Chapter 41: Challenge

"Hmm..."

Lucias commented as he stood behind the devils, leaning against the wall on his back while watching the two parties sitting opposite to each other.

"So is this what you meant by old friends, Lucias?"

Asia asked while leaning against his shoulder with a neutral expression on her face.

"Yes, it's been long since we encountered anyone related to the church... and it looks like both of them recognize us quite well"

Lucias said while observing the two young girls wearing a large white cloth over their body, staring at them with slight hostility visible in their eyes.

"Now then, what owes us the pleasure of meeting you today?"

Rias asked, breaking the awkward atmosphere spreading across the room while sitting comfortably on the sofa.

"Recently the Holy-swords Excaliburs that were kept by the Catholic Church Headquarter Vatican, Protestant Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church were stolen"

The woman with short blue hair immediately answered while averting her eyes from Lucias who was watching them in amusement.

"... Stolen? They mean those fake holy swords?"

Lucias whispered causing Asia to tilt her head in response.

"Fake?"

"Well... for me they're fake because a holy sword of that caliber shouldn't break into pieces that easily. Even the simplest holy sword made by the dwarves of our faction wouldn't break no matter how it is treated. So the only explanation is that, their was something wrong in the refinement process of the sword when it was made... that's what happens when a sword is only made purely by magic... It won't be as powerful as it's conterpart that was made purely by hands and magic" 

Lucias explained in a voice that only him and Asia can here as he gazed at the Excaliburs on their back with a light frown on his fae.

[Excalibur Mimic

Grade: Legendary

A sword made from the fragments of the holy sword [Excalibur] made through the means of alchemy and magic.

Grants the sword the ability [Shapeshift]

Grants the skill [Holy Aura] to the sword.

+100% physical damage to all attacks.

+200% extra damage to beings of the Darkness, and Demonic attribute.

Durability: 6,780/10,000]

[Excalibur Destruction

Grade: Legendary

A sword made from the fragments of the holy sword [Excalibur] made through the means of alchemy and magic.

Grants the enhancement [Lesser Destruction Enhancement] to all attacks (Removes 100 Durability in every use)

Grants the skill [Holy Aura] to the sword.

+500% physical damage to all attacks.

+300% extra damage to beings of the Darkness, and Demonic Attribute.

Durability: 5,109/10,000]

"The damage output of Excalibur Destruction isn't half bad but... I can't believe that the sword itself is getting destroyed by its own attacks"

Lucias said with a light grin on his face before switching his attention back to their conversation.

"Excalibur was broken into pieces during the war a long time ago. The fragments were collected and turned into a new form by alchemy. It was made into 7 swords. This is one of them"

The young girl with chestnut colored hair tied in a twintail explained to Issei who was looking at them with a confused expression on their face.

"The Excalibur I hold is "Excalibur Destruction". It's one of the 7 holy-swords that were created. The Catholic Church is in control of it"

The woman with short blue hair said before removing the cloth covering her sword causing Issei to shiver in fear from its presence.

"Mine is "Excalibur Mimic". I can change its shape into anything I want so it's really useful for carrying around. Just like this, each "Excalibur" has its unique ability. This one is in the possession of the Protestant Church"

The woman with chestnut colored hair said as she transformed the robe tied to her arm into a thin katana.

"Irina... There's no reason to tell these devils the ability of Excalibur, is there?"

The woman asked with a frown on her face whike gazing at her partner's direction.

"Ara Xenovia. Even if they are devils we still have to form a trustworthy relationship with them in this situation. Also, even if my sword's ability is revealed, I won't fall behind all the devils here"

She confidently said with a playful smile on her face before hiding her weapon inside her robe.

'How confident...'

Lucias thought before noticing a presence coming closer to them causing him to calmly gaze at the man who was approaching the group.

"Yuuto Kiba..."

Lucias muttered while gazing at the translucent panel above his head.

[Furious]

"...So what does the stolen Excaliburs have to do with this country located in the east of the World?"

Rias asked while narrowing her eyes without a single change in her expression causing Issei to look at her in admiration.

"The Catholic Church was in possession of two Excaliburs including mine. The Protestant Church also had two. Also in the Eastern Orthodox Church there were two as well. The last one went missing in the previous war between God, devils, and fallen-angels. One Excalibur was stolen from each Church. The ones that stole them escaped to Japan, and brought them to this town"

Xenovia explained causing Lucias to smile from remembering the report given to him by the wardens watching over Kokabiel a few days ago.

'That war freak is moving accordingly to my expectations... It seems like keeping you alive for the time being is a great decision'

"The Catholic Church was in possession of two Excaliburs including mine. The Protestant Church also had two. Also in the Eastern Orthodox Church there were two as well. The last one went missing in the previous war between God, devils, and fallen-angels. One Excalibur was stolen from each Church. The ones that stole them escaped to Japan, and brought them to this town"

"Looks like my territory is full of incidents. So who are the ones that stole the Excaliburs?"

"The ones that stole them were the Grigori"

She answered causing Rias to look at them in surprise while Lucias glanced at them with a light frown on his face.

'... Didn't the news of his exile have reached main branch of the church? Quite a daring accusations to involve the entire faction... but knowing that guy, he wouldn't even care if he was accused as long as it doesn't threaten the lives of his kind'

Lucias though while scratching his chin, remembering the carefree attitude that the Governor General of the fallen angels showed him in the past.

"The holy-swords were taken by the fallen-angel organisation? It's not a matter of mistake. But certainly it would be the fallen-angels when it comes to stealing them. For the devils working at the top, holy-swords does not give them much interest"

'It's more like, they can't steal it because its aura alone is poison to the devils' (Lucias)

'You think so too?' (Asia)

'... Stop reading my mind, Asia' (Lucias)

"We know the main culprit who stole the Excaliburs. One of the leaders of Grigori, Kokabiel"

Xenovia said causing Rias to narrow her eyes at her direction.

"Kokabiel? You mean the exile of Grigori?"

Rias asked causing both Irina and Xenovia to look at her in confusion.

"Don't tell me you didn't know? Kokabiel was exiled by Governor Azazel because of his crime of attacking one of the founders of the Forsaken Faction... This news was known by everyone in the underworld"

Rias explained causing Xenovia to look at her with a suspicious expression on her face.

"Are you telling the truth or... are you just defending him?"

"You're insane if you think I'll side with a lunatic that offended that monster of a faction, then I'll serve my head in a silver platter for you because their were not a single survivor that offended or crossed that faction"

Rias sarcastically said causing Lucias to smile for her words while Asia, the main reason of his exile, could only awkwardly scratch her while leaning against Lucias.

"..."

"That aside... tell me... what do you want us to do?"

Rias asked while crossing her arms below her chest, staring at them with her crimson eyes.

"Our request... No. Our order is to not to have any devils intrude in the battle between us and the fallen-angels for the Excaliburs. In other words, we came here to tell you not to interfere with this incident"

Xenovia answered causing Rias to frown from her words.

"Order? That's funny, coming from two of you while intruding my territory, and what's with your manner of speech? Are you thinking that I will collaborate with a maniac like him?"

'... She's angry'

Lucias thought while reading the translucent panel above her head with a light smile on his face.

"The headquarters think that it might not be impossible"

Xenovia stated causing Rias to slowly release her aura around her.

"The higher-ups don't trust devils and fallen-angels. We were ordered as [If the holy-swords are taken away from God's side then the devils would also be happy right? The fallen-angels would also profit from it. For those reasons it won't be weird for them to form an alliance. That's why we are giving you a warning. If you form an alliance with the fallen-angel Kokabiel then we will eliminate you all. Even if you're the little sister of the Maou, by our boss"

"It seems like everything that I said before only went inside in one side of your ear and came out in the other... How ignorant can you be?"

Rias angrily retorted causing both of them to frown from her insults.

"If you know that I am the sister of a Maou, then it means that you have lots of connections with the higher-ups in the Church. Then I will say it. We will not form an alliance with that lunatic. Never. In the name of the Gremory house. I will not do something that would tarnish the name of our Maou!"

Rias declared in a confident tone as she glared at the two girls in front of her while Koneko and Akeno readied their weapons for a possible fight.

"Hearing that is good enough. I had to warn you just in case that Kokabiel is hiding himself in this town along with the three Excaliburs. If something were to happen I would be the one to be hated by the bunch in the Church headquarters. Well, we won't ask for cooperation. If you were to form an alliance with God's side temporally, then it would affect the balance of the three factions. Especially if it's the little sister of a Maou"

Xenovia added causing her to calm down as she sat back down on the sofa.

"Where is the person the Orthodox Church dispatched?"

She asked before calmly looking at them with her crimson eyes.

"They have that person put on hold for this case. They are planning to protect the last Excalibur if Irina and I fail"

"So it's just the two of you? You are going to retrieve the Excaliburs from a former cadre with just the two of you? How reckless. Are you trying to die?"

Rias asked in surprise while both Lucias and Asia narrowed their eyes from the reckless decision of the higher ups of the church.

"Yes"

"I have the same view as Irina, but if it's possible I don't want to die"

Both of them answered in resolution causing Rias to sigh from their answers.

"...You came here to Japan prepared to die? The belief in your teaching is extreme like always"

"Don't talk ill of our beliefs, Rias Gremory. Right, Xenovia?"

"Right. Also the Church decided that it would be better to eliminate all of the Excaliburs rather than letting them get used by the fallen-angels. Our minimum objective is to get the Excaliburs away from the fallen-angels. To accomplish that, it's okay for us to die. The only way to fight against the Excaliburs are Excaliburs"

Xenovia said with determination as she stared at them with straight eyes.

"Lucias..."

"... Were lucky that we were both kicked out of the church, I wouldn't want to be under a leader without both brains and balls to actually think of a reliable plan without any worthless sacrifices"

Lucias whispered in a quiet voice to avoid offending the two girls in front of them.

"Is it possible with only the two of you?"

"Well, we won't die in vain"

'They will die in vain... not only that, they will also give the two Excaliburs to their enemies once they die'

Lucias thought as he looked at her fearless expression with a conflicted expression on his face.

"You seem confident. Do you have a secret weapon?"

"Maybe. I will leave it to your imagination"

Both of them then stared at each other in silence causing an awkward atmosphere to spread inside the clubroom.

"Then we will take our leave now. Let's go Irina"

Xenovia said as both of the stood up from their seats.

"So you won't drink your tea? I can prepare a snack for you"

"I don't need it"

She muttered with an indifferent expression on her face before looking at both Lucias' and Asia's direction.

"When I first saw the two of you outside of school I thought that maybe it was you two. For the "Witch" Asia Argento and the "Heretic" Lucias Frey to be together. I never expected to meet both of you here"

She said causing all of them to look at him and Asia in surprise.

"Heretic? Witch? Lucias you were once part of the church?"

Rias asked as she stared at him in surprise while Issei stood in front of the two girls in anger.

"How dare you insult Lucias-sama and Asia-sama!?"

Issei shouted in anger but was only ugnored by the two girls in front of him as they stared at Lucias and Asia who was both smiling at their direction.

"Are you two the rumored "witch" and "heretic?" ? The former holy-maiden and her pet? You are said to have the power that can also heal devils and fallen angels, right? I heard that both of you were sent somewhere after getting exiled, but I never thought you two became devils"

"Relax, Asia"

Lucias whispered, noticing that her killing intent was slowly spreading out of her body with her fist tightly clenched as she tried to hold herself back from hearing the word "pet" from their mouth.

"... This isn't going to end well..."

Rias muttered while holding her head with her hand as a massive headache entered her mind.

"Ara Ara" 

"Don't worry. I won't tell the higher ups what I saw here, so rest assured. People who were around the "Holy-maiden Asia" will also get shocked as well"

Xenovia assured causing Lucias to wryly smile from their words.

'Do they really think that they will have the courage to hunt us down?'

Lucias thought while looking at them without a single change in their expression.

"But to become a devil. The one who was called a "Holy-maiden". You fell to the lowest place you could. Do you still believe in our God?"

"Xenovia. There's no way that she, who became a devil, still believes in God"

"..."

'Do we look like a devil to you?'

Lucias thought while looking at without a single change in his expression.

"No, I can smell the "belief" from her. It might be an abstract way of saying it. But I'm sensitive to these things. There are people who betray the teachings and still have guilt within them because they couldn't forget the teachings. I can feel something similar coming from her"

Xenovia confidently stated causing Asia to look at her with a weird expression on her face.

"Is that true? Asia-san, you still believe in God even if you have turned into a devil?"

Irina asked with a amazed expression on her face.

"I was never a dev-"

"I see. Then you should be cut down by us this instant. If it's now, I can cut you in the name of God. Even if you have sinned, our God will forgive you"

Xenovia immediately cut her off like she knew what she was going to say next as she pointed the tip of her blade on her neck.

"..."

"You... should think twice before you point that sword of yours, Xenovia Quarta"

Lucias said as his smile was wiped off of his face and was replaced with a sinister expression like he will not hesitate to behead both of them if they don't remove her sword.

"I-I think you should put down that sword of yours, Xenovia-"

Rias who noticed his grave expression tried to warn but was cut off by her who glared at her direction.

"Don't intefere, this doesn't involve you"

She warned without removing her sword from her neck causing Lucias to silently call for his katana to attack the two girls in front of him but was stopped by Issei who jumped in front of them.

"Don't touch them!"

He shouted in anger while glaring at Xenovia and Irina with a large frown on his face.

"If you come close to them, I won't forgive you. You called Lucias-sama a "heretic" and Asia-sama a "witch" didn't you?"

"Yes I have. Right now they are a being at least fit to be called those names"

She stated causing Issei to glare at her direction.

"Issei, stand down. I'll handle this"

Lucias ordered as he looked at him with a serious expression on his face causing Issei to reculantly nod his head response before moving out of the way.

"How to say this... quite a declaration from the two sacrificial dogs of the church, and don't be so confident, Xenovia Quarta-san... even if the entire church turn against me. They'll never survive to tell the tale of their ignorance and incompetence"

Lucias said causing her to angrily glare at Lucias as she pointed her sword at his chest.

"HOW DARE YOU!!! I CHALLENGE YOU, LUCIAS FREY!! I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET THOSE WORDS!"