[Perspective: Kiba]
"Hoh... To think I would live to see this at my age..."
Vasco Strada let out a breath of admiration.
At the end of his gaze was a Holy Sword enveloped in an enormous, dense aura.
The King of Holy Swords, spoken of even in legends——Caliburn.
The master of the King of Holy Swords spoke fearlessly.
"It is a pity that the sword you hold is not the original——but I thought I would like to experience even just its power with this body."
Arthur approached quietly.
In response, Vasco Strada began to walk as well.
Even as they entered each other's range, neither showed any sign of taking a stance.
They stopped only when they were right in front of each other.
A young gentleman with a gentle expression, and an old warrior.
However, those gentle expressions now seemed ominous.
The pressure emanating from the two of them.
Because dense powers were colliding, the space between them was beginning to distort.
And then——without a sound, the two vanished from the spot!
I barely managed to see their movements.
They had leaped instantly into the sky.
Descending while engaging in a fierce sword fight mid-air!
Their hang time must have been brief.
But in that interval, their two Holy Swords collided dozens, hundreds of times.
Strikes from above, below, horizontal sweeps, thrusts—every conceivable sword form was utilized in a dense offensive and defensive battle that unfolded in mere seconds.
Their swordplay wasn't just fast.
The surrounding buildings were crumbling from the shockwaves of the swords and holy auras clashing.
"...Amazing."
"Yeah..."
Irina-san and Xenovia held their breath watching this battle.
I was the same.
Not even blinking is allowed; to miss this would be a shame as a swordsman.
I even felt that way.
Arthur and Vasco Strada finally landed, but without pausing, they kicked off the ground, exchanging blows as they ran.
Multiple tears from cuts could be seen on Arthur's suit, and numerous slashes were carved into Vasco Strada's honed body.
Yet, they did not stop.
With expressions of ecstatic madness, they swung their Holy Swords wildly.
Suddenly, Arthur thrust the Royal Holy Sword in a seemingly random direction.
Piercing a hole in space, the blade sank into it.
Then, Vasco Strada arched his upper body backward significantly.
A sword had burst out from the side, piercing through space right where he had been!
Opening a hole in space and attacking through it.
Is such a thing possible with the Royal Holy Sword...?
Arthur pierced holes in space one after another, thrusting his Holy Sword into them.
From above, below, the sides, behind—blades clad in holy aura jutted out from every direction to assault Vasco Strada.
But the old warrior parried every single one of them!
He completely dodged even attacks from his blind spots, countering with his own strikes against Arthur, showing ample composure.
...Neither of them is serious yet.
I can see their movements.
From their footwork to the trajectory of their swords.
I can see the movements.
But if the current me stood there... would I be able to keep up?
Could I parry those swords and land a strike of my own?
Most likely, the current me cannot reach them.
Vasco Strada, the former wielder of Durandal, hailed as the greatest in history.
Arthur Pendragon, the master of the Royal Holy Sword and swordsman of the Vali Team who has crossed blades with countless mighty warriors.
"Is the gap this wide...?!"
It's frustrating...
As a fellow swordsman... that I cannot stand on that stage.
As I clenched my fists and ground my teeth, the battle situation changed rapidly.
The two swordsmen scattered massive sparks and leaped backward once.
They readied their swords again, but... Arthur lowered his blade.
Arthur adjusted his glasses and said with a smile.
"Magnificent. ...But, let us stop here. Any more, and I might go into shock and be unable to recover."
"...My apologies, young swordsman."
Vasco Strada also lowered his sword and smiled wryly.
Arthur gave a short laugh, then spoke with a somewhat lonely expression.
"...If we had met thirty, no, twenty years earlier, we could have had the greatest battle. Any more than this... would just make me sad."
——Gh.
I see... so that's it.
I vaguely sensed the reason Arthur withdrew.
That lonely expression, and the words he left behind.
If my thought is correct... that is a sorrowful thing for a swordsman.
"Now then, what shall we do...?"
Former President Rias murmured.
Since Arthur withdrew, from here on, it would be a battle between us and Vasco Strada again.
How do we fight against a swordsman with such abnormal strength?
Then——.
"——I will go."
The one who stepped forward was Xenovia.
Step by step, with firm footing, she stood before her master, before her predecessor.
She held Ex-Durandal out in front of her and——split it into two.
She separated it into Durandal and Excalibur.
Durandal in her right hand, Excalibur in her left.
That Excalibur was not mimicking Flash, Destruction, or Nightmare.
The seven separated Excaliburs had been integrated once again to become the True Excalibur.
In other words, the current Xenovia is wielding Durandal and the True Excalibur in a dual-wield style.
And it means she released the restraints she had placed on Durandal with Excalibur.
Seeing this, Strada's whole body trembled.
"Yes. That is it! From the perspective of a former Durandal user, Ex-Durandal was a mass of questions. Durandal is complete as it is. Excalibur is the same. Why is there a need to combine two already complete entities? That is nothing more than because you were tossed about by Durandal and imposed the folly of 'assistance' upon Excalibur! You are a child of battle who can fight with one sword or two. ——Do not deny it. Only by believing in power does strength become real!"
Xenovia originally preferred a dual-wielding style.
Excalibur Destruction and Durandal. Durandal and Ascalon.
Sometimes even a Holy Sword I created combined with Ascalon.
Now, Xenovia has returned to her old style... no, her original style.
In that instant, the two Holy Swords, returned to their true forms, began to exude a dense holy aura.
Unprecedented, as if embodying the power she holds, Durandal and Excalibur heightened their strength.
Strada's eyes were moist.
"...Finally, we meet again, Durandal. Come, Warrior Xenovia. Do not think, just come. The truth of Durandal lies only within destruction."
"...Yes!"
Destruction and Destruction.
The two swordsmen embodying power closed the distance.
The closer they got, the more powerful the waves emitted by their Holy Swords became.
And then——
"Ooooooooooooooooooh!"
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Xenovia's two swords and Vasco Strada's one sword clashed, scattering flashes and sparks!
Just the shockwaves of destruction caused the field mimicking Kuoh Town to tremble, and the area around them began to collapse!
A storm of destruction swirled around the two of them; the ground, roads, buildings—everything around them was utterly destroyed!
Holes opened in the field, revealing the kaleidoscope-like patterns of the Dimensional Gap!
The collision of pure destruction against destruction affected even us at a distance; pain ran through our bodies from the holy aura blazing like fire.
Looking over, cracks had even formed on Saji-kun's jet-black armor.
That is how tremendous the exchange of blows is!
The current and former owners of Durandal.
The original and the replica.
Their swords crossed——.
Xenovia raised Durandal and Excalibur, crossed them, and brought down a strike of destruction layered upon destruction onto Vasco Strada!
Vasco Strada caught it with the Replica!
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
He, too, is an avatar of destruction.
He pushed back the strike of destruction with brute force——but the cost was high.
Cracks ran along the blade of the Replica.
Not only that, but Vasco Strada was breathing heavily and had fallen to one knee.
He was clearly out of stamina.
It seems even a man called a monster could not win against old age.
No matter how off-the-charts his power, he is still of the human race.
As one ages, the body and stamina decline.
Even the devastatingly powerful Vasco Strada has indeed weakened compared to his prime.
This is what Arthur was talking about earlier.
Xenovia walked toward the kneeling Vasco Strada.
Just as the match was about to be decided... someone stepped between them.
Teodoro Legrenzi.
That boy Cardinal.
With his face crumpled in tears, he stood before Xenovia, acting as a shield for Vasco Strada.
Even Xenovia was bewildered by the boy's action and stopped her advance.
The boy pleaded through his tears.
"...Please forgive His Eminence Strada. Everything... is my fault."
"Your Eminence Teodoro... Please stand back. This old bag of bones will settle everything."
Vasco Strada tried to stand up using the Durandal Replica as a cane.
The boy Cardinal stopped him.
"Enough! It is enough! If even His Eminence Strada is gone... what... what am I supposed to do?!"
The boy Cardinal faced us again and sprouted pure white wings from his back.
Those were angel wings——proof of a "Child of Miracles".
"My... father and mother were... killed by Devils. ...I won't forgive Devils! I cannot forgive them!"
The boy shouted with a trembling voice.
This boy... this small Cardinal's parents were killed by Devils?
Vasco Strada pulled the boy close with an expression full of sorrow.
"...An alliance is fine. That is one form of peace. But you see... there are those who are not saved by it, those who feel resentment. Both His Eminence Teodoro and the warriors who followed us had their lives twisted by demonic existences and took up the sword."
At those words, I... I——.
"We are!"
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the boy Cardinal.
"We... just want to live in peace. You have your justice, and you probably have your values. But... the comrades here, the many comrades in this town, are people who have survived carnage."
Xenovia followed me.
"They are precious comrades with whom we have supported each other and fought for our lives. Even if His Eminence Strada and His Eminence Teodoro do not acknowledge that, we have the pride of having fought this far! Even if there are those who feel dissatisfied with it, we will continue to fight for those we believe in! We will keep fighting!"
We shouted all our feelings.
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