[Holy Sword Wielder (Red): Can wield any holy sword without conditions, all attributes greatly enhanced when holding a holy sword.]
Decent effect, but kinda useless.
Roy glanced at the new Holy Sword Wielder entry, musing.
Both it and Holy King Sword, both Red entries, boosted holy sword use.
By stats, they were solid, even practical for Red-tier.
Problem was, Roy had no suitable holy sword.
Wait, there's one that fits.
Roy's gaze drifted to Durandal.
"Hm? What're you up to?"
Xenovia, just standing, sensed trouble and stepped back, wary.
"Nothing, just looking."
Roy looked away.
Durandal was perfect, but he couldn't snatch it outright.
As a legendary holy sword, it held immense significance to the Church.
Beating Xenovia up without killing her? The Church might just grumble.
Stealing Durandal? They'd declare war by morning.
Not worth the payoff.
Returning to the Occult Research Club with Xenovia, Asia stepped forward to heal her.
Roy opened his attribute panel, using the Holy Sword Wielder entry to unlock a slot.
Opening a ninth entry slot required one Red entry or equivalent lower-tier ones.
His other Red entries were useful, so he'd kept them in rotation.
But Holy Sword Wielder? Useless for now.
Might as well use it to boost overall power.
Equipping [Immortality], Roy finished swapping entries and looked up.
With Asia's healing, Xenovia and Irina were fully recovered.
"Man, that was brutal," Irina sighed, rubbing her head.
"Total defeat," Xenovia agreed, glancing at Roy. "The Red Dragon Emperor's strength is even more monstrous than rumored."
"You're just weak. Didn't even tap half your swords' power," Roy jabbed bluntly.
"…"
Xenovia and Irina fell silent.
Losers had no right to argue.
As the weaker side, they'd lost any ground to challenge Roy.
"Ahem, despite the… clash, let's get to business," Rias said, seizing the moment to shift the mood.
"You two from the Church, I hear you're in Kuoh Town for a special mission."
"Can you share details about it?"
"Of course."
Irina exchanged a glance with Xenovia and stepped forward. "Xenovia and I are tasked with recovering stolen holy swords."
"Recently, the Vatican, Protestant Church, and Orthodox Church were attacked."
"Though our forces repelled the enemy, they stole Excalibur fragments from each branch."
Rias: "You're saying the thief is in Kuoh Town?"
Irina nodded. "That's our intel."
"We weren't the first. The Church sent exorcists to Kuoh before us."
"But without exception, they were silently taken out by the enemy."
"I've heard reports of Church priests around Kuoh. Didn't realize it was this serious," Rias sighed inwardly.
Trouble always seemed to brew near Kuoh lately.
"Who stole the swords?"
"The Grigori."
"If I recall, that's the fallen angels' group, right?"
"Yup. We also know the mastermind."
"The theft was orchestrated by Kokabiel."
"Kokabiel?"
Rias's expression hardened.
As a Gremory princess, she knew Kokabiel—a fallen angel cadre who survived the Great War, a name in the Bible.
Strength-wise, even Ultimate-class devils couldn't match him.
"If it's Kokabiel, why send you two? No offense, but you can't possibly win."
"Correct, we can't."
"Like against the Red Dragon Emperor, we'd get crushed," Irina and Xenovia admitted frankly.
Rias: "So you came prepared to die? Your faith is as incomprehensible as ever."
Irina shook her head. "Please don't say that. This faith is what drives us."
Xenovia added, "The Church decided if we can't recover Excalibur, we destroy it."
Rias: "With your Durandal?"
Xenovia: "Exactly."
Rias: "But if you die, Durandal falling to the enemy is worse."
Xenovia: "The Church has contingencies, and Durandal isn't usable by just anyone. Rest assured."
Rias: "Fine, I get your stance. Anything else?"
Xenovia: "…Nope."
A lie.
They'd come to ensure devils weren't colluding with fallen angels, urging Rias to stay out of the Church-Grigori conflict.
But after witnessing Roy's power, Xenovia scrapped that plan.
Demanding neutrality on enemy turf was asking for a fight.
They were the weaker side.
Pushing it, Xenovia had no doubt Roy would strike again—and this time, he might not hold back.
"Lying, huh?"
Rias saw through them but didn't care.
Her goal shifted from intimidation to having Roy dominate, and it worked.
"Since you're done, hear me out."
Irina nodded. "Go ahead."
Rias: "A vicious killer's been targeting Gremory devils and associates in Kuoh."
"To prevent more losses, Roy and I decided to conduct a full-scale sweep of Kuoh tonight."
"Tonight?"
Irina paused, exchanging a look with Xenovia.
Large-scale scans weren't subtle.
Rias was openly signaling their move would flush out Kokabiel.
"Any objections?"
Rias asked.
Irina and Xenovia whispered briefly, then shook their heads. "No issue. The Church hasn't pinned Kokabiel's exact location."
"Your help finding him benefits us."
"Great."
Rias nodded, shifting gears. "Since you're cooperating, can you share your intel?"
"After hearing you out, I suspect your killer might be a fallen angel operative."
"Uh…"
Irina looked troubled.
"You need to understand your position."
Roy stood from the sofa, touching his Boosted Gear.
Immense mana poured in, triggering Balance Breaker, unleashing a ferocious aura.
"Every word we say carries the weight of force."
"Refuse to cooperate, and I won't mind getting rough—pulling the intel straight from your heads."
"Ugh, knew it'd come to this," Irina sighed.
She'd hoped to withhold intel.
Rias's group wasn't acting like bystanders; they were gearing to jump in.
But as the weaker side, she and Xenovia had no leverage.
Facing Roy's threat, Irina caved. "Three enemies are hiding in Kuoh."
"Kokabiel, the mastermind; Balpa Galileo, a Church traitor; and Freed Sellzen, a rogue exorcist with the stolen Excalibur."
"Balpa Galileo?!"
Yuuto Kiba, silent until now, erupted with killing intent.
"You know him?" Irina asked, puzzled.
"Of course."
Yuuto's voice dripped with venom. "I'm a Holy Sword Project survivor."
"I see," Irina said after a pause. "I'm sorry for what you went through."
"Soon after your group was killed, the Church uncovered the truth."
"But Balpa was cunning, escaping before we could act."
Yuuto: "…What about the other researchers?"
Irina: "All executed on the spot. The Church doesn't go soft on that."
Yuuto: "…"
So, only Balpa remained as his enemy.
Half his lifelong vendetta vanished, leaving Yuuto dazed.
But his resolve hardened quickly.
The researchers were pawns. Balpa was the mastermind.
As long as he lived, Yuuto had to find him.
"Roy, Prez, I have a request."
"I get it," Rias nodded. "If Roy finds Balpa, he's yours."
"I need Balpa's description."
Roy's voice cut in.
Irina and Xenovia exchanged a glance, detailing Balpa's features.
They also described Freed and added, "It's just a hunch, but your killer might be Freed Sellzen."
"He's a rogue exorcist who killed comrades over petty disputes. A nasty piece of work."
"Got it," Roy said, activating Boosted Gear.
"BoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoost!"
Mechanical chants rang out, Roy's aura visibly skyrocketing.
Without hesitation, he maxed out his Senjutsu, expanding his sensory range.
Hundreds of meters, thousands, tens of thousands…
In an instant, all of Kuoh Town fell under his perception.
Filtering out mundane auras, Roy scanned for supernatural presences.
"So strong," Irina gasped, wide-eyed.
"He held back earlier. This is the Red Dragon Emperor's true power," Xenovia said, equally stunned.
They'd assumed Roy's scan relied on pre-set magic circles.
But he was brute-forcing it with raw power.
The outcome was the same, but the strength behind it was worlds apart.
Even Yuuto and others, familiar with Roy, were shocked.
Only Rias, briefed yesterday, stayed calm.
"Found them."
Roy spoke.
"Kokabiel's in an abandoned church west of Kuoh. Balpa's 400 meters south of the school. Freed… he's near Shoko."
Night fell.
Following Roy's info, Soyo Nagasaki arrived at Kuoh Park.
At the park's center, by a fountain, stood the figure she'd longed to see.
"Shoko, it's been a while."
Soyo approached. "Thank you for meeting me."
"…"
"Please don't be mad. I know my method was—"
"Skip the pleasantries," Shoko cut in, turning. "You came for a reason, right?"
"I…"
Soyo hesitated, then steeled herself. "Shoko, I don't believe you'd quit the band for no reason."
"Are you in trouble? If I can, I want to help."
"You can't."
Shoko shook her head, expressionless.
"But I don't want CRYCHIC to end without knowing why."
Soyo's voice trembled. "Shoko, tell me what's wrong."
"We—CRYCHIC—can help you."
"Let's overcome this and go back to how it was."
"No."
"Why are you like this?!"
Soyo's emotions flared. "Why won't you tell me, no matter what?"
"Because you can't do it. That's all."
Shoko shook her head, turning to leave.
"Wait, Shoko!"
Panicking, Soyo grabbed her sleeve. "Give me a chance! I'll do anything I can!"
"Please, don't go!"
"You're such a hassle."
Perhaps because of Roy's payment, Shoko wasn't too annoyed.
Sighing at her old friend, she asked, "Can you bear my life?"
"Huh?"
"You're just a student, reliant on your family."
"Do you really think you can shoulder someone else's life?"
"I…"
"Don't make promises you can't keep. It'll crush you and hurt those who believe in you."
"…"
Soyo fell silent.
Seeing Shoko's calm words, she realized her friend's struggles were far more grounded than she'd imagined.
"Well, well, quite the scene!"
A mocking voice rang out nearby.
---
If you want to read more than 20 chapters early feel free to visit pa tre on . com /Archus