Round Two

"If you're waiting for me to tire, you're wasting both our time," remarked Xenovia, sporting a provoking smile as she stated, "I'm not the one flitting about like a little birdie."

"Was that a dig at my Familiar...?" asked Kiba, exhaling from his mouth before inhaling a steading breath through his nose.

"It was an observation," stated Xenovia, standing with the three-pronged sword resting on the ground as she pointed out, "Because, unlike you, I've hardly moved from my starting position."

"If I wanted you moved, that's easy...!" retorted Kiba, showing markedly more anger and spirit than usual as he stabbed the tips of his fire and ice swords into the ground and unleashed his Demonic Power.

"Hmm...?"

Sensing danger, Xenovia leaped backward just as seven blades erupted from the ground, skewering her previous position. She was tempted to point out that the attack would have been lethal if she hadn't avoided it, but as that also applied to her Wave of Destruction, she presumed Kiba used it with the belief she would.

Demonstrating he hadn't completely discarded his chivalry, Kiba shouted, "Behind you...!" as he appeared behind Xenovia with a katana with a wavy, purple-hued Hamon.

Reacting quickly, Xenovia positioned her Excalibur of Destruction within the katana's path, intercepting Kiba's slash. To her surprise, the moment their blades connected, her own felt immovable.

Releasing his hold on the katana, Kiba materialized a gladius-like sword, stabbing it at Xenovia's side and forcing her to abandon her weapon as he asked, "How do you like my Shirahadori Time Catcher!? The effect doesn't last very long, but it's pretty effective...!"

"You're not wrong..." conceded Xenovia, a bead of sweat forming on her right cheek as she continued backstepping and weaving Kiba's attacks with her hands raised like a Boxer. She was still slower than Kiba without her greatsword hindering her, but her instincts and reaction time were on the level of precognition.

'I need to calm down and focus...' Kiba told himself, realizing that his frustration was making his attacks more predictable than they otherwise would be as, even with two swords, Xenovia was reading him like a book.

Taking advantage of the brief gap created by Kiba's thoughts, Xenovia shouted, "You're open...!" before stepping fearlessly into his attack range and slamming her right fist into his left cheek. Kiba mustered his Demonic Power protectively at the last moment, but Xenovia's attack tore through his defenses like paper and sent him reeling.

Snorting, Xenovia punched her right fist, veiled in a fingerless glove, into the palm of her left hand as she stated, "Since you explained what your sword did, I should inform you that these outfits we wear are akin to Holy Vestments, infused with the blood of a Saint. They repel Demonic Power like magnets with matching poles, so you'll need to protect much better if you want to endure my attacks head-on."

"Instead of explaining things, you should have recovered your weapon..." retorted Kiba, his expression an annoyed glower as he spat out blood and two of his molars. They would regrow as his Demonic Power replenished, but that didn't make losing them less painful.

"Actually, I think I'll call the match here," said Xenovia, relaxing her guard with her right hand on his waist as she reminded, "We're not trying to beat one another until the other party can't continue, and I already figured out what the armor your wearing does. There were two separate energies that dissipated the force of my punch, so I assume they increase your defense by applying a layer of protection across your body, much like a blessing of protection."

"That's just a convenience they provide..." muttered Kiba, forcibly calming himself and fixing his ribbon as he added, "But you're right. This wasn't a fight but a spar. It should have been my victory when I disarmed you, but since I'm the one who continued the assault, I will concede this particular match to you..."

"Oh? The way you speak makes it sound like this won't be the last time we spar..." hummed Xenovia, crossing her arms under her very sizable bosom and adopting a narrow-eyed, challenging smile.

"Just pray we only ever meet as allies..." retorted Kiba, adopting a rare, contemptuous expression as he turned to leave without bidding anyone farewell. Rias thought to call out to him, but since she believed he would be back to his normal self after some alone time, she waited for him to be out of earshot and for Xenovia to recover her Excalibur before remarking, "You fight well."

"Well, obviously," appended Irina, beaming as she pointed out, "Xenovia and I are the rising stars of the Church of Necessarius. We may not be its most powerful members, but we know how to hold our own in a fight."

"You did used to beat up all the bullies at the playground when we were younger," remarked Issei, his expression going from concern as he stared at Kiba's departing figure to a playful smile as he snuck a glance at Irina's voluminous breasts between the gaps of her cloak and appended, "That's why everyone, not just me, assumed you were a boy..."

"Don't make me do to you what Xenovia did to Kiba..." warned Irina, her violet eyes narrowing but a playful smile adorning her face as she raised her left fist threateningly.

"That's not a terrible idea," appended Xenovia, approaching the group with her Excalibur bound in white cloth as she stated, "The Red Dragon Emperor is a well-regarded figure even within the Church. I'm curious to see what its wielder can do..."

Directing her gaze to Vahn, Xenovia added, "Though, I'm more curious to see the capabilities of God's Chosen. Not all Saints are combatants, but someone who possesses a Holy Spear and can defeat a High-Class Devil from the House of Phenex must be fairly strong..."

"Don't get carried away..." warned Rias, narrowing her eyes but resisting the urge to speak for Vahn as she turned to him and conceded, "Though, if he wants to fight, it's not my place to prohibit it."

"I accept your challenge," responded Vahn, offering a curt, affirming nod that caused Rias to sigh, Koneko to frown, Akeno to cup her cheek, and Asia to become visibly anxious. He knew it wasn't the best time for such things, but after observing Xenovia's and Kiba's match, there were several things he wanted to try.

"Excellent," said Xenovia, smiling as she appended, "Then I will let you set the terms."

"I don't have any," stated Vahn, shaking his head as he revealed, "But, as a precaution, I will be using an ability that makes it difficult to impossible for you to damage me. With that being the case, if you land any solid hits on me, we'll say it's your victory."

Raising her right brow, Xenovia tilted her head with an understandably bewildered look as she asked, "You can choose not to take damage...?"

"Something like that," responded Vahn, offering a smile that made it clear he had no intention of elaborating. Xenovia exhaled huffily from her nose at this, but since Vahn had no obligation to explain his abilities to her, she didn't press him and instead returned to her starting position, where she promptly unsealed her Excalibur and discarded its cloth to the side.

After reassuring everyone that he would be okay and ruffling Koneko's and Asia's hair, Vahn surprised Xenovia and Irina by donning his Eastern Prince attire and moving to his own starting position. Then, instead of drawing his Legendary Spear, he equipped a pair of three-tiered golden gauntlets with a soot-black base and gold plating covering each joint of his fingers, explaining, "I've only ever used my spear to hunt and defeat monsters, so I'll be using these instead..."

"Those are no ordinary gauntlets..." remarked Xenovia, her eyes narrowing as she saw the soot-black sections of the gauntlets leave behind a smoky trail whenever Vahn moved his hands.

Though he had no intention of sharing the details of his [Aura of Karmic Protection], Vahn saw no reason to be secretive regarding the gauntlets, explaining, "You mentioned to Kiba that your and Irina's bodysuits protect against Demonic Power. Well, these deal increased damage to opponents of the Holy or Light attribute. I don't know for certain, but they should let me block your Excalibur."

"I see..." muttered Xenovia, her intuition telling her, once again, that Vahn was too dangerous to be left alive. However, as she had been advised in no uncertain terms not to make an enemy out of Vahn, she squelched the instinct and got into a ready stance.

"Alright, here I come," said Vahn, kicking off the ground and closing the distance between him and Xenovia, surprising her with his speed. More accurately, she was surprised by how slow he was, especially compared to Kiba.

Concluding that Vahn must be a power type similar to herself, Xenovia steeled herself as she blocked his full-force punch with the flat face of her Excalibur. He was undoubtedly stronger than Kiba, causing her to be pushed back a few meters, but it was nothing to write home about.

"Not bad," said Xenovia, adopting a battle-hungry grin as she exclaimed, "But you still have a long way to go...!" while swinging her Excalibur in a broad, sweeping arc. This time, instead of creating a destructive wave that tore up the ground and felled several trees, she produced a miniature tornado, curious to see if Vahn was serious about not taking damage.

Both proving his claim and surprising Xenovia immensely, Vahn released a burst of energy the moment he was swept up by her tornado, causing it to disperse using Chainbreaker. When he landed, the only signs he had been affected were his slightly disheveled hair and clothes, his expression calm and focused as he charged her a second time.

'He really is God's Chosen...' thought Xenovia, backstepping faster than Vahn could approach and swinging her Excalibur to intercept the back of his left forearm before he could retract it. The force of her parry caused him to spin mid-air and land on his back, but he flipped over and promptly bounded back to his feet by pushing off from the ground, hands raised in a defensive stance.

Curious to see how far Vahn's apparent indestructibility went, Xenovia went on the offensive, closing the distance between them in an instant and slamming her Excalibur into his left guard and shoulder, completely destroying his stance and sending him flying but once again causing him no injuries despite the fact she had used the sword's edge.

'Fascinating...' thought Xenovia, expectation swelling within her until she saw Vahn recover, sporting a dejected look.

"What's the matter...?" asked Xenovia, suppressing her urge to press the attack and adopting a more relaxed pose.

"What do you mean?" asked Vahn, pointing out, "That was a clean hit, so this is your victory. Those were the terms we agreed to."

"Nonsense," stated Xenovia, raising her sword into a ready stance and smiling as she asserted, "That was just me testing the strength of your guard. A true solid hit is to the body or a vital point."

"Then let's continue," affirmed Vahn, raising his hands and regaining his resolute expression instantly. He had yet to try any of the things he had in mind, so while he felt that Xenovia was pitying him, he didn't mind so long as the match continued.

Following a nod of her own, Xenovia raised her Excalibur aloft with both hands, exclaiming, "Let's see how you handle this...!" before slicing down and slamming the tip against the ground. Doing so created a fissure that threatened to swallow Vah into it, but as it was only a few tens of meters deep, it wouldn't have harmed him even if he fell into it.

Reacting quickly, Vahn leaped into the air, a pair of luminous golden wings unfurling behind him, causing Xenovia's, Irina's, Asia's, and Issei's eyes to widen to their limits, Rias to sigh, Akeno to suppress a laugh with her right hand, Koneko to goggle intently, and Grayfia to close her eyes and exhale faintly from her nose. It would have caused problems if Vahn materialized the wings of a Devil or a Fallen, but transforming into an Angel before two Executors from the Church wasn't a particularly wise course of action...

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