Chapter 62: Taking Charge
Following the awkwardness created by Issei's exclamation, Kiba adopted a firm expression, causing Rias to startle as he expressed, "Sorry, Buchou, but I agree with Issei-kun."
"Not you too, Kiba..." sighed Rias, rising to her feet, moving toward her desk, and leaning against it so she wasn't stuck between two conversing groups.
"Buchou knows how I feel about the Excalibur..." remarked Kiba, directing his gaze to Xenovia and Irina as he added, "Make no mistake, I don't care if the two of you fail your mission. But if that greatsword you're carrying is another Excalibur, the Fallen will have even more in their arsenal."
Turning back to Rias, Kiba expressed, "I don't believe it's a coincidence that the Fallen brought the stolen Excalibur here. They must be planning something, and allowing them to get their hands on more Excalibur would place us at a disadvantage."
"That's certainly a possibility..." conceded Rias, crossing her arms and lowering her gaze contemplatively.
"Why do you care about the Excalibur...?" asked Xenovia, directing the question and narrow-eyed gaze at Kiba.
"Because I was once a participant in the Holy Sword Project," revealed Kiba, his blue eyes sharpening like daggers as he added, "That is until the higher-ups in the Church decided to cut their losses and have each of us disposed of using poison gas..."
"I see..." muttered Xenovia, her expression softening ever so slightly as she stated, "Then perhaps this is fate, as one of the people we're hunting happens to be the very man responsible for the fiasco that was the Holy Sword Project, Valper Galilei."
"Valper Galilei..." repeated Kiba, his hands and teeth clenched as the face of a short, portly, and bespectacled old man with puffy grey hair, a large nose, a mustache, and vacant black eyes appeared in his mind.
Inserting herself back into the conversation, Rias asked, "Out of curiosity, do you know the identity of the Fallen who stole the Excalibur? They must be someone fairly powerful."
Causing the nearby Grayfia's silver eyes to sharpen, Xenovia nodded and revealed, "It was one of the leaders of Grigori, Kokabiel, the Fallen Star of God. We have yet to confirm his intentions, but we presume he is trying to resume the Holy Sword Project..."