Chapter 439: The Kuoh ??? (I)...

[Vatican] 

Archangel Michael couldn't believe what he just heard. His gaze slowly flickered over all the injured Exorcists. He wanted to rub his face and frustration but he couldn't weakness in front of the Pope or the high-level Exorcists and two of Heaven's Brave Saints. 

"Your Holiness! We can't allow this unprovoked attack to go unanswered!" The Pope spat out. His voice was laced with hatred. Michael gave the man a sidelong glance but didn't say anything. 

"How strong was this woman?" Michael asked his Joker, Dulio Gesualdo. 

For a few moments, Dulio Gesualdo didn't know how to answer the question. "...To be honest… I don't know. She didn't use anything other than her sword art and her brute strength" Dulio Gesualdo shrugged with an unsure look on his face. 

Michael couldn't stop himself from frowning. For a moment, he couldn't believe what he just heard. 'That means this woman Hela overwhelmed with just her brute strength and mastery over sword' Michael concluded even though it was something really absurd. 

Dulio Gesualdo was a Brave Saint, a reincarnated Angel just like Griselda Quarta. His eyes landed on the Griselda Quarta who hadn't woken up yet and Gabriel was sitting beside her friend with a sombre look on her face. Griselda Quarta was one of Gabriel's Brave Saints. 

'Now I somewhat understand how that woman was able to take over the Devils… is there a connection between this unknown woman and the Destroyer?' Michael thought with a calculative look on his face. 

"For now, you will order all the Exorcists to stay put. I don't want another incident like this" Michael said in a firm tone. The Pope wanted to protest but one pointed look from Michael made the lesser man cower in fear. 

"Now leave… I want to talk to them privately" Michael ordered. The Pope hurriedly nodded his head and scurried away from the room. 

After the Pope left, Michael created a Magical Circle to stop anyone from eavesdropping on the conversation. Michael made his way towards Touji Shidou, after all, he is one of the main involved parties. Michael wanted to collect all the information before making a move and if the woman was involved with the Destroyer then they could only accept defeat. 

"Your Holiness!" Touji respectfully greeted Micheal. Michael raised his hand to show that it was enough. Michael sat down beside Touji's bed. He also wanted to know about the mission involving Cleria Belial. 

"Now tell me everything about the mission involving Cleria Belial…" Michael ordered. Touji had no idea why Archangel Michael wanted to know something like that but he still started to recite the whole incident. 

Touji Shidou finally finished retelling the whole story and Michael nodded his head in understanding. The Exorcists weren't at fault here. 'Though ultimately it won't matter if Hela is involved with the Destroyer' Michael concluded solemnly. There wasn't much he could do in front of absolute power, especially when the System of Heaven was barely functioning. 

"Your daughter is currently in Kuoh Town, I believe?" Michael questioned and Touji Shidou nodded his head with an unsure look on his face. He didn't know where Archangel Michael was going with this line of questioning. 

"Then please call her back… I don't want her to make a reckless decision right now" Michael said and Touji Shidou immediately nodded his head. He could understand where Archangel Michael was coming from.

Even though Touji Shidou was livid due to the death of his fellow Exorcists and the sacrifice of Ewald Cristaldi, he could understand that something reckless right now could cause even more serious problems. He also wanted to keep his daughter from this incident…

[Abandoned Church, Kuoh Town] 

Both Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou were restless since last night since the Church hasn't contacted them yet. Irina was especially worried as it was her father who was responsible for contacting them. 

All of their communication circle started to buzz. Both Xenovia and Irina released a relieved sigh. Irina picked up the call and she slightly frowned when her father's face didn't show up. 

"Daddy, are you okay?" Irina questioned in a slightly worried tone. 

"I am completely fine, daughter. How are you two?" Touji Shidou asked softly from the other side of the communication circle. Irina released a relieved sigh. 

"We are also fine" Irina chirped in a cheerful tone. 

"That's good. The two of you are being called back to the Vatican" Touji Shidou said, shocking both Xenovia and Irina. 

"But what about the Excaliburs?" Xenovia questioned hurriedly and Irina nodded her head after hearing Xenovia's question. 

"...I understand but this is out of our hands. The order came from the top" Touji Shidou answered. Both Xenovia and Irina frowned after hearing Touji's answer. From the top meant 'Heaven', that was a code word they used. 

"We understand, we will be returning as soon as possible" Irina answered in a defeated tone. If the order came from Heaven then there wasn't much they could do. Going against Heaven's orders meant ex-communication… even the Pope couldn't do much in such cases. 

"Take care, Irina, Xenovia. Stay safe" after saying that, Touji Shidou disconnected the call. Both Xenovia and Irina could only look at each other with a defeated look in their eyes. 

"So, when are we leaving?" Irina asked and Xenovia got up from her seat and started to pull up her cloak. 

"We are being called to the Vatican. That means our mission is over… staying here won't get us anything" Xenovia said with a shrug and Irina sullenly nodded her head. She could understand where her friend was coming from. 

"Ok, let me get my cloak" Irina said as she got up from her seat. They didn't have anything except for their battle suit, cloaks, Excaliburs, and money. Irina also pulled up her cloak and both of them walked out of the abandoned Church after a few minutes. 

They didn't want to waste their money so they decided to walk to the airport. All of a sudden both of them froze and their hands went towards the Excaliburs. "Come out. We can sense your presence" Xenovia called out. Slowly four Devils appeared from the other side of the street. 

Irina looked around and noticed that Magic was being used as the humans were ignoring the street. At least, the humans won't be involved in their matters. "What do you want, Devils?" Irina questioned loudly. 

"I want to challenge the two of you to a duel" one of the Devils called out. Both Xenovia and Irina immediately recognized the Devil. He was the Knight of Rias Gremory, Yuuto Kiba. Xenovia and Irina had read his file before they were sent to Kuoh Town. 

"I don't see any reason to accept, Senpai" Xenovia called out and Yuuto Kiba clenched his fists after hearing those words.

"We have been called back to the Vatican, please don't cause any trouble" Irina said, trying to avoid any type of conflict on their way back. She wanted to cleanse the world from the plight of Devils but that she simply wanted to warn them out of kindness. 

"...What, don't tell me the two of you are afraid?" Yuuto Kiba asked in a mocking tone as his last-ditch effort. He knew that the Exorcists didn't have any reason to accept his challenge. 

Both Xenovia and Irina scoffed but internally they were anything but calm. They felt really insulted. Irina's eyes landed on the other Devils, one of them was her childhood friend, Issei Hyoudou. She really wanted to give him True Salvation but she didn't out of kindness. She couldn't forget about their friendship. 

Then her eyes landed on the short silver-haired girl, Koneko Toujou. The girl was Rias Gremory's rook and finally, her eyes landed on the fourth Devil, Genshirou Saji. He was the pawn of Sona Sitri. She looked towards Xenovia and both nodded their heads. 

"Fine… let's have a duel" Xenovia called out loudly. "But this isn't a good place to have a duel" Xenovia said and Yuuto Kiba nodded his head in agreement. 

"Follow us, we know a place" Yuuto Kiba called out and the whole group started to walk away. Xenovia and Irina started to follow the group of Devils while maintaining a certain distance. 

After a few minutes, the group of Devils led the two Exorcists towards a bridge. All six of them finally arrived under the bridge. Both Xenovia and Irina looked around and nodded their heads in satisfaction. This was a good place to have a fight without getting bothered by anyone. 

"Irina, you wouldn't mind keeping an eye on the three of them while I fight him, would you?" Xenovia asked as she pulled out her Excalibur which was still wrapped in bandages. 

"Sure…" Irina chirped in a cheerful tone as she started towards the other three Devils intently.

"Don't bother, none of them are going to interfere in our duel" Yuuto Kiba said while looking at Xenovia. 

"Yes!! We wouldn't do anything underhanded like that!" Irina's childhood friend, Issei Hyoudou exclaimed loudly, feeling insulted. 

"Yuuto-Senpai, be careful" Koneko said in a monotone. Her voice might not have carried any sort of emotion, but she was really worried about her Senpai. 

"Just ignore me… I was brought here against my wishes" Genshirou Saji grumbled and shot an annoyed glare towards Issei Hyoudou and Koneko Toujou. He still didn't know how the two of them roped him into this madness. He was also scared about his King, Sona Sitri finding out about this adventure. 

Xenovia undid the knot on her Excalibur and revealed the Excalibur to the Devils. All the Devils shivered when their eyes landed on the Excalibur, the blue-haired girl had in her hands. Their instincts were screaming at them to avoid being cut from that weapon at any cost. 

"This is the Excalibur Destruction. This has the ability to unleash pure destructive power which could shatter anything… a single stab could kill Devils like you" Xenovia explained with an arrogant look on her face. 

All of a sudden the whole group froze when they heard someone clapping. "Brilliant!! Such a detailed explanation!" An unknown voice said while the being continued clapping. 

The whole group consisting of Devils and Exorcists turned towards the direction from where the voice was coming from and all of them instinctively took a step back in fear when their eyes landed on a man with ten jet-black wings… 

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A/N: A fun fact revealed by a reader named Silkerin.

Hela is a Disney Princess!!

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1796 words in this chapter.

450 Power Stones= 2 chapters tomorrow.

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