A few minutes had passed since we arrived at the battlefield via transportation from the magic circle — I — Kiba Yuuto, in order to participate in the battle against Ewald Cristaldi, joined the side of the [Brave Saints] and Sitri household. This side’s battlefield — was the area around the ruins of a church. That’s right, this was the place that the Fallen Angels like Raynare had used as their base. This was a place that Irina’s father once belonged to, and also a place which held a lot of fate for us. On the [Brave Saints] side there was Dulio Gesualdo-san, Sister Griselda-san, and Irina who acted as the leaders, with a total of around ten people on that side. Of the [Brave Saints] which were under the Four Great Seraphs, three groups of them had gathered here. The remaining [Brave Saints] were responsible for guarding Heaven. It hasn’t been a long time since the attack last year. It was understandable for Heaven’s side to keep some of the reincarnated angels there. With the battle looming ahead, and about to start at any time, Joker Dulio spoke to me while I was waiting on standby. He sat down beside me and said
“Ah, I didn’t expect that I’d be able to be together with Kiba-kun on the frontlines.”
“In that case, I feel honoured to be able to be here.”
I’ve already fought this guy several times in mock training battles. …He was the type of person who simply exemplified the concept of the ultimate [Trump Card]. Dulio scratched the back of his head and said
“I’ve already heard about the complicated situation surrounding Kiba-kun’s origin, I thought that Kiba-kun wouldn’t want to cooperate with me.”
“My hatred towards things is clearly distinguished, and I currently have nothing against you who is my captain.”
…After speaking with this man several times, I knew that the man named Dulio Gesualdo was actually more [soft] than expected, he was a youth consistent with his age. To be honest, he was a nice person, a man who was very suited to be smiling. “Yeah, because I heard about Kiba-kun’s past. I’m a little concerned about whether Kiba-kun will be bloodthirsty today. Even if you hold a grudge, this is an internal conflict between your own comrades. Only the kids who can endure right now are the best.”
At the same time that he said this, Dulio took out an unknown object from his chest. —It was an origami paper crane. “In the underground of the Church’s facilities around Kuoh town, a ceremony regarding the dispelling of a Sacred Gear will soon be held.”
Since the alliance, several places around town were opened up to Heaven’s side — those were the facilities for the Church’s people who were dispatched to stay at, and it was said that one of them in particular was a facility related to Sacred Gears. Dulio played with the paper crane then continued
“There is a child whose legs are disabled. Most of the time, that child is on a wheelchair. In fact, that child actually has a Sacred Gear related to the legs, but because his resistance is too weak, it’s causing his power to develop in a bad way. That is to say, the Sacred Gear which could allow his legs to run faster is actually binding its user’s legs. Sacred Gears, although highly convenient, they’re also very frightening.”
He smiled wryly, and his eyes were filled with sadness. “Thanks to the success of the Grigori’s analysis and technical work, for the children with Sacred Gears, the dispelling procedure has already been able to enter the phase of a trial run. Although in theory, they’ve already reached perfection, still, that child chose to undergo the dispelling procedure.”
“What will happen after the dispelling?”
“The hindrance from the Sacred Gear may weaken, and he may be able to live a normal life. Well, it relies on the technology of the former Governor, so it’ll definitely be successful. That’s what I believe.”
Dulio smiled happily, this was proof that he truly trusted Azazel-sensei’s technology. …Although he was originally more hostile, Azazel-sensei requested the alliance in good faith, so while some people were sceptical, there was a little bit of trust. Dulio stood up, held the paper crane as if would hold a paper plane, and then said
“Amusement park—. That child said that if he could walk, he would go to an amusement park. Using his own two feet, his would play at every amusement over and over. Everything that I want is probably impossible. But…that’s very normal. Even with the Sacred Gear, he is still an ordinary child. So, he wants to go to an amusement park just like most others.”
He let go of the paper crane. Then, the paper crane flew into the sky as it rode on a passing gust of wind. After the paper crane looped around in the air, the wind died down and it returned to Dulio’s hand. “I think that simply being able to protect the dreams of those children is already enough.”
He turned around, and left me with these words
“Well, what comes next is the time for battle. It’s time for a reunion with that scary teacher. But first, we should greet him.”
As if in response to what he just said, the figures of a group of warriors appeared before us—. In the midst of the warriors who were lined up in front of us, there were more warriors wearing a priest’s outfit, but it was also possible to see the figures of female warriors who were dressed like Xenovia and Irina. Occasionally, I could see the figure of young, white-haired priests like Freed. Although they didn’t have seem to have the same bloodthirsty atmosphere as Freed, I could still feel that they were full of hostility. …Based on a visual assessment of the opponent, the number of warriors which had come for the battle was near one hundred. I’m afraid that the number of people who came to battle against the Gremory household’s side would also be the same. In the middle of the warriors was — the man who had the replica of Excalibur and wore modern vestments from a few days ago, Ewald Cristaldi. …Not only was he the teacher of the warriors, he once also taught Xenovia and Irina swordsmanship who are his disciples. He held the replica of Excalibur in his hand as it released a holy aura. The one who went forward first was — Dulio. He raised his hand as a greeting towards Ewald Cristaldi who didn’t care. “This is sensei. Long time no see.”
Without changing the serious expression on his face, Ewald Cristaldi said in a low voice
“…This reunion, should it be happy, or should it be sad. Dulio, and also the reincarnated angels, if you still recognise me as a mentor, then can you accept the punishment of my sword without any further ado?”
Irina and the other [Brave Saints] who were here were people who had all revered Ewald Cristaldi as their teacher. She had a complicated expression on her face as she faced her teacher. “There are a lot of things that this side wants to ask. After all, it would be even better if we could discuss things.”
Dulio replied calmly. He was constantly complaining of the internal strife, and first began a conversation with his former teacher.