The silence that followed Arthur's casual introduction didn't last long.
A flurry of motion rippled through the courtyard as nearly a hundred exorcists, cloaked in white, black, and gray variations of the Church's holy combat vestments, immediately took action.
The metallic sounds of dozens of blades leaving their scabbards echoed through the heliport as they surrounded him from all directions.
Rows of Light Swords ignited, buzzing with holy energy.
Others held Light Guns leveled at Arthur's direction.
A few raised Holy Scriptures, reciting chants and blessings as if preparing for an exorcism.
The tension exploded like a powder keg.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"You Devil scum!"
"Back to Hell where you came from!"
"You dare set foot on these sacred grounds!?"
"God's light will purge your filth!"
Arthur didn't flinch.
His hands remained stuffed inside the pockets of his hoodie, his posture as relaxed as ever. A smirk curved across his face as if the insults were more amusing than offensive.
(Hey, Ddraig. Wake up. I'm about to give you a show.)
A rumbling laugh echoed in Arthur's mind.
(Oho…? I was wondering when you'd do your thing. This is gonna be so good.)
Arthur's emerald eyes lazily scanned the circle of weapons trained on him.
"Man, how rude of you guys. All I did was say hello. Not exactly the response I was expecting from a bunch of holy men of God."
He said with a small sigh.
"Silence, foul demon!"
An older exorcist barked, waving a scripture in one hand and a bayonet-style Light Rifle in the other.
"You disgrace this holy sanctuary with your very presence! Begone, creature!"
Arthur's smile vanished.
The air shifted just a little., but enough to cause tension.
"What's with all the panic?"
Arthur asked, his voice suddenly colder.
"It's not like I threatened to kill anyone... or butchered you all in a river of blood."
His smile returned, wider, sharper.
"Because if I had… there wouldn't be a single one of you left to tell the tale."
That statement hit them like a thunderclap.
Several exorcists flinched.
Some took nervous steps backward, their blades lowering slightly as a chill crept down their spines.
Others began to sweat, hands trembling ever so slightly as they tried to maintain composure.
That pressure from earlier, even just a glimpse of it, that power, it hadn't been a bluff.
He could do it.
Suddenly, an arrogant male voice rang out from beyond the circle.
"Oh really? Well, that would be a sight for sore eyes."
The ring of exorcists parted without hesitation, clearing a path as two young individuals made their entrance.
One was a tall boy about Arthur's age, with sharp red eyes and silver-white hair tied back messily.
He wore a priest's coat that had clearly seen combat but perfectly tailored.
Across his body were sheathed multiple swords, each one humming with different auras.
Beside him walked a girl with short golden hair, sky blue eyes, and clad in a stylized orange knight's armor.
A rapier was sheathed at her hip, her posture upright and proud as she scanned Arthur with focused eyes.
Murmurs passed through the exorcist crowd like wildfire.
"Oh my God... That's Siegfried, isn't it?"
"I heard he soloed an entire vampire coven last month."
"And Jeanne Arc! The Reincarnated Saint!"
"Rumors said that she is capable of summoning a dragon made of blades."
"They're the youngest prodigies in the Church… practically legends already."
Arthur's gaze flicked between the two of them, an eyebrow raised in amusement.
(Ah… so it's them. I guess this is before Chinese H*tl*r brainwashed them both with his pointy glowstick.)
He took a mental note.
Their futures weren't set in stone yet, which meant he had room to influence them himself.
Siegfried casually unsheathed one of his swords, resting it against his shoulder with a cocky grin.
"So this red-haired prick is the reason everyone's acting like they've seen the end times? He doesn't look that much to me."
Jeanne elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
"Can't you always take dangerous things seriously, Sieg?"
"Hey, I do... sometimes!"
He said with a shrug.
"He just doesn't look like much."
Arthur snorted in laughter.
"Well, isn't this interesting. I'm just standing here minding my own business while your army of holy zealots pointed every light weapon and godstick they had at me. Now they called out the prodigies as if it'll make a difference."
Jeanne shot him a glare, but before she could speak, Arthur raised two fingers lazily.
"Quick questions, though. One... who the fuck might you two be? You two look like what I think the medieval version of Bonnie and Clyde would look."
Before they could answer, he continued.
"And two… who made the first move? I assume it's little miss goody two-shoes over here, because the wannabe edgelord looks like he is suffering from Albinism while cosplaying as Little Timmy's local priest."
Siegfried and Jeanne both paused.
They slowly glanced at each other, then immediately turned red.
"W-We're not dating!"
They snapped in unison, flustered.
"And also, fuck you, asshole!"
Siegfried yelled.
Arthur blinked, grinned, then pointed at the exorcist crowd.
"Hey, you could've fooled me. Pretty sure your little fan club over there thinks you're already picking out names for your future kids."
Siegfried spun around to see a few of the exorcists quickly looking away, pretending to be incredibly interested in the sky or their weapons.
His eye twitched.
"OI! DON'T GET ANY STUPID IDEAS, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!"
Jeanne let out a groan, dragging a hand down her face.
"This is getting so weird."
"I know, right? But still, you gotta admit that it's a little hilarious."
Arthur commented.
From a distance, Griselda, with an unconscious Xenovia on her lap, sat on the sidelines spectating.
"Should we intervene or...?"
Ewald just shrugged as he rested his hands behind him.
"Let them be. This will serve as a lesson for them not to judge a book by its cover. Also, I am quite curious as to what the current Red Dragon Emperor is capable of."
Griselda nods as she continues caring for her student.
But even with the embarrassment boiling between them, Jeanne stepped forward and drew her rapier, its blessed steel glinting in the sun.
"That's it! Silence your tongue before I cut it off myself!"
She declared, her voice proud and firm.
"Prepare yourself, monster. You'll now be facing the agents of God!"
Siegfried finally turned serious and drew a second blade in a reverse grip.
"Get ready to get your ass handed to you, because I am officially gonna shove them up your asshole."
The exorcists quickly cleared the space between them, forming an open circle into a makeshift arena.
Some watched nervously, others with vindictive excitement.
Arthur yawned into his palm.
Then he slowly pulled one hand from his hoodie pocket and held it out, palm up.
He curled his fingers in a "come on" gesture and with a shit-eating grin.
"Sure, go ahead. I don't mind beating the shit out of you both."
His green eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Come and entertain me, lovebirds."
DxD
Siegfried moved first.
With both Balmung and Nothung in his grip, he launched forward in a blur of silver and steel.
The Demon Swords howled as they tore through the air, Balmung radiating violent whirlwinds while Nothung pulsed with sheer cutting power.
He aimed directly at Arthur's torso with a high-speed cross-slash meant to overwhelm and disable him.
In one smooth motion, Arthur ducked under the strike, pivoted, and planted a foot on Siegfried's face.
Before the white-haired exorcist could register the contact, Arthur pushed off him like a springboard and soared into the air with casual grace.
Siegfried stumbled backward with a grunt, more stunned than hurt.
"Wha-!"
Jeanne was already midair, sword drawn and ready, she didn't waste the opportunity.
Her rapier turned into a blinding flurry, each thrust aiming precisely for joints, arteries, and weak points.
A barrage of needle-point strikes that no ordinary opponent could hope to stop.
But Arthur wasn't ordinary.
He caught the tip of her rapier between two fingers.
Jeanne's eyes widened in disbelief, barely having time to react before Arthur gave a little tug, pulling her forward, and casually swung her off to the side like a ragdoll.
Her armor collided with Siegfried just as he was recovering.
Before either could process it, Arthur flipped midair, landing gently on the ground like a leaf.
Then came the barrage.
Siegfried and Jeanne regained footing and attacked in tandem, unleashing coordinated swings meant to corner and overwhelm Arthur.
Their blades cut through the air with speed and force that could cleave boulders.
Arthur stayed where he was, spinning and sliding, dodging every slash with the barest motion.
Then came his left index finger, nothing else.
With a light tap here, a soft flick there, he redirected their blades into each other's paths.
Jeanne's rapier scraped against Siegfried's shoulder and Siegfried's demon sword nicked Jeanne's arm.
Each movement made their teamwork fall apart at the seams.
They gritted their teeth.
All around them, the spectators were shouting, some cheering for Siegfried and Jeanne, others hurling curses and slurs at Arthur.
"Come on, Saint Jeanne! Smite that half-breed!"
"Siegfried, use your Sacred Gear, don't let that Devil win!"
"Win for the Church!"
Near the sidelines, Ewald folded his arms, his face calm and intrigued.
"You look relaxed."
Griselda said as she stood beside him, not even hiding the tension in her voice.
He smirked.
"50,000 euros on the Devil boy."
Griselda raised an eyebrow.
"You're betting against our trainees?"
He shrugged.
"He's more interesting."
"Fine. I'll take that bet."
She muttered, eyes narrowing.
"Let's see who walks away standing."
Back in the ring, the battle raged on.
Arthur caught a swing from Jeanne's rapier with the back of his hand and yawned, his eyes even watered slightly.
That broke something in the two prodigies.
They both took a step back, breathing hard, visibly irritated.
Siegfried was the first to speak, voice strained with annoyance.
"Hey, dipshit! Are you fucking with us!?"
Jeanne followed, fury in her voice.
"We're giving it our all, and you're treating this like child's play!"
Arthur just tilted his head.
"What? Am I not allowed to be bored now?"
The two tensed, preparing to charge again, when Arthur raised his hand.
"Tell you what. Before you two continue to attack me with righteous fury, I'll do you a favor."
He dug the sole of his boot into the stone, drawing a small X on the ground beneath him.
"For your next move, I won't move from this spot. Best of luck, you two."
He said with a small grin.
Siegfried's red eyes flared with rage.
"Oh, you are so dead!"
He charged, blades swirling.
Wind exploded around Balmung while Nothung's edge sang with lethal sharpness.
He spun them both together, combining their strengths into a roaring vortex of blades, a razor-sharp tornado spiraling forward with destructive speed.
"Siegfried, wait-!"
Jeanne shouted, her eyes widening in worry.
Arthur simply raised an eyebrow and kicked the ground.
The force sent a nearby spectator stumbling forward, an unfortunate young exorcist who lost his footing and tripped into the battlefield, right between Arthur and the incoming attack.
Siegfried's eyes widened.
(Dammit!)
He twisted his body mid-spin, dragging the tornado upward into the sky at the last second.
The air split with a deafening howl, razor wind slicing through clouds instead of flesh.
Before he could recover, Jeanne was behind Arthur, swinging her rapier down.
The ground beneath Arthur erupted into jagged swords, countless blades stabbing upward like a metal forest, encasing him in a razor-sharp cage as dust and wind blew across the battlefield.
The Exorcists cheered.
"Yes! He's so done for!"
"No way he can escape that!"
"Burn in hell, Devil!"
Siegfried and Jeanne stood side by side, bruised, scraped, but ready.
They rushed forward with a pincer movement, aiming to end it in one final strike, one from the front, one from behind.
Their blades came down together, aiming for Arthur's neck.
But inside the blade prison, a calm voice echoed.
"Woah. Not bad."
The ground trembled.
"But not enough."
A shockwave burst from the center of the prison.
*BOOM*
The holy blades shattered into thousands of shards.
Metal exploded outward like a fragmented grenade.
Jeanne quickly summoned a wall made of holy swords, forming a dome in front of her.
Siegfried summoned a silver dragon arm on his right side and three Demon Swords, Balmung, Nothung, and Tyrfing, manifested and formed a spinning guard, blocking the oncoming shrapnel.
Other spectators weren't so lucky.
Screams filled the air as exorcists were flung backward, bodies torn and bleeding from the storm of steel.
The circle formation scattered, leaving a wide ring of distance around the battle.
Arthur stood in the center of the cleared field.
Dusting off the dirt on his red hoodie, he looked around at the damage he had caused.
His hands were still bare, his expression calm, not even curious about the new development.
"How am I not surprised… The dynamic duo also has Sacred Gears."
He muttered, eyeing his opponents.
"Let me guess, Blade Blacksmith?"
Jeanne answered, firm and proud.
"You are correct. With it, I can forge an array of Holy Swords at will. A blessing passed down through humanity by God."
Arthur nodded, then looked at Siegfried.
"And yours must be Twice Critical. But why is it different?"
Siegfried clenched his dragon arm.
"It's because mine is a Sun-Species. Not only does it double my power, it gives me an additional arm to use my Demon Swords."
Arthur whistled, genuinely impressed.
"I see... I gotta admit, for a couple of upstarts, you're not too bad."
That comment darkened both their faces.
"Upstarts?"
"Not too bad?"
Before they could speak, Arthur reached behind his back.
"Still, two against one isn't fair in any situation."
He said, his voice steady.
A flash of light burst from his hand.
"And since you've shown me your Sacred Gears, I think it's only fair I show you my Holy Sword."
The ground shook again.
Holy light erupted as a sword appeared in Arthur's hand.
Every exorcist, even the wounded ones, froze.
"That's-!"
"The Excalibur…!?"
"No… not just any Excalibur… Excalibur Ruler!"
"It is true..."
Siegfried's and Jeanne's eyes widened in pure shock.
Arthur gave the blade a few test swings, each one humming with power as the air warped around it.
He slipped into a stance.
His green eyes glinted with challenge.
"All right, now it's fair. Let's continue."
DxD
Hello readers!
I decided to blur the H-Word just in case it is not allowed.
Is that name allowed to be said here? I genuinely have no idea.
I mean, there are countless adult novels, so it must be okay, right?
Thank you everyone and see you later!