"Holy Sword Project?"
Rias nodded in response to Asia's quiet question.
"Yes. Yuuto is a survivor of that project."
After finishing up at the clubroom, we returned to my house.
Rias and Asia were now seated in my room, and Rias had taken it upon herself to explain the details of Kiba's past. It was useful—expected, even. I already knew fragments of it. Kiba was connected to the Church's experiments. He was a survivor, a so-called "defect" of some secret Holy Sword experiment.
But I needed more than fragments.
Because if memory serves, this part of the plot—the so-called "Kiba arc"—is the precursor to Kokabiel's arrival. A war-hungry Fallen Angel.
A madman with no regard for balance or survival. His plan? Attack this school, eliminate Rias and Sona, and reignite a war that nearly destroyed the three factions centuries ago.
And unlike the controlled theater of a Rating Game, this time there won't be any divine intervention from Sirzechs or Azazel. No stage, no rules. Only chaos.
Death is a very real possibility.
And while I personally don't care much for death—pain is manageable, and fear has long since become a dull echo—there's still something in me that says I need to live. Not out of sentiment. Out of purpose.
A voice in the back of my mind keeps repeating:
"Fight until your last breath."
"Ise, are you listening?" Rias's voice cut into my thoughts.
"Yes," I said, returning my gaze to her.
"There was a project several years ago inside the Christian Church that aimed to create individuals capable of wielding the holy swords—specifically, Excalibur."
Asia gasped softly beside me.
"…This is my first time hearing this."
Of course it was. She had been raised like a sacred doll—praised as a "holy maiden." No way information like this would ever reach her. The Church keeps its skeletons buried deep.
"Holy swords are the ultimate weapons against devils," Rias continued. "Even touching them burns us. If we're cut, the wound won't heal. If it's fatal… we're erased, body and soul. They are the Church's answer to our existence."
I already knew that. But hearing it again had merit. A reminder of what these weapons represented. I had considered once—just briefly—what it would be like to fuse a holy sword with the Boosted Gear. Power-wise, it might rival even Longinus levels of threat. But practicality kills the thought.
First: we don't have a holy sword.
Second: even if we did, the compatibility issue would remain. Holy swords reject devils. I'd need a workaround. Something absolute. Something that bypasses the concept of "sin" entirely.
Rias's voice pulled me back again.
"But the reality is… there isn't anyone who can fully wield a holy sword right now. Not even the Church has produced a complete match. Durandal. Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi. Excalibur. All of them require something… inhuman."
That was interesting.
So the weapons that are supposedly divine themselves are too overwhelming for the very people they're made for. That says more about the hypocrisy of the system than it does the weapons.
"The Church began artificially modifying children," Rias continued, her tone turning bitter. "They tried to force compatibility with Excalibur. Yuuto was one of those children."
Now that… was new.
So the treatment wasn't generalized. It was specific. Targeted for Excalibur. That sword must hold some unique significance. Perhaps it functions as a modular system—multiple pieces, like in the legend.
"Yuuto couldn't adapt," Rias said. "None of the children could. The project was deemed a failure."
Asia's eyes widened. She looked horrified. "Then what happened to the children…?"
Rias's expression hardened.
"They were disposed of. Everyone who couldn't meet expectations was... discarded."
Disposed.
Such a clean, efficient word for murder. The kind only institutions use when pretending their hands are clean.
Asia's voice trembled. "That's not something anyone who serves God should do..."
No. But that's the thing about so-called holy institutions. They exist to justify whatever actions they take in the name of their ideology. Morality is a weapon—like a sword, it only points one way.
Compared to the power games and traditions the old devil nobility clings to, this is… nothing. Still ugly. But not surprising.
"When I found Yuuto dying, I reincarnated him," Rias said. "Even then, even as he lay bleeding out, he was swearing revenge. The Church forged that hatred into him with years of torture disguised as purpose."
She closed her eyes for a moment.
"Yuuto was born for the sword. Not just holy swords, but any blade. His talent was natural. A waste to let it be buried in a grave of failed experiments."
Rias spoke with emotion. I could see how much she cared for her peerage. Her voice trembled with pride and sadness.
But me?
I processed it all with detached clarity.
Kiba's rage. His trauma. His vendetta.
Useful variables.
If I can redirect that into combat motivation when Kokabiel shows up, then I won't have to worry about him hesitating or freezing. He's already been broken. What matters is how I can weaponize those shattered pieces.
Just as I finished that thought, I became aware.
... Man, I am really need to stop this kind of thinking.
It getting cold even for me.
But the truth is this arc was already set in motion. And if things go as they did before, it will only escalate from here.
I need to be ready. But without abusing anyone's emotions.
~~~
(Volume 1: life as Issei is over in my Patreon and Vol 2: Rise of God has started. If you are interested check it out.)
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