Chapter 14 - Part 3 - Bubbles of Hope and 'Slash Dog'

Yumi Kira's Soliloquy

…

A few minutes had passed since we had arrived in the replica of Kuoh town. Just like back then when Aaron made the replica of Kuoh to fight Darcel the Fallen Angel in, it felt like we were just teleported to the normal town of Kuoh.

I wanted to fight Ewald Cristaldi, the former wielder of Excalibur and in order to do that, I joined the Sitri group for this fight along with Griselda-san and Dulio-san. Behind us was Lianne-san. A few minutes ago she told us she would step in if things got out of hand, but if not she would simply observe the battle.

The area where we were waiting at was where Aaron faced off against Darcel, the church where their former base was. It felt strange since this is where Gasper-kun and I found out about Aaron's identity as the Middleman and Red Dragon Emperor.

We were led by Dulio-san, Griselda-san and Irina who were part of the [Brave Saints] of Heaven. Everyone participating with Dulio-san had some sort of history with Ewald Cristaldi. They all definitely had complicated feelings about this. Someone they looked up to, someone that was a mentor to them was now rebelling.

A few of them mentioned understanding their frustrations, but they wanted to go about it another way. A few also voiced that they were happy with the alliance because the endless fighting was…well, endless and they didn't want it to keep going forever and ever.

[Joker] Dulio-san suddenly approached me.

"I didn't think I'd fight alongside Kira-chan on the front lines of this battle," he said and grinned at me.

"Fighting alongside anyone in Team [DxD] is an honor, especially you, Dulio-san," I told him and he scratched the back of his head out of embarrassment. I've fought him a few times while we trained at Aaron's home, and I've come out victorious, but I had to hold back and it was rather difficult.

"I've already heard about the complicated situation surrounding Kira-chan's origin, so I thought that Kira-chan wouldn't want to cooperate with me," he admitted and looked in front of us.

"My hatred for the Church and Heaven in general has greatly diminished. So I have nothing against you, Jin-senpai trusts you and you're also our sub-leader," I explained to him and he seemed relieved.

I've spoken to him a few times, as well as many other members of Team [DxD], and we all came to the same conclusion. Just like Aaron, he was 'soft', maybe even more so than him, but a smile on his face suited him more than anything.

"Mmm. I heard of your past, Kira-chan. So I was somewhat concerned about whether you could participate today with a clear mind. However, from what I saw earlier, I think you'll be fine. But even if you hold a grudge towards those swords, this is an internal conflict between my own comrades, so we wanted to bring the best of the best for tonight," he explained to me and at the same time took out an origami paper crane from his pocket.

"Did you know? There were many underground facilities all over the world, including Kuoh town that held children that were diseased by their own Sacred Gears?" he asked me.

I shook my head. I only heard small bits of this from Aaron and Suzaku. It was mentioned in passing and why he started to get the moniker of 'Miracle Dragon'.

A smile appeared on Dulio's face, almost as if he was relieved. "I still check on them regularly, but they no longer have those disabilities thanks to Jin-kun. He would sometimes pop up at random facilities and help heal them. One time we came across each other and we spent the day just chatting to the children there, and him healing them. Oh! He also made them food, they really liked that."

"Sacred Gears…even though the Lord made them in mind for normal humans to receive and combat the supernatural, they unintentionally resulted in some humans suffering. But as I said, Jin-kun made that disappear. After that day, and after meeting a certain person from the Underworld, he went back up to Heaven and removed that from the Sacred Gear system. He also created a worldwide miracle that day," he explained.

"I was shocked, but at the same time so happy for those children who suffered. Thanks to that, those children could start traveling to places they were eager to travel to. One went to the local amusement park here, he had a lot of fun. Jin-kun was the one who funded the things they wanted to do, or where they wanted to go to."

He let go of the paper crane and it flew into the sky. A small breeze hit us and it picked it up. He got up and walked away. "I've said it again and I'll say it now. I support Jin-kun's dream. Being able to bring happiness to everyone, including those children…that's all that I can ask for. But first…we should have a reunion with a scary teacher."

As if in response to what he just said, the figures of groups of warriors appeared before us. In the midst of all of them who were lined up in front of us, there were many warriors dressed in priest attire. However, there were also those wearing skin-tight suits like Xenovia and Irina once wore. Most were women.

There were also young warriors with white hair just like one we faced during our fight with Kokabiel. However, I could still feel their entire hostility towards us despite them not seeming as crazy or bloodthirsty as he was.

Based on my personal assessment of the opponent, the number of warriors that had come for the battle was near around one hundred. I believe that the Gremory household was also facing around the same number. In the middle of all the warriors stood a man with the replica of Excalibur by his side. It was Ewald Cristaldi.

The man who trained hundreds of warriors of the Church, the man who taught Xenovia, Irina, Dulio-san and Griselda-san. He held up his replica of Excalibur and released a powerful holy aura.

The one who stepped forward first was Dulio-san. He raised his hand as a greeting towards Ewald Cristaldi who had an indifferent expression.

"Yo, Sensei! Long time no see!"

Without changing the expression on his face, Ewald Cristaldi said in a low voice, "…Should this reunion be happy or sad? I myself am unsure of what to think of it. Dulio, Griselda, Irina, and my other students…if you still recognize me as your mentor, please step aside so we can get to the one deserving of this punishment."

Irina and the other [Brave Saints] had complicated expressions on their faces as they heard this. They were once his students after all and revered him.

Dulio-san who still looked calm replied with, "There are many things I want to ask you, as well as everyone else. It's better to discuss these kinds of things, right?"

Ewald Cristaldi did not change his expression and asked, "There are facilities below this town, are there not? Dulio, you frequent them, don't you?"

"Yes, it's as you say," replied Dulio-san.

"Yet those places have been occupied by devils and fallen angels in the past—meaning they have been tainted. Staying there is already a grave sin. For that, I need to carry out judgment for those whose bodies and minds have been dyed black. I am not the only one who believes of such things, the ones with me also believe the same," he told us.

Dulio-san's smile left his face and he narrowed his eyes. "You mean to say that you want to destroy those facilities? Then what do you plan on doing about the children who live there? Not all of them have found homes yet," replied Dulio-san.

"In purgatory, they will have their souls purified of sin…if I say that, what will you do?"

"…Even if it's a joke, don't say such things in front of me, Sensei," said Dulio. His voice was filled with anger.

The man who was formerly known as his teacher clearly understood the words that would aggravate the youth who was normally so laid back. Dulio also knew that the opponent was trying to provoke him, but he still couldn't ignore the frivolous statement.

Ewald Cristaldi shook his head, and said as if he was lamenting, "Dulio, why? A good warrior like you—someone who even reached the position of [Joker], yet why haven't you realized the truth? Even if there is an alliance, there is still a need for the eradication of evil! Or has your heart changed after Michael-sama reincarnated you as an angel? Your power is the Sacred Gear of [Zenith Tempest], and with it, you can destroy the balance of the world, correct?"

He possessed the second most powerful Sacred Gear among them, known as one of the ultimate powers that could even kill Gods. Just as Ewald Cristaldi said, as long as Dulio-san had such intentions, it would be possible for him to be like Cao Cao and have the entire world as his enemy. Although that seemed like a long time ago since he's on our side now.

However, Dulio-san shook his head in disagreement. "…Sensei, I never once thought about the world like that, or my power. No matter what happens, I only go about doing one thing."

He opened his arms as if he was embracing someone. "And that's to protect the smiles of those children. I became strong for that, I became the [Joker] of Heaven for that one thing. This belief has never changed in any way."

The words Dulio-san said caused the man in front of him, as well as the other warriors around him, to have complicated expressions. It seems that from the things that [Joker] said, they felt a part of themselves that resonated with those same feelings deep down.

Once someone gets power that can change the world, they can essentially have three paths in life. To walk down the road of good just like what Dulio Gesualdo did. The other is to go down the road of evil and selfishness just like what Cao Cao once did. And finally, to do nothing with it and wait for your own time to pass. I think some might go down that last road if they are scared of their own power.

Griselda-san then said, "…Your Eminence Cristaldi, continuing this conversation is meaningless. Even if we continued, there are no words in this world that can sway this child's heart. He always believed in it, and won't falter. Just like the one you deemed the cause of this rebellion."

After he heard Griselda-san's words, Ewald Cristaldi looked up at the sky and sighed. "You really are a stupid child…you haven't changed one bit."

Dulio-san just laughed at their words and got ready. His smile was back on his face.

"Very well, I will also follow my own beliefs too. Even though the God we respect is the same, if the 'Justice' we believe in is different, then it will have to be corrected!"

Ewald Cristaldi then pointed his blade at us, the replica of Excalibur and loudly shouted, "Continuing to talk is pointless! It's as you said. If you're also warriors, then use your weapons to make me yield! My warriors, this is a battle that Heaven has allowed! Today, we will let our beliefs be known to them!"

The warriors around him shouted in unison—a war cry that made the area around us tremble.

"Have no regrets in death! For the wages of sin—is death!" they shouted in unity.

Ewald Cristaldi raised his voice once more and then swung it down! Another loud cry from the warriors around us before they charged towards us. That was the signal that our battle started! Suddenly translucent transceivers appeared on all our ears and we heard Former President Sona's voice from it.

[It's finally started, everyone. Please assume the formation we spoke about,] she ordered through it.

Immediately after, Tsubaki-senpai and Tsubasa-san jumped in front of everyone and summoned both their Sacred Gears. [Mirror Alice] and [Twinkle Aegis].

The warriors in front of us immediately unleashed several projectile attacks towards us. Using guns that shot out light, or Sacred Gears that used light-based powers, they fired them all in harmony.

Tsubaki-senpai manifested countless numbers of mirrors in the air, and supporting her, Yura-san's shield used the power of the fairy to create a large barrier of light. Tsubaki-senpai's mirrors doubled the strength of the attacks and reflected them back to the opponent's side, whilst Yura-san's shield enveloped the long-ranged attacks from the warriors in flames and destroyed them. The first wave of attacks from the warriors was completely blocked by the defense of the Sitri's [Queen] and [Rook].

In order to prevent the opponent from aiming directly at them, the [Bishop] Momo-san used her artificial Sacred Gear to produce a protective barrier that enclosed Tsubaki-senpai and Tsubasa-san. The next to arrive were the close-ranged warriors. They wielded swords, guns, axes and other weapons as they charged towards us in a group formation.

[Our close-combat specialists, please engage them,] Sona-senpai ordered.

With that, five people dashed towards the warriors of the church. [Pawn], Ruruko-chan, [Knight] Tomoe-san, [Knight] Bennia-san, [Rook] Rugal-san and [Pawn] Saji-kun.

"First come, first served! Vritra, Balance Break!" Saji-kun shouted as his body was covered in black flames and he donned his Balance Breaker's armor. Saji-kun then sent out several [Absorption Lines] towards the Church's warriors.

Many were caught by it and had their powers absorbed. Some tried to cut it off, but they couldn't. Saji then switched his attention to the ones caught by his lines and one by one, he quickly and meticulously one-hit KO'd them.

However, some managed to dodged the lines and retaliated immediately. However, Ruruko-chan slammed her armor covered legs and foot into the side of each warrior that tried to attack Saji.

"I was fine," said Saji-kun.

"Yes, yes you were," Ruruko-chan said dismissively.

At another location, Bennia-san sighed. "Ah, how troublesome…" she muttered. She had been given a metal staff to wield by Aaron earlier. She was a Grim Reaper, so if she used her scythe to attack these church warriors, then she would kill them by accident since she'd harvest their souls once she cut them.

Beside her was Rugal-san, the hybrid [Rook] of Sona-senpai. His arms were covered in fire magic as he knocked down numerous warriors that came close to them. He was a werewolf and had the power to easily tear apart these warriors if he wanted. However, like Bennia-san, he was holding back and using non-lethal attacks on them.

I along with Irina had been tasked with staying back for now. The [Brave Saints] had also started to fight their fellow exorcists. Many of them had sorrowful expressions on their faces as they clashed. Neither wanted to do this, but they had to, since they wanted their ideals to be heard by us.

As the battle raged on, Tsubaki-senpai said over the transceivers, [President, while I don't need to meet those requirements anymore…I just did, may I use it?]

[Very well, everyone, fall back!] shouted Sona-senpai. When she did, everyone, including the [Brave Saints] also retreated.

"Balance Break!" Tsubaki-senpai shouted. As she did, numerous mirrors of all shapes and sizes appeared all over the place. "Come out, [Mad Hatter], [Dormouse], and [March Rabbit]!"

Out came from a mirror came a demon wearing a hat, an enormous mouse, as well as a rabbit that wore a tailored coat and walked on two legs! I had only seen this a few times in the [Pocket Dimension]. Tsubaki-senpai had been trained to use this at various points in time, and once she 'mastered' it, she asked Aaron to remove the 'condition' that had to be met before she could use it. It's called, [Nostalgia Mad Tea Party].

The large mouse ran towards the warriors and expelled a gaseous substance from its mouth. Then, the warriors' legs became weak, and they fell to the ground one after the other. [Dormouse] will forcibly put anyone to sleep in a fixed area.

"Hwaaaa…!"

"Uoooo…!"

At the same time, some of the warriors burst out in laughter and savage growls as they suddenly began to violently trash around. The rabbit in a tailored coat jumped all over the battlefield, and it created ripples on the surface of the ground every time it jumped.

Those warriors became like that because of the ripples. [March Rabbit] causes the people within a fixed area to become violent.

Finally, the slender demon that wore a hat on its head. This demon caught the eyes of the warriors and its eyes suddenly emitted bright light. They were then put into some kind of trance.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Iyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...…!"

All of a sudden, the warriors became frightened by something unseen. They started attacking with their weapons towards something invisible in front of them. [Mad Hatter] was capable of causing the people in an area to hallucinate.

Seeing all of this reminded me that…when that International Rating Game happens in the future, Sona-senpai's entire peerage after being helped by Aaron would become a formidable opponent for us again. It won't be a one-sided battle like our first Rating Game, but I was excited at the thought, instead of nervous.

Though, when I look at Tsubaki-senpai, she has changed quite a bit since we first met her. Especially with how she acts now. While she's still quite reserved, she's a lot more open with her feelings, with both everyone in her peerage, and especially with Aaron.

Whatever happened between when they went back to the Shinra clan a few months back…it definitely changed her demeanor. Just like the other women around him, she's trying to gain as much of his attention. And while she denies it, she has been seen going out of his office. We all assumed that she was helping him with his paperwork just like with Sona-senpai.

What was once a desperate fight for the 'secretary' position has been mostly quelled. This is because even Akeno-san has started to do the same as Tsubaki-senpai.

"Withdraw," ordered Ewald Cristaldi.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard that, when I looked back at the man, he had a serious look on his face. The warriors that were already defeated were all unconscious on the ground, so a few shadow soldiers appeared and brought them a safe distance away and they were healed. However, they also added a sleeping spell onto them to keep them asleep.

The battlefield which had been quite noisy just a few seconds ago had become completely silent. All the warriors retreated as Ewald Cristaldi began walking towards us. During those 100 years, we had faced a lot of monsters, even some 'people' that Aaron-senpai created for us to fight. Each one was terrifying and had overwhelming strength.

As Ewald Cristaldi walked towards us, we were reminded of that same power. Although we were stronger than him, he gave out a pressure similar to them. He was planning on facing all of us alone. That's how much confidence he has in himself.

"…Kira-chan, I think you already know that Cristaldi-sensei used to be the wielder of Excalibur. Right now, he's using a replica of Excalibur. It currently has the seven abilities of the original. It would be advisable to think that its true power is greater than four of the strongest Holy Swords combined," said Dulio-san.

[The members of the [Brave Saints] and my household will remain as the opponents of the warriors. Cristaldi's opponents will be led by Dulio Gesualdo-san who has been on standby until now, as well as Irina and Griselda. Yumi will also be going,] said Sona-senpai through the transceivers.

"Understood!" everyone shouted, and the battle commenced again with the church warriors, the [Brave Saints] and Sitri peerage taking their battle at a different spot.

The ones left here were Dulio-san, Griselda-san, Irina, me and Lianne-sensei behind us. The Reincarnated Angels opened their symbolic pure white wings while I created several Holy Demonic Swords all around me, of which I then took one of them and got into position facing the target in front of us.

As Cristaldi slowly walked towards us, he suddenly split into numerous avatars. Were these the avatars created using Rapidly's high-speed movement? Or were they conjured using Nightmare's ability? In spite of the fact that he had created several avatars without much of a change in movement, I hesitated to make a judgment…

There was someone who moved ahead of us. It was Griselda. She gathered light particles together in her palm and produced many balls of light. Without a word, Griselda fired innumerable balls of light at the avatars! Each ball contained a dense amount of light.

The light spheres pierced through the avatars! The pierced avatars were destroyed, returning them to nothingness. They weren't avatars created by using high-speed? In that case, that means they were illusions created by Nightmare!

Just when I had thought of this, one of the avatars used its sword to deflect the balls of light cane came rushing towards this side. He was the real thing! Irina and I raised our swords and prepared to engage him.

"It's Mimic!" Dulio-san shouted.

I reacted as soon as I heard the warning, and jumped to the side. Irina faced his charge and slashed through what was thought to be an avatar of Mimic in one blow. The avatar's shape collapsed, turning into string.

I followed it with my eyes. In the middle of the illusion shattered by [Hauteclere] just then, Cristaldi's figure could clearly be seen. The string in Cristaldi's hand completely rebuilt itself, returning to the shape of a sword, and then he darted towards Irina.

His mastery of the sword was amazing. Within all the countless avatars, there were illusions created by Nightmare, and at the same time, it was combined with Mimic.

On top of that, the real person used Transparency and Nightmare to conceal himself within the avatars. In only a brief exchange, the three abilities of Excalibur Mimic, Nightmare, and Transparency had all been demonstrated!

Irina probably realized it was Mimic, so she foresaw the next move and used her sword to block Cristaldi's attack which appeared out of the illusion! The moment I saw that, Irina was struck with a fierce blow from his sword! The opponent also added on the ability of Destruction in that strike!

However, to his surprise, Irina's body shattered as well and disappeared in a flash of light. She then appeared behind Cristaldi who hadn't reacted yet. She then kicked his back sending him away crashing to the ground.

"…Sensei, I think Xenovia has more mastery of destruction than you," Irina said to him.

He quickly recovered and in response to Irina's statement, the man showed an eloquent smile. "Well, I know that. However, I've already told you…that you shouldn't just measure Excalibur by its destructive power."

Cristaldi took out several crosses from the clothing around his chest and threw them up into the air. Seconds later Cristaldi recited a chant and the crosses in the air dispersed and planted themselves into the ground around us.

The crosses formed a barrier that surrounded Cristaldi and us. I put my hand up stopping the rest of the alliance from coming closer to us.

"It uses Blessing's power to enhance the barrier of the crosses. The Sitri household devils over there will be unable to get closer for around ten minutes," he told us.

I glanced at Irina, who glanced back at me, then we looked back at the Sitri household and nodded.

"Coming in hot!!" Saji-kun screamed as he jumped towards us. His hands were covered in purple draconic auras and they quickly transformed into aura-dragon heads. "Orraaaaaaaaaaa!!" Saji punched the barrier around us, shattering it.

"…?!" Cristaldi was shocked as he stared at us blankly.

"I'll leave it to you guys! Though, you could have done it yourselves," Saji-kun said with a chuckle before leaping away to join the scuffle in the distance.

"I'm also shocked, you know?" Dulio said and looked at us and Saji-kun.

Griselda sighed and explained, "Jin…has fundamentally changed their bodies. Any type of weakness a devil will have, will no longer affect them—so holy light or anything related to that does not work on them."

Cristaldi jumped backwards to create distance between us. At the same time he sent waves of light towards us using his Excalibur. Irina and I also sent our own slashes towards them, but once they hit them, they evaporated like fog. So those attacks were also an illusion…no, there were some that were real and some that were illusions. We've seen attacks like this before.

The ones that we didn't destroy missed us as we jumped away, but they immediately changed directions after we avoided the attacks.

"While I didn't have this back in my day, I do have a grasp on the abilities of Ruler," Cristaldi said casually.

I see, so he's using the ability of Ruler, even though he didn't have much practice with it, he can already do something like this? As expected of a wielder of the Excalibur fragments.

"I can't wait forever, right?" asked Dulio as he generated lights from his palms. In the next instant, the holy energy waves that were coming back to us were struck by lightning. It seems like he used his Sacred Gear.

"Even if this is a replica, as long as I'm wielding Excalibur, this kind of situation is a piece of cake," said Cristaldi. After that, he disappeared.

I sighed and brought my holy-demonic sword in front of me. Irina seemed to understand what I was about to do. "While I wanted to surpass Excalibur using technique and skill, seeing its abilities like this…is a bit annoying," I said to myself. Dulio-san looked at me confused.

I turned my blade to its dull side and using speed that was beyond the exorcist that was playing with us, I swung my sword around us.

"Ugh?!" a pained grunt was heard and Cristaldi was blown away as he clutched his chest.

All three angels looked at their teacher with worry as I walked towards him. "You may have mastered many of its abilities, and may have been amazing back in the day. However, it's clear to me that all this movement is tiring you, Cristaldi-san."

I dismissed my holy-demonic sword and summoned [Gram].

"Kira-chan?! Isn't that [Gram]?! Why are you using it? It'll sap away your lifespan!" Dulio-san said with worry.

I glanced back at him briefly then back at Cristaldi. "No, Jin-senpai…did something to it so I won't have to worry about it anymore. As far as I'm concerned, [Gram] can be used exclusively by me and no one else," I told him and pointed the sword at the man in front of me.

"…Even still, this is just a 'family' matter, laying down your life in this instance isn't worth it," Dulio-san said and walked towards me, he quickly arrived and put a hand on my shoulder. "Leave this to me, I'll defeat Sensei. So please use that sword against the Khaos Order and not against our comrades."

"Alright, Kira—no, Yumi-chan. You came from one of the church facilities, right? Well, that just makes you like a little sister to me then. I can't let my younger sister act so recklessly. Leave this to your older brother. I'm a sub-leader and I can't bring myself to tell Jin-kun that I endangered your guys," he told us and stepped in front of me.

Once in front of us, Cristaldi asked, "Dulio, you're known as the strongest man in the church. What do you fight for?"

Dulio-san simply smiled at him. "In order to let everyone live a peaceful life. That's not the only reason though."

He spread his ten wings, which were as white as snow. His body was wrapped in a golden aura, and the man known as the [Trump Card] was gradually concentrating the power of light on his palms. He made a ring in both his hands, and blew it through the middle.

What came out of the middle were bubbles which glowed with the colors of the rainbow. The bubbles spread everywhere around us. In such a fantasy-like scene, everyone in the area stopped what they were doing, and searched for the source of the bubbles that glowed with the colors of the rainbow.

Dulio-san said, "This is a technique utilizing [Zenith Tempest], [Speranza Bolla di Sapone (Rainbow Colored-Hope)]."

In Italian, Speranza Bolla di Sapone translates to [Bubbles of Hope]. Bubbles had inadvertently fallen onto my hand and burst in a dreamlike manner. Then, my mind recalled memories that made me feel nostalgic. That was when I sang hymns together with my comrades in that facility.

[Say, if we leave this facility, what does everyone want to do?]

[I want to be an artist. I want to draw a picture of Jesus that people will praise.]

We discussed our dreams every day. We embraced the hopes of life outside…

[I want to become a Sister. But, opening a florist would also be nice.]

[I want to be a racecar driver. I'll be driving the coolest F1 at top speed!]

[…I, as long as I can live happily with everyone, then…I'll be very happy.]

Everyone smiled at the shy girl who said that. I covered my mouth as I sobbed. Finally, I recalled it. Finally, I remembered it again. In fact, neither I nor them had ever wished for revenge. We only wanted to live. Nothing more. Even I understood that! I was well aware of it! Then that person's voice echoed in my mind.

'Live for me and for yourself at the same time.'

The crimson-haired woman who said those words to me, the woman who saved me, someone I admired like an older sister…

'Kiba is an irreplaceable friend to me. You, Gasper, and everyone else have been a significant influence on my life.'

Aaron…you mean as much to me too…

When I looked back up at the battlefield, everyone else was also in tears. Their weapons had been dropped to the ground and they sobbed uncontrollably.

Dulio let out a satisfied sigh and said, "…These bubbles remind the people who touch them about their most precious memories and their most important people. That's all there is to this technique. But this is the technique I desired the most, so I used my Sacred Gear to create it."

Bubbles that were able to make people remember what was most important to them. These rainbow-colored bubbles actually had such an ability…incredible.

'Dulio is the Church's gentlest child.'

Griselda-san's words echoed in my mind again. A technique which could make anyone docile. Known as the second most powerful Longinus, he chose not to use it for its destructive powers. He instead used a different method; he prevented harm and destruction.

However, even though Cristaldi had tears streaming down his face, he lifted his sword again. "…Nevertheless! If I don't settle this now, our rebellion will be in vain! Dulio!"

However, despite being affected by Dulio-san's technique, he still had the determination to stand up and face us.

"…Let's finish this, everyone," Griselda-san suddenly said as she spread her 16 white wings. From her palm, she created a bow made of light. Irina also wiped away her tears and brandished [Hauteclere].

"Sensei, please go down after this!" she begged him.

As I attempted to prepare my own sword, I noticed that [Gram] had disappeared and I had a completely different sword in my hands. It felt like it had holy, demonic, divine and…draconic properties on it…? Aaron said I could eventually create swords with dragon and divine-like properties with my new Sacred Gear, but I didn't think it would be here…

Once I gripped the handle tighter, it let out a powerful pulse that created an intense shockwave around me, drawing attention to myself. Everyone stared at the sword in my hands as a soft yet powerful aura covered its body.

Irina nodded and dashed forward. I followed after her as Dulio-san and Griselda-san provided us support. As we got closer to the man, he created multiple avatars again. We hacked and slashed through them, and we felt ourselves getting closer to the real one.

The real Cristaldi jumped above us and swung his sword down covered in powerful holy aura. Several more avatars also attacked us from all sides. I didn't need verbal confirmation from Irina, as she dealt with the avatars around us in quick succession. Our blades collided when I jumped towards Cristaldi.

To his surprise, my new sword absorbed the holy properties of his Excalibur's aura. As it absorbed the holy aura, its own power also increased. As we landed back on the ground, Irina also swung her sword down at Cristaldi.

"[Hauteclere] please use the power of purification!" she shouted, and hit Cristaldi on the shoulder. As if responding to Irina's shout, it began to purify the man.

"Haaaaah!" even though he was cornered, he let out one last shout and a bit of holy aura returned to his sword, but I absorbed it back up with my new sword. Next, an arrow hit Irina on the back and it exploded in creating a massive amount of light.

She used this plenty of times over the 100 years anytime we fought strong opponents…those arrows could only initially increase the power of angels, but she developed it enough to the point where it could be used on everyone!

With that, Irina's sword's purification powers were also increased. The holy aura around the sword was gradually fading as the man in front of us gritted his teeth. However, he still tried to draw out more of its power.

"…Sensei, here we go…" Dulio-san announced. After that, a large thundercloud had formed in the sky, a cold area began circulating around the area, then Cristaldi's sword froze. Then, an enormous bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck Cristaldi as we jumped away.

Cristaldi lay on the ground after our combined attack. Irina, Griselda and I knew that we could have ended this fight quickly, the same with Dulio-san if he used those techniques at the start, but…I doubt Cristaldi, or any of the warriors he brought with him would have been satisfied.

Griselda then used her transceiver to tell both our groups that Ewald Cristaldi had fallen.

"…If you used those bubbles at the beginning, you would've won already. No, as long as you used your Balance Breaker, you should've been able to easily defeat us all at once," said Cristaldi. He then shook his head. "No…those three as well, I felt Yumi Kira's power briefly, if she tried, I would have been destroyed in seconds, why didn't you…?"

"…I didn't want to use my power to do that as the warriors wouldn't have been satisfied. I simply decided to use that after a certain period of time passed. Rather than cutting the battle short, exhausting all your efforts would be better. Moreover, if I really had to release my Balance Breaker, the opponent must really be beyond redemption, like wicked people with no remorse," explained Dulio.

I agree, I also came to understand what Aaron meant…that they had a reason for this, and it was this—these people were never evil, they were just backed up into a corner and wanted an outlet for their frustrations…that's why he decided to accept this battle.

"You're too gentle…because we're known as warriors, and ultimately, our swords can be used as a means of communication. It's your victory, Dulio. Do as you wish, but let the others go. After all, I'm the one that brought them here. Only I am guilty."

Once the other warriors heard this, they used their remaining powers to stand up and protest. They didn't want their mentor to be punished and at worse, killed.

"…Everyone here has had their lives derailed by devils or vampires. I am also one of them. We simply couldn't find another way of life other than continuing to fight against those guys. Well, give me a punishment. Those children will then be able to change their way of life."

Upon hearing this, Dulio-san shook his head and sat down. "I won't do anything."

"…Why?" Cristaldi asked in confusion.

Dulio-san simply smiled and said, "Did you know that our leader believes in second chances for everyone? He and I have a lot in common, and even though I'm older than him, I have a lot of respect for what he does. I think…as the sub-leader, I can make that decision, right?" He turned to us and chuckled.

Tears streamed down Cristaldi's cheeks once more as he let out a soft chuckle. "You're too kind…too kind…both of your hearts are too kind…"

Dulio Gesualdo's and Aaron Toole's goals are one and the same, while Aaron's is on a larger scale than just the children of the church's facilities…their goals are practically the same. Is this the reason why they were nominated as leader and sub-leader? I could only speculate on so…

"Phew…Irina-chan, Yumi-chan, and Griselda-nee, you guys can leave and join the Gremory group…we're done here, I just want to speak to Cristaldi-sensei for a little bit longer," said Dulio-san.

As we began to walk away, Cristaldi said one last thing to us. "His Eminence Strada…is the true monster. However, I believe you can safely battle him…good luck."

…The Limits of Humanity and the Church's Violence…I wonder how powerful you really are?

…

Third Person Point of View

…

The fierce battle between Vasco Strada's warriors and the Gremory, Toole and [DxD] group had come to a halt as Dulio's bubbles also reached them. Once the warriors and several people from [DxD] touched them, they also began to cry.

"What is this…?" Rossweisse asked.

"It's Dulio's technique! I asked him about his Sacred Gear and he told me about it. It apparently makes you remember precious memories and anyone that you hold dear, and end up crying as a result!" Inaie said enthusiastically.

"…I see, that why some of ours and the church warriors and even His Eminence Strada are crying," said Grayfia as she looked at Vasco Strada.

Just as she said, Vasco Strada himself, along with Teodoro Legrenzi cried in the back, with Vasco Strada smiling as he looked on at the other church warriors. He had his hand on Teodoro Legrenzi as he bawled like a child his age.

Raynare, Ingvild, and Valerie were also affected by the bubbles as they silently wept. Gasper was there to try to comfort his friend.

"A truly wonderful ability made by the [Joker] of Heaven," praised Vasco Strada. Just then, Yumi, Irina and Griselda joined their side and confirmed what Inaie had said.

"Hmm. Everyone is here," he said and began to take off his vestments.

Underneath his clothes was a body made for a warrior. It shone in the night light. His muscles were like armor. This look was unbefitting of an old man over eighty years old. His smile never left his face as he stared at his adversaries and as he walked towards them. The replica of [Durandal] shook in his hand as it released a wave of power.

Irina and Yumi, who had just joined the group rushed towards Vasco Strada. Both swung their swords at the man and he blocked them with his Durandal replica.

"Hmm!" he grunted as he was forced back. "Wonderful! The Middleman has trained you well! But—!"

Vasco thrust his palm towards both of them, forcing them to dodge. To their surprise, he jumped up towards Irina and sent a punch towards her. Irina matched him and their fists collided—a powerful shockwave was generated by their fists and blew away the warriors of the church. The rest of Team [DxD] were protected by Rossweisse's barrier.

Yumi jumped towards him and swung her sword down with more power than earlier. Vasco used the power generated by his and Irina's fists to launch himself away, avoiding the attack. Yumi's attack flew by Irina and sliced the space apart, far into the sky.

"Wha—?! He dodged like that?!" Irina shouted in shock.

Rossweisse stepped forward and created a magic circle and fired a powerful ball of pure mana at Vasco Strada. Strada tried to locate the flaw in Rossweisse's magical attack, but found something strange about it, so instead of attempting to negate it, he avoided it instead.

"This so-called magic is a calculation. So, using the theory behind its formula to counter it, it's possible to cancel them out or destroy them. Especially the techniques of young Magicians, as they're unrefined and not concise. As long as a slight flaw is found, it'll be completely useless. As long as its structure is known, it can be negated with power. However, that attack just now…I have not seen it over my long life," said Vasco as he stared at Rossweisse.

"It is a different type that Jin showed me and several others, we can disguise it was what is usually perceived in our world," replied Rossweisse. The others who didn't know stared at her in surprise, especially the Valkyries and Brynhildr.

"Hmm. A totally different type of magic, is it? Interesting…" Vasco nodded in fascination.

"Then I'm going!" shouted Gasper as he transformed into his dark beast form and charged towards Vasco.

The old man pulled his right fist back and his muscles swelled up to an inhumane size. As Gasper approached, his fist was shot at Gasper. The Dhampir dodged the punch, but he felt a power breeze go by him and the buildings behind him were destroyed.

'Seriously?! Before we got stronger only Aaron-senpai and Sairaorg-san could do that! But this old man—a human can do it?!' thought Gasper as he glanced back at the destruction.

"The famous, [Holy Punch] that His Eminence Strada uses to eliminate evil. The average devil, vampire, and monster would be obliterated by it," Xenovia explained while looking at Strada and Gasper.

<<Take this!>> Gasper Balor shouted as he sent a large darkness-covered tendril towards Strada. Vasco evaded the attack, but Gasper wasn't done as he created more tendrils out of the one he used, and they all started attacking the old man.

Vasco used his replica Durandal to parry and block the attacks. Gasper stood there in awe as the old man managed to block his attacks. 'Even though we're holding back…it's still incredible to see this. I don't want to hurt him, but…'

"Gasper, switch," said Raiko as Gasper undid his transformation and was flung away by her.

"E-e-eeehhh?!? Gasper shouted as he was caught by Shirone. "I-I wasn't expecting to be thrown away like that, jeez, Raiko-san…"

Sparks and lightening flew around the battlefield as Vasco Strada and Minamoto no Raiko's swords clanged against each other. As their short battle continued, it was apparent that Raiko had the upper hand as Strada was left to defend. Even when he tried to retaliate, he didn't have much luck.

"Hmm. The legendary Minamoto no Yorimitsu, I heard many things about you when you were still a human, but now you're anything but that in this era. Tell me, do you regret becoming whatever you are instead of returning to our gods?" he asked her.

"…No. I love my life and I don't regret it one bit. It's also an honor to swap blades with you," replied Raiko, smiling with a genuine smile. He smiled at her as their swords clashed once more before they repelled each other.

Vasco stood there and scanned the Team of [DxD] and laughed heartily. "Wonderful, each and every single one of you has surpassed the majority of the older generation, including this old man. However, I can see that many of you have questions."

He stabbed Durandal into the ground and crossed his arms. "There is no special reason for my strength. However, I became like this because of my own efforts. All the blood, sweat, and tears I shed as a result of my training and battle experiences. As long as you maintain a healthy body as well as care for it, and have a faith in God, power will be built in your soul. It seems the Middleman knows that well; I can see the suppressed fighting spirit in you all."

As everyone was about to confront him together, Arthur Pendragon stepped forward and began to walk towards him silently. The air around him had changed, but he still maintained a calm smile on his face as he summoned [Caliburn] to his hand and stood in front of Vasco Strada.

"Hooh…I wouldn't have imagined that I'd be able to see that at my age," Vasco said as he looked at the sword in Arthur's hand.

"It is quite regrettable that the sword you hold is counterfeit. I really wanted to see how one of its strongest wielders was like," said Arthur.

Vasco picked up his sword and began walking towards Arthur. Eventually, they stood face to face, inches away from each other. Seconds later, both of them disappeared and hundreds of sparks flew around them as both of them appeared and disappeared from different spots as both swords clanged against each other. The metallic noise reverberated all around them as they watched the two swordsmen battle it out.

Slash after slash, slice after slice, thrust after thrust, their swords fiercely collided. Wide smiles were etched across their faces as they battled on.

"He reached this level of strength in a short time," mumbled Yumi.

"…Mmm. He's incredible, we needed twice the time. I guess he's what you call a prodigy, right?" Irina asked.

"…" Xenovia stared at the two. She wanted to be the one fighting His Eminence Strada right now, but Arthur joined them for this specific reason, so she let him.

They clashed once more at the same spot they first met; both were breathing heavily after the short sequences of battles. At each spot they clashed at, the ground had been destroyed, and neither of them had managed to get a clean hit off each other. However, each one had some injuries that were all shallow cuts.

Vasco Strada's well-tuned body had some cuts, while Arthur's clothing was mostly shredded. His glasses were also broken and clung for dear life to him.

Arthur gathered a calm aura around [Caliburn], he then suddenly thrust it to his side, creating a hole where it had pierced the space. The blade then disappeared into it. Noticing this, Strada bent his upper body backwards greatly and then horizontally, a sword suddenly appeared and flew out of a hole.

[Caliburn] has the ability to tear through space itself, teleporting the user from location to location via the portals opened. This could be used to strike opponents in their blind spots.

Vasco began to evade the attacks with fluid movement, and even parried some of them. Arthur on the other hand smiled the entire time—his fighting spirit was threatening to burst out, but…it suddenly disappeared and he recalled [Caliburn] to his side, confusing everyone.

Arthur put his sword away and re-adjusted his broken glasses and with a smile said, "Wonderful, but let's stop. If this continues, I won't be able to get over the shock."

The words that Arthur said confused everyone, but Strada understood and put his sword to his side. "Sorry, young swordsman," Vasco Strada told Arthur with a sorrowful smile. A smile appeared on Arthur's face before turning his back on him and walked back to the [DxD] group.

When he arrived by their side, he said, "If we had met thirty years earlier, no, maybe twenty, it would have been the most thrilling battle I—no, both of us would have had. But if it continued, it would only end in heartbreak."

Finally, Xenovia took a step forward. She wanted to face this battle alone—as much as everyone wanted to support her, they knew she had to do it alone.

Vasco Strada smiled at her and said, "I would have liked to fight the Dual Dragon Emperor too, however, his 'Slashing Princess' and the new wielder of [Durandal] is also fine." Strada closed his eyes and looked at Xenovia seriously. "Durandal's true essence is destruction. Show me."

"…Yes, your Eminence!" shouted Xenovia energetically.

Holding both their swords both swordsmen began to gradually increase their power, until they stopped. The area had become silent…and then a powerful explosion and shockwave shook the entire replica of Kuoh.

As their blades clashed, the entire dimension created by Aaron began to tremble. With each strike, the shockwaves alone destroyed all buildings around the replica of Kuoh. Deep fissures were created on the ground, as well as the space around them started to tear.

Xenovia jumped away before…she separated [EX Durandal] into two. Now she duel-wielded [Durandal] and Excalibur.

Both were equally powerful swords in their own right. Why was there a need to merge them together? Durandal and Excalibur were already powerful weapons, so combining them was unnecessary. That was the conclusion Xenovia came to as she watched Vasco fight earlier.

Yumi also told her of the mastery that Cristaldi had shown in their short battle as well, further convincing her of her future decision to separate them.

"…Excellent. That is the [True] form of [Durandal], a sword with only destruction! Show me now, Warrior Xenovia!" Strada shouted and they dashed towards each other again.

Xenovia swung both swords rapidly towards Strada. The old man parried and deflected the barrage of attacks, but it was clear he was starting to struggle. Xenovia suddenly jumped upwards and formed a cross with the two swords and then swung them down simultaneously.

"Nnnnaaaaaaghhh!!" He grunted loudly and deflected the attack, but it resulted in the replica shattering!

His Eminence Vasco Strada then kneeled down on the ground, his breathing becoming irregular and heavy. The old legend's stamina and age caught up with him. That is what Arthur meant. If they continued any further, Vasco would reach his limit before he faced Xenovia.

Xenovia approached Vasco Strada and as she was about to reach him, the young boy, Teodoro Legrenzi stood between them. Tears streamed down his face as he held both his hands to his side, as if protecting the old man behind him.

"…Please forgive His Eminence Strada. The fault is mine," he said shakily. Vasco Strada tried to get up but was stopped by Teodoro. "It's enough already! It's done…please stop. If you continue your health will only worsen…and if you die…I—how can I even do anything…?"

Teodoro turned around and spread his pure white wings which proved his status as a [Miracle Child]. He said in distraught, "My…father and mother were both killed by devils…" he looked at the devil's eyes filled with sorrow. "T-that's why I will never forgive devils! I'll never let them get away with it!"

They were shocked by this, especially the devils as they looked at the young boy who was born from a human and pure angel. To have his parents taken away by their enemy at such a young age…

Strada hugged the boy with a sorrowful expression, and he quietly said. "…An alliance is also wonderful, as it is a form of peace. However, some people will not be saved, and some people will be angry. Whether it's His Eminence Teodoro, or the warriors you faced today, they took up their swords after their lives were derailed by Devils."

No one was sure in what to do or say until Yumi stepped forward.

"…We only want to live peacefully. You have your own sense of justice, and you have your own values. However, my master, Rias Gremory, as well as Jin-senpai, Akeno-san, Shirone-chan, Asia-san, Xenovia, Gasper-kun, Irina-san, Rossweisse-san, Ravel-san, the Sitri household, and everyone dear to Jin-senpai are all my many comrades who live in this town. We've survived life and death situations together and have been through good and bad times."

Xenovia agreed with Yumi. "It's true. We all support each other. We're friends and comrades who have faced many things together. Even if His Eminence Strada or His Eminence Teodoro don't recognize it, we will face it with pride. Even if someone isn't satisfied with it, we will continue to fight for the people who believe in us."

"…I see, their eyes speak only the truth and their will is strong. Princess Rias Gremory, you have a pair of good [Knights]," said Strada.

"Yes, I'm proud of them," replied Rias as she looked at the two proudly.

Yumi and Xenovia were similar in that they were from Church facilities, yet the path they followed in life were different. But now, while serving under the same master, and through their mutual experiences, they began to have similar ideas again.

Irina also approached the two [Knights] and stood beside them. "Your Eminence Strada, Your Eminence Teodoro, I also believe that evil devils exist, but… Irina looked back at the friend she'd made, and smiled. There are also good devils, it's the same as humans. Even in other mythologies, there are good and evil gods."

Upon hearing that, Strada laughed loudly. "Ah, I see, I see. However, as an angel for you to talk about Pagan gods…yes, yes, this is the result of the alliance—the one that Jin Skyward wanted…it means a new era has begun!"

Vasco Strada tried to stand up again while holding onto the broken replica of Durandal. He hadn't lost his fighting spirit and was willing to die at that very moment. Seeing this, Teodoro shook his head.

"Please stop…! It's already enough, your Eminence Strada! You and His Eminence Cristaldi and the warriors who fought for me, it's enough. When my feelings and frustrations were heard by these people, they supported me, but…I'm willing to take full responsibility, so I should receive the punishment, I will use my life as payment!"

Strada revealed a kind smile, and he gently stroked the boy's head. "A child complaining about injustice is something that happens in any era. Your complaints were very honest and pure. Due to that, I, along with the other warriors, would take up the sword again. What I wanted to see the most was them accepting yours and the warriors' beliefs."

"They didn't dismiss us. They accepted us and listened to our beliefs. They had already thought deeply about how to stop us, how to accept our beliefs without crushing them. At that point in time, we had already lost."

He smiled at them again. "That is why I shook hands with Jin Skyward that day. He understood our sides predicament, and accepted it without hesitation…Team [DxD], you have a young leader, but it feels like he already lived another lifetime and has knowledge of it."

He continued, "In my mind and Cristaldi's mind, we had already asked the Lord to forgive us. His Eminence Teodoro and the warriors are still young. This incident was caused because I fanned the flames. After hearing what was said in this battle, and with my death, they will be able to find a new way of life."

The warriors around them began to plead to him, and that they would follow Vasco Strada to the depths of hell and purgatory, making the old man smile and the young Teodoro cry harder.

"Then let me kill all of you~!" said an ominous male voice. When everyone turned towards the voices' direction, a large blade covered in purple flames were already inches away from hitting Teodoro and Strada.

The ones nearest to them tried to react, but they were too late—

As the attack was about to hit both of them, a sea of darkness sliced apart the attack that created an even more powerful shockwave than Xenovia and Strada's clash from earlier.

"W-what the—" a female's voice said.

In the distance, a man with long black hair, elf-like ears and clear blue eyes. He wore an elegant black and pale blue suit with bat-like wings near his waist. He had a bright blue bow near his neck, a feather near his heart and he carried a book.

Beside him was Walburga, the Witch of the Purple Flames, and two more elf-like people beside them. Both were males, the one on the left had ashen-colored hair, red eyes and wore a clown costume and had the white make-up on his face. To the right, the male dressed like Walburga, except he was a guy and had crimson-colored lips, hair, purple eyes and the dress was a mix of crimson-red and purple.

"…That feeling, it felt like—" Walburga was cut off as a figure appeared from the shadows below them. "Slash Dog!" she screamed.

"Eh? I thought Ikuse-san was in Grigori looking after Sae-san…" Gasper said confused.

"N-no…this feeling—"

"Jin?!" Raynare screamed out and pointed at the black beast humanoid covered in darkness. Another figure appeared and it was a jet-black hound resembling a dog and it held a crimson-colored sword in its mouth.

The black beast humanoid turned back to everyone and the darkness that covered his head vanished revealing his face to them. <<Yo. I guess my bet paid off,>> he said and turned back to the new enemies.

"The Dual Dragon Emperor has [Canis Lykaon]…?" Walburga asked confused.

"Who cares about what he has? We can kill them now and retrieve the thing that the old fucker stole!" shouted the clown vampire-elf thing.

<<Shin, let's go. The rest of you can regroup with group one, my shadow soldiers will guide you…Vasco Strada, take this,>> said Aaron as he threw a slime pill at him.

"—Awooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" [Canis Lykaon] howled as both of them appeared beside the clone elf-vampire and the Walburga-lookalike vampire-elf.

Without waiting for them to respond, both Shin and Aaron sliced them apart with Shin using his crimson sword and Aaron using a scythe made of darkness.

"Shit! He's as proficient at using it as Tobio Ikuse—we need to retreat!" shouted Walburga.

"Why? That is not necessary," replied the vampire-elf man who wore the elegant suit.

Walburga ignored the man beside her and tried to activate her magic circles, but they did not work. "Why?!" she shouted. "It worked literally a few seconds ago!!"

<<…Because I let you teleport in. Once you're in here, not even Lapis and her creations can save you,>> Aaron calmly told her.

…

Earlier, before Vasco Strada and Xenovia's duel, Aaron, and his group stood by in his meeting room with Azazel and Michael.

"So? What the hell are you going to do and when?" asked Azazel.

Instead of answering him Aaron smiled at him and a small jet-black puppy with glowing red eyes materialized on his shoulder.

"Y-you…! I thought you got rid of that?!" he asked shocked.

"My…is that [Canis Lykaon]?" Michael asked as he reached out and stroked the puppy's head. "How did you acquire it? I believe it belonged to Tobio Ikuse-kun, right?"

Aaron told Michael what he showed Azazel a few months ago and his original plans pertaining to Heaven and gaining their trust. Safe to say, Michael was flabbergasted by this.

Lavinia reached out and took the jet-black puppy from his shoulder and he snuggled into her embrace. "What's his name?"

"You plan on keeping it?!" Azazel asked again in shock.

"Shin. Like the 'Shinigami' the God of Death in Japan. And if you add our names together Shin+Jin, Shinjin. It means 'believing minds', referring to 'faith' in general towards divine beings, a 'kami' (God) if you will," explained Aaron.

"Shin-chan~!" Lavinia happily said and kissed the puppy on the head.

"…This fuc—ahem, so you're rolling with how many Sacred Gears now?" the Governor asked again.

"I plan on using [Abyss Extinction], [Demon Armor: Incursio] and maybe [Canis Lykaon] when working as [EXE]'s leader. My [Boosted Gear] and [Divine Dividing] are still my Sacred Gears for [DxD]. Also, I don't plan on keeping [Abyss Extinction] and [Demon Armor: Incursio] forever. I might even give it to my future children someday," he told them.

"You're already talking about having kids…shit I might be getting old…" Azazel muttered and then got smacked by Michael.

"Language!"

"Oh, come on!"

"…Hmm. I better join them. I feel something trying to break into the replica of Kuoh," said Aaron and he stepped away from them. "Kuroka, you come with me, the rest…please maintain the barrier, thank you in advance," he told them.

Kuroka walked over to him while taking Shin from Lavinia much to her disappointment. She stopped a few feet away from after Shin jumped towards Aaron.

Aaron planned on using Tobio's [Perfectus Tenebrae Lykaon et Fortis Densus Laelaps], as he had trained with [Canis Lykaon] one night ago for 20 years. Lavinia had joined him for the first five two nights back. At the time, Aaron didn't give [Canis Lykaon] a name.

He held his hand out and began chanting the forbidden incantation.

<< — Behowlest the slaying of thousands of mortals and principles >>

Shin turned into his adult form and both their bodies were shrouded in pitch black darkness.

<< — Besingest the slaying of tens of thousand of goblins and evil omens >>

As he chanted, Aaron began regulating his own 'outer god' power into Shin as he wanted to see how powerful it would get. He had already upgraded it but didn't evolve it. He was curious but held off for the time being.

<< — Mine name, which reacheth unto the farthest abyss, tis the Imitation God beguiling the Polar Night and the Midnight Sun >>

Small jet-black waves with black-white flames pulsed from his body, as well as Shin's.

<< —Thou shalt be exterminated by our own jet black demonic blade >>

The room then became pitch black, the darkness surrounded them, and Aaron's silver eyes glowed eternally within it, as did Shin's crimson eyes.

<< —Thou art merely ephemeral, oh paranormal Creator God >>

Finally, he finished his chant and all the darkness in the room flew back into Aaron and Shin. Aaron had turned into pure darkness that slightly resembled a black beast humanoid-dog creature. Beside him, Shin had also turned into a jet-black hound with glowing eyes.

"…Uh, are you okay?" Azazel asked. "I've seen Tobio with that but—"

<<I'm fine, Azazel. Though I'm thankful you're worried about me,>> he said and chuckled. He then looked at Kuroka and added, <<Let's go. I'll leave the rest to you; I have a magic circle ready for transportation too!>>

With those words, Aaron, Kuroka and Shin teleported into the replica of Kuoh town.

…

"Nya nya nya nya!"

"Nee-sama, what are you even saying…?" Shirone asked her older sister. Kuroka was in her own special [Mode], the one she used back in the Underworld during the Auros academy crisis.

"It means…behind us!" Kuroka shouted and fired several balls of touki behind them. Shadows of the Phantasma and a few creatures that belonged to their universe had appeared there too.

"But we don't need to stay, let's leave this to—" before she could finish her sentence, Shin appeared along with several other Shins and they began to hack and slice their way through the Phantasma shadows. "—Shin, because he's here…nyahaha~!"

The original Shin looked back at them and nodded his head before joining the others in slaughtering the rest of the Phantasma shadows. On the other hand—Aaron fought Walburga and the man he found out was called 'Sefer'. He was also part of the Ueboros and was ranked 11th.

The man was half elf and half vampire to his surprise, and the others he killed earlier were also part of his species in his universe. However, there weren't many of them as their planet originally fought back against the Phantasma's invasion and was nearly wiped out. That was when they surrendered and they joined them.

Sefer wasn't born when those events happened as it was around 300 years back. Sefer himself was only 78 years old. He was quite young, but was also born special in his species. He had the power to rival God-class beings at birth and was only made powerful afterward through training and doing several trials within his universe.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Dammit! I can't—"

Aaron slammed his knee into Walburga's stomach making her puke as he sent her away. In one swift motion he turned his attention to Sefer who tried to retaliate and changed his arm into a black-crimson spear and thrust it towards Aaron.

Sefer grinned at the thought of hitting Aaron, but to his surprise, when he 'hit' Aaron, his hand just passed through him, like he was trying to attack a black fog. Aaron elbowed Sefer on his nose sending the young hybrid away.

He turned his attention back to Walburga. He didn't want to kill her, as she would be more valuable as a prisoner, so he planned on capturing her. Aaron created another scythe of darkness and swung it in her direction.

Walburga recovered and barely dodged it, but noticed her arm was missing. She gritted her teeth and held back from screaming in pain. She fired purple holy flames towards Aaron, but he simply sliced them apart.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck! I don't need a damn repeat from four years agooo!!' she screamed in her mind as she got on a broom and flew away. She looked back and was horrified as Aaron was right on top of her. 'Shi—'

Aaron slammed his body into her, causing her to break her broom and she slammed into the ground. Walburga briefly lost consciousness, but she quickly woke up and looked around her. 'They'll have to do!' she then used her Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker!

[Incinerate Antiphona Calvario], or [Blazing Verdict by the Final Judge]. It's Walburga's subspecies Balance Breaker. It has the ability to manifest different forms depending on the souls that she uses. The forms are able to move independently from her and act like an independent-avatar type.

She used the souls of the dead Phantasma shadows and they rose up in medium sized crosses while they had turned pure white with flames surrounding them. "Get him!" she screamed and pointed at Aaron.

The new white Phantasma shadows rushed towards Aaron as they fired white-purple holy flames at him. Aaron slammed his foot on the ground as thousands of blades made of darkness appeared in front of him. They shot up from the ground and eliminated the attacks. He then increased his speed and sliced apart the reanimated souls of the Phantasma shadows.

"Hii?!" Walburga flinched as she tried to jump away, but was caught by…tendrils made of shadows. "Wha—he can't do that, can he?!"

<<I can, and I will,>> replied Aaron as he appeared behind Walburga. He brought his darkness scythe and prepared to slash down Walburga.

'…Tch. Why did I have to go down like this? At least I won't—'

Aaron swung his scythe toward her, 'separating' something from her body. Walburga fell to her knees confused. She felt around her body and something was odd to her. She looked up and saw Aaron carrying something.

<<Looking for this?>> he asked and held purple flames in his hand.

"You…you 'cut' my Sacred Gear out of me…?!" she asked, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Tobio Ikuse was able to cut anything as he used his [Canis Lykaon], so Aaron went into his [Pocket Dimension] to be able to do that too, and more. If Tobio could 'cut everything' ranging from concepts to magic, space-time and Gods, then Aaron wanted to be able to do that, as well as people's 'Threads of fate', and as well as separate their Sacred Gears or other powers from them.

Aaron right now with his own version of [Canis Lykaon] and [Perfectus Tenebrae Lykaon et Fortis Densus Laelaps] could even remove anything from anyone, though he could do that with a simple punch too. But he wanted to evolve this version of [Canis Lykaon] and eventually pass it down to one of his children.

<<…Well, I'll be keeping this for now. Good night, former Witch of the Purple Flames.>>

Walburga's world then turned dark as she passed out after Aaron chopped her neck and put her in his [Inventory]. He glanced back and saw that the clone he left was still playing with Sefer. Aaron jumped back to the two fighting and high-fived with his clone before he disappeared.

"…T-that was a mere clone…?!" Sefer asked in shock. Sefer had been doing well against the Middleman, so he thought he wasn't much. However, to his surprise just now… 'I was fighting a clone…?!'

Aaron slammed his fist into his gut knocking the wind out of him and sending him away. He then sent thousands of blades of darkness at Sefer who quickly countered by summoning sharp tendrils of crimson-black and fired them at the blades. The attacks collided and destroyed each other—or so thought Sefer.

But he felt searing hot pain all over his body and when he looked at it, he had been pieced by the blades.

"Khh…! Everything—the plan already went wrong…! Dammit…!" shouted Sefer.

Sefer was a calm and composed man. He wanted to plan everything and account for every variable in a mission. No matter how miniscule it was, he needed to plan for it. However, the mission he was on was currently meant to be done by rank 10 Radelia. But it was suddenly thrust upon him with no warning by the one person he 'trusted' and 'respected'.

Confused and left with no choice, he found out everything about the mission and came up with only a few plans for it. The man who told him about this mission was Infersos, the leader of the Umbra. He offered to have some of Radelia's followers help him, but he didn't trust them. Instead, he enlisted help from two others of his race.

However, their lives were cut short as Aaron and Shin immediately killed them with no remorse. What he didn't know was that Aaron transferred their memories into a new item he created a day prior. He 'linked' this item to his himself personally, so anyone he targeted the item at would have their memories stored in that item.

The two he killed earlier only showed things that concerned their own planet and species as well as a few missions they had been on. Aaron found that this was originally meant to be Radelia's mission, but was put on Sefer for unknown reasons. He didn't care though, since it didn't make it complicated since he would have to fake Radelia's death.

"…I won't die, I can't die, I have too much to live for!" roared Sefer and his power increased exponentially.

Millions of crimson-black spears materialized everywhere around Aaron. Some began to change into different types of weapons like axes, javelins, swords, halberds and many more that Aaron didn't know the name of.

"I am a weapon and magic expert! I learned and mastered your universes magic circles and formulas! It's inferior to our powers! …If I had time, I would have meticulously destroyed all of you!" Sefer screamed at Aaron and then gestured his hand and the weapons began raining down on him.

After Sefer sent those to Aaron, balls of light also appeared as well as balls of crimson blood that transformed into creatures that also flew towards him and began to attack him.

'It looks like he has a short temper when things don't go his way,' thought Aaron as he internally sighed. He summoned two scythes on both hands and thousands of Shins appeared around him.

The Shin's howled which created large balls of darkness above them. Those balls of darkness then flew in several directions. Some began absorbing the attacks while countless others began firing their own weapons made of darkness that cancelled, blocked or sliced apart Sefer's attacks.

Aaron spun the two scythes in his hands and flew towards Sefer. He used one to block and absorb some attacks and prepared the other.

"Pesky God…!" Sefer aimed his fingers at Aaron with the objective of dismantling the power that he was brandishing.

Apart from being gifted with many things, Sefer was also born with the power to [Dismantle] anything he saw or touched. It worked like [Worthlessness] of the Belial clan. He needed to understand how the powers or things (item or power) worked and he could simply 'dismantle' them.

Numerous pale blue beams were shot towards Aaron as he kept flying towards Sefer. Sefer himself grinned at the thought of dismantling his powers—he in his mind already knew how 'darkness' worked. His universe was full of it, and his outer god was called Magnum Tenebrosum, also known as [Darkness] or [Lord of Darkness]. He was confident in being able to dismantle his powers.

Aaron dismissed the other scythe he used to repel attacks and swung his other one towards the pale blue beams. Much to Sefer's horror, his beams were slashed apart into nothing.

"Wha—how—that's impossible!" he shouted and summoned his Grimoire. "Tch, in that case—" as he began to chant, Aaron appeared behind him and slashed his arm off.

The grimoire he had was also in that hand, so it fell to the ground. Sefer howled in pain and glared at Aaron. As he glared at Aaron, the words of Infersos repeated in his head.

'Do not underestimate the outer gods. No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much of a genius or monster you are, they are beyond our comprehension. But don't mistake it—Sefer…today you may die on your mission, but I've found a good replacement for you.'

"Shitty old geezer, fuck you too, Yve—" Just before he was killed, Sefer's life flashed before his eyes.

Sefer was born a genius; he was born with power that could rival the power of combat-class gods in the Draconic Deus. This made him arrogant, but at the same time he knew what he could do with his power in the future.

So, he bid his time, he studied, trained and made contacts to one day become the top of his species, and the opportunity came when the new positions for the Ueboros opened up. In his mind, he could get the highest rank. He had the power, the intelligence, the connections, and everything else a leader could have.

Yet, when he found his rank, he was shocked. He asked about it and Yve, the one responsible for giving out the ranks said, 'You weren't a fit for what we have in Ueboros. We need people that can 'work' together, while you give off the 'air' of being able to cooperate…I found things that say otherwise. I cannot risk you doing something reckless before my god's revival.'

It was a blow to his ego, and from that day onward he detested Yve. He held her in high regard before that—dare he say, even 'love' if that was possible for him. But that was gone after that day. However, he did not have an outburst, but he began to plan, plan for a way for him to become the right-hand of their leader, or become part of the Eradicators.

His consultant, Infersos knew of this and even supported him. Though at the time he didn't know he was being used and would be betrayed eventually.

"Screw you—"

With one final swing of his scythe, Aaron had sliced Sefer in two. At the same time his memories were stored in the device he had set up. Aaron…had done three things. He killed him, grabbed his memories and…he looked at a crimson-black wisp in his hands.

He had also taken his [Dismantle] ability from him. "Now then, who would make good use of this…?" A list of names flashed across his mind. There were a few, but it came down to—

[Are you done yet?] asked Ddraig in a huff.

'Ddraig please, it's not like he's going to use Shin that much in battle…,' said Elsha.

'Yeah, just about,' replied Aaron as he left his Balance Breaker state. Shin also appeared beside him and rubbed up against him.

[Well sorry for not being able to do that! Do you want me to transform into a mini dragon and bark?!]

{…You are way too jealous about it. I was a bit, but you're taking this—}

[Shut uppppp!! I was his partner!! Uwaaaaaaaa!]

'You still are…jeez, I didn't think the [Welsh Dragon], the [Dragon of Domination] was this much of a crybaby…' Elsha said in disbelief.

'You still are Ddraig…jeez, I have you, Albion and Shin now, but that doesn't mean I'm throwing you away. You're my partner too,' explained Aaron.

Suddenly Ddraig came out in his human form and hugged Aaron. [Uuuuuoooo!! Parrrrtneeeeerr!!]

Aaron chuckled and hugged him back. "I swear, you're more of a handful than the girls at times."

…

Jin Skyward's Soliloquy

…

I grabbed the grimoire that was also left on the ground and inspected it. It was…blank? It must have something. I'll take a look at it later, so I shoved it into my [Inventory].

As I walked back to everyone else with Shin (Ddraig had gone back into his Sacred Gear), I spotted everyone had been near the teleportation circle, but didn't leave. I guess they just watched me then.

"Nyahaha~ I got rid of them with Shin earlier," said Kuroka as she gave me a peace sign.

I walked over to her and patted her head. "Well done, and thank you for helping him."

"How were those Phantasma guys?" she asked and patted Shin on the head.

"…Shin and I killed them pretty quickly. I could feel that he was panicking the entire time. If I had to guess, he wasn't meant to be in this 'attack', so he was under prepared and that led to his death."

"Hmmm~ well, not like it matters. We'll just kick their ass when necessary," she said with a grin and we arrived by everyone.

"Good work guys, I saw it all earlier with Azazel and Michael," I told them and patted Dulio on the back. "I would expect something like that from one of my sub-leaders. If I'm ever out of commission, take over for me."

"Roger that, Captain!" Dulio said with a salute and then laughed.

The church warriors had long since given up as their weapons had been gathered up by everyone else. When I looked around, Arthur had left. I guess he only wanted to fight against Vasco Strada. Azazel and Michael also joined us. I feel like I sent a way too powerful team to face against Vasco Strada. Even my group was enough to casually fight them.

Hell, Inaie looked like she had the time of her life just 'Mario stomping' everyone like they were goombas. But she was scolded by Brynhildr at the 'inhumane' way she was fighting. I looked to my right and saw Vasco giving Asia a basket.

"To you, Sister Asia. Do you remember me?" he asked her.

Asia nodded and said, "Yes, of course, I would never forget meeting you, Your Eminence. But…what are these?"

He smiled. "They're letters of thanks from the people that you cured with your power."

Asia was lost for words. They were letters of thanks from the time when Asia cured people as a nun.

Old man Strada continued. "After you left the Church, these letters still continued to come to us."

"…Why did you give these to me? Wouldn't it have been better to dispose of them after receiving them…?" she asked confused.

Strada pulled Asia's hand and smiled gently. "…When I heard that you were going to be excommunicated, I wanted to search for you as soon as possible…but I did not make it in time. I'm very sorry."

These words to Asia made her tear up. "…I…that…!"

"I hope that you'll write back to the people who sent these letters, or ask them how they are. I have already arranged for that. If you want to meet them, you just need to let the Church know."

Strada stroked Asia's head as she cried, and Asia tried not to make any noise as she cried. It looked like the thing she did before meeting us wasn't all for naught then.

Vasco then spoke with Azazel. "Governor-dono. It looks like those traitors who Jin warned us about showed up."

"Hmm. What we spoke about with Michael and Jin came true. Though we partially knew that someone from the Khaos Order, probably Rizevim incited this rebellion, the fact that Jin was doing all of this just heated them up even more. At least we captured Walburga…where is she by the way?" Azazel asked me.

I clicked my fingers and she reappeared tied up in anti-magic cuffs and ropes. I also sealed her magic. "I'll keep [Incinerate Anthem] for now. I have an idea of who may use it in the future. But if you want it for something, just contact me."

Azazel nodded then ordered the exorcists to bring Walburga with them and turned back to Vasco who pulled out something. "I also have this; I heard those young ones say that they wanted this back."

"Heh, so you stole the final chalice from Rizevim then?" I asked. What he had was the final piece of the Holy Grail, the last subspecies of Valerie's Balance Breaker. I gestured for Valerie to come over and she stared at it.

"We have all of them now. Valerie's original, the one from Marius and now the one that Rizevim had. Go on, take it," I told her and she reached out and grabbed it. As soon as she had it, it glowed and disappeared into her body. She clutched her head, but Shin stood beside her and supported her. I also grabbed her and asked, "Are you okay?"

"…Yes, I'm fine. I finally feel 'whole'…" she mumbled and hugged me for support.

"Then I am glad, Valerie Tepes," Vasco said with a smile. Finally…he turned to Xenovia who also came over to us. "Warrior Xenovia. Our duel was very elegant. Forgive me for what I said to you back then. It seems like you and [Durandal] have evolved in a different direction… Love, Maiden Xenovia. [Durandal] also seems to be more forgiving because there is love."

Xenovia stood there stunned, but didn't say anything as she bowed to him.

As he walked away with Azazel and the other angels and Michael, I couldn't help but think he was a magnificent man. He had already planned it all, took the burdens of Teodoro and still managed to do all of this. 'I want that man as my subordinate if possible…I know he wants to die and be together with the God of the Bible but…'

"Let's go back home for now, everything's done…" I told everyone and they agreed.

…

Azazel's Soliloquy

…

As I walked away from everyone else in Team [DxD], the old man Vasco Strada briefly glanced back at them—but something happened that I was expecting. Tears started to stream down his cheeks and they didn't stop.

"…Is something wrong, Vasco Strada?" Michael asked. The other angels and exorcists that came with us were also stunned, as well as the other warriors they had with us.

However, he simply shook his head and almost had a relieved expression on his face. "…No…it's nothing. However, I believe…this world is in safe hands, Governor-dono, Michael-sama," he told us and closed his eyes.

…What? I looked back and saw Jin being dogpiled by several of the girls in his harem. What in the world did he see over there that made him cry? For someone like him to shed genuine tears…it wasn't difficult, but…

…

Jin Skyward's Soliloquy

…

A few days after that nightly fiasco, Ravel left for the Underworld as she was going to participate in a Rating Game with her brother, Riser. I knew what was coming, so I warned her in advance not to hold back if anything goes wrong. She was confused and concerned, but took me seriously.

Right now…It was the day when the candidates in the Student Council Election would give their speeches. After the teachers and students of the school were gathered in the gym, they would listen to the candidates' final speeches before voting. This would be the most crucial moment for Xenovia.

As the candidates spoke one after another, Saji, who was running for Vice-President stepped onto the stage.

"Hello, I'm Saji Genshirou, a second-year. My reason for running to be Vice President of the Student Council is—"

Saji spoke about very reasonable things. Most were down to earth topics he talked about.

"Yo, we're looking forward to the star of the sports clubs!"

Although there was the sound of some booing, there was some laughter, but it was still an admirable speech overall.

There were a few others who took to the microphone and gave their speech, like Saji's there were some who supported it, a few boos, and a few laughs. Finally, it was Momo's turn. She walked up to the stage, and spoke softly into the mic.

"The reason why I'm running for Student Council President is because I've always been watching and following Sona-senpai's model closely, while succeeding the former President's will, at the same time, I want to build a new Kuoh Academy together with everyone."

Her speech was coherent, and straight to the point, which allowed the students to easily understand its meaning. Momo narrated her thoughts and experiences when she was closely watching Sona. She clearly described her new vision for Kuoh Academy to the students. It was an interesting speech which made the students feel Momo's sincerity towards the Student Council.

After her speech there was a loud round of applause for Momo as she smiled at everyone and walked off the stage. Finally…it was Xenovia's turn. She made her way up to the stage and stood in front of the mic.

"Xenovia-chan, you'll be fine!"

"I-I'll still cast a vote for Xenovia-san even if she doesn't do well in her speech!"

Her fans cheered her on. Beside me were my two friends, Kikijo and Higuro. Both were nervous for her as one of them kept biting his nails and the other was sweating profusely. Last night…I helped Xenovia practice her speech along with Asia, Irina and Aika. But the speech she prepared wasn't what I would call her 'style'. It felt, I guess…robotic and unlike her. But I still supported it.

I also did the same thing for Momo as she lived with us and I wanted to show her equal support. However, she's mostly independent and didn't ask much from me and simply wanted me to listen to her last night.

Xenovia took out a piece of paper that her speech was written on. She paused and looked around the gym. For a brief second our eyes met. I hoped that she would remember what she told me in the swimming pool that night and say that to them instead. She looked back down at the piece of paper before putting it away and took a deep breath and began her speech.

"…Before this year, I was someone with very small knowledge of the outside world. I was brought up in a Church-related facility. Before I came to this school, I didn't have the chance to call myself a 'student'. In terms of my education in this country, I would have a year, meanwhile I would have about ten years' worth of time of education in the church."

The sudden curve-ball of a speech caused a commotion among the normal human staff and student body, yet she continued.

"I am running for Student Council President because my life in this school was very fulfilling. I attended school for the first time since I was born. Here, I never felt bored. The various subjects were valuable, spending time with classmates during break was also fun, the activities of the Occult Research Club were also fun, the sports and cultural activities were also fun, the school trip to Kyoto was also fantastic; all of it was very new, and I felt joy from the bottom of my heart."

"Although my way of expressing that wasn't very effective, I think I enjoy this kind of school the most. I like it so much that I ponder every time—is it really alright for such a lovely place to exist in the world? Also, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all the students in this school who helped me. For taking good care of me even though I was ignorant of school life and many worldly things, thank you so much. Thus, the reason why I wanted to run for Student Council President is for this school. In addition, I wanted to express gratitude to be able to attend this school with everyone."

This speech wasn't about running for Student Council President, rather, it simply expressed her personal feelings towards the school. Nonetheless, all of the students and staff listened to her intently. There wasn't a single person who looked down or even ignored Xenovia.

"I want to leave something behind in this school. It's the first school that I attended since I was born, my first experience of school life, a place that has given me something precious. I want to leave behind proof that I was once here."

"I will become a Student Council President with a different style and approach to the former President, and it will also feel very different from the one we have today."

"However, if you think of something, please do not hesitate to complain to me about it, vent your dissatisfaction and frustrations to me. I will do my best to respond to them! If there are any problems, I hope that you'll be able to trust me!"

"I will definitely try to help you! I will definitely use my position as Student Council President to protect everyone in this school! In the past year, this school and its students have given me ten years' worth of happiness as I was unable to attend school previously."

"Because of this, for my last remaining years here I want to do my best to protect this school, and protect the students that I am grateful to! I want to create a Kuoh Academy that will be loved by everyone!"

It was clear that she was giving a heartfelt speech that required a lot of effort on her part. Seeing Xenovia who tried her best to convey her deepest thoughts through the microphone, everyone was able to understand that they were her genuine thoughts.

Finally, Xenovia said with a wide smile, "Everyone, let's make this the best school in this country. No, I'll definitely make it into one. So, I'd like everyone to please take care of me."

A few seconds of dead silence—the students immediately burst into loud and intense cheers and applause while Xenovia bowed to everyone. Her fans went crazy, the ones who didn't understand her before finally did and also clapped for her, the ones unsure of her looked at her in admiration.

The sounds of cheers kept getting louder even after the teachers tried to quiet us down.

Momo's speech spoke about her love for the Student Council. But in contrast, Xenovia spoke about her love for the students and the school. Out of all the speeches today, it was one of the more notable ones.

When I looked around the gym, whether it was Asia, Irina, Aika, or the Occult Research Club members or the Student Council members, they shed tears as they clapped for her. Lisa, Penemue, Rossweisse, and to my surprise Azazel also wiped a tear from his eye.

However, Griselda, who was an older sister figure to Xenovia, probably cried the hardest for her. She had a handkerchief out as she wiped her tears away.

After that, the speeches ended and the voting began, and they ended quite quickly as most students had already chosen their candidate, or had changed it during the speeches. Once everyone started making their way out of the gym, I made my way to Griselda who still was a bit emotional.

"Are you okay, Griselda?" I asked and stood beside her.

She smiled and said, "I actually shed tears for that child…I'm still too immature. I never thought she was one of my weaknesses. I never thought I would see that child smile that brightly, but today she proved me wrong."

I agreed and said, "It was a wonderful speech."

"Yes…she's the little sister I'm proud of," admitted Griselda as she wiped some tears away again. Just then, Xenovia joined us.

"Oh, Aaron, Sister Griselda. What are you two doing here?" she asked.

I looked around and noticed that we were away from the large student body, under some trees. If they looked again, they might suspect we might be doing something…shady.

"Are you sure it's fine to leave the gym?" I asked. They were counting the results right now…

"I came to get some fresh air. It's quite stuffy in there," she replied and grabbed my arm. She then looked at Griselda and asked, "With that said, Aaron, Sister Griselda! If I win, can I get a reward?"

Griselda and I looked at each other and then back at Xenovia silently asking her to tell us.

"I want to have sex! I want to lose my virginity!" she exclaimed happily.

...…

'{[…]}'

This girl…! What in the world are you saying…?! You just told the entire school populace such a heartfelt speech and then you come out here to ask that?! …Give me back everything I felt in that gym right now! I was emotional too, you know?!

Griselda revealed a repressive smile and then reached out to pinch Xenovia's cheeks. "…You…you child…! Give me back my tears and excitement right now…!"

"E-eeeehhh?!" Xenovia was clearly confused so she looked to me for help.

"…I agree, give it back to me too," I told her.

"…W-why?! What do you mean?!" she asked even more confused.

The results for the winners of the positions were revealed later on the week, and safe to say…a certain [Slashing Princess] won the Presidential seat by a landslide.

…

New members of the Kuoh Academy Student Council:

…

Student Council President: Xenovia Quarta (Second year)

Vice-President: Genshirou Saji (Second year)

Secretary: Tomoe Meguri (Second year)

Treasurer: Reya Kusaka (Second year)

Tadami Kamo (Second year)

Nakiri (Ryuuta) Ouryuu (First year)

Ruruko Nimura (First year)

Millarca Vordenburg (First year)

…

Check the chapter comments to see images of certain characters.