Elias hung up the phone with Rias.
He sat on the wooden porch for another minute, looking at the glowing moon.
He knew someone else who needed to hear this information right away.
He dialed another number on his phone. It only rang twice before a deep, serious voice answered.
"Elias,"
Baraqiel said.
"It is late. Is everything okay? Are Shuri and Akeno safe?"
Because Elias had saved Shuri's life years ago, he and Baraqiel had a very strong bond of trust.
"They are perfectly safe,"
Elias reassured him quickly.
"But we might have a big problem coming to Kuoh town. It's about one of your people."
Elias told Baraqiel everything Rias had just shared.
He explained how Kokabiel stole the holy swords and was trying to use them to force a new, bloody war between the three factions.
There was a long, heavy silence on the other end of the phone.
Then, Baraqiel let out a very tired, deep sigh.
"So that is what he has been planning,"
Baraqiel muttered. He sounded angry but also very weary.
"I cannot believe this. Kokabiel has been acting strange, but he hid his tracks well. I am honestly surprised that Rias and my daughter managed to catch on to his real plan before our own spies did. They are growing into very smart leaders."
"What should we do?"
Elias asked.
"He is one of your leaders, right? Does the Fallen Angel army support him?"
"Absolutely not,"
Baraqiel answered firmly.
"We do not want another war. Too many good people died last time. Kokabiel is acting completely on his own. He is a rogue."
Baraqiel paused for a moment to think.
"I will contact Azazel immediately,"
Baraqiel decided.
"Azazel is our Governor-General, the absolute leader of the Fallen Angels. I will ask him what he wants us to do about this mess. But Elias..."
"Yes?"
"Kokabiel is a Cadre, which means he is a high-ranking general,"
Baraqiel explained, his voice turning calm and confident.
"He talks big, and he loves to show off. But honestly? Out of all the Cadres, he is by far the weakest."
Baraqiel actually chuckled a little bit.
"He thinks he is a god, but he is just an old fool holding onto the past. I saw what you did to the immortal Phenex boy, Elias. If Kokabiel actually tries to fight you..."
"I will crush him,"
Elias finished the sentence simply.
"Exactly,"
Baraqiel agreed.
"You should be more than enough to deal with him. Just keep my family safe, Elias. I will let you know what Azazel says."
"You can count on me,"
Elias promised.
He hung up the phone and looked at the heavy, wrapped holy sword leaning against the porch rail.
The Church exorcists and the rogue Fallen Angels thought they were the strongest people in town.
But they had no idea who they were really messing with.
Later that night, the cold wind blew through the dark trees in Kuoh park.
Irina and Xenovia were sitting together on a wooden bench, far away from the bright, busy streets.
They had a very big problem. They had spent all their travel money on plane tickets.
Right now, their pockets were completely empty.
They didn't have a place to sleep.
And even worse, their stomachs were growling loudly. They were starving.
Irina sighed and leaned her head on her knees.
"I am so hungry,"
She complained weakly.
Xenovia sat perfectly still next to her, but her shoulders were trembling.
In the dark, silent tears were rolling down her face.
She was a proud holy knight. She had spent her entire life hidden inside the safe, strict walls of the Church.
She only knew how to pray, read holy books, and swing a heavy sword.
She was completely sheltered. She had never been slapped before.
She had never been treated like a misbehaving child.
Elias's cold, harsh words kept echoing loudly in her mind.
*I am a proud member of the true gender equality council.*
*You act like a wild animal.*
Xenovia wiped her tears angrily, but they kept falling.
She realized something very scary.
She didn't know anything about the real world.
Without her holy sword and her fancy Church title to protect her, she was just a lost, helpless teenager sitting in the cold.
"Um... excuse me."
A soft, nervous voice broke the quiet night air.
Xenovia and Irina looked up, totally surprised.
Standing under the dim street light was Asia.
The sweet blonde girl was holding a large plastic bag.
She looked a little bit scared to be near them again, but she didn't run away.
"Asia?"
Irina blinked, sitting up straight.
"What are you doing here?"
Asia slowly walked over to the wooden bench.
She carefully opened the plastic bag.
Inside were warm meat buns, fresh sandwiches, and two hot bottles of green tea.
She also pulled out a small envelope with some Japanese yen inside.
"Elias-nii san told me he hit you very hard,"
Asia said softly, looking down at her shoes.
"He said you probably didn't have any money or anywhere to go. So... I asked Shuri-kaa san to make some extra dinner for you. And Elias-nii san gave me this money so you can pay for a cheap hotel tonight."
Asia gently placed the warm food and the envelope on the bench next to them.
Xenovia just stared at the food. The delicious smell of the warm meat buns made her empty stomach ache.
Then, she stared up at Asia.
She was completely speechless.
Just a few hours ago, Xenovia had looked at this girl and called her a disgusting heretic.
She had reached for a deadly weapon to punish her.
But Asia didn't bring magic chains or weapons to get revenge.
She brought them a warm dinner and money for them to find a safe place to sleep.
She was showing them true, pure kindness.
She was acting more like a holy saint than anyone Xenovia had ever met back at the Church.
"Why?"
Xenovia whispered, her voice cracking.
"I tried to hurt you. I called you a traitor. Why are you helping us?"
Asia gave her a small, gentle smile.
"Because nobody deserves to be cold and hungry,"
Asia answered simply.
"Please, eat before it gets cold."
Asia gave a polite little bow and walked away, heading back to the warm, safe shrine where her real family was waiting.
Irina happily grabbed a meat bun and took a huge bite.
"Wow, this is so good! Asia is an absolute angel!"
But Xenovia didn't eat right away.
She held the warm tea bottle in her shaking hands.
She looked at the empty dirt path where Asia had just walked away.
For her entire life, the Church had told her exactly who was good and who was evil. It was supposed to be black and white.
But right now, sitting in the cold park, Xenovia began to think deeply.
If a "heretic" could be this gentle, forgiving, and kind... and if a "holy knight" like herself could act like a cruel, angry bully…
Was everything she had been doing and believing all this time wrong?
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