After the mysterious bird vanished into a cloud of feathers, everyone in the Occult Research Club building stood frozen, trying to process what had just happehe bird hadn’t used aable magid none of them had ses preseil it made itself known. It was uling, to say the least.

  Breaking the silence, Irina furrowed her brow and asked, "What kind of bird was that?"

  Xenovia, still trying to piece things together, replied, "I don’t know, but it seems to have more information about our mission than we do."

  Irina tilted her head, puzzled. "How do you figure?"

  Xenovia's voice turned grim as she expined, "It knew who the mastermind is, it knew our background... And the way it looked at us—it was like we were just pawns, dang in its hands, pletely unaware of the bigger picture."

  Irina nodded slowly, abs the weight of Xenovia's words. Something about that bird was off, and it left them with more questions than answers.

  Xenovia straightened up, turning toward Rias and her peerage. "We’ll take our leave now, devil. Remember the deal: do not interfere with our mission," she said coldly, her eyes locked with Rias'.

  Rias crossed her arms, her anger barely tained. "Hmph," she grumbled in response.

  As Xenovia and Irina began to walk away, Kiba suddenly stepped forward, breaking the tense silence.

  "Why don’t we have a little match?" Kiba's voice cut through the air like a bde. "Let’s see if those holy swords of yours are truly worth a cadre’s attention."

  Xenovia turned back slowly, eyeing him with fusion. "And who are you?" she asked, her tone sharp.

  Kiba’s lips curled into a feral smile, his eyes dark with unresolved fury. "Your senpai," he said with venom. "Or more specifically, the failed experiment of your holy sword users."

  The tensioweealpable. Rias and the others watched cautiously, knowing this frontation had been brewing for a long time. Kiba’s hatred for the holy swords and their users had only grown more intense over the years, and now it seemed like the dam was finally about to break.

  After hearing Kiba’s words, Xenovia's eyes narrowed, and her hand instinctively moved to the hilt of her holy sword. "A failed experiment? What are you talking about?"

  Kiba’s smile didn’t falter. “I art of a project. A group of children, experimented on by the church to create artificial holy sword wielders. All of us… except me, died. So, I’ve got a bit of a grudge against Excalibur and those like you who wield holy swords so casually.”

  Xenovia tightened her grip on the sword. “Is that so? Then I’ll accept your challenge. But don’t expect mercy just because you’ve suffered in the past.”

  Rias, sensing the rising tension, stepped forward, her aura fring with power. “Kiba, stand down. This isn’t the time for reckless fights.”

  But Kiba, fueled by a deep-seated hatred, refused to listen. “No, President. This is something I have to do.”

  Irina, looking uneasy, g Xenovia. “We’re here for a mission, not a fight, Xenovia.”

  Xenovia shrugged. “He challenged us. We’re not going to back down.” She drew her holy sword, the gleaming bde shining with a radiant light that trasted against the dark room. “Let’s settle this quickly.”

  …..

  n the backyard of the ORC building, Rias and her peerage stood alongside the church members, ready to settle their dispute through a duel. The tensioweewo groups had reached its peak, and the uping battle would serve as a test of their abilities. It was decided that Kiba would face Xenovia, and Issei would fight Irina. Issei had volunteered to take on Irina, notig her disdainful gaze toward Asia, and wanting to teach her a lesson in his own way.

  Rias stepped forward to address both sides, ag as the referee. "This is only a duel, so no killing blows. The first to incapacitate the other wins." Her voice carried authority, and both sides nodded in agreement.

  With a flick of her wrist, Rias released a ball of magito the air, signaling the start of the matches.

  Kiba immediately summoned his demonic sword and lunged forward with swift, precise movements, aiming directly for Xenovia. The csh of steel echoed throughout the room as their bdes collided, sparks flying from the force of their strikes. Kiba moved with ferocity, his attacks relentless as his emotions fueled his every swing.

  However, Xenovia was no novice. She blocked and parried each of Kiba’s strikes with the skill of a trained warrior, her expression calm and focused. “You’re fast,” she said, “but yer clouds your judgment.”

  Kiba gritted his teeth and pushed harder, his demonic sword pulsing with energy. “I don’t care! As long as I destroy every Excalibur fragment, I’ll be satisfied!”

  Xenovia’s eyes fshed. “You’ll regret uimating me.” With a sudden burst of power, she pushed Kiba bad terattacked, her sword emitting a holy glow as it sliced through the air.

  Kiba barely mao blo time, but the force of the blow sent him skidding back across the floor. Before he could recover, Xenovia was on him agairikes growing faster and more precise. Kiba’s demonic sword strained uhe onsught, cracks beginning to appear in its surface.

  Meanwhile, Issei and Irina’s battle was more of a chase. Issei, true to form, had the brilliant idea of using his infamous Dress Break teique to strip Irina of her clothes, hoping it would give him an easy win and a glimpse of his childhood friend in the process. However, Koneko warned Irina not to e too close to Issei, spoiling his surprise attack.

  Instead of a duel, their fight turned into a game of cat and mouse, with Irina evading Issei’s attempts to catch her. As they circled each other, suddenly, both batants stopped iracks, sensing a surge of holy power. They turo see a massive crater where Kiba and Xenovia had been fighting. Xenovia stood at the ter, her holy sword unraveled and radiating an overwhelming aura, while Kiba y bruised at the edge of the crater.

  Seizing the distra, Issei made atempt at Dress Break. Just as he was about to reach Irina, her sword transformed into a bandage-like material and ed around his wrist. With a swift motion, she threw Issei toward Koneko and the rest of the girls. Issei crashed into them, and his Dress Break activated upon impact, destroying their clothes.

  While Issei admired the unintended results with a perverted grin, Koneko, thhly unimpressed, delivered a powerful punch to his face. “Die, pervert,” she said coldly, sending him flying into a wall aroying part of it.

  Despite the pain, Issei mao stand up, thanks to the endurance he had built through his grueling training with Ddraig.

  Just as he rejoined his group, they all heard Kiba screaming in agony. They turo see him kneeling, blood p from his wounds, and the holy sword, Excalibur Destru, embedded in his stomach. The sight was horrific; while the wound itself wasn’t fatal, the fact that it was caused by a holy sword desigo kill devils made the injury far worse.

  “Enough!” Rias shouted, her aura fring dangerously as she stepped betweewo batants, her power radiating with authority. “This is pointless. We have more pressing matters thaling personal grudges.”

  Others rushed to Kiba’s side as Asia began healing him with her Sacred Gear. Once she firmed that Kiba was stable, Rias turo Xenovia with an acg look. "Did you really have to go that far to end the duel?"

  Xenovia, unfazed, replied calmly, "No, but he wouldn't back down, even after I had clearly won."

  Kiba, breathing heavily, lowered his sword but kept his gaze locked on Xenovia. “This isn’t over,” he muttered.

  Xenovia sheathed her sword, her expression unreadable. “I’ll be waiting.”

  With that, she and Irina turned ahe ORC building, leaving behind an air of tension that lingered long after they were gone.

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  Issei y ba his bed, g his fists as he recalled the events. The image of Kiba kneeling in agony, wounded by a holy sword, lingered in his mind. He felt weak in parison to the power of the holy swords, powerless in the face of their divine might. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, frustration boiling inside him. He hated feeling helpless. At that moment, Ddraig’s deep voice echoed in his mind. "Partner, if you want to brush off a holy sword like it's nothing, you have to endure more training. Achieve Bance Breaker, and you’ll be able to stand up to those swords."

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  At school, everything seemed normal as students went about their daily routines—except for Issei, who was lost in thought. Earlier that m, he had discovered that Kiba was missing. ed, he had called Kiba's phone and, fortunately, Kiba had answered. Kiba expihat he was on a mission to find aroy the remaining holy swords. Rias, being the leader she was, allowed him to go, thinking that it would help him clear his mind after his frontation with Xenovia. Still, Issei and the others couldn’t help but worry about him.

  During the break, Issei sat by the window, staring outside, deep in thought. He wasn’t sure what to do . Just as he was mulling over Kiba’s situation, Roxanne walked up to him, her usual lively energy surrounding her. She leaned in slightly and asked with a teasing grin, “Issei-kun, why are you depressed? Did someoeal your anime colle?”

  Issei almost fell out of his chair, startled by her question. His heart skipped a beat. How did she know about his secret love for anime? Ever siering high school, he had kept that side of himself hidden, especially from the girls in the Occult Research Club. Not even Rias, who lived in his house, knew about his hidden stash of anime merdise. If someone ever stole it and tried to bckmail him, he’d likely cave in immediately—his devotion to anime was just as strong as his love for... other things.

  Still rec from his shock, Issei g Roxanne, atg him with an i expression. Just as he was trying to figure out how she had discovered his secret, she interrupted his thoughts again. “So, it’s not your anime colle, huh? Then what’s b you? You have such a gloomy face, Issei-kun.” She gave him a determined look and puffed out her chest. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you to the best of my abilities!” she decred with fidence.

  Issei couldn’t help but find her enthusiasm cute, but he was flicted. Roxanne was a childhood friend, and as far as he knew, she was just a normal human, unaware of the supernatural world he had bee so entangled in. Could he really involve her in all of this? After a moment of hesitation, he decided to keep things vague. He’d tell her a version of the story that left out the supernatural elements.

  After some effort, Issei pieced together a story that expined Kiba’s disappearahout mentioning devils, holy swords, or anything otherworldly. Roxanne listened ily, nodding in uanding, though inwardly, she was less vinced. *He o learn how to tell a better story*, she thought to herself, suppressing a small smile.

  “Well, Issei-kun,” she said after he finished, “I’m not sure I uand everything, but if you need help, you know you t on me.” She smiled brightly at him, and for a moment, Issei felt a bit of the weight lift off his shoulders.

  "Thanks, Roxanne," he replied, managing a small smile iurn. Even if she didn’t know the full truth, her offer of help meant a lot.

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