"So, why did you come to us, Brute?"
"You two came to this country to retrieve the Excaliburs, right?"I asked
"That's right. We already told you that before."
Both of them didn't seem like they were giving us hostile intent because they had just finished their food. There was no point battling us in this family restaurant, and even if we did battle, they were confident that they could beat us with ease.
"I want to help you destroy the Excaliburs."
Both of them looked surprised at what I just said. They were also looking at each other.
GULP.
If I don't stop this now, then it might turn into a battle between angels, fallen angels, and devils! To think about it, the Excaliburs are supposed to be quite an important thing. And to destroy that together with devils like us might be an insult to them, perhaps? I was thinking about things like that when Xenovia opened her mouth.
"Yeah. Maybe it's okay leaving one sword to you guys. If you can destroy it, that is. But make sure that your identities aren't revealed. We also don't want our high-ups and enemies to think that we are connected to you guys."
...I just opened my mouth because I didn't expect that she would give us permission like that after what I did.
"Hey Xenovia. Are you sure? Even if it's Ise-kun, he's still a devil, you know?"
Irina raised an objection.
"Irina. To tell you the truth, it would really be tough to retrieve the three Excaliburs and to battle Kokabiel with only the two of us."
"I know that. But...!"
"The minimum objectives we have to achieve are destroying the three Excaliburs or taking them back. If our Excaliburs are going to be stolen as well, then we should break them before it happens. Even if we use the last resort, there's only a 30 percent chance that we will succeed in our mission and return home safely."
"Even so, we thought that the success rate was high enough to come to this country prepared to put our lives on the line."
"Yeah. The high-ups also told us to continue with our mission as well and dispatched us to this country. It's almost self-sacrifice."
"And isn't that what we, the followers, desire?"
"I changed my mind. My beliefs are flexible. So I can act in the best way."
"You! I have been thinking about it for a long time, but your faith is a bit weird!"
"I won't deny it. But I think that it's our duty to accomplish our mission and return safely. I'm going to live and continue fighting for God. Am I wrong?"
"...You are not wrong. But..."
"That's why we won't ask for help from the Devils. Instead we ask for help from a dragon. The high-ups didn't tell us not to borrow the strength of a dragon."
Xenovia then looked at me. Dragon... She was talking about me.
"I never thought that I would meet Sekiryuutei in a distant country like this. Even if you turned into a devil, I see that the dragon power within you is still present. If it's like the legend says, then you can increase your power to that of a Maou, correct? If you gain a power to that of a Maou, then you can break the Excaliburs without a sweat. I also think that it was God's doing that we had this meeting."
Xenovia said.
"C-Certainly they didn't tell us not to borrow the power of a dragon... But you are just saying nonsense! Your belief is certainly weird!"
"Weird is fine with me. But, Irina. He's your childhood friend, right? Let's trust him. The power of a dragon." Then she turned to me. "But let me get one thing straight: I don't like you." \
I nodded at her; even with her dislike, she still agrees with me that it's good. I thought to myself.
But what he didn't know was, when Xenovia looked at him, there was a small blush, which she hid well enough for anyone to miss. And an obvious sign of someone with a crush.
Irina became silent at Xenovia's words, but her expression showed that she was okay with it for now.
"Okay. The negotiation is a success. I will lend you guys my dragon's power. Then can I call my partner for this cooperation, then?"
I got my phone out and called Kiba.
"...I understand the situation."
Kiba put his mouth on the coffee after he made a sigh. We called Kiba to the family restaurant.
[I'm with those two Excalibur wielders. I want you to come here as well Kiba.]
When I said that, he came here without any complaint.
"To tell the truth, I feel unsatisfied when the wielders of the Excaliburs are giving me the permission to destroy it."
"That's a rough way to speak. If you were a "Stray-Devil," I would have cut you down without any time to spare."
Kiba and Xenovia glared at each other. Hey, hey. Let's not fight before the cooperation strategy.
"So you do hold a grudge regarding the 'Holy Sword Project' against the church and the Excaliburs."
Kiba sharpened his eyes at Irina's words.
"Obviously."
He replied with a low and cold voice.
"But Kiba-kun. Thanks to that project, the research on holy-sword users showed results. That's why it created people like Xenovia and me who can synchronize with the holy swords."
"Do you think it's a forgiving act to kill all the test subjects because the project was thought to be a failure?"
Kiba looked at Irina with eyes filled with hatred. Certainly killing them is cruel. But I don't mind; don't accept it as cruel but instead as a necessary evil. Man, I am getting dark with my thoughts. I really need to do something about my previous self's thought process.
Irina didn't know how to respond. Then Xenovia spoke.
"That incident also became one of the worst cases among us, and people felt disgusted about it. The person in charge of that project at that time was said to have a problem with his belief. So he was charged with heresy. Now he's one of those people on the Fallen-Angels side."
"On the Fallen Angel's side? What's the name of that person?"
Kiba took interest and asked Xenovia.
"...Balba Galilei. The man who is called the "Genocide Archbishop"."
~~~
(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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