One of the people behind the rebellion, whose identity was said to be a mysterious high ranking person…it was inconceivable that it would be an eleven or twelve year old boy! My companions had the same reaction as me, upon knowing the boys identity, we couldn’t our surprise. The young Cardinal’s body was shaking nervously, but he spoke in loud voice! “I…need to protect the rights and views of the exorcists! Although you are ‘good’ devils, there is also a need to eradicate the evil devils and vampires! To unilaterally deprive them of judgement for their sins — I cannot accept this! Even if this goes against Archangel Michael-sama’s will…only this, only this I cannot accept!”
Although the boy was trembling, his eyes maintained a strong sense of determination. As if in response to his words, we became surrounded by a myriad of warriors who emerged, and prevented our escape. Looking closely, there were male priests, as well as female warriors who wore uniform similar to that of Xenovia and Irina, there were many of them, thus surrounding us. …They were probably the warriors who were following the people such as the Cardinals in the rebellion. I could also see several white-haired priests. …They were probably warriors who came from the same organisation that Freed previously belonged to. Seeing them, I couldn’t help thinking about that guy and Siegfried. Just from those that I could see, there were more than a dozen warriors here. To be able to bring so many people here, certainly wasn’t an easy feat…. To be honest, I thought that all that was needed to become an outsider was to step outside Kuoh town. …I can’t stand it, every time we venture far, we get attacked, there’s no stopping it. I want to ask whether we really have any freedom or not. Among us, the first to ready their weapon — was Xenovia. She seemed to have controlled her trembling, and removed Durandal from the other dimension, holding it in her hands. Xenovia pointed the sword at Vasco Strada. “…Your Eminence Strada.”
The old man’s wrinkled face showed a slight smile. “Warrior Xenovia, are you able to use Durandal well?”
This sentence seemed to have lit her fuse, and Xenovia charged forwards with Durandal! “See for yourself, actions speak louder than words. This is what Durandal’s wielder should be like!”
The old priest did not seem to have the intention to evade, and prepared to take Xenovia’s attack head on! Ex-Durandal’s blade was carrying an immense amount of holy energy, and if this one hit was received entirely, no one could possibly remain unscratched! The attack landed — in an instant! Xenovia’s strike was stopped! She maintained her swinging posture motionlessly. No, she couldn’t move at all! —Because Vasco Strada, had used one finger to block Durandal! …That can’t be real! To actually use a single finger to block Xenovia’s attack!? Even if it was a devil with a considerable amount of skill and training, they wouldn’t be able to do something like that!? Moreover, the opponent is a human, an old guy over the age of eighty! “—Ugh!”
Seeing this result, Xenovia was bitterly gritting her teeth. “It looks like you’re far from it.”
Vasco Strada shook his head. …The aura covering Durandal was gradually disappearing! This old guy was the previous wielder, so he should be very familiar with how to control Durandal. However, was one finger all that was required to do this!? Seeing this situation, I really wanted to support Xenovia, but the warriors surrounding us were still watching us, and most importantly, I couldn’t see a single opening on that old guy’s body! If we could use a large area to attack, it should be possible to overcome this situation. But this was a residential street. It was impossible to do anything more extreme than that! It looks like my companions were doing the same as me, they didn’t know how they should attack! “Xenovia! Your Excellency! Forgive me for being rude!”
Charging like her friend, Irina spread her white wings, and rushed towards the opponent at high speed! Held in her hand was the holy sword Hauteclere! Just before her attack was about to hit the old priest, a figure inserted itself between the two! It was a black-haired, middle-aged man dressed in vestments, he was resisting Irina’s attack head on! Seeing the person who was blocking her attack, Irina was astonished! “—Uh! Cristaldi-sensei!”
The man that Irina addressed was holding a sword which was capable of emitting a holy aura. It was that sword which was currently blocking Irina’s Hauteclere. Cristaldi—. That was definitely what Irina called him. It looks like this middle-aged man was the third person behind the rebellion — Ewald Cristaldi! He was the famous previous wielder of Excalibur! Ewald Cristaldi used the weapon in his hands to push Irina back, then he said
“…Warrior Irina, you shouldn’t limit your vision so narrowly.”
…This man’s body also didn’t appear to have any openings. —But, there was one person, who rushed towards him with a sword! “The previous wielder of Excalibur…!”
It was Kiba! He was wielding a holy-demonic sword, pointing it at Ewald Cristaldi! “Come on! Let’s decide this!”
With a single breath, he quickly closed the distance between the two of them, and dashed towards the person who was known as the Church warriors’ teacher! The opponent turned to face Kiba’s high speed attack — barely evading it by twisting his body! It was a body twist that had no wasteful movements! Kiba continued attacking whilst mixing in some feints, even producing afterimages whilst attacking nonstop, but this still seemed to be within the expectations of Ewald Cristaldi and he used his sword to fend off the attacks! My eyes couldn’t even keep up with that man’s sword movements! This can’t be real! Not only is he able to keep up high speed combat with Kiba, he’s actually able to evade as well!? Even during combat training, I had no way of blocking all of Kiba’s attacks! That man spoke whilst he was evading Kiba’s attacks
“Holy-demonic swords? So you’re the survivor of the Holy Sword Project? Your movements aren’t bad.”
He fiercely swung his sword! Receiving this blow, Kiba suddenly fell onto the pavement! The aftermath of that attack destroyed the road, producing a crater! “Agh…uh!”
Kiba seemed to have difficulty breathing and the sounds of his groaning could be heard! “—But, if you’re comparing me to someone lowly like Freed, I will be very difficult you know?”
Ewald Cristaldi gave him a glance, then sheathed his sword. …I’m just guessing, that sword…is it somehow related to Excalibur? I remember that kind of high speed sword movement and the destructive power dealt to Kiba’s body. That’s right, it’s exactly the same ability as Excalibur. “Kiba, Xenovia, Irina!”
Just when Rias and I had made up our minds, ready to step forward, Vasco Strada made a gesture towards us, beckoning us to stop. “Princess of the Gremory family, we came here, not to start a war, but to make a final announcement.