Chapter 258 VS Durandal!

After my fight with Cristaldi ended, I stepped back and remained on standby.

The battle between the Sitri peerage and the Brave Saints was already nearing its conclusion, and it didn’t look like they needed my help. Besides, settling things with Cristaldi was something better left to those who came from the Church.

Kiba was one of them, after all.

Meanwhile, Cristaldi began using abilities he had barely relied on before—Illusion, Invisibility, and Blessing—to their fullest, parrying Kiba and the others’ attacks with precision.

With the Blessed Holy Sword, Excalibur Blessing, he amplified the power of crosses and deployed a barrier that restricted both angels and devils, limiting their flight and movement. For someone like Kiba, charging recklessly into a barrier infused with such dense holy aura would mean serious damage.

It’s like one of those barbed-wire, electrified deathmatches in pro wrestling…

No, this is way worse.

Still, perhaps thanks to watching my earlier fight, Kiba and the others had begun to adapt. Their movements were steady.

But even so… they lacked raw power.

Against the full range of Cristaldi’s abilities ones he hadn’t even used against me, they were gradually being pushed back.

Ah… Kiba just got drenched in enhanced holy water.

At that moment, Irina rushed in from behind Cristaldi, swinging horizontally at his neck to save Kiba, who was writhing as smoke rose from his body.

The blade struck and Cristaldi’s head flew clean off.

Irina froze.

She had expected him to dodge or block. Not… that.

“Too slow, Irina.”

The illusion dissolved.

Cristaldi appeared behind her and brought down a strike imbued with Destruction. Irina barely reacted in time, raising her guard—but she was crushed straight through it.

Dulio fired off elemental attacks—flames, lightning, ice—to stop the follow-up. They forced Cristaldi back, but his Domination ability deflected the attacks, leaving him unharmed.

“Damn it! Is this the true power of a natural Excalibur wielder?!”

“Haha, I told you already,” Dulio said lightly. “You’re facing one of the Church’s two great pillars. In all its long history, he’s probably among the very strongest. You don’t overturn that kind of power just by reincarnating as a devil or angel.”

“He doesn’t even have a Sacred Gear, right?”

Kiba sounded doubtful.

Dulio shook his head.

“Nope. Neither Cristaldi-sensei nor Strada have Sacred Gears. Let me ask you instead, Kiba-kun. If Ikki lost his Sacred Gear right now, do you think he’d suddenly become weak?”

“Well… he’d lose his Evil Mode so he’d get weaker, but… I still don’t think I could beat him.”

[That’s because the most important ability of his Sacred Gear is sealed by unanimous agreement across all factions. As it stands, his Sacred Gear arguably has the least fluctuation in power among all Sacred Gears.]

“Hey! You guys are casually trash-talking my Sacred Gear—do you hate me or something?!”

Seriously… half of that was just insults!

As I refocused on the battlefield, I saw Kiba opening a subspace to draw out Gram.

“I’ll release Gram and strike with everything I have. Even if I can’t defeat him, I can create an opening. From there, we can turn the tide.”

But there was hesitation in his eyes.

To Kiba, Excalibur wasn’t just an enemy—it was the culmination of his fallen comrades’ will. He wanted to surpass it with his sword, not with another legendary blade.

Drawing Gram now… would be like admitting defeat.

Dulio seemed to understand. He placed a hand on Kiba’s shoulder and stepped forward.

“Kiba-kun. This is a fight to clear your heart. I can’t approve of a plan where you swing your sword with that kind of face.”

Then he turned back slightly.

“Kiba-kun… no—Yuuto.”

“You grew up in a Church facility, right? Same here. Kids raised there are all brothers and sisters. So to me, you’re like a little brother. Let me play the big brother this time.”

He winked and ruffled Kiba’s hair.

…Yeah. That’s definitely fitting for an angel.

Dulio spread his ten wings and gathered power.

Bringing his hands together in a circle, he blew gently into them—

Like blowing soap bubbles.

From that point, countless rainbow spheres began to pour out, drifting across the battlefield, passing straight through Cristaldi’s barrier.

“This is an application of Zenith Tempest—Rainbow Colored Hope: Speranza Bolla di Sapone.”

The bubbles burst.

And one by one, the warriors dropped their weapons.

Tears streamed down their faces.

“This power makes people remember their most precious memories,” Dulio said softly. “I created it for kids who’d lost hope… so they could look forward again.”

Kiba, too, was crying.

Most of the warriors had lost their will to fight.

All except one.

Cristaldi stood firm, tears falling as he gripped Excalibur even tighter.

“Yes… this fleeting scene… is precisely what we wished to protect—!”

“But! Without a proper conclusion, our uprising will mean nothing!!”

Now, only he remained.

The final clash began.

Griselda formed a radiant bow, amplifying the power of allied angels.

At the same time, Kiba and Irina charged.

Kiba’s sword had fully stabilized. Light and darkness were no longer in conflict, but perfectly fused.

When it clashed with Excalibur—

It absorbed the holy energy and added it to its own power.

Before, such imbalance would have shattered the blade.

But not anymore.

…He’s done it.

All the missing pieces are in place.

A final battle is coming soon. No need to hold back anymore.

After this… I’ll “upgrade” Kiba a bit.

He can get stronger—and work harder for me.

For some reason, Kiba’s shoulder twitched.

Irina seized the moment.

With Excalibur’s power weakened, she struck—her blade, Hauteclere, amplified by Griselda’s support, releasing a massive purification attack.

It carried no killing intent—only the will to strip away the desire to fight.

Then—

Storm clouds gathered overhead.

“Yuuto, Irina—fall back! Sensei… this ends here!”

BOOOOM!!

Dulio’s lightning crashed down—

Shattering the barrier and striking their teacher.

The battle was decided.

Later, Cristaldi lay on the ground, struck by lightning.

Even then, he offered his life in exchange for sparing the other warriors.

Dulio refused.

“I’m not doing that. That’d just make everyone hate me, right?”

“…And besides… as long as you’re alive, you can eat good food. You’d be surprised how lucky that alone is.”

“…You are soft. Truly soft.”

Covering his face, Cristaldi wept.

Dulio sat beside him, then called out to us.

“I’ll stay here and talk with sensei a bit longer. Yuuto, Irina, Ikki—you three head to the other battlefield. It’s probably not over yet.”

We looked at each other and nodded. Then we left.