"Irina!"
Xenovia jerked awake, gasping for breath.
Irina nearly tackled her with relief. "You're okay! Thank God, Xenovia!"
Aisha and Mihae, hovering nearby, finally let out the breaths they'd been holding, wiping sweat from their brows. Xenovia's wounds had been dire, but somehow, they'd managed to bring her back.
"Aisha Argento… Tenra Kamiyo's servant…"
Xenovia's gaze flickered as she took in her surroundings, piecing together what must have happened. She rubbed her aching forehead, turning to Irina. "Where are we? What happened after…?"
Irina squeezed her hand. "Just as Kokabiel was about to finish us, Tenra showed up and saved our lives. You were in bad shape—Aisha and Mihae took care of you."
"And… well…"
Irina quickly recapped the rest. Xenovia listened, her heart tangled with conflicting emotions.
"Another debt… Our sins just keep piling up…"
She couldn't help a bitter smile. When things got desperate, the Lord hadn't intervened—yet a devil had. It was impossible not to have thoughts about that, but with the crisis unresolved, Xenovia pushed her doubts aside. There'd be time to wrestle with her faith later. For now, survival came first.
"Where's Tenra Kamiyo?"
Mihae answered with practiced grace. "Lord Tenra is strategizing with Lady Rias and Lady Sona about how to counter the fallen angel Kokabiel. He said, if you woke, you should join them."
"Take us to him."
"Of course. Please, follow us."
Led by Mihae and Aisha, Xenovia and Irina stepped into the main hall. Tenra, Rias, Sona, and the others looked up from a table crowded with maps and magic circles.
Under their scrutiny, Xenovia drew herself up, then bowed deeply before Tenra.
"Tenra Kamiyo. I won't pretend otherwise—you saved Irina and me. If you ever want our lives, they're yours to take."
Her blunt honesty earned surprised respect from Rias, Yubelluna, and the rest. Tenra's smile was unreadable—half amusement, half something sharper.
"Saving Irina goes without saying. As for you, Xenovia—you're her friend. I couldn't just stand by and watch."
He waved off the matter. "Let's deal with debts later. Right now, we need to focus on Kokabiel. Xenovia, Irina—you'll join the strategy session as the Church's representatives."
"Understood."
Xenovia's eyes flickered, but she didn't hesitate. She knew now that Kokabiel was aiming to ignite a three-way war. This was far beyond what she and Irina could handle alone. If working with devils could avert catastrophe, surely even the Lord would forgive them.
Tenra cleared his throat, drawing every eye. "Kokabiel wants war—angels, fallen angels, devils. We have to stop him. If he succeeds, the whole world goes up in flames."
He turned to Rias and Sona. "This is bigger than us. Contact the Underworld. Report everything to Sirzechs and Leviathan."
Rias and Sona exchanged looks—neither liked relying on their Demon Lord siblings, but this wasn't the time for pride. Both nodded.
"We can't reach them directly," Xenovia said, "but Irina and I will fight for the Church with everything we have."
Everyone understood. If Church agents could just call for backup from inside devil territory, something was seriously wrong with the world.
"I've reached the Underworld," Rias reported, setting down her communicator. "But even at top speed, my brother and the others need an hour to get here."
"Same on my end…" Sona added, her face grim.
An hour. Would Kuoh Town even survive that long if they just waited? Kokabiel wasn't going to sit around and twiddle his thumbs.
Tenra smiled, unbothered. "Relax. All we have to do is hold that bastard off for an hour. That's child's play."
He sounded so confident, no one could doubt him. Even if it came to a real fight, Tenra didn't believe he'd lose.
—
Meanwhile, at Kuoh Academy—
High above the school grounds, a throne hovered in midair. Kokabiel slouched on it, bored, chin in hand, waiting for his enemies to arrive.
Below him, Valper Galilei had drawn five interlocking magic circles on the field. Freed, grinning, planted five holy swords at the center of each.
Excalibur Destruction.
Excalibur Mimic.
Excalibur Rapidly.
Excalibur Nightmare.
Excalibur Transparency.
The original Excalibur had been shattered in ancient wars. The Church, desperate, had used alchemy to forge its fragments into seven new swords—each inheriting a piece of Excalibur's power, but none matching the original's might.
Now, Valper seemed ready to fuse five of these holy swords into something new.
"Ha ha ha ha… Watch closely, everyone! My dream's about to come true!"
Valper's eyes shone with manic excitement as the five swords radiated, their powers beginning to merge. Freed blinked, almost giddy with anticipation.
—
Inside the kendo club, a hundred girls huddled together, peeking anxiously at the chaos outside.
"What do we do? What do we do?"
"That's magic, right? Like, straight out of a manga!"
"That man's terrifying—he must be a real fallen angel. I saw drawings like that in a Bible at the bookstore…"
"Get real! That stuff's all made up. No way it's actually happening."
"But… but…"
Nerves frayed, the girls whispered and argued, unable to process the supernatural madness unfolding on their school grounds.
A man with wings, an old guy casting spells—this was supposed to be real life, not some fantasy series!
"Quiet! Unless you want those monsters to hear us!"
Kiryuu Aika hissed, and the room fell silent. Ordinary girls, thrust into the impossible—most were on the verge of panic. Among the hundred-plus kendo club members, only Aika, Murayama, and a handful of others managed to keep their heads.
"You over there—any luck with the police? When are they coming?"
Aika called to a group frantically dialing phones.
"They… they don't believe us. They said to leave school and go home…"
One girl was close to tears.
Aika's face darkened; the other girls tensed. Of course the police didn't believe them. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't either.
"Maybe we should go outside? They might not be bad people…"
A timid suggestion earned a chorus of eye-rolls.
"If you want to die, go right ahead," Aika shot back, exasperated.
The girl shrank, clapping a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant it—no way she'd actually go out there.
"Kiryuu, what do we do now?"
Murayama and Katase looked to her, desperation in their eyes.
Aika was their anchor—quick-thinking, calm under pressure.
Aika's brow furrowed. She weighed their options, then made her call.
"We don't know what those monsters are. Going out there is suicide."
She squared her shoulders. "No choice. We'll have to ask that person for help."
Every eye turned to her as Aika pulled out her phone and dialed…
—
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