"Riser-sama!" In a fairly luxurious apartment, Issei and Saji met Riser.
"Sorry, you two. As your master, I was careless and let my guard down. Since it was Rias's territory, I didn't expect members of the Church to attack you," Riser said apologetically. He strode toward Saji, who was lying on the sofa with his leg bandaged. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a small bottle and opened it. Inside was a single droplet of liquid that faintly glimmered under the light.
"Phoenix Tears!" The one who spoke was Kiba. He had come along with Riser and now leaned against the wall, quietly watching their movements.
Phoenix Tears are a rare potion capable of instantly healing injuries. A single drop can regenerate wounds and restore vitality, though it cannot replace lost blood or organs. However, it can be used to reattach a severed limb.
Only the House of Phenex possesses the ability to create this magical potion, granting them immense economic and political influence despite their rank as mere marquesses.
It was said that even a single drop of Phoenix Tears was extremely expensive, and the demand for them far exceeded the supply. Whenever one appeared on the market, it would be purchased almost instantly.
After all, a single vial could save a life. It was like owning an extra life. For the wealthy noble houses, no amount of money could compare to the value of their precious lives.
"Riser-sama," Saji tried to get up, but Riser stopped him. "Don't move."
Carefully, Riser opened Saji's mouth and fed him the potion. Almost instantly, the magic took effect, and all his wounds vanished. "The wounds! They're gone! I'm healed!"
"Thank you, master!" Saji immediately stood and bowed deeply to Riser.
"That's the least I could do for you. After all, it is my fault for allowing something like this to happen to you," Riser said, patting Saji's shoulder with a gentle smile. Compared to the inferior and ungrateful female gender, he was very satisfied with his new male servant, who could show gratitude and also possessed far greater potential than his previous pathetic female servants.
He must have been blind to include only the lesser gender in his peerage in the past. None of them was exceptionally talented. Heck, even his Queen Yubelluna was worthless in comparison to Saji when it came to potential.
The experience of having his fiancée stolen from him, his mother looking down on him, and his peerage giving up on him, though he was the one who had abandoned them, bred in him a twisted sense of insecurity and mistrust toward women.
Using a precious Phoenix Tear to heal his servant and further secure his loyalty and gratitude was more than worth it for Riser, who could create as many Phoenix Tears as he wanted.
During the process, Issei watched with a strangely uneasy feeling. Why the hell did Riser feed Saji the potion? It was not like Saji was paralyzed or in a coma; he could have taken it himself. For some reason, Issei felt that this was somehow… Geh!
"Issei, you also need this. Your shoulder is injured, and if you don't heal it, it will affect your battles later," Riser said, turning to Issei and tossing another bottle to him. Issei caught it and bowed slightly. "Thank you, Riser-sama."
'Fortunately, he didn't try to feed me too,' Issei thought with amusement as he held the bottle and drank. Soon, the wound on his shoulder healed completely, and he removed the bandage.
He turned to Kiba and asked, "Why is this guy here?" If there was anyone else he envied besides Yusuke Aoki, it would be Kiba, the school's prince charming.
In fact, he envied him even more than Yusuke. Yusuke was not nearly as handsome as this pretty boy. On the contrary, Issei felt that he was even more handsome than Yusuke, which made him see Yusuke as a role model and motivation. If Yusuke could do it, why couldn't he?
But this guy was just too freaking handsome. There were so many girls at school who were smitten by him! It was so annoying to watch them cry and faint whenever he walked past. Heck, there were even rumors that some girls and female teachers had tried to sexually harass him.
'Fuck! It should've been me, not him!' Issei clenched his fists and shouted, his eyes brimming with tears.
[That's pathetic, partner. No Dragon would want to be raped by another woman,] Ddraig said, feeling disappointed in his hopelessly perverted host. This guy was thirsty as hell.
"This is Yuuto Kiba. He is Rias Gremory's Knight, and he is here to help us fight the people who attacked you," Riser said, turning to Kiba as he explained to his Pawn and Queen. "He has a feud with the two Church rebels."
"I appreciate your help, Riser-sama, but please remember I want to be the one to kill Freed and Valper Galilei," Kiba said, clenching the sword at his waist as he spoke.
Earlier, Riser approached him and proposed they work together to deal with members of the Church and the Holy Swords. He said he also wanted revenge for his servants. Unlike Rias, who was afraid to act because she did not want to implicate her brother and risk provoking a war, Riser did not have a Maou as a brother.
Since Freed was the one who attacked them, they had every right to defend themselves and retaliate.
Kiba, who failed to defeat Freed and also failed to even locate him after he escaped, decided to work with Riser in the end.
As long as Kiba does not implicate Rias or put her in difficulty, he does not care about anyone else.
"We will split into two groups. Issei and Kiba will work together, and Saji and I will form the other group," Riser said, assigning the teams. He then told Issei and Kiba the possible locations Freed might go to. After that, they split into two groups and left the apartment.
...
"Irina! We need to talk!"
"Xenovia! Explain yourself!"
As soon as Yusuke left the house, Irina and Xenovia spoke at the same time, glaring at each other with ice-cold eyes.
The duo, who had shared unbreakable bonds for years, was now on the verge of a fight over a man they had met just a few hours ago.
Both of them were somewhat airheaded, and when it came to relationships, they were both surprisingly direct. Xenovia, in particular, was the type to bluntly confess to you, propose to you, and even fuck you without hesitation.
The two of them had fallen in love with the same man at the same time. If it weren't for their inherently good natures, upbringing, and long close relationship, they would have already gone at each other's throats with their swords.
"I love Yu. I have already decided to give up my role in the Church and spend my life with him as his wife," Xenovia said firmly, her tone serious. In the past, she had believed it was only right to devote everything to the Lord and the heavens, a belief strengthened even further after becoming the wielder of Durandal. But now, all of that had been thrown away.
She planned to return Durandal to the Church, then come back to this town to become his wife and live happily with him forever. Nothing was going to stop her from making that happen!
"Darling is my darling! Xenovia, how could you try to steal him from me?" Irina shouted, shaking her head so hard that her twin tails swung through the air. She patted her chest proudly and declared, "I'm going to tell Father and Mother that I found my darling, and I'm going to spend my whole life with him! I'll never give up on him, not even in death!"
"No! Not even death can separate me from him!"
When it came to obsession and determination to claim Yusuke, Irina refused to lose to Xenovia or any other woman.
"So you love him, huh?" Xenovia said, lowering her head, her voice quiet. "Irina, you're more than my partner and friend, you're like a sister to me. Why do you want to force me? Why do you want to take my Yu?"
Because of her troublesome personality, Xenovia had always struggled to make friends. Whenever she teamed up with Church members for missions, they would always request a change of partners afterward. She felt that everyone hated her and that no one could understand her. That was until she met Irina.
Irina was energetic and understanding. She never disliked Xenovia; instead, she supported her countless times and stayed by her side for years. Their bond was incredibly strong, surpassing even that of siblings, which made it easy to imagine the conflict Xenovia felt now that Irina was determined to take her man from her.
"I should be the one saying that, Xenovia. I like Darling, I love him. Even though I only met him for a short time, it was such a happy and delightful experience. I feel like I can't live without him anymore. He's like my oxygen, my food, even my faith! I can't imagine a world without Darling!" Irina shook her head, pressing both hands against her chest. Her eyes glowed with a deep, almost tangible obsession, so intense it seemed a pink aura surrounded her. She looked at Xenovia with a soft, pleading expression and said, "Xenovia, please… don't take him from me. I'll do anything if you give up on him."
"Impossible! I can't live without Yu either! I'd rather die than give up on him!" Xenovia said, shaking her head firmly, completely unmoved by Irina's plea.
"That leaves only one solution." Removing the ribbon that held her hair, which transformed into a katana, Irina pointed the Excalibur Mimic at Xenovia and said, "Let our swords decide the outcome!"
"Very well. In this world, strength is the one unchanging truth. Let's settle it that way," Xenovia said, pulling her Excalibur Destruction from the cloth wrapped around it. Her voice was firm and serious. "I believe you don't want to go too far either, right?"
"Yes. We'll fight, and the loser will forever leave Yusuke," Irina nodded faintly. She loved Yusuke deeply and was obsessed with him, but that did not mean she could bring herself to kill her closest friend. She had not been around Yusuke long enough to go completely crazy, nor was she desperate enough to cross that line.
"Very well," Xenovia replied with a nod.
"Let's go somewhere else. Darling would be angry if we destroyed this house," Irina said, glancing around at the house.
The two women didn't waste any more time. They immediately left and traveled to the outskirts of town, to a desolate and remote area.
"Let's end this quickly. Yu will only be mine!"
Standing a few meters apart, Xenovia gripped her sword with both hands. The moment she spoke, she surged forward with incredible speed, lifting her sword high before bringing it down.
Irina was not Kiba, and she was not irrational enough to blindly face Excalibur Destruction. With a swift motion, she sidestepped the attack, and at the same time, her katana transformed into a long, flexible sword.
Clang!
Her sword moved like a fast snake, stabbing at Xenovia's ribs, but the latter had already anticipated it. She calmly blocked the strike with her sword, then slashed violently into the empty air.
BOOM!
The attack created a powerful impact, causing an explosion that pushed Irina back and stirred dust and debris everywhere.
Irina flipped and tumbled through the air several times before landing at a safe distance. Her sword then transformed into a long whip, and she lashed out at Xenovia, who was just emerging from the cloud of dust.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Xenovia blocked the multiple whip attacks and continued rushing forward unwaveringly. The two of them had fought countless times before, so they both knew each other's styles. Xenovia relied on brute strength to crush any obstacle, while Irina had a lighter, more exquisite style, using the Excalibur Mimic with precision and grace.
"Hyahahaha! Guess who's back?"
"Back again!"
"Freed is back!"
"Hyahahaha! Busty tomboy, I am back!"
Suddenly, a loud, obnoxious, and irritating laugh interrupted the fight. Freed came rushing in at incredible speed, leaping from a tree and slashing down at Xenovia.
...
Happy New Year. May your New Year's resolution survive longer than it did last year.
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