Irene's face turned pale. "He, he… How?"
It must be understood that, even though it wasn't the original "Excalibur," it wasn't something easy to destroy. Even someone with high-level power wouldn't be able to accomplish such a feat.
That's why everyone who understood this fact was surprised. Let alone Xenovia, who wielded this "Excalibur" and knew how powerful it was.
But he only needed two fingers to break it?
"You…!"
Xenovia was frightened. She never imagined that the man beside Rias Gremory was so strong.
With just a pinch of his fingers, she lost the "Excalibur Destruction." This wasn't even funny...
There was a huge difference between the two. That shocked and scared Xenovia.
The people around them were also stunned.
Falling on her butt onto the couch, Xenovia's face was pale, her eyes burning with anger and a hint of fear deep within.
"Sit." Zaydas offered with his hand, generously.
Irene, who had stood up, sat down without hesitation.
At that moment, all the arrogance of the two was gone.
"Who are you?" Irene asked slowly and cautiously.
It was rare for her to act like this.
"Me? I'm Zaydas Gremory." He replied.
Irene frowned and, as if something clicked in her mind, she asked, "Are you the son of the current Maou, Sirzechs Lucifer?"
"Bingo. But, what a shame, even getting it right, you won't gain anything from it." Zaydas replied with an intriguing smile. He added, "Continuing the conversation. I presume you think we might side with the Fallen Angels, which is why you're being stupid enough to try and order us around, right?"
"Headquarters thinks it might not be impossible." Irene didn't deny it.
Xenovia pulled herself together, saying, "Our superiors don't trust demons and fallen angels. We were ordered like this: If the holy swords are taken away from God's side, demons would be happy too, right? Fallen angels would also profit from that. For these reasons, it wouldn't be strange for them to form an alliance."
In her heart, Xenovia added, but didn't dare say it out loud: 'That's why we're giving you a warning. If you form an alliance with the fallen angel Kokabiel, then we'll eliminate all of you. Even if you're the younger sister of the Maou, for our leader's sake.'
Of course, if it were before, she would've dared to say that, but now? She feared that the moment she uttered it, her head would roll.
"Hehe… From the look in your eyes, I see you've got something to add." Zaydas said, looking at Xenovia: "If I guessed right, you must be thinking that if we interfere, you'll attack us, maybe even try to kill us, even if that offends a Maou, right? And you probably think that if my father, Sirzechs, got involved, your leader—Michael—would intervene. Am I right?"
She didn't deny it, but the simple fact she showed surprise already gave her answer.
"Haha, what a shame. Let's say your leader could indeed fight my father, but did he ask my mother if she would allow him to act all pompous in front of her against my father?" Zaydas asked with interest.
He knew that at this point, it was uncertain who was stronger, his father or his mother. But without a doubt, she had an advantage against Angels that Devils didn't have. And, being at least on the same level of power, she wouldn't lose—in fact, if Sirzechs got involved, even if Michael appeared, the one who would suffer defeat would be him.
"One more thing, you say something about siding with the Fallen Angels because of the Excaliburs. So, let me ask you something." Zaydas pointed a finger to his head: "Are you an idiot? Someone with my level of power doesn't fear something like the 'Excaliburs,' you saw for yourself how easy it was to destroy that little toy of yours. So tell me, are you an idiot?"
Blushing with shame and anger, Xenovia lowered her head and was unable to refute.
How could she? Isn't the proof right in front of her eyes?
If it's really as he says, it's clear he doesn't even consider the "Excaliburs" a threat. So why would he lower himself to ally with the Fallen Angels, who are enemies of the Devils?
Even Irene, who wasn't very smart, understood this point and fell silent after hearing it. She could only pray that Xenovia wouldn't say something stupid and end up complicating things for the both of them.
She had to admit that this young Devil was truly terrifying.
And what he said earlier still echoed in her mind.
'Zatanna Zatara... I heard about her. It was said that even Michael-sama has to be cautious before her...' Just from that simple fact, she knew they were now walking on eggshells.
Not to mention that dealing with Sirzechs Lucifer wouldn't be easy at all.
"What do you intend to do now, Zay-kun?" Rias looks at him.
After what happened, she no longer wanted to decide things on her own, fearing that her actions would once again disappoint Zaydas. The feeling of thinking she had disappointed Zaydas wasn't good at all.
Looking at her, Zaydas turned back to Xenovia and Irene: "They can walk freely and do as they wish. But not because they want to, rather because we allow it and we don't care about their problems. But..."
"Huh?"
"Sigh, you haven't understood yet?" Zaydas saw that everyone was confused.
Or almost everyone.
"Things aren't that simple." Shizue said suddenly.
"What do you mean, Shizue-san?" Akeno asked.
"Not simple?" Shizue frowned, seemingly not understanding how they still hadn't realized it: "First, the Fallen Angels stole the Excaliburs, then came to the territory of Zaydas and Rias-san. Isn't it easy to deduce, after analyzing that, that this so-called Kokabiel is looking for trouble? Or rather, he seems to want to involve all three powers and make a war explode."
Faced with such a precise analysis, even Zaydas felt like clapping for her.
"Is that serious?" Kiba seemed disbelieving.
He wasn't the only one.
Even Xenovia and Irene's expressions changed after hearing that.
"How can this be..." Xenovia seemed to have thought of something that nearly made her soul leave her body.
"Now you understand?" Zaydas smiled at her and spoke slowly, without being interrupted: "The side of the Fallen Angels seeks war, but their leader is a pacifist, meaning it won't go anywhere, since you all were disposable pieces from the beginning, used so the church could later seek greater compensation from the Fallen Angels."
"Meanwhile, Kokabiel, who probably wants to start a war... I wouldn't be surprised if he's under surveillance and, the moment he acts, he'll be caught and imprisoned for treason, and used as the scapegoat for the mistakes while the Fallen Angels only need to compensate for his actions."
When Zaydas finished speaking, silence dominated the room for a moment. Seconds later, Rias let out a tired sigh.
Now she understood how naive she had been. Not getting involved? Hah, from the very beginning she had already been caught up in the plot of the Fallen Angel, Kokabiel.
"Do you understand now?" Zaydas touched her head, sliding his hand to her face and lightly pinching her cheek, just to see her puff her cheeks as she blushed. Not caring, he continued: "But it's not a big deal. Although Kokabiel is 'strong,' he's only a bit stronger than High-Level Devils."
"Really?" Rias seemed skeptical.
In her understanding, someone like Kokabiel should be at least on the same level as Grayfia, or just a bit below...
"You'll understand later." Zaydas didn't explain, turning back to Xenovia and Irene who shuddered under his gaze.
However, Xenovia had a natural arrogance, and after enduring for a while, she was already starting to feel numb, and the fear she felt earlier was gradually fading.