บท 20: The Temptation Of Shounen Power

The next day on a cloudy morning in Kuoh Town, two individuals in white cloaks with green and blue accents are walking on the side of the road. One of them could be seen carrying a large sword warping in a white cloth on their back. They are the envoy of the church sent here to retrieve the three stolen Excalibur swords and they are currently heading to the Kuoh Academy to tell the devil to not interfere with their work.

They don't know that they have already been watched by Zeno who glides in the sky like a bird for a while now.

Zeno smirked as he saw the two exorcist girls moving toward the academy in the distance. Luckily, he has not been notified by Sona about them and he had found the two girls before they made a contract with the devil. It means that he can capture them with little consequences. He then landed from the sky softly behind them before he cast spells to block the normal people's view from outside and lock them with him in a barrier. The two girls in cloaks almost immediately noticed that some kind of barrier had been enacted around them.

"Quite bold of you to walk in the open with such an appearance, especially in the middle of the day."

He said with his signature deep distorted voice. The two girls in white cloaks immediately turned around, startled by the sudden weird voice sounding behind them. One of them, a girl with brown eyes and short blue hair with dyed green fringe, reached for her sword behind her, her eyes widened in alert upon seeing Zeno in his SS suit standing, menacingly behind them.

"Who are you?!"

She shouted, her muscles tense. The other girl with light brown hair and violet eyes also becomes wary while she reaches for the ribbon tied to her left bicep. It of course not just a normal ribbon but a sword in disguise that can transform into any shape, it's called Excalibur Mimic. Zeno chuckles slightly in approval as he looks at the two girls who are ready for a fight from just seeing him. As expected of someone who has been trained to fight from a young age.

"I am just a hired guard for the town, and you are just walking in the devil's territory while obviously belong the church. Tell me, girls, what business do you have here?"

He introduced himself and asked them of their purpose even if he knew already. He then starts walking in a circle around them like a predator looking for any vulnerability to put psychological pressure on them.

"We are here on a mission from the Church to retrieve the stolen Excalibur swords. And we won't let anyone get in our way."

The brown-eyed girl with short blue hair or Xenovia Quarta replied as she kept the strange man in a black bodysuit who claimed to be town guard in her sigh at all times even if she had to move her body around constantly while holding the sword, Excalibur Destruction behind her back.

"Ah, the church's pawns, I see. And you would think they'll send someone stronger than this to retrieve their precious swords, are all your higher-ups mentally challenged?"

Zeno mocked, he wondered what was going on in the church's higher-ups' brains to send these two exorcist girls against the fallen angel Cadre. As Zeno continued to circle them, Xenovia could feel the tension rising with every passing second and she didn't like being talked down to, especially from someone working for the devil. The other girl, Irina Shidou, looked equally irritated but remained wary of him.

"What do you want from us?"

Xenovia questioned as she gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. Zeno stopped circling them and smirked underneath his suit. He felt that he had built enough aggression in them. He wants them to be uncooperative after all.

"Nothing difficult, I will just detain you two for an hour or two before I ask the town governors to confirm your identity. If you are really the envoy from the church then I will of course let you go on your business. Will you come quietly?"

After hearing him want to detain them, the two girls look at each other solemnly before they nod at each other, deciding something.

"We don't have time to waste, back off, or else!"

Xenovia glared at Zeno, her eyes filled with defiance. She unwrapped the sword behind her and pointed the Excalibur Destruction at Zeno as she threw her cloak away, revealing the tight black battle suit underneath. Irina nodded in agreement, pulling out her own sword Excalibur Mimic from the ribbon in her arm, ready to fight. Zeno smirked at their reckless action, just as he planned for them to resist.

"I see, you're resisting. Fine, have it your way."

Zeno said before he suddenly disappeared from their view at a great speed, only to reappear behind Xenovia with a black purplish aura emitted from his body. without her being able to react in time, Zeno grabbed her by the neck, his grip tight enough to cut off her airflow, and then lifted her off the ground. Xenovia, taken by surprise, struggled to breathe as she tried to free herself from his grasp, her legs kicking wildly.

"Xenovia!"

Irina shouted in alarm as she saw her friend being held up by Zeno. She quickly reacts and attacks him on his arm that held Xenovia with her sword, hoping to free her friend. Zeno stepped back and avoided her attack easily. He chuckled as his arm grew out black tendrils before they entangled and restrained Xenovia's limbs.

"Uwa...?!"

Irina gasped in horror as she saw her friend getting tied up by the creepy black tendrils that looked slimy like eels. Xenovia tried to struggle harder as she felt the tendrils moving around her body disgustingly but she couldn't move a muscle under Zeno's control. Zeno approached Irina with a smirk on his face.

"So... will you surrender now?"

Irina glared at Zeno defiantly, her hands tightening around Excalibur Mimic. She will save her friend and she refuses to give up without a fight.

"Never!"

Without hesitation, Irina charged with her sword aimed to pierce his stomach. Zeno quickly jumped away with Xenovia in his hand from Irina's attack, his smirk not fading one bit. He landed softly on the road, watching Irina turning to him and ready to continue her attack.

"I like your spirit, girl. But you're not going to win."

As Zeno spoke, Xenovia who was still struggling in his hold started to become weak and on the verge of unconsciousness. Irina saw that and she knew she had to act fast. Without hesitation, she charged towards him again, this time aiming for his legs. Her sword glowed brightly with holy power in her hand.

"Heh..."

Zeno saw Irina charging towards him again and smirked. He was enjoying this little game of cat and mouse as he waited for Xenovia to lose consciousness before he would then deal with Irina. He decided to not be too rough with them like those fallen angels he cloned in the past as they were not evil like them or they were his enemy.

As Irina got closer, Zeno prepared to dodge her attack. However, before he could move, Xenovia suddenly powered up like a shounen character and willed herself back from the verge of unconsciousness to break free from Zeno's hold. She pushed against the black tendrils that were restricting her limbs with a great strength that seemed to come out of nowhere, Xenovia forced her way out of Zeno's grip and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.

"What the...?"

Zeno's eyes widened in surprise as Xenovia managed to break free from his hold and was bewildered by the sudden event. It's not that Xenovia became stronger than him or anything, she just forced him to release her or otherwise she would hurt herself. The sudden burst of strength also confuses him since he not expecting such a cliche development to happen.

"Now...!"

Irina, seeing her friend free, quickly took advantage of the situation and attacked Zeno again. She swung her sword with all her might, aiming for his head. Zeno even if he was distracted still managed to quickly jump back to avoid Irina's swing. He landed a few feet away from them, his smirk fading slightly. This was unexpected, but it wasn't going to stop him from capturing them.

"Damn..."

Irina saw that her attack didn't land and quickly regained her composure. She knew she needed to keep attacking without letting Zeno counterattack and buying time for Xenovia to recover.

With renewed determination, she charged towards Zeno once again, this time aiming for his legs as she swung Excalibur Mimic downwards with all her might. Zeno watched as Irina charged towards him again, this time aiming for his legs. He not smirking anymore as he disappeared from his place before Irina swung her sword down, Zeno reappeared behind her and grabbed the back of her neck before she could react. Then he immediately cast a temporary paralyzing spell on her. A purple magic circle appeared around her neck as her body went limp in his hand with a panicking expression on her face.

"Irina...!"

Xenovia watched in horror as her friend went limp in Zeno's hand. She tried to move but her body still felt weak and sluggish. She struggled to get up let alone raise a sword. Zeno turned his attention back to Xenovia while he put Irina's body down on the ground.

Irina wheezed in fear, unable to move or speak. She watched helplessly as he turned his attention back to Xenovia, feeling a wave of despair wash over her.

Zeno approached Xenovia as she finally stood on her feet, glaring at him.

"That was an impressive display of resilience, but I doubt that you are capable of doing it again."

He reached out his hand facing her and a magic circle materialized on his palm. Xenovia took a deep breath, trying to gather her strength as she glared at the magic circle on Zeno's hand in defiance. She knows that he is too fast and can easily get behind or dodge her attack but she will not give up, it is the only thing she can do.

"Haaaaaah...!"

With renewed determination, Xenovia charged towards Zeno, swinging her sword wildly. However, Zeno simply disappeared from his place and reappeared behind her, grabbing her by the neck and casting a paralyzing spell on her.

Xenovia's body went limp in his hand as he put her body down. Zeno then pulled out his smartphone from inside the place where his pants pocket was. He will call for his maids to help him transport the exorcist girls to the hotel room he booked for this occasion.

"I'm really in a fiction world huh?"

He muttered with an intrigued expression after he witness the cliche shounen bullcrap as he wondered if he should start shouting SEX like the Takeshi guy to see if it actually does anything.