However, Siegfried flipped his hand and casually blocked Irina's attack without even turning his head back! At the same time, he drew another sword from his waist using his free hand. With a flash of silver -- one of Xenovia's downward slashing swords was broken! That was the holy sword Kiba created! With a fantastic sound like that of glass shattering, it was destroyed! Siegfried calmly spoke.
" --Balmung. This is the power of one strike from the demonic sword of Norse legends." --! Another demonic sword! However, Kiba's dead angle attack still hasn't ended! There was an opening and it shouldn't be possible to evade, for both of Siegfried's arms were already wielding demonic swords! With a horizontal flash, Kiba sliced towards his abdomen. In that instant--
Clang...! The sound of metal. Kiba's holy demonic sword was just stopped by the demonic sword Siegfried drew out from its sheath! "Nothung. This is also a legendary demonic sword." The third demonic sword! No, what was even more surprising was that Siegfried's two arms were already wielding swords, and couldn't possibly hold a third sword. His two arms were occupied. However, a third arm has grown from his back to draw that sword, blocking Kiba's attack! ...W-what was that arm!? An arm covered by things resembling silver scales. It was almost like my left arm when it became the arm of a dragon's! This arm grew out from Siegfried's back! Siegfried laughed at our immense surprise. "This dragon arm? It's Twice Critical, a very common Sacred Gear but mine is a little different, a subspecies. It grows something like a dragon's arm from my back." --Twice Critical! I've heard of it! An inferior Sacred Gear ranking below my Boosted Gear? A Sacred Gear that should be in the shape of a gauntlet... A subspecies! Growing an arm out of one's back! Siegfried held two demonic swords in each hand, with the arm on his back holding a third. ...A three sword stance! Witnessing this scene, Kiba's expression became even more serious. "...We are both Sacred Gear users. However, even ignoring the attributes of his swords, am I unable to surpass him even in the use of the Sacred Gear...?" "By the way, I haven't entered Balance Breaker yet." -- A harsh reminder! Constantly repeating their experiments, members of the Hero faction could not possibly be unable to use their Balance Breakers. Dominating Kiba, Xenovia and Irina all at once in just his normal state! This guy is too strong! With a rustling thud. Sensei landed in front of us who were caught in a crisis. At the same time, Cao Cao returned to the centre of the Hero faction. As their attacks repeated, they circled back to their starting point? I took a glance downstream at where they had come from -- the ground has turned into a smoking wasteland! Waaaaaaaah! From a while back there had been loud crashing noises which made me suspect dramatic occurrences. Arashiyama's scenery has been entirely destroyed! Sensei knew this was an artificial space, so he mercilessly used his biggest spears of light...
A few spots on Sensei's armour had shattered... The black wings were also in a messy state. Cao Cao's uniform and Han Chinese attire was also torn in many places... However I find it more amazing that a human did so well against the legendary Fallen Angel Governor! ...Was this the Hero faction... heroes. ...True Longinus...
"Don't worry, Ise. Neither of us went all out. We were just testing each other out a bit." Sensei's so-called little testing, resulted in the complete destruction of the area downstream! Cao Cao cracked his neck audibly, and said:
"What a great devil servant team. I guess these are the servants of Rias Gremory, well known amongst the new generation of devils. We were intending to have a fight without exerting ourselves, but you guys turned out with a great performance. If my theories are correct, the one who gathered this unnaturally strong group is Hyoudou Issei -- your power. Despite your lack of natural talent or demonic powers, I believe your ability to attract others by holding dragon powers is topnotch amongst all the past Sekiryuutei. Look, isn't the dragon gathering power right now? It is truly conspicuous in both good and bad situations. As all kinds of legendary existences attack, and you encounter each of the dragon kings, and gather all these Chichiryuutei supporters. These are all evidence of that. Even in the absence of their King, you handled the situation and organised the servants with outstanding calmness. Naive and flawed arrangements... but nonetheless you may turn out to be a terrifying opponent if you train well in the future." "..."
I have never considered such things. Everything that has happened so far... was because of me? Cao Cao's spear pointed at me. "That's why, we don't intend to make the same mistakes as the Old Maou faction. We truly believe, in the future, you will become the most dangerous Sekiryuutei. This applies to the other servants as well. If we eliminate you all now, perhaps we may even gather some useful data for analysis." Is that how they saw my, no, our developments? It was true that there was a fundamental difference in the way they treated us, unlike the Old Maou faction who saw us as a bunch of stupid kids. ...Frustrating! How do I handle opponents like these! Up until now, I've only faced opponents who treated me as a fool, thus providing openings...
Sensei questioned Cao Cao. "One more question. What are the motives of your Hero faction?" Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and said:
"Governor of the Fallen Angels. You may find it surprising, but it is incredibly simple, we just want to know the limits of what it means to be 'human' and challenge it. Furthermore, humans will be the ones to defeat devils, dragons, fallen angels and other supernatural races. --No, definitely, it is humans who will win." "You want to be heroes? After all, you are the descendants of, cough, heroes." Cao Cao raised an index finger and pointed to the sky above his head.
" --This is just a little challenge presented by frail humans. Under the heavens, how far can humans go, that is what we wish to try." --Humans, eh. ...As humans, how far can they go... Was this their objective? No, there must be some other motives. Sensei sighed and said to me. "...Ise, do not be too careless. This guy is an enemy worse than the Old Maou faction -- Shalba Beelzebub. All your opponents here are very strong, especially this guy who is just as dangerous as Vali." The same as Vali... Vali also gave off this feeling of having no bottom line. Possessing the ultimate holy spear was also quite a threat...
As Sensei gathered our group, the Hero faction has also shifted their formation. All this time, they have endlessly created more antimonsters. It really seemed limitless. Also, the Hero faction held back without attacking. However, our opponents seemed to be ready. --It looks like the second wave will be the real battle. They have more Sacred Gear users, right?