First blood.

Issei was curious whom the trio of Exorcists and Devil were up against. He was dressed like an priest and even had an cross around his neck, but none of his actions and behaviour were that of an priest.

[Name: Freed Salazar

Level: 21

Age: 28

Race: Human

Rank: Stray Exorcist

Title: The Mad Swordsman

Strength: 25

Endurance: 28

Agility: 32

Intelligence: 18

Wisdom: 18

Luck: 21

Relation: 0(unknown).]

Despite having only slightly higher stats than the rest of his opponents, Freed was easily pressuring them just with his unique sword skills. Issei was observing him particularly, because the rest of the three seemed to have no skills at all.

The girl with blue hair only seemed to be swinging her Destructive sword around, the girl with orange pig tails was good at dodging and parrying, while Yuuto was only good because of his footwork and speed.

Compared to them, Freed Salazar was a better Swordsman.

"Freed." They all heard the voice of a new person.

"Valper Galeli!" Yuuto recognised the face instantly as the man stepped out of the shadows.

"Stop wasting time." Valper said to Freed by completely ignoring the rest of them, "You're not compatible with the sword yet."

Freed understood the meaning behind Valper's words, "See ya later, losers!" Freed grinned from ear to ear before smashing an smoke bomb on the ground and disappearing with Galeli.

The Trio Swordsman looked too exhausted and reluctant to chase after them, so Issei knew this was the time to make a move. Now he had a track of Freed's Aura with his Senjutsu guiding him towards it.

Issei wasted not a second rushing after them while maintaining his Presence Concealment, which was a passive skill.

'They are retreating to the outskirts of the town.' Issei scowled and took out his phone while chasing after them.

The only thing the map showed him was an abandoned chemical factory at this place. It was closed down for releasing too much toxins in the air and polluting the surrounding area.

Issei slowed down as he finally spotted the two of them entering inside the factory. They were so relaxed that they even forgot to close the gates behind them, as if knowing that nobody would come after them.

"I need you to be more compatible with the Holy Swords so that you can unleash their true powers." Valper stated while Freed was busy cleaning his ears.

"I believe that could be done if you let me own a Virgin nun tonight." Freed replied with an sadistic grin.

"You will get your rewards once the mission is successful." Valper nodded without getting bothered by the madman's sick desires, "I have several cores prepared to enhance your affinity with the Holy Swords. We need to be prepared, because tomorrow is the day."

Valper led them to an Station where he had setup his work laboratory, seeing which, Issei almost felt like vomiting on the ground. It wasn't just the fact that there were dissected body parts of young children hanging on the hooks like an meat store, but also the aura of the place that screamed depression and death.

'He's harvesting souls!' Issei comprehended when he looked at the four cores on the table. Their energies were complex, but he had enough knowledge of the Chakra to recognise life force when he sees one.

Valper started working on Freed's body, while Issei stayed frozen on his spot and contemplated his next move.

"Two should do the job." Valper said and turned around to grab the cores, but saw them missing from the counter.

"Where are they?!" Valper shouted.

"My Sword!" Freed yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Die." Issei came out of the shadows with an crazed grin on his face.

He never thought that he would be killing someone so soon, but his wisdom only made it worse when he realised what damage these two could cause to the world if they continue to live.

"Who are you?!" Valper demanded when he saw the cores and the Sword in Issei's hand, "You don't know whom you're dealing with, you brat!"

"That's mine." Freed snarled angrily as he moved to intercept the thieve, but had his head chopped off his body when he got too close.

"Anticlimactic, right?" Issei asked with an smile, "Though, I don't believe there should be any climax for monsters like you."

Issei sensed magic fluctuating around Valper's body and realised what the old man was trying to do. Before he could teleport away, Issei moved swiftly and killed the man by stabbing the ugly sword's entire blade through his chest.

Valper fell on his knees as Issei pulled out the sword.

"You'll.. Regret." Valper cursed as he coughed out mouthful of blood while trying to speak.

"And you're dead." Issei countered with an small smile and left the place after confirming that the both of them were actually dead.

He would be foolish to assume they were dead so easily, because there are more than one ways of faking death from what Issei had learned. One way was to simply cast an illusion and let him eat the death blow, while the real one escapes.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case here.

[Host is Compatible with the Holy Sword Excalibur.]

[You have leveled Up!]

[You have leveled Up!]

[You have obtained affinity with Light Magic and Holy Element.]

"What are these cores, Isis?" Issei asked while looking at the four blue marbles in his hand, "What should I do with them?"

[The Cores were the result of harvesting potential of the candidates that had failed to wield the Holy Sword. Even a single Core can greatly increase a human's potential and thier affinity to wield Holy Swords.]

"Oh." Issei nodded and casually crushed the four cores within his palm.

The shattered cores released the Life force of the harvested souls and released them into the air.

"I know using them could've helped me to some extent, but I have too much pride to resort to such ways to get stronger." Issei stated to reason his move, "I'm sorry, Isis."

[Your Intelligence has increased by 4 Points!]

[Your Wisdom has increased by 4 Points!]

[Your Luck has increased by 16 Points!]

[You have received Blessings of the pure souls. You have obtained Six Levels!]

"Was I expecting such an reward by doing this?" Issei questioned his own subconscious mind, because by this point he had reached an stage where he was capable of having multiple thoughts at once.

Issei shook his head with an tired smile and accepted the rewards without too much thought. He checked his Status while casually strolling through the mountainous region of Kuoh.

[Name: Issei Hyoudo

Level: 32

Age: 17

Race: Human

Title: The Lost Cause

Strength: 86

Endurance: 92

Agility: 95

Intelligence: 80

Wisdom: 92

Luck: 57

Attribute Points: 64

System Points: 9200.]

That was a lot of increase in Levels since the three level ups he had on his last day with Wukong. He had surpassed both Vali and Bikou in the term of stats, but Issei knew that both of them would still kick his ass due to their superior skills and combat abilities.

Issei looked at the Ugly Holy sword that was still in his right hand, "What am I supposed to do with this?" He groaned in displeasure.

Suddenly, another sword appeared in his left hand and the one on his right hand disappeared the next moment.

"What the fuck?" Issei frowned and looked at Kantusa on his left hand, "What did you do?" He demanded by raising up the sword to his face.

Even though Ugly, that sword was still a part of his Quest.

[The 4 shard Excalibur is still in your possession, so the Quest will continue without any problem.]

"Whatever." Issei grumbled and placed Kantusa back in its sheath before storing it back in his Inventory.

'That old guy Valper was speaking of something happening tomorrow.' Issei thought with an scowl, 'If both of them are dead, who else is involved? Not to mention, how do I get the other two swords from those Exorcists?'

There were a lot of questions that were only going to get answered on the next day.

~

AN: Early Chapter and possibly one more today at Check in time.

-Stones, Powerful Stones. I don't think much people are reading this book because of no recognition.