Chapter 430: True Salvation (I)...

[Kuoh Academy, Kuoh Town] 

"Is this where the Devils reside?" A feminine voice asked disbelievingly. Two figures covered in white cloaks were standing outside the gates of Kuoh Academy. They have been sent by the Church to retrieve the stolen Excaliburs. 

"Yes, this must be a good recruiting place" the other person answered. The person clasped their hands together and recited a prayer for the poor Souls of humans. 

"Honestly, I don't understand why we need to talk with a bunch of Devils" the second person scowled. 

"I also don't like this Xenovia, but the father told us to be extremely careful about this mission. The order came directly from the Pope" the first person answered and the person named Xenovia almost snorted. 

Even if their voices were feminine, their gender couldn't be discerned with their baggy cloaks and hoods. Both of them entered the gates and immediately found a group of Devils approaching them. Both of them stiffened as they got ready to fight… if needed. 

Sona Sitri and her peerage was the one to approach the cloaked figures. "My name is Sona Sitri, and may I know why two servants of the Church have decided to enter our territory?" Sona questioned politely. The cloaked figures looked at each other and both of them gave a subtle nod. 

"Do you have someplace where we could speak privately?" The person named Xenovia asked and Sona nodded her head after a few moments. 

"Yes, please follow us" Sona's Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, came forward and said politely after noticing Sona's gesture. The cloaked figures started to follow them quietly but the two of them were ready to pull out their Swords if the situation called for it. 

Sona and her peerage led the group towards the Occult Research Club. Sona didn't want to lead the duo throughout the school to the Student Council room. That would have been awkward as she didn't want to use Magic on humans in front of two exorcists. 

The whole group finally entered the building and after leading them upstairs, Sona finally knocked on the door. After a few moments, the door was opened by Rias Gremory's Queen, Akeno Himejima. She looked much better now. At least, the Devils no longer had a death threat hanging over their heads. 

Only after a few moments, the duo found themselves sitting on a couch while Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory were sitting on the opposite side while their peerage stood behind their Kings. Akeno Himejima placed the tea in front of their guests before she moved back to stand behind her King. 

"So, why did you two decide to enter our territory?" This time it was Rias Gremory who asked the question. The exorcists finally pulled down their hoods revealing their beautiful faces. Issei Hyoudou, Rias Gremory's pawn, almost creamed himself at the beautiful sight. 

"...A few days ago three Excaliburs were stolen from the Church. We have tracked them into this town and we want to retrieve them" the blue-haired girl named Xenovia said with a serious look on her face. 

Both Rias and Sona frowned and from the corner of her eyes, Rias noticed that her Knight tensed when Excaliburs were mentioned. He had a past with those holy swords. 

"So, you want to operate in this territory?" Sona questioned.

"Yes, we want all of you to stand aside" the other exorcist answered. Sona raised her brows.

"May I know why?" Sona asked and the blue-haired girl slightly scowled, which wasn't missed by either Rias or Sona. 

"Because we don't know if the Devils are involved or not… After all, Excaliburs are the natural enemy of your kind" Xenovia almost spat out. Rias turned towards her peerage, ready to stop her Knight from outright attacking the duo from Church. 

"I understand what you are saying but that is not something we can decide… you wouldn't know but the Devils are under a different management now" Sona said with a calm look on her face. She wasn't even bothered by the accusation. It was quite natural and she was expecting something like that as soon as Excaliburs were mentioned. 

Rias wanted to protest but she remembered those glowing green eyes and shuddered. She also remembered what happened the last time she had decided to deal with something she shouldn't have. After hearing Sona's words, both exorcists looked at each other and frowned. 

They didn't know anything about the Devils being under new management. They knew that Devils were ruled by the Devil Kings and the Devil Council. Did something happen which they didn't know about? It must have or how would someone explain the change in authority. The exorcists decided that they needed to inform the Church about this development as soon as possible. 

Sona looked towards her Queen. Tsubaki nodded her head and contacted Grayfia Lucifuge. Contacting Hela would have been better but they didn't know how to contact the insane woman directly. A small hologram of the silver-haired maid appeared over the table. 

"Sona-sama, Rias-sama" Grayfia greeted with a small bow. After that, Sona didn't waste much time and she quickly recited everything to Grayfia. Grayfia simply nodded her head in understanding. 

"I see…" Grayfia said as her head turned towards the group from Church as she gave the two of them an inspecting look. Grayfia's eyes narrowed when her eyes landed on the bracelet of the brown-haired girl. 

After that, Grayfia disconnected the call and only moments later in a wisp of darkness, a woman dressed in a pitch-black shihakusho and a pitch-black haori appeared inside the Occult Research Club. The woman's long jet-black hair was braided in front of her and she had a Katana hanging by a string in her back. 

The woman's whole visage was screaming, gentle and kind but Sona slightly shuddered after the woman's arrival. Her sister had told her how dangerous this woman was. Unohana smiled kindly at the whole group. 

"I am sorry to inform you but we can't allow you to operate in our territory without any supervision" Unohana said in a kind tone with a disappointed look on her face. 

"You mean that you won't allow us to retrieve our Excaliburs?" The other exorcist asked dangerously and Unohana simply tilted her head in a kind manner. 

"Of course not. I simply told you that we can't allow you to do as you please in our territory without any supervision" Unohana repeated politely. 

"...We would never join hands with Devils. This is a Sacred mission given to us by the Pope!" Xenovia bit out as she placed her hand on her sword which was wrapped in bandages. 

"Then I regret to tell you that you won't be allowed to enter this territory" Unohana said kindly and both exorcists clenched their fists tightly in anger. 

"So, you are going to go against the Church? Are you declaring war?" The brown-haired girl questioned accusingly and Unohana's smile thinned. 

"If you are taking this as a War declaration then I have no problems with it. Be my guest but as a healer, it is my duty to inform you that you won't be the winner if a War breaks out" Unohana said kindly but both Xenovia and Irina scowled at the kind woman. 

"We are leaving!" Xenovia exclaimed as she stood up while shaking in anger. The brown-haired girl followed her friend's example and she also stood up. Both of them started to approach the door so they could leave but the brown-haired girl stopped and turned towards Unohana. 

"My name is Irina Shidou, and it will be me who will give you Salvation with my Excalibur Mimic. What's your name heretic?" The brown-haired introduced herself while glaring at Unohana. 

"My name is Yachiru Unohana" Unohana said with a smile but didn't bother to reply to the girl's threat. 'We shall see…' Unohana thought internally. She was amused by the little girl's threat. 

Irina Shidou hmpfed and glanced towards Issei Hyoudou and after a few moments, she left before closing the door. They had thought about confronting Asia Argento but the meeting didn't go like they wanted. 

"Please forgive my rudeness but why didn't you agree to their demand?" Tsubaki Shinra asked all of a sudden, breaking the silence in the room. Sona Sitri immediately shot her Queen a pointed glare and some Devils already looked somewhat uneasy. 

Unohana chuckled kindly as she shook her head. "I could have accepted their demand but that would have made us look weak… and there is the root of the problem. They demanded access to our territory… they should have requested" Unohana answered as she looked around the Occult Research Club. 

"But what if a war breaks out?" This time it was Rias who questioned the woman. 

"It won't happen. Weak people are the ones who would try to threaten someone in the name of War… and if they are stupid enough to declare a War then it won't matter… Hela is Goddess of Death and War and that title isn't just for show" Unohana answered with a kind smile on her face.

As soon as Hela's name was mentioned, everyone in the room except Sona's peerage and Unohana shuddered in fear. "This place is nice… it has a Supernatural vibe to it" Unohana commented as she looked around the room. 

"...I want all of you to keep an eye on the town, inform Lucifuge-San as soon as possible if the two of them start to operate in this town" Unohana said and darkness started to surround her body and moments later, she disappeared from the Occult Research Club… 

(A/N: I have decided to write the side stories after finishing the plot)