"Uh, I, um…"
Ravel fidgeted at Vitan's question, clearly too flustered to care about Rias's command.
"We can handle introductions later. For now, go bring them in. We'll sort out their intentions afterward. Also, Akeno, Sona should be on campus—please bring her here too."
Receiving her second order, Ravel stopped fidgeting and nodded along with Akeno before heading out.
In just a few minutes, Akeno, Rias, Vitan, Ravel, Sona, Asia, and Koneko had all gathered.
Then, under everyone's watchful gaze, two figures in pure white robes entered.
Once their cloaks were removed, two voluptuous young women stood revealed, their tight black bodysuits emphasizing their stunning curves.
One had chestnut hair in twin-tails that reached her lower back, swaying with every step—her lively demeanor radiated high-energy girl-next-door vibes.
The other had short blue hair with a green highlight over her forehead, giving her a delinquent-like appearance that contrasted with her solemn aura.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Xenovia. This is Irina Shidou. We're both Holy Sword users from the Church. I believe there's no need for me to explain our purpose for coming."
"Rias Gremory. Sona Shitori."
Xenovia's gaze was sharp and forceful, emitting a strong aura of pressure—and a faint trace of hostility.
Yet under that pressure, Rias remained composed, her previous concern toward Vitan now completely gone.
"I suppose you're here to retrieve the three Excalibur fragments stolen by the stray exorcists, yes?"
The one who responded wasn't Rias, but Sona, who sat beside her, also emanating a low-pressure aura.
Xenovia's attempt to gain the upper hand through pressure was laughable to Sona.
"That's right. After the three-way war, the shattered Excalibur was reclaimed by the Church and reforged into seven Holy Swords. Of those, after the 'Holy Sword of Victory' was lost, the Church still retained five. However, recently, three of those were stolen from the Church's vault. Our mission is to eliminate the traitors and recover the swords."
Facing Sona's icy gaze, Xenovia showed no fear—in fact, her battle spirit only grew stronger.
"I assume neither of you, as managers of Kuoh Town, have any ties to our traitors?"
Irina raised a hand to block her overly combative partner, who looked ready to draw her sword.
"Of course not. In fact, one of my peerage members was wounded by them just last night. There's no way we'd be working with them."
"Is that so? Then we apologize for the intrusion." Feeling once again that her companion was a muscle-headed idiot, Irina took charge of the discussion.
"No worries."
Rias showed grace as she nodded slightly, accepting Xenovia's rude behavior.
"In the time we're tracking these traitors, we hope to receive permission from the Gremory family to act within this territory. We also hope that the devils refrain from interfering. If they do, it might escalate into a conflict between all three factions—something no one wants."
Irina's reasoning was sound. Although the three factions had entered a temporary truce due to heavy losses, friction between them still lingered.
Moreover, among both the devils and the fallen angels, there were always some lunatics who wished to stir up war. If even one thing went wrong, this incident could very well become the fuse for a new Three Factions War.
After all, the ones present here included none other than the younger sisters of the Satan Serafall and Sirzechs!
"Interesting. Since you two have already come here, that means you must know who the fallen angel is that incited those three rogue exorcists to steal the holy swords."
Vitan, who had been sitting on the sofa drinking wine, wore a smile he couldn't quite suppress.
That smile, which carried a tone of mockery, immediately caused the straightforward Xenovia to frown.
"Of course I know about that."
"Wait a minute—Vitan, are you saying you already know who's behind this incident?"
Rias, who sensed something off from Vitan's tone, reacted and questioned him as well.
"More or less. I just managed to form some deductions based on bits and pieces of information. I'll explain it to you shortly. But for now, what I'm more interested in is: what are the thoughts and inner feelings of the two holy sword users abandoned by the Church?"
Vitan wore a delighted smile. In the original work, he could no longer remember what the Church duo thought about this situation.
So now he wanted to know: did these two know the truth and foolishly come here to die nobly?
Or were they completely unaware of the bigger picture, and once he revealed the truth, what kind of expressions would they show?
"Who says—"
"Don't bother trying to refute my conclusion. Don't think that with your current level, the two of you can be compared to Kokabiel."
Since Xenovia and Irina had been chosen by the Church as holy sword wielders, it naturally meant their strength wasn't weak.
In fact, one could even say that Xenovia, who wielded a genuine holy sword, had the strength to fight against Rias and Sona.
But so what? At the end of the day, they were merely high-class devil-level at best.
Yet what they were up against was a Cadre of the Fallen Angels—someone under the surveillance of the Son of God. A being who survived the Three Factions War and had once fought against both the Biblical God and the Four Original Maou.
He possessed ten wings—just one step below Azazel, the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels. His strength was on par with the Ultimate-class devils.
And the difference between a high-class and an Ultimate-class devil...
Was like the gap between heaven and earth—an unbridgeable chasm that no amount of means could ever overcome.
Irina's face darkened completely. Only Xenovia still maintained her unyielding fighting spirit.
"Abandoned? Maybe so. But I've never once believed I would lose."