Swordia often trained in the basement of Lovers Mansion while Yuuto and the others were in class. Since she couldn't go to Ginsei Academy with everyone anyway, she figured she might as well spend her time getting as strong as possible.

Of course, that meant that she was there when Lovers Mansion was invaded by Hierophant's Cards. As one of the few people currently in the mansion who is able to properly fight, she was going to go meet the invaders, but she stopped herself.

She felt one of them coming her way. If they were coming to her anyway, her usual training grounds would be a better place to fight than inside the mansion.

It was barely a full minute before Ken appeared to face Swordia, who was already at the ready.

"I trust you're a Card of Hierophant."

"Indeed. My name is Ken, I'm the Knight of Hierophant."

"Swordia, IX of Lovers. Though I have no intention of losing when it comes to swordsmanship."

After that brief introduction, the fight began.

They both dashed towards the other, Devil Swords at the ready.

However, the first strike was simple, merely a clash of the swords. That was just their way of testing if their opponent was worth their effort. They both met the other's expectation.

After that, they both took some distance from each other as they took in a deep breath.

Ken wasn't sure if he could beat Reina and Swordia together, but he had confidence to face each one individually. He knew it was only a matter of time before Reina arrived, so he had to finish this quickly. Though he didn't imagine Neith simply breaking through space to get them into the mansion.

Swordia could feel that there were more invaders in the mansion. Although it seems they are being kept busy, she has no intention of letting them run about the place as they please.

In other words, they both wanted to quickly finish this.

They both dashed towards each other again. Swordia had 2 Devil Swords while Ken only had 1, so she had the advantage when it came to attacking.

However, Ken's Devil Sword had the ability to create barriers around targets. This ability would prove itself more problematic for Swordia than she would expect at first.

For example, when she went to attack him now, he created a spherical barrier around her. The barrier was broken by Husher, Swordia's Devil Sword with the ability to dispel any magic it slashes, but it still disrupted Swordia's attack.

That left her open for Ken, who took the chance to attack. Luckily, Swordia listened to her instincts and jumped back. Thanks to that, the only damage she took was to her clothes and a shallow cut.

Swordia was able to quickly understand the ability of Ken's Devil Sword. All that was left for her to wonder was about Ken's left arm.

In Hierophant's fight against Lost, Ken had lost his left arm. He was currently using his Devil Sword's ability to create a simple arm as a replacement. But what was its purpose? Could he simply have not adapted to his disability yet, or did he have some kind of plan involving that arm?

Time would soon tell. But for now, what Swordia knew for sure is that Husher could neutralize Ken's barriers.

Swordia used magic to enhance her physical abilities. Thanks to her having become Yuuto's Card and having done Healing Lovers with him, her magic circuits and the mana she had to use became much better than normal.

Even though Ken also used magic to enhance himself, Swordia was a level above him. Ken created his barriers, but Swordia was fast enough to escape them before they finished forming.

Swordia got close enough to try an attack of her own. Noticing he couldn't dodge, Ken created a barrier around himself to parry her attack. However, Swordia was currently strong enough to break through that barrier and still deal damage to Ken.

Because of the way the barrier was angled, Ken was able to avoid a lot of the damage, but he still got a reasonably deep cut.

And Swordia wasn't done yet. Barely giving Ken any time to recover, she went for the attack again. This time, she would attack with Husher rather than Imperator, since she knew Husher would cut through the barriers like buller.

That was the chance Ken had been waiting for. He could clearly identify which Devil Sword was which now.

Using his left arm, he created a barrier perfectly around Husher, having its base connected to Swordia's wrist. She was going too fast to stop her attack, so Ken still got hit pretty bad. But, considering how it could have been, it could be said he got off easy.

What mattered was that Husher was effectively sealed. It could no longer slash any magic because of the barrier around it, and Swordia couldn't even let go because the barrier was connected to her wrist.

The solution for that seemed simple, use Imperator, her other Devil Sword, to take control of the barrier and dispel it.

Since it was a simple solution, even Ken could see it.

"I won't allow it!"

It was a simple parry, but Ken was able to remove Imperator from Swordia's hand, throwing it on the ground.

She expected something to that effect, which is why, as soon as she lost her sword, she tried punching Ken's face at the same time. Such a thing would have been unthinkable for Swordia a while back, but she and everyone else had been training with Miyako recently, so she was confident she could at least throw a punch.

Because of how unexpected it was, Ken took that punch to the face. He spat out blood, but there wasn't much more damage thanks to his enhanced resistance.

He responded to the punch with a headbutt. Swordia's nose started bleeding and she unconsciously took a step back.

Ken couldn't lose this chance to end this fight. But, just as he was about to attack Swordia, she made use of her smaller size and the barrier covering Husher to deflect his attack so she could slip out from him. Her objective was to grab Imperator.

Ken predicted her trajectory and attacked where she would have to be. It was a stupid plan that made her turn her back to the enemy. But Ken didn't notice the reason that allowed Swordia to act on such a stupid plan.

"Thunder desu!"

Lighting magic flew past Ken, blocking his attack on Swordia. She was able to grab Imperator and unseal Husher.

"Are you alright desu?"

"Yeah. It's just a nosebleed, but I should probably get it fixed."

Swordia used… some magic Ken didn't recognize. A few seconds after, her wounds healed as if they had never been there.

… Was that Rinne's Characteristic Magic? Has its range been expanded with Yuuto's Healing Lovers? How about its effectiveness? Those were the questions going through Ken's mind.

Swordia was already proving herself a formidable adversary, and now Reina had arrived earlier than expected, putting Ken in the most disadvantageous situation for him. Furthermore, there was also this healing now, which undid all his progress so far. Things seemed dire for Ken.

Still, he had hopes of winning, so long as he spared no effort. Since he hadn't gotten the signal to retreat yet, he decided to take things a bit further.

"My full name is Ken Belial Hiraizumi. I am a descendant of Devil King Belial, and I will now fight to honor my name."

It was as if the atmosphere itself changed. A cold sweat ran down both Swordia and Reina's spine.

Devil King Belial was an old Devil King, from such a long time ago that most of what remained of him were legends. It was for that exact reason that both Swordia and Reina froze on the spot.

Devil King Belial was known for his ability with Devil Swords. His legend says that he is the only living being to have ever owned all Devil Swords, and some legends even say he created them all. Whatever the truth, one thing was certain, he was a swordsman like no other.

What Ken used was the Hiraizumis' Bloodline Magic, Root Return. It allowed those who have special bloodlines, like Ken, to draw out even more power from their blood.

As soon as Ken's eyes landed on the girls, both Reina and Swordia instinctively got on guard. Everything was telling them that running away was impossible, so they would have to fight to the best of their abilities if they wanted to survive.

Even with Swordia and Reina enhancing themselves to the best of their abilities with Healing Lovers' more efficient mana, they were still only barely able to match Ken now that he was using the power of his bloodline.

It was 3 Devil Swords against 1. The results seemed obvious, but not on the way one would expect.

"Stand down."

Reina and Swordia let go of their weapons as if their weight suddenly grew immensely. It's not that they were made to follow Ken's words, it was their Devil Swords that obeyed him.

Ken didn't want to miss this chance, so he tried a horizontal slash to get rid of both swordswomen. However, both Reina and Swordia followed their instincts. They combined their forces to create a single Barricade.

Their combined Barricade held on and defended against the attack, only forcing the girls back a few steps. Ken quickly closed that distance again and tried the same attack for a second time.

It didn't seem like that same attack could break through the Barricade, and even if it did, it wouldn't damage either Swordia or Reina. Yet, they both felt something was wrong, so they both jumped out of the way.

A second after, although the Barricade remained standing, the wall behind where Swordia and Reina just were was cut. No, to be more accurate, everything behind the Barricade was cut.

"His Devil Sword can cut regardless of distance desu?"

"No, that wasn't its ability before… but it is now, right?"

"Correct. I can command any Devil Sword, and I can also bestow any single ability to my Devil Sword. That is the power of Devil King Belial's bloodline."

Ken knew better than to reveal his hand like some cheap villain, but at the same time, he was having fun. It ended up slipping from him.

Besides, even if they knew what his Bloodline Magic allowed him to do, there was nothing they could do about it. It didn't seem like they could win.

Admitting to that, Reina and Swordia looked and nodded to each other. Then, at the same time, they both activated a certain magic.

It wasn't a magic Ken recognized, and, although he could tell it had been activated, there wasn't any noticeable effect from his point of view. But that's fine, it's not like it was an attack. The spell had already done what it had to.

But that didn't mean that they would give up. Reina prepared to launch a few Figas at Ken, while Swordia closed in for close quarter combat. Neither of them were using their preferred method of combat, but they had to hold out for as long as they could.

Because of Reina's magic barrage, Ken was forced to switch his sword's ability back to creating barriers. Swordia managed to slip in and tried to take Ken's Devil Sword from him.

While she wasn't able to take his sword, she at least created an opening, which Reina took. With her physical abilities enhanced by magic, Reina struck Ken's back as hard as she could.

"Gah!"

Because of the unexpectedly hard hit, Ken'd grip loosened for a second, which was enough for Swordia to take his Devil Sword from him.

Ken desperately tried to back out, but Swordia kept following him and trying to attack, and Reina gave her support by cutting Ken's routes off. He was eventually forced to take his sword back.

"To me."

The Devil Sword flew out of Swordia's hands and onto Ken's. At that same moment, Reina threw Husher and Imperator to Swordia, as well as picked up her own Pon-chan.

Yes, only 1 of Ken's orders can be active at once. When he recalled his sword, he also freed Reina and Swordia's.

But…

"Stand down."

With his sword already in his hand, there was no reason why Ken wouldn't reapply his previous order, making Swordia and Reina once again lose their weapons.

All Reina and Swordia could do about it was smile wirily at each other. It seems that they would be forced to hold their own until help came, if it ever did.

That said, not everything was lost. He wasn't showing it, but Ken was starting to feel the effects of using his Root Return. If he didn't end this soon, he wouldn't be able to fight properly.

Although both sides would continue to fight until they couldn't anymore, it could be said that, at this moment, the battle had already ended in a draw. The only difference is that its participants would keep each other busy for a while longer.