Life 3. The contract between Crusader and the Human.
Part 1
“Aaaaa. And? What was the reason for calling me?”
The next day off.
I called Kaichou’s “Pawn”, Saji, in front of the train station. Saji seemed listless. I somehow managed to get in contact with Saji thanks to Buchou.
“…………He’s right. What were you two trying to do?”
“I’m going to ask Shidou Irina and Xenovia to give me permission to destroy the holy-sword Excaliburs.”
“Nooooooooo!! I’m going home!!” Saji was screaming and trying to run away. Koneko-chan held onto him and didn’t let him go. When I suggested the plan to destroy Excalibur, Koneko-chan thought about it and agreed.
[I will help as well. It’s about Yuuto-senpai, right?]
“Hyoudou! Why me!? It’s your group’s problem, right!? I belong to the House of Sitri! I shouldn’t take part in this! Not at all!!” Saji argued while having tears flowing.
“Don’t say that Saji. The only Devil that I know who seems willing to help me is you.”
“Bullshit! There’s no way that I will help youuuu! I’m going to get killed! I’m going to get killed by Kaichouuuuu!!! Rias-senpai might be strict and kind! But you know what! You know Kaichou!? She’s strict AND strict!” Saji cried out...Now that I think about it, Kaichou is stricter than Buchou, she is the student council president and Saji king, so she will be double strict, but I’m set on this, Saji is the only person I know that could help me with this problem.
“Saji...I’m asking you for help, you’re the only person I know that could help me and also keep a secret, if I ask Akeno-san, she will inevitably tell the information to Buchou, Koneko-chan here has promised to keep this a secret, and Asia are hated by the church, so she cannot help us”
Saji eyes turned sympathetic for a moment, he still has doubt on his eyes, no doubt, but he finally relents while sighing “Alright Alright...You better know that I will cash in on this favour sometimes in the future, but besides...How do you plan on finding the two of them? Aren’t they on an undercover mission so they shouldn’t be easily found by us right?”
“Ahh...Yeah….About that...I think we should just start at the middle of the town and spread out, worse come to worse, we’ll found it secretly”
“Hyoudou….You don’t have a plan on finding them do you” Saji sweat dropped while I just averted my eyes.
It’s been twenty minutes since we start walking towards the middle of the town, I knew that finding two members of the church on an undercover mission would be tough, albeit not impossible, which is why I already made a checklist of place that I ought to check if we fail to find them.
“Please give blessings to the lost lamb-“
“Please give charity to us on behalf of the father in heaven!”
We found them easily. There were two girls wearing white robes, praying on the road. Wow. They were standing out. It was easy to find them. It looked like they were quite troubled. People walking past them were giving them odd glances.
“How can this be? This is the reality of the developed country of Japan? That’s why I don’t like countries that don’t have the smell of our beliefs.”
“Don’t say that, Xenovia. We lost all the money we had. So we have to rely on charity from these heretics or else we can’t get food, you know? Aaah, we can’t even buy a single loaf of bread!”
“Hmph. It all happened because you bought that fake-looking painting.” Xenovia pointed at a painting that was leaned on a streetlamp,
ar...are the two of them actually asking for a donation? In the middle of the day? What is happening, also, what’s up with that fake-looking painting, I can’t even see a shred of holiness in them.
“What are you saying? This painting has the drawing of someone who looks like a saint! That’s what the person in the exhibition said as well!”
“Then do you know who the person in the drawing is? I certainly don’t.”
The Figure in the picture looks like it was drawn badly, but if you look at it from a certain angle, you could definitely see a figure with a poor cloth with a halo on top of its head, there are also several baby angels that are blowing on a golden trumpet in the background.
“……I think it’s……Saint……Peter……?” Rin said while throwing an unsure gaze on the painting, she’s the one who bought it yet she also doesn't know who it is?
“Don’t mess around. Saint Peter wouldn’t look like this.” Xenovia shouted while pointing at the figure once more
“No, he must have looked like this! I’m sure about it!”
“Aaah, why did my partner have to be someone like you……God, is this also a trial?”
“Hey don’t hold your head down. You really get depressed when you are down, don’t you.”
“Shut up! That’s why the Protestants are called heretics! You guys have different beliefs than us Catholics! Show more respect to the saints!”
“What! What’s wrong, it is Catholicism where they still abide by the old law!”
“What did you say, heretic?”
“What did you say, heretic!?”
RUMBLE.
Then we heard the sound of their stomachs rumble when we were a distance away from them. The two of them dropped onto the ground with their stomachs rumbling.
“……First of all, let’s do something to fill our stomachs. Or else it’s not a matter of retrieving the Excaliburs.”
“……You are right. Do you want to get money from the heretics by threatening them? I think God will forgive us if we threaten the heretics.”
The two of them falls down while sighing, they look tired as they sat on the pavement, not caring that several people are looking at them with pitiful eyes.
“Do you plan to attack the shrine? Or do you plan to steal their offertory box? Don’t do either. Let’s use our swords to put on a performance. It’s an international entertainment that works in every country.”
“That’s an excellent idea! If we can cut fruits with our Excaliburs, then we can gather cash!”
“Well, we don’t have fruits...Can’t be helped, let’s cut down that picture”
“No! You can’t cut this down!”
The two of them started arguing again, I felt a headache forming while Koneko and Saji looked away in shame, To think that these two are the same people who talked big in front of a high-ranking devil just yesterday.
Part 2
The five of us are now sitting in a family restaurant near the middle of the town, when the two of them landed their eyes on me, they look at me with a pleading eye which made me take them to this restaurant.
On the table, several dishes are laid upon us, all of them paid for by me since Koneko-chan and Saji don’t have any money, I myself only bought a cup of coffee while Koneko-chan bought a chocolate parfait.
Most importantly though, how much are they planning on eating? They already ate more in a single sitting than what I eat in a single day, are they really the same people yesterday?.
“Delicious! Japanese cuisine is delicious!”
“Yes, yes! This is it! This is the taste of the food of my homeland!”
The two of them exclaimed while happily gulping down the food, I could only sweat dropped while drinking my coffee.
“Phew. Now I’m calm. It’s the end of the world to get helped by a heretic.” That was what Xenovia said.
“How am I even a heretic? I thought you only call people heretic if they practice something that the church designated as heresy? Also, I’m treating you with food and this is how you repay me?” I wondered out loud while Xenovia just huffed
“Phew! Thank you for the meal. Aaaah God, please give charity to these Devils.” Irina said while holding on to her cross.
Auu!At that moment Koneko-chan and Saji got a headache, as indicated by them touching their head
“Ah, I’m sorry. I did it without thinking.” Rin looked apologetically while releasing the cross, beside her, Xenovia gulped down a glass of water and took a deep breath.
“So, why did you come to us?” I never thought she would get right to it. Well, it didn’t look like we met them by coincidence.
“You two came to this country to retrieve the Excaliburs, right?”
“That’s right. We already told you that before.”
Both of them didn’t seem like they were giving us hostile intent because they had just finished their food. There was no point battling us in this family restaurant, and even if we did battle they were confident that they could beat us with ease.
“Xenovia, Rin, Is it possible for me to help you destroy Excalibur?”
“And what, I pray, is your intention Ise-kun?” Rin asked while narrowing her eyes, no longer she looked jokily, instead, she looked serious and is her Excalibur actually glowing?
“Yeah. Maybe it’s okay leaving one sword to you guys. If you can destroy it, that is. But make sure that your identities aren’t revealed. We also don’t want our high-ups and enemies to think that we are connected to you guys.”
Xenovia words surprised Rin, she instantly turns her widened eyes to Xenovia who looked at me blankly.
“Hey, Xenovia. Are you sure? Even if it’s Ise-kun, he’s still affiliated with the Devil, you know?”
“Irina. To tell you the truth, it would really be tough to retrieve the three Excaliburs and to battle Kokabiel with only the two of us.”
“I know that. But...!”
“The minimum objectives we have to achieve are destroying the three Excaliburs or take them back. If our Excaliburs are going to be stolen as well then we should break them before it happens. Even if we use the last resort, there’s only a 30 percent chance that we will succeed in our mission and return home safely.”
“Even so, we thought that the success rate was high enough to come to this country prepared to put our life on the line.”
“Yeah. The high-ups also told us to continue with our mission as well and dispatched us to this country. It’s almost self-sacrifice.”
“And isn’t that what we, the followers, desire for?”
“I changed my mind. My beliefs are flexible. So I can act in the best way.”
“You! I have been thinking about it for a long time, but your faith is a bit weird!”
“I won’t deny it. But I think that it’s our duty to accomplish our mission and return safely. I’m going to live and continue fighting for God. Am I wrong?”
“No….Rin, Xenovia…..I have another proposal for you in regards to fighting with Kokabiel” I said before I took out a paper and slides it to them, I had prepared this beforehand, Koneko-chan and Saji looked at me surprised since they didn’t know I had this prepared.
What I took is a contract paper, but unlike the contract I made with Buchou before, I didn’t make this as “Hyoudou Issei” but as “Sekiryuutei” which mean, that [Parabellum] are directly involved with this.
It was a risky gamble, [Parabellum] are a neutral faction, if we broke this neutrality stance, then numerous other faction may take us as hostile to them, this is because of the strong belief that if you’re not with us, then you’re against us that is widespread amongst numerous faction, especially old faction.
Rin and Xenovia looked at the contract, they seemed to read it carefully, until they landed on the end of the contract, where they must have realized who they are truly dealing with.
“Ise-kun...You-You’re related to them? And you’re a core member of it?” Rin asked incredulously while I only smiled, Xenovia meanwhile, didn’t have as intense a reaction as Rin, but signs of surprise are still there.
“Incredible...to think we will meet with one of the members of the legendary [Parabellum], more importantly, for it to be a real thing...” she said as she put down the piece of paper as she stared at me like I’m something straight out of a fairy tale.
Both Saji and Koneko-chan looked confused as to what the three of us are talking about and I don’t blame them, the existence of [Parabellum] are intentionally kept secret by the higher-ups of each faction, the only existence who saw [Parabellum] as the same existence is the church, and even then, only high-ranked member of exorcist knows that [Parabellum] exist.
“Before we do this contract, can I call upon somebody then?” Both Rin and Xenovia nodded and I took out my phone, calling up a certain [Knight].
“…I understand the situation.” Kiba put his mouth on the coffee after he made a sigh. We called Kiba to the family restaurant.
[I’m with those two Excalibur wielders. I want you to come here as well Kiba.]
When I said that, he came here without any complaint.
“To tell the truth, I feel unsatisfied when the wielders of the Excaliburs are giving me the permission to destroy it.”
“That’s a rough way to speak. If you were a “Stray-Devil”, I would have cut you down without any time to spare.”
“Can we not become hostile to each other before we even start this cooperation?” I remark out loud making both Kiba and Xenovia back down but are still glaring at each other.
“So you do hold a grudge regarding the “Holy-sword Project”. Against the church and the Excaliburs.”
“Obviously.” Kiba’s eyes sharpened and he turned his glare to Rin, his voice is low and cold and are beaming with hostilities.
“But Kiba-kun. Thanks to that project, the research on holy-sword users showed results. That’s why it created people like Xenovia and I who can synchronise with the holy swords.”
“Do you think it’s a forgiving act to kill all the test subjects because the project was thought to be a failure?”
“That incident also became one of the worst cases among us and people felt disgusted about it. The person in charge of that project at that time was said to have a problem with his belief. So he was charged with heresy. Now he’s one of those people on the Fallen-Angels side.”
“On the Fallen-Angel’s side? What’s the name of that person?” Kiba eyes turned interested for a moment when Xenovia said that, he turned his eyes to Xenovia who shrugged her shoulder at his question.
“……Valper Galilei. The man who is called the “Genocide Archbishop”.”
“………If I go after Fallen-Angels, then can I reach him……” Kiba’s eye had the colour of a new determination. Just knowing his target was a big step for him. “Then it looks like I have to share information as well. The other day I was attacked by a person who had the Excalibur. At that time, he killed a priest. The one who was killed is probably from your organisation. The name of that person is Freed Sellzen. Does this name sound familiar?”
Both Xenovia and Rin eyes became sharpened as they received the information, more than that though, they looked like they already expected this.
“I see. So it’s him.” Xenovia closed her eyes and seemed to think for a moment before sighing, she looked like she’s particularly troubled by this.
“Freed Sellzen. Former exorcist of the Vatican. The genius who became an exorcist at the age of 13. He had lots of big achievements because he kept on eliminating Devils and mystical beasts. But he overdid it. He even killed his allies. Freed never had any beliefs towards our God from the start. The only thing he had was fighting instinct and killing intent towards monsters. And an abnormal obsession for battles. It was a matter of time that he’d be charged for heresy.”
“For such person to be wielding the holy sword, I can’t forgive him, I’ll make sure that he will meet his end” Xenovia eyes are filled with hatred, looks like this person is as much as a believer as Rin or Asia is, she just shows it at a different way.
“Then have we meet our agreement?” I said as I pointed at the contract once more, both Rin and Xenovia looked at each other for a moment before what seemed like a silent understanding between them.
“Yes, we accept your help Ise-kun, I hope we get along,” Rin said before taking out a paper and signing it at the bottom of the contract, with Xenovia the following suit.
“Saji, Koneko-chan, Kiba, can I take it that act as a witness to the signing of this contract?” I asked the three of them who silently nodded, Saji looked confused more than ever while Koneko-chan and Kiba looked curious.
“Then I take it that this contract has been approved,” I said as I pull the paper towards me before signing it myself, a magic circle appeared on the surface of the paper, it spun continuously before finally disappearing.
“With this, the contract between Irina Shidou and Xenovia from the church with Hyoudou Issei from [Parabellum] has been completed the name of this contract is [Sanctus Foedus][1], thank you for your agreement,” I said as I took the paper.
“Then that’s it then. I’ll repay you for the meal another time, “Sekiryuutei” Hyoudou Issei.”Xenovia got up after saying that before walking out of the restaurant.
“Thanks for the meal, Ise-kun! Next time we meet, treat me again alright Ise-kun” Rin also said as she stood and follow Xenovia to where I never know.
“……Ise-kun. Why did you do this?” Kiba asked me quietly. He was certainly wondering why I was helping him out with his revenge, after all, I did tell him off to not seek revenge.
“Do you not trust me that much Kiba? We are comrades you know, we might not be in the same peerage but we are in the same club and I see you as a friend you know” I said as I shrugged my shoulder at Kiba question.
“If I act by myself, then I would cause trouble for Buchou. That’s also the reason, right?” Kiba managed to sees that huh, well, it’s true that Buchou would be troubled if Kiba disappeared.
“That’s also a reason, but that’s not the primary reasoning, I have my own circumstances you know Kiba” Yes, Kokabiel is a dangerous being, if he ever became a threat to humanity, then I will eliminate him, this is killing two birds with one stone, by getting Kiba permission to destroy Excalibur, it will complete his revenge, and with this contract, even if my action has a political repercussion and may even bring [Parabellum] and [Grigori] to conflict, I have legitimate reasoning which is that this is a contract and all I’m doing is fulfilling my contract.
Kiba looks like he isn’t satisfied with my answer and looks like he has something more to say, his words quickly got shutdown by Koneko-chan though who opened her mouth first.
“……Yuuto-senpai. I would get lonely…if senpai disappeared.” Koneko-chan put on a sad face. She is usually unemotional, so the sudden change had a lot of impact on all the guys here. “……I will help you……that’s why please don’t go.”
“Hahaha. I give up. If Koneko-chan says that to me, then I can’t do reckless things. Okay. I will work with you. Thanks to Ise-kun, I know who my true enemy is. But since we are doing this, we are definitely going to defeat Excalibur. “
.“……Ummm, do I have to do it as well?”
Saji asked us while he put his hand up.
“I mean, I’m totally uninvolved in this…… After all, how is Kiba and Excalibur related?”
Oh yeah. This guy didn’t know about Kiba and Excalibur. To Saji, he probably didn’t understand what was going on in the earlier conversation.
“……Let’s talk a bit.”
Kiba then started to talk about his past after he drank the coffee. The project that the Catholic Church planned secretly. Project Holy-sword. The test to make lots of people who can use holy-swords was taking place in a certain institute. There were boys and girls who had talents at using swords and a possessor of Sacred Gear. Day after day, they were going through inhuman experiments. They were being experimented on and had their rights of freedom taken away. They weren’t treated as humans and their lives were ignored. But they had a dream. To live on. They were forced to believe that they were loved by God, and they were just waiting for “that day” to come. They believed that they would become special beings. They believed that they could become people who could wield holy-swords. But the result was “disposal”. Kiba and his comrades couldn’t use the holy-swords.
“……Everyone died. They were killed. Killed by those who serve God. No one saved us. Just because we couldn’t use the holy-swords. Other boys and girls were put under poisonous gas while still alive. They put poisonous gas on us while saying “amen”. We vomited blood and suffered on the floor. Even so, we were seeking help from God.”
Kiba told us his story. We listened to him silently. Kiba somehow managed to escape from the laboratory, but the poisonous gas had already infected him. Apart from certain people, the test subjects who had lower abilities than average were all disposed of because they weren’t needed. Kiba who managed to escape met Buchou who came to observe Italy as he was dying. And now he was here.
“I want to accomplish my comrades’ regrets. No, I don’t want to make their deaths be in vain. I need to keep on living in their place, and I have to prove that I am stronger than Excalibur.”
“Uuuuuuu…sob………”
We were listening to Kiba’s past with serious faces, but we heard someone crying. It was Saji. He was crying aloud. He had so much tears falling out of his eyes, and was crying so much. He also had a dripping nose……… Saji took Kiba’s hand and said,
“Kiba! It must have been horrible! It must have been painful! Damn it! There isn’t any God or hope in this world! Right now I feel so much sympathy for you! Yeah, it’s a horrible story! I understand why you hold a grudge against those people from the church and Excalibur! To tell you the truth, I didn’t like you before because you were a good looking guy……But it’s different now! I will also help! I’m willing to receive the punishment from Kaichou! But before that, we have to destroy Excalibur! I will also work hard! You also have to live on! Don’t ever betray Rias-senpai who saved you!”
I chuckled at Saji words and his determined face and also at Kiba troubled expression, he must not be used to this kind of thing where people unconditionally helped him.
Well then, it seems that this matter is now resolved, all that left is to complete this contract and then hopefully this will be the last major incident revolving around this city.
Part 4
It’s been several days since the contract was signed and we are currently after school, the four of us, Kiba, Koneko-chan, Saji and me are wearing a priest outfit while walking around town in hopes of catching Freed.
Though I was thinking that, time went by quickly and now it was already evening…… We would get in trouble if we didn’t return soon. This action was kept secret from Buchou and the others, and it would also be troublesome if we got caught by the student council.
“Fuu. No progress today as well.”
Saji said as if he lost interest. Saji was the one who was most eager to do this but it can’t be helped, if, after several days you don’t find any lead, eventually you will run out of interest.
While I was thinking that, I felt something tugging at me, I instantly stop dead on my tracks, the others seemed to have done the same since the four of us stopped, the one in the front, Kiba, seemed to recognize it since his face is painted with hatred.
I starred upwards and saw a priest jumping while slashing down with the target being the four of us, Kiba quickly made a demonic sword and blocked the priest while I remain silent at the spectacle.
“…! Is that voice you, Ise-kun? Heeee. Well isn’t this a weird reunion!? How is it? How’s my power? It’s overwhelming you isn’t it? Hey! Can I kill you now? Can I? I Can right?”
I really wanted to kill this guy, but I promised Kiba that if our opponents are using Excalibur, I would limit myself to support as to not get in the way of Kiba and his revenge.
“Stretch my line!”
SWISH!
Something that looked like a skinny black hand left Saji’s hand and headed for Freed. On his hand, there was a deformed lizard face equipped. The line was coming from its mouth. Then that skinny hand was the tongue of the lizard!
“Such a pain!”
Freed tried to knock it away with his holy-sword, but the lizard’s tongue changed its direction and went downwards. It stuck onto Freed’s right foot, and it started to swirl around his leg. Freed tried to cut the tongue off with his swords, but it went past as if the tongue didn’t have any physical form.
“You can’t cut it that easily. Kiba! With this, he can’t escape! Beat him down!”
“Thank you!” Kiba rushed in quickly! He was going towards Freed with two demonic swords.
“Chi! So it’s not only the “Holy Eraser”, I see! Having multiple demonic-swords. Are you the possessor of “Sword Birth”, perhaps? Wow. You are guilty of having a rare Sacred Gear, you know!”
Freed eyes didn’t reflect any fear or hesitation, quite the opposite, what was reflected is excitement, so he truly is a battle maniac just like Rin and Xenovia said huh, well, he’s also mentally deranged which could contribute to his maniac tendency.
“But. Normal demonic swords can’t put up a challenge against……”
KACHIN!
Kiba’s two demonic swords broke after making a sound of a crack!
“……my Excalibur-chan.”
Kiba once again created demonic swords. But just as I thought, Kiba’s sword cannot hold a candle when compared to Excalibur, it is simply too strong, it could break any of Kiba swords with a single swing.
“Kiba, Do you need my help?” I offered Kiba although useless, one look at Kiba face contains all the answer I needed to know, Kiba head is still filled with revenge, he isn’t looking at the situation properly.
"Hahaha! The way you look at my Excalibur is scary. Do you perhaps hold a grudge against it? Well, I don’t know what happened to you! But if you get cut by this, you can’t avoid being eliminated without a trace you know? You will die, you know! You are going to die! Just die!”
Freed jumped forward while Kiba tried to block him by making the demonic swords appear around the area. But…The holy-sword, which was covered in white-blue light, broke Kiba’s swords in a single blow! Freed did his second strike without any moment to spare
I gritted my teeth, Kiba is going to die if this continues, and I can’t allow that, Instantly, I used Shundo and punch at Freed who hastily blocked my fist with the flat side of the Excalibur, but he was still thrown for quite the distance.
“Switch out Kiba, I handle him,” I said as I put my gloves on, but was surprised when Kiba dashed forward, completely, ignoring me, oi, how are you this stubborn? Can’t you see that you cannot defeat him?
“Since I was given this opportunity, like hell I would miss it! “Sword Birth”!”
ZAN!
There were blades coming out around the whole area! From the ground! From the light pole! There were different shapes of blades popping out from different places.
“Chiii!” Freed clicked his tongue in annoyance and then started to break the demonic swords going at him.
SWISH!
Kiba disappeared with his demonic sword as soon as he found an opening. He used the demonic swords as a platform and moved around freely! As expected from a [Knight], his speed is admirable, but still, Freed is following Kibas movement.
SWISH!
Along with the sound of the wind, there was a demonic sword heading towards Freed! Kiba threw one of the demonic swords when he was using the demonic-swords as a foot path! No! It’s not just one demonic-sword! There were several demonic-swords coming from every direction!
“Uhaa! That is a good circus trick! You rotten Devil!”
KACHIN! KACHIN! KACHIN!
Freed knocked away the demonic-swords one after another with an expression of excitement!
“My Excalibur is “Excalibur Rapidly”! In terms of velocity, it won’t lose to anything!” The Excalibur tip began to vibrate at such a rapid pace that all I can is the blur of the sword vibrating, to think that it could move that fast, as expected from Excalibur.
“It’s not working!”
The demonic-swords that Kiba had in both hands crumbled.
“DIE!”
The moment Freed’s sword was going downwards at Kiba……
PULL.
Freed’s body was pulled back, and he lost his balance.
“Like I would let you!”
It was Saji! The lizard pulled its tongue back, which made Freed lose his stance! At the same time, the lizard’s tongue made a shallow light. It looked like it was coming from Freed and going into Saji.
“……This is!? Shit! Are you absorbing my powers!?”
Absorbing!? Did that tongue that was coming out of Saji have some kind of special ability? Is this his very own Sacred gear? Ddraig, do you recognize this?
[As a matter of fact, I do, this is nostalgic, that is Absorption line Partner, a sacred gear that holds a piece of Vritra]
“Eh Seriously? That Vritra? Are you sure? That looks more like a lizard than a dragon to me” I answered him while looking at Saji sacred gears, yeah, no matter how all I can see is a lizard.
“Heh! How’s that! This is my Sacred Gear Absorption Line”! As long as this line is connected to you, your power will continue to be absorbed by my Sacred Gear! Yeah! Until you lose your consciousness that is!” Saji said with pride, yeah, this guy is inexperience alright, to think he announced his ability that easily.
“……Dragon-type Sacred Gear is it!? The most troublesome type. The initial ability isn’t that much of a threat. But when it grows, the destructible power surpasses other Sacred Gears on a whole different level. Scary. Man, it is such a nuisance!”
Freed tried to take it off again with his holy-sword, but there wasn’t a scratch on Saji’s Sacred Gear. Is it the type you can’t damage with physical swords? And did he say Dragon-type? That lizard is a Dragon!? I don’t understand it, but that’s a nice Sacred Gear!
“Kiba! It’s not the time to be complaining! Just beat that guy! The problem with the Excalibur can come after that! This guy is seriously dangerous! Just standing in front of him makes me tremble! If we leave him be, he will also cause harm to me and Kaichou! I will weaken him by absorbing his power with my Sacred Gear, so take him down at once!”
Saji suggested a plan. It was a good plan indeed. It was better to finish him here. But Kiba put on a complicated expression. I knew the reason. He was regretting it because he couldn’t win with his own power. But Kiba should have also understood that it would be beneficial to finish him off now. Kiba created a demonic sword as if he had made his determination..
“……I feel reluctant, but I also agree to finish you off here. There are still two more Excaliburs that were stolen. I will have to hope that the other two are strong.”
“Ha! I’m stronger than the other two, you know? So! The moment you four-beat me, there aren’t others who will put up with you guys! Are you sure? If you kill me, you won’t have any holy-sword battle that would satisfy you.” Freed taunt has its intended effect, Kiba’s eyes also changed after hearing that.
“Hmmm. “Sword Birth” huh? It’s a Sacred Gear that can have an infinite number of powers depending on the possessor.”
Then there was the voice of another person. When I looked that way, there was an old man wearing priest clothes standing there.
“……Is it you old-man Valper?”
Everyone became shocked at Freed’s word. Valper!? Isn’t Valper the guy who Xenovia was talking about? The one who disposed of Kiba and his comrades during the “Holy Sword Project”…… Just like the Excaliburs, what a fateful meeting!
“……Valper Galilei!”
Kiba glared at the old man with eyes full of hatred.
“I certainly am.”
The old man admitted it normally. So this guy was Kiba’s enemy.
“Freed. What are you doing?”
“Old-man! I can’t run away because of this guy’s weird lizard tongue!”
“Hmph. You still can’t use the holy sword perfectly yet. Use the “element” I gave you more wisely. I’m researching because of that. Gather the holy element that is running throughout your body to the blade of the holy sword. With that, you should be able to cut it.”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Freed's holy-sword had started to gather auras and started to glow!
“Like this! Horyah!”
CUT.
Saji’s Sacred Gear was cut with ease, and the only thing that was holding Freed was gone! This was bad! He was going to escape!
“I will be escaping now! The next time we meet will be the time of our ultimate battle!”
Freed said that but……
“I won’t let you escape!”
There was someone who went past me with a very fast speed.
KACHIN!
There was a blade clashing with Freed’s holy-sword that was igniting sparks! It was Xenovia!
“Yaho! Ise-kun” Rin exclaimed happily as she landed just right in front of us, The partner’s of our cooperation were here!
“Freed Sellzen. Valper Galilei. Rebels. I will cut you both down in the name of God!” Xenovia proclaimed as her swords became brighter.
“Ha! Don’t say the name of the hateful God that I hate! You bitch!”
Freed and Xenovia exchanged swords, but he took something out. It was a ball of light. That was!? The item used for escaping!
“Old-man Valper! We are escaping! We are going to report to the boss, Kokabiel!”
“There’s no other way.”
“See ya! The alliance of Church and Devils!”
Freed threw down the ball of light on the ground blinding the six of us, and when the light died down, the two of them has disappeared.
“We are going after them, Irina.”
“Okay!”
.Rin and Xenovia nodded to each other before chasing them somewhere, I don’t know how they are doing it though.
“I’m going after them too! I won’t let you escape Valper Galilei!” Kiba also said before running after Rin and Xenovia, oi, why are the three of them doing whatever they please? I sighed as the three of us, Me, Saji and Koneko-chan loosened our tension before I felt a presence behind me.
“When I thought that the flow of power was irregular……”
“This is certainly troublesome.”
I turned around after hearing a familiar voice and……
“Ise. What’s the meaning of this? Explain.”
Buchou and Kaichou were standing there with serious faces. I can only sigh, This matter is now more serious than I initially thought, I can’t let myself be shackled down like this.
“Sorry Buchou, Kaichou, I’m going” I simply said before walking off, I can hear Buchou remark in a surprised voice
“Wait!” She exclaimed making me stopped on my track, both Saji and Koneko-chan became silent at watching our interaction, Buchou face is mixed with anger, sadness and also hopelessness?
“What’s wrong Buchou? I’m sorry but I can’t sit around, this matter is more dangerous than I thought, if handled without care, this will bring spell the beginning of the end” I said before turning and facing Buchou
“Then explain it Ise! Explain it in a matter that I can understand! If you just walk around on an issue and hope someone gets it, then nobody will understand it!” She shouted, her voice is wavering.
I simply sigh at the situation, on one hand, if I don’t give chase to Kokabiel, who knows what might happen, on the other hand, if I walked away, the trust between me and Buchou might be broken and could never be repaired.
“Buchou...very well...I have been contracted to deal with Kokabiel..” Buchou and Kaichou eyes widened in disbelief while Saji and Koneko-chan averted their eyes.
“Co-contracted...what does that mean...Hyoudou-kun?” Kaichou said nervously as she adjusted her glasses, she took a glance at Saji but Saji only averted his eyes in an attempt to not try to explain it.
“Sorry about this Buchou….but I’m going now alright...be safe” I smiled and waved at Buchou, I only managed to turn around before Buchou called out to me.
“Wait…” I turn around and saw a hardened expression at Buchou, I bit my lips in an attempt to not let any of my personal feelings get in the way “Stay safe Ise...I hope you complete the contract” She smiled, but her smile is a sad one.
I nodded before hurriedly running off, I can’t stay around for much longer less Buchou could see the pained expression on my face
And there we go, the third life of this volume, man this volume are taking longer than I initially though, sorry for the delay of four days, I was out of commission from my internet from the fourteen until the fifteen which is why this took loner than I initially wanted.
Anyway, as usual, I'm sorry for any grammatical error that I overlook and I see you in the next life.
