn't gonna clean itself up."

---

"…"

"Did you hear me? The Three Factions are having a peace conference soon, and since you were also involved in the Kokabiel Incident, we would like the Shinto Faction to participate too. Well, the time and place haven't been decided yet." Rias repeated, unsure if Issei heard her.

"I heard you. What I'm wondering is why Xenovia is back in town, turned into a Devil and wearing our school uniform."

"I found out God had perished, so I became a Devil as a form of self-abandonment. I received a Knight piece from Rias Gremory…no, I suppose it's master or Buchou now. It seems that while Durandal is powerful, my own power isn't that great, so I only needed that one Evil Piece to reincarnate. I've also transferred into this academy as a 2nd year and a member of the Occult Research Club. Let's get along, Issei-kun!"

"Stop that. That tone doesn't match up with your expression at all. It makes for a disturbing image."

"Hm. I was trying to act more like Irina, but…it appears to be more difficult than I thought."

"By the way, where is Irina? Did she return to the Church?"

"Yeah, she went back with the 5 Excalibur fragments…well 1 fragment and the remnants of 4, as well Balba Galilei's corpse. Well, as long as the cores of the fragments are intact, the swords themselves can be reconstructed through alchemy."

"You gave your Excalibur fragment back to them so easily? No, the better question is, they let you leave with Durandal?"

"Well, unlike Durandal, there are other wielders for Excalibur Destruction, so I had to return it once I got back to headquarters. As for Durandal, since I'm the only wielder, they let me keep it. Well, the higher-ups have been ostracizing me because I found out about God's death, so I decided to take Durandal with me when I left the Church as a bit of payback. Basically, I'm in the situation as Asia Argento now." Xenovia said with a wry look.

"Irina was lucky. Since she couldn't participate in the battle because of her wounds, she didn't hear the truth about God. Her faith is stronger than mine. If she learned the truth, who knows what she would do. Though, because of that, we had a very awkward farewell when I left the Church. There's a good chance we'll be enemies when we next meet." Xenovia finished with a sad look on her face.

"A full report of this incident was sent to Heaven and to the Devils by Azazel. Kokabiel's actions were completely independent of the Grigori. Because he attempted to start another Great War, he was sentenced to eternity frozen in the Cocytus."

So Kokabiel wouldn't be reemerging again. Too bad, Issei liked fighting him.

"Well, it looks like they sent the Hakuryuukou to stop Kokabiel, but you ended defeating him before he arrived. It certainly would have put the Grigori in a slightly better light if Kokabiel was stopped by one of their own."

"Anyway, the peace conference was suggested by Azazel. Apparently, he wishes to apologize for Kokabiel's actions. But, if he's inviting the leaders of the Shinto Faction as well, it's unlikely that's all he wants. It's suspicious that Azazel would apologize to begin with."

Issei agreed. Though he had only met Azazel once, he got the feeling that Azazel had a very strong ego. Not the kind of person who would apologize for the actions his wayward subordinate took without his knowledge.

"Ah, that's right. I have to apologize to Asia Argento as well. Since God is dead, there wouldn't be any love or protection from him. I'm sorry, Asia Argento. Please hit me to your heart's content." Xenovia said with a bow towards Asia, who shook her head.

"No, I don't intend to do that. Xenovia-san, I'm happy with my current life. Even though I became a Devil, I've met very precious people to me. I couldn't be more blessed than I am right now." Asia said with a smile.

Issei smile in relief. Her mental state had been precarious after she had learned of God's death, but it looked like she had recovered.

"…So you and I are the only followers other than the higher-ups who know about God's death. I guess I can't say something like 'divine punishment' to you anymore. A heretic, huh? To think that I, who was once admired for being a natural Holy Sword wielder, am now being branded a heretic. I can't forget how their looks and attitude towards me suddenly changed." Xenovia muttered with a dark look before her expression cleared and she turned around.

"Well then, I'll be leaving. I still have a lot of things to learn before my official transfer here." Xenovia made to leave, but Asia piped up.

"U-Umm…!"

"Hm?"

"Next weekend, I'm going out with my classmates to play. Would you like to join us?"

Xenovia's eyes widened at Asia's invitation and smiled bitterly.

"Another time. I'm not interested this time. But…"

"But…?"

"Next time, could you show me around the school?"

Asia brightened up when she heard Xenovia.

"Yes!"

"I'll swear on my Holy Sword Durandal. I also would like to have a rematch with Hyoudo Issei and Kiba Yuuto."

"I don't mind. I could use the practice."

"Sure, I won't lose next time." Yuuto replied with a strong voice.

Issei glanced at him. Yuuto certainly changed, and he wasn't just talking about his Balance Breaker. His posture was straighter, as though a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. That was true in a sense, since he had finally been freed from his grudge. Issei could tell that Yuuto would now make a better opponent. He was looking forward to their next training session already.

Yuuto glanced at Issei and mouthed 'Thank you'. Issei responded by shaking his head.

'I didn't do much.' Issei mouthed back, though Yuuto clearly didn't think so.

"Well then, I should get going. I need to contact my faction and tell them about the conference."

"Plus, I need to make up for not cooking dinner for Ophis last night."

"Alright, I'll see you at home." Rias nodded and Issei took his leave.

---

"So that's the gist of it." Issei spoke into his cellphone.

"Hmph, beating down a Fallen Angel leader. You certainly don't do things by half, do you, grandson?" His grandfather, the Shinto God of Storms, Susanoo, replied.

"Shut up. Will you be attending or not?"

"Yeah, since we were invited, it'd be bad form to not come."

"I see. I'll inform you of the time and venue once it's been decided."

"Oh and…we'll be coming for classroom visits too."

"Wha-!? How did you-!?"

"Bwahahahaha! It's no use no matter how hard you try to hide it! Gathering information like that is nothing to History Complilation Committee!"

"You…used the Committee for an inane purpose like that?"

"Bwahahaha! Anyway, your parents are busy with work, so we'll be coming in their place! We'll be seeing you soon! Look forward to our visit, grandson of mine!"

*CLICK*

Issei silently cursed as his grandfather hung up. He had been doing his best to hide the date for classroom visits from his grandfather, but it looked like it didn't work this year like it did last year.

"Great…" Issei groaned as he thought of the impending chaos sure to follow.

"…Issei." Ophis called to him.

"Hm?"

"…Dinner."

Ah, that's right. He still had to cook dinner.

"Sorry. I'll get started on it."

Issei stood up and made to go to the kitchen, but he stopped when he felt Ophis's arms wrapping around his waist.

"Ophis…?"

"…Issei, I'm lonely." Ophis said as she pressed her face into his back gently.

Issei smiled and gently removed her hands from his waist. He then turned around and leaned down to kiss her deeply, placing his hands against her back to support her.

The two pulled away, and Issei pressed his forehead against hers.

"Don't worry. The one I love most always has been, is, and always will be you and you alone."

"Mmm…" Ophis hummed as she basked in her lover's warmth.

"…Ophis, will you be attending the conference too?"

"…I guess. At the very least, I should make my affiliation with the Shinto Faction known."

"…I see."

Issei's thoughts drifted to the upcoming peace conference, and its significance to the current state of the world.

"Looks like…the world's status quo is about to be shattered."

---

"So, are the preparations complete?"

"Of course! It's been a while since I've seen Sirzechs, Uncle Michael or Uncle Azazel, so I made sure to put in a lot of effort for this little surprise!"

"Hmph, a peace conference. How foolish, there is no such thing as true peace. Conflict will always exist, endless repeating itself. My very existence is the proof of that."

"Uhyahyahyahya! Come on, don't be such a sourpuss! It's a stupid idea, but it seems like fun, doesn't it?"

"It hardly matters to me. The outcome of this conference does not affect our goal. It simply provides an opportunity for us."

"I see! I see! Well then, let's give the world a nasty little surprise, shall we!?"

---

And this chapter is done. This turned out way longer than I thought, even after skipping over a few parts.

The peace conference, and the true divergence from canon starts next chapter. It'll probably be a long chapter, as long as this one or even longer, so look forward to it.

Well, even though I say, it's going to be a long time before I actually get started on it, since my free time is almost up. As I said before, my updating speed is going to slow down by a lot.

One more thing, I need to know for the next chapter, should I give Issei the ability to use Senjutsu? You know, Naruto style? I'll be putting up a poll on my profile, so please vote.

Just a reminder, the prologue for my new Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance fic is up, so those who are interested, go ahead and check it out.

The next update is the first chapter of the original arc of Dragonberry Chronicles, though I doubt I'll be able to finish it before May 5th, so don't get your hopes up.

That's all. As always, please read and review.