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  ~ Long Chapter??!

  ....

  Outside the Occult Research Club.

  --

  The atmosphere was thick with tension, like a drawn bde ready to strike. The open courtyard stretched uhe weight of unspoken challenges, a battlefield waiting to be cimed.

  "Since you're both ready, let's begin."

  Xenovia Quarta stood firm, gripping Excalibur Destru tightly. The holy bde shimmered ominously in her grasp, exuding a divine presence powerful enough to make even High-css Devils wary.

  Beside her, Irina Shidou held Excalibur Mimic, her gaze locked onto Kiba Yuuto with unyieldiermination.

  I watched them both, standing nontly. Kiba had already summoned a demonic sword, its dark energy pulsing in his grip, yet I remaiy-handed.

  Xenovia's sharp eyes flickered toward me.

  "Where's your on?"

  "I won't need oo deal with your Excalibur Destru." I exhaled zily, stretg my arms as if I were about to take a nap.

  A flicker of annoyance crossed Xenovia's face.

  "What?! Are you looking down on me?"

  Without another word, she lunged.

  Xenovia moved like a lightning strike, Excalibur Destru r as it carved through the air. The sheer force of her charge sent powerful shockwaves rippling across the courtyard, causing Rias and the others to tehey had uimated her speed, her strength.

  'Too bad for her—I didn't.'

  I calmly summoned my [Susanoo]. The ethereal warrior fred ience arous spectral flowing with raw, unyielding power.

  BOOM!

  The moment Excalibur Destru cshed against my Susanoo, a deafening explosion shattered the air. The grouh us cracked and caved, f a teer-wide crater. Dust and debris shot into the sky, momentarily obsg the battlefield.

  When the dust settled, Xenovia stood frozen, disbelief written all over her face.

  "Wh-What?!"

  She had expected resistance. She had expected a challenge.

  But she hadn't expected this.

  Xenovia's grip on Excalibur Destru tightened.

  'That attack… That should have at least injured him. Even a High-css Devil would have struggled against the power of my bde. So why… why does he look pletely unfazed?'

  I tilted my head, smirking.

  "Oh? Were you worried about hurting me?" I asked pyfully. "You even held back at the st moment. You're quite kind, aren't you?"

  Xenovia stiffened.

  "...."

  "But you don't have to hold back," I interrupted, fshing a grin. "After all, I'm far strohan you think. So e at me with everything you've got."

  Her hesitation vanished. Golden light fred around her bde, the sheer iy making the very air hum with divine energy. Without warning, she vahen reappeared before me in an instant, bringing her sword down with enough force to split mountains.

  I sighed.

  "Faster—but still not enough."

  I stepped aside at the st moment, dodging the attack effortlessly. Xenovia's bde smmed into the ground, sending out a shockwave that bsted ks of earth into the air. She swung again, and again, each strike carrying the weight of her faith and vi.

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

  But none of them nded.

  My body blurred, sidestepping every strike with precision so sharp it seemed almost mog. Each ssh missed by mere inches, my movements frustratingly casual.

  'How… how is the gap this big?'

  Xenovia gritted her teeth, pushing herself harder. Her footwork became sharper, her sword swings mgressive. But no matter how she moved, I was always oep ahead.

  Then, in a single instant, I closed the distance.

  Whoosh!

  Before she could react, I appeared behind her, one haing lightly on her shoulder.

  The other? It easily plucked [Excalibur Destru] from her grasp.

  "Too weak."

  Xenovia's breath hitched.

  'Impossible…!'

  In a panic, she leaped backward, her mind struggling to process how she had lost her on so easily. Across the battlefield, Irina, who had been g with Kiba, froze, her eyes wide with shock.

  --

  Kyoya examihe sword in my hand for a moment before casually tossing it back to Xenovia.

  "Why don't you stop holding back?" I mused. "Bring out your trump card. Otherwise, you won't stand a ce."

  Xenovia caught her swripping it tightly.

  "...How do you know about that sword?"

  I chuckled.

  "Oh, I'm the wielder of Excalibur—Sword of Promised Victory. It's not se that I sense another holy bde, is it?"

  She stared at me, searg for deceit in my expression—but I gave her nothing.

  Finally, she let out a deep breath, her expression hardening.

  "I see… In that case, I won't hold back."

  Carefully, she ed Excalibur Destru in white cloth once more. Then, she extended her right hand into thin air.

  A ripple spread across the space beside her.

  And then, it appeared.

  A magnifit, overwhelming Holy Sword—its aura fierce, wild, and untamed. Unlike Excalibur Destru, which radiated trolled power, this bde was like a force of nature, barely restrained by its wielder. Its blue hilt gleamed, its edge shining with an iy that sent chills through the air.

  The moment it materialized, a sharp pressure desded over the battlefield. Even Rias and the others—who had been merely watg—stiffe the sheer presence of the on.

  "Th-That sword… Could it be the Holy Sword Durandal?"

  Kiba, despite his hatred for alchemically created Holy Swords, couldn't hide his shock.

  Akeno's eyes sparkled with intrigue.

  "Ara… To think she has a sword like that. No wonder she believed she could take on a Fallen Angel Cadre."

  Rias nodded, her gaze solemn.

  The previous wielder of Durandal was her than Vasco Strada, a Cardinal of the Churd one of humanity's greatest warriors. Even in his eighties, he remained a terrifying force.

  In his prime? He had once cleaved an Ultimate-css Stray Devil in half with a single swing.

  And now, this sword—this monster of a bde—rested in Xenovia's hands.

  "Even I 't fully trol Durandal's power," Xenovia admitted. "I keep it sealed in another dimension most of the time to avoid unnecessary destru."

  Her grip on the bde tightened, her expression unwavering.

  "If I use this, I won't be able to hold back. Are you sure you still wao?"

  I smirked, summoning my owhe Sword of Promised Victory. Its radiant light cut through the air, meeting the Holy aura of Durandal head-on.

  "Do you really think your sword pare to mine?"

  Xenovia hesitated, then sighed.

  "...Probably not."

  Her lips twitched, betraying the fai hint of amusement.

  ????

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