Currently, the Gremory group and the two Excalibur-wielding exorcists were standing at the courtyard behind the old school building.
"I want to confirm something first before we begin", Xenovia said with her sword ready by her side. "This match is simply a private duel that doesn't concern the church. We don't have any intentions to escalate things to be higher than this. Do you people recognise that fact?" the girl asked towards Rias Gremory in particular.
The Gremory heiress did not seem please about this idea, but knowing her knight, she could not do anything to change his mind.
Right after the knight introduced himself as their 'senior' in the clubroom, Rias knew that Yuuto would not simply just let go the two Excalibur wielders without any attempt to destroy the sword. Besides, she could not just let go the exorcist that just threatened one of her beloved servants away just like that. Thus, they decided to bring this outside into a duel in order to at least let the knight to blow off some steam.
Even Rias had ordered Akeno to erect a barrier to prevent any outside interference. All she could do was to make sure that there would be no casualties from this match.
"Yes."
Xenovia nodded at the confirmation. "Very well then, I shall test the power of Rias Gremory's servants, Saitama-dono's son, and our so-called senior", Xenovia said as she readied her fighting stance.
"Ise, Yuuto! Although it's just a match, be really careful of the holy swords!" Rias commanded.
Issei only nodded calmly, while Yuuto did not seem to hear his master's command at all. Instead, the knight chuckled after a moment.
"What's so funny?" Xenovia asked when she heard Yuuto's chuckling.
"No, no…" Yuuto replied as he tried to calm himself. "It's just that I'm so happy, the thing that I wanted to destroy so bad has finally appeared right in front of my eyes…" the knight finished with so much killing intent leaking from his body.
"The power you showed us earlier… 'Sword Birth', huh? A Sacred Gear that allows its possessor to create demonic swords through imagination alone. It's quite unique among the demonic-sword related Sacred Gears…" Xenovia commented. "I heard there was a test subject that managed to survive from being disposed of by the Holy Sword Project. Could it be you?"
Yuuto did not do reply anything as his killing intent increased even more, instead.
Issei who was right beside him could not help but furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "This guy's gonna loose it…"
Issei in fact, was inclined to stop Yuuto as well when the duel was proposed. However, he did not know Yuuto's feeling and about his loss in the past. He did ever experience loosing someone, however, thanks to his master that someone managed to stay with him, unlike Yuuto's case. So what right did he have to stop the vengeful knight? All Issei could do for now was to make sure that no irreversible damage would be done by the end of the match.
"Ise-kun." Issei turned his attention towards his childhood friend in front of him. "It was truly a shock for me to see you became a devil after 10 years apart from each other…"
"Yeah… Actually, I was kind of shocked as well that after that 10 years, you became someone who would bad-mouthing someone like Asia…" Issei replied with monotone.
"Not to mention, she's willing to wear that kind of suit?" Issei thought commenting at the black tight body-suit on Irina's body. "Is that really made by the church? The way it shows their curves instead of covering them is quite-"
[Focus, partner…]
"Right, sorry", Issei shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dammit… Day by day I've become closer to those two idiots…" Issei focused back on Irina, who was still rambling despite his reply earlier.
"When I was chosen to wield the Excalibur, I thought that I finally would be able to serve as the Lord's representative! But alas, I found my dear friend had turned into my enemy! Such a cruel destiny! I'm sure that this is one of the Lord's trial!" Irina said with a praying pose, followed by waving her hands around, as if she was in some kind of play.
Issei only blinked at the sight. He could swear that, for a second, he saw sparkles and flowers were coming out of nowhere around Irina's body when she spoke.
"However! By overcoming this trial, I'll move one step closer towards the true faith! Come, Ise-kun! I shall judge your sins with this Excalibur! Amen!" Irina finished with pointing her sword towards the pawn.
Issei's eyes were twitching as he sweat-dropped. "Oh man… What the hell did the church put in that head of hers?"
[I suggest that you stay away from this girl for a while, partner. I think this girl is the type that is difficult to deal with] even Ddraig was taken aback by Irina's passion.
"…(Sigh), whatever. Let's get this done and over with!" Issei said as he summoned his Boosted Gear.
[DRAGON BOOSTER]
Both exorcists widened their eyes at the sight of Issei's red gauntlet. Xenovia and Irina did not expect to see a god-slaying artefact upon their arrival on Japan.
"A Longinus…"
"Isn't that a mid-tier Longinus, the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, the Boosted Gear? To find it at such a place…"
However, Yuuto quickly started himself as he lunged towards Xenovia. "You won't escape with just wounds if your attention was too focused on Issei-kun!"
Xenovia quickly returned her attention back on the duel as she quickly clashed her holy sword with Yuuto's demonic sword.
"I see… Sword Birth, Boosted Gear, and Twilight Healing. Those Sacred Gears are viewed as heretics for us the church. One could say it's inevitable for you guys to turn into devils…" Xenovia said as she broke away from Yuuto.
"My power is also the power made from the hatred of my comrades! Comrades that were killed while they were still full of regrets! I'll crush the Excalibur with this power!" Yuuto gathered his power again as he readied himself for another attack.
Meanwhile, Irina had also started her own duel with her childhood friend.
"Here I come, Ise-kun!"
As Irina lunged at him, Issei simply kept calm and he dodged Irina's attacks without much trouble. "Let's see what she got for now, shall we?" Issei thought to himself as he just evaded another slash from Excalibur Mimic.
While still dodging, evading, and parrying Irina's strikes, Issei still managed to take few glances at the match between Yuuto and Xenovia. So far, the latter was on the lead as she just shattered Yuuto's Holy Eraser.
"Tch, I guess this won't do after all…!" Yuuto admitted begrudgingly. Then, he summoned a pair of flaming and ice swords. "Burn up! Freeze! Flare Brand, Freeze Mist!"
As Yuuto swung his swords at Xenovia, the latter dodged them without too much effort. "Fast movements from the knight's trait and combination of demonic swords of fire and ice, eh? Naïve!"
Xenovia raised her Excalibur Destruction and she swung it down, crushing Yuuto's dual swords effortlessly and creating an explosion when the holy sword connected to the ground.
Yuuto clicked his tongue as he was forced to leap back to avoid the blast. Xenovia simply smirked at her handiwork. "The word 'destruction' that follows after the name of my Excalibur implies its properties. The sword is an incarnation of destruction itself, there's nothing that this sword can't break."
Yuuto forced a grin as he wiped a few dust and dirt from his face due to the blast. "Even if it's not the true Excalibur, this destructive power… I guess destroying all seven of these swords will be a path of carnage, after all…"
Issei, whose match with Irina was paused for a moment when the both combatants' attention was diverted to the explosion, could not help but feel impressed. "Such power… And there are still another six on that level, and Kiba wants to destroy them all? Damn it, dude… Just what had you gotten yourself into?"
"Don't look away, Ise-kun!" Issei's eyes quickly widened and he suddenly crouched and ducked just when Irina's sword was about to reach his neck. "Shall we finish on our side?"
Issei remained indifferent as he agreed inwardly. "These holy swords are really bad news. I got to end this now."
"Yeah, let's finish this, Irina-chan…" Still remained in his crouching position after avoiding the previous slash, Issei clenched his fist.
What happened afterwards was not quite clear for Irina herself.
Shidou Irina was a talented fighter. Being offered to be an exorcist to serve the Lord who she put her faith in so much, Irina had shown a remarkable aptitude to wield one of seven Excalibur fragments. Trained by one of the church's finest sword-masters, Irina had been strong enough to fight toe-to-toe against forces that ordinary humans cannot cope with.
However, despite all of that, Shidou Irina was still a human.
Compared with Hyoudou Issei, who had tampered his body with gruesome physical training for seven years, not to mention his body had been enhanced further by evil pieces, Irina was basically weaker than him.
As soon as Irina had attempted to launch another strike with her holy sword, Issei had lunged faster towards her and planted his right fist on her abdomen, forcing the air out of her body, sending her away until she crashed into a tree.
Xenovia, who did not expect to see her partner to be knocked away, widened her eyes in worry as her attention was diverted for a second from her own opponent.
"Irina!" Xenovia shouted at her partner, whom was lying face-down on the ground with her holy sword sprawled beside her.
"Where are you looking at!?" at this shout, Xenovia quickly came back to face Yuuto, who summoned a large bastard sword. "Let's finish this as well! We'll see whether my demonic sword or your holy sword that has greater destructive power!"
Issei, who just finished his duel with his childhood friend, could not help but clicked his tongue at Yuuto's poor choice of swords. The same thought was shared with Xenovia as well.
Upon seeing Yuuto had difficulty to move his sword properly due to his knight traits, Xenovia simply came directly to him. Yuuto mustered all his strength as he swung down his sword.
"Unfortunately…" Xenovia said it coolly as she easily crushed Yuuto's sword with her Excalibur. "That's a wrong choice you've made."
Having his sword broken, Yuuto was slightly pushed away from the force of Xenovia's own sword. Seeing the former's body stumbled away, the latter had prepared her own finishing blow.
However, right before she could have implemented her own blow, suddenly Xenovia sensed something fast was coming from her side. Instinctively raising up her sword in guard, Xenovia found a fist clad in red gauntlet was making a contact with the blade of her sword.
CLANG! KHINNN….
Issei's left fist managed to knock Xenovia away as the latter was skidding back on the ground. When she finally stopped, Xenovia's sword and body were trembling from the shock coming from Issei's punch. It took a minute for her to finally seize the vibration on her sword.
"What a power…! Is this the power of Saitama-dono's son… The Red Dragon Emperor?" Xenovia muttered as she gritted her teeth as she glared at Issei, who was looking at his gauntlet. The blue-haired girl's eyes were widened when she caught a white aura was coating the pawn's body.
"A touki…! I see… I guess it's not that surprising about his strength…"
Issei noticed there was a bit smoke coming out from his fist, right after his fist connected with the holy blade. Not to mention, during his fight with Irina, particularly when he had to parry Irina's sword with his gauntlet, Issei felt like his skin under his gauntlet was burned when the holy sword made contact with the Boosted Gear.
[That's the effect of the holy attribute of the Excalibur, partner. Thanks to your devil-hood, even my armour won't be able to protect you completely from the flare of the holy aura]
Issei took in Ddraig's advice as he made a mental note that he needed to look into this issue later.
"What are you doing, Ise-kun?" Yuuto asked Issei as if he did not need his help from the first place.
"You're welcome", Issei simply replied as he took a glance at Yuuto with sharp gaze, as if he was reprimanding or warning the knight, before he returned his gaze at Xenovia, who just recovered. "That's enough for this duel, don't you think?"
Xenovia only lowered her sword and nodded in reply. Even Yuuto himself could not help but slumped to the ground in defeat, begrudgingly admitting that he would have lost had Issei not interfered.
Issei then walked towards Irina to check up on her. The said girl was trying to stand up, while holding her sword with her left hand as support and her right hand holding down her hurting stomach as she inhaled and exhaled to ease the pain.
"Irina-chan, are you… Well, I know it's stupid to ask, but are you okay there? Can you still walk on your own?" Issei asked as he offered his hand.
Irina smiled weakly as she finally managed to get on her feet, and she held her hand up politely. "I'm fine, Ise-kun… That's a nice punch, I admit."
"Hehe, yeah… Your swordsmanship was pretty good too", Issei complimented back.
"Irina, are you badly injured?" Xenovia came over to support her partner.
"Yeah… I'm fine, Xenovia. My stomach still hurts so much, but I'll be fine soon", Irina said as she kept massaging her tummy.
"I see… I guess this time it's your win…" Xenovia turned to Issei as she brought Irina's arm around her shoulder. "However, let me say this one thing", she turned to Yuuto who was still kneeling on the ground. "Knight of Gremory, your weapons are those varied demonic swords and that swift speed of yours. When you summoned that huge sword, you've just sealed your own abilities as you don't have enough muscle strength to back it up. You shouldn't have seek for destructive power in the first place."
Xenovia packed her sword back as she was still supporting Irina. She then turned to Rias Gremory, who had approached them with the other devils when the duel had been settled.
"I'll be counting on you regarding our discussion we had earlier", Xenovia said as she turned to walk away with Irina.
Irina took another glance at Issei before she left. "Ise-kun… Next time, I won't loose. I'll always be available whenever you ever feel like being judged. Amen", the girl said with a cheerful smile despite her current state.
Issei only scoffed in amusement as he smiled back and waved his hand.
"Ah, one more thing", this time Xenovia stopped before she turned to glance one more time to Issei. "Consider this the reward for your victory. The Vanishing Dragon has already awoken. You may be strong, but you'd better be careful when you meet him one day. There are rumours that the current White Dragon Emperor is much stronger than his predecessors."
And with that, the two exorcists left the Occult Research Club and the school ground, leaving everyone, especially Issei, with the thought about the other heavenly dragon.
X
After the two exorcists had left, Issei put his thought about the Vanishing Dragon and dismissed his Boosted Gear. Upon revealing his forearm, he spotted few blisters and burned marks on his skin. While the gauntlet had prevented the worse damage on his person, the holy aura from Excalibur could still slip through the armour and burned his skin in result.
Asia who got the sight of Issei's left hand quickly covered Issei's hand with both of her own and her Twilight Healing was put into work immediately.
"It's okay, Asia. I'm fine", Issei tried to refuse Asia's healing, though he appreciated it.
"No, let me do at least this, Ise-san…" Asia smiled in kind. "You've spoken up for my sake. This is the only thing I can do to thank you…"
Seeing the girl's blushing face, Issei smiled back as he patted Asia's head. "Thanks, Asia… Besides, that's what friends for, after all…" Issei said as he felt that the burn started to ease up.
"Hold it, Yuuto!"
Issei and Asia turned their heads to see Rias was trying to stop her knight from leaving. "I won't forgive you if you leave me! You're the knight of Gremory household! You'll cause trouble for everyone if you were gone!"
Yuuto remained silent before he tried to pry off his king's hand off him. "I was able to escape thanks to my comrades. As a result, I put all of their regrets in my demonic swords…" Yuuto finished as he finally walked off and disappeared from everyone's sight.
Rias who could not stop her knight only grimaced with worried expression as she put her hand over her chest. "Why did things turn out like this…? Yuuto…"
Two days had past, and there were still no news about the disappearing knight of Gremory. Issei who had been giving some thought about the matters at hand, had decided his next course of action as he wandered around the town after school.
After walking for a while, he finally arrived at the local park, where there were no much people around. He stopped on his tracks, turned around, and he saw Koneko who was already standing before him.
"What are you doing, Koneko-chan? Shouldn't you be with Rias-buchou and the others in the clubroom?"
"I can ask the same thing to you, Ise-senpai…" Koneko replied with indifference. "What are you plotting?"
"Well…" Issei looked around. "Just looking for a change of atmosphere while I'm figuring something out about the recent situation…"
"Is this about Yuuto-senpai?" Koneko asked.
"So you already can tell this much…" Issei snorted as he smiled and ruffled through his hair. "Were you ordered to follow me?"
Koneko shook her head. It means that she was following the pawn on her own volition.
"Okay then… But before we talk more…" Issei took a glance at the tree not far from them. Koneko's eyes also darted following the direction where Issei was staring at. "Let's take care of another person stalking us first, shall we?"
As if Issei's voice could be heard, suddenly a shadow burst out from the said tree and Issei quickly used his hands to gesture Koneko to give a chase for now, as the pawn would take a detour to block their stalker escape route.
Koneko nodded in understanding and she quickly ran after the person who was stalking them earlier. Despite being a rook, thanks to the training camp she had before the rating game against Riser Phenex, she could run fast enough to keep up with the target.
The said target was slightly surprised at his pursuer, picked up his speed when he suddenly stopped when a familiar figure was already standing in front of him just when he was about to get out from the park. The said figure had a brown hair and was folding his arm with a smile plastered on his face.
"Yo, Saji… Mind telling me what is the student council secretary doing here?" asked Issei, who was blocking the now identified stalker as the student council secretary, Saji Genshirou.
Saji clicked his tongue as he found himself being surrounded from two directions. And without a way to escape the Gremory pawn and rook, the Sitri pawn replied, "Well, I just spotted you suddenly waltzed out from the school while you're supposed to go to your club, followed by Toujou-san here. I was simply following you guys out of suspicion."
Issei remained silent for a second. "How much did you hear?"
"Not much. But enough for me to report to kaichou that you guys are plotting something behind your master's back."
Issei gave Koneko a look, which the latter nodded in agreement. Then Issei turned at Saji again.
"Sorry, pal. But we'll have you to keep us company for a bit longer…"
"Make me!" Saji replied back with challenging tone as he put up his fighting stance.
(Scene break)
"Dammit, let me go!" Saji said as he was struggling to break free from Issei and Koneko's grasp.
The Sitri pawn's position was, his body was laid on the ground, while both of his legs were held by the two Gremory devils. Issei was holding Saji's right leg and Koneko holding the left one. The owner of the legs was crawling his way out futilely.
Ignoring Saji's plea and complaints, Issei kept his conversation with Koneko.
"Well, if you want to out of this, now's the chance. As long as you keep this from everyone else."
Issei's plan was basically to contact the two Excalibur-wielding exorcists and asking them permission to destroy one of the Excalibur swords. Of course, Koneko and Saji were surprised at this. Saji immediately wanted to run away, but was immediately stopped by Issei and Koneko.
"Buchou will definitely oppose this idea, but I will help. This is for Yuuto-senpai's sake, after all", Koneko replied resolutely.
Issei's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly despite the danger he was bringing his junior into. "I appreciate your help, but while this negotiation might succeed, there's also a chance where the negotiation will fail as well. The worst-case scenario, we'll have to fight those two by ourselves and worsen the relationship between the church and the devils. Are you sure you still want to cope up with me?"
"No! I don't want to be part of this stupid idea! Let me go, goddammit!" Saji voiced his complaints, but was still ignored.
"I won't run away, for the sake of our comrades", was all Koneko reply as her eyes became more resolved than before.
"Thanks, Koneko-chan… Really, thanks…", Issei said as he smiled in content, which Koneko returned back as well with her small smile.
"I said wait, dammit!" Issei and Koneko turned their heads towards Saji again. "Why should I help in the first place!? I have no reason to help you guys! I'd get killed by my master, the student council president!"
"Come on now, Saji… You're not the only one in a tight position, you know? We also don't want to be found out by our master as well…" Issei said nonchalantly.
"Fuck you, Hyoudou! Your master, Rias Gremory, is serious, yet gentle! My master is serious, yet only serious! She'll kill me! And it's gonna be a torture, I tell you!" Saji wailed out as he imagined the stern expression of Sona Sitri that terrifies him so much. "Please man, just let me go! I ain't gonna tell a soul about what you're trying to do!"
Having enough of Saji's complaint, Issei and Koneko pulled Saji up from the ground and the Red Dragon Emperor held the student council secretary firmly on his collars. "You know what? If we let you go now, there's still a chance that you might slip out some details before a sharp person like kaichou. And if kaichou knows about this, she'll definitely tell our master as well, which we're trying to avoid now", Issei said with stern glare, then a smirk came up on his face.
"Besides, considering that you also went out of the school while you're supposed to be helping in student council, I think that alone has already warranted your punishment from your master."
Then, his eyes darted to Koneko. "One more thing, what will everyone say, if they knew that a student council member was stalking a girl, the school's mascot of all people?" Issei said as his smirk widened a bit.
Koneko only snorted as she sent a slight dirty look at both boys. She did not like being used as an excuse or black mail material, but the situation demanded. Besides, Issei had a point about Saji following behind her in the first place.
"Kuh…! How dirty…!" Saji hissed out.
"Well… In the end, you're staying with us, whether you like it or not. However, if you comply without a fight, we'll let you go at one point. Probably…" Issei said in finality.
Saji grimaced for a minute, then he sighed as he stopped resisting. "Fine, I'm in. Happy?" Saji agreed begrudgingly as he muttered something about being killed and already dead.
"Now that's the spirit!" Issei said in satisfaction as he patted Saji's shoulders. "Now, I think we can start from the downtown or shopping district. If those two exorcists did not change their outfits, it shouldn't be hard to spot them among other people", Issei addressed his two accomplices, marking the start of their search.
X
The search was disturbingly very easy. After few minutes of walking, Issei and his gang had found Irina and Xenovia were asking for charity from the people around. Their white robes made them sticking out like sore thumbs among the crowds.
People passed as they were looking at the two with weird gazes, parents were hushing their children from looking at them, only few of the people who were kind enough to even bother to drop one or two yens in the charity box.
"Um… Please help the lost lambs of the Lord!" Xenovia pleaded with dry, yet nervous expression.
"Please give us your charity in behalf of our Father in Heaven!" Irina said with teary eyed and her hands clasped together in prayer, presumably out of desperation.
The three devils that were watching them had different reaction on each of them. Saji's eyes were twitching, Koneko remained indifferent while Issei could not help but feel amused at the sight.
"Seriously, just what the hell? Hyoudou, you better go now! I feel even nervous myself just looking at them…" Saji whispered.
"Hush! This is way too funny to miss. Quick, someone give me a video camera! Do any of you have a video camera? This isn't something you can see everyday!" Issei replied with unconscious enthusiasm as he kept his amused expression.
Koneko on the other hand, only sighed at the boys' antics as the three kept watching for the time being.
"Any small amount will be appreciated and remembered by the Lord in Heaven!"
"What's with this? So is this the reality of Japan's giant economy? I never like countries that don't have a single whiff of our faith to begin with", Xenovia complained with almost empty charity box on her hands.
"Don't be so harsh, Xenovia…" Irina replied with sad expression. "We're out of both travelling expenses and food. These pagans aren't showing any mercy, even when we're resorting to this, you know? Aah… How pitiful we are, we can't even buy a single loaf of bread!"
Xenovia only scoffed at Irina's reply. "Hmph, isn't that because you bought that fake painting?" Xenovia pointed her finger at a painting of an old man near them.
"What are you saying!? This is a painting of a saint! The person at the exhibition told me so!" Irina shot back while hugging the painting.
"Fine. Then tell me, who's this?" Xenovia asked about the person in the painting.
"I think it's… St. Peter?"
"Don't be ridiculous! This is not St. Peter!"
"No, it's definitely him! I'm sure that much!"
"Haahh… Why must I have this one as my partner…? Oh, God… Is this another one of my trials?" Xenovia complaining about Irina with exasperated sigh, as she ruffled through her hair. Then she returned to berate her partner.
"Because of this, the Protestants' concept of values differ from those of us Catholics! Show more respects towards the saints!"
Irina shot back at this. "What?! It's you Catholics who are still bounded to old laws!"
"What did you say, you damned heretic!?"
"What, you heretic!?"
GROOOWL….
The quarrel between the two exorcists was put to stop by the sound of their hungry stomachs as both of them slumped to their knees.
"Oi, Hyoudou…"
Meanwhile, on the three devils side, Saji started to feel that he had seen enough called out to Issei, who was still watching with amused looks. Even Koneko also had started to tug on his uniform.
"No, no. Come on, just a bit longer", Issei simply replied as he kept watching.
Back to the exorcists…
"Anyway, let's fill our stomachs for now, otherwise we'll never get back the Excalibur swords…" Xenovia said first.
"You are right. Should we try to rob the pagans' money here? I think God would forgive us about it…" Irina replied with her suggestion.
Then, as if finding the idea appealing, both exorcists showed mischievous smirks on their faces.
"I'd say we raid a temple."
"Yeah, and loot out the money box… But wait", Irina thought of something. "We can't do that. The last thing we need is dealing with the policemen."
"Uhm… Let's drop it, then", Xenovia agreed. "Oh, then how about putting up a street performance with our swords to gain funds?"
"Yes, that's more like it! We can cut fruits for attraction!"
"Well, we don't even have any fruits to begin with, so let's cut this painting instead", Xenovia raised her blade at the painting Irina just bought.
"No, you can't do that!" Irina protested as she hugged her painting again.
"Fine! Then let's find the merchant who sold this fake painting, and get your money back!"
"I told you, it's not a fake! It's a real painting of St. Paul!"
"Aha! I knew it! So it's not St. Peter, after all!"
As the two exorcists returned to their bickering, Koneko finally had enough as she tugged Issei's uniform even harder, and when the said pawn turned to look at the rook, the latter gave him a serious look that wanted no more games.
"Alright, alright", Issei finally conceded and he walked over towards the exorcists. "What are you two idiots doing here?"
X
"Delicious! Japanese food is so delicious!"
"Indeed, it is! The taste of my homeland!"
Currently, Issei, Koneko and Saji, along with the two female exorcists were sitting inside of nearby family restaurant. The three devils only ordered drinks while they were watching the two exorcists wolfed down large amounts of food hungrily.
After all the food had been finished, Xenovia wiped her mouth and she let out a sigh. "Although it's for the sake of carrying out our missions… But to sell our souls to devils like this…"
"Gee, you're welcome…" Issei replied with sarcastic tone. After all, the food had been bought by his money.
"Thank you for the meal! Oh Lord, please bless this kind devils for treating us!" Irina prayed out loud as she held her cross.
As the result, Saji and Koneko winced in pain as they grabbed their heads, while Issei only twitched his eyes from the headache and cleared his throat in warning.
"Oops, sorry. It's already my habit", Irina smiled sheepishly while sticking her tongue out.
"So, what do you want from us?" Xenovia asked.
The three devils regained their composure at the question. "First of all, you said that your mission is to at least prevent the holy swords to fall to the wrong hands, correct?" Xenovia nodded at the question.
"Then I won't beat around the bush. I'd like you to let us to destroy at least one of those swords."
At this question, the two exorcists glanced at each other, and when Irina was about to voice her answer, she was beaten first by Xenovia.
"I guess it's fine, if you really are able to destroy it, that is…" Xenovia replied.
Issei raised his eyebrows at the unexpected affirmation from the blue-haired exorcist, while Irina was gawking at her partner.
"However…" Xenovia continued, "Please don't blow your cover. We don't want to be suspected to have relationships with devils, after all."
"Wait, Xenovia! I know it's Ise-kun and all, but we're talking to devils, you know?" Irina voiced her disagreement as she rose up from her seat.
"Just be honest, Irina… This mission is way too hard for the two of us alone", Xenovia said her reasoning.
"I know that, but still…!"
Xenovia interrupted Irina's argument, "At the very least, we'll just have to destroy the three Excalibur swords and return to headquarters", Xenovia took a glance at her Excalibur Destruction. "And even if our holy swords are seized, we could still try to destroy them with our bare hands. Then, if we use our last resort, our probability of returning safely is about 30%, which is practically suicide."
"You should have known that all along, Xenovia. That is not the thought process of us, believers of the Lord", Irina scoffed at Xenovia's reasoning.
"Then I've changed my mind. My faith is flexible, and it can adapt to the best case whenever necessary."
At Xenovia's words, Irina furrowed her eyebrows. "You know, I always think that your faith is strange…"
"I don't mind about that. I do believe that accomplishing the mission and coming back safely is another way to prove our faith…" Xenovia replied, did not mind about Irina's comment about her. "Survive, and keep fighting for the God's sake, am I wrong?"
"Well, you're not… But…" Irina started to have a second thought.
"Besides, we are here not borrowing the devil's power…" Xenovia turned to look at Issei. "We're here to borrow the power of a dragon."
Irina and Issei's eyes widened at Xenovia this time.
"According to the legend, the dragon can be as powerful as a demon king, correct? I believe that this meeting is also a sign from God", Xenovia continued her reasoning.
"W-well… It should be fine if we're borrowing the power of a dragon, but no! It's sophistry! Seriously, your faith is really strange!" Irina could not help but felt incredulous at her partner's idea.
"Come on now, Irina. Aren't we talking about your old friend here? Why don't you trust him for once?" Xenovia asked her partner.
Irina could not come up with a come back anymore. "Well… I guess so…"
"Besides…" Irina's eyes turned to Xenovia, who returned her gaze once again at Issei. "If it's Saitama-dono's son… I guess I can trust him as well…"
Issei smiled at Xenovia's whole reasoning. "Well, then it's settled. I'll lend you my dragon's power. Let me call another person for this plan", Issei said as he took out his cellphone and made a call to someone.
X
"Okay, Kiba has agreed and he's on his way here. So…" Issei said after he had invited Kiba Yuuto for his plan for the day. "While we're waiting for him, I'd like to ask you girls something… Irina, and err… Xenorita", Issei asked with his hands clasped together in Ikari Gendo-style with his face stayed casual, despite he just mispronounced one of the girls' names.
Xenovia's eyes twitched at the mispronunciation. If it were not for the treatment and the food, the girl would have lashed out with her holy sword around. "It's Xenovia! Seriously, you really are your father's son…" Xenovia retorted with a slight growl.
Irina only giggled at the name while the other two devils sweat-dropped.
"Actually, Ise-kun… That name you just called her was exactly the same that Saitama-san mispronounced her name once before…" Irina quipped in.
"Oh… Right, sorry. And yeah, about my dad… How did you two know him? And what's he doing in England, anyway?" Issei asked after blinking twice.
Saji, who sensed something sensitive about the topic, leaned his head to whisper beside Koneko's ear. "Say, Toujou-san… What's the deal with Hyoudou's dad?"
"Ise-senpai's father has been travelling since long ago, and senpai plans to look for him after graduating high-school", Koneko replied while looking at Issei with her usual stoic face. Saji simply nodded at his new information.
Xenovia and Irina blinked a couple of times and the former took a glance at the latter. "Well, it's actually Irina who had known him first before I did…" Xenovia said pointing at her partner.
Issei then looked expectantly to his childhood friend to explain.
"Well… I don't know what he was really doing in his journey, but I met him in my middle-school years, several years ago…" Irina tried to recall her meeting. "He asked me for some direction for a local lodging with very poor English. It only took me seconds to recognise your dad from your old pictures. After that, I invited him over dinner with my family."
Issei nodded at the story. "I see…. Speaking of, how are your parents?"
"They're doing well, thank you. My dad still works for Protestant Church", then Irina glanced back at Xenovia, "The second time of our meeting would be during my first mission with Xenovia after receiving the Excalibur, right?" asked Irina, prompting the latter to continue about their meeting with Saitama.
"Yes, I don't know how he did what he did, but he saved our lives during our mission to hunt down a vampire", Xenovia nodded before speaking.
Issei's eyes widened slightly at the word 'vampire', however, being dragged into supernatural, the boy should not be surprised that vampires exist in that world. "Well… What did he do, actually?" the pawn asked, intrigued.
"Your dad was so strong, Ise-kun! He was like, 'woosh'! And then, 'bam'!" Irina said with excited tone as she moved her arms around to demonstrate.
Not understanding what his childhood friend meant, obviously, Issei raised his eyebrows to Xenovia, whom closed her eyes and let out a small sigh.
"Well… I honestly couldn't believe what I saw back then, but…" Xenovia opened her eyes, "Your father just obliterated the vampire with one punch."
The devils, who had been listening simply widened their eyes at the story. "Well… It could be that the vampire had already been weakened enough for him to finish-off…" Issei tried to reason.
"Well, that's what I thought at first, but… we know what we saw…" Xenovia replied. "Our holy swords could only do so much against such a powerful vampire. Yet, your father's fist took him out as if he was swatting an insect…"
The three devils who heard this remained wide-eyed at the exorcist's story. "Err… My dad… He's a human, right?" Issei asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"I know it's hard to believe, but at least that time, I believe he's a human…" Xenovia replied.
"After helping us, Saitama-san just disappeared soon after, and of course, when we reported back to the church, they didn't believe it a bit and they decided that the mission was accomplished by our own effort…" Irina quipped in with a slight remorse.
"That's why… We want to see him again, and we'd like to thank him properly for saving us. We owe him our lives, after all…" Xenovia finished with tone of resolve.
"Wow, Hyoudou… Your dad sounds like a badass…" Saji put his two cents, however, deep down the Sitri pawn still felt reluctant to believe such story.
"This is actually the first time for me hearing what he can do…" Issei replied. "Well, I do know that he's somehow also acquainted with Lucifer-sama…"
At the mention of the name of the demon king, the rest on the table let out their surprised reactions.
"EEH!?"
Although being from different factions, devils and exorcists could tell that someone who has connection with one of the leaders of the underworld is clearly not an ordinary person.
However, the soon to be question about Saitama's relation with the demon king was halted when another person was approaching the table.
"What happened? I heard a shriek just now", Yuuto, who had finally arrived at the meeting, came in the hurry when he heard the noise.
X
"I understand the situation…" Yuuto said after listening to Issei's plan about hunting down the lost holy swords.
When the Gremory knight had come, everyone on the table decided to put their thoughts and worries about the previous conversation, seeing that the time was not suitable to continue further. So they returned to the main topic of the day.
"But you know, I feel not satisfied about this… permission to destroy the swords and all…"
Xenovia furrowed her eyebrows at this. "What a rude thing to say. If you were a stray, I would've cut you down at this very moment."
"Can you?" Yuuto replied and the two glaring at each other.
Issei sighed and quickly calmed things down. "That's enough, you two", the pawn looked at the two sword users with his own glare. "If you guys don't get your things together, we'll end up killing each other before we even can find an Excalibur."
Yuuto and Xenovia calmed down after a second. They still scowled at each other but they conceded with Issei's point.
"So… I heard you're still holding a grudge about the Holy Sword Project? You're a survivor of that project as well…" Irina spoke up.
"Yes, I am…" Yuuto replied with a cold tone.
"But that project showed results. Thanks to the project, the numbers of holy sword users have increased significantly. Me and Xenovia here are the example", Irina said.
"Well? Then what about the other test subjects that were deemed as failures? The church killed them all because they don't have aptitude to wield one!" Yuuto hissed at Irina.
"You're right", Xenovia quipped in. "For the church, that project is one of their worst cases in their history. The person in charge of the project was labelled as a heretic, exiled, and that person had been put under the fallen angel's care."
"Fallen angels… Who's that person in charge?" Yuuto asked.
"Valper Galilei, the Genocide Archbishop."
"A church's rogue, huh…?" Yuuto gave a thoughtful look. "Speaking of, I actually was attacked by someone carrying an Excalibur few days ago…" then Yuuto's eyes turned into a sharp glare. "I remember his name was Freed Sellzen. Does it ring a bell?"
"Freed Sellzen? So he was in this fiasco too?" Irina sounded slightly surprised.
"So you do know him?"
"Yes. He is a prodigy who became an exorcist under the leadership of the Vatican when he was only 13 years old. He was famous for the number of his contribution in regards of exterminating devils and monsters alike one after another."
"However…" Xenovia added in. "He went to far, ending up killing even his own comrades. The church exiled him soon after."
"Freed never had any ounce of faith in our Lord to begin with. What he possessed was bloodlust towards his opponents and an abnormal obsession with combat. It's only a matter of time until his loyalty was questioned", Irina said.
"I see… Now I know, who I have to find… If I go after the Fallen, then…" Yuuto muttered as his eyes hardened with determination.
"Anyway, we can start by looking for either one of the two people you mentioned. Do you guys have any way for us to keep in touch?" Issei asked to the two exorcists.
Xenovia took out a pen and wrote something on a nearby napkin. "You can use this. If you guys find out about anything, then call this number", Xenovia gave her number.
"Thanks, and you can call this number if you find something as well", Issei also had written his own contact number on a separate piece of paper and handed it to Xenovia.
"I see. Well then, thanks for the meal. I'll make sure to repay this favour, Red Dragon Emperor, Hyoudou Issei…" the blue haired girl took her leave.
"Thanks for the meal, Ise-kun! Even if you're a devil, the Lord will forgive me, as long as it's your treat!" Irina also said her goodbyes before she went after her partner.
After the two exorcists had left, Yuuto turned towards his friends. "Issei-kun… Everyone… Why are you doing this? Things would only gotten worse if you messed this up."
Issei only snorted with calm expression. "Do I actually need a good reason to help my comrade? I just don't have a heart to ignore all of this…"
"But there's also a possibility that I'd be the one to mess up and makes things worse for buchou, you know? I also have dragged you into my own problems as well…"
Issei let out a sigh. "You know… I actually don't really understand about all this vengeance and stuff, but I know everyone won't like it if we just went blindly without any real direction just like that… What I can do now is to make sure that you won't get yourself killed on your own. Besides, making a contact with those two girls back there without ojou-sama's knowledge also has made me onto the same boat as you, right? So before you're completely become a stray, I'm gonna help you finish this quickly and bring you back in one piece."
Yuuto only remained silent at Issei's words. Then, he felt someone was tugging on his sleeves and he turned his head to see Koneko looking up at him.
"Yuuto-senpai… I'd feel lonely if you go away… So I'll help. Please, don't disappear on me…" Koneko pleaded with sad expression.
Issei had to admit that Koneko was really cute despite the atmosphere. Yuuto, after hearing Koneko's plea, finally sighed.
"Hahaha… If you guys are saying things like that, even I have to get my things together, don't I?" Yuuto said as his expression softened into a smile. "I understand, I'll accept you help. Thanks, Issei-kun… Now, I know who my true enemy is. But I'd still like to destroy the holy sword if possible", Yuuto said with conviction.
Issei and Koneko smiled back in content. "Glad to hear it. Now, that we've come to agreement and all, let's…"
"Uhm, excuse me… Are you including me too?"
The three devils of Gremory turned their heads towards Saji, who had been only listening from the beginning. "I told you that I don't have anything to do with this, right? And you guys have left me out this whole time. What's with the holy sword and Kiba, anyway?"
Issei and Yuuto shared a glance, then the two nodded at each other before Yuuto spoke up. "I guess I can tell you about my past as well…"
Yuuto started to talk about his past. He was a nameless orphan who was chosen by the church to participate in the Holy Sword Project, a project to specifically make anyone capable of using holy swords. Yuuto also explained about his days of gruesome and inhumane experiments along with his comrades, boys and girls around his age, in order to make them to be able to use Excalibur. Despite the torture and the harsh treatment, Yuuto and his comrades had never lost their faith to God, believing that their hardships to be rewarded one day.
However, that day never came. One day, the results came out and Yuuto and his comrades were deemed to be failures in wielding holy swords, then the church decided to dispose of them based on that reason. All of the failed test subjects were placed in a chamber and the chamber was filled with poisonous gas, killing the test subjects slowly by the hands of their supervisors.
Yuuto managed to escape death thanks to his comrades' sacrifices, and when he was out into the cold, and almost froze to death, he was rescued and reincarnated by the devil who was now his master, Rias Gremory.
"I want to avenge my comrades… Rather, I don't want their deaths to be in vain. That's why, I have to prove my strength for their sake that I'm stronger than any holy sword…" Yuuto finished his story.
Hearing the story from a different perspective, Issei felt conflicted. He knew that Asia had a sad childhood with the church, but after listening to Yuuto's past, Issei doubted about the church even more. He did not know much about the church and its system, all he knew that the church supposed to be a benevolent and kind faction that definitely should not do what happened with Yuuto.
Then a thought came to his mind. Thinking about his father's affiliation with the demon king, did his father find out about the atrocity the church had committed? What was his reaction? What will he do about it?
"Uuhuu…"
However, Issei's contemplation was interrupted by the voice of crying and sobbing that came from Saji, who was busy wiping his flowing tears.
"Kiba!" The Sitri pawn grabbed Yuuto's shoulder, surprising the latter, with his tears still flowing from his eyes. "That was just too cruel! I feel horrible about myself! I thought you're just some popular pretty boy, but I was wrong! I'm so sorry about your past! I know now that you're actually a good guy! I understand why you hate the church and holy swords so much!"
Neither Yuuto nor Issei had expected about Saji's outburst. But before either of them could have said anything in return, Saji spoke up again. "Now I don't care anymore if you're a popular guy or whatever, I'll help too!"
"Err… Thanks-"
"Now that we're a team, I believe this is a chance to share something about myself to you guys!" Saji straightened up and raised his finger. "My dream is… to marry the student council president, my master, Sona Sitri, and have her to bear our child!"
"Stop! Stop!" Issei stepped in and covered Saji's mouth. The latter pried the former's hand off him. "What the hell, Hyoudou!? I was just getting to the good part!"
"Too much information! That's something you're supposed to keep to yourself!" Issei replied with slightly blushing face and he sighed. "You know what? We're getting off the track here. Let's just roll, shall we?"
Koneko only sent Saji a dirty look, muttering something about being a pervert, while Yuuto only laughed sheepishly. Saji, who was a bit annoyed being interrupted, decided to comply with Issei along with the other two.
Thus, the temporary alliance between devils and exorcists had been formed and the search for Excalibur had begun.
X
Two days had past since the short alliance to search the holy sword had been formed. At the moment, Issei was at his classroom, sighing on his desk. The search did not show any results so far. He, Yuuto, Koneko, and Saji had been searching around the town blindly during the first day, and then, they decided to borrow some clergy and nun outfits from Irina and Xenovia in order to lure out Freed Sellzen, since the rogue exorcist had been hunting the agents of the church that were sent to the town. However, the result was still not different than the first day.
Now, on the third day…
"No luck today either, huh…" Saji whined as he and the other three devils were walking in the alley at the deeper part of the town with their clergy and nun outfits.
"It's just a second day we came up with this disguise, so I actually won't expect any instant result, but…" suddenly, Issei's eyes widened as he sensed something in the air. Something hostile.
"Huh? What's up, Hyoudou? Everyone?" Saji asked as the three devils of Gremory suddenly went quiet.
"Ise-senpai, Yuuto-senpai…" Koneko said in alert.
"Yeah…" Issei understood what the rook meant, followed by Kiba. "It seems the plan worked…"
As the devils stayed focus to detect any movement or presence, Issei's eyes shot up. "Above us!"
Right on cue, a figure carrying a sword landed on them and the devils managed to dodge on the nick of time. The said figure had a white hair, was wearing a clergy clothing and wielding a sword radiating with holy aura.
"Hey, guys… It's been a while, hasn't it?" the said figure said with a maniacal grin.
The devils quickly went to battle positions, and Issei glared at the enemy. "Y-you are…!"
"Kukuku… Glad to meet you again… I still haven't paid you back for what you did to me before, have I?"
However, Issei's glare turned into a look of confusion. "Um, actually… Who are you again? Have we met before?" Issei tilted his head slightly.
The others, even the enemy figure almost face-vaulted at Issei's question. The time and place really did not suitable for such a thing.
"You motherfucker! Do you keep forgetting the face of every guys you bashed in the other day!?" the figure shot back in anger.
"No, not really…" Issei still tried to look into his memory. "It's just that… Seriously, did we see each other somewhere?"
Vein marks started to appear on the enemy's face as his anger built up. Yuuto leaned towards Issei's ear.
"Um… Issei-kun, that's Freed Sellzen. The rogue priest I told you about in the restaurant", the knight whispered.
It took few seconds for Issei's memory to click and his eyes widened in recognition. "Uh… Oh… Oooh! So it's you! The dude with those fallen angels from before!" Issei said with his fist on his palm.
"About fucking time you remember! Now that I have this baby here, I'll be sure to pay you back hundred times more than you did to me!" Freed said as he brandished his sword in the air, the same sword he used on Yuuto on the other night.
Feeling the dangerous feeling from Freed's sword, Issei did not say anything more and quickly prepared his Boosted Gear.
[Boost!]
Saji manifested something like a black gauntlet that resembled a small lizard, or more like a chameleon with a deformed face on his left hand. Yuuto manifested his Holy Eraser, while Koneko put on her fighting stance.
Saji took the initiative to have the first strike. "Stretch, my line!" he launched his black lizard gauntlet forward and a blue line shot out from the gauntlet, making its way towards the rogue exorcist.
Freed quickly intercepted the incoming attack by swinging his sword. However, instead of getting cut, the line managed to latch and tied itself on his leg. His movements became limited.
"Kiba, get him now! I won't be able to hold him too long!" Saji shouted as he tried to keep his line in place.
"Thanks!" without wasting any more seconds, Yuuto took the opportunity and he lounged towards Freed with his demonic sword ready at hand. However…
"Heh, that's too bad! Your shitty demonic sword won't be a match…" Then Freed swung his holy sword, shattering Yuuto's own sword. "With my Excalibur-chan!"
Seeing his sword got shattered, Yuuto quickly leapt back and summoned another demonic sword, but Freed managed to crush it again in no time.
Issei clicked his tongue. He wanted to switch with the knight, but Yuuto would not be able to settle with his past if the knight could not surpass the holy sword. Thus, he went with that option.
"Oi, Kiba! You won't beat him with just that alone! Here!" Issei stretched his Boosted Gear forward and the green jewel glowed.
[Transfer!]
Yuuto felt his power being multiplied. "I'd prefer to do this alone, but since it has come to this, I have to use it!" then he slammed his palm to the ground. "Sword Birth!"
Numerous amounts of demonic swords sprout out from the ground towards Freed, aiming to impale him. Before Freed could intercept the incoming Yuuto's barrage of swords, the devil knight leapt to the air and he threw more demonic swords towards the exorcist as well.
"Hoo… So you wanna play this way, huh!? You damned devils!" Freed prepared his own stance. And then…
SCHLING! SCHLING! SCHLING! CRASH!
His body blurred in a high velocity and he destroyed all of the demonic swords in matter of seconds.
"What the-! Had he ever been this fast, before?" Issei could not help but surprised at such a speed that Freed displayed.
"Your numbers won't win against my Excalibur Rapidly! In terms of speed, I'm invincible with this baby!"
"Tch… No good, huh?!" Yuuto said as he saw all of his shattered swords. Then, the knight saw that Freed had disappeared already. "Issei-kun, look out!"
"Gotcha!" Freed had already ran on the wall in the alley above Issei with his sword ready to attack.
Issei saw the incoming attack and prepared to intercept, however…
"Not so fast!"
Saji immediately threw another line from his sacred gear towards Freed's leg, throwing the latter out of balance.
"Absorption Line!" at this command, the line from Saji's sacred gear glowed and Freed suddenly felt his power being drained.
"What the fuck!? This line… It's absorbing my power?!" Freed cursed as he was brought down to his knees.
"How's that? This is my sacred gear, Absorption Line! I'll keep sucking out your power until you pass out!" Saji said with pride.
"A sacred gear that steals energy? That's quite neat", Issei commented as he felt impressed.
[I see… That boy had a sacred gear with the soul of Vritra, the Prison Dragon, one of the dragon kings…]
"Dragon king… Like Tiamat-san?" Issei asked at Ddraig's comment. The heavenly dragon only hummed in affirmation.
"Dammit, your dragon-type sacred gears are so fucking annoying! Just break, already, dammit!" Freed cursed around as he tried to cut the line. However, his attempt with his holy sword was futile.
"Oi, Kiba!" Saji yelled at the Gremory knight while he kept focusing on his line. "Now's another chance! Finish this guy off in one shot!"
Yuuto did not waste any seconds as he quickly conjured two demonic swords in his arms. "There are still two more swords, after all… I might as well take what I can get!"
"Oho, so it's Sword Birth… A sacred gear that can create demonic swords… So you're the one who escaped from that institute, aren't you?" A voice interrupted Yuuto on his track.
Everyone turned their gazes towards the top of a building and they saw a short, bespectacled elderly man with grey hair and moustache, wearing a priest outfit.
"Oh, old man Valper!" Freed called out at the old man.
Yuuto glared at the elderly man hatefully. "Valper… Galilei…!"
"At your service", the old man now known as Valper Galilei, returned the greeting. Then, he turned his gaze to Freed. "Freed… What do you think you're doing?"
"Look at this! This stupid lizard tongue is a tough nut to crack!" Freed pointed at Saji's line.
Valper only sighed. "You're still immature in using your Excalibur. Focus on using the 'element' I've given to you…"
"Alright, right!" Freed replied in understanding and after concentrating for a second, his Excalibur radiated holy aura even more in golden glow. "Oh, so like this, eh?" then he snapped Saji's line in one swoop.
"Freed, we're running out of time here… Leave this place for now and return to Kokabiel", Valper commanded as he walked away.
"Tch. Fine…" Freed clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, but obeyed nonetheless. "I'll take my leave now! We'll settle this later once and for all, you shitty devils!"
Just Freed was about to go away, a voice interrupted him followed by a blur.
"Not so fast!" suddenly, Xenovia showed up and she lounged towards Freed with her Excalibur Destruction.
Using his speed granted from Excalibur Rapidly, Freed dodged the strike easily and gained more distance.
"Freed Sellzen, Valper Galilei… We shall deal with you accordingly in the name of God!" Xenovia exclaimed as she arrived at the scene together with Irina.
"Hah! I'll deal with you bitches later!" Freed shot back as he threw a white ball that exploded in flash when touching the ground.
When the other's view cleared up after the flash, neither Freed nor Valper was in sight.
"Damn! After them, Irina!"
"Got it!"
Xenovia and Irina quickly leapt away already, tracking down the rogues. Seeing the two female exorcists went away, Yuuto also leapt towards the building where he last saw Valper Galilei. "I'll follow them, too!"
"Wha- Wait, Kiba!" Issei was about to give a chase when suddenly he felt two familiar presences looming over him, along with Koneko and Saji.
When the three turned their heads around, they were met with the face of their un-amused masters.
"Ise, Koneko… What is the meaning of this?"
"Yes… Would you care to explain what's going on, Saji…?"
The three devils' faces went pale at the question.
X
What happened next; Issei, Saji, and Koneko were reprimanded by their respective master. After hearing the entire explanation about Issei's plan regarding Yuuto's grudge towards Excalibur and the encounter with the enemy, Saji was punished by a thousand spankings by Sona.
"Aaaahhh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please forgive me, kaichou!" Saji pleaded as he stuck his butt out. Sona remained impassive as her hand glowed in blue aura.
"Man up, Saji… Just prepare yourself for your punishment, one thousand spankings", Sona said with cold tone.
As the punishment/spanking was going underway, Issei and Koneko on the other hand…
"What troublesome children you are… Making me worry so much", Rias said as she pulled both Issei and Koneko into a hug.
"Noo! Look over there! Rias-senpai just let them go without a second thought just like that!" Saji whined while his ass was still being punished.
"Quiet, Saji. She has her way, I have mine, 980 times to go", Sona replied coldly.
Issei, while still being hug by Rias, could not help but felt his face warm for various reasons. The pawn could not really tell if it was from his master's breast of her kindness. However…
"Okay, now. Ise, stick your butt out", Rias suddenly said.
"Eh?" despite knowing what his master was implying, Issei could not help but thought that the sudden change of atmosphere was… truly unpleasant, for lack of better term.
"I still have a duty to discipline my servant. You'll have a thousand spankings too", Rias said with sadistic smile as her hand flared up in red aura.
While the said pawn understood why Koneko was being let off the hook, considering he was the main perpetrator in the first place, Issei ended up swallowing a lump.
In the end, after knowing that the enemy forces had likely started to move with their plans, Rias had allowed Issei and Koneko to help searching Yuuto or the two female exorcists with assistance of her familiars and the student council. The king also had contacted Akeno to pick up Asia as well to regroup and help with the search. While Rias aware that things might get dangerous and a fight might broke out, having Asia close by her would make things easier for the others instead of risking the powerless bishop to be taken hostage.
Currently, Issei was running alone across the town searching for the allied sword wielders. Rubbing his butt, Issei was a bit surprised that the spanking did not hurt as he had imagined it to be. Most likely that he had become even sturdier that his master's hit was barely hurting him, but Issei managed to show that he regretted his actions behind his master's back earlier.
The pawn had decided to locate the enemy's base. He visited every place that he deemed possible to be a hideout for fallen angels, such as the abandoned church at the outskirts of the town. However, he found nothing when he checked the place.
The boy pondered for another moment and he tried to expand his search towards another secluded area, until he found an old-looking mansion at the other side of the town.
"Weird… Had this building always been here?" Issei muttered to himself.
Trusting his instinct for a moment, he carefully broke through the front gate as he trudged along the front yard. The garden seemed not maintained, and when he arrived at the front door, he could spot some dust had pilled up. The pawn decided to look inside the house for a good measure, he entered the main hall that was filled with large staircases and some pillars.
When he looked around the room, Issei suddenly felt a presence. Whoever this presence belonged to was not to be underestimated, and Issei could feel a holy aura from the presence. Thinking that it could be Freed, Issei prepared his Boosted Gear and touki silently, and he clenched his fist. Carefully approaching a pillar, he used the element of surprise and he quickly moved over to the other side behind the pillar, and launched his fist at the possible enemy.
However, his fist suddenly halted on its track when the owner of the presence, raised her sword in retaliation and managed to stop her attempt as well. Her?
"Ise-kun?"
"Irina-chan?"
Issei widened his eyes at the familiar face. The presence belonged to Irina all this time and Issei almost attacked his own childhood friend out of paranoia. After all, all he could sense that time was simply a holy aura with killing intent.
"Geez, you scared me there!" Irina exclaimed with somewhat slightly playful tone as she lowered her guard.
"That's my line, you know", Issei shot back.
"So… I take that you also feel something is off about this mansion?" Irina changed the topic.
"Yeah… Though it's just my instinct. Want to look around together? You know, for old time's sake as well", Issei offered with a small grin to lighten up the atmosphere.
"Mmm… Okay, I guess we can. We're still in alliance, after all… Fufufu…" Irina said accepting Issei's offer.
As the two childhood friends started their 'quest' to explore the suspicious-looking old mansion, they were not aware of a pair of red eyes watching them.
To be continued…