1,480Hey guys, once again I apologize for the massive delay it took to update a new chapter. I have been very busy and I could barely find time to work on my story. Hope you will all forgive for that however I am pleased to announce a new update and I hope you will enjoy it. I was actually going to separate this into 2 chapters and just upload one but since its been almost 3 months since the last update I decided to upload it all into one chapter because you guys deserve it as thanks for sticking with me and your patience.
I am also really happy to see that despite my lack of updates, I'm still getting many people to follow or even favorite my story. I may actually reach 4000 soon which will be awesome. Thank you all. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.
As a reminder, I do have a discord channel that I would love you guys to join. I have the link in my profile if you are interested to meet and talk to like minded people. Whether it's about my story or even other things :D :D.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the High School dxd characters. That honor belongs to the original author.
The moment those words came out of Xenovia's mouth, for reasons unknown to her, it felt as though her world went bitch black as though her vision had gone blind. Not only that but she could not move a single muscle. It felt as though a mountain had been strapped to her back sticking her into place. She was sweating very profusely. She didn't know what came over her.
That was until she managed to catch a glimpse of 2 draconic eyes that pierced her soul. It was at that moment that she understood what this feeling was. It was the feeling of your imminent death. The pressure exuded by Issei's stare alone was astronomically huge let alone his aura. His profile seemed to grow massively to Xenovia. It felt like she was being stared down by a behemoth dragon ready to crush her. Even his friends couldn't help but stay silent at the sight. They had never seen Issei as enraged as this moment. The only time they could recall anything similar was during the Riser match when Riser made the mistake in calling Akeno a whore in front of Issei which plummeted him into the deepest rage.
"I was holding it in before because I didn't want to cause trouble for Rias but then you had the audacity to not only point your sword against my little sister but threaten to take her life. That is something I will never forgive" Issei growled as he stretched his arm out, seemingly ready to obliterate Xenovia from the face of the earth. However, he was interrupted when Asia grabbed a hold of his arm.
"Wait Issei-san, please don't do it." She begged him preventing him from further actions as he turned his eyes towards her.
"Why not? Did you hear the harsh things she just said about you Asia? You, the sweetest, kindest soul to have ever walked the earth. Then, she not only dared to insult you but also threaten your life. I will not stand by and do nothing when someone threatens those I care about, no matter who's faction they belong to. I was willing to obliterate Riser for insulting my mate so you can believe when I say that I am willing to do far worse against someone who would dare threaten your life in front of me." Bellowed Issei as he looked back towards Xenovia who trembled with fear. Even Irina could do nothing but stand still as she dared not make a move, fearing to make things worse. Everyone else also had no idea what they should do. Rias knew she had to do something to prevent a possible war between Heaven and Hell from happening. However, how would she quell Issei rage. A dragon's wrath is something even her brother warned her never to mess with. However, there was one person who knew what to do. Akeno stepped forwards and held Issei other hand, causing him to look at her.
"Please Issei-kun. I understand how angry you are but this isn't the way to solve this. Even Asia-chan doesn't want you to proceed so please for us, calm down." She said proceeding to caress Issei cheek to help him calm down. Issei looked back and forth between his mate and his little sister. He really wanted to teach this little worm a lesson however he could never deny them when they pleaded so earnestly. He took a couple of deep breaths before reigning in his oppressive aura causing both Xenovia and Irina to finally inhale the much-needed oxygen they had been deprived off.
"Fine, since the both of you are asking me, I will let things go however" he looked back at Xenovia.
"I demand that you offer a sincere apology to Asia right this instant and rescind your threat immediately." Anything less than that and Issei would not be satisfied. Xenovia was still trying to catch her breath so she wasn't able to answer immediately which Issei almost took as a rejection. Luckily, Irina came to the rescue.
"W-WE Accept." She stuttered as she quickly answered for Xenovia. She then proceeded to bow towards Issei. "Please allow me to offer my sincere apologies on behalf of the Church. We simply came here for our mission and nothing more. It was never our intention to belittle anyone much less threaten someone's life, especially someone related to you. Causing conflict with the devils and the Crimson Calamity Dragon was never our intention. Isn't that right Xenovia?" This question seem to have broken Xenovia out of her frozen state as she quickly joined her partner.
"Y-Yes, that is correct! I would be most grateful if you would accept my apology" Xenovia added as she bowed towards Issei. She couldn't help but reprimand herself as the higher ups had specifically warned them not to antagonize the Crimson Calamity Dragon in any way. She let her opinions come in the way of their mission which was something her benefactor Griselda warned her time and time again to control. Issei quickly gave his reply.
"Like I mentioned previously, your apology should be directed towards Asia, not me!" Xenovia nodded as she turned towards Asia and quickly apologized "Rias B-… I mean Asia Argento, I pray you may find it in your heart to forgive my actions towards you as well as for threatening your life" Her tone indicated that her apology was indeed sincere unlike her previous scornful tone which is why both Issei and Asia accepted it. Issei, because it was sincere and Asia because she was a kind soul.
"It's alright! I accept your apology and hope we can get along." Asia responded as Irina and Xenovia were relieved to hear that both for the sake of their mission as well as their lives. Who knows what would have happened if she did not forgive them
(We all know what would have happened. 3 very angry dragons god would have stormed heaven and it would have ceased to exist :D :D)
"Thank you very much" Irina immediately thanked her. However, Matsuda was still a bit pissed at Xenovia.
"Hey wait a minute, I still have much to say about how she treated Asia-chan" he started to complain causing Rias to facepalm.
"Please Matsuda-kun, can you calm down." She said with a tired sigh.
Rias tried to stop Matsuda from going overboard. They had not just succeeded to stop Issei from starting another war just for her pawn to continue where he left off. However, before she could do so, Kiba stepped forward.
"This is good timing. In that case, how about I be your opponent" Kiba took out his sword, killing intent oozing of his body. Xenovia stared at him.
"And who are you?"
Kiba smirked "You probably don't know but I am your sempai although I was considered a failure so why don't you show me how strong a holy sword wielder truly is."
Everyone stood outside waiting for the incoming duel to begin. A barrier surrounding the entire field was created by Rias and Akeno in order to limit the destruction this duel may cause and make sure no notices them. Matsuda and Kiba were both standing next to each other facing Xenovia and Irina.
"Let's get this over with. We still have our mission to accomplish" Xenovia stated. Then she and Irina took their robes off and were wearing black battle clothes. Although they weren't showing enough skin, to Matsuda it looked pretty erotic considering that both ladies had very beautiful curves. Irina, seeing that simply gave him a wink causing Matsuda to correct himself as he activated his boosted gear.
"Remember that this is supposed to be a duel and not a deathmatch. Whatever you do, it is forbidden to kill each other as it might cause a war to happen between our factions." Rias declared as the 4-fighter stood across each other.
How did this happen? Simple!
Knowing there was no way to stop Kiba after he made his challenge to the exorcists, Rias tried to placate both sides in a last-ditch effort to quell both sides. She suggested to have a duel between the exorcists against Kiba and Matsuda in order to vent out their grievances without the possibility of death. She knew it wasn't the best solution but it was infinitely better than the alternative of triggering another Great War. Surprisingly, it was Xenovia who agreed first saying that it would be interesting to test the strength of the Gremory servants and her so called senpai. She also stated that this duel wouldn't be reported to the higher ups. This was how both Matsuda and Irina were dragged into the duel despite not having want to do anything with this conflict. The surprising factor for Rias was that Issei was completely fine with the arrangement. She thought he would have wanted to "fight" the two exorcists himself yet surprisingly he had allowed it. Part of the reason is probably thanks to both Akeno and Asia who were able to restrain him however the reason was simple. He understood that Kiba needed to vent his anger a bit otherwise it might have dire consequences down the line and he wanted to see how Matsuda would fare against a holy sword wielder after all the training he did. However, knowing that Matsuda's opponent is a beautiful woman, it was a forgone conclusion that he would absolutely use that technique against her.
On the other side, things were more tense between Kiba and Xenovia. Both had their weapons pointed at each other with Kiba having activated his sacred gear Sword birth around him causing multiple swords to appear around him. He then started laughing.
"Are you laughing" asked both a confused and irritated Xenovia.
"Of course, I'm laughing. After so long, the Holy Sword that I've dreamed of destroying has finally appeared in front of me. Haha, I've heard that Dragons attract both allies and enemies to them and it seems I have to thank Matsuda-kun for this opportunity. I'm overjoyed, to be honest" Kiba smirked. How long has he waited for this day. The day he could finally take revenge for his family who were murdered due to Excalibur.
Seeing all the demonic swords appear around Kiba, Xenovia sighed "I see so you are the possessor of Sword Birth. I've heard that the user is able to create any demonic swords that they can imagine in their head. A sword that can shoot ice. A sword that can absorb light. Anything goes. Even amongst Sacred gear, that one is very unique. I've heard rumors that there was a single survivor that managed to escape from being disposed of by the Holy Sword Project. That was you huh."
The mere mention of the name "Holy Sword Project" caused Kiba to direct his killing intent towards Xenovia. He was done waiting and immediately charged towards the blue haired exorcist. He grabbed another sword from the pile created by his sacred gear and begun swinging recklessly at her.
That is how the duel between Xenovia and Kiba had begun.
On the other side of the field, Irina could help but sigh.
"Well, there she goes Xenovia. Honestly, can't she learn to be a bit more settle with her words. I hope we don't get into too much trouble for this." Unlike Xenovia, Irina did not possess the profound hatred for devils that her partner did. She followed her Lord's teachings to the letter and if that required her to kill devils as an exorcist then she would do it with a smile and no regrets.
"I still can't believe you are the same Rin from my childhood. I really thought you were a guy." Matsuda stated as he took a stance.
Irina smiled at her childhood crush. "hehe, I can't really blame you for that Matsuda-kun. I did act like a tomboy during the time we spent together. Although it was short, I had a lot of fun spending time with you. That is why when I learned that the boy I had spent so much time with has been turned into a devil, I was shocked" Irina seemed very depressed based on her tone.
"um, in that case should we simply not fight? I'm sure Buchou would prefer to resolve this without any violence" Matsuda scratched his cheek as he asked her to stop fighting. This seemed to cause Irina to chuckle. She really looked cute when she did that to Matsuda.
"No, it's alright! Besides, it's not like I am not interested in seeing how I would fare against someone of the Gremory peerage. I never expected to be going up against my childhood friend though. Ahh, what trick destiny has played on us! I went to England because it was discovered that I could use holy swords and become a representative of God! This must be a trial that I was given by the lord and as his faithful devoted, one that I must accomplish. Therefore, sorry Matsuda-kun but I must give you judgement with my Excalibur! Amen!" Despite having tears comically dripping from her eyes, Matsuda could tell that she seemed pretty eager as she pointed her Excalibur at him. Maybe she was teasing him. He had to remember that she had a cheerful personality since the time he met her during childhood so he shouldn't be surprised about it.
"Alright but don't blame me when I win" said a determined Matsuda. He was fighting on behalf of Rias so there was no way he would not do his best to win.
"Boosted Gear!" He immediately activated his sacred gear which encompassed his entire arm. Seeing this, Irina looked surprised.
"Wow, I didn't expect my childhood friend to be in possession of the legendary Boosted Gear. That's amazing. As expected of you Matsuda-kun but I'm still going to win so don't hate me if you lose" she said enthusiastically before she rushed towards him slashing her Excalibur at him. Matsuda knew that he was at a disadvantage considering that simply taking a single blow from a powerful holy sword like Excalibur, even a fragment, would spell his defeat so he was forced to continuously dodge her strikes.
"Ohh, impressive that you were able to avoid me. As expected from a wielder of the Boosted gear" Irina seemed very impressed at Matsuda's ability.
"hehe, this is nothing compared to all the training I had to suffer from!" Matsuda recalled the hellish training he had to undergo through with both Issei and Tiamat. His dodging had no choice but to improve since even one mistake could have cost him his life especially against Tiamat who wanted nothing more than to pulverize him especially when Ddraig commented that she was going to easy on his host. Compared to that, Irina was a lot slower compared to those two spartans.
["Boost"]
Matsuda kept boosting himself as he was dodging Irina's blows. At the third boost, he decided it was time to take the initiative. He sent a series of punches towards Irina with a specific goal in mind. However, Irina was no slouch as she effortlessly dodged Matsuda's attacks. She had way more experience as a combatant then Matsuda so it makes sense she was able to dodge him. However, Irina knew that the longer this match would go, the greater the advantage Matsuda would have as he would become stronger and stronger thanks to the Boosted Gear ability. That is what it means to hold a weapon capable of killing gods.
"Ahh, I almost had you there" yelled Matsuda as Irina dodged another blow.
"It will take a lot more than this to defeat me Matsuda-kun. Although, based on your expressions, you seem to be planning more than just hitting me. Fufu, I wonder why that is?"
Matsuda sweat dropped as he didn't answer Irina's question. However, the answer came from the most unlikely candidate.
"Be careful. Matsuda-sempai has the ability to blow away woman's clothing by touching them" Koneko revealed Matsuda's intent.
"Konoko-chan, why are you revealing my plans to my opponent" shouted Matsuda, distraught that his own teammate ratted him out. Koneko looked at Matsuda with a frown
"Enemy of all women. You are the worst." She stated causing Matsuda's heart to break.
"What harsh words Koneko-chan!"
"Pervert!" she further insulted him.
"Oh Lord, please forgive my childhood for his impure motives. Amen!" Irina made a sad expression while praying. Rias, Akeno and Issei already knew Matsuda's personality so it was very easy to determine what Matsuda thought process was.
"You are the worst" Koneko looked at him with scornful eyes. An invisible arrow pierced his heart at Koneko's hateful remarks.
"An embodiment of sexual desire. How fitting for a devil" Xenovia added looking at Matsuda with scornful eyes. Kiba, on his end, did not appreciate the fact that his opponent wasn't paying attention to their duel.
"You should pay more attention to the opponent in front of you exorcist less you lose your life" Kiba hatefully stated as he sent a sword swipe to Xenovia who carefully parried it.
"Thanks for the advice but you should be more worried about yourself than me, sempai." She answered calmly. Kiba then produced two demonic swords in hand. One produced a while of flems while the other one made a cold air of frost. Using his speed given to him through his knight piece, he intended to unleash a barrage of strikes towards Xenovia. After having fought her, he understood that she was an exorcist who relied on power so he believed his speed was enough to get him an advantage. However, much to his shock, she was able to evade all of his strikes with minimal movement.
"As expected from a knight. You are indeed pretty fast but you are too naïve to believe that this is enough to best me" Xenovia stated before she swung her Excalibur at Kiba's sword
BREAK
Kiba's eyes widened in shock as Xenovia's single swing was enough to completely destroy both his demonic swords. What destructive power.
"Unless you have forgotten, my sword is Excalibur Destruction, a sword that boasts the strongest destructive power out of all the fragments. There is nothing that it can't destroy."
To emphasize this point, she then swirled her sword around, and plunged it into the earth.
BOOOOOOOOM
Her action caused a large crater to appear below her and her opponent. Luckily, Kiba had managed to dodge the attack but the surrounding field where they had their match had been practically devastated. Of course, this was nothing compared to the utter devastation Issei had done during his match against Riser, but nevertheless it was impressive.
"So this is the power given by one of the seven fragments of Excalibur. Despite not being a real Excalibur, it is indeed very strong. Truly, my path of destroying all 7 swords will indeed be a difficult one." Kiba wiped a bead of sweat dripping down his face.
"So that is your ambition then Knight of Gremory? To destroy all the fragments of Excalibur. However, sorry to burst your bubble but based on what I've seen so far, you are far too weak to ever be able to accomplish this task." Xenovia taunted him which seemed to have worked as anger and rage spewed out of Kiba.
"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO IS WEAK" he bellowed as he conjured more demonic swords and proceeded to continue their match.
"geez Xenovia! Couldn't she have warned me that she was going to do that. I'm covered in dirt" she complained as she wiped the dirt off her clothes before refocusing on Matsuda who finished regaining his balance. They also proceeded with their own fight
Off the side, Issei and the others continued spectating the match. Other than Issei, they were all impressed by the skills displayed by the exorcists. Despite being enemies, Rias couldn't help but marvel at both the exorcists swordsmanship. Both of them would have been perfect candidates for her secondary Knight piece. Based on what she could see, Irina seemed to be more of a technique type of fighter like Kiba while Xenovia focused more on power as shown by her previous display. She could understand why the two of them were sent. She silently cheered for Matsuda to be able to prevail against Irina. The same for Kiba.
"They all seem to be evenly matched" Rias heard Akeno state.
"I just hope they don't get hurt too much" Asia added hoping Matsuda and Kiba would be alright.
"You don't need to worry about that Asia. Even if they get hurt, we have both your Twilight Healing and my flames to help everyone recover." Issei reassured Asia with a smile.
"Do you think they can win?" Rias couldn't help but ask. Issei focused on the match while he answered Rias question.
"Of course, they can as long as they fight to the best of their abilities. Matsuda has been able to keep up with Irina's speed thanks to all his training with me. Irina is no slouch herself and can keep up with him however the longer this match goes on, the greater the advantage Matsuda will have due to having the boosted gear so unless Irina finishes him off quick, Matsuda will get stronger and stronger until he will inevitably win the game. Although I say this he seems to be determined to use his little technique on his childhood friend." He chuckled as he notices Matsuda trying to catch Irina to utilize his technique instead of trying to defeat her.
"Pervert" mumbled Koneko.
Asia looked solemnly at her breasts knowing that hers paled in comparison to Rias and Irina's.
"We should finish this" They all heard Irina say. Just as Issei stated, she understood that the longer this match keeps going, the more disadvantageous it will be for her due to her opponents Longinus.
"Bring it on" Matsuda stated smashing his knuckles together. Irina launched an offensive towards him. Despite having boosted several times already, she was still faster than him. Irina wasn't giving him any time to breathe and he had to watch out for her Excalibur. Even if she was not trying to kill him, even one scratch from that sword would hurt a lot since he was a devil.
"You have been dodging pretty well Matsuda-kun. It seems whoever trained you has been doing an excellent job. Many Exorcists that I have seen don't have the battle sense you do." Irina complimented him causing Issei who heard it to puff up his chest a bit. It was nice to be acknowledged.
"hehe! You have no idea the hellish training that Issei has put me through. It was super strict but thanks to it I am able to keep up with keep up with opponents stronger and faster than me."
["Boost"] Hearing his 6th boost, he decided, it was time to release his power.
"Do it Ddraig" he shouted
["Explosion"]
Power filled Matsuda's being as he charged in a burst of speed towards Irina who was shocked at his newfound speed. She quickly dodged to the side and knew she had to go all out or she would lose. Matsuda once again went to try and tackle Irina however she immediately began to counter attack by transforming her Excalibur mimic into a whip and begun launching long ranged attacks. She had no choice but to try and wait out Matsuda's power boost as best as she could. When Matsuda was finally able to get close, she immediately changed her weapon back into a blade to fight Matsuda. Everyone could tell that she seemed to hold perfect mastery over her weapon. Even Matsuda was in awe at his childhood friend skill. He had to use his boosted gear in order to be able to parry her attacks. Fortunately for Matsuda, it looked like she was beginning to tire out based on her heavy breathing. It was time to end things. He focused all hisremaining power into his legs, and in a burst of speed caught up to Irina who looked shocked.
"What! You caught up with me!" Matsuda quickly jumped towards her ready to finally touch her which was the prerequisite to activate his technique. However, whether it was by reflex or danger instincts, Irina managed to duck down the attack as Matsuda surged past Irina and was heading straight towards Akeno and Asia. It was too late to stop but just as he was about to touch both ladies, a certain guardian dragon took action. Issei stepped in front of the two, summoned his wings and using it simply slammed Matsuda away from the two.
"GWAAAA" Matsuda was sent flying backwards before his body landed on the ground in pain.
"Owww" he mumbled
["Reset"] Ddraig's voice was heard from the boosted gear which indicated that his power boost was over.
"I-Issei-san, you didn't need to injure Matsuda-kun like that." Asia complained to her brother about harming Matsuda.
"fufu, I have to admit that it was a bit overkill Issei-kun" Even Akeno was agreeing with Asia despite the fact that she found it funny.
"Sorry about that. My protective instincts kind off took over. Besides, he was about to use his technique on you guys and there was no way in hell I was going to allow that." Issei shrugged.
Near the injured, Irina started poking her childhood friend wondering if he was still alive.
"eh Matsuda-kun. Are you still alive? This might have been divine punishment for attempting to use such a mischievous move. Anyways, how about we end things here?" She suggested they end the match there. To be honest, she didn't really care much for this fight and only did it to satisfy her partner. She never liked fighting in general, especially her childhood friend even if he turned into a devil.
"N-No. I can still go on. I haven't lost yet." Matsuda said firmly as he slowly got up.
"Then, how about we just end this as a draw. We are both pretty tired and based on the expression of your friends, they also don't mind finishing things here" she pointed towards everyone. Matsuda turned and noticed how Rias was nodding indicating him that he should do so. Asia was desperately waiting in order to go heal his injuries. Koneko was looking everywhere else but Matsuda since he was about to use his filthy technique on them even if it was by accident. Akeno and Issei simply nodded. Seeing this, Matsuda understood and sighed.
"Fine."
"I have to say though that I was very impressed by your skills, Matsuda-kun. I'd expect nothing less from my childhood friend and this era's current Red Dragon Emperor." She complimented him causing him to blush as it was very rare for a bishoujo to ever compliment him on anything except for Asia and Rias.
"T-Thanks! You were also pretty strong. There were many times I thought I was going to die" He complimented her back causing Irina to smile.
"Thank you. I guess all that is left is for us to wait for those two to finish their bout." She pointed towards Kiba and Xenovia who were still in the midst of fighting.
Issei looked at the remaining fight and he couldn't help but frown at Kiba's behavior.
'He's letting his emotions cloud his judgement' Issei thought. Kiba was almost swinging with reckless abandon at this point compared to Xenovia, who remained calm and collected as she parried all of Kiba's strikes. All this did was further enrage Kiba who could not believe he wasn't able to best an Excalibur, the object of his hatred. If he couldn't best her with speed than he will simply best her with power.
"In that case, how about this?" Kiba activated his sacred gear and conjured up a gigantic bulky sword in his hands. It was clear that it was a sword created with the intention of destroying Xenovia's Excalibur. Something that everyone realized. Issei couldn't help but be shocked at Kiba's stupidity.
"What an idiot! Kiba just threw this match with that move" Everyone heard Issei state disappointingly. Even Xenovia realized this fact as she looked perplexed by his move. All this did was eliminate a Knight's greatest advantage which was their speed. That sword of his was nothing but a hindrance and a stupid decision born from anger.
"Take this!" Kiba shouted as he swung his massive sword at Xenovia who simply sighed with disappointment.
"What a shame. You made the wrong choice." Was all Xenovia stated before she swung her own Excalibur towards Kiba's sword.
BREAK
The sound of breaking metal reverberated across the battlefield as a large fragment of a blade went up in the air. It was revealed to be Kiba's demonic sword that was easily destroyed by Xenovia's Excalibur.
"What a foolish move. Aren't you supposed to be a Knight whose greatest strength relies on their speed. What good does that oversized sword do to you other than become a handicap."
BANG
In a burst of speed, Xenovia used the pommel of her sword to strike at Kiba's stomach.
"GAH" Kiba collapsed to the ground holding his stomach from the pain of being hit by a holy weapon. This effectively ended the match with Xenovia's victory. Seeing this, Akeno unsealed the barrier now that the spars were over.
"W… Wait" Kiba reached his hand towards her not willing to concede defeat as he tried to stand up but his legs couldn't regain their strength which caused him to fall back to the ground. Seeing this. Asia immediately ran over to Kiba and started healing him with her sacred gear. Xenovia simply looked towards Kiba.
"I suggest that you keep a cool head the next time you fight otherwise it may very well cost you your life, Gremory's Knight." Xenovia stated. This caused Kiba to glare at her from the ground but Xenovia simply ignored it.
"Rias Gremory, I trust you will not interfere with our mission as we suggested earlier." She then turned towards Matsuda.
"Since you are the current Red Dragon Emperor, I should probably warn you about one thing. Our faction has discovered that the Vanishing Dragon has awakened." She warned Matsuda who went wide eyed at the information. Even Issei was surprised and intrigued by it. He wondered who was the current wielder of Albion. It is inevitable that both will clash soon enough and he needed to prepare Matsuda for the fight that is too come.
"Seriously!" said a surprised Matsuda. Xenovia simply nodded.
"Yes, however based on your current abilities, you are no match for him considering that the wielder has achieved Balance Breaker from what we heard." Xenovia revealed. Now that got a reaction out of Matsuda as he couldn't believe his supposed rival has already achieved Balance Breaker when he had yet to touch that realm. That is a scary thought.
Having finished what she wanted to say, she immediately turned around and proceeded to leave the school grounds not wanting to stay any longer than she needed to.
"Ahh, Xenovia where do you think you are going without me." She complained before looking towards everyone and gave a slight bow "Sorry about her manners! Allow me to apologize in her stead. In any case, I believe we already took to much of your time and we hope you will allow us to carry out our mission without interference." Irina stated as she asked Rias to not interfere in their mission.
"Very well, unlike your partner, you have been very courteous with us so I will accept your apology on behalf of your partner. Also, on my name as Rias Gremory, I will not interfere in your mission even though I believe it to be reckless." Rias, nor anyone for that matter, believed their mission to be anything other than suicide. Seriously, what was the Heaven faction thinking sending 2 lone exorcists against a fallen angel cadre.
"Thank you. I should probably go and catch up to Xenovia before she leaves me behind. It was great to see you again Matsuda-kun. If you ever want to have judgement passed on you, give me a call. Amen" she winked and smiled at her childhood friend before turning around to catch up to her partner. Whether she was joking or not, Matsuda had no idea. He really didn't want to be exorcised. He still has to accomplish his dream of becoming Harem king. Seeing her leave, Rias couldn't help by sigh. If what these 2 have said turns out to be true then the enemy before them is none other than Kokabiel, a fallen angel cadre. For someone of that caliber to knowingly come here in the territory of 2 Maou's younger sister can be viewed as a catalyst to another Great War. This is very bad.
"Do you know why you lost?" She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Issei say that. She looked to see Issei with his arms crossed looking down on Kiba.
"What did you say?" Kiba glared at Issei, clearly still angry at his recent defeat. Though, if Issei was bothered by his behavior, he didn't show it. Rias on the other hand was mad at his attitude towards his friend.
"Kiba, that is no way to talk to I-" She was interrupted by Issei who raised his hand letting her know that it was okay therefore she backed off wanting to see where Issei was going to take this.
"Since you missed what I said, I will repeat myself. Why do you think you lost? By my account, you are both equally matched so why is it that you were defeated so easily." Inquired Issei to Kiba who said nothing.
"Since you won't answer, I'll do it for you. You gave into your emotions and let anger control your actions. Just like that exorcist stated, your greatest strength has always been your speed and technique that you use to overwhelm your opponent just like you did in the Riser game. Yet, you gave all that up when you tried to match your opponent in a game of power. What were you thinking?" Issei berated Kiba over his mistake which only seemed to irritate Kiba even more.
"DO you really have any right to judge me of allowing my anger control me after you did the same thing against Riser" Kiba argued back. His insult did not sit right with Akeno who wanted to argue back against Kiba.
"How could you – " However once again, Issei interrupted her with a raise of his hand.
"I'll admit that I did indeed allow my anger to control me back then. However, there is an enormous difference between your situation and mine. Would you care to guess what that is?" Issei asked Kiba who had no idea what the answer was or was even in the state of mind to even think of one.
"The answer is simple. It's our overwhelming difference in strength. I was vastly superior compared to our birdbrain devil so I had the luxury of losing myself to my emotions without any consequences whatsoever. Not that it was a good thing. I was pretty much reprimanded by Tannin-shishou later on over my inability to keep calm in that situation. However, the same cannot be said for your situation. Both of you were evenly matched in terms of abilities however your anger made you throw all logic aside and fight her recklessly which made your attacks extremely predictable. Not only that but you essentially threw the match when you tried to match her destructive force with your own. Like that exorcist stated, your greatest strength is speed and technique yet you threw that away when you let your anger dictate your actions." Issei spoke bluntly and told him the honest truth of the matter. Kiba could say nothing as he clutched his fists knowing he was right.
"You were lucky that this was only a spar but what would have happened if this was a life and death fight against your enemy? Are you going to recklessly attack anyone who wields an Excalibur or even mentions the name of one? You are going to get yourself needlessly killed." Issei stated. Kiba looked at him in the eyes.
"If that is what it takes to get my revenge. I don't mind dying." Everyone was both shocked and distressed at hearing Kiba state that he didn't care if he died for his quest.
"Kiba-kun! How could you say that?" Rias couldn't believe it. She understood that he took his quest very seriously but she never expected the extent of how far he was willing to go for it. She shouldn't have allowed Kiba to participate in the conversation between the exorcists or even allowed that spar.
"Yeah man! You can't mean it. Weren't we supposed to grow stronger together" Even Matsuda who was never Kiba's biggest fan was distraught at the thought of his friend dying.
"Kiba-san!" said a worried Asia.
"-" Koneko simply stared on though one can tell she looked worried.
"Are you really going to let revenge control your life?" asked a worried Issei.
Kiba turned his head.
"You wouldn't understand!" Kiba responded as he recalled his past. All of his friends surrendered their lives to give him the chance to escape. All because of Excalibur.
"You might not believe me but I do understand where you are coming from or have you forgotten my history." Issei responded as he looked towards Akeno, remembering the loss of his aunt and the burning fury he experienced during his outbreak.
"That is not same Issei-san. You were at least able to fulfill your revenge against the bastards yet I was powerless to avenge my friends." Kiba responded clenching his teeth. Issei nodded.
"I did. That is why I know that nothing will change even if you achieve your revenge. Your heart won't be able to heal. You might feel a little satisfaction but nothing more. You cannot change the past. You need to learn to let go and move on with your life!" Issei gave his advice to Kiba. Unfortunately, his statement did nothing to lessen his anger. In fact, it just increased it.
"Move on! MOVE ON? How dare you tell me to let go of my vengeance after all of my friends were slaughtered needlessly all for the sake of making users for Excalibur. So many of them were younger than me or had greater aspirations and yet they were all murdered because the project was deemed a failure. So many of them were younger than me or had greater ambitions than me and they were tossed aside like garbage. You want me to move on from that. No, I can't" Kiba bellowed in rage. There was no way he was going to give up on his revenge and no one could convince him otherwise. Kiba had enough. He quickly stormed out and left the premises. Matsuda wanted to catch up to him but was stopped by Issei who placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Let him be, Matsuda. He needs time alone." Issei told him. Matsuda looked back at him.
"Are you sure?" he asked worried for the state of his friend. Everyone else also shared that worry. Issei simply nodded.
"Yeah, I do. In any case, this has been quite a long day and I'm sure we are all due for some much-needed rest." Issei commented. Rias agreed.
"Indeed, we do. I also need to contact my brother to notify him about the current situation. If the enemy really is Kokabiel, this issue might spiral out of control." Rias needed to contact her brother. He will probably get in contact with Azazel and see if he is there on his orders or not.
Issei however knew otherwise. He would probably contact his uncle to let him know of the situation.
One thing is for sure. Things are about to get a lot more complicated.
Chapter End.
That's the end of the chapter. What did you guys think? Was it worth the wait. I really hope it was. I'm going to try my best to update as soon as I can but cannot make too many promises as real life always gets in the way.
Oh yeah, I had a few questions regarding Ophis and Great reds departure but as I'm sure most if not almost all of you already figured out, the reason I had both of them leave Kuoh is because if they were there, there is absolutely no way in hell Kokabiel was going to be able to do anything. They would just show up, flick the enemies away and then gg, well played, game over. Also it isn't their time yet to be revealed anyways. That time will come soon :D :D. How soon you may ask. Well, stick with me and you will find out.
As usual, fell free to leave behind a comment as I always appreciate it.
Until next time my friends.
Mairsarmy321 out.