Xenovia stood frozen. Her pride was deeply hurt.
She was a highly trained holy knight, but a normal-looking boy had just slapped her across the face like a misbehaving child.
"You..."
Xenovia growled, her eyes filling with blind, holy rage.
"I will cut you down!"
She grabbed the handle of her heavy, wrapped sword again. She gripped it tightly and tried to pull it out to attack him.
But Elias was much faster.
**SMACK!**
His hand hit her face a second time.
This time, he didn't hold back as much.
He hit her much harder.
The heavy force spun Xenovia completely around.
She lost her balance, her feet leaving the ground for a second, and she crashed hard into the dirt path.
"Xenovia!"
Irina cried out in shock.
The cheerful twin-tailed girl finally realized how dangerous this boy was.
She reached back for her own weapon, ready to jump in and save her partner.
Elias didn't even turn his head to look at Irina. He just pointed two fingers in her direction.
He didn't need to chant. His Adaptivity instantly called upon the magecraft he had learned from Rin.
Glowing red magical chains shot out from the ground beneath Irina's feet.
They wrapped tightly around her arms, waist, and legs, pinning her completely to the spot.
"Hey! Let me go! I can't move!"
Irina struggled, pulling with all her might, but the magic chains were like solid steel.
Elias turned his attention back to Xenovia.
The blue-haired girl was on her hands and knees in the dirt. She was panting heavily, holding her bruised and burning face.
She tried to push herself up to fight back, but she couldn't.
Elias unleashed a fraction of his aura. It pressed down on Xenovia like a crushing weight.
She was completely trapped by his sheer power. She couldn't lift her arms.
She couldn't even breathe properly. She was completely helpless.
Elias looked down at her with absolute coldness. He showed zero mercy. He didn't care about her holy title.
To him, she was just a cruel bully trying to hurt a sweet girl who had already suffered enough.
Elias leaned down and easily ripped the heavy, wrapped holy sword right out of Xenovia's grip.
"Give that back!"
Xenovia choked out, looking up at him with angry, watery eyes.
"That belongs to the Church!"
"Not anymore,"
Elias said coldly, resting the heavy sword on his shoulder.
He looked down at her with deep, harsh disappointment.
"Someone who attacks a scared, innocent girl in a public park shouldn't have a dangerous weapon,"
Elias told her flatly.
"You act like a wild animal. You are too hot-headed. Until you learn how to control your temper, I am confiscating your toy."
"You can't do this!"
Xenovia yelled, tears of pain and extreme frustration leaking from her eyes.
"We are acting on holy orders! We are the Church!"
Elias just stared at her with a blank, completely uncaring expression.
"I don't give a fuck if you are from the Church, the Vatican, or heaven itself,"
Elias stated, his voice as hard as iron.
"If you ever try to hurt my family again, I will do a lot worse than slap you. Remember that."
Elias turned his back on the defeated exorcists. He gave Asia a warm, gentle smile, offering her his free hand.
Asia took his hand, her heart beating fast with pure admiration. He had protected her flawlessly.
"Let's go home, Asia. Shuri-kaa san is probably waiting for us with dinner,"
Elias said kindly.
With Dee skipping happily beside them and his new confiscated sword resting on his shoulder, Elias walked away, leaving the two shocked and helpless Church warriors behind in the dirt.
Later that night, the shrine was quiet and peaceful again.
Asia was safely asleep in her room, and Dee was in the living room watching television.
Elias sat on the wooden porch, looking up at the stars.
He held his cell phone to his ear. He had just called Rias to tell her about the fight in the park.
He explained everything simply. He told her how Xenovia tried to attack Asia, how he slapped her twice, and how he took her holy sword.
On the other end of the phone, Elias expected Rias to be a little worried.
Taking a holy weapon from the Church was a big deal.
Instead, he heard a soft, tired laugh.
"I am not mad at all,"
Rias said, her voice sounding very calm.
"Honestly, I am glad you put them in their place. They were incredibly disrespectful to us. They think they can do whatever they want just because they serve the Church."
"You aren't worried the Church will come after me?"
Elias asked.
"Not even a little bit,"
Rias chuckled.
"You defeated an immortal Phenex without breaking a sweat. And even if the entire Church army came to Japan... it wouldn't matter. They can't do anything to you while Dee is there. If they tried, they would just disappear."
Elias smiled. Rias was completely right.
With the Goddess of Death living in his house, he was perfectly safe.
But then, Rias's voice turned very serious. The playful tone vanished.
"Elias,"
Rias said softly.
"While you were busy with the exorcists, Akeno and I did some digging. We found out what the current situation really is. It is much worse than just a few lost swords."
Elias sat up straight.
"What did you find?"
"The holy swords weren't just lost,"
Rias explained clearly.
"They were stolen by a very powerful Fallen Angel leader. His name is Kokabiel. He survived the great war from a long time ago, and he is very dangerous."
"Why did he steal them?"
Elias asked, frowning.
"And why did he bring them to your town?"
Rias let out a heavy sigh.
"Because he is crazy,"
She answered honestly.
"Kokabiel is bored with the peace. He misses the old days when Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels killed each other. He stole the swords and brought them to my territory on purpose. He wants to cause a massive problem to force my brother, Sirzechs, to react."
Elias completely understood now. It was a trap.
"He wants to start a new war,"
Elias stated flatly.
"Yes,"
Rias whispered, her voice tight with worry.
"And he doesn't care how many innocent people get hurt in the crossfire. If Kokabiel gets what he wants, Kuoh town will become a bloody battlefield."
Elias looked at the heavy, cloth-wrapped sword sitting next to him on the porch.
He thought about Asia, who had finally found a happy home. He thought about Rias, Akeno, and all the peaceful days he had enjoyed.
He wasn't going to let some crazy, war-hungry bird ruin his life.
"Don't worry,"
Elias said, his voice calm and completely confident.
"Let Kokabiel try. If he steps out of line, I will handle him."
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