Compared to Excalibur Mimic, which possesses no fixed shape, the Excalibur Destruction was a massive two-handed sword. Its grip was thick and long, wide enough to be grasped by three hands.
Watching the two holy swords, Kiba suddenly started laughing; his laughter was somewhat creepy and strange. Xenovia frowned at his reaction. "Are you laughing?" Is this guy one of these legendary people called 'masochists'?
"Yeah. The thing I wanted to defeat and destroy appeared right in front of me... I'm happy." He stopped laughing and fixed his gaze on the swords in both Irina and Xenovia, a cold smile spreading across his face. His grip tightened so fiercely that the sound of cracking bones echoed.
Kiba held an extreme hatred for the Holy Swords, a hatred so deep that he was willing to do anything to destroy them, even if it meant selling his soul.
(I'm not going to explain his past. Everyone here should have watched the anime or read the novel. If not, the wiki page has you covered.)
"Is this what Yusuke-senpai calls emo-mode?" Koneko muttered in a low voice, adjusting her gloves as she stared at Kiba. She sympathized with him, which was why she wanted to help in this fight, but the way he was acting right now was just… too edgy.
Directing his killing intent at Xenovia, Kiba summoned another sword and charged at her, both blades in hand. Today, he was going to destroy the Holy Swords that had brought so much misery to him and his friends!
Bang!
Xenovia faced him head-on with a confident look. The moment their blades collided, an explosion erupted, sending Kiba flailing several meters back. The two swords in his hands shattered into countless pieces.
"Agh!!" he roared, summoning two more swords and rushing toward Xenovia, his eyes locked on the massive Excalibur Destruction.
Excalibur Destruction's ability is to unleash pure, destructive power capable of easily shattering anything. Each time it is used, it reduces the area and its target to pieces. Meeting it head-on with a weaker sword can only have one outcome: total destruction.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kiba exchanged blows with Xenovia, but with each strike, his swords were either destroyed or at least heavily damaged.
"Devil-chan, it's not good to be distracted in a fight," Irina called from the other side of the battlefield as she rushed toward Koneko, who had been watching Kiba's fight. She slashed with her Excalibur Mimic, and the katana suddenly stretched in size, catching Koneko off guard. "You are such a young girl. I will exorcise you. May the Lord have mercy on you in the afterlife. Amen!"
Koneko's small body bent back with fluid agility, evading the blow. She twisted her waist and drove her fist straight at Irina.
"That was dangerous, Devil-chan!" Irina jumped back, barely dodging the fist that could punch through a wall easily. Strands of her hair were blown away, and she still had her carefree and energetic smile as she complained before rushing toward Koneko again.
"Shut up, so noisy!" Koneko frowned. She clenched her fists, a very faint white-blue aura enveloping her as she pressed her legs into the ground and shot toward Irina with explosive speed!
She appeared before Irina in an instant and struck with her small fist!
Irina's playful expression froze in that instant, and she quickly pulled her sword in front of her to defend. Its shape shifted into that of a large, flat blade. Koneko's sudden burst of speed caught her off guard. It was too late for her to dodge; all she could do was try to defend against the attack.
BOOM!
With a deafening sound, Irina was sent flailing, spinning through the air for dozens of meters before crashing to the ground, dust and debris enveloping her.
"Since when did Koneko-chan become this strong?!" Rias and Akeno both stared at the scene with wide eyes, looking at Koneko as if they were seeing her for the first time.
As a Rook, Koneko had very strong physical abilities, but even so, she was never this powerful unless she exerted every bit of her strength.
Love is one of the strongest forces that can change a person's motives and drives. Ever since Koneko met Yusuke and hopelessly, obsessively fell in love with him, she had often considered training her Senjutsu despite the 'risks' and her past traumas.
Because of her older sister, Kuroka, Koneko had always been afraid of using Senjutsu. She believed it could negatively change a person's personality and make them lose control.
But as a Yandere, even though she was patient, her patience had a limit. That limit had long been crossed upon seeing Yusuke adding more and more women to his harem and even seducing others, like Yubelluna, Isabela, and Ravel.
So over a month ago, she secretly started training her Senjutsu, and to her surprise, she found that she actually did not experience any negative effects from what her sister had shown.
Senjutsu is the power to control the flow of life energy, also known as Ki, in living beings. By using it, one can strengthen both their internal and external bodies, or even cause the vegetation around them to bloom or wither.
Senjutsu users are able to sense the Ki and auras of others, allowing them to track targets from long distances. This was one of the main reasons Koneko wanted to train her Senjutsu. After all, tracking and stalking are a natural thing for a Yandere.
Senjutsu can damage an opponent internally by targeting their blood vessels, organs, or Ki, and it can even harm their spirit and life-force, often fatally. Few defenses exist against it. It can disrupt Aura to block abilities, induce sleep, purge curses or poisons, and conceal the user's presence.
It had many other abilities, such as manipulating elements, healing wounds and life force, and countless other applications.
It is one of the most powerful and versatile abilities in this world.
Senjutsu has a fatal flaw. While it allows the user to read and manipulate spirit power, it can also absorb the malice and ill will that flow through the world, potentially corrupting the user, as seemingly happened to Koneko's sister, Kuroka.
What Koneko used just now to blast Irina so easily, however, was not Senjutsu, but Touki.
Those trained in Senjutsu are able to use Touki by controlling their "base of life," in other words, their own life force.
By covering oneself with an aura of Ki, the user can drastically increase their strength, defense, and speed.
Anyone who can use Senjutsu can, by extension, use Touki, but not all Touki users can use Senjutsu.
"Irina!" Xenovia cried out as she sent Kiba flying again, her eyes on the scene of her partner being thrown away like all your used paper towels.
"Where are you going?! I am your opponent!" Kiba stood on his feet and stared at Xenovia with blazing eyes. Two new swords appeared in his hands. This time, they were much larger. He roared and, with a burst of speed, rushed toward her.
He was a Knight, and his specialty was speed. The moment he spoke, he was already standing before Xenovia, blocking her path.
"Bastard!" Xenovia glared at the spot where Irina was, worry in her eyes, and growled in anger at the annoying man blocking her. She swung her sword with all her strength!
BOOM!
A huge explosion erupted, sending clouds of dust swirling into the air. Piercing through the haze was Kiba's figure, shooting away like a cannonball. When the dust cleared, what remained was Xenovia standing on flattened ground, the destruction spreading dozens of meters around her.
That single attack from Excalibur Destruction unleashed such immense destructive power.
"That was dangerous!" Suddenly, Irina crawled from the ground. Her tight church clothes were torn in many places on her shoulders and thighs, a trail of blood seeping from her lips as she grabbed the hilt of her sword to steady herself.
Just because Koneko looked cute, Irina had underestimated her and ended up regretting it painfully.
"Irina!" Xenovia called out, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Hehe, I am fine!" Irina wiped the blood from her lips and smiled at her partner.
"I...I... will destroy the Holy Swords!" Kiba climbed from the ground, his knees trembling as he forced himself upright. "I will destroy them!"
He roared like a Shonen protagonist, pouring all his strength and will into his Sacred Gear, and immediately, an enormous sword appeared between his hands. It was at least four meters long, with a thick body and a blunt edge.
"How stupid!" Xenovia uttered in pure disdain. This guy was obviously much weaker in terms of raw strength, but instead of using his speed advantage, he had been clashing head-on with her, shouting nonsense about destroying the Holy Swords.
Bang!
When their blades made contact this time, a huge blast erupted, pushing the wind around them. In the next moment, the ground beneath them was flattened and destroyed. Kiba's sword, however, was not shattered this time. It actually held against Xenovia.
With a light smile on his face, Kiba slashed with his sword once again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two moved at the same time, exchanging blows one after another.
On the other hand, Koneko stared at Irina with her cute kuudere face, clenching her small fists. She said, "I'll finish this fight with the next blow."
Without wasting any more time on nonsense, Touki once again enveloped her body, and she appeared before Irina the next instant, punching at her.
"Damn it!" Irina swore, rolling on the ground to evade the punch by a mere hair's breadth. As she scrambled to her feet, she clasped her hands together and prayed, "Oh, my Lord, I didn't mean to curse. Please forgive this sinful one."
"Amen!"
"How stupid!" Koneko's cold voice came from behind her, and with it, another punch landed on her back.
"Kyaah!" Irina let out a painful cry and was blasted far away. She rolled on the ground several times before passing out.
Clang!
At the same time, Kiba and Xenovia's swords clashed once again; however, this time, Kiba's gigantic sword cracked before shattering into small pieces. Xenovia seized this opportunity to kick him in the stomach, sending him flying.
She stared down at him, saying, "Your weapon is the variety of the sword you can create and your speed. You would need a lot of strength to swing a gigantic sword like that, and you would lose the speed that you are proud of. Are you seeking a destructive power? From your fighting style, it's something unnecessary. Don't you even know that?"
"...Perhaps," Kiba clutched his stomach, coughing blood as he muttered with a bland smile.
Xenovia no longer paid him any attention; she rushed to Irina and asked, "Irina! Are you alright?!"
"Hmm, that Devil-chan held back," Irina opened her eyes and said with a weak smile.
"Alright, that's enough!" Rias and Akeno walked into the barrier and announced.
"Rias Gremory, it seems that we underestimated your servants. But still! I hope you do not interfere with our work!" Xenovia held Irina in a princess carry; she glanced at the silent Koneko, then at Rias before turning around to leave.
"How stupid, suicidal fools," Koneko said in a quiet tone, watching them leave.
"Yuuto, where are you going?!" Rias suddenly called out with a serious expression.
Kiba, who had turned to leave, did not turn to face her. He silently walked away with his back toward them.
"I won't forgive you if you leave me! You are the 'Knight' of the Gremory group. I will also be troubled if you turn into a 'Stray'. Stop this instant!" Rias's expression was angry.
"I was able to run away from there thanks to my comrades. That's why I have to put their regrets into my demonic swords…" Kiba's steps halted for a moment. He spoke in a grateful tone before he continued his steps. "Rias-Buchou, I'm sorry."
"Yuuto, we can find a solution for this together. If you are to leave, you will never be considered a part of my peerage ever again!" Rias took a step forward and stretched out her hand, calling him one last time.
Kiba froze in place, but he did not turn around. Clenching his fists, he burst forth with his speed, and soon his figure disappeared from their vision.
**
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