Chapter 78
When I returned back I found Asia at the door saying, “Welcome back”, with a smile.
She then asked, “Buchou-san is not in a good mood today do you know why? She is keeping her distance”.
At that time I saw Rias coming down the stairs from her soon, she looked at me and turned away without saying anything and went towards the living room. Yup, she is still pissed.
“Um…..well something happened between me and Buchou and it was umm..my fault”, I answered. But I couldn’t tell her the details, no way, otherwise she will start crying and I will be a mess.
“……I understand. But it might be my fault. Lately I have been talking back to Buchou-san……”, Asia said it with an apologetic voice, she had a worried look on her face.
“It’s okay. I don’t think she is mad at you, Asia. It’s my fault”, I said to put her at ease. But I do think some of it is directed at her too due to their recent “fights”.
Anyway time passed. It was time for the club meeting at my room.
The night work as devils were also being carried out from my home as the old school building was still being cleaned.
Anyway at the meeting, Buchou was very formal with me and Asia. She didn’t even show any of the affection she usually does towards me.
Akeno noticed this and was secretly laughing in an amused tone, “Fufu..”.
Anyway whatever the case may be, I need to lay out Kiba’s situation now or it will be too late.
So I said, “Um everyone I need your attention, I need to say something important”.
Everyone turned their attention towards me.
I continued, “So you all know I had a conversation with Kiba after school today, I need to talk about that”.
Hearing that everyone’s attention towards me increased.
I looked at Kiba and nodded and he nodded back.
So I continued, “So the thing I talked to Kiba was about the ‘Holy Sword experiment’ and how it is related to the future”.
“Holy sword experiment?”, asked Issei inquisitively. Asia was also looking at me quizzically.
I said, “Yes, ‘Holy sword experiment’, it’s better if Buchou explains though, the details I remember are fuzzy”.
Rias nodded at my words and said, “Yes, I will explain Ise”.
“Yuuto is a survivor of that project”, said Rias.
“There was a project several years ago inside the Christian Church that aimed to make those who can wield the holy-sword Excalibur”, continued Rias.
“…This is my first time hearing this”, said Asia.
“Of course, that’s understandable, they kept this under tight wraps after all”, I said.
Rias continued, “Holy-swords are the ultimate weapons against devils. If we, the devils, touch the holy sword then we will burn ourselves. If we get cut by it, then we will be terminated without a trace. It could be called the ultimate weapon for those who believe in God and see devils as an enemy”.
“Even though there are numerous holy-swords originating from all over the world, I still think the most famous one would be Excalibur. Even in Japan, it comes up in many books. It’s a holy weapon that is created through means of magic and alchemy by those who reach the territory of God. But holy-swords choose their wielders. I hear that only one person in a decade or so gets chosen”, continued Rias.
“Kiba is a Sacred Gear possessor that can create demonic-swords, right? So isn’t there a Sacred Gear that can create holy-swords instead?”, asked Issei. That’s indeed a valid question, especially since Issei doesn’t know that it in fact exists but I was curious about how do these swords compared with already existing Holy Swords, as I think it was also one of the intended reasons behind Issei’s question.
“It’s not like there aren’t. But if you compare it to the holy-swords that already exist, it is kind of lacking. Of course I’m not saying it’s weak. Among them there is a sacred utensil included in the “Longinus”, just like your “Boosted Gear”. The most famous is the Sacred Gear that was wielded by the person who killed Jesus Christ, the “True Longinus”. It’s also said that the name “Longinus” was derived from it”, clarified Rias.
I decided to skip out the part of the holy equivalent of Kiba’s sacred gear as it comes later and it would confusing now.
“By the way the ‘True Longinus’ is considered the ‘strongest sacred gear’, I said instead.
Issei and Asia were surprised by this.
“Strongest sacred gear?”, asked Asia.
“Yes”, I said.
“Stronger than even yours Akira?”, asked Issei.
“That I do not know. I am the first possessor of my sacred gear after all. They have never been compared”, I answered truthfully.
“Anyway, Buchou sorry for interrupting, please continue”, I said.
Rias nodded and said, “Except, at this point there isn’t a Holy Sacred Gear that can compete with Excalibur, Durandal or Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi because these holy-swords are too powerful. It’s the same with the demonic-swords”.
Well, you don’t know that the “True Longinus” already has a possessor after all, but then again, it’s in the future so I’ll keep quiet for now.
“Yuuto received artificial treatment to adapt to the holy-sword, particularly the Excalibur”, continued Rias.
“So Kiba is able to use the holy-swords?”, asked Issei.
Rias shook her head and said, “Yuuto couldn’t adapt to the holy-swords. Not only Yuuto, but it seems like everyone who received a treatment similar to Yuuto's couldn’t either……”.
“The people of the Church decided to view the ones who couldn’t adapt to the holy-swords as “defective products” and disposed of them”, continued Rias.
“Most of the people experimented on were killed including Yuuto. Only because they couldn’t adapt to the holy-swords……”, said Rias.
“……It can’t be. It’s not an acceptable act by those who serve God”, said Asia who was in big shock and her eyes were covered in tears. I patted her back to comfort her.
“They, the people of the Church, calls us devils an evil existence, but I think the bad intentions of humans are the greatest evil in this world”, said Rias with sad eyes.
“That I agree”, I said.
“When I reincarnated Yuuto into a devil, he was swearing for his revenge even when he was in a critical situation. Because his talents were being used for holy-swords since he was born, I wanted him to use his talents as a devil. Yuuto’s talent at using swords would be a waste for only using it for holy-swords”, continued Rias.
“He couldn’t forget about it. The holy-swords. Those who were involved with the holy-swords. And the people of the Church……”, said Rias.
Kiba was looking at the ground while gritting his teeth and with angry eyes.
I put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up. I said, “Kiba remember what we talked about”.
Kiba nodded at my words, his expression softened.
I then nodded at him and then turned to everyone saying, “This leads to my talk with Kiba”.