The second stage of Balance Breaker.
This power that I manifested, following Issei-kun.
With this Paladin of Betrayer, I can handle different attributes simultaneously!
Cold air overflowed from the Holy Demonic Sword's blade, freezing the Excalibur Replica's blade!
At the same time, I generated a storm, creating a blizzard around us!
"Hah!"
Mixing in the attribute of destruction, I pushed back Excalibur.
Then, aiming for the moment his stance broke, I unleashed a full-power thrust!
The Holy Demonic Sword pierced deep into Ewald Cristaldi's chest——.
However, in the next instant.
Ewald Cristaldi's body turned into a rope-like shape and collapsed!
Impossible! Are you saying that was a Mimic clone too?!
I definitely felt the resistance of the sword.
Did he transform into a clone the moment he received the blade?!
"By using Rapidly, Mimic, Nightmare, and Transparency, creating a clone of that level the moment of impact is possible."
"——!?"
A voice came from the side.
I hurriedly turned around to see multiple Ewald Cristaldi clones already standing there!
He used four abilities in the instant of our clash?!
To do that without letting me, who was actually crossing swords with him, notice!
No, this isn't the time to be surprised.
Are these clones Mimic? Or Nightmare?
Irina-san and I readied our swords to deal with the attacking clones——but we succeeded in blocking their swords at the same time!
Are you saying both are real?!
Irina-san and I engaged in a high-speed sword fight, cutting down the clones before us.
However, both clones we cut simply dispersed into mist!
Neither real nor Mimic?!
The clones that should have dispersed reconstructed themselves on the spot, becoming Cristaldi again!
"It is a combination of Rapidly and Nightmare. High speed and illusion create afterimages with mass. Swordsman of the Holy Demonic Sword, you cannot cut me with speed alone, you know?"
"Tch!"
My current speed is drastically improved compared to before.
My swordsmanship as well.
However, this Excalibur user utilizes its abilities to the fullest, handling me easily!
"There are other ways to use Excalibur."
The voice came from behind.
By the time Irina-san and I turned around, he had already closed the distance——.
"Even holy water, which would likely show no effect on powerful Devils like you——"
A small bottle was thrown in front of my eyes.
Ewald Cristaldi shattered it with a horizontal slash of his sword.
The holy water inside splashed all over my body.
Confirming that, Ewald Cristaldi focused his will.
The next instant——.
"——Ghh! Guaa...!"
Intense pain assaulted me!
The holy power from the holy water scorched my Devil body!
Agonizing pain spread as if searing my flesh and spirit, and I fell to one knee on the spot!
"With the Blessing attribute, it can be enhanced this much. I could even let you hear a reading from a blessed Bible, you know?"
Enhancing holy water with the Blessing attribute.
For us Devils, it is a terrifying power.
"Sensei!"
Trying to save me, Irina-san swung Hauteclere from the side——and sliced off her mentor's head!
"Eh!?"
Seeing the headless torso, Irina-san was visibly shaken.
She probably didn't expect her single blow to blow off her mentor's head.
"——Naïve, Shidou Irina."
The voice came from behind Irina-san.
When she turned around, there was the figure of her mentor about to swing his sword down!
He showed his student the illusion of his own death to shake her!
Irina-san blocked the descending Excalibur with Hauteclere, but——.
Unable to withstand the pressure, she was knocked to the ground!
A strike of Destruction!
"Don't forget about me!"
From the rear, Dulio-san fired a sphere of fire and a spear of ice simultaneously, created by his Sacred Gear.
Just as his attack was about to directly hit Ewald Cristaldi, it unnaturally changed trajectory and impacted a completely unrelated location.
Dulio-san further generated ice pillars from the ground around the area, but no ice pillars formed only around Ewald Cristaldi.
Sister Griselda was astonished by the result.
"Did he dominate the Joker's attack?!"
"With the power of Ruler, even a Longinus——is what I would like to say, but..."
His gaze turned to his own vestments.
Looking closely, I noticed the clothes were slightly torn.
"Naturally, deflecting it was the best I could do. I was saved by the grace of Angelification, Dulio."
Even if Dulio-san isn't serious, this battle situation against just one person...!
"Is this the extent of it... a natural-born Excalibur user...!"
"I told you, didn't I? The one we're facing is one of the two giants called monsters even within the Church. Cristaldi of Technique, Strada of Power—that's what they were often called. Good grief, my mentor is terrifying."
Dulio-san said with a wry smile.
Indeed, he possesses tremendous power.
But the sword he holds is a replica.
If this were the real thing, what on earth would happen...?
"...I will release Gram. With the current me, even against an Excalibur user, I can buy enough time for you to find an opening——"
It was when I started to say that.
——The black coat I was wearing vanished, and the Holy Demonic Sword returned to its original shape.
The Paladin state was released on its own, against my will.
It was so unexpected that I couldn't hide my surprise.
"Wh...?! Why...?! I can still fight! I can still grip my sword! And yet——"
True, there is fatigue.
The damage from the holy water isn't small either.
But I should still have been able to maintain this state.
...Did the Sacred Gear, Sword Birth, reject me?
During the demonic beast disturbance in the Underworld, Cao Cao, who fought Issei-kun, was rejected by his Sacred Gear in the end and had his power taken away.
Is the same thing happening to me...?
Dulio-san placed a hand on my bewildered shoulder.
"I heard from Issei-don. That power just now is more special than a Balance Breaker, right? I heard the activation conditions are unknown too. But Issei-don said the situations when it happened were similar for both him and Kiba-kyun. ...Maybe the Sacred Gear is saying it didn't lend you power for this kind of thing?"
"For this kind of thing...? But! If this goes on, I...! I won't be able to surpass Excalibur!"
My life was driven mad by Excalibur.
Not just me, many comrades were dragged in and lost their lives.
With Valper Galilei's death and the peace between the Three Factions, a tentative conclusion was reached.
But... but still!
There is a natural-born Excalibur user in front of me, and even if it's a replica, Excalibur is in his hand!
He stands before me as an enemy!
I want to win!
I want to surpass it!
I want to prove... that what happened to us at that facility wasn't an illusion, wasn't a waste...!
Please, Sword Birth...!
Give me that power, one more time...!
To surpass Excalibur, give me that power!
I desperately pleaded with the Sacred Gear inside me.
Dulio-san gently patted my head.
"The opponent you risk your life to fight isn't here, right? Kiba-kyun——no, Yuuto. You're from the Church. Then you're like a little brother to me. As a big brother, I can't allow my little brother to be reckless, you know."
Saying that, Dulio-san stepped forward.
He stepped in front of me, standing before his own mentor.
"Well, I'm still the leader of Team 'DxD'. Leave this to your big brother."
[Kiba Side Out]
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