"Claim to destroy the holy sword?" Irina said, her eyes widening with displeasure as she sneered at Kiba's words.
"A mere devil with such a bold tone. Are you still half asleep?"
For devils, holy swords are highly lethal.
Even approaching one causes discomfort from the sacred aura they emit, and touching it feels like being scorched by flames.
Compared to the power of light, the holy sword's properties are far more dangerous to devils.
Moreover, holy swords are made of such resilient material that ordinary attacks can't damage them.
"If I get the chance, I'll definitely try," Kiba replied, a glint of hatred in his eyes as he spoke casually.
"Let's see if the so called holy sword lives up to its name."
Irina, raised as a holy sword wielder from a young age, grew even more irritated by Kiba's dismissive tone, as if he didn't take the holy sword seriously.
"Enough, Irina," Xenovia said calmly, stopping her before she could continue.
"We're not here for pointless arguments."
Xenovia dismissed Kiba's talk of destroying the holy sword as a fleeting outburst.
As a survivor of the holy sword project, Kiba likely understood the sword's power, and his hatred for it was only natural.
"Tch, fine," Irina muttered, glaring at Kiba before falling silent, dropping the argument about the holy sword.
"If you're planning to take back the holy swords from Kokabiel, just the two of you won't be enough, will it?" Rias Gremory asked.
"Did the church send you here without any other support?"
"We sent exorcists to Kuoh Town earlier to investigate the holy swords, but we lost contact with them all. Kokabiel and his group likely dealt with them," Xenovia explained.
"So much has been happening right under my nose, and I didn't even know," Rias smiled coldly, directed partly at Kokabiel and partly at the church.
As the overseer of Kuoh Town, Rias was frustrated that members of two opposing factions had been operating freely without her knowledge.
Xenovia and Irina knew they had overstepped, but as church believers, apologizing to a devil would undermine their faith, so they remained silent.
"Anything else?" Rias asked with a huff, moving past the issue.
"Because our previous teams failed and suffered heavy losses, the church had no choice but to send us," Xenovia said, her expression serious.
"Exactly," Irina added.
"Only a holy sword can counter a holy sword."
"The one in my hand is Excalibur destruction," Xenovia said, touching the knightly sword wrapped in white cloth.
"And mine is the Excalibur Mimicry," Irina said, displaying a silver bracelet like object on her right wrist.
Excalibur was shattered thousands of years ago.
Church collected its fragments and used alchemy to forge seven lesser holy swords, each with unique abilities.
Over time, one of them, was lost to history.
Of the remaining six, the church safeguarded three, but Kokabiel stole them.
One is held by the Orthodox church, leaving Xenovia and Irina with the final two.
"Three against two, and facing Kokabiel, a figure from the Bible," Rias said, her tone carrying a hint of pity. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveI~Fire.net
"Your odds don't look good."
"They don't have a true holy sword wielder, so Irina and I can handle the stolen swords," Xenovia replied.
"Plus, we have a trump card, so defeating Kokabiel isn't impossible."
"We're not here to die," Irina said with a light smile. "As long as you devils stay out of it, we'll manage."
"Trump card?" Roy said, glancing at Xenovia with a knowing look.
"You mean yourself, don't you?"
Xenovia's eyes narrowed, surprise and suspicion flickering as she wondered how Roy could have deduced that.
"A holy sword forged from excalibur's fragments wouldn't be enough against Kokabiel. It'd be like walking into a slaughter," Roy smiled faintly.
"Though you're both holy sword wielders, the sword intent radiating from you, Xenovia, is clearly stronger than Irina's."
"And beyond that excalibur, I sense another sword's aura on you, one far more powerful. You plan to use that against Kokabiel, don't you?"
With Roy's strength and mastery of swordsmanship, he could discern this even without prior knowledge of the situation.
"You can sense all that from my aura? You're no ordinary human," Xenovia said, staring at Roy intently.
"Exactly," Irina added, her curiosity piqued.
"From the start, I've been wondering why a human is involved in our business. This should be confidential."
"He's my fiancé. Is that a problem?" Rias said calmly.
"Your fiancé?" Irina's expression froze.
"A princess of the Gremory clan, marrying a human?" Xenovia exclaimed, her voice full of disbelief.
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