"Are you sure that's the final decision of the Church?"
The words left my mouth like a stone dropped into still water, betraying none of the calculations already firing behind my eyes.
Xenovia sat across from me, with the look of resolute like stubborn marble that built every cathedral she'd ever prayed in, as she dipped her head in a single, firm nod.
Beside her, Irina sat with an expression that contradicted her cheerful demeanor, her hand absently guiding a forkful of cake into her mouth as she chewed like someone who'd already made her peace with bad news before it arrived at the door.
Motohama sipped on the tea, as he registered the new information.
'Well. I'm surprised they were going easy on them even after 'losing' two more Excaliburs, considering their reputation. And for two exorcists who'd been trusted with Holy Swords, now resting in the wrong hands, "lenient" meant they hadn't been dragged back to the Vatican in chains...yet'
The clock on the far wall clicked like a bomb going off at any moment.
"I understand" I said, letting the words settle before I drew breath again "I'll continue to provide assistance if necessary, just like we agreed on. But I do have one question"
Xenovia's eyes sharpened "What is it?"
"Now that you've both lost the Excaliburs" I said, watching their faces the way a man watches the sky before a storm "How will either of you be of any use to your mission?"
The question landed between us like a grenade with the pin already pulled. I'd learned long ago that blunt questions spared you from the slow bleed of polite assumptions.
Irina's fork paused in a slight hesitation, as she glanced sideways at Xenovia. Something passed between them in that look. An unspoken language forged across countless missions and near-death confessions whispered under foreign skies.
Irina's chin dipped, with a look of Go ahead, that was all it took.
"I have another weapon at my disposal" Xenovia said, her voice carrying the certainty of someone who'd been born holding a sword and simply never put it down "One equivalent to Excalibur Destruction. As for Irina " She paused. Not with cruelty, but with the detachment of a soldier filing a report "She won't be providing assistance"
"In a few days" Xenovia continued, her gaze locking onto mine "another exorcist will arrive to provide assistance and recovery of the remaining Excaliburs" She crossed her arm, while still holding her gaze with mine "And, He is claimed to be the strongest among us"
The strongest exorcist?
That would be Dulio, the one who wield the second strongest Longinus, Zenith Tempest.
Looks like, Church was finally taking this seriously. From what I know, Kokabiel had stolen those blades to reignite the Great War. But when the Church sent only Xenovia and Irina against a Cadre-class Fallen Angel, Kokabiel got annoyed and turned his attention toward the Devils instead'
Now, if they were deploying who I suspected, then I must eliminate Kokabiel before that individual arrives in this town.
I glanced at Xenovia, as I made my decision that I had to do this mission without any interference.
"If you're saying he's the strongest exorcist" I said, tilting my head as though the thought had only just occurred to me "Shouldn't we wait until he arrives? Our chances of recovering the Excaliburs would increase substantially"
"I can't" Xenovia's eyes narrowed slightly "Our Excaliburs were stolen because of our incompetence. And I will reclaim all five before he sets foot in this town"
I want to know what she's on, because never in either of my lives would I think I could kill someone like Kokabiel on my own with Durandal.
Kokabiel was a Cadre, the kind of being that treated Ultimate-class attacks the way a man treats a sunburn. Annoying, sure. Fatal? Not remotely.
And Xenovia, for all her raw power, all that blue-haired bulldozer energy that made her fight like a Rook crammed into a Knight's body, wanted to storm into that beast and drag five Holy Swords out of the hands of a creature that could destroy this city with his five light spears?
Bold wasn't the word, Suicidal had a nice ring to it, but even that felt charitable.
I sighed, wondering how she managed to stay alive with such a level of recklessness.
"Well, we can't defeat him if we go without a plan" I said "Now that he possesses five Excaliburs, as you said, it won't be as easy as it was before"
Xenovia's stare didn't waver. She watched me for a moment, then she finally asked.
"So what do you propose?"
Both pairs of eyes settled on me.
"For now" I said "we should understand our strengths and build a strategy accordingly. We will most likely succeed if we both go prepared rather than unprepared like the time when you were ambushed"
Xenovia after a moment long enough to age me a full year, she nodded.
I sighed in relief.
Thank God she agreed. I genuinely thought she was going to say "Forget all that, we're going right now" and kick the door off its hinges.
The mental image of Xenovia charging into Kokabiel's lair with nothing but Durandal and audacity flickered through my mind like a war documentary narrated by a maniac.
This girl believes in fighting with use overwhelming force until it stopped moving.
Then I noticed, both exorcists stared at a point somewhere over my shoulder, their gazes fixed on a presence that hadn't been there thirty seconds ago.
The three of them should still be in the other room. None of them walked out. So who?
I turned my head, still seated and immediately regretted it.
Gulp.
Lady Sitri stood behind me, with a smile on her face. A bag hung from her one hand, resting against her back with the casual ease of a woman who'd just returned from shopping rather than appearing behind a defenseless human like a nightmare with impeccable timing.
"I've come to pick you up, Motohama-kun" Her voice poured through the room like a friend asking to come out and play "You owe me a favor, after all"
My lips pulled into a smile. It was the kind of smile a man wears when the dentist says this won't hurt while reaching for a drill the size of his forearm.
I wasn't expecting her to come back so soon.
"We won't let you take him away"
Xenovia's voice sliced through the room's unsaid tension like Durandal through a wooden blade. She stepped forward, positioning herself between me and Lady Sitri with all the tactical consideration of a fist aimed at the king of the world "He still has unfinished business with us"
Bless you, Xenovia. Bless your stubborn, reckless, beautiful soul. She'll have to leave me alone until I finish my business with the Church. This is my ticket out. This is-
Lady Sitri set her bag down.
It hit the floor with a weight that suggested it contained either supplies or someone's future regrets. She tilted her head slowly like a cat examining a mouse that had wandered into its paw range and her smile widened.
"Is that so?"
I would remember your sacrifice, Xenovia.
I offered my condolences internally, a funeral service conducted entirely behind my eyes. I knew that look on Lady Sitri's face, very well. I'd seen it multiple times before.
Only God could save Xenovia now.
Oh, wait. He's dead.
---
After delivering a Fist of Love to the head of blue haired Exorcist, she picked me up in front of everyone and vanished into a transportation circle that spat us out into a bedroom I'd never seen before.
It was Luxurious, with silk curtains, a bed large enough to qualify for money spent on it. And I had no clue whatsoever as to where on any plane of existence we currently stood.
"Would you like to have some coffee?" Lady Sitri asked, turning to face me with one hand resting on her waist and a smile that suggested refusal was technically an option but most likely suicidal.
"Yeah" I said it before my brain finished consulting my survival instincts, but both parties agreed. I'd missed breakfast, and a good cup of coffee struck me as fair compensation for being kidnapped by a Devil noblewoman whose idea of a polite invitation involved punching out my guest and teleporting me to an undisclosed location.
She dropped onto the bed, the mattress sighed beneath her like it had been waiting all day for the privilege. She crossed one leg over the other, settled against the headboard with the grace of a woman who'd spent centuries perfecting the art of making lying down look seductive, while she looked at me with those mesmerizing eyes.
Hissssss
The coffee machine exhaled steam as I pressed the button, dark liquid beginning its slow, fragrant descent into the first cup.
"Before I tell you why I brought you here" Lady Sitri said "I want to ask you something, Motohama-kun"
I turned my head, praying she better not ask why I'm human and not a Devil. That question had been hovering over every interaction I'd had with the supernatural world like a vulture circling a man crawling through a desert.
She rested her head on one hand while her gaze never left mine.
"Why are you so desperate for acquiring power?" The question unfurled between us like a banner in a dead wind "You allied yourself with the Devils first, then the Fallen Angels, and now with the Church as well"
So that's what it's about.
"You see, I seek alliances with other factions to gain favors" I said "So that when I require them, I can use them wisely" I paused and replied "Like I used it against those power grubbers Hero faction members"
Lady Sitri's lips curved into a smirk.
"And what about me? I bet you view me as a power-grubber as well"
I blinked. But my mouth moved before hesitation could sink its hooks in because some truths don't require false lies.
"No. Not at all" My voice didn't waver in slightest "You're not like them, Lady Sitri. If anything, I only have admiration for you"
She rose from the bed, with a raised brow and usual amusing smirk.
"Oh?"
I turned back to the machine. The coffee was ready, twin streams of dark liquid pooling in cups, steam curling upward, dissolved into nothing. I filled both cups with steady hands and arranged my next thoughts with the same care.
"You're strong, beautiful, and courageous" I said, reaching for the cups. "It's very rare to find all those qualities in one woman"
I turned around to offer her the cup, but I was the one who got served.
With a soft pair of lips, pressing against mine.
Lady Sitri kissed me with the confidence of a woman who'd never once questioned whether she was allowed to take what she wanted, and my brain detonated like a firework in a library.
My eyes blew wide. The coffee cups were still in my grip, while I experienced faint taste of something like winter berries, like the first frost of a season that hadn't arrived yet and my thoughts spiraled into a whirlpool of incoherent static that sounded, if I'm being honest, like a man screaming into a pillow.
A single drop of coffee escaped the cup's rim and struck the floor like a period at the end of a sentence nobody had written yet.
She pulled away after a few seconds, but enough time for the universe to rearrange itself into a shape I didn't recognize.
Lady Sitri regarded me with an amused smile, as I felt a soothing sensation flooded through my body like sunlight pouring into a room that had been locked for years, rolling through muscle and bone and somewhere further in. Every cell waking up, stretching, remembering what it felt like to be alive instead of running on fumes and borrowed time.
"When you fell unconscious in my arms yesterday" Lady Sitri said "your life force was exhausted to the brink"
She crossed her arms beneath her chest.
"I used my magic to share my life essence with you. But since it was incomplete, I only managed to transfer enough to bring you back to consciousness"
I hadn't known I'd pushed it that far. But considering how my last fight had gone, I shouldn't have been surprised. My human body had written checks my life force couldn't cash, and Lady Sitri had covered the balance.
Being Human has flaws as well.
"Thank you" I said "For saving my life. Not once, but twice"
"Oh, Don't thank me yet"
Lady Sitri met my eyes with a smile now "With the amount of life essence I transferred to you, you have half a day at most to live"
The coffee cup slipped from my fingers and shattered against the floor.
That can't be?
"Then...can you contact Leviathan-sama for the ingredients Heaven lent us?"
She sat on the bed's edge, legs crossed, hands resting on her knee continuing to delivering my death sentence with the poise of a woman discussing dinner reservations.
"That won't work. It would take nearly a full day for them to arrive" She let the silence fill in the rest "And by that time, you-"
I paced towards her, standing directly in front of her while she sat on the bed's edge, close enough that I could see my own reflection in her eyes.
"Then can you transfer life essence to me again? Like yesterday? Until we get the ingredients?"
Lady Sitri chuckled that was filled with mischief "Why not?" she said "I can't deny the request of my dearest sparring partner, can I?"
My eyes closed with relief crashing through me like a wave washing over me. But then I remembered something very crucial which made me take a step back.
She'd kissed me earlier to transfer it. Did that mean I had to —
My eyes snapped open, as I saw Lady Sitri's hand pressed against my crotch with the look of knowing exactly what she was doing and had decided that shyness was for people with less confidence. She caressed it, as she got up on her feet and leaned closer enough with her hot breath against my ear.
"Ara ara" she murmured, in a voice dripping with tease and amusement "I wonder... if you can last longer than our spar, Motohama kun~"
She looked me in the eyes licking her lips, as she traced my face with her fingers, while I wondered if I was really low on life essence, because the bulge in my pants seemed to deny such a revelation.
"I guess, you will find out soon enough~"
Her smile got wider as she kissed me deeply, guiding me to the unseen territories of heaven.
. . .
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